Tag Archives: Easy

Move!!

It’s been a long day. Sitting at your desk, in your car or on the plane.

Let’s inject a bit of energy into the current situation.

Ready?!

Ok, stop reading this and do one of the following.

Walk around the block

Dance

Sing out loud (Bonus points if you do it in public)

Stand up and shake all the good feelings around

Move the body!!

This is your afternoon shake up. Complete with energy re-boot and no caffeine crash!

Make it the best day!

-K

Finding your Inspiration

What motivates you?

What do you listen to or read that makes you think, “I am going to CRUSH it today!”

Do you know? If you don’t, find a few things that give you inspiration during a rough day or morning. It can be a book, poster, a friend with encouraging words. Be creative!! How about a picture of you as a kid being a total rockstar?

Find your inspiration. Scream it, hold it, read it, re-read it, embrace it.

To pull one of the best quotes from the movie “The Other Guys”

Let yourself fly!

Make it the best day!

-K

R&R

On a long holiday weekend we are all thinking about rest. As much as society drills into us that we need to constantly be on the move. Always doing something, checking emails, texting, running.

Let’s take advantage of the holiday weekend to rest up and recover. Your body gets fatigued from a lot of different things (exercise, over sleeping, computer screens). We need to unplug once in a while and enjoy rest.

Let your body recover and be fresh. Recovery differs for a lot of people. Do what feels good for you. Enjoy it and put a smile on!

Make it the best day!

-K

Don’t forget to do this when traveling

Wake up. Make sure everything is packed, double-check your wallet, phone, keys. (Check, check..they were a here a minute..oh ok here they are, check)

You are all set for your trip. It may be for business, pleasure or both. Either way, chances are you have checked your bag multiple times and flight status.

There is one thing that most people neglect to do, which might be the most important part of traveling.

Pack snacks!!!

We have all been hungry at the airport and had to settle for an $8 bag of almonds or goodness help us….fast food. Which ultimately leads us to feeling crummy. Not only physically but mentally as we try to justify the expense for things that are just not good for us.

Make snacks a part of your planning routine. Your mind and your body will thank you when you’re traveling. Plus if there is a delay or your don’t even get an armrest to use. You can rest assured knowing your fueled up properly and won’t get grumpy.

Here are a few of my go to snacks to pack in my satchel.

  • Peanut butter and banana sandwich (All natural PB if you can please)
  • Healthy snack bars (Rise Bars Almond Honey Protein are the best or Quest Bars) Most others are glorified candy bars
  • Raw almonds (Roasted or plain)
  • Any type of fruit
  • Sliced vegetables (Pick your favorite and pack a dip, peanut butter or hummus)
  • A small package of chicken cut up for easy eating

This is a sample. Be creative and chose whole, healthy foods!

Make it the best day!

-Kevin

 

Utilizing Summer Fruit

It’s summer and you can feel it with the 95 degree temperatures! On these days, we mostly crave light and refreshing meals. Keeping with that theme here is a wonderful light and crisp fruit salad.

You can substitute any fruit to your liking. Feel free to mix and match to your taste buds!

Ingredients:

  • 4 Cups Watermelon
  • 2 Cups Fresh Strawberries
  • 2 Large Peaches cut into wedges
  • 1 Cup Seedless Grapes, halved
  • 2 Cups Blueberries
  • Fresh Lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
  • 1/2 lemon, zested
  • 1 Tablespoon honey

Directions:

  1. Combine watermelon, strawberries, peaches, grapes and blueberries in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Whisk lemon juice, mint, lemon zest, and honey together in a small bowl; drizzle over the fruit mixture and toss to coat.
  3. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Make it the best day!

– K

It’s fall, let’s get cooking!

After a brief hiatus we are back! Given the fact that the weather and the leaves are changing, now is great time for a fall recipe.  This is one of my favorites for those colder days and it won’t hurt your waistline.

The list of ingredients looks long but don’t let that scare you off, it is pretty simple. This dish is essentially a two pan wonder. Squash is just about to be in season so you should be able to find some for pretty cheap at your local store. For the sausage you can use any kind you would like, pork, chicken, etc.

Ghost curry powder is a new specialty curry powder and it is pretty hot. You can sub this out for your favorite curry and still have a great meal. I would tend to stay away from a green curry as it won’t pair too well with the apples. Now let’s get cooking!!

Finished Product

Squash & Sausage Ghost Curry

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium Butternut or Acorn squash (around 2 lbs.)
  • 6 to 8 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 lb. mild Italian sausage, ground
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 1 tsp. fresh minced ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. dehydrated minced garlic
  • 3 Tbsp. or up to 5 Tbsp. Ghost Curry Powder
  • 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and small diced
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • ½ lime, freshly squeezed
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half, remove seeds, brush flesh side lightly with 1 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place flesh-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 45 min. until just tender and easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet (cast iron works great) or Dutch oven. Add onions, ginger and garlic, and cook for 5 min. until soft.

In a small bowl, mix an equal amount (3 to 5 Tbsp. depending on desired heat level) of Ghost Curry Powder, vegetable oil and water together to make a paste. Stir curry paste into onions, then add apples, broth, cider and coconut milk and bring to a medium simmer.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a separate skillet, add sausage and cook until browned.

Meanwhile, peel skin from cooled squash and cube into ½- to 1-inch pieces. Stir sausage and squash into curry, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 to 10 more min. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Top with fresh mint before serving.

Time saving note: make the squash ahead of time and cube it, so that you can add it quickly to your dish when the time comes. 

You can serve this on top of wild rice or quinoa if you would like. If you use ghost curry using one of these two options would help cut the heat as well!

This meal cooks up quick (after you bake the squash) and tastes great right away. However, for an extra little treat the leftovers provide great flavor. As the curry sits over night it just gets tastier. So make sure you make some extra!

There will be plenty more fall dishes and fitness tips and tricks as we move forward into winter. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Find Your Routine

Sustainable food, why not sustainable exercise?

How regular is your fitness routine? Do you find yourself going 1, 2 or 3 months to the gym then falling off? Things get too busy, weather changes, travel is too much, kids? The list is endless. 

There has to be a way to have an exercise program that you can fit in when you are on the go or you just don’t have access to equipment. Good news, there is and it is not as difficult as you may think!

The key to staying active and healthy when life gets hectic is to find small pockets of the day where you can fit movement in. The key word here is movement. It doesn’t have to be exercise in the way that everyone thinks. If you can get your body moving for as little as 30 minutes a day you will see feel the changes.

How do I fit in 30 minutes is a question I get a lot during the day. If you are really strapped for time you can break it up into 10 minute segments that will total your 30 minutes.  For the best results you need the three 10 minute segments to be at an equally high intensity. You have to get your heart rate elevated enough to give you benefit (over 65% of your heart rate max).

The following are some simple ideas to get in more movement without going outside of your daily routine too much. These are lower intensity movements that can be applied in addition to the 30 minutes of higher intensity movement.

If you drive to work, park farther away in the lot. I know people say this a lot but trust me it makes a difference!

Walk to lunch if it is under a mile away and there is a sidewalk or nice walking path available. Not only will it get the blood flowing before lunch. It will aid in digestion after you eat. I don’t think anything is more pleasant than a nice post lunch walk! 

If you have a choice between and escalator and stairs and you’re only going up a couple flights, take the stairs. This is another example of the little changes in your routine make a big impact.

Oh those stairs look good.
Oh those stairs look good.

MAKE TIME!!

Your health is one of the most important things that you are in DIRECT control of. Use that to your advantage. Be selfish here, think of yourself first. Schedule time before work, at lunch or after work. If it is only 30 minutes it will still have a positive impact. During these 30 minutes is when you want to crank up that intensity. You’re going to sweat here so get a towel!

– Interval Sprints (Look at our Dynamic Duo post and you can do that by yourself)

– A six exercise circuit. Pick six full body exercises and do them without a break for 15 repetitions and repeat 3 times.  After you complete the circuit rest for two minutes.

For example here is quick routine.

1. Pushups

2. Bent Over Row

3. Squat to Overhead press

4. Walking lunges

5. Jumping Jacks (30 seconds)

6. Step up with Bicep curls

Use tools to help you achieve your goals.

There are a bunch of great apps out there (Map My Run, Strava, My Fitness Pal) and also fitness tracking gadgets (Fitbit, Jawbone, Old Fashioned Pedometer).  The more accountability you have the more likely you are to see achieve your daily goal. You can set a step goal for the day and try to reach it by the evening. In my experience if you are 700 steps short and it is a nice summer night, you will go for a walk to get those last 700 steps. Instead of sitting on the couch because the work day has wiped you out. It is that feeling of accomplishment that will keep you on track everyday.

All of these apps have the ability for you to connect with friends.  Even if you do not have a trainer to see everyday you have a friend or family member to keep up with. If you are having trouble sticking to your routine challenge a friend! It will keep you both going strong and give you both something fun do during the week.

Accountability can go a long way in creating habit.

Now that you have been armed with easy to use information, get up and use it! Walk to the water cooler, do a few laps up the stairs, or just go walk to lunch!