February | 2013 | Healthful Mind Body and Soul

WIAW #4

February 27, 2013 by Celeste @The Whole Serving 6 Comments

Tuesdays are my early work days because I transport the school-age children to their elementary schools, so it was an early rise for me.

I started the day with a delicious green smoothie before leaving for work.

Upon my return to the center after transporting the children I ate my overnight oatmeal, topped with fresh fruit and almond granola.

It was a busy day and I ate lunch while on a conference call. Brussel sprouts and cauliflower bake, sprinkled with pram cheese with a salad on the side. I was sad when it was all gone, I seriously wanted more.

Later in the afternoon I met with my daughter and her school counselor to discuss her senior year of high school schedule and preparing for college. My how the years have passed, it’s crazy how fast children grow. I’m excited and sad all at the same time.

My afternoon snack was three mandarin oranges and a cup of tea.

After working out I was ready for dinner, a very tasty vegetarian chili garnished with chopped red onions, tomatoes, greek yogurt and hot pepper sauce.

Thanks to Jenn for hosting this foodie party each week, click to see more good eats!

I hope everyone is having a terrific week!

We’re halfway from the weekend!!

Kick-Butt Workouts

February 24, 2013 by Celeste @The Whole Serving Leave a comment

Running is my favorite way to workout, but on days when I can’t get out to run or on x-training days I want workouts that challenge me. I call them Kick-Butt workouts.

I recently purchased a DVD workout, something I haven’t done in years. I choose Jillian Michaels Extreme Shed & Shred DVD $9.69 at Target.

This is a total body workout with a mix of kickboxing,Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, yoga and weight training. It has two 45-minute workouts with modifications for beginners and seasoned athletes looking for a challenge. It also includes an online meal plan if you need guidance. On my Kick-Butt meter of a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the top, this workout rates a 4.

But my absolute number one recommendation for a Kick-Butt workout is NTC (Nike Training Club). It’s an app for your phone or tablet that’s available for iphone and Android users, and it is FREE, FREE, FREE!!!

Choose your goal.

Choose your level and a workout, there are over 100 workouts to choose from.

Workouts range from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

There is a video guide if you need help with form and the workout is paused while you watch the video

When you are ready resume the workout and the timer starts again.

As you complete workouts you will be rewarded with additional bonus workouts, some from professional athletes.

I rate NTC a 5 on the Kick-Butt meter.

Prepare to sweat when you do these workouts.

If you want to be swimsuit ready for the summer, these workouts will get you there! No Gym Membership Required.

Not all of the workouts use equipment, but when equipment is needed, so far all I have used have been a mat, dumbbells, or medicine ball.

WIAW #3

February 20, 2013 by Celeste @The Whole Serving 11 Comments

This was no ordinary Monday, because it was Presidents Day, for some it was a holiday from work, but for me I had staff development training and I was one of the trainers. When I’m a presenter in front of large groups, I get just a little bit anxious until I’m in front of the group speaking.

To get my day going I started with two waffles layered with a mixture of MaraNatha No Stir Almond Butter and TJ’s Speculoos Cookie Butter, sliced bananas and sprinkled black chia seeds. Give this a try and you will be hooked! My drink was freshly steeped JavaVans Mate tea from Teavana. If you are a tea lover, you have to try this place if there’s one in your area.

Breakfast 7:00

8:30 I grabbed a cup of coffee in my recyclable Starbucks cup after arriving at the training site. I purchased the cup for $1, and every time I use my cup at Starbucks, I get .10 cents off my coffee purchase. I’m sticking to my goal of being less wasteful.

10:30 I downed a Protein Berry Smoothie from my Starbucks double-walled insulated acrylic tumbler, I received as a gift on Valentine’s Day.

I didn’t do my grocery shopping over the weekend, so I didn’t have a lot to put together for lunch. I made a veggie and apples plate for lunch, honey mustard for dipping veggies and TJ’s Cookie Butter for my apple slices.

Lunch 12:35

Do you ever feel like having breakfast for dinner? Well, I did on Monday and it was a tasty one.

Scrambled soy chorizo eggs with mozzarella cheese, flat bread & fig butter and orange slices.

Dinner 6:15

For something sweet later I had two pieces of my Valentine candy.

7:30 After Dinner sweet Snack

Question of the day.

Do you like public speaking? How are you when speaking to large groups?

HIIT IT

February 16, 2013 by Celeste @The Whole Serving Leave a comment

IntervalTraining.net

Burn more calories, lose more fat, in less time. That’s HIIT- High Intensity Interval Training. A very popular way some are using to take their fitness and fat loss to the next level. The idea is to use short intervals of maximum intensity, alternated with longer intervals of low to moderate intensity exercise.

HIIT trains and conditions both your anaerobic and aerobic systems, this type of exercise increases the amount of calories you burn during and after workout sessions, because it increases the length of time it takes the body to recover from each session. The metabolic adaptations that occur in the body enables the body to burn more fat as fuel and improves ones athletic endurance as well. To get the benefits you must push past the upper end of your aerobic zone and allow the body to replenish the anaerobic energy system during the lower intensity interval.

HIIT is great for those who have busy schedules, because they are short workouts and can be done before work, on a work break or just before bed. There are some workouts that can be done in 4 minutes.

Hiit workouts are very physically demanding and are not for everyone. A healthy diet with a balance of protein and cards are recommended at least an hour before and after training and lots of water as always with any exercise. Because of its intensity, it’s recommended that you don’t do two days of HIIT in a row, give your body time to recover.

This type of excercise can be adapted to almost any form exercise, such as running, elliptical training and targeting different areas of the body.

backonpointe.tumblr.com is a great site for HIIT Training Plans

the following plan is from the site.

HIIT Running

Click Source for additional plans.

Check out the resource sites for more information.

Reference source1

Reference source2

February 13, 2013
by Celeste @The Whole Serving 8 Comments

WIAW #2

HAPPY WIAW DAY!! This is my food diary for Monday, which turned out to be much colder than I thought. I normally start my day off with a smoothie, but I switched things up a bit and had overnight oats. I found the original recipe for overnight oats at Kat Eats Real Food, whats so wonderful is you can change some of the ingredients to suit your likes or dislikes, you know what I mean. I made mine with rolled oats, greek non-fat yogurt,almond milk, chia seeds and one mashed banana. In the morning when I was ready to eat I stirred in Trader Joe’s cookie butter and top with fresh fruit. Sorry there’s no picture of this, it was soooooooo good, I had eaten half before I remembered to take a photo. I promise to take one next time. I know, I know it doesn’t look pretty but don’t let that fool you this stuff is awesome! After eating my oats I decided to have a cup of coffee.

Breakfast 7:30

Morning Snack 10:00

Blackberries

Lunch 1:00

Quinoa Salad, some Trader Joe’s mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced red onions, chopped spinach and extra virgin olive oil tossed together, when it was time to eat I topped it with some shaved parmesan,romano and asiago cheese.

Afternoon Snack 4:00

Somersaults dutch cocoa sunflower seed snack.

Dinner 7:30

Trader Joe’s Pesto Tortelloni in Campbell’s Creamy Red Pepper with Smoked Gouda soup topped off with a little pesto sauce and a salad sprinkled with chia seeds tossed in honey mustard dressing. Yum Yum!!