(High-Protein) Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Overnight Oatmeal

On July 19, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Breakfasts, Fitness Foods (Meals), Gluten-free, High-protein, Low-fat, Meals under 350 Calories, Nut-freeLeave a comment

It’s not the weekend if I don’t have another new Overnight Oatmeal to share (I’ll run out of fresh new ideas someday, but today’s NOT the day)! And it’s not a Golden Graham Girl Overnight Oatmeal if it’s not a delicious, high-protein, ~~healthy~~healthful spin on a flavour combination that is normally reserved for dessert (or at least after noon). So it MUST be Sunday if I have this sweet Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Overnight Oatmeal to share with you! (Checks calendar.) Yup, it’s Sunday! Just in time for you to make a big batch of this for awesome breakfasts ALL WEEK LONG!

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How-To: Make Macadamia Butter at Home

On July 19, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Condiments, Sauces, Spreads & Toppings, How-To, Random, Uncategorized2 Comments

If my How-To: Make Hazelnut Butter at Home inspired you, then hopefully this How-To will elevate you. I’ve taken what I’ve learned from making nut butters, including different flavour combinations, and come up with this gorgeous roasted macadamia nut butter with vanilla and sea salt. (And if the last How-To didn’t inspire you to fire up your food processor – or high-speed blender – then maybe this one will.)

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(High-Protein) Healthy Bread Pudding (Low-fat)

On July 18, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Breads (Yeast), Rolls & Scones, Breakfasts, High-protein, Low-fat, Nut-free, Special Occasion Desserts4 Comments

Bread pudding: sweet, sticky, syrupy goodness. Every bite is the perfect balance of creamy sauce, chewy bread and just a hint of crispy, crunchy bits of baked crust. It’s every carbohydrate-lover’s dream dessert, and with bread in the title you could even be forgiven for thinking that it could be “healthy” (minus all of the sugar, of course). Well, it’s time to combine dreams with the reality that I have a high-protein, low-fat, lower-carbohydrate recipe to share with you for my very own Bread Pudding and it’s free of added fats and sugars! Weekend baking project, anyone? This would make a perfect dessert or even a great addition to a weekend breakfast or brunch!

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Banana-Pineapple-Spinach Protein Smoothie (Vegan option)

On July 13, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Breakfasts, Fitness Foods (Meals), Gluten-free, High-protein, Low-fat, Nut-free, Nutritious Noshes (Snacks), Smoothies, Vegan3 Comments

This “green” smoothie might be a verdant colour and it might feature some decidedly good-for-you green ingredients, but the taste is nothing but sweet yellow summer sunshine! Ripe bananas and tropical pineapple will wow your tastebuds and your body will thank you for all of the extra goodness of GREEN tea and GREEN spinach. Packed with protein, potassium and quick-acting carbohydrates, this is the perfect pre- or post-workout pick-me-up. It also makes a great “any time” summery snack or meal.

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(High-Protein) Dark Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oatmeal

On July 12, 2015July 5, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Breakfasts, Fitness Foods (Meals), Gluten-free, High-protein, Nut-free1 Comment

Cherry blossom season in South Korea is BEAUTIFUL. Streets and countrysides are lined with trees whose branches are clouds of pink and white blossoms. As the season progresses, these blossoms drop away and float down like a soft, warm wonderful kind of snow and blanket the shoulders of the roadways. But what’s even more beautiful, in my mind, is the bounty of fresh, ripe cherries that follows. Rich, deep-red cherries with shiny, glossy skins are currently lining the shelves of grocery stores, fruit stands and markets everywhere. Their fresh, tart sweetness is begging to be eaten and I am eating them in abundance! I eat them by the handful, the bowful, the bagful, and the whole darn boxful! And guess what happens to pair perfectly with juicy cherries? Rich, complex, oh-so-slightly bitter deep-dark chocolate! I was literally mid-drizzle with my chocolate syrup* poised over a bowl of fresh chopped cherries when my latest idea for Overnight Oatmeal sprang to mind. Dark Chocolate Cherry is decadently delicious and still as healthful, high-protein and wholesome as ever!

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Image source: http://eurythmia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Relax-slider.jpg

How-To: Take a Break

On July 11, 2015July 12, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, Resources, Workouts3 Comments

You might think from my previous How-To posts on How-To: Track Your Macros and How-To: Track Your Progress that I’m an advocate for relentless, unyielding pursuits of fitness goals, striving to be ever leaner/fitter/faster/stronger. I’M NOT. You simply CANNOT continue to push the body without expecting it to push back. Your body is smarter than your brain, and it is HIGHLY efficient. Ever wonder about weight loss and/or strength gain plateaus? You reduce your intake/increase your workouts and yet that one last pound gets harder and harder to lose or lift? Your body, marvelous machine, has reduced its metabolism and has gotten smarter and more efficient about fueling its required processes with LESS fuel, because you are supplying it with LESS fuel. Very smart (if only our cars operated on the same principle!). Similarly, your body has adapted to the stress of the workouts and doesn’t experience the same muscular hypertrophy and strength gains as it previously did under the same or lesser loads. VERY, very smart!

So, what do we do about this? Well, in a word – nothing! That’s right, there’s virtue in kicking back and relaxing! It’s time to talk about the value of knowing when to strive and knowing when to stop.

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How-To: Track Your Progress

On July 11, 2015July 12, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, Resources, Workouts2 Comments

As I mentioned in my How-To: Track Your Macros post, you’re going to get a wealth of information about your macronutrient intake. But generally people are only going to put in that level of effort if they have a goal to achieve, in terms of physical performance and/or body composition. And the very best goals are S.M.A.R.T goals: specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely/time-oriented. So, if you confer with your trusted health professional and decide that a realistic goal for you is to lose 10 lbs in 6 months, then you’ve covered off all of those attributes. But you won’t know whether you’ve achieved that goal unless you MEASURE – in this case, you have to step on that damn scale! You won’t know whether the actions you are taking (the input), such as eating a certain macronutrient ratio/target each day, are working as intended unless you look at the output. And progress is multi-faceted – so the more measurements you take, the more you can see progress and successes in areas you might have otherwise missed by focusing on one measurement exclusively (i.e. only ever looking at the unchanging number on the scale without realizing that you’ve lost several inches by decreasing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass and/or gotten noticeably stronger at back squats).

So, that’s my case for tracking progress. If you’re a believer, follow along!

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Image source: http://mindovermunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/macros.jpg

How-To: Track Your Macros (IIFYM a.k.a. Flexible Dieting)

On July 11, 2015July 12, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, Resources, Workouts8 Comments

Alright. You’ve heard about it. You’ve seen the acronym a few too many times, and far too many photos in your Instagram feed of “bikini athletes” mowing their way through deep-dish pepperoni pizzas as part of their show prep. If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) is a food/nutrition/diet movement that looks at food at the macronutrient level: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. P-C-F, in IIFYM short-hand.

There is no more “clean” food vs. “junk” food or “good” food vs. “bad” food. No more cheat days or treat days; no “earning” carbs or calories. Food is food. From an apple to an anchovy, a chicken breast to a Cheez-It, all food is comprised of the same three basic macronutrients (yes, there are also micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals to consider, but we’ll worry about that later). The idea is that your body needs a certain personalized ratio of these three macronutrients for optimal performance and body composition. Figure this out and then make small changes over time and you can reap lasting changes in your strength, physique and body composition.

This post is NOT about figuring out YOUR personalized macronutrient ratios. There are other websites for that and frankly, that can actually be the easy part. The harder part (as always) is putting information into action and taking the steps to actually eat the desired/required macronutrients in the run of a day (or week). The only way to know whether you’re actually doing this is to TRACK WHAT YOU ARE EATING. Everything you’re eating and ALL of what you are eating. THAT is what this post is about.

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My Favourite Fitness Bloggers

On July 6, 2015July 5, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Random, Uncategorized, WorkoutsLeave a comment

Just in time for #MotivationMonday (apparently super popular on Instagram and trending on Twitter these days), get to know my favourite fitness bloggers from around the web – a much shorter list than My Favourite Food Bloggers but I guess it’s because these two inspirational women do the work of many! You’ll see many of their ideas and insights echoed in my own posts (and I hope I’ve given credit where credit was due) – great minds think alike!
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(High-Protein) Salted Caramel Apple Overnight Oatmeal

On July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Breakfasts, Fitness Foods (Meals), Gluten-free, High-protein, Low-fat, Meals under 350 Calories, Nut-freeLeave a comment

Since apples are really a fruit of the fall, I guess I could be accused of pushing the season (but not in a ~~lame~~efficient let’s-buy-new-school-supplies-in-July kind of way). But summer makes me think of carnivals and festivals (a little shout-out for the Calgary Stampede July 3-12, 2015, a.k.a RIGHT NOW – Mr. Golden Graham’s hometown, yee-haw, ya-hoo!), and carnivals make me think of candy apples! And deep-fried Oreos. But I don’t have an overnight oatmeal for that. Yet. So back to the candy apples. Sticky, sweet and, well, apple-y, this overnight oatmeal has captured it all but without the sugar. And regret. No-regret oatmeal! Catchy, isn’t it?