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What an awesome weekend. I was super lucky to get to spend some time with my girl friends in Philly this weekend doing an awesome workout for the #MyCityMoves campaign, which left me oh so sore, but oh so satisfied. Is there anything better than a new, challenging workout? Plus we didn’t look to bad afterwards if I do say so myself.

Daylight savings time came in full force on Sunday though and I wasn’t ready for it. I had some how convinced myself that 6 am would feel like 7 am and that the mornings would be bright and cheery. Spoiler alert: this is not the case. In fact, it is the exact opposite. I woke up on Sunday feeling sleepy as all get out an confused about why it was so dark outside when my watch blinked 6:45. I got up and got my butt to the gym anyway.

Good thing I was the only one there.

I’m not kidding when I say it was me and one other person. That’s it. But that made for an awesome workout because I could play around with any and all machines I wanted and not bother anyone.

I ended up putting together a quick circuit workout after a leisurely 4 mile run.

Complete all three circuits with a 60 sec rest between each and repeat the whole thing 2 more times.

Circuit 1: 10 weighted lunges, 10 squats, and 10 burpees

Circuit 2: 10 squat jumps, 10 straight leg deadlifts, fast half mile run

Circuit 3: 10 ice skaters, 10 squat to row, 10 lateral lunges

Throwing some running in there kept my heart rate through the roof and made me feel like a powerhouse. I got up to 10.2 on the treadmill and kept telling myself “Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall” for the entirety of my sprint (also I didn’t run the whole half mile at this pace, don’t worry).

The hardest part about waking up these past couple of days has been motivating myself to do so, so when my boyfriend asked me to make delicious muffins to wake up to, I had to oblige. These bran muffins may not be the healthiest thing out there, but dang if they’re not delicious.

Bran Muffins

Ingredients

-1 1/2 cups bran cereal (I used Fiber One Bran Cereal)

-1 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have this, you can use milk and vinegar)

-1/3 cup melted coconut oil

-1 egg

-2/3 cup of brown sugar

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp baking soda

-pinch of salt

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray
in a medium bowl, soak bran cereal (I like to crunch it up a bit first) in the buttermilk for 10-15 minutes
Add in melted coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, egg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and stir it all together. The mixture will be thick, but delicious
Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins (mine made about 15 muffins, but it easily could have been compacted to 12)
Bake in the oven for about 13-15 minutes or until a poker comes out clean.

These muffins are everything. Super easy to make and 1000% delicious. I’ve probably eaten about 30 thus far (I made multiple batches, don’t you worry) and I have no shame about it.

Also, please look at this. Sloths or chocolate croissants? I was dying.

How are you doing with Daylight Savings Time?
What’s your go to breakfast these days?

-sj

I love the fall. There is something about cuddling in a million blankets, watching the colors of the leaves changing to the most vibrant hues of orange, yellow, and red, and eating all the comfort foods in the world that is just the definition of perfection to me. Plus, with the temperatures staying consistently in the 70s in November, I’m in heaven.

Now, I love me some comfort food especially when it starts getting a little chilly, but I don’t always love the lugged down feeling I get once I’ve snarfed down a big meal. So, I decided to revert back to one of my old classics: soup. I think soup might be my favorite food group. I am well aware that this is what any octogenarian would probably list as well, but I never said I was a role model. Soup to me is the best food because it’s amazingly versatile. You can just saute up a mirepoix (carrots, onions, and celery), add broth and other assorted beans/veggies/noodles, and simmer until everything is cooked and voila. But, when I was at the store dreaming up what to make, I saw that they had pre-cut butternut squash, so I decided it was time to bring out an old, painfully easy favorite.

Butternut squash is rich in antioxidants, potassium, and fiber and is just one of the best fall foods. This soup is beyond delicious, takes no effort to make, and is even boyfriend deliciousness approved.

Three Ingredient Butternut Squash Soup!

1 butternut squash (cubed in 1 inch pieces)
1 onion (cut into 1 inch pieces)
32 oz. chicken or vegetable broth
1-2 TBSP of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450. Place cut butternut squash and onion on a baking sheet with foil. Drizzle some oil over the pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Put the broth in a large pot and bring to a simmer on the stove. Remove butternut squash and onion from the oven and let cool for a minute or so before adding to the broth. Bring everything to a nice simmer. Remove from heat. Blend using a blender, immersion blender, or food processor (be warned liquid will be HOT). And voila, you are ready to serve your delicious, homemade, hearty soup.

I usually add some garlic to my broth and a couple other spices including ginger and cinnamon if I’m feeling sassy. Play around with it. The soup stands as a pretty good canvas for experimentation, so don’t hold back. This soup has become a staple in our house these days because it’s just so good and so easy.

What are your favorite fall comfort foods to make?

-sj

Love & Lunge

daylight savings time getting the best of me? better recover with delicious morning muffins.

three ingredient butternut squash soup!