Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I found what just might be the closest thing to heaven... Check this recipe out!

 

 

Peanut Butter Cups
(Makes 12 Peanut Butter Cups)

¼ cup dark chocolate chips
2 scoops Chocolate Vegan Shakeology
1 Tbsp. psyllium husk powder
½ cup pumpkin puree (canned)
8 mini cupcake liners
6 tsp. natural smooth peanut butter, divided use

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chocolate chips in small

oven-proof bowl and heat in oven for 15 minutes or until melted.
2. While the chocolate is melting, place Shakeology, psyllium husk,

and pumpkin puree in food processor. Pulse until it forms a dough.
3. Divide dough into 12 small balls and portion into each cupcake liner. 

 Press dough down into a flat disk with depression in the middle.

Place ½ tsp. peanut butter into each depression.
4. Remove chocolate from oven and stir to melt completely.

Drizzle evenly over each cup and spread to create a thin

chocolate layer on top (about ½ tsp. chocolate per cup).
5. Freeze for 30 minutes or until chocolate hardens.

Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 75
Carbohydrates: 9g
Protein: 4g
Fat: 3g
Sodium: 43mg

Recipe provided by Lisa Lutz - http://rivetingfitlisa.tumblr.com/

Survival & Recovery

I survived Week 1 of Insanity:Asylum Vol 2!! Today was Week 2/Day 1 and I am proud to say I survived... barely! Regardless of the strength, or lack there of, I had during my workout today I am SO happy I got through it! Little by little I'm seeing improvements like: getting through a ladder agility sequence faster, pushing out a couple more pushups or just feeling the strength of my body and its hunger for pain ;)

Strength.

It's a beautiful thing when your body feels STRONG.

What is strong?:

having or marked by great physical power;

not mild or weak;

moving with rapidity or force.

I train hard, and therefore I have strength and I am able to survive these insane workouts. But I also take care of my body during its recovery stage. You know that feeling of soreness you get the day after working out, running, training etc? That feeling that stops you from your fitness goals for a few days because your muscles are too tight, too sore, too exhausted?

Recovery.

What is recovery?:

to get back;

to bring back to normal position or condition;

to save from loss and restore to usefulness.

"Studies show that with proper nutrition during the first hour following exercise you can increase your body's ability to recover more than 100%."

What do you give your body to help it recover? To get technical, you want a carb:protein ratio of approximately 2:1. Believe it or not, your body requires more carbs than protein after a workout to replenish the muscle fuel used up during your workout and to prepare you & your body for your next workout!

Here are some ideas for a post-workout snack:
- Bread, a bagel, or an English muffin with cheese or peanut butter
- Dried fruit & nuts
- Cottage cheese with fruit
- Yogurt with fruit
- Chocolate milk
- Smoothie with milk, yogurt or added protein powder
- Protein bar or energy bar
... and my ultimate favorite: P90X Results & Recovery Formula

Check out this awesome video highlighting how "P90X Results and Recovery Formula saved Carl Daikeler mid-ride on Day 2 of a biking trip in the South of France."

Find out more about P90X Results & Recovery Formula here:
www.elitetraining28.com 

In This Together,
Lynds ;)

Sugar: As Bad as Tobacco?

I came across this short but important statement a few months ago in Muscle and Body magazine and it blew me away: "Health experts from the University of San Francisco are suggesting that sugar be classified and controlled in the same way as alcohol and tobacco. Do you think sugar is as harmful to public health as cigarettes?" I finally heard someone else asking similar questions that I have been asking my high school 'Nutrition and Fitness' class over the past 5 years. Even though our class discussions and debates result in more questions than we answer, you can see the wheels turning in the teenagers' minds as we try to determine who is at fault.

Then I tell them that I can't point the finger at other parents too strongly without remembering the Happy Meals and breakfast sandwiches that I bought my children when they were little. We all have to learn at some point and now I know, but more importantly, now my children know and tell me how gross that 'Happy' food really is. (Google: "180 Day Happy Meal")

Back to sugar.

Not enough people want to ask or answer the question "is it harmful?" The answer should be obvious but like a child reluctantly putting up their hand in class to answer the teacher's question we are not confident that we really know or want to know. For those who have studied the correlation in the obesity rate and sugar intake in the U.S. the answer is a big slap in the face. Like alcohol and tobacco, it can be deadly. At the current levels that we are letting our children ingest, we have created our own epidemic that will likely shorten the life span of our children by decades.

Vitamin D today!

The more I read, the more I learn that Vitamin D needs to be put on your list of 'things to do'. You've heard of super drugs and super foods, it seems like this is a super vitamin and it helps your body fight and recover and soar beyond all. Read more and thrive...
http://www.webmd.com/diet/vitamin-d-deficiency?page=2