Month: January 2014

Brownie, Pudding and Cool Whip Trifle Dessert- Holy Yum!

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Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you’ve had a great week. I feel like I’m battling the onset of a potential cold, but I’m trying to load up on Emergen-C and other things to nip it in the bud. We’ll see how it goes!

Anyway, I had to share this splurge-worthy dessert with you. Back in November, I hosted a Pampered Chef party as a way to get my friends together, while also growing my kitchen “inventory”. Having it before Christmas was an added bonus since most of my friends bought their family Christmas gifts! Not only did I get $140 of FREE stuff from the Pampered Chef catalog, I also got a free Trifle Bowl. When it came in, I have to admit that I thought it was a little silly; why would I waste space in my already limited cupboard space for something impractical like a Trifle Bowl? Well, my friends, I take those thoughts back! I can actually find a lot of uses for the Trifle Bowl, such as desserts, fruit & yogurt parfaits, layered dips and even a table centerpiece/vase.

For Christmas, though, I decided I would use the Trifle Bowl to make a layered dessert (they always look so pretty!).

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What I love about Trifle Bowl desserts is that you don’t really need a recipe; just pick some ingredients that you want to layer with and get layering! I was running short on time, so I totally copped out and bought mini containers of pudding which works when you’re in a pinch, but I would’ve preferred to have made a big batch of pudding. Next time 🙂

Ingredients

  • 1 Box of brownie mix- any kind you want. I chose one with peanut butter chips, which I wouldn’t do next time since it was too much crunch.
  • Pudding- either pre-made pudding containers or you could make 1 or 2 boxes of pudding per the directions on the back of the box. I chose fat-free/sugar-free to save on calories and you couldn’t even tell because there were so many other tastes going on!
  • 1 big container of Cool Whip
  • Chocolate Chips and White Chocolate Chips

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Directions

1. Bake the brownies according to the back of the box. If you are using box pudding mix, too, make that according to the directions on the back of the box.

2. Once everything is cooked, begin your layering! I did brownies, pudding (both vanilla and chocolate) and Cool Whip and then repeated that until I used everything up.

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At the end, throw on some chocolate chips and white chocolate chips and voila! you have a quick, easy, delicious and pretty dessert to bring to a party 🙂

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I got so many compliments on this dish and can’t wait to experiment more. I think for a brunch, I would do a fruit, yogurt and granola parfait in this- doesn’t that sound delicious? If you don’t have a Trifle Bowl, no worries- you can make this in any sort of big bowl/dish.

Questions for you: Do you have a Trifle Bowl? What is a dessert/appetizer/breakfast dish you would make in this? I need suggestions!

How to survive the “January Rush” at the gym

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Who else is already frustrated with the crazy crowds at the gym this week? As an instructor, I love it; it’s my time to get people hooked on exercise endorphins, get them to keep coming back to my class and become an all year round gym goer. However, as a member looking to go to the gym to work out, it can be quite frustrating! Don’t get me wrong, I love that people are trying to kick off a new year with taking time for themselves to get healthy, I just wish they would stay for longer than a few months 🙂

With that said, this week I’ve been thinking about how to survive the January Rush at the gym without throwing some elbows. Just kidding. I wouldn’t do that, but I do get aggressive which isn’t good. My first thought was to stop going to the gym on my own during January and pick back up when the crowds have died down, but let’s be real. I can’t stay away from the gym for that long, so here are some tips to get you through the gym rush.

1. Mentally Prepare. Yes, it’s January. Yes, there are going to be twice (if not more) as many people at the gym than the other 11 months of the year, but you just have to deal with it. Going into the gym knowing that you might have to wait for a machine or share a space near the weights makes it much easier than going in there thinking you’re going to jump on a treadmill and then find them all full. That’s really not fun.

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2. Try going at “off” times. So you usually go to the gym after work, but that’s also one of the busiest times at the gym, right? Why don’t you try going before work (tips for getting up and working out before work can be found this post)? Or, try doing something during your lunch break or maybe after dinner. These may not be ideal since they require extra work and planning, but it’s better than skipping the workout all together because you can’t stand the crowds!

3. Sign up in advance! The BSC lets you sign up online, as do a lot of specialty studios (Spin, Barre, Yoga, etc.) and YMCA’s. My YMCA doesn’t, which is annoying, but you can get a ticket before class, so you just have to make sure you get there early enough to get one!

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4. Try out something new. Barre classes, Spin classes, Yoga classes, Pilates classes, etc. Those fancy boutique studios can be pricey, but there are often “first time joiner” deals where you can get a week pass for the same price as 1 class, which is great. Not only does it get you out of your normal routine, it introduces you to a new type of workout that you may actually really like.

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5. Skip the gym and do an at-home workout. If the crowds really bother you, there are so many workouts you can do in the comforts of your own home. I’ve got a bunch to choose from here.

6. When all else fails, put your game face on and be ready to stake your claim on a machine, near the weights or in a class. 😉

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Questions for you: What’s your game plan for the gym during January? Have you tried new workouts because of the crowds? Do you welcome the new comers or get frustrated when they take over the gym?

Wednesday Workout: January Burpee & Push-Up Challenge!

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Hi there! I am SO excited to be hosting my first “challenge” this month. My friend Athena has hosted a number of awesome challenges, and while I am not ready to put together anything as detailed, planned out and organized as well as she has, I thought this would be fun little challenge to add to your current workout.

It’s no surprise that I LOVE burpees, right? Remember this burpee post I wrote over the summer? So fun. I also love (more so, love to hate) push-ups. No matter how many I do, they are always challenging for me. But I think that’s part of the reason why I like them. That, and because they are such a good exercise for almost your entire body: chest, triceps, lats, core, quads, etc. On top of that, there are SO MANY variations and they can be modified to any fitness level (against a wall, table top position, hands and knees, hands and feet, hands and feet but with one foot lifted, etc.).

So, with that said, I have picked these two exercises for my challenge since I think they give you the most bang for your buck.January Burpee & Push-Up Challenge

Say, what?! 100 burpees AND 100 push-ups?! Yes, you read that correctly 🙂 Don’t get overwhelmed, though, there are a few things to note that will help show you it’s totally doable:

1. Even though this is a “for time” workout, meaning your goal is to complete the exercises as quickly as possible and to beat your time from one week to the next, I want you to make sure you’re keeping good form because doing exercises super fast, but sacrificing form isn’t safe or effective.

2. Feel free to complete the 100 reps of each exercise however you’d like: all at once, breaking it down to reps of 10, 20, 25, 50, etc., finish the burpees first in smaller sets then do the push-ups or vice versa, etc. There are so many ways to break it up!

3. Choose different burpees! You don’t have to do strict CrossFit burpees if you don’t want to. My burpee post has a number of different variations to choose from! Choose different push-up variations: clock push-ups, on your knees, 1 leg lifted, tricep push-ups, diamond push-ups, staggered hands push-ups, etc. Your choice 🙂

4. You can do these on any day of the week you’d like- If you want to get them over with on Monday’s, go for it! If you’d rather wait until mid-way through the week, that’s fine, too. This is your challenge.

5. Any fitness level can participate! Just make sure you warm up with some dynamic stretching beforehand!

6. I’ll check in with you guys on Mondays, but don’t wait until then to tell me how you did! Please share your thoughts/pictures/time with me via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I want to see who’s joining me in this challenge!

So, what do you think?! Is this something you’re interested in doing with me this month? If you are, leave me a comment saying that so we all know who’s participating. I’ll check in with you on Monday to see how you did, but feel free to comment on any post with your time!

Being snowed in, afternoon cocktails and Cards Against Humanity (aka, best game ever)

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Did the cold weather and snow ruin anyone’s plans on Friday night? I kind of liked being snowed in and was fully prepared to drink wine by myself until my upstairs neighbor ended up being around and joining me. I have no problem drinking some wine by myself, but it’s always nice to have someone to drink it with, too 😉

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Especially when she comes with cookies in hand 🙂

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Don’t worry, before I enjoyed one of them I had some homemade pizza. I used whole wheat dough, which I don’t always do, and it wasn’t bad!

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Saturday started off with a super sweaty kickboxing class and then I met up with a friend for afternoon cocktails at The Kinsale in Boston. I had never been there before, but I’ve been to the Asgard, which is their sister restaurant. It was a nice way to spend a cold Saturday afternoon!

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I went over to my sister and Amy’s apartment after and got to snuggle my little Zeke, who is not so little anymore. I can’t get enough of his cuteness!

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Cards Against Humanity

Ok, so have any of you played this game? I first heard of it when I went to Chicago and JP had us play, but now it seems as though everyone is equally as obsessed with it. If you’ve played, then you know why. It’s very similar to Apples to Apples, but I like it better because it’s a little edgier and just has funnier cards. I’m not a very funny person, but somehow I came in second place- a total shocker!

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I want to buy this game because it’s literally the best game to play with a crowd of people. You get to know everyone pretty well after a few rounds 😉

After a number of rounds of CAH, I went to The Playwrite Bar in Southie with my sister and some of her St. Michael’s friends. I stayed for a few drinks and called it a night before I got to the point where I’d have a hangover on Sunday 😉

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On Sunday, I started out my day with some serious puttering. I cleaned, did laundry, changed my sheets and took down all my Christmas decorations- womp, womp 😦 Does anyone else ever feel a little sad/depressed when it’s time to take down Christmas decorations? I wasn’t ready to do it, but as it was already January 5th, it was time.

I also went grocery shopping (drove to Market Basket and immediately turned around and left. It wasn’t worth facing the masses of people to save a few bucks.), worked out and made a delicious dinner! Remember that Spaghetti Squash Casserole I made a while back? I made another one, but this time with different (colorful!) veggies and chicken sausage. The verdict? Amazing. I love eating a super healthy meal on Sunday nights because it sets me on the right path for the rest of the week. My goal is to also cut back on week night drinking again. It seems I’ve had at least a glass of wine probably 5 out of the 7 days in a week lately, which is fine, but I’m ready to cut back!

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I hope you all had a great weekend, too! Here’s to a new week- what are you doing to make it great? Have you ever played Cards Against Humanity? When do you take down your Christmas decorations?

P.S.- Get excited- I’ve got a new, little January fitness challenge going up on the blog tomorrow!! Hint: it involves burpees 😉

P.P.S.- Do you Uber? If not, it’s the best way to get around the city. They’re running a promotion right now, and if you use this code as a first time user, you’ll get a $20 credit after your first ride. That’s a great deal!! Code: zjbnz

This Week: Workouts, Schedule {Finally back on ‘normal’ track}, Things I’m Looking Forward To

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Has anyone else not had a full week of work for at least a few weeks at this point? And, on top of that, for the days I was working, things were really quiet, which was a nice change! It’s going to be weird to be back to the “full swing” of things this week, including everyone back to work, full week of teaching, full week of lunch preparation/meal planning, etc. I could really get used to working “short” weeks with days off in the middle, though, how about you?

I had some good workouts last week, but still wasn’t able to get back to my full teaching schedule due to the New Year on Wednesday and the Hercules blizzard on Thursday. I also splurged on a New Years Day and took a yoga class at Exhale Spa as a way to start off the new year with a clear, positive mindset! The classes there are pricey, but when you factor in the locker room luxuries (heated towel holders, sandals, robes, straighteners, blow dryers, high end shamp/cond/body wash, etc.), it’s totally worth the price… once and a while 😉

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I subbed a kickboxing class at the Watertown BSC. It was a small group, but it was still a fun class. I did 15 minutes on the elliptical beforehand.
  • Tuesday- I worked from home and did Fitnessista’s Day After Christmas Crumble workout after I saw it posted on Athena’s workout post last week. It did not disappoint!
  • Wednesday- I went to Exhale Spa for a yoga class!
  • Thursday- I was all excited to teach my double, but due to the storm, I was only able to teach 1 of my 2 classes. I used a new format (taken from Men’s Health, which, in my opinion, often times has better workouts than Women’s Health!) in my SHRED class and we were all sweaty and shakey by the end. Instead of teaching my kickboxing (only 2 people showed up and classes were cancelled by that point anyway) class, I ran 2 miles and headed home.
  • Friday- I thought I’d have to shovel out my car for hours after I saw what it looked like, but a super nice guy offered to snow blow me out- I was SO grateful! Instead, I did some lower body and core strengthening and stretching.

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  • Saturday- Taught a super, duper sweaty kickboxing class with lots of fun faces in the crowd (and so many others, too- there were about 50 people there. Bring on the crowds, January!). My favorite part was seeing everyone’s tweets and facebook status’s after!

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  • Sunday-I decided to take advantage of the “heat wave” and go for a 3 mile run outside. My pace was all over the place because I had to dodge snow banks and puddles, but I averaged 8:29/mile for the 3 miles. I was happy with that. After my jog, I headed into the gym and did some strength training (super sets at first, 3 rounds through, then I got bored with that and jumped around to all sorts of stuff) and core work.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I think I’ll take the 6pm spin class if there’s space. I love the January crowds as an instructor, but as a gym “goer”, I HATE it. I know I should be more supportive, but again, unless I’m teaching, I just can’t be that supportive because these people are taking up my gym space. Ok. That was harsh, but still. It’s annoying!
  • Tuesday- I will do some type of strength workout since I’ve been slacking on that lately.
  • Wednesday- Probably running then teaching UXF Burn- hope there’s lots of new-comers in my class!
  • Thursday- Thursday double! SHRED and then Kickboxing. Can’t wait to finally get to teach my double.
  • Friday- Rest!
  • Saturday- My friend, Lindsay, is a new instructor at Recycle Studio and wants me to try a class since she knows I am just getting into spinning, so I may try to get to her 9:30 spin class on Saturday morning since it’s my off weekend from teaching. Also! I think my sister (and maybe Amy and Rachel) are going to cash in my Christmas gift and go to a noon class at Pure Barre! Should be a fun-filled fitness morning 🙂

Schedule

A fairly regular week, which will be a nice change! I’m looking forward to getting back into the work and teaching groove. I have plans after work on Tuesday, so I’ll get my workout done before work. I love when I have something right after work and can be one of those “young professionals getting drinks after work” people, haha.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Normalcy! And, getting drinks after work and trying a class at Pure Barre with at least my sister (and hopefully Amy and Rachel) on Saturday. I love doing “new” fitness things with people, especially my sister, so I’m excited. I hope I get to take Lindsay’s class, because even though I don’t feel ‘ready’ to go to a fancy spin studio, I think it will be a true test as to whether or not I can become a “spinner”.

Questions for you: Have you been to Recycle studio? Did the snow storm mess up your gym plans? Did you try and new ‘at-home’ or snow-inspired workouts (snow shoeing, skiing, shoveling, etc.)? What are you looking forward to this week?