Chocolate time!

Hey gang,
Wow, is it really Friday night already! I've had a crazy week of photo shoots for a new product I'm working on (I'll share soon)! It felt like a really long week and I've got one word on the brain... CHOCOLATE! So I thought today would be a good day to share a great brownie recipe because we all have those days when we just need something warm and gooey! Believe it or not I actually stole this one from Jillian! Ekks, maybe I shouldn't admit that!!!! Anyhow, I have to give credit where's it's due, and these rock!! What can I say, when it comes to chocolate we gals gotta stick together!

Almost Healthy Chocolate brownies!
olive oil cooking spray
2/3 cup mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom
1/3 cups natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with olive oil. Set aside.
Place the honey in a large glass measuring cup. Microwave on high power until the honey is runny and just bubbling, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the cocoa and stir with a fork until well combined. Let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until well blended. Add the honey-cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake until the surface looks dry around the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing into 16 squares. (Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
Makes 16 (2-inch) brownies


Let me know what you guys think, and remember everything in moderation:)

Hugs,
Kim

Core and thighs time!

Hi Everyone! Today I'm targeting your core and inner and outer thigh, two areas of the body that we can't seem to work enough! I'm showing you how to do 4 unique variations of the plough. For these exercises you'll need 2 wash clothes and a hard surface floor. I recommend doing 3 to 4 sets using a variety of these moves. Mix it up to make it fun!

1. Mt Climber Plough- Bring the knees into the chest in a running like motion. Start slow and increase speed keeping your body in a proper position.
2. Plough-Bring the knees to the chest together and push they out to the push up position.
3. Pike Plough-Keep the knees straight as you lift the hips to bring the feet in toward your hands.
4. Plough with abduction/adduction. Keeping the body in a tight push up or plank position, slide the feet in and out to work the inner and outer thigh.

Get creative with these as you become more advanced. You can add in push ups and mix and match all these moves for a killer workout that will be sure to leave your abs screaming for more (or not!!!)

Let me know what you guys think and if you like the videos!

Sexy arms for summer!

Hi everyone,
Here's another video blog for you with some little exercise tweaks to help you add variety to your routine!

My Oxygen Girls!

This past weekend I went to Vegas with my girlfriends for Lara's Bachelorette party. We had such a great time. I caught myself several times looking at Lara, Brandy, and Krystal and thinking about how we've "grown" up with Oxygen! Lara McGlashen has been a writer for years and has written hundreds of articles. I met her when we were competing in the Ms Galaxy competitions and we've been friends now for over 10 years. Then there's Brandy, I also met her while competing. I remember I was always so intimidated by her amazing beauty and dreaded being anywhere close to her in the bikini lineup! I'm sure you've all seen her in the old Hydroxycut ads. She's also been on the cover of Oxygen. Krystal was there too, she's a stylist and has been dressing me for Oxygen shoots for more then 10 years. We've all been through wins and losses, divorces and marriages, tears and laughs, good and bad, and just about everything life can toss at ya! We laugh about the days when our biggest stress was how fast we'd run the obstacle course, what we'd wear for the photo shoots, and when we'd get our next protein shake! Good times!!
It sounds kinds of cheesy, but Oxygen Magazine has been kind of like our yearbooks! We all have 100's of issues and can't seem to part with any of them! Here's a fun pic of Brandy (green) Lara (pink) and me! We decided that Lara looked so good in the wig that she should wear it for her wedding!!!!

Family hike

Hey peeps! I hope you are having an awesome week. I love this tip with little Jake, he wanted to look at his dad filming me and is so cute peeking around me.
I've been a busy little nut lately so many great projects in the works. I can't wait to share all my latest projects with you all. I am still managing to get in my workouts in (just barely) and eating as healthy as possible (let's just say shakes have been a big life saver).
Today I decided to take a break and go for a hike with Gunter and baby Jake. I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about how important it is to walk correctly. It sounds silly, but it can save you all kinds of ache, pains, and injuries down the road. Stick with me, I'm going to get a little a little technical on you!
Jump up and walk across the room. Do your toes turn outward? If they do your kinetic chain is off. But don't worry, a little practice walking with your toes forward and you'll be back on track. It's going to feel really odd at first, but trust me, it will be natural in only a few weeks. Walking with feet over pronated (outward) causes the outside of the heel to make contact with the ground first while walking or running. As weight is applied to your foot, it rolls in. This can cause your ankle to twist inward causing ankle sprains. It can also cause pain to the bottom of the foot (plantar fasciitis). This twist of your foot also causes problems to the knees by putting excess stress on the ligaments and cartilage of the knee. The inward twist continues up to the thigh and hip causing a forward tilt of the pelvis which strains the lower back.
I'm curious to hear how you all are walking and if this is something that helps! I promise if you spend some time focusing on this it will make a huge difference for you.