Blueberry Coconut Oat Bake

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Monday morning recipe for the win!

I was craving something warm and hearty, but I also wanted to use up some blueberries that were just about dead. What did I come up with? Something that addressed all of the above and more!

(Just eating breakfast while looking out the back window for coyotes. If you follow me on Instagram @nutcaseinpoint, you’ll see a pic of the rabid creature going through our trash)

Blueberry Coconut Oat Bake

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 c oats
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
2 c unsweetened almond milk
1 egg
3 T melted coconut butter
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c blueberries

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare an 8×8 dish
In one bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg, coconut butter, and vanilla together.
Pour most the blueberries along the bottom of the pan. Cover with the dry mixture, then top with the wet mixture. Top with remaining fruit.
Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoyed with a big mug of coffee, and I’m ready for the day! (Although I did manage to apply for a bunch of jobs online already. Look at me being all proactive)

HEY GUESS WHAT. I started a recipe tab. I’m slowly hacking away at it, but figured it would be an easy way to find the recipes I’ve posted myself.

HEY GUESS WHAT ELSE. haha, just kidding, that was it.

Don’t You Forget About Me

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I hope you didn’t forget about me. I didn’t forget about you!

There have been several instances over the last 11 days where I have told myself there were good things to blog about. BUT: 1) I wasn’t in the mood to blog; and 2) I sort of had social media burnout. Sure, I was on vacation for about a week, but I was just in a moment of being fed up with blogs. And not just my own. twitter got annoying too. I suppose what really got me flustered was all the shameless self promotion. Who knows. Anyways, that’s over with and I am back in Calgary in my old routine of being a Betty who Bakes and Blogs and works out and walks the dog. Exciting.

So let’s have this post be a catch-up of what I have been up to lately.

I flew to Seattle to see my best friend. My connecting flight was on a teensy tiny plane.

But, I had my own aisle, so there was a bonus.

And I hung out with a baby

And I drank my FAVORITE beer, Pyramid Brewery Ale.

And I made Skinny Banana Blueberry Muffins

And I ate a lot of them with almond butter

And we went to Seattle for a Living Social St. Patty’s Day Cruise…and it was so much fun. Three of us drove up late in the afternoon, checked into our hotel, had dinner (and beer) and then boarded the ship where plenty of additional beers were consumed and promptly burned off with copious amounts of dancing. I think that night was the most fun I’ve had in about a year.

…and there are approximately 190 other photos that I won’t put on here from that night 😉

I also only worked out ONE out of the SIX days I was there. (3 mile run) I don’t think I gained any weight, but it sure as heck affected my attitude. Goes to show you HOW MUCH I need fitness in my life! My flight back to Calgary landed around 2:30PM on Wednesday, and I was on a treadmill by 4:30PM.

Speaking of fitness.. I joined a new gym! Granted, this gym isn’t as convenient as the Y-which is right across the street- but it is only about a 3 minute drive. The best part: ALL classes are included in the regular membership fee AND…there are two sides of the gym: one is co-ed and the other is women’s only. The women’s locker room connects the two sides, and I have already found myself flip-flopping from side to side to use different equipment or to have a different atmosphere. AND…their peak hours consist of no more than 10 or so members in the gym at the same time. Probably the best thing ever.

So that’s pretty much it as of late. I’ll check back in with my recent eats/recipes/workouts soon! (Because long posts are terrible!!)

Pi Day!

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Pi Day! (Remember last year when I showed you guys my favorite kind of Pi?)

Anyways, I’m sitting in the Vancouver airport right now waiting for my connecting flight. And by sitting, I mean that I’m in between sets of glute squeezes and hamstring extensions. Obv.

Pardon this post for being short, but I promise to check in shortly with some awesome workouts!!

…and pics from Seattle!

Hi There Ho There!

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hi there, ho there and happy Monday morning to you all. Let’s get right to it.

I posted last Monday on my planned weekly workouts, and here’s how I did:

Sunday (3/3): Full Body Circuits and 30 minutes spin
Monday (3/4): Lower Body & Core Circuit and 30 minute run
Tuesday (3/5): Deck of Cards workout and 10-10-10 cardio
Wednesday (3/6): TRX circuits and 40 minutes spin

Thursday (3/7): 50 minute run

Friday (3/8): Upper Body Circuits, ~~10-10-10 cardio—~~I was physically exhausted and only managed to push through 10 minutes of row

Saturday (3/9): Active Rest ~~or an old BBB workout~~

Ok, now here’s what I’ve loosely outlined for this week (subject to change since I am traveling!!!!)

Sunday (3/10): Strength Circuits with cardio intervals (workout posted below!)
Monday (3/11): 40 minute run, 10 minute row, lower body pre-fatigue sets
Tuesday (3/12): 40 minute spin, abs circuit
Wednesday (3/13): 30 minute run, TRX/Cardio circuits
Thursday (3/14): Off. Travel Day!
Friday (3/15): Total body workout, run/walk intervals
Saturday (3/16): Deck of Cards workout

Here’s the workout I did yesterday:

It was challenging since most all the moves were compound exercises (target more than one area), but it was really great to be able to break them up with some cardio. Plus, the cardio got my heart rate up (more calorie burn!) and allowed me to move and groove to my playlist.

My playlist that included BSB and Whitney and TLC. It was awesome.

Moving on to recent eats…

I made this Chunky Monkey Mug Cake and it was DEEE-lish.

It was made with: 1 mashed banana, 2 tbsp PB2, 1 egg white, 2 T cocoa powder, a few drops Stevia. After fully combining the ingredients, I tossed in a couple tablespoons of chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes and you’re done!

Polenta topped with paleo turkey meatballs (the key ingredient is ALMOND MEAL!!), veggie marinara and cheddar.

My Best Banana Bread

Slaw Dogs. With sriracha, of course!

Slow Cooker Creamy Chipotle Chicken Tortellini

Cinnamon Pear Pancakes

For these, you’ll need:

1 c flour
2 1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t sugar
1 egg
1 cup +1T almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 pear

Here’s what you do:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients.

3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir until incorporated.

4. Stir in 1/2 of chopped pear.

5. Pour on hot, prepared griddle. Flip when top starts to bubble.

6. Top cakes with remaining slices pear and a shake of cinnamon. Makes 8 pancakes.

That’s all for now!

Question: Have any good new-to-you recipes lately? Do you plan your workouts??

Workout Schtuff

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

So far, I have been hitting the nail on the head with my workouts this week. Yay! When I was writing up the lower and upper body strength workouts I was going to do, I realized I hadn’t incorporated any compound moves in a LONG time. You bet your bippy they made their way in this week! Here are some of my favorite compound moves:

Reverse lunge with bicep curl (or hammer curl)
Hip raise with chest press on stability ball

(Source)

Single Leg deadlift with overhead press and hamstring extension

(Source)

Curtsy lunge with lateral raise
Split squats with tricep kickbacks

…just to name a few. (Let me know if you would like further explanation on the moves!)

NOW I get to share with you the upper body circuit I did with the TRX suspension training bands on Wednesday. It may not look like much on paper, but I DARE you to go try it for yourself and not feel it the next day.

So, there are only 3 moves, but each are performed in pyramid sets. i.e.: Do 10 reps, rest (approx. 20 seconds or longer if necessary), 15 reps, rest, 20 reps, rest, 15 reps, rest, 10 reps. Then move on to the second exercise.. get it?

Here are the three moves:

1. Row (increasing resistance by moving feet closer to the pivot point)