Circuit Training

It's been awhile since I posted a workout. Each day of the week I work a different group of muscles and I always try to switch up what moves I do to keep my body guessing. You want to get the most out of your workout and work up a sweat, which this workout will definitely have you sweating. 

Each circuit should take around 7 minutes. Do not rush through the circuits! Use proper form and if you feel a move is too each then you're probably not using enough weight. You can also increase the amount of reps. This workout is mainly focused on the arms, but the third circuit throws in leg and ab moves to get a better burn. To get an even better burn hold weights while doing box step ups and Bulgarian spilt squats.

Complete circuit one, then two, then three, THEN go back and repeat circuits one through three, before finally doing them for a third time. Be prepared to sweat and feel the burn! 

I'd love to see your gym photos so tag me on instagram and use the hashtag #thesimplelife. Happy sweating!

Easy Weekend Dinner

Maybe it was all the rain and wind, but I had zero inspiration to get creative in the kitchen this weekend. Normally I'm itching to get in the kitchen to cook or bake, but I just couldn't sum up the energy this weekend. I think a lot of it was due to the fact that I've been swimming in homework since the semester began and I've been fighting a cold.

Most of my meals were definitely not picture worthy. Saturday night after spending most of the day filming in the cold I wanted a hot meal. Nothing fancy, but a hot meal. I stuck to basics and made my favorite dill salmon, French style green beans, and a peach. This took less than 25 minutes. The green beans were frozen (lazy girl status) so I just tossed them with garlic and steamed them and the salmon just had to bake (400F degrees for 19 minutes). Super easy, minimal clean up, and yummy. Always a winning combo. 

What are some of your go to easy dinners?  

Crockpot Turkey Veggie Meatballs

Happy Monday! This past weekend was freezing! I am so not ready for winter. I typically enjoy fall- I love sweater weather and curling up with a cup of tea and a good book, but the wind and the rain I can most definitely do without. 

Most of my weekend was spent filming a new package and in between interviews and shooting b-roll I was studying for an exam and writing papers. Thrilling weekend I know. By the time Sunday rolled around I was exhausted. I'm still fighting a cold and I'm sure filming in the cold and rain did not help matters. 

Now that it's officially fall I don't have to feel guilty about breaking out the crockpot, not that that's ever stopped me before. The apartment still smells amazing from the crockpot- that might be my favorite part about using the crockpot. Anyways, I posted different versions of turkey meatballs before, but I've never done a turkey veggie meatball in the crockpot, so whala! They are packed with flavor and incredibly tender. Prepare to snuggle up in your sweats with a good book while the crockpot does all the work for you!

Crockpot Turkey Veggie Meatballs

• 20 oz lean ground turkey
• 28 oz organic peeled and crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
• 3 Tablespoons almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini, grated
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ground black pepper, to taste
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• pinch garlic salt

In a large mixing bowl combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, almond flour, egg, olive oil, grated zucchini, grated carrot, diced onion, and spices. 

Using your hands form meatballs. I made the meatballs fairly small, maybe 1/2 a golf ball size. I was able to make 30 meatballs. 

Spray a skillet with nonstick cook spray and heat to medium. 

Brown the meatballs to seal in flavor. You do not want to cook the meatballs all the way through, you want to get a nice light brown coloring on the outside.
*Note: you do not have to brown the meatballs. Browning really seals in the flavor, but I've made meatballs plenty of times without browning them and they are just as delicious.

Place browned meatballs in crockpot.

Pour peeled and crushed tomatoes over meatballs.

Cover crockpot and turn on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. I prefer to use low to really seal in the flavor.

Serve meatballs over spaghetti squash to get an added serving of veggies.

Nutrition (per meatball):

MACROS: 4C/2F/5P

Nutrition Facts
Servings 30.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 55
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 2 g	3 %
Saturated Fat 1 g	3 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 21 mg	7 %
Sodium 74 mg	3 %
Potassium 15 mg	0 %
Total Carbohydrate 4 g	1 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	3 %
Sugars 2 g
Protein 5 g	9 %
Vitamin A	10 %
Vitamin C	6 %
Calcium	1 %
Iron	3 %