Grapefruit Green Smoothie {YUM!}

This healthy bit of yumminess comes to you compliments of my wonderful sister-in-law, Laurel (who has her own awesome food blog: Memoir Munchies.

Thanks, Laurel. Another one I will have to try this week. (This list keeps growing).


Grapefruit Green Smoothie
1/2 ruby red grapefruit, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 cups fresh spinach, rinsed
1 apple, cored (I used honey crisp)
1/4 cup berries, optional
1/3 cup fruit juice (1 used 1/2 peeled orange)
1 TB ground flaxseed
Handful of ice, optional

Toss all ingredients into the blender. Blend and drink. Mmm.

Almond Cloud Cookies

This recipe comes to you from Weight Watchers, via my mom! :) I made them today - so easy. So little ingredients and so tasty!

They literally melt in your mouth. Recipe says it makes 60. My batch yielded about 45.
I cut the sugar to 2/3 of a cup. Still a bit much for a Weight Watchers cookie, but still, they are yummy and a nice alternative to a heavier cookie to serve as a dessert. If you are following WW, two cookies is 2 points. (That is going with the original recipe. I'm not sure how the decrease in sugar affects points, if at all).

ALMOND CLOUD COOKIES:
2 large egg white(s)
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup(s) sugar
1/2 cup(s) almonds, blanched, finely ground

Preheat oven to 250°F. Coat baking sheets with cooking spray; flour them lightly and shake off excess.
Beat egg whites, salt and cinnamon until soft peaks form. (The photo shows how stiff the peaks should be. I used my KitchenAide and beat the egg whites on high for quite a few minutes for the peaks to form).

Continue to beat while gradually adding the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in almonds.
Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake about 1 1/2 hours until firm and dry. (No, this is not a typo).
Store in airtight containers. Yields about 60 cookies; 2 cookies per serving.

The mind of an exerciser {and sometimes, a procrastinator}

Saturday morning. 930am.
Class at 10am.
So warm in bed with little Libby.
Hmm, maybe I can go another day?
Maybe take a later class?
I do not feel like going outside. It is 8 degrees.

Warm bed.
I can workout on my own.
No, I need to go. Get up. Get out. Go!
So don't wanna. I want to be lazy.

I worked out yesterday.
I'll go tomorrow. I promise.
{{Inner voice isn't happy...just get out the door, you will be happy once you are there.}}

Begrudgingly, I am up.
Workout clothes on.
Driving on auto-pilot. Still wish I was in bed with little Libby.
Who can resist her plea: "Lay with me, mommy?"

I arrive. Door opens. Music blaring. Waking me up. Others ready.
Others pushing themselves too.
Motivation.
Get moving. Give me a jog, a shuffle, a skip.
Get that blood flowing. I love this song.
Turn it up.
Move to the bags.
Strong moves - make them worth it.
Why are you here? To work! What do you want to do? Succeed!
Music gets louder. Instructor pushes, inspires, encourages.
I meet a neighbor - my partner for today.
Working hard - together. Achieving more.

Feeling AWESOME. Working harder. Accomplishing so much more than if I had stayed in bed.
Taking time for me - reaching a goal. Striving for more. Knowing I deserve it. And kicking ass and taking names.

THAT, my friends, is why everyone should work out!
Those first 5 minutes are often the hardest of all!

Have a great weekend!

Healthy crab cakes, yes please!

I have always loved crab cakes. Now, my kids? Not so much...but I'm trying this one this weekend, and they're gonna try em!

And if they don't like them, more for me. :)

Ingredients

• 3 (1-ounce) slices white bread
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
• Cooking spray

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place bread in food processor; process until coarse crumbs measure 1 1/2 cups. Combine breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients (through crabmeat). Divide crab mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a 1-inch-thick patty.
3. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 patties; cook 1 minute on each side. Remove from pan; place on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining 3 patties. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated and golden.

~From Cooking Light {love this mag!}

So many people inspire me...

Yesterday, I received a very exciting email in my IN box. It was from the managing editor of American Fitness Magazine, with great news that they were interested in having me write an article for an upcoming issue of their magazine.

If you are a writer, you know how awesome this is.

I have been a writer, in some way, shape or form, since high school. I've written personally and professionally for newspapers, blogs, trade publications, my OWN blog and wow, now a fitness magazine.

I am humbled to think that someone out there sees something in me to take a chance on letting me publish in their publication.

That means I get a byline...wow...I haven't had one of those since my newspaper reporter days.

:) So I'm thinking that my topic will be on what inspires me...I think that I am in a great spot personally to write about something like that. But it will be hard to narrow the topic down. I mean, so many things inspire me:

My kids
My husband
My mom
My sister, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law and brothers.

Beyond my family:
So many women I met through my years at Body Boutique. They are amazing.
Watching someone set a goal for him or herself and then WORK to meet it.
Those who persevere through sickness, sadness & death of someone close to them.
Parents who play with their kids.
Kids who work hard - in school, sports, music, song, dance.

Really - I'm really not sure how I will rope all of this into a 200-word article.

But I'm going to try. And thanks to everyone who HAS inspired me...you know who you are. :)

All the best in health!

...then again, I'd eat peanut sauce on anything...

Happy Monday~
Today, in my search for healthy snack options {Natalie would be so proud} I stumbled upon the following: a broccoli & peanut sauce recipe.

Could this be? I LOVE {uncooked} broccoli and I LOVE LOVE LOVE peanut sauce {thanks to my dear friend Anh }...so how could I go wrong with the combination? :)

So here is the recipe, compliments of www.snack-girl.com. Let me know what you think! :)

Broccoli and Peanut Sauce Recipe

(serves 6)
2 pounds broccoli
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar (unseasoned will work)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 minced garlic clove (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Separate broccoli into stems and florets. Peel and chop stems. Steam broccoli in a steamer over boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes (or your favorite way to cook broccoli). Mix peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic, and ginger in a small bowl.

If you keep your peanut butter in the refrigerator, you will probably need to heat it for 30 seconds to get it to mix with the other liquids. Stir vigorously until combined. Serve broccoli with peanut sauce in small bowl on the side. Enjoy!

For one serving = 123 calories, 6.0 g fat, 13.9 g carbohydrates, 7.3 g protein, 4.6 g fiber, 372 mg sodium, 3 PointsPlus

Change = Just what the doctor ordered

Hi all - Another great day. A challenging workout and then a consultation with a friend who begins working with me TOMORROW! :) I'm really excited about it, for a variety of reasons.

The big reason? We both are inviting change into our lives. How? By changing our workouts around, trying new things, exploring "unchartered" waters, so to speak.

I know my body is already thanking me for the change I'm giving it. I hope that I, too, can help facilitate change in my dear friend! :)

Even though I fall prey to being this way, I'm still surprised by the number of people who workout at the same time every day, doing the same workouts, to the same music, and many times, performing the same exercises over and over again.

And yet, people {myself included} expect to see continuous changes in their shape, their fitness level, etc. However, if they are like me, they probably stopped seeing results after the first couple of months.

There is one word that can help with burnout & injury - VARIETY! Changing things up will keep you away from boredom, the DREADED plateau and will help you prevent injuries.

But variety doesn't have to mean changing everything at once! Everything in moderation, remember? Perhaps you can change some of the variables with your workouts - sets, reps, rest times, weight selection, etc.

Other variables that will enable you to change your workout experience include the music you listen to, who you exercise with, the time of day you exercise, location, muscles worked, etc. Changing some of these things will help you keep your workout experience FRESH!

Remember, for your body to keep changing, your program has to keep changing. So all you marathoners, take a swim. All you swimmers, go for a run. All you class attendees, get on your bike. All you cyclists, get into a kick-butt fitness class {and I know a club that offers some GREAT ONES!!}

Change = good. :)
So, what changes will you implement THIS week?

All the best in health!