5 tips to stay fit during the Holidays

Yes you read that correctly.

I (and half of the world) tend to flush down the toilet our healthy eating habits when it’s Christmas time and in the last five years I have learned that is way more enjoyable to start the year with 1-2 extra lb. than 10. Not to mention the famous New Year’s resolution of «I am going to lose ___ pounds».

By no means I am a specialist on nutrition or I am telling you that this is the way to go but these five tips have helped me to keep on track during the stressful and (yummy) Holidays.

1. Give yourself two cheat meals a week. Don’t ruin your healthy eating by focusing on «oh Christmas is just once a year». Yes it is only once a year but you don’t have to spend 31 days over-eating. Negotiate two meals a week where you can have a green light with your favorite foods.
2. Don’t skip the gym. Since you are going to be in the festive mood please by all means don’t skip the gym. It is good for you and it will boost those happy happy happy endorphins. If you are not a gym person then keep active.
3. If you get invited to lunch, dinner or coffee with friends or family have a smaller portion of everything this way you taste all the good food but half the calories.
4. Keep track of your alcohol intake. I personally don’t drink that much, but when I do I tend to go for the fruity, sugary drinks. (Yes, I know…) So try to keep track of the empty calories here and there.
5. Keep your body hydrated. Water is your number one friend these Holidays (and the rest of your life too).

Hope this helps 🙂

Low-carb: Cauliflower Mashed «Potatoes»

You know those recipes that are extremely healthy but taste like…well…like sand in your mouth? This is not one of them. This recipe is really yummy and has actually no potatoes in it. I love to use it as a side with roasted chicken or a steak and best of all, I can eat this at dinner time.

Cauliflower is very versatile, remember this cauliflower pizza crust and the paleo flatbread?

Ingredients (serves 2 hungry people or 3 not so hungry ones  🙂 )

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 whole leek (green part included)
• 1 garlic head
• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your oven to broil. Chop the cauliflower, the leek and the garlic heads. Boil the cauliflower until tender. Set aside and let cool. In a pan pour 2 tbsp. olive oil and sauté your chopped leek with the garlic until semi-golden. Set aside to cool.

Pour your egg , egg whites, almond milk, sautéed leek with garlic and the remaining olive oil in your blender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend lightly for 1 min. Don’t over-blend because then it gets very liquid. Pour your mix in a Pyrex and cook in the oven until the top gets golden.

🙂 I like to sprinkle it with some paprika.

5 things: welcome Spring!

I have to confess that Winter 2015-2016 was not that bad this year in Spain. I haven’t figured out if it the new apartment’s heating system or that this winter was not as bad as the last one.

Enough said about Winter and let us welcome Spring. First of all I already have my bucket list written down for this season and second of all I am über excited about putting away my coat. There is something magical about taking out clothes I love that I haven’t worn in a while. You have to see me «unpacking» the spring/summer clothing it feels like Christmas all over again… I am like «oh this is cute» and «oh I forgot I had this cool piece here».

My Spring bucket list:

1. Terrace make-over
2. Spring cleaning (yup I do look forward to this)
3. Buying more flowers
4. Picnic in the park
5. Spring color nails
6. Outdoor planting
7. Donating clothes

As for what has been going on lately, I want to share 5 things that are feeling a lot like…Spring.

1) Light colored nails while writing some new lyrics and adding chapters to my book.

2) I did cut my hair a month ago and it grew so fast. I think I am going to be needing another haircut before Summer. 

3) Baking some paleo cinnamon banana-apple pie. I think this will be a good tutorial in the near future for the blog. (Btw: It was so yummy)

4) New photo shoot by «House of Flow». Can’t wait to share it soon!

5) We have a new recording booth at our home! More lyrics, more music!

Paleo cinnamon-carrot muffins

Since last week was Valentine’s Day, I needed (read carefully I said «needed») to make some muffins to celebrate. I tried several paleo recipes but they didn’t work out for me. I still have to master the recipes that require almond flour.

These are the ingredients that I used for mine: 

– 2 cups almond flour

– 4 tbsp. coconut flour

– 3 egg whites and 1 yolk

– 4 tbsp. melted coconut oil

– 3 tbsp. homemade applesauce

– 4 tbsp. raw stevia powder

– 1/3 cup grated carrots

– 1/4 cup almond milk

– 1 tsp. vanilla

– 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

– 1 tsp. baking soda

– 1/3 cup walnuts (add more if you wish)

Instructions:

– Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

– Beat the egg whites to a meringue-style mix.

– In another bowl mix all the ingredients except the carrots and walnuts.

– Add the egg white mix to your bowl with the carrots and walnuts.

– Add the mix to 6 separate muffin linens (I bought mine at Tiger)

– Cook for 20 min (or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out dry).

– Let cool and enjoy 🙂

 

 

 

Favorite three healthy recipes from my blog

Just in case you didn’t get to see them I want to share with you guys some past recipes of the «Culinary Tuesdays» posts. These are easy and healthy. I always make them and I love them!

Enjoy!

1) Greek salad recipe

2) Breakfast omelette

3) Fresh salad mix

 

 

 

My lentil soup recipe

This recipe came out the day that I didn’t have the complete list of ingredients to my mom’s lentil recipe. So I improvised with the ingredients I did have at home and it came out pretty good. This dish is healthy and low-fat.

Ingredients:

– 1 cup lentils (I wash them two times)

– 6 cups water

– 1/2 tomato

– 1 medium carrot

– 1 medium purple onion

– 3 garlic cloves

– 5-6 bay leaves

– 1/2 teaspoon cumin

– 2 tablespoons olive oil

– Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

– Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot on low heat. Chop the tomato, carrot, onion and garlic. Saute your chopped vegetables for 5 to 6 minutes.

– Add the salt, pepper, cumin and bay leaves. Then pour the water and the lentils. It takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes for the lentils to be tender but it always depends on the kind of lentils you are using.

– The trick is to stir occasionally and taste them. Some people like to add more water to make the soup watery and some like their lentils dense so they can pure them. It all depends on you.

 

 

My workout routine

People, exercise is good for your health. Period.

I like to workout. Often working out is a hated business, but I do enjoy it. Call me a masochist, but am I the only one who loves how my muscles hurt the morning after?

I am not telling you that you have to workout until you drop, but 20 minutes a day is a fantastic way to start. Any exercise is good exercise. When you are active you feel good about yourself and you keep your body healthy. Back in February I shared a post with tips on how to stick to your workout, today I am sharing my exercise routine.

One of the things I hate the most is doing the same workout routine over and over. I get bored quickly, so I often make a variation or two, every other week. I also like to divide my workouts. For example, I always include cardio, plank and abs in every workout, then I add 4 different exercises of legs, arms or back in the routine depending on the day. When I have less time I just stick to cardio.

My cardio varies a lot. I love to run, I fast-walk, I walk with incline, elliptical machine, bicycle, etc. I normally have a goal regarding time. Some days I feel really good and extend my cardio and other days I just finish my goal and continue the workout. The same happens with my ab routine.

Please remember to ALWAYS stretch. I cannot emphasize this enough. We don’t want injuries.

Monday

– Cardio 30 min.

– 1 min. plank

– 1 min. wall-sit

– Leg exercise day

– 250 abs.

 

Tuesday

– 40 min. Kickboxing

– 300 abs.

– 1 min. plank

– Back exercise day

 

Wednesday

– Free 🙂

 

Thursday

– 30 min. cardio

– 1 min. plank

– 1 min. wall-sit

– Arm day

– 400 abs.

 

Friday

– 40 min. Kickboxing

– 400 abs.

– 1 min. plank

 

Saturday

– Free 🙂

 

Sunday

– 30 min. cardio

– 500 abs.

– 1 min. plank

– 1 min. wall-sit

– Arm, back and legs mix.

 

Foods to avoid at airports

You plan your vacation, you get to the airport, then all of a sudden you throw away all your healthy habits and go straight to have that burger with fries. What the heck, your vacation has just started right?

Be aware that sometimes that is not the smartest option. Not in the airport. Certain foods cause bloating, others can have a terrible aftermath.

1) Carbonated drinks. 

Sugar causes bloating and it is not a nice feeling to have on a long or even a short trip. Even diet sodas do too, so try to avoid them.

2) Too much coffee. 

I like to have my coffee when I am traveling in the morning or maybe a late-afternoon espresso. Please don´t over do it. Coffee in excess tends to dehydrate you and cause anxiety. It will not help you sleep if you are planning to do so.

3) Fried food.

Not good for your health and not good for your trip. Anything fried will satisfy your cravings for a brief time but will not nourish you in any way. When something is fried it is stripped from all its nutrients.

4) Alcohol.

I know some of you like to have a drink to soothe their nerves before a flight but believe me there are other natural options to do so. Keep in mind that alcohol dehydrate you and the first thing you need when traveling is to be hydrated. So try some valerian root or have a chamomile. (I am sounding like my grandmother, but you´ll thank me later.)

5) Switch the burger for a sandwich.

You can have it when you arrive at your destination but please try to avoid them before a flight. Have a sandwich instead with some protein and your fair amount of carbs. Thow in some veggies for extra points.

 

Culinary shot: my Instafood

Instagram is by far my favorite app for sharing pictures. That been said, I also love to take pictures of what I am about to eat. Some people find this annoying, some do it too, both of them are valid points of view. I really like to eat colorful foods and I always try to make it a healthy choice.

Today I have selected my favorite «Instafood» pictures from my Instagram page to share with you.