HIIT Treadmill Workout

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Short on time but need to get some cardio in for the day?  This is the perfect work out for you if you enjoy running.  HIIT means high-intensity interval training which is a type of exercise made up of alternating periods of short, intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.  It is efficient because an entire HIIT session lasts only about 10-20 minutes.  This type of workout is great for burning fat, and your body continues to do so for 24-48 hours after your workout. 
How to:
5 mins - 7 (speed of treadmill)
5 mins - 4.5
4 mins - 7.5
4 mins - 4.5
3 mins - 8
3 mins - 4.5
2 mins - 8.5
2 mins - 4.5
1 min - 9
1 min - 4.5
5 mins - 3 (cool down)
Modification: to shorten this workout from 30 to 20 minutes, start at 4 mins on speed 7 and work up to 8.5

Roasted Veggies

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Vegetables get a bad rep, but I love 'em.  Maybe a little too much.  My roommate called me a bunny not too long ago because she caught me eating mixed greens straight from the container.  This roasted veggie recipe makes for a great side to any meal.  The balsamic vinegar adds a sweet tang that's hard to resist.
Ingredients:
-any vegetable or combination of vegetables of your choosing (I recommend broccoli, sweet potato, carrots, and/or Brussels sprouts)
-1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-black pepper
-Kosher salt
-rosemary
-baking sheet
-foil
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Wash and cut up vegetables to about 1x1 inch cubes or chunks, making sure all pieces are similar in size so that they cook through similarly
3. Toss pieces in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and rosemary until evenly coated
4. Cover a baking sheet in foil (for easy clean-up!)
5. Spread vegetables across the baking sheet and add more spices if desired
6. Roast vegetables for 30-35 minutes, checking periodically.  Depending on what vegetables I use, I may check on them more than once to be sure the pieces are being cooked through adequately (sweet potato tends to take longer than broccoli, for instance).  I also prefer my veggies to have crispy, almost burnt, parts.  I think this adds to the flavor so I keep mine in for an extra 5-8 minutes, keeping a close eye.
7. Remove veggies from oven and let cool for approximately 5 minutes
8. Pair with your choice of protein or eat straight from the baking sheet like I often times do.  Enjoy!

Scent

Lately I have been noticing more than ever that scent is directly correlated with memories.  Sounds, mainly songs, and tastes I think have a strong tie to memories too, but there is just something about scent.  This weekend I went home to surprise my mom and slept over at my sister's house the night before she and I unveiled to my mom our sneaky operation "Surprise Momma for Mother's Day".  When I pulled my pajama shirt out of my bag to get ready for bed at my mom's house later that night, I could smell my sister's house distinctly.  By no means was it a bad smell that remained on my shirt from the night before, but it was the smell of Elsa's home - plain and simple.  As I put the shirt on memories started assembling.  Memories of sleep overs.  Unpacking my clothes the next day after a sleep over, I always could smell my best friend's house on my things.  The faint aroma that had absorbed into my belongings was accompanied by memories of the night before.  Watching movie after movie, eating too many skittles, and whispering in the darkness until sunrise.  I would and will remember these times without the aid of a familiar scent, but when I catch a whiff of a particular smell it sends me careening back to an exact time and place.

Recycle

Yesterday as I was taking out my roommate’s and my flattened paper, cardboard, and plastic waste to our apartment’s recycling trash cans, I caught myself repeating in my head “reduce, reuse, recycle”.  Why was this on loop in my head acting as a soundtrack for my walk down to the trashcans?  Sometimes thoughts take hold and take over.  Have you ever experienced yourself thinking at lightning speed?  The thoughts are flying so fast through your brain that even if you tried you couldn’t say them aloud as they were forming?  After I noticed the three R’s on loop in my head, I started thinking about how appreciative I was knowing other people recycle in this world.  Likely not as many as there should be, but having to open and close five of the eight trashcans to finally find an empty one made me smile.  Memories racing now.  I’m in the kitchen of my childhood home and my mom is rinsing out a plastic bag.  She grabs a clothes pin and attaches it to our hanging fruit basket.  She is cleaning this sandwich bag to be used for tomorrow’s packed lunch.  A smile breaks across my face again as this memory takes over.

This year's Earth Day was the 46th anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement.  I hope you did Mother Earth a solid and found a recycling bin for that piece of junk mail or soda can instead of tossing it into the trash.  Small changes really do make a large difference in the scheme of things.

“The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” -Lady Bird Johnson

30 days

Today marks my sixth day of the Whole30 diet.  What is the Whole30 diet you ask?  For 30 days you can consume meat, veggies, fruit (both fresh and dried), nuts and eggs but cannot consume grains, dairy, legumes, added sugar, or alcohol.  My diet before starting the Whole30 didn’t differ drastically.  The main things I am giving up are cereal, greek yogurt, oatmeal, quinoa, chocolate, hummus, cheese, black beans, and my sweet tooth.  To keep my sanity I am breaking one of the rules and allowing myself to consume alcohol.  The purpose of the Whole30 diet is to see how foods you have been eating are affecting your everyday well being by “resetting” your body.  Food is ultimately your body's fuel and it will only function as well as you feed it.  I think I am somewhat lactose intolerant so I am looking forward to how I will feel after 30 days of absolutely no dairy.  I have also never followed an outlined diet before so this will really be testing my discipline.  I’ll post some recipes and updates along the way, but for now so long cheesy breakfast tacos and cold crunchy cereal, you will be missed dearly.

Whole30 Mock Oatmeal

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I am an absolute sucker for oatmeal.  If you ask my family or any of my roommates over the years, they would undoubtedly agree.  There’s something about warm, sweet, thickened oats that I can’t get enough of.  I have a sweet tooth so having oatmeal for breakfast topped with sliced banana, cinnamon, and honey makes for the perfect start to any day.  Now that I am restricted from eating oats on my Whole30 diet, I had to get creative.  This recipe was inspired by one of my colleagues who is Paleo.  Bon appetit!
Ingredients:
-1 whole banana
-1 tbsp unsweetened shredded raw coconut
-1/2 tbsp Justin’s Almond Butter
-about 10 roasted and salted almonds (slivers would be preferrable, although I used the back of a spoon to crush my whole almonds)
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 cup Silk Unsweetened Cashew milk
Method:
1. Slice banana however thick you prefer
2. Combine the sliced banana, almond slivers (or crushed bits), almond butter, shredded coconut, cinnamon, and cashew milk into a microwavable bowl
3. Microwave the mixture for approximately 45 seconds
4. Stir the mixture and enjoy!

First Thing's First

The first step is always the hardest – isn’t that what they say?  I agree with this idiom to the utmost, but I think the first step is only perceived as hard because of its paired uncertainty.  Creating my first journal post of my first blog has me uncertain.  I am fully prepared to stumble along the way and maybe even fall, but regardless of these fears I have decided to start a blog to showcase my creativity, if you will, and along the way hopefully inspire someone to take their own little leap of faith to follow their bliss.  Although not as artistically talented as some of my family members, I believe writing to be my creative outlet and my bliss.  It’s therapeutic and freeing.  Along with journal entries, you will find content inspired and curated from my personal interests and everyday activities.  Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy.