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Independence Day! Skinny Cherry Berry Pie
Did you remember to hang up your American Flag this morning? 4th of July falling on a Thursday means a day off of work…..translation: sleeping in after the sun rises. Waking up to broad daylight and being lazy with a cup of coffee is the ideal way to begin the day celebrating being an American ;)
Cherry and Apple pies are American classics, my inspiration for this quick and easy Independence Day dessert. Skinny Cherry Berry “Pies” made from a frozen cherry berry blend bag with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries. Summertime fruit is like candy!
Sweet, single-serve, and perfectly Red, White & Blue(berry).
These are skinny mini single-serve “pies” that aren’t pies at all but totally pass as dessert because they are warm and cute.
(The star shape of the tortilla is made with the Perfect Tortilla Bowl Maker, and yes that’s totally an “as-seen-on-tv” product. Worth all $9.99!)
The bowl is made out of a whole wheat tortilla (50 calories) lightly sprayed with Pam and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. It bakes in the bowl for 7 minutes before cooling, while the cherry berry blend warms up in the oven. My favorite part – the warm berry juice! Messssssy.
Serve berries in the cinnamony tortilla bowl and top with whip cream, vanilla greek yogurt, or just plain ole’ ice cream. (We used Cool Whip!)
Easy as pie ;) (where did that expression come from?)
Total: approximately 150 calories. Average slice of apple pie with ice cream, on the other hand? 530 calories. If you plan on hitting up the beach or pool this weekend, you’ll be thankful for the alternative to a heavy apple pie a la mode. Fresh/frozen fruit + whole grains, not only are they bikini-approved but the antioxidants will help protect your skin from damaging elements….but don’t forget your sunscreen!
Time to catch the latest episode of “American Ninja Warrior”…that’s true patriotism right there.
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Protein Smoothie
We are combining chocolate and breakfast. Yes, it’s healthy. Just go with it.
After an especially-challenging workout, the body can use a little extra protein. I’m a huge fan of (homemade) smoothies and if you have a few extra minutes to blend up your post-workout breakfast, it will be totally worth it. For the past two mornings, I’ve made this dessert-y smoothie and it tastes too delicious to be healthy. But I promise it is!
- 1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
- 6 oz. non-fat plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 heaping spoonful Whey Isolate Protein Powder (unflavored)
- 1 heaping spoonful unsweetened cocoa powder
- sprinkling of cinnamon
Chocolate and berry with all the nutritional benefits of low-fat, high protein for 180 calories. Stick the yogurt in the freezer for an hour to make the smoothie extra thick!
Why Whey?
I’m not too familiar with supplements or protein products. (I would eat my entire day’s value of protein from peanut butter if it weren’t so dang fattening ;) ) So when I was shopping at Sprout’s the other day and spotted “Whey Isolate Protein Powder” I thought I would try it out. The unflavored powder is only 35 calories per 2.5 Tablespoons, and can be easily added to oatmeal, smoothies, and protein pancakes.
Whey is a high-quality source of protein that comes from milk, and Isolates are processed to remove fat and lactose. Whey Isolate Protein Powder is virtually entirely protein, without fat, lactose or carbs. It’s generally the most expensive because of this. It’s fast-ingesting, supports a strong immune system by working as an antioxidant, and of course speeds up muscle recovery.
Chocolate Lovers:
According to this Runner’s World article, cocoa has a positive effect on endurance athletes. Enough said! ;) 1 tablespoon of cocoa a day adds nutritional value with antioxidants, fiber and magnesium. And also I believe it makes you happy!
I’ve got plenty of protein powder left, so more fun smoothies to come!
The 4-Part Birthday Workout!
As if he knew it was my birthday, my coach made Tuesday’s practice “on-your-own.” That translates to: SLEEP IN PAST 7am! The trails and roads are covered with a layer of ice and snow from the weekend’s storms, so my workout would be taking place in the comfort of the dry and heated gym. Because of said storm, I had already run for 60 minutes on the treadmill Saturday, and 85 minutes Sunday. So another long treadmill run didn’t interest me in the least bit.
I may have deviated from my training program for a day to mix things up a little bit and keep it interesting – girls just wanna have fun!
Our track team’s strength program has really been focusing on lower body lately, lots of overhead-weighted squats, hamstring curls and RDL’s, and hip mobility. Not to leave the upper body neglected, I decided to start out with upper body weights. I made up my workout as I went along, but it came out looking like this:
P.S. Don’t let the pink backgrounds fool you; this workout will leave you sweating and in need of some protein replenishment!
Note on the modified pull-ups: I used the machine that takes off some of your body weight so I was really lifting about 65% of my body weight. Since there are 3 sets, I did one set with parallel grip, one with chin-up grip, and one with pull-up grip.
Bursts of cardio to break a sweat! Followed by actual cardio machines, without the monotony of another treadmill day:
A workout is not complete without some CORE! These are pretty much my favorite core exercises, minus a couple. Like I said, I made it up as I went along but it looked something like:
This workout turned out WAY longer than I anticipated and I was at the gym for about 2 hours but I didn’t mind! It made a (little) dent in my birthday calories :) I definitely didn’t count calories this weekend with my parents, or on my actual birthday with some extra treats. Today it’s back on track with balanced meals and minimal desserts but it was nice to enjoy some “extras” off campus for a few days.
Apart from the exercise… I really enjoyed my birthday. I’m happy to have so many great people in my life and we had so much fun ending the birthday night getting frozen yogurt in 20 degrees. Die hard ice cream fan!
My birthday was conveniently on “Fat Tuesday.” Which epitomized my diet for the day. Red Velvet yogurt with strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, all of which are invisible under this mound of granola & hot fudge. Going out with a bang!
Starting the day in the gym and ending it with the best group of teammates and friends. Can’t ask for much more than that!
