Hello, ladies! I hope this day finds you very, very well, but if not, scroll on down for some yummy meal ideas and sweaty workouts to help get that pep back in your step!
For this Weekly Wellness I wanted to focus on the overly-reiterated, but incredibly important and true statement that healthy living does not have to be boring, difficult, or time-consuming! This week the meals I am featuring are SO easy to whip up, contain few ingredients, lots of healthy fuel, and are super delicious! I also included easy workout ideas and one super-sweaty circuit type workout for when you’re short on time!
-EATIN’-
- Mac ‘N Cheese Remix
We’re college students- that means we’re often short on time, patience, and funds. Luckily, this dish requires few ingredients, takes very little effort or time to whip up, and its relatively cheap PLUS you can get 3 or 4 servings out of it! Mac ‘N Cheese is a well-known comfort food and often turned to in times of distress or impatience. Luckily, the natural food company, Annie’s, makes a boxed version that leaves out many of the scary ingredients included in the Kraft and Velveeta varieties. Now, you can deal with that homesickness or post-exam trauma a little less guiltily!
- 1 box Annie’s Mac ‘N Cheese (any flavor that you fancy- I used the shells and cheddar this time around)
- 2-3 cups well-steamed cauliflower florets
- ~ 1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
- Cook the mac ‘n cheese as the box instructs and while the water is boiling begin to steam your cauliflower (steam these longer than you would normally as you want them to be very soft). Once the cauliflower is finished steaming and the noodles are cooking, mash the cauliflower together. Once the noodles are finished add in the cauliflower and cheese powder and stir well. To add an extra zang and impeccable creaminess fold in about a half cup nonfat plain greek yogurt. And, WAHLA- you are finissimo!
- ***Feel free to add in steamed veggies or your favorite source of protein to give this meal some extra staying power (I think this would be awesome with steamed zucchini and grilled chicken)!
*served along side a huge, juicy, Bosc Pear :)
2. Sweet Potato ‘n Almond Butter
Don’t knock it ’till you try it because it truly doesn’t get easier than this one, ladies. 2 ingredients, under 10minutes, and incredibly scrumptious.
- 1 medium sweet potato (baked or cooked in the microwave for 6-8 minutes)
- 2 tbsp almond butter (or other favorite nut butter)
- Once the sweet potato is finished cooking spread on the nut butter and watch it melt into a pool of creamy, perfect, deliciousness. DIG IN!***PSA: Topping this with Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter will make your head explode (but in the best way possible).
*served with a BIG ol’ bowl of steamed broccoli because when it’s 99 cents at Kroger, you STOCK UP!
3. Cocoa Coffee Collaboration
This is my favorite afternoon pick-me-up, especially on rainy or motivation-lacking days. Again, pretty darn simple, and really darn delicious.
- 1/2 to 1 full cup coffee (can add water to fill the rest of the cup if you’re trying to reduce caffeine intake)
- 1 diet or sugar free hot chocolate packet
- optional: stevia-sweetened sweetener packet (stevia is the all-natural option of artificial sweetneners), splash of almond milk, cinnamon
- Add packet of hot chocolate mix to cofee, stir it up really well, and sit back and enjoy your homemade mocha.
There you have it, collegeittes- simple, easy, and yummy meal ideas to get you through those times when you’re feeling rushed, homesick, lazy, or just in the mood for some damn good food!
–MOVIN’–
Just like eating, workouts don’t have to consume your whole day or be incredibly confusing and difficult. The most important is thing is that you get movin’ and you love what you’re doing! Here’s a look at some of the workouts I did this week–
Monday:
Whether you’re short on time or want to add a little extra oomph to your workout check-out this fun and quick-paced tabata workout!**tabata is a style of workout in which you perform the listed move for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest and then you continue to move through the circuit for 4 minutes with the break being those 10 seconds between moves. (a little more information and a better explanation of tabata found here: http://www.active.com/fitness/articles/what-is-tabata-training)
Tuesday AND Wednesday:
I’ve mentioned it before (http://www.hercampus.com/school/osu/weekly-wellness-week-4), but the TRX class is an awesome full-body workout and the benefit of having a structured class gets you in and out within an hour and motivation is easier to keep up from the help of an instructor. The RPAC offers 2-3 TRX classes a day with various time slots, so definitely try to check one out ASAP!
Thursday:
Beautiful weather means putting the gym on the back burner and taking my workout outside. Pounding pavement in the morning hours AND gorgeous weather motivates me like no edgy pop song ever could. If running isn’t your thing you can still take advantage of the nice weather! Grab a girlfriend and take a stroll along the Olentangy Trail or down to the Short North for a midday coffee (or shopping) treat. Grab your bicycle (or a friend’s) and explore Columbus for awhile while getting a great cardio and leg workout! Besides, what’s more simple than just enjoying great weather?
Enjoy the weekend, ladies, and make sure to soak up as much sunshine as you can– with Ohio weather, you never know how long it will last!