Hippy-ish Granola

Hey hey hey! You are currently reading the first EVER blog post from me, Sarah C. I'm so excited that you somehow wound up here :) I have been reading healthy living blogs for the past three years, and I love cooking up recipes and baking sweet treats that I find on them. So kind of life "monkey see, monkey do" I will be recreating goodies, but putting my own spin on them. I will also let you know honestly how I think it turned out. I want this to be a place where you can get some ideas for dinner, workouts, places to go, and things to make.

To kick off my first recipe tweak, I tried Elise's Quinoa Granola.
Original Recipe: http://www.hungryhungryhippie.com/quinoa-granola/

Here are my modifications:
1 c oats
1/6 c quinoa
1/8 c whole flax seeds
1/4 c unsweetened coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c chopped almonds
1/2 c trail mix (Trail mix had pepitas, sunflower seeds, cranberries, walnuts and pecans)

1/2 c cereal (I used an unsweetened plain corn flakes kind)
1/6 c coconut oil
1/12 c honey
1/12 c maple syrup
(To do this, I took a 1/3 c measuring cup, filled it halfway with coconut oil, then filled half & half of maple and honey)

Mix the dry ingredients, then mix the wet ingredients. Mix both together, making sure everything is evenly coated. Spread on parchment paper and bake for @ 300 for 40 minutes. Let it cool, then break the sheet of granola into big pieces.

My granola came out perfectly clumpy, crunchy, and sweet. I liked the addition of the corn flakes, because all the small pieces of quinoa had a big vesicle to stick to. The quinoa gave the granola a slight nutty crunch. This granola is filled with protein, healthy fats and fiber. I urge you to give it a shot!

Today's workout: I did day 30 of Jamie Eason's Live Fit Program. It was a pretty intense day of chest and abs, followed by 30 minutes of steady state cardio. I already finished her program all the way through, but still feel like I have some more toning to do... so I decided to go back to level 2 and work my way through again. Here's what was on today's agenda:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer-phase-2-day-30.html

My modifications: I used the smith bar for the bench presses, did the push ups on my knees, and couldn't do the side-side push ups. I can do about three of them, and then I collapse on my face. Also, instead of doing the cable crunches, I did crunches on a stability ball. I hate cable crunches, I feel like a crazy person trying to do them, and I feel like I'm always doing them wrong. After that, I chose to do the stair master at level 14 for 30 minutes, and cooled down with 10 minutes on the treadmill at incline 4, speed 4. It was a pretty lack luster workout, probably because I was starving.

Thanks for hanging out with me for my first EVER blog post. I hope you stick around :)