Health: My Pumped-up Workout Playlist

So I've been on a bit of a hiatus.  Much of my time has been spent learning my new job and focusing on myself (my dreams, my health, and my self-esteem).

I've been on a health kick lately (that I'm hoping will become a healthy lifestyle change over time) and exercising at least 3 days a week.  Sometimes I do classes or bring a friend, but working out with my iPod and headphones is a sure way for me to get an intense workout.  Here's a collection of my favorite motivating pump-up songs on my workout playlist:

1. Aaliyah - "More than a Woman"
2. Afrojack ft. Eva Simons - "Take Over Control"
3. Afrojack & Shermanology - "Can't Stop Me Now"
4. Asteroids Galaxy Tour - "Push the Envelope"
5. Beyonce - "End of Time"
6. Beyonce - "Run the World"
7. Blink 182 - "All the Small Things"
8. Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding - "I Need Your Love"
9. Cassie - "Long Way to Go"
10. Chiddy Bang - "Opposite of Adults"
11. Damone - "Now is the Time"
12. Drake - "Show Me a Good Time"
13. Flo-Rida - "Jump"
14. Four Year Strong - "Heroes Get Remembered - Legends Never Die"
15. Goldfrapp - "Ooh La La"
16. Jay-Z - "Hate"
17. Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack"
18. Kanye - "Power"
19. Ke$ha - "Frenzy"
20. Kid Sister - "Get Fresh"
21. Lupe Fiasco - "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now"
22. M.I.A. - "Bad Girls, NARS Remix"
23. NERD - "Rock Star"
24. Pussycat Dolls - "Wait a Minute"
25. The Pretty Reckless - "Make Me Wanna Die"
26. Rihanna - "Raining Men"
27. Rihanna - "Hard"
28. Rihanna - "Jump"
29. Skrillex - "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites"
30. TLC - "Silly Ho"

If you have any hype-up workout songs you would like to add to my list, feel free to comment below! :)


Love and pump-up songs,
Katie

Treats: Reduced-Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

You would never know that these cookies have lots of nutritional value!  My healthy cooking companion, Joshua, and I doctored up a recipe for Oatmeal Cookies so that we would feel a little less guilty about eating them by the handful.  These are the ORIGINAL ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup cashews
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup butterscotch chips

Sounds delicious, right?  They probably are.  But if you, like me, are trying to avoid sugar as much as possible, you probably become very, very sad as you look at that recipe.  This is why Joshua and I have swapped some ingredients to significantly reduce the amount of sugar in these cookies, yet still make them sweet & enjoyable!  

Here are some of our ingredient swaps:

1. Swap butter for Smart Balance Light with Flax.  It's hard to cut down the fat in a recipe that calls of 1/2 lb. of butter.  However, Smart Balance Light with Flax was the healthiest and most natural product we could find in the grocery store to substitute the butter in this recipe.  Smart Balance Light with Flax is non-dairy, gluten-free, natural, contains no hydrogenated oils, and contains 0g trans fats.  Also, the Flax helps battle heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.  These are all good things, people!

2. Swap 1 cup Brown Sugar for 1/2 cup Brown Sugar.  Simply cutting down the amount of brown sugar added in your cookie recipe won't hurt your cookies.  

3. Joshua's and my favorite swap: eliminate the 2/3 cup sugar and add 2/3 cup Splenda infused with Fiber! This product contains 1g of fiber per TEASPOON. There are three teaspoons in a tablespoon and 16 tablespoons in a cup.  Do the math: that's 32g of fiber you just put in your cookies! And that is on top of another 8g of fiber you add when you mix in 1 cup of quick oats. Your intestines will thank you! (Aside: Men need about 35g of fiber per day and Women need about 30g of fiber per day, or about 14g of fiber per 1,000 calories consumed.)

4. Swap 2 whole eggs for 4 egg whites.  Joshua and I used whole eggs to increase the protein value in our cookies, but if you are trying to cut down on your cholesterol or fat intake, use 4 egg whites in place of 2 whole eggs.

5. Swap cashews with walnuts.  Walnuts have more nutritional value, including Omega-3 Fatty Acids which help boost your imune system and develop the nervous system in children.  Here is a list of other healthy nuts you can use in place of cashews.

6. Swap your sugary chocolate chips with anything yummy! Raisins, nuts, sugar-free chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or nothing at all are good substitutes for the chocolate and butterscotch.  You can also simply reduce the amount of chips.  Rather than adding the 1 2/3 cup chips like the recipe calls for, only add 2/3 cup. 

So, here is our final recipe for these delicious and semi-nutritious oatmeal cookies with all of the swapped ingredients! After you make these, try swapping other recipes to make them more nutritious! :)

Joshua and Katie's Healthier-than-the-Original-Recipe Oatmeal Cookies:

8 oz. Smart Balance spread, Original with Flax

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup Splenda with Fiber

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 whole eggs (OR 4 egg whites)

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 1/4 cup sifted flour

2 cups old fashioned or quick oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

2/3 cup white chocolate chip

1. Combine first 4 ingredients. Add eggs and vanilla. 
2. Slowly stir in sifted flour.
3. Fold in oats, nuts, and chocolate chips
4. Use teaspoon to scoop cookies on to a nonstick baking sheet.  
5. Bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.  Yields 5 dozen cookies.

YUM!

Peace, Love, and many grams of Fiber,

Katie

Valentine's Day: How to Even-out the Score

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays (Hallmark holiday or not). It is an opportunity to express to what extent we care about one another, which is why many feel pressured to have extravagant plans for their partners on February 14th. I'm here to tell you why it's OK not to stress over your plans yet still have a meaningful way to say "I Love You."

Don't go overboard for your lady.
Here's the secret: If you really want to impress your lady on Valentine's Day, give her something small every day for the entire week of Valentine's Day.

Here's why: Women and men "keep score" in relationships in very different ways from one another. Women will give one point for everything they consider a good deed, no matter how big or small.  Bringing home a $15 Chinese dinner has the same point value (1 point) as bringing home a $100 steak dinner (1 point).  One accumulates points by doing something small more often to express his or her care. For example, one flower per day for seven days = 7 points. Seven flowers at one time = 1 point.

Go big or go home for your man.
Here's the secret: Make your man feel special when you need to make him feel special: Valentine's Day, his birthday, and Christmas. Take it easy the rest of the year.

Here's why: Men's internal scorekeepers are a little different from women's.  Men are able to give more than one point for what they consider a good deed. Points can then be stored in their internal point vaults to be accessed whenever necessary.  One accumulates points by doing something bigger but less often to express his or her care. This Valentine's Day, making him a steak dinner (50 points), giving him the latest technology (100 points), and planning an intimate evening (or whatever else is very special to him worth 500 points) will probably rack up enough points to last for quite some time.

I'm no marriage counselor, but I've read some books.  Relationship Expert Mark Gungor knows what I'm talking about... Watch his lecture here.

Wishing many love points upon you,

Katie :)

P.S. Related post: Single Ladies' Guide to Enjoying Valentine's Day.  Photo at the top of this post courtesy of Jenn Aycox, Photographer.