Meliss takes the win!

Quick little shout out to our BDHQ June Studio Challenge winner Melissa E. for making it through the challenge sometimes taking on 3 sessions a day to beat out the other competitors. There must be something in the water at her house since it was her sister who won last month's competition. Way to go Meliss!

Who's going to win next month's challenge?

Time to Feed the Machine

With the kids finally out of school and summer holidays just creeping around the corner, you're going to need a lot more energy to get through your days. One of the Health industry's staples for breakfast is oatmeal, but personally, I find oatmeal quite boring. That was until berries and walnuts took over my bowl and kept me going until the wee hours of the afternoon.

We all underestimate how important a hearty breakfast is, especially with our training picking up (marathoners and halfers). You need your carbs to keep your energy up, especially on those weekend long runs. Here's a recipe that'll keep you and your followers going all day (picked up from my new favorite blog enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com).

"Amped up Oatmeal":
1 cup 1% lowfat milk (or soy, rice or almond milk)
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup quick OR old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 medium-size ripe banana, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
1 tablespoon dried cranberries or blueberries
Optional: lowfat vanilla yogurt

In a small saucepan, bring milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a simmer (watch carefully); stir in oats. Return to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook 1 minute for quick oats, 5 minutes for old fashioned oats, or until most of liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.Remove oatmeal from heat. Stir in mashed banana, flaxseed and vanilla.

Spoon oatmeal into two bowls. Top with nuts, dried fruit and (if desired) vanilla yogurt. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition per Serving (1/2 of the oatmeal):
Calories 249; Fat 7.9g Protein 8.8g; Carbohydrate 38.4g;

Enjoy!

Do the Du

To Do the Du or Not, that seems to be the question..
Vis and Adrien are currently toying with the idea of participating in the Self Trancendence Duathlon on August 2nd.
To be honest, neither one of them rides a bike on a regular occasion, but thanks to a pulled hammy and sprained shoulder, that has changed. The girls are back on their bikes (as soon as Vis gets her tired pumped) and are going to be hitting the road for a rude awakening in the month of July.
If anyone has any training tips (quick laces on your runners, or what flavor of nuun is the best), or life advice for that matter, they'd be happy to hear it. They already cut the swim portion out of their triathlon idea.. something about green hair wasn't appealing for the blondes this summer....

Just Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance

Good news everybody, we're going to finally have someone teach us how to dance at the studio. Now Adrien can retire her fist pump, Michele her box dance and Vis her arm thing (words can't describe that motion).

Guest instructor Koh McRadu is going to be teaching a beginner hip hop dance class at BDHQ at a very good price. For 75 bones you can come shake your booty to some great music and get your sweat on.

Here's the deal:
5 weeks
Wednesday nights, 7:30 – 8:30pm
July 1 – 29
And remember, it's a registered class only, you have to sign up at the front desk, in person and in the outfit you're going to be working out in (wrist bands and MC hammer pants are all more then welcome)

Come on....you know you wanna try it...

Peanuts, Asparagus and Noodles oh my!

So after much hunting and craving for a healthy peanuty-noodle recipe I came accross this recipe and I was not let down. The combination of flavours is perfect, but if you feel the need, you can change the recipe up as it suits you. For this recipe and more, check out one of my new favorite food blogs: www.101cookbooks.com and enjoy!

Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe
Heidi used asparagus in this version, but you can use any of your favorite in-season vegetables. During summer, peas, asparagus, and carrots all make great additions to the noodles and peanut sauce.

1 8 ounce package soba noodles
1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed then cut into 1/2-inch segements

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup hot water
1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup peanuts12 ounces extra-firm (organic) tofu, cut into small cubes (feel free to heat the tofu in a skillet if you like, but cold is good too)


Big a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the soba noodles per package instructions.In the last minute or so of cooking toss in the asparagus. Drain noodles and asparagus, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.


Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water - the amount you'll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. I like it the consistency of a thin (non-Greek) yogurt. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.


Gently toss the noodles, asparagus, spring onions, peanuts, and tofu with a big splash of the dressing. I reserve a bit of each ingredient to sprinkle on top of the serving platter to make it look nice. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt if needed, and enjoy!
Serves 6 - 8.

Time to Grill

Grilled Halibut with Mango Salsa
With the sun shining, why not spend as much time as possible outside?!

Here's a delicious new recipe to try on the grill, we're currently counting down the hours until we can get home and start whipping this one up.

**Actually I'm just going to talk Michele into making it for me...

Ingredients
2 cups plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups diced peeled ripe mango
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation
Prepare grill.
Combine first 7 ingredients. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and garlic.
Rub halibut with oil; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place fish on grill rack; grill 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with mango salsa.

Nutritional Info: Serves 4 (serving size: 1 fillet and 3/4 cup salsa)
Calories: 295
Fat: 7.8g
Protein: 37g
Carbohydrate: 19.5g
Fiber: 2.8g

(**This recipe is from the blog myrecipes.com- enjoy!)

West Coast Adventurer on Staff

Adrien has made it home safe and sound from the West Coast Trail. After very little preperation and avoidance of the fact she was going, she took off into the wild with a backpack and a cell phone that she soon found had no reception anywhere near the trail or trail heads.

She finished the trail in five days, and couldn't be happier to be home to hot showers, feather duvets and condiments. It's the simple things that she missed on the trail..

She had no rain on the trail, and we're afraid she may have turned over a new leaf and start heading out on more of these camping and hiking expeditions.. as long has she comes home in one peice, we'll allow it.. The wedding on the other hand was a different story...