Post-Christmas love

 Christmas is over and we all have one thing on our minds. Get this turkey dinner and sugar overload off my body!! The gym was CRRRRRAZY today so I know I am not the only one feeling like this. What are your health goals for the new year? Are they smart goals? are they measurable? Are they realistic? I always hear my friends say they workout because "I need to get skinny" or "I don't want to get fat" well..... ok thats neat but what is fat and at what point are you skinny? How much fun can life be when you spend it trying not to get fat? This year try something different. Train for a marathon or a 10k, join a new workout class, or just find a friend that will hold you accountable for getting your butt in to the gym even when it is the very last thing in the world that you want to do. Change what your ideal body is. If you are looking at movie stars and lusting after the thought of having their frail little bodies, turn on Sportsnet and watch a track meet. Now those are BEAUTIFUL bodies! Be strong, Feel empowered and confident, Challenge yourself every day. Strive not for numbers on a scale but for improvements in your fitness and health.

Very Merry Christmas and  Healthy New Year!

Ps. Playlist today: new Kanye West and Lykke Li. So good.
Pps. Ash Niz showed me this one and I will definitely be making it this week!
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/03/vegetarian-mulligatawny.html

Yoga for the Non- believer: Part Deux.

Ok friends. Week 3 of once a week yoga= success. I have hit Lotus Soul Gym, Moksha South Edmonton and today I attended Rameen's Sattva class at the Yoga Loft and L.O.V.E.D. it. I take back all the times I have sad that yoga isn't a real workout. I was sweating, I was shaking, I used muscles I didn't even know I had all while stretching my body and focusing my mind into beautiful bliss. I feel relaxed from the inside out. I went with a bunch of the lulu girls which was wonderful in itself. I am always a bit nervous going in to any class for the first time but it is a lot less scary when you have friends there to support you. So if you're like me and your fears are keeping you off the mat make a yoga date! Strength in numbers.

I was hoping to post the recipe for banana, chocolate chip, quinoa muffins.... but the snow deterred me from venturing to the grocery store. So stay tuned.

Yoga love for the non Yogi. Never say Never.

A short little run is better than no little run.

Lack of sleep, a lingering head cold, and frigid air doesn't exactly put me in the mood for a run. I am sure at least some of you agree. This cold weather has got me running from my car to the house or work and that is about as far as my outdoor workouts go. However, the thing with running out in the cold is, it is never as bad as you think it's going to be. Once you get started and your body temperature regulates, it is actually incredibly refreshing. It took me a while to get motivated today, but finally I sucked it up and went for a short run outside. It was only -6C today, which reeeeeeally isn't that bad. I wore a swiftly tech racerback under my lululemon running pullover from a couple years ago and a scuba hoodie. On the bottom I just wore a pair of luon pants; comparable to the Astro pants, with my favourite ski socks. Keeping your head covered is important because dad always said you lose your heat out of the top of it. This was the perfect amount of layers but because of the wind I was wishing I would've worn my neck warmer. Runs are great because no matter how long you go for, you are still better off than when you left. Getting of the house and getting some fresh air, even in the dead of winter, is necessary to keeping a sane mind. It doesn't take much, just a few laps around the block will do. Now get out there and run till you break a sweat but be sure you get inside before it freezes. 

Cuffins  are a winter runner's best friend!

Skiing with Izzy

I grew up ski racing with a girl named Izzy Lynch. For a while there we lived together, ate together, skied together, worked out together, partied together..... etc (you get the idea). She weighs in at about 125, is cute as a button and has a killer six pack. All of our racing career she was the crazy one. The type of girl who would either win or explode out of the course, equipment flying in every direction. After she retired from ski racing she went to University, got a degree, travelled to far ends of the earth and ended up in Revelstoke B.C. Instead of following traditional scholarly path (getting a grown up job), she started a free ski club for kids. 3 years later she is living in Whistler, skiing everyday. Exactly where she wants to be. I asked her to give me a rundown of what she does to prepare for a good day of skiing and this is what she had to say:

Day after day of charging on your skis can take its toll on your body if your not careful. To make sure I’m always reset for the next pow day I try to make sure I give my body what it needs to perform and recover. I never skip breakfast, and start every day with a big bowl of oatmeal, berries and hemp hearts, or toast, almond butter, and a banana. A giant mug of chai tea is always in my hand as I drive to the ski hill in the morning. 

I find if I stop for a big meal mid day I get lethargic and cold, so I try to keep lots of high energy snacks stashed in my pockets so I don’t forget to eat when the snow is too good to go in to the lodge. Homemade granola bars and cookies, dried fruit, Lara bars and almonds are my faves and way healthier and cheaper than buying food at the ski hill.

My water bottle is always in my backpack but colder days sometimes make it hard to drink enough water so I bring tea bags along with my snacks and just fill up a mug with hot water if I go in to the lodge for a quick break. 

The occasional après dance sesh or hot tub poach are good for recovery and flushing lactic acid from your legs but my daily post ski day rituals include a good leg and back stretch, lots more water, a big dinner and a weather check for the next day. 

Eat, Ski, Sleep, Repeat!  

She's so cool. Obvi.
http://www.izzylynch.com/

Saturday's Pizza Pie

The boyfriend made us delicious pizza from scratch last night. It turned out awesome the only thing we would change would be to roll it flatter to make a super thin crust.

Ingredients
3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (you can use multigrain or regular all purpose flour as well)
1/4 cup mixed seeds (flax, sunflower, sesame)
2 tsp quick rising (instant) dry yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation
In bowl, combine flour, seeds, yeast and salt. With wooden spoon, gradually stir in water and oil until ragged dough forms, use your hands if it's easier.
Turn out onto to lightly floured surface, knead for 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (Make ahead: refrigerate unrisen dough and let rise for 24 hours. Or freeze in plastic bag for up to 1 month; let thaw and rise in refrigerator overnight.)

bbq rolled pizza dough for 10 min on medium-low heat. 5min per side. Then add your toppings and finish cooking it in the oven. I put shrimp, sauteed mushrooms and spinach, feta, tomatoes and mozzarella on mine. Adrian manned his up a bit with chicken, chicken sausage, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes. They turned out delicious!! and the only thing better than pizza for dinner is... pizza for breakfast!!!

30 days of sweating more than Scott

lululemon Whyte is playing for keeps this December by having a 30 day sweat challenge. She/He who sweats the mostest gets the......... prize (couldn't think of anything that rhymes with mostest). Therefore, I am going to be sweating everyday in December. Working out and being healthy is known to increase productivity in the workplace. A happy healthy employee is going to be more efficient than a grouchy, lazy one. Not to mention people love a good competition.

Day one started off bendy with a solid yoga sesh. Day two I hit up the gym for some cardio mixed with weight circuits and Day 3 was the same with more of a focus on abs and legs. I have an extremely short attention span and get get bored easily. In order to keep me interested and focused at the gym I switch it up by doing intervals on the cardio machines. Sprint for a couple minutes then take it easy for a minute. Growing up a competitive ski racer has instilled a desire to always be better so I really love to push myself but if you are new to the gym it is good to record your workouts. Take note of the weights you are using and the levels/ time you spend on the cardio machines. This way you can look back and see your growth and improvements. This will be motivating on even the worst days. Last year I got a Polar heart rate monitor and I absolutely L O V E it. It is a pretty basic model, which is good for me because technology eludes me. It is great for running as well as the gym because it tells me exactly how many calories I have burned and how much time I have spent burning fat or improving my fitness. I always set a goal for the gym. Usually it is to burn at least 600 calories (comparable to an hour long run) but if I don't have enough time to get there I will set goals based on reps or sets. For instance 100 air squats plus a 1000 abs. It really doesn't matter what it is, just set them big and get there. Accomplishing a workout goal everyday will leave you feeling: accomplished. Accomplished= happy.

Lately I have been working out later than I would like so my dinners are pushed back until 8 or so, Which I know is terrible. If I know I am going to be working out late I will snack before my workout then eat a lighter dinner post workout. Tonight I made a delicious salad with:
kale, turkey sausage, tomatoes, yellow peppers, mushrooms, spinach, feta, olive oil and dill. I fried the kale and turkey sausage together with a bit of olive oil and Franks red hot (put that $%!# on everything) once the kale was crunchy I put it all on the salad. The oil in the kale was enough to soften up the rest of the salad. Top it with some dill and you got yourself quite the little delight.

Now go get Sweaty.

Yoga for the non- believer

All my life I have been a lover of high intensity workouts. From alpine ski racing to mountain running to cross fit style gym workouts, if it was competitive and fast I liked it. A few years ago, after retiring from ski racing, I discovered long distance running. It was completely different from what I was used to. There was no competition, no pressure, just me. It is the best outlet I have when I am stressed or upset about something. The beauty of running by yourself is your mind can wonder to places it never has before and the beauty of running with a friend is you get right to the root of each other. Way deeper than any coffee break or shopping trip can. Because I work at lululemon, make feathered earrings and don't believe in packaged foods; everyone assumes I love yoga. Nay nay mon amie this is NAT true. I got deep into Pilates for a few months which lead me into my first yoga class. I can't even remember what kind it was. All I remember was counting down the seconds until I could leave because I was over it before I even started. In the year following, I tried Bikram and sort of liked it..... then I tried Moksha and kinda really liked it.... but it was always a chore for me. I wasn't excited to go. With running and the gym, if I don't go for a few days I feel restless and soft. With Yoga if I didn't go for a month it really never fazed me. Turns out (here comes the point of my rambling!) I simply wasn't going to the right classes.

Tonight my friend Julie took me to Lotus Soul Gym on Whyte Avenue; a block or so east of lululemon. We went to a Vinyasa Flow class and I can't even describe to you how great my hips feel right now. Im still on a high two hours later. We finished the class with headstands (I have never tried them before and just assumed I wasn't Yogi enough) I got up on my first try. With a little help and guidance from my good friend Julz of course. I am excited about Yoga and I am excited about getting better at it. I am going to go once a week from here on out.

Ok so moral of my ramblings are: Do the workouts you enjoy ie: running, swimming, zumba, etc. but mix in a little yoga for the love of your sacrum. If you don't like one class try another. It really isn't as scary as you may think. Turns out Yoga teachers are all really nice. It won't hurt to drag a friend along. Set a date and hold each other accountable.

love love love,
from one not-so-yogi to another.

Michael's manly man muffins

A couple of weeks ago my brother asked me to make him: high calorie, high protein, healthy, healthy breakfast muffins. So for a small fee, I got started. I have made him three rounds of muffins, each being slightly different depending on what kinds of fruit and nuts I have around the house and what was looking fresh at the grocery store. Last night I made him another batch and actually managed to write down what I was putting in it so I could share with you. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I hate recipes and only follow them when I know someone else will be eating my creation. But because its just my brother.... I play it by ear. These muffins turned out tasty, note: don't expect it to taste like a Tim Hortons breakfast muffin, because it's not going to. However, next time I plan on using muffin cups.

Michael's manly man muffins
2 chopped apples
1 + 1/2 mashed bananas
1 + 1/2 cups 10 grain cereal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quinoa
1tbsp Salba seeds
2 eggs
1 large handful of raisins
1 handful slivered almonds
1 handful pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 tbsp honey
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 medium sized yam (pre-baked)

Mix it all up and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes. I drizzled a bit of honey on top of the baked muffins to make them a bit more appealing to the eye. This recipe made 21 muffins and 8 mini loafs. Moist, chunky and delicious.

these are a few of my faaaavorite things:

So I have seen quite a few love lists lately which made me think hey, I should do something crazy and make a list of the top 10 things I love (aka: the best things I can think of at this time) so here it is:

workout: snow running (sun is necessary!)
book: Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
food: super thin crust margherita w/ fresh basil
Fernie spring skiing (sun + snow = heaven)
lululemon item: ewww toss up Run Dash tight or... Run swiftly tanks
fresh wooly socks
movie: Harold and Maude
morning java: Americano Misto
Rap time with Mia Mucci
most importantly, here is the recipe for myfavorite cookies EVER!  Planet Organic Power Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups quick cooking oats2 cups spelt flour  (you can substitute whole wheat or mix it 50%)
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 
• 1/4 cup flax seeds 
• 3/4 cup sugar (PO uses cane sugar, I just use brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips 
• 1 1/4 cups craisins, raisins or other dried fruit
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup molasses 
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line baking trays with parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl, combine wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.

Drop dough by large tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Gently flatten cookies. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 24 to 36 cookies.

Breakfast of Champions

With this onslaught of cold (being an understatement) I think the importance of starting your day off right is even greater. Breakfast sets the tone for the rest of your day and can also set the standard for the rest of your day's eating habits. This is why I have to have to HAVE TO have a healthy, yummy, filling (but not heavy) breakfast. Last year I replaced my oatmeal with Chia Goodness by Ruth's Hemp foods. Chia is a seed extremely high in omega 3s, calcium, dietary fiber and is low on the glycemic index. It is a raw food that can be eaten either warm or cold. When mixed with almond butter and raisins it is Deeeelish! However, on special morning (any morning can be special) or when I have company over, I like to make Quinoa pancakes. Quinoa is gluten free, a source of protein and easier to cook than rice. I like to cook some the night before so it's ready for me in the AM.

Now I am not really one for recipes and measurements but I mix about: 3 parts quinoa with 1 part buckwheat pancake mix, one egg, 1/4 cup almond milk, and a couple dashes of cinnamon. Stir it all up and fry. I like to top mine with a bit of almond butter and honey or maple syrup. This is a recipe you can play around with to suit your tastes. My cooking style is pretty simple. I take something I like and create a healthy version of it that still tastes delicious. Substituting a few ingredients can have wonderful effects on your health and your mood. When it's -30 outside a little boost never hurts.

Crunchy, Salty and Healthy? SOLD!

Ok so here it is, the first recipe! it may sound TOO healthy but it is a real crowd favorite. My good friend from college, Amy, introduced me to kale chips. Last summer she went to a retreat in Quebec where she learned all about the wonders of permaculture as well as the benefits of a raw food diet. Lucky for us she shared this recipe. It is so simple and so delicious. If you are patient and have a dehydrator it is a wonderful option but if not, you can use your oven. I like quick snack so... I am more of an oven person.

Sea Salt and Pepper Kale Chips

1-2 bunches of  fresh kale (any kind will do)
Olive oil
Sea salt (Himalayan pink sea salt is a healthful option)
Black Pepper

Massage kale with olive oil being sure to breakdown all the little fibers. After kale is fully coated, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Place in the dehydrator OR put in the oven on 300F for 25-30 minutes. When it's crunchy it's ready. You might want to add a little more sea salt and pepper.

This recipe is super easy to tailor to your taste. Switch it up with hot sauce or lemon and Parmesan cheese. Tres Bon!

Welcome to our bloggy blog!!

It has finally arrived, lululemon Whyte Ave location's very own blog!!! Truth be told I am brand spankin' new to the blogging world so it is only going to get better with time :) Our goal for this blog is to become a place where people can find healthy BUT DELICIOUS! recipes, information and testimonials on the latest greatest workout crazes and classes as well as what music we're listening to, movies we're watching and lattes were digging. Ok, maybe not as much lattes as everything else but you get the idea. And as always, we here at lululemon loooove feedback. So please feel free (and encouraged!) to leave  the love, the hate and anything in between.