Easter Sunday Runday!

I hope everyone had a great Easter! It is always a great day to spend with friends and family! 

This morning I did about a 4 mile run. It was the perfect time because it just so happened to be low tide so I could run on the beach on my way back! 

I took the stairs at The Hook down to the beach and doubled back home:

It was nice and sunny (although forecast called for rain!) so the beach action made me super sweaty!

I was grateful to get my feet in the sand, made me feel like I was back in Hawaii!!

Then, came the stairs! There is a great set at Privates Beach that I barged up and made it a great glutes burner!

The run felt great and I was ready to get my Easter feast on!

But, first was breakfast! I got home and whipped up some eggs, fruit, and a yummy latte :)

It was a great start to a great day! 

How did you celebrate Easter?!

Back from the Big Island!

Holy cow! It feels like its been forever since my last post! 

Over the last couple weeks I have taken 1 quiz, 4 midterms and submitted a huge case study for school! All was worth it because after that it was SPRING BREAK BABY!

My fiance and I took a nice little trip to Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii! Much needed and much deserved! 

It is really hard to keep up on health and fitness while traveling, so I made sure to bring my sneakers because, running is free and can be done virtually anywhere!

The weather was great and temperatures were hot, so I usually woke up very early in the morning, giving me a great time to sneak in a jog around the town, and then have the WHOLE day ahead of us! 

I have always been a fan of working out first thing in the morning. It helps me wake up and get my day started, and I love knowing I have the rest of the day to do what I want (like hang on the beach!).

One of the days on our trip we took a pretty intense hike with a tour group lead by a couple of locals. The carrot dangling in front of us on this 10 mile excursion!? MOLTEN LAVA!

In this picture the lava flow is running into the ocean! 

If you ever get the chance to do an excursion like this, DO IT! It was one of the highlights of our trip and was a great way to stay active! 

This is the surface flow we got to see, SO COOL! Also, it just so happened to be a full moon! Priceless! 

The terrain, being that it was hardened lava, was pretty uneven and hard to walk on, which gave us even more of a challenge on this tour.

This stuff was no joke!

 

Our feet were so sore, but it was totally worth it!

What activities do you do on vacay to stay on track?

Do you like working out in the morning? Mid day? Night time?

Yesterday's Park Bench Workout!

Yesterday was a crazy day filled with commuting and midterms, so when was I going to work out!?

I killed two birds with one stone and took the dog to the park with me, to walk him and use that as my warm up! Then all I needed was about 20 more minutes to complete my Park Bench Work Out :)

I walked Reef around the track and then up a nice steep hill to get the blood pumpin':

 Once I was warmed up I grabbed two 10lb dumbbells from the car and picked a nice sunny bench to get my little sweat session on:

Here's what I did:
-20 right arm  plank rows (one arm supported by the bench)
-20 left arm plank rows
-20 front step ups w/ 2 dumbbells (alternating)
-20 over head tricep curls w/ 1 dumbbell
-20 bicep curls (both arms, both dumbbells)
-20 right leg side step ups w/ dumbbell press
-20 left leg side step ups w/ dumbbell press
-20 plank knee drives (fore arms on bench)

REST!                       Repeat 2-3 times!

Here's my step up with dumbbells:

This is a great way to break out of your normal routine and get outside! 

Like I said, it took me about 20 minutes and I got some serious sweat going! Who doesn't have 20 minutes!?

What's your favorite outdoor work out?

My First 5k!

As most of you know I participated in the She Is Beautiful PINKEST 5k on St. Patty's Day this past Sunday! I can not get over how much fun I had! This was the first time I was ever participating in an organized run so I was a little nervous at first, but it was so AWESOME!

It was an all women run, which I think was a lovely thing. Women being active together and feeling empowered is a wonderful thing!

I took a lot of pics! So, here's what my day looked liked:

Saturday night- got out of work around 10pm, got my outfit all laid out I didn't want to forget anything!

Woke up super early (for a Sunday!) to get there by about 7:15am. It was pretty chilly right by the water so a few of us were bundled trying to keep warm!

My friend Jess rocked the baby momma 5k with her little one Estella, such a charger!

There was such a huge group doing the 5k run that I barely knew it was time to start! Here's a shot of the starting line:

Gotta love the saying!

And we were off!! Here's a few of us getting into our first strides:

I love the combination of pink for the PINKEST run and the green for St. Patty's Day! My socks had shamrocks on the back :)

And here I am coming into the finish line!

I was pushing it there at the end! But so glad I did!

My mom greeted me at the end and took this shot of me:

It was awesome to be by my beloved ocean and have a great accomplishment under my belt all before 10am!

We all collected our T-shirts and goody bags before getting some great group shots afterward...

Great group of ladies from Farley's Kickboxing Academy:

Great friends Lisa and Rose:

Come train with us! @ FKA:

Lots of great pics from a great day! I am so glad that I participated and that so many of my other BEAUTIFUL friends did as well! I can't wait for next year!

Are you running in any races this year!? If so, which ones?

Cauliflower Pizza Crust!

I had a special request to attempt a cauliflower pizza crust and report back! So, I made my attempt last night! 

It was all pretty simple to do, and allowed me to be creative with what ever else I wanted to add to it!

I made a double batch because we were pretty hungry, and who doesn't like cold pizza in the morning!? 

I started out with a head of cauliflower, mozzarella cheese, and eggs:

We don't have a food processor, we chopped it up as finely as possible:

For one batch (about 4 pieces of pizza), all you need is:
-1 cup finely chopped cauliflour
-1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
-1 egg
-any spices you may want to add

I doubled the recipe for us, and mixed it all together in a medium sized bowl:

I have an "Italian Seasoning Grinder" that I used while mixing to add some more flavor.

Once everything was mixed together, I used PAM non-stick spray on a cookie sheet and spread out all of the dough:

(Reef was awarded some cheese for being a good helper!) 

Pre-heat the oven to 450. For a single batch let crust bake for 12-15 minutes, my double batch took about 20 minutes.

While the crust was baking I prepped my toppings:

-1 green bell pepper
-handful of black olives
-left over cooked chicken (made it so easy!)

Once the crust was out of the oven I added plain tomato sauce (about 1/3 can):

Then topped it off with mozzarella, chopped olives, green bell pepper, and the chicken!

I brought the oven temp down to 400 and let the pizza cook until the edges were golden brown and cheese was good and melted:

The pizza turned out great and was Fiance approved!

The only thing I will do differently next time is make 2 smaller crusts so that the middle gets more crispy (it was a bit soggy after all the toppings, etc.).

This is a great way to get in your veggies and get creative in the kitchen!! You can add whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings that you want!

Make pizza night a healthy night!

Refreshing Sunday Find!

How is your Sunday going!? Hope you all remembered to turn those clocks ahead!

I went for a nice run this morning and enjoyed the sunshine and views: 

Next Sunday is the She is Beautiful Pinkest 5k and 10k on West Cliff so I am gearing up for that!

Sundays always include getting ready for the week ahead, so I did a big grocery run to make sure our fridge was stocked with healthy, yummy eats!

At the store I came across a great BOGO deal on Odwalla's Organic Fresh Squeezed Juices!

One thing you should know, is I am a sucker for a bargain! I love saving money and coming up with ways to shop smarter!

So, today I took advantage and grabbed two of these for the price of one!

These are 12 fl oz, packed with tons of vitamins and nutrients all for 120 calories!

This Carrot, Beet, and Ginger blend caught my eye immediately! Look at all the goodness they fit into one tiny bottle:

Juiced: 7 slices of ginger, 1 1/4 beets, and 11 carrots! That's equivalent of 3 whole veggie servings!

This was a great refreshing option for me and allowed me to pack in a hefty amount of veggies :)

The second blend I chose was Organic Carrot, Apple, and Berry, I will see how that one is tomorrow!

If you have a juicer at home, I think this is a great way to try out new blend combos, and they are great for on-the-go days when nutrient rich foods are hard to come by!

Whats your favorite juice blend?

Suspension Training: 3 Upper Body Moves!

I know I have mentioned before that I am a huge fan of suspension training! You can get a great full-body workout by just using your own body weight as resistance! 

Here are 3 upper body moves that are sure to get you toned!

1. Bicep Curl:

Start by gripping both handles with palms facing toward you, arms fully extended:

Next, hinge at the elbows, drawing your whole body towards the straps. At this point your chin will be right by your pinkie fingers:

And that's a bicep curl using a suspension trainer!

(To modify/decrease intensity, walk your feet further away from the straps; this will give you less resistance!)

2. Full Body Row

This starting position is similar to that of the bicep curl, but here your palms will be facing in towards each other while gripping the handles, arms fully extended:

Then, row body in towards the straps so that your hands are at about chest level: 

 There's a full body row! 

(Again, modification can be done by walking feet out further from the straps for less resistance.)

3. One Arm Row

For this move you will only need to use one of the straps. Grip one of the handles and fully extend out wide with opposite arm all the way out: 

Feet are facing towards the straps. Then, using your one arm, row your body in towards the straps, bringing your opposite arm up as far along the strap as possible: 

For the one arm row, you will want to complete this using both arms! 

(Modification is the same here, walk out further for less resistance.)

*During all of these moves, you want to maintain good posture, keeping your back  straight, and making sure to not dip your hips in any direction. Try these moves out slowly at first to make sure your form stays in tact (it helps to have the mirrors!) and then start adding them to your routine :)

There you have it! 3 great upper body moves to try out with a suspension trainer! 

What are your favorite moves?

Egg White Baked Casserole

Here's another great idea for a weekly meal prep: Baked Egg White Casserole! 

This was my first attempt at making it, but I'd have to say it came out pretty good! 

It has minimal ingredients and takes very little time to prepare:

What I used:
-1 carton of 100% egg whites
-3/4 package of non-fat feta cheese crumbles
-1/2 a bunch of spinach (chopped)
-1/2 red bell pepper (cubed)

Literally that is it!

I first put all the spinach in a microwave safe bowl and let it cook for just about 40 seconds, so that it would wilt and be easier to work with. Next, I added in the chopped red bell pepper and feta cheese crumbles:

Next I added 2 cups of the egg whites (1 carton) and mixed all together.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees while I was doing the minimal prep-work.

Then I used PAM non-stick spray for the bottom and edges of my Pyrex dish that would then go into the oven:

Because I used a good amount of egg whites, the baking took a bit of time (a little over an hour). Also, the whites did rise up a god deal, so I periodically punched it down with a fork.

In the end it turned out great:

Yum! I baked it until it became brown on the top and the egg whites were thoroughly cooked in the middle.

Lastly, I portioned out small pieces to stash in the fridge for the rest of the week!

Not bad, huh?! Tasty, simple, quick, and will have you covered all week long! 

What else would you add to your egg white bake?

Multiple Muscle Groups: Squat to Press!

I am all about working multiple muscle groups at the same time! Can you say bye bye calories!?

This post I will demonstrate a squat to overhead press:

Step 1: Start in an athletic stance, feet hip width apart, knees slightly bent, chest out, shoulders back and head up. This is the starting position for many resistance exercises. Here I used 10lb dumbbells (you can use any weight you are comfortable with or just practice with no weight at all!). Start with weights at about chest level. 

 Step 2: Descend down into a squat. Here you are pushing you hips and glutes back and making sure your knees do not exceed your toes!

Step 3: After completing the full squat, push up out of it through your heels.

Step 4: As you are coming up, push the dumbbells up into a full over head press. Make sure to keep your back nice and straight and maintain your athletic stance!

There is a full squat to over head press! This is a great exercise because it works legs, core, and arms! 

Add it to your routine and you are sure to feel the burn!