Friday Favorites: This peanut butter is sex.

I thought the words "peanut butter" and "sex" would get your attention. It worked.

Happy Friday everyone! It's time for....

FRIDAY FAVORITES! 

Yippee.

I'm gonna share with you some of my favorite things from this week!

Ok, I wasn't kidding though about peanut butter being comparable to sex. One of my favorite things this week has been White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter made by the geniuses over at Peanut Butter & Co.

Seriously, the best thing that has ever graced my mouth (that's what she said). I have been putting this in EVERYTHING. My yogurt, my mug cakes, my pancakes, and using it to kick it up a notch on my regular ol' PB&J. I don't even like white chocolate. It just tastes like a gourmet, better peanut butter. Peanut Butter & Co. is actually a sandwich shop (yep) in NYC. You can go there and shop their spectacular jars of peanut butter and get a really, really great sandwich too. I've yet to go, but if anyone wants to take me on a date there... I'll go. Even if you're a little weird. I'm also a really big fan of the Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter. That is my JAAAAAM. Just try it if you don't believe me. I've been seeing these bad boys all over the place: Whole Foods, Fairway, Stop & Shop... and I think Target (probably Target... it's the greatest place on earth). Get your hands on this!

My next favorite thing this week is...

Awesome. Riiiiiight?! RIGHT?!

Like, how much longer would I have been able to go on in life without these tops? I've been searching for these for months. I always found them on Pinterest and it always took me to Etsy where a seller had closed shop. 

I know, Steph. I know. Finally I found them!!! LookHuman.com carries these and SO MUCH MORE! I had to choose wisely! I was really between the Mulan one and another that said "Hakuna Masquata: It means 'nice booty.'" Don't worry, I'll go back for that one.

And now a bunch of people asked for the recipe on my Tone It Up instagram (@tiu_gab if you wanna follow me), and it was pretty delicious, so here's my next Friday Favorite:

Cake Batter Protein Shake.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeees. This exists. There's all different recipes for this around the Internet, but most of them have the same base. I grabbed what I had in the house and made my own recipe. This could already exist somewhere for all I know but these are the ingredients I used:

- 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese

- 1 scoop vanilla whey protein (or whatever protein you prefer)

- 1 tablespoon instant sugar free cheesecake OR vanilla pudding mix

- 1 packet of Truvia

- 1/4 tsp imitation butter extract

- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

- handful of ice cubes

I like to blend all my ingredients together first, then add the ice cubes and blend again. I topped mine with a few pink sprinkles :) totally optional! It was so tasty and satisfying after a great kickboxing class this morning!

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and weekend! You'll be hearing from me again :)

And happy birthday to my favorite man, JT.

Cinnabon Protein Pancakes!

The second I opened my eyes this morning, I craved cinnamon sugar. I didn't care how I got it: donut, munchkin, on toast, in a cinnamon bun... I had to have it. Don't really know where this craving came from and why I had a craving for something so sweet first thing in the morning, but I knew it must be stopped. Then I had an idea...

CINNABON PROTEIN PANCAKES!

It kinda went like this in my mind...

But with me saying, "Cinnabon Protein Pancake"

(I think I'm so funny)

I used Karena and Katrina's Perfect Fit Protein Pancake as the base for this recipe and then made the cinnabon topping myself.

For pancakes you will need:
- 1/2 of a banana
- splash of unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- a few shakes of cinnamon
- 1 scoop vanilla Perfect Fit Protein (or vanilla protein of your choice. I think Perfect Fit or vegan protein powders are the best consistency for protein pancakes)

For Cinnabon Topping
- Coconut Butter (found mine at Whole Foods. Important you use coconut butter and not coconut oil!)
- Truvia or Truvia Baking Blend (I used the baking blend)
- cinnamon

Coconut Butter (not oil!)

 Truvia Baking Blend & Cinnamon

To make the pancakes (this recipe can be found also at ToneItUp.com):
Mash the 1/2 banana in a bowl with the almond milk. You can do this with a fork, I use a potato masher. Add the egg whites, cinnamon, and protein and mix well.

Heat a griddle or pan on your stove with low heat. Spray the pan with canola oil. It cooks just like a regular pancake! Pour the batter on the pan. You can pour one big pancake or two little ones (I like two little ones because they cook faster, better, and are easier to flip). After a few minutes the edges will brown and the pancake will start to bubble. Flip that baby and cook the other side for about another 2 minutes.

When your pancakes are ready, scoop a teensy bit of coconut butter onto them (seriously, don't go overboard). You will probably have to heat up your coconut butter and mix it a bit. I noticed the coconut oil separated in my jar and I had to heat and mix it together. Then I mixed together Truvia Baking Blend and cinnamon and sprinkled it on my pancakes.

TA DA! My hanger for cinnamon sugar has vanished. And now I have a new favorite breakfast. Come on down to IFHOP (International Farah House of Pancakes). I'd like to thank my dear friend, Eager Beaver Maria, for the creative name of IFHOP!

Mint Chip Protein Mug Cake!

Confession: I pretty much have dessert every single night. But I always go for a healthier option, like fruit or dark chocolate... or red wine (it's a "superfood!"). My love for dessert is one of the reasons I've become so obsessed with making protein mug cakes.

Earlier this week I made a trip to my favorite store, Whole Foods, and picked up some peppermint extract. Mint chip ice cream is my favorite ice cream... so I thought, "why not recreate the flavor for a mug cake?!"

So tonight, before I sat down to watch the most screwed up episode of Pretty Little Liars ever (EZRA HOW COULD YOU?!), I whipped up this tasty concoction.

Mint Chip Protein Mug Cake!

I used a really narrow mug though, so it's laying on its side. Now it looks like one of those super delicious ice cream logs from Friendly's (that totally just sparked more ideas for mug cakes).

To make this protein mug cake you will need:

- 1 tbsp vanilla protein (I used Perfect Fit- available here http://perfectfitprotein.com)
- 2 tbsp oat flour. If you don't have oat flour or can't find it at your supermarket, just grind up some oatmeal in a food processor :)
- splash of unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup of egg whites
- 3-4 drops peppermint extract
- 1-2 tsp of cacao nibs, however much you prefer. I just sorta sprinkled mine in. If you don't have cacao nibs, use dark chocolate chips, though cacao is the healthier choice :)

Mix all ingredients together, pour into a pre-greased mug (like canola oil spray) and cook in the microwave for 1:30. Make sure you keep an eye on it! Sometimes they rise out of the mug! I frosted mine with greek yogurt that I sweetened with Truvia and topped with a few more cacao nibs.

Totally satisfied my sweet tooth! Enjoy :)

Music Monday and Keeping Hanger at Bay

The most hated day of the week is here and you all probably woke up to an Instagram feed filled with ecards about how Mondays suck. As for me, I slept in until 9:30 because my internship won't start until Thursday.

I've noticed in the past though that my hanger tends to be worst on a Monday, or maybe I'm just actually angry that it's Monday. But if I don't have a small meal every 2-3 hours... baby-dinosaur-hangry-Gabby comes out (Yeah, my little sister calls me a baby dinosaur when I'm hangry. Ain't she sweet? Hi Christina if you're reading this. It's actually a cute nickname.)

So I woke up much later than I normally would on a weekday, because usually if I have something like interning, I'm up at 5 am and I aim to be at the gym by 5:30 to get in a 30 minute cardio session. If I'm doing an opening shift at the Disney Store, I'm up between 6:30 and 7.

Well I woke up at 9:30 and I was ravenous, but too lazy to cook my usual protein pancake, so I turned to my favorite lazy girl breakfast: instant oatmeal. But not just ANY instant oatmeal. Trader Joe's Multigrain Triple Berry Oatmeal with Flax & Chia Seeds. Dang, that's a mouthful! But man, you haven't had oatmeal until you've tried this oatmeal. So I downed a bowl of that baby, had my usual cup of coffee, and my Tone It Up Bombshell Spell, an apple cider metabolism boosting drink, to start my day. Hanger was successfully avoided, and after about an hour of digesting and chores... it was off to the gym!

I get bored REALLY EASILY on a treadmill and I usually run outside to avoid said boredom, but uhhhh we're kinda in a Polar Vortex that not even my Lululemon fleece lined leggings can save. And yes, those leggings are as awesome as they sound. To avoid treadmill boredom I need an exciting playlist that I have to update every week, sometimes twice a week. And I need something with high BPM, or Beats Per Minute. No, I don't actually work out to only show tunes like most people think I do. Just sometimes... and when I do it's Bring It On because I envision all those equity abs those cheerleaders had in that musical.

So let's do this thing where every Monday I let you know what music I'm listening to... and we'll call it Music Monday! GET IT?! Man... aren't I the MOST creative? Wowie kazowie. This week's playlist is consisting of:

1. Most Girls - Pink (Can't Take Me Home)
Yes, this is old school. Like circa 1997. You'll notice I listen to a lot of old school music because the 90s knew what was up. This song is downright INSPIRING! Ladies, you don't need a G to take care of you. Also Pink is rocking a hard body and kickboxing in this video while some buff dude plays a cello. Clearly, it's a workout song.

2. Partition- Beyonce (BEYONCE)
Our girl Yonce dropped this album overnight while I was asleep and I had a serious case of FOMO, but it was such a great present to wake up to. The first time I listened to this song I was like, "Yo. When did Bey get so dirty? I like it." If you haven't heard this song yet, brace yourself. The beat is dirty, as are the lyrics. My favorite part is "He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown." Yep.

3. Something That I Want - Grace Potter (Tangled Sountrack) (HA of course)
So I don't normally workout to Disney music either, but obviously I make an exception for Tangled because it's my favorite and this song has the perfect BPM for running fast and sprinting. Plus it's really friggin catchy.

4. Trouble - Neon Jungle (Trouble EP)
If you watched the VS Fashion Show, this song was used in the really fun part of the show where the PINK collection comes out and everything is bright and colorful. This song SCREAMS cardio.

5. FU - Miley Cyrus feat. French Montana (Bangerz)
One word. Miley. This song needs no other explanation. Miley is my girl. She's just kinda having a Britney circa 2007 moment.

6. Toxic - Britney Spears (In the Zone)
I told you I like throw backs. Perrrrrrrrfect for cardio. Just take a gander at how HOT Britney is in this video. That's fitspo right there.

7. When I Get You Alone - Robin Thicke (When I Get You Alone)
Unlike most people, I'm actually NOT sick of Blurred Lines. I hear that song and I suddenly feel intoxicated and like it's summertime at Boardy Barn. However, I needed to change it up with a Thicke throw back. Have you seen the Glee cover of this? Oh, Darren Criss. Marry me. I actually use both the original and the Glee cover in my cardio.

8. S&M - Rihanna (Loud)
I used to use this song in my Zumba class and I'm just still not sick of it. Though every time I play it I think of a cast party I had in my apartment junior year. It's because of this song and a bunch of theatre people singing at the top of our lungs that the cops showed up and I had to go to court for a noise complaint. That's a story for another day.

9. Stronger - Britney Spears (Oops!...I Did It Again)
Oh man, another Britney throw back. SHOCKAAAA. This is common because I love Britney. This is great when you have a little anger at your stupid ass ex. And just great in general.

10. Dark Horse - Katy Perry feat. Juicy J (Prism)
This song has been on repeat ALL WEEK. There's a part where you can't help but shoulder dance, and I'm so excited Katy acknowledged the shoulder dance in her choreography at the Grammy's last night. Also, Katy Perry is clearly the next supreme.

There you have it! My current favorite, heart pumping tunes! I'm hoping to go to kickboxing tonight, which means after I'm going to crave a protein mug cake! Check back tomorrow to see if there's a new recipe :)

"I wanna know you. Like, know your soul."

If you're awesome, you know the title of my post is from How I Met Your Mother. And that quote just kept running through my head as I got to "know my soul" at my first Soul Cycle class.

I'm a firm believer in that fitness should be fun. I enjoy group fitness classes and regularly attend them at my gym. I also love dabbling in all the new "fitness crazes." Really, I'm game for anything. Something new and exciting? A new twist on a classic form of fitness? SIGN ME UP! For anyone who knows me, you know how I got sucked into the Zumba craze in college. I became a certified Zumba instructor and brought the first Zumba class to Iona College (haaaay, go me). I've tried the hot yoga craze... and nearly died. No really. Afterwards I felt like I had a hangover from hell that lasted 24 hours. If you like Bikram, that's good for you. But I am never taking a class again. Yoga in a 95 degree room? Where I can only drink water AT THE SAME TIME that everyone else gets to drink water? As Aldous Snow would say, that's "booshit, booshit, booshit!" I've tried aerial yoga. Yes! Aerial yoga! Yoga where you hang upside down! YOGA IN THE AIR! I felt like Pink at the Grammy's!

Anyway, my point is, I try everything.

For over a year now, I have been dying to try Soul Cycle, except the problem was it's like... hella expensive and was only in NYC and Cali for a while. Well, guess what Long Islanders (aka mah people), Soul Cycle is in Roslyn! SQUEE! I had the exciting pleasure of doing a Tone It Up Meet Up, which is where members of the Tone It Up community (if you're confused about Tone It Up, please read my last post), get together and do something fun, like dinner or a fitness class. A few TIU Long Island girls and I got together for a Soul Cycle class.

Now before I do anything, I like to do research and prepare myself for what's coming. Despite Soul Cycle being a big up and coming fad, I couldn't find much on it except for a YouTube video of Wendy Williams trying it live on TV and dropping the weights that are attached to your bike seat (we'll get into the weights in a hot sec). All I knew was that Soul Cycle was just going to be... different.

Soul Cycle, if you haven't figured it out from the title, is a spin cycle class. I regularly take "regular" spin at my gym and love it, so I had a good feeling Soul Cycle would be right up my alley. The TIU LI girls that I met kept saying how it's just better than your average spin class: the music is better, the instructors have high energy, and you're basically dancing on a bike. I'm guilty of car dancing, jazz walking during a cool down on a treadmill, and there's been many a time when I've found myself singing out loud at the gym. Dancing on a bike sounded just peachy.

I walked into Soul Cycle and I immediately smell these spa-like scents of eucalyptus and fancy oils, see pretty people in their Lululemon and Nike gear, and I'm greeted by a friendly staff that was uber excited that this was my first class. The awesome girl at the front desk, Sam (who is also a Tone It Up girl!), set me up on my bike. 

So here's the deal. With Soul Cycle, you can't wear regular sneakers. You have to wear the bike shoes that clip into the bike. YOU CANNOT RUN AWAY. Be "one" with the bike. Stay with the pack. You do not escape! Are you intimidated yet? Do not be! Also I should add the room is dark and lit only by candlelight. You're probably like, "Gabby, what da eff is this hippie, granola cycle class?!" NO, IT'S AWESOME KEEP READING! The lights are off so you're not looking around at everyone, judging, because let's face it, we all get pretty judgey at the gym. 

The instructor Rachel walks in, and I can just tell this girl is a PARTAY. She's wearing these bright blue tights that remind me of Mimi from Rent, this shirt that her six pack is just RIPPING through, and long blonde hair flowing everywhere. AKA, she's everything I strive to be.  Rachel adjusts her headset microphone and wails, "ROSLYN ARE YOU READY TO PARTAAAAAAY?" Uh, yes.

By the way, class is normally 40 minutes. I had no idea I signed up for the Soul Survivor class which is an hour long. Sweet baby Jesus.

Lights out. This really funky beat is blasting (my inner speech pathologist worries about the damage this is doing to my ear drums) and everyone just starts rocking out. There it is... the bike dancing. I am hooked. Honestly, I got so lost in the moment, I cannot give you a play by play of everything that occurred. Just that I was sweating bullets and within one minute, my perfectly straightened hair curled up to its natural state. Thank goodness they give you a towel on your bike.

Ok so, what is with the weights? Like I said, Soul Cycle is different. About halfway through the class Rachel tells us to reach under our seats and pick up these adorable, little 2 pound weights. HA. Not so adorable! Right now these widdle baby weights feel like 20 pounds. We do an entire 8 and a half minute arm series while pedaling. And by the end of it, part of me wants to die, the other part of me is like, LET'S KEEP GOING!

You do everything on these bikes: crunches, obliques, push ups...It's a total body workout. And today I have that "good sore" feeling. I'm sure I'll have it for the next 3 days. I walked out of Soul Cycle feeling like a different person. I was so happy, and so thankful that I did something so good for my body and state of mind.

Do yourself a favor. Get your tushie to Soul Cycle.

Visit https://www.soul-cycle.com to create an account and reserve your first class at the discounted price of $20. Packages are also available. Single classes are normally $34. Shoe rentals are free your first time and $3 after. BRING WATER.

Like I said... hella expensive... but so worth it :)

Why am I so hangry?

Hangry (han-gree) adj. The state of anger caused by lack of food; hunger causing a negative change in emotional state. 


Hi, I'm Gabby. And if you ask my family, I'm pretty much always hangry. You're probably thinking, "she looks pretty happy in her picture? Hangry?" Yes, I'm generally a happy person, but when I'm hungry, I tend to lash out irrationally and act like a hungry baby dinosaur. I get even more hangry when my only options are unhealthy foods. It happens. I've taken maters into my own hands now, and I make sure I am always prepared so I won't be as hangry. And I'd like to share my tales of hangriness (or rather, lack thereof) with you.

I like to think I'm in a state of being called The Quarter Life Crisis. Okay, I don't "like" it, but that's what I'm in. In May of 2012, I graduated college. Wah, wah, sob, sob.  We all know graduating college SUCKS. Life after college really took a turn: I had a falling out with a best friend, I suffered from an unexpected break up, and I started... dun, dun, dun... GRAD SCHOOL. Folks, if there's hell on earth... it's graduate school. Seriously, no matter how passionate you are about your career (and believe me, I LOVE my career) grad school is NOT fun nor a walk in the park. I've had a lot of life changes and adjustments this past year; most of them really aggravating and/or depressing. I never gained the freshman 15 in college, but my party lifestyle/ serious relationship of senior year led to a serious case of the relationship gut/Senior 20 (that's what I'll call it). Between my weight gain and suddenly finding myself in this Quarter Life Crisis (can we call it QLC for short?) I started asking myself, "WHAT IS HAPPINESS? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?" and suddenly that Stacie Orrico song "More to Life" (come on...you remember it from like...8th grade) seemed to apply to me. I knew I needed to make a change. I found my positive change in fitness & food.

Here it comes...

"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make people happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands." - Elle Woods

Elle Woods is RIGHT. About a year ago I made a New Year's resolution I would run a 5K and commit myself to getting in better shape. I was at a point when I got out of breath from walking up stairs. I started doing interval running about 3-4 times a week and eventually, I ran my first 5K in July. Now I'm addicted to those endorphins I get from running and any type of cardio activity.

Last spring I discovered Tone It Up, this website run by fitness trainers Karena and Katrina who are just two gorgeous California gals that I totally want to drink with... I mean swap healthy recipes with. I followed their fitness routines, and when I started noticing a difference in my endurance when I worked out and the physical changes in my appearance, I decided to commit to buying their lifetime membership, which was the best money I've ever spent. I'M A BROKE GRAD STUDENT AND I REGRET NOTHING! Their program is a lifestyle change, not a diet, and although it's a big change, I got used to the new routine pretty fast. You should probably check out their website at ToneItUp.com. The workouts are FREE (yay!). And they have a bunch of recipes on their website too! You have not lived until you have tried their blueberry protein pancake. LIVED I SAY!

Anyway, the reason I've decided to start this blog is because I have found a lot of people coming to me for fitness tips, advice, and healthy spins on recipes. I'd like to provide that for all of you...in a blog.

One of my favorite things to make lately has been Protein Mug Cakes. Yep. It is exactly what it sounds like. It's a cake, made in a mug, and the cake is loaded with protein. HAAAAAAAAY. What could be better?
I'd like to give you all my first mug cake recipe. I've been attempting mug cakes for several months now and they have all exploded in the microwave or have came out tasting like chalky protein. This past week, I finally nailed it. The secret was oat flour!

Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp oat flour
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Perfect Fit- available through Tone It Up)
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- splash of almond milk (preferably unsweetened)
- 2 packets of Truvia (which is stevia...if you watch Breaking Bad... don't freak out)

Mix all ingredients together in a microwave safe mug. Place in the microwave for a minute and 30 sec. Keep your eye on it! Sometimes these babies like to rise out of the mug. If it needs more, add another 30 seconds. Plop that beauty onto a plate and top it with something yummy... like greek yogurt and dark chocolate chips! Or peanut butter! Not the healthiest choice... but the other night I topped mine with Trader Joe's Speculoos...aka heaven. It's cookie butter. If you've ever had Waffle Truck, you know what's up. Try it. You will love it. 

So that's what's up, folks. I'm here to provide my own personal recipes, fitness tips, workouts, stress management, etc... Anything that comes to mind to help you be a little less... hangry :)