Salad of the Day #1

It's no surprise to some of you that I love salad. Often when people (my clients, friends, etc) ask me "What do you eat?" My answer is "a lot of salads...."  I get a disgusted/bored look. Which makes me sad, because there is SO much you can do with this "magic~ness in a bowl" that is usually referred to as a boring old SALAD. So,  am going to take it upon myself to educate you salad haters out there, and also to give you a plethora of ideas to make your own salads totally un~boring.

Today's SOD~salad of the day. Spinach, artichoke hearts, black olives, tomatoes, avocado + ground turkey.

Dressing of the day~mustard, red wine vinegar, EVOO, whisked in a bowl and poured all over. 

Super easy, and so good!

                                                              Have a great weekend!!!

My First Whole30 Success Story!!!!

I am super proud of Lyndsay! I gave her the Whole30 program and she DID it! She got her boyfriend on board, too, and he did it. They did it right, and got fantastic results! I weighed and measured and measured her bodyfat % on the first day. Then again, today....30 days later. The results are stellar and I am so happy for her! She's going to continue on with it, because it changed her life, but I just wanted to share what 30 days can do.
She lost 10 pounds. And because I measured her bodyfat, we know.....it was 10 legitimate pounds of FAT. Not water, not muscle, every single bit was fat. So, she maintained every bit of muscle mass (which is AMAZING....not on one "traditional" diet will this happen......you will ALWAYS lose muscle, too.) Lyndsay lost 1/2 inch off her chest, 2 1/4 inches off her waist, 2 1/4 inches off her hips, 2 inches off her "muffin top" (yes, I measure that, too), 1 1/4 inch off each thigh and 1/2 inch off her upper arm. And her boyfriend lost 15 pounds and has a MUCH flatter stomach and much better energy and digestion. The results speak for themselves and I am so happy for them!
So, if you are ready to clean out the crap and change YOUR life, contact me and I will help you learn how! I went to the Foundations of Nutrition Workshop all day last Saturday. THAT changed my life. I truly believe in this program and in what it can do for YOUR health. More energy, better sleep, better digestion, clearer head, LEANER body! It can be done, and I would LOVE nothing more than to help you get there! HAPPY THURSDAY!!!!

The best chicken...ever!!!

So, I have gotten in the habit of buying all of my meat from Whole Foods. Yes, it's a little more expensive, but I  have started to realize that it's worth the cost difference (which, in reality, isn't all that much) to ensure my family is getting meat with no freaky added hormones or antibiotics, and most importantly, isn't "tortured" like feed lot meat and poultry. I like to think that I am eating happy cows and chickens. :)
Anyway....so, they started carrying these "Skagit Red" chickens~whole, pastured chickens that are.so.good. The taste, compared to your run-of-the-mill Foster Farms~type chicken is just not even in the same league. So, anyways, if you get a chance, check out these little happy chickens. I am sure they had friends, too.

Tuesday:

5am: black coffee, 2 eggs+1 white

10am: ground turkey, homemade pasta sauce, zucchini noodles, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts
 (kosher, from Trader Joe's~also, super good....a little side note....Kosher turkey has the same or higher standards as organic)

7:30pm...The above mentioned chicken, roasted with roasted vegetables...beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts, zucchini, onion, butternut squash.
*sidenote* roasted root vegetables are like candy....so good!!!

False Start...

     
 "If you focus on results, you'll never change~but if you focus on change, the results will come."
I like that one...it's very true. I have a confession.... I got a bit of a false start on the Whole30 challenge. I had a SUPER stressful/emotional weekend, which, I am realizing, kinda drives me to be careless about what I consume. SO...stressful weekend behind me+ renewed vigor and motivation=new day, and a new challenge! I'm ready for it! I have successfully cut so many things out of my diet that the only thing left that "triggers" a binge is nuts. So....for the rest of this thing, nuts are out. They are super addictive to me.
 I could have kept going, pretending like I didn't "fall off the wagon" but that wouldn't be very honest....and I am trying to get everything out in the open, for one, so I don't deceive myself, but also for everyone else out there that STRUGGLES with food....I get it. I SO get it. It's really really hard sometimes to maintain discipline in that area of my life. And I know sooooo many women who struggle with a food addiction of one kind of another. I don't think it's any coincidence that Satan tempted Eve with FOOD. Pretty crazy. All we can do is keep trying! Anyways, I hope ya'll have a good day and I'll see ya back here with my (nut free) food journal later today. Happy Tuesday!

Carnitas!!! and the Whole30 challenge

First of all, I'm not a huge pork fan. But I saw this recipe on Kait's Primal Kitchen blog, and I knew I HAD to make it. In the crock pot ALLLLL day....5am~5pm. A quick blast in a hot oven to make them crispy....so so so good. So, if you're in the mood for some delicious PIG, make this recipe! 

This is what I made with them. Twice. Cabbage, onions, tomatoes, guac, salsa and lots of carnitas. Mmmmmm......

So, on to the challenge I told ya'll about the other day. Starting yesterday (because it was October 1st, and why NOT start a challenge on the first day of the month, I ask you???) several of my clients, and whoever else I could recruit (because believe me, I try to recruit everyone for stuff like this....it's THAT good) and I started the Whole30 challenge. The Whole30 is a 30 day challenge to eat ONLY whole foods~organic/pasture raised/wild meats and seafood, lots of vegetables, some fruit and some great healthy fats like avocado and coconut products. The challenge eliminates all foods that must be processed in order to consume them~dairy products, anything made from grains, all sugar, etc. It's such a GREAT challenge because it "resets" your body~eliminating all cravings for all the crap that you just.can't.stop.eating. I LOVE it! So many people have experienced such fantastic health benefits from eating this way....I just can't give it enough props! Anyways, if you are at all interested in joining the challenge, check out the website and read about it for yourself. I will be posting my food journal for the next 30 days (as regularly as I can) so you can see what it might involve. It's not hard. It's goooooood!!! I will also be posting recipes for good food! Have a great Sunday!

Surprise veggie box....

Happy Thursday! 

Yesterday, one of my clients brought me this awesome box full of vegetables from her garden!

So I made this:

Ground Beef, Sauteed brussels (why is there an "s" at the end of that word?)  sprouts, beets, carrots and broccoli with zucchini "pasta" tossed in (homemade) pesto. 

Pesto Recipe:

1 large bunch of basil (i use trader joe's)

2 handfuls spinach or arugula

3-8ish cloves of garlic (depending on your taste)

1/2 c.(ish) extra virgin olive oil

salt

Put greens and garlic in the food processor...process until finely chopped. Stream in olive oil until desired consistency is reached. sprinkle in a little salt, pulse one more time....good to go! Instant magical vegetable~topping sauce!!!!

Have a great day! I will be posting about a challenge later today.....

I'm Back!!!

"The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you most want for what you want right now." ~Zig Ziglar

I have been MIA (from blog land) for quite some time now. During this time, I have taken a step back and really tried to assess where I am in this business of mine and where I want to go. What I have come up with is this: While I LOVE the fitness aspect, and of course I think exercise is super important, I think this country is in a nutrition crisis, and I feel REALLY passionate about that. I took some time, got my Nutritionist certification, and am now available to do nutritional consulting alongside my personal training. Technically, before, I wasn't really "allowed" to talk about nutrition as a personal trainer. Now, I am. And talk about it I will!

I am taking the "PALEO" approach to nutrition now. Paleo refers to the "Paleolithic" era...aka caveman. Not that we all need to eat/live like cavemen, but just taking an approach to nutrition that is natural and sustainable. Lean, pasture raised meats, lots of fresh vegetables, some fruits and healthy fats such as avocados and coconut. Research shows that our ancestors were fit, lean and healthy eating what they could hunt and gather off the land. The agricultural revolution is when everything started to go downhill, health~wise. Disease and degeneration came because in the reduction of good nutrition in favor of cheap, quick meal solutions. And our nation's health started to decline. The Paleo lifestyle brings back vibrant health and high energy levels because of whole, nourishing foods. 

I am extremely passionate about educating my clients about good nutrition. Especially when it comes to children. I want to empower women to make healthy choices not just for themselves, but for their families as well. I think so many times we feed our children "filler"(often times processed foods)~even while maintaining a strict healthy diet for ourselves~but it's so detrimental to their development. I have been guilty of this in the past, but I changed my thinking....I don't want to feed my children anything that isn't going to do something FOR their body in a good way. Protein for muscle building, vegetables and fruit for vitamins and minerals and nuts and avocados for healthy fats and brain development. It is a little more expensive, but so worth it down the road! 

I am also going to try listing my food journal for a while....so ya'll can get an idea of what a healthy Paleo~type diet looks like. 

Meal 1: 2 eggs over hard, cooked in coconut oil, black coffee

Meal 2: ground beef and lamb with pasta sauce over spaghetti squash, sauteed zucchini and yellow squash

Meal 3: arugula and spinach salad with carrots, onions, fennel, 1/2 avocado, can of tuna, sesame oil and rice vinegar

Meal 4: carne asada salad: cabbage, carrots, onions, carne asada, salsa, 1/2 avocado+ lime

Snack: a few handfuls of nuts