If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may remember me referencing Collage Video in my post Get Up, Get Moving and Get Sexy, Part 1. Well, I love the site and wanted to go into a little more detail as to why I think it’s a great resource for finding fitness videos.

I find it very frustrating to buy a workout video only to realize it’s too easy, too advanced or the instructor is utterly annoying. Well, I figured there had to be a better way to determine whether a video was worthy of my investment.

After searching on google, I found Collage Video and feel in love. It contains over 900 on-line fitness video previews. But, that’s not all. (Did that sound like an informercial or what?) Anyway, you can also do searches based on what you’re looking for in a workout video.

What search features are available?

• Instructor or Brand - If you have a favorite instructor or workout brand, you can find all the videos in the database by that particular instructor or brand. (Right now, my favorite instructors are Michelle Dozois and Amy Bento.)
• Goals - Many videos are designed to target specific areas of the body or needs. You’re able to find those videos that are more geared toward weight loss, flexibility, endurance, or other specific needs.
• Level - Each video has been labeled by degree of difficulty, from beginner to advanced. In addition, they’ve included specialty videos, including pregnancy, senior’s and even kid’s workouts.
• Workout Type - Whether you’re into dance, kickboxing, strength training, or basic cardio, you can find the videos specifically listed as such.
• Length - You don’t have to sort through tons of videos that are an hour or longer if you’re only looking for a 30 minute workout. You can pull up only the ones that fit into your time requirements.
• Equipment Used - Whatever happened to just a good heart-pumping cardio floor workout or simple dumbbells. Now there are stability balls, rubber tubing and all sorts of other workout equipment. It can get very expensive if you have to buy different equipment for each video. This feature makes it easier to search based on the equipment you already have available to you.

Another one of my favorite features is the workout breakdown. In other words, when you find a video you think you’re interested in and click through to get more information, you can see how much of the running time is devoted to warm-up, toning, cardio and cool down. This of course varies depending on the type of workout you’ve selected.

Now, you’ll have to just go over and check out the site, because there are a few other cool features I didn’t mention that I think you’ll like also.

By the way, you can purchase the videos and exercise equipment right there on Collage Video’s site. However, I usually purchase mine through Amazon.com or Half.com. It’s much cheaper that way.

Have fun picking out your perfect workout video - then USE IT.

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No, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth. I went on a week long vacation and didn’t have internet access. You can imagine what my inbox looked like when I got back. Wow!

Well, today I have a guest post over at Organizing-Life. If you’re in need of food prep tips to make entertaining less stressful, make your way on over. While you’re there, you’ll want to check out Abbie’s great organizational and planning posts also.

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Yesterday, in my post On a Mission to Healthier Eating, I promised to share the recipe for an awesome whole wheat muffin recipe I came up with and the way I’ve made it more of a convenience food for me. So, if your ready for it, just keep reading.

Whole Wheat Honey Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl.
2. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix well with dry ingredients.
3. Pour into prepared muffin pan.
4. Bake at 375 for 20 to 24 minutes.

Yields: 12 muffins

The reason I called this awesome is because it’s not only healthy, but everyone in the family thought these muffins were delicious. My two year old rarely eats a whole muffin, but she gobbled this one up quickly.

How I’m Making Homemade More Convenient

Since I like to have some convenience foods on hand, like store bought mixes, I decided to make up my own. I simply mixed up a few batches of muffin mix, only the dry ingredients of course, and put them in individual zipper bags.

On the outside of the bag I listed the wet ingredients that would need to be added to the mix and the baking instructions. This way I’ve created my own little convenience food for those days I don’t want to or don’t have time to fix the muffins totally from scratch.

Another idea for storing your mixes would be putting them in plastic containers and then using labels containing the recipe information on the outside of the container. I may try this next time because those zipper bags can get pretty expensive.

Well, this is the beginning of our journey to eating healthier and I can use all the help I can get. That being said, if you have any advice or suggestions to help us along the way, please let me know by leaving a comment.

Also if you know of any really good healthy websites, or if you’ve got any great recipes, I’d love for you to share those with me.

Do you find cooking healthy challenging or is it just a way of life for you?

This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesdays and Tasty Tuesday.

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