Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Chip Brownies

Fall is my favorite season, and so is anything pumpkin!!!  After planting mums around our yard today, the boys came in and grabbed chocolate chips from the pantry, I guess this was my clue to bake something for dessert!  I would much rather bake for my boys, than buy them dessert that usually contains many processed ingredients.  Don't get me wrong, they sure have their fair share of donuts, but when it's up to me, I would rather bake for them. I came up with this recipe tonight and tested it out! When they came out of the oven, they looked delish and they were picky kid (and husband) tested  and mother approved!

Ingredients:

1 can organic pumpkin

3/4 cup organic coconut palm sugar

6 oz non fat plain greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in mixer, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well.  Fold in a handful of dark chocolate chips.  Pour in a 9x9 baking dish (I sprayed mine with nonstick baking spray.)  Top with a few more dark chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out mostly clean.  DO NOT OVER BAKE!  

Beta T25 & Meal Plan & Vacay

T25, 21 Day Fix and VACATION~ Vacation, that word sounds amazing, and I love to take them, but they can cause complete fuzzines to our fitness routines!  I said over and over, not this time. Welllll let me tell ya, I still MESSED UP!!! I ate healthy, but my workouts were few and far between.  I was too busy thinking about getting up early with the boys and heading out for a nice stroll around Siesta Key making memories to even think about getting a workout in!  I wanted to soak up the sunshine with them and just have some good ole family time!  Finn's favorite thing was hopping in the golf cart and heading to the Village every morning for some famous Mini Donuts, bright and shiny early!  How could we say no??? That was one of his favorite things to do on vacation (& swimming)....and no, I did not join him in eating them, just a taste once or twice :)  Waking up today and getting back at it was a little on the rough side though, but it felt so good when I was finished.  I never really slack on my workouts these days, so I sure was kicking myself when I had to modify my workout once or twice, okay maybe threeee times this morning!!!

Chris and I have been doing T25 for quite a few weeks now, but since we did not do this program on vacation we decided to take a step back and start at the first week of Beta.  I am so glad to be back in a routine with T25. I sure missed it!  Everyday is something different, keeping it nice and fresh and sweaty:) It is seriously 25 minutes from start to end, and it is one heck of a workout!  25 minutes, yep, that's it!   I use this workout, but I incorporate the 21 Day Fix meal plan with any workout I do. I just honestly LOVE this program too! The nutrition aspect to it is very eye opening, yet so SIMPLE to follow.  It makes it easy to stay on track without counting all those calories but still get results.  It is honestly GENIUS and better yet, on sale this month, so if you are looking to join one of my online health and fitness accountability groups, now is a WONDERFUL time!

I often get asked about the 21 Day Fix and meal planning, so here is what's cookin' this week in the Avondet house.  The colors on my meal plan are based on the 21 Day Fix food categories.  Red is lean protein, and green is veggies, which you will see the most of.  

FaLl ChALlEnGe

FALL!!!  ooohhhh la la, my favorite time of year is quickly approaching!  This is such a bittersweet time of year.  The summer is coming to an end, but Fall is by far my favorite season!  I just don't look forward to what follows, but I won't even begin to think about that quite yet!   But seriously who doesn't love the fresh crisp air, the smell of spice, baking with pumpkin, and do I dear say, FOOTBALL around here?!  AND blankets and snuggles and comfort food.... I could seriously go on and on and on!  :)  Halloween has also secretly become one of my favorite "holidays" because of my boys.  I LOVE the excitement on their faces, and the thought Finn puts into what costume he wants.  Every year, never fails, we get a few catalogs of Halloween costumes in the mail.  He carries the catalogs around for weeks, yes, weeks!  At first, he wants to be a little of everything!  Then we talk about each one, and he makes his decision.  I am happy to say, he has picked his costume out for this year. Stay tuned for more of that;)

Though comfort food and family dinners is one of my favorite things about fall, I have learned to lighten them up quite a bit!  This fall will also be a little different from years past beacause this is my first year running challenges through Beachbody.  I started this back in the spring, and absolutely LOVE doing them!  It is not about me, I simply love doing them for others and helping those that really put forth the effort to live a healthier life.  If you want help keeping those dreaded winter lbs off or are looking for a whole new transformation, this would be a great opportunity for you!

My fall challenge starts September 15th and will go for 60 days.  The fall challenge group is a private FB group with daily motivation, inspiration, and helpful tips and tools to keep you accountable and successful with your Beachbody workout of choice!!!  No better time than now to join this fun and exciting group!

Spaghetti Squash, Bruschetta & Grilled Chicken

Spaghetti Squash is one of my favorite things to eat!  You get the comfort of pasta, without the unwanted carbs!  Not to mention, it goes great with anything!  Thanks to all of my friends that garden, we have had quite an abundance of them sitting on our counter this summer. One year, I will garden too, at least this is the joke in our house!  My famous line is always, "next year!"   After talking about spaghetti squash recipes with a dear friend, I decided to whip this up one evening and it was such a big hit, that we have made it many times since!

INGREDIENTS:
-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1 spaghetti squash
-Your favorite fresh bruschetta (I buy tomato bruschetta from Wegmans olive bar.  I also buy their portobella bruschetta when available).
-Low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
-salt and pepper to taste

A few hours before dinner:
Marinade chicken in your favorite marinade.  I usually use Wegmans Organic Teryiaki.  The longer you marinade the tastier it is:)

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 350. Wash your spaghetti squash and slice in half length wise.  Scoop out seeds.  Put enough water on a baking sheet to barely coat the pan.  Place squash face down and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until you can pierce it with a fork.

Step 2:
While your squash is cooking in the oven, grill your chicken.  I like my chicken DONE so I cook it a little longer.

Step 3:
Assemble your dish.  Scoop squash out, it will shred like spaghetti with a fork.  I put it in a large pasta bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and toss.  Layer with your favorite  Bruschetta (I do not mix).  Slice Grilled chicken thin and layer on top of bruschetta.  Sprinkle with low fat mozzarella cheese and ENJOY your pretty and tasty dinner!

***If everything cools down while you are prepping you may want to warm the prepared dish in the oven for a few minutes!

Delicious Banana Bread

It's Sunday night, and that seems to be the time everyone's sweet tooth kicks in around here!  This banana "bread" inspired recipe is absolutely delicious!  I have made it both with and without dried cherries and it is honestly a winner both ways!

INGREDIENTS

5 ripe bananas

2 egg whites

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup almond flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

Dark chocolate chips

Chopped walnuts

Chopped dates

Dried cherries (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Mash bananas, mix in egg whites, vanilla and applesauce and stir well. 

Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and flours.

***Add a handful of each:  chopped walnuts, dark chocolate chips, chopped dates, and dried cherries (optional)

Pour into 9x9 inch pan.  Sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top :)

 Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean! 

ABSOLUTELY DELISH!  ENJOY!

Pineapple Salsa

This has been a huge hit in our house this summer!  I usually put it over grilled chicken that I marinade in Wegmans organic teryiaki sauce or pork carnitas. I have also served this with grilled chicken prepared with a spicy rub, but this salsa is so versatile and would go great with your favorite seafood too!

Pineapple Salsa
2-3 cups chopped pineapple
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve!

PiYo: HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY!

My honest thought about PiYo....I was extremely skeptical of PiYo at first because I am not a yoga girl, at least this is how I always defined myself, but to be honest I never really even gave it a try (except for one terrible DVD years ago.)  Talk about writing it off!  I tend to gravitate towards the rigorous cardio workouts like Insanity, T25, 21 day fix, and running.  Not the ones I have to slow down for, I mean who has time to slow down?!  My mentality has always been, I need to hurry up and get my sweat on before my kids or life in general derail my plan for the day.

So needless to say, I just had to see what all this hype was about PiYo, but I didn't go into the workouts with an open mind.  EEEEK, yes I admitted it, I said I was going to be honest here!  The first day I popped the CD in, I thought, wow this is wayyy out of my comfort zone.  The first video was Align: The fundamentals.  I didn't sweat through it, and the terminology, OH MY!  Down dog, up dog, warrior, namaste, chaturanga and the list can go on!  I literally was thinking, what in the world is wonderful Chalene Johnson talking about?!  I walked away, still skeptical and thinking this is just plain weird!  I didn't let this stop me.  I woke up the next day and pressed play, and the next day and the next.  It was then that I realized and saw WHY I needed those fundamentals, as well as the terminology to be successful with the program.

As soon as I started going into the workouts with an open mind, I thought, hmmmm not bad!  When I stepped it up a notch with the more advanced workouts it was just plain awesome! I truly felt like I was defining and sculpting every muscle in my body.  I was sweating, and my body was burning and shaking!  I was SORE after the workouts and I loved it, I love to be sore because I know my body is working hard!

This program seriously produces definition, and Chalene Johnson is such an enjoyable trainer!   She explains the steps very clearly, and she starts off with a couple moves, gradually building on those moves, and eventually putting them all together.   Tricep push-ups might be my new favorite move!  It is amazing how tweaking the position of our arms just a little bit compared to a traditional push-up can give you a whole new burn.  I also love how strong my core feels!  I can honestly say, I love this workout program now!!!  I am hooked, and I am so glad I gave it a chance!  My favorite workouts right now are Core, Sweat, and Drench. It is yoga, pilates and cardio all in one!  I look forward to getting my PiYo on now, and I will no longer let yoga define myself!   As the programs states, NO WEIGHTS, NO JUMPS, JUST HARDCORE RESULTS!