Abs and Squat Challenge

Lululemon Pants & Top

I have found myself in need of some fitness inspiration lately. After nearly four months of sticking to a consistent work out regiment I have hit my first slump. I find my bed looking more and more comfortable and the couch calling my name. Lucky for me I have a great support team. My parents stopped off at the Lululemon outlet store and mailed me some fashionable inspiration. And for the rest, I turn to you blogosphere family.  I recently found an ab and squat challenge that looks like a great addition to my workout as well as something I can do at home. So I challenge you, who's with me? 

Abs and Squat Challenge

Halloween Bark

Tonight I am off to meet with a wonderful group of women to chat and chew and meet new people. We do this every other month and I have come to enjoy not only the company but an opportunity to try a new recipe. My reputation as a baker has spread and I am always asked to bring a dessert, a task I take very seriously. For tonight I wanted to try a few new fall recipes. The first is something I found on Pinterest a few days ago from Wishes and Dishes, a simple Halloween Bark. For anyone looking to bring a dessert to a party with little to no baking skills or time, this is the perfect choice. You can customize the ingredients, taylor the colors and creativity and the basic steps are all the same. 

Halloween Bark (adapted from Wishes and Dishes)

Halloween Bark

1 bag (16 oz.) white chocolate chips

1/2 cup candy corn

1/4 cup pretzel sticks (broken up)

1/8 cup mini chocolate chips

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave until completely smooth. Pour the melted chocolate onto a non-stick surface such as a slip mat or wax paper. Spread evenly using an offset spatula. Quickly drop the candy corn pretzels and mini chips onto the white chocolate and press down gently. Place in the freezer to set for 15 minutes. Remove and break apart to serve. Pieces can be kept in the refrigerator for unto 2 weeks. 

Lessons Learned and Advice

Double Boiling Tips

• The chocolate melting is the trickiest part of this recipe. I don't own a double boiler so I used a metal bowl on top of a saucepan. Add water to cover 1/3 of the saucepan. Allow the water in the saucepan to heat up on a medium-low setting. A high temperature is more likely to burn the chocolate causing it to seize. Do not separate the two bowls during melting, if any steam gets into the chocolate it will seize. Since you are slow melting the chocolate expect it to be very chunky at first. It will smooth, just keep string and don't overheat it. 
• I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the toppings part of this recipe. The chocolate sets quickly so you have to add the topping and press down quite fast. 



Bark Toppings

• You can see from the pictures that I go a little topping crazy. Some fall off during freezing because there isn't enough surface area but I couldn't resist!

One Pot Pasta

I may have mentioned that I truly love to cook, what I bet I didn't mention is that I hate doing dishes. For years I have found ways to cut corners and dirty as little prep dishes as possible. This is just one of the many reasons I'm so thrilled for the one pot cooking movement that's beginning to take shape. Martha Stewart recently released a one pot cookbook that I have already added to my Amazon wish list. And when I found this recipe on Everyday-Reading I was excited to try a delicious recipe with minimal clean up. It was a smashing success!

Creamy Spinach Tortellini (adapted from Everyday-Reading)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb smoked sausage (optional, see below)
2 14oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup half and half
10 oz Tortellini
2-3 cups spinach

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage to brown if using meat. Add the minced garlic. Add the cans of tomatoes then the half and half. Stir and allow to simmer. Add the tortellini and cover to cook about 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the spinach and toss lightly. Salt and pepper to taste.

Lessons Learned and Advice:

• I skipped the meat entirely and the meal was delicious and filling without it. 
• When I added the tomatoes I left them as it. If you want a smoother meal you can put the in a food processor first or use an immersion blender. 
• I try to cut down on lactose whenever possible so I substituted the half and half for lactose free milk. It still made the dish creamy and you could not notice a taste change. 
• This recipe can easily be halved for a smaller serving. 

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

Wasted fruit is a travesty, especially this time of year, as fresh, local fruit starts to disappear. After being out of town for a few days I returned home to find overripe plums and knew just how to use them. I have a weakness for all things gummy and have been wanting to try to make my own fruit roll ups for some time now. This is quite a simple recipe, only three ingredients, and most of the process involves waiting. 

Fruit Roll Ups  (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)
1 lbs. Fresh Fruit- any fruit, all fruit! OK, not really, but most fruit works and include skin if you would eat it. I used three plums (with skin) for one batch and 1 lbs. of blueberries for the other.
1 tablespoon of honey or agave
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the over for 170 degrees. Place the fruit, agave/honey and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Line a rimmed heavy baking sheet with a silicon baking mat. Using an offset spatula, spread the puree evenly, leaving a one inch border around the baking mat. Bake until the puree is no longer sticky, at least 6 hours. When cooled, use kitchen scissors to cut into strips. Roll up using wax paper to keep the roll from sticking. 

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

Lessons Learned and Advice:

• The second time I made these I roasted the plums first. While it succeeded in bringing out fruit flavor it is not a necessary step. If you have time, cut the plums in half and roast them for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees. Allow them to cool before placing them in the blender. 
• I made these the first time overnight which was a bad idea, I kept waking up to check on them. The next time, I made them on football Sunday and checked on them during commercial breaks. 
• It's very important to spread evenly on a slip mat. Otherwise the edges will overcook before the center dries. 
• I really struggled with cutting these babies once they were done. My first batch was a crooked mess. I ended up switching to cut them into shorter strips which helped me with cutting, and portion control.

Vinyasa Flow Playlist

40 Minute Yoga Playlist

Throughout my life I have been an off again, on again yoga lover. I began taking classes with my yogini mother when I was just a little girl, and it has never left me. When I begin to feel stressed or my body feels out of line I know it's time to break out the mat and reunite with my old friend. Recently I decided to work on my practice at home and strengthen my skills in sequencing as well as practice. My routine changes depending on my area of focus and how far I want to challenge myself. But one factor stays the same, my playlist. Through trial and error I have come up with what I consider to be a great 40 minute playlist. This takes you through a warm up, into sun salutations, warrior sequence, balance work, an option of hip opener or wheel sequence and finally ends with savasana.


Vinyasa Flow Playlist:
Awake My Soul: Mumford and Sons
Intro: The xx
Team: Lorde
Pompeii: Bastille
Breath of Life: Florence + The Machine
Glory and Gore: Lorde
Anything Could Happen: Ellie Goulding
Young Blood: Birdy
I'm Not Calling You A Liar: Florence + The Machine
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room: John Mayer

After finally mastering crow pose, I have been working on my inversions, specifically, forearm stands. While I am not where I want to be I will continue to take it one day at a time. For now, I am grateful for the days I can unroll my mat and live in the moment on that 68"x 24" space. I am happy to have found a space where the rest of the world ceases to exist. Have you found yours?

Freezer Meal Mania

Just a few months ago my big sister was blessed with the arrival of her two (perfect) twin girls. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be an aunt twice over, and how much I immediately wished I lived closer to her. I bought a plane ticket to visit and I began planning out ways to be most helpful to a new mom. From 700 miles away freezer meals seemed to be the best way to leave lasting help and I knew it was time to scour Pinterest. I was overwhelmed with all the posts boasting freezer meals ease and affordability. However, I was disappointed to find that most of these miracle blog posts were nothing more than a handful of meals repeated or recipes that didn't sound delicious or nutritious. My goal was to leave as many actually enjoyable meals as possible when I left after my visit, and clearly it was going to take some planning. I started collecting a recipe here, a winner there, something that can be modified over here, and before I knew it I was ready to make a shopping list.

Now, part of the benefit of making mass meals from one shopping trip, and heavy planning, is the ability to shop sales and save money. Since I was traveling and on a limited time line I was worried the costs would be high. However, even with a local market strike, we managed to shop around and create 16 meals (each with a minimum of four servings) for just over $100. I couldn't believe my good shopping luck! The majority of recipes I made came from three websites, The Realistic Organizer, Ring Around the Rosies, and Loving My Nest. Thanks fellow bloggers!

16 Freezer Meals for $100

Prepared Freezer Meals

I read through countless recipes, considered taste, nutrition and the least amount of add ons at the time of cooking and created a 12 recipe list to send to my sister. From there, she picked 9 winners and we decided to double a few for a total of 16 meals. (The total also included chili that I set up in the crock pot before leaving, stay tuned for that delicious recipe. As well as chicken enchiladas and chicken pot pies. These two freezer recipes are in the Google Drive but are oven cooked once defrosted.) For your cooking convince I have created a sharable Google Drive folder with all the recipes I used and one combined shopping list. Click here for recipes and shopping list. 

Lessons Learned and Advice:

• Write recipes and instructions on gallon zip locks before filling them. I wrote instructions in black and additions at cook time in blue. 
• Most recipes should be served with rice and veggies, I bought a box of success rice bags and frozen vegetables for ease and convenience. 
• Unless you plan to make multiples (more than double) of the same recipes I do not recommend cutting meat and vegetables ahead of time like other sites do. I found it confusing; it added extra steps, dirtied dishes and challenged my ability to judge portion sizes. 
• If something seems off, try to fix it now. One meal I made seemed dry. I added an extra can of soup broth and it was well worth it. 
• Get low sodium when ever you can. If you're not careful these meals can be loaded with sodium which challenges health and taste. Try to find low sodium broths, beans and sauces. 
• Turn up the freezer! If you're really loading it down, like we did, you'll need it to be working over time. We turned the temperature way down to freeze everything in a safe, timely manner. 
• Because of the late summer timing of my visit I tried to avoid strictly winter recipes like stews and soups. If I were to make a round two I would use a lot of recipes from Loving My Nest. Jessica posts a lot of delicious stew and soup recipes and hope to refill the freezer with these on my next visit.

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

I don't have an outrageous sweet tooth, I don't swoon for chocolate, but I absolutely love to bake. I can remember baking apple pies with my mother one summer so frequently that we memorized the recipe. There is something very satisfying about creating something beautiful that brings consumable joy to others. Over the summer I love to use fresh ingredients and make seasonal treats. In other words, I save the heavy chocolate desserts for winter. Recently I made and mailed sugar cookies to a friend who said they were his favorite. They were received with thanks and satisfaction, but I realized I did not have a tried and true sugar cookie recipe. Years ago, when I first moved to Baltimore, we used to walk to Cross Street Market for a can of Coke and a sweet treat. Without fail I would always pick sugar cookies with a soft, chewy center and baked in sprinkles . So I turned to the internet to find a recipe to make my own perfect sugar cookie. Pinterest did not let me down, and soon linked me to a sprinkle loving blogger.

Sally's Baking Addiction is a great site for all things delicious. Sally has done the hard work for us by testing and re-testing her recipes and provides specific instructions and beautiful pictures. This recipe uses cream of tartar which gives the cookies a cake like consistency, similar to snicker doodle cookies.  I followed Sally's recipe almost exactly. She calls for a room temperature egg, which the first time I attempted I forgot about and had to throw away because it had spoiled. The next time I set a one hour timer and it was perfect. I did not want sprinkles inside the cookies and instead just rolled the top of the dough in sprinkles before chilling. Next time I will double the recipe because these little babies are delicious!

Soft Baked Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookie Chilled Dough 

(Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
sprinkles

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for about one minute on medium speed. Add the sugar until fluffy and light in color. Mix in the egg and vanilla until fully blended.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar. (I recommend sifting these items together to avoid clumping.) Blend into the wet mixture in three parts on low speed. The dough will be thick and may need to be combined with a spoon by hand. (At this point, if you want sprinkles inside the cookies, gently fold 1/2 cup of sprinkles into dough.)

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

Scoop about 2 tablespoons worth of dough out of the bowl and roll into tall discs. Dip in sprinkles to coat and place on a lined baking sheet. Place cookies in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours. (You can also freeze cookies once the discs have rested in the refrigerator.) When ready for baking, preheat the oven to 350 degree. Bake refrigerated dough for 8 minutes* (cookies will appear undercooked). Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool. Cookies stay soft and fresh and room temperature for upto 1 week. (Though if they last that long at your house you may have done something wrong!) Enjoy.

*I am currently using an electric over which I have learned takes longer to cook that recipes typically call for. I baked the cookies for 9 and a half minutes instead. Use your best judgement and know your kitchen.