Husband approved Homemade Granola bars

I haven't posted for a long time.  A lot happened between now and Oct (my last post).  I am now 25 weeks pregnant and the first Trimester + a little of the second trimester were not very kind to me.  I was trying to take care of my 1.5 year old and stay out of bed.  I was so exhausted and my whole digestive system shut down and lead to some days where I spent the whole day in bed and in and out of the bathroom.  Since about week 16 I have been doing really well.  I have continued to exercise 6 days a week.  I usually rotate jogging, cycling and weight lifting.  I only had a few days in the first trimester that my exercise was cut short due to sickness problems.  I believe that bc I exercised throught my first pregnancy I bounced back quickly and I am hoping that with baby #2 it will be the same!

Anyways I wanted to share my healthy granola recipe because my husband loves it and I get a treat that is healthy for me and my baby.  Most granola bars you purchase from the store have tons of ingredients that you don't even know, so I love that this is 3 ingredients (optional more if you want to add some other items)

1 C Peanut Butter
1/2 C Honey
3 C Oats.

Over the stove cook melt peanut butter and honey together.  Once melted remove and add oats.  Put the mixture in a 9x9 pan and put in fridge to cool. Once cooled cut in bars and eat! (got recipe from Pinterest)

Options
I like to melt a handful of Chocolate chips on top.


Other Options to add
shredded coconut
craisins (raisins)
nuts of any kind.

I'll add a picture next time I make them.

Best Eggs Ever

Cottage Cheese Scrambled Eggs

1 Serving
2 eggs
1 egg white (optional)
1/4 cup cottage cheese
Scramble eggs, just before they are cooked to your liking add cottage cheese and salt and pepper

Totally protein packed and super yummy.

Cottage Cheese Salsa Eggs  - more meal like
2 to 3 servings ( if this is your main course)
7 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup salsa
1 handful spinach ( I chop mine into smaller pieces)

Scramble eggs to your liking add cottage cheese, salsa, spinach, salt and pepper.

Homemade Egg Sandwich

5 eggs(could do a mix of egg whites and eggs)
Salt Pepper
Kraft Singles
2 or 3 English muffins(3) or Bagels(2)

Scramble eggs, toast muffin or bagel and butter, place cheese on top and eggs on the bottom, sandwich together!

Why eggs - Eggs have lots of protein and vitamins. Vitamins include vitamin A, potassium, vitamin B, folic acid, choline and biotin.  Vitamins A, B and folic acid is great for women wanting to get pregnant, pregnant women and nursing women.  Really it is good to all, but I know I needed more of these vitamins when I was in all of these stages.

Good Motivational Quote

Saw this quote today on Pinterest! Love it!!

I think so many people think I exercise to be skinny, but that is sooo not the case.  I exercise to be fit, because I love it, it is one of my passions, and because it is healthy to do.  I won't lie that I sometimes don't want to see the scale go up whether it is due to muscle or not, I think as a women we are all slaves to a scale every once in a while, but it is good to remember that we should be exercising and eating healthy to simply be healthy! Skinny is not always healthy!

No more boring bike rides!

Here is a routine I like to do.  Sometimes I don't have the attention span or desire to just ride my bike for 30 minutes straight so this breaks it up a little bit and give you some good strength training moves as well as helps to get your heart up and pumping!!

If you have a chance to do this, let me know what you think.  I end up sweating tons more when I do this. Sometimes when I just ride the bike I get lazy and don't push myself.  This definitly will get you to want to turn up the resistance.

Teaching Young Girls about Fitness and Health

Yesterday I taught a group of girls ranging from age 8-12 about the importance of eating healthy and staying active.  It was a lot of fun.  I started by playing a game of jeopardy and asking questions in these categories.  Fruits/Veggies, Milk &Protein, Exercise, Miscelleanous.  My questions were things like What Vegtable is know for helping your eye sight, What does eating protein do for you body, What kinds of exercises build muscle in your body, and What fluid should you be drinking plenty of each day.  The girls had a lot of fun answering these questions.  Some were easy and some they struggled with, but as they answered the questions I discussed why we should be eating healthy and exercising.  After the game I shared with them why I am so passionate about exercising and trying to eat healthy.

I told them that I had a few reasons, but 1 reason was because I enjoy exercise and how I feel after I exercise.  The second reason I Shared with them is very personal.  My grandmother who passed away several years ago and who I love love with all my heart had an influence on why I try to stay healthy.  My grandmother had diabetes and arthritis for these reasons it made it very hard for her to get around and do all the things I know she would have loved to do.  As a young girl, probably the age of the girls I was teaching, I decided that I didn't want that to happen to me.  I wanted to be able to see my children and grandchildren grow up.  I wanted to be able to go to there sporting events and or other functions I would be invited to.  My grandmother as she got old had a harder time getting out of the house and one of the last times she left the house was to my wedding.  I am soo soo happy she made it to my wedding and I cherish the picture I have of her and my grandpa with me on that day. So I told the girls that they should strive to be healthy so they too and see their children and their childrens children grow up and enjoy life.  This is a passion of mine and I hope that I can influence others to be healthy.

At the end of my teaching them we played a fun relay game.  I had the girls run from one side of the gym and do the following

20 Hula Hoop

5 push-up

10 squats

10 jumping jacks

If you want some good entertainment have a group of 8-12 year olds do push-ups and squats!!

Saturday Cross fit with the Hubby!!

                                 

My husband and I are always coming up with new challenging work outs.  On Friday night we watched a re-run of the 2013 Cross fit games.  The next morning he came up with this routine for us.  We timed ourselves and are going to keep doing it and see if we can beat our times.  We are also getting our white board soon to hang up in our home gym so we can keep track of all of our times on it.

My time for this routine was 22 minutes.

I used 55lbs for the deadlifts and 10lb dumbells for the overhead presses.  I pushed myself on the runs and was doing less than a 7 minute mile for the last mile. Push yourself to your max on this.  I think next time I need to increase the weights!  My time may  not decrease, but I think I can handle more weight.

Green Smoothie

Here is my quick and easy green smoothie recipe.

1/3 C light V8 splash

1/3 C almond milk

1/2 Banana

1 C frozen fruit, I use the great value strawberries, peaches, mango, pineapple blend

1 container light and fit strawberry greek yogurt

1 handful spinach

5 ice cubes

Blend altogether for a yummy breakfast, lunch, dinner or treat!  I share this with my 1 year old and she loves it.  Total calories is 237, I give her about a 1/3 of it so for me it is about 170 calories.

I know it would be better to juice my own mix instead of using V8 splash, but I have been lazy and really hate cleaning out my juicer.  Plus it is also cheaper, that is the accountant in me talking.