Personal Training
Yeah, My Cranberry Sauce is Kind of A Big Deal
I LOVED hearing what you all are thankful for! It is such a special time of year and I really am trying to take this week to reflect on my life and how I am so lucky. We can spend so much time complaining about trivial things like traffic on the way to work…but how about how lucky we are that we have a job? Or we can complain about how annoying it is when a person is on a machine that you want at the gym, but how about how lucky we are that we are healthy and able to workout? Next time you want to complain about something just try to think positively!
I know i mentioned last week that I got my hair darkened. Around this time of year I always tend to do something different with my hair. It is naturally darkish brown but gets much lighter (naturally) in the summer time. In the winter, I like to go darker, but this is by far the darkest I have gone and I LOVE it!
You can’t really tell THAT much from the pictures, but its dark, believe it. I will try to take some more in the next couple of weeks!
Fitness: On the fitness front, things are going really well! My body is really starting to lean out especially in my legs. I am lifting heavier and really focuses on my glutes and hamstrings, and it is showing! I designate Monday to my leg day because I like the pump feeling in my legs for the rest of the week! Also, my rest days are usually on Sundays, so Mondays I am roaring to go! My workout yesterday consisted of some inverted leg presses, barbell squats, walking DB lunges, plie squats, stability ball hamstring roll in’s, deadlifts and backwards barbell lunges. It was awesome! I have to say that I am definately taking my weight training more seriously than my cardio, I am loving the changes I am seeing so I plan to keep pushing through all of my workouts!
I came home to a package from Optimum Nutrition! Back in October, I tweeted about using some of their products, and I got sent a free grab bag! I love their customer service. They truly love their customers and it shows by giving away freebies of their products! They all were packed in this awesome shaker bottle (which I will absolutely be using in the near future!)
- 100% whey gold standard french vanilla creme
- 100% whey standard mocha cappucino
- 100% casein blueberries & cream
- 100% casein chocolate peanut butter
- Amino energy packet
Can you guess what I am most excited to try?
I wasted no time using the french vanilla creme to make a protein smoothie for after my workout! I added pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, 1/4 C almond milk, and a dusting of cinnamon. This was perfect and so delicious!
Next up, I was attacking the homemade cranberry sauce that I was designated to make for this Thanksgiving! I made this cranberry sauce last year and everyone raved about it, so I was specifically asked to make it again! That was okay with me because it is such an easy recipe! (then again I thought cookies were easy to make, and used salt instead of sugar, fail!)
I gathered the ingredients to start. Cranberries, 1 granny smith apple, 1 naval orange, organic cane sugar
First pour the cranberries in a good sized pot
Add 1 cup of water
Add 1 cup of sugar
Let these 3 ingredients come to a boil over medium heat (the cranberries will start to ‘pop’)
Meanwhile, zest the naval
Grab the spices (which are optional) nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger
Once the water, cranberries and sugar come to a boil and the cranberries ‘pop’ add in the juice from the orange
A diced and peeled granny smith apple
And the orange zest!
Let everything simmer for 20-30 minutes. It is so easy, super simple, delicious and healthy! ENJOY! The final product will be seen on Thanksgiving!!
Cranberry sauce with Orange Zest
Ingredients
- 1 granny smith apple
- 1 naval orange
- 1 bag of cranberries
- 1 cup of water
- 1-1/2 cup of sugar
- cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (optional)
Method
- Combine the cranberries, sugar and water in a pot. Let all 3 ingredients come to a boil until the cranberries begin to ‘pop’ (about 7 minutes)
- Zest the orange and set aside. Juice the orange and set aside. Peel and dice the apple and set aside
- When the pot of cranberries, sugar and water come to a boil, add in the orange juice, orange zest and diced apple. Turn down the heat to medium-low.
- Add in the spices (optional) I just eyeball it but probably around 1/2 tsp each
- Let all of the ingredients come together and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Cover the pot and let it sit.
- ENJOY!
Question of the day: Are you preparing anything for this Thanksgiving? Are you ‘known’ for making anything?
