Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread!

My wonderful friend, Erin passed along her recipe for Zucchini Bread and included one of her home-grown zucchini's to bake with (it's the size of a melon, see below)! 

I adapted her recipe a bit to include some whole wheat flour and chocolate chips....because 99.9% of my recipes include chocolate so it has to be in there somewhere :) I think this turned out preeeeeeetty darn great and baked perfectly, too.

Makes: 2 loaves
Time: ~1 hour

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 F

In Mixer: beat 3 eggs
Add: 2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini

In a separate bowl, sift together:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

- Add dry ingredients to mixer, mix into batter
- Stir in a generous 1/2 cup of chocolate chips 
- Pour into two lightly greased bread pans (I sprinkled chopped walnuts on top as shown below)
**Bake both loaves for 50-60 mins**













HAPPY BAKING!

Fit Summer Circuit

Fit Summer Circuit

I JUST did this circuit today with two of my fit-crazed coworkers (like myself hah) during our lunch break and it was a blast! 

We got through it in about 20 minutes, with a short pause between each full circuit to catch our breath. Talk about some serious endorphans! :D I hope you give this a try and feel yourself getting stronger....or at the least, proud of yourself for trying something new and challenging. Remember, you gotta start somewhere, so if 4 times through is just too much, try 2 circuits and see how you're feeling, then go from there.

***Do note***if you're not sweating profusely and breathing heavy, you need to keep pushing!!! Why work out if you aren't exhausted and sweaty afterwards?!? You'll be SO glad you did!

GOAL: 4 stations, 1 minute each, 4X all the way through

NEED: a bench, mat and to get pumped up before you start ;)

1. CARDIO - fast toe taps on bench

2. SQUAT with single leg side extension (switch leg after each squat)

3. AB leg extensions on mat - slow and controlled, keep back flat on the mat and squeeze in!

4. PLANK elbows to hands, (start on opposite arm after 30 seconds)

Now crank up the music and get er' done!

The Everything Healthy Muffin

The Everything Healthy Muffin

This recipe started when I realized I had an annoying amount of oat bran left in my cupboard from a previous recipe. I also had 4 very ripe bananas that desperately wanted to be baked into something yummy. 

bananas + oat bran = MUFFINS! 

I always love a healthy muffin that I could eat with coffee in the morning or before/after working out. 

I bake like most people cook.....throw in some seeds or nuts, a little extra vanilla extract or cinnamon, and of COURSE a extra chocolate chips, so have your fun with this recipe! :D

ENJOY! 

Time: 45 mins. Makes: 30 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cup oat bran

• 1/4 cup ground flax seed

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed

• 1/4 cup honey or agave

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain or honey greek yogurt

• 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup chia seeds

Extras:

2 handfuls of any seeds or nuts

1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or grease with coconut oil

2. In a medium bowl whisk together oat bran, flax, baking powder and cinnamon; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix mashed banana, honey, greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla together until well combined and smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add any additional ingredients as well.

4. Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, before putting in a tupperware.

5. EAT UP! 

Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Helloooooo there! 

If you're looking for a chocolate-y delicious, nutty biscotti recipe, you're in the RIGHT place! I made these a couple weeks ago and let me tell you, these babies are a sinch to make and fun to dip in your coffee/tea/hot cocoa.....and they make for great gifts, too!

Enjoy and have fun!

Time: ~1 hour Makes: about 2 dozen biscotti

Recipe Inspiration: laughingspatula.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• ½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup sugar

• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup toasted nuts (I used slivered almonds and     coarsely chopped walnuts)

• ½ to 1 cup dark chocolate chips, make it as chocolate-y as you want!

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, beat together the 3 eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients. (if dough seems a bit sticky and dry - add a few tablespoons of water so that the dough is thick, but not dry

4. Mix in the nuts and the chocolate chips until the dough holds together.

5. Spray a baking sheet with olive or coconut oil. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into two logs the length of the baking sheet. Transfer the logs onto the baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.

6. Gently flatten the tops of the logs and bake for 25 minutes, until the dough feels firm to the touch.

7. Remove the cookie dough from the oven and cool 15 minutes. On a cutting board, use a serrated bread knife to diagonally cut the cookies into ½-inches slices. Lay the cookies cut side down on baking sheets and return to the oven for about 20 minutes, turning the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies feel pretty firm.

8. Once baked, cool the cookies completely then store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. 

Extra deliciousness: melt a small bowl of chocolate then dip the biscotti halfway. Place on wax paper or plate to cool completely.

Let's Get FIT - no equipment needed Circuit!

Let's get FIT.

I know it's a holiday weekend, which means friends and family are around, vacations, concerts, road trips, etc are all happening as well, BUT, here's a QUICK WORKOUT that you can do tomorrow and monday (and a couple times a week throughout the summer) to keep you on track.

I'm ALL about a healthy balance of having fun and staying on top of your fitness, so enjoy yourself and make your workouts fun. It's the ONLY way for a workout routine to stick.

Here's how I roll....NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED!

FIRST: Get warmed up!

Warm-up ideas:
2 minutes jump rope or jumping jacks
Jog or speed walk for 5 mins on treadmill
High knees and butt kickers for a minute each

Do each exercise for 1 minute, repeating the whole thing 3 times

1. Fast body weight squats
2. Pushups
3. Ab bicycles (abs tight and controlled!)
4. Side plank (30 seconds on each side) --SQUEEZE THOSE ABS IN!
5. Step-ups (on a bench or chair, start with right leg then after 30 seconds, start with left leg) --AWESOME for your tush!

Almond Banana Oat Muffins

Almond Banana Oat Muffins

These TASTY moist muffins were fun to make and you'll get about 2 dozen muffins out of this recipe! I brought these to work, snacked on them in the mornings or after a workout, and they were super filling! They also passed the hubby-approval test....I lost count of how many he ate this past weekend! :)

These would be fun to bring to a work meeting or brunch with friends as a healthy option and they pack well, too. Feel free to add nuts to the recipe as I only put almonds on top before they baked. Chopped walnuts or pecans would be delicious or if you're a raisin or dried fruit fan, go ahead and toss 'em in with the chocolate chips!

Recipe inspiration from: nutritiontwins.com

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups rolled oats

•      ½ cup honey or vanilla Greek yogurt

• ½ cup Almond milk

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• ½ cup all purpose flour

• ½ cup light brown sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 2 large, ripened & mashed banana

• 4 tbsp canola oil

• 2 beaten egg

• ½ generous cup chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

• ¼ cup sliced almonds (for topping)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 410 and spray muffin tin or put in cupcake liners.

2. Mix the rolled oats and yogurt together; add the milk and let the mixture sit for 10-12 minutes until oats get soft and absorb milk.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and baking powder until evenly combined.

4. In yet ANOTHER bowl, mash the bananas then whisk in the egg and oil. Using a spatula, mix in the oat-yogurt-milk mixture until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined – do not overmix!

5. Stir in chocolate chips (and any other dried fruit or nuts you want to add)

6. Fill muffin cups about ⅔ of the way full and sprinkle sliced almonds on top of each muffin. Bake for about 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean! 

Happy Baking! YUM!

Circuit Blast

Circuit Blast

Today, I'm featuring my workout group at work! We always have a BLAST together doing CIRCUITS so I'm calling this CIRCUIT BLAST......SOooooooo corny, but it's awesome and you'll feel awesome after doing it! 

Try for at least 2 times a week to build strength throughout your whole body. I'm all about FULL body workouts in short bursts of time. If you're going to workout, might as well make it efficient and powerful.

That's me in the pink tank top raising my fist....pretty excited :)

LET'S GET STARTED! 

CARDIO (gotta do it….burns that fat off!)

5 min warm up - fast walking with incline on treadmill 

30 second sprints (hop off for 15 seconds in between sprints) – start at 8.5 increasing a couple mph each sprint until you're at 10 mph! (6 sprints total)

Hop off, it's circuit time...YOU CAN DO IT! 

CIRCUIT

1. 40 mountain climbers with hands gripping a weight ball (balancing works your core)

2. 20 jump squats (option: holding weight ball)

3. 20 backwards lunges with a twist (option: holding weight ball)

4. Hold plank for 1 minute……straight into 10 rocking planks - stay parallel to the ground and squeeze your abs! 

5. 20x (each leg) pulses towards ceiling - on all fours 

REPEAT 3X

Then.....stretch and have fun :)