Cereal Bars ~Martha 8.30.10

I've told a few of you about this recipe. It reminds me of a healthy version of rice crispies. You must keep these frozen because once they reach room temperature, they begin to fall apart.

Cereal Bars

2 C puffed wheat or rice
1/3 C ground almonds or walnuts
2 TBS ground flaxseed
1C vanilla whey protein powder
1/3 C dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries or raisins)
1/3 C pure maple syrup
1 TBS coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS Naturally More Peanut Butter

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a pot, combine syrup and coconut oil. Heat to a simmer only. Add vanilla extract and peanut butter and remove from heat. Stir with a fork to blend ingredients.

Add liquid mixture to cereal mixture and mix with a spoon.

Press evenly into an oiled 8x8 pan. Let cool in the fridge until solid. Cut into 8 squares. Wrap individually and keep frozen for best results.

Nutrition:
1 square = 1 serving
Calories: 200, total fats: 7g, saturated fat: 2g, trans fat: 0g, cholesterol: 0mg, sodium: 2mg, total carbs: 19g, dietary fiber: 2g, sugars: 14g, protein: 15g, iron: 2mg

Tuna Melt...YUUUM! ~Martha 8.30.10

Need something fast and packed with protein that tastes delish? Here it is!

Tuna Melt

1 Can of tuna (in water)
dash of salt and pepper
lemon juice to taste
pinch of mozzarella cheese
1 100% whole wheat sandwich thin

Toast your sandwich thin.
While toasting, mix all other ingredients together and saute on a skillet or place in the oven until cheese melts and it is heated through.
Put on sandwich thin and enjoy!
~Martha

Cocoa Muffins...you can thank me later! -Cali

OK, so it's the weekend and our schedules are a little more relaxed therefore sometimes our eating becomes too relaxed and all our hard work all week can fly out of the window. I thought I'd be prepared to have a healthy treat for the up coming couple of days. Just think, a muffin that won't give you a muffin top! Love it!

Ready in 30 minutes Makes 12 muffins

Nonstick oil spray
1 1/4 cups oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp whey protein powder (vanilla or chocolate)
1 tsp baking soda
1 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup low-fat milk + 1/2 tsp white vinegar)
3 tbsp agave syrup
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly pray a 12-cup muffin pan with oil and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats and the nest five ingredients.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together egg, applesauce, buttermilk, syrup and oil
4. Make a well in the enter of the dry ingredients and pour in egg mixture. Stir just until all dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in raisins.
5. Portion batter evenly in to the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool muffins on a wire rack.

Enjoy! I did and loved them! My husband loved them too and he is super picky when it comes to me making "clean desserts." Try freezing them so they don't go bad, then pull them out when needed. You can use them for a preworkout, for breakfast, snack or for that all to common sweet tooth that haunts us all.
I will be trying lots of new clean recipes in the coming weeks and I'll share the good ones with you. Happy Muffin eating!

Nutrients per muffin: Calories 182, Total Fat 4g, Saturated Fat 1g, Cholesterol 20mg, Sodium 122mg, Total Carbs 30g, Fiber 4g, Sugar 9g, Protein 8g, Iron 2g

Yummy Sweet & Sour Chicken! -Cali

I got this recipe out of Clean Eating Magazine by Oxygen. It is simple, flavorful, clean, and my kids even loved it. You can eat eat it over rice or my favorite, quinoa, or throw it in a wrap or just plain. It is a keeper in our house. Here it goes....

Serves: 6

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp raw honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4) chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 cup)
1 medium green bell pepper, cut the same as red pepper
1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 3/4 cup)
12 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa

One: In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Place chicken in a large shallow dish. Pour soy sauce mixture over chicken, tossing gently. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Two: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade ad saute for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add bell peppers and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender. Add pineapple and cook for 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately over rice for a complete meal.

I hope you all try this because I promise you will love it! I am in the process of making some Cocoa Muffins right now so keep watch and I'll post them soon with a pic. They smell delicous and they are clean too! Thanks!

Protein Shake You Can Try 8.21.10

This is one of my favorite protein shakes that I have a few times a week. Here is the recipe...

Peanut Butter Banana Shake

1 banana
2 TBS Naturally More Peanut Butter
1/4 C Oats (uncooked)
6 Ice Cubes
1 1/2 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

Put in blender until ice cubes are crushed finely.
This will make a tall glass, the photo is a short glass because I forgot to take a picture until I was almost done with it! Sorry!
~Martha

Oat Pizza 8.20.10

I had this pizza for lunch today and it took me all of about 15min from start to finish. Here is the recipe...

Oat Pizza

Preheat oven 350 degrees
1/2 C Oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground flaxseed
4 oz extra-lean ground turkey

Mix these ingredients with your hands until wet.
Flatten this oatmeal dough into a disc shape onto a baking sheet. Bake for 5minutes, flip over and bake for 5 more minutes.

While baking...Combine in a bowl:
1 C chopped fresh spinach leaves
1/4 C unsalted tomato paste
1/4 C low-fat cottage cheese (I used feta cheese since I was out of the other kind)
2 TBS onion, chopped (I may have done a little more)
2 TBS chopped pepper (any color)
1/4 C sliced mushrooms (I used canned ones)

Spread this mixture on top of the oatmeal cake. Bake until cheese melts.

How easy is that? SO yummy too!

Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 360, Total Fats: 5g, Sat Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 450mg, Total Carbs: 47g, Dietary Fiber: 8g, Sugars: 13g, Protein: 45g, Iron: 4mg

Enjoy!
~Martha

Workouts In a Little More Detail...

Alright, so here is a general breakdown of my Plyometric workouts.

It will generally look something like this:

3-5min warmup on a bike
I will then do circuit training of about 2-3 exercises per circuit. I will always do my circuits 3 times through.
So say one circuit is:
11 Box Jumps
50 quick step ups
75-100 Air Squats
I will do this 3 times with very little breaks. I generally only break to catch my breath and get a drink so I don't pass out...LOL I am trying to keep my heartrate up the entire hour to one and a half hours.

Another circuit could be:
16 Plie Lunges with a Hop
13 Burpees
9 Rollups with a Hop
I'll do this 3x's as well.

Notice how my reps are always an inconsistent number? That creates muscle confusion and I LOVE it! You can get a deck of face cards and create your own reps that way. What you would do is flip over 3 cards and add up the numbers. That will be the amount you will have to crank out for that particular exercise. For example if I was doing squats and flipped over a King, a 2 of Hearts and a Jack, that would mean I am doing 22reps of Squats (Because a King and Jack are each worth 10 and 2 of Hearts is worth it's face value...make sense?).

I will post photos on this entry tomorrow as I have time. Maybe that can give you a better idea of what some of these exercises look like.
Feel free to try it out and let me know what you think! It's pretty intense, I'm not gonna lie. An hour and a half of plyometrics is pretty insane....but so am I so I really enjoy it! :) Happy Sweating!
~Martha