Getting my body (strength) back after baby, and my go-to workout!

8.29.2019

Getting my body (strength) back after baby, and my go-to workout!

Disclaimer/update: It was different after the second baby and I really think I need to write another post like this from my perspective after having two!

I've shared here and there how parenting has been a huge shift for me. One of the reasons was my struggle with back pain and feeling like myself. I did lose the baby weight quickly, but I would still say I’ve had a hard time getting my body feeling the way it did pre-baby. With having a newborn, buying a fixer-upper house, moving, going back to work, having Jason go back to school, having Jason move to a city three hours away for six weeks, more work on the house… for the first six months or year of Otto's life it was really, really hard for me to work out regularly, and I was still dealing with that back pain for a lot of that time. (See my 3-month postpartum update and 6-month updates.) But I’m very, very happy to report that I have gotten into a fitness routine again and it’s so easy and manageable to fit in--I can even do it in our living room, because you know our garage gym is covered in tools right now!

Getting my body (strength) back after baby

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How to remodel & stay healthy!

5.30.2017

How to remodel & stay healthy!

We bought our fixer upper 7.5 months ago now... and it's totally changed our lives in ways we didn't understand before. We've faced both physical and emotional challenges (and lack of spare time) for what feels like forever now and while there are definitely things we could have done differently, at this point I'm feeling pretty good about my ability to balance life + fixer upper goals, and wanted to share with you!

I've learned that any shift in routine is an opportunity for change in habits. Moving, starting a new job, etc... opportunity to develop habits you want to have, and chose to keep or ditch old ones. I knew buying our fixer upper would be challenging, expensive, and time-consuming, and would change our daily and weekend routines a lot! But I didn't want my health to suffer. I chose a few goals to keep during this process.

"Health" on the surface may mean body composition above other things to some people. I didn't gain weight when changing up our cooking and my fitness routines, but that isn't what I mean by "health" anyway.

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Cranberry vanilla almond gluten-free protein bars

1.12.2017

Cranberry vanilla almond gluten-free protein bars

When I figured out this homemade protein bar recipe, I was super pumped. I so often find the need for a low-maintenance, balanced snack and the storebought options are either full of mystery ingredients, really expensive, and/or really high in sugar. I've been making my basic protein bars pretty regularly, but wanted to try a special treat variation and came up with this one!

I don't eat many grains at all (discovered how much better I felt cutting them out in my raw vegan and now mostly-Paleo days) but I have been tolerating the organic oats in my protein bar recipe very well. This cranberry almond version uses half as many, though, and no peanut butter, so the rest of the ingredients are Paleo, real food, low toxin, all that good stuff.

This flavored bar needs an unflavored protein powder. You can use collagen peptides protein powder for dairy-free or a high quality unflavored whey protein. This recipe makes 8 bars so it's great to make on Sunday nights and pack for snacks during the week! I take 4 and give Jason 4 to keep in the fridge at work.

Cranberry vanilla almond gluten-free protein bars

Ingredients:

• 4 scoops/servings protein powder (collagen peptides or  grassfed unflavored whey [1 lb option or value 5 lb option, or budget not grassfed but rBST-free option])
• 2 tbsp  xylitol or other sweetener (if you use coconut palm sugar, raw sugar, or other sugary sweetener you will increase the grams of sugar and carbohydrates)
• 1 c. gluten-free oats
• 1 c. almond flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries
• No more than 1/4 c. almond milk or coconut milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Combine dry ingredients (through cranberries) in a mixing bowl; mix well. I use a fork!
2. Add milk of choice a few tablespoons or splashes at a time, mixing to incorporate. The only way you can mess this recipe up is by adding too much liquid! It's hard to stir and very sticky, but try not to add any more liquid than absolutely necessary! Add vanilla extract at this stage, as well. 
3. Lay out a 12" or so long piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Distribute mixture into a loaf shape. Wrap plastic wrap around starting at one end and roll out until mixture is packed down and relatively uniform. (I often use the cylinder shape bar and cut into 8 discs, but you can also pack down into a rectangle and cut 8 bars as I did in these photos.)
4. Refrigerate or freeze for 15-20 minutes until solid but not rock hard.
5. To cut into eight relatively even-sized pieces, cut in half, then cut halves in half, then cut those halves in half on each side. 

Stop adding liquid when it looks like this!

Store in the fridge or freezer. If you put too much liquid and they are too soft or sticky, definitely store them in the freezer.

You may not have happen to have unflavored protein powder in your pantry, but if you've been looking to get more protein (but not more mystery ingredients) into your diet, I highly recommend stocking it. You can shop my favorites and other ingredients for this recipe here!

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Homemade real food, all natural, gluten-free protein bars!

8.30.2016

Homemade real food, all natural, gluten-free protein bars!

I have a happy story about fitness goals for you, plus a healthy, balanced real food snack bar recipe! Perfect for back-to-school or your own on-the-go snacking needs!

So earlier this year I did an experiment and tracked my food and training sessions in MyFitnessPal and set macro goals for myself. I think I figure out that about 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat worked well for me. I tried to make each meal and snack pretty balanced with that ratio. At the time I had been doing a pretty low carb version of Paleo, so the increase in carbs was a little scary, but it worked out well and I lost a few pounds and felt great with my training.

Assembling balanced meals was pretty easy, but it's hard to find satisfying snacks that have a good mix of fat, carbs, and protein and that aren't processed with a million ingredients! We eat mostly veggies, meat, and whole foods carb sources, but it's not always feasible to have a snack of all of those components. We do a lot of banana/peanut butter protein shakes at home (I highly recommend my easy, real food recipe!) but they're not feasible to make at work or on-the-go.

I'd heard from one of the fitness/training/self image leaders I love (Molly Galbraith of GirlsGoneStrong.com) that she made a homemade protein bar with mostly protein powder, peanut butter, and oats, so it had a good balance of macros. At the time I first heard about it we were eating a more strict Paleo diet and wouldn't consider adding in a whole grain like oats. But when I started eating more carbs during my experiment, I found I needed a low-sugar dense carb source particularly to round out my snacks, so I figured I'd try adding in some gluten-free oats. I actually did well with them, and played around with my own oat/peanut butter/protein bar recipe and now make these pretty regularly!!

I've tried several variations--you can use collagen peptides protein powder or unflavored whey protein or high quality vanilla whey protein powder, almond or peanut butter or peanut butter powder, cocoa powder if you want... many variations! They can even be dairy-free if you use the collagen peptides.

Real food, all natural, gluten-free protein snack bars

Ingredients:

• 4 scoops/servings protein powder (collagen peptides or  grassfed unflavored whey [1 lb option or value 5 lb option, or budget not grassfed but rBST-free option], or grassfed vanilla whey protein powder but then skip sweetener and vanilla)
• 3 tbsp xylitol or other sweetener (if you use coconut palm sugar, raw sugar, or other sugary sweetener you will increase the grams of sugar and carbohydrate)
• 2 c. gluten-free oats
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 c. organic peanut butter powder or 1/4 c. all natural nut butter of choice
• No more than 1/4 c. plus 3 tbsp almond milk or coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl; mix well. I use a fork!
2. Add milk of choice a few tablespoons or splashes at a time, mixing to incorporate. The only way you can mess this recipe up is by adding too much liquid! It's hard to stir and very sticky, but try not to add any more liquid than absolutely necessary! Add vanilla extract at this stage, as well. (NOTE: If using nut butter rather than peanut butter powder, combine milk, vanilla, and nut butter in bottom of bowl first and stir until nut butter is mixed in to liquid. Then add dry ingredients.)
3. Lay out a 12" or so long piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Distribute mixture into a loaf shape. Wrap plastic wrap around starting at one end and roll out until mixture is packed down and relatively uniform.
4. Refrigerate or freeze for 15-20 minutes until solid but not rock hard.
5. To cut into eight relatively even-sized pieces, cut in half, then cut halves in half, then cut those halves in half on each side. (Another note: You can skip the rolling step and flatten the bars like cookie dough, then cut into granola bar-shaped rectangles. We did this for the first handful of times we made the recipe, but it was hard to make them uniform in size and the bits of plastic wrap would fall off and get messy.)

Stop adding liquid when it looks like this!

Store in the fridge or freezer. If you put too much liquid, definitely do the freezer! They will be super sticky as they thaw and lose their shape, but still be tasty.

I put four into travel containers (plastic wrap intact) and give one container to husband and bring one to work for myself most weeks. We don't always end up needing them, so it works out perfectly for a week's worth of morning or afternoon snacks!

They are SO easy to take with us or eat in a pinch, and don't contain processed mystery ingredients of your basic store bought protein bar. When I put the recipe into MyFitnessPal a while back with the protein powder I was using at the time, it told me 1 bar had 21 grams of protein!

I've started keeping these ingredients in the kitchen as staples. You can shop my favorites here!

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Ultimate simple real food, unprocessed protein shake recipe!

5.26.2016

Ultimate simple real food, unprocessed protein shake recipe!

I've played around a lot in the past few years with where I get my macronutrients, and how much... and I've learned that it's sometimes hard for both husband and me to get enough protein! We've tried several brands of protein shakes in the past, but I haven't felt great about buying any of them regularly (due to quality concerns, flavor/sweeteners, price, sourcing...). I've also made a simple homemade stick blender protein shake and protein tea with grassfed collagen peptides, but the other weekend we were at a friend's house and started talking about the 5-lb bag of grassfed unflavored whey in their cupboard. Our friend has been making 1-2 homemade protein shakes in the blender every day since he recently really increased his activity level, and he throws just about everything into them! Milk, cocoa powder, maca powder, MCT oil, a banana or other fruit... he's not as concerned about flavor as getting nutrients in, but I bet sometimes they do taste really good.

It got me inspired and thinking, I really ought to perfect my basic homemade protein shake. I've made several of these now using my fave ingredients, and you can substitute a lot of other flavors and ingredients based on what you're in the mood for.

This shake works with collagen peptides protein powder or unflavored whey protein so you can make it completely dairy-free/paleo-friendly or lactose-free, if you can tolerate whey.

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Our simple home fitness setup

1.12.2016

Our simple home fitness setup

For almost 2 years now I've been doing regular strength training, 2 to 4 times per week (I'm talking Olympic lifts, kettlebell training, simple CrossFit WODs, and difficult bodyweight movements) and I love it so much. (Most recently before that husband and I together had been doing some kettlebell workout classes and a six-month CrossFit experiment. Then I decided, I can do this myself--I can pick a few simple strength training workouts to rotate and do them for 8 weeks or so. I can modify as needed and structure my workout sessions however and whenever I need. Not until I made this shift that I start to see serious improvement in my strength and more defined muscle than I've ever had! Also--it was a fantastic confidence boost!)

For a good part of the first year, I worked out at a small parks and recreation and community center gym that was on my way home from work. That worked out pretty well, but… I'm an introvert, and my favorite days were when there was no one else in the gym. Which was pretty rare at rush hour.

Taking the home gym plunge!

So a little over a year ago, husband and I bought ourselves the equipment we needed to set up a gym in our garage. It was kind of our Christmas present to ourselves. The key elements were the weights, which we bought on Craigslist (a whole set that included a bar and nice storage rack for the plates) and the affordable portable squat rack bars, which we did extensive research about and then found on Amazon, after deciding the most basic option was the best. We got a simple bench from my in-laws that Christmas, and found this super cool rubber flooring at the Habitat for Humanity Restore (donated from Nike, which is nearby). All in all we spent less than $400 or $500, so… Equivalent to only a couple months of CrossFit classes for the both of us.

It does collect leaves, need to sweep soon I guess. We also keep a tiny heater in there for winter evening workouts.

Everything is portable, so room to move things around and do burpees and Turkish get-ups!

Since then we've added a couple kettlebells, adjustable jump ropes, and resistance bands which I use for assisted pull-ups. Oh, we also have a pull-up bar mounted outside under our deck, just outside the garage (though unfortunately it's hard to use when it's cold outside, or when it's super hot and I'm working out in my underwear!). And I scored a whole box of small plates and screw-type dumbbells at an estate sale for $8!!!

Really, we've created what is probably the best possible home gym scenario for us in our townhouse! I don't have to see people, and can work out absolutely whenever I want but definitely a few days a week when I get home before husband and do my work out while listening to my favorite workout time podcast (Happier by Gretchen Rubin), wearing whatever funky outfit I have available, with my home shower and all my stuff right upstairs and even the option to start dinner before getting in the shower.

Home gym, living room, whatever...

I do my warm-up upstairs, because I have been incorporating handstands and the handstand wall is in the living room. We also keep foam rollers and lacrosse balls for rolling, more resistance bands, PVC pipes, and a yoga mat upstairs for easy access while watching TV!

I've gotten used to the fact that we are the kind of people who will sometimes keep our kettlebells in the living room.

My handstand wall! Won't ever put art there, it's the perfect spot. I've been incorporating handstands into my warm-ups and have improved so much.

The result is basic fitness equipment and easy locations in my home, my favorite place to be where there's no one to bother me and I can listen to and wear whatever I want! It really keeps me motivated and working out regularly. I do other activities outside of the house, like hiking when the weather's good and using the wider range of equipment at the university gym when my father-in-law works every once in a while, too, but for the usual routine--I love our home setup.

I know some people need the external motivation and stimulation of a gym or workout class, but I do pretty well with keeping internal expectations and I like to be home as much as possible!, so our home setup is so perfect! (About internal versus external expectations--have you read Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin? This is a great time of year to read it and listen to her podcast! You can also take the quiz to see what your tendency is for habit formation. Identifying qualities I have has helped me with strategies for keeping good habit! Which is why I'm writing this post, an ode to the gym I love and have built because it works for me!

If you're looking to set, change, or keep workout goals this year, I hope this post and Gretchen's work help you! (I should also mention my favorite resource for fitness information and inspiration: Girls Gone Strong. Check it out. :) For example, here's a great post and video on foam rolling for tight muscles.)

Best wishes in your goals this year, and here's to finding what works for you!

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5 things to do on an active staycation

6.23.2015

5 things to do on an active staycation

We were on a staycation for the first part of last week. Celebrating husband's week between school terms, and our 11-year dating anniversary (we usually take a trip to the coast).

We had originally planned a great road trip to a few of the Seven Wonders of Oregon--we were planning on taking the whole week and going to Crater Lake, Smith Rock, and the Painted Hills. But, things have been a little stressful around here recently and adding a big week-long trip to the schedule/brain power was just too much for us. Instead, we hung around our part of the state and did some vacationing here!

It was weird, at first, to be at home during the day on weekdays, but it was great once we switched into vacation mode to have the comforts of home. And to be able to stay on a relatively normal schedule, eat normal food, have access to all of our normal favorite things. Like a super long weekend!

And like we do on many nice weekends, we went hiking, took walks, and spent some time trying new things (new for me, anyway)--bouldering at a rock climbing gym. I realized, being at home with extra weekend time lead to us really just having a super active few days! As compared to weekdays at the office, we were moving, enjoying fresh air, and just feeling great.

Here are my tips for you on how to enjoy a staycation while staying active and taking care of yourself!

5 tips/things to do on a great active staycation

1. Try a new kind of indoor recreation. My husband likes rock climbing, but I haven't done it since college. We went to The Circuit, a very cool bouldering, yoga, and other kind of gym with a few locations in Portland, and it was fun and exciting to try different routes and practice falling on the soft floor! Even got to try slack line balancing at the end. But rock climbing isn't something I have time for during most weeks, so an afternoon off was a great opportunity for it!

2. Explore your neighborhood by foot. This is the faraway part of a very long park near our house. We walk there a lot but we don't always make it this far north. It's so cool to find this kind of oasis within walking distance! Morning walks are so relaxing when we have the time.

3. Take a powerful bath! Since I posted about my DIY essential oil bath salts for sore muscles, I've used it a couple times and given some away to family who needed it, too. And the verdict is looking good--on the night I used this, husband and I were both sore from a recent run and hike a couple days previously. I woke up feeling much better, with less tightness and soreness in my legs!

A staycation is a perfect time for a bath, because it is sometimes hard to make time during the regular routine!

4. Eat really awesome breakfasts. Every morning for the past many months I've eaten a slice of my crustless quiche with whatever I had on hand that Sunday thrown in. It's tasty and nourishing, but it's not the same as a hot breakfast, and every weekend morning I look forward to frying my eggs over-easy and eating some hot bacon and veggies if I have them.

I actually don't remember when I made this breakfast, but it looks pretty awesome to me now. Over our staycation, it was a great treat to have a fresh, hot breakfast every morning in the morning light of our kitchen or living room!

5. Find an epic hike! We've been hiking almost every weekend since February this year, but usually just short hikes close by. Over our staycation, we made it out to Larch Mountain Crater in the Columbia River Gorge and did a 7.5 mile hike that included a view of 5 mountains at once! Here's one that fit in the camera view.

Other hikes we like to do when we have a whole day to kill are Saddle Mountain on the way to the northern Oregon coast, and King's Mountain.

5 things that worked well for us! I really enjoyed our staycation and hope we get to do it again sometime, at least for a long weekend!

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DIY essential oil bath salts for sore muscles

6.12.2015

DIY essential oil bath salts for sore muscles

Bath salts! Sounds relaxing, right?

I know epsom/magnesium salt baths can be very soothing for sore muscles, and transdermally is a great way to absorb magnesium. I also know there are some powerful essential oils and blends out there that can really help with tight and painful muscles! I looked around, but I didn't see a lot of recipes for a combination of the two. DIY bath salts can be calming, energizing, or just nicely scented, but I wanted to make one that was also kind of medicinal, with some strategically selected essential oils!

I found four sore muscle essential oil blends (for back rubs and/or soaking) (1, 2, 3, 4), and the folks at Aura Cacia sent me some essential oils to try them out--along with a recommendation for which oils would be best together.

I looked at lots of bath salts recipes, too, and I found this blog post about the purposes behind each of the common ingredients in DIY bath salts. I love understanding stuff like the whys behind ingredients. For example, for what I needed I decided to use baking soda but not some of the others you may see.

And here's the result of my experiment! A really wonderful-smelling, totally soothing (mentally and physically) epsom salt bath salts recipe!

Sore Muscle DIY Epsom Salt Bath Soak

You will need:

• 2 c. epsom salt (plain)
• 1/2 c. baking soda
• 90 drops German Chamomile Precious Essential™ 
• 30 drops Roman chamomile precious essential oil 
• 18 drops peppermint essential oil 
• 12 drops wintergreen essential oil 
• 6 drops clove essential oil

You can find all these oils at Pharmaca online or in-store.

Instructions:

1. Combine epsom salt and baking soda in a bowl; mix together well.

2. Add essential oils (isn't it funny how they're different colors?) and stir to combine well.

3. Pour into a large airtight container.

Use 1/2 cup per bath.

This stuff smells amazing (adding each oil was a fun surprise, smelling each bottle's addition!) and feels great in the bath. The hardest part of using bath salts for sore muscles is making time to take a bath!! I've been fitting in a lot of workouts after work lately, so on my rest day this week I took a bath instead of a post-workout shower in the evening. It felt soooo good!

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A seriously everyday look and new attitude on shoe-buying!

5.07.2015

A seriously everyday look and new attitude on shoe-buying!

As fun as it is to design cute summery dresses and tops and shorts, play with my favorite patterns and come up with cute or trendy looks to wear to parties... it doesn't help me get dressed for work every day! When I renamed and refocused this blog last summer, I counted all the dress posts I'd done - 119. That means, 119 dresses hanging in my closet (minus a few I've gotten rid of)--they don't all fit or flatter, either, and I don't love them as much as I once did. Pink, blue, yellow, patterned, lacy... they are fun, but not practical!

So, I wanted to start talking on this blog about my everyday. I don't wear most of these dresses or wedges or bright sandals most of the time, even on weekends.

Really, I wear a lot of black, denim, navy, and olive. I wear jeans or black pants to work, and I love button-up shirts, stripes in classic colors, and textured sweaters. I have an olive cargo vest and an olive jacket, and 3 jean jackets. I have 5 pairs of black flats of some kind. On weekends and evenings, I wear yoga pants because I'm usually going to work out or hike at some point in the day--or after a workout, I wear them so I can sit on the floor and roll on the foam roller. Floral dresses and heels do not fit into my lifestyle!

And I've gotten rid of a LOT of clothing in the past few years. Lessons like "You wear 20% of your clothing 80% of the time," the capsule wardrobe, and this book have encouraged me. I love having more space in my closet and less to choose from!

But, I come from a background of collecting cheap, ill-fitting clothes and shoes because it was fun to have new, stylish things. I counted my shoes in high school once and had something like 70 pairs (stuffed into my messy, small bedroom closet). Now that I want to own fewer but better, more comfortable pairs of shoes, I actually have a hard time finding the perfect pair of shoes--knowing I'm only going to have one new one that season or year.


When I wrote earlier this year about our new hobby, hiking, I mentioned I was having a hard time finding minimal hiking and other shoes. A blog reader and fellow Oregonian, Sarah, wrote to me because her company, Soft Star Shoes, has high quality leather minimal shoes made right here in Oregon. Was I interested in trying a pair? Of course!

For many years I had back and neck pain, and a chiropractor even ordered me custom orthotics. They didn't help. Only now, when I've stopped wearing high heels except for special occasions, stopped wearing massively supportive running shoes, and started strength training has my pain gotten better. I still see a chiro and physical therapist occasionally, but my neck, back, and hip pain is SO much better with my increase strength and movement capability. (And I stopped using a pillow at night! Crazy.)

I've also worn ballet flats for many years, so I thought I was ready to try a pair of very minimal shoes like Soft Star flats. Sarah sent me this pair and they are SO comfortable! And they go with my usual work uniform!

These are the Adult Ballerine Flat in perforated leather. They come in universal whole sizes so I went with a 7 regular instead of the 8 or 8.5 Wide I usually wear. The leather is soft and molds to my feet.

They are definitely different than any shoe I've ever worn, but they are beyond comfortable and easy to wear. I love that I can wear them to work without looking like I'm wearing something as comfortable as slippers! They remind me of those packabale ballet flats Gap had several years ago, sold in matching baggies, but those were usually pinchy and fake leather. These are SO much better than those or any of my other flats!


One of my fave movement experts, Katy Bowman, just did an interview/post feature with the founder of Soft Star Shoes - read it on her blog here for more info about them!

A little warning... even proponents of minimal footwear say you can hurt yourself if you switch to it too quickly. As someone who used to buy the most supportive Nikes I could find and at one point wear heels to work every day, I can say making the gradual shift has been completely worth it. Back pain, neck pain, hip tightness, constantly knotty, sore quads and glutes... so much improvement after ditching the heels for flats, switching to a standing desk, and lifting heavy weights (properly and carefully). But, you do have to know your body and be intentional and careful.

It means I'm not shopping for new wedges and heels every season, but I do value investing in really good quality leather truly comfortable shoes. If you feel the same, check out Soft Star Shoes!

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Homemade real food dairy-free protein shake recipe

4.09.2015

Homemade real food dairy-free protein shake recipe

For almost a full year now, I've been strength training 3-4 times a week. It's the first time in my life I've found a routine I want to stick to and have seen progress from my efforts. It's incredible!

But, with this regular and somewhat ambitious workout schedule, I'm much hungrier than I am when I'm not working out, and I have less time to make our meals in the evenings after work. I eat breakfast, 1-2 lunches, and dinner, but sometimes I need something extra to keep me going before dinner and after my workout, or in the mornings before my first lunch. I had never tried protein powders or shakes before, but we've been looking for brands of grassfed whey protein (this one is a good brand/value, husband uses it), which was helpful but I've also been experimenting with cutting out dairy entirely. (I'd been mostly dairy free, but still ate butter and whey protein without severe issues.)

Without any dairy products including whey, it was hard to find a good protein-dense in-between-meals solution. (I tried egg white protein--I did not like it. And I don't eat grains or processed foods, so plant-based shakes are not an option.) We did have some grassfed gelatin for making homemade panna cotta and jello-ey treats, but its protein content wasn't super high and it has larger granules and a slight flavor when it's plain or not too decorated.

So, I was SO excited when I heard about Vital Proteins, who make collagen peptides and gelatin from pastured cows, both of which provide 18 grams of protein per serving (that's as much as many whey protein powders). With some experimenting, I've come up with a simple, tasty homemade chocolate protein shake, completely dairy-free and full of essential amino acids from Vital Proteins collagen peptides!

Collagen is an essential nutrient for lots of other benefits, too--there's actually a lot of research about its uses for skin, bone/joint health, and recovery. A couple of my fave recipe/wellness bloggers have done some great posts about uses and benefits, too, check those out here:

• Wellness Mama - gelatin uses
• Empowered Sustenance - benefits of collagen protein

It's great for putting in my blended coffee in the morning, too--I've been adding just one scoop and it gives it excellent, creamy texture and nicely augments my breakfast to keep me full longer. (In hot drinks like coffee, I've been using the collagen protein, which requires heat to dissolve, but you could also use the peptides.)

I'm so grateful to have found a product like Vital Proteins for my protein shakes, coffee, and the occasional delicious treat like panna cotta or homemade coconut milk ice cream. The research shows great heath benefits from regular use of this stuff, and I'm looking forward to testing it out with daily use for a couple months! (There are tons and tons of delicious, beautiful recipe ideas on the Vital Proteins blog--there are lots of ways to incorporate collagen into meals!)

Homemade real food dairy-free protein shake recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 scoops (20g) Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides (dissolves in hot or cold liquid) (or, use 1 scoop unflavored whey if you prefer and can do dairy)
• 1.5 tsp-1 tbsp cocoa powder (I’ve come to prefer a lot so I use 1 tbsp!)
• 2 tsp birch xylitol, erythritol, or choice of sweetener (check equivalency)
• 1 c. organic almond milk or milk of choice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)

You'll need a stick blender (I have this Cuisinart one, it's incredible for soups, salad dressings, etc. and this!), electric whisk or milk frother, or your blender.

I'd gotten into the habit of putting a serving of whey protein shake into a jar with a lid to bring with me to work or errands, so I developed this recipe to be equally easy to make in a jar. You could do this in a drinking glass as well, but... I reached for a jar out of habit. (You could also put all ingredients in your blender and blend before putting in a glass.)

Note: this is a low-carb protein shake (sweetened with sugar alcohols birch xylitol or erythritol, which are sugar-free); most processed, packaged protein shakes out there are sweetened with strange artificial sweeteners, but if you want to carb load after your workout, try another natural, non-GMO sweetener - I sometimes use coconut palm sugar in recipes.

Instructions:

1. Combine Collagen Peptides, cocoa powder, and sweetener in the jar and mix with stick blender. This is important to break up the chunks of cocoa powder, and to make sure no collagen is stuck at the bottom of the jar.

Tip: to keep the stick blender from overflowing the jar or container, hold the jar in your hand so your arm absorbs the pressure from the blender--on the counter, there's no flexibility so the contents can overflow.

2. Add almond milk and vanilla and blend with stick blender or electric whisk.

(Again, hold the jar in your hand off the counter.)

Drink! The flavor is excellent, and it's cold and refreshing. So helpful when you know you need to eat but dinner's not ready (or started!) yet.

Other flavor ideas:

I'd love to get creative with flavors of homemade protein shakes, although the chocolate is great. Let me know if you try any of these, or have other ideas!

• Nut butter (you can try my DIY almond butter recipe here!)
• Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, and omit the chocolate
• Frozen banana (like my chia shake recipe here)--use less or no sweetener
• Frozen blueberries or strawberries instead of the chocolate--use less sweetener
• Sweeten with maple syrup instead and omit the chocolate--use instead of dry sweetener

Coupon code!

Vital Proteins is offering my readers an excellent deal - 20% off your order of collagen peptides or collagen protein, and free shipping!

Coupon Code: CREATE-ENJOY-2015
Offer: 20% Off + Free Shipping
Valid: April 9 - April 23, 2015 

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Surprising new hobby: Hiking - wishlist

3.06.2015

Surprising new hobby: Hiking - wishlist

Husband and I have a new hobby as of mid-last summer, and it's embarrassing that we've both lived in Oregon for most of our lives and it's taken us this long to get into it.

It may seem early in the year for me to be excited about it, but we've had temps in the 60's and full sun the past three weekends and husband and I have been out every Saturday for our first hikes of the year! It's been so great, it's got us thinking, we've got to do this every weekend!

So, I'm so excited for nice hiking weather whenever I can get it and really looking forward to going out a lot this year and trying some new hikes.

But, still being newbies, we don't have any actual hiking gear and we've ended up carrying our water bottles, packing our keys awkwardly, and sometimes struggling in the totally wrong shoes. I've actually never bought hiking gear or much outdoor gear at all, so it's new to me to shop around for specific items for which I didn't have a use before!

Side note: shoe problems

The shoes have been a real issue. I've done our hikes in flat, rigid Converse (they give me blisters after a few miles and have no traction), super structured ancient trail running shoes (the arches are so high and supportive, they make my feet hurt), and Nike Free running shoes (even these had too much arch support, and not much traction).

I've had back and neck problems for ages, and I once years ago got custom orthotics that to raise my arches and supposedly help my back. Well, after a couple years of functional movement training (and after reading Katy Bowman's blog posts about feet and footwear and listening to her on lots of podcasts), my back is much better with more muscle and my feet are most comfortable barefoot or in minimal shoes. I wear flats to work every day, and usually wear canvas slip-ons on the weekends, but now that I go hiking sometimes, I want something with laces and traction! But not as much support as my old running shoes or a thick leather hiking boot. So I've been doing my research. (I found these tips in this post on minimalist footwear for backpackers (and part 2, with some elements to look for) and those, plus Amazon reviews from die-hard minimalist shoe wearers on hiking shoes, have been helpful.)

My hiking wishlist!

It's hard to bite the bullet and just order the stuff already!! so I welcome your tips or recommendations on hiking shoes, packs, etc. and how to find hikes!

Here are some goods I have my eye on!

1. Vivobarefoot Women's Neo Trail Running Shoe. I think I've seen these on two or three other hikers in Forest Park! They look like a great balance between hiking/grip-heavy shoe and a minimalist, easy movement shoe.
2. New Balance Women's WX20v3 Minimus Cross-Training Shoe. For drier days or flatter hikes/walks, these look great.
3. Forest Park (image source). We hiked up to the Pittock Mansion from the Hoyt Arboretum and from the 29th Avenue entrance to Forest Park.
4. My homemade sunflower seed/cashew nut butter. While I don't feel hungry while hiking (sympathetic nervous system response), I noticed when I had a couple tablespoons of this stuff before our hike one weekend, I felt much more satiated/stable blood sugar after! Very tasty protein and fat, great for pre-hike fuel!
5. Hydration Pack Water Backpack + 2L Hydration Bladder. Thinking about ordering this one.
6. The Wildwood Trail (image source). We want to explore this 30.2-mile trail all the way up north, in pieces! So far we've seen a lot of the southern parts.
7. VIVO Hydration Water Pack Bag 2L Bladder Backpack in woodland camo. Another bladder backpack option, more storage capacity.
8. Oregon State Parks--hiking around the rest of the state! One of my favorites was Saddle Mountain on the way to the coast.

Even as I write this, I'm so excited for the weekend when it's supposed to be sunny yet again and I hope we get out on another great hike!

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