I always have snacks on hand wherever I go. You can even ask Marc! He often laughs at me, because out of nowhere, I will have food in my hand and be eating a snack.  I remember one time we were clothes shopping and as I was checking out, I grabbed a bar out of my purse along with my money, and started snacking. Marc said, “where in the world did you get that?” haha

With my low-blood pressure I have had several instances where I have felt faint and that usually happens when I haven’t eaten in a while. I’ve learned my lesson and now I try to keep snacks in my gym bag, my car, my purse and even my night stand so I don’t run into any serious issues!

These snacks are great for anyone on the go, for anyone traveling, parents who have to chauffer their kids around, or for those who constantly find themselves in a hunger jam!

My 5 Go-To Healthy Snacks:

1. Banana, apple or orange: fruit is super nutritious, contains fiber, vitamins & minerals and it’s portable! It’s an all around win.

2. Protein Bar: usually I keep a Quest Bar in my bag. They are high in protein and fiber! Plus they are super filling & satisfying.

3. Granola bars: I try not to eat a lot of granola bars but they are still great to keep around. I especially love KIND Bars!!

4. Nuts: I make little baggies with mixed nuts and keep them everywhere. My favorite are almonds, sunflower seeds & pistachios. I will even add golden raisins, dried cranberries, or regular raisins too! This snack is packed with healthy fats and will be sure to hold you over until your next meal.

5. Fruit & Veggie Pouches: even though these fruit & veggie pouches are marketed towards kids, they make a great healthy snack for ANYONE. I usually keep them in my car for Ava but I have eaten them before The ones with yogurt are great too.

The options are endless if you can keep a cooler/lunch bag in your car. Then you can bring sandwiches, yogurts, veggies, frittata squares, etc. By keeping healthy foods on hand you will never have an excuse to make bad choices!

Speaking of healthy snacks… I devoured this Quest Protein Bar last night after boot camp.

I am really looking forward to the weekend. Tonight my plans are to go visit my Niece who is only a week old and then come home to kick my feet up!  Saturday morning I am teaching Boot Camp, and then we are driving up to Rhode Island for a birthday celebration! Can’t wait

What healthy snacks do you keep on hand?

Do you have any to add to my list?

Did you know that Pistachios are one of the lowest calorie nuts??? Per serving you can have 49 pistachios for about 160 calories!! For an added bonus pistachios contain healthy fats & antioxidants.

Yes… this whole bowl of pistachios is one serving!!

Did I already say that eating them out of the shell is my favorite part?? Well it is, and some people will say they don’t want to work that hard for their food, but I find it enjoyable and rewarding! Lets get cracking

Do you prefer your pistachios shelled or not?

If you haven’t tried one I highly recommend you buying one and give it a shot. You can get 1 for about $1.50 on sale, not bad. Some people think they are annoying to peel apart but I think it is a fun process, just be careful not to wear a white shirt while eating it, because it can stain.

The fruit is usually eaten by hand, you make some small incisions on the thick skin and then break it apart. There are tiny sacs that you pull out, and trust me these little sacs pack a lot of flavor. Marc said it has a similar taste to cranberry juice, so I guess you can say it has a tart flavor! If you want to you can peel apart the whole fruit and place everything in a bowl of cold water so the pomegranate seeds sink to the bottom and the pump floats at top. This makes it a little easier to separate. Or you can eat as you go like me!!

Now lets talk nutrition. Pomegranates are a great low calorie snack… they are a good source of Vitamin C which we know helps boost immunity, they contain a good amount of fiber with about 4g per 1/2 cup of seeds, they are loaded with vitamins & minerals and the best part is Pomegranates are considered to be a superfood!!

You can pack them up in individual baggies for a great nutritional snack on the go!

Have you had a pomegranate before? If not give it a try! 

After breakfast and our walk we went to the grocery store to pick up some food for the week.

MEAL IDEAS FOR THE WEEK:

BBQ Pulled pork loin chops (we cooked this today in the crockpot)

Chicken Sausage & peppers with acorn squash

Turkey meat sauce over rotini pasta

Leftover Sweet Potato Shepherd’s pie

FOOD PREP:

Cut up fruit and greek yogurt with berries (already packed to go)

Cucumbers & Carrots

Sausage & Peppers

Pomegranate seeds (I am going to post about pomegranates this week)

Noodles with Olive OIl, Basil & Parmesan Cheese

I just put the acorn squash in the oven to roast with some olive oil, salt & pepper.. yum.

Now its time to make some client workouts for the week! Happy Sunday

The weekends are filled with temptation, get togethers, parties, weddings, showers, birthdays, dinner parties, etc. Don’t use the 3 nights this weekend as an excuse to eat whatever you want or as an excuse not to exercise. Even if you add in a short 20-25 minute walk on Saturday and Sunday, that could turn into an extra 200 calories burned. Instead of splurging all weekend long choose something that’s 200 calories and indulge with less guilt. 200 calories could be a small slice of veggie pizza, a glass of wine, or a scoop of your favorite ice cream!

If you are heading out for the night, try and eat a small 100-150 calorie snack before hand to help curb your hunger before happy hour at the bar, or a dinner party at your friends house. You will munch less at your party. Examples of snacks: veggies & hummus, a small apple with string cheese, yogurt, fruit, a small serving of almonds or pistachios, etc.

We all know what can happen when we are running on empty… we make poor decisions and we take in more calories!

On a different note..  I am loving the weather lately. Marc took today off, and after I finish up my morning clients we are driving to the middle of CT to go hiking!! I am very excited to do something different and also to exercise in a setting outside of the gym!

Here is a random picture from this week that made me laugh. Take a look at Cooper and his buddy trying to pull a branch off a tree. They attempted this for about 10 minutes with no success but it was fun to watch Great teamwork.

Quick belly shot picture at work (27 weeks + a few days) getting bigger

Most of the processed foods we consume, we choose to eat them because they are convenient and portable. Are they cheaper? Probably not, but healthy snacks can take preparation and who has time for that? I have challenged myself to cook more and prepare more. I know my body functions better when I eat clean and healthy.

If you want to see results from all those hard workouts you owe it to your body to fuel it with healthy non processed foods.

It does take time to cut fruits & veggies for the week, it takes time to bake healthy homemade granola bars or muffins, it takes time to grill up some lean meats for lunches, but in the end it’s worth it. I know for myself I am more satisfied after my meals and I don’t have cravings.

My challenge for you TODAY & TOMORROW is to eliminate the foods you consume that come in packages. Examples: lean cuisines, yogurts with artificial sweetener, hamburger helper, mac & cheese, granola bars, cookies, chips, cereal, crackers, ice cream, canned soup, etc.

So what’s left to eat……. salads, meats, fruits, nuts, oils, vegetables, seafood, beans, etc. All of these foods are still portable and you can make them convenient by putting them in containers and baggies the night before. This way in the morning you can easily pack your cooler or lunch box!

Here’s a look at some of my “eats” for the day. 

BREAKFAST was quick, I scrambled a couple eggs with a couple egg whites in olive oil and threw in some leftover mushrooms, peppers, & spinach! I ate a bunch of cut up pineapple too. Simple and clean.

I packed a bunch of SNACKS for work that I can eat in between clients and classes:

cranberry nut trail mix, celery w/ almond butter, banana, and baby carrots

All of these snacks were consumed before LUNCH!!

Salad with red peppers, grapes, zucchini, chicken, carrots and balsamic/olive oil dressing

My salad was quite filling!

Leftover Kabocha Squash and a peach

If you haven’t tried Kabocha squash I would definitely recommend it. It’s sweet and delicious simply roasted in the oven with some oil, salt & pepper.

This seems like a lot of food when you look at it, but healthier foods are lower in calorie & higher in fiber!

Are you up for the challenge?? Take this challenge DAY BY DAY. I am not asking you to commit to 10 weeks of not eating processed foods/junk.  Set yourself up for success and challenge yourself today and tomorrow to eat CLEAN! If you slip up, make sure you are better prepared at your next meal. I promise you will feel full, satisfied, & energized by eating healthier meals.

When I get home I start prepping the food and cutting up all my fruits and veggies.

The cauliflower that I cut up I ended up making mashed cauliflower. I will be sure to share the recipe with you once I write it all out!

When I put veggies in baggies it’s so easy in the morning to throw them into my lunch! It takes less time to make healthy choices.

For lunch Marc and I made BBQ grilled chicken thighs and plain grilled chicken. There are enough leftovers which we will use for lunch during the week. It makes it easier to put together sandwiches & salads. I like mixing it up and having chicken thighs (skinless) they are super juicy and have tons more flavor. SOOO if you get sick of having plain chicken breasts all the time I suggest trying some thighs for a change.

Before I cooked dinner I threw together some Pumpkin Bran Muffins. I used Hodgson mill bran muffin mix and then added 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1 egg, 1 tbsp canola oil, cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice! I can’t wait to have one tomorrow as a snack.

They are easy to whip up and only take about 15 minutes in the oven.

With help… my food preparation probably took about 1 1/2 hrs. If you think about how much time it will save me during the next few days with putting together lunches and dinner it’s worth it. I have less to think about and healthier foods to eat!

If you don’t recognize the title of this post, it is from the GEICO commercial “happier than a camel on Wednesday.” It makes me laugh every time I see it. So HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Now onto the topic of the day. Dietary fats in our diet. I’ve heard a lot of my clients say they try to cut fat completely from their diet. While cutting unhealthy fats is smart, it’s not good to cut ALL fats.

DON’T FEAR FAT IN YOUR DIET!

Fat provides energy, without healthy “GOOD” fats we might feel sluggish and have more cravings! Fats also play a key role in healthy digestion. Limiting bad fats like saturated fats and trans fats is also very important. Examples of bad fats are butter, cream, animal fats found in meats, margarine, etc.

Healthy Fats

1. Monosaturated fats-

Nuts & Nut butters, Olive Oil, Canola oil, Peanut Oil, Peanuts, Avocado, Olives

2. Polyunsaturted fats

Fatty fish (salmon, tuna etc), Walnuts, Flaxseeds, Soybean oil, Corn oil

When choosing your fats make sure to portion them out. There are 9 calories in each gram of fat, so the calories can pile up. Use a tablespoon to measure your oil when you cook. Remember a little bit goes a long way!

Here are some examples of ways I incorporate healthy fats into my day:

I try to eat fatty fish at least once per week. During the day I snack on trail mix that I throw together (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds, and cranberries) I generally cook my dinners with olive oil and sometimes canola oil. I add avocado to my sandwiches instead of cheese.

Use your thumb as a measuring tool! I learned this from Chris Powell’s book Choose To Lose

Chris powell is one of my favorite personal trainers. He is the trainer on the ABC hit show Extreme Weight Loss.  In his book he recommends using your thumb from the base to the tip.

Banana Bread Bite Size Cookies

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup instant oats
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 10 almonds (crushed)

Directions:

Mash Banana in a medium size bowl. Add oats and cinnamon to the banana and mix together. For the almonds, I placed them in a plastic bag and used a rolling pan to crush them into small pieces. Then I mixed them into the batter.

Spray the baking sheet. Form into eight balls and flatten on baking sheet. Bake them at 350 for about 14 minutes.

Makes 8 cookies, serves 2. You can double the recipe to make more and pack them as snacks for the week.

Serving size 4 bite size cookies: about 155 calories!

I can’t believe I have not mentioned how sore I was yet. After 3 days of practice, practice, and more practice my muscles are fatigued and ready for some serious rest. On the first day we ran through the hour long strength training class about 3 times. The second day was another 3 more times,  and yesterday we were lucky enough to only do the workout twice.

I met some  really awesome people whom all shared my passion for fitness and athletics, and we each had the opportunity to teach portions of the class throughout the weekend. Not only was it perfect for working on our technique and cueing of the exercises, but it was also a great way to get to know my co-workers a little more!

Since I was very active this weekend I made sure to fuel my body properly. Here are some examples of snacks both pre & post workout that I ate over the course of the long and exhuasting weekend.

PRE & POST WORKOUT FUEL:

Jay Robb Chocolate egg white protein powder (1 scoop + 1 cup skim milk)

Quest Protein Bar (each bar is about 200 calories, 20g protein, and low in sugar)

Peanut butter on a wheat english muffin

Bananas (great source of potassium and help prevent lactic acid build up) & Peaches

Greek Yogurt with ½ cup berries & almonds (high in protein, healthy fats, and natural sugars)

EGG WHITE PROTEIN POWDER:

Immediately following each workout I had a protein shake.  I needed to give my body calories/protein fast!  I chose Egg White Protein powder (Jay Robb) for a few reasons. It is a complete protein (with all the essential amino acids) and it also has no artificial colors or flavors which is something I look out for during pregnancy.