Will be back soon!

Hey everyone I hope you enjoy the holidays.. Im going to take a few weeks off blogging to enjoy my time with the kids. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Quinoa??

Some people are still unsure what Quinoa is all about... Since we cook it like brown rice, quinoa is commonly considered a grain. However it is technically a protein-rich seed that is relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and swiss chard. Quinoa is also considered a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids needed for muscle growth and repair.

One cup of cooked Quinoa provides

220 calories

8g protein

39g carbohydrates

Chicken and Corn Lettuce Wrap

So I was craving something fresh yesterday and came across this recipe. I used the left over chicken from the last recipe I posted! Although I wasn't able to use fresh peaches or corn it still was delish!! Simply amazing!

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts cooked and diced

1/4 tsp ground cumin

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 2 limes

2 ears of corn (or frozen corn in my case thawed)

2 plum tomatoes

1 sweet yellow onion

1 jalapeno pepper

1 peach diced (or frozen peaches in my case thawed)

2 avocado cubed

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

sea salt and pepper

1 head of lettuce or romaine lettuce works

Be creative add celery or green onions for extra crunch!

Mix all ingredients above, fill your lettuce leaf and enjoy! Or eat it like a salad too..

Balsamic Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:

4 5oz boneless skinless chicken breast

1 tsp olive oil

2 shallots, minced

8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered

1 cup farro

1.5 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Marinade:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Pinch each sea salt and ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Prepare marinade: In a bowl or zip lock plastic bag, combine all marinade ingredients. Add chicken, turning to ensure that breasts are completely coated with marinade. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or seal bag and refrigerate until needed.

2. Set your rice cooker to the regular setting. Place 1 tsp oil in rice cooker bowl. Add shallot, stirring to coat, then close or cover with lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shallots have softened. Add mushrooms and cook for 8 more minutes, covered and stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft and have released water. Stir in farro and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally for 3 minutes.

3. Stir in broth. Place chicken, discarding leftover marinade, on top of farro mixture. Close or cover with lid and reset

rice cooker to "regular' setting. The program should take about 1 hour, depending on the rice cooker. Chicken is done when its internal temperature reaches 165F.

4. To serve, place 3/4 cup farro-mushroom mixture on each plate and top with 1 chicken breast. Sprinkle with parsley!

So as you can see in the picture I didn't f0llow the recipe. One because I didn't have farro on hand and two I wanted to eat the chicken along side a fresh salad. If you choose to cook it like me all you need to do differently is place the marinaded chicken along with juices in a 13x9 dish. Add your mushrooms and shallots and then a little extra vegetable broth. I then mixed the mushrooms around and tried to saturate them so they soaked up the juices. Cook on 350 for 30 min then flip chicken and cooked an additional 30 minutes or until done. It turned out super flavorful. It almost tasted like french onion soup!

Plyometric move with a little weight!

So as most of you know I've been doing CrossFit for a year now and love the results! We do incorporate plyometrics along with gymnastics, endurance and olympic lifting. One of the moves that I use a lot with my one on one personal training clients is jumping lunges and jump squats. This is an incredible explosive movement that will surely lift up your backside! Start without weight then progress with dumbbells.

Start with a lunge (no jumping), then add a squat as a precursor to the jump. Tack on another jump every time you repeat the sequence, until you get to 10 jumps. Then start over at one and do it again. Push hard for five to ten minutes, but rest and get back into the workout when your ready. (Basically lunge, then feet shoulder width apart squat then jump and land in another squat, stand up then lunge forward on opposite leg and repeat sequence.)

Once you feel secure with your stance and landing add some weight. A jump squat with dumbbells is highly metabolic! Once you do these you'll hate them but love them too. When you have that feeling about an exercise or movement you know it works!!

Scallops and Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered

2 tbsp minced shallots

2 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

Juice from 1 whole lemon

Pepper to taste

1 lb scallops

Instructions

Place sprouts in a steamer basket and steam in a large saucepan over 3 inches of boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, whisk oil, shallots, salt, lemon juice and pepper in a bowl.

Toss scallops in oil-lemon mix and sprinkle with more pepper, if desired.

Place scallops in a skillet on low heat and brown on both sides, cooking for 10 minutes total.

Add the sprouts to the scallop mix and cook for 2 minutes. Serve.

Finishing Fuel Shake

1 medium kiwi

1/4 cup diced honeydew melon

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 scoop whey protein powder

3/4 tsp orange flavor extract

Ice cubes if desired

Maple Walnut Chicken

Ingredients

4 (4-6 oz each) boneless chicken breasts

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs fresh thyme

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

3 tbs pure maple syrup

1/2 cup water

Instructions

Combine olive oil, thyme, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Rub chicken with seasoning and let stand

In a 12’ nonstick skillet, toast walnuts over medium-low heat 4-6 min or until golden and fragrant, stirring constantly. Note: walnuts may burn quickly if left unattended.

Transfer walnuts to dish, and turn heat up to medium under the hot skillet.

Add chicken to same skillet. Cook 12 min or until done, turning frequently.

Transfer chicken to a clean plate.

Add vinegar to the chicken drippings in the hot skillet and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add maple syrup and water, and simmer 6-7 min until slightly thickened. Stir in walnuts and serve on top of chicken.

Turkey Vegetable Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or chicken

2 medium carrots

1 red or green bell pepper

5 large mushrooms

fresh parsley

1/2 yellow onion

1 garlic clove

2 tsp garlic salt

2 tbsp italian seasoning

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 350

2.Combine carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, garlic and seasonings in a food processor and blend until well chopped

3.Empty the food processor into a large bowl, add the ground turkey and mix together completely.

4.Form meatballs and place on a non greased baking sheet. Bake each for about 25 minutes, or until completely cooked.

Almond Flour Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbs coconut flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup water (consider soda water for slightly fluffier pancakes)

1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp sea salt

coconut oil

fresh berries

Instructions

1. Combine almond flour, applesauce, coconut flour, eggs, water, nut

meg and sea salt in a bowl, and mix together completely with a fork.

The batter will appear a little thicker than normal mix.

2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat with 1 tsp coconut

oil.

3. Drop 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan once it is fully heated. Spread out

batter slightly if desired.

4. Flip like a normal pancake when the bubbles start showing up on the

top, and cook for another minute or two.

5. Add more oil to the pan and repeat with remaining batter.

6. Top with fresh berries

24 day Advocare Challenge

If anyone is interested in doing the Advocare 24 day challenge after Christmas let me know! I won't be doing a cash reward but thought it would still be fun to get a group together who wanted to kick off the year with a good cleanse. I can help place your orders and get you off and running. I will be ordering my bundle in the next two week to insure I have it one hand after the holidays! Bundle consist of 10 day supply of Herbal Cleanse, Omega Plex (omega 3 fatty acids), Probiotic, 14 day supply of Meal Replacements, Sparks Energy Drink, Metabolic Nutrition System/Multivitamins and in addition I recommend Catalyst which supports Muscle tone, helps burn fat and enhances stength and energy.

Few ways to boost up your workout!

1. No Rest... If fat burning is your goal this is a fabulous way to burn a significant amount of fat in little time. Think of it like circuit training. Your maximizing your time when you don’t rest between reps. It keeps your heart rate elevated and is the most effective fat burning workout. When you train like this your incorporating cardio since your heart rate remains elevated.
2. Train on an unstable surface.. Training on an unstable surface for example a single leg balance (stork position) with upright row, is activating far more muscles then a chair pose upright row. There are many ways to make a simple exercise more unstable and they make it so much harder because you’re recruiting so many more muscles. Another example is incorporating a bosu ball or stability ball into your workout!
3. Incorporate plyometrics... Plyometric exercises are explosive movements that recruit several muscles at once, burning a significant number of calories. Jumps squats, jumping lunges, high knees and so on.. They are hard but so worth it!

Freezing banana’s

For those of you who rely on a meal replacement shake daily (whether for energy prior to a workout or to eliminate the hassle of one meal) here is an easy tip i’ve been doing. I generally add half a banana to my shakes so recently I started peeling, halving and freezing bananas so they are ready to go. Adding one that is frozen makes your shake nice and cold!

Little Warriors Dec 4th!!!

“Little Warriors” CrossFit Class for children ages 4-12 will be held December 4th from 11:30 to 12:30 at CrossFit Nine! The class will consist of introduction, basic warm up and a structured progression through various CrossFit exercises. One parent is required to stay with child. Make sure to have your little one wear appropriate clothing, shoes and don’t forget water! The class will be kept smaller, so make sure to reserve your spot! The cost is $10 per child. Please email me at jkwelcome@comcast.net or call Keri Welcome at 435-466-0458. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Ultimate Walnut Pie Crust with Pumpkin Filling

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-paleo-pie-crust/

Here is a link to an amazing Primal Pumpkin Pie "Paleo" recipe.. There is no oven temperature for the crust or filling. Wendy a client of mine baked the crust at 400 for approx. 7 min. Continue to check because it can burn quickly. It comes out more like cheesecake, crumbly texture, which I like. You can add a bit more maple syrup if you like it sweeter.

If you follow the page down to the bottom there is a "related link" section that has a great recipe for "Decadent Coconut Milk Whipped Cream!" I can't wait to try this one. Enjoy..

Have an amazing Thanksgiving everyone! Take a day off your diet and enjoy the amazing food and company of your loved ones! :)

Slimming down your mid section

1. Add more weight to your strength training routine. Resistant training along with healthy low caloric eating habits reduces visceral fat (the deepest layer of fat on your body) and is much more effective then just dieting alone. When you up your resistant routine by increasing your weight make sure you are able to keep proper form.
2. Incorporate interval training. Intervals are a great way to up your calorie and fat burn.
3. Don’t rely on sit ups alone. Crunches alone don’t get rid of abdominal fat. Strong abs are made mostly in the kitchen! a clean diet accounts for 80 percent of fat loss.
4. Try cooking with safflower oil. Safflower oil is linked to reduced abdominal fat and improved cholesterol, blood sugar, insulin sensitivity and inflammation. This is a great oil to use for sauteing vegetables.

Thai Pork and Papaya

Ingredients:

7.6 oz couscous/Quinoa/brown rice (Optional)

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2 inch strips

Juice 1 lime

1/4 cup minced cliantro

1 lb Hawaiian papaya, peeled, halved, seeds removed and reserved, flesh cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Instruction:

1. Cook Quinoa, brown rice or Couscous as directed and set a side (optional).
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, ginger, garlic and pork and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally flipping pork strips with a spatula until meat is cooked through. Remove skillet from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.
3. Place 1 cup quinoa, brown rice or couscous onto each of 4 plates. Top each with 2 oz pork mixture, 1/2 cup papaya and 1 tbsp skillet juices. Garnish with reserved papaya seeds, if desired.

This is a recipe that can be easy doubled. Just make sure if your doubling the meat your doubling the rest of the ingredients. Enjoy!

Rev up your metabolism with these snacks!

Keep your metabolism revving all day with these easy snacks. Their high in protein and fiber content helps burn fat and keeps cravings at bay during mid-morning and afternoon hours.

• Pair one hard boiled egg with a slice of tomato or handful of grape tomatoes.
• All natural peanut butter or almond butter and an apple. This combo provides five grams of protein plus fiber to keep you satisfied for hours.
• 10 baby carrots and handful of almonds.

Primal Trail Mix

Store trail mix typically is loaded with sugar. This is a simple, natural mix to help get you through the day...

Ingredients

1 cup raw or roasted almonds

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup dried blueberries

1/2 cup raisins

Little Warrior's

"Little Warriors" Crossfit class coming soon!! I've had numerous requests for a CrossFit Class geared towards kids ages 4-12. I will be teaching the class once a month on a Sunday either mid morning or early afternoon. The kids will learn some basic movements found in CrossFit. I will be incorporating some rope climbing and simple movements on the rings! Parents will also be participating and helping their little one. Once the exact dates have been decided we will take reservations. Please give me a heads up now if you are interested so I can gauge how large the class will be and plan accordingly. The cost will be $10 per child.

Thai Chicken Wraps!!

Makes dinner for two, with leftovers for lunch!

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

12 Bibb or Romaine lettuce leaves

1 cup raw broccoli, finely chopped

1 large carrot, shredded

3 green onions, thinly sliced

4 Napa cabbage

Cilantro

Thai Sauce:

1/4 cup almond butter

1/3 cup water

2 tbs coconut aminos (taste like soy sauce)

2 tbs lime juice

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Instructions:

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grill chicken and dice into 1/2 cubes

Wash lettuce leaves and spread out on a plate (reserve half the leaves for leftovers)

Fill with chicken, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, green onion and cilantro

Drizzle with thai sauce

Reserve leftover filling mixture for lunch the next day...

Foam Rolling, SMFR “Self-Myofascial Release”

If you don’t have a foam roll or access to one your missing out!! Foam rollers are used to massage the muscle and move soreness causing chemicals out of the area, while supplying the tissue with fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients to jump start the repair process. By applying gentle force to an adhesion or “knot,” the elastic muscle fibers are altered from a bundled position (that causes the adhesion) into a straighter alignment with the direction of the muscle or fascia. Key is to find a tender spot and sustain pressure on that spot for a minimum of 20 - 30 seconds. This process helps restore the body back to its optimal level of function.

Power Meal Replacement

5 oz almond milk

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/2 frozen slightly green banana

1 tbsp natural peanut butter or almond butter

1 scoot vanilla whey protein

1 tsp creatine (optional)

Handful of blueberries

Ice cubes

I made this shake this morning and loved it! Minus the creatine.. But I would imagine if you added that with it's added flavor it would be even more tasty! Hope you enjoy..

Shin Splints

While certain individuals may be predisposed to shin splints regardless of what they do, certain things can be done to help minimize your chance of developing them.

Shin Splint Stretches includes both passive stretching that is performed by pulling the foot upward “dorsi-flexion” as well as dynamic stretching by actively contracting the muscles to keep it pulled upward, by walking on your heel for example.

Alterations in running style. Running on the toes is efficient for sprinting but hard for long-distance runners. Landing mid foot offers the best shock absorption a natural form when running long distance, and reduces the force transmission to the calf and shin muscles.

Choose appropriate footwear. For runners with a heavy heelstrike, make sure that your shoes have appropriate padding for the heel. Get orthotics if necessary. Patients with flat feet “excessive pronation” may benefit from arch support and or motion control shoes with extra support underneath the arch.

Mixed Berries with Balsamic Vinegar and Almonds!

Ingredients

1-2 cups fresh berries

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Instructions

Wash and slice fresh berries

Evenly separate the berries between two small bowls

Pour 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar over each serving

Top with slivered almonds

Make sure to add only a little of the Balsamic Vinegar.

No Oat Oatmeal!

Ingredients

1/4 c walnuts

1/4 c pecans

2 tbsp ground flax seed

1/2 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp almond butter

1 banana mashed

3 eggs

1/4 c unsweetened almond milk

1/2 diced apple

Instructions

1. Add walnuts, pecans, flax seed and spices to a food processor and pulse mixture to a course grain (make sure to stop before it is ground into a powder). Set aside
2. Whisk together eggs and almond milk until the consistency thickens and becomes a loose custard.
3. Thoroughly blend the mashed banana and almond butter together and add it to the custard, mixing well.
4. Stir in the corse nut mixture and diced apples.
5. In a medium saucepan, warm the mixture on the stove until the “no-oatmeal” reaches the desired consistency; this should only take a few minutes. Stir frequently.
6. Add more almond milk if desired.

Cellulite!

Cellulite is not a disease or medical problem, but rather a recognized cosmetic condition related to the underlying structure of the skin. It is basically fat tissue just under the skin that results in a lax, dimpled skin surface covering the thighs, buttocks, and hips. Here are some proven strategies for minimizing this condition:

1. Lose weight gradually to preserve your skin’s suppleness.
2. Don’t crash diet; it makes cellulite worse by reducing the skin’s elasticity
3. Target muscles in problem areas like thighs and butt with exercises like squats and lunges to smooth out underlying flabby muscles.
4. Do at least 200 minutes a week of exercise walking, weightlifting, interval training etc. thats a minimum of 40 min 5 days a week.
5. Promote the resilience of your skin by not smoking, avoiding excessive sun exposure and getting plenty of antioxidants from fruits and vegetables.

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

Perfect for thanksgiving!

1 1/2 c almond flour

3/4 cup canned pumpkin (or cook and puree pumpkin yourself)

3 large eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup raw honey (optional)

2 tsp almond butter

1 tbsp sliced almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350

Coat 6 muffin tins with coconut oil (or use paper muffin cups and add 1/2 tsp melted coconut oil to batter

Mix all ingredients and pour evenly into tins

Bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack.

Muscle Maker Protein Shake

1 cup almond milk

1 cup fresh strawberries

1 cup raspberries

1 cup chopped watermelon

1 bananna

2 tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1 scoop protein powder

Blend until smooth. Drink this shake 30 minutes before your workout to allow your body to digest. Weight training results in both muscle building and breakdown, and you want to promote the first and reduce the latter as much as possible. Nutrients found in post-workout supplements help turn the body from a catabolic (muscle breakdown) state, into an anabolic (muscle growth) state. A fruity whey protein shake is an easy way to meet that goal.

Decreasing your soda intake

It would be perfect for your weight loss to stop drinking soda altogether and substitute it with water!! But as we all know that can be very hard, even I on occasion will drink soda especially when I’m eating out. So if you absolutely cannot live without your favorite soda, at least switch to diet or zero-calorie and try to have less of it. If you drink 16 ounces of soda a day you will save more than 43,000 calories a year by ditching the soda. By cutting out or even cutting back and drinking more water you will notice hands down a big improvement for your weight loss progress.

Quinoa Salad

2 cups quinoa

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice 1 lime

1 tbsp ground cumin

Pinch red pepper flakes

3 cups fresh corn

1 15 oz BPA free can black beans, rinsed

1 med red bell pepper, chopped

1 med orange bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro. chopped

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a fine mesh strainer, rinse quinoa thoroughly, drain well. In medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Let cool.

Meanwhile. prepare dressing; In a small bowl, whisk oil, lime juice, cumin and pepper flakes until combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine corn, beans, bell peppers, jalapeno and cilantro. Add quinoa and stir to combine. Top with dressing, season with salt and black pepper and mix well. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Yummy strawberry banana shake

1 banana

1 cup almond or coconut milk

1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

1 scoop whey protein

Congratulations Matt Tukey

One of our CrossFit Members Matt Tukey has lost a total of 6.5 inches, 15 lbs and 5.2% body fat in 24 days! Way to go buddy.. Matt took on our 24 day Advocare Challenge. With a combination of clean eating, advocare and crossfit his results are incredible! What an inspiration to all of us, good job Matt!

Mark your calendars!

Make a point to pencil in your times set aside for working out! It’s easy to make excuses! But if you add it to your schedule and make it one of your top priorities you’ll thank yourself at the end of the day. I’ve gotten in such a habit of following through with my planned workout times that when I miss one Im not a happy camper. Sure I get over it, but Im much happier when I get my workout in for the day.

Ditching Sugar!

Ditch the food if sugar or one of it’s cousins (syrup or high fructose corn syrup, a corn based sweetener) are listed as the first ingredient.

Common Foods High in HFCS

1. Regular soft drinks
2. Fruit juice and fruit drinks that are not 100 percent juice
3. Pancake syrups
4. Popcicles
5. Fruit flavored yogurts
6. Ketchup and BBQ sauces
7. Canned soups
8. Canned fruits
9. Breakfast cereals

Problems caused by too much HFCS

1. It can lead to higher caloric intake
2. It can lead to an increase in body weight
3. It fools your body into thinking it’s hungry
4. It may increase insulin resistance and triglycerides

Avoiding the middle isles of a grocery store.

The middle of the store generally is where all of the processed goods are. Instead, try to stick to the edges of the grocery store, where the fresh produce, fruits and vegetables are located! You can’t completely avoid the middle but it’s a good rule of thumb to go by. I personally feel so much better when Im checking out with healthy foods rather than foods that hold very little if any nutritional value.