Lately, I feel like my life has been revolving around fitness. This is mostly because working at GNC has me talking about Sports Nutrition about 85% of the time, and as a result, I’ve been a lot more focused on sticking with my workouts and being conscious about what I put into my body for those workouts (primarily the post workout). In addition to the protein that I add to my post workout smoothie (consisting of some combination of frozen berries, banana, kale/spinach, greek yogurt, and flax), I’ve started to add GNC’s unflavored creatine monohydrate.
I’m not one for using too many supplements, since most of them have little to no evidence of efficacy, but creatine is one of the few that actually has a whole lot of research to back it up. It’s used for maximizing power and performance in high intensity exercise by increasing your ATP stores (your energy source). This in turn will help you build more muscle, since you’ll be doing more work. The only thing that usually keeps women away from creatine is the fact that it causes some water retention; it pulls water into your muscle cells, causing you to look/feel bloated. So far, I haven’t seen any issues, but I’ll keep you updated if I see any changes! Since I’ve been doing Insanity: the Asylum, I figured I could use a bit of an energy boost for the tougher workouts. I’m in my last week, and I am definitely noticing my muscles getting leaner and more defined than just doing Insanity! Definitely recommend it.
Do you take any supplements for your workouts? I’d love to hear about it!
Since I’ve been working a good bit, and I usually don’t do my workout for the day until afterwards, I’ve been making sure to take some good, healthy snacks that keep me feeling full and energized through my workout. These cookies fit the bill, satisfying my sweet tooth without being too indulgent.
I love the combination of raisins and chocolate, so I threw both in these oat cookies. I also added sunflower seeds for added crunch. If you aren’t a fan of either raisins or chocolate in your oat cookies, just double the amount of whichever you like (or leave them out all together.. although that’s no fun, now is it?!). I used a little bit of coconut sugar just so Alex wouldn’t think they were totally healthy with only Truvia, but you can easily get away with leaving that out and using 14 packets of Truvia, instead (or use 1/2 cup sugar and no Truvia).
Chocolate Chip Raisin Oat Cookies (GF)
yields 2 dozen cookies
1 cup oat flour
1 t baking powder (make sure it’s GF if you require a GF diet)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 T butter
1 egg
1 t vanilla
12 packets truvia
2 T coconut sugar
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds, optional
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the truvia, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and butter. Stir in the egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into wet ingredients, and mix until well incorporated. Stir in the rolled oats, and then fold in the chocolate chips, raisins, and sunflower seeds.
Drop by the tablespoon onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.