Sunday Circuit – Daylight Savings Edition

Time to Spring Ahead!  I don’t know about you, but I am more than ready for some warm weather and beach time!  Here is a full-body heart rate circuit to put some spring into your step and burn some fat.

5 min warm-up of your choice (I like foam rolling and a few minutes of spinning)

1. 15 squats + OH press (DB or RB)

2. 10 pushup jacks

3. 15 alternating reverse lunges

4. 10 Bent-over high rows (DB or RB)

5. 15 prone hip lifts (with feet on floor, chair, or stability ball, depending on fitness level)

6. 10 Russian twists

7. 1 minute fast step ups (use bottom step of stairs in your house)

Rest 1-2 minutes

Do as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

*Remember, if you have not been exercising regularly or have any medical conditions or injuries that you should complete a PAR-Q before doing intense physical activity. Always warm up and listen to your body throughout the workout.

Circuit Sunday – 03-01-2015

Thank heavens March is finally here!  Let’s celebrate the end of February – with burpies!  Just kidding. Let’s skip the burpies today and have some fun.

Home Workout:

• 15 pop squats
• 10 bent over rows (resistance band or dumbells)
• 15 SB passes (for your core)
• 10 alternating reverse lunges (resistance band or dumbells)
• 15 triceps extensions (pulldowns with resistance band or kickbacks with dummbells)
• 10 skaters (each side)
• Plank hold as long as possible
• Rest 2-3 min between rounds

Repeat 3-5 times

Frugal February -Week 4 Menu & Shopping List

Week 4 of my Frugal Challenge is finally here and I can’t wait to see February go!  It’s been a cruel, cold month up here in Ontario and I am longing for spring flowers and playing outside!

Last week I wasn’t as organized as I wanted to be so this week I made a menu, selected recipes, and made a shopping list.  This one is vegetarian and has simple meals that are easy, healthy, and delicious.  It does take some time to do this kind of planning but I find it leads to less food waste (and money waste) and saves time during the week because I’ve already decided what I’m eating which makes packing lunches easier.

Check out my menu for the week:  Emily’s Menu – Week 4

Stay warm! Spring is on its way!

Circuit Sunday – 02-22-15

Here is a short circuit workout that you can do at home:

Warm-up:

Start with a 5 min warm-up using light cardio, foam rolling, etc.

Main Set:

• 10 burpees (or bodyweight squats)
• 9 plank crawlers
• 8 jumping jacks
• 7 squat jumps
• 6 pushups
• 5 alternating lunges
• 4 Russian twists
• 3 triceps dips
• 2 bicycle crunches
• 1 plank hold (30s)

Repeat 5 times!

*Please use common sense before and during exercise. If you are not sure that you are safe to do certain movements then get permission from your healthcare professional first.

Pan-Cooked Lentil Burger Recipe

This was one of the recipes I made last week.  It turned out really well and I am definitely going to make them again. They are great on buns with toppings like a regular burger but I also cut some up for salads. They would also be good for tacos and sandwiches. My toddler really liked them too which is always a good sign! Enjoy the recipe!

Yield: 12 burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw red lentils (soaked for 4 hours or overnight in water)
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 onion
• 1/2 cup cashews or peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Drain water from soaked lentils. Put lentils into a food processor and dice until smooth. Scoop into a medium bowl.
2. Dice onion with oats, cashews, and rice in the food processor (If using peanut butter you can add it directly to the lentil burger mixture in the mixing bowl). Add to the bowl and stir together.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the burger mixture and stir through.
4. Heat olive oil (or coconut oil) in a pan on the stove on medium heat. Use spoon to scoop batter onto the pan and shape into burgers.  It is a little stickier than a hamburger but they cook up nicely and I didn’t have any trouble with them falling apart 🙂
5. Cook 4-5 minutes/side or until cooked through.
6. Enjoy however you want!

Nutrition Info for 1 burger (using USDA Nutrient Database):

Calories 132; Protein 4.8g; Carbs 12g; Fat 4.4g

Frugal February Challenge Week 1 – How did it go?

Week 1 of my Frugal February Challenge went pretty well!

I tried to take pictures of everything but wow – that takes a lot of effort to do that!  I definitely ate more than what is in the pictures.  Not in a stuff-my-face-and-try-to-hide-it kind of way.  More in a I’m-really-craving-some-hummus-and-veggies-and-I-am-too-lazy-to-take-a-picture kind of way. I actually lost 2 lb this week 🙂

I haven’t been a big fan of tracking my food intake since I competed in a Fitness America Pageant forever ago but I actually did find tracking helpful to see patterns. For example, on Wednesday I didn’t eat my afternoon snack that I took to work and Thursdays I teach in the afternoon so I find that I get distracted and often don’t eat lunch.  This week I am going to try to have lunch before my class and bring a shake for the break (which will allow me to still answer questions and discuss with students compares to say, a salad.  I am going to be a little more diligent with using myfitnesspal to track my nutrition as well – it is SO easy to forget what you eat!

In terms of the budget plan, I caved yesterday and bought Tim Horton’s coffee for me and my co-worker ($3.40) and I did have to go buy coffee this morning ($7.99 for a bag of Ethical Bean on sale) so I am a little over budget for the week now but I enjoy my coffee and sometimes sharing is caring, especially after a long week of grant writing and editing.

Anyway, here is a run down of what I ate this week:

I will post some recipes I made this week in separate posts after I do some marking…

Have a lovely Saturday!

Frugal February – How to Price Match at the Grocery Store

I am ready to start my Frugal February Fitness Challenge!

Here’s a little video I made about my grocery shopping/ price matching prep for tomorrow.  A huge thanks to my friend Coupon Christine for showing me her money-saving ways a couple years ago!  Sharing is caring!