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April 2017

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7 Easy Recipes That Will Add More Protein To Your Diet

by Nellie

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein.

It really wasn’t until I became a Premier Protein Ambassador did I realize how many ways you can incorporate protein into your diet. There are a lot of foods that we eat on a regular basis that are fun to eat but are actually far from filling and we end up hungry really quickly.

To stay on top of those hunger pangs, it is a really good idea to incorporate more protein into your diet, from breakfast, snack to even dinner dishes. This is actually way easier than you think. I used to be one of those people that thought the only place you add protein was smoothies–Then my mind was opened and I began to rethink the way I use protein and where I could add it!

Here are 7 Recipes from the Premier Protein website that are relatively simple and delish!

  1. Blueberry Muffins: Who knew that you could add protein to muffins?! This super light recipe uses applesauce and greek yogurt to to healthify the typical muffin recipe.
  2. Apple Pie A La Mode: Okay so this isn’t exactly what you think about when it comes to this classic dessert but the taste comes pretty close! The recipe calls for 4 simple ingredients and you can get the yummy taste of apple pie a la mode without all the calories! Pretty clever if you ask me!
  3. Vivacious Vanilla Bar: This recipe is perfect for when you get the midday munchies. It is full of dates, almonds and peanut butter which is the perfect sweet treat for that sweet tooth!
  4. Bikini Body Banana Bread: Who doesn’t love a delish banana bread? This recipe is full of all the good stuff including 2 scoops of the Premier Protein Chocolate Protein Powder to kick it up a notch and make it way more filling than regular banana bread.
  5. Flavorful Flan: My husband’s absolute favorite dessert is FLAN! I have never attempted to try this latin dish even with all my baking skill–but this recipe seems easy enough with only 4 ingredients, plus protein  that is added from the Premier Protein Vanilla Shake.
  6. Overnight Chocolate Peanut Butter Oats: This one is perfect for the mom on the go that is sick of buying fast food in the morning and just wants to start off the day right!
  7. Protein Pancakes: I am a huge fan of pancakes but I know all too well how unfulfilled I can feel afterwards. This pancake recipe incorporates the Premier Protein Vanilla Shake for a quick protein boost!
Here are 7 easy recipes that gets more protein in your diet! Click to Tweet

Do you consciously try to add more protein to your diet? Which recipe are you most likely to try?

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fitness gearrunning

Workouts for Common Runner Injuries

by Nellie

When I was in the 4th grade, I used to walk about a block away from home to catch the bus. (This was back in the day–and it was totally okay to walk a block away from home without any worry from your parents) Our bus was unpredictable — sometimes it was super early, some days it was super late, and some days it didn’t show up.

To pass the time while we waited for the bus, one of the girls would pack a jump rope and we’d jump double dutch every single day without fail. We’d teach each other new tricks and pretty much just have a great time.

One day it was raining, we didn’t care, we jumped anyway (I was a smart fourth grader, really I was). I slipped on a wet spot and sprained my ankle pretty severely. To this day, 25 years late, my ankle has never been right. If I run too long, or even if the weather is off (I swear my ankle has a memory and it remembers whenever it gets even a little bit wet outside!) I feel twinges of pain.

Here are a few exercises that are great for a sprained ankle (I am NOT a doctor but these are really helpful for ME):

  1. These upper body workouts! This is a really good excuse to get buff arms! 🙂
  2. Calf Raises: These should be done as long as you are able to put weight on the ankle

Range of motion exercises from WebMD:

  • Trace the alphabet with your toe, which encourages ankle movement in all directions. Trace the alphabet 1 to 3 times.
  • Sit in a chair with your foot flat on the floor. Slowly move your knee side to side while keeping your foot pressed flat. Continue for 2 to 3 minutes.

Runner Bloggers share exercise solutions for some of the most common #runner injuries! Click to Tweet

Workouts For Injuries

I am teaming up with my amazing runner blogger friends to talk about a HOST of other exercises to do for some of the most common runner injuries.

Laura @ This Runner’s Recipes

Angela @ Happy Fit Mama

Sarah @ Run Far Girl

Allie @ VITA Train 4 Life

Carly @ Fine Fit Day

We've got workouts for your most common runner injuries! @CarlyPizzani @RunfarGirl @HappyFitMama @VITATrain4Life Click to Tweet

Have you ever had a run injury? Do you remember any silly decisions from your childhood?

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brothersNYC Fitness Classes

Trap Aerobics Class + A Birthday Party Disaster

by Nellie

Happy Monday Friends!

The weekend was quite the interesting one. It’s that weird time in NYC where you can find a huge range of outerwear on the trains. There are literally people who wear nothing but short sleeves to people who are still wearing bubble jackets (at the end of April–these people make me sweat just looking at them). The weather is like mid 50s-60s but as cool as it is in the morning, it can be unreasonably hot in the middle of the day, then in the evening you wonder why on earth you thought a light jacket was enough. Saturday was one of those days.

Trap Aerobics

Saturday morning my hubby let me sleep in till 8am (#winning) and I was able to take the train into the city and take a fun class in Greenwich Village. The ladies of Grillz and Granola hold a fun class weekly called “Trap Aerobics“. In case you are wondering what trap is….let’s just say the class is based on hardcore rap music.

 

It was the fitness blogger edition of the class, so we came ready to WERK. A lot of the music has a low BPM (beats per minute) so I was crazy impressed with all of the really fun choreography that we were taught. We did everything from dabbing to squatting to even milly rocking (which is literally my favorite thing to do in general–I milly rock on any block)

It was so much fun! We were all pouring sweat at the end and it was a really satisfying workout. We got our swag bag including these really fun water bottles from sponsor Healthy Human!

I even took a fun boomerang with the awesome owners who had t-shirts that said “Mental Health. Mountain Climbers. Migos.” Totally Approps.

Brunch

My brother from another mother Dre, was in town for a few days so I was so excited to grab a quick brunch with him at my favorite diner in NYC, Moonstruck. We chatted, ate good food and of course there happened to be a major parade happening right outside the diner. NYC is just always so crazy!

Birthday Disaster

My mom asked me to take the kids to a birthday party for one of her day care kids. She asked me to go and I reluctantly said okay–I mean–I like hanging out at home on Saturday nights and it had been a while since I had done so.

However, when I got there I quickly realized that this party was NOT for a 2 year old…it was more for the adults. Lots of alcohol, really insanely loud inappropriate music and  barely any kids. I ended up leaving within the hour because my kids were hungry, the birthday girl still hadn’t arrived and it was a task trying to keep the kids from going crazy.

Epic fail.

How was your weekend? Do you listen to trap music? What is the worst kids birthday party you have ever been to?

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Quick and Easy 5 Minute Meditations for the Busy Woman
healthy living

Quick and Easy 5 Minute Meditations for the Busy Woman

by Nellie

Quick and Easy 5 Minute Meditations for the Busy Woman

Since I started working for myself I have been trying to be better about self care and peace of mind. When you are trying to build you own business/project/career from the ground up the list of things to-do can be extremely overwhelming. I’ve never been very much into meditation until I tried it.

The effects of meditation, at least for me, are subtle and even more pronounced once I get into a consistent groove of meditating daily. I feel more relaxed overall and my reactions to things aren’t so…colorful. 🙂

One of the biggest myths about meditation for me was that I needed to be in a perfect space, my legs crossed, with complete silence. This is not at all true.

My meditations happen randomly, sometimes early in the morning before a long work day, sometimes right before I get my children and other times before bed when my anxiety is on fleek.

I’m sharing 5 minutes meditations today because sometimes it feels like we can’t even take 5 minutes for ourselves–but the truth is–we can.

I’m giving you permission to take 5 minutes for yourself and meditate daily. Obviously if you have more time to meditate longer you should! I have a short attention span when it comes to mediation but I am hoping to get better and stay in longer as time goes by.

There are also plenty of apps that you can try–if you have an Apple Watch there is a “Breathe” app that is native to the watch that you can do anytime of day. It only takes a minute and it’s a great way to reset. 

Meditations with Rasa Lukosiute

TheHonestGuys

MindfulPeace

OMG. I Can Meditate!

5 Minute Morning Meditation

These are some of my favorites. If you have never tried mediation, you should. It is worth the 5 minutes. Take the time to reset and restart.

 

Do you meditate? How often? How long?

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NYC Fitness Classes

IMAXShift Hip Hop Class Review

by Nellie

IMAXShift Brooklyn Hip Hop Ride – A Review

Ever since I had my first IMAX experience with the Sufferfest a few months ago, I’ve been so curious to go back and replicate my experience! The IMAXShift is a really fun spin studio located on the brink of Brooklyn in area known as DUMBO. Personally DUMBO is one of my favorite parts of Brooklyn because it holds the enormous and amazing Brooklyn Bridge Park and of course the views. I simply cannot get enough of the views. It turns me into a tourist every time, and I was born and raised here.

IMAXShift had a special media Hip Hop ride last week that I was more than happy to attend. Mixing one of my favorite ways to exercise with my favorite type of music was an easy sell for this girl.

I arrived a bit early and was already pretty familiar with the territory, so I grabbed my shoes and immediately got comfortable.

I set up rather quickly and enjoyed the vibes while the instructor took his time to set up people who were getting on the bike for the first time.

Finally it was time for class! My mind was swirling with what types of songs that the instructor would play! Would it be recent? Old school? The possibilities were endless.

When we got started it’s still pretty incredible visually to be cycling in the front of a screen that is ceiling to floor. Every song has a different type of theme, for example when you are riding you will see the camera going forward really fast so it tricks your brain into thinking that you are riding just as fast. This message gets sent down to your legs and just like that you are distracted from how hard you are actually working! It’s brilliant but also really cool at the same time.

The music

It wasn’t a pure hip hop ride, it was a 65% hip hop ride but it was okay because I was happy with all of the other music that was played as well. A few standouts:

Work – Rihanna

They played this insane remix of Rihanna’s “Work” now I don’t know if you have ever seen this video—if you haven’t take a look (warning: not quite safe for work!):

So imagine seeing THESE images while spinning. It was so fun! I felt like I was actually IN the club with Rihanna and Drake dancing—except I wasn’t. I was on a bike, working my entire tail off!

Beyonce – Drunk In Love

You all know I am a huge Beyonce fan that really can’t get enough of the woman. So when a dope remix of Drunk In Love came on the screen I was automatically motivated to the next level. Something about Bey in a bikini having so much fun with her husband on a beach is just the best. The visual aspect only added to the hilly song! It was like two of my favorite worlds collided perfectly! (Check out 10 Beyonce Songs You Need In Your Workout Playlist)

The rest of the ride included more songs that a specifically built for speed work. The numbers count down on the screen with the rest of the visuals so you don’t have to depend on the instructor to call out your numbers.

It was a really cool experience, especially with all of my favorite pop stars and music. Clearly I need to make my way down to DUMBO more often for more amazing IMAXShift classes!

A fun and sweaty #hiphop #spin class from @IMAXShift! #ridebeyond Click to Tweet

Have you taken a spin class recently? What are your favorite artists to listen to?

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