Thanksgiving Calorie Burner

In preparation of all the delicious Thanksgiving treats I will be eating waayyy to much of, I have created a Thanksgiving calorie burning workout. Hang on because this circuit will burn between 120 and 150 calories in ten minutes! We are able to burn so many calories because the circuit uses cardio, resistance straining, working all four limbs at once, balance during exercises, and interval training. It is an intense workout, but it will work your core, legs, back, obliques, and arms in ten minutes! 

Do the circuit as many times as you want, depending on how many calories you want to burn. Just make sure to take a two minute walking break between each. This will help lower your heart rate, getting you some interval action and burning more calories.

Warm up first by doing 1 minute of jumping jacks

Knee-ups

Jog in place with knees coming up to 90 degrees. Complete for 1 minute.

Extended arm Lizard Walk

Get into plank potion and place your right arm straight out on the chair in front of you. Lift the left 45 degrees then bend leg in towards your torso. Hold, and go back to starting position. Try to keep your leg up as high as you can while doing this. Complete 1 minute per side. 

Attitude Chair Kicks

Place chair so it's back is facing you and hands are on the top. Kick leg so it is bent over the back. Bring leg out and around the chair into attitude. Kick leg straight, then bring back to starting position. Hips should be even and toes pointed throughout the exercise and complete 20 per leg.

X-Extensions with Resistance Band

Choose a lower resistance band, if it is too easy, increase. Place band under legs shoulder width apart. Feet should be pointed outward. Cross arms so right is hold left side and visa versa. Start in second position plie with arms near feet. Straighten and lift arms above head so the bands form and "X" shape. Repeat for 1 minute.

Tires

Run forward four steps and back four steps like you are stepping into giant tires. Complete for 1 minute and make sure to kick your knees up at least 90 degrees.

Plunk Tucks

Start in plank position. Bring left leg in towards right shoulder and back to plank. Jump legs in towards arms then back to starting position. Alternate legs for 1 minute.

Kenpo Knee Kicks

Legs are hip width apart. Bring arms down and right knee up like you are pulling someone towards you and kneeing them. Place leg back at starting position and kick alternating leg back. Keep feet flexed and form a "T" when you kick back. Make sure that you are looking back at your kicking foot. Complete 1 minute per side.

Take a walking break to lower your heart rate before going on to your next circuit.

Complete 1 minute of knee-ups

Extended Arm Lizard Walk

Extend one arm to seat of chair wile in plank position.

Extended Arm Lizard Walk

Lift leg 45 degrees

Extended Arm Lizard Walk

Bend knee towards torso and keep leg as high as possible while keeping hips and torso equal. Complete 1 minute per side

Attitude Chair Kicks

Start with leg over the back of a chair, hands shoulder width apart and foot pointed

Attitude Chair Kicks

Kick leg back into an attitude potion with hips straight and knee lifted.

Attitude Chair Kicks

Kick leg as straight as possible, then bring back to starting position. Make sure to keep back up and shoulders down. Complete 20 per leg.

X-Extensions with Resistance Band

Start in squat position with light resistance band under each foot and crossed in the center. The right hand should be be holding  the left side and visa versa.

X-Extensions with Resistance band

Straighten body and lift hand over head so the band forms an "X" shape. Hold and lower back to starting position.Complete for 1 minute

Tires

Run 4 steps forward and four back and make sure to keep legs high. Complete for 1 minute

Plank Tucks

Start in plank position with bum tucked and shoulders down.

Plank Tuck

Lift left leg towards right arm, then bring back to starting.

Plank Tuck

Jump your legs forward, then jump back into plank position. Alternate legs for 1 minute.

Kenpo Knee Kicks

Stand hip width apart. Bring arms down and left knee up like you are holding someone, then kneeing them.

Kenpo Knee Kicks

Kick back with right leg making a "T" with your body. Make sure to look back when you kick. Complete 1 minute per side

Simple Systems: Healthy Eating on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just one day away! Family and friends will be gathered together, some having traveled across country, and some from right next door! I love this time of year; we are able to give thanks for everything we are blessed with, and eat until we, literally, cannot move! That being said, I have formed a few great guidelines for myself on Thanksgiving. No need to stress and fret over every calorie on a day that is meant for celebration! Here are my simple ways to keep your metabolism going all day, eat a ton, and still feel good on Friday.

Work Out Before Eating

Ok, this may sound silly, and you may want to slap me for asking you to work out on a holiday, but just stay with me for a minute... Getting your heart and metabolism jump started a few minutes before eating can do wonders for calorie burning. Luckily, we are not talking about an hour of kick boxing before every bite of pumpkin pie. Working out for just three minutes before you eat is enough. Sure, it is not going to burn 600 calories, but it will jump start your metabolism so your body can burn more. Try doing a few minutes of wall or traditional squats. You can do these in the secret of a bathroom without changing into exercise gear!

Drink, A Lot

Drinking water is vital on a day that your are going to be eating, and eating, and eating some more. People often mistake hunger for thirst, keeping yourself hydrated throughout the whole holiday season will help curb the snacking bug that can add on so many unwanted calories. Water is the best thing to drink any day of the week. The average American gets almost 50% of their sugar intake from carbonated and sweet beverages. Cut out all of this over the holidays and your waist may come out on top, even with all the extra cookies. 

Choose Smaller Portions

Do not confuse this tip for eating less. Just eat less the first time around. I like to view the first course as my test course. Get a little bit of everything offered, try it all, then only go back for your favorites. This will not only leave more of what you hate for the person who loves it, but you won't have to feel guilty for not eating all of that weird jell-o mold. Keep the calories you eat for the food you want!

Eat A Good Breakfast

Yep, the tip for staying fit over Thanksgiving is to eat more! Your welcome :) Eating a protein rich breakfast on a day that we are going overboard can help curb some of those calories away from our thighs. Make sure that the first thing you eat in the morning is protein rich and carb and fat low. Something like eggs or low fat, plain greek yogurt is a great option and will kick start your metabolism for the rest of the day. If you are off and running early in the morning, grab a protein bar instead, just read the label first. There are quite a few protein bars on the market that have more carbs and fat than protein... We are going for protein rich, not breakfast candy bar!

Relax and Enjoy

Stress can create major issues in the human body over the long haul. When people are stressed, they tend to eat more and their body's will try to hold on to those calories. Staying relaxed and happy can be one of our best defense to staying fit! Sometimes we all need a little break on the holidays. If you feel stressed, just sit down and relax. Family would rather we be late than be a big ball of annoyed. Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time of year and their is so much to be thankful for, relax and enjoy it... Our dieting can start back up tomorrow!!

Meat Free Monday: Mushroom and Walnut Thanksgiving Stuffing

Thanksgiving week is here! The holidays are really upon us and if you are like me, you are searching the internets for some great holiday eats. This walnut and mushroom stuffing is something I made last year and has become a tradition since. It is easy, quick, and great for the vegetarians in the family. Plus, Not the knock your socks off calorie count that we are use to are use to around the holidays!

Servings: 8    Prep time: 30 minutes    Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus some for baking dish

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

3 stalks, 1 heaping cup celery, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

5 oz. bella mushrooms, chopped

5 oz. Portobello mushrooms, chopped

2 tablespoons sage, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine, Sauvignon Blanc

1 cup walnuts, chopped

6 cups bread, chopped into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces and toasted or left out overnight

1 1/4 cups vegetable broth

2 large eggs, beaten

Set oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in pan. Combine chopped onion and celery in pan over medium/high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent- 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside in bowl. Combined 1 tablespoon olive oil, chopped mushrooms, sage, and salt and pepper over medium/high heat and cook until browned- about 5 minutes. Add in the 1/2 cup white wine and cook until wine is almost evaporated. Add mushrooms to vegetable bowl and mix in walnuts and bread. Move to oiled baking dish and mix in the broth. Make sure not to add too much broth, the bread should only be moistened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Beat eggs and combine well with stuffing.

Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Chop onion and celery. Tip: cut celery into 3-4 long pieces, then chop... much easier!

Cook 1 tablespoon olive oil, celery, and onion until translucent. About  5-7 minutes

Set aside onion mixture in bowl

Chop 5 oz. of bella and portobello mushrooms

Combine mushrooms, chopped sage, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper over medium/high heat until browned, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup wine and cook until almost evaporated. About 5 minutes.

Chop walnuts

Cut bread into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces. Toast or leave out overnight. Or buy pre-cut and toasted!

Combine mushroom mixture, onion mixture, bread, and walnuts in bowl

Move to oiled baking dish and combine vegetable broth

Beat eggs

Combined eggs into stuffing mixture. Mix well. 

Cook uncovered at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before moving to serving dish.

Place in serving dish and garnish with sage if desired.

Week Sum-Up

We are back from Disney and all settled in again. The trip was so much fun, I feel like one day could have been the whole thing and we would have left happy! Well, I say the one day thing, but we actually had such a great time, we extended our stay... Yay for more Disney time!

For starters, we got to stay at my goal hotel, the Boardwalk! 

We were not on the boardwalk, but we had a balcony with the most amazing view of the Epcot Ball, France, and Tokyo. Incredible.

Our first day started with a massive bang, we got to meet Emily Henderson from Secrets from a Stylist! She is my absolute favorite HGTV host and one of my go-to resources for design. Love her and love her even more in person. So sweet and quirky, I felt like we could talk forever and never be bored! If you saw any of my twitters, you knew I was pretty stoked about this!

We also got to see the new Fantasyland expansion. It is gorgeous! Ariel's castle has to be my new favorite, so pretty and unique looking. If you love the movie, you must see the castle!

Hehe, Gaston gave this fountain to the "French provisional town" in honor of himself. That Gaston ;) The tavern inside is pretty adorable with yummy french snacks and a new specialty drink. I was not the biggest fan of the drink... Apple slushy with a passion fruit froth was a bit much for me, but others (husband) loved it!

Next day was all about the food and wine festival. Sorry, no pictures from that... Everything was just too good for me to control myself and take a picture first. I will say that the new Terra vegan stop is my new favorite. The chili with fresh chips was epic in the taste category. Epic. So happy I will not need to wait a year to eat it again. The recipe is in the food and wine cookbook and we bought it! 

Another one of my goals has been to eat in Cinderella's castle at Cinderella's Royal Table. We talked a little bit about it last week here but I was mainly waiting to give you my opinion after the weekend. Overall, it was worth the wait. I would totally recommend it to everyone, with or without children. Tons of other childless couples were there so it was not weird, but if you have kids, you must go. The food is the best we have had in Disney, the decor is awesome, and the view was incredible!

Here is my favorite photo with my childhood icon. We both have cats named Raja! Hehe, yes, I told her ;)

Overall, the trip was fantastic! Our next trip to Disney is already planned, we will be at my favorite hotel... The Swan and Dolphin and we have reservations set for the new restaurant inside Bell's castle. Cannot wait to tell you how that is :D