February Mix Giveaway - Beats to make you LOVE working out!

Believe it or not, there are actually some reasons I do LOVE February. Not for the weather, nor for the snow, but for the celebration of Valentine's Day. Pink and red are a pretty cute color combo too. Oh, and who doesn't appreciate a good love song...one with some beats at least.

With that in mind...I thought this month's mix giveaway should probably include all of the best LOVE inspired workout songs. Some of which I can't help but shake my hips to.

We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris - Rihanna
International Love ft. Chris Brown - Pitbull
Love on Top - Beyonce
Lovelier Than You - B.O.B
Love the Way You Lie - Eminem
No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
Love Drunk - Boys Like Girls
Elastic Love ft. M.I.A. - Christina Aguilera
Friday I'm in Love - The Cure
I believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness
Stereo Love - Edward Maya
No Love ft. Lil' Wayne - Eminiem
I Don't Wanna Be in Love - Good Charlotte
Your Love is My Drug - Ke$ha
Use Your Love - Katy Perry
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti
Love Today - Mika
Love You Like a Love Song - Selena Gomez
Skinny Love - Bon Iver (cool down)

to enter to win...

1) Become a Follower and leave a comment or tell me that you already are one!
2) Leave a comment telling me what YOUR favorite love song is
3) For additional entries...blog about it, tweet it, facebook it, pin it, etc.

To see previous workout playlists click HERE 
The giveaway will end Friday March 2nd at midnight. Winner will be announced Saturday March 3rd! Good luck!

A Saturday Smattering

Happy Saturday Y'all. One of my favorite days of the week. Here is a smattering of my thoughts for the day.

- I have been DREAMING of going on a warm vacation. More like salivating over the thought of it...What I wouldn't do to be the winner of some fabulous beach resort vacation right now. I even started flipping through some of my warm weather vacation photos from this past year...

I mean come on...wouldn't you rather be doing THIS 

 or THIS?

Instead of THIS? 

OK...in all honesty this winter hasn't been too bad at all. (That pic is from last year.) AND if you can't tell I am HATING my life on that tube. I wouldn't mind a warm Lake Powell trip though, sans death defying tube. I'm much more of a boat lounger. :) Let's just say I'm ready for spring already. I want shorts and flip flops and tanned skin. I'm over boots.

- My parents are in town this weekend. I love when that happens. :)
- I watched Whitney Houston's funeral while I worked out this morning. It made me a) remember how great some of her songs are b) feel sad that so many celebs ruin their lives and waste such amazing talent c) wanna dance with somebody. Don't worry I got ready to the greatest of Whitney Houston this afternoon and that CD is fabulous.
- I have to speak at Stake Conference tomorrow. Major butterflies. It is a semi-annual meeting my church holds in which ohhh about a thousand or so people meet together. Like I said, butterflies.
- I had a client bring me some fresh ground Kamut flour to make whole wheat bread, and I'm hoping to be able to make it and post the recipe tomorrow! YUM! What smells better than fresh baked bread? Not much. Maybe cinnamon rolls.
- Modern Family makes me smile.

That's all. Happy Saturday!

xoxoxo Megs


Are you ready for warm weather? Ever baked with Kamut Flour?

Awwww...nuts! National Almond Day

Yesterday was national almond day, and I didn't get to post about it. I actually planned on posting about it, but didn't have the time. SO...I'm celebrating yesterday, today. You follow?

I'm going to start by telling you a little story...Once upon a time I hated nuts in almost all forms. I say almost because I did like the little bags of peanuts I got on the airplane. That was about where I drew the line. I hated nuts in brownies. I hated nuts in bread. I hated nuts on muffins. I didn't want nuts in their natural lonely form. NO NUTS. The shocking part...I didn't even want much to do with peanut butter.

Time for some true confessions...
1. I still hate nuts in any baked good. They just ruin things, ok?
2. I didn't eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich until I was 16. (GASP!!)
3. I always thought nuts were too high in calories and fat and it was probably better that I hated them anyways.

Explanation of my true confessions...
1. Self explanatory. They just ruin things, ok? I feel the same way about raisins.
2. I was the girl who took salads in a Tupperware, cut up vegetables, and all sorts of fruit snacks in my lunch, but NEVER a sandwich. Never. I still am not the biggest jam lover, and I didn't used to love honey, so what in the world would I be eating with peanut butter on bread. Luckily...at girls camp one summer we were desperate for food (aka: I was once VERY picky and hated a lot of foods) and a PB&J was my only option. LIFE CHANGING. Don't worry I've made up for lost time...

see...

3. I had the wrong idea about nuts until I had an incredible class in college called Chronic Disease Prevention from Dr. Aldana. Our textbook was his book entitled, The Culprit and the Cure. If you haven't read it, read it. It is amazing, and it will change you view of food in a big way. I learned that nuts are a healthy food that are full of healthy fats and good calories. YES, they require some portion control, but eating nuts is VERY beneficial. Almonds happen to be one of my favorite foods now. I actually purchase them in bulk.

(Yep, I've used this photo before, and yep the bag was opened upside down.)

Almonds have so many health benefits.
- They fight heart disease! The good fats help to decrease the bad cholesterol and increase the good cholesterol.
- They have antioxidants and all sorts of vitamins and minerals.  The antioxidants are cancer fighting agents, and come in the skin of the almonds.
- They have protein in them! Always a bonus This makes them a great snack to take with you on the go. I ALWAYS have a plastic bag of them in my purse. ALWAYS.

So...include some almonds in your diet! One serving is about an ounce or 24 almonds. The stats for one ounce of almonds is about 163 calories, 14 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fiber, and only 1 gram of sugar! AWESOME. Try to portion out a serving at a time so you don't overdo it, but by all means, eat your almonds!

I love my almonds raw and natural, slivered on salads, and even mixed in with trail mix. I also LOVE cinnamon almonds. THIS recipe is a healthified version that is super delicious.

What is YOUR favorite way to eat almonds? Do you like nuts in your baked goods? You can say yes and we will still be friends. Are you a fan of the ole' PB&J?

Make Your Efforts Count

I hope your Love Day was LOVEly. Mine looked something like this...

Last week I had a client that was running behind due to the chaos that life can bring, and she ended up being able to make it for about 20 minutes of her session with me. At first she was bummed because she thought she missed out on burning lots of calories. I assured her quickly that you don't always need lots of time to get a great workout in. You can easily put 100 percent effort into a short workout and get some intense work done. Heck, I think sometimes people who spend three hours at the gym are wasting their time. I bet if you asked my client if she felt like her 20 minute HIIT workout was efficient she would say yes.

My tips for a quick and effective workout...
- Go big or go home. Use heavier weights, put forth maximum effort, and really make sure you are pushing yourself. (Safely, of course)
- Add in some cardio intervals. By adding in some cardio bursts you will be keeping your heart rate as high as you can. This helps you to burn the maximum amount of calories possible. Some good cardio burst exercises are jump squats, burpees, mountain climbers, or a quick sprint.
- Alternate exercise sets. I ALWAYS do this. ALWAYS. While one muscle group is resting I work another muscle group. I never just sit and recover. That is time wasted. If I just worked my legs doing squats, I'll allow my legs to rest while I am doing pushups, working my arms. Get it? Got it.
- Make your exercises multipurpose. This is another thing I ALWAYS do. Squats with an overhead press or doing an arm exercise while balancing on one foot to engage the core. When you make the most of your exercises you can fit a ton in to a short time period.

Don't let time be an excuse for not exercising. You don't have to have hours to spare. You just have to be willing to push yourself for the time that you do have.

Click HERE to see some of my previous circuit workouts that include all of these principles!

Do you include HIIT training into your workouts? How do you make your workouts as effective as possible?

My Love List

Happy Valentine's Day! I always like to make a list of the things that I love as a reminder of just how good I have it!

I love...the feeling I get after an awesome workout. Pizza Factory's Salad Bar. My family. Oatmeal. My friends. Laughing. My seafoam green skinny jeans. Nike tempo shorts. Frozen yogurt. Being Tan. My fabulous job and coworkers. Reading a good book. My bed. Peanut butter. Summer. Striped everything. The Bachelor. Hugs and kisses. Diet Dr. Pepper. The beach. My iPhone. My religion. Finding new music. My moccasins. Sweats. Soft blankets. Road trips. Anything soft really. Healthy food. Hulu. Incredible clients. Baking. 80's music. My nieces and nephews. Cute boys. Glitter. Shopping. The internet. Chevron print. Inside jokes. Ibuprophen. Sunshine. Cooking. Traveling. Sunglasses. Fresh fruit. Helping my clients progress. Going to Last Chance. My computer. Blog friends. Instagram. Cereal. The Temple. Makeup. Not having to wake up to an alarm clock in the Morning. My scriptures. The weekend. Great roommates. Cinnamon. Pita Jungle. Fairytales. Pictures. Arizona. Fresh flowers. Vintage inspired style. My cheetah print wedges. Thick framed glasses. Rollerblades. Going to a movie. Pools. Smiling. When Harry Met Sally. Dance Parties. Anthropology Sales. Reruns of Friends. Getting funny text messages. Spinning. Coming up with crazy new workouts. Christmas. The Blue Lemon. Crafting. Hanging out with my mom and sisters. Lip gloss. High heels. Ryan Reynolds. Naps. New workout clothes. My car heater. Airplanes. Painting my nails. Leather Jackets. Stained glass. Downton Abbey. Massages. My beach cruiser. Mango Salsa. Foam Rollers. My flat iron. Cameras. Beach waves. My toothbrush......and on and on and on...

Speaking of things I love...I just found these photos on my phone...

More than anything, I must say I have so many amazing people in my life that I love SO dearly. What a great day to be able to tell all of them just how much I love them!

LOVE YOU!!! 

What/who/where do You love?

I love Valentine's Day. I always have. I usually don't even have an actual Valentine, and I still love it. To me, Valentines Day is a day to show all the people that you love, just how much you love them.  I still make Valentine's and pass them out like I'm 12. It's the best. I also like to make a list of the things that I LOVE...just as a reminder. That will come tomorrow :)

For today, I thought I'd throw out some ideas for how you can make your Valentine's Day full of love, and delicious too! 


Breakfast:
Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

To make them into heart shapes bake them in cupcake liners and after you pour the batter in place one marble between the side of the cupcake tin and the liner, forcing it to bake into a heart shape.
or
Whip up some Whole Wheat Pancakes
My mom used to always make heart shaped pancakes with a cookie cutter. We also had a darling waffle iron that made heart shaped waffles. BUT if you don't want to go to the trouble of doing that dye the pancakes pink or use some berry topping to make them festive. 

Dinner: 
Make Heart Shape Mini Meatloaf Muffins the same way that you would make the heart shaped zucchini muffins with the marble.
or
Go Italian with Chicken Scampi

add to that a side of some delicious 
Copycat Carrabbas Bread Dip

If you are looking for something to take to a party this beautiful Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Chips is TO DIE FOR.

or keep it red and festive with some whole grain chips and Homemade Salsa

Dessert:
I love these Fruit Kabobs Make your own angel food cake with some pink food coloring and use strawberries and raspberries to keep it pink and red. If you want to get real snazzy cut the angel food cake into mini hearts with a cookie cutter.

Cinnamon Bun Cake This is another one where you could use a cookie cutter to make these into heart shaped pieces! You could also dye the cake or the icing pink with a little bit of food coloring.

Another beautiful and delicious dessert that is always a hit, and could be made beautifully into Valentines day colors is this English Trifle. Chocolate lovers could sub fat free sugar free chocolate pudding for the usual banana or vanilla.

Of course, you absolutely cannot go wrong with my all time favorite Low Fat Zucchini Cookies.

Hopefully these ideas can help make your Vday Celebration fabulous, tasty, full of love, and healthy too! Are you planning on staying at home to cook or are you going out for a night on the town? What is your favorite Valentines day treat? 

Also...Happy Bday to my darling Janae!! LOVE YOU GIRL!! 

See Megan Run - 10 Miler & iMap my run app

So, yesterday was the first time I have ran outside in a LONG time. Like...we are talking over a year. For those of you who haven't experienced the difference between running on a treadmill and running outside in a while, there is a definite difference. My goal yesterday was 10 Miles. I wanted to get a 9:14 pace, but I ended up being about 10 seconds slower. I know some of you are cheetahs, and that seems slow to you, but this girl is trying to build her running legs back up injury free! 

The Running Recap:
- Breakfast: Slow cook oats with a dallop of PB and a handful of frosted mini wheat bites cinnamon flavored. They're new. They're divine. They're full of carbs which is just what I needed. 
- Conditions/Temperature: 45ish not too bad for February. Still a little chilly for my liking. I am a total weather snob when it comes to running outside. I get why it was so warm yesterday now...it's a blizzard today! I will NEVER understand you, Utah weather. 
- Attire: Adidas running tights/capri length, Dry fit tank, Dry fit t-shirt, Columbia shell, ear warmer, Aisics Speedsters. (I wished I had some gloves, but I was pretty good temperature-wise.)
- Fuel: I should have taken my waterbelt, but didn't because I hate running with it. I stopped at a tiny little grocery store and ran in the bathroom and drank from the sink 1/2 way through. So gross. I know. I also took a couple Swedish Fish to pop in 1/2 way through. Yes, I ate candy. I didn't want to open up a whole pack of shot blocks when I knew I only would need a little bit of a glucose boost. The fishies worked like a dream (and tasted great.) 
**Usually the rule of thumb for long runs/refueling is with any runs over 75 minutes you should have some fuel. For longer runs you want 25-50 grams of carbs per hour.
- Overall Feelings on the run: My body felt great. I felt like I had the energy to keep going and my muscles/joints felt good. For whatever reason I was bored to death yesterday. I think my route was a little boring which may have been part of it. It was a decent run though. 


I have a list of about 5 million things I want. On that list is a Garmin, and because they are expensive I probably won't be getting one for a while. BUT...in the meantime. I am LOVING the iMapMyRUN app on my iPhone.

 - It is free, which is always a bonus.
- You can set it to give you stats whenever you'd like.  I am always jamming to my favorite tunes when I run, and I didn't want to be too frequently interrupted, so I set it to give me my details every mile. I wanted my distance, time, pace, and mph. It was great. I actually did a full 10 miles, but started the app a little after I took off.

It also records where you are, and includes your elevation. I love this aspect. As you can see the first part of my run was a straight incline. Maybe that is why I wasn't feeling it? Who knows. Anyways. The app is cool for Garmin-less runners like me, check it out.

Other weekend highlights included:
- Seeing The Vow, which I loved, but apparently nobody else did.
- Lunch with my Co-Workers at Zupas...some crazy/exciting changes coming up with work that I will share.
- A night out with the buddies to Coldstone. Remember that place? I haven't been there in FOREVER. I much prefer my frozen yogurt, BUT if you are looking for a healthier option there get the sinless sweet cream with bananas and raspberries. It's good stuff.

Also... Do you think it is normal for a person to have as many pairs of workout shoes as they do regular ones?? I may have an addiction. I get it.

Do you use a Garmin? Do you love it? Do you prefer to know your stats for your runs, or are you just happy to be outside running free? Do you know of any support groups for people who have more workout clothes than real ones? Hey people...it's my job. (That is just what I tell myself to feel justified...)