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10 Great Smoothie Recipes

One of the best ways for us to get the nutrients and protein we need is with great Protein Smoothies.

Here are 10 of my favorite recipes.  Some are made with caffeine drinks like coffee and green tea, but all of these can be substituted with any liquid you like, almond milk, coconut milk, water and will be just as tasty!  Smoothie blog pic

This is also a great way to get the kiddos to get there greens if they’re not particularly big fans. Spinach has no real over powering taste when in your smoothie which is why I’ve included it in most of our recipes!

Enjoy!

Coffee Blueberry Blast

4 oz Almond Unsweetened Almond Milk or Water

6 oz of Black Coffee

1 Serving Vanilla Protein

½ Cup Organic Blueberries

1 Cup of Spinach

5 Ice Cubes

 

Chocolate Raspberry Rush

4 oz Almond Unsweetened Almond Milk or Water

6 oz Black Coffee

1 Serving Chocolate Protein

½ Cup Organic Raspberries

1 Cup of Spinach

5 Ice Cubes

 

Apple Peach Wake Up

4 oz Unsweetened Almond Milk or Water

6 oz Organic Green Tea

1 Serving Vanilla Protein

½ Peach

½ Apple

1 Packet Organic Stevia

 

 

Cherry Kale Crisp

4 oz of Unsweetened Almond Milk or Water

6 oz Green Tea

1 Serving Vanilla or Strawberry Protein

1 Cup of Organic Kale

½ Cup Organic Cherries

5 Ice Cubes

 

Coconut Almond Butter Banana

8 oz Unsweetened Coconut Milk or Water

1 TBS Organic Almond Butter

1 Serving Chocolate or Vanilla Protein

1 Banana

1 Cup Spinach

5 Ice Cubes

 

Tropical Fruit Freeze

8 oz Unsweetened Coconut Milk or Water

½ Cup of Pineapple Chunks

½ Cup of Organic Strawberries

1 Serving Vanilla Protein

1 Cup of Spinach

5 Ice Cubes

 

 

Orange Ice Crush

12 oz of Unsweetened Almond Milk or Water

1 Whole Frozen Orange

1 Cup of Kale

1 Serving Vanilla Protein

5 Ice Cubes

 

Chocolate Peppermint

12 oz Unsweetened Almond Milk or Water

2 drop peppermint extract

1 Cup of Spinach

1 Serving Chocolate Protein

 

Good Fat – Bad Fat?!?!

Can consuming fat actually be good for you?

Not only can consuming fat be good for you, it is 100% necessary to include in your diet to promote good heart health, good emotional well being and also to help promote the loss of body fat!

Yes, to burn more body fat you need to consume fat. Now comes the part you need to know; there are good fats and bad fats!

As a trainer I am always preaching a balanced diet, made up of good protein, carbohydrates and yes fat. In fact, when creating your meal plan you want to have 20% of your caloric intake per day come from fat. A useful number to remember is the number 9. Every gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. For example, if you are on a 1200 calorie diet per day, 20% of your calories would be 240 calories from fat, which would equal 26.6 grams of fat.

Now before you jump up and down excited about having a scoop of ice cream to make up this 20% we must discuss the difference between good fats and bad fats. For years we’ve been told that a lowfat diet is the best way to lose weight, and when we walk through the grocery store it seems as though there are more and more ‘low fat’ products to choose from. If they’re so low in fat and supposed to help keep us from getting fat, why are 2 out of every 3 people in this country overweight?

When reading the back of labels you’ll sometimes notice four different types of fats broken down under the fat category. They’re Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, MonoUnsaturated Fat and Poly Unsaturated Fat.

Let’s start with bad fats, they’re Trans Fats and Saturated Fats. Both of these fats lead to elevated levels of bad cholesterol and will increase your risk of heart disease.  Some saturated fat in our diet is necessary to have for proper body function and you will find it in some of our foods, such as red meat, or coconut.  Trans fats are by far the worst fat there is, and unfortunately can be found in many of our commercially processed and prepared foods. Here’s a quick list of products that are high in BAD fat, both Saturated and Trans Fats.

Saturated Fat

– Ice Cream

– Butter

– Cheese

– Whole Milk

– High Fat cuts of Beef, Pork

– Chicken with the skin

Trans Fat

– Fried Foods (Fried Chicken – French Fries – Breaded Fish )

– Commercially Baked Goods (Cookies – Cakes – Donuts )

– Packaged Snack Foods (Crackers – Chips)

– Candy of any type in a wrapper

– Stick Margarine

The most important thing you can do is start reading the labels and stay away from saturated and trans fats, the less you put in your diet the better your chances of slimming down and getting healthy.

So with that being said, let’s talk about good fats, and those are the Polyunsaturated Fats and Monounsaturated Fats. Both of these are excellent for the body, they promote a healthy heart, they promote healthy emotional well-being and best of all they will actually help you burn more body fat! Here’s a quick list of sources of both Poly and Mono Fats, Good Fats!;

Polyunsaturated Fats

– Walnuts

– Fatty Fish (Salmon – Tuna – Trout – Sardines)

– Seeds (Sunflower – Pumpkin – Flax – Sesame)

– Tofu

Monounsaturated Fats

– Olive Oil

– Sunflower Oil

– Avocados

– Nuts (Almonds – Pecans – Macadamia Nuts – Cashews)

These are great sources of GOOD fats and should be incorporated into your daily meal plan. Some good ways to get them into your diet could be:

– Add a handful of nuts to your diet as a snack

– Add avocados to your diet

– Snack on fresh olives or make a tapenade dip

– Create your own salad dressing using olive oil, sunflower oil or sesame oil

Another component to look for when choosing GOOD healthy fats is to look for Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Found in many types of fish, Omega 3’s are found in Polyunsaturated fats and have shown in clinical studies to:

– Reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke

– Reduce inflammation, and the pain of arthritis

– Protect against memory loss and dementia as we age

– Reduced the symptoms of depression again leading to healthy emotional well being

In summary it is important to know you absolutely want to incorporate GOOD fats both Poly, Mono and some saturated  in to your diet, and anywhere from 20% to 30% of your daily caloric intake should be made up of GOOD fats. Try not to rely on Fat Free foods as they are processed and usually high in sugar and carbohydrate content. A healthy diet is a diet with balanced nutrition, and this is what will lead you to great long term health.

Staying away from BAD fats is easier then you may think, don’t go after fast food, as there are no nutrition facts given, stay away from foods that are high in sugar such as candies and ice cream.

Start to add a couple of GOOD fats per day, maybe adding olive oil to your salad, or grabbing a handful of almonds as a snack!

Taking a little step each day toward a healthier lifestyle will take us a long way for many years to come!

Know The Goal

Keep Going

Your training and practice at anything and everything does not begin until your mind tells you that you want to stop.

Always remember WHY you started and WHY you wanted change.

One day along your journey you will be challenged and you will want to give up.BEAST

Keep Going.

That is the very same day you will prove you could do more than you thought possible.

Our fate can be twisted to good or bad with the decisions and actions we choose.

Make uncomfortable your comfortable and no challenge will be too great.

The journey towards change always starts with excitement, we see the finish line, we have a vision of what it will be like to complete the goal.

Then we have to endure the hard and unexpected work it takes to reach that goal.

When your journey becomes difficult and you think you want to give up

KEEP GOING!

You may be closer to your success then you  know!

Know The Goal