Friday, May 3, 2013

Fit Friday - Crossfit and PB & J Bars

Happy Friday!

I don't know how your Fridays look, but at least for now, Friday is a strength training day for me.  I take BodyPump, and LOVE it.  Eventually I think I might like to teach it, though I've heard the training is brutal.  But, I have made so many gains in strength, not to mention its straight up fun, since regularly doing this class twice a week.  And do you know what's awesome about strength training?  As you build muscle, your metabolism becomes more efficient and your body will burn around 50 extra calories per day at rest - that's an extra 350 calories per week - its almost like getting paid to do something fun, which is a huge win in my book!

The workout I am sharing with you today is a crossfit-style workout - it combines strength (with only body weight) with a little cardio.  Its 10 minutes long - you've probably got time to do it now!  If you have a little extra time on your hands, I'd probably do it a couple of times through, but if you only have 10 minutes, this is for you!

http://www.fitsugar.com/10-Minute-Full-Body-Crossfit-Workout-23065707

And later on when you need a little snack, just because I am in LOVE with these bars, here's a recipe for what I consider to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in bar form:

PB & J Bars

12 dates, pitted and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins, but the cranberries really give it that jelly taste)
1/2 cup nut butter of your choice (I mix it up with peanut butter and cashew butter)
3 tablespoons chia seeds (if you don't have them, its okay, just omit)
1 cup dry oatmeal

Put everything into a food processor or high-powered blender and pulverize until you have a nice thick ball and few crumbs.  You may have to turn your "dough" out onto wax paper and finish smooshing (yep, smooshing) it together with your hands.  Next, I like to press these into a pan and cut them into 16 bars, but its up to you how big or small you want them.  Cutting these into 16 servings will yield one bar with about 140 calories - about the nutrition content and size of a SoyJoy bar (and much tastier in my opinion).  Keep these wrapped up in the fridge and enjoy!  This little guy loves them:


I hope you had a great week!  We have rainy weather today, and probably for the next few days, but we got to enjoy some beautiful sunny days earlier in the week, and we took full advantage of being able to hit a couple of parks.  James has already been asking this morning for the "par....k".

I hope you're gearing up for a great weekend!  See you soon!

Recipe adapted from The Wannabe Chef 

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