Banana Protein Pancakes

The first time I ever had banana pancakes was at 3AM in Bali, right before we climbed up the side of volcano in the dark to watch the sunrise from the top. Haha, true story! You can read about it here ---> Two Days in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

I'm not exactly sure how they made those banana pancakes, but they were pretty tasty and had me wanting to make my own after that. I researched lots of recipes, pulled a little from one and a little from another, and crossed my fingers. 

They were really, really good. I love having them on FASTer Way Leg Days or Feast Days because I can splurge a little more on the maple syrup! Ok, maybe a lot :) 

Recipe for one big serving:

1 mashed banana (I did not mind having some lumps)

2 whisked eggs

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 vanilla

1 scoop protein powder - I use unflavored collagen peptides but Vega vanilla is really good too

Combine all ingredients.  The mix is very liquidity, but the protein powder can help thicken it up. I used approximately 2 tbsp scoops of batter to make smaller pancakes. It was pretty easy to flip them this way. They cooked just like regular pancakes, about 1 minute per side.

The first time I made them, I did not add the protein powder. Either way, they were really good. Almost as good as the ones in Bali, but I personally think they look a lot better!

Low FODMAP Acai Bowl

One thing that I absolutely love to eat is an acai bowl. We can find them in about 10 different locations in our neighborhood alone, but I also love making my own at home. 

During my first week on the low FODMAP diet, I quickly learned that I cannot have a lot of my normal go-to foods. I was super worried that I would have to miss one of my favorite break fast meals on regular macro days.

After doing some research with the Monash University FODMAP diet app and looking over my FASTer Way recipe, I came up with an acceptable solution and created my first low FODMAP acai bowl.

Base - blend together

Sambazon Acai packet

Strawberries 145g

Banana 35g

Chia Seeds 1 tsp

Almond milk 1/4 cup

Spinach 1/2 cup

My toppings:

Almonds (shaved) .03 oz

Raspberries 1.5 oz

Blueberries 1.4 oz

Oats 2 tbsp - too plain but I found a recipe to make low FODMAP granola!!

I have to admit, it was not as good as my regular bowl but it did the trick for now. I really missed my blackberries and honey which are off limits because they are too high in FODMAPs. 

What are your favorite toppings on an acai or smoothie bowl?

Sunrise and some beach fitness!

 The other day, mrC wanted to get up early and watch the sunrise at the beach. Umm, yes! 

Since the beaches just re-opened here on Oahu (well, technically for solo activities), I was in full LET'S TAKE ADVANTAGE mode. I downloaded my FASTer Way workout to my iPad, put on my bathing suit and favorite sunscreen and packed the beach bag with towels. 

We sat for awhile listening to the waves, drinking our coffees and watching the the morning walkers. There is a very large number of people who walk their dogs on the beach, so it can be quite entertaining. 

The beach might seem like a crazy place to do a workout, but I love doing mine outside. Plus the scenery was A LOT better than my normal view on our lanai. FASTer Way workouts are available through the app and can be downloaded so you can easily take your workouts anywhere. I chose a HIIT Boxing workout from the workout studio because it is ALL BODY WEIGHT ---> perfect for doing it at the beach.

After a quick dip in the water, mrC and I decided to walk the entire length of the beach. I don't know why this appealed to me on this day except that it was so beautiful out and I wasn't ready to go home!

Even though it is one long stretch of sand, the beach has a different name depending on the location: Kailua, Kalama, Dunes, Oneawa, Castle's. At the dead end, the beach becomes blocked by lava rock which is the foundation of the beach front homes that continue. It's pretty private, but there was too much seaweed.

Hawaii (at the time) had a social distancing mandate that stated, "Individuals may engage in any lawful activity (e.g., walking, running, sitting, fishing, etc.) on the beach, but only by oneself. No group use or group activities are allowed." Believe it or not, this meant that even family members couldn't be together!! 

We knew that the Kailua Police would be patrolling the beach on their 4-wheelers, so when we heard them coming, we made sure that we were by ourselves! 

We haven't had that many beach days this year, because COVID restrictions closed them for months except to access the water for exercise.

I am planning to make up for it, big time!

What has been closed in your area that was frustrating?

Three Reasons Everyone Should Be Doing Burpees

Most people have a love/hate relationship with burpees. We hate them because they challenge us and they are sooo hard, right? We love them because they're done! Haha.

Burpees are an incredible exercise that combines strength, endurance and functionality. 

1. Strength: It targets every single muscle group, over and over, and over. Your legs, arms, chest, back and core. Everything is getting worked. Even when modified, there is no group of muscles getting out of the work on this move.

2. Endurance: The repetition of moving down and up, down and up helps build endurance. It doesn't take long at all to feel the heart rate increase and the body to warm up. Just one minute of burpees will have you breaking a sweat.

3. Functionality: The burpee can be broken down into three parts: the squat, the plank, the rise. Each part benefits the way we move in every day life. 

Squats help us to tie our shoes, pick up our children or pets, get up off the toilet, fill up your tires, pick up your suitcase...

Planks make it easier to look under the bed for something, put your carry-on in the overhead bin, stand up and sit up straight, prevent back pain, hold laundry baskets...

The rise increases our ability to get up off the ground after playing with the kids or having fallen, be ready to move quickly out of the way if needed...

I love how practical this exercise is, even though it is really hard to get excited when I see it on the workout plan. 

How do you feel about burpees?

Low FODMAP Raspberry Chia Jam

I made my own chia jam and it was super easy!

I’m working on an imbalance of gut bacteria and just starting the low FODMAP diet which basically means I’m eating, and not eating, certain foods to starve the bacteria that have overgrown in my gut.

If it seems crazy that you can have a gut health issue while eating healthy (and working as a FASTer Way coach), I think so too!

The (insert sarcasm) "fun" part is that even healthy foods, or just too much of some, feed the overgrowth bacteria! That means, foods such as garlic, onion, agave and honey make a lot of my go-to convenient items off limits for awhile.

I love pairing my breakFAST smoothie with my version of the PB&J: plain rice cakes with almond butter and chia jam. My store bought chia jam has agave as an ingredient making it a no-go.

No worries, I just Googled recipes (there are a ton by the way). I combined two recipes and used the FODMAP app from Monash University to make sure I wasn't using too much of any ingredient.

My recipe:

2 oz raspberries

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

2 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 cup water

Blend all ingredients together in blender for 1 minute. Pour mixture into sauce pan and heat for about 10 minutes on medium. Place in airtight jar and let cool in fridge.

It was soooo good!

If you’ve done a low FODMAP diet and have recipes you love, please share them with me!!