In Review - Everygirl's Guide to Diet & Fitness

I recently finished Maria Menounos' book The Everygirl's Guide to Diet and Fitness.  My review: 3 out of 5 stars.

I'm glad I didn't purchase this book, but rather checked it out at my local library.  If you're thinking about picking this book up I suggest you do the same.  I did walk away with some great new recipes to cook, workouts to try, and tips to put into practice.  But in general the tips and tricks Maria provides aren't ones that you haven't heard before.  Still it's a great read and features celebrities and how they stay in such great shape.  The other aspect I did like was that Maria is an "Everygirl" even is she is on TV.  She still had to struggle to go from a size 14 to a size 2 and it didn't happen overnight.  So this is her personal plan that she followed during her lifestyle change and she does it in small doable steps or phases.  I enjoyed the personal connection but still no major life altering facts that I didn't know before.  But here are some reasons why you should pick it up...

• Great recipes that are easy and quick to make
• Ideas of unique and different workouts from hand weights and resistance bands to using a bench or your desk
• Tips for how to still eat and drink what you love without going overboard - my favorite tip is to drink vodka soda with a lemon and a lime when you're out with friends
• Another tip that I've been following that I think is smart is to choose one carb a day - you have to decide whether you indulge in the morning, afternoon, or evening and plan your other meals around it
• Maria gives great websites and workout DVDs from other personal trainers and fitness instructors that I'll be looking into trying

That's my "In Review" of The Everygirl's Guide to Diet and Fitness by Maria Menounos.  I'll definitely be trying some of the recipes that were featured in the book and sharing them with you here.  My final verdict: if you're interested in gaining some extra knowledge on finding time to workout or eat healthy then I'd suggest this book.  However if you're looking for something a little more life-changing or if you're just starting your fitness journey I'd find another book.

Currently

I recently came across a blog post by fellow blogger Amanda on her blog Running With Spoons about all the things "Currently" going on in her life.  I thought it was a fun and creative idea.  So here's my life as I Currently know it...

Current Book -  

I'm reading The Everygirl's Guide to Diet and Fitness by Maria Menounos.  Her story is really inspiring and she started living a healthy lifestyle the right way.  Plus I think she's really relatable with ways to incorporate diet and exercise for those girls who don't have the luxury of hours to waste and the gym or gobs of money to spend on organic superfoods.  You can see a picture of the cover in the "What I'm Reading" sidebar.

Current Food -

I've been on a smoothie kick lately.  Almost every morning I whip up a new breakfast smoothie to try, but my 2 go betweens are a Berry Smoothie and Peanut Butter Banana Berry Smoothie.  They're relatively the same but one has more ingredients than the other.  Here are the recipes so you can try them for yourself at home!

Berry Smoothie

1 cup Almond Milk

1 cup Frozen Berries

1 scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder

(or substitute the Protein Powder for 1 cup of Plain Greek Yogurt)

Blend it all together and you've got a great way to start your morning

Peanut Butter Banana Berry Smoothie

1 cup Frozen Berries

1 Small Banana

1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt or 1 scoop of Protein Powder

1 tbsp Peanut Butter or Almond Butter

If you want a thinner consistency add in 1/2 cup to 1 cup of Almond Milk

Blend together and you've got yourself another go to breakfast or any meal replacement smoothie

Current Bane of Existence -

This weather.  It seems like Mother Nature is playing a cruel joke on us with the continue bout of freezing temps and snow.  But I just keep thinking that spring is just around the corner and hopefully by then Mother Nature will be ready to see some green grass and blue skies too.

Current Procrastination - 

Setting a budget.  I've been telling myself for months now that I should be more conscientious of my spending habits.  I always vow that I'll sit down and create a budget for myself.  Does that happen? No, instead I end up in Anthropologie buying cute pants and home decor that I don't need...but it's so cute!

I can't be the only one who procrastinates doing this, right?

Current Mood -

Motivated.  I feel motivated to keep up on my personal goals that I've set for myself and my career goals as well.  

Now it's your turn!  Share with me your current...

1) ...music

2) ...nail color

3) ...obsession

4) ...triumph

5) ...mood

Spotlight on...The Birthday Girl

"In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips."

One of the sweetest and biggest chocolate chips in my life is celebrating her 20th birthday today. My middle sister Morgan has officially entered her twenties today and I cannot wrap my head around that fact.  I remember when we first welcomed Morg home and I became a big sister.  I couldn't help but see her as a brand new shiny toy and someone I could hang out with all the time.  We would spend countless hours playing dress up, creating lengthy & in-depth story lines with our Barbies, and making up some new game to play.  We were 2 peas in a pod in our matching outfits taking on the world together.

All of that is still true today.  Only these days it's playing dress up in each other's closets, telling one another the lengthy and in-depth stories that are our lives, and making up plans of how we can spend more time together.  At times we still find ourselves even wearing matching outfits.  We went from being a state away to being 30 minutes away and I'm so thankful for that.  I love our sister slumber parties whether they're at home or in our new homes in Ohio, exchanging outfit tips via Facetime, and planning our futures together.

Happy 20th Birthday to my little sister, brown bear, Morgie, and my chocolate chip.  I can't wait to be together this weekend and celebrate with you.  I love you.

xoxo,

B.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Yesterday was National Pancake Day and in honor of the hotcake holiday I decided to take a stab at a healthier version of this classic breakfast food.  I found on Pinterest (of course) a recipe for Greek Yogurt Pancakes.  The timing was perfect and I couldn't think of a better day to give this recipe a try.  Also because I've decided to try cooking one difficult meal per week and this was it.  See the recipe, photos, and my review below :)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (I used wheat flour)

2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp sugar (optional - I added 2 scoops of Stevia)

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt

3/4 c. milk

Directions

1.  Preheat a pan or griddle to medium heat.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  In another bowl mix oil, eggs, vanilla, and Greek yogurt.

2.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir.  Stir in milk until all ingredients are combined - don't over mix!  There should still be a few lumps in the batter

3.  Grease griddle and pour 1/4 - 1/3 c. of batter on the griddle (I opted for 1/3 c. which made some decent size cakes).  Allow to cook for 2 minutes or until edges begin to look "dry" and flip to cook for another minute.

4.  Transfer to platter and top pancakes with desired toppings

The overall process to making these pancakes was very easy and in the end I don't think you can even taste the difference!  It's a great healthy alternative to your usual IHOP or McDonald's hotcakes.  This recipe makes about 7-8 pancakes.  So I think I know what I'm having for breakfast the rest of the week.  Give this recipe a go and try topping your Greek Yogurt Pancakes with some of the topping possibilities I've listed below.  Bon Appetite!

xoxo,

B.

Possible Toppings

Syrup (I used a maple flavored Agave Syrup)

Powdered Sugar

Honey

Your Favorite Fruit

Monday Mantra

Well it's just another manic Monday...the first in March.  It's time to start the month and week off on the right foot.  Just think about all the great things that are happening this month: NCAA March Madness (if you're into basketball, I create my bracket based on team names and colors), Spring will finally be here, Saint Patrick's Day for all of you Irish readers (or those of you who will be Irish for just that day), and so much more.

Rather than focus on the cold, snow, and a full week of work ahead of you.  Focus on what my girl Eleanor Roosevelt had to say about life.  Live your life to the fullest this week and this month "...that's all that there is to it."

Goals: March Edition

Well it's the first day of a new month, so I figure it's time to get back into blogging and writing for fun.  I really believe that by writing down what you want to achieve or accomplish motivates you to work harder to actually do it.  Because it's March 1st, I thought it would be a great time to set some personal goals for the month...

MARCH GOALS

1.  Journal.  I think that journaling or writing anything - whether it's as short as a sentence or pages long - is so emotionally and spiritually cathartic.  It can be such a needed release and by doing it a few times a week can really relieve stress or pent up emotions (at least that's what it does for me).

2.  Blog More.  I'm sure you've noticed that it's been quite a while since I last posted.  Well I was on tour for about a month of that, which isn't an excuse but it was difficult to keep up.  I digress, I want to become more consistent in my posts: photos, quotations I love, links to articles I recommend, anything!  I just want to become more engaged in the blogging community.

3.  Cook.  I have been cooking more, but have been staying safe and simple.  It's time to challenge myself to cook one difficult meal (difficult for my skill level) each week.  Now that I'm putting it on my blog I'll have to post pictures and the recipes that I choose to keep myself accountable.

4.  Try Something New.  A new workout class or a new food, something that pushes me a little further outside of my comfort zone.  I know I'll be glad I did it after the fact, so I just need to give myself a little nudge to get there.

I think this is a good start.  Obviously I'll be posting my progress since blogging more is one of my goals.  Do you have any goals for the month of March?  Dedicate your first March post to some of your personal goals and comment below with the link so we can push one another to uphold our claims.

Good luck and Happy March!  Just think Spring is only 19 days away :)

xoxo,

B.