Working Out at the Gym

     Before we moved, we never really went to a gym. We had a membership to one for a few months, but because it was so far away, we rarely went. So, I had never really worked out in a gym, up until recently, when we got a membership to the rec. center near us!

What I love about the rec. center is that its very family oriented, you don't have a bunch of gym-rats, and it is a ton cheaper than a normal gym! The equipment isn't high-tech, but its easy to use and it does the job! They have a range of equipment, from treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical to weight machines, free weights and medicine balls. The only down side I have found, so far, is that you have to be 18 to use the free weights, but I am content with the weight machines right now!

Here are a few of my favorite things to do at the gym!

#1 The Treadmill
It might sound odd, but I love to run on the treadmill, but put me outside and I just don't enjoy it! I have worked myself up from a 13 minute mile to around 10 minutes to a mile. Not super fast, but that's not really my goal right now! I love to raise the incline up to really work my whole leg, put some pumping tunes on, and just GO!

#2 Leg Press
I could work my legs all day long, and using the leg press is one of my favorites! I usually start out at about 80 pounds and go up to 100-110 pounds at about 20 reps at each weight( if that makes since!).  It is a really easy machine to use, and its really effective too!

#3 Inner/Outer Thigh Machine
This is another really effective machine that I love to use! I usually do around 100-110 pounds and around 40-50 reps, switching between outer and inner thighs. This works like crazy, and you feel it too! I like to do this right after cardio on leg day, so I can sit and get my heart rate down before going on to the rest of strength training.

 

 

Usual Workout Routine

I can't stress enough the importance of changing up your workout often so that you 'keep your body guessing'. Here is what a normal week of workouts looks like for me!

 

Monday: 40 minutes of Cardio( Treadmill, Elliptical, Stair Climber, Bike...) + 20-25 minutes of Arm work with the weight machines.

 

Tuesday: 40 minutes of Cardio( I never do the same machine twice in a row) + 20-25 minutes of Leg work.

 

Wednesday: 45-50 minutes of Cardio + 15-20 minutes of mixed Leg and Arm work. I usually pick one day a week to do an extra long cardio session.

 

Thursday: 40 minutes of Cardio + 20-25 minutes of Arm work

 

Friday: 40 minutes of Cardio+ 20-25 minutes of Leg work.

 

Saturday: We usually don't go to the gym on Saturday, so I like to take a walk and/or do a few at-home workouts.

Sunday: Rest Day!

 

I try not to do the same cardio type every workout. Also, we don't always go to the gym everyday, so I will do arms one time and the next time I go do legs, whether its the next day or not. If I am sore, I take that into account and only do what I can handle. Too little is better than too much!

 

Please note that this is a schedule

 that works for me. It might not be the right thing for you. Listen to your body, know what it can and can't do, and don't do anything that will harm it!

 

 

So that's my take on working out at the gym. If you have a favorite exercise to do at the gym, or at home, please let me know! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett, and on Twitter @ SpinachisGOOD.

 

Please share this post and my blog with a friend and family member to spread the love for healthy living!

 

New post every Monday and Friday!

 

Keep Healthy and SAFE!

H. Banana

Smoothie Bowls

I love smoothie bowls! They are the perfect summer breakfast to keep you healthy, energized, and cool! They are also a great, quick breakfast for back to school!

You really can make a smoothie bowl with anything you want, but here are a few great recipes! 

#1 Strawberry Delight

1 cup Frozen Strawberries

1frozen Banana

1 tbs chia seeds

protein powder of choice

Thaw frozen berries and place in blender. Slice frozen banana and add to blender along with chia seeds and protein powder. Shake well and blend. You might need a bit of liquid, but the more you add the thinner the smoothie will be. Add to a bowl and top with whatever you like! More fruit, granola, nuts, the list is endless!

#2 Tropical Green Machine 

1/2 cup frozen Mango 

1/2 cup frozen Pineapple

1/2 cup frozen Spinach

Protein powder of choice

Thaw fruit and add to blender with spinach and protein powder. Blend well. Top with fresh fruit, granola, chia seeds and more! 

#3 Chocolate Cherry Bomb

1 cup frozen cherries

1 frozen Banana 

Chocolate Protein Powder 

(Optional) 1 tbs cocoa powder

Slice banana and add to blender with thawed cherries, protein powder, and cocoa. Blend well. Top with cherries, sliced banana, and chia seeds! 

Those are some of my favorite smoothie bows, but you can do some many other combos as well! Berry and Banana, Mango and Yogurt, Chocolate and Raspberry......

I hope you give smoothie bowls and try! Please share this post with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

New post every Monday and Friday!

Keep healthy and Safe!

H. Banana 

Relaxing Facials

I've always loved the idea of having a facial, but up until a few weeks ago, I'd never had one before. My sister wanted to get one for her birthday, and we finally found time to go! We have a Aveda Institute near us, and as soon as we check it out online, we knew we had to get our facials there!

AVEDA is a company that uses flower and plant essences to create their products. They believe in using natural ingredients as much as possible to insure that their end products are as gentle and helpful as they can be. I love their products, especially their hair care lines!

AVEDA Institute  is an AVEDA cosmetology college. They have several branches, and one happens to be near us! The great thing about getting a facial, massage, hair cut and so on, at a institute is that the students are preforming the treatments(overseen by their teachers) so it tends to be a bit cheaper than a regular salon!

We booked our appointments and got excited about our facials! We arrived at the institute and were offered cool water and warm herbal teas while we waited. Then we met the students who would we doing our facials and they lead us to our rooms. We each had our own room and student to ourselves! The first thing the student asked me to do was to put on a towel, to make it easier for her to preform the facial. Then she gave me a mini foot-massage with some warm water and foot scrub. She explained that this was to help relive stress. Then I laid on a bed and she began the facial. She cleaned by face and then wrapped it in warm towels (which was amazing!). She also had a fog-machine of sorts waving back and forth over my whole body, which was really nice. Then she called her instructor in and they went over the students choices for products, selection of procedures and so on. They asked me if I was comfortable with the choices, I said I was, and then the instructor left. The student spritz my face with a hydrating spray, massaged my face, neck, arms and feet and calves with an oil of my choosing. Then she applied a clay mask to my face and neck areas. While she was doing this there was very relaxing music playing and the room was dim, which I found very relaxing! Then she cleaned my face and applied a warm towel. She applied a hydrating moisturizer to my face and neck. To wrap things up, she massaged my choice of a body oil into my neck, arms, hands. Then she had me sit up, and she applied the oil to my back as well. Next, she stepped out of the room to allow me to change back into my clothes. She brought me to the spa's waiting room and the instructor asked me a few questions about my experience, whether or not the student did a good job and so on. Then the student showed me a few products that she used in the treatment, and a few she recommended me using on a daily basis.

I enjoyed my facial at the Aveda salon so much, I can't wait to return for another treatment! The students were all very nice, informative, knowledgeable, and they went out of their way to make you feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible! Was there anything lacking? Only that I wish it could have gone on forever! We ended up getting a 60 minute facial which I found to be a perfect length in the end!
After the facial my skin was so smooth, bright and clean looking and feeling! I loved the treatment, the products, and the way I felt after my facial!

 

We loved our facials at the Aveda Institute, and I encourage you to look into the services they offer! I am sure that, if you chose to get a treatment at the Aveda Institute near you, that you will find it just as amazing as we did!

 

New post every Monday and Friday

 

Please share the blog with your friends and family! You can follow the blog via Google, email, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

Keep healthy and safe!

H. Banana

 

Some photos from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Favorite Books!

I love to read just about any type of book, but especially books about food, health and fitness. I find them motivational, helpful, entertaining and inspirational. I always feel inspired to eat and live healthier after I read one of these books! So, I want to share with you a few of my favorite books and maybe you can be just as inspired and motivated as me!

French Women Don't Get Fat! by  Mireille Guiliano
 French Women Don't Get Fat is one of my favorite books! Mireille is such a great writer, balancing her life story, the French tips for staying trim, and delicious recipes! I love that she shares her victories as well as failures and tips she learned along the way. Her recipes are easy to follow, delicious and all relatively healthy. She also has a 'plan' of sorts for getting started living as a French woman. I also read the sequel to the book: French Women For All Seasons and I loved that one as well.

Clean
Clean is a book I've blogged about before. It is a cleansing/detox book that explains what detoxing does, the benefits of it and how to do it! I have done a version of the cleanse twice, and I loved how I felt during and after each time! It also has several recipes that are clean and healthy!


In Defense of Food
Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food is such a great informational book about food, the American way of eating, and what we can do to change the way we eat. He also has several others books that I want to read, including Omnivore's Dilemma which I am in the middle of reading now!

Running Like a Girl
I just started reading this book, Running Like a Girl , and I have already fallen in love! The book is written from the perspective of someone who started out not liking to run, and follows her as she grows and learns to love it.  It is so motivational, funny, and informational. After reading just a few chapters, I wanted to go out for a run! I love how easy it is to relate to the author, and understand the struggles and realize that you aren't alone in your feelings towards running after all!

Body and Soul
Bethany Hamilton's book, Body and Soul is such a great book! She writes about growing up, losing her arm to a shark attack, learning to surf again, getting her life back on a healthier track, and living life in a healthier way. I love her workouts, recipes, stories, tips, and inspiration! She also is firm in her faith and shares ways that God has helped her through her life! I recommend this book for teenage girls( or anyone!) who wants to get their life back on a healthier track!

Healthy Snack Ideas

 Snacks are something that can be either a healthy, beneficial small meal...or a diet-crashing, nutrient-void and unhealthy choice. Learning the difference and choosing the right snacks can be the difference between a healthy and unhealthy diet!

 

Healthy snacks can seem time-consuming or hard, but once you get a few basics, they can be so easy! I have a few favorites and a few go-to-s and I want to share those with you!

Fruit
This might seem like a no-brainer, but most people don't eat enough fruit! Try to eat at least one piece of fruit a day( an apple of day....) Fruits like apples, bananas and oranges are great for on-the-go snacks. Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are great snacks too, just no super-portable!

Frozen Fruit
Easy my favorite summer-time snack, frozen fruit is amazing! No, not super-potable, but its a great snack to have at home. My favorites are mangoes( its like eating sorbet!), pineapple, and blueberries!

Nut Butters
Nut butters are a great snack, especially paired with fruit like apples and pears! When choosing a nut butter, make sure the ingredient list is limited to nuts only ( salt is fine as well).  You can even put it in a tiny container and take an apple along with you for a on-the-go snack!

Lara Bars
I love Lara Bars! They are super portable, so they make great snacks! Also, their ingredient list is amazingly sort and healthy! They are made from many fruit and nuts, and come in so many flavors! My favorites are Apple Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Cashew Cookie.

Boom Chicka Pop!
Popcorn might not be the first thing you think of for healthy snacks, but it can be a perfectly healthy choice! Boom-Chicka-Pop is a great brand of pre-popped popcorn. The ingredient list is short: Popcorn, Sunflower oil, and sea salt. Also, it only has 35 calories per cup! Put it in a zip-lock or container and take it with you for a great and healthy snack!

Dried Fruits
Dried fruits are another portable snack idea. As long as the dried fruits don't have added sugars and additives/chemicals, they are perfectly healthy for you! Add them to a trail-mix or eat them alone for a great snack! My favorites are raisins, cranberries, pineapple and mangoes!

Nuts
Nuts are great to eat for a energy and protein boost! My favorites are cashews, almonds and pecans! you can add them to a trail-mix or eat them by themselves! Just remember, portion sizes really matters with these, so keep an eye on how much you eat in one sitting!

Seeds
These might seem like a salad topping, add to bread and muffins type of thing, but they make great snacks too! My favorites are sunflower and pumpkin! You can get them roasted, salted or raw, so try a few to find your favorites!

So, those are a few of my favorite healthy snacks! I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful for you! If you liked this post, please share it with a friend and family member to spread the love of healthy living!
You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

New post every Monday and Friday!

H. Banana

Healthy Honey Graham Crackers

Graham crackers are one of my favorite snack foods ever! My little brother almost always has a stash of them in my mom's bag or in the pantry, and he isn't the only one who eats them! But, most graham crackers aren't the healthiest choice out there and they are full of things you probably don't want to eat. So, that's why I decided to make healthier graham crackers that aren't full of chemicals and additives, refined sugars and flours! These are full of flavor from the honey, whole wheat flour and cinnamon, you'd never guess they were healthy!

 

There are a lot of graham cracker recipes out there, and I am not saying mines the best (you can be the judge of that!) but mine is one of the simpler ones. I wanted a recipe that was both simple, easy to follow and quick as well as healthy, full of flavor and delicious, so I created my own!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 cup Honey
1/4 cup Coconut Oil at room temp.
4 tbs Olive Oil
2 tbs Water (You might need more if your dough is a little dry)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla

Start my mixing together the dry ingredients. To keep from having clumps of Baking Soda, spoon it into your hand first and get rid of the clumps before adding it to your mix.

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing to combine.

It should come into a dough ball, but if it becomes crumbly, like mine did, add water bit by bit until it forms a dough ball.

 

Make sure you add the water while mixing, so parts of the dough doesn't go soggy.

 

Perfect! Now that the dough has formed a ball, we can move on to the next step.

place dough onto a well floured surface and give it a few squeezes to make sure all the crumbs won't fall off.

 

Roll the dough out fairly thin, but not see-through. Make sure it is even so that the cookies will all be the same thickness.

 

 

Cut you dough into desired shapes. I used a circle shape, but feel free to have fun with the shapes!  Use a fork and knife to make the traditional design, or draw any shape you would like!

Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes, or until they have gone a golden brown and the house if filled with a delicious cinnamon aroma! Let them cool before enjoying!

 

And we're done! See how simple homemade graham crackers are to make? And not only are they simple, but healthy and delicious as well!

 

I had fun with mine and drew smiley faces on a few of my cookies! They look cute, smell heavenly and taste just like store-bought( or maybe a little better!).

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, please share this post with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

New post every Monday and Friday!

 

Keep healthy and Safe!

H. Banana

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 5: Day 5

Ah,  day 5 was a lot of fun, even if it was the last day of school. We got to invite a friend or family member to come for lunch and eat a lunch that we prepared. On this day we took a trip to France and made several traditional French dishes.

We made a herby salad, fresh tomato tart, quiche, asparagus, garlic knots, and chocolate cremeux. I am not a big fan of quiche, but everyone else said it was delicious. I liked everything else, especially the chocolate dessert!

 

We were taught how to set a table properly and fold napkins into a pretty shape. The we decorated the tables with fancy table clothes and decorations to make it pretty for our guest!

 

Alright, on to the food! :)

We made some really yummy asparagus with lemon zest and butter brushed on them. They were soft and tender, just how I like them! I loved them and will try the recipe very soon!

Then we made a salad filled with all kinds of herbs, lettuce and topped with a shallot vinaigrette. It was spicy, flavorful and very delicious! It was one of my favorite parts of the meal!

Like I said, I don't like quiche, but many people do, so I'll talk about it too! We used a dough to make a crust in some mini muffin tins. Then we filled them with an egg, cheese, bacon and chives mixture.

Next was the tomato tart. Tart Tatin is what it was called. We used a puff pastry crust and topped it with a cream cheese, lemon zest and seasonings. Then we layered tomato slices on top and finished it with salt, pepper, and chives! It was a different and delicious dish! I made to try it very soon, maybe in personal size dishes?...

Finally, for dessert we had chocolate cremeux. It is much like a chocolate pudding, only firmer and much richer! You can see by the small serving container, a little bit is plenty! It was so rich, creamy, chocolate, and amazing! I loved it and so did the rest of my family! We had my Mom, little sister and little brother as our guest for lunch!

 

Well,  that is Day 5 of our cooking school at Whole Foods! This was the last day of the school, and my sister and I can't believe how quickly the time flew by! We learned so much and I have so many different recipes I want to try! I also realized even more how much I want to make a career out of my passion for making(and eating!) delicious and healthy food!

 

Please share this post with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email and Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

New Post every Monday and Friday!

 

Keep healthy and Safe!

 

H. Banana

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 4: Day 4

Day 4 was my favorite day of all. It was a delicious trip to India! I loved everything we made on this day, and I am planning to make these recipes very soon so my family can enjoy the amazing food as well!

We made a fresh cucumber salad, a delicious rice pilaf, vegetable curry, garlic naan, and a traditional dessert called Halva! Not everyone was a fan of the halva( I enjoyed a small portion at a time!) but everything else was a huge hit!

I only got a picture of everything already on the plate, so no individual pictures (sorry!).

Lets start with the cucumber salad. It was a fresh mix of veggies, seasonings and a light dressing. Delicious, fresh and a perfect addition to the meal!

Next, my personal favorite of the meal, a rice pilaf! We used onions, almonds and raisins to make this dish amazing! I loved it so much and I cannot wait to make it again! We actually cooked it in the oven and added peas when it came out of the oven!

Then we worked on our vegetable curry. We used a variety of veggies: potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, cauliflower and peppers. We cooked it in a coconut milk/curry sauce until the veggies were tender and soft. So amazing and so full of flavor! I loved this dish so much!

We made garlic naan next. As you may know, I make naan at home often, but their method and recipe was a bit different from mine and it was cool to learn something new! We cooking it in the oven and then brushed it with a garlicky butter when it was done! Delicious and a perfect addition to this Indian meal!

For dessert we made halva. It is a sweet cookie-dough like dessert, that takes some getting used to. We cooked it over the stove and then let it cool in the fridge. We scooped it out and topped it with chocolate chips and crushed pistachios. It was very sweet and a little bit went a long way!

Well, that was Day 4 of our Cooking School at Whole Foods! Only one more day left! This day was by far my favorite day( expect for dessert. There I liked the Latin dessert best!)!

Please share this post with a friend and family member! Follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett!

New post every Monday and Friday!

Keep healthy and safe!
H. Banana

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 3: Day 3

Day 3 of our Cooking School was a trip to Asia! We made a lot of traditional dishes from several different regions and we learned a few tips to making amazing Asian food!

We made Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, Peanut Sauce, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Almond Cookies. Everything was delicious, and we learned how to use chop sticks! My sister and I were both really proud of ourselves when we finished our meal using only the chop sticks!

 

The first thing we made was the Chicken Satay. We made a quick marinade for the chicken with yogurt, curry powder, garlic and ginger! Then we threaded the chicken on to skewers and grilled them on a grill pan. They smelled amazing and tasted even better!

Then we made Vegetable Lo Mein in a wok. We learned the method of stir frying the right way( quick and hot is the key!) then we added noodles and a soy sauce and the dish was finished! It came together so quick it was almost unbelievable! It was delicious!

 

Then we learned to roll Spring Rolls. The filling was a veggie-pork mix that was made ahead of time. We rolled the filling into some wrappers and the instructors fried them for us. They we really yummy and a great addition to the meal!

 

 

To finish the meal we made some almond cookies. These are a traditional Chinese sweet and they were really yummy. A super simple recipe and method make these cookies a great treat for any time of the day and year!

Well, that was Day 3 of our Cooking School at Whole Foods! Stay tuned for Day 4 of this post-series!

Please share this post with a friend and family member! Follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

New post every Monday and Friday

Keep healthy and Safe!
H. Banana