Fit Holiday Recipes & Workout: Protein Waffles & Smoothie

Christmas Came & went

This was my 50th Christmas 🎄

But I’ll be 51 in just a few days.

I actually don’t enjoy holidays or birthdays.

I like celebrations for others, such as weddings, or my friends Sheena’s upcoming baby shower.

But for me, I don’t like any hoopla.

I’ve never dreamed of having a big wedding, or any wedding for that matter.

Although I do see myself being married. So how that will happen, I have yet to find out.

The only thing to which I actually look forward, is having my own cooking-TV-online-show; a show where I can share recipes, nutrition knowledge, fitness tips, and overall, to motivate EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, to take good care of themselves.

Therefore, when someone asks me, “Who is your audience?”

My answer is simply, “EVERYONE!!!!”

Hence, one of the reasons I do not relish in the holiday spirit or similar festivities, is that I perceive these things as holding up my purpose.

Holidays tend to be nonproductive days for many. Don’t take this to mean that I have trouble relaxing, I have been known to spend an entire day lying in my hammock watching RomComs.

My hammock hangs indoors and is THE perfect height for TV viewing.

If I take a lounge day, and then a holiday approaches, where I might be “forced” to lounge, well, that doesn’t fair well for my DREAM pursuits.

Therefore, on this past holiday, instead of lounging, AT ALL, I started running again, or was forced back into it because my gym was closed.

But low and behold, I was reminded just HOW MUCH I love to run! I was reminded just HOW MUCH running actually GROUNDS me, and helps me FOCUS.

I’ve been wanting to write more blog posts, and thanks to my reintroduction to running, I feel more relaxed, and FOCUSED!

I even developed and shot a video for my HIGH-Protein-super-nutrient-rich-heart-shaped-waffles, AND I went to work.

And that was just on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Eve day, I filmed one of my many smoothie recipes, which do tend to be pretty much the same, because as it stands right now, I’ve created a few versions of the same smoothie in order to assure I get the most nutritious bang for my food “BUCK.”

Prior to my Christmas Eve day smoothie recipe video shoot, I had a terrific, yet expedient, workout at Gold’s gym Venice, using just a single barbell for a very nice variety of exercises.

My point of this post was not to poo-poo Christmas, or any holidays, it was to show the culmination of healthy, positive,  working-towards-my-goal tasks I accomplished DURING the holidays, and I might add, NOT despite them.

No excuses… that’s how we achieve our DREAMS…

Christmas Eve Smoothie

(Using leftover veggies)

Throw everything in a blender.

ANY BLENDER

AND BLEND!

2 scoops (50g) whey protein powder

1/4 avocado 🥑 (leftover)

1/4 cup Napa cabbage 🥬  (leftover)

1/2 cup shredded carrots 🥕  (leftover)

1/4 cup parsley, chopped  (leftover)

1 Tbsp each ground chia, sesame, & sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

2 cups cold brewed tea 🍵

$2.75 / serving

Makes one big serving to sip all day;

or divide in half & drink as two meal replacements for weight loss.

Drink in ADDITION to your meals if you’re trying to gain muscle, AND you’re working out.

600 cals

66 g protein

41 g carbs

12 g Fiber

13 g fat

143% Vit A

339% B1 Thiamin

288% B2 Riboflavin

151% B3 Niacin

253% B6

65% B12

63% Vit C

0% Vit D

1% Vit E

48% Folate

54% Pantothentic Acid

37% Calcium

35% Copper

111% Iron

20% Magnesium

87% Manganese

10% Phosphorus

48% Potassium

21% Selenium

4% Sodium (710 mg)

8% Zinc

480 mg Omega-3

410 mg Omega-6

0.85 : 1 Omega-6:Omega-3

(very favorable < or = 4:1)

 

HIGH-Protein-super-nutrient-rich-heart-shaped-waffles

1/2 of a large sweet potato (5 oz) (skin on, steamed, boiled, or baked. Can be whole or diced. It’s going to be purées)

2 scoops (50g) whey protein powder

1/2 cup (110g) Greek yogurt

1/2 cup (50g) coconut flour

1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

1 Tbsp ground chia seeds

1 tsp baking powder (although I’m not sure this matters)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (don’t worry if you don’t have)

1/8 tsp sea salt

2 eggs (from pasture raised hens)

Purée all of the ingredients in a Cuisinart / food processor.  Consistency can be like thick cake batter.

Divide into 4 servings

Each serving weighs 126g

If using a standard sized waffle maker, each serving should fit in the waffle maker

If using a mini waffle maker like mine, you’ll need to divide each serving into four mini servings.

Place inside a heated, oiled, waffle maker and let cook until the steam stop coming out. Time varies with each waffle maker. Some say 5 minutes.

Serve with your favorite warmed fruit or a little maple syrup.

Or with butter from grass-fed cows.

Or with all of the above! YUM!

$1.01 per serving

224 cals

22 g protein

22 g carbs

4 g Fiber

5 g fat

71% Vit A

89% B1 Thiamin

83% B2 Riboflavin

44% B3 Niacin

72% B6

22% B12

15% Vit C

4% Vit D

2% Vit E

26% Folate

20% Pantothentic Acid

16% Calcium

14% Copper

12% Iron

9% Magnesium

25% Manganese

15% Phosphorus

10% Potassium

18% Selenium

10% Sodium (710 mg)

6% Zinc

140 mg Omega-3

810 mg Omega-6

5.8 : 1 Omega-6:Omega-3

(not bad, ideal is < or = 4:1)

A WORLD of Possibilities

BARBELL WORKOUT

I may have gotten to the gym later than I’d planned on this day, although I wasn’t super pressed for time. I was not trying to make it to yoga in 10 minutes. But for some reason, I wanted to use only this 45 pound barbell for an efficient, yet EFFECTIVE workout.

AND I DID!

And it goes a little something like this…

2-5 sets of each / 10-15 reps, or more if possible since we are not changing the weight at all.

1. Front squats
2. Overhead presses
3. Barbell pulls (a much easier, yet VERY effective, version of a pull-up)
4. Step ups onto bench, one leg at at time. (I’d advice using a firmer surface next time)
5. Bulgarian Split Squat
6. Barbell curls
7. Upright Rows
8. Shrugs

So, there you have it.

Maybe use my “Holiday” food and fitness examples to get you on track towards your “always improving my health” GOALS.

Most advertisers promote “New Year. New You,” but that’s like implying you’re not good enough now. You ARE! But we can all benefit from focusing on our health on a daily basis.

JUST DO IT!

I’m sorry to steal their quote, but Nike just says it best!