Saturday Recipes and Workouts!

Hello all!

Sorry its been a few days, since my last entry, but I've been busy with work and life. If you follow my Instagram, you'll see that I haven't been slacking around though!

I'll jump right into it! I've been working like a dog, these past few days. I was able to get my gym time in at the beginning of the week, and I went today, since its my  first day off! I have also been baking up some yummy goodies for the bake sale I'm hosting at work. So those recipes are going to follow, as well as some workout videos from today!

So the first recipe I experimented with for my bake sale, I found on Pinterest, and it was a major success! Skinny apple pie cookies, need I say more. These cookies were delicious, soft, and chewy. Paired with a nice glass of milk, and they would have been to DIE FOR!

The second recipe, is another Pinterest inspired creation, Skinny shortbread chocolate chip cookies! These cookies, were yummy and super easy to make; they would also pair wonderfully with a big ole glass of milk!

The third recipe is a dinner recipe that I made up, zucchini spaghetti! Its super easy and super tasty! The only difference between regular spaghetti and this one, are the noodles!

Skinny Apple Pie Cookies, recipe from amyshealthybaking.com

 Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies

 Ingredients

• 1 c (100g) instant oats (measured correctly)
• ¾ c (90g) whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
• 1 ½ tsp (4g) baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp (4g) ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp (1g) salt
• 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
• ½ c (120mL) agave
• 1 c (125g) finely diced red apple (about 1 medium)

Instructions

1. Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the agave. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the apple. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten slightly. Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Skinny Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies, recipe courtesy of deliciouslyyum.com

Skinny Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. 2. In the bowl of you stand mixer, combine coconut oil, honey, water and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined. The mixture might seem crumbly at first but it will come together (you can also knead it with your hands towards the end to ensure the dough comes together properly). Stir in mini chocolate chips.
4. 3. Using a large cookie scoop, place cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 11-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Zucchini Spaghetti created by myself!

 Zucchini Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 6 zucchini
• 1.5 - 2lb ground meat
• spaghetti sauce (homemade or store bought)

Instructions

1. Brown ground meat is a skillet, drain and set aside.
2. Using a spiralizer or VeggettiPro cut the zucchini into noodles. 
3. In a boiler or stock pot, heat spaghetti sauce and add noodles. Simmer over low heat until noodles are tender.
4. Stir in meat, and simmer for 5 more minutes, to allow flavors to meld.
5. Serve warm and enjoy!

 Now for the exercising! I surpassed my 3 times a week goal, and did 5 workouts this week! I surprised myself, at that one! The best thing, is that I was able to hangout with my family and friends at each workout. Today, I even got catch-up with a workout buddy, that I hadn't seen in months, due to her being out for shoulder issues (not related to the gym). What I'm trying to say, is that besides being able to workout and get stronger, the gym is also a wonderful place to make friends, and grow your fitness friend circle!

Anyways, today I recorded some clips of my Body Pump workout. The following clips are of me, performing the chest and back tracks. On the chest track, I used the bar bell with 2 5kg plates and 2 1kg plates, that's about 26.4 pounds. For the back track, I used the bar bell with 2 5kg plates and 2 2.5kg plates, that's about 33 pounds. Hopefully after a another week or so, I can add some more weight to both tracks!

Body Pump Chest Track

Body Pump Back Track

Another awesome thing that happened this week was that I received my half-marathon photos in the mail!

These two were my favorite! My goal, throughout the race, was whenever I saw a camera person, to give them a thumbs up! I have never been so happy to finish a race! Running a half-marathon was probably one of the most challenging things in my life. I knew I could finish it, because when I committed to the challenge (aka: paid the non-refundable entry fees) I promised myself that I would cross that finish line, if it was the last thing I did!

I hope that this post helps to inspire you over the weekend and in the upcoming week, to eat healthy and to get out and get active! Believe me when I say, if I can do it, so can YOU!!!

Until next time!
-Lesli