Exercise Tid Bits + Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

K, the kids and I went downtown and met Kev for lunch today.

Very fun.

We went to Chuck-a-Rama.

Just a word to the wise….if you are trying to eat healthily and lose weight…..don’t eat at Chuck-a-Rama.

That is all I’m going to say about that….;-)

Moving on…Each week I try to set exercise goals for myself.  On Sunday night, I look at my schedule for the week and see when I can fit exercise in every day (except Sunday).   I’ve found I have the most success if I strive to exercise every day.  If I tell myself I will work out 3-4 (or whatever) days a week, it is so easy to procrastinate and just do it “tomorrow!”

There are a million excuses why we don’t exercise….too tired, busy, too many kids, not feeling well, the house is a wreck, the laundry’s not done, etc. etc. etc.  We can always come up with some (sorta kinda legitimate) reason not to exercise.

I try to just plan it and then DO IT!  Make it a priority!

Now, there are some days it’s just not going to happen…and that’s okay.  Don’t beat yourself up for it.  Just make those days be the exception and not the rule. So, here’s my typical exercise schedule for the week….

• Monday: Boot Camp class at the gym
• Tuesday:  Medium run (right now that is about a 5-6 mile run, or if I don’t have  a lot of time I will do a shorter run, but try to go really fast!)
• Wednesday: Muscle Works class at the gym!  So so so awesome!  I look forward to it every week!
• Thursday:  Easy run (right now it’s about 3-5 miles)  My kids like to come with me on their bikes sometimes and that’s a lot of fun.  I take my 1 and 3 year old in the jogger sometimes too.
• Friday:  Misc. day.  I usually go to the gym and just do an hour or so of weights (free weights and weight machines).  Sometimes I do an exercise video or just make up my own workout at home.
• Saturday:  Long run (right now I’m trying to do 7-8+ miles)
• Sunday:  REST!

Some weeks I’m not able to workout every day, but I can usually make it at least 5 days.

I’ve exercised every day this week so far, but I’m a little worried about today.  Dang.  I stayed up WAY too late last night and I just DO NOT feel like running!  DANG DANG.  I’m crazy busy today too.  See, there are my (sorta kinda legitimate) excuses!  I’m still going to try to fit it in though, even if I have to do the treadmill (yuck!).  We’ll see.

Hey, that is another tip….if you plan to be consistent with exercising, it is VITAL that you get enough rest!!!  That is a really hard one for me.  I find that the only time I have to myself or with my husband is late at night.  It is so nice and peaceful and it’s always so tempting to stay up too late!  I try to remind myself that if I get my sleep, I will be so much more productive the next day!  Also, when I’m sleep deprived, I DO NOT feel like exercising or eating healthy.  Sleep really is KEY for me!

Okay, that is a lot of rambling.

I found a VERY YUMMY recipe the other day and I just tweaked it a little bit.  It is for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and they are SO good and healthy!  Yay!  So, I thought I would share…

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3/4 C. Oat Flour (you can use any kind of flour you want, I was just trying to make it healthier!)

3/4 C. Almond Flour (ditto)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 tsp Salt

3/4 C. Canned Pumpkin

1 Egg

4 Egg Whites

1/4  C. Agave Nectar

10g (about 1/3 scoop) Vanilla Protein Powder

Extra Dark Chocolate Chips (optional….but for me, they are necessary!)

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 12 muffin tins with cooking spray.

Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and protein powder.  Set aside.

You can make “homemade” oat flour very easily. Just put some oats in the blender, push “go” and….

Ta da! You have Oat Flour. Easy as that.

You can also make “homemade” almond flour. It was actually a pain in the bum. I blanched the almonds in boiling water for a couple minutes, peeled the skins off, threw them in the blender and pressed “go.” The whole “peel the skins off thing” was a royal pain. Next time I will use slivered almonds or leave the skins on altogether.

And here’s the almond flour. This is actually a lame example. I was paranoid that my “flour” would turn into “butter”, so I didn’t grind it enough. Next time I will grind it a little finer. This worked out okay though.

This is the protein powder I used. I just buy it at Costco.

And here’s all the dry ingredients mixed together

In separate bowl, mix pumpkin, eggs, and agave nectar. 

You can buy agave nectar ANYWHERE. I bought this at Walmart, but I’ve seen it everywhere….even TJ Maxx! You can find it in the baking goods aisle near the sugar.

And here’s all the wet ingredients mixed together…

Add dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Add chocolate chips.

Pour mix into 12 muffin tins.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Serve warm!  Enjoy!

These might not look like the yummiest muffins you have ever seen, but considering they are actually good for you, I think they are da bomb!

Sorry, this picture turned out kind of lame. They were very yummy though!

All of my kids LOVED these muffins! My 1 year old and 3 year old finished them up for breakfast the next morning. My 12 year old was so disappointed when he found out they were all gone! Awesome!

I actually had these for lunch the other day and they were awesome!  No sugar, white flour, shortening, butter…nada!  Chocolate is an essential ingredient though and needed as a stress reliever and mood elevator!  Yay!  I hope you enjoy them!

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