Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake

I take no credit for this recipe. Nor do I take any credit for the preparation of this meal. I WILL, however, take full credit for eating it. It was SO GOOD. I had to share it. My mom found this recipe on the Skinnytaste site, and made it for dinner on Sunday. It was a hit! Nice work mom!

Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake: Adapted from SkinnytastepestochickenNot only is this recipe delicious and super healthy, but it is EASY. Yaaay, all the way around!

  • INGREDIENTS:
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded thin
  • 1/4 cup – 1/3 cup of pesto (you could make your own, but we just purchased some)
  • 1 medium-large tomato sliced into 1/4 inch slices
  • 1/4 cup – 1/3 cup of low fat part skim, shredded, mozzarella cheese
  • DIRECTIONS:
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a pan with foil, and spray to prevent sticking. Place chicken breasts evenly on the pan. cover them with desired amount of pesto. Place them in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken looks cooked through. Remove from the oven and cover the chicken in 2-3 tomato slices each, depending on the size of the tomato. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Place back in the oven and cook until the cheese is melted, brown, and bubbly. So easy. SO full of flavor! You could also do this on the grill.
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Put Your Zucchini To Good (And Tasty) Use: Low Fat Zucchini Cookies

I LOVE this time of year because it is when everyone’s gardens begin to flourish. It seems like zucchini is one thing that tends to do pretty well. Because of this, it also seems like it’s about this time of year that everyone starts to ask me for my yummy Zucchini Cookie recipe. It was one of the first posts on my blog, back in 2008. Yowza! So, I thought I’d post the link to help make it easier for you to find! Try them…they are dangerously good. In a healthy way of course. 😉 zucchinicookies

Click HERE for the Recipe.

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Resetting your Habits to Help You Lose Weight Episode #1

Weight loss can be difficult. There is no question about that. When helping my clients try to get into the weight loss mode, one thing that helps the most is to change up some of the routines they have. The truth of the matter is that nothing changes if nothing changes, so unless you change poor health habits to positive ones, you might not see the success you are looking for. I’m going to offer a bunch of different tips that can help you in resetting your habits to help you lose weight. I’ll give you a few at a time…here goes round one. 🙂

  1. Walk the perimeter. You may have heard people say that all the foods you need are around the perimeter of the grocery store. Well, this is the truth. Most of the food you will find in the center isles of the grocery store are processed foods. By choosing to eat clean, whole foods, you will eliminate excess calories and increase the nutrients you are getting in your diet.
  2. Keep your shelves stocked with the goods. Poor food choices tend to be made when there is a lack of healthy food and an overabundance of unhealthy foods. If you keep more fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods on hand, you will be far less likely to reach for the junk. If the junk isn’t there in the first place, you will be less likely to reach for it at all.
  3. Eat a good breakfast. Too many people skip breakfast, and a lot of people who do eat breakfast reach for the wrong foods. By eating a breakfast high in protein and fiber, and low in sugar, you will get your metabolism going and you will stay full.
  4. Serve your family “restaurant” style. Instead of bringing all your food to the table, have your family members fill up their plates with their food while it’s on the counter. If food is served this way, individuals will be less likely to overeat. If individuals want to get up and get more food they can do so, but they will be less likely to sit and eat if they aren’t hungry anymore.
  5. Turn off your TV. Individuals who sit and eat in front of the TV tend to eat mindlessly. It is in these scenarios that overeating is far more likely to occur.
  6. Measure your meals. Instead of just reaching for handfuls of the foods you are eating, measure out correct portions so you know exactly what it is you are intaking. You may be surprised at how off you are with what you thought was a portion.
  7. Eat the foods that will make you full. Instead of eating quick carbs that will go right through you, eat meals that are comprised of protein, fiber, and good fats. These are the foods that will keep you sustained, and will help you to avoid reaching for those foods that are not so good for you.
  8. Watch your sugar intake. I have mentioned it time and time again, but sugar is a total buzz kill when it comes to weight loss. Not only is it empty calories, but it can be addictive, it can lead to excess fat storage, and it won’t help you to reach your goals. Ditch it. Promise.
  9. Plan your meals out. Those who do meal prep at home will be armed with with the power of preparation.  If you have a plan, you won’t stray off into scary unhealthy food land. Preparing can save you time, calories, and extra poundage.
  10. Fill in the cracks with veggies. Instead of snacking on junk food, snack on veggies. Add veggies to all of your meals. Greens are GREAT. They are low in calories and high in nutrients and fiber. By adding veggies to all of your meals you will stay full longer, you will increase the nutrition in your meals, and you will be FAR more likely to lose weight.
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Healthy Recipes For Your Summer BBQ’s

If there is one thing that I love about summer it would be…the sun, laying by the pool, warm weather, summer mornings, summer nights, summer walks, fresh produce, frozen yogurt, family visits, the beach…oh wait I just said one thing right? 😉 Let’s be honest, I just love summer. One thing that I ABSOLUTELY love about summer is barbecues! Don’t you? I think a lot of people think of summer barbecues and they immediately think of fatty burgers smothered in cheese, high calorie potato salad, endless bags of chips, and all sorts of other unhealthy options. Well, I think we should change that mindset. It is SO entirely possible to make all sorts of healthy meals on the grill. In fact, some of my favorite healthy meals consist of simple grilled chicken and veggies that taste excellent. I know with the Fourth of July coming up, there are all sorts of barbecues in store. So, I thought I’d arm you with some healthy recipes that you can be ready to get your BBQ on the healthy way!

MAIN DISHES

SIDESgreeksalad

DESSERT pbbar

Click HERE for some other tips on how to cook healthy for large groups! I hope your celebrations with family and friends this week are fantastic! xoxoxo

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Make Those Legs BURN…

Sometimes you want to just get a good solid workout in that you KNOW will make you sore. I did this one on Friday morning and I’m feeling it. It is a uni-lateral workout, which means the exercises you are doing work one side of the body at a time. This is AWESOME for the core. You have to keep your core super tight to stabilize your body while you are working that opposing side. This workout goes a little something like this.

  • 20 right leg walking lunges with an overhead press on the left side
  • 20 left leg walking lunges with an overhead press on the right side
  • 20 right leg walking lunges with a bicep curl on the left side
  • 20 left leg walking lunges with a bicep curl on the right side
  • 20 right leg walking lunges with a bicep curl to an overhead press on the left side
  • 20 left leg walking lunges with a bicep curl to an overhead press on the right side
  • 20 kettle bell high sumos
  • 20 pushups

REPEAT THIS whole series 3 times through and I promise you will be feeling it all over!

This weekend was full of wedding celebrations! Don’t you just love weddings?Screen shot 2013-06-23 at 7.12.12 PM Screen shot 2013-06-23 at 7.12.24 PM I certainly do. I hope your week starts of wonderfully! Now, go get those legs burning!

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Six Things You Should Change If You Are Not Seeing Weight Loss

I know that weight loss can be a hard thing. I work with people on a daily basis that get frustrated with their bodies because they feel like they are not seeing any progress. If you are feeling the same frustration, here are six things you can evaluate or revaluate with regards to your diet and exercise.july12.4

  1. Sugar intake. The first thing that I recommend to my clients who are having a hard time seeing progress is to cut out the sugar. This doesn’t just mean candy and goodies, although that is a huge part of it, but it also means eating an excess of naturally occurring sugars in fruit, bread, pasta, and other high starchy foods. Try counting your grams of sugar, and keeping your intake for the day under 30 grams.
  2. Protein intake. Protein should be the main component of your meals. Try to get 30 grams in when you wake up for breakfast. This will help you to get your metabolism going. Aim to get in at least 100 grams of protein per day. Getting in adequate amounts of protein will help your body to rebuild and repair your muscles.
  3. Snacking. If you don’t feel like you are seeing success in your weight loss, you may want to check your extra bites, licks, chews, and handfuls. Many people don’t realize the extra little nibbles they take of their kids meals, handfuls of food when you pass by the pantry, or other extra calories that sneak in. If you want to see a difference, watch your snacking!
  4. Add some intervals. Adding intervals into your cardio workouts will amp up your calorie burn, and help to increase the fat that is being burned as well.
  5. Lift weights. If cardio is your baby, and you aren’t hitting the weights much, you may not be seeing the results you are looking for. Resistance training helps to tone and tighten the muscles of the body, giving it some contouring and shape. Increased muscle mass will increase the body’s caloric burn, making it a fat burning machine.
  6. Consistency. The biggest tip I can give those people who aren’t seeing results is to make sure you are being consistent. Results don’t come from two days of working out and eating well and five days of being lazy and eating crappy. Try to be consistent for three weeks, and I promise you will see some positive changes. You may even just realize that the changes you are seeing are worth continuing your consistency for.
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Start Your Week Off Sweating! A New Tabata Routine.

First of all, Happy Father’s Day! I have to start by saying that My dad is so fantastic. I feel like such a lucky lady to have been raised by a man as great as him.daddyoI mean you’d have to be to put up with me all the time, right? 😉 I love you pops!

On Sunday’s I start to get the, “ahhhhhh it’s almost Monday again,” anxieties. Not, that I don’t love what I do during my week because I whole heartedly do. However, I really do like the weekends. Who doesn’t, right? I was thinking about getting started with my week tomorrow, and I was making a mental list of the reasons I DO like Mondays. (It’s all about the power of positive thinking people.) One of the main reasons that I am a fan is because it is a fresh start to eating great and working out hardcore. With that being said, I thought I’d help you all out to start your week off sweating with a new tabata workout! Bon Apetit!tabataworkoutTabata Workouts are interval type workouts that have you giving your full on best effort for a burst of 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of recovery. With this workout I’ve designed, you will do 8 rounds in a row for each exercise and then you will move on to the next exercise. It probably sounds really simple and easy, but I promise, if you are giving it your full effort you will feel it! Tabata workouts are a great way to burn fat because they push you to get your heart rate up, which will have you torching calories! Here are some explanations for the exercises you may have questions on.

  • Triceps Pushups: These can be done on your knees. Your hands and elbows should be RIGHT by your sides. 
  • Weighted Jack Presses: Grab some dumbbells and you are going to do a jumping jack while pressing your dumbbells over your head. I’d suggest 10-12 lb db’s for these.
  • Plie Squats: Take a super wide stance, turn your knees and feet out, and squat down as low as you can. If you want to add weight to these you can hold one single heavy DB between your legs, or two at the crease of your hips, or on shoulders.

All you really need for this type of a workout to work is a timer! If you REALLY want to kill it. Do a round of tabata sprints before you go through the circuit and a round of tabata sprints after you go through it. This means twenty seconds of full on sprint followed by ten seconds of recovery, eight times. Happy sweating, and start your week off right!

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Product Review: Boom Chicka Pop

Well, this product review is beyond easy for me to do. Partially because you have heard me rave about this product in the past, and partially because you know I love anything in popcorn form. It’s just so good. The great people who make Boom Chicka Pop sent me a bag of the sea salt popcorn as well as the lightly sweetened version.IMG_5453I have mentioned Boom Chicka Pop previously on the blog which just goes to show my love for this tasty snack. This stuff is SO. DANG. GOOD. It really is the best snack. IMG_5457The sea salt flavor has 35 calories per cup, and the lightly sweetened version has 37. Almost sounds too good to be true, I know.  It’s not though! Look at these stats…IMG_5462 I think that I have recommended this snack to almost everyone I know, and everyone loves it. It is an awesome thing to have on hand if you are feeling munchy. It is also great to sneak into movie theaters in your giant purse just in case you get enveloped in the scent of movie theater popcorn. Guilty. (I’m not even ashamed to admit it.) If you haven’t tried it. Do it. I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed.

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Today We Battled. I won.

I think the stairs are one of the most killer forms of cardio there is. Next to full on sprints and hills, which are absolutely killer…the stairs seem to get me every time. Today I got on with the determination to do 40 minutes of intervals. It was a battle. stairs I will be honest. Those first few minutes were rough, but I made it through! My workout went as follows:

  • 5 minute warm up Level 10
  • 2 minutes @ 12, 2 minutes @ 15, 1 minute recovery @ 8 (repeated 6 times)
  • 5 minute cool down level 10
  • wipe away sweat.

I was so happy I stuck it out once I was done. It felt great! I finished with a chest and triceps workout, and then called it a sweaty day. If you have access to some stairs, give this workout a try. You can decrease the intensity with lower levels, and increase the intensity with higher levels.

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Product Review: Quest Bars

Oh my goodness. This find is a FIND a tell you. I ALWAYS have people asking me for new ideas to help them in getting their protein in. The problem most individuals find with protein is that it often takes time to cook and prepare meat, eggs, or even shakes. I am super picky about the bars that I will recommend to people because a lot of them might as well be candybars. It seems that most bars that taste good have upwards of 15-20 grams of sugar. Those bars that don’t have any sugar in them, and have an adequate amount of protein in them are usually high in calories and quite often taste like dirt, or protein powder…both of which make me want to hurl. In eating paleo I have become far more fond of REAL foods, and the processed goods don’t appeal to me so much. WELL…these bars are an AWESOME solution. They are clean. They are high in protein, and they taste good. WHAT? Yep. It’s true. In introduce you to the deliciousness of Quest Bars.IMG_5486The fabulous people  at Quest Nutrition sent me a plethora of their bars to sample, and really am SO impressed with them. The flavors that they have are: Chocolate Brownie, Vanilla Almond Crunch, Peanut Butter Supreme, Apple Pie, Mixed Berry Bliss, PB&J, Banana Nut Muffin, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon Roll, Coconut Cashew, Strawberry Cheesecake, Lemon Cream Pie, & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. With that many flavors to choose from you are BOUND to find one that suits your fancy. I would have to say my favorites were the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Coconut Cashew, Peanut Butter Supreme & Banana Nut Muffin. Although, I was surprised at how much I liked the PB&J, and the Cinnamon Roll. There weren’t any that I hated, which I think says a lot.
IMG_5488I am a big texture person, and I like the texture. They are chewy, but they still have some bits of nuts and fruit in them, which I think gives them some substance. With such great taste, it makes me love the incredible stats even MORE. Here is the nutrition information from the Coconut Cashew flavor. I got this info from their website HERE.
Screen shot 2013-05-31 at 3.28.11 PM170 calories, 20 grams of protein, 17 grams of fiber, 6 grams of fat, and 2 grams of sugar. HELLO. Unreal. I am all about clean ingredients. Quest Bars use whey and a milk protein base, so their is no soy which I was a fan of. They do not add any sugars, and there are no artificial sweeteners. They use stevia and the fiber in the bars is derived from a plant base, which is excellent as well. They are also gluten free which is AWESOME. AND, as if the bars weren’t enough. Quest also has their own version of peanut butter cups which are awesome. IMG_5487They also contain protein which allows you to have a great treat without feeling guilty about it. If you can’t tell I am a fan of this product. I have already recommended them to a lot of my clients, and have had the same responses from them. They like them a lot! Well done Quest Nutrition. I’m a huge fan! Try them. You won’t be disappointed. For more info on these awesome bars check their website HERE.

 

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