Thursday, December 19, 2013

A Quick Recipe!

A few nights ago I went over to my friend Sam's house to bake and have my hair done and I offered to bring over something to eat for dinner so as not to waste any time. I threw this together quickly before running over there. My apologies for the lack of measuring. 

1. Saute veggies in olive oil and garlic. I used: zucchini, cauliflower, peppers and celery. You can seriously use whatever you want. I had the veggies chopped up from the night before when I was making curry. 

2. Add cooked chicken (I also cooked this the night before!).

3. In a bowl, mix 2-3 eggs with some extra egg whites. Clear a bit of a area in the middle of your pan with the veggies and chicken, and add the eggs to cook. 

4. Add quinoa and brown rice (Also had this cooked from the night before. See now why this was so easy? Prep!). 

5. Add a bit of soy sauce and pad thai sauce, pepper and mix well! I used PC pad thai sauce cause it was in the fridge. Clean? Not really. Delicious? Yep. 

Sam and her man both loved it, and my co-worker commented on how excellent it smelled. Dishes like this are insanely easy to throw together on a weeknight when you have things ready to go in the fridge. 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

A Healthy Eye Opener!

I've had a few eye openers lately that have made me realize that eating healthy is not as easy for everyone as it is for me. I forget that I've been doing this for so long now that it's second nature to me to food prep on Sundays and stock my cart with vegetables at the grocery store. It's made me realize that showing what I'm doing may not be enough, and a more step-by-step approach to getting healthier may be more helpful!

Seeing as the new year is coming, I'm hoping that this will be a good time to do it! I'm going to post tips in a few different posts so as not to make anything too overwhelming. Here's what I'm thinking...

1. Pantry staples (start stocking up now)
2. Grocery lists
3. Food prep
4. Meal plans
5. Easy go-to snacks and meals

This isn't about a diet. It's not about eating to lose weight. This is about eating to be healthy, which often leads to being happy!

Is there anything else you'd like to see a post on?

Friday, December 13, 2013

Winter Running Tips!

If you've read my about me page (which really needs updating), you know that I love running in the winter! Since I have started running outside again I thought I would share some of my tips for running outside in the winter...

1. Ease into it!
Even if you're really conditioned and have been running inside or in the warm weather, don't jump right into the cold in the middle of the winter. It's best to start running outside in the fall and ease into it to get your lungs accustomed to the cold weather. It's much harder to breathe (I find) in the cold . When I decided that I wanted to run this winter, I started up again before it got too cold!

2. Dress properly!
This one is a big deal - don't throw on sweat pants and a sweater and head out for a run. Years ago when I first decided I wanted to keep running through the winter months, I headed to a running store to talk to someone about what to wear. Here's what I had on this morning:
- A Nike Dry Fit Pro long sleeve shirt, (and my Nike sports bra)
- A Sugoi running shirt - it's lined with fleece. This layer doesn't have to be anything too intense, this is where you could put on a close-fitted sweater. 
- A Sugoi Cycling Jacket - again, this need not be anything intense, but this is my wind-breaker type layer. 
- Nike Dry Fit running pants. 
- (Not pictured) Lulu cropped pants - I don't always wear these, but it's about -15 here right now, so the extra layer is necessary!
- High socks - I need some like Taylor 
- Gloves
- Hat
- Sometimes I'll wear a scarf too
- My Polar watch, because I can't function without it.

The important thing to note here is that most of what is touching my skin is dry fit!

3. Wear bright colours!
This is especially important if you run in the morning (like me). Note my bright yellow running jacket - my mom bought this for me after getting sick of all my "I almost got hit by a car again today" stories. 

4. Run on the proper side of the road. 
Remember, run against traffic, cycle with traffic. I always stick to this when I run on the road, and in the winter I try to be diligent with it when I'm on sidewalks too. Never trust cars. 

5. Don't listen to music!!
I can't stress this one enough. It scares me when people run in the morning or at night with ear buds in. I used to do it but I stopped because I couldn't listen to music during my tris, and it's just not safe! It's SO important to be aware of your surroundings. 

6. Don't be a hero and be careful!
I've never believed that winter running is for setting PRs. It's slippery, it's hard on your body and it's cold!! I keep my runs short, and I run to keep myself safe. I walk when the ground is too uneven and covered in ice, and I go back inside if it's too cold. Be smart about it - if you walk outside and it's -25 and the world is a sheet of black ice, it's not worth it! 

7. Enjoy it!
Winter running is beautiful - what's prettier than snow?

Do you run in the winter?

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Turkey Vegetable Soup

Alright, I had my fun with my Christmas post (don't think it's the last!!), but I thought I should share one of my favourite soup recipes. I've said it before, I'll say it again - soup is one of the easiest and most delicious things to make! I know a lot of people that don't think it counts as a full meal. Trust me - this one makes a good meal. 
As always, this recipe is totally modifiable to your tastes. 

Turkey Vegetable Soup

1 lb lean ground turkey
taco seasoning
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
garlic
EVOO

1 cup carrots
1 cup broccoli slaw (or cabbage)
1 cup celery
1 cup onion
EVOO

6 cups chicken broth
1 can beans (I used chick peas)
1 can Italian diced tomatoes (no salt)
(1/2 cup cooked macaroni - you can add this, I didn't)

pepper
basil
Italian seasoning

Cook the turkey with the first group of ingredients. Chop up your vegetables and add to your soup pot to cook. Once softened, add the chicken broth, beans, tomatoes and turkey. Add any additional spices that you wish. This is where it's fun because you can keep taste-testing and adding more until it's perfect!
Enjoy!

Monday, December 9, 2013

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This isn't really a fitness/health related post, but I will play it up for being all about my balanced lifestyle. This weekend we had our Hak Family Christmas Day! It's the first annual one, and included a tree hunt, Christmas movies, a gingerbread decorating contest, and more movies. 
I started off my Saturday morning with a quick run, knowing that there would be a lot of food and drinks all day. After that we headed out to meet my parents, Bran and Alyssa at the tree farm! 
Lee and I found our tree within about 38.2 seconds. Please note the boots. My mom and I have been wearing these matching boots for YEARS. 
In true Hak family style, we brought our new shotski and some fireball whiskey with us for when we found my parents tree..


Allofus together!

We got home and had some delicious chili my mom had made, and then got to work on our gingerbread houses! We teamed up in couples, and things got serious! We opened up voting to friends and family after we were done.
Lee and I won with our Griswold House! Note the ladder, the RV and the tree stump :)
In second place was Bran and Lys with their Las Vegas display, as we're going there in April!

My mom and dad came in 3rd with their chalet bar - they actually stuck mini wheats on the side, and got fake snow from somewhere. 
Sunday morning I was up early and watched Arthur Christmas before breakfast. Once Lee and I got home we decorated our first tree, and I wrapped most of our presents!
Although the weekend was great, I always look forward to being back into a routine and some healthier eating. My stomach was NOT happy with me on Sunday morning at all!
This morning I got up and went for a quick run in the snow - stay tuned for tips later this week on winter running!

Is your tree up?
Does your family have Christmas traditions? 

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Keep up the Motivation!

Has anyone else been struggling with motivation lately? I think it's a common trend for this time of year. Being Canadian, I didn't just have Thanksgiving weekend, but it is cold here - especially at 5am when I leave for the gym!
I had a couple weeks that I was really struggling to want to go to the gym, so I thought I'd write a post about some tips for keeping it up!

1. If you need a break, TAKE ONE! If you've really lost motivation, you may be burning out and actually need the time away from the gym.  

2. Pick a workout program and stick to it. I'm on Week 4 of James Wilson's Body Earned and having the program to tell me when I need to workout is really helpful. I don't want to fall behind, so I go!

3. Try something new! Maybe you're just in a rut with your workouts and need to mix it up!

4. Set a goal or a task. This always gets me going (like my 23 mile challenge)! A lot of popular Instagrammers (is that a word?) post goals or tasks for the month, pick one and join! @ilikemyfitnesstaylored has one going on that I've been keeping my eye on. 

5. Go with a friend, or choose an accountability buddy!

6. Write down your schedule. I wrote down my workouts for the month in my planner - having it written down is like a commitment to yourself. 

7. Remember why you workout. You may be wearing more clothes now that it's winter, but you don't need to turn off your healthy lifestyle!

I hope these tips help a bit! In the end though, there's no sense beating yourself up over skipping a few workouts, life happens! And it's very hard to get to the gym when there are cookies to bake, trees to decorate and Christmas specials to watch. Speaking of cookies, another tip - treat yourself! Especially with Christmas treats, and even moreso if they're healthy! Like my chocolate muffins :)
I also wanted to share this, just for fun :)

Who makes everything better in your life?
How do you motivate yourself during the winter?

Monday, December 2, 2013

A Quick Recipe for Mama

I made these "energy balls" at Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, which was over a month ago) that I never shared the recipe for. My mama asked me tonight where the recipe came from, and rather than sending it to her on BBM, I figured I may as well share what I remember here quickly!

1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup almond flour
2 tbsp flax
shredded coconut (2-4 tbsp)
chocolate chips
2 tbsp no sugar added maple syrup
2 tbsp honey
vanilla

Mix everything together and put in the fridge to cool for 20-30 minutes. Roll into balls and enjoy!
Now that she's reminded me of this, I'm going to try different Christmas variations! 

Chocolate Muffins!

Guys. I have to apologize. I've been holding out on you. On Wednesday night I made a new chocolate muffin recipe, and I'm only just sharing it now. In my defense, I had an unfortunate 3 days, but it's no excuse. These muffins are AMAZING!
I was confused by this recipe, but I decided to give it a shot anyway:

1/2 cup sweetener
3/4 cup oat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
i cup unsweetened applesauce 
1 tsp vanilla
chocolate chips (desired amount)

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients together and divide between 8 parchment paper lined muffin cups. Bake 20-22 minutes. 

ENJOY!

I also started my 23 mile run challenge Sunday morning! While I was running I was proud to think that I got up at 6:30am on a Sunday to head for a run before going to meet up with my cousin. 5km done!