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Groundhog Day – Virtual 5K!

groundhog_5k

Interested in doing a 5K? Grab a friend, spouse, neighbor, significant other, dog, stranger, etc…and hit the road, the sidewalk, the treadmill…WHATEVER! This is your 5K to run, walk, skip, hop, crawl ANYWAY you like! *You get the idea, right?!

You’ve got about 2 weeks to train, recruit, and plan for the big event. Map out a 3.1 mile course, dust off your treadmill, or find a local track…and lace up your shoes!

On Saturday February 2, at 10:00 a.m., we’ll all do our own personal 5K’s, however, wherever and with whomever we choose! We’ll then report back with our results and celebrate all of our personal victories! Whether it’s your first or fiftieth 5K, it’s your race to win! Put it on your calendar and start training!

Sign up below to receive additional information, training tips and instructions! Pass it on, and make it an event to share!

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Oodles of Zoodles!

Image

Ok, I’m going to try really hard to remember how I made this fun dish! I went into it with just my ingredients and a fun new kitchen gadget! And the result was tasty and totally repeatable! Husband and kids raved!

Zoodles with Turkey Sausage & Peppers (makes apx. 6 servings)

Ingredients:

I  pkg. sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

3-5 medium zucchinis (Cut into spirals or julienne strips with whatever nifty gadget you like)

1 T. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ red onion, quartered

2 bell peppers, cut into chunks

1 can diced tomatoes

1 T. dried basil (fresh would be awesome!)

1 t. oregano

¼ t. red pepper flakes (or to taste)

2 cups (or big hand-fuls) baby spinach

2 T. balsamic vinegar

Grated or shredded parmesan

Directions: Cook up the sausage in a big pan/skillet until browned. Remove from pan, reserve. Put 1 T. olive oil and minced garlic in the pan. After 2-3 minutes, add the onion and peppers and sauté for another 3-4 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add in the can of tomatoes, basil , oregano, pepper flakes and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Mix in balsamic vinegar and spinach, and then add the sausage back into the mixture. At this point, you can warm up your zoodles in a pan with a little olive oil or broth, OR you can just use them as-is. (*I heated mine for a couple of minutes) Serve the Turkey mixture over a bed of “zoodles”, top with a little parmesan.

Delicious!

slicerOh…this is the food slicer that I am using and LOVING! Check it out!

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White Chicken Chili, a Family-Pleaser!

white_chili_salad

This is SO tasty. The kids liked it as is, but you could spice it up a little more by adding some diced jalapenos, and/or a little more cayenne pepper. This is very satisfying and very healthy. Each serving will be about 285 calories. Makes about 6 servings. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cooked & diced)
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and 2 cans of the white beans. Puree the 3rd can of beans with a little of the broth from the chili. Add to the rest of the ingredients in the pot. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the mixture from heat. Optional: Before serving, top w/diced avocado, light sour cream, reduced fat cheese, cilantro, etc…

For the salad: I made a tossed salad with a Honey Lime Vinaigrette Dressing.

Salad for 3-4

1 T. olive oil

juice of 1 lime

1 t. honey

1 crushed garlic clove

salt and pepper to taste

Wisk, toss and enjoy!

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Groundhog Day – Virtual 5K!

groundhog_5k

Interested in doing a 5K? Grab a friend, spouse, neighbor, significant other, dog, stranger, etc…and hit the road, the sidewalk, the treadmill…WHATEVER! This is your 5K to run, walk, skip, hop, crawl ANYWAY you like! *You get the idea, right?!

You’ve got 4 weeks to train, recruit, and plan for the big event. Map out a 3.1 mile course, dust off your treadmill, or find a local track…and lace up your shoes!

On Saturday February 2, at 10:00 a.m., we’ll all do our own personal 5K’s, however, wherever and with whomever we choose! We’ll then report back with our results and celebrate all of our personal victories! Whether it’s your first or fiftieth 5K, it’s your race to win! Put it on your calendar and start training!

Sign up below to receive additional information, training tips and instructions! Pass it on, and make it an event to share!

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Clean Eating FREE 3-Day Challenge! Join Here!

3 day clean eat fbdates-no pics

December 12, 13 and 14

We’re all going to be in this together! It is my hope that in doing this challenge, you’ll see how easy it is to incorporate clean, healthy foods into your everyday diet. I hope that you  will get a glimpse of how good it can make you feel to eat more real, whole foods, and leave the processed foods and empty calories on the shelf! We’ll talk about resources and recipes that will help keep you on track after our 3 days, into the New Year and beyond. Personally, when I participated in a 25 day clean eating challenge, I lost 8 pounds and 9 ½ inches.  Even though this challenge is just 3 days, it is possible that you might begin to notice a difference in how you feel, and you’ll definitely get a really good start on some of your health and nutritional goals.

*Did I mention PRIZES!? Anyone who participates all 3 days will be entered to win a 5-Day trial supply of Shakeology!  Yay! 🙂

Provide your name and email below, and I will send you an email containing simple instructions that you’ll need in order to participate each day. I’ll also provide you with some tips, strategies and even a sample grocery list. You don’t need to buy anything, except your groceries for the 3 days. It’s just an opportunity to clean up your shopping lists, lunch bags and dinner plates every day! Spread the word! Invite your friends, family, neighbors and anyone else who you think might like to be part of something like this! The more, the healthier!

To join, please provide your information below, and then check out the video for a preview of what “Clean Eating” is all about.

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A Public Service Announcement

warning

Unless you WANT your husband to get buff, healthy and totally hot…forget about getting fit! This is a warning to women everywhere. The following events will happen, and it’ll be your fault!

Here’s how: First, you’ll start working out with HIS weights! Not to be outdone, he’ll work in a couple sets of his own, and ask you to “spot” him, which means…”Look how STRONG I am”! Then, you’ll take the dog out for a few runs, and suddenly he’ll be dusting off his running shoes and “testing” them out to see if they still feel good. You’ll inevitably start cooking and eating healthier foods. He’ll  begrudgingly take one bite, and then he’ll clean his plate, get a second helping, but save enough of the leftovers to take for lunch the next day.  You see where this is going. Go ahead…get healthy…see what happens!

Here’s the truly discouraging thing about this phenomenon. Your husband will ‘decide’ to get fit, and the next day…he’ll be down 10 pounds!  Just deciding seems to work up enough of a burn to accomplish this feat…overnight! Before you know it, his pants won’t stay up, he’ll need new belts and you won’t be able to pry him away from the mirrors in your house. 🙂  It’ll happen. Trust me.

It won’t stop with your husband either…nope. Your mom will be calling you and wanting to know what healthy recipes you’re making for dinner this week. She’ll want to start working out with the latest and greatest programs available and taught be women half her age! 😉 She’ll be leading a revolution in her own house and then guess who’s next…yep…your dad! (See above for how that’s going to turn out)

Don’t even get me started on your kids! They are going to be running downstairs to follow along with your workout video. Your 5-year-old might even decide that he is strong enough to pick up your 15 pound dumbbell after you explained to him at least a dozen times that he should not pick it up because he’ll likely drop it, it’ll land on his foot, and he’ll break a toe! But he won’t listen to you. He’ll pick it up anyway, drop it on his foot and break a toe! Your six-year-old might be learning how to read all of the big words in the world around her, but pay special attention to food labels and words like: calories, sugar grams, high fructose corn syrup, etc. She’ll point out again and again what ingredients are in the foods you’re all eating and make dinner time a real learning experience for everyone.

So you can see…this is not a decision to take lightly. Are you ready for the consequences of your actions? If so, I suggest you buy men’s pants on sale, get more mirrors, some protective foot coverings for your children and a dictionary. Then, you might be prepared to take on this new healthy lifestyle, and all that comes with it! Good luck! 😀

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What is this “Clean Eating” you Speak of?

veggiesDid you know that you don’t have to diet anymore? Dieting is SO last decade. Seriously though…just eat clean, whole foods and combine it with some phyical activity at least 3-5 times/week, and that’s IT! So easy!

Want to know what I’m always talking about when I say “clean eating” this and “eat clean” that? Watch this quick little video that I made to get an idea of how to eat, without dieting, and still get the results you want.

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TEN Steps to Get BACK on TRACK!

Did you get off track a little over the holiday weekend? It is such a challenge when you’re traveling, visiting friends and family, and eating food that you wouldn’t normally eat. On top of that, maybe you were away from your fitness gear, your gym and your routines. Luckily, it just takes a Monday to get back at it.

I went shopping last night…Costco, where else? My refrigerator is FULL of fresh fruits and veggies for the week. My pantry is stocked with whole grains and organic staples. I love that Costco has such a huge variety of organic, clean-eating foods! The last thing you should do is starve yourself in an attempt to make up for overdoing it. You have to feed yourself the right foods (5-6 small meals per day) to give your body the nutrients it needs to power your workouts, help you recover and especially to keep your metabolism going strong! Starvation DOESN’T work, in fact it can have the opposite effect! Your body can start storing fat! NOOOO!!!! We don’t want that. 😉

I’ve got my workouts scheduled for the week. It always helps me to see them, know what’s coming, and check them off as I go. Every little bit helps. Give yourself movement opportunities whenever possible. Too busy? Break up your workouts if you have to! If you don’t have a solid hour to commit, than try two 30 minute sessions sometime during your day. One hour is 4% of your day. No excuses.

You indulged over the weekend…SO WHAT! You’ve got the plan to get back on track, put it into action today! And if you’d like a little more accountability and help from me in December, join me on Facebook for a 30 Day Challenge  www.facebook.com/angieinprogress. We’ll workout, eat healthy foods and keep each other accountable, all via a private Facebook group. It’s AMAZING how much better you’ll eat and the kind of results you can get in this type of challenge. 😀 You can do this, and I can help!

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When in Doubt, Add Butter!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. We spend so much time preparing for the day: make a shopping list, go shopping, freeze the turkey, thaw the turkey, brine the turkey, rinse the turkey, chop the veggies, peel, peel, peel the potatoes…and on and on. I am always struck by how quickly the meal itself is over. After days of preparation and hours of cooking, it’s over in the blink of an eye!

I had the privilege of making rolls with my grandma the day before. These rolls are legendary. There are stories about these rolls that go back decades! They’ve been at every Thanksgiving that I can recall. We used to sneak them into our sleeping bags after dinner when we were kids so that we could enjoy a late-night snack. My uncles have been known to hide them in their pockets before leaving. All of this trickery has led to the occasional ‘pat-down’ before being allowed to go home. It’s all part of the tradition in my family.

My grandma has arthritis now. These rolls are very labor-intensive! A few times now I’ve gone and helped do the heavy work while she sits and tells me what to do. There is no recipe to pass along, you just have to experience it. She cooks purely from instinct. I feel so lucky to be able to share this experience with her. We talk about so many wonderful things; she shares stories and memories of the past. I take all of that with me, as well as a crazy-sore deltoid muscle! You wouldn’t believe what a good workout it is to stir, mix, knead, and smack dough around!

This recipe literally starts and ends with butter! It’s the first ingredient in the bowl, it’s used throughout to prevent the dough from sticking, and it’s the final step, that gives them their beautiful, buttery shine. 🙂

Of course, they’re not the cleanest, most healthy food you could eat, but with that much love and history, it’s gotta be good for us, right? It does our hearts good to carry on the tradition within our family. We couldn’t conceive of a Thanksgiving without them actually. I hope this tradition carries on through the generations.

So this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for my big, wonderful family. I’m thankful for tradition and a day spent  with my beautiful grandma. She is the one who started this family after all. And while the food is top-notch, just plain AMAZING…the company is what makes the day. It’s the people I look forward to, not the food. I love the stories, the memories and the traditions more than the potatoes, the pies and yes… even the rolls.

All of the preparations and work that goes into the day is absolutely worth it! The meal is just what brings us together with our loved ones, if even only for a day, to remember and be thankful for what’s truly important.

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12 weeks, 2 programs, BIG success!

  I am less than 2 weeks from finishing my 12 week hybrid of ChaLEAN Extreme and Turbo Fire. I could not be more amazed with the results I’ve been able to accomplish during this time. As soon as I finish my very last day, I will post my overall results and pictures. Until then I wanted to show the people who have been asking me, what I’ve used for the last 10 weeks that has given me such awesome results. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth far more than that! I have so enjoyed these 2 programs together, I will most definitely draw from them in the future and add them into my routine. Check out these videos and let me know if you’d ever like to know more about them, or any of the other programs that are available. *You will have to copy and paste into a new browser window.

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/AngieInProgress?bctid=25219364001

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/AngieInProgress?bctid=75304674001