Spring has Sprung! Horray!

I started off my day a little slower than usual today. Between interning M-F and then working on the weekends this morning was the first time in weeks (maybe even months?) that I didn’t have to wake up to an alarm and be somewhere by 8am. It felt glorious! Although I tried my hardest to keep sleeping when my natural body clock was waking me around 7am,

I managed to lay in bed catching up on some blog reading before hitting the gym.

Usually I have a plan when heading to the gym but today I just headed down there with nothing in mind. I jumped on the treadmill and completed what turned out to be quite the workout! I love High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and almost always do some form of it for my cardio days.

Today was no different, and I ended up completing the following workout:

This workout had me jogging, sprinting and power-walking on an incline and I was a complete sweaty mess by the end, covering exactly 3 miles in 30 mins.  I rounded out my gym time with some lifting and core work, before heading home to cook up a hearty breakfast.

An egg scramble with red bell pepper, onion, spinach and tomato with a side of red potatoes.

Fact: this is the first time I have ever cooked potatoes with breakfast, and judging by how good they tasted I think it will be more of a regular occurrence. It was such a pleasure to have a cooked breakfast that I could sit down and enjoy instead of scrambling around the kitchen cooking up a bowl of oats like I do when pressed for time

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I feel like everyone is talking about Chia seeds lately, and there is good reason for it. For the last few months I have been meaning to pick up a bag to try but it always seemed to slip my mind while at the store. Well, this weekend when I was at Sprouts they had a big display of Spectrum Chia Seeds that caught my eye and I quickly grabbed

a bag and threw them in my cart, excited to try them out.

It was only when I got home that I realized I wasn’t exactly sure how I should eat the seeds! For my first attempt, I simply sprinkled some on one of my go-to morning bowl of oats combos (oats, banana and almond butter) and was satisfied with how it turned out. The seeds have a very slight nutty flavor and are odorless so I could barely notice the addition in my breakfast.

A call out to twitter asking how everyone else liked to eat Chia seeds also gave me some great ideas that I am eager to try. As I experiment with them, I’ll be sure to share the results.

Here are some facts explaining why Chia seeds are such a great addition to a your diet:

• Chia seeds have more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other plant food, including flax seeds. I am not a fan of eating fish and seafood in general at all, so am very conscious about eating other foods (nuts, oils etc) with natural sources of Omega-3′s.
• They are about 20% protein with all essential amino acids (amino acids not produced by the body).
• When soaked in water for 30 mins, the seeds form a thick gel. This change in state also happens in the stomach which can help increase satiety and the feeling of fullness.
• Chia seeds contain six times more calcium than milk
• They are 40% fiber, with about 5% of this being soluble fiber.

Have you tried Chia Seeds? Let me know if you have any great recipes!

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Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal. It gets me going and sets my mood for the day. I’m not going to lie, on mornings I don’t have to wake up to an alarm it’s breakfast that gets me out of bed

This pancake recipe is simply scrumptious! I always have frozen berries on hand to add to smoothies but this morning I mixed things up and made a berry sauce to complement fluffy gluten free pancakes. On top of each pancake I smeared plain, fat free Chobani Greek yogurt to add a little protein to the meal.

For the

Pancakes

Simply prepare your favorite pancakes. Smear 1 Tbsp plain, fat free Chobani Greek yogurt on each pancake and stack together.

For the Double Berry Sauce

• 3 cups apple juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (for thickening)

In a saucepan, combine apple juice, maple syrup, blueberries and raspberries and bring to a boil. In a small dish, combine the cold water and cornstarch, mixing well. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and stir. Remove from heat and pour sauce over stacked pancakes.

Add a side of sliced fresh strawberries if desired.

** This recipe makes approx 6 servings. Remaining sauce freezes well and can be reheated or frozen in ice cube trays to add to sparkling water or seltzer.

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