Tag: smoothie

EOM Fitness for April 2015

This month certainly went by fast!  I cannot believe that tomorrow is the first of May.  As far as my workouts go I kept up with a schedule of working out five days a week, alternating cardio and weight workouts with yoga.

The workouts I used this month were from two different dvd sets I own.  The one is the newer Cathe Friedrich Ripped with Hiit and the other was an older Cathe workout series that I have had for a few years called Low Impact Series.  Both of these sets are great and if you are looking for low impact workouts that give you an excellent workout without too much jumping and impact I would check out her Low Impact Series.  It is a set of nine dvd’s and a couple of them are yoga workouts.cathe dvd's used for April 2015 workouts from KImberlees Korner

On days I did not do a cardio or weight workout I did yoga using my Shiva Rea dvd’s, Exhale Core Fusion, or Yoga Journal magazine sequences.  Did you know that you can get some workout and yoga dvd’s on netflix?  I recently checked out Shiva Rea’s Sun Salutations from netflix and used it for a few of my yoga workouts.  I think I own most of her other ones except that one.  Checking out a dvd from netflix or the library is a good way to try it out and see if you will like it and want to buy it.

I have also been reading some other health and dietary books this past month that I have checked out from the library.  One of them is an older book but still has useful information called the Prescription for Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A. Balch.  I really like the format of this book as well as the useful information on how to eat properly for optimal health.  There are lots of recipes in this book as well, that I have tried and liked.

Some of the other books I have checked out from the library are more about cleansing and dietary plans for your health to overcome health problems and feel great.  To be honest with you the more I read some of these books the more confused I get on how to eat or what to eat.  It seems that if you compare some of these “plans” that are out there they are somewhat conflicting in what they tell you you should or shouldn’t eat and drink for better health.  I am reading them but using my own judgement with things.

I have been making more smoothies lately and not really using my juicer too much this past month.  I think I got burned out on juicing so I am taking a break from that for a little while.  I also notice that smoothies fill me up more.  I have even gotten two of my three sons drinking some healthy smoothies for breakfast at least a few times a week.

maca mango and raspberry smoothie

The above photo is a smoothie I recently made and I thought it was really good – it is kind of thick and super creamy.

Maca Mango Raspberry Smoothie

1/2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries (I used fresh)

3/4 c. frozen mango

1 container raspberry greek yogurt

2 bee pollen capsules opened

1 tsp manuka honey

1 tsp maca powder

1/2 c. vanilla soy milk

-Combine all the above ingredients in a high speed blender and blend 1 to 2 minutes.

For the month of May I will probably start out the month doing some Exhale Core Fusion dvd’s along with my exercise ball book and yoga.  I have decided to get some of my fitness books out and use them this coming month instead of just my dvd’s.  I will also be going to a 4 day workout week schedule since I am now getting outside more to do some gardening and plan to start riding my bike to the store again.

I hope you had a great month!

-Kimberlee

EOM Fitness for March 2015

Well, I have taken a couple of weeks off blogging but I have still been working out in the mornings.    I am finding that as the weather is getting nicer here I have so many other things that are taking up my time as well as three kids, a husband and a household to run so I am just not finding the time to get all the blogging posts in I had planned for the past month.  Well, there is always another month to get those in.

For the past month I have stuck to a workout schedule of doing cardio or weights one day and then yoga the next – pretty much five or six days a week.  I used some of my older and newer Cathe Friedrich workout dvd’s for cardio or weights and then yoga books, dvd’s or magazines that I have for my yoga routines.  Below are a couple of photos from the Cathe Cross Fire workout that the cat and I really like.

Cathe Cross Fire workout

Working out to Cathe Cross Fire workout

As always the cat is ready and waiting to workout.  Even this morning when I did a different Cathe workout with weights he was sitting by the weights.

Cat waiting to do Cathe Cross Fire workout

In addition to working out regularly I have still continued to do my juicing or smoothies daily.  I have been doing one or the other.  I like my juices but getting that juicer out and doing all the juicing takes a lot of time so I have gone to doing that once or twice a week.  I usually make up a few and store them in mason jars and label them.  They keep well for at least two or three days.

I have bought a couple of new juicing books in the last couple of months and have been using them for some of my juicing recipes.  One of them is the book below – The Big Book of Juices.  I think I got this at Sams Club.  There are lots of great recipes in this book and even some smoothies and refreshing fruit and tea drinks for summer.  I really like this book and the format of it.

Juicing Book

I have been using some of the juice recipes and incorporating them into my smoothies.  This is a good way to use up any of the juice before it goes bad since I tend to make up a few ahead of time.   One of my creations is this awesome Apricot Orange Smoothie.  I have made it a few times and love it.

Apricot Orange Smoothie

 

Apricot Orange Smoothie Recipe

  • 5 dried apricots soaked in water for about 20 minutes
  • half of a peeled orange – seeds removed
  • 1 Tbls chia gel – this is chia seeds soaked in water
  • 1/2 c. orange carrot juice – from juicer
  • 1/2 tsp maca powder – good for energy and hormones
  • 1 nectarine cut up, stone removed

Blend all of the above ingredients in a high speed blender for about 1 to 2 minutes.  Serves one.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well and starting to enjoy the nicer spring weather.  I have gotten my gardens ready and ordered some plants so I will probably be spending more time outside and less time on the computer for a while.  I am finding that to get things done I have to unplug more and start doing – like right now I am off to make some healthy chocolate chip muffins for my family.

Have a great week!

-Kimberlee

 

Working Out Week 43 of 2014

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This week I switched up my workouts and chose to do my Exhale Core Fusion dvd’s and some Shiva Rea yoga.  This was also a really busy week with a lot going on so I feel like the workouts I chose to do worked well with my schedule.

  • Monday – Exhale Core Fusion – Abs & Arms – 40 min,
  • Tuesday – yoga in evening – 15 min.
  • Wednesday – Exhale Core Fusion – Lean and Toned – 20 min.
  • Thursday – Shiva Rea Surf Yoga Soul – 30 min.
  • Friday – Exhale Core Fusion – Body Sculpt – 40 min.
  • Saturday – Shiva Rea Surf Yoga Soul – 20 min.

Workout Cat

Here is the cat – all ready to workout on Wednesday morning.  He was scared to get on the new rug I bought in the past but he seems to be okay with it now.

ECF Lean Toned workout

I had not done the Lean and Toned dvd in a while.  I really like this workout.  I only had a few minutes to workout that morning but 20 minutes of this dvd was awesome!  The core pretzel part that I did really worked deep into some core and glute muscles that had me feeling it well into the next day.

Shiva Rea Surf Yoga Soul

The yoga dvd I used this week was Shiva Rea’s Surf Yoga Soul.  I think this was actually one of the first of her yoga dvd’s I ever bought.  I have not used it in a while and forgot what great yoga sequences are on this program.  As you can see my cat really likes her dvd, too.  He didn’t even want to move off the mat at the beginning as seen in the one photo of me bending over him.

I also created a new smoothie this week.  It is a “green” smoothie and I thought it had a really good flavor to it.  I also felt quite energized after drinking it.  Below is the smoothie and the recipe:

Kiwi Lime Smoothie

 

I am also continuing to make juices in my juicer and try to drink one or two per day.  I have found that the juices or the green smoothies are a perfect mid afternoon snack that give me energy.  One of my knitting friends has also now pulled out her old juicer and bought the same juicing book I bought and mentioned in my post last week – Juicing.  You can read more about that book and a few of the recipes I have made from it in my Week 42 workout post.

This week I am not going to do my Fitness Tips.  To be honest with you I have not prepared anything for that part of my post that I have been doing lately and I am too tired to think of something right now.  We spent half the day over in Fort Worth at the Alliance Air show that my husband wanted to attend.  It was nice and we saw some neat planes and planes flying and doing tricks.  Today was very hot here though for October and the heat made the whole event less pleasant – and there was not a cloud in the sky today (which is good for an air show) or a speck of shade to stand in at the air field.  I am glad we got to go though and spend time together as a family.

Have a great weekend!

– Kimberlee

 

Summer Reading, Smoothies and Sandals

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This summer I have read some really good books.  One of the books that I read at the beginning of the summer and really enjoyed was First Love by James Patterson.  Another book that I thought was really good that I recently finished was The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.

Summer Reading

I am a big James Patterson fan and have read most of his books, or listened to them on audio.  This particular book, First Love, is one I checked out from the library.  It is not your typical high speed thriller book, with lots of action or twists, as many of his other books are known for.  This book is a story of two young teenagers that decide to leave their homes in the state of Washington at  the spur of the moment and travel to various big cities in other states for an adventure.   The book is about a boy and a girl, told in the girls voice.  It is a sweet and enjoyable story of young love and crazy things teenagers do.  Some of them are kind of hard to believe but it is a fiction book.  There are also some real life situations that are thrown in that make you realize that life is fragile and needs to be enjoyed each and every day to the fullest.

The other book I read and really enjoyed was The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.  I think I have read one other book by him before in the past and of course I have seen the movie The Notebook, based on his book.  The Last Song was a story about a teenage girl and her younger brother that go to visit their Dad in North Carolina who they have not seen in a few years.  The parents got a divorce and the kids live with the mom in New York.  The teenage girl does not want to be there and makes that known to everyone.  At first she gets mixed up hanging around the wrong crowd but then she meets a boy who is a good kid and from a nice family.  She begins a summer romance with him and also starts to mend the relationship with her father.  I don’t want to give anything away in case you read this book but some things happen toward the end to draw the Dad and kids a lot closer and make you realize that life can change at the blink of an eye.  I will say you will need some tissues at the end of the book.  I borrowed this book from my mom and told her she should have warned me about that for the ending.  I think this book was also a movie but I have not seen it.

Living Simply book

I also like to read non fiction books and tend to do that in the morning after I have done my workout and I am having a cup of coffee.  One of the books I read and really enjoyed this summer was the above book called Living Simply – enjoying the peace of God.  I got this book at the beginning of June at Mardel for half off.  The book is comprised of about 40 sections, or chapters, that are each four pages.  The first one, for example, is called Unpack Your Bags.  There is a scripture and then a few paragraphs to read.  At the end there is always One Final Thought for you to read like with the first one it is “Taking time to unpack the emotional clutter of yesterday allows you to more fully enjoy God’s irreplaceable gift of today.”  The next page is titled Thoughts for Living Simple with scriptures or quotes related to the title of that day.  The final page, number four, is Remember and Simplify with words of encouragement and advice.  This book is small and very easy to read.  I enjoyed reading the advice and scriptures of each day and I plan to start reading it over again.

On now to smoothies…  I got a new smoothie book about a month ago from Barnes and Noble.  The book has some really good recipes that I have tried.  The book also gave me ideas for creating my own with a few less ingredients than called for in the recipes in the book.  Smoothie Book

One of the ones I created and absolutely love is this Mango Peach Smoothie.  I have made it with and without the added spices and both combinations are good.  Mangoes and Peaches are high in vitamin C and the mangoes protect against premature aging.

Mango Peach Smoothie

Mango Peach Smoothie

  • 3/4 c. frozen sliced peaches (could also use fresh)
  • 1/2 c. frozen mango chunks
  • 1/2 to 3/4 c. mango or peach greek yogurt
  • 1/2 to 3/4 c. orange juice
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 1 Tbls flaxseed meal
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie or apple pie spice (optional)

-Blend all of the above ingredients in a high speed blender (I use a Ninja blender) for 1 to 2 minutes or until everything is smooth.

The other smoothie I created was a Raspberry Mango blend.  This one is not quite as good as the Peach Mango but has a pleasant taste.  The honey in this one is optional but if you prefer a sweeter smoothie then I would add it.  I tried it with and without and liked it better with the honey.  Raspberries are really good for you and have lots of antioxidants to help you look younger.

Raspberry Mango Smoothie

Raspberry Mango Smoothie

  • 1/2 c. frozen raspberries
  • 1/2 c. frozen mango chunks
  • 3 or 4 slices of frozen or fresh peaches
  • 1 container of raspberry greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbls ground flaxseed
  • 1/2 to 3/4 c. water
  • 1 to 2 tsp honey

-Blend all of the above ingredients in a high speed blender for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.

Moving on to Sandals:

Ahnu Sandals

I recently discovered a new shoe company.  The shoes were advertised in a Yoga Journal magazine I had checked out from the library – they are Ahnu shoes.   I looked them up on the internet and fell in love with their sandals.  They had this particular style half off so I got them for $45.00.  They are so comfortable and easy to walk in.  The color of the sandal is called lead.  They are a shade of blue that goes pretty well with denim or other blues.  I thought they were going to be more of a gray color but I am happy with the color they actually are.  I originally ordered the black but they were a 1/2 size too big – they seem to run long.  They offer free shipping both ways so I sent them back but they didn’t have the size I needed in the black so I got this color.  I am so happy with them!  They also sell some cute flats and I plan to order some of those in the fall.

I hope everyone is having a good last week of August.  My kids started back to school this week – one in 11th grade and 2 (twins) in 8th grade.  We have been pretty busy this week with getting more school supplies needed for certain classes and filling out more forms for each class.

-Kimberlee

 

Working Out Week 29 of 2014

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This past week seemed to go by so fast!  I can not believe we are more than halfway through the month of July!  It has also cooled down here in Texas quite a bit the last couple of days and we got some much needed rain all day on Thursday.  July is normally really hot so it is strange to be in the low 80’s for the high temperature of the day.

This week my workouts were as follows:

  • Sunday – Walk + Swimming – 45 minutes
  • Monday – Cathe Xtrain; All Out Low Impact Hiit, Step & Disc Cardio – 25 minutes
  • Tuesday – Ride Bike + Yoga outdoors on patio – 32 minutes
  • Wednesday – Cathe LIS; Turbo Barre, Upper-Lower Muscle Endurance, Legs with Band, Planks & Abs segments – 50 minutes
  • Thursday – Walking + Yoga – 20 minutes
  • Friday – Cathe Xtrain; Supercuts – 46 minutes
  • Saturday – Ride Bike + Yoga outdoors on patio – 32 minutes

Normally I take Sunday’s off but this past Sunday I decided to go for a late morning walk and in the afternoon I swam some laps in our pool.  It was really hot that day and a great day to go swimming.

I decided to do some Cathe Friedrich Xtrain dvd’s this week.  This dvd series is a couple of years old.  There are some great cardio and weight routines in this series.

All Out Low Impact Hiit workout

Monday I did All Out Low Impact Hiit.  I only did a 25 minute premix of the step and disc cardio that day as I was having some issues with a pesky sinus headache that came on Sunday evening and carried over into Monday.  I was determined not to let it interfere with my workout schedule though.  My cat showed up at the end for the stretch – apparently he wasn’t into working out that day either.

Turbo Barre Workout

Wednesday I did the Low Impact Series from Cathe Friedrich – the Turbo Barre workout again.  I am going to try and keep including this in my schedule once a week as I really like this workout even though its kind of long.  It really seems to lengthen your whole body and strengthen and tone everything.  This week I did a couple of the segments of the workout that I didn’t do last week.  As you see the cat really likes this workout – he began it by standing on the floor behind the chair and jumping up over the back to get to the seat.  Then he continued to jump around and chase his tail for a while.  I guess that was his workout for the day.

CW Yoga For the Core

I am also continuing to enjoy the warmer weather and ride my bike or walk in the mornings.  This past week on Thursday I was going to walk again but it rained – thankfully as we really needed it.  So, I decided to get out an old workout that I bought years ago.  It is the Caribbean Workout Yoga For the Core.  The show used to be on Fit TV and they also put out dvd’s.  I think I got this on sale at Walmart.  The dvd has three 20 minute segments on it.  Both of my cats joined me that day for some yoga.

Supercuts Workout

The other Xtrain workout I did was called Supercuts.  I did the entire dvd which is 46 minutes long.  It is a fun, fast paced and challenging workout that has cardio, weights and lots of core exercises.  There are also several exercise that use the band with handles that are really great for the upper body and the core.

I made more granola this week since my one son ate most of the first batch I made last week.  You can look at my workout post from week 28 to get the link to the granola recipe.

I also read a post last week on another blog I follow called the 100lb Countdown.  The post was on smoothies and it gave me an idea to create this smoothie with carrots, orange juice and a nectarine.

Orange, Carrot, Nectarine Smoothie

I guess this smoothie came out more like a drink but I thought it had an interesting and pleasant taste.  To make this you will need the following ingredients:

  • handful baby carrots
  • 1 nectarine, cut up, pit removed, skin left on
  • 2 spoonfuls plain greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup water – more if needed
  • 1/2 cup crushed ice

Place all of the above ingredients in a high powered blender like a ninja blender and pulse a few times then blend for about 1 to 2 min. on speed 8.  You could also add a little honey if you wanted it a bit sweeter.

I have found that I like nectarines in my smoothies and have used them in a couple of my green smoothies as well.  I recently read in a book I got from the library called The Juicing Diet that nectarines are good for detoxing, heart and bone health and for your skin.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Kimberlee