My Granola Recipe

I've made granola in the past, and it was delicious, but it's been kind of annoying buying 8 different ingredients and having leftovers for all of them. I wanted to come up with a recipe that would streamline the process, be delicious, and be healthy.

I'm a huge fan of Bob's Red Mill products. You can find these products in the natural food section of pretty much every grocery store.

Ingredients:
1 18 oz bag Bob's Red Mill Muesli cereal
1/4 c. Bob's Red Mill Raw Wheat Germ
1/2 c. honey
1 tbs canola oil
7/8 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (regular cinnamon can also be used here)

Put rack in center of oven, and then preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, spread out the entire bag of Muesli. Sprinkle raw wheat germ over cereal, and then put in oven and toast for 5-10 minutes.

While that is in the oven, combine honey, oil, salt, and spice in a large bowl. Once the dry ingredients are toasted, put them in the bowl and combine with the honey mixture, until evenly coated. Spread the mixture back on the parchment lined cookie sheet, and return to oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The darker the granola gets, the crunchier it will be, but it is very important not to let it burn!

Once you feel the granola is done, take it out of the oven, and leave it in the cookie sheet to cool. Stirring it occasionally as it cools will break up some of the larger chunks that will form. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Granola can be eaten alone as a snack, on top of yogurt, or with milk as a cereal (to name only a few).

This recipe makes twenty 1/4 cup servings, at 130 calories/serving. Enjoy!

CamaroZ28.com Fitness Contest 2011

For the third year in a row, I'm going to head the fitness contest on CamaroZ28.com. I tied for first in 2009, and came in third in 2010. This year I'm not going to settle for anything less than first place (without Kyle sharing the spotlight with me!)

I'll be honest: it's really hard for me to get motivated. I like to eat and hang out, and sore muscles are hard for me to overcome. Some may call me lazy, I think "comfortable" is a better description (let me kid myself for a few minutes longer, I beg you). Even after my previous victories with the contests, it's really easy for me to fall right back into old habits and right back into my old shape.

In 2007, I bought a pair of size 4 pants from American Eagle and was SO excited I was able to buy and button that size of pants. I wore them three times before learning I was pregnant with twins. I have never gotten rid of them, convincing myself that we'd meet again. Could this be the year?

My main goal for 2011 is to get and STAY in such good shape that I won't enter the 2012 contest. I don't have a specific weight or measurement goal, since all I want is to be comfortable in my own skin. Honestly, it's been years since that's been the case.

Of course, talk is cheap, and I need a solid plan to get me going. How the hell am I going to pull this off?

DIET I've had good luck in the past with the South Beach Diet. I lost about 12 pounds in only a few weeks. To me, that seems like the best first step. I don't believe that any "fad diet" should be implemented in a permanent capacity, but losing the weight right off the bat is definitely encouraging. I think it's the perfect jumping off point for this new lifestyle change.

EXERCISE I have a bunch of DVDs: Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, P90X, Yoga Booty Ballet, etc. I also have EA Active for the Wii and a treadmill upstairs in the playroom. I can also bike outside and get my kids involved. I have the tools, I just need to use them.

CUT THE CRAP This is going to be the hardest one, like I said before, sometimes I can be laz.... um... less than motivated. No more excuses. Essentially, that's why I created this blog, for a level of transparency during the process.

I can't promise to blog every day, but I will promise to find as much information as I can and pass it along to you, whether you're part of the CZ28.com family or are just on your own weight loss endeavor.

I've already decided that 2011 is going to be my year, hopefully it will be yours too!