Lets make oatmeal…hmm, delightful?!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Malin

In our family it’s just Knut and me that really likes oatmeal and this was often on the menu as both my parents were working and would not have time to spend an hour in the kitchen.

Although oatmeal is not really a low-carb alternative it has a fairly low Glycemic Index and when adding flax seeds reduces the effect on blood sugar. So today after working out a fair amount and rushing out to fit the kids activities in this was a perfect alternative.

Oatmeal

1 cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons flaxseed
2 cups water
a pinch of salt
Milk

Strawberry jumminess

4-5 sliced fresh strawberries
a splash of water
a pinch of stevia

Directions: Bring oatmeal, flaxseed, salt and water to simmer and stir occasionally for about 2-5 minutes. In a different pot add strawberries, stevia and water and simmer for the same amount of time. Serve the oatmeal hot with strawberries and cold milk…you will be surprised!

LowCarb Crepe filled with garlic and mushroom

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Malin

I have never been a big fan of pancakes or Crepe as they always given me a tummy ache, not even as a child. Today I was in the mood to make something fast and easy and I thought Garlic and mushroom filled Crepe would be a perfect dinner and without the wheat I don’t feel nauseous.

Low-carb Pancake

2 Eggs

1/2 a cup and a bit of Almond Flour

1/4 Water

Pinch of Salt

Garlic and Mushroom Filling

Button Mushroom

1 Clove of Garlic

Pinch of salt

Dijon Mustard

A slice of cheese

Direction: Whisk everything together and use half of the batter to make a “pancake” and fry it until it is slightly brown. Sauté the mushrooms and the garlic in butter and season with salt. Spread the Dijon mustard on the pancake, add the cheese and top off with the garlic mushroom before “closing”.

If you want it more creamy or if you need more fat because of your diet, add mayonnaise.

This was a very quick and easy dinner that filled me up and I still have half the batter left to use for lunch for tomorrow!

Grilled Cod with the famous yumyum sauce

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Malin

A few weeks ago we ended up going to a local restaurant after my dinner attempt turned into an epic fail. I ended up having the fish tacos and after that I am craving fish, so fish was what was on the menu for this evening but their was a slight problem When I woke up this morning winter was back with vengeance after those lovely couple of days of spring. But that was not letting my spirit down and stopping me to proceed with my dinner plans…Grilled Cod.

I think their is a few advantages to making food on the grill; I don’t have to deal with the yucky fish smell that always is stuck in the house for days on days and the food just taste so much better. There is one more thing I always have to deal with when it comes to fish & kids…It’s not their favorite dish but my mother-in-law has the solution and we call it the yumyum sauce! Every kid that has ever tried it ends up eating their fish like it is candy so here we go…

Fish

1 lb of fresh Cod

Canola Oil

Salt and Lemon Pepper (or pepper and lemon juice)

Direction: Use a gridiron so if the fish separates you end up with nothing except an empty plate. Grill the fish for approximate 4 minutes on each side, make sure not to over cook it so it turns dry and awful.

The yumyum sauce

1 part sour cream

1 part cream

1 tablespoon Fish Fond or a cube of fish boullion

Direction: Mix it together and bring to a simmer…as simples as that!

This is magic!

Both the kids finished all the fish and they loved it!!

Practise what you preach

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Malin

Today we had a guest appearance from the City. It was Laura’s friend and I’ve been told she is just like me “a gym junky” so the pressure was totally on. I knew the girls was going to be sore from the drop sets we did on Monday so arms was more or less off-limits. So coming in I had to try the workout to see if it was descent or not. As I did Frank, on of the trainers at Lifestyle Fitness decided to join in. It is so much more fun when you have a workout pal because if I every thought about giving up when working alone, having a partner it never even crosses my mind.

So there we were, Frank and I slightly rushed for time when we started to crank out the first set of wood chops, body weighted side bridge, burpee with push up and last but not least shoulder extensions from a medicine ball. Although this was a core circuit the shoulders had to stabilize a fair bit so coming into the last move me and my shoulders had a very private conversation 😉

As we are having a bit of a drop-set week this week what would be more appropriate than carry it over to the legs as well. So with a barbell squats, dropping the weight twice followed by 20 walking lunges with at least 20 lbs weight did the trick…

…but to every frontside there is also a backside. This time around we did the drop set last and started with 15 Barbell “good mornings” followed by Romanian deadlifts. I was coming into my third set and I was glad I was seeing the silver lining of the workout. We topped the day off combining the weight training into 6 minutes cardio blast. I could with an ease to my mind let the girls do the same because I knew I pushed myself and how could I ever give them a workout that would not be challenging enough?!!

Thanks for coming Michelle!

A new week with new possibilities

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Malin

Finally I think spring is coming our way and what more do you need to get inspired to push that little bit extra and I know for sure that the ladies used it at their advantage.

It was meant to be a total body workout but sometimes it feels like we always working against the clock trying to squeeze in as much as possible in 60 minutes. So first out today was walking lunges with shoulder a press and tubing while “driving” with a medicine ball also working the shoulders. The girls really cracked me up because they were so unsynchronized that Anna was almost squashed between Elli and Lynne. This two moves are very good for the obvious reasons, working the legs (and shoulders) but the tubing is so good for toning the outer thigh.

These two moves was accompanied by single leg squats and bridge keeping the feet on the medicine ball for a more challenge and I will confess as soon as i went outside today I knew they had to run for the first time this year in the cul-de-sac!

As much as I wanted to stay outside we are not really there yet so we went back inside and worked the upper part of the body. We focused on biceps, triceps, lats and the pecs doing drop sets to build some muscles. Starting at the heaviest weight they did 10 reps, dropped the weight and did another 10 and then dropped the weight one last time and finished off another 10 reps.

I hear this all the time that “I don’t want to get bulky” but girls don’t have to worry about it because we don’t produce that much testosterone that is required to start looking like the incredible hulk. I believe that the stronger you are the better you will feel so start lifting and get strong girls!

Teriyaki salmon and Asian Ceviche

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Malin

Yesterday was Knuts “end of the year” hockey party, the kids vs. the parents and as much I wanted to go I knew it was not happening as we were expecting dinner guests. So Knut and Freddie went along bringing their skates and stick and I told them to get home at 6.30 because I was taught a good host should be home when the guests arrive. I know sometimes its hard to leave a good party so I thought I give Freddie a call and sure enough he is not picking up. I call again and get straight to voicemail so after some angry faced texts messages the two of them rocks up 15 minutes after Laura and her family arrived. I am not the one to hold grudges so after a peck on the cheek we were good to enjoy the Asian Ceviche before we got to the Teriyaki salmon served with a pinot noir… but most of all, enjoying the company of very good friends.

Teriyaki Salmon

1 lb. salmon filet
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 inch fresh ginger
1 clove minced garlic
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sriracha hot sauce

Make the teriyaki marinade by whisking together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, nectar, white wine vinegar.
Cut the salmon filet into four equal sized portions and place in a large zip top bag. Pour the marinade over top, remove as much air as possible and close up the bag. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, mixing the bag occasionally to redistribute the marinade.
Grill it but make sure not to over cook it.
In a small bowl, mix together the sriracha hot sauce and mayonnaise. Serve the fish with a dollop of sriracha mayo on top!
I served this with oven garlic roasted vegetables.

Asian Ceviche

Prawns
1 Mango
1 avocado
red Onion
1 lime
Chiliflakes
1 tablespoon sesame oil
cilantro

Chop mango, avocado and onion and mix together with the prawns.
Squeeze the lime juice and blend together with sesame oil, chili and cilantro and keep cool until serving.

What is the perfect body and how do we achieve to get it?

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Malin

I was reading a piece in one of the Swedish news papers written by Mia Skäringe about fad diets, workouts and the crazy obsession getting the perfect body. I will be the first one to admit that I will jump on the train and try out a new diet so with low-carb/high-fat diets, fasting diets, low-calorie diets under my belt I always come back to eating smart. And that for me is making choices and being educated what happens inside your body when eating a french fry instead of a potato, choosing roasted vegetables instead of pasta or use nectar instead of sugar.

I know that I will never look like the girl on the picture although if I was completely honest I would love to. But reality is I have to realize that I am no longer 21, I have two amazing kids and my boobs bought a single ticket going south and I don’t think they coming back anytime soon. I am not against or for any specific diets and I am firm believer that something that works for you might not work for me but one thing for sure is. I am and will always feel happier having a body that is healthy both on the inside as well on the outside and being content with my own progress to get there.

Here is the article, it is in Swedish but I bet it can be translated one way or another…

http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/debattamnen/jamstalldhet/article18495704.ab

Suck it up and keep on pushing!

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Malin

How crazy can life be, really…

…so what is going on? Well let me tell you, one of my dearest friends are moving to Switzerland. This is a family that came to the States at the same time as us and our kids are like sibling so it is with a sad heart I see them leave but we will send them off with a party to be remembered . So with this coming up this weekend there is a lot of things that need to be organized and this is at the same weekend as i have my mid-term exam for my NASM PT-Certification. I am not doing this by myself as we (everyone that is coming) all chipping in and I am also asking for help from the professionals. So last night me and Freddie had a wine/sushi tasting with some fabulous wines that my good friend picked for us…I know life is hard, right?!

So while this is happening life is flying by my window, just like it does when having kids as well as keeping up with my own fitness, classes and studying. So this morning I went for my run before teaching my 10am class and yes I am finally back to running after months of a knee issue but l will confess it is not a walk in the park. As I am was coming into my final leg of my 3 mile run this morning everything is hurting and that is when I am thinking of Knut (my son) who got up at 5.20 this morning to go skating before school. I was thinking about the girls I train every day and when they leave the gym you can tell they haven’t participated in a fashion show. So how am I suppose to justify to anyone to keep on going if I would give up? So there I am, at my final leg and I am thinking to myself “suck it up and keep on pushing” and as I am coming up on my driveway I not feeling so great. I have done it before and learned from my mistake and this time I went to the side of the house where I almost barfed….but just almost 🙂

…but all this it’s a “good” crazy and even though it stresses me out I would not want to change a single thing because the people that surrounds me are truly amazing and keep on inspiring me every day.

This is Anna and Ellie who kicked ass earlier on this week…way to go girls!

Another low calorie soup…with chèvre!

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Malin

After my cracking spinning class this morning I thought this day would be though but fasting has gone great and now we have just finished a delicious Spinach and Asparagus soup topped off with a splash chèvre creme…all under 500 calories/serving

Soup 2 servings (263 calories/serving)

1/2 teaspoon truffle Oil 30 calories

100 grams Asparagus 29 calories

50 grams Spinach 12 calories

40 gram chopped Shallot 16 calories

1 chopped Garlic Clove 4 calories

Chopped Chili

3-5 dl water

1/2 dl dry white wine 35 calories

1 bay leaf

Thyme

1/4 cup Green Lentils 140 calories

Chicken Bouillon

Salt and Pepper

2 tablespoons Sour Cream 60 calories

Salt and Pepper

Chèvre Creme

2 tablespoon Sour Creme 60 calories

50 gram Chèvre 140 calories

Salt and Pepper

Fry the shallot, garlic, asparagus and spinach together with the truffle oil. Add water, wine, bouillon, bay leaf, thyme, green lentils and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix sour creme and chèvre together and season with pepper.

Mix the soup smooth with a hand mixer and add sour cream and serve with the chèvre cream.

Enjoy!

Super Tuesday

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Malin

I am not a big fan of spinning but I do it anyway because I have to get my cardio in somehow and I am not really sure if my knee is up for getting back to running yet. So the class I do on Tuesday the instructor is amazing as he is very energetic and gets everyone going and it was no difference today.

I am always very focused on what I am doing and don’t really pay much attention of the people around me. I am also a firm believer that it is “your exercise” and you push yourself wherever you want to take it but at some point during the class I looked around and saw this woman riding along almost like the sun was shining down on her and the birds was singing. Now the room we workout in is always very dark and most of the people around her were so breathless and I’ll tell you there was no pretty sounds coming out of them as they were chipping for air. At this point the woman was riding her bike without holding on to the handles, she started to look at her self in the mirror and start fixing her hair! I’m telling you, my hair is the least of my concerns when I am in a dark room trying to kick my own ass…lol

Like I said people can do what every they want in the gym but I don’t get it when you clearly don’t even trying to make an effort. It is almost like they’re thinking “If I am sitting on the bike I’ll lose weight, increase my cardiovascular fitness” or whatever the reason might be. I think it is a waste of time but if it makes them feel good about themselves I guess it’s ok but that is not the way I roll. I rather put a 100% effort into what I do and go home and feel like I did my best and that is what I did today!