Wednesday Workout: The ultimate full-body workout

Wednesdays are the days I'm sans-trainer. I made my own workout, and wrote it down, because you know, it helps to do that. If the paper says to do it, you do it... HAHA 

Currently Craving...

... A new pair of sneaks!

{because we are all trying our best not to crave FOOD right?}

Did you know that you can design your own sneaks on Nikes website right down to the color of your swoosh? Incredible.

Dangerously incredible.

CLEAN RECIPE: Beet Ravioli with Cashew Cream Cheese

On occasion, I find recipes that jump off the pages, as if to say Erin, you can make this, and it's going to be amazing... This recipe was one of those recipes. Probably because of my undying love for beets.

Fun nutritional benefits of beets:

1. Beets are a natural aphrodisiac. Enough said ;)

2. Beets are high in Potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorous, iron, and Vitamins A, B and C

3. Beets are a natural cleanser of the body - acts as a tonic for the liver, purifies blood and can prevent various forms of cancer.

4. Beets are a way to test your stomach acid levels: If you are eating beets or drinking beet juice and your pee turns pink.. guess what, you have low stomach acid! Wahoo!

5. Beets are an excellent source of energy - low in calories, high in sugar - however, the sugar is released into your system gradually, unlike things like chocolate. Very few foods found in the natural world are as beneficial as BEETS.

Do you see why I love beets so darn much??

Sorry.... back to the recipe.

Important Note: Make sure you marinate the beet slices!!!

Marinade:

1/4 Cup olive oil
1 lemon
sea salt - to taste
pepper - to taste

Marinate for 1 hour to overnight

Side Note: I roasted the marinated beet slices for about 12 minutes at 350˚ to soften the beets just a little to make them more ravioli-like... not mandatory, but recommended in my opinion.

I changed a few things here and there, like roasting the beets just for about 12 minutes at 350˚ to tenderize them ever so slightly, but the cashew cream cheese filling - it's what makes the dish.

Cashew Cream Cheese:

2 cups raw cashews - soaked in water for about 4-8 hours
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tbsp finely diced chives
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
1 1/2 tbsp finely minced shallots or red onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Directions: Blend the Cashews with water and lemon juice in a high speed blender until smooth. Stop periodically to scrape the sides of the blender with a spatula.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients - OR you can do what I did and blend EVERYTHING in the blender.

Side note: I used garlic powder instead of onion powder, because that's what I had, and you know what? It was still delicious.

Happy Healthy Cooking!!

Sometimes a little downtime is all you need

Sometimes a girl just needs a day off from working out. 

Sometimes she needs a little Tom Yum soup from her favorite Thai restaurant with some of her favorite coworkers.

Sometimes the sun doesn't come out on Friday, making the idea of swimming in a cold outdoor pool the LAST thing I want to do.

Sometimes I don't eat enough greens, or drink enough water.

Sometimes a little downtime is just what the doctor ordered.

Yes, I took today off from working out. Yes, some people think no days off is the only way.... well, 'round here I take a day off if my body is feeling fatigued and sluggish. I worked out 4 days this week, and tomorrow I will workout again... 

{selfie photo of me in my new nike throwback shirt.... gotta love new workout clothes!}

A few friendly reminders....

Some days {like today} I have a hard time motivating myself to lace up those kicks and get outside and run.... or go to the gym and sweat.

Sometimes, we all just need some friendly reminders to get our butt outta that chair and outside.

These lovelies got me thru 4.13 miles of running today {thanks pinterest}:

xoxo

Erin

Evil BMI Charts

I work at a company that is kind enough to spoil us with a health and fitness program. Part of those benefits, apparently, is an annual {voluntary} biometric testing -  you know, cholesterol, glucose levels, triglyceride levels.... it's pretty bad ass.

So I decided, yes, of course I wanted to do this. I should know where I stand as far as my health is concerned. In all honesty, I felt pretty confident I was going to see decent results, and I was right.... for the most part....

Turns out, according to the nurse that drew my blood and scanned it in her handy dandy little machine, All of my "numbers" are excellent. Good cholesterol, bad cholesterol levels are great, glucose levels are great, and so on.... BUT... my BMI was NOT great.

You see, because I am a short 5'5" woman.... my weight throws a wrench into my healthy system. I pack a mighty punch in this little body of mine. When most people guess my weight, they are a solid 30+ pounds off.... and I mean I am usually 30 lbs heavier than most guesses.

So, you can see where this is going. I weighed in.... after seeing the number, in my head I hear, "Awesome! I'm another pound lighter AND I have clothes on right now!"
What the nurse said after calculating my BMI, "Well, this is where you need some work. your BMI is 30, which makes you Obese. You know, you could improve that by changing your diet and doing some exercise...."

Obese.

That awful, awful word.

I laughed in her face, but in that HOW DARE YOU kind of way. I saved her the explanation because I doubt she wanted to hear about how I've lost almost 10 pounds already from DIET and EXERCISE, ahem, thank you very much mean nurse lady..... I knew she didn't care. It wasn't worth the hassle.

I left feeling a little bummed. It hurt to hear that after everything I've gone through this year so far, I'm still OBESE. It's terrible, how a simple word can make you feel so defeated. And then I went from feeling defeated to feeling angry.

How dare they categorize us all into about 5 different body types?!?!?!? We are a gigantic race with each and every one of us, a different make up. Different body types, genetics, disorders, hurdles.... this stupid piece of shit BMI chart is practically a playground bully.... rubbing your face in the metaphorical sand that is obesity.

I mean, seriously.... take a look at this.

Because of my height, I am apparently the second from the right.....

Clearly, this BMI chart business is for the birds. I am in the OVERWEIGHT section, not the OBESE section. I understand it helps some people get an idea of where they are and where they should be, but in my case, I feel like it was a complete miss... I know I have work left to do to myself, but COME ON.

Please dont focus too much on these charts. They are a vague generalization.