Guest Post: Work It Out!

Hi everyone! Today we have a guest post from Carolina over at Peas in a Blog! I was happy when she contacted me about guest posting, and guess what? I'm guest posting over at her blog today as well, so head on over and check it out! Meanwhile, enjoy her lovely post about working out on a time crunch! Thanks Carolina!

Hello there Passing Daisies readers! My name is Carolina & I co-write Peas in a Blog with my best friend Katie. Our blog focuses on vegetarian food & fitness. Both Katie & I love to work out, so when Rachael asked me to write a post about my favorite workouts I jumped at the chance.

I know what you’re thinking, sometimes we don’t have the time a lot of time to work out. Whether we’re working long hours, going to grad school or taking care of a family, time can be tough to come by most days. The good news is that you don’t need a lot of time to get a great workout – if you have 30 minutes you can squeeze in a good work out session. Below are our favorite workouts to do when we’re crunched for time:

CrossFit

Have you seen the Reebok CrossFit commercials on TV lately? It seems everywhere you turn there’s a new CrossFit gym popping up, what’s with the craze? I’ll tell you: All CrossFit workouts are 25 minutes or less. They are high intensity, work your entire body & always have modifications so no matter your fitness level you can enjoy Crossfit. I’ve been doing CrossFit for about 8 months now & love it – it’s made me stronger, pushes me to go all out during work outs & I’m seeing results. Below is a quick 15 minute CrossFit workout you can do at home, I call it the Kacie after one of the girls I do CrossFit with. It’s quick but makes you work up a sweat, you feel pumped after you’re done!

Running

What’s so great about running? For starters, it’s free & you can’t beat that. It’s great for your heart, keeps you fit & in shape year round. All you need is running shoes & you’re good to go! I’m an outdoor runner but whenever I’m trying to squeeze in a short but challenging run I hit the treadmill. By controlling the incline & the speed you can get a great interval workout in just 20 minutes.  Wake up a little early & knock out this run before work:

Yoga

When you think of yoga you think of one hour long classes at a studio right? That doesn’t have to be the case, truth is you can do yoga for 30 minutes & still reap all its benefits. Whenever I don’t have time to hit my local yoga studio I pull out my yoga mat at home & do either an Exercise TV free yoga class (most are 30 minutes or less) or a yoga class from Fitness Class, an app available for iPads with several yoga classes (also great for arms, legs & core classes). I love starting or ending my day with yoga, workout & relaxation in one – talk about a time saver!

These are just a few of my favorite workouts but you get the idea: If you have 30 minutes in the day you can find a way to incorporate workouts. I hope this post has inspired you to give something new a try (like CrossFit) & discover you’re stronger than you are. Or to lace up your shoes & head out for a run. Or perhaps to set time aside to clear your mind & stretch your body with yoga. I would love to hear what are your favorite workouts? Do you have any tips to squeeze in a workout when you’re crunched for time? Let’s hear them!

About Carolina

Carolina is a marketing professional and a graduate student. She is a fitness and vegetarian food connoisseur who loves to cook, run & practice yoga. Along with her best friend, she writes about vegetarian fare and fitness adventures at Peas in a Blog. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook or contact Carolina by email at thecooks@peasinablog.com

Product Review: Wai Lana Yogi Bars

I'm trying really hard to get more and more into yoga. I hear so often about how much people love it and how great it is for you, but I can't seem to find my inner yogi. Perhaps it is because I am not flexible in the slightest?! Anyways, Wai Lana offers a million different resources for all you yogis out there! They have yoga mats, DVDs, cook books, accessories, supplements, and much more. They even have snacks to replenish your energy after your workout!

Wai Lana sent me one of each of their vegan, raw fruit and nut bars, or Yogi Bars, to review. Five of the seven flavors were vegan, and included: Nana Banana, Apricot Cashew, Cherry Pomegranate, Cranberry Almond, and Tropical Macadamia. 

Cherry Pomegranate: Pretty good. It took me a minute or two to get used to the large chunks of nuts as opposed to a Larabar which uses a more finely ground nut, but the more I ate, the more I enjoyed this bar. I especially love dried cherries, and there were large chunks of cherries in this bar! This was my favorite out of all the flavors.

Cranberry Almond: Good, and similar to the cherry pomegranate. However, this bar could use some more cranberries in it; it was lacking a little bit in the amount of cranberries it contained. Lots of almonds, although, again, the nuts were in large pieces.

Apricot Cashew: I have to say, this was my least favorite flavor. I was not a fan. It had a weird flavor, and it didn't taste at all like apricot. This was just kind of mediocre with not a lot of flavor.

Tropical Macadamia: This was good and had a strong tropical flavor! The flavor was primarily mango and pineapple, and both were very dominant. There was also lots of coconut. Delicious.

Nana Banana: Strong, real banana flavor. None of that artificial flavoring here! Pretty good.

Overall, these bars were just mediocre. I didn't love any of them. I'm still getting used to how big the pieces of nuts were... maybe I just love Larabars too much? They aren't bad, and maybe it's just me, because I read another review recently who raved about these bars! Try them for yourself and see what you think.

The Daisy Rating

3/5 daisies

Much love,