Recipe: Versatile Veggie Frittata

The frittata, one of the easiest recipes ever. The nice thing about these babies is you can eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can even make ahead of time and reheat a slice for breakfast if you have to wake up at the crack of dawn like me (I like to get as much sleep in as possible so saving time is a good thing!). Another thing about this recipe is you can make it your very own easily. Add whatever your favorite veggies, meats and cheeses and have fun experimenting. I got this recipe and pics from http://www.skinnytaste.com/ (it is a blog I follow with awesome recipes). I added mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes to her version. 




Versatile Veggie Frittata





Servings: 4 servings • Time: 20 minutes • Points: 3 ww points

• 1/2 small white onion, thinly sliced rings
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 cup zucchini, diced into matchsticks (I also used a handful of mushrooms, spinach and chopped de-seeded tomatoes)
• 3 eggs
• 5 large egg whites
• 1 tbsp fat free half and half (I used some soy milk instead)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and fresh pepper (go light on the salt if you use parmesan, parmesan is on the salty side usually)

Preheat oven to 350°.
Over medium heat, heat oil in a large skillet (make sure you use an oven-safe pan, or just transfer in a baking dish right before putting in oven). Stir in onion and cook until slightly brown, about 10 minutes. Add peppers and cook 5 more minutes, then add zucchini.Season with salt and pepper and cook 3 more minutes stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl whisk eggs, egg whites, parmesan, half and half, salt, and pepper.
Add eggs to the skillet making sure eggs cover all the vegetables. When the edges begin to set (about 2 minutes) move skillet to oven. Cook about 15 minutes, or until frittata is completely cooked. Serve warm, cut into 4 equal wedges.

Exercise: Lift Your Booty! Back to Reality Workout

We are back!!! I got married, went on a honeymoon, entertained visitors and tried to get back into the swing of things for over two weeks (phew!) so that is why I haven't been blogging new workouts for you. I also have a lil confession to make....I was a bum!! On our honeymoon we relaxed, ate, slept, ate, laid around and ate some more. With the wedding chaos and the relaxing honeymoon it was the longest I haven't worked out in years and years. It was an amazing and memorable two weeks, but I truly did miss my workouts.We did manage to workout on the last day we were there and I came close to puking! So now it is back to reality and here we go.....

This routine made my butt so sore, not to mention my thighs!! It was in the perfect spot too, right underneath the booty where we all want to get that nice lift. I hope you enjoy it. This is a time challenge and was intense as all get out!

I made this workout before I got married and vacationed, finishing in 30min 35seconds and only did one round burning 341calories (average 130lb woman, if you weigh more you will burn more). If you want to really kick your butt (pun intended) do it twice. The second time I did it, I did it with Scotty (who pushes me) when we came back and we finished in less than 25 minutes. I was super surprised I actually did better after that lazy honeymoon we had. However my single leg squats were half of what they were before-yikes those are tough!
Note: MB= medicine ball, if you dont have one you can just stack some books on the floor or a sturdy box, but you can also just use your imagination ;) or skip the ball and just use the floor.
I also want to apologize for being a little cut off, this blog site only allows me to use a small or mobile video so it gets a little chopped off at the end during bridges but you should still get the picture ;)

20 MB Jump Taps
squat down and tap your butt to the ball (or box, books, pillows etc) jump up and immediately land back down into a low squat, start again

15 Left Leg Front to Reverse Lunge
with weight (or no weight if you choose easier) on the right shoulder, step the right leg back and lower into a lunge, do not let the knee go past the toe, push off the left heel as you bring the right knee up to the chest, then step the right foot forward into a lunge, push off and again lift the knee back into the chest
15 Right Leg Front to Reverse Lunge

20 MB Jump Taps

20 Left Low Lunge
holding a weight in your left hand (or no weight to modify) lunge back with the right leg and lower until you bring the weight all the way to the floor, place it down staying low in your lunge, then immediately pick it back up, push off your left heel and stand feet together
20 Right Low Lunge

20 MB Jump Taps

20 Left Lunge and Rotate
step the right leg back and lunge holding a weight in both hands in front of your chest, once you are in a low lunge (left knee not past that toe!) twist to the left, push off the left heel and stand, repeat
20 Right Lunge and Rotate

20 MB Jump Taps

20 Left Side Lunge
with 2 hands hold a weight in front of your chest, step the left leg to the side and bend the knee, send your hips way back so all of your weight is in your left butt, do not let knee go past toe, right leg should stay straight, twist the weight slightly to the left, then forcefully push off with your left leg back to start
20 Alternating Side Jump Lunges (no weight) do the above but alternate sides and add a jump if you want the challenge-see video
20 Right Side Lunges
20 Alternating Side Jump Lunges

20 MB Jump Taps

20 Alternating Single Leg Squats
you may hold onto a chair with this one, squat as low as you can on one leg as you hold the other out in front of you, alternate

20 MB Jump Taps

20 MB Bridges Right
lay on your back (yay! lay down!) bend your right knee and place the MB (or box, book, etc) under your foot, keep the left leg straight, push into the ball with your right leg and lift the hips off the floor, at the same time raise your left leg straight up, lower and repeat
20 MB Bridges Left
(repeat these bridges again-20 right, 20 left)

20 MB Jump Taps

Info: Last "I'm Single" Post!!

HI everybody!!!

I wanted to make a quick post letting you know that I love you all but I will be taking a bit of a break for the next week and a half...Im getting married!! Ahhhhhh! So tomorrow I will marry my best friend, the most wonderful man in the world. I couldn't be more excited, I think I may burst between now and then.
Afterwards we will be on vacation in beautiful Jamaica for a week.

When I come back I already have a few really great and challenging workouts for you so don't fret. The one I did on Tuesday I am still sore from actually. So continue working out using past workouts or versions of your own and keep moving that body!! :-)

Everybody cross your fingers for good weather Saturday afternoon! Lotsa Love and xoxoxo's

Briana

Recipe: Fall Pumpkin Dessert Dip

This is a great little dessert for fall, it is low in calories and has healthy pumpkin in it, not to mention being delicious! Watch your portion sizes ;-). If you want to get fancy you can carve a small pumpkin as a festive bowl....or just use your own cute bowl. I made this last year for Thanksgiving and everyone seemed to enjoy it. You can serve it with Apples, Ginger Snaps or some low calorie Graham Crackers.

Fall Pumpkin Dessert Dip

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 61 | Total Fat: 2.5g | Cholesterol: 8mg

Exercise: Killer Stress and Fat Buster! "Ouch my shoulders!"

Ok people, it is crunch time for me...Im getting married!!! Ahhhh! By next Saturday I will be a wife, so forgive me if I am not able to pump out a bunch of workouts between now and then. Today I thought I would really get you guys with a killer one (and burn off some of my own stress)! This workout is for women AND men!! If you men think it looks too easy-try it I dare you!! If it was cake for you, you can feel free to comment and I will personally write a new insane workout just for you. It is a time challenge and see if you can beat my scores (down below the video). Keep your form, modify when you tire out and take breaks-be smart like I know you all are :-).

I saw this format online the other day and gave it a try. I loved it and put my own exercises to it. It's a type of pyramid building, where you layer sets on top of sets. For instance, first we start with exercise 1, then you finish and repeat 1 then add exercise 2, then you finish this and do exercise 1, exercise 2 then exercise 3, so each time you add another exercise you have to start all over again. So we will layer 5 exercises from 1 to 5 for your first set, then you switch it and go backwards and go 5 to 1 the same format for set 2. Essentially you will do six sets of each exercise by the very end. Confused yet? Watch the video from my little home gym room and it will be a little clearer ;-).

1) 2 Walking Lunges Forward, 4 Jumps Back (10 reps)
STAY LOW THE WHOLE TIME IF YOU CAN!!! but to modify, avoid the jumps and step back and squat and come up when needed...want more of a challenge? add weights....STAY LOW

2) 3 Walking Pushups, 10 Mountain Climbers (10 reps)
these are brutally tough if you stay on hands and toes the whole time (I needed breaks!!) to modify come down to the knees or reduce the pushups to 2 or even 1, if it is still difficult avoid the "walking" over....but if you still want more work? do a jumping pushup for you tough guys instead but still get the step overs to get those obliques

3) Body or Band Rows (15 reps)
the modification here is the band row, if you are super strong do pullups (or you can throw in a set or two to build up strength in between body rows) (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

4)  Reverse Lunge with Kick, Jump Lunge Switch (10 reps each leg)
to make it easier avoid the jumps and just switch legs by stepping back, again to challenge it up grab some weights

5) Star Crunches or Regular Crunches (30 reps)
the easier one here is obviously the regular crunches, if you want a challenge do the star crunch and hold a dumbbell in your hands as you crunch up to make the abs mad at you, if your neck tires just hold your head with one or both hands (these are burners when you do set 2)

My scores: Holy crap that was hard!!! Those pushups pretty much killed me-seriously they were God awful but I kept my form and took breaks. I did the first set (numbers 1 to 5) in 32min and 16 sec. I was totally wrong about finishing in 15-20 like I said in the video-sheesh! I burned 378 calories (average 130lb woman-more if you weigh more). So for those of you who do not have the time, this first set only was a great little workout. But you tough guys keep going!! The second set (numbers 5 back up to 1) I finished in 22min and 22sec, this set was slightly easier because there were only 2 sets of those God awful pushups, and 227 calories burned.

So total time 54min and 38sec with 605 calories total.

PS please dont hate me after this workout, love ya guys!! xoxo

Exercise: Burpee Bonanza

So Burpees are wonderful exercises to build strength, stamina and improve your cardiovascular system. Your heart will be pumpin' with these guys! It uses all of your major muscle groups. There are two ways you can do this workout. First option: Interval train, you will do 10 different types of burpees for 50 seconds each with 10 seconds rest. You will do 20 rounds, that means you will do each burpee set twice. If this workout doesn't get you sweating I have no idea what will!! However if you are really a bad ass you can try option two: Time challenge, you will do each burpee set 10 each and then repeat, again doing each burpee set twice (meaning 200 bodacious burpees total) as fast as you can with good form. This is a workout that is not for beginners or if your body doesn't feel 100% ready to go. Be cautious and smart!
Use http://www.beach-fitness.com/tabata/ as your timer for the interval option.
Below are the burpees, please see the video for a full explanation, I wrote a small description after each one. Each one is different but is derived from a typical burpee.
A typical burpee is as follows: start standing tall, abs tight, squat low to the floor and place hands flat on floor under shoulders, with tight abs jump or step back into a plank, do one pushup either on your toes or coming down to the knees, jump or step the legs back in, stand up and add a jump if you like.


Froggie Burpee
after a typical burpee, stay low and do a frog hop forward and one back

Single Leg Burpee, alternating
do a typical burpee only on one leg, alternate each leg, do a hop after each one

Scorpion Burpee, alternating
again do a typical burpee on one leg, as you are in the plank rotate the elevated leg over your body then under the body, no pushup (unless you want!), come back up and jump

Pull Up Burpee
after your typical burpee, jump up and do one pull up (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Side Burpee with Knee Tuck, alternating
instead of jumping back, jump to the side, do one pushup then pull the top knee in towards your chest, place it back, jump up and alternate sides

Side Plank Burpee
do a typical burpee, in a plank position, lift the right arm up and rotate the body into a side plank, come back to center and switch sides, no pushup for this one...unless you are just a killer ;), then come up and jump

Reptile Twist Burpee
do a typical burpee and in your plank pull the left knee into the left outside elbow, then switch legs, no pushup again if you choose, when you come up do a 180 jump facing the back wall and start again

Hindu Burpee
do a burpee but jump back into a pike position with the butt up in the air (downward dog or upside down V), lower into plank abs in, start to bend the elbows in towards your rib cage and lower the body until the chest almost touches the floor, do a back extension, come back into plank and jump forward, jump up

Plank Row Burpee
you may do this one with dumbbells if you like (keep them on the ground in front of you or you may hold them), do your typical burpee, in a plank do one row with the right arm then the left, no jump up with this one if you are holding weights

Knee In Crunch Burpee
after a typical burpee come up either holding onto a dip station or pull up bars, pull both knees into your chest and squeeze your abs tight

I am so sorry if my head is cut off in these videos, someday I will get a real camera ;-)

Interval train: My scores are as follows, I burned 235 calories (average 130lb woman) in 20 min
Froggie 7.5, 7.5
Single Leg 8, 7
Scorpion 7, 6
Pull Up 6, 5
Side with tuck 8, 7
Side Plank 6, 6
Reptile Twist 6, 6
Hindu 5, 5
Plank Row 6, 5
Knee In 7, 6

Time Challenge: I did this challenge a few days later. My time for the first round was 20min 15sec (a lot longer than I thought) I took a break after that because I thought I might die, then I came back and finished the second set at 21min 13sec. Total calories burned (average 130lb woman) 493! Phew! Take breaks with this one, it was mean!!!

Recipe: Healthy Edamame Hummus

I stole this recipe from a recent baby shower I went to. It was delicious! They spread the hummus on the plate and placed a salad on top with grilled shrimp and chicken, asparagus and hearts of palm. You didn't even need a stitch of salad dressing. I was too shy to ask the recipe so I experimented on my own. I have to say it was pretty close!
Food Facts: Edamame is a great source of fiber (a half cup is 4 grams), it is also high in vitamins B, C, E (very few foods have vitamin E), K, folate, a half cup is 11 grams of protein, it is an anti inflammatory, and is high in antioxidants. Hummus has healthy omega 3's, iron, vitamin B6, rich in fiber and protein and has been seen to help reduce cholesterol and cancers. Eat that!


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Healthy Edamame Hummus

1 pound bag frozen shelled edamame- not in the pods
(I saved about a cup to put with my veggies)
2-3 T olive oil
Garlic powder to taste
Cumin to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one lemon
try any other spices/herbs that you like

Puree in a food processor or blender

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So I used this as a bed for some arugala, sauteed shrimp and seared scallops with hearts of palm and edamame beans with a little miso sauce, but you can use whatever you like-be creative! It is a super filling and super healthy dinner, enjoy! (the little dish at the top is mashed cinnamon sweet potatoes, just in case Scotty was still hungry)

This is the Miso Sauce we buy