Get Pumped!

Hello friends! I hope the last two days have been as awesome for you as they’ve been for me. I’m in a fantastic mood, if you haven’t noticed. Thursday morning’s breakfast got the cheerful ball rolling for me.

I was super pumped to eat one of my delicious blueberry muffins for breakfast. Yum. New obsession? I think so.

Muffin and green protein shake.

 Although I had a muy loco day, I had even more blueberry power for lunch, which made everything seem like a walk in the park.

Blue quinoa. Looks like mush, tastes like heaven.

 With four classes behind me, Biff and I went to played with the poopers at Journey’s End.  At 5:45 we jetted home to change and have dinner before our forthcoming fun extravaganza.

"Pizza"- millet flat, spaghetti sauce and cottage cheese. Cyooks on the side.

 I sang for the men’s basketball game at school and felt like I did a pretty sweet job. I forgot to get a video of this. *makes sad puppy face*

No sooner were the words, “…and the home of the brave,” out of my mouth than Biff and I disregarded school spirit and sprinted out to pick up our friend Beccs. And so began our Girls’ Night! We had been anticipating it all day and were PUMPED!!! Reinforcing our stereotypical female roles, we went straight out to go shopping and look for a dress for Biff’s upcoming birthday party (which is going to be epic). She was successful and Beccs and I were happy to have browsed the retail.

We returned home, shopping bags in hand, and picked up our other friend, and Beccs’ rommie, Abell (pronounced aye-bell). It was 9:30 by this time, and we decided it would be a great idea to fill our brains with reality trash. After whipping up some frozen lemonades and popcorn, we cozied up to watch Jersey Shore.

Abell and Beccs drinking out of the blender.

This picture sums up our lives.

Getting ready for Jersey madness.

 I’ve never been a huge fan, but it was quite entertaining. Guidos are beyond ridiculous. I felt sleep creeping over me as the Shore came to a close, and was super excited to hit the sack early. 11:30, baby! *sigh*  

Friday, I woke up bright and early to head to the gym. I was feeling the need, the need for… sweat.  I had a baller gym sesh. 1.8 miles in 15 minutes (that’s 8.18 min. mile if you’re curious… I’m proud of myself), and I could have gone faster! I followed my cardio with my Trouble-Spot Toning. Fatigued from running and wanting to forgo any possibly injury, I opted for two sets (instead of three), followed by some Captain’s Chair Leg Raises. I was pouring sweat and feeling so good. Physical signs of working hard (i.e. a soaked shirt) make me feel really accomplished. Luurve it.  

I’ve heard mixed reviews about doing cardio before weights, and even though it worked for me, I still wanted to do a little research. Here are two articles I found about weights and cardio:

Cardio vs. Strength Training- This article discusses the benefits of both types of exercise and how they compare. It actually makes me want to work do less cardio and more weight training! Did you know that weight training spikes your metabolism for an extra hour after your workout?!?! "So if you burned 200 calories lifting weights, it's really closer to 250 overall." That’s awesome. Calorie burn from doing nothing? Yes, please.

The Best Strength Training for Women- Here are some tips and info on strength training especially for women and why it’s so good for us. AND all of it is backed by clinical studies. Thanks, Women’s Health Magazine!

I think I am definitely going to be inclined to lift weights more often. I’m so PUMPED!

What kind of workout makes you feel awesome?

Blueberry Bliss

Hellerrrr...

 Happy Wednesday peeps! Spring has slowly been creeping in, and I am super stoked about it. So many awesome things happen in spring:

Flowers

Warm Florida weather

Pink lipstick

And…

Blueberries! Ok, so blueberries aren’t quite “in season” in the colder climates, but they’re coming your way soon!

I love anything with blueberries in it or blueberry flavored. I was that little kid at school that took the blue lollipop before anyone else. Sorry guys. Blueberries are the bomb-diggity.

In honor of these (really) purple-ish balls of finger-staning goodness, I decided to make two very different foods that incorporate them. Must try!!

Blue Quinoa 

This is the dish that inspired this post. I stumbled upon this crazy concoction at 6:30 am Monday morning, and it was love at first bite.

Blue delight.

½ cup cooked quinoa

½ cup almond milk

¼ cup craisins

½ cup frozen (or fresh) blueberries

3 tbsp. almonds

dash cinnamon

1 tsp brown sugar

Stevia to taste

Mix it all up in a small sauce pan and heat to a simmer. That’s it. Enjoy!! I did…

Classic Blueberry Muffins 

I used a recipe on the box of Ener-G’s Rice Mix. However, I am aware that this is not a super common brand, so I found an easy recipe that doesn’t require a million different flours. Thank you FoodNetwork.com!

I used frozen ones

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/blueberry-muffins-recipe2/index.html

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup canola oil

2/3 cup agave nectar

2/3 cup rice milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and cinnamon. Add the oil, agave nectar, rice milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth. Using a plastic spatula, gently fold in the blueberries just until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into each prepared cup, almost filling the cup. Bake the muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 15 minutes. The muffin will bounce slightly when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the muffins stand for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Stained hands are totally worth it.

Goodbye friend.