free indoor at-home workouts (part 2)

Happy Friday everyone!

And happy March!

I'm excited it's finally March because even though Chicago is still covered in icy slush and snow, the official first day of spring is less than 3 weeks away! March 20 if you're wondering, aka the vernal equinox, where every latitude on Earth has 12 hours of day and night. Geography nerd moment.

Anyway, since it's still technically winter I thought I'd give an update on my indoor workout obsession. In November I posted a huge list of resources for at-home workouts in case you're too broke or lazy for the gym, but for the past 3 months straight I've been pretty dedicated to YouTube for free (and effectively HARD) fitness videos.

I'm definitely addicted to Blogilates.com, where Cassey offers a monthly workout calender that outlines exactly which of her pilates/plyo fusion videos to do every day. (Click here to get the March workout calendar--you have to subscribe to her newsletter but she rarely spams your email.) Since it's sometimes hard for me to motivate myself to decide what workouts to do, this is foolproof and awesome. Plus her videos are killer. It's easy to make a playlist of them on YouTube for a complete workout that feels like you're attending a private class with a personal trainer. I've followed the December, January, and February calendars pretty religiously and have been able to maintain my "wedding weight" all through the holidays without watching my eating, and my abs have seriously never looked this great.

if I twist to the side and flex you can almost see a 2-pack! ignore wine glasses in background.

Thanks, pilates! Here's a link to her YouTube channel where you can search for all her workouts.

If you want a teaser, here's a couple of my favorite (aka most killer) Blogilates videos.

*The videos I'm going to share are at an intermediate/advanced level. If you haven't been consistently exercising for the past few weeks, search for beginner videos or modify the moves!

"Food Baby HIIT" for indoor cardio:

A 10 minute pilates abs workout: 

And an awesome back and shoulders workout (you need light weights): 



In addition to Blogilates, I've recently discovered Fitness Blender, another YouTube channel that posts full-length HIIT (cardio) and strength workouts (some are over an hour!!). They are kind of boring, but you can play your own music in the background. I did this cardio/abs/butt workout earlier this week and was sore for 2 days afterward:

I want to try this 1000 calorie workout but I'm kind of scared...

Do you have any favorite YouTube fitness channels? Let me know if you try any of these workouts!

*I am not a fitness professional, be safe and smart and listen to your own body!

end of February in photos

 

Helloooo. Is February over yet? I wish. Instead we're getting handed another blizzard tonight, yay.

I'm definitely sick of ugly winter, so I bought myself a bouquet of cheap pink garden roses from Trader Joe's. Best idea ever! $4.99 of joy and pretty. I should probably do this on a regular basis.

 

 

 

I'm also really proud of myself for starting a book club! We had our first meeting last Friday. Our first book was Jenny Lawson's Let's Pretend This Never Happened, which as a quirky and expletive filled comedic memoir doesn't really purport itself for deep challenging discussion, so we just ate pizza, drank wine, and read the craziest chapters out loud to each other.

The next day I baked the leftover pizza dough into rolls and made prosciutto mozzarella paninis mmmm.

We never order pizza because it's cheaper and almost just as easy to make it yourself. The trick to yeast bread is letting it rise in a warm oven (turn it on for a few minutes, turn it OFF, put covered dough in for an hour).

 

And since I'm not working this week my mom asked me to come visit for a couple days, using the excuse that I should teach my little sister how to play the trumpet so she can be in jazz band (apparently they don't allow clarinets into upper jazz bands, which seems kind of discriminatory). I played the trumpet for 12 years, and I do sound like a professional compared to Nicole (although she is definitely doing a great job so far and has learned five notes in one day, not too shabby for having woodwind chops). Our cat will be forever traumatized.

 

 

Oh, and since I'm sure you've always wondered what the landscape between Chicago and central Illinois looks like in winter, here it is. MIND NUMBING. Or starkly beautiful? Nope, mind numbing.

 

 

And there in the distance is my home town, population 6,000. My family lives on the outskirts now, behind a few fields of corn/pumpkins/soybeans. You can vaguely make out both of our watertowers in this shot, which incapsulates the entire city. And yeah, it's technically called a city.

 

And finally, here's the line-up of what I've made recently!

 

pretty watercolor thank you cards

fun chunky spring infinity scarves

happy and bright birthday cards 

 

More colors of these cute boho lace knit headbands

And I figured I'd capitalize on having a mini-me around and whipped up a kid and tween size chunky cowl.

 

See the struggling grass in that last picture? Apparently it's about to be buried in up to 8 inches of snow. Le sigh.

basic homemade granola

 

If you know me in real life and have ever spent the night at my house, you'll probably know that I am obsessed with oatmeal. I go through a large canister of old fashioned oats every month or two. By myself. Sometimes I feel like a horse.

 

I don't make granola that often but I'm always glad when I do. It's fun to mix up the texture of oatmeal with a crunchy variation every now and then. Making granola is pretty easy, and in terms of ingredients it's almost foolproof since unlike most baking it's not an exact science. However, it is SO easy to burn, so you have to exercise constant vigilance when it's in the oven!

 

Here's a basic granola recipe I just made yesterday. Feel free to add any mix-ins you want! (See my note at the end).

 

 

Basic Homemade Granola

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics (my current cookbook obsession)

Makes a shitton of granola, keep half and give half, or just eat it all yourself.

Ingredients:

-4 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

-1/2 cup sunflower seeds

-2 t. cinnamon

-1/3 cup canola oil

-1/4 cup honey

-1/4 cup maple syrup

-2 T molasses

 

Preheat the oven to 350* and spray a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with the sides) with cooking spray.

In a big bowl, mix the oats, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, combine the remaining (wet) ingredients.

Dump the wet ingredients into the oats and stir until combined.

Spread the oat mixture evenly onto the baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, STIRRING THE GRANOLA EVERY 4-5 MINUTES.

*The granola will be done when it is a little browner than it started, but it will not be crispy until it cools!

Allow granola to cool on baking sheet, stirring a couple more times, until it's dry and crispy.

Add any mix-ins you want! Suggestions: shredded coconut, roasted nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips.

Transfer into sealed containers and enjoy!

 

NOTE: It's important not to add the extra mix-ins until after the granola is baked, since they'll most likely burn. If you're adding raw nuts though, you can bake them with the oats.

 

Enjoy with milk or yogurt!