Exercise on Vacation?

I have finally finished college and as a graduation present my boyfriend and I are headed to Mexico for a getaway. Many of my friends go away during winter break to escape the cold with their family. I was thinking about it though, am I really going to workout? I am the person that wakes up everyday by 6-7 AM to hit the gym for a run on the treadmill, but I will be in paradise, which will make getting up that early very hard. I am not sure how many of you plan on going away this winter, but even if you don't these are some exercises you can do while on vacation this winter or coming summer.

Walking on the beach: Walking in the sand burns more calories than walking on the flat ground. Some experts say you can burn twice the amount of calories! Be careful to not overdue it shin-splints can occur if you run.

Activities such as snorkeling, bike rides, or hiking: Put on the snorkeling gear and swim some laps to burn calories while enjoying the beautiful scene of the ocean. Bike rides are a great lower body workout. The legs get the most out of this workout. The more you peddle and the more calories you will burn. Hiking is a great full body workout where you can use your upper body and lower body strength to push yourself to keep climbing!

If the hotel has a gym: I think it is best to keep your physical fitness up while on vacation, so if you enjoy the gym like I do, I would suggest going every other day while on vacation. It is not fair to let yourself not relax while on vacation. Keep your fitness up while still sleeping in and getting your tan on!

It comes down to what works best for yourself while your on vacation. Use the activities at the hotel and the beach as your gym and fitness equipment. Don't push yourself to go to the gym if you know you will be staying active in other ways. The bottom line is, have fun!

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Walnut and Brown Sugar Rugelach

Happy holiday's everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days. I have been running around finishing up my semester and getting ready for Hanukkah. For those of you that do not celebrate Hanukkah, it started this past Saturday, December 8th. We always do a traditional dinner of latkes, roast, apple sauce and much, much more. Needless to say, I am glad I wore leggings during the meal. I was in charge of making dessert, so I tested my baking ability with homemade Rugelach. Rugelach is a a pastry that is rolled up like a crescent and filled with almost anything. I have had chocolate, jelly, nuts, and a mixture.

For this dessert I followed a recipe by Martha Stewart. Before I list the directions I would like to say, this dough is extremely sticky! It says to chill for a minimum of 2 hours to 3 months, what a range huh? I did 2 hours because I was on a time crunch, but next time I am going to do 4-5 hours. If you decide to make this dessert give yourself enough time for the refrigeration process.

Ingredients 

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 bar (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

Directions 

1. In a food processor, blend butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and salt until well combined. Add flour, and pulse just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months (thaw before baking).

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine egg with 1 teaspoon water to make an egg wash.

3. Working with one disk at a time, place dough on lightly floured parchment paper, and roll out into an 11-inch circle (about 1/4 inch thick), dusting lightly with flour as needed. Using a large dinner plate as a guide, cut around dough to make a perfect circle; trim off and discard scraps. Brush circles with egg wash; dividing evenly, sprinkle with walnuts and brown sugar.

4. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 equal triangles. Starting from the wide end, roll up each triangle of dough; place on lined baking sheets, seam side down. Brush rolls with egg wash.

5. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 32 minutes. Transfer rugelach to a wire rack to cool completely. 

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Holiday Burn

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and stuffed themselves into a food-coma. After eating so many mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, turkey and pie it's time to work it all off with a great thanksgiving workout brought to you by Amanda Russell. I tend to use a lot of her videos on my blog because she has fast workouts that really let you feel the burn. I did this workout the day after Thanksgiving and my legs felt like jello the next day. Make sure to give yourself plenty of room to do this workout. At the end you will defiantly feel like you burned off all of the calories from the Thanksgiving day meal.

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Reese Puff Cupcakes

Who loves peanut butter? Who loves chocolate and peanut butter, together? I know I do! These cupcakes are sure to give you a sugar rush as well as stop your sweet tooth craving. They are super easy to make and look like they came from a professional bakery.

Ingredients
1 Box of Yellow Cake Mix (need water, 3 eggs, and vegetable oil)
Cocoa Powder
Creamy Peanut Butter
1 Stick of Butter
3 Cups Confectioner Sugar
1 Bag of Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 Box of Reese Puffs
Vanilla Extract
Milk (Skim or 1%)
Foil

Directions 
1. Follow directions on cake mix box for cupcakes. Once all of the ingredients are well blended add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the batter. Blend until there is no yellow cake mix showing.
2. After the batter is finished mixing spoon the batter into cupcake tins. The cake mix should make 24 cupcakes.
3. Bake the cupcakes as directed on the back of dry with the cake mix box. Once done, let them cool for about 15 minutes.
4. While the cupcakes are cooling lay down foil enough to fit 24 cupcakes. Measure out 1/3 cup of peanut butter and 2/3 cup of chocolate chips. Melt them in a microwave save bowl together. Mine took about 2 minutes to melt stirring every 30 seconds.
5. Once the chocolate and peanut butter are melted dip the tops of the cupcakes in and set on the foil allowing them to dry for about 20 minutes.

6. While the chocolate is drying start on the icing.

7. In a mixing bowl blend together a stick of room temperature butter and 1/3 of a cup peanut butter. Once these are well blended slowly add in 3 cups of confectioner sugar.
8. The icing will look lumpy then add in 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon milk. Blend the icing on a high speed until it starts to form. If the icing is too thin add some more confectioner sugar, if it is too thick add more milk.
9. Once the icing is done and the chocolate is cool use a small mellon baller to scoop the icing and place it on top of the chocolate. Then use the cereal, Reese Puffs to decorate the icing scoop!

Enjoy... 

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Who Said One is Better than the Other?

Some people have a preference for yoga over pilates, but they both promote heart health, weight loss, strength and flexibility. Yoga provides little cardio benefit as it is a slower performed exercise whereas pilates kicks up your heart rate as your body feels the burn. As for weight loss, both pilates and yoga are beneficial, but in a 50 minute yoga class you will burn 150 calories and in a 50 minute pilates class you will burn 175 calories. Yoga helps a person with their flexibility and pilates helps challenge a persons strength with flexibility added in the mix. It's up to you which work out to try, but I have added two of my favorite YouTube yoga and pilates videos for you to try. Please comment and let me know which you prefer!

I prefer a pilates workout when I have the energy, but when I want to relax I do yoga. 

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Six Years & Cupcakes

This past weekend I spent a wonderful night in Bethesda for my six year anniversary with my boyfriend. Along with the beautiful weather, we spent the day shopping and of course stopping in for some cupcakes. Unfortunately, I cannot duplicate these cupcakes because they are that perfect. If you have never been to Georgetown Cupcakes, I HIGHLY suggest the visit. We purchased one pumpkin spice and one caramel apple along with a cup of Illy coffee (my favorite!). They have tons to choose from, but being that it is fall I had to go with the seasonal specialities. The caramel apple had chunks of natural apple and was filled with caramel and the pumpkin spice tasted like pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. If you are looking for something to do one weekend don't hesitate to go to Georgetown Cupcakes. They'll be sure to cure your sweet tooth and keep you coming back for more!

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The Gym Excuse

When it comes to getting active, people will come up with as many excuses as possible to avoid hitting the gym. Gyms are expensive and not always right around the corner. I have a hectic schedule of working two jobs and going to school full time, so I make sure to get my workout done in the morning. I enjoy the treadmill, but others find machines boring. So what's the alternative? Workouts that can be done at home! Thanks to WebMd, I have listed some ways to build your body on a budget.

Your equipment 
1. Soup cans or jugs of water for weights 
2. Substitute a countertop for a push up bench 
3. Pantyhose for resistance bands: loop a pair of pantyhose around the balls of your feet and pull back with both hands as if you were using a rowing machine.

The exercises
1. Squats: Standing upright, feet wider than shoulders apart, with arms extended forward or hands on hips for balance, squat down. Push knees outward as you descend, until thighs are parallel with the floor. 
2. Partial-body push-ups: Knees on the floor pushing your upper body up from the floor
3. Jumping Jacks: add weights into this exercise to build muscle in your arms 
4. Chair Crunches: Sit on a chair with hands under your behind, arms straight, and fingers facing inward toward one another. Keeping your knees bent at a 90-degree angle, lift your feet off the floor and tuck your knees in toward your chest, bending the upper body slightly toward your knees. 

Here is a video to guide you through an at home workout routine. Make sure to stretch for about five minutes before beginning your workout. Once you get the routine down, add weights (or soup cans!) into your workout to build and sculpt your arms. There is no excuse to not workout when there are cheap and effective ways to sculpt your body at home! 

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