Happy, Healthy, Fit Challenge: Week 2

December 7, 2014December 6, 20146 Comments

Good morning! How did you do with Week 1’s challenges? I had so much fun seeing your check ins and participating in the challenges myself! I’m finalizing a few more pieces of the prizes with companies for the top 2 participants, so make sure you’re tagging me (@burpeestobubbly) or posting to my facebook page, otherwise I won’t be able to see you’re participating!

*Monday 12/8: 1 minute burpee challenge– Yup, a full minute of burpees! Set your timer and see how many you can complete in a minute. You can decide the level of intensity you want to do- you can step back into the high plank and step back in and skip the jump at the top, you can just jump back into a plank and back in with jump at the top, you can add in a push-up or drop your chest all the way to the ground OR you can get fancy and try one of these variations. Have fun!

*Tuesday 12/9: Lower body workout- While I may not love lower body workouts as much as upper body ones, I know it’s equally important to work both. Plus, one benefit from working the lower body is there are lots of big muscles, which makes it harder, gets your heart rate up and helps burn more calories. Win, win, win, right? I’ve posted a bunch of lower body specific workouts on my blog, so you can pick from one of these:
Wednesday Workout: Tight Buns! Without squats or lunges! {video}
Wednesday Workout: Tone Your Tush! {without equipment!}
Wednesday Workout: Booty Burner (including a video!)
Wednesday Workout: Booty Burner #2
{Holiday Series} Wednesday Workout: 20 Minute Buns Burner

*Wednesday 12/10: Bring your lunch to work. For those of you who work outside of your homes, it’s so easy to just grab lunch somewhere, right? I challenge you today to take the time and pack yourself a healthy lunch to bring to work. This is a way to help you save money AND save calories. By packing your own lunch, you know exactly what goes into it and can intentionally leave out the chips/soda/treats/etc. that are all too easy to grab when you’re getting lunch out. Try making a big salad filled with lots of healthy fats and proteins: nuts, chicken, avocado, goat cheese, etc.

*Thursday 12/11: 15 minute HIIT workout. I’ve posted a few of these on the blog lately, so if you’ve been looking for a time to try one, today is your day!
Wednesday Workout: 15 Minute Full Body HIIT Workout
Wednesday Workout: 20 Minute Bootcamp HIIT Workout
Wednesday Workout: 15 Minute Step 360 HIIT Workout

If you’ve done these and are looking for something new, try this:

45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest. repeat 3 times:

squat & overhead press
weighted squat jumps
lunge & bicep curl (alternating)
push-up w/ knee tuck
burpees

*Friday 12/12: Get up 15 minutes earlier for some light yoga or stretching. If you’re like me, foam rolling and yoga are two of those things I know I SHOULD do, but rarely do. Today, I want you to specifically schedule time to do one or both of these. Maybe do some sun salutations (check out this video. It’s a slow moving flow, but really great to wake yourself up! Beginner 10 Minute Yoga Flow) or just foam roll. Maybe you just lay in savasena for the 15 minutes and welcome the day slowly and quietly. Whatever you do, I think you’ll notice you start your day on a softer, quieter note, which is always a nice thing on a Friday, right?

*Saturday 12/13: Donate. There are so many ways to donate, but I’ll be honest and say I don’t do this nearly enough as I should. Here are some ideas:

donate at Walgreens/CVS/etc. as you’re cashing out- they always seem to have a cause they are asking you to donate to
donate to the Salvation Army door welcomers at various stores. Throw in your extra change or even a few bucks!
go online and donate to a cause you are passionate about
donate your time by volunteering
throw your spare change to a homeless person

*Sunday 12/14: Try a new recipe. I have so many pages in various magazines and cookbooks dog eared as a “must try”, so many print outs from the internet and so many blog posts favorited, but somehow, I’ve barely made a dent in all of these recipe resources. Today I challenge you to pull out a recipe that you’ve been wanting to try and give it a shot! If you need some ideas or recipes to try, feel free to check out my recipe page.

Happy, Healthy, Fit: Week 1

November 30, 2014November 28, 20144 Comments

For those of you participating in this challenge, here is your first week of challenges with more details than I gave you on Friday. For those of you who are not participating in this challenge, feel free to skip this post 😉

*Monday 12/1: 1 Minute push-up challenge- The goal today is to get your heart rate up a little with some push-ups. I love push-ups because they are a super versatile exercise, working lots of different muscles, and there are so many variations to try. If new to push-ups, feel free to do these on your knees, in table-top position or against a wall. More advanced? Try to do a full minute of push-ups on your toes! Whatever variation you choose, make sure your core is engaged the whole time, your head/neck/spine are all in a straight line (no butts in the air and no saggy hips!!), and you lead with your chest, keeping your gaze either straight down or a little ahead, so that your eyes and hands make a triangle shape on the ground. Inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up. Remember to focus on form instead of speed- if you’re barely bending your elbows when doing push-ups on your toes, drop to your knees so you can get your chest just inches from the ground. You’ll benefit so much more from the exercise by making that change.

*Tuesday 12/2: Take the stairs today! Whether it’s from the parking garage, in the T station, at work, at the gym, etc., choose the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator.

*Wednesday 12/3: No Equipment Necessary Workout- For today’s workout, you’ll be doing a No Equipment Necessary Workout. I’ve got a number of these on my At Home Workouts workout page, but if you’re looking for something new, try this:

10 push-ups
20 jump squats
30 plie squats
40 mountain climbers
50 burpees
60 second plank.

How many rounds can you do in 20 minutes? Work up and down the ladder if you want and modify as needed.

Some of my other favorites are here:
Got 20 Minutes?
Wednesday Workout: No weights? No problem! {Cardio & Core workout}
Wednesday Workout: 20 min workout blast!

*Thursday 12/4: Give someone a compliment. We all have thoughts about what people are wearing, how they smell, how they’re doing at work, but sometimes we end up keeping it to ourselves. Today, I want you to give someone a compliment. It’ll make both of you feel pretty darn good!

*Friday 12/5: Pay it forward. Buy the person’s coffee behind you, pay someone’s toll behind you, bring someone a treat at work, you get the idea. A little act of kindness can go a long way!

*Saturday 12/6: Full Body Workout. Most workouts in this challenge will be under 20 minutes, but this one is a bit longer (or, it can be longer if you want it to be). Here are 5 suggestions for full body workouts that will leave you feeling sweaty and beat!

Wednesday Workout: 30 minute total body tabata workout
Wednesday Workout: 30 Minute Total Body Strength Workout
Wednesday Workout: 30 minute burpee spectacular workout
Wednesday Workout: The “Everything Is Sore” Workout
Wednesday Workout: 10-10-10 Pre-Flight Workout & A Standing Ab Workout

*Sunday 12/7: Go through your closet and/or draws and donate a bag of clothes that you haven’t worn in a year. Chances are, if you haven’t worn something in a year, it can’t be that great, right?! So, give your closet and draws some space! Who knows, Santa may have some things come to you that will take place of the old things you’ve donated 😉 I usually drop off my clothes to a yellow planet aid box. If you don’t know where one is near you, check out this site.

Don’t forget to share your challenge pics on Social Media by using the hashtags #happyhealthyfit and #burpeestobubbly. I want to see how you’re doing 🙂 Let me know in the comments if you plan on participating!

Happy, Healthy, Fit; A 24 Day Challenge

November 28, 2014November 26, 201410 Comments

Hi there! As I mentioned on various forms of social media and earlier this week in a post, I’m going to host a little challenge throughout the month of December leading up to Christmas. I know there are all sorts of challenges floating out there in the blog world, but what I hope you like about this challenge is the fact that it’s very attainable. I didn’t want to add a lot more to your already busy schedule, because I know that can be stressful and overwhelming. Rather, I wanted to provide you with a challenge that gives you the opportunity to better yourselves each day, whether it be by a workout, giving to others or giving to yourself. Some of the challenges will be more difficult than others, but I think anything can be achieved if you want it bad enough.

I have laid out the challenges throughout the month, hopefully in a strategic way to help you accomplish them. What I mean by this, is I’m not going to ask you to try a new recipe on a week night because I know there usually isn’t as much time on a Wednesday night as there might be on a Sunday night, right? Also, having you pack your lunch and bring it to work wouldn’t make very much sense on a Saturday, right? With that said, please feel free to rearrange the challenge if you need to make it work with your schedule a little more.

I will give you the full calendar today and then going forward, I’ll give the 7 day version to you on Sunday for the Monday-Sunday week. In these weekly posts, I’ll give more explanations for the challenges, ideas for accomplishing it, workouts to complete, etc. Your job is to participate, and share your participation through various forms of social media using the hashtag #happyhealthyfit:

Facebook: “like” Burpees to Bubbly
Instagram: Follow @Burpeestobubbly
Twitter: Follow @burpeestobubbly

Easy enough, right?

So, what do you think?? Are you in? I hope so!

There are no real “rules” in this challenge- I just want you to have fun stepping outside of your normal day to day activities and interact with each other by sharing your photos or status updates on Social Media. I’ll have prizes at the end for the people who use #happyhealthyfit and/or #burpeestobubbly the most, so get tagging 😉

As always, if you have any questions throughout the challenge or just want to let me know how it’s going, you can always comment here or send me an email (burpeestobubbly@gmail.com). Stay tuned on Sunday for more details on week 1 of the challenge!

My 5 favorite quick and easy (but relatively healthy) dinner ideas

July 29, 20143 Comments

I am sure I’m not the only one with a schedule this summer that leaves little room for much “real” cooking, right? Throughout the winter months, I seem to have much more time to spend hours in the kitchen whipping up delicious and healthy meals, but there’s something about the summer months that causes my schedule to fill up so quickly! With that said, I’m often left with figuring out what to cook that will not take much time (when I get home from the gym I’m STARVING- read: Hangry) yet still be tasty and healthy.

Here are some of my favorites!

Quesadillas

I love all types of quesadillas because they are so versatile and relatively quick and easy to put together. Sometimes I’ll just do cheese but I try to spice them up a little by adding in chicken and peppers and onions. Lately, when I have leftover roasted veggies I end up putting those in my ‘dilla- a great way to use up leftovers without getting bored and feeling like you’re eating the same thing over and over.

Eggs

I usually do them scrambled, but sometimes I do hard boiled or over easy… Heck, sometimes I even microwave them for the fastest and easiest type of egg! I try to incorporate some type of veggies or greens (spinach or kale) to add in a little exta nutritious value. I usually top my eggs with slices of avocado and salsa- makes for a super tasty meal! RM will often make us frittata which is a fun way to change up my normal egg consumption.

Quinoa bowl

Even if I don’t have a lot of time to cook a real meal, I will usually whip up a batch of some staple items: quinoa, chicken, roasted or sautéed veggies, sweet potato, etc. and one of my favorite things to do is throw them all in a bowl together! RM laughs at me every time I suggest eating ‘quinoa bowls’, but they are so easy, delicious and healthy that I think they are a very suitable dinner idea… And good idea at that!

Smoothies

I’m not talking your regular old fruit smoothie. I’m talking a smoothie packed with protein, flaxseed, chia seeds, almond butter, coconut oil, spinach and then some fruit. Regular fruit smoothies are loaded with sugar and very little protein or “staying power”. Although it’s “natural” sugar, you still want to be careful not to incorporate too much, especially first thing in the morning which will likely kick up your sugar cravings for the rest of the day. RM has a Vita Mix and I always ask him to make me a power smoothie when I get home from the gym.

Pizza on a wrap or flatbread

I used to loveee English muffin pizzas (heck, who am I kidding, I still love them), but I have started to turn to wrap or flatbread pizzas because it looks and feels like I’m eating a real pizza! I usually just top them with cheese (because it’s quickest and easiest), but sometimes I’ll add peppers or other veggies. The beauty is that if you broil them this dinner takes no time at all! I try to use wraps that are high in fiber and protein (some have more than others).

A tip to make these basic meal ideas even healthier and easier? Prep a bunch of veggies at the start of the week so you can easily incorporate them into whatever you put together!

Questions for you: What’s your quickest/easiest meal you throw together during the week?

A Healthy Eggplant Parmesan Dinner

May 29, 2014May 28, 20146 Comments

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the best way to get back “on track” after an indulgent weekend or few days is to make a veggie-heavy dinner that’s so delicious it reminds you how good it tastes and feels to eat clean, real food. On my way back to Massachusetts on Monday afternoon, I remembered that I had bought a baby eggplant the week before. Since I hate to waste food, and have been waiting for an excuse to take my dad’s homemade sauce out of the freezer, I decided that eggplant parmesan would be a great meal to make. Per usual, I knew I wanted to doctor up the sauce a bit, so I added in some browned lean hamburger (it was about half the price of ground turkey or ground chicken and it was 85% lean so I went for it) and extra veggies.

To cut back on carbs a bit, I cooked up a small spaghetti squash. This is one of my favorite healthy substitutions because if you have a good sauce and other things to keep your mouth happy, you won’t even notice that you’re not eating pasta! Lastly, a side of baked kale was the finishing piece of the meal… because you can never have too many veggies, right?!

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 small-medium eggplant
sea salt
approx. 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1-2 eggs
1/2-1 cup panko or bread crumbs
EVOO
2 cups of sauce (store bought or homemade)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey or chicken)
1 medium spaghetti squash
1 bunch of kale
1/2 lemon
herbs and seasonings of your choice

Directions

1. Cut open the spaghetti squash, clean out the seeds and put it into a pot of boiling water. Boil for about 15-20 minutes. While that is cooking, place the sauce in a pot and add in the chopped veggies. When the spaghetti squash is cooked, remove from the water and use a fork to shred the squash. Set aside.

2. Brown the beef and add that to the sauce and veggies.

3. Clean and cut up the kale (removing the stems) and massage with about 4 tbsp. of EVOO, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and herbs/seasonings of your choice. Place in a baking dish and set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 350*. Cut up the eggplant into 1/4-1/2″ slices and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle some sea salt onto one side and let sit for a few minutes. Flip the slices over and sprinkle more salt on them. I heard that this helps to remove some of the excess moisture in the eggplant- anyone know more about this?

5. Heat a pan with a little EVOO. Scramble an egg in one bowl and put the panko/breadcrumbs in the other bowl. Place the eggplant slices into the egg and then into the panko/breadcrumbs and then onto the warm pan. Cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes.

6. When each side of the eggplant slice has browned, place a small spoonful of sauce and a sprinkle of cheese onto each and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Place the kale in the oven as well, stirring halfway through.

7. Serve yourself a bowl of spaghetti squash, topped with the meat/veggie sauce and eggplant medallions and a side of kale. Enjoy!

This meal was so delicious and can be simplified even more by replacing spaghetti squash for regular spaghetti and skipping the breading process on the eggplant. I just had time and love being in the kitchen so I went all out!