How to Make Spartan Spear in 10 minutes for OCR Training

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Jennifer FIsher

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Everything you need to know if you want to make Spartan Spear at home for your next Spartan Race or OCR — super easy tutorial, however nailing the throw is on you!When I first wrote this post, I only had 3 obstacle course races under my belt (now quite a few more), but was trying to nab a coin for the Spartan World Championship . . .maybe that was a lofty goal, but I figured it within my reach — especially if I could optimize my performance with a fast run (I’m a lifelong runner). However, the races I had done to that point, like 2015 Spartan Beast Dallas and 2015 Spartan Spring Houston have been so flooded and muddy that I had the wind knocked out of my running wheelhouse. Oh, yeah – but that spear throw also stood in the way. Ain’t nobody got time for 30 burpees in a race, so I figured I needed to make my own spear and practice. (Editor update: I DID earn the championship coin and ran in the 2017 Spartan World Championships in Lake Tahoe, nailing BOTH the spear throws on the course . . . if only everything else went so well, haha).

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Rise & Grind – Benefits of Exercise and Eating Well in the Morning

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Jennifer FIsher

As tempting as it is to repeatedly hit the snooze button, check out these seven worthy reasons to workout, run or just get up and get your body moving early in the morning. Of course, if you can’t workout first thing, any time of the day is better than skipping!

Dodge Distractions: When you exercise early, it’s the first thing marked off your “to-do” list. Unforseen opportunities and obligations later in the day, like an unexpected dinner date or working late to meet deadline, can foil even the best-intentioned plan to workout or run.

Elevate Mood: Exercise, any time of the day, instructs the body to release mood-boosting, energizing endorphins the brain. Why not get your workout or “runner’s high” before the rooster crows and enjoy being in this happy place all day long?!

Improve Productivity: Exercise makes you feel more energetic through the day and also increases the release of serotonin, which leads to enhanced mental clarity. Chasing down these two perks early in the early hours just might make your day a whole lot more efficient and awesome.

Boost Calorie Burn: Calories continue to be torched at an increased rate for a couple hours (and in some instances, as long as 10 to 24 hours) after exercise. It makes much more sense to kick up your metabolism sooner rather than later to burn more quickly through the food you are eating all day.

Snooze More Soundly: It seems contrary, but research shows that people who wake up early to exercise get more sleep in the long run over those who schedule their sweat sessions in the evening. That’s because exercising at night raises your core temperature, heart rate and adrenaline levels to a degree that makes it hard to wind down and fall asleep.

Beat the Big Crowds: Face it, the gym and many running trails get pretty packed right after the work whistle blows. If you hit it early enough, you won’t have to wait in line for your favorite piece of gym equipment or knock elbows and trip over dog leashes on a jog.

Bragging Rights: Telling friends and colleagues “I’ve already run 6 miles and done 50 pushups this morning” totally trumps “Hmm, I might go workout later today.”

Equally important to morning exercise is a good breakfast, I’ve talking about the importance of eating a morning meal so many times in the past — especially one that is protein packed to help taxed muscles recover and fight off the “hangries” until lunch.

If I’m in a hurry,I typically grab a Core Power High Protein Shake out of my gym bag, but if I have a few minutes at home I like to whip a quick recipe like my Lemon Raspberry Protein Mug Muffin or another protein-packed breakfast recipe up my sleeve.

Rise and Grind! Why you should WORKOUT & EAT WELL in the morning!

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Do you workout in the morning? Is it a struggle or are you an natural early-bird? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer

5 Ways Balance Fitness and Life + #prAnaSpringStyle

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Jennifer FIsher

It’s now unofficially spring, how are those New Year’s goals progressing? Whether it’s general health and wellness, getting in bikini shape, or nailing a specific fitness goal on your list, I bet there has been hurdle or two in the road. Or, at least there has been for me! Work obligations, family duties, a defeatist attitude and even the weather are obstacles that can get in the way of accomplishing your daily workout. Thankfully with the temperatures warming up, we can all get outside and move when and where we like and enjoy the feel-good mojo some good old-fashioned, natural vitamin D sunshine! So, if your fitness good intentions have been waning loately (or weren’t even there at all), get back on track with these

5 Ways to Balance Fitness & Life.

1) Be Efficient: Have a game plan, don’t just show up at the gym and wander around aimlessly trying to decide what to do. I’ve seen focused people get a more solid and productive workout in 20 minutes than lollygaggers do in 2 hours. High intensity activities like running, CrossFit, interval training, and rowing can all get you big gains with low time commitment.

2) Be Sneaky: Use little bits of down time to fit in fitness. For example, do a few isometric exercises in the car while you wait for the light to turn green or close the office door and bust out some burpees. Even if you pass up your after work run for a marathon of the latest television show, don’t fast-forward through the commercials – get up and move for the duration. Everything adds up and something is better than nothing!

3) Be on a Schedule – Don’t just “pencil” your workouts in, use permanent ink! While that may not be completely realistic in light of the constantly changing demands of life, it is good to have a general idea of when and where you are going to accomplish a sweat session. When an activity is “on the books,” there is accountability and it becomes much easier to arrange other obligations around the workout or say “no” to things you deem less important.

4) But, Be Flexible – I’m not talking flexible as in bendy (although that’s good too, so try some yoga!), but as in adaptable when fate doesn’t seem to want to allow for a run or workout. Sometimes “the schedule” gets put in total override; so view your workout as not “lost forever” but temporarily postponed and/or altered. Instead of running 5 miles in the morning, climb the stairs for 5 minutes every hour at work or knock out high-intensity intervals (like burpees, jumping jacks and air squats) while your kiddos are finishing up piano lessons.

5) Be Ready: Because squeezing in workouts can sometimes be unpredictable, I always wear clothing that allows for a wide range of movement and is moisture-wicking. If your lifestyle doesn’t allow for wearing yoga pants or running shorts all day (haha), then keep a fully-stocked gym bag in the car at all times. Don’t forget your athletic shoes, swimsuit, sunglasses and yoga mat – you never know what opportunity will arise!

I also wanted to share about prAna, one of my all-time favorite brands that fits with my healthy, active, fun-loving lifestyle (and what you’ll find on my bod or in my bag to meet Tip No. 5). I feel so lucky that my “job” doesn’t require me to wear stuffy suits and high heels, another benefit of being your own boss! I’m on-the-go all day, from fitness class to famer’s market to coffee-shop client meeting and need clothes that are functional, but also fabulous and free-spirited. PrAna meets all my look-good-play-hard needs, plus all the pieces I own can be tossed right into the washer and dryer.

For example, these Kara Jeans may just be the best pair of jeans I’ve ever owned – they fit true to size, are flattering, have a bit of stretch to accommodate the daily leaping, lounging, lifting and impromptu yoga poses in my life. Plus, they come in 11 different colors and patterns!

Another reason to love prAna is their mindfulness to where and how their beautiful clothes are made. Their creations are made with organic cotton, wools and hemp – and even recycled polyester and repurposed down feathers. They are stalwarts of sustainability, traceability, and fair trade practices and, since 2012, have partnered with bluesign® to ensure that the materials in the clothes I’m putting on my body meet the highest human safety and environmental standards.

I also added another prAna sundress to my spring wardrobe, I already have four or five of their dresses, they are just so very cute and versatile. This one is the Cali Dress and it’s available in a variety of solid colors and prints (mine is Safari Guava) – I can’t wait to wear it and feel warm rays on my shoulders!

Whether you are a yogi, climber, runner, traveler, suburban mom or urban warrior, you’ll discover must-have clothing that helps turns any day, every day into the BEST DAY and gears you up to fit fitness in wherever you may be! Check out the new #prAnaSpringStyle for yourself! You can use my Discount Code PSSS16TFF to save 15% at prAna.com plus Free Shipping on orders $99 or more .

So, how are you balancing fitness and life? What is your biggest obstacle? Have you ever found a skinny jean that is perfect? What is your favorite yoga pose? Share any or all in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer

This post was sponsored by Fit Approach on behalf of prAna. All opinions and enthusiasm are my own.

Best Ever Super Secret Chili Recipe + Beef Browning Tip

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Jennifer FIsher

I hope you have a big spoon at the ready, my recipe for Best-Ever Beef Chili is, well, THE BEST! With freezing temperatures and heated football bowl games going down, this big pot of spicy, rich and blissfully beefy chili is what to serve by the mug, bowl or trough.

I typically make chili by breaking down a roast into bite-sized chunks, my kitchen stampeded causing Southwestern Steak Chili is a family favorite. However, the kids love ground beef (and so does my food budget) and requested a chili made with their favorite food group — hamburger meat!

Won’t lie, I was a little worried that the ground beef would come out dry and the beefy taste might get downed out by bold chili spices. After reading an article in Cooks Illustrated on achieving “better browning through science,” I knew I had to try their technique of using a baking solution on meat to enable proteins to attract more water and hold onto it during cooking and also create a higher pH level to speed up the desirable Maillard reaction (basically, the harbinger of caramelization). My dad reported success using this method to keep steaks juicy and tender, and I hoped this easy hack would help improve the taste and texture of my chili’s ground beef.

So, how does this baking soda beef hack work? Typically, when ground beef is cooked on the stove top, so much water and liquid is expelled that the beef chunks just end up steaming in their own juices — very little actually browning happens. When cooked to the point of most water evaporating, the batch of beef will be unpleasantly overdone. However, by gently tossing a baking soda solution with the meat (about ¾ teaspoon baking soda to 2 tablespoons water for 2lbs of grind) and letting sit for 15 to 20 minutes before cooking , beef loses less liquid, browns faster and tastes better. I tried it myself with 80/20 Chuck Ground Beef and I must say, I was impressed! The ground beef cooked “as-is” was almost immediately was sitting in a pool of liquids (as you can see from the picture) and when taste-tested seemed a little rubbery and bland.

However, the baking soda treated beef immediately started to brown in the pot. And, while there was still a fair deal of liquid released, it was noticely less so than the previous batch (Cook’s illustrated said about 10% less liquid, I felt like maybe even a little more). More noticeable though, was the taste – the baking-soda treated batch had a richer, more complex caramelized flavor and was markedly juicier. In fact, the cooked beef was so yummy; I worried about taste-testing my way through the whole pile before I even started the rest of the chili!

So, my final recommendation on this “baking soda treatment” is definitely try it and see what you think! It does take little bit of pre-planning because you have to let the solution sit on the meat for 20 minutes, but you can have that going while you prep the other ingredients.

So, here is my Best Ever Ground Beef Chili recipe, – every spoon is a mouthful of meaty goodness. It’s rich and spicy, without being too heavy or too “hot” for kids – I think you’ll really like it. But, feel free to use this baking soda technique with any beef chili recipe!

Best Ever Secret Beef Chil + Other Recipes to Warm Winter @ModeStories

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If you’re looking for other delicious chili recipes, check out this collection I curated for Mode! And, also head over to the Texas Beef Council for more inspiration.

Do tell, do you put beans in your chili? Do you like spicy or mild? What toppings do you put on top? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer

Super-Secret Ground Beef Chili Recipe

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 25 mins

Course: Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine: American, Southwestern

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds 80 percent lean Ground Beef Chuck
2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
14.5 ounce can beef broth
14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
14.5 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
15 ounce can pinto beans with liquid
2 teaspoons brown sugar

Instructions

Add ground beef to bowl and drizzle with solution of 2 tablespoons water and ¾ teaspoon baking soda. Gently break apart beef with hands to distribute, but do not over knead (causes toughness). Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in large Dutch oven pot over medium high. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until softened, stirring as needed. Mix in garlic and cook for another minute.
Add treated ground beef to pot and cook, while stirring and breaking up into chunks. Brown beef for approximately 12 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink.
Add chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and salt to beef mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until spices begin to bloom and become fragrant, about 2 minutes.
To pot of beef, add finely crushed tortilla chips, beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans with liquid, and sugar. Bring to a boil and then put lid on Dutch oven and transfer to a 275 F degree oven for approximately 1 to 2 hours, or until flavors have developed and sauce is thickened. .
Remove from oven and let cool, uncovered for 10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed, to taste.
Serve with rice or tortilla chips and other toppings of choice including cheese, avocado, red onion, cilantro, etc

DIY Citrus Ginger Mint Tea Bags with Honey Crystals

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

Updated on 10/3/2019: Tired of stale, tasteless, un-sweet tea? My DIY Citrus Ginger Mint Tea Bags with Honey Crystals are the perfect solution and steeped in “I cared enough to make them with my own hands,” that they make a thoughtful holiday gift.

Read on to get the recipe and tutorial on how to make your own tea bags: Continue reading →

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Category Archives: How-To

How to Make Spartan Spear in 10 minutes for OCR Training

Rise & Grind – Benefits of Exercise and Eating Well in the Morning

5 Ways Balance Fitness and Life + #prAnaSpringStyle

Best Ever Super Secret Chili Recipe + Beef Browning Tip

DIY Citrus Ginger Mint Tea Bags with Honey Crystals