Happiness is...
...great friends and Dom :-) I love how this pic turned out...thanks Danyel for sharing this amazing bottle with me!!
Happy Sunday & Happy Memorial weekend!!
Paleo Seven Layer Dip
This Paleo-friendly Seven Layer Dip has a mediterranean flair to it and it's SO much healthier than the regular version with all that bean dip, sour cream and cheese! It would be great to take to your next get together or pot luck! It tastes so FRESH and has wonderful flavor!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups hummus
- 1 cup peeled and diced cucumbers
- 1 cup chopped fresh spinach w/ a few chopped leaves of fresh basil mixed in
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup diced kalamata olives
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
In a 13" x 9" baking dish, layer the ingredients starting with the hummus.
Serve with fresh veggies, endive… or whatever you wish! It's delicious!
"Frenchie Friday"
Our French Bulldog "Stella" loves her walks. She goes for short walks in the early morning or in the evening after the sun goes down since she can't exercise in the heat... she can't breathe very well with her smashed face!! She can usually go about 3 miles though!... Whether she's coming....
or going....
...she makes our life so much happier. Have a fantastic Friday!! Take your dog for a walk today... it'll make you bothhappier! Exercise and spending time with our furry friends has been proven to reduce stress and improve mood! :)
How to use the "Interval Timer" App
JOINING IN ON THE 7-MINUTE WORKOUT #1 FITNESS CHALLENGE? IT WILL BE HELPFUL TO GET THIS APP!!
In case you haven't used this app before... I'm going to explain exactly what settings to enter for this 7-minute workout so you don't have to waste any extra time setting this up! The whole point of this workout is about saving time, right? I've got your back ;)
FIRST: Go to the "App Store" on your iPhone and search "Interval Timer". It was free when I got it... hopefully it still is. Download the app and open it. Your screen should look like this... (I'm sure Android phones have something similar....)
NEXT, you need to adjust the settings for this workout. Click on the "stopwatch" in the upper right corner. It will bring up a current routine and you'll want to name it. Click name and enter "7-min workout" (or whatever you want to call it). If you want to set time for a warm up and cool down you can do that... I leave them at zero and do that on my own. NEXT, click on "Interval Cycle" and click "number of sets" and set it to 12. Under "First Interval" select "High". Under the High Intensity section set "Duration" to 00:30 (30 sec). Under the Low Intensity section set "Duration" to 00:10 (10 sec). You can change the alarm sounds if you like... I leave them at the default settings. Your screen should look like this...
Click the back button and make sure your settings look like this...
You're ALL SET!! On the main screen when you are ready to start your screen will look like this... you just hit "START"! You will hear a sound that indicates when you change from your High Intensity exercise (30 secs) to Low Intensity/rest (10 secs). (I know, I know...the whole workout is actually 7 minutes, 50 seconds from start to finish...but you can handle that extra 50 seconds no problem!!) ;)
You can add more routines to your list as needed and save them like this... you can customize any time intervals you like!
Ok, now want to hear the COOLEST part?? This app lets you listen to your music while working out!! Just click the music note symbol in the lower right of the start screen!
AWESOME!! You are all set.... I'm so looking forward to YOU keeping ME accountable with this 30 Day challenge. Check out the full post "7 Minute Workout#1" to learn more about the challenge.
7 Minute Workout #1
ACCOUNTABILITY ALERT!! For those of you who need some motivation and accountability that is sometimes hard to get when working out at home... I'M GOING TO BE YOUR MOTIVATION! I WILL BE STARTING THIS 30 DAY CHALLENGE ON JUNE 1st! See details at the end of this post!!
Who doesn't have seven minutes? If you're tight on time, just starting to exercise, on vacation or just don't like spending long periods of time exercising… this 7 minute workout is a great short workout that gets results! How can you possibly get results in just seven minutes? It's called High Intensity Interval training (HIIT). This kind of burst training burns major calories (even after the workout is over), sheds fat and therefore gets results fast. You will get better results with this kind of training than spending hours on a treadmill or other low intensity exercise. BUT, you will only get out of it what you put into it, it's only seven minutes, so give it your all!
Do the following exercises for 30 seconds each… but do them with as much intensity as you can muster. Rest for 10 seconds in between exercises. So what does "high intensity" look like for you? Think of it like this... on a scale of 1 - 10, if "1" is giving hardly any effort, and "10" is 'you can't possibly give any more'... you want to aim to perform these 30 seconds bursts of intensity at an '8'. There is a handy app on the iPhone called "Interval Timer" which is AWESOME for this! I found it when I was doing BodyRock. You can set it to 'beep' at the timed intervals so you can just listen and GO without looking at a stopwatch! Genius! Print out or write down the order of exercises so you can glance to see what's next on the list as you go. Repeat the whole list up to 3 times for a longer workout. That's the beauty of it, YOU choose, do 1 set, do 2 sets, feeling stronger... do 3 sets! Even if you do it 3 times, you'd still be DONE in less than 30 minutes! All you need is your own body weight, a mat (or carpet), and a chair or bench.
- Jumping Jacks: (These are pretty self explanatory; BUT if you can't jump, just step one leg out at a time while still doing the arm movements.)
- Wall sit: (Find a wall and lower yourself into a squat position with your back flat against the wall, making sure that your legs are at a 90 degree angle and your knees are in line with your ankles; thighs parallel to floor.)
- Push Ups: (Regular or on your knees, just remember good form!)
- Crunches: (Many people do crunches incorrectly...unlace your fingers, don't pull on your neck, eyes on the ceiling will help with this. Tuck your pelvis under so your lower back touches the floor and pull your bellybutton in toward your spine rather than pushing your belly out while crunching.)
- Chair Step Ups: (Step up and down on a stable chair or bench raising your knee at the top, alternating legs. If you don't have a stable chair, lay on your back and do butt/hip lifts instead; like "bridge".)
- Squats: (Feet hip width apart, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Put your arms out in front of you as you squat, this will help you balance and keep good form. Do the best you can if you can't get parallel... yet! Remember, we are going for speed here, so give it some intensity while keeping good form!)
- Tricep Dips: (Find a stable chair that won't move or slide while doing these…put in against the wall if needed. With your hands on the edge of the chair on either side of your rear, lift your rear off the edge and lower yourself up and down using your arms. Your legs can be bent more for beginners and straight as you advance.)
- Plank: (Get in push up position on your toes, hands directly under shoulders… and hold it! This can also be done on your elbows with your forearms on the floor. Pull your belly in… focus on tightening your core.)
- High Knees: (Try to get your knees waist high with each jump, if you can't yet…run in place. Again, if you can't jump, march in place with knees high, just do your best!)
- Lunges: (Keep your feet hip width apart when you step, not in a line with each other, this is the key to keep you stable. Try to get your knee within an inch off the ground when you lunge. Keep legs at a 90 degree angle, don't let your knees go over your toes.)
- Push Up Rotations: (Do a push up, then roll onto one arm, lifting the other arm straight up in the air. Roll back into plank, repeat other side. If you can't do the push up, just start with plank rotations... without the push up, you'll get stronger!)
- Side Plank: (on your side, prop yourself up on your forearm and stack your feet. Pull your core in and lift your hip up so you're in a straight line. If you need to work up to this, bend the lower leg and put the side of your lower leg on the mat to give you more support. Keep the top leg straight, hold.
Do what you can. It will be amazing to see how you improve over time! As you improve or if a move feels to easy, you can modify by adding weights…hold hand weights while doing squats for example. This would be a great 30 day Discipline! Do this workout every other day and go for a 30 minute walk on the days in between. Write down how many of each exercise you can do on day one and again on day 30. Strong is the new skinny!!
See my blog post on: "What to eat before and after a workout"
ACCOUNTABILITY ALERT!! For those of you who need some motivation and accountability that is sometimes hard to get when working out at home... I'M GOING TO BE YOUR MOTIVATION! I WILL BE STARTING THIS 30 DAY CHALLENGE ON JUNE 1st! I AM COMMITTING TO DOING THIS WORKOUT WITH YOU EVERY OTHER DAY, AT LEAST ONE SET, MORE IF I CAN. I will take at least a 30 minute walk on the days in between. Decide what your commitment is and write it down, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THE SAME AS MINE. I will be posting daily with motivation for you and my experience during these 30 days! You can search the day YOU are on by going to the search bar and typing in "Fitness Challenge Day ___" to see my experience from that day. JOIN ME! I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU... OR NOT... JUST FOLLOW ALONG! It's very MOTIVATING to have someone to exercise with, just knowing someone is going through the process with you! I'VE TRIED IT BEFORE AND IT WORKS! Record your stats on Day One: weight, measurements, and how many reps of each exercise you can do. Even take a "before" pic if you want to. Record these again on Day 30. This is for YOU. If you want to share, GREAT, but this is for YOU. Everyone is different and one person's "before" pic might look like someone else's "after" pic, so it's not about competition or comparison. This is about YOU being stronger on day 30 than you were on day 1 and making exercise a habit... seeing results... gaining confidence! Have FUN, LET'S DO THIS!!! WHO'S IN!? If you see this after June 1st, that's ok!... just jump in and start YOUR 30 days right now!
I got this awesome workout from POPSUGAR who got it from the American College of Sports Medicine. To view photos of the above moves in case you are confused at all,click here. I titled this workout "#1" because I plan to develop new 7 minute workouts for you so you don't get bored with this one and you'll be able to advance... I plan to make them basic or beginner, like this one... to more advanced, so you have choices depending on your ability!
New to Paleo? Try these cookbooks...
Are you thinking of giving the Paleo lifestyle a try? I highly recommend it...it has honestly changed my life. Not only has it gotten me back to my high school weight effortlessly and gotten 20+ pounds off my husband, it has made me FEEL like myself again. I was tired of feeling tired. I was tired of the extra pounds that were hanging on for dear life! I was tired of never feeling satisfied when I ate. I was tired of the bloat. When we feel like this and live with it long enough... it starts to feel "normal". Well, I finally had enough. Even though I have always been very good about moderation, I knew that I was to blame. I was eating CRAP that I shouldn't be eating. I knew that no one was going to make me feel better but me. I switched to Paleo and haven't looked back. I love it. I feel so much energy now, the extra fat literally fell off and I NEVER feel bloated. Going Paleo has honestly made me a happier person!
I have a very close friend who is a doctor who suffers from a severe gluten allergy and gets very sick if she eats it. She has gone Paleo and taught me much of what I know. She used to get horrible migraines, severe fatigue, and skin rashes. Since she has switched to Paleo she feels like a new woman! She shared a DVD documentary with me that I'm very excited to share with all of you very soon... I know that will help some people! I'll get that post out as soon as I can, I promise. I just want to stick to the basics here because that's a whole post on it's own...
I know there have to be some people out there who can benefit greatly by switching to the Paleo lifestyle. Feeling BAD does not need to be your NORMAL. If you suffer from chronic fatigue, mood swings, cravings, weight gain, weight loss, bloating, digestive problems, leaky gut, Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, neurological problems, thyroid problems, blood sugar regulation problems, autoimmune conditions, ADHD.... give it a TRY. See how you feel. I'm not saying it's a cure-all by any means... but I'm a firm believer now that grains are an ENEMY for somepeople's bodies. By removing them from their diet, it can be a life saver, literally.
If you are just getting started, check out my posts "Paleo 101" and The "Paleo Pantry" List. In addition, the three cookbooks in the picture above are great, I would recommend them to anyone getting started. They helped me. Practical Paleo, Against All Grain and Nom Nom Paleo.
Update: Since writing this blog post I've collected many wonderful Paleo cookbooks. One of my very favorites is Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan...there's also Well Fed 2 ...but you can also find many of her amazingly tasty recipes online on her blog theclothesmakethegirl.com! I would definitely check out Paleo recipes on Pinterest...there are a TON of great ones to try!
I hope you decide to take this journey toward better health with me, I'd love to hear from you once you get going!