*Make sure to enter the Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil Giveaway!  Tropical Traditions has been kind enough to extend this contest for an entire week!  The winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 6.

Happy November!

Last night, Brian and I had a quiet, happy, and pretty uneventful Halloween at home.  I was so excited to get home in a hurry to make sure that everything was ready for passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters.  As soon as I walked in the door, I changed into my candy-passing-out-clothes.

Brian put on his costume too!  Any guesses as to what it is?

He was a WITCH DOCTOR! See the scrubs that a doctor would wear and my witches hat?  I thought it was pretty clever 😉

I just wore a bunch of orange and black with a witches hat as I anxiously waited for kiddies to come to my door.

The sad part was that my bucket stayed pretty full last night.  We only had a handful of visitors, which is ok.  The real dilemma is what to do with all of the extra candy!!?  I may have gotten a little excited when preparing for this holiday and purchased a ton of candy….oops!

If you are like me, you may have had a piece of candy or three 😉 as a little treat.  That is OK!  I like to allow myself treats here and there because I know that they are treats, and that I will get back on track with my next workout/meal.  If you are heading to the gym today I have a great treadmill interval workout for you to get you back on track and into a more normal routine that isn’t full of sugar.

Part of the Best Body Bootcamp that I am completing includes some interval training that accompanies the strength training.  Yesterday, I completed my own take on the treadmill intervals after completing my weighted workout, and I was definitely working up a sweat!  So, if you had a little or a lot of candy last night, never fear…your next workout is here.

Add this little routine onto the front or back end of a weight routine and you have got your workout made!

 

Not only do I have a sweaty workout for you, but I have a tasty lightened up recipe for you.

 

Saturday night, when Brian and I were completely celebrating fall, I made one of our favorite fall dishes, Chicken and Dumplings.  Here in Indiana, the weather is nippy, the leaves are falling, and I can feel that the holidays are just around the corner.  For some reason, this dish just feels like it is perfect to eat right now and I just had to share the recipe with you.

Lightened Up Chicken and Whole Grain Dumplings

Yields: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 sweet potato, chopped
  • 3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3-4 carrots, chopped
  • 1 32oz box of low sodium vegetable stock
  • 2 chicken breasts, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  •  1 cup of whole grain biscuit mix (I use Trader Joe’s)
  • 1/3 cup skim milk or non-dairy milk

Directions:

Place all ingredients accept for the biscuit mix and the milk into a large pot.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Once the soup is boiling, turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer with the lid on for 25-30 minutes so the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked thoroughly.  While this is cooking, combine the whole grain baking mix and the milk.  Form the dough into 5 little balls, and when there are about 7-8 minutes left on the clock for cooking the soup, open the pot and place the dough balls on top of the soup.  Place the lid back on the pot and allow the chicken and dumplings to cook for the final 7-8 minutes.  When the soup is done, the dough balls should be cooked, and the rest of the meal should be a delicious soup!  Enjoy!

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I hope you all have a happy start to your November!

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  1. Love your take on the intervals alternating between running and incline walking. So creative! And you look so cute in your Halloween gear. 🙂

    We have lots of candy too…but not from leftovers, but the kids filling their buckets. Somehow we ended up with 1/2 of our next door neighbors’ bucket at the end of the night. They love the kids and let them keep grabbing handful after handful. Good thing their preschool has candy donations where you can send in extra candy that they donate to the troops. Love that they do that!

    • Thanks!! 🙂 How awesome that your kids can donate their candy! That is an amazing program. How they ended up with half the neighbors bucket…haha it happens 🙂

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