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Guilt Free Cookies (Yum)

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If you’re anything like me, I have a sweet tooth that more often than not, needs to be filled. While I try to resist the temptation to by unhealthy or unwarranted snack foods, I am frequently craving something that gives me that dessert fix. And more than anything, I love cookies!
Because of this strong desire for a delicious snack, combined with my motivation to stay healthy, I went on the hunt for a guilt-free cookie recipe. After trying recipes from various websites, blogs, etc. and putting my own twist on them, I finally found a mix of ingredients that quenches my craving, while also leaving me without any regrets. The best thing about it is that you can get creative! Feel free to add in/out a variation of the following: nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruits, hemp/flax/chia seeds, etc. Below you will find the recipe to these delicious guilt free cookies – enjoy!

 

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Ingredients
  • 1½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. allspice
  • ½ – 1 cup add in ingredients (nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, etc)
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In one bowl, combine rolled oats, salt, cinnamon, allspice and add in ingredients, per your choice.
  2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract until smooth and all lumps are gone. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.
  3. Using a round cookie cutter (or shape with your hands), spoon mixture into the cutter pressing firmly then removing the cutter. Shape should keep form; do this until you have 20 cookies or you run out of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes and enjoy!
Melanie Rubin is a Physical Therapist in DC and a group fitness instructor at MINT.
Melanie Rubin is a Physical Therapist in DC and a group fitness instructor at MINT.

5 Tips to Staying Fit While on Vacation

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With the end of summer approaching and temperatures at an all time high, it’s possible you have a vacation or two planned to get away and spend some time relaxing. You’ve probably worked hard at getting and maintaining that hot summer bod and are feeling really confident in how you look and feel, so don’t let it go to waste. While vacations are a great time to “splurge” a little bit and get out of your normal routine, try not to undo all of your hard work once you get there with an overindulgent week. The next time you have a vacation planned, keep these helpful healthy tips in mind, to keep you on track and allow you to enjoy your well earned vacation, while also looking the part.

1. Plan a Workout – set aside some time during your day to participate in physical activity. Whether it be body weight exercises, plyometric activity, a long walk, or a stretching session, give yourself the opportunity to move, and perhaps sweat a little. It will give you more energy for those vacation days and can give you an opportunity to explore your environment!

2. Explore the Outdoors By Foot – if you’re traveling to a new city, beach or environment, take the opportunity to explore your surroundings. Walking places versus relying on modes of transportation will increase that step count, and may even allow you to bump into a hidden gem that location has to offer.

3. Pack Games/Toys/Fitness Equipment -what you choose to pack in your suitcase can totally influence what you have the ability to do while on your trip. If you’re planning on spending time outdoors or on a beach, bring a frisbee, football or kite to get you moving. These activities can be fun and playful, but also get you burning calories.

4. Don’t Overindulge on Wasted Calories – while it’s important to enjoy yourself and eat/drink delicious things while away, don’t eat/drink just for the sake of it. Perhaps pack healthy snacks and or breakfast options so that you don’t have to spend every meal eating out at restaurants. This will also make the moments where you choose to eat out more worthwhile and guilt free.

5. Have fun! Being stress free, relaxed and happy is the best way to be on a vacation. So enjoy it! You will feel better and come back feeling revitalized!

 

Melanie Rubin is a Physical Therapist in DC and a group fitness instructor at MINT.
Melanie Rubin is a Physical Therapist in DC and a group fitness instructor at MINT.

Labor Day Hours

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Labor Day hours will be 7am to 4pm.
Normal hours Saturday (7am-9pm) and Sunday (8am-8pm).

See app iOS Android or website for class schedules

We hear you, you want MORE MINT Classes!

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We hear you, you want MORE MINT Classes!

Our new Barre Studio at MINT Dupont will open up new class slots for many new classes, as it also opens up room in the Main Studio. Stay tuned for the Fall Schedule to be released soon!

New Barre Studio opens Sep 19th

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New Partner: StretchWorkz

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Top notch stretch therapists!

By focusing and expanding upon the amazing therapeutic benefits of stretching, Stretch Workz has revolutionized the fitness industry and completely reinvented the concept of “the stretch.”

The offer Stretch Zone DC is offering MINT members is:

  • First 30min demo session for free for new customers (call to schedule first appointment)
  • $10 off monthly packages ($69 instead of $79)
  • $10 off additional sessions ($59 instead of $69)

The Stretch Workz method of Assisted Stretching is for anyone wanting an active lifestyle: One that allows you to do anything from performing better at a sport to simply being able to reach a jar on the shelf. Baby Boomers are living an active lifestyle, but after a lifetime of not exercising, stretching “re-educates the muscles.”

The Stretch Workz approaches stretching from a neurological perspective. This is achieved by working with the muscle tonus (muscle’s nervous tension) to acquire an optimal active range of motion. Our goal is not to make one more ‘flexible’ or ‘elastic’, but instead to be able to move more functionally by re-establishing a more ideal resting muscle tone. This re-education of the associated nerve-muscle reflex lends to movement becoming more efficient and effortless in all ranges and planes of motion.”

Rather than pulling on our limbs to the point of soreness, our method works through the nervous system to achieve lasting flexibility gains. The method rests on the notion that manipulating our muscle’s nervous energy is a major key to unlocking our body’s functional flexibility. This nervous energy, known as the stretch reflex, is our body’s automatic defense against the dangers of over-stretching. Any movement that goes too far or too fast or is held for too long, past that current active range of motion, will cause your body to resist with the stretch reflex. Once the reflex kicks in, your body has effectively said “no more” and resists the stretch. Any further attempt at stretching becomes futile straining.

FACT: Current research shows that when avoiding the stretch reflex, your muscles can lengthen to 160 percent of their resting length instantly.