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Sunday Summary

Salt Lake City

July 6, 2014

I have officially been on holiday for a week now, and I am now in Salt Lake City, Utah! This is my first mini ‘holiday’ since going back to Thailand last summer, and it feels great to be somewhere new.

As most of my close friends already know, my boyfriend got accepted into the bioengineering PhD program at the University of Utah which therefore meant that he was going to move to Salt Lake City. I decided to tag along for the car trip and to stay with him in the city for a few weeks before going back to work and starting up classes again. The drive took us through Northern California (through Sacramento and Lake Tahoe area), across Nevada (the most amount of empty I have ever seen in my life), and then through the Utah salt flats. It was pretty rough though; my boyfriend drove the u-haul and I drove his car. It was a 10 hour drive overall (although we stayed overnight at a town called Elko in Nevada at the 7 hour mark) and I just cannot believe I did such a long drive, by myself effectively!

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Driving through California – so pretty

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Nevada during the afternoon

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 Nevada before sunset – same view several hundred miles later lol, but prettier now

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Border of Nevada and Utah, finally!

Thoughts so far? IT’S SO HOT! Far hotter than the Bay Area, but about the same temperature as California’s central valley but quite a bit drier. I literally HAD to buy sunscreen because I was getting sunburnt from spending half an hour in the sun!! But hey, at least I finally get to tan, something which was so not going to happen in San Francisco. We went to a fun 4th of July celebration in Sugarhouse park and saw some beautiful fireworks.

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I have been blown away so far by the range of cuisine available in Salt Lake City. I was kind of expecting 1 Thai and Chinese place to be honest haha. We have tried a few restaurants so far and they have all been really good. Red Iguana was an amazing Mexican restaurant with a whole range of mole’s, and Skewered Thai did a pretty good job of serving up relatively authentic and tasty Thai food. OMG and they have Rubio’s, yaaay!

I also didn’t realize this before  but Salt Lake City has a really big focus on health and fitness, so happy!! We went to a farmer’s market in downtown Salt Lake City and it was honestly better than any farmer’s market I have been too in California. Although my one criticism would be that there wasn’t a big range of vegetables. There are tons of gyms, yoga and pilates studio’s around the city, and 3 Whole Foods!! There are also a few Lululemon’s here and so I attended one of their free yoga Sunday classes (which was awesome).

I think these next few weeks will be really fun and full of me exploring the city and doing fun and fit-related activities. Hopefully I can avoid holiday weight-gain 🙂

Have any of you ever been to Salt Lake City? Or do any of you live here? I would love some tips or suggestions on what to see or do!

Honestly yours,
Alice xxx

Fitness

Beginner’s Circuit Workout

July 3, 2014

What a treat I have in store for all of my readers who are new to, or at a beginner’s exercise level…a beginners circuit workout! My lovely friend Ben Coffin, who is a personal trainer, kindly shared a workout that is perfect for beginner’s. This workout will not only strengthen and tone your muscles, but because you will be performing them in a circuit style, you will get in cardio as well since your heart rate will be kept high. Ben is currently based in Newcastle in the UK so if you are looking for a personal trainer then do not hesistate to contact him at ben.g.coffin@hotmail.com 🙂

Beginners circuit workout

Circuit workouts are an extremely effective way of getting toned and fit fast because of their incorporation of fat burning cardio and muscle toning strength. Kayla Itsines workouts are all circuit based, and you can see how effective her workouts are (and her body shows it)! This beginner’s circuit workout works a whole range of muscles as opposed to just one or two. I am sure you will be feeling sore the day after you give this a go!

Always remember to do a 5 minute warm-up before you workout. This could be a brisk walk, some jump rope or even jumping jacks – something to get your heart rate up and to prepare your body for some hard work. For the workout, you will complete the full repetitions of each exercise, with no rest until you complete the circuit (if you must rest please limit it to a few seconds). Try and complete the exercises as quickly as you can with the CORRECT FORM. If you are unfamiliar with the exercises, do yourself a favor and youtube how to do them. Correct form is vital in ensuring you are engaging and working the correct muscles.

Once you complete the circuit, repeat it 2-3 times with a 1-2 minute rest between each set. Once you complete the circuit workout, please take 5-15 minutes to fully stretch out your muscles. If you fail to stretch properly after your workouts, you run the risk of injuring yourself during your next workout. Stretching helps promote flexibility and lengthens muscles that may have become very tight during your workout. You don’t want to end up with tight muscles that make you look stumpier or hunched do you?!

With all of that said and done (I hope you read it THOROUGHLY!), here is the workout! I realize that in the photo’s I am not using a weight, but that is purely because I did not have one to use during these photos. Please use a 5-10 pound weight if the exercise requires it 🙂

1. Shoulder presses with the resistance bands – 10 reps

 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
2. Bicep curls with the resistance bands – 10 reps
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
3. Tricep dips off a chair/bench/bed – 10 reps
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
4. Regular sit ups – 20 reps
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
5. Knee to shoulder while in plank – 15 each leg
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
6. High plank to low plank – 10 reps
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
7. Weighted lunges – 10 reps each leg
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
8. Goblet squat (regular squat while holding a dumbbell to your chest) – 1o reps
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
honestly fitness beginner's circuit workout
 
 
Hope you all enjoyed this post! Tell me how the workout goes, and don’t forget to do this circuit 2-3 times 🙂
 
Honestly yours,
Alice xxx
Friday Fare

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

June 20, 2014

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a lovely week and have some fun plans for the weekend. I will be venturing up North to visit my boyfriend’s grandparents and aunt. But before I do, I wanted to share my new chickpea veggie burgers with you all.

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Today I have some lovely vegetarian Chickpea Veggie Burgers (garbanzo beans for my American’s) for you all! I had a craving for something cheesy and filling a few nights ago and thought it would be fun to experiment .. ultimately resulting in this delish recipe. Chickpeas are a wonderful source of low G.I. carbohydrates, protein, fiber and a range of vitamins and minerals. A 1 cup serving of chickpeas contain 40g of carbohydrates, 2g of fat, 14g of fiber (wow!! almost half of your daily requirement), and 14g of protein. They also contain a fair amount of iron, which is great for the ladies, especially ladies who choose not to eat red meat. These chickpea burgers are not vegan because they contain asiago cheese. However, they can be made vegan if you omit the cheese that is in them, or replace it with vegan cheese, but I cannot guarantee the same texture and taste if you do this.

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Excited? Hungry? Hopefully both, so let’s get cooking!

Alice Williams

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Enjoy a healthy burger without the guilt!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings: 1
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup chickpeas
  • 4 tbsp shredded asiago cheese
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp tahini
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt or any high quality salt

Method
 

  1. 1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees farenheit
  2. 2. Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth. You can make it as smooth or as chunky as you please.
  3. 3. Form the mixture into two burger patties, and then place in the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, BROIL the burger patties on high for 2 minutes.
  4. 4. Serve naked, on some sourdough bread, on a tortilla like I did, or whatever your heart desires. And don't forget to add your veggies too!

Notes

Makes 2 large patties or 4 small ones.
Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Yummmm. They are so filling and delicious, in love! I hope you all enjoyed them as much as I did. I love having mine with plenty of spinach (my go to leafy green) and tzatziki. What do you have yours with?

Honestly yours,
Alice