Category Archives: Health

Tandoori Roasted Cauliflower

Posted in Health, Mmm...Food... by

While I was home visiting my family, my mom and I made one of her food-delivery-dinners… You know, those boxes that come with everything you need to make an amazing meal. I happened to love this meal, but it was SO EASY that I felt like I could recreate it at home. And so I did, and now I’m sharing with you. You’re welcome.

Tandoori Roasted Cauliflower with Yogurt Sauce and Orange Salad

Ingredients

Cauliflower:

  • 1-2 heads of cauliflower (serves 2-4)
  • tandoori masala seasoning mix
  • olive oil

cauli

Yogurt Sauce:

  • 1 container plain greek yogurt
  • tandoori masala seasoning mix
  • cilantro

yogurt

Orange Salad:

  • 1-2 large oranges (serves 2-4), pealed and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • cilantro
  • olive oil

oranges

Side:

  • Warm naan or couscous makes a good combo with this meal.

Directions

This is SO EASY. Get ready.

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Mix together your orange pieces, shallot (to taste), a few pinches of cilantro, and about a tablespoon of olive oil. I also add a little salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Mix together yogurt, 1 tablespoon tandoori seasoning, and another few pinches of cilantro. Set aside.
  4. Remove stem and leaves of cauliflower, and cut each head into 8ths. Drizzle olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons tandoori, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Lay pieces on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet (I recommend spraying it), and bake for about 20 minutes, until roasted.
  5. Serve cauliflower with yogurt sauce, and with orange salad on the side.

Basic Granola

Posted in Health, Mmm...Food... by

IMG_1949

I looooove granola, but I feel like the ones we buy in the store are so full of sugar, and are SO expensive. So I decided to attempt my own, and I have to say, I’m pretty happy with the results! It’s not nearly as sweet, and has a great nutty flavor overall. I don’t know about you, but when something is so sweet, it’s easy to overeat it. So here you go, my homemade granola!

Ingredients
4 cups of oats
1 1/2 cup pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
handful of almond slivers / nuts of your choosing
1/2 cup of oil (I used olive but coconut would be REALLY good)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
extra add ins once it’s cooled: shredded coconut (add halfway through baking for toasted coconut), dried fruit, chocolate chips, and just about anything else you can think of.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, cinnamon, and salt. Add in oil, syrup, and vanilla and mix until everything is coated. Pour mixture out onto your prepared pan.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then stir. Bake for another 8-10. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before breaking it into pieces. Once it’s cool, add in anything else you’d like, such as dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc.

Enjoy!! I love this with a good greek yogurt. Happy summering!

Push/Pull Workouts

Posted in Health, Work It Out by

We all need variety in our lives, whether it’s our food, friends, activities, clothes, or workouts. I mean, we live in a culture where it is NOT OKAY TO BE BORED. I fill my “boredom” with Netflix, crafting projects, baking etc… The idea of doing nothing is literally terrifying.

But I digress. Today I want to talk about variety in our workouts. If you’ve been around my blog a while, you’ve seen me share a variety of workouts – because I LOVE a variety of workouts! Seriously, I enjoyed my stint with crossfit. I like to jump rope. I like to row. I like to lift. I like to yoga. I like to follow a plan. I’ve even run even though I don’t really like that much at all.

My pretty, pretty gym.
I mean, with a view like this…
Will definitely add a lot more stretching and rolling into my days.

Some of my favorite 12-week stints have been Jamie Eason’s Live Fit trainer, which was awesome. I’ve also done your traditional back/bi, chest/tri, legs, sholders/abs routine…with Live Fit and with this, I would feel SO GUILTY for missing a day because it was like, a WHOLE GROUP OF MUSCLES I was totally skipping. OH THE PRESSURE. And then, for the last month or so, I’ve mostly been doing sporadic home workouts with my Nike Training Club app, and it was just what I needed. I was burnt out on the gym, and my schedule with rehearsals got a little crazy (I’m getting too old to handle late nights). But now, I’m ready to get back into a solid routine.

And as I’ve mentioned before, the BodySpace app is MY FAVORITE when it comes to planning and tracking workouts.

iPhone Screenshot 1iPhone Screenshot 2

To lift the pressure of the traditional weight lifting routine, I’m now shifting into a Push/Pull split. Basically, you have two kinds of weight workouts – one where you pull, and one where you push. Literally. By doing this, you are working your whole body each time, but different parts of each muscle, giving the other parts plenty of time to rest. Here is a good image I found:

So a “Push Workout” may include things like:

  • Barbell Bench Press
  • Barbell Full Squat
  • Incline Dumbbell Press
  • Standing Military Press
  • Dumbbell Flyes
  • Skullcrushers
  • Barbell Shoulder Press
  • Side Lateral Raise

And then a “Pull Workout” may include things like:

  • Bent Over Barbell Row
  • Barbell Deadlift
  • Dumbbell Shrug
  • One-Arm Row
  • Barbell Curl
  • Face Pull
  • Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
  • Seated Cable Rows

I’m aiming to do weights three times a week (so one week would be push/pull/push and the next pull/push/pull), HIIT cardio two times a week, and then a bonus day of either extra cardio or a yoga class. A lot of people also add a leg day in here, but I’m okay having squats in my regular workouts, and then also doing leg-intensive HIIT workouts. I’m not training for a body building competition, here. I also think it’s important to switch it up, sometimes doing more reps with less weight, and other times doing less reps with more weight. This is the balance I want for myself, but I know it’s different for everyone. I started back into this routine this week and let me tell you – I am SORE and I am SLEEPING LIKE A BABY. Both of which are good signs in my opinion šŸ™‚

Super Easy & Healthy Shredded Chicken {Crock Pot}

Posted in Health, Mmm...Food... by

You get one crappy iPhone photo and THAT’S IT.

IMG_7795 (1)

But it doesn’t take away from the awesomeness and easiness of this chicken. I’m kicking myself (figuratively AND literally) for not doing this sooner. How easy, you ask?

THIS EASY:

PutĀ one pound of chicken breastĀ andĀ two cups of chicken stockĀ in your crock pot. Low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4 hours.

YOU’RE DONE.Ā I shredded mine in two seconds with a fork because it was so tender. I let it chill a little longer in the juice, but that’s completely optional.

I also diced an onion into some large chunks and threw it in there with some seasonings. You could add any veggies really: carrots, onions, bell peppers, etc. But at the end of the day, all you REALLY need is chicken and stock.

OMG WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

Yoga at Columbus Commons

Posted in Health, Work It Out by

Yoga is one of those things that I occasionally do, am glad I did, swear I will do a lot more, and then forget about for a couple of months. Shame on me. But when my friend Annie asked me to do yoga at the Commons over the weekend, I was like, YEAH! And it was really fun! Something about being outside made me feel less self-conscious than I usually do in a studio. It was aĀ leeeettleĀ sticky outside, but by the end there was a nice breeze and an overcast sky.

IMG_7645There were definitely a LOT of people, but notĀ tooĀ many where we felt crowded. You can see in the photo: plenty of space for all. So big thanks to Annie for getting me out of my comfort zone! Plus let’s be real – yoga is a seriously nice break from the running and the weights and regular routine. If you’re in Cbus, I highly recommend you go check it out!

IMG_7649

Rowing HIIT Workout

Posted in Health, Work It Out by

It should be news to no one that running is NOT my favorite form of workout. I like exercise, and I don’t evenĀ hateĀ cardio…I just have to find ways to keep it more interesting. Tell me I’m not alone in this.

So this weekend, I made up this little workout, and it definitely kicked my booty a bit. I highly recommend it for a little cardio variety, with the added bonus of some shoulder and leg work. Let me know how you like it!

Row Workout

Cap City Half Marathon and Quarter Marathon

Posted in Columbus Adventures, Health by

So remember that one time that I ran a half marathon and I hated training but I loved race day? And I said I’d never do another and then I said maybe I would do another? Well I decided probably I will never do another. For real. But over the weekend I DID complete a Quarter Marathon, which is about 6.6 miles. And for the record, it is MORE than a 10K…it’s like a 10.5K. Or something. Whatever, it was long and plenty of running for me. If I could occasionally challenge myself to a 10K OR quarter marathon, I will feel like a real athlete. Kind of.

Okay so anyway, the race. It was the Cap City Half Marathon / Quarter Marathon / 5K. It was a PERFECT day. Cool at the start but sunny and warm by the end. The race was well organized and a fun route. The announcer at the start line was full of energy, reminding us of “The Golden Beverage of Beer that awaits you at the finish!” Here is a quick photo recap of our race experience:

The starting line.
Me, Katy, Kelsey, getting ready for the start.
So glad Katy came to visit!!!
The finish line (from the spectators’ perspective)
I’m DONEEEE.
Kristin and me.
Vandy representing big time.
Endless free bubbly. In retrospect, poor choice.
The seriously legit medal they gave me.

Overall, I completed the race in 1 hour 12 minutes. And I didn’t walk! I mean, some of that last half mile was a pace so slow it was basically walking, but many millions of thanks to Kelsey who stuck by the whole way and kept me running. I have been training, but running is just SO BORING when you’re alone. So on my longer Saturday runs through my neighborhood, I would often stop to walk because a) running is hard, and again b) running is boring. So I was pleasantly surprised by what my body was capable of. I did not feel fabulous at the finish, but hey, I pushed myself! Go me!

Anyway, if you need a fun race to do in Central Ohio, definitely check this one out next year. Maybe I will see you there!