Recipe Makeover: Peach-Mango Cake Squares with Stevia

One of the things I mentioned in yesterday's post to help you find your inner joy is cooking.

For me, it is baking specifically.

There is just something about it that I find very relaxing and therapeutic.  Especially when I am trying to give some of my favourite desserts a healthy twist.

I decided it was time for me to try my hand at baking with stevia, although I have to admit that I have never been stevia's biggest fan.

I had always found it to be quite bitter and I didn't really like it's licorice taste.  However, lately I have found that in very small quantities (like in a smoothie) it is almost undetectable and adds that bit of sweetness I am looking for.

So with stevia in hand, I tackled this Mango Cake recipe from Food.com.  Here are some of the changes I made:

Inner Fitness: Finding Your Happiness

I am working-in this week (I hope many of you are joining me too;)

During the #Fitblog Plank Challenge, I started posting my weekly workouts and a few of you asked me where they went, especially this week as you wanted to know exactly what a "work-in week"  looks like.

Ask and you shall receive.

I am going to take it one step further.  Along with my workouts, I am going to include what I call a "happiness" section.

Why?

It is just as important that we take care of our insides.  We need to approach health and fitness from a good place.  If you don't work on making yourself happy (and in turn, being happy with yourself), I believe that you will never truly get to where you want to be.

"Happiness" doesn't always equate to doing what is fun (although I certainly think you need to have fun), it can mean doing something that will give you piece of mind and contribute to your overall well being.

 

CanFitPro Workshop Highlights: Betty Crocker for Fitness Pros

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

In the spirit of listening to my body, I am officially working-in this week.  I have been pretty sore and tired the last few weeks and I suspect it is because I have been pushing myself a bit too hard.

Between classes and the CanFitPro Fitness Conference, my body is finally saying, "enough" and I really do try to listen to and respect what the body wants.

Speaking of the fitness conference, last week I promised to impart the lessons that I learned at the sessions I attended.  I am a girl who keeps my promises ;)

My 3 Favourite Upper Body Exercises

It's Friday!  Time to share some of my favourites ;)

A few weeks ago I posted my 3 favourite lower body exercise, so it is only fitting that I follow up with my fave upper body exercises.

I am particularly fond of these exercises as they require very little equipment, can be done anywhere at anytime and can be modified to suit every exercise level.

Get ready to sculpt those pipes, twice a week is all it takes.  I am pretty sure that your arms are going to make Madonna jealous :)

Fitness Fads That May Not Fade

That sure is a mouthful. :)

I have talked on some of the fitness gimmicks out there.  Check out these posts if you want to see some of these crazy contraptions.

3 Crazy Fitness Gimmicks
3 More Crazy Fitness Gimmicks
Crazy Fitness Gimmicks Revisited
Crazy Fitness Gimmicks...Again

But what about a few of the hotter products and programs that seem to have some merit?  After all, every one of them was a trend or fad at some point.

Case in point: Step classes.

Step has been around for 20 years and I am sure there were a few nay sayers at the time who thought that marching up and down on a platform was a pretty silly idea.  Granted step classes are not quite as popular as they used to be, but I know most gyms still offer at least one class a week on their schedules.

With that in mind, I wanted to weigh in on three hot fitness trends, which I feel may stand the test of time.

Being Skinny Does Not Always Equal Being Healthy

During #Fitblog Chats last night, a few of us got into a discussion about the thinking that being skinny = being healthy.  Here is just a snippet of our chat:

5 Tips on How to Deal with Injuries

When you are active, you run the risk of injury.

I am sure many, if not all of you, have experienced an exercise related injury at some point in your lives.  Maybe you have the dreaded Runner's Knee or perhaps twisted your ankle after a killer kickboxing class.

Whatever your ailment, how you treat and recover from any injury can affect your attitude and performance, so here a a few tips for dealing with exercise injuries.

Weekend Warrior: CanFitPro Fitness Conference Highlights

It was a fantastic (and exhausting) weekend at the CanFitPro Fitness Conference.

After the last of my volunteer shifts on Friday morning, I was raring to go!  I attended 11 workshops in three days and I am feeling motivated, recharged and ready to apply what I have learned.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I will be dedicating a post to each of the workshops I attended ranging from nutrition for fitness pros to pilates on the ball. (Doesn't that sound exciting?)

Today, I wanted to share some highlights from the conference.

My 3 Favourite Fitness Presenters

Since I am attending the CanFitPro Fitness Conference this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to feature some of my favourite fitness presenters.

These guys (and girl) really know their stuff when it comes to exercise and their passion for the industry shines through each and every time they present.

If you have the opportunity, I highly suggest that you sign up for one of their sessions (whether you are a fitness pro or enthusiast) as I guarantee you will leave all the better for it!

Source

Giving Back, Fitness Style

As I mentioned on Twitter, I am volunteering at and attending the CanFitPro Fitness Conference this weekend.

Me and my fabulous friend, Kim

My Summer Playlist

#Fitblog Chats alway give me the best inspiration for posts.  Last night we were talking about music and how it can motivate you (or unmotivate you) in your workouts.

Recipe Makeover: Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars

It has been a few weeks since I was able to give any recipes a "Tracy twist" and I was so happy to get back in the kitchen again.

Remember those butterscotch chips I told you about?  Well, I finally found a home for them!

Are You Exercising Correctly?

Sorry for the late post today friends, but Blogger was not letting my login in last night.  I hope I don't have to take back all the nice things I said about it :)

I spent this weekend Getting Out There and promoting my business at the Lakeshore Mardi Gras.

My 3 Favourite Sweet Blogs

Most of you know that I have a major sweet tooth.  Cakes,  cookies, squares, I heart them all.

Perhaps this is why most of my recipes (and makeovers) are dessert based.  I love baking and most importantly, I love eating.

It should be no surprise that I also love blogs about sinfully delicious treats.  There are many fantastic bloggers out there who focus on the sweet stuff, but I have narrowed it down to these three fabulous ladies.

4 Stress-Busting Tips

Yesterday sure didn’t feel like a work-in day. 

I was working frantically to prepare for the Lakeshore Mardi Gras this weekend.

Stop by if you are in the Toronto area and say 'hi'!

Work-In Wendesday: Plan, Bake, Sweat.

The last week has been crazy.

I have been doing some office work during the day, training in the morning and teaching at night.

Needless to say, I am not so used to these 12 hour days.

Enter Work-In Wednesday. 

I am actually off today and have a few errands to run (like getting ready for this event on the weekend:), but for the most part I am going to focus on taking care of me.

Between work, school, friends and family it is so important to squeeze in some "me time".  This could be as simple sitting outside with a nice cup to tea to booking a day at the spa.

So what am I going to do today?  I am so glad you asked.

#Fitblog Abs Challenge: Wrap Up

That's all she wrote, folks!

Coping with Chronic Pain, Part 8: Alternative Therapies

It is a wordy post today, but I promise it is worth the read. :)

It is the final installment in the series on Coping with Chronic Pain (or any kind of pain for that matter).

Today I going to talk about  my favourite form of treatment:  Alternative Therapies.  These involve a more non-traditional approach to healing and pain relief.

There are many of of therapies from homeopathy to reflexology, but I am going to focus on three.

On a side note:  Make sure you check with you insurance company as many of these therapies are covered up to a certain dollar amount.  It can get very expensive, so any help you can get is fantastic.

Alternative Therapies

My 3 Favourite Lower Body Exercises

I am going to do something a little different today.

Instead of featuring my favourite blogs, (I talked about blogging yesterday :) I am going to show you 3 killer moves that will help your sculpt your lower body.

These are my favourite because they are compound exercises, which work more than muscle group at once.  This means you can workout in less time and have more time to go out and enjoy your Friday night.

Do this workout twice a week and you will have a booty like J.Lo and legs like Britney in no time ;)

How to Promote Your Blog

A few nights ago, we had a great discussion on Fitblog Chats about blogging.

I have posted about how blogging can help you build your brand as a fitness pro (or any other pro, for that matter) and how you can to build a better blog.  Today, I wanted to talk about some of the specific things you can do to spread the word about your blog and connect with the community.

Wordless Wednesday: Fitness, Fun, Friends

#Fitblog Abs Challenge: Favourites

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