The other day I stumbled upon this concept. The striking part is that I've lived the majority of my life believing that if I worked out enough, I could eat whatever I wanted. Sadly, we really can't work off a bad diet. As women age and begin feeling a little less youthful, we begin to realize that what we put into our bodies, in terms of the quality and quantity of FOOD and WATER, is MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING!

We should be thinking of rewarding our bodies with challenging exercises that feel good. (Note to self, forget the punishment mentality!)

LOVE, Love, love this pink bike :D

Monday normally brings on the weekly BLAH'S of things we dislike doing (getting up early, leaving the warm bed, bathing, exercising, etc.), but here's the silver lining:



If you're looking for a quick, killer workout checkout BodyRockTV - to get a KICKIN' WORKOUT in 12 minutes. (No kidding!)

Chef Ron's Fiesta Quinoa Salad recipe is yummy.

Quinoa is one of the healthiest foods on the planet! Combined with beans, vegetables and fresh juices, you can’t go wrong.  Serve on its own, or add grilled, sliced chicken breast.

1 1/2 cup - Quinoa
2 cups - Chicken Stock or Water
1/3 cup - Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 cup - Fresh Orange Juice
2 TBSP - Olive Oil
1/2 tsp - Ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper - to taste
3 - Green Onions
1 1/2 cup- Grape Tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cup - Frozen corn
1 can - Black Beans
1/3 cup - Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Rinse quinoa well.  Combine quinoa with stock or water in medium saucepan, bring to boil then reduce to simmer and cover.  Cook approximately 10 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.  Fluff with fork and cool completely.

Whisk together juices, cumin, oil, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour liquid over quinoa and refrigerate 4 hours or over night.

In large bowl combine quinoa, tomatoes, onions, corn (thawed), black beans and cilantro.

Enjoy and be sure to share your thoughts on this recipe. Thanks for sharing, Chef Ron!

Happy Friday! As I think about the challenges of my week, this motivational tidbit spells out the end-goal. Regardless of the length of your workout, it matters, give all you've got and move on with your day!
 

Just made a batch of Bliss Balls from EatSweatThink.com - AMAZING TREATS. The only addition I'll make next time is 1 Tbsp. chia seeds for the added health nut fix! If you're so inclined, check-out Lotty's recipe.

Chocolatey Bliss Balls



These balls are a great little treat to have with a coffee for the chocoholics out there.  I have taken them into work as my offering when there is a pot luck morning tea and colleagues often mistake them for chocolate truffles and can’t believe it when I tell them that they are sugar-free.  They are so popular I get requests for them now.

Ingredients (Makes 14 to 16 balls)

• 1 cup of sultanas or dates


• 1/2 cup of almond meal & 1/4 cup of flax meal


• Grated zest of half an orange plus the juice of half the orange


• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil


• 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cacao powder 


• 1 scope of vanilla protein powder (you can sub this out for a tsp of vanilla extract if you don’t use or have protein powder)


• Coconut threads

1. Put all ingredients apart from orange juice and coconut threads in a blender and whizz for a few mins until the mixture is like a very thick paste and starts to ball up – if it’s too dry to mould into a ball add splash of the orange juice.


2. Shape mixture into small balls about the size of a walnut .


3. Toast coconut threads in a dry pan until then roll balls in the coconut.


4. Place balls in fridge for about an hour to harden.

To find more fabulous clean recipes, checkout Lotty's blog at EatSweatThink.com. Her blog is an excellent source of health and fitness tips. Please share your thoughts - Enjoy :D

Take the first (or second) step toward positive change: Eat quality foods and move your body. Invest in yourself today!

 

 

 

Incremental change can add-up to BIG progress. Sweat hard!

Working in the health and fitness industry, I've always had a moderately clean diet. Going the extra mile to completely remove refined sugar and processed foods made a HUGE difference.

• I learned eating clean feels good inside my body. In the beginning, the main drawback was an icky (gasssyy) tummy - oh my! It only took 3 days for that part to go away, but overall my body felt better on day 2.
• The hardest transition toward completely eating clean was finding healthy substitutions, so I didn't feel deprived. After all, this isn't a diet - it's a lifestyle change. As noted on the Easy Chili recipe under "Eats," refined sugar can be replaced with raw honey or agave nectar and plain Greek yogurt is a good replacement for ricotta cheese and sour cream on potatoes, chili, or in recipes.
• The Clean Eating magazine helped kick-off my journey with the two-week meal planner and abundant recipe collection. While I didn't follow the planner step-by-step, I picked my way through letting my taste buds guide me.

If you have an inclination, give it a try. . . The only thing you have to lose is a little extra belly fat :D

 

I love this quote because it gets to the core of what we should be striving to achieve and that is to MOVE MORE & Reduce Stress! You may be hearing the buzz surrounding quality over quantity of your workout. Great reinforcement of those ideas, don't you think? Take time to feel great today and move more, you're worth it ten-fold!