Recipe - 60 second Chocolate Frosty (paleo friendly)

Who doesn't love a good chocolate frosty from Wendy's? They're so creamy and chocolatey! Well I came across this paleo friendly version of the chocolate frosty with substantially less calories and sugar. It claims to be a 60 second frosty, but it takes me a bit longer to get it all in the blender and blend it up. Maybe you get faster the more you make it? I may have to test that. Without further ado, here is the recipe:

60 second Chocolate Frosty
Makes approximately 10 ounces.

Ingredients:

• 8-9 cubes of frozen almond milk (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp stevia (or to taste)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to blender.
2. Blend for 30-60 seconds or until smooth
3. Enjoy!

***Changes I made***

• The one and only change I made is I substituted 1/4 cup of unsweetened Coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream.

My thoughts:

Love it! If you're a fan of the regular frosty, I highly recommend trying this! It's such a quick and easy treat to throw together. My four year old approves as well, that's always a plus. If you try it let me know your thoughts.

Yours In Health,

Steven

Workout for 7/19/12

As promised, here is a new workout. Enjoy!

Workout
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
8 Knees to elbows
10 Plyometric push-ups (hands leave the ground)
12 Decline weighted sit-ups (25lbs guys/15lbs gals, or whatever weight challenges you)
20 Walking lunges with 45lb plate held over head (or, again, whatever weight challenges you)


I managed 5 rounds + 8 knees to elbows + 10 plyometric push-ups in the 20 minutes allowed, but I went ahead and finished out my 6th round after the timer went off. Hope you all enjoy this one as much as I did!


Yours In Health,
Steven

Recipe - Almond Butter Cookies (Paleo friendly)

My little girl loves cookies so I searched around for a paleo friendly cookie recipe. I came across this one and gave it a try.

Almond Butter Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 cup of coconut crystals

Cooking Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Add all ingredients to a medium sized bowl and stir until integrated. Using a tablespoon, scoop dough and roll into balls. Flatten and place on a greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper).
3. You can place the cookies pretty close together as they don’t spread much. I fit all of them onto one standard sized cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies should still feel a little soft if you press gently on the center. They will lighten in color and flatten when they are done.

***Changes I made***

• I didn't have coconut crystals so I substituted
• 1 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp of raw honey
• I baked them for 8 minutes, pulled them out, and topped them all with one dark chocolate chip in the middle. Then I put them back in for another 4 minutes.

Here is the picture of them from the website and this is exactly what mine looked like, except with a chocolate chip in the center.

My thoughts:

The good news is these are good, healthy cookies. The bad news is these taste like good, healthy cookies. My four year old approved of the chocolate chip and that's about all. She ate her way to the chocolate chip and then said, "I don't think I really like almond butter daddy. But I love chocolate!" Personally, I like them alright. They're not very sweet, but that's ok with me. I may just add a little more honey next time. I actually think they taste a bit like samoas (girl scout cookies). If you try them I'd love to know your thoughts and opinions!

Yours In Health,

Steven

Workout for 7/12/12

Let's get it done!


Workout:
6 - 1/4 mile sprints

Rest 90 seconds - 2 minutes between each sprint.


5 minute rest after the last sprint and then:

5x5 Bench press

Now go give'em hell!


Yours In Health,
Steven

Recipe - Zucchini Brownies (Paleo friendly)

I wasn't sure about this recipe at first, but oh.....my was it good! I was concerned about how they would rise since there is no flour, but they turned out great. Not only is this a yummy brownie recipe, but it's full of zucchini. So if you're looking for a yummy way to sneak in some more veggies with your family, look no further!

Zucchini Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips/chunks

Cooking Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Pour into a greased 9×9 baking pan.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
(We ended up having to bake them for around 45 minutes to get them completely done.)

Makes approximately 16 nice sized brownies.

Here is a picture of the finished product from the website:

And here is a picture of our finished product:

These were a hit with my family, including our four year old! If you try them, which you totally should, let me know your thoughts.

Yours In Health,

Steven

Workout for 7/9/12 - Challenge

     This particular workout was a personal challenge for me. I came across this workout on another fitness professional's, who will remain unnamed, site. They did this workout in a time of 17:30. After seeing their time I looked back at the workout and thought, "I can beat that." So the challenge was set, unbeknownst to them.

     Not only did I think I could beat their time, but I also thought that anyone that has trained with me, or that follows my workouts could also beat it. So I'm going to post the workout along with the originator's time and my time, then I want to hear from you what your time was. It doesn't matter if it's better or worse, just share. What really matters is that you just do the workout and be active! So without further ado: 

Workout:

3 Rounds of
30 jumping jacks

5 push ups

25 high knees

7 burpees

10 crunches (I did full, unsupported sit-ups instead)

7 squats

5 push ups

10 crunches (again, sit-ups)

5 push ups

7 squats

30 jumping jacks

1 min wall sit (I used a stability ball, but that wasn't included in the original workout)

5 push ups

25 high knees

Other fitness professional's time: 17:30

My time: 15:21

Your time: ??:??

Have fun, push yourself, and get it done!

Yours In Health,

Steven

Workout for 7/5/2012

Alright, 4th of July is over. No more cookies, cakes, alcohol, or other junk food today! Instead let's work off what we ate yesterday with a great workout.

Here we go in 3, 2, 1........


For time:
70 Burpees
60 Sit-ups (without feet anchored)
50 Kettlebell swings (60lbs men, 40 lbs women)
40 Pull-ups
30 Handstand push-ups


My time for this workout was 26:27. I opted to do my handstand push-ups on parallel bars, actually push-up bars like this, to make them a bit harder. Feel free to do the same!


Yours In Health,
Steven