Protein Balls

Forgive us for the lack of posts these past few weeks, please and thank you.

Now for a new recipe:

I’ve posted before about making things to encourage my family’s healthy eating habits (namely, my brother, in When Your Bananas Grow Bananas.

Well, now I’m trying to get my dad healthy. He exercises regularly, but struggles with eating healthily, given a varied daily schedule, eating out often, etc. So I’ve encouraged him to take snacks with him to the office, and to keep in his car, so that he isn’t starving when he finally sits down for a meal. Today I made him some trail mix and some protein balls.

I’ll post more on trail mix another time, and here’s the recipe for protein balls.

1 c oats
1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 c peanut butter
1 c dates, pitted and roughly chopped
2-3 tbsp cold water

Put everything but the water in a food processor or blender and pulse gently until the mixture starts to come together. It will be a bit crumbly at this point. Then, slowly add the water, about one tbsp at a time, until the mixture starts to become dough-like (the consistency of a thick cookie dough). Roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Depending on the size, the dough should make about 15 balls. Store in a cool dry place, or in the refrigerator.

When Your Bananas Grow Bananas

Sometimes (or every week), my bananas don’t get eaten. I’m sure you can relate. Part of it is because there’s about a 36 hour window where the bananas are “just right”-ripe, and while there is a special place in my heart for Wegmans, I refuse to go there just for bananas. So I always have overripe bananas lying around, as you may have guessed by reading my posts for Protein Cookies or Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread.

This week, I was tasked with a new challenge: 4 overripe bananas and a brother with special dietary requests. He is currently following a no carb/no dairy diet (in brother-language, I knew that meant no wheat, no milk). I planned to use 2 of the bananas to make protein cookies, since they fit into that no-wheat-no-dairy-category, but my whole wheat banana nut bread does not. You cannot expect me to live wheat-free. I would die. Literally.

Because I’m such a good sister, I looked around for wheat-free banana bread recipes and found many with oat flour (I didn’t have any of that but quickly discovered I could make it with oats + a food processor). And I knew I wanted to use Greek yogurt and applesauce instead of butter or oil. Similarly to my whole wheat banana bread recipe, I used a combination of recipes I found and added my own spin. When I told my brother about the recipe he said, “I’d eat that.” Sweet, here goes.

Preheat oven to 375. Spray loaf pan(s) and/or muffin tins with cooking spray (or line muffin tins with liners). I used one loaf pan and one 6-muffin pan.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c oat flour **
1/2 c (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 c applesauce
2 eggs
1 6-oz container plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)
10 oz blueberries (optional)

**I ground 1 3/4 c oats in a food processor to make oat flour and kept the other 3/4 c of oats whole, for texture

Mix flour/oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together sugar, bananas, applesauce, yogurt, and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Then add blueberries, nuts, and/or any other mix-ins you’d like. Pour batter into pans and bake 30 min (for muffins) to 45 min (for loaf), or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread

I had some ripe bananas hanging out in my fruit basket, so I planned to make banana bread. I wanted to use whole wheat flour, protein powder, Greek yogurt, and applesauce, and I did not want any butter, oil, or white flour. After scouring the Internet for a “whole wheat protein banana bread” and not finding exactly what was in my mind (imagine that…), I decided I’d use the basics I found in common from most recipes, and add/revise the rest of the ingredients. Mind you, this could have been a disaster because everyone knows baking is more of a science and less of an art. But to my surprise, mine turned out pretty well! The only “unhealthy” thing I used was white sugar, but there’s only 1/2 cup in the whole recipe, which made two loaves. Everything in moderation, people! Here’s the recipe:

2 c whole wheat flour
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
4 ripe bananas
1/3 c applesauce
6 oz 0% plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c chopped nuts (or more, to taste)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray two loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Beat in sugar, applesauce, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, protein powder, salt, and baking soda. Then combine wet and dry ingredients. Add in the nuts, if you want them, and/or add other mix-ins (chocolate chips, raisins, etc.). Pour equal amounts of batter into each loaf pan. Bake for approximately 1 hr (I checked mine at 50 min and it needed more time). Use a toothpick to check for doneness – it should come out clean, or with a few crumbs.

~julie

Work Hard, Play Hard…all at the same time!

Remember when you were a kid and you maneuvered the monkey bars with swinging ease, smiling all the way? Yeah, it’s not like that anymore. Playground equipment can provide a super challenging workout!

I run for fitness. I don’t claim to like it, but its always a good workout. The problem with running, for me, is that I get bored: I can’t talk myself into “one more mile”, I spend most of my run thinking about approximately how many songs I’ll listen to before my run is over, or how many steps there are until the next mile marker. To combat this boredom, Kyle (my fiancé) and I have been running to a local park with lots of great playground equipment. We do some great, and very challenging, exercises on the equipment (see below), and then run back to the car. The run from car to playground is one mile, so all said and done we run 2 miles, and do a 20-30 min workout in between…not too shabby. So, here’s some of what we do for our work/play workout:

Monkey bars
– travel across, hanging by arms (kid-style)
– hang from one bar, pull knees up to chest together (2-3 sets of 5-8 reps)
– hang from one bar, “run” knees up toward chest one at a time (2-3 sets, 5-8 on each side)
– hang from one bar, twist body side to side (2-3 sets of 5-8 reps per side)

Parallel bars
– tricep dips (2-3 sets of 5-8 reps)
– with straight arms propping you up, one on each bar, move forward through bars, then go backward
– with straight arms propping you up, both on the same bar, move sideways down the bar, then return the other way

High bar
– pull-ups
– chin-ups

Single bar
– squat to body hold with straight arms (2 sets of 3-5 reps)
– holding bar with one arm, swing under bar to side, using arm to assist you side-to-side – this will work your core (2 sets of 5 on each side)
– bicep curls with body under bar (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
– with body in face-up table-top position, row body up to bar in a modified pull-up motion (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps)

Balance beam
– travel forward on beam, then backward, working balance (1-2 times each way)
– shuffle sideways on beam, returning the other way (2-3 times)
– decline push-ups with feet on beam (10-20)
– step-ups or box jumps onto beam (2-3 sets of 10)

~julie

Workout!

I know I haven’t updated in a while….so here are two workouts to motivate you to get moving today. They both take less than an hour, so no excuses!

Workout #1: (Tabata style)

40 minutes total!

You are basically moving for 20 seconds and resting for 10, going through each exercise 8 times.

Here are the exercises…

Squat Jumps

Push-ups

Switch Kicks

Lunge backs (switching sides after 4 rounds)

Tricep Dips

Run Steps

Wall Sit

Bicycle Crunch

Downward Dog Dives

Jumping Jacks

Workout #2: (20×2)

You will do each workout for 2 minutes (1 minute, rest, then another minute)

Here are the exercises…

Stability Ball Side Leg Lifts

Broad Jumps

Resistance Band Tricep

Switch Froggers

Diamond Push-ups

Out-out-in-in’s

Squat Side Leg Lift

Scissor Jumps

Bicycle Crunch

Stance Jacks

Squat on Wall with Curl

Lunge Back with Arm Raise

Boxer Shuffle w/ jab

Tabletop Knee-in’s

Single Leg Burpee

Jump Rope

Wall Sit

Plank Jacks

Toe Taps

Single Leg Hip Lift

-Kimmie

Tabata

Tabata is a form of interval training that provides very little rest in between work intervals.  Whether you work out for 16 minutes or 60 minutes, tabata intervals should leave you gasping for air and tired.  It’s great for a quick workout when you’re strapped for time and we love it because, even if we have plenty of time, it’s impossible to get bored.  Also, tabata can be done virtually anywhere – home, work, inside, outside, hotel, beach, you name it – which is another reason it’s such a great routine to have in your back pocket.

Tabata intervals are usually 4 minutes in length per exercise.  You complete 20 seconds of the exercise, and then rest for 10 seconds, and repeat that 8 times for a total of 4 minutes.  This workout is a 40 minute workout since there are 10 exercises, but you can obviously modify it for however long you have to work out.  We use the Gymboss app on our iPhone.  It’s a great app that has some workout intervals already built in for you, and it allows you to create your own timers as well.  For tabata, I set up a timer that has a 20 second “work” interval with a 10 second “break” interval, repeated for 8 rounds.  Each time we begin a new exercise, we just restart the timer.  Happy sweating! ~julie

Deck Workout

I’m at the beach for a long weekend, and although runs on the boardwalk or around various loops through town are a nice change of scenery, I try to mix in some other types of exercise too. This morning I did a 600 workout on my deck. A 600 is set up so that by the end of the workout you’ll have done 600 total reps (more if you consider that you do several exercises on both left and right sides). It took me about 40 minutes, but it obviously depends on how fast you move through each exercise. The faster you do it, the harder it is, but make sure you maintain proper form! You’ll need a medicine ball or 8-12 lb weight for some of the exercises, but could definitely adapt it to use no weight if you are without equipment or want to make it easier.

There is a note below the list of exercises that mentions how to count reps per side. For exercises that include alternating sides, you count after both sides do one rep. For example, when doing mountain climbers, both legs come in one at a time, so left leg in and right leg in count as one rep together. I like to count 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, and so on to 10, so I still feel like I only have to count to 10, but you could just count each movement and count up to 20. If you’re not sure what one of the exercises is, or how to do it, leave a note in the comments section and I’ll explain it in more detail!

~julie

diary of a diet coke addict

While Kimmie and I are alike in many ways – we try to be healthy, like to exercise, enjoy cooking and baking, etc. – there is one thing that we do not have in common.  I am addicted to Diet Coke.  And Kimmie hates soda.  She always has, calling it “spicy” as a kid and opting for water, milk, or juice instead.  Oh and she begged for coffee the moment she left the womb.  But I always stuck to water or soda.  No, our mom didn’t allow us to drink soda at the dinner table, but for some reason Coke (and Diet Coke when I got older and realized that Coke has, ew – calories!) was my thing.  I’ve been reading a lot lately about eating organic, clean-eating, and the chemicals and additives that are put into the foods we eat so readily.  It’s disturbing, to say the least.  So I’ve been really conscious about what I put into my body.  I’m reading labels, avoiding processed foods, eating tons of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and organic meats when I can.

But Diet Coke is untouchable.  How am I supposed to get through the day without my midday caffeine boost?  After all, my students know me for my half-empty diet coke can that I carry around my classroom in the afternoon (don’t tell my principal.)  So it’s summer time and I’m not in my classroom in the afternoon.  Fine.  Then what am I supposed to drink at restaurants – TAP WATER!?  Don’t you know who I AM???  I mean, yes I’ve been told and I’ve read that the chemicals and artificial sugars in Diet Coke could give me cancer.  My response to that is, “Well we’re all going to die someday.”  These are things addicts say.

Here’s the thing: one of the things I read often about artificial sweeteners is that they make you crave real sugar.  We all know how I crave real sugar.  Chocolate, mmmm.  Ice cream, yes please.  Cookies, I’ll have a dozen.  Could it really be from that measly little Diet Coke?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  So I’m conducting an experiment.  That’s right, folks.  I have been Diet Coke free for TWO DAYS!  Last night, I didn’t crave dessert.  The placebo effect?  Could be, especially since I still had a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks, which has artificial sweetener in the syrup (one thing at a time, OKAY!?)  But I’m going to try to stick this out and see how it goes.  The fact is, there’s nothing “good for you” in Diet Coke.  It’s simply a calorie-free alternative to a sugar-and-chemical-filled soft drink.  I work hard to be healthy, so I’m ready to kick the can.

I am so funny.  But really, I’ll keep you posted.

~julie

Running…

Let me preface this by telling you that I am in no way, shape or form, a “runner.” I think I could speak for Julie on this one too. We both are big on working out, eating healthy and all of that good stuff but when we run, it’s to switch up our routines of working out.

The past few weeks, I have been back and forth between home and the beach. My usual group training workouts have been put on hold for a little while, solely because of my travels and work schedule. Running has been my “go-to” workout because all I need are my own two legs and a place to run, which can be pretty much, anywhere!

Where I live, there are so many different trails and parks nearby that are great for running (very fortunate for that.) I have been taking advantage of these places and going for runs there. I normally just run 2-3 miles, which takes up about 25 minutes of my day (give or take a few.) I usually come home and do some other body weight exercises to feel content with my workout for the day.

Even when I have “bad” runs, I always feel a burst of adrenaline while running and after the fact. I love that I am alone with the sunshine (on most days) and nature. It makes me feel really good!

What I am trying to get at here is that, running is far from my favorite thing to do, but I have grown to like it for what it is and the way it makes me feel. Hopefully this motivates some of you to get out there and just run; it doesn’t matter how far, but I promise, you will be rewarded afterwards by how you feel.

-Kimmie

back on track

It’s no secret that I thrive on routine.  In fact, I eat most healthily when I eat basically the same thing each day.  During the school year, Monday through Friday, I eat the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch.  Breakfast is usually coffee, a banana, and a Mojo bar.  Lunch is fresh fruit, cottage cheese, multi-grain pretzels, and a Diet Coke (I know, I know, I need to work on that…) I eat 1/4 cup of homemade trail mix (unsalted nuts and dried fruit) for a snack in the afternoon, and for dinner, I cook something healthy with whole-food ingredients – poultry or lean meats with veggies and whole grains.  Sunday afternoons are usually my “prep” time for the week, when I cut and portion fruit and make trail mix.    My counters look like this:

And I look like a crazy person.  But the reality is when I don’t eat similar meals each day, I am much more likely to snack, graze, eat sweets, drink less water…you get the point.  So anyway, Kimmie and I spent the last 2 days at the beach.  And I ate crap.  I mean, sure I ate fruit and multigrain toast and tried to be healthy.  I still went for a run on the beach (which, I’ve decided, sounds like a way better idea than it actually is).  But I definitely ate WAY more than I normally do, snacked, grazed, ate sweets (ice cream mmmm), drank less water.  See where I’m going with this?

This morning I needed to get back on track.  But, since it’s summer vacation and I know I won’t have my normal routine, I experimented with breakfast (instead of my usual banana and Mojo bar).  I mixed half a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a packet of Truvia, and a dash of vanilla with some plain 0% Greek yogurt.

I layered it parfait-style with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  And it looked pretty, see?

So, now that I feel good about my breakfast I’ll have to make something else healthy for lunch and dinner.  I feel confident I can do that.  But I’m also going back to the beach tonight for a long weekend.  Yikes.  And so my summer struggle will be keeping a healthy routine balanced with summer fun.  I’ll let you know how that goes…

~julie