Christmas Gluten Free Brownies!

HOHOHO Merry Christmas! I hope you're all having FANTASTIC Holidays and spending time with your loved ones! Remember, it's about the MEMORIES! Not stressing over food/missed workouts/ etc. Enjoy the moments, share laughs, and be HAPPY.
Now who wants some Christmas Gluten Free Brownies!

Tips to Stay Fit Through the Holidays

Long time no talk Blogger World!
The Holidays are here, are YOU ready to tackle them on?!

#Vmfityear2014 Fit for the Holidays 6 Week Program & Gluten Free Protein Cheesecake!

I can not believe it is already coming to the end of 2014! This year has definitely gone by so fast!And with that, I present to you the LAST of the #vmfityear2014 workout programs!

Fit for the Holidays

This is a 6 week program that officially starts on November 23rd, but you can really start whenever your heart desires!
The 3 winners will be chosen the first week of January 2015!

In this plan you get:

• full calendar of at home/gym workouts 
• fit life tips
• progress pages
• food log pages
• grocery guide
• Chances to win:
• 2 Boxes of Quest Nutrition Quest Bars + Quest Apparel Shirt
• Food Product from P28!
• You Fresh Naturals coco nutbutter!

All for $8!

There are going to be a mi of FAT BLASTING high intensity workouts as well as STRENGTH and lean muscle building! I know the holidays are full of temptations, goodies, FOOD galore, and happiness and joy :P BUT if you stick with these intense workouts, all the progress you've made this year shouldn't be too badly affected! Keep active, keep consistent, and you'll get to your goals! I always let myself enjoy the food I love, as long as I still KILL it in the gym!

So what are you waiting for?! Commit to a FIT holiday season! Be a beast in the gym, or at home, and get ready to blast fat, build muscle, work up a sweat, and be FIT FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

 

Protein Cheesecake - 2 Versions!

Version 1 Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt 
• 3/4 cup 2% cottage cheese 
• 1 scoop @questnutrition vanilla protein powder 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder 
• optional: berries to mix in, sweetener if your protein powder isn't very sweet!

Method: Blend the cottage cheese, eggs, Greek yogurt together very well. Mix in the protein well. Stir any additional add-ins like berries last. Pour into a sprayed baking dish (the smaller diameter, the taller the cake!! 

Bake for 30 mins at 350 F or until knife comes clean. Let cool in room temperature for an hour or so, then let chill in the fridge for a few hours before eating.

Macros

1 slice of 8: 87 cals, 2 fat, 10.8 carbs, 7.6 protein 

WHOLE CAKE : 696 cals, 6.2 fat, 86.3 carbs, 61.2 protein 

 

Version 2 Ingredients: 

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c pumpkin canned 
• 1 cup 2% fat cottage cheese 
• 2 cup nonfat greek yogurt 
• 4 TBS pb2 powder
• 2/3 cup whey protein
• optional additional sweetener if your protein isn't as sweet and delicious as @musclegauge 

Method: blend all liquid ingredients together, then mix well with dry. Pour into a deep circle baking dish (smaller than an 8-9 inch baking dish, there WILL be batter leftover! You can make individual cheesecake muffins out of the leftover batter!) Bake at 350 for 50-60 mins, until it doesn't jiggle when you shake it. Let it cool in room temperature for a bit. Then let cool in fridge for at least 3 hours. Top with whatevaaa you want! The deeper your baking dish and smaller diameter, the taller and thick your slice will be

Macros:

WHOLE cheesecake without crust: 1083 cals | F: 16.9 g | C: 50.2 g | P: 178 g. 

1 slice out of 8: 135 cals | F: 2.1 g | C: 6.3 g | P: 22.3 g. 

Easy Microwave Protein Peanut Butter Cookies!

Hello everyone! Long time no post :P Sorry! Been swamped with the end of Senior Fall Semester, keeping up with the YouTube, posting on Instagram, and allllll that fancy jazz!
Wanted to share with you all a FAST, quick, easy, and delicious recipe that I actually posted on my YouTube HERE the other day, if you want to see the step by step!

Enjoy the recipe below!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownies!

PUMPKIN BROWNIES

TIS the season for everythangggg pumpkin! Seriously. You can use it to make anything! Pancakes, Donuts, Cakes, Smoothies, WHATEVER you want! So versatile and delicious!

#Vmfityear14 October Month Workout Plan: HALLOWEEN SLIMDOWN!

HELLO OCTOBER! Oh my goodness the months are flying by! How are YOU doing so far this year? Getting to your goals? Working hard? Or maybe not so hard? Well it's time to CHANGE that. Change for YOU. Do you have a goal that you envision yourself in? Why not put in the work to GET there! You have all the tools you need to get to where you want to be, you just need some self motivation to push yourself to get there. Remember, you only get the results from the work you put INTO yourself.
So why not start NOW. Get ready for this month's new plan,

HALLOWEEN SLIMDOWN

[Random note: Hope you all are subscribed to my new YouTube Channel, where I'll be posting a bunch of videos of workouts in the gym, at home workouts where I workout WITH you, baking and cooking in the kitchen, as well as random vlogs and lifestyle tips!]

In this plan like in all the others you get:

• full calendar of at home/gym workouts
• progress pages
• food log pages
• grocery guide
• chances to win:
• 2 Boxes of Quest Nutrition Quest Bars + Quest Apparel Shirt
• Food Product from P28!

All for $6.50!

Get ready for some HIGH INTENSITY workouts right here, full of jumping actions mixed with some light weights, to get that heart rate going and that fat BLASTING.
If you cannot perform some moves, like a burpee or mountain climbers, I have added a slight modification in there, but if you cannot do them AT ALL due to physical limitations, then this might not be the plan for you! But you can always try any of the other #Vmfityear14 Month Workouts to focus on building strength in the gym to jump start your journey!

So what are you waiting for?! You've got 1 month til the big Spooky Holiday, so grab your program, some light weights, and get to work! You'll be addicted to the sweat and the change you'll see.

First YOUTUBE Video, Funfetti Mugcake, and a Tiramisu Recipe!

Hey everyone!

GUESS WHAT?! I just uploaded my first YouTube Video! It's my Intro to my Channel as well as a DELICIOUS and EASY Funfetti Mugcake Recipe! So please check out the video, like, and Subscribe to my channel! I'm aiming to put out like 2-3 videos a week of different things like:

• Lifestyle Tips
• Fitness Tips
• Workouts in the Gym and at Home
• Food/Baking/Cooking
• Vlogs
• ETC!

And I'm super super excited to get this journey going. I actually could not sleep last night because I was so happy hahah! :P I know I know, silly Josie. Anyways, keep reading below for the TIRAMISU recipe!

Vegas Olympia and Update!

I know.... I kinda suck at blogging right?

WELL Here I am giving you all an update on my life, a little rundown of the 2014 Olympia, working with the BEST Company out there, Quest Nutrition, and my plans for the future!

So this whole weekend can be summed up in one word: SURREAL.

I still can't believe that I got a chance to go to Vegas to help rep the best protein company out there, QUEST! #onaquest. It was such a blast meeting the whole Quest team, hearing their vision and goals for the future and for the company, and just seeing such HUMBLE people get together not just to make money or profit from selling products, but with the goal of making a positive CHANGE in people's LIVES from their products. They're not about selling the most or being all above others and mighty, but they genuinely want to make a positive healthy impact on people. They want to help stop obesity, help stop health-related diseases, eating disorders, self hate and body image disorders. They want people to know that they can live a healthier lifestyle, and that starts with what they put in their body. I can't even remember everything that was said this weekend, but basically, this company cares about PEOPLE. And I absolutely loved that.

Now to the Expo itself. It was a BLAST! I've been to the Arnold Expo in the past in Ohio, but never to work a booth, and I thought those were crowded and tight spaced and miserable at times, but the Olympia was surprisingly less crowded than I would have thought! Maybe it was bigger space in the convention center, or maybe it was because I was in the Quest booth the majority of time, which had tons of space for all of us to walk around. It was so much fun to meet all the people in line, actually get approached for pictures, definitely all a new experience for me and I could not have asked for a better weekend. By the end of Saturday we were just chucking Quest Bars at people's heads! So if you went, I hope you got yourself a bag stuffed with Quest Bars and Quest Chips! I'm pretty sure we gave away THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of products this weekend! And it's all for YOU. Quest doesn't get stingy on those samples as you can tell! :P
I really hope I get asked back to the next big expo and get to rep the amazingness that is Quest Nutrition again! <3

The PEOPLE though, that was probably my favorite part of the whole weekend. I got to meet @FreshFitNHealthy, or Sarah, from Instagram who I'd been chatting with a while before the expo, and we clicked INSTANTLY. Like, best friend status, in less than 48 hours. She's so sweet, down to earth, and adorable and probably like my tall Floridan twin if I ever had one.
I got to meet Clark Pagaduan, the man who's been my connect to Quest Nutrition for the LONGEST time. He's the absolute funniest and sweetest guy EVER! Also met Mike who works for Quest as well, but more with the Youtube side!

Then I got to finally meet Crystal @spoonfuloffit who I've been Instagramming with for like 2 years! We started off way back when the fitness community was small on IG, and we finally got to catch up! And she was such a doll! Other IGers that worked the booth were Kevin Fit Men Cook, Kim @pbeechie, Nicolette @njstramfam, Anthony The Fit Bald Man, Tony @tmpecus (who I already met at the past Arnold Expo), Alyse @bitesizedfitness, ...... and we all had such a good time! I also got to meet some other Instagrammers that weren't working the Quest Booth, like Sweet Mama Mel, the awesome twins @HealthNutLife and @CookEatLift, MelissaSarahWee all the way from Singapore, Timbahwolf the bada** flexible dieter, Kyla @theleanqueen, and SO SO SO MANY MORE that I can't simply post them all down. But I'll be posting random throw backs to the Olympia on my own Instagram page if ya want to see all the fun we had :)

Not to mention the completely new people that I got to meet! These fitness YouTubers were SUCH a fun group and I loved every second hanging out with them! Definitely check them all out:
Nikki Blacketter and her boo Christian Guzman
Maxx Chewning
ChelseaLifts
Michael Kory
Tony Do
Matty Fusaro and his fiance Brittany!

Actually, their YouTube accounts inspired ME. [Here's the UPDATE :P ]

Yup, I want to make my own FOR REAL YouTube account. I know I kind of/not really/[it sucked] YouTube videos in the past when I wanted to do vlogs on my bikini journey, but that kind of fell through. This time I'm going in 110%! I want to post workout videos, baking and cooking videos, random vlogs, how I'm living just a regular lifestyle, balanced and intuitive, help you all out who are struggling with any type of ED, and more. I feel like it'll be more interactive that way too! I'm going to post it all! My LIFE. And I hope you all enjoy it, because I know I'll enjoy making it!

So YES.
That was my recap on the Olympia, the amazingness of Quest as a company, the great friends and long lasting relationships created, and my goals for the future!

<3 Josie

Vmfityear2014: Strong and Sexy September

Hello everyone!

Ready for the latest edition to #vmfityear2014 ?!!? Check out

STRONG AND SEXY SEPTEMBER

You know the drill for the #Vmfityear2014 plans!

• calendar full of: gym workouts AND at home workouts
• progress pages
• food log pages
• grocery guide
• PRIZES! 
• You can win Quest Nutrition Quest Bars or P28 products!

This edition's workouts will be focused on building that STRENGTH, and "toned" look that a lot of ladies out there look for! Don't be afraid to hit the weights! They'll mold and form your bodies in AMAZING ways!
Then be on the lookout for next month's edition, Halloween Slimdown! Which will target on blasting the fat before the end of the month!
Who's in it to get STRONG and SEXY this month?!

What are you waiting for?! Purchase below for $6.50!

Binging and Fixing the Mind, Body, Food Connection

"Ok I've gotta eat strict, have to eat clean. Nothing processed, no junk, nothing high fat high carb can touch my lips..... except maybe I'll have the one cookie. DANG IT. Well I've gone and screwed it all up. I'm just going to finish the whole box."

"80% Diet, 20% Gym? Ok I guess that's how it works! But mannn.... I just ate 10 oreos.. so my diet portion is messed up. Well I guess I messed up my day anyways, a workout isn't going to help anything, so I'm not gonna work out today."

How many times have you ever had these thoughts, or similar runs, running through your head?

Don't you wish you could just Eat when you're hungry and just STOP when you're full or satisfied? Why do we feel the need to just STUFF STUFF STUFF when we're not even hungry?

Chickpea Protein Bites: Gluten Free, Flour Free

Hey blog world! Sorry for the lack of posts and updates! If you want more daily motivation, inspiration, recipes, etc, follow me on Instagram or on Twitter for more frequent updates!

Here's a new recipe for ya healthy sweets lovers:

12-Week Bikini Body Program!

Summer Bikini Body 12-Week Program!

*Information on the Memorial Weekend Sale at the bottom!

3 (three) 4-week calendars FULLL OF FAT BLASTING WORKOUTS to really kick your butt into gear this summer.

The way I've structured these workouts is that they're focused on high intensity moves mixed with low intensity moves, essentially like HIIT (high intensity intervals) cardio without the sprints! There's a mix of circuits, timed intervals, AMRAPs (as many rounds as possible) and more!

All different kinds of workouts to really push your body and make it CHANGE!

Trust me, after workout 1 you WILL FEEL IT! These are intense, you'll want to give up, but you WONT! Because you're going to get closer and closer to your goals each workout you do! Your body will adjust, don't worry! Don't give up, every workout is going to make you stronger, faster and BETTER!

The beauty of this program is that It can be done in the GYM orrrr AT HOME!! You just need some type of resistance (weights, books, soup cans, kettle bell, etc), a step up bench or stair step, an interval timer, and place to MOVE!

Now keep in mind this is the "BIKINI BODY" plan, so if you're looking to build serious muscle, this won't be the plan for you. If you're looking to increase endurance, get some serious fat burn and lose fat, then this is the perfect plan! A "bikini body" isn't a specific size or weight or look, but about you being happy and confident in the skin you're in and being fit and strong in your body!

It's official start date is JUNE 1!
But even If you don't start June 1, you can purchase this plan whenever you want and start the 12 weeks whenever your feel like it!!

Are you ready for a sweaty and intense summer??
Don't miss this opportunity to get your lifestyle on the right track!!

What's included: 
54 pages of:

• 12 weeks of intense fat blasting workouts to work your whole body and lose the fat
• bikini guide tips
• food log and progress pages
• grocery guide
• how to continue the lifestyle after the 12 weeks
• effective cardio for fat loss
• effective HIIT resistance styled workouts
• chances to win these prizes at the end of the 3 months in August! 

1. 2 Quest Nutrition boxes + a tshirt
2. P28 Food product
3. You Fresh Naturals delicious coco-nutbutter!!! 

What are you waiting for?!
I've seen programs like this priced anywhere from $50 to $70! It's crazy! I know we all want to get fit and live healthy, but we have budgets too! So I've made this program affordable for you!

** note: if you cannot perform jumping movements like a squat jump or burpee due to physical limitations, then I recommend not purchasing this plan as it contains these two moves as well as other physically challenging movements similar to them.

Everything for just $23.99! 

Quest Bar Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE CUPS!! Who doesn't love the sound of THAT?! Delicious quest bar drool worthy-ness! Hope you enjoy this totally simple creation! If you don't have these two flavors, you can always try plopping together 2 other ones! Be creative!

Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies AGAIN & Slutty Brownies with Quest Bars!

I don't even know how many different black bean brownie recipes I've made and tried, but this is by farrr my FAVORITE. It's fudgy, melt in your mouth deliciousness.

To store, keep in tupperware and fridge.

If you want to eat it, pop them in the microwave for 5-8 seconds! <3 <3

Quest Bar Pumpkin Muffin Pies & High Protein, Natural, Low Calorie Halo Top Creamery Ice Cream Review!

MMMM I love making QUEST BAR CREATIONS!
The bars are so easy and versatile, you can make them into anything! Check out my recipes that I have so far incorporating Quest bars here!
Check out my newest one, Pumpkin Pie Muffins with a Quest Bar Crunchy Crust! TO DIE FOR!!!
Click more to see the recipe, anddd for a review on the newest healthy low calorie ice cream, HALO TOP CREAMERY!

Gluten Free Almond Butter Cookies and #Vmfityear2014 Fit May: Bikini Blast Into Summer!

WOW - Can you believe it's already almost MAY?!?!  
That's RIDICULOUS. I can still remember this exact time last year, it feels like like summer was here not too long ago! Ah, but that means stress of finals week is upon me and I'll be in the library allll day every day. To relieve some stress, I baked some delishhhh almond butter cookies <3
Who doesn't love nutbutter cookies? If you don't... I'm sorry I can't talk to you....

Teehe just kidding.. but seriously. When someone tells me they don't like peanut butter or almond butter, my face is like WHATTTTT?!?!
For all those who DO love it, check out this Gluten Free Almond Butter Cookie recipe! Below!
WITH a hidden ingredient ;]

But FIRST, of course, with the coming month, comes a new #VMFITYEAR2014 CALENDAR!  
 So read more about the new May Plan: FIT MAY: BIKINI BLAST INTO SUMMER and for the new recipe!

Gluten Free Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes & Donuts!

 Who knew black beans could be so versatile??

Read more for 2 recipes: Gluten free black bean cupcakes and black bean donuts!

Update on My Life: No more IIFYM, Hello Intuitive Eating

I know I haven't done a "What's Happening In My Life" long wordy post in a while... so I guess I'll do one now and update you all on what I've been doing these past few months!

Quest Bar Creations! Ice Cream and Mug Cakes!

MMMM you all know my love of Quest Bars right?
And over the summer when I was a Quest Creation FIEND?!
Welp here are some more recipes for you to drool over and make yourself!

ICE CREAM and a MUGCAKE!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Bites & #Vmfityear2014 Fit&Strong April!

Hope you've all been rocking the monthly fitness plans for #vmfityear2014 so far!

Here's the new FIT&STRONG APRIL month as well as a DELICIOUS RECIPE!

Gluten Free Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes and Rise Bar Review!

Hello blog world!
Long time no post right?
Sorry I've been SWAMPED with school work, internship applications, LIFE, it's all so hectic! But if you want more daily updates from me, don't forget to follow me on instagram, tumblr, and twitter! I update there a lot more than here!
If you're wondering about what I'm doing NOW, I'll be having a post later about how I'm eating, working out, how I'm living my healthy lifestyle journey, etc. More #stoppingthebinge posts, more tips on how to get through this lifestyle in the healthiest, and most maintainable way! <3

BUTTT for now, I have a delicious recipe AND review!

RISE BARS

Last year I got to review Rise Bar products, a company that has bars for ALL your needs: breakfast, energy, and protein bars! Check the link to read all about them!

This time I got to review two new protein flavors of theirs:

Cinnamon Sunflower and Lemon Cashew

The lemon cashew was surprisingly delicious! It had a great light hint of lemon, not too overwhelming at all. And I love cashew butter in general, it added a natural sweet taste, I wasn't overwhelmed by the sweetness at all!  I know lots of other bars out there contain WAYY to much artificial sugars and when you bite it it's like WHOA, I think I just got a cavity... But not with Rise Bars. Seriously, look at those ingredients for the Lemon Cashew bar:

That's why I love this company. It's so straightforward, NOTHING crazy added. Just all natural ingredients! It's AMAZING.

The sunflower cinnamon was interesting! I've never tried sunflower butter, so it was definitely a different taste than the nutbutters I've tried, like almond, cashew, peanut. But it had a good earthy taste, full of cinnamon too! My boyfriend wasn't a fan, but I actually liked the flavoring of it. Wasn't too sweet, which I like!

Both bars, since they are made from a nut base, are a bit oily when you take them out of the wrappers, but that's just the oil from the nuts :) But I did love the texture, soft to bite and chew, and the tastes were delicious as well!

Thanks so much Rise Bar for allowing me to try your new flavors!
And as a bonus, they've given a coupon code where you can save 5$ on your order!! Use the code: "5OFFRISE"

 ___________________________________________________

Chocolate Avo-Cupcakes

Avocado cupcakes WHAT??!

The secret ingredient that adds moistness, and super healthy benefits. AND you can't even taste the avocado!

 

Ingredients:

·      2 medium ripe avocados

·      3 eggs

·      ¼ cup cocoa powder

·      1 TBS coconut flour

·      2 TBS almond flour

·      ½ tsp baking soda

·      ¼ to 1/3 cup honey

·      optional 2 TBS chocolate chips

Method:

·      Preheat oven to 350 F

·      Mash avocados well with a fork or spoon

·      Mix together wet ingredients, then add dry except chocolate chips

·      Pour into greased muffin/cupcake liners

·      Top with optional chocolate chips

·      Bake for 15 minutes or until knife comes clean

#Vmfityear2014 MARCH FITNESS MADNESS: Glute lifting edition

Welcome to another month in this #VMFITYEAR2014!
Ready to keep on going in this lifestyle journey of yours?!