lauren

Eating before bed?

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Tips On Smart Late Night Snacking. 

I’ve had dinner… bedtime is not for another hour… and I’m slightly bored. The perfect equation for the munchies! 

Can you think of any event of our “happy hour” society that does not really have any nighttime activity that doesn’t include food or drink? Depending on your food choices; this is the LAST thing your body needs. It can cause heartburn, sleeplessness, be a danger to asthmatics, and encourage insomnia.

My first recommendation is to AVOID eating 3 hours before bedtime with a few handy suggestions:
1. Make a ritual: A nightly pattern can be your best ally
2. Stretching: the last thing you feel like doing when you stretch is eating
3. Herbal Tea!: Learn to love it

Avoiding bedtime eating gives you the best chance of not putting yourself at risk for over-indulging or making poor choices.
However, if you can’t go to sleep because you are hungry
then go for SMART snacking…

No’s
1. NO fatty foods!!! Period!: Fat stimulates the production of acid in the stomach, which can spill up into your esophagus, causing heartburn.
2. Wine: it’s pure sugar and your body metabolizes it quickly which means your going to be waking up all night
3. Chocolate: calories + caffine… not so much for sleeping
4. Soda: Right up there with chocolate except worse! Your dentists worst nightmare as well.

GOOD ideas:
1. Cherries – one of the few natural foods that contain melatonin which helps you sleep
2. A small bowl of good complex carb cereal – my personal favorites are Kashi and Shredded wheat
3. Bananas: Contains natural muscle relaxants 
4. Turkey: This is the ONLY protein I will recommend others will keep you up- It contains tryptophan – yes that’s why you pass out after thanksgiving
5. Mineral water: I tend to avoid anything carbonated before bed but if you MUST have something then this is the smartest solution.

My Easy Chai Latte!

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My Easy Chai Latte!

 

I will absolutely confess to being a Chai Late addict… It’s like crack to me! Here is my simple recipe for the homemade goodness.

 

Ingredients:

  •  single bag of your favorite brand of Spiced Chai (I go for Stash or Twinings)
  •  Agave Nectar (to taste)
  •  Ice if you want it chilled
  •  Some sort of milk – almond, nonfat, rice, coconut.. whatever suites your fancy (to taste… or for me – till it hits the right color)
  •  cinnamon to taste (I add about two shakes)

 

Directions:

– Steep tea for maximum time, you will want it extra extra strong because you are going to be adding some sweetness and milk

– add agave nectar

– add cinnamon

– add milk

– stir

***If you want it chilled I recommend either making the tea in advance and then add other ingredients later OR make it super strong, put it in a mason jar with ice, shaking it quickly, and drain (you don’t want to let it get too watery)***

Is there a cleanse that works?

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Spring Cleaning! For Your Body?
I have been getting A LOT of questions about cleanses…

First things first… lets take the words “detox” and “quick fix” out of your vocabulary! These are “fad-words” that may get you temporary results or can even hurt you. You can attain a healthy routine/relationship with food using a healthy routine that has step-by-step structure.

Why don’t some “detoxes” and “cleanses” work? Or at least they appear to and then we either gain it all back +some, we can’t last, or it is the most unpleasant thing we have ever done. This is the “quick-fix” world… our bodies cannot survive on juice alone. We can’t live off of one or two different foods for days and weeks at a time. Instead of helping ourselves, we have gone for the temporary physical change resulting in putting our bodies through literal starvation. This causes us to stop burning fat and starts storing it! Then when we come off the detox-cleanse-whatever and we go nuts! NOT part of the original “I’m going to clean-myself-up plan!

Guess what…there is a SMART and completely healthy way to literally RESET our bodies.

If you’ve never heard of the Ultimate Reset, here is my brief synopsis:

I had originally been terrified of cleanses… they wrecked peoples bodies and the effects never lasted. Or, in my opinion, were not worth the pain I saw them go through. But when Beachbody chose the word RESET, I discovered they were being very intentional by using that word. The Ultimate Reset is designed to take your body back to a state of purity, similar to what we had when we were born. I decided to take the chance…

I was not glued to the toilet! It was/is not a crash diet. I NEVER went hungry. It’s a 21 day lifestyle modification that involves eating healthy, nutritious food and getting help from the reset’s elements (a more accurate word than “supplements” in this case for sure). Each element of the reset is something that is vital to being alive… like REALLY being alive. The biggest adjustment for me were the elements. Example, one of the elements is Oxygenize. Yes it’s what you think: oxygen! Others were a bit gritty but nothing I couldn’t handle (I learned the swivel-n’-chug method).

I will be completely honest with you – it required scheduling, cooking, and was not a “quick-n’-easy”; we are talking 21 days here. But it was and IS worth every effort. I loved the recipes (still use them), I learned about my body’s relationship to food, has had lasting changes in my food habits and left me feeling incredible. I am an annual Reseter now!

After a little look-see, you’ll discover very quickly this isn’t your ordinary cleanse. It’s MUCH more.

Isabelle, the co-creator of The Ultimate Reset (and Shakeology!). Also works as a nutrition coach for Olympic athletes and has been using this 21-day reset as to help people for years. A friend of mine who had the chance to learn from her personally said she commented that…

“I didn’t want to create this reset for the mass public,” she admitted. “I just knew it wouldn’t sell. Because I’ll be honest – I’m not good at creating products that sell. However, I can create products that are true.”

True products are what I want! True products – not gimmicks – produce the changes I want to see in my health and have long lasting effects.

Pulled Pork for Everything!

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Pulled Pork for Everything! 
(My first crockpot dish!)

I have NEVER used a crockpot before and this was my first success!

Ingredients

  • 1 4lb pork rib
  • 2 onions
  • 7-8 cloves
  • Water
  • Himalayan salt (to taste)
  • Pepper (to taste)

Directions

  1. Slice up both onions and keep them separate (goggles prevent onion tears!)
  2. Poke holes in the pork shoulder and stick in cloves
  3. Layer – one shredded onion > the pork shoulder > the other shredded onion
  4. Evenly salt and pepper on top
  5. Fill the slow cooker 2/3 full of water
  6. Cook for 8 hours (I left it in overnight)
  7. Remove pork and set inside fridge to cool
  8. Strain the broth to get all the bits and set in fridge to cool
  9. When pork is cooled, rip it apart and discard the unwanted bits (get all your cloves out – you don’t want that surprise bite)

Now here is the BEAUTIFUL part of this… you have the freedom to do whatever you want next! Gavin and I made…

  • sandwiches with it as is
  • used the broth with cut up veggies and diced tomatoes for a rockin’ soup
  • breakfast tacos
  • Added BBQ sauce and made magic

Enjoy!

 

 

You Are Worth 6 a.m.

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You Are Worth 6 a.m.

Invest in yourself much lately?

Working from home has been interesting… emotionally interesting. A while back I ran into a lazy rut that had me in tears! Gavin would come home and I would felt so guilty for having wasted an entire day accomplishing almost nothing. What’s worse is that because I felt so awful about myself I would lose the energy to do anything! The cycle would repeat itself and it just got worse. Here is the thing… I remembered this exact feeling when I was working THREE JOBS! When I got to thinking about it… it was also the same feeling when I used to eat something that was fast but super unhealthy, missing my Jesus-time, skipping a workout, choosing TV over craft I wanted to do, or not getting that thing done that’s been there for a month.  So what was the deal! This crazy self-criticism would grow exponentially with all of these things shouting at me. It was the lack of investing in myself!

BOOM. Mind blown. I had nothing to give because my tank was empty.

First things first, I have always been a morning person for Jesus-time, it puts my whole day on the right track, but I was not getting up early enough to get it in. For some reason at 8 a.m. my brain switches over to business mode and I am way to distracted to even attempt Jesus-time. No Idea why, that’s just me… but I felt entitled to sleep in because I was exhausted from being pregnant. Let me translate that into reality; I felt entitled to punish myself! I was shooting myself in the foot from the moment I wouldn’t wake up. The same goes for every other thing I was denying myself.

So! This had to stop.

My emotional and physical health was worth getting up at 6 a.m., eating better, ignoring the TV to do what I loved, and overall investing in myself. It took me about a month but one tiny triumph at a time I made myself a priority and the change that has occurred and remained since then is amazing. I feel better, have more energy, I have more to give to my friends and family, I sleep better and my confidence is through the roof! The self-criticism monster has been silenced and when it tries to sneak up on me for a tiny failure… I can stomp it out because my tank is full.

In order to get out of lazy rut that was basically self-punishment I…

  •  Made a morning routine that includes Jesus-time, personal development time, and making sure I am ready for the day by 8 a.m. (sometimes this means getting up at 5)
  • Got an accountability partner that I Skype with every Friday where we discuss successes, challenges, ah-ha moments, to-do’s for the next week and prayer requests.
  • made my workout a “no matter what” it’s going to get done 
  • choosing the delicious healthy foods that may take a little more time over the quick unhealthy ones (me and my families bodies are worth the investment) 

As time goes on and my life-stages change there will be new hurdles that I have to get around… but you know what.
I’m worth it. I have to be. 
Here is my question for you… Are you investing in yourself? The fastest way I have discovered to find out is to sit down and write out “instead of doing X, which does Y, I did A which is causes B” and then discover how you feel about it.

EX: Instead working out today which gives me energy, makes me feel good about myself, and boosts my confidence I chose to watch TV which caused me to feel sluggish and frustrated later because I got nothing done.

Puts a bit of a different spin on it huh?

Fast Chicken Dinner

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Fast Chicken Dinner
With your successful pantry in mind…

Ingredients:

  • – 1 Tbsp.Coconut oil
  • – 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, but into bite-size pieces
  • – 1 to 1 1/2 cups chunky salsa (enough to cover the chicken in the pan)
  • – 1/2 can Black beans (rinse thoroughly)
  • – 1 cup brown rice or quinoa (Start before cooking anything else – it will be done by the time you finish)
Directions
– Mix black beans and rice or quinoa and cook according to the grain directions. (Salt to taste)
– Melt 1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil in pan
– Add chicken and quickly brown on each side on medium high (2-3 min)
– Pour salsa and beans over chicken, turn up heat, till it bubbles, turn heat back down and cover 
– let chicken simmer for 10 min

Now create whatever you like! Add a salad with some nuts, make tacos, pour the chicken over the rice and beans… there are tons of options!

Enjoy!

Pantry Secrets To Success!

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Pantry Secrets To Success!
Make your fast-food a friend not a foe

You’ve just gotten home, nothing is prepared for dinner and you want something quick. Your hand inches towards the phone for pizza… nooooooooo!

How about healthy-fast-food instead? It’s all about the set up. As Gavin and I get closer to having our little ones we have found this to be a life-saver.
Here is a list of what is always in our pantry…

Canned Beans: Garbanzo, pinto, black, kidney, lentils, etc… we pretty much keep a little collection. Canned beans are a quick way to get your needed fiber and protein and up the full-factor of any meal. Look for no- or low-sodium brands when possible, rinse before eating and always check the ingredients. you are going for just beans… not beans plus chemicals.

Raw nuts: Keep a variety or simply your favorites. They are an easy go-to for munchies and they are great for making a salad fancy. They also are surprisingly filling. Full of good-for you fats and oils.

Pasta?: Well yeah! Precooked brown rice (make it sure it’s clean of chemicals… we keep bin of cooked rice in the fridge) needs only a minute in the microwave, quinoa cooks in 15, bulgur and whole wheat couscous takes five, and quinoa pastas are ready in eight minutes.

Nut Butters!: A personal favorite of mine, especially as I’ve needed to up my caloric intake in a healthy way… almond, cashew, peanut; all delicious and filling add-ons for things like a quick stir-fry, putting into shakes, oatmeal, or on fruit.

Spaghetti sauceYou have to have something to pour over the quinoa or whole grain pasta. With lots of vitamin C and numerous other benefits go for the delicious all natural no sugar added sauces.

Salsa: A must in our house. Great way to up your veggie intake and add great flavor to chicken, fish, eggs, veggies… whatever! Stick to the all natural and you have an awesome 10 minute meal.

Coconut oil: Due to the chemical compounds of oils, when you want to cook fast you need an oil with a high smoke point; it keeps you healthier and your pans cleaner. Plus it adds a wonderful nutty flavor.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: For fast meals it is a go to for dressings and simple veggie flavoring with a few spices.

Reduced-Sodium Broth: Go all natural with the broth, throw in a can of beans with chopped veggies and you have an easy go to for a simple 10 minute soup.

Spices!: These are freebies that will flavor whatever you want however you want it! Stick to the all natural spices which can be cheap if you look in the bulk section where you are buying the spice not the container.

Cupboard Friendly Veggies – Garlic, potatoes, and onions are the fresh veggies that last for ages. Keep them in a cool dark place and avoid putting the onions next to the potatoes.

Acocado “Sour Cream”

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Acocado “Sour Cream”
Came up with this little diddy this week and it was fantastic!
Ingredients:
– 1 Avocado
– 3 Tbsp. Plain non-fat greek yogurt (I prefer the Oikos or HEB brand)
– 1 Tsp. Olive oil (optional – I like the smoothness it gives)
– Ground black Pepper (to taste)
– Himalayan salt (to taste)
– Dash of onion powder

Directions:
Stir, sample, make necessary changes and enjoy on whatever!

Get in shape without going broke…

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Budget-Friendly Tips For Getting Fit

It Does NOT Have to Cost a Fortune…

New sneakers, expensive equipment, private trainers – anything to lose the weight! It does not have to be this way…

Don’t get me wrong… getting healthy and fit IS an investment in yourself that is worth every penny. However there are money-saving ways to handle it that give RESULTS! Here are some tips…

If the gym is too expensive – GET A WORKOUT PROGRAM!You can get a legitimate result-giving workout in your living room for the cost of a few classes. (hint hint… I might know a few 😉 AND!!! you get to keep it!!! The trainer never goes away! The trick is to keep yourself motivated… tips:

1. Find your soul-mate workout: If you have a workout you love you are more likely to consistently push play. For some (myself included) this is the first and final roadblock. Let me be honest I DID NOT NATURALLY LIKE WORKING OUT! It took me a few tries but I have found a workout I enjoy. For you, this can be a lot easier 🙂MESSAGE ME and we’ll talk about your likes/dislikes and what there is out there for you.
2. Treat it like a scheduled gym class: Plan ahead to have a specific time that you workout. Just like you would at the gym.
3. Invite a friend: It makes the class more interesting and gives you the needed accountability

If a trainer is too expensive… HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE: We go see trainers for structure and accountability so…

1. Join an online community: Virtual exercise partners are quite handy! You keep your personal workout schedules and check in with each other. MESSAGE ME the online accountability groups I facilitate to stay on track.
2. Go high-tech: There is an app for EVERYTHING! Ask the google and find one that works for you. Ex: WaterloggedP90X,FitnessPal.
3. Take a photo: A “before” photo can be a massive motivator and a huge pat on the back as you continue to improve. Look at how much you have accomplished! Plus when the scale doesn’t change you can still see the physical differences the muscle you built made to your physique
Fitness Equipment… AH!: Building muscles on the cheap…

1. Things around the house can prove to be great fitness equipment – get creative and be sure to be able to have a good grip on them. Weights can be canned good & small children. Furniture & walls for stability. A stepping stool or milk crate for a Step.
2. Resistance Bands… the cheap secret: Resistance bands are a phenomenal workout out equipment secret and are super cheap!
3. Get a workout DVD Program that doesn’t require ANY weights: Such as InsanityFocusT25Turbofire, and 10 minute trainer.

Nutrition?: You CANNOT OUTWORK A BAD DIET! Abs truly are made in the kitchen. With a bit of pre-planning you can eat well and not break the bank.

1. Stick to the basics:  “Shop seasonal produce, lean meats, and other foods on the periphery of your grocery store,” says JJ Virgin, a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Health and Fitness Instructor. “The center aisles are usually where packaged and processed foods are kept. Watch for sales on meat, and buy nuts or beans in bulk.”
2. Get Informed: Look to legitimate nutritional guides. Look for the books by certified nutritionists – not fad faux pas. Michael Pollan’s Food Rules is a good place to start. Also, the nutrition guides that come with Beachbody DVD programs are excellent resources.
3. Plan meals ahead of time: Go into the store with a mission, complete it and leave. Plan your meals ahead, write down the needed ingredients, purchase them, and LEAVE. If this is a struggle, there are plenty of meal-planning apps that can make this easy. Also, don’t shop hungry. (SIDE NOTE: The grocery store is my playground so I tend to wander… if this is you then I would get your needed things – buy them – and then have a wander. It hurts more if you have to take your wallet out twice.)

Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers & Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

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Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers
&
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

– 3 Tbsp. honey

– 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

– 2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

– Olive oil cooking spray

– 2 large eggs

– 2 Tbsp. water

– 1 pound chicken tenders

– 1 cup whole wheat Panko® bread crumbs 

(Japanese-style bread crumbs)

– 1/2 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped

– 1/4 tsp. sea salt

– 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

– Combine honey, Dijon mustard, and rice vinegar in small bowl; mix well and chill.

– Preheat oven to 425° F. Line baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.

– Place eggs and water in medium shallow bowl; beat lightly.

– Soak chicken pieces in egg mixture; set aside.

– Combine bread crumbs, almonds, sea salt, and black pepper in large resealable plastic bag and shake to combine.

– Working with a few pieces at a time, lift chicken from egg mixture, letting excess drip back into bowl, and drop into bag containing bread crumb mixture. Seal bag and shake to coat; repeat with remaining chicken.

– Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown, turning once halfway through.

– Serve with prepared honey mustard dipping sauce.

*Recipe By Team Beachbody