Work It Out: Fab Abs

June 18, 2013 By Laura

Just because I’m lying around on my back doesn’t mean YOU get to slack.

Seriously, can some one workout for me?

Today’s Work It Out is by one of the most bad-ass ladies I know – Shannon! This woman is a corporate power house by day and a hard-core fitness instructor and general healthy living role model. In short, my hero.

Check out her killer core workout (please do it for me!!!), and then her delicious-looking #strangebutgood salad!

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Fab Abs: Made in the Kitchen, Sculpted on the Mat

Hello, Sprint readers! I love Laura’s blog as much as all of you, so I am pumped to bring a little Badass Fitness over here!

Laura’s figure competitions have got me thinking more seriously than ever about crossing that fitness feat off my bucket list, and I know her focus in training is often that six-pack she wants to show off to the judges. She’s also a master of the eating necessary to compete.

So today’s post is all about making fabulous abs and powerful cores in the kitchen…and in the gym, Badass Fitness style!

First, we work those bellies. Then we feed them – the HEALTHY way, with a Big-Ass Badass Lunch Bowl that veers into #StrangeButGood territory.

My bootcamps, core classes and personal workouts tend to be fast-paced and intense, making the most of every minute. But hey, the good news is, they are done before you know it! And the results rock.

This workout is an intense core routine, with ZERO traditional crunches, which are among the least effective ways to build true core strength and tone. All you need is a mat, a timer, and a little mojo. If you’re not sure about any of the moves, head over to my YouTube channel for demo videos.

Fab Abs Circuit

(click each for video demos)

15 Walkout Planks with Pushup
15 Walking Planks
10 Slow Push-ups
30 Waist Cinchers
30 seconds of Side Plank Crunches right, then 30 seconds left
30 second V-sits
20 Pull-Ins
15 Starfish Crunches right, 15 left
20 Bicycle Crunches

**Repeat 1-2 more times! Abs on FIRE!**

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Now, let’s EAT!

I created this #StrangeButGood egg scramble with several items in my fridge, plus a ripe plantain that begged to be eaten and a Calabaza squash gifted to me by a bootcamp student (they know how to steal my heart, and candy need not apply!).

I had no idea if this would taste good, but I went for it anyway. It turned out Amaze-Balls, so try it for yourself!

#StrangeButGood Sweet Savory Plantain-Calabaza Egg Scramble

½ ripe plantain, sautéed in 1 Tbsp coconut oil and 1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 cup of cubed Calabaza (or buttercup, kabocha, acorn, etc.) squash, roasted until tender with 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, cinnamon, sea salt
2 cups collard greens, sautéed with minced garlic, ½ of a diced onion, 1 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 eggs, whisked
½ onion, diced
½ cup shredded carrots
1 Tbsp. almond butter

Saute the plantains, set aside.
Ditto the collard greens.
If you haven’t yet, roast the squash with the cinnamon, coconut oil and sea salt at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until golden and tender. Mash the squash a bit and set aside.
Heat the tablespoon of coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and shredded carrots, sautéing until onions are translucent. Add in the eggs and scramble.
While the eggs are still runny, add in collards, plantains, and squash and keep scrambling it all together until eggs are cooked through.
Top with the almond butter and mix it in, then EAT as you savor the #StrangeButGood!

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I wish Shannon could come whip me back into shape in a few weeks… 🙂

What is your favorite core move?

What’s the strangest recovery bowl you’ve ever made?

Hotel Food + WIAW

June 12, 2013 By Laura

This community blows me away.

That tickles my ta-tas.

All joking aside, I am so, so appreciative of everyone who stopped by and left supportive comments about yesterday’s announcement. I was fully expecting to get slammed by at least a few people, but I didn’t get the first negative comment! It is a personal choice and everyone seemed to acknowledge it.

My mom was surprised I posted about it, but I’m not going to act like I magically grew boobs overnight (wouldn’t it be cool if there was a boob fairy?) and randomly decided to take a break from working out. Keeping it real, y’all.

On top of all that, no one asked awkward questions! I guess you guys are more polite than I am. 😀

What I did love were comment from those of you who’ve had it done. I am really nervous about the recovery and you made me feel a LOT better.

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This day of WIAW is actually a day and a half-ish. I was traveling for work, and due to storms on the East coast I ended up spending 8.5 hours in the Atlanta airport. Preparation saved me.

Check out my travel eats below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see what everyone else is enjoying!

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Airport Snack 1:

I knew I’d need to eat one meal in the airport, so I’d come prepared with a crab salad. This was just crab, red bell pepper, raw zucchini, nutritional yeast, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and black pepper.

The best part is the utensil I found at a fast food place to eat it with: a spork!!!

Airport Dinner:

Having to eat this meal in the airport was a surprise. Delta delayed my flight over and over before they finally cancelled it. In total, I spent 8.5 hours in the Atlanta airport. I (finally) made it out, but on another airline.

I always travel with emergency tuna packets and random spices in my bag. The little Ms. Dash was obtained from a cafeteria on a previous work trip. The salad was purchased from Quizno’s in the airport.

Hotel Surprise:

That night when I (finally) arrived in the hotel I had a surprise waiting for me:

Hotel Zasa‘s turn-down service includes a rice krispy treat!!! It was delish, but I managed to stop at half and eat an apple taken from their gym.

Pro Tip: Hotel gyms almost always have a fruit bowl. Perfect place to grab a free snack.

Pre-Workout:

Normally I eat before liftingin the morning, but I’d gotten in and had my snack so late I wasn’t starving. I DID have my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos). It turns out that you can get through security with a small container of apple cider vinegar.

Totally patted myself on the back for this one.

Despite the late night I was motivated to go after seeing it the night before. There were chandeliers in the workout room!!! I’m also motivated by the fast that today is my last workout before surgery. I’m trying to enjoy it while I can!

Side note: The women in the background was with my client. We hadn’t met in person before, so I didn’t realize it until the meeting started a few hours later.

Breakfast:

Our meeting began early in the morning, so breakfast was supplied in part by the hotel. I got berries, eggs with some onions and red pepper, and a strip of bacon. The eggs weren’t good (hotel eggs never are), so I mainly ate bacon and fruit. And my own little #strangebutgood creation: chocolate protein powder mixed with coffee. Mocha protein pudding!

Mid-Morning Snack:

We had a working snack time. The hotel brough in mixed nuts and fruit. These nut mixes are salty and have those totally unhealthy little crackers in them. I enjoyed every bite.

I stole the mint garnish for the pic. #sorryimnotsorry

Lunch:

More hotel meeting food. I took the meat out of some dried out tortillas and ate it with the pico and guac. Only ate a few bits of the dry rice. Have I mentioned I dislike meeting-food?

Afternoon Snacks:

I would normally have eaten the tuna here, but Friday’s delay threw me off. I did have this mini Recharge bar leftover from Blend schwag bags. It was pretty good!

There were also the obligatory pretzels on the (delayed) fight while I worked away. I got over the Biscoff addiction, but can never say no to pretzels.

Dinner:

I was desperation hungry by the time I finally got home. I did have some veggies on hand, so I thawed a veggie burger and used collard greens to make a “taco.” The stuff on top was parsnip rice mixed with diced cucumber, basil, nutritional yeast, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, and pepper.

Dessert:

Since I’m having surgery on Thursday, I can’t eat after midnight Wednesday. And my surgery isn’t until 1p!!! Obviously, I am already worried about being hungry. Despite a late dinner, I had a double size Carrot Cake Protein Batter… after eating a lot of unpictured Muesli Fusion (also from Blend) straight out the bag. Bam.

It topped with with cacao nibs and peanut flour fluff (I do random peanut flour mixes – this one was with almond milk, flax, cinnamon, and chocolate stevia).

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While I’m recovering I have a few guest posts lined up… I know people sometimes ~~ignore~~ skim those, but as I got through them I’m really hoping you will take a sec to read. They are awesome! I even have a guest #strangebutgood for Friday. 🙂

Have you ever used a spork?

Honesty. Always the best policy? I sometimes wish I had a 5 second delay on my mouth…

Strawberry Fields Forever

June 10, 2013 By Laura

Let me take you down…

Random fact: I listened to The Beatles religiously high school.

I’ve been religiously adding berries to everything lately. You’ve seen these if you follow me on Instagram, but here’s round up of some marvelous strawberry creations last week.

You may have noticed that I love to add fruit to seafood. Most of the time it’s in the form of a salmon creation
(Like salmon and peaches. Try it.) Last week I was on a crab bender, and so this salad was born:

Crab and Strawberry Salad

Crab meat
Strawberries, sliced
Basil
Balsamic
Lime juice
Pepper
Paprika

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Strawberries are also good for breakfast! Friday morning I treated myself with a breakfast pizza. Normally this would involve yolk porn, but I was out.

Instead, I made a creamy spread by blending my cottage cheese, and used bacon and strawberries as toppings. The kicker was the fig balsamic glaze I’ve been adding to everything.

Strawberry Breakfast Pizza

Flatbread or pizza crust (I used P28)
1/4 C no-salt cottage cheese
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp almond extract
3-4 drops liquid stevia
Strawberries
Bacon, pre-cooked and broken into “sprinkles”
Optional toppings: hemp seeds, cacao nibs, balsamic

Top pizza and place in oven under broil for a few mins.

Sprinkle with hemp seeds, cacao nibs, balsamic… or other toppings of choice!

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Lastly, we must have strawberries on dessert! My #1 favorite “healthy” dessert is my 150 Calorie Chocolate Cake. Who knew 2 minutes in the microwave could produce such a perfectly moist individual cake?! I followed my original recipe, but used mashed sweet potato in place of the apple sauce. I think I’ll be doing that from now on – it was fabulous!

For the strawberry topping, I simply mashed up some fresh berries in a bowl, added a tiny bit of balsamic, and microwaved it to warm. The heat juices the berries even more, making for a delicious fruit syrup.

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One more thing… I’m now a strawberry blonde! I went lighter for the summer. Yes, my hair color is seasonal. Holla at Karen and Lava Hair Studio.

How’s that for a berry Marvelous Monday? Check out all of the Monday Marvels at Katie’s linkup!

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I have a little announcement tomorrow… I’m a little nervous about it, but I’m all about being real. Suspense.

What is your favorite way to use strawberries (other than plain)?

Do you change your hair or something about your “look” seasonally?

Strange But Good: Butternut, Collard & Tomato Wrap (BCT)

June 7, 2013 By Laura

Get excited. The mystery breakfast is about to be revealed.

You were holding your breath, I know… 😉

I loved seeing all of the guesses on Instagram and in Wednesday’s post comments. They gave me a ton of ideas for new iterations! It wasn’t quinoa, TVP, chickpeas, or tofu… however, you can easily make it vegan with any of those subs.

This creation was two days in the imagining process. It started as a BLT in a collard wrap and by the time I actually got into the kitchen it had become a Butternut, Collard & Tomato Wrap. Thinking of my Sweet Potato Pan-lette from my very first #strangebugood post, it further evolved into an egg-laced scramble.

Mashed butternut squash creates quite the voluminous scramble when combined with egg! That subtly sweet squash with a few fun spices provides you with a fluffy flavor explosion, all ~~neatly~~ wrapped in a giant, raw collard leaf.

The nutritional yeast adds the “cheese” factor, while the tomato adds to the Indi-Mex (that my new food style – Indian and Mexican fusion) flavor profile. Now that we all know that sesame seeds, garlic, and basil are detoxifying, I was sure not to leave those out of the mix.

I couldn’t help myself – I added some turkey to the scramble for even more protein. Like I said above, any of the guesses would make excellent subs to keep this dish meat-less.

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Butternut, Collard & Tomato Wrap (BCT)

1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 C butternut squash, mashed
1 egg white
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp black pepper
Pinch of cinnamon
Juice of 1/4 lime
1 small tomato, diced
1/4 C basil, chopped

Optional: turkey or other protein
Raw collard greens

In a pan, lightly toast sesame seeds until golden. Set aside.

Meanwhile, mash butternut squash in a bowl. Add egg while and scramble together. Add garlic, nutritional yeast, and spices, stirring to combine.

Place mixture in a coated or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Scramble as you would an egg, cooking until mixture begins to fluff (this indicated the egg white is cooked).

Add lime juice, tomato, basil, and any desired proteins. Cook 2-3 mins more, until warmed through.

Remove from heat and scoop butternut mixture into collards. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

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How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week?

The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends!

Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

Loading InLinkz …

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I know my site has had some issues loading, and I apologize for that! It will come up eventually… I’m working to get it sorted out ASAP. Technical stuff isn’t my specialty. #strangebutnotgood

Do you ever go to bed thinking about a breakfast idea? It’s my version of counting sheep.

Have you ever had squash or sweet potato for breakfast?

Getting Schooled at the Food & Wine Festival

June 6, 2013 By Laura

Food & Wine is about more than stuffing your face.

Though you know from my last post on the topic that I stuffed it well.

My favorite feature of Atlanta’s Food & Wine Festival is the focus on education. Each day of the festival begins with classes led by well-known Southern chefs and libation experts. You get to choose 3 per day from a long list. Proof that life is full of tough choices.

My friend Rich and Me

My strategy was to choose classes that were diverse. The amount of time I spent creating my schedule is embarrassing, but in the end it paid off!

Without rambling on (hopefully), I want to share some photos and takeaways from a few of those classes.

This Little Piggy Got Spicy

This class was taught by Chef Asha Gomez, a lady I admire and respect (she inspired me to try curry leaves!). She owns Cardamom Hill, one of the best Indian restaurants in Atlanta. She focuses on cuisine from her home-region of Kerala. It’s much different that the spicy curry dishes many associate with Indian food!

I especially love Asha’s mentality when it comes to trying new things:

I will never walk away from a fruit, vegetable, or spice that I am not familiar with. I will always pick it up and try it.

Pork Vindaloo

While some of her dishes may seem like fusion, she prefers to call it evolution. Her fried chicken recipe is one her mother made back in India!
Curry powder is a Western thing; in India curry simply means that something is braised with a sauce
Classic Indian spices are black pepper, cardamom, and ginger; cumin and red chili pepper were introduced later by foreign merchants
There is no naan in Kerala – gluten is not produced there so their main carb is rice
The smaller the pepper, the spicier it is (I can’t believe I never realized this, but SO true)
To learn the nuances of a spice, blanch a vegetable it in it

Fresh Start

Chef Nathan Lyon taught this clean eating course. You may be familiar with his series on Discovery Health, A Lyon in the Kitchen, or from his appearance on The Next Food Network Star.

Summer Squash Salad

When you salt food, do it from high up; this allows the salt to be distributed more evenly
Sea salt is better than table salt (duh), and you can use less of it
You don’t need to spend a ton of money on a variety of knives, rather have a couple of favorites and keep them sharp
His focus on eating seasonally was best demonstrated with a delicious gazpacho-esque smoothie combo (that I forgot to take a pic of): watermelon, tomatoes, jalapeno, parsley, mint, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, red wine vinegar, and freshly squeezed lemon juice

Beer & Doughnuts

Beer Director Greg Elbert and Pastry Chef Tiffany MacIsaac (read: doughnut genius) from Birch & Barley and GBD Chicken & Donuts in Washington DC blew my mind with this session. Who knew beer would be so tasty for breakfast?!

Beers sampled:

Gose – old German beer style from Leipzig, unfiltered wheat beer, crispness and low hop, hints of coriander
Allagash Curieux – this is Allagash’s Tripel Ale in Jim Beam bourbon barrels, amber color, soft and flavorful, yeast and vanilla upfront with hints of tasty bourbon at the end (this was my favorite)
Avery Anniversary Twenty – new release (we were the frist in GA to try it), copper color, super hoppy IPA, citrus sweetness, surprisingly not bitter

Doughnuts sampled:

Passion Fruit glazed, churro-style
Classic yeast doughnut with a chocolate pudding filling, topped with chocolate glaze, maldon salt, and Cocoa Krispies
Sour cream doughnut with a grapefruit and campari glaze

Like wine, the best pairing is the one that tastes good to you
What tastes good to me is the Allagash Curieux with the chocolate yeast doughnut or the grapefruit glazed
When pairing food and drink, “make sure the impact matches” (this is why we typically don’t drink a light white wine with a T-bone steak)

Aged to Delicious Bourbon and Cheese

Led by Tim Gaddis of Atlanta’s Star Provisions and Seth Thompson of The Bourbon Review magazine, this session was a boozy treat. At least it was after noon at this point. To be honest I think all cheeses go with bourbon… I was an easy sell.

The Bourbons:

Blanton’s Single Barrel – amber color, lots of citrus on the nose, nice caramel and clove taste
Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey – reddish gold color, more oak and leather in taste, some vanilla
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked – dark copper color, tons of butterscotch up front, deepens to a warm and woody finish (easily my #1)
Four Roses Small Batch – amber color, lighter with more caramel and fruit on the finish

There isn’t much in terms of education notes to share here – you really have to experiment at home!

The cheeses were all scrumptious – we sampled Sweet Grass Dairy’s Green Hill Cow’s Milk, Ossau Inaty Sheep’s Milk, Rogue Blue, and Gouda. I’d had all but one before (I love cheese, what can I say?).

The one I hadn’t tried was actually my favorite! It was a Aged 5 Year Gouda. It wasn’t smoked – it was a deliciously sweet butterscotch/caramel flavor that sung when paired with the Woodford.

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One other note: don’t be afraid to go to events by yourself! I went solo on Saturday and met two awesome friends who I hung out with into the evening.

Were any of the lessons/takeaways new or surprising to you?

What is the most valuable food or drink-related lesson you’ve learned?

International Blogger Fro-Yo + WIAW

June 5, 2013 By Laura

Blogger meet ups are always fun.

Yes, always. It’s a rule.

Meet ups with bloggers from the other side of the world ROCK.

Last night I had the honor of eating dinner with Hannah of Wayfaring Chocolate. She is in town from Australia (via Canada). I remember the day I added her to my Reader (RIP). I’d read a review of a chocolate bar she’d written and fell in love with the way she turned a chocolate description into poetry. If you haven’t ever read her blog, I don’t recommend doing so while hungry.

Me and Hannah

Hannah was staying with Alayna (who also has quite the way with words… and Japanese food!) and her husband. I’m so grateful to her for coordinating this meet up. And impressed with how amazing she looks while carrying a small human inside her. Only 6 weeks to go!!!

Read on for our dinner adventure…

Hannah, Alanya, and Me

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My WIAW meals should be re-title “meals of desperation.” There has been so much going to that I still haven’t done a big trip to the market since Blend! This means I was eating the last of everything in my fridge. By snack time I was 100% out of veggies and had convinced myself to ditch kickboxing for a grocery run.

Check out my (mostly) clean eats below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see what delicious spring foods everyone else is enjoying!

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