In a perfect world

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Malin

I think yesterday turned into a awesome day. As I mentioned before I need to take control back over my own situation. I cannot only do yoga although I love it and could not live without it. But I have to get back on the track, I need to start running and start lifting weights on a regular basis. As most people know it was “Cinco de mayo” yesterday and my 5th grader needed to bring guacamole to school for their celebration so we ended up leaving home super early. This totally work in my favor because I managed to get a 5k in before going into an awesome yoga class with the fabulous Jodi at Lifetime Fitness in Old Orchard…I truly felt like a million bucks and in an amazing mood me and Ms Mira was playing rockstars in the kitchen as we were making dinner.

This morning still on yesterdays high I went to work teaching a private class thinking I would kick some butt lifting a little heavier than I usually do afterwards but on my way into work I get a phone call that I was having a showing of our house in the afternoon. We just put our house on the market, yesterday to be exact and my plans went down the drain and instead of getting a good workout in I ended up going home and spending 3 hours prepping the house. It is almost like making dinner, you spending hours in the kitchen and you calling your family to the dinner table over and over again and when they finally get there the dinner is over in less than 15 minutes. Well, fingers crossed that the effort will pay off

Do I need a title?

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Malin

Without any ulterior motive of inspiring and getting people moving and feeling better I want to write again, write just as it is, as a journal.

The winter has been way to long but finally it has come to an end and the spring is almost in full bloom. Another thing that is coming to an end is my yoga teaching training and to be perfectly honest I am glad it is. This morning I took Gary for a long walk through the forest and when I came home I continued meditating outside on the patio and I realized what is wrong. I have learned so much this past 8-9 months during the teacher training not only about yoga but also about myself but a lot of things that I do to make me feel balanced and good I have had to put on hold.

So starting in May it is time to bring balance back into my life and I do know that I get results when I put it out there in the universe.

Did you dream about a burger?

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Malin

Whenever we are grilling burgers I always skip the bread as I am not really doing so good with it and t that’s ok but to be perfectly honest I do miss to be able to hold it and the texture of the bread. So I have finally been introduced to unmodified Potato Starch that apparently have been proven to improved insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar levels, reduced appetite and various benefits for digestion just to mention a few. So I decided to try a recipe making burger buns and it was healthy and heavenly!

2 Eggs
1 pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon unflavored coconut oil
1/2 dl water
1/2 dl coconut flour
0,5 dl unmodified potato starch
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
1 teaspoon baking powered
sesame seeds

How to:

Whisk the eggs until it’s fluffy. Add the coconut oil and the water and keep on wishing. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add to the eggs and keep on mixing. Let the “dough” rest for a few minutes before you wet your hands in water (so the dough don’t get stuck to your hands) and make small buns. Before placing in the over for 10 minutes at 300-350 F sprinkle sesame seed over them.

Patties

1 pound minced beef or your preferred protein

1 egg

garlic

oregano

Paprika powder

chili sauce

salt and pepper

chopped olives

Mix it all together and make patties, before placing them on the grill add your “grilling seasoning” and top off with your favorite toppings.

There is nothing wrong with quirky!

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Malin

It’s been a while since I did spinning but now when the “half” is over and done with I thought I’m going to change it up a bit to make it a bit easier on my body. So I with all this ambition that I was going to do great in this spinning class I entered into the room which was cold and dark and all of sudden all my motivation went out the window and all I wanted to do was to get out in the sun and lie by the pool.

But I pulled myself together and adjusted the bike to my liking as the instructor started with some light stretches before we got going. And as the first song was playing out load in the speakers this woman, slightly in front of me started cheering and clapping her hands and saying “I am Stephanie and I can do this, yay”. It was the most quirky moment I have ever experience in a dark room filled with strangers, that together was going the sweat their guts out for an hour. But you know what I used her energy and cranked the speed and resistance and gave everything I had as she kept on doing her “yays” throughout the class…so I guess there is nothing wrong with quirky 😉

Beetroot soup with ginger, lemon and chili

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Malin

It seems like everyone is escaping this never-ending winter and traveling south. At the same time we are receiving letters regarding strep throat, infections and stuffy noses so what else can you do than trying to stay healthy by eating food that boosts your immune system. Not only is beetroot good for defeat colds but it also enhance physical activities because it improves the oxygen uptake…so I guess more beetroot for the people!

3 big beetroot
1 yellow onion (i used a red onion)
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Ginger
Chili Flakes (depends how spicy you like it)
6dl /3 cups water
3 tablespoons beef fond or 2 cubes vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 lemon (juice and peel)
Sour cream
Direction: Chop the beetroot, onion, garlic and grate the ginger. Fry the beetroot and the onion for a couple of minutes before adding the ginger, chili and garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.

Add water, bouillon, season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 15 minutes, mix the soup until it is smooth and serve with a splash of sour cream.

Original recipe by Linnea Sward

What is your goal!

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Malin

I can be your fairy godmother!

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Malin

The person who knows your body the best will always be yourself and therefore I think it is important to communicate with my clients to meet their requests. So this sunny Wednesday morning with me as their fairy godmother their wish was about to come true…

…but not until I had tried the intensity of the workout myself 😉

The first circuit was just for warming up and making the heart pound a few extra beats before getting into the fun part. We did it twice through with 30 sec plank to push up and 30 sec plank followed by 10 push ups.

With that done we did a variation between a wood chop and russian twist apparently called “crazy Ivan”. Sitting down with the feet either on the floor or off the floor depending on the desired intensity lifting a medicine ball from one hip up through to the opposite side. This should be a challenging move and it may not be the core that gives in first as the shoulder has to do a fair bit of work as well.

To finish this series off we did another variation of burpees but instead of a push up we twisted both knee to the opposite elbow before we jumped back up into a squat jump. And I can promise after two sets the warm up was completed.

Giving the abs a small rest we got into the lats. I have a few goals of my own in mind this spring and being able to do pull ups is one of them. For some reason I am really weak or my body is to heavy for my arms, you choose which one you think it is…haha

So first out was cable pulldown, this is not a favorite move of mind but like I always say you will seldom like anything you’re not good at so you just hang in there and keep pushing.

Next up was TRX “lateral trunk twist”, this move will not only work the lats but also the shoulders and biceps. Hold on to one strap, reach for the floor behind you and pull yourself up and reach along the strap.

At this point I had a nice burn going and with one more exercise before the grand finale it had to be single arm rows.

And here they were, the pull ups! I am not ready to do it without assistance and the first couple of reps felt so easy but coming into the last few I had the shiver!

I did said I was the fairy godmother today and I didn’t want to disappoint nobody so we went back to the old TRX to hit the core. The first exercise was really two in one, almost like a bargain, right! Put the feet through the straps in a push up position, pull your knees in to your chest and out again. From there you will pike your hips up into the air as high as your can using your abs…that is one rep. Normally your abs should be burning by 10 but if not by all means keep on going to 15 or 20, it’s your choice and it’s your workout 😉

With the rectus abdominis out of the way next up was to hit the obliques. This move can be done from the floor as a regular “spiderman” or with one foot through the strap and the other one reaching for the shoulder and back into a plank position without the foot touching the floor. Again it is not only the core that is working, it is a lot of tension on the shoulders as well.

Someone recently told me the summer is around the corner although I have a hard time believing them but one thing I know is that few of us likes that “muffin top” sticking out. This is a great move to work on the love handles. Again, you can make it easier by keeping your feet on the floor but using the TRX, creating an unstable environment will make you recruit more muscles to stabilize the entire exercise. You can stay here or you can shoot the hip up in the air pretending you are rolling a ball underneath you to take it to the next level…

…and that is how you make dreams come true for some 😉

What is in your grocery bags?

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Malin

I am a pretty good planner when it comes to what I am making for dinner but lately I have been working out of what I have had available in front of me. Then yesterday came and I finally sat down and planned my week ahead and went to my new favorite store Mariano’s and Costco and this is our first dinner.

Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut milk

1 big Sweet Potato

Ginger

Cumin

Chili flakes

Lemon Grass

2 cups of Water

1 cube of vegetable bouillon

1 can of Coconut Milk

Coconut Oil

a small “squeeze” of agave nectar

1 Sausage from Greenridge Farm

Chopped Cilantro

Direction: Boil the sweet Potato for about 5 minutes, drain and use a hand blender to make it into a smooth paste.

Fry the lemon grass, chili, cumin and ginger for a couple of minutes in the coconut oil.

Mix in the spice mix with the sweet potato, add the water, bouillon and coconut milk and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Fry the sausage and chop the cilantro. Serve the soup with sausage and cilantro…mmm

That is how a recovery run should go down!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Malin

Oh gosh, this weekend has been really busy with one thing after another. The premier of “The Ghost Pirates” was at seven o’clock friday evening, all the kids had practice really hard and did an amazing job and Mira was really buzzing when she got off stage. She though it was so much fun so the next morning I found her totally dressed up with bright red lipstick and a pair of my highest heels on ready to bring on the world.

But in-between all the birthday parties, hockey and theater I managed to get my 7 miler in and it is amazing how your mind works. I mentioned my 4 mile recovery last Wednesday and it was sooo hard and I was disappointed because half way through it felt like it was never coming to an end.

This time around, I knew I was “turning” around at 3.5 mile and was running “home”. The only thing that gets me is the “sprint session” in the middle of the run, they are truly killers for the legs so for the rest of the afternoon it looked like I had **** in my pants…haha.

So when Sunday morning came around I had a choice to make…the 3 optional miles. The thing is optional is not really optional unless you hanging on by thread so I decided I was not going crazy. I took it nice and easy and I really enjoyed the brisk sunny morning not meeting a single soul on my first run of the season through the forest preserve! My legs were a bit stiff as expected but I went straight to a well deserved hot yoga session and what can be better for both the soul and the muscles to reach for your fullest potential to complete the workout week…this is truly how a recovery run should be like!

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!