Wow, the weather here in the Phoenix area is absolutely nutzo! In the last 2 days we’ve gotten half the amount of rain we’ll get for the entire year! As I was writing this we even had a few tornado warnings, craziness..
FITNESS
Today was pretty chill workout-wise. My glutes & hamstrings are pretty sore from my leg workout + Spin yesterday, which is exactly why Thursday is a planned light day. I did go to Flow and it was perfect for getting all those sore muscles stretched out.
Love mixing up my workouts, so it was great to get a new split from my trainer:
Monday: Upper Body with Trainer, Spin, Flow Yoga
Tuesday: Flow Yoga, Arms & Chest
Wednesday: Lower Body with Trainer, Spin, Flow Yoga
Thursday: Yoga & something fun.. maybe a hike, maybe yoga, maybe a run
Friday: Spin, Shoulders & Core, Sunset Flow Yoga
Saturday: Back & Glutes, Power Yoga
Sunday: Rest
I’m starting tomorrow off with 9am Spin, then plan to do Shoulders & Core before Flow 
Perfect way to start the weekend!
I apologize for ‘fitness’ post being a little dull lately as I’ve been sorting out my workouts and getting use to this whole ‘off season’ thing. I’ve been working on a few different things.. so look for those soon!
So while I’m boring, check out what the beautiful Ava Cowan is up to. She’s doing a mini-series with Gaspari Nutrition documenting ‘The Sport of Figure.’ What a fantastic representative for our sport!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8kcJEtx6N0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1]
NUTRITION
hmm, this looks familiar :p .. Protein Yogurt topped with 1/2 Warm Maple Apple & Chia Granola..
Squash equality has been restored.. I am stocked up on Kabocha after a fun.. expensive.. Whole Foods visit. Naturally, I baked one up as soon as I got home (375 F for 35 min), and topped it with 1/4 c Cottage Cheese mixed with ~2 tbsp Pumpkin Hummus.
Soup’d Up
Cozied up at the dinning room table, which has become my office of sorts (sorry roomies!), I was enjoying the rain and in the mood of something warm and comforting. I’d never made soup before, so this seemed like the perfect time to give it a shot. I couldn’t decide on a recipe, so I ended up combining a few with all the best sounding parts. The result was wonderful Butternut Apple deliciousness!
Butternut Apple Slow Soup
1 medium Butternut Squash (peeled & cubed)
2 Granny Smith Apples (peeled & cubed)
1 Portobello Mushroom (diced)
2 tsp minced Garlic
1.5 c chopped Onion
2.5 c Vegetable Broth
Salt to taste
Put everything in the Slow Cooker and let it do its thing on high for ~3.5 hrs, or until Squash is tender. Puree in blender in multiple batches.
Add a little Protein
Guess I was feeling kitchen creative tonight, so for the protein portion of dinner I came up with a new concoction. I really just started throwing things into the food processor, so measurements are approximate.
Tilapia Chickpea Cakes
~5 oz Tilapia (precooked on the Foreman)
1/2 c Chickpeas
2 tbsp Egg Beaters
~2 tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
Spices to taste: Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, Salt & Pepper, Lemon Juice
Everything goes into your handy-dandy food processor, and blend to desired texture (chunky vs. thick hummus). Shape into patties, and bake on a greased cookie sheet at 325 F for 25 min.
They turned out pretty good. Texture was perfect but next time I’ll add more spices. I didn’t take a picture of them alone, but here is my lovely dinner.. Super filling too.
FUN
OpenSky Blog post on the lastest shopkeepers: me, and the lovely ladies, Jenn, from EatingBender, and Lori, from Finding Radiance.
Sadly my weekend plans focus completely on studying for a mid-term on Monday, but at least it’s a topic I enjoy, Customer Marketing & Brand Strategy. Do you have any fun weekend plans?
Fun Links
nice! soup calls for a weather like this. We too have a tornado warning, it’s just been really windy and rainy so far.
I tried spin (not the actual class but hopped on a bike and started spinning, I love it!) so hopefully I pop my face in a spin class here at 24.
I love that video, she so inspiring and hardcore. She’ll be at the L.A fitness expo this weekend, hopefully I can go! If I don’t have work
(
Good luck with your studies and your mid-term on Monday!
Ava is gorgeous and that video of hers is really good. I wish I could get those arms. Mine look like twiglets.
Your Chickpea Cakes sounds great. I love chickpeas so thanks for the tip, I must try it!
Love the video! LOVE IT! It totally gives me energy to kill it in the gym today! Thanks, Girl!
With all that yoga, you must be the most relaxed person!!! That soup looks great. I haven’t tried using the apples. I like mine with a little kick and have been afraid the apples would be too sweet. That looks like it would have made a great stew too – just toss in chickpeas and let it simmer and thicken up.
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
ooo great idea! I was thinking of throwing in savory tofu as well
i heard that it’s been gnarly for you guys in the rain department. i hope you have a life jacket
the cakes sound like they’d be awesome. i need to use my food processor more often! have a great weekend!
YEAAA I love early morning workouts! Ok, you have to tell me how spin class is, everyone does it and I have never even seen it!
These chickpea cakes look super fab! Are they crunchy?
XXOO
Kris
Oh I remember the days of studying all weekend. I’m happy to say those days were worth it in the end, and I’m sure they will be for you too!
I love your squash creations on this post. And I had to take a double take when I read “pumpkin hummus”. thanks for the link to this recipe, it sounds like a MUST try !
Congrats on the fellow Open Sky shop! It’s fun, isn’t it?
My weekend is half over already. Tomorrow will be fun, my sister is chopping all her hair off for a Locks of Love and she asked me to document it for her.
LOVE the Ava video, she’s my hero! Bodybuilding IS a sport I just wish the rest of the world besides builders would realize that. Everyone looks at you like your kind of weird when you tell them you’re going into a competition. They have no idea what goes into it. And they think we starve ourselves like we have an eating disorder. Do they have any idea how much we eat? Thanks for the video and for the tasty food ideas!