Sweet & Savoury Coleslaw

Hello beautiful people,

I woke up this morning to the perfect Fall morning. The sun wasn’t up yet (I wake up at 5am), but I could see it starting to pierce through the dark sky, the air was cool and crisp and it was a mere 12°C (53°F). Glorious! I went for a short walk with our puppy and I could tell even he was happy we were done with the crazy heat wave we’ve been having.

I went back inside, poured myself a hot cup of black coffee (I kicked the sugar/creamer addiction a little over a year ago), checked the monitor to see if my baby was still asleep (luckily he was), laced up my running shoes and headed back outside for my morning workout.

Now as much as I love going to the gym and lift really heavy things, the reality is, I just can’t make it there most days. So I go when I can, and take it like a “treat” where I get to work on my favourite muscles…or those I feel need the most stimulation like my shoulders and of course, my booty (I’m no JLo, I can always use more booty!) But going to the gym 4-5 times a week is just not happening yet doesn’t mean I’m giving up on my fitness goals. I just adapt them to my reality. Being adaptable, that’s a lesson I’ve had to learn as a new mom. So maybe I’ll make it to the gym twice a week but in order for me to feel my best, I need to get my body moving at least 6 days a week. And because time is always of the essence, most of my workouts are short, under 30 minutes, and work my entire body and especially my core, which I find is still weak, 13 months after my pregnancy. And I always stretch. I never skimp out on the stretching. Because I know that if I don’t do it, I’ll end up really sore and stiff the next day.

You can say these little morning workouts are my “me” time… A little time to do something good for myself.

So what do my morning workouts look like… Here’s what I did this morning:

Warm-up:

1. 25 air squats
2. 25 jumping jacks
3. 50 high knees
4. 50 butt kicks
5. 1 minute rope skipping (or you can jog in place)

Circuit: Repeat 3-5 times

1. 24 walking lunges
2. 30 toe taps on the patio stairs
3. 15 push-ups
4. 30 mountain climbers
5. 20 yards (60 feet) bear crawl
6. 20 sit-up to standing

Cool down: stretching

Do not be fooled by the simplicity of the bear crawl. It’s brutal! I had never really done it properly before going to the park with my husband for a workout and he had the brilliant idea for us to try an old football training of his. But that’s for another post… But yes, bear crawl, when done properly, is very hard!

If you’re unsure on how to do any of these exercises, please watch a quick instructional video. Youtube has loads of them like this one for bear crawl. It’s worth the extra minutes so you don’t injure yourself and get the most out of the exercise. Also, know when you are breaking form and take a break. Again, it’s not worth you injuring yourself.

After a workout such as this, you can bet I’m hungry. I’ll usually remain hungry for the following few hours. And there’s no such thing as starving myself. This girl’s gotta eat! Feeding myself highly nutritious meals is so important to me. I spend vary valuable time in the morning to workout, I don’t want all my efforts to go to waste.

This is where a salad like this, comes in handy. I packed this for my lunch, knowing I would be very hungry and need something satisfying, delicious and nutritious. This salad is made of nutrient and protein packed red and green cabbage, hemp hearts, shredded apples and cilantro. The dressing is freshly pressed apple juice and apple cider vinegar. I usually add olive oil to my dressings but this time, I wanted to keep it light and crisp…and I wanted to indulge in a little dessert later on!

This salad also makes the perfect accompaniment to your bean burgers, veggie dogs or open faced sandwiches.

I hope you enjoy it and leave me a comment to let me know if you’ve tried my workout!

xx