Ab & Cardio Circuit

 So many "fitspos" get scrutinized these days for posting their gym or workout selfie. It takes A LOT of courage to lay it all out there and post a workout selfie, so I just want to give praise to those that do so. I also want to advocate that I am for the "gym selfie" because these pictures enable you to literally watch your progress as well as keep yourself accountable. I think taking progress pictures is extremely important if you lift weights because although the number on the scale may not change much, you can still see the physical changes your body is making. Yes, posting a picture can be extremely nerve-racking, but starting this blog and laying everything out there for the world to see has been so rewarding. So if you are someone contemplating posting a progress picture or even a picture when you are just starting out, know I support you 100%!! 

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              Abs and Cardio Circuit:

7 minutes of abs- AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) 

20 leg lifts

20 bicycles

20 V ups

50 mountain climbers

5 minutes of sprints

:30 sprint

:30 rest

7 minutes of abs-AMRAP

30 Sit ups with a twist (15 each side)

40 scissor kicks

20 weighted sit ups

20 reverse crunch

                   

                      5 minutes of sprints

                            :30 sprint 

                             :30 rest

                           REPEAT

   Total ab work time: 30 minutes

       Total cardio: 20 minutes

Chocolate Chips Cookies

Ingredients:

-1 cup oat flour

-1/4 cup almond flour

-1/8 tsp sea salt 

-1/4 cup coconut oil (softened not melted)

-1/4 cup honey

-1/4 tsp baking soda

-1/2 packet sweetener packet

-1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl

3. Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl

4. Combine ingredients and mix well

5. Bake for 15 minutes

Healthy Banana Bread

Ingredients:

- 1 cup oat flour

-1/2 cup rolled oats

-1/4 tsp cinnamon

-3 ripe bananas

-1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

- 2 eggs

-1/4 cup coconut sugar (can omit)

-1/8 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp baking powder

-1/2 cup walden farms syrup (honey or sweetener of choice)

- enjoy life chocolate chips

                            Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Combine all wet ingredients in a bowl

3. In another bowl, combine all dry ingredients

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well

5. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans

6. Bake for 45 minutes

7. Melt chocolate and drizzle on top 

Homemade Protein Bars

Icemaggedon here in Nashville has me baking like I'm Betty Crocker (but really)!  I am so excited about this recipe because I have a serious lack of groceries, but I really wanted to make some homemade protein bars. We clearly didn't prepare to be iced in... guess I'll be eating protein bars the rest of the day! 

For this recipe I was able to improvise and use the ingredients I happened to have in the pantry. I honestly didn't expect these bars/ bites to turn out so good, but I'm not complaining! Happy Snow (Ice) Day!! 

Ingredients:

- 1 scoop Vanilla Quest Protein (or protein of choice)

- 1 cup oat flour

- 1/2 cup oats 

- 1/4 cup coconut sugar

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (can omit)

- 4 Tbsp almond butter

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)

- enjoy life chocolate chips to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl (including a couple chocolate chips)

3. Mix all wet ingredients (almond butter, egg, almond milk) together in another bowl

4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well

5. Pour batter in greased loaf pan

6. Bake for 25 minutes

7. While loaf is cooling, melt 1/4 cup of enjoy life chocolate chips (or any chocolate chips) and drizzle over bars

8. Cut into pieces