THE Recipes! Veggie Wraps

Veggie Wraps

1 Tortilla

2 oz Spread

1/2 cup Mixed Greens

1/2 cup Broccoli, chopped

1/2 cup Carrots, chopped

2 oz shredded Cheddar

 

Smear spread over tortilla.

Layer with mixed greens.

Top with Broccoli and Carrots.

Sprinkle with shredded cheddar.

Roll up and enjoy.

Wrap in paper towel to prevent sticking to neighboring wraps.


This is another recipe that was adjusted from the prescribed spread of cream cheese!
Not that there is anything wrong with cream cheese, but I'm really impressed with the Greek yogurt spread!!


This has been a road trip staple for us for the last few years.  They work great for the first day of a backpacking trip, too!
Sometimes I use straight spinach instead of mixed greens, but you really can't go wrong with this wrap.


I think the original recipe also called for ranch dressing and bacon bits, but we try to clean it up once in a while.
Wrapping in a paper towel is a life saver when it comes to easily eating these wraps.  No matter how dry you think they are, they *always* stick to the next one!!

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THE Recipes! No-Bake Chocolate Energy Bites

I made a minor change to the original recipe.  It called for chocolate chips. I used sliced almonds, instead.  These are just decadent any time...




No-Bake Chocolate Energy Bites:

3/8 cup honey

1/2 cup no-stir almond butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Up to 4 Tbsp water, as needed

 

1 cup old-fashioned oats (raw)

3/4 cup raw or toasted coconut

1/2 cup flaxseed meal

6 Tbsp Sliced almonds

 

Combine honey, nut butter, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder.  Add water as needed for a sticky consistency.

Add oats, coconut, flaxseed meal, and almonds.

Mix and roll into 1” balls.  Refrigerate.

 

Makes about 20.

Suggested serving size: 3 balls.


I picked up some local honey.  It was amazing...  I used said local honey in my energy bites, and they were out of this world!


Did you try this recipe?
Did you tweak it?
Tell me about it in the comments!

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THE Recipes! Sandwich Wraps

This is a basic substitution with unlimited potential. I love to use the cucumber sandwich spread in place of mayonnaise.

Sandwich Wraps:

1 Tortilla

2 oz Spread (from here!)

3 oz Sliced Turkey Breast

1/2 cup spinach leaves

2 oz shredded cheddar

Smear spread over tortilla.

Layer with spinach leaves.

Top with turkey breast slices.

Sprinkle with shredded cheddar.

Roll up and enjoy.

Note:

Wrap in paper towel to prevent sticking to neighboring wraps.(ask me how I discovered this...)

I try to avoid bread or wraps as an every day food, but if I'm hitting the road for a weekend or so, I won't hesitate to pull some in. They are easy to transport, easy to eat, and scalable!

Of course, you can replace turkey with roast beef or ham. You can adjust your toppings to taste. This is just a wrap that *I* use. 

What will you put in your sandwich wrap? 

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THE Recipes! Spread and Cucumber Sandwiches

NOTE:
There will always be more recipes...

 

First, I want to talk about the most awesome spread I've come across.
It started out as a spread for cucumber sandwiches.  Cream cheese and seasoning...
However, I **really** wanted to make it a little healthier.  One day, at a tea party (yup, I was hosting a tea party!), I served 2 different plates of cucumber sandwiches.  One plate used a base of cream cheese for the spread.  The other plate used a base of plain Greek yogurt for the spread!
Five out of six taste-testers (me and my guests) preferred the Greek yogurt based spread.

 

I now share the results of that experiment with you!

 

 

GREEK YOGURT SPREAD:

 

8 oz plain greek yogurt

1/4 tsp each:
            Lemon pepper
            Onion powder
            Garlic powder
            Sea salt
Combine.

 

 

Seriously, this stuff is better than mayonnaise!
Just for fun, here's the recipe to make cucumber sandwiches! (Which are also yummy on the go)

 

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES:

• Pepperidge Farms Ultra Thin White Bread
• Greek Yogurt Spread
• Cucumbers (peeled and sliced)
• Sea Salt

 If you prefer, remove the crust from 2 slices of bread.

Spread one slice with Greek yogurt spread.

Layer cucumber slices (peeling is optional, and slicing thin is highly recommended).

Sprinkle cucumbers with salt.

Top with the second slice of bread.

Cut into quarters for presentation.

Have you tried this recipe, yet?  Tell me what you think in the comments!

 

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What To Eat Away From Home?

I constantly wonder how I can eat better at a horse show.

My horse show fare used to look something like this:
Breakfast - Lamar's Donuts (it was kind of a tradition!)
Lunch - hotdog, chips, and pop from the concession stand
Dinner - wherever we went out to eat once the day was done...

Dehydration was a constant companion!

This did NOT support my performance!!

So, what do I do now?  How can I eat better?

WATER!!
The first change I made was to fill a large water bottle, keep it near me at almost all times, and drink from it EVERY time I check my horse's water, head to warm up, or come out of a class.
If you have a groom, hand them your water bottle and give them explicit instruction: "Make sure I'm constantly drinking this water!"

I added HUMAN food planning to my show prep list.  I mean, no one forgets hay and horse feed...  But, I always ended up at the show grounds with nothing to nourish myself!

I started planning travel-friendly meals.  For single-day shows, I'd make up a batch of breakfast burritos to share with the whole crew instead of buying donuts.  They packed well in large, flat tupperware and retained heat long enough to get to the barn.  I wraped them individually in papertowels to keep them from sticking together.

A power-breakfast was a great start for me!

I'd like to share my current meal-plan for eating away from home.
I am NOT a nutritionist (not yet, at least).
However, I strive for balanced nutrition and minimal processing.  I know there are places I will fall short, and that's OK.  I hope you get value from this meal plan!

THE MEALS

 

BREAKFAST:
Shakeology - with almond/coconut milk, ice, peanut butter, and spinach

SECOND BREAKFAST:
Banana
2 Hard-Boiled eggs
Cheddar cheese stick
Baby Carrots

LUNCH:
Veggie Wrap (with mixed greens, broccoli, and carrots)
or
Turkey Wrap (with mixed greens and cheese)

SNACK:
Diced Melon (or Strawberries, or Pineapple)
No-Bake Energy Bites

DINNER:
Grilled Chicken Salad

In my next post, I'll share my personal touches on each of the recipes and how I make them work for me!

What do you eat when you're away from home?

Please share with me in the comments!

 

 

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Working Out Around Injuries

I have the stupidest injury.

In fact, in the last 2 weeks, I’ve had 2 of the stupidest injuries…

 

I’ll let you in on a little secret…

Today is the first day in 11 days that I’ve worn real shoes…

...not my shoes...

Yup, I’ve been wearing flip-flops for the past 10 days.

 

After a day of practicing over cross-country jumps, I finished my horse chores in my tall boots.

I live to do this stuff!

My tall boots are nice and soft and flexible at the ankle, but they have a zipper that runs up the back.  As the ankle has softened, the zipper has, too.  Now, it rubs the back of my ankle on one foot.

I learned a dear lesson…  Change out of these boots as soon as I’m done riding!

All that walking around rubbed the WORST blisters on my ankle, and before I even knew they were there, they had bubbled up and burst.

Lesson learned!!

 

Then, today, I woke up with the strangest soreness in my chest…  It feels like a pulled muscle, but it’s such a small area…

Yup.  I pulled a tiny muscle right in the middle of my chest.  How does that even happen?

(I’m pretty sure I just got a little enthusiastic while doing a windmill stretch…)

 

So, what do I do about my workouts when I’m injured?

 

Well, since my daily workouts are with a video in my home, I decided I was just going to do them barefoot.  This is not my general recommendation!

I decided that, because of my dance background, I have strong feet that don’t rely on my shoes for all of their support.  I paid close attention to what I was doing and made sure I wasn’t straining anything in my feet while I was working out. It’s  been working out pretty well for me!

And my landing are so much softer when I have to jump…

Go figure.

 

So, this little muscle in my chest?  It runs from my sternum to one of my ribs.  It’s a tiny little thing.  It only hurts if I move just wrong.  (as in, when I engage said muscle)

So, while it’s healing, I’ll make sure to use a little bit lighter weights for upper body work.  I’ll only do push-ups and planks if it doesn’t hurt.  I’ll let my body be my guide and I’ll just focus on lower body, core,  and cardio for a few days while it sorts itself out.

 

I know my body, so I can make these calls confidently.

If you are working out around an injury, always consult with your doctor first!

 

Remember, I’m always working out around an injury, and I will be for the rest of my life.

Bulged discs never completely heal and are always at risk for re-injury.

I’ve learned that it’s very easy to overdo it when I do too much plyometric work or if I push too hard in certain exercises.  I’ve learned to modify the things that will hurt later in a way to still work the muscle group but to take the strain off of my back.  I don’t jump with weights.  Instead, I’ll step.

Some days I can’t squat as low enough to touch the floor.  That’s ok.  I squat as low as I can without sacrificing good form.  Sometimes, I’m just too tight, stiff, or sore in my back to do any of my usual routines, so I hop on my recumbent bike, instead.

 

I buy into the statement “There is no bad fitness”.

However, I do believe that there can be *unbalanced* fitness.

That’s one of the reasons I use the home fitness programs that I do.  The guesswork is taken out.  The balance has already been done for me.  Strength, flexibility, cardio, core stability…  It’s all built in, and all I have to do is follow the program and push play every day.

 

And when something comes up…

I just modify to work around it!

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Sexy workout

I posted a sweaty selfie the other day.
That, in itself, isn't unusual. In order to be accountable to each other in our groups, we share a post-workout picture every day.

a typical pot-workout selfie...

On a regular basis, I change into my workout clothes after work (or riding), and I don't bother to take off the day's jewelry. If I had bothered to put on make up (and that is a HUGE if), I don't take it off, either. It will be washed away during my post-workout shower!
As a result, I sometimes get some selfies where I might actually look cute!

it takes more time to remove the bling...

In response to one of my selfies, someone commented about considering the "sexy workout". Then, I really started thinking about it.

We all know that when you feel good, you perform better. 

When you look good, you feel good.

Why not look good for your workout?

I like color!

I'm not saying you *have* to look good for your workout.

I'm going in there to sweat and grunt and breath funny...

However, sometimes, I feel my earring swing a little or my necklace bounce a little...

...and I feel just a little... fancy!

I feel pretty!  And even if noone can see it, it makes me feel good, and I push just a little more!

Sometimes I just forget I'm wearing jewelry until it gets in the way.  That's when I stop for a moment and take it off.

 

But, I do reach for clothes that make me feel cute before I reach for my older, worn-out workout duds.  So, why not "dress up" for your workout?

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