Queen Boss Fit @queenbossfit - Tumblr Blog

Plank Oblique Crunches

I think this is one of the easiest yet effective exercises you can do for you obliques. You don't need any equipment and unlike many other abdominal exercises, you don't have to worry about finding a soft and comfortable surface to lie on your back. For this one you simply start in a plank position with flat hands, back and hips are straight and aligned. You can then alternate or do continuous reps on both sides. You're basically pulling your knee up and in, almost touching your shoulder. This one is great because it works your entire core but concentrates mostly on your obliques. Do as many as you can, wear yourself out, I guarantee you'll be feeling it tomorrow.

Oranges, Raspberries, Coconut, & Walnuts

Just as the title says, these are the ingredients I used for this salad. The fruits and coconut gave this a great tropical flavor and the walnuts added a really nice, chewy texture. This was definitely one of the prettiest salads I've ever made. You have to love a salad that not only tastes amazing but looks amazing too.

Honey Wheat Bread With Chia & Flax Seeds

I had to experiment a few times to get the right recipe but I finally found one that seems to work the best. I use a Sunbeam brand bread machine for this, you'll have to look at your own bread machine's instruction manual to figure out what order to place the ingredients into the machine but here are the ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/3 cup honey

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp salt (I use himalayan)

1/3 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup flax seeds

4 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/4 tsp yeast

I mixed the dry ingredients together first (salt, seeds, flour) and set my bread machine to the 2 lb loaf setting and light crust because I prefer my bread to come out as soft as possible. My bread machine specifically has a whole wheat setting too which I think most do. I love how it turned out and am going to bake this regularly. It fills the house with the most amazing scent and beats store bought bread any day.

Taking A Break

Every once in a while, I get the intuition that my body needs a break. If you're still in the beginning stages of your fitness goals, I recommend continuing to go hard and push through each workout each day but if you're someone who has been exercising regularly for several months to several years, consider that your body may need a resting period. Turns out this was a good idea for me because I noticed an injury in the middle of my back recently so laying off of the heavy equipment for a while will be best for a quick recovery. In the meantime, I'm going to focus on stretching, yoga, and relaxation. I'll continue to stay active with my kids and go on walks daily but overall I want to treat my body well and give it a break. Another positive thing about doing this is when you finally get back to lifting weights again after a few weeks, you shock your muscles a little which initiates better growth and strengthening. Wish me luck!

Kitchen Sink Salad

For this salad I literally just threw together what I had lying around. Red onion, avocado, smoked gouda, sunflower seeds, and chipotle ranch yogurt dressing. This tasted in an odd way like comfort food. Creamy, smoky, and nutty.

Lentil, Quinoa, & Egg White Protein Patty

I threw this together one afternoon. I didn't really follow a recipe so as you can see from the photo, it came out somewhat crumbly. I will probably increase the egg whites next time. I combined about two cups of quinoa and two cups of lentils. I then added two egg whites and one cup of panko bread crumbs. Next time I will most likely increase it to four egg whites and add more bread crumbs until I get the right consistency. I seasoned in with salt, pepper, garlic & herb seasoning and a small sprinkle of chipotle seasoning. I coated a baking sheet with coconut oil, lightly coated the patties with whole wheat flour and baked at 400 for 10 minutes. They taste amazing (just wish they held together better.) I enjoyed this as a sandwich with spinach and homemade lemon hummus.

No Water With Food

Several months ago, when asked what they would like to drink, one of the guests at my restaurant responded with, "nothing." "Nothing?" I asked, "Are you sure?" He laughed and kindly explained to me that for twenty years he hasn't taken liquids with his meals. He drinks an hour before and waits an hour after. Fast forward to the past few months, I myself have noticed that when I eat meals, I seem to digest them with much more ease and metabolize my food faster without water. From what I've read, the liquid interrupts the process and flushes out natural enzymes and acids we naturally produce. And when you think about eating food that is raw and clean and natural, you are already eating food that is hydrating. A small amount of water is okay but overall I've found that trying to replenish my body with fluids in between meals instead of with them has greatly improved my digestion and metabolism.

Sweet Golden Salad

As usual, I went with what was on sale at my local grocer and threw together a delicious salad. Apple pears, fresh corn shaved off of the cob, mashed avocado, sunflower seeds, and a drizzle of honey over the entire salad. The tastes and textures gave this dish a really great sweet and nutty flavor while the honey created a comfort food kind of feel.

Time For Summer Squash

If you've read previous posts, you probably know how much I love zucchini. Almost as good as zucchini is yellow squash, they're very similar in taste and texture. I cut these length wise into long, thick sticks and coated them in a coconut oil, salt, pepper, and onion seasoning mixture. I roasted them at 450 for about 15 minutes, turning them over about halfway through.

Lunge Hold & Pulse

I don't particularly have bad knees or joints but I've noticed over the years that certain exercises don't seem to agree well with my body. Lunges are one of them. I enjoy doing them, I get great results from them, but my knees always feel a little worn after a few sets. If you're experiencing similar discomfort with this exercise or others, you may want to double check your form but if you know you're doing the movements properly, you may just want to adjust the exercise to relieve the strain on your body. These days, instead of traditional lunges, I go into a lunge and hold it for as long as I can. When I'm getting close to fatiguing out or "failure" I do several short pulses to finish it off. After a short rest period I switch legs and repeat a few times. This has been really effective for me and a great alternative to walking lunges.

Blackberry, Pecan & Rice Salad

Mixed greens, spinach, brown rice, blackberries, pecans, and balsamic vinaigrette. No special reason for this combination, the blackberries and pecans were on sale and I had some leftover rice. It ended up being a great dish.

Whole Wheat Pancakes With Honey & Ricotta

I followed a recipe for the cakes since baking can be a lot more tricky. I omitted the egg yolks and did only egg whites instead. I mixed 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 3 tbsp honey, 4 egg whites, 2 cups unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup coconut oil. Dry and wet ingredients mixed separately first, then combined. Once they were done I added a small dollop of ricotta and drizzled some extra honey on top. Delicious. Great as a dessert too.

Single Dumbbell Raise

I love working on my delts and I mix it up by doing side raises, front raises, bent arm raises etc. This one is really great though because it simplifies the movement by allow you to use just one dumbbell and both arms at the same time. You will not only feel this in your shoulders but in your chest somewhat as well. Choose a weight you are comfortable with. Lift up somewhat overhead, only to about a 45 degree angle, and back down below your hips again at about a 45 degree angle and repeat.

Smoky Eggplant Pizzas

For this one I sliced a large eggplant into about 1/4" slices. I then tossed them in coconut oil, salt, and pepper and roasted them at 450 for about 10 minutes. I took them back out, spread a small dollop of pizza sauce on each one and then sprinkled them with shredded smoked gouda. I placed them back in the oven on broil for about an additional 5 minutes. These were amazing and my kids loved them too.

Spicy Mango & Red Onion Salad

This was probably my most favorite salad I've ever made. I chopped a mango, very thinly sliced some red onion, laid them on a bed of mixed greens, quinoa/rice/barley mix, and topped it off with fresh lime juice and chili lime seasoning. I used a pear and gorgonzola dressing that I have which went perfectly with sweet and savory theme.

Going On A Sprint

A few times a week I like to take a walk to the beach. Here and there I throw in a good sprint. This is a tactic that I've actually taken from the concept of interval training. At certain points in my walk I will began to sprint for about 30 seconds. I literally run as fast as I possibly can and stop. I slow back down to a fast paced walk for about 90 seconds. This throws your heart rate up really quickly and then forces your body to slow the heart rate back down. When you repeat this sprint/resting process several times you are not only strengthening your cardio but you're burning fat. It's just a different way of doing things. I'm not the type to run or jog for an entire 30-45 minutes. I can, and I do at times but it's not my favorite. Rather, I love to do sprints, I love that burst of crazy energy and then I love to come back down and enjoy my walk.

Sliced Bananas With Natural Peanut Butter & Flaxseed

I never get sick of this. The banana/peanut butter combination is one of my favorites and the flaxseed adds a little crunch. It makes a great sidekick to your cereal, oatmeal, eggs, whatever. I think the natural sugars from the banana and the protein from the peanut butter creates a great energy source to start the day. Easy and delicious.

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