Things I ❤! Thursday

Today I am LOVING our CSA farm! Do you know what CSA is? I’ve talked about it on my little blog here before, but it stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and I am a BIG fan!

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I found out about this whole concept a few years ago and I was immediately interested! When we moved to Michigan a few years back, I was on a mission to find a farm near us where I could get involved. I found Stone Coop Farm in Brighton, Michigan – run by the 2 smartest, friendliest farmers you’ll ever know! It is clear, from the second you meet Joannée and Shannon that they are truly working their life’s passion. All of the produce, and eggs are certified organic and non-gmo. Which is becoming more and more important as we learn about the less than stellar sources for the foods we’ve been eating.

As a CSA member, you pay for a share of the farm’s harvest. So for us, that means that every week, we go to the farm and pick up our weekly share. Depending on the season, we get anywhere from 5-10 different veggies. I have been introduced to some new and exciting produce that I had never tried before. It’s kind of fun actually to cook based on what I get in my share each week. It forces me to look up new recipes and try new things! We are now hooked on kale and kohlrabi as a result of our farm share.

Of course, I’m totally spoiled too…I can hardly stand to eat a store tomato anymore! The colors and varieties of veggies are astounding! I never knew there were purple peppers and beans! Or purple and yellow carrots! Tomatoes come in so many shapes, sizes and colors, but sadly…we usually only ever see 2-3 varieties in our grocery stores. In the grocery store, we get red and round tomatoes, because they pack, stack and keep longer than the farm fresh varieties. The produce we get from grocery stores are genetically modified to look the same, keep longer for shipping and be uniformly sized and shaped so that they can be boxed and displayed efficiently. And guess what they DON’T have…TASTE!

This is going to be my third year as a ‘helping share’ member. That means that I actually work a little for the farm and in exchange, I get a discount on my share! Cool right! My “job” is to work at the local farmers’ market on the weekends and sell our beautiful produce. I like talking to the customers and ask them what they’re making to eat with the goodies they buy! I’ve gotten some pretty good ideas!

And I’ve LEARNED so much! Joannee and Shannon are a wealth of information! Our kids have gotten involved, too. We’ve taken them out to the farm to help out quite a bit. They like to hang out with the chickens and squish tomato worms – the nastiest, fattest, green caterpillar – things you’ve ever seen! And we’ve discovered that when you step on them, they pop like a tomato juice-filled water balloon! YUCK!

Anyway…I’m excited because summer is just around the corner. I just got my first of 5 spring shares that will have a lot of nice green leafy veggies that they grow in hoop houses in the dead of winter in Michigan! I’m in awe of everything they do, and I’m so proud to be a part of it! I love knowing that our food is fresh, clean, local, organic, and non-gmo. . I highly suggest supporting your local farms! If you can find a CSA – GREAT! If not, make sure you check out your local farmers markets, but ask a lot of questions! Not all booths at a farmers markets, are actual farmers…or selling food from actual farms! Get involved, and be informed!

Super Special Report!

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Last week, for FIVE days, a group of ladies – mostly busy moms – made time for themselves! Imagine THAT! We focused on preparing healthy foods, and fitting in 30 minute workouts. We had a 5-day meal plan and a private group for support and accountability. We measured before we started and then hid the scale for 5 days! Five days later, we brought the scales back out and the results were AMAZING!

In just FIVE days, with 12 ladies reporting, they lost a combined total of 37.5 pounds! That’s an average of over 3 pounds each…in just five days! And truth be told…many of them admit to not getting in every 30 minute workout, but by just cleaning up their diet for 5 days, they lost the weight anyway!

Read their testimonials!

Kristin: “I lost 2 pounds and stayed on track. Thank you Angie!!! Your kindness shows through in helping others.”

Chris: “I lost 2.4 lbs., no inches. I love having the accountability because it keeps me on track! Thank you!”

Hope: “Happy … dropped 3 lbs! A start to those unwanted extra 7 I packed on during the fall/winter. Heading in the right direction. I’m feeling real good about what could be an awesome outcome with an exercise routine. Thanks for invite!”

Audra: “I too lost 3 pounds. Believe it or not. I didn’t exercise much. I did love the meal plan. I am excited to keep on going. Thanks Angie. I can’t wait to give the next one more commitment. I’m sure the results will be amazing.”

April: “I lost 2 pounds. I haven’t measured but I notice my stomach is a bit tighter and I cranked up my back workouts this week and loving the progress. Thanks so much for the motivation all week!!”

Sharon: “Down a pound and down 1.5 inches. Thank you Angie for coordinating this challenge for us! I loved having the accountability and the easy to follow meal plan. It definitely got me back on track with clean-eating and showed/reminded me that it’s not as hard to do it as sometimes I think AND I feel better and sleep better when I eat good, clean food! Thanks Angie ! You’re the best!”

Molly: “I lost 4 pounds! I didn’t see much change in my measurements. I’m going to keep using the meal plan but mix it up a little! My typical work day always included a stomach ache after lunch – no matter what I was eating – the healthy choice meal or a salad? I did not have one stomach ache this week!! I didn’t think I would be able to cut out the diet pop – it was hard but not as hard as I thought it would be! It was a very good week – I had to adjust some meals for my kids but hopefully they will work into more of the food as we keep going! Thanks for a great week with nice results!”

Debbie: “I lost 1.3 pounds. I just got P90X3 so anxious to start that. I never have an issue working out. I love to work out. I just can’t get the last bit of my diet dialed in. I have a mental hang up somewhere. Thanks for the great week.”

Stefanie: “I actually lost 1lb. I did eat clean But didn’t follow the meal plan 100%. I exercised only 2 this week. It really wasn’t about losing anything for me, but feeling energized and the good feeling you get when you eat clean!! Ty Angie Beech Hunt!!”

Kelley: “Loved this 5 day challenge! Before I got the stomach flu, I’d say I was at an 8 for the challenge. I love the hide the scale idea…I have to do that more often!!!! I lost 10.8, which some of that was due to being sick, but definitely not all! Thanks, Angie”

Michelle: “Really enjoyed this challenge, thank you Angie. I just got back from vacation so this was great for me to get right back on track! I have had so much energy this week and felt great! I lost 3 lbs and am very happy with that! I would give myself a 7 for excercise this week and a 9 for nutrition! I will be making my own meal plan today for next week. Thanks again!”

Nancy: “I was so excited to weigh and measure this morning! I lost 4 lbs and 5 inches! Even though I couldn’t workout much this week, I think being sick helped me not eat much. Angie, thank you SO much for doing the meal plan. I always thought eating clean would be harder…and it did take some extra planning, but I really liked all of the food! This is definitely something I am going to continue (with exercise).”

Now imagine what those results could have been with everyone focusing on BOTH exercise AND nutrition!

And then imagine what we could accomplish in 21 Days of clean eating and daily 30 minute workouts! Well, some of these ladies are going to find out! And you can, too! 🙂

Starting April 7, I’m starting a 21 Day Challenge. We’ll be using the EXTREMELY popular program – The 21 Day FIX. My first group with this program lost an average of 4 pounds/week each! One of the ladies lost 18 pounds in just 21 days – almost a pound a day!!! This program combines nutrition AND fitness. You’ll get an easy to follow nutrition guide that utilizes neat, color-coded containers that you fill with the foods you need to eat each day. You’ll be eating lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, veggies and good fats, in PROPER portion sizes! You won’t need to count calories or points or anything like that. If it fits in the container, you can eat it! And you’ll find that a little goes a long way! The most common comment from my first group was how satisfied everyone was eating this way every day! They were shocked, because they weren’t hungry! And the workouts? Every day you’ll do a different 30 minute workout. They are so effective and easily modified for anyone at ANY level of fitness!

I’m excited to start another group with this program, because it is SO effective! Deadline to join is March 31 and spots will be limited. So if you’re ready to commit for 21 days and see what you can achieve, provide your information below so that I can get you signed up and ready to go!

*Sorry, no coaches or anyone already working with a coach. 

The Wait is ALMOST Over!

#1 Question I get asked as a Beachbody Coach: “When is Chalene Johnson going to come out with a NEW program, and what will it be!? I LOVE Turbo Fire and Chalean Extreme SO much…I just can’t take it anymore!”

I’m happy to provide BOTH answers for you!

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FINALLY!

Chalene Johnson’s NEW Workout!

Coming June 2014!

Improve Your Overall Strength and Flexibility

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Get an ultra lean and intensely defined physique without bulking up or straining your joints.

Introducing PiYo, a high-intensity, low-impact workout for a new kind of STRONG. 

Chalene Johnson took the very best Pilates and yoga-inspired moves and cranked up the speed to give you full throttle cardio, strength, and flexibility training—all at once. PiYo packs it ALL into each workout so you can build lean muscle mass—as you’re burning crazy calories.


Want to sculpt every single inch of your body? Watch this video about the new PiYo workout.

Now you can carve every inch of your body.

How? You’ll use your body weight to perform a series of continuous, targeted moves, to burn fat as you redefine every single muscle. No weights. No jumps. Just hardcore results.

The result? Problem areas become no problem. You’ll get sleek, long arms, sexy, flat abs, a tight, lifted butt, and the confidence that comes from knowing you’re at your best!

This is your chance to define exactly how you want to look—and how you want to feel. You’re in control.

You have the power to define yourself.
Now use it.

Be First To Get Chalene Johnson’s PiYo!

Want to be the first to get Chalene Johson’s PiYo Workout? Want to get the workout schedules for PiYo, meal plans, and everything else before everyone else? Simply fill in the form below!

Need a Chocolate FIX?

I didn’t know what else to call these. I could have gone with: “Super-food, Chocolaty Nut Balls”, or “Balls of Chocolate Goodness” (nah!), or maybe “Super-food Nutrition & Protein in One Delicious Little Bite of Nutty Chocolate”? Whatever you like to call them, they’re a hit at my house!

*TIP: Hide them if you want to keep them around for more than a day!

Chocolate Nutty Bites! 

  • 1 Cup old-fashioned oatschocolate_nutty_bites
  • 1/3 C. raw walnuts
  • 1/3 C. raw almonds
  • 1 Scoop Chocolate Shakeology
  • 1/4 t. cinnamon
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/4 C. honey
  • 1/4 C. applesauce

 

Directions

  1. Place dry ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend or pulse just until a course meal is formed.
  2. Transfer to a bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir.
  3. Wet hands and roll into rounded teaspoon-sized balls. You should get around 16 with this recipe.
  4. Put into the freezer to firm-up (about 10 minutes). Transfer to a Ziploc bag or air-tight container. I keep mine in the freezer and pop one out when I need a little something sweet.

 

78 calories & 4 grams protein

 

 

 

FREE – Five Day – SHAPE-UP!

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Yep! It’s FREE!

Next week:

March 17-21

Give me 5 days and here’s what I’ll give you!

  • A FREE 5 – day meal plan with recipes AND a shopping list!
  • Daily Support
  • Daily Motivation
  • Daily Tips
  • Daily Accountability

We’ll have a private group on Facebook for daily communications and accountability. You will be amazed what you can accomplish in 5 days! We’ll all commit to exercising a minimum of 30 minutes each day. Combine that with the daily meal plan, support, accountability and your TOTAL dedication and you might just knock your own socks off! The last time I did this plan…I lost 4 pounds, in just 5 days! It’s not uncommon to lose 5-7 pounds! You won’t be starving either. I am not a fan of starving myself! EVER!

*This group is for NON-coaches only, and for those who are not currently working with a coach.

Interested?

Fill in the information below to get ready to SHAPE-UP! 🙂