Pizza and a Prayer

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Dinner was fantabulous (<–Is this a real word?? There’s no red line underneath!) tonight! I was inspired by Morganne’s Flatout pizzas a while ago, but I never got my hands on Flatouts until recently. They are delicious! They’ve got lots of healthy bonuses too. Not necessarily the low-calorie aspect, but the fiber, protein, and whole grains are great!

Fiber=happy tummies

I didn’t grill the Flatout like Morganne, but toasting it in the toaster oven for 5-6 minutes worked splendidly. After my “pizza crust” was nice and crispy, I topped it with some avocado, spinach, fresh tomato, grilled chicken, grated parmesan, and sriracha!

This…this was somethin’. It had wonderful different flavors and textures: crispy flatbread, creamy avocado, savory chicken, fresh tomatoes, and spicy sriracha.

You might be wondering how I attacked this monster of a pizza. Well I just cut it into three pieces and went for it! I must admit, it was pretty messy, which is why it’s a good thing I enjoyed it in the privacy of my own home. Tomatoes and sriracha were everywhere. Had a chicken casualty after a piece fell to the floor. I’m surprised there’s no food in my hair!

Worth it

Also, I used our new Microplane to grate the parmesan. No wonder every Food Network star uses this thing! It made perfect little curled ribbons of cheese for my pizza. Can’t wait to use it for zesting–then I’ll really feel like Giada!

We will be up at 4:30 AM tomorrow, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (yeah right), to hit the road for Canada. We’re visiting family and I can’t wait!

I made a bountiful supply of chicken sandwiches and salmon wraps for us to eat on the way.

We should be good

The last thing I want to leave you all with is a prayer. I found this beautiful prayer for new beginnings that I think is perfect for the start of Daily Moves and Grooves. Whatever I do on this blog, I wish to do for His glory. Wherever God takes me, I pray that I will have the strength to follow.

Good night!

So tell me: What do you like to put on a personalized pizza? Do you like road trips? Any favorite road trip foods?

I Like Burpees

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I know what you’re thinking: Who ARE you?!

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Allow me to explain.

It has taken me a long time, but I have come to really like doing burpees and incorporating them into my workouts in some way or another. (For those of you who at this point think I am some kind of disgusting slob for liking “burpees,” I’m speaking of the cardio exercise called the burpee! Promise. Glad we cleared things up 🙂 . )

Now don’t get me wrong, burpees are still intense and some days are more killer than others, but I love that they are a super fast way to get my heart rate up and use muscles in every part of my body. Doing burpees to me is like running to others. It’s sorta my go-to exercise. And let me just say now, I DO NOT like running. I try, but I don’t think running likes me either. My brother is the opposite–he likes to run but is not a fan of burpees. He thinks burpees are harder than running, and I clearly disagree. I’ve just never been able to get into the groove with running…

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Thus, I would much rather do burpees and circuit workouts as my cardio. I’m sure if I stuck with running long enough, I would enjoy it. Right now I run occasionally….like once every two months. Maybe. Or in phys ed.

Moves

My moves (a.k.a. exercise; see the blog title reference? 🙂 ) today included plenty of burpees! After doing this as a warmup, I completed Michelle’s Sunday Surge Sunrise Workout and it was INTENSE. I did two rounds with 12 lb. dumbbells as suggested (anyone who does three rounds of this is a superhero) and was sweating puddles. Lovely.

The burpees in this workout were competition style, which means you lower yourself to the floor until your belly and chest touch. You can see how it’s done in this video. It’s different from a burpee with a pushup because you can use your whole body to get up, not just your arms…if that makes sense. It’s called the “efficient” pushup. You could do a real pushup after touching your chest and belly to the ground, in which case you would also be a superhero.

On that note, I love doing different kinds of burpees! There are tons of variations out there, and some of them are pretty scary. Like this one. I mean, even the name is scary.

I’m also trying to do Sweat and Orange’s burpee challenge this week. It starts with 10 burpees, and 10 burpees are added for the next four days until you get to 50 in a row. These are just the regular burpees with no pushup and no belly-flop.

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Check it out and try it with me!

Oh, I broke one of our dumbbells too. *Slow clap* Mom was actually okay with it ’cause they’re over a decade old anyway.

Snacks and Lunch

Both simple and delicious!

An oatmeal banana cookie before working out

Post-burpee fest

Chicken, spinach, tomato sandwich with Trader Joe’s sweet potato chips (YUM)

So tell me: Do you like burpees? What is your favorite type of cardio?

Morning Ritual

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Hey!

It’s a gloomy morning around my area, which might explain why I got up fairly late today. 9 AM I think is considered early for a lot of teenagers on summer break, but I love mornings, and I wanna get the party started ASAP!

I’ve developed a regular little routine for my mornings that stays pretty much the same throughout the summer and school year. The difference?

Summer: Ahh, what can I do today? 🙂

School year: Why am I up? I have 5 minutes to catch the bus. Ugh I gotta go get my socks.

Either way, this morning routine makes things much better. So after I roll out of bed and wash up, here’s how I groove:

Say hello to He who made the new day.

Breakfast. Favorite meal of the day! Today was a big bowl of Greek yogurt, banana slices, strawberries, chia seeds, a drizzle of agave, and of course, a spoonful of Naturally Nutty Vanilla Sunflower Seed Butter. Must have nut or seed butter.

Reading food blogs, especially Kath Eats Real Food, has definitely made me a breakfast enthusiast. I am ALL over the oats, pancakes, yogurt bowls, and cereals. I know, I know…I’m just another one of those conformist bloggers that hoards bananas and nut butters. I won’t argue. Because it’s true.

Check email, blogs, and social media. Typical.

For quite a while now, I’ve been eating breakfast standing up. Not only to get a view of the TV, but also because I like to get off my butt when I can, especially if I’m going to be sitting at school all day. I feel like standing also helps my posture and keeps me just a liiiitle more awake than sitting (that may or may not be true). Here’s actually an interesting article about excess sitting that I recently read: Sitting is the New Smoking

Watch the Today Show. A little bit o’ news. A little bit o’ culture.

Random find: You can watch pandas live on the internet. I just discovered this about 2.5 seconds ago thanks to the Today Show.

Down the vites. Calcium and vitamin D. The gummies aren’t a chore though 😉

Andddd then I get started with some other things! Blogging right now obviously. Also on the to-do list: exercise, pack for Canada (on the road again!), and start my second summer reading book<–Last year of this!

See you this afternoon!

Let me know: What are some things you do in your “morning ritual”? What did you have for breakfast?