{A weekend recap}

This weekend was kind of  a big deal.. If you live in Utah and you are a Utah fan or a BYU fan.

Lets just say I married the BIGGEST Utah fan ever. Hands down. And I don't complain.
 P.S this this is one utah shirt out of about a bagillion. I was excited for the game but I was more excited for a date with this handsome man.

My Dad and Step-mom watched the twinners so we wouldn't have to keep the babies at the game past bedtime. We headed to the game Saturday afternoon and decided to get a little dinner before the game at Olive Garden.

I went for the grilled Mediterranean chicken with vegetables.

It was so-so. Olive Garden has gone downhill if you ask me.. or maybe since we hardly ever go out to eat I seem to judge resturants a little harshly because it seems that food the use is bought cheaply for quanity and NOT quality... or possibly because I'm a little bitter because I said no cheese and CLEARLY there was feta cheese atop my chicken. -- I'm picky.. I know. 

After good conversation and game predictions we headed over to the field. 

The game was on BYU's Turf. It was so weird not being the majority and of course being completely surrounded by cougars.

Fun Fact--Last time I was at this field I was pregnant but didn't know for sure if I was or not.

The game was a close one.. 10-54 Utah won!! GO UTES!! I had one happy husband! Part of me feels really bad for those little kitties. The funnest part really is the rivalry. Today this was sign at Arby's

hehe.. I had a good laugh.

Sorry, Cougars.

I spent the rest of the weekend making Halloween bows..

Here is a sneak peek!

A giveaway is coming...

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I also decided it was a good weekend for some banana bread! I recently had purchased mama peas book, Peas and Thank you and followed her banana bread recipe, I doubled it to make two loafs, but I didn't have any vegan butter so I subbed applesauce instead and it turned out fabulous. In fact, that's what we had for dinner last night. 

1/2 loaf = a meal right?

After such a great and nutritious dinner we headed over to a little family birthday party.

I'm hiding... can you spot me? 

What is better to follow up such a great dinner then with cake and ice cream. 

Although, I was still way full from the banana bread massacre that I opted out but did snack on some watermelon that was on the side;) aka.. (their dinner leftovers)

It was a great weekend! 

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Now that it is Monday, I made a commitment to refocus. Overdose of banana bread will do that to ya..

WORKOUT

I had a great workout(s) today!

This morning I headed to my brother-in-laws gym and had a great cardio workout, along with my mother in-law! He sent us through 5 cycles of a variety of exercises, using dumbbells, bands, TRX, jump ropes, running and even tires! It was rough. But I took it pretty easy because I knew I had 2 other workouts to complete today.

GPP's workout today was another killer one.. I pretty much got my butt handed to me but I got a PR on it and I feel pretty good about conquering it! If you want to give it a try, check it out here!  

Then tonight I taught Body Attack for the first time in awhile! I love teaching this class, it gets my heart pumpin every time and I always leave a sweaty, sweaty mess. 

Now.. where is that banana bread?..

Oh ya, foooocus...along with my goal this week I wanted to plan meals! I hardly ever plan actual meals because rarely do they ever happen. I will plan them but something comes up or something else just sounds better.. So I did what I do best and made a list.  

I went to the grocery store today and planned meals for the rest of the week, as I shopped around. 

 I have a few new recipes and can't wait to share them with you!! 

Beginning with breakfast tomorrow!!!

See you in the A.M !!

Q. When you bake, do you eat as you go? Cause I do. Bad habit? Yes. 

I love anything that comes right out of the oven! Warm, satisfying and delicious! --- get in mah belly!

Q. What is your favorite restaurant lately? 

I need a place to redeem my thoughts about eating out.

Pumpkin is back!

This morning I woke up to a chill in the air, Fall is coming whether I like it or not. My morning run didn't happen.. something about fall in Utah is that it is pitch black until 6:45 ish... and it was raining..but  I also just didn't feel comfortable running outside by myself. That, and my bed was comfy, but once that alarm went off at 5am I couldn't fall back asleep! I got up and dilly dallied around the house before finally settling on breakfast...
Welcome back the Pumpkin!!!

It was a little chilly this morning and has pretty much been rainy all day and this warm muffin hit the spot! I really am looking forward to many more of these filling muffins this season!
I also enjoyed a banana with almond butter as it was cooking in the microwave..
I have made several of these with different mixtures all of which have turned out quite tasty.. you can check out some different ones here, here and here.

{Breakfast Muffin}

In this mix:

• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 1/3 Cup of pumpkin
• 1 packet of stevia for sweetener-- (you may also use 1-2 tbs agave/honey)
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• desired fruit to mix in- (raspberries, blueberries, banana etc.) --optional
• Chia seeds for topping --optional

Completely perfect on a morning like this!

double rainbow!!

After the work thing I came home to two busy babies! 

Guess who the ring leader is...

I decided to whip up a quick salad 

I sauteed some zucchini, onion and shrimp for about 10 minutes with a little oregano and sesame seeds before dumping it on top of a bed of spinach and topping it off with half of a garden tomato. 

This meal was DELISH! I had forgotten that I had that shrimp in the freezer and it was a little overdue to be used but it turned out just fine! I will for sure be making this again!

I rounded it off with an apple and handful of cashews and pecans. --not pictured.. 

Workout:

Today, was the workout of all workouts.. I have to admit I was feeling a bit sluggish today and it took  the first bit of this workout for me to get going! Since I pressed snooze this morning and with the rain all day and maybe one to many handfuls of this and that throughout the day. I just didn't feel like working out. I almost thought seriously about skipping it all together today. But the longer I sit there and fight myself about it the longer it takes to just get. it. done.  I know I would regret not doing this workout, as intimidating as it is by the sight of it, Once I decided this was what I was doing I was done. And I'm going to admit it is one of the hardest workouts I have ever done! If your looking for a killer sweat sesh, do this! I thought about a workout mantra from Julie and put all I had into it. 

"You never regret a workout!"

--that is true.. 

I felt  SO  much better after, and was definitely a sweaty mess.. The workout that I dreaded became one of favorites. 

**Check out the workout here!

Please not: You may break it up into different sets if needed!

I did the mile run,

10 burpees, 10 high sumos till burpees completed, 50 more high sumos, 300 jumprope, 50 high sumos, 200 jumprope and finished it off with the mile row. 

PHEW!

Its Friday night! Time for some fun!!

Have a good weekend!!!

Q. whats a workout mantra that you use?

 

Early riser?

Good morning!!!
Lets just say my mornings have become a little more laid back since I completed my triathlon. Without a 5 am alarm clock to wake me up and get going I have been sleeping in as long as possible. Today, I was able to sleep until 8! Thank you babies!
Brent has been taking advantage of the early morning workout slot. I'm not going to lie, I kind of miss it.. there was just something about waking up, getting my workout done and getting some chores done around the house as well. A sense of accomplishment maybe?  I'm thinking that next week I'll be setting that alarm once again... But getting a little extra shut-eye has been appreciated after a year of waking up before the sun either for a workout or for two little early birds! Lets just hope I can drag myself out of my cozy bed just as I use to. Working out in the morning is my favorite time of the day to get it done!

For Breakfast I made a egg scramble with zucchini, onion, spinach and fresh garden tomatoes!! --> which I could eat like an apple! They are SO good!

Along side of a banana with almond butter.

Favorite kind of workout?

What is your favorite way to workout?  I love teaching Les Mills  because I love each program and pushing through each track to great music along with the energy of everyone in the room.
But  I think I have to admit my favorite type of workouts are interval workouts "for time". I love the challenge it is to push myself to complete every movement of the workout as fast as I can. Building a sweat in 20 minutes that is dripping off my face is a feeling of accomplishment for me. It doesn't take an hour of running to get that heart rate up and to feel like you had a good workout. Its fast and effective. They allow me to just focus in on me for that time. Yesterday's workout at GPP was just that. This tops in as one of my favorite workouts.

Flabaway


5 rounds for time:

20 situps
20 sideups R
20 sideups L
20 back ext
20 DB biceps curls 15/20
20 OH triceps ext 15/25
20 lunge steps
20 KB swings 25/35
400 m run

Give it a go! Plug in your earphones and shoot around the gym as fast as you can. You will love it!!
When your done go ahead and post your time here! 

I also really enjoy just running. Its something that I honestly really have to be in the mood for though. When I need to clear my head or its just been a tough day, hitting the pavement always seem to make me feel better.

What is your favorite way to workout?
 ---> Check out the poll I added on the side bar!!
Also, What is your favorite time of the day to get your workout in?--> Lets take a VOTE! 

READY SET GO! 

Also, guess who turned 14 months old yesterday!!!

simple salsa

Happy Wednesday!!! Hope you all are having a great day so far! Yesterday I mentioned I had a LOT of tomatoes so what else would you do with a bunch of tomatoes besides make salsa?

 I knew I wanted to make salsa.. but I didn't have much time or all the ingredients to make this salsa. So I made a simple and quick salsa!

{Simple Salsa}

Yields 5 Cups

 Ingredients:

• 9 Tomatoes
• 1/4 of a white onion
• 1/4 of a purple onion
• 2 jalepenos
• 1 pepper
• 1 medium size peach
• 1 tsp/ 1 clove of garlic
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Dice your tomatoes and peach and set aside
2. Combine onion, jalepenos, pepper, garlic together in your blender.

3. Blend until combined and add a cup of tomatoes at a time
4. Transfer to a bowl and stir in peaches
5. Add sea salt to taste.

6. Dip away!

You can make this salsa as chunky or as thin as you want. The longer you blend your tomatoes the thinner it will be. Will be delicious. -- of course. 

Healthy Choice Option: Use sliced cucumbers instead of tortilla chips!! 

I love homemade salsa! So far I have used this for dinner and breakfast... the peaches add the perfect sweetness. I could eat this with a spoon. 

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

My Cereal

Good morning!! Hope you are all having a good day so far! I slept in this morning and let Brent do the morning gym thing. I enjoyed a little extra shut eye since I still think I'm trying to catch up from this weekend. I have plans to hit the gym a little later for a little strength training.
For breakfast I was craving cereal. I have been known to be the cereal queen. 1 serving of cereal = not enough... and easily turns into 3-4 bowls! So I tend not to keep cereal in the house. Out of sight out of mind? Not even.. so I make do. I made cereal-less cereal..
I cut up a peach and tossed in cashews, almonds and pecans and poured unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

You got fruit for fiber, nuts for healthy fats, protein and calories. I love this little mixture and the peaches right now are out of this world! I could eat them all day..

You can use toasted pecans and almonds or just raw. Either works as well. Even sprinkling a little stevia or drizzle agave on top would add a little sweetness. 

I also just snacked on two boiled eggs to hold me over till I get to my workout.

I have lots of tomatoes and mushy bananas to play with in the kitchen today!

Q. What would you put in your "cereal-less" cereal?
I honestly thought about adding dark chocolate chips..

Red Rock Relay 2011

oh hi, my name is candice. Have we met? It was a loooong weekend of no computer and or cell phone service at times. So I'm sorry,  I failed at blogging this weekend. I was doing my 3rd and last relay of the summer.

source

 I was with 5 of the most amazing women I know.  Let me introduce you to my team..

Wendy, me, Amy, Janalynn, Amanda and Nikki

Running 186 miles...give or take. ;) This relay was a blast and you couldn't of asked for better company. This relay started at Brian Head ski resort and ended at Zions National Park in Utah. The weather went from warm, to pelting hail, snow and thuder storms with heavy rain to blazing hot. You name it.. we ran through it.
We ran hard and played even harder!
Here are some fun pics from the weekend!

Run GPP style.

Planking 

Owling

Headstands

This is after my midnight run!

Runnning?

To the finish...

Matt the director of the race loves us.. just sayin.

Were DONE!!

GPP Ladies at the finish.

Loved the race but I love these ladies even more!

What a great way to wrap up this racing season.  If you haven't done a relay before you need to get in on this business. They are just plain fun. And if all my photos aren't convincing enough for you, check out this youtube video! "It will be fun".

More pics from the relay to come.. These are the only ones I have on hand right now.. hopefully I got some of us actually running?? haha! 

It feels great to be back and now that summer is almost over hopefully life will slow down a bit as the cold weather approaches. After a great weekend it feels good to be home and back into the "normal routine". 

But you know the worst part... the Mt. Everest of Laundry I have to tackle.. wish me luck. (Part of me would rather run the entire relay..then do laundry.)

Green Bean Fries.

This morning I woke up bright and early to get a few things ready to go before I leave today for the Red Rock Relay! 

Breakfast:
For breakfast I whipped up an egg scramble.. meant to be omelet meal.. with a pear on the side!

Apparently, you can't make omelets with huge broccoli florets in it, next time I won't be so lazy and chop them a little smaller;) 

Lunch:

For lunch I made a quick chicken salad served with green bean fries!

Sweet Potato fries, Zucchini Fries, and now Green bean fries. I originally saw these on Julies blog and have been wanting to make them for awhile now. Although, when I went to make them I didn't search her blog on how she made them and just went for it. I made them a little differently... but here is how she made them. PS she has the cutest blog and its so fun to read!

Yesterday I received my bountiful basket with a whole bag of fresh green beans!

These are simple to make and delicious.

Green Bean Fries

Ingredients:

• Green beans --desired amount
• Olive oil
• Sea Salt

Directions:

Pre heat your oven to 350
Wash your green beans and remove ends
Place green beans on a cookie sheet
Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake for 15-20 minutes

Note: the longer they are in there the crispier they will be.
These make a great side dish to any meal!

Enjoy!

I'm off to clean the kitchen after making some granola!  And then of course finish packing because of course I didn't finish this morning as planned...and I'm leaving in a hour!!  Better Go!
Have a good weekend!!!

Q. Anyone else have a race this weekend? Or what is something fun you have planned?