BIKINI SERIES!!

Hello lovelies!!
So this is a little late, but Candy and I have been super busy! Monday marked the first day of the annual Tone It Up bikini series! This is our first time doing it, but we are so excited to be a part of it this year. The bikini series is an 8 week challenge to really get our bodies in shape for swimsuit season. Karena and Katrina send out a weekly workout schedule that tell you exactly what to do each day. We are also working toward 100 or 150 miles by summer (June 21st). I have decided to go for the big 150, because I really want to challenge myself! Unfortunately Candy can't run for the next couple weeks ): On top of everything they send you, there are prizes!! They pick a couple winners who get to go anywhere in the world they want with their best friend. There are also weekly prizes. So what are you waiting for?
This is the link for the first weekly schedule and to sign up for the bikini series. When you sign up, you get a free starter pack that includes tips and tricks as well as yummy recipes!

http://toneitup.com/2014/04/the-1st-bikini-series-weekly-schedule-%E2%98%80/

Brownies!

How can you get any better than a delicious chocolaty brownie? A HEALTHY delicious chocolaty brownie!! Today I am going to share with you a new recipe that I just found for black bean brownies. Stay with me, I know exactly what you are thinking. I made these last Sunday and Candice and I thought they were delicious. John also ate his in one bite! I will admit, I was a little weary to try them, but I had to try it out. So without further ado, here is the recipe.


Black Bean Brownies

- 1 can black beans (19oz can) drain and rinse well

- 3 tbsp coconut oil - melted

- 3 eggs

- 1/2 cup cocoa powder

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1/4 cup carob chips

- 2/3 cup coconut sugar (brown sugar, some stevia, etc would also work) 

- 3 tbsp peanut butter - melted

In a blender or food processor, puree beans, coconut oil, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla and carob chips until smooth. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Pour brownie mixture into parchment paper-lined pan (8x8). Spraying the pan with cooking spray also does the trick, and I used a little bit bigger pan. Scoop, pour or dollop peanut butter onto the top of brownie and swirl with a butter knife. Bake @ 350^oF for about 25 minutes until set. Let cool on a wire rack. Cut and enjoy guiltlessly! 

**I only have one jar of what I like to call bathroom coconut oil, which means I use it on my body and hair, and don't have one for the kitchen at the moment. So I just used vegetable oil instead. Less healthy, but it worked. I also didn't have any coconut sugar, so I subbed in brown sugar. If you are wanting to buy some coconut sugar, I saw recently that you can get a pretty good sized bag at Trader Joe's for like 4 bucks.

Let me know what you guys think about the recipe. I bet you could get some picky eater kids to eat them and not even know what it is! (:

xo 

Hannah

Y'all Ready For This?

Hello again ladies! 

Candy and I did some talking and we realized that we have not done any fitness posts! Although we love ALL of the Tone It Up fitness routines, some of them can be fairly difficult. We tried to think of one that was easy, but not too easy, to cater to everybody's different fitness levels. This routine was from the first Love Your Body series from last year and is a great leg workout! Since we are focusing on our arms for the month, we decided to give you a different area to work on. With this routine, and any future ones, please modify (if you need to) to your level. DO NOT HURT YOURSELF! Since there are already two of us down and out due to injuries, we need to make sure to listen to our bodies and not add to that number! Yes, you should push your body, but learn when your body is telling you 'enough'. 

Do this 3 (yup, I said 3!!) times through, with however many reps it says per move. If you can only do half the reps, GREAT! If you can only do it one time through, GREAT!

You can do this!!

After you finish this routine, let us know how it went! Was it too easy? Was it too hard? We would love to hear some feedback! Also, if there is a certain area that you would like us to focus on for our next fitness post, please let us know! We are going to try and get these posts up more often so you have a variety of routines to choose from. Of course, all of the routines are on toneitup.com!

xo

Hannah

April has arrived!

Happy April, my loves!

This is finally happening...spring is HERE at last!  Although it was a very mild winter, I just could not wait for spring (and all the amazing-ness that comes with it) to arrive!  I hope you are all getting out there and enjoying the warmer temps, beautiful sunsets, PERFECT running weather, chirping birds and blossoming flowers. I know I am.

Sorry we are a few days late on this, but below you will find you April calendar.  This month we will be focusing on our awesome arms with this all about arms daily workout challenge...just in time for short-sleeve season.  So get at it, ladies!  Lets get those guns out and ready to impress the world :)

In addition to our monthly fitness challenge, we are ready to go for another diet challenge.  Since we are still going strong with our Lent diet challenges (hopefully....) this month is almost going to be like a double diet challenge.  Yeahhh baby!  We are going to give you a difficult, but extremely rewarding one.  Ready???  It's no BREAD!  Bread, rolls, hoagies, toast, all of it.  Bread in all forms.  

I know it sounds hard, and it will be at at first. But, I promise you this is so doable and so worth it.  You will see such a difference in your energy levels when you are relying on good, healthy, whole foods to fuel your day instead of crappy, refined carbs.  You will feel less bloated (hoorah for that!) and just all around better! The best tip I can give you is to lettuce wrap everything!  Lettuce wrap your burgers, sandwiches, everything. Lettuce will be your new best friend. Check out our delicious recipe for Thai Lettuce Wraps for a great idea to get you started.

I'm so excited to hear about your results, so make sure and leave comments, words of encouragement, recipe ideas, etc. below.  You can do this!