Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Gluten Free Crock Pot Chili and Pilates & More with Elina

Last week I met up with the NH Bloggers & Tweeters group for the monthly Blog & Tweet event, but not before having a bowl of my husband's delicious wheat-free crock pot chili.


He has masterfully created a yummy chili recipe that simmers in the crock pot for about 5 hours:

2 pounds browned hamburg
2 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 can green chiles
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 can dark red kidney beans

I add crackers to my chili and like Glutino gluten free original crackers the best.

The October Blog & Tweet event was a Pilates Fitness Class at Pilates & More with Elina in Manchester. Pilates is a conditioning routine meant to help build flexibility and strength. It's a great cross training option for runners.


Pilates & More with Elina is located in the old mills buildings of downtown Manchester. Parking was free and easy, but finding my way to the studio inside the building was just the start of the adventure.


The studio, which opened in September, was a cozy space with hard wood floors that easily accommodated our group of seven.


Elina, who has 19 years fitness experience, greeted us right away and after filling out some paperwork, she led us to the Pilates mats we would be using for the class.


The 45 minute Beginner's Mat class was a mix of beginner Pilates moves put together as a sequential series and a lot of giggling. That's what happens when you put a group of girls together!

Photo credit to Janine

Some of the Pilates exercises involved a good stretch at the end, which felt awesome after Elina pushed us to do more repetitions. Even though we were not moving around a lot, I could feel my muscles tiring from the repetition or holding of positions. I wish I had remembered to wear my Polar Heart Rate monitor because I would love to know how many calories I burned in this class!


In addition to the Beginner's Mat class, Elina explained to the group at the end of the session that she also offers several other classes:

Cardilates - low impact cardio and Pilates with music
Bandilates - Pilates with resistance bands
Rehabilitation - Focus on range of motion and stretching

Pilates & More with Elina offers a range of pricing options from $15 drop in rates to packages and private sessions.

I've done Pilates before and had forgotten what a great workout it is. It was a nice change from the high energy workouts that I've become accustomed to doing. Thanks again to Allie and Janine for organizing our monthly Blog & Tweet events.


And special thanks to Elina for hosting our crazy Blog & Tweet NH group!

me, Amber, Sarah, Allie, Kathy, Karlene, Elina, and Janine

Have you ever done Pilates? What do you think?





9 comments:

  1. That's awesome. I never would have thought about having a calendar/journal for running, but it makes perfect sense. :)

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  2. As a logging slacker, I could really use the day-to-day log/calendar to force me into doing it!

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  3. Choosing for myself I would love the journal calendar because although I log runs online I would love writing and physically being able to see/carry with me what I log. I always carry a notebook with me for that reason to jot things down. Totally might get the day to day calendar as some gifts this year though!

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  4. The day by day log and I already have a few race dates to add to it! I love when I start seeing new calendars for the upcoming new year!

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  5. While the day by day log is nice, I'm not sure I will ever go back to writing my running notes on the calendar. I would love the Runner's High with all those quite things written on each day. I tend to take calendars like that, save the best days and use them to create things.

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  6. My only running log is my blog lol I've never written any notes about my running journey any where else!

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  7. Since I use an electronic log, I probably wouldnt use the runner's log, but the runner's high page a day would look awesome on my desk!

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  8. Love those! I still write in a journal so delighted to see this giveaway!

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  9. these are awesome! would love to use these on my fitness journey!

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