Juice Pulp Crackers

 Great snack made out of those leftovers from juicing!

Added a little of this to some natural plain yogurt for a yummy dip. You could use any kind of dip mix or create your own using dried herbs and spices!

Juice Pulp Crackers

1-2 Cups leftover pulp from juicing (today I had used kale, carrot and apple)

1 egg

1-2 Tbs Flax Meal

1-2 Tbs Chia Seeds

1 Tbs Garlic Powder (I use the one from Costco that has parsley in it)

1-2 Tbs almond or coconut milk

1-2 Tbs water

Poppy Seeds

Nutritional Yeast

Mix the first 7 ingredients together until it forms a dry paste. All of the measurements listed on this recipe are approximate since it depends on how much pulp you have to use. Add more water if its too dry or more flax meal if its too wet but just try to get a paste consistency. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil. Then thinly spread the paste out onto the sheet and sprinkle with poppy seeds and nutritional yeast. I baked at 350F for 20 minutes then peeled it from the foil, flipped it over and toasted the other side for another 10 minutes. If I were to do it again I would use non-stick baking paper instead of foil and I would turn the oven way down to maybe 275 and cook for 1-2 hours. This would dry it out better I think without toasting it too much. I still really liked it even though it was more brown than I expected (left it in a little too long)! Next time I will experiment with the temperature and with different spices!

Fitness Goals

As I am about to start my new fitness goal I thought I would reflect on what I have been doing for fitness the last 9 months post baby.

September 2012: Baby Sawyer is here and we were just over the moon to have this baby finally here! But after feeling so heavy the whole pregnancy (and gaining nearly 60lbs) I was beyond ready to get active again and get my body back! I could hardly wait to get started however I took it easy the first month and let myself really recover and adjust to having the new baby around. The second month I started walking/jogging 2-3 times per week and it felt so good to just breath hard and sweat again!

Nov 2012-Feb 2013: Driveway Bootcamp/Group training
In November I decided to join my friend who had been doing a driveway bootcamp in her neighborhood. I prepaid for 3 months so I would be forced to stick with it that long! I would go to the night class after Ethan got home 4-5 times a week and this was a fantastic way for me to get back into fitness. Having an instructor there really helped push me and show me how strong I could be. It was so hard at first! But I loved having the accountability that someone was going to notice if I didn't work out so thank you Amber at Physique-Ed! Also special thanks to Heather for inviting me to go with her and pushing me through the workouts too. It was so fun having a friend to work out with! I ended up doing 4 months of that then decided I really wanted to start working out from home for convenience and cost reasons.

March 2013: Insanity
The bootcamp really showed me what I was capable of, so I knew if I was going to workout at home I'd want to have another program to help me set goals and push me at a certain level of intensity. I investigated the Beach Body programs and went with INSANITY! Really great cardio and I love the motivation and workouts. I lost another 10lbs on this program and reached my goal weight.

April 2013: Chalean Extreme
By the end of the Insanity program I was ready for a change and really wanted to start weight training to build some lean muscle....enter Chalean Extreme! I think it is my favorite exercise program I've ever done. Chalean is motivating and I love the variety of the workouts that span over 3 months. I definitely feel strong and overall more toned. I will definitely do these workouts again but for now I want to change up again and try something new which brings me to my latest fitness goal...

July 2013: P90X
Not gonna lie, I completed the first workout this morning and didn't like it. The video/workout style of it is totally different than the Chalean program, it was too long, and I'm not really motivated by the trainer. Not to mention the majority of the first workout was pushups and pull ups, my least favorite exercises! But I'm not going to give up so easily and will really try to stick with it at least the first 4 weeks. Who knows maybe I'll learn to love it. If not I'll find something else because it is not worth sticking with something if you dread doing it. That is exactly how I have failed in the past! And that is why I now set goals and frequently changes things up so I don't get bored with the same old routine.

Oct: Sprint Triathlon Training
As I've said before, I usually have my next goal lined up well in advance. If I finish P90X that will bring me to October which is when I will start training for the Casa Grande Sprint Triathlon. This is a 100 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I've done it once before with my sister Lucy and had so much fun training and performing in it, so we are planning on doing it again with more of our family members this time.

Wow October seems right around the corner, I cannot believe how fast this year continues to fly by! Another reminder of how important it is to start your goals TODAY and then remind yourself every day why it is a goal and how you will achieve it. Time will pass whether you are accomplishing your goals or not, so you may as well do it and be living the life you want!

Motivation Monday

Staying motivated is the hardest part when it comes to health and fitness for me. There are just too many yummy things out there to eat! That is why setting new goals and constantly working towards something is so important. For example my current fitness goal is to finish Chalean Extreme and I already have another goal lined up after that once I finish. I have also decided to try to finish the sugar challenge with Ethan. This came after Saturday where it felt like I had particularly binged on sugar (and a girls night party the previous night didn't help either). I just keep thinking if Ethan can do it so can I! And I would love to be able to support him these last 2 months of 30g or less per day, Although it doesn't seem he needs any support, he is doing so good! It almost killed me yesterday saying no to ice cream because I had already met my limit (thank you cherry ripe), but it felt so good at the end of the day to have met that goal. Making goals public is also a good way to stay accountable (which is why I usually keep them to myself lol). So there ya have it! Set some goals and re-motivate daily!