Girls on the Run and Guaca-hummus, yum yum!

Holy heck, it's almost the end of January!!!  What the hell have I been doing all month long?!  Seriously though, I've found the beginning of 2015 to be pretty productive so far, and I'm just now getting started.  I have BIG plans for this year.  I hope you do too!

I just wanted to put this in here gratuitously because my daughter made it and it makes me happy. 

First thing, I just volunteered to be head coach for our local Girls on the Run chapter, and I can't wait to get started!  GOTR is a really fantastic program for your elementary and middle school girls to help build inner and outer strength.  It generally runs in most schools in the spring (some schools do fall as well) for 10-12 weeks, culminating in a GOTR public 5k that the girls will complete as a team.  So basically, I will be working with them to not only teach them how to push through a 5k physically, but also to gain self-confidence, build teamworking skills, and learn that they can reach any goal they set out to achieve.  I'm so stoked!  Plus to make it even better, my daughter gets to do the program with us and I can be with her as she achieves her goals.  Happy mommy moments!

If you would like to learn more about GOTR or if it's offered in your local area (and how to start a chapter if it isn't), or if you want to volunteer as a coach or as a runner for the 5k, click on the image below and search for your region:

So, now I will move on to my recipe.  I'm a big-time hummus addict, I use it on tons of stuff.  It works beautifully in place of cheese on a sandwich or wrap, it is an excellent veggie/pita dip, and I even like it a black bean veggie bowl in place of (or on top of) rice.  Well, I also love avocados, and we happened to have a few extra that were wasting away since we forgot to make guacamole with our dinner the other night.  Throw them together with some choice ingredients, and bam--a wonderfully easy and healthy guaca-hummus that doesn't get that nasty brown look after a few days!

After two days--looks just like hummus without the brown guac grossness, mmmmm!

Guaca-hummus Recipe:

1 15oz can chickpeas (save the juice for later!)
1 avocado, nice and soft
1 roasted red pepper
Half handful of chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients into your food processor or heavy-duty blender, and add your chickpea juice to desired consistency.  Then, eat it all!

See, easy peasy.  That's my type of recipe!

Now, let's all go forth and have a fabulous rest of our week.  My week will be full of classes, including my Cupid's Burn Bootcamp that I've previously mentioned.  For those in the snow tundras, please be safe out there!!  Find some fun home workouts on YouTube (see the Girls Gone Sporty page above for a few!), hunker down, and enjoy the downtime.  For the rest of us, let me know how you plan to get out there and sweat for the rest of this week!!

FoodDay Friday--Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Friday!  It's been a blast here so far--we got up early to beat the heat, and though the kids complained about waking up, they quickly changed their tune.  We hit the Y as soon as childcare opened, and I hopped on the treadmill.  I got in a very solid 6 miles with interval training!  I love intervals on the treadmill because it takes all the thought out of it.  I just push buttons and make sure my legs don't fling me off like a jackass keep up.  I started with a .6 slow/.4 fast mile, the next mile was .5 slow/.5 fast, then .4 slow/.6 fast, and so on.  And my "fast" got faster every time.  I finished with a new record for myself:  6 miles in 54:26!  Woohoo!  I hopped sweatily to pick up the kids and discovered that my little social butterfly daughter already knew kids there and was the talk of the town.  The boy was on a buggy ride and looked quite entertained as well.  I showered off quickly, and we hit the waterpark for a few hours.  They played hard, snacked and drank tons of water, and then both fell asleep on the way home.  I call that a win.

Happy kids!

 So it took me a while to get to this post, and I won't be posting any finished product pics today unfortunately.  It's just too dang hot to turn on the oven!  But this is the recipe I had planned and therefore I shall share.  It's delicious, I promise!

After one of our trips away, we came home to this recently:

Why yes, those are indeed three freakishly huge zucchini!  We began trying to figure out all sorts of ways to fix them in which we wouldn't just get bored, and one of the first thoughts was cookies.  I've made them before, and the recipe I use is kind of a combo of a few with some tweaks to make them a good bit healthier.  Here are your ingredients:

3/4 c. butter 
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2  c. grated zucchini, drained
1 c. chocolate chips

First, cream together the butter and sugar.  Then, add your egg and vanilla, and beat well.  Add flour--I use whole wheat because it's healthier than all-purpose, but it will also make it "breadier".  You can switch back if you'd like, but this still tastes delicious!  With the flour, add the baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Beat the entire mixture together.  In a colander, make sure your grated zucchini is drained a bit--squeeze it against the sides.  When it seems not so drippy, add it and the chocolate chips, blend entire concoction, and scoop out spoonfuls on a greased cookie tray.  Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes.  They should be nice and moist because of the zucchini (it still holds a lot of water), and with far less sugar than the competing recipes, they should be healthier while still tasting great!

To make it even healthier--add in steel cut oats or nuts.  Be sure to soften the oats for a bit ahead of time, and you'll still probably have to bake a bit longer.  But they'll add some awesome fiber and protein.

I hope you guys all have an awesome weekend full of family fun and sun!  Of course, don't get too much sun in the Southeast, or you may look like this:

Any big plans for you this weekend?

FoodDay Friday: Strawberry Basil Smoothies

Happy Friday!!!!  I'm exceptionally happy because Hubby is back from GA for GOOD!!  The children remained amazing throughout the entire thing, I'm seriously impressed by their strength.  I had my moments, but I held up better than I expected I would.

We got back from visiting my family yesterday (which was great!), and we went straight to FitGirl's 5-year well check.  She did amazingly, of course.  She's taller than average and quite the skinny thing, but I could've told them that.  And she's healthy as an ox, which I could've also told them.  We celebrated by going to a frozen yogurt shop (so much healthier than ice cream, and the kids can add their own fruit!), coming home to Hubby, me going for a horribly hot but wonderful neighborhood 5k while they swim, and then joining them the pool.  We came home and went straight to the back yard for Korean barbecue.  Heavenly!

Today, we veg.  It hasn't happened in a while, and it's been glorious!  It caused me to get a late start for my first FoodDay Friday, but I'm sure you'll all forgive me...right?  Anyway, my first little recipe for you is a smoothie recipe!  It's a favorite around the HipFit house for sure, and the kids beg for them on a regular basis.  It's pretty darned healthy, and I'll tell you how you can make it even a bit healthier if you wish.  This is what you'll need to start:

All measurements approximate, I usually just throw crap in!

2 cups frozen strawberries (we buy them on sale, cut stems, and freeze them ourselves)
1 cup natural applejuice (don't buy the crap with added sugar, it's sweet enough!)
1 cup organic vanilla yogurt
Child's handful of fresh basil 

We always have a ton of extra basil because the stuff grows like a weed, so I just started putting it into things.  Turns out, it pairs amazingly with strawberries!  I put the frozen berries in the blender first with the applejuice and basil and let it sit unblended for a few minutes to slightly defrost the berries.  Then I toss in the yogurt, blend on low, and voila!  The easiest and yummiest smoothie you can make!  To make it slightly healthier, you can use plain yogurt and add some local honey to sweeten.  You can also toss in some protein powder, whey, probiotics, or whatever else you fancy to make it as vitamin-packed as possible.  It will look like this:

You should have enough for two small kid-sized servings and one adult serving.  Or if you're in my house, two kid servings and two kid refills with a quick taste for the adult.  If you're feeling extra fun, you can put it in popsicle molds and make smoothie pops.  They're sooooooo good on a hot day!

I hope you guys enjoy your smoothies as much as we do, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend!  I have to get my 10k in for Running, Loving, Living today along with a long run on Sunday morning.  Other than that, I foresee lots of family time at the pool!

Stay tuned this coming Monday for my first HipFit giveaway!  I'm super stoked because I MADE most of the items involved!!  Here's a sneak peak:

I couldn't pry the smoothie from her hands long enough for a photo

Happy weekending, do something awesome!