All Smoothies are NOT Created EQUAL

Good Morning,

This topic came to my mind last week.  I have a coworker that drinks a large smoothie every morning not knowing what she is drinking. I'm always thinking things like "could've had a large fry for that!" Well in order for you to understand what I'm saying let me break it down. A medium Angel Food from Smoothie King has 531 calories but that's not the kicker, it has 126 carbs, 112.5 g of sugar, and 6 measly grams of protein. How about the Slim-n-Trim strawberry with 562 calories, 126 carbs, and 108 grams of sugar. And if your not trying to bulk up stay AWAY from The Hulk and Peanut Power Plus smoothies. Those carry lots of sugar and carbohydrates. Instead try a healthier option. The Gladiator 270 calories 45 grams of protein, 1.5 carbs and 0 grams of sugar, if you add a banana (complex carbs! the good ones) it's still healthy and your numbers go to 380 calories, 8 carbs, and 12g of sugar. If you have the time pre-pack your own smoothies and place them in the freezer. I use 2 cups spinach, 1 banana, 1/3 cup pineapple, and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder. All I have to do is dump it in the blender and add water. This comes to 260 calories, 13 carbs, and 20 g of sugar.

HAPPY SMOOTHIE MAKING!!!

Monday Refresh

Good Monday Morning,

Today is the beginning of a new week and you should continue on your journey. If you have fallen off or had a moment of weakness and ate an entire seafood platter plus a cheesecake with two margaritas its okay you can always start over fresh.  Today I want to highlight a few things: apple cider vinegar, calcium supplements, and  quinoa.

Quinoa
1. Pronounced KEEN-WAH
2. 100% whole grain
3. Excellent source of protein (12-18%)
4. Great source of ALL essential amino acids, helps the body to process and create protein. It contains folic acid and vitamin E
5. Great food for those who have to follow a "Gluten-Free" or wheat free diet



Apple Cider Vinegar
1. Completely naturals from the fermentation of apples to a hard cider then fermented some more into a vinegar
2. Soothes sunburns and insect bites
3. Used as a rinse to make your hair shiny
4. Aides in breaking down of fat on certain foods
5. All apple coders are NOT created equal! Make sure you purchase them from a health or while foods store and not Walmart. The others have extra processing or chemicals involved
6. Take 8oz of water and add 1 teaspoon of ACV. Drink once a day!

Calcium Supplements
1. It's positive effects on bone health
2. Liquid calcium is the best source as compared to calcium in the pill form
3. Liquid calcium is absorbed better and  supports digestion and weight loss
4. The average person need 100-1200 mg daily of calcium
5. Purchase the best liquid calcium from health food or whole food stores. Make sure there aren't any extra ingredients involved!

Morning recipe

Good Morning Saints Good Morning!

Today I've decided to post two breakfast ideas because people have trouble with breakfast. They think they're having a "healthy" breakfast, but in reality they are not!  Fear not, here are two that will fuel you until it's snack time.

Protein Pancakes:
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1cup of ground oatmeal (you can put oatmeal in a blender or food processor)
1 cup almond milk (vanilla or regular)
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup of liquid egg whites
Mix like you would normal pancakes then cook on griddle or in skillet
About 280 calories for 3-4 pancakes

Egg muffins
In a muffin pan add any of your favorite finely chopped veggies add salt and pepper
Add egg whites until the muffin slot is 1/3 full
Bake on 350 for 25-30 minutes
About 30 calories per muffin (eat 6-8) drink 4 oz of fresh oj or 8 oz of water with 1/2 a banana

Lets briefly talk about supplements. Everyone needs supplements, why you may ask? It's because we don't get nearly enough throughout the day in our food. I eat fruits, veggies, egg whites, and nuts only Monday through Friday and I still don't get enough. You need a multi vitamin and at least 1200mg of fish oil. So, if your fish oil is only 300mg each, then take 4. The other things I take are biotin, acidophilus (intentional health), and CLA's. I get all my supplements from GNC. If you use your card and purchase during gold card week you'll save 20% all while getting quality vitamins. Remember all vitamins are NOT created equal!

What All I Ate

Good morning everyone.  I keep getting a lot of emails and text messages and inbox request on what to eat, what did I eat, what not to eat, that looks complicated to make and etc.  I am going to be honest.  Eating healthy as a way of life, not just something "to do" for 8 to 12 weeks takes time, patience, and dedication. 

Time- plan your meals, go grocery shopping, cook your meals in advance
Patience-create a meal idea, look for new meals, take the time to cook for 4-6 days
Dedication-set aside your budget, set aside 1 hour a week for shopping and 2-3 hours a week for cooking, and 1 hour a week to explore recipes and meal ingredients.

When starting out most people think "all I can eat is broccoli and cauliflower" that is not the case just look up veggie creations online or even paleo lifestyle and tons of information will come up (that's where the patience, time, and dedication comes in).  To be able to stick with it until you learn more you should choose 3 breakfast meals, 3 go to snacks, 3 lunch ideas, and 3 dinner creations.

Example:
Breakfast- 5 egg whites with spinach, onion, and mushroom
Snack 1- 2 tbls spoon raw almonds 1 banana or 1/2 a banana
Lunch- 4oz grilled tilapia and a sauteed vegetable medley of red, yellow, and green pepper, purple onion, zucchini and squash
Snack 2- 3 oz non fat Greek yogurt with a handful of raspberries and or blueberries
Dinner- 4 oz grilled or sauteed chicken breast with 1/3 black beans and corn ( season with taco seasoning)
Snack- protein shake or turkey cupcake (see recipe below)

Example Dinner:
4 bell pepper gutted
1 package lean turkey breast
seasonings
onion, tomato, garlic, Parmesan cheese

Cooking instructions- in a skillet combine onion, garlic, seasoning, and turkey breast cook for 15 minutes
Pre-heat oven to 375- place the turkey mixture inside the bell pepper and top with tomato slice and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes

Turkey Cupcakes

Ingredients:
package of lean turkey breast
9 eggs
1 whole onion
1 whole bell pepper
2 tbl sea salt
2 tbl pepper
2 tbl paprika
1 tbl turmeric

Cooking Instructions:
On the stove top in a skillet cook the turkey breast with everything except the eggs.  Once it is cooked, place the ground turkey in a bowl and add the eggs.  Mix around then form nice little balls and place them inside a muffin pan.  Cook for 30 minutes.  You can eat these as snacks 2 for women and 3-4 for men.

With your protein shakes those are easy. Choose 1 fruit and or 1 veggie, add water, ice, and a protein powder of your choice!

The Happiest 5k on the Planet

The time is here! It's the ultimate FUN run. So grab 3 or more of your friends and let the fun begin. It's the Color Run. This year I just came across a living social deal its $40 for the entry fee, t-shirt, and color for the New Orleans run on Saturday February 9. If that's too soon for you April 20th is the date for the Baton Rouge color run. It just takes me back to the happy place of being a kid and playing with your paint, play dough, and side walk chalk. The bonus is, it's a workout in there too!
I'm ready to get my group together how about you?

It's almost Friday

Top of the Morning,

It's a brand new day so I have a brand new meal to introduce.  This is a vegetarian dish but you can add grilled shrimp or chicken and it will still taste like awesomeness in your mouth.

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans
1 taco seasoning pack
1 pack frozen corn
Fresh guacamole
Salsa (whatever type you like)
Onion 1/2 cup
Bell pepper 1/2 cup
Pepper
Chili powder

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Instructions:
In a pan sauté bell pepper and onion once its translucent add frozen bag of corn add chili powder and pepper stir occasionally for 10 minutes.

In another pan on medium heat add black beans and taco seasoning bring to a simmer.

After the beans are simmering add corn mixture. Cook them  both together for 15 minutes.

In a bowl place 1/4-1/2  c of guacamole and 1/2 c of salsa pour bean/corn mixture on top. Eat and enjoy! It's like a Mexican fiesta in your mouth

Total calories per serving: 335

Wednesday Wobble

It's a brand new Workout Whenever and Wherevertype of Wednesday. I hope everyone is still going strong with your workouts and most importantly healthy clean eating. I would like to dispell a myth. All vegetables are not created equal. What am I saying? I'm telling you if you put butter, smother them to death with cheese or bacon then it is no longer a healthy treat. That is why the inches around your waste are the same week after week. Another myth, you just ran 2 miles, so you can now eat a snickers bar or Raising Canes because you've done "well". I'm sorry to break the news to you, but you've just set yourself backwards! A 4 finger box from Mr. Todd Graves will run you 1200-1500 calories a box and that snicker bar 210 calories. When you finish your workout you are suppose to feed your muscles not feed your fat! You only burned between 150-250 on that run so let's not travel to la la land and think you've burned 500-600 calories. Repeat after me "I AM NOT A DOG I DO NOT NEED TREATS AFTER I DO SOMETHING GOOD!"  My favorite myth to dispell and I don't care who's on the other side of this argument. Weight training in females does NOT make you look like a man (if you're not born genetically that way). You don't have enough testosterone, you're not taking enough supplements, you're not eating a strict enought diet, and you're not shooting yourself with testosterone! You would need all of these things to look like a male body builder. Weigh training makes you burn more fat even after you've finished working out, build lean muscle, keeps you flexible, relieves stress, and makes your rump sit up oh so perfectly without the lumps and bumps. I'm saying all this to say, stop making excuses do some cardio, lift some weights, eat healthy, treat your self every once and a while, and enjoy looking good!


Workout of the Day

1 mile run (alternate speed and incline)
50 push-ups
50 chest press
50 jump squats
3 minute jump rope (with or without an actual rope)
1/2 mile jog

Have a Wackdoodle Wonderific Wednesday!