A great smoothie recipe to start your summer morning! I omit ice, but you can add some in if you would like!
1 Cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup raspberries
1 tablespoon no salt added almond or peanut butter (any nut butter will do here)
2 tablespoons protein powder (if desired)
A couple of dashes of cocoa powder
All the ingredients are easily interchangeable. Feel free to experiment. The protein powder and nut butter will help make this smoothie filling as well as satisfying.
A unique twist on sausage and peppers. A touch on the healthier side with chicken sausage subbed in for pork sausage. There is also spaghetti squash as a base to the dish as well. Feel free to add in anything you would like or sub in and our per your tastes!
Ingredients:
1 pound of hot chicken sausage
1 medium spaghetti squash
Yellow, Red and Green bell peppers
Crushed red peppers (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Halve the spaghetti squash and scoop out the seeds
Lightly oil the flesh side
Place flesh side down on tinfoil on baking sheet and roast 30-45 minutes until flesh is fork tender
You can make that ahead of time and let it cool before breaking it up.
Have a hot grill ready and grill up the sausage
Lightly rub the peppers with olive oil
Grill the peppers until there is a char around the peppers
Place spaghetti squash large bowl after scooping it out of the skin
Add up diced peppers and sausage
Sprinkle with EVOO and crushed red peppers if extra heat is desired!
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!
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. Â 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!!
Squash & Sausage Ghost Curry
Ingredients:
1 medium Butternut or Acorn squash (around 2 lbs.)
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.Â
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!
If you have a trainer that you meet with regularly or not so regularly you know it is important to get the most out of your time and money that you have invested. All too often clients come in unprepared to get the most of our their session. It essentially turns into wasted time for the client and the trainer.
It can be a myriad of factors some out of your control and some within your control that lead to not being 100% for the session. Today we are going to look at a few things that are crucial to getting the most our of your training. These will be tips to best prepare your body and also how to get the most out of your trainer when you are training.
These tips also apply to your workouts with friends or your own personal workout. It is important to be properly fueled and prepared every time you exercise.
Come to your session prepared, mentally and physically.
Sleep – It is always important to get a good nights sleep. I know it can be tough with things out of your control. However, if you shoot for six to eight hours your body will be rested and ready to take on the challenge of your workout.
Ideally the following hydration and food recommendations would occur up to two hours before your planned exercise session.
Hydrate – Drink water before your session and take sips about every 15 minutes while you are exercising. This is easier if you workout in the afternoon or evening. If you workout really early in the morning (Good for you!) try drinking a full glass of water once you wake up.
Drink the water…drink the water
Proper Food – You can eat some healthy carbohydrates here. The following are some good options that are on the lighter side, low-fat or fat free greek or regular yogurt, oats, banana (add a little peanut or almond butter to it), a piece of whole grain bread with lunch meat.
If you only have a 5 – 10 minutes to eat something go with an apple or banana. Those fast digestions carbohydrates will help fuel your workout.
Foods to Avoid– You want to avoid foods with fats and also foods with too much protein. These foods take longer to digest and may make your stomach uncomfortable during intense exercise. Once you start exercising with a high intensity your blood flow goes to your muscles that are working. Thus, leaving the high fat food just sitting in your stomach like a rock. There is reduced blood flow to the stomach to break down this food while you workout.
Warmup – Get a warmup in before your session starts. They are important to making sure your body is ready to handle the demands you are about to place on it. If your trainer has you do specific movements to get ready, do those before you meet. This will save 5 minutes at the beginning of the session and you can be ready to jump right into the workout for the day! The warmup should get your heart rate up and maybe even have you sweating a little bit. It can be anything from walking up an incline, riding a stationary bike or running at a moderate pace.
Take advantage of every second with your trainer by getting this out of the way before your designated time slot!
Things to do during your workout.
Hydrate – As mentioned earlier it is important to stay hydrated! I recommend my clients take a small sip of water every 15 minutes. Â With this time table they stay hydrated but don’t drink so much water at once that they feel like there is an ocean in their stomach. We have all been there and that is not good when you are on your last ab set!
Ask Questions! – I encourage all my clients to ask questions about certain movements or as to why we are doing things in a certain order. If you have a trainer and you ask questions and they don’t know the answer……change trainers! You are paying for the session so use us as a knowledge base. Did your friend show you a great ab exercise and you want to know if it is effective? Ask! We are in this business to help educate you and help you along your fitness journey. Bring questions of all types and pepper some into your workout.
Stay Focused– It can be very easy to get sidetracked and begin talking about your weekend plans for 5 minutes. We have all done it and sometimes it just happens. However, try to keep that conversation as succinct as possible during your breaks. We program a lot of your workouts based on rest intervals so it is crucial you stay as close to those as possible to achieve your results.
HAVE FUN!!!
Sparkle Shirt Optional
Exercise is about feeling good and having fun. So meet up with your trainer or your friend or get in by yourself. Whichever method you choose, enjoy it! It is the hour of the day you get to focus all on yourself! Take advantage of the time to yourself and get healthy at the same time!
