HALF WAY!

Can I get a woop-woop!!

A shout to my fellow mokshi`s from MYC who are finally mid-way through the challenge!! Congratulations! You are half way there!!! (....and NO Jeremy, you cannot steal my stars!!)

To mark the mid-way point, I took Kenny`s 930am class today, I was brutally exhausted, body and mind - but I pushed through, had a great class, and felt 100% coming out of the hot room!

Locust is my all-time fave pose! I`m pretty sure I nailed it today, but since your face is plastered to the floor - its hard to tell.
Ever see those pictures people post all the time, about "how I think I look vs. how I really look"?
HAHAHA here's a prime example!

How I think I look ---

 

VS

 

What I probably actually look like ---

No, but really, I think I was somewhere in the middle - I am pretty sure I effing nailed it today, I sort of moved my neck to catch a glimpse in the mirror and my legs were definitely up there! YAY!! I love mid-way accomplishments!

Mid-Point Savassana

We are borderline mid-point on our 30 day challenge!

My body is exhausted and sore, yet energetic and ready for more. I doubled up a couple days, so today marks Day 13, and according to my stars, I'm on Day 17. I like to be ahead, merely for the fact that I don't like being behind. Therefore, I work all day and won't be able to hit up any classes. So, I'll do a Yin or something from home. oooooh Yin- my love!

Clearly, I gave up on the pumpkin for a couple of days! I decided to go with Apple for a change of pace.
First on my list, apple butter!
I recieved this gorgeous Thanksgiving gift from my Grammie, and added to the other 4-5 pounds of apples I had in the fridge, all of random assortment, I thought this was a perfect idea!

Ahhhh-dorable!

I sliced about 5 pounds of apples, ranging from honeycrisp (those are my fave, so I saved most of them for eating! haha) red, sweet tango, golden delicious, and a couple of others.

Threw them all in the slow cooker, added some cinnamon, and went to....YOGA! Came home and the apartment smelt absolutely delightful. Now, I had apple sauce, with the peel, and I used some in my yogurt - deeeelish!















Next up, blend the apples and make them smooth - DONE!

Then, throw back in the slow cooker and wait for it to thicken on high with the lid off... it's still kind of saucey, but I didn't add any fillers or sugar, so that would be why. Still tastes good, and is awesome on top of toast, oatmeal, yogurt, or whatever you prefer!

OH! and of course, I had to add some pumpkin for good measure, so in one little bottle, I used about 1/4C of pumpkin mixed with the apple sauce, added a little pumpkin spice AND voila! Pumpkin-Apple-Butter, in other words - super-freakin-yummy! Next time, I'm making my whole batch pumpkin-apple butter, the pumpkin thickens it up a bit for sure.

The experimenting in the kitchen still exists, just not as frequent, and not always with pumpkin.










I found this amazing find on a friends' FB wall  today....

Jenny's next mission... is to find these beauties! Apparently, they haven't been found around the maritimes #disappointed

Pumpkin challenge...COMPLETE!

 

Sunday, October 7, marks the final day of my 15 days of Everything Pumpkin!

YAY!!!!!

 

 

Yesterday I whipped up the pumpkin latte, and today we are celebrating Thanksgiving, I have decided to make a dessert...I know, Shocker!! And a pumpkin dessert, of course!

1st of all, because it is Thanksgiving, pumpkin goes hand-in-hand and 2nd of all because this was the whole point of my challenge.

 

Today was the final day of our yoga retreat/workshop with the amazing Colleen and Kate W Mak! It was 2 hours of bliss - Finding Balance in your practice. We started the class talking about shakras and learnt some interesting things - I Can't wait to read up on it!

We began the class with a yin practice, so soothing, I was so exhausted, and I kept thinking - how are we ever supposed to move from Yin to Yang - ughk! But the transition was awesome and the yang part of class was too much fun! No expectations, we laughed, and laughed some more, balanced on our arms, hopped, did froggy claps, fell, slipped, and laughed some more - all on the privacy of our mats! Too much fun! What a great way to end such a wonderful workshop series, if only I could have made it for all of them, but in the 2 classes/4 hours I did attend with these beautiful women, I learnt alot about myself, about my practice, and about the people around me. Absolute bliss.

 

 

I was supposed to make a pumpkin cheesecake, I had one not so happy camper when I showed up with a pumpkin-spice cake instead, haha - but as mom says - thems the breaks (whatever that means, and who throws an 'S' on the end of them....mom, that's who!) Anyways - luckily someone else showed up with lovely mini pumpkin cheesecakes! phewf!

 

For thanksgiving we have a potluck style meal with the fam-jam! I made a sugar free cranberry sauce, I used stevia instead of sugar, it was actually not too bad!

 

Next up, a pumpkin spice cake! First of all, it's basically those little muffin thingy's I make, in cake form. It came out super moist and pumpkin-y. mmmmm! But it was missing something, what? FROSTING! I didn't have much to work with, so I got thinking - and I mixed together fat free cream cheese with fat free cool whip and BAM! I had a light, fluffy cream cheese frosting - exactly what this cake needed! It was so super good! And now I have so many more ideas of what I can do with pumpkin - but I think I need a bit of a hiatus from this little root vegetable - perhaps later on in the month...

 

Pumpkin-Spice Cake with fat-free cream cheese frosting!

(note: cranberry sauce in the background)

 

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

JG OUT!

Sunny Days and Pumpkin Lattes

Day 14!! eeek! The excitement, only one day until Thanksgiving, and only one more recipe to make, which will obviously be my super fun and healthy pumpkin pie that I can take to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, which also means I completely effing nailed this personal challenge! I'm super busy today, so it's a recipe I've always wanted to try, but it's made for one ;) so there will be no sharing! Sorry!!

 

Pumpkin Spice Latte ...for one ;)

(From ChocolateCoveredKatie)

 

2 T canned pumpkin

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup milk of choice, or (for a richer taste) a combination of nondairy creamer and milk

(I used SILK unsweeted almond milk, vanilla)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3-4 T strong coffee

Stevia packet to taste (or sugar if you wish)

Mix everything but the coffee with a fork or whisk. (Then, for a hot latte, you can either microwave or heat on the stove.) Add coffee and whisk again.

Because I'm not 100% vegan, I topped it with some fat-free cool whip, however if you prefer a non-dairy version, you can use coconut whipped cream (which is also super delightful) ----

Vegan Cool Whip
(or “vanilla frosting shots”)

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• sugar, stevia, or powdered sugar to taste
• optional: fruit (banana whipped cream, anyone?)

Open your coconut milk, and leave the can (or transfer to a bowl) uncovered in the fridge overnight. (Don’t shake the can before opening.) It should get very, very thick. (If it doesn’t, you’ve gotten a bad can that won’t work for the recipe. I use Thai Kitchen Organic.
Once thick, transfer to a bowl (you can opt to leave out the watery bit at the bottom of the can, if you want it even thicker) and whip in your sweetener with a fork, or even beaters, if you want to be really fancy.


Next on my to do list....

AND it's Vegan!

Just makin' pumpkin pancakes, pretending it's the weekend...

I've been slack on the posts, busy as a little beaver these days! However, I didn't NOT complete my Everything Pumpkin Challenge, I was just a little greedy and kept the goods for myself! Sort of... muahahaha!

Yesterday was Day 13!


I went to Airlie's 930am Moksha class, unfreakin' real! 75 minutes of pure bliss before I had to start my work day, even scored a head massage while lying in savassana! How can you not heart the heck right out of that girl! Her energy can bring any frown upside down, even if its' only for those 75 mintues. That concluded day 5 of our 30 days challenge at the studio. Day 5 seems so, ummm..... far away? from 30!? But I just keep thinking - before you know it, you'll be feeling uber strong and it'll be day 28! ...Here's hoping!

For my Friday pumpkin treat, I made Protien Pumpkin Pancakes... brilliant! absolutely brilliant!

 

Basically, I made my Protien Pancake recipe, and Added Pumpkin...

 

1/3 C Cottage Cheese

1/3 C Egg Whites

1/3-1/2C Rolled Oats (not instant)

1/3C Pumpkin Puree

I used some pumpkin spice and cinnamon.

 

BLEND! Let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes, the longer the better, it thickens up from the oatmeal. Sometimes I make them in the evening, and then cook them up in the morning.

 

Top with no sugar added maple syrup and BAM!!

 

 

There you have it... yummy!!

 

I thought since the studio was getting all the goods these last few days, that I'd share with the folks at work, plus who can't use a couple extra brownie (or pumpkin!) points!

 

So! I made my delicious little pumpkin spice bites AND those unreal little pumpkin rolls! Pumpkin Rolls could have used a bit more brown sugar, but you know me, I don't really have the need to sweeten up healthy treats, however I must realize that others don't have the same tastebuds!

 

Ahh....2 more days to go!

I did Colleen and Kate Mak's yoga workshop Friday night... words can't even explain. It was called "Deepening your practice part 1" ...and it was absolutely amazing. I was so zenned out when I got home, I wanted nothing but silence, the tv was blaring, ppl were talking. ugghkkk I should have just stayed in the hot room until Morning! haha and I dont think I was only one thinking that! They have 3 more workshops during this retreat, I can't make today due to a wedding, but I'm going to try everything to behave tonight and make the 930 session tomorrow morning, this will require a huge amount of discipline...we'll see! Tequila usually gets the best of me! Plus I worked out 3 times this morning, 2 largo classes and a hot yoga class all before 1:00 so I could drink guilt free, I'd hate to waste that ;)

JG OUT!

(insert wise title here)

Day 4 of the 30 day challenge - still feeling strong! But then again, it's only day 4 ;)
It's only 7:15am, and I'm getting this recipe out to ya'll, drinking my morning coffee, and heading out to the 8am Moksha class with the lovely Amy!

My 1st 30 day challenge, nailed it! Holy frig it was an awesome experience! My 2nd 30 day challenge I thought I should amp it up, so I joined a bootcamp at UPEI Andrew Sports Science Center, did yoga, and for the last 10 days I also did kickboxing 3 days a week at Largo. I felt like a freakin' warrior! An exhausted warrior, but still. I nailed it! Accomplished! My 3rd 30 day challange, I ended up with something like 68 days straight PRIOR to the challenge, so by the end of it, I had a ridiculous amount of hot yoga classes practiced within 100 days. As for this challenge, I am challenging myself to less, I am challenging myself to find my yoga again, to take a deep breathe, to not be so concerned with calories burned, but to enjoy these 30 days and finish with a smile and perhaps some more definition in my biceps, but not to physically or emotionally exhaust myself from doing too much, maybe even .....*gasp* give myself a break. Imagine, thats the state I am in, completing a 30 day challenge, would be giving myself a break..... hmmm?

Day 12 of my Pumpkin Challenge, only 3 days to go! YAY!!!

Today's recipe might be by far one of the best vegan treats I have ever made, AND they turned out on the first try! I have never worked with rising dough before, so this was new to me and a challenge I was willing to take!!

These were a huge hit and I had many requests for the recipe!

I have been craving cinnamon rolls for like a month now, yet who can justify eating 600+ calories, and like 29 grams of fat for one silly cinnamon roll...Not I! But oh hot damn, I decided, why not revamp an old classic to make it healthy and more calorie-wise AND while I'm at it, add some freakin' pumpkin and use it as Day 12 of my challenge! Well holy-osmosis! It worked! And I will be making these again, and again, and again!! eeeeek! uber pumped right now!

This would be the dough...rising! I'm pretty proud of this, considering I've never done it before!
Apparently I forgot my flash was off....relax, it's just a little rising dough, I didn't want to disturb it with a flash...it'd be like waking a baby! Picture was far too dark...I'll skip this step!

 

 

Next up, kneeding and spreading the dough, followed by adding the "middle"

 

 

 

Pre-oven!

 

 

And the Finale!

Drum-roll please....

 

WTF! Whoever thought of this was brilliant!! What an unreal combination! mmmm!!

Yes, Jenny, she is brilliant! nah, just kidding, I adapted the recipe from a blog I follow, sideofsneakers.com

 

VEGAN PUMPKIN ROLLS

 

Ingredients

For Dough
 
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp no sugar added maple syrup
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil (I'm sure you could sub this for other oils?)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

 

For Filling
• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin
• 1/4 cup splenda brownsugar blend (or use regular brown sugar)
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Whisk yeast into warm water. Set aside.
2. Mix pumpkin, maple syrup, and coconut oil.
3. Stir in yeast mixture.
4. Slowly add flour, about a third at a time.
5. When you can't mix the dough together anymore, move to flat floured surface and knead gently until a ball forms.
6. Place in oiled bowl and cover with towel. Set in a warm place for about an hour; up to 2.
7. After dough has risen, punch down and roll out into 1/4" thick rectangle.
8. Spread pumpkin on surface of dough, reaching as close to edges as possible.
9. Sprinkle with brown sugar; then cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice
10. Roll dough into log.
11. Slice into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices.
12. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Beware! These are friggin' good!

 

JG OUT!

 

 

 

Day 3/30

Day 3 of the 30 day challenge! So far so good! so much energy around the studio, it's amazing!! Full classes- and lots of sweaty happy people ....I swear it could be a song!

As for my pumpkin challenge...I'd say I'm currently nailing it! It's so much fun and it all tastes so darn good! I have to back-track a little because I missed yesterday's post.... life happens...or happened? Either way...

Yesterday was day 10 of  my 15 day challenge, holy smokes! More than half-way done! Yikes!

I tried something out of the ordinary,


Pumpkin Pudding

Ingredients

1 can 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large package Jell-O Instant Vanilla Pudding
3 cups Skim Milk
2 tsp. Pumpkin Spice

Directions

Blend pumpkin, pudding mix and milk with whick for 2 minutes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, ready to serve.

Option, top with Fat Free Cool Whip.

Number of Servings: 6

 

It was room-mate approved, Jenny-approved and Yogi approved!!

Delish!!

 

 

Next up! Today is Day 11 of My Everything Pumpkin Challenge

 

I whipped up some of these beauts!!

Pumpkin Cranberry Almond Bars

Adapted from DAMY health

 

I started with all the ingredients mixed in a bowl

like so.....

 

 

Makes 9-10 Bars.
Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Plain Puree Pumpkin
• 1/3 Cup Egg Whites
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 Tsp Ginger
• 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 3 Scoops Plain Protein Powder
• 1.5 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 2 Tbsp Molasses
• 4 Packets Stevia
• 1/4 Cup Cranberries
• 1/4 Cup Slivered Almonds (set aside 1/4 Cup extra for topping protein bars)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 F.
2. Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
3. Stir until completely mixed.
4. Lightly grease casserole baking dish.
5. Spread ingredients evenly into the baking dish.
6. Sprinkle extra 1/4 Cup of slivered almonds over the top evenly.
7. Bake for 24 minutes.
8. Remove and let cool for a few minutes before cutting.

And ended up with....
this to place in the oven

 

 

and this for my finished result...

 

Yummy!!! AND Healthy!!!!

 

I went to 4:15 Hatha, came out, and there were only 2 stragglers left...I went to 5:30 Yin, came out at 7 and my dish was borderline licked clean ;)

 

 

JG OUT!!!