Fab Fit Squad

For those of you who don’t play golf, a mulligan is a do over. You hit a bad shot and then you get to do it over again.  Well here we are coming off a long weekend filled with fun activities that may have included lots of food and alcohol.

You wake up today look in the mirror reflect on your weekend. You say to yourself,  I’m going to the gym and hit the weights the little harder, do a little more cardio or skip a meal or to to make up for all this past weekend’s bad behavior.

Do you think it will help?  Sorry to inform you, but no. I tell my clients that you need to live the 80/20 rule. Eat cleanly 80% of the time and have some treats 20% of the time.  If you go over that limit then there is no make-up.  You need to step up and take responsibility for your actions. If you eat you own it!

The lesson is before you eat or drink it. Think about it. Are your actions moving you toward your goals or away from you goals.

It’s the first big weekend of the summer, you’re staring at the invitation thinking how can I do this AND keep to my lifestyle. Guess what YOU CAN! Offer to bring side dishes or part of the main course. With a grill there are so may choices grilled veggies, lean meats and great salads.

Here are a few dishes you can give a try.

Roasted chick peas – (2) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and dry with papertowel. Put in a bowl and season with 1T chili powder, 1t kosher salt 1T olive oil. Place on cookie sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Cook for 30-40 min keep you eye on the for the last 10 min to make sure they don’t burn.

Grilled citrus shrimp –1 to 1 1/2 pounds of uncooked medium shrimp peeled. Squeeze 2 medium oranges and 1 lime in a mixing bowl. Now add 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 t kosher salt. Like it a little spicy add in crushed red pepper flakes. Put shrimp and marinade in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for  at least 30 minutes.  Grill about 2 min/side or until shrimp turns pink.

Hummus cucumber cups — Cut 4 cucumbers into thick 1 inch slices. Using a melon baller, scoop at the seeds (careful don’t break through bottom) and add in hummus. You can use store bought. I like the garlic lovers.

Here’s a marinade to give a shot.

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, 1/2 c parsley, 1/2 c olive oil, 2 limes squeezed, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t crushed red pepper and 2 T red wine vinegar . Mix together using a food processor or hand mixer.

Feeling exhausted?  Pop a handful of blueberries in your mouth and enjoy a little energy boost, along with a ton of nutrients. Blueberries contain anthocyanins and other pigments high in antioxidant properties possibly having a role in reducing risks of inflammatory diseases and certain cancers. Let me put on my big brain and tell you that blueberries contain pterostilbene, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and resveratrol (yes that stuff that stops wrinkles), all which inhibit the cell development of cancers.

Blueberries are also a good source of vitamin C, manganese, fiber, and vitamin E , and are low in calories! Many studies have found that blueberry consumption lowers cholesterol and total blood lipid levels, possibly reducing the risks of heart disease and high blood pressure. Even more studies have found that a diet rich in blueberries may enhance short-term memory in older adults while reducing symptoms of depression.

Fresh blueberries keep very well and can be packaged and stored easily. Blueberries usually hit the peak of their season, depending on the region, sometime between May and October.

I love heading to Farmer’s Markets this time of year and get fresh blueberries and putting them on my oatmeal, cottage cheese, plain yogurt or just eating them out of the container.

If you have any recipes you’d like to share leave the comments below.

No matter what the temperature is outside, I can always eat soup. The thing I love most about soup is that it’s freezable and you can add any cooked meat you like to it to make it a complete meal. Here are a few quick soups that I make regularly.

Beef and Vegetable Soup
Brown some lean hamburger meat, onion and garlic in a large pot. Once the meat is completely cooked drain any excess fat add any frozen/canned vegetables you like. I usually add chopped canned tomatoes, green beans, white beans, broccoli or stewed canned tomatoes chopped into bite size pieces.  Just throw the meal together and add a bit of some seasonings, I like mine on the spicy side so I’m always adding a little crushed red pepper. Play with varying spices to see which ones you really like the best. (more…)

I was recently at event where they were hyping a “cleanse”. “Cleanses” aren’t worth it regardless of how “all natural” they claim to be. Your body already has its natural cleansing system called your liver. All things pass through your liver and despite what the bottle says or what you heard from a friend your body has a great cleansing system.

So instead of doing a “cleanse” why not focus on cleaning up your diet. You know removing all the processed foods from your diet so that you won’t feel the need to “cleanse”. Here are some great spring fruit and veggies to give a try.

• Asparagus — great source of fiber, folic acid and B vitamins. I like to roast it in the oven or put them on the grill
• Beets — I know they seem like a fall veggies but they are still readily available. I love my roasted with a little Udo’s oil, feta cheese a walnuts. Yummy!
• Cherries — my favorite fruit I LOVE cherry season. I really need to practice portion control with these.
• Kiwi — I like my on the firm side. I add it to cottage cheese or greek yogurt with a touch of honey — YUMMY
• Strawberries — Yahoo — I love fresh strawberries on my oatmeal nothing tastes better. The mix of hot with the cool berries. Sorry I was having a dream weaver moment

What is your favorite spring fruit or veggie, I would to hear it.

On the calendar Easter is next Sunday, but by looking at any of the stores   Easter should have been shortly after Valentine’s Day. You can’t go through a store without those tempting treats popping out at you. Personally I’m a sucker for the Cadbury mini eggs, those things just call me! I’m sure you have an Easter treat that just screams your name.  Leave me a comment below and let me know what it is.  Oh my how could I forget that I’m also a SUCKER for peeps, you know the marshmallow ones. Yum, Yum give me some! Okay enough about the unhealthy, let’s talk about surviving Easter without packing on the pounds.

I hope of a few of these ideas help you out. If you have any additional tips, I would love to hear them just leave them in the comments below.

Chipotle Scrambled Egg Skillet

1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 small avocado, diced
5 Tbsp chipotle pepper sauce, divided
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
8 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

In a glass or plastic bowl, mix together the tomatoes, avocado, 3 tablespoons of the chipotle sauce, garlic, green onion, and cilantro in a small bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, remaining 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce, water, and salt. Spray large heavy skillet with non-stick spray and put over medium heat. Add egg mixture and cook, stirring only as egg sets up. When eggs are almost set, flip a few times.
When eggs are completely set, spoon tomato mixture over and immediately slide off onto plates to serve.

The calendar may say its spring, but if you live in New England it certainly doesn’t feel like it. But like they say, if you don’t like the weather in New England just wait a minute and it will change. For the past few years, our weather has a way of skipping its way right through spring and into summer without much notice. So that’s why I think a 30 day challenge is EXACTLY what we all need to get us ready for summer. What does this mean? Typically when you think of making a lifestyle change, you list ALL the things that you need to do and then get overwhelmed or only make a few changes because you get overwhelmed or you quit because you are striving to be perfect. The Fab Fit Squad 30 day challenge is not about being perfect, it’s about making small changes so that you can stick with them over the long haul. Just like me on Facebook and each day I will post a tip of the day, to help you keep up the challenge. The challenge starts, Friday, April 1st. Are you ready?  Leave me some comments below about what you are hoping to change in the next 30 days.

It’s time that you and Mr./Ms. Scale broke up. You’re not going to call him anymore, you’re not going to stalk him on Facebook.  Your just not into him/her any more.

Let’s get real here!

How many of you weigh yourself every day? Multiple times? When you weigh yourself do the results make or break your day? Or do you avoiding weighing yourself because you don’t want to know. (more…)

I have a number of mom clients, who say they eat junk food because I have to buy it for the kids.  Really your kids have that much control of what you buy and how you eat. Well times have certainly changed since I was a kid.  Our after school snacks weren’t sugar filled. My diabetic grandmother took care of us after school, so sugary treated weren’t an option.  I didn’t realize that yogurt was a health food until the 8^th grade, I thought everyone ate it. How naive was I that I also thought raisins, I mean actual non-coated raisins were candy. (more…)