WATERMELON FIT | EXERCISE IDEAS & WELLNESS TIPS FOR EVERY SEASON

Posted on by
3

This post sponsored by Watermelon.org.

Happy 2023! A new year is a great reminder that watermelon can be incorporated into a fit and active lifestyle year-round! I’m sharing some fun ways to use watermelon to fuel workouts and even be part of your fitness routine during every month this year. Let’s get watermelon fit in 2023!

You might be wondering, “Is watermelon only a summer fruit?” No! The good news is that these days, a ripe watermelon is always nearby in any season – spring, summer, winter and fall. More than 30 states in the U.S. boast watermelon crops and the harvest timing starts on the East coast and rolls westward. When the U.S. season is finally over (it’s very long here in Texas, lucky me!), farmers in Mexico and other parts south of the border can deliver fresh watermelon plucked just a few days from the field. Also available markets are watermelon juice, watermelon seeds, and even frozen chunked watermelon flesh can be found in most stores on the freezer aisle. Read more about the Watermelon Year ‘Round story HERE!

WINTER WATERMELON FIT TIPS

This easy-to-make warm punch featuring watermelon juice is naturally sweet and delicious, bejeweled with fruit and fragrant with seasonal spices. Brandy optional! Perfect for holiday entertaining, including brunches, open houses, cocktail parties and more!

Finding Watermelon in Winter: If your market doesn’t have fresh watermelon, check the freezer aisle for chunks (usually next to the frozen berries), or packaged watermelon seeds, or watermelon juice. If you have the planning gene, you can also meal prep all this watermelon goodness for the freezer when it is more abundant.

Good-for-you Watermelon Drinks: Make a mocktail for winter celebrations using watermelon juice, citrus juice and fresh ginger – or my recipe for Mulled Watermelon Cider is always welcomed with a crowd. Or, take the chill off cold days (or blustery outside runs) with warmed watermelon juice with a squeeze of lemon, fresh ginger and pinch of Himalayan Sea salt – it’s a homemade hot sports drink! My recipe for Hot Watermelon Lemonade is also a unique sports recovery drink.

Vitamin C: Not only is watermelon hydrating (over 92% water), it’s also high in vitamin C that may help you get through the winter season well.

Indoor Home Workouts: Stay inside and work toward your fitness goals. No weights? No worries, you can use a watermelon (from a few pounds to 20+ pounds) as your exercise equipment! I’ve shared lots of fun watermelon home workouts, here’s a watermelon workout to try this winter – WATERMELON HOME WORKOUT!

SPRING WATERMELON FIT TIPS

Spring Salads: Take advantage of watermelon benefits and toss chunks into your grain bowls and salads, heck – throw on an entire wedge! Adding watermelon is a great way to dress up boring salads with some unexpected color and sweetness. Check out a few of my favorite watermelon salad recipe I’ve come up with over the years:

Watermelon Holds for Fitness: This season, if you want to add a watermelon to your workout, try a static hold to complement your runs, walks or dynamic strength training sessions. Static holds are isometric exercises that hold the body in one position for a duration of time. This means your muscles don’t contract and change length as in dynamic exercises, but you still benefit from the “time under tension.”  Here are some static holds to try: most variations of planks, v-sit (boat pose), squat hold (or wall sits), overhead hold, front hold, and glute bridge hold.

How to Pick a Ripe Watermelon: Look for the “field spot” where the watermelon was resting while it grew. The more yellow, even almost yellow-orange, the riper – quite white means not ripe! Also, this takes a bit of intuition, but if the watermelon feels “heavy” for its size, this typically means it will be juicer and sweeter. Some also say rounder watermelons are sweeter than elongated watermelons, but I’m not so sure of that! I’ve had great watermelons of every shape. Also, you can look for “sugar webbing” (the coarse, brown web texture on some watermelons)/

SUMMER WATERMELON FIT TIPS

Watermelon Floats: Yes, watermelon floats! This makes the fruit a fun item not just to eat in the summer but to play pool games with at a party. My kids always loved to stand on paddle boards and toss the watermelon back and forth to see who would fall off first! The buoyancy of watermelon also makes it useful for pool workouts by adding resistance when you push or pull it under watermelon.

Grilling Watermelon: Many of us are outside, grilling all the things in the warm weather months. Why not grill watermelon?! Grilling watermelon lends a smokey, savory vibe to the light sweetness that is oh-so magnificently summery. Check out my recipes for Grilled Watermelon with Cherry Balsamic Salsa and Spicy Sweet Watermelon Shrimp Kebobs for summer meals with watermelon inspiration.

Watermelon Juice: Quench your thirst this summer with watermelon juice. I simply collect the juice from a watermelon while cutting it up. It’s easiest to do this if you cut it in a big rimmed baking sheet (so juices to spill out onto counter) and then pour juice out one corner of pan into mesh strainer over glass jar to remove any seeds and excess pulp. I also collect the juice that seeps out of cut watermelon and collects in my plastic storage container. This raw juice stays fresh for up to 72 hours in the fridge or can be frozen for several months. Learn more watermelon juice benefits at my post, Watermelon Juice – How to Prep, Store and More.

FALL WATERMELON FIT TIPS

Watermelon Ruck: Rucking is a big fitness trend right now, but it’s actually ages old and really simple. A ruck is just a walk, hike, run, or other similar workout with a weight on your back. In simple terms, you wear a rucksack (aka backpack) and walk! Rucking and watermelon are a natural fit. Stick the watermelon in your backpack for weight to carry, and when you’re done, slice it open and enjoy as a refreshing, way to refuel.

How to Ruck-Cut a Watermelon: If you’re out on a ruck, then simple slices or wedges of watermelon with the rind on will be the easiest to prep and also to eat. You’ll want to carry a camping knife in a protective sheath for safety. If it’s a personal-sized watermelon, just whack it in half and dig the flesh out with a spoon (or an implement from your Swiss army knife).  Also, it’s a smart idea to stash a big zip-top bag in your rucksack in case you need to carry leftovers home!  If you’re not cutting the watermelon until you get home, check out my favorite way to cut and store a big watermelon in 5 minutes.

Pin this for later!

Iron Grip Exercises for Obstacle Course Racers and Hybrid Athletes

Posted on by
Reply
Save 20% on spartan race code: UBST24-TK88D27

Having a strong grip super important and functionally relevant regardless of your age, gender, or active endeavors. I mean, even if you’re not an obstacle course racer, hybrid athlete, or powerlifter, you’re definitely going to want to give a firm handshake and be able to twist the lid off a pickle jar (or whatever) independently for decades to come. Plus, who knows – a strong grip could save your butt in a life-or-death situation like hanging onto a tree branch over a flood stage river (lol, hopefully just a hypothetical).

A number of studies have shown that weak grip strength can predict an increased risk of functional limitations, disability, and not living as long. Regardless of your age today, you’re getting older every single day. A stronger grip could improve your quality of life, and that’s the most important thing – but it can also help you pick up heavier weight and the gym and also improve your skills and ability to successfully complete obstacle course (like Spartan Race) obstacles like rigs, monkey bars, rings, farmer carries, the box, rope climb, wall climbs/jumps (especially Road to Sparta) and more.

Grip strength training for the win!

DEAD HANG

Hanging from a bar for as long as possible is a simple yet beastly method to improve grip strength, forearm strength, and pull-ups. When practicing your dead hang, use a forward-facing, closed-grip on the bar and hand until failure. Don’t be floppy, engage shoulders, chest and core. After resting for a few minutes, try to hang again until failure, you’ll likely feel the burn and not last as long. That’s okay! Rest again, and do a third rep until failure. Incorporate a “3-rep dead hang until failure” into your workout (or just whenever) at least a couple times a week.

Ways to Make it Harder:

  • Dead hang from towels looped over bar.
  • Dead hang wearing weighted vest
  • Try it one-armed
  • Dead hang and do a pull up every 10 seconds, without releasing from bar

FARMER CARRY

To start, you’ll need two dumb bells, kettlebells, or bar plates of the same weight (later on you can incorporate variations). The ideas is to grip a weight in each hand and walk for time or distance, keeping shoulders upright and core engaged. Farmers win the prize for lugging heaving stuff around on the daily and their strength and stamina has been immortalized forever with exercise named in their honor. Farmer’s Carries are a simple and effective exercise that will fire up your grip, get your blood pumping, and strengthen pretty much your entire body. It even calls on mental toughness, because about halfway in, you’ll want to quit!

Incorporate Farmer Carries into your workout several times a week and see gains in your grip and overall strength. You’ll have no problem carrying all the grocery bags inside with one haul! I like to program Farmer Carries between run intervals (without rest) to up the challenge of both exercises.

3 Ways to Make it Harder:

  • Use awkward, harder-to-carry weight like universal bars, sandbags, or loaded trap bars.
  • Use different grips: try pinch grip on plates, or loop a hand towel through top of kettlebell to be the handle. Spread your hand wide to grip over one end of a lighter dumbbell. Use “fat grips” or a wrapped towel around the bar or handle of your weight to create a larger circumference to grip.
  • Carry offset weight. For example, a lighter dumbbell on one side and a heavier on the other. OR just weight on one single side like a suitcase. Or carry one weight overhead and one by side. These these variations really tax grip and also cause core to work in overtime to stabilize.

NO GYM, NO WORRIES!

You can still work on your grip strength at home or in the office with just a few minutes of time. Dead hangs can be done at home with a chin up bar (this is pull up bar I have), and grip strength only limited by your imagination. There are lots of little gadgets around designed to improve grip strength like a Grip Strength Squeezer or Grip Ring Spartan. Heck, at the gym those bar collars are one of the most grip-centric things around and sometimes the hardest part of the lift. Instead of the “clenching in” grip, it’s also a smart idea to work the opposition motion, extending out. Put a rubber band around between your finger tips and first finger joints and then stretch hands outward for a strengthening stretch.

Check out the Home Gym & Obstacle Training Equipment at Spartan. They have kettle bells, sand bells, grip tools, rope and other gear to gear up your strength training.

20% off Spartan Code: SAP-JFf21
save 20% at spartan.com code: SAP-JFf21

Get 20% off any U.S. Spartan Race: Sprint, Stadion, Super, Beast, Ultra Beast, Trail, Kids and Hurricane Heat! All Heats! Sign Up Today! — Use code: SAP-JFf21

Get a grip, seriously! To succeed at obstacle course races (like Spartan) or hybrid fitness events, you need to have good grip strength to maneuver your bodyweight up, over, and across stuff and pick up heavy things for the long haul! Check out these two simple and scalable exercises (with endless variations) that will help you achieve your goals!
Pin this for later!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

10-Minute Pomegranate Korean BBQ Beef

Posted on by
Reply

This post is sponsored by Kevin’s Natural Foods as part of a blogger recipe challenge.

Hmmm, how to save dinner on the craziest of pre-holiday prep days?! I had so much shopping, wrapping, decorating, and last-minute elf-ing around that “what’s for dinner” was the last thing on my mind. Plus, I was just plain tuckered out.

But the quick and easy meal pouches from Kevin’s Natural Foods were the fit foundation for some last-minute refueling and feasting! I used the Korean Beef BBQ to make a holiday-inspired meal — 10-Minute Pomegranate Korean Beef BBQ. 

Pin this for later!

This 10-Minute Pomegranate Korean Beef BBQ recipe is made with a Kevin’s Natural Foods meal pouch that includes sous vide cooked beef and Bulgogi-style sauce. I put my own spin on the already delicious meal by adding a little pomegranate juice and ginger to the sauce and adding pomegranate arils, spinach, and pistachios. SO DARN EASY and it makes an easy-peasy, beautiful, flavorful and festive holiday meal (which also makes dinner any day of the year). I served this pomegranate bulgogi inspiration on rice (use a frozen rice pouch to keep it quick – I actually batch cook my rice and grains and freeze in the portions I need to save time and $$).  But, if you’re not into rice, this festive bulgogi recipe is also yummy on cauliflower rice, smashed sweet potatoes, or with veggie noodles of your choice.

Beef is 100-percent pasture-raised, grass-fed, and grass-finished and cook in sous-vide method, so it stays super tender and juicy.

Real talk: I have been eating and enjoying the chicken meals from Kevin’s for a while but have shied away from trying a beef meal kit. Why? Because I’m definitely a beef snob and was worried that the beef steak tips would be stringy and chewy, as the beef cuts in these types of convenience meals usually are.  But, color me IMPRESSED! The beef steak tips remain super tender thanks to the sous-vide cooking method that is used to prep them. Just a couple minutes in the skillet to warm up and they are still juicy and tender. The beef that Kevin’s natural foods recipes source 100-percent pasture-raised, grass-fed, and grass-finished.

In the past, I’ve picked up my meals from Kevin’s Natural Foods at my local grocery store. But now the meals can be ordered in bundled assortments from the comfort and convenience of your home online. And, actually you can order from whatever vacay adventure you may be crushing so that they are delivered straight to your door, frozen in a cooler, when you roll back from the airport or road trip. No worrying about getting to the grocery store STAT or caving into fast take-out food because you’re starving.

For convenience, use prepped pomegranate arils from a tub!

Today’s recipe used the Korean BBQ-style Beef meal pouch, but there are SO MANY varieties like and Creamy Coconut Chicken and Cilantro Lime Chicken. It’s never boring and ALWAYS easy and delicious. Plus, all meal pouches from Kevin’s are nutritionally built to be compliant with keto, paleo and gluten free diets too!

Check out the Creamy Chicken Coconut Soup (like Tom Kha Gai) recipe I came up with using their Thai-style Coconut Chicken meal kit.

Enjoy a rich, creamy, amazingly flavorful Thai-inspired Creamy Coconut Chicken Soup in just 10 minutes thanks to entree kits from Kevin's Natural Foods! Paleo, So satisfying . . plus Keto, and gluten-free!
Creamy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Find additional details about Kevin’s Natural Foods their backstory, and their amazing clean-eating focused products (entrees, sides, sauces, stir-frys and more!)  which can find a place in your diet – whether Keto, Paleo, Gluten-free . . or Mediterranean, like me!  Order online or find in a store near you.

Also check them out on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!  AND – give my 10 minute recipe for Pomegranate Korean Barbeque a try, it’s so delicious and festive!

Succulent beef tips with spinach in a slightly sweet, slightly spicy sauce inspired by Korean bulgogi. The 10 minute dish is bejeweled with pomegranate arils and pistachios! It's festive, flavorful and a fit for your clean eating meal.
Print
10-Miute Pomegranate Korean BBQ Beef
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 

Succulent beef tips with spinach in a slightly sweet, slightly spicy sauce that is bejeweled with pomegranate arils and pistachios! It's festive, flavorful and a fit for your clean eating meal.

Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pouch Korean Beef BBQ from Kevin’s Natural Foods
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced or grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons 100% pomegranate juice *hack: if using a ready-to-eat tub of arils, just drain off the juice for this use.
  • 3 cups chopped fresh baby spinach
  • 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
  • 3 scallions both white bulbs and greens finely sliced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios
  • 3 cups pre-cooked rice white, brown, cauliflower rice, etc
Instructions
  1. Open sous-vide pouch of beef and drain of broth from beef tips.
  2. In medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium high; add beef tips and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
  3. Reduce heat to medium and add ginger, pomegranate juice, and SAUCE POUCH from meal kit, and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes, until slightly reduced.
  4. Stir in baby spinach and pomegranate arils and stir around for 30 to 60 seconds until spinach is par-wilted.
  5. Remove from heat and sprinkle with pistachios. Serve with rice or other desired side.
  6. Serves 3.

Chocolate Gingerbread Mini Loaves

Posted on by
Reply

Gingerbread or chocolate . . .why choose? You’ll “loaf” the joining of these two popular holiday flavors in this recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread Mini Loaves.

Gingerbread is the quintessential holiday treat and most of have fond memories of the delicious aroma and warm, spicy taste of this flavor profile that is incorporated in cookies, cakes, and other yummy Christmas treats. Adding chocolate even deepens the flavor experience and speaks to a chocolate-lover’s soul!

This is a smaller-scale gingerbread recipe making two loaves in approximate-sized 5.5” x 3” loaf pans. You can also use all the batter in a single 6” diameter small cake pan. You can also half the recipe and make a single mini loaf and you can also double the recipe to make 4 mini loaves or fill a bigger 8” to 9” diameter cake pan.

Pin for later!

Slice them up and serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream, or the toppings of your choice. If you’d rather gift them to a friend or family present them in nicer, disposable mini loaf liners or, even better, a beautiful ceramic mini loaf pan (can be used long after the food gift is gone)!  If you are wrapping in plastic wrap or a cellophane food gift bag, make sure the gingerbread loafs are completely cooled. You can also store in the freezer for up to 6 months, in wrapped in plastic wrap and sealed in a freezer bag.

Mini Chocolate Gingerbread is easy to make, sharable, delicious! Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

A chocolate-lover's twist on the quintessential holiday season treat - gingerbread! Simple and delicious, makes two little loaves, one for you and one for sharing!
Print
Chocolate Gingerbread Mini Loaves

A chocolate-lover's twist on the quintessential holiday season treat – gingerbread! Simple and delicious, makes two little loaves, one for you and one for sharing!

Course: bread, Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
Keyword: cake, christmas, gingerbread, holiday
Servings: 2 loaves
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk hack: whole milk + ½ tsp vinegar, let sit 5 min
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup flour or gluten free blaking blend
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease TWO mini loaf pans (about 5.5” x 3”) or one 6" round cake pan.

  2. Cream the butter and brown sugar then beat in the egg. Mix the buttermilk and molasses into butter mixture. Stir in baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt until combined. Next stir in flour until a smooth batter forms. Fold in chocolate chips.
  3. Bake for about 25 or until a toothpick inserted in center pulls clean. Cool 10 minutes before slicing.

“Breakfast at Midnight” Brunch Charcuterie Board for New Year’s Eve

Posted on by
1

This post is sponsored by Wildgrain.

My goal for 2023 is to “Eat More Brunch” . . . and I’m starting now with this “Breakfast at Midnight” snacking board. It’s so perfect for our stay-at-home New Year’s Eve celebration. I’m not a fan of going out on this crazy night and would rather stay at home in my PJs and eat my favorite foods – and a breakfast grazing board pretty much covers all the favorite comfort food bases!

With help from Wildgrain Box (more details below), I made this gorgeous grazing board overflowing with beautiful brunch and breakfast trimmings. To balance my board nutritionally, I like to offer an array of nibbles and noshes.

This is a must make for your breakfast and brunch celebration. – or anytime of day!

Ideas for Your Breakfast or Brunch Charcuterie Tray

Eggs: Deviled eggs, sous-vide egg bites, slices of quiche, egg salad, or simple slices of hard-boiled egg.

Meats: Bacon, breakfast sausages, chunks of steak, and traditional charcuterie meats such as salami, prosciutto and summer sausage.

Cheese: Your favorite cheese cut in “cracker stacker” form, along mini wedges of bold cheese like blue cheese, and spreadable cheese and even a ooey-gooey baked brie.

Seasonal Fruit:  All the beautiful fruits you love, avocados and tomatoes too for sandwich building. 

Dried Fruits and Nuts

Butter, Honey, Jams, Spreads

Artisan Breads, Pastries, Crackers: Sourdough sliced for breakfast sandwich making, biscuits, pastries, donut holes, muffins, crackers and more!  I even added homemade cottage fries with this brunch board.

Croissants from Wildgrain are magnifique! For a limited time, new orders get a FREE 4-pack with each shipment for life.


When it comes to artisan breads and pastries, I’ll admit right here and now – I’m NOT a scratch baker (those croissants above would literally take ALL DAY from scratch, but only 18-22 minutes the Wildgrain way)!  Wildgrain Box to sends me other baking championship-worthy items – and no one is the wiser!  Wildgrain is an amazing subscription box that sends artisanal pastas, breads and pastries to my home that are frozen and ready to prepare in no more than 25 minutes!  

I transformed my Cranberry Orange Biscuits from Wildgrain into look-alike baby scones by cutting in half diagonally, giving an egg wash on top, and sprinkling with sugar crystals.

All the labor-intensive work has been done for me thanks to Wildgrain Box. The dough has been hand-prepped, the breads have been proofed, and the pastries given extra TLC. This means I save a ton of time and no extra mess is made at my house, lol!  I also appreciate that Wildgrain use clean, non-GMO ingredients and their fermentation process provides benefits you won’t find at the grocery store. Items are always shipped free in and eco-friendly box and recyclable stay-cold packaging. They also support small bakeries and responsible source products from some of the best bread and pasta makers in existence. With each bite, I can taste the talent and love these yummy delights.

BTW, you can save $10 on your first order with code THEFITFORK. Every month (pause or cancel at any time), I get a frozen shipment of tender pastas, artisan breads and pastries delivered to my door. 

Slow-fermented Olive Oil Ciabatta from Wildgrain is a winner with any meal. I sliced it up to use for breakfast sammies on my brunch board.

For New Year’s Eve . . . and beyond, keep Wildgrain in mind as your secret shortcut. One of my quick and east dinner solutions throughout the year (and to support my carb loading for longs runs, haha) are the artisan pastas from Wildgrain.  These fresh hand-cut pastas taste oh-so “old world,” yet only need to be plopped into boiling water for mere minutes. Add a sauce, some veggies, a protein – and boom-bam, it’s a nutritious meal in under 30 minutes!  

This No Cook Artichoke Fettuccini using Hand Cut Pasta from Wildgrain  is a quick and easy meal to incorporated into your healthy new year!

Whip up a fresh fit meal in minutes with this easy, no-cook pasta sauce that features tomatoes, marinated artichokes, garlic and feta cheese - plus a little EVOO. It's tossed with hot noodles that warms it up! A delicious summer dinner! Used pasta from the Wildgrain subscription box, save $30 with code THEFITFORK at http://bit.ly/Wildgrain
Artisan bread, pastas and pastries in the the Wildgrain subscription box, save $30 with code THEFITFORK at http://bit.ly/Wildgrain

SNEAK PEEK: 

 January 2023 Wildgrain Mixed Box

  • Plain Sourdough Load
  • Cranberry Pecan Sourdough Loaf
  • Spelt Sourdough Loaf
  • Fettuccine Pasta
  • Tonnarelli Pasta
  • Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookes
  • + Free Croissants

 January 2023 Bakery Box: 

  • Plain Sourdough Loaf
  • Cranberry Pecan Sourdough Loaf
  • Spelt Sourdough Loaf
  • English Muffins
  • Slow-Fermented Brioche Rolls (likely but not confirmed)
  • Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookes
  • + Free Croissants

Oh yeah, did I mention that every subscription of a Wildgrain Bread Box started now through January gets a free 4-pack of croissants sent with EVERY box shipment for LIFE. There are no words to describe how good they are! Remember to use my Wildgrain coupon code to save $10 — THEFITFORK