Red Velvet Protein Muffins

This post is sponsored by my friends at NOW Foods. I’ve been a fan of NOW® products for years and am so thrilled to be partnering with them for this post. Check out their site here and use the code FITNESSISTA for 20% off through 12/31/22! They have an amazing selection of supplements, essential oils, beauty and health products, pet products, and sports nutrition. 

Hi friends! How’s the morning going so far? I hope you’re enjoying the day! Since I’ve been home with the kids this summer, I’ve found my way back to quick and efficient at-home workouts. A workout doesn’t have to be long or insanely intense to reap the benefits; a short block of movement and I’m feeling energized and ready to tackle the rest of the day.

Here’s a workout circuit I’ve been enjoying lately. You can do this one anywhere and all you need is your own body weight, which makes it an ideal travel workout. With a warmup (I like 7 minutes of easy cardio), you can complete the whole workout in less than 30 minutes.

As always, check with a doctor before making any fitness changes. Honor your body and modify as needed.

Total Body Bodyweight Blast

Squat to single-leg deadlift (touch the floor):

Place your feet just under your shoulders with toes slightly angled out. Keep your chest lifted and a tight core as you sink back and down into your squat. Pretend like there is a chair behind you, and you’re going to tap your booty to the chair. The weight should remain in your heels. As you rise, come into a single-leg deadlift with both hips square to the floor and touching the floor. Switch sides.

Curtsy lunge to side leg lift:

Start with one leg forward, and toes angled out 45 degrees. Step your other foot totally back behind the front, so that your foot is behind the opposite shoulder. Sink low into a curtsy lunge, them as you exhale, lift the back leg out to the side. Really think about squeezing your glutes to lift your leg. Make sure that you take a nice big step back and to the side for your curtsy lunge.

Inchworm sprawl:

Start standing and walk your hands to bring your body into a plank position. Jump your feet to the outside of your hands, then back to plank position. Walk your hands back to your feet, stand, and repeat. For low-impact, try this against a wall.

Push-up to side plank:

On your knees, toes, or modified against a wall. Keep your hips down in line with your spine, and exhale, squeezing your chest, to rise. As you rise, rotate to a side plank.

Seal jacks:

These are just like jumping jacks, but as you jump out, squat low and bring your hands out to the side. As you jump together, clap your hands in front of your chest.

Burpee hands off:

Keep the band two inches above your knees. Sit into your squat and bring both hands to the floor, firmly planting your entire hand. Walk or hop back to a plank position (push-up here optional), and lower your body to the floor, releasing your hands. Push back up into plank, walk or hop your feet back to your hands, and jump vertically, raising your arms overhead.

Hollow hold with alternating leg drops:

Lie on your back and as you exhale, curl your head and shoulders off the floor, and legs off the floor, keeping the belly diving down. Make sure to breathe. If this is too intense for the 40-second block, split it into shorter time rounds during the 40 seconds.

After my workouts, I always try to get in a mix of protein and carbs, and wanted to share a red velvet protein muffins recipe I created with ya. These protein muffins are soft, slightly sweet, and have a little chocolate kick from some chocolate chips. There’s no added refined sugar (just sweetened with maple syrup) and the lovely red velvet color is from NOW® Sports Beet Root powder.

Here’s the full recipe!

Red Velvet Protein Muffins

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Some of the potential benefits of the ingredients I used!

These are all wonderful pre- and post-workout options that I like to add to oatmeal, baked goods, and smoothies.

Beet powder:

Packed with vitamins and nutrients, like potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, and iron. Beets are a superfood rich in naturally occurring nitrates, and one serving of this powder is equivalent to 2.5 beets. If you hate the taste of beets, but want the benefits, beet powder is a great way to go! It also gives foods a beautiful pink color without having to use artificial food dyes. I love using it in cupcakes, muffins, and pancakes for the kiddos.

MCT oil:

Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil contains medium-length chains of fats called triglycerides. MCTs are readily absorbed from the GI tract and are metabolized very quickly by the liver, where they are reported to encourage the use of fat for energy rather than for storage.* Numerous studies suggest that substituting MCT oil for other fats in a healthy diet may therefore help to support healthy weight and body composition. I find that the unflavored MCT oil is the best in my coffee, since it adds a little satiety factor and nutrient boost.

Unflavored pea protein:

I’m always looking for ways to increase my protein intake, especially since it’s the building block of our cells and I want to preserve muscle mass as I age. I’m a huge fan of adding protein powder to oatmeal, smoothies, muffins, and cookies (like the ones above!) but am SUPER picky about protein powder nutrients and taste. Often the ones with decent nutritional profiles taste horrible. This isn’t the case with this one AT ALL!! It’s vegan with one ingredient (non-GMO yellow pea protein isolate), and is very smooth; not chalky. The best part is that it’s unflavored! You can easily add it to both sweet and savory dishes without affecting the flavor.

 *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

ALL of these ingredients can be found on nowfoods.com and you can use my code FITNESSISTA for 20% off your entire order through 12/31/22. And bonus, there’s a current promo at Sprouts, too, and you can get an extra $2 off their unflavored pea protein (one of my faves) through June 14! It’s a great way to add a protein boost to baked goodies, oatmeal, and smoothies, without altering the flavor in any way. It also has a lovely smooth texture and 24g of vegan protein per serving.

Let me know if you give these cookies or the bodyweight blast workout a whirl!

Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by the blog today.

Xo

Gina

Photos: Kristi Harris Photography