Hello there!

How’s your day going so far? I don’t know about where you are, but things seem to be getting mighty chilly around here this week! Fall is definitely in the air and while the colourful leaves are lovely to look at, the wind and rain aren’t so fun to walk around in! Weather aside though, I’ve got a very tasty fall recipe to share with you this week, so let’s get right to it!

1. Recipe of the Week. Calling all pumpkin-a-holics!! Have I ever got a treat for you today. I’m all for eating seasonal produce, but I’ll freely admit to the fact that I’ve been buying cans of pumpkin since the beginning of August. As is evident by the nature of the recipes I’ve posted in the past, I’m not a big desserts kind of girl. However, occasionally I like a little sweet treat and if it’s a healthy one, then I’m even more up for it! Two of my all-time favourite pumpkin treats that are ideal for either breakfast or a post-workout snack are my Pumpkin Protein Pudding and Pumpkin Spiced High-Protein Breakfast Cake. I’ve recently added another one to the list, and it involves these things:

The final goodies are Skinny Mini Pumpkin ‘Cheesecakes’, a squeaky-clean treat that you can enjoy without the blood sugar spike (and subsequent crash) that you might experience if you ate a conventional sugar-laden cheesecake. The crust is a simple mixture of rolled oats, oat flour, applesauce, cinnamon and stevia, which gets whirled around in the food processor until it looks a little something like this:

After pressing the crust into the silicone baking cups, I mixed up the pumpkin filling, a combo of pureed pumpkin, Greek yogurt (which gives them that creamy cheesecake-like texture), stevia, pumpkin pie spice, and a bit of protein powder. If you don’t have protein powder on hand, a little flour would likely provide the thick consistency.

There’s no baking involved, just pop ‘em in the freezer for a couple of hours and the result is six mini frozen ‘cheesecakes’ that flip oh-so-easily out of the silicone liners.

The filling doesn’t need to be completely solid in order to come out of the liners easily, and trust me, you might not have the patience to wait that long anyway. If you do manage to muster up the self control to leave a few of these in the freezer for a later day, that’s fine too because they seem to freeze quite well. Just be sure to let them thaw out on the counter for about 30 minutes before sinking a spoon into the top.

2. Under Armour Block It 3″ Shorts. New running gear never fails to get me excited, especially when it’s PINK!! Meet the most recent addition to my workout wardrobe:

I got these shorts compliments of Sport Chek as part of a new initiative I was asked to partner with them in. ‘Your Better Starts Here‘ is a movement designed to inspire people just like you and me to be our best selves: to push our limits, to strive for the top, and to take advantage of every opportunity that helps us be better. Here’s a little taster to give you a better idea….

Does that make you want to get moving? It sure had that effect on me, and a run is exactly what I did yesterday in my lovely pink shorts! The Under Armour Block It shorts are also available in yellow and have a snug compression. In case you’re new to compression clothing, the purpose is to keep muscles warmer and reduce strain, thereby allowing for more muscular power and a shorter recovery time. A few other features of the Block It shorts…

• Lightweight, 4-Way Stretch fabrication improves range of motion and dries quickly
• Anti-Odor technology prevents the growth of odor-causing microbe
• Flatlock Seams prevent chafing
• 3” inseam hits at upper thigh

All great and good, but how do they actually feel when worn for a run? Prior to trying them out, I had a look at the Under Armour website to see if there had been any reviews posted. A few people mentioned that the inseam was really really short and that the fabric rode up as they ran. Because of this, I was a little skeptical about wearing them to the gym yesterday morning so I brought a back-up pair of Lulu ones, just in case!

Much to my delight, I didn’t experience much ‘upward riding’ of any kind during my 8.6 mile run, and only noticed a little bit of rubbing on one of the inner thigh seams in the last 5 minutes or so. None at all would have been ideal, but considering I’d already been going at it for an hour, this was much better than I expected from a pair of shorts with such a short inseam. They were really comfortable while I was doing my strength training after as well. They’re probably not the best choice for teaching spin because they aren’t quite long enough, but as a pair of running shorts they do the trick!

So tell me…

• What do you think about compression clothing? Do you believe the claims regarding its benefits?
• What’s your favourite fall produce item? I can’t choose just one. It’s a great big fat tie between Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, and butternut squash!