A Simple Christmas; Part One.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone is having a festive day!  It's just my Dad and I celebrating at home today, so we've been keeping it pretty simple and relaxed. As have the felines..

They're all hopped up on catnip. Lucky little fleabags! I crawled out of bed around 9am and quickly got to making pancakes before tackling this pile:

This is my loot. You know you're nuts when your Dad buys your protein powder for Christmas. Ha! It certainly won't go to waste though.  I also got a new blender! No more 1980s time-warp blender yay! The cup on top of it is really neat, it's clear hard plastic and is insulated for frozen yum-yums on the go. 

I also got a couple of sweaters (love!), a Victoria's Secret gift card, a Frank Sinatra cd and that huge box in the first picture..was a big flat screen tv! I begged my Dad to return it though and keep the money for himself because I'm not a big tv watcher..never even had cable! He insists that I keep it though..

Dinner was very plain and simple...and disgustingly healthy. Turkey, carrots, green beans, corn bread muffin, mashed sweet taters and homemade cranberry sauce! (Recipe below) Not pictured: giant ketchup dipping pile, buttah and parm cheese for my beanies!

Simple Cranberry Sauce;

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of fresh cranberries
• 1/2 of orange juice
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/2 tsp of grated orange zest or 1tsp of lemon juice

Directions:

Bring cranberries, juice and honey to a boil in a saucepan, then simmer on low heat until thick, stirring continuously. Add orange zest/lemon juice.

Done! Perfect if ya like your sauce tart. ;)

 

Stephan and I exchanged our presents last night. That boy went overboard this year, he really did.

 He gave me Dropkick Murphys/Against Me tickets, a new digital camera (I so needed this!), a new mp3 player (!!!) and...well, you're not a gear head until you own snap-on tools socks.
I am damn serious about my wool socks in the winter. This is my first year not recieving tools as a present, lol, so the snap-on socks took their place just fine :)

For him I got a Ruger .22 Rifle with a scope, external magazine and some other accessories.

I think he likes it :) Now I have to go shower, get ready and head to a wedding reception! Well, after we have dessert..Apple Pie a la mode!

Footnote: Erika, why does your Christmas seem so lame and unindulgent?

After re-reading this post I felt I needed to address this after seeing how boring and grinchy my Christmas looked. Well, my mom passed away six years ago, when I was 17, and although it seems like enough time to heal, it never gets any easier. I don't have any brothers or sisters and the rest of our family has split apart a lot over the past couple of years. Therefore, it's just my Dad and I and Christmas is just like any other day for us, just with gifts, a tree and a fat bird in the oven! Reading about everyone else's festivities lets me indulge and celebrate vicariously though ;)

So make sure you really cherish and appreciate the time you have with your families this season. 

I can't even put into words how lucky I am to have the few people I do have with me to celebrate <3

Attack of the Pomegranate!

I'm sorry I won't have any drool-worthy Thanksgiving food pics until tomorrow..because I'll be celebrating Turkey Day tonight with Steveo and his friends. I am so excited to hang out with everybody and feast! I have cornbread in the oven right now and when that's done I'm making little Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts.  I'm also in charge of green beans :)

I was planning on bringing Pomegranate Apple Crisp for dessert, but the batch I whipped up yesterday got a little burnt on the edges...so unfortunately I'm going to have to eat that all by myself ;)

Ever since I discovered my love for pomegranate earlier this season I've been dying to cook with it..and this was the perfect oppurtunity.  Pomegranates can be tricky to cut up, here's the easiest way I found:

How to slice up a pomegranate;

(Make sure to wear an apron or a crappy t-shirt when you do this!)

Get a plate, a good knife and a bowl filled with cold water.  Cover your cutting space with paper towels because this will get messy!

Slice the crown off of the pomegranate.

Cut it into quarters and break apart the insides into pieces. (Careful..it will splatter!)

Loosen the arils (the red seeds) and let them fall into the bowl of water.

The arils will float to the bottom of the water and the white parts of the inside will float to the top.  Use a spoon to scoop out the white pieces.

Pour the contents of the bowl through a sifter..and you're done! I love the arils, I think they taste like sweet tarts.

Here's how my baking adventure went down..

Pomegranate Apple Crisp;

Ingredients

• 3 apples (macoun!)
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter (I used Bummel & Brown)
• Good amount of cinnamon

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 350 and spray a baking pan (I used 8x8x2)
• Slice the apples into chunks and set aside.
• Mix the dry ingredients (flour, oats and sugar) in a bowl and add the softened butter until everything is blended.
• Spread the apples and about half of the pomegranate arils in the baking dish and cover them with the butter mixture.
• Sprinkle the rest of the arils on top and bake for 30-35 minutes.

My end result :( a few minutes too extra in the oven..

I adapted the recipe from here, I just used whole wheat flour instead and a little more pomegranate.

Question of the day;

What is the best exercise to lose abdominal fat?

• There is no magic pill, exercise, supplement or quick fix to lose belly fat. The body chooses where it loses fat from first, therefore you can not "target" any specific body part.  Spot reduction is one of the biggest fitness myths.  Doing 100s of crunches and sit ups will not make a six pack appear if there is still a layer of fat on top. Besides, doing 100 reps of any exercise is a waste of time.  A flat stomach comes from a combination of excellent nutrition and a solid, effective workout plan. 
• Eat a diet rich in whole grains, lean meat, fruits, veggies, healthy fats (natural peanut butter, avacado, nuts, olive oil), legumes and low fat dairy. Cut out simple carbs, empty calories (white bread/rice, soda, many packaged foods) and other foods high in sugar. Also, keep your sodium in check and drink lots of water.
• As far as strengthening your core and abs goes, as long as you are engaging your core and using proper form while weight lifting you will be working your abs.  Planks, push-ups, cable chops, mountain climbers and hanging leg raises are a few examples great core strenghtening moves.

I'm off to do some more baking! Send me more questions and enjoy your saturday :)

Sunday Smash

Sundays are probably my favorite day of the week, they make me want to eat pancakes and nap..but there's no time for naps today! booo. Since sunday naps have apparantly been outlawed, I chomped up a banana with some almond butter and headed to the gym for some upper body lovin' before I settled into my daily homework coma.

Sunday Stetch of the Day!

Ideally you'd be doing this in a doorway/on a wall.

(I'll be posting new stretches on here every so often, to keep things fresh, so here's the first one.)

This is an awesome way to stretch your pectorals  (chest) and it's even better if you do it on the side of your fridge... ;)

Stand up straight, place your arm out at shoulder height with your fist on a wall and pivot in the opposite direction.  Be sure to do both sides and remember stretches should never hurt!

Workout; upper body.

I did 3 sets of each of these:

• Dumbell Rows- 1 set of 10 @ 30lbs/arm; 2 sets of 8 @ 35lbs/arm.
• Chest Presses with dumbbells - 12 @ 50lbs. Time to up the weight!
• Lying Chest Flys - 10@ 30lbs.
• Standing Shoulder Presses- 2 sets of 6 @ 50lbs, then I got wobbly, 1 set of 8 at 40lbs.
• Pull-ups, assisted - 12 @ 80lbs.
• Dips, assisted - 12 @ 70lbs.
• Upward Rows- 10 @ 50lbs.

 ___________________________________________________________________

Since I wrote about car stuff yesterday, today I decided to switch it over to strictly gymrat business today and give ya some insight on why you're not getting results.
(Unless you are, then you can skip right over this to the recipe :) )

You underestimating yourself.
Frankly, don’t be a wuss! Push your body to its limit and you’ll be really surprised at what you’re capable of doing. Once your body gets comfortable with your routine, shock it! Preventing your body from adapting to any particular routine is key. Tell whatever fear that’s holding you back to piss off and really challenge yourself. I promise you’ll feel like a million bucks afterwards. A hot, sweaty million bucks.

You're guilty of overtraining.
REST. This is your most important tool. You‘re going to get absolutely nowhere without it. Your rest days are when most of your progress is being made and your muscles are busy at work repairing themselves from your previous workout. So, don’t work the same muscle groups two days in a row. Your muscles and nervous system need adequate time to recuperate after you’ve beat the crap out of them.

You’re inconsistent.
“It’s the start that stops people.“ On the flip side of the previous reason, you lack focus and drive. You want results but you can’t get your butt into gear. You always make excuses. Well, you can't complain about yourself if you make no effort to better yourself! Get a buddy or a trainer or someone to hold you accountable. Start small if you have to and do what you can. Make sure your goals are realistic and make a plan that's easy to stick to.  Remember, building things takes time, the Great Wall of China wasn’t built over night was it?

You’re still hitting the drive-thru.
Diet and exercise is like a science and they go hand in hand with eachother. If you’re slacking in the kitchen, then forget about it. You’re not going to get that six pack by slurping down a Coke every chance you get. Logging and tracking your food is your other most important tool for getting the best results. It’s also very important to make sure you’re eating enough. Your body is like an engine and you’re in big trouble if it runs out of fuel. Plus, you can’t expect to build muscle if there’s nothing there to build it out of.

You’re clueless.
Yeah, we’ve all been there, it’s okay! Start by building up base strength with compound (multi-joint) movements (standing presses, deadlifts, squats). These will effectively work a combination of muscle groups and force your body to work extra hard, providing the best results. Look at it this way: with a bench press you’re working your pecs, deltoids, triceps and biceps, versus doing a tricep kickback where you’re isolating and only working your triceps. You’re getting more bang for your buck with compound movements and saving time. It’s okay to do isolation exercises, just make sure your main focus and most energy is spent on compound exercises.

I wrote that with a focus on weight training, but it can be relevent to any fitness routine.  Just don't be too hard on yourself.  I mean, go hard, but stay in check. If you can't complete your last set, big whoop, if you miss one workout because you're too tired, big whoop. Try again next time and don't deprive yourself, keep everything in moderation.  Life goes on.


Speaking of not depriving yourself, check this baby out!

Where's the other half?

Guilt-Free Pumpkin Smash

Ingredients:
One 15-oz. can pumpkin
¾ cup egg whites
¾ cup of milk
1-2tbsp. Agave nectar (or sweetener of choice)
Cinnamon
Pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg, ground cloves and ginger.






Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix ingredients together in a bowl
Spray a baking dish (8x8 works best) with nonstick spray and pour in the mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Store in the fridge to allow it to solidify for a bit.

Serving Suggestions:
Go ahead and eat the whole thing if ya want, it's only about 360 calories and a little over 20g of protein.
Or have a piece with some peanut butter and or vanilla frozen yogurt. 
It might be a little bland depending on how you sweeten it,
adding a little shot of agave to your piece after baking will fix that.

I adapted this recipe from HungryGirl and I switched it up by using regular milk instead of evaporated and by leaving out the ¾ cup of splenda since I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners (or any of the other fat free, sugar free, "diet" products she uses a lot. It works for some people, but I'd rather real food!)

Ok, well Happy Sundaying! Please feel free to leave comments and give me ideas on what to write about!
xoxo