Be mindful of your sweets

It was another busy weekend at the Thomas house; full of fun and physical activity, despite the rainy weekend, and good fall food of course!!!

I started the weekend off right with my 9am boot camp class! I am LOVING this class!!! It's been a long time since I've participated in a class that challenges me. The group of ladies that joins me are all different shapes, sizes, and ages, but we all have 1 common goal every Saturday, and that's to get in a good hard workout and to motivate each other! Here's a brief look at what this week entailed.

The pictures aren't the best, and most of the participants are in mid-position, but it will give you an idea of some exercises you can use in your own workout routine.

Top: lunges between each station. Bottom: side plank with lateral raises

Top: Abduction leg raises with lateral arm raises. Bottom: oblique twists

Top: tricep extensions (make sure to keep elbows in on these!) Bottom: wall sits and hamstring curls with resistance band.

If you live in the Buford/ Flowery Branch area and are looking for an AWESOME personal trainer, contact me. The trainer that teaches my class, Derek, comes very highly recommended!!!

After hitting the gym hard we slipped on some costumes to celebrate one of my best friend's dad's birthday. And what better way to ring in your birthday than with a toga party!!!

Happy Birthday Greg!!!

You Cortner siblings sure do know how to make a girl feel short hehehe

The company was amazing, the costumes were adorable, and the food was wonderful!! Being that it was Greek themed there were a lot of Mediterranean foods such as: vegetables, cheeses, olives, hummus, etc. The Mediterranean diet is very healthy and rich in omegas and vitamins! Their diet is usually lower in carbohydrates and higher in healthy fats like fish and olives and rich in vitamins and minerals due to the large variety of vegetables they consume. If you are looking to make a healthy change in your diet, consider adding more of these foods into you daily routine.





Now let me switch gears for a moment and talk about this sweet tooth little miss Jordan has given me lately. I'm not craving rich sweets like cakes, pies, etc. But I get the craving once a day for a little something sweet whether it be a piece of dark chocolate or a small scoop of plain vanilla frozen yogurt. Rather than indulge in all the crazy high fat and calorie desserts, I have opted for a few of my holiday favorites that are not necessarily healthy, but are a much smarter choice.

Every year my mom makes chocolate covered pretzels. We started the tradition back when I was in highschool and they were such a hit she has made them every year since. She gave me my little box a few weeks ago ( you notice I say "my" box and not "ours" hehe, I didn't share with Josh) and while they lasted a good 2 weeks in my freezer, my craving for them has lasted much longer! So I took it upon my self to make my own batch.

 

They are SO simple to make and the coating of chocolate is so light they are much lower in calories than the store bought kind. I like to keep them in my freezer and grab about 5-6 each night after dinner. That satisfies my dessert craving but also keeps my calories in check!

Recipe:

1-1lb bag of mini salted pretzels
1- 24oz package of baking chocolate (dark or white)

Place the package of chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave for about 3 minutes or until completely melted. Dump the bag of pretzels into your chocolate, stir with a spoon and then spread  onto wax paper. Let cool and EAT!


Another favorite winter dessert of mine is steamed cinnamon apples with vanilla ice cream and Kashi cereal. The mix of warm apples with cold ice cream and the crunch of the cereal is perfect! And the best part is this dessert actually has some nutritional value. You can't go wrong choosing fruit for dessert, and cinnamon is known to help lower your blood sugar and LDL levels (that's the bad cholesterol)!

Recipe:

-1 small apple of your choice, sliced
-A dash of cinnamon
-1/4 cup of  frozen low-fat vanilla  ice cream or frozen yogurt
- 1/2 handful of Kashi Crunch cereal or granola

Place your sliced apples in a microwave safe bowl with about 2-3 TBSP of water. Sprinkle your apples with cinnamon, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until apples are soft. Pour out any extra water and top your apples with your ice cream or yogurt and cereal. DELICIOUS!

Don't let the rain stop you from getting your workout in! Go to the gym or choose a workout video to do in your living room today!