Perfect Summer Throw Together

Life is usually a little bit easier when I cook for the week. So today I created this throw together and it's totally yummy!

Ingredients You Will Need:

• 4 to 5 bell peppers (any color)  
• 3/4 cup Quinoa 
• 1 can of low sodium chickpeas 
• 3 chicken breasts 

Dressing: 

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
• 3 tablespoons mayo
• 2 teaspoons sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 chopped or grated clove garlic (optional)   

How To: 

• Cook everything! 
• Roast the peppers
• Grill/Bake the chicken (I put some olive oil, salt, pepper on them before grilling)  
• Stick that quinoa in a rice cooker or pot 
• Mix all together in a bowl w/ the chickpeas (drain the juices) 

Dressing: 

• Put all the ingredients together in a container you can seal (ideally a twist top Tupperware) 
• SHAKE! 
• The ingredients will emulsify 
• Add dressing to the ingredients in the bowl and mix!  

See? Super simple! 1 cup of this is the perfect combo of grains, protein, veggies! I'm considering adding some roasted broccoli to up the veggie count. You could easily adjust this recipe to add tons of different vegetables! 

Enjoy! 

Yummy Little Protein Packed Snack!

Make a big batch of this, package it up and tote it along for snacks at work, school, whatever you need!

3 cans of chunk light tuna in water
broccoli (i added it raw, but if you can't stand raw broccoli, than blanch or steam it) (this has no limit!)
3/4 of a pesto package

Mix it all together and EAT!

Could not be simpler and it's a great mix of veggies and protein all together

Enjoy!

Attacking Veggies!

Thanks to the hard work of Mrs. Obama and wonderful food advocates Americans can now follow an easy to read, easy to comprehend food plate!

Currently most Americans eat about 1/4 of the total fruit and vegetables that this plate shows.

Here's the deal, veggies are not as terrible as everyone perceives them to be! The problem lies in the preparation. Most people do not know what to do with fresh, frozen or even canned veggies other than microwave, steam, and maybe saute them.

Try this the next time you go out to buy produce:

Items Needed:
1 head of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Make sure it's first cold press or from Europe)
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
Garlic Cloves (optional)
Lemon or Lemon Juice (optional)

Oven @ 375
1. Rinse the broccoli and cauliflower. Chop the florets off the main stalk (so they look like little trees!) Chuck the  giant stalks.
2. Throw all the broccoli and cauliflower on a baking tray
3. Drizzle liberally with the olive oil. Using your hands mix the broccoli/cauliflower around with the olive oil to coat everything.
4. Sprinkle a bit of salt (only a little! keep the sodium low!)
5. Add the pepper and any other toppings you see fit. I love lemon and garlic chunks (or powder)
6. Pop it in the oven for roughly 20 - 25 minutes.

Yummy!

Try adding your own fun flavors! Feel free to share!

The Hazards of Late Night Snacks

Oh, the life of a college or graduate student. Late to bed, early to rise makes a student grumpy, hungry and tired.

Unfortunately, the normal go-to cure to a late night of studying (or errr, dare I say it, drinking) is snacking. While this MAY create a short term positive benefit, in the long run late night snacking screws up your metabolism and more often than not is the cause of weight gain.

Best ways to prevent late night snacking:
1) Eat more lean protein with each meal during the day. Protein keeps you nice and full without dragging you down.
2) Still hungry? Munch on veggies and fruits! Especially those green leafy ones! (No, potatoes don't count)
3) Craving sweets? Grab some unsweetened cocoa powder, heat up some water, add some no calorie sweetener (Truvia), and even a dash of unsweetened almond milk (or even a small bit of milk). Too hot outside? Add some ice cubes!
4) Still bug eyed? As a constant worrier and restless sleeper, I have recently found Yogi Bedtime to be awesome at helping me sleep.  

If you have to eat something:
- fruits/veggies
- handful of almonds or other nuts (NO SALT!)
- small protein shake
- apples & 2 tbsp of peanut butter

If you have GOT to have carbs or dairy:
- grab a few (no more than 5-10) whole wheat** crackers and pair it with a Baby Bell cheese (but you have got to make sure you limit yourself - I can definitely continue to snack once I break out the carbs)  
- whole wheat** piece of toast with 2 tbsp of peanut butter

**Note on whole wheat - do not go by the front of box/package labeling that states "Whole Grain" or something similar. Find the nutrition facts and look at the list of ingredients -- the first ingredient MUST say "whole wheat".

Hope this helps!

PS, I don't have a lot of advice on late night drunken munchies, other than to tell you to drink less ;-)

Choosing the Right Weights

Nothing drives me crazier than women who pick up the 1lb or 5lb weights when I KNOW they would do something much heavier. I'm not encouraging jumping from 5lbs to 30lbs for arm curls overnight, but ladies, if you are aren't breaking a sweat or even FEELING the weights after 10 reps, you aren't lifting enough!

For most of my workouts provided here's a good rule of thumb. Before starting a workout but after warming up (ie - before your muscles are tired) test some weights. Find your 3 rep max on arm curls (aka, you can't lift the weight one more time). Take that weight and divide by 2. This is your ideal weight for most workouts (unless you are looking to build massive muscle).

Now! For a workout! (With the right weights this time!)

Round 1 
Squats w/ dumbbell - heavy weight (add 5-10lbs to the calculated above) - set of 10
Bulgarian split squats w/ dumbbell - moderate weight (weight calculated above) - set of 10
Hamstring curl - use exercise ball - set of 15
Wall Ball Squats - 10lb ball - set of 10
Kettle Bell Swings - moderate weight - set of 10
Repeat 2x


Round 2
Leg Extension Machine - moderate to heavy weight - set of 10
Walking Lunges - heavy weight - set of 10
Bench Jumps - no weights - set of 15
Wall Sit / Curl - light weights (subtract 5-10 from calculated weight) - hold 30-45 seconds
Squat Jumps - set of 10
Repeat 2x

As with any of my workouts, they are done in Metabolic Effect style - so push hard until you need to rest, rest until you are ready to start again. You should feel like the weights are really heavy by the third round of each, this is great!

Remember to stretch out after and drink lots of water!

Let me know how it goes!

Killer Arms

Here's a great arm workout, guaranteed you will feel it for a few days! 

Round 1: 

Squat / Upright Pull - set of 10 

Lunge Hold / Side Raise - 30 sec each leg 

Squat / Curl (curl at the bottom of the squat and the top) - set of 10 

Mountain Climbers - 30 sec 

Repeat 2 more times 

Round 2:  

Squat / Press - set of 10 

Tricep Dips on a bench - set of 10 

Walking Lunge / Curl - set of 15 

Push up Squat Thrust - 30 sec  

Repeat 2 more times 

Enjoy! 

Ps - if you don't know what any of these exercises are google them, there's tons of YouTube videos! Or post a question below! 

Starting Summer Off Right

As the heat starts to sweep in and the bathing suits are broken out, here are a few helpful tips to keep yourself on track :-)

#1 Find a Gym
Whether you are living at home, on your internship, or you are exactly where you have been, no more excuses - - you need a gym. As it gets hotter, and stays hotter later in the day, your chances of exercising outside decrease exponentially. Look for a gym close by, ask for summer discounts, ask for monthly rates, and if all else fails, ask to speak to the manager. Explain your situation (especially if you are only residing in your location for a few months) and see if they can work out some kind of deal with you.

#1a If #1 Is Impossible
Start researching local running trails/hiking trails or even state parks close by. There are great websites like run.com  that list various routes that people have come up with in your area. Even if you don't run, getting out on a trail for a hike or a walk is great!

#2 Purge the Fridge
Now if you are anything like my family, summer ALWAYS means ice cream for dessert. Don't fall into bad habits this summer, whether its ice cream, hot dogs, cookies, fudgesicles - PURGE THAT FRIDGE. Start off fresh at the grocery store, but only what you need and nothing that will tempt you. Focus on lean proteins, green leafy veggies, sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.

#3 Put a Cap on that Happy Hour
Who doesn't love a nice cold beer outdoors on a patio in the middle of the summer? I certainly do! But its those every Thursday night happy hours that inhibit your ability to keep your work-in-progress summer body from moving forward. Beer is effectively liquid calories and when added to the necessary half-off appetizers, you can eat 1/3 of your daily calories before you even hit dinner! This certainly doesn't mean don't go to Happy Hour, just limit yourself to one beer, glass of wine (preferably red), or drink and make sure you ask for water with that drink, so you stay hydrated and keep yourself full.

#4 Sleep!
Just because it's summer, doesn't mean you get to stay up until 3am and wake up at 12 in the afternoon. Stick to a schedule (preferably a normal one) of 8 hours of sleep, at least during the week and go a little bit easier on yourself on the weekend.

#5 Stick to the Sunblock 
We all know a sweet, toned body looks even better with a kiss of sunshine. Do not by any means make it your mission to get your "base tan" by burning the crap out of your body the first sunny day of the summer. Not only will working out be excruciating (believe me, I've been there), but your skin cells will thank you for not subjecting them to more UV rays than necessary. Every sunburn increases your chances significantly of cancer. Use a moisturizer that has sunblock during the week, and find yourself a nice 30 SPF sunblock for the weekends. Even if you are going out for a run early in the morning, put it on! Check out self-tanners and spray tanning if you are desperate for that unusually deep tan - - though chances are, you'll look fabulous with the natural tan you get with sunblock!

Now.....Bring it on Summer!