January 6th...Guilt free Chocolate Protein cookies!

Hello Sunday morning!  I love waking up early and enjoying my first sip of coffee in a nice quiet house!  Then, off work I go...feeling inspired to make something with chocolate and guilt free.  Spent last night cruising recipe books and the internet for some yummy ideas...yes that's my "rock'n" Saturday night!  Here's what I found, Chocolate Protein cookies and here's what you need...

 Protein powder, Cocoa powder, baking powder, egg whites, pureed pumpkin (out of a can), vanilla, and chocolate chip cookies...optional, but why not!

 10 scoops of protein powder, 2 tsp baking powder, 4 tbsp unsweetened Cocoa powder and if you choose, 2 tbsp of dark chocolate chips...mix together... 

 In a separate bowl mix 1 can of pumpkin, 6 egg whites and 2 tsp vanilla.

 Slowly combine wet and dry ingredients.  I sprayed my cookie sheets with a little bit of Pam, then I measured about 1 heaping spoonful of mix for each cookie.  Oven is set at 350 degrees.  Bake 5 mins. on middle rack, then rotate and bake for another 4 mins. I thought the cookies were still a bit too soft for me, so I put them on the top rack for another 2-3mins.

 Perfect!  Let sit for 2 mins. then place on cooling rack.  Out of one batch I got 28 cookies...

 Chase, the "Official" taste tester of Mel's kitchen...drum roll please!

 Yup that's a 5 out of 5 or he's trying to channel Spock with Vulcan signal!

So enjoy your cookie...only 50 cal. each, and 10 grams of protein in each cookie!  I can't even list the fat, carbs and sugar content because there is less than one in each!  By adding 2 tbsp of chocolate chips, your adding an extra 140 calories BUT spread over 28 cookies, that's only 5 extra calories...I'll do an extra push up for that!

January 2nd...5 Tips to start a healthy resolution!

Well, we survived the holiday season and some of us were able to stay up til midnight, and some of us, not so much! Well 2013 is here and time to get rid of the sugar hang-over from the holidays, and get your butt moving!  So here are your top 5 tips, to start a healthy New Year.

     

#1...What are YOU waiting for, start NOW!  Why wait til Monday to feel good...and be proud of your self for taking control of your life and making healthier choices.  Let's do this!

#2...Not sure how to get started, ASK!  Do some research, contact your local rec.center, look in the paper, or go online.  Talk to friends who exercise or who do activities you might enjoy, and then ask them who to contact to find out if it's right for you.  Get a Personal Trainer, to get educated or join a group class, we learn by doing!

#3...Why are you doing this?  Make up at least 3 reasons, and ONE better be that you're improving your health, for YOU...just saying!  Find out and understand why/what motivates you, and then post these reasons somewhere in your face, to remind you daily and keep you motivated when your feeling blue. As well, try to have some fun with it, invite a friend to laugh and cry with you during your workout!

#4...Less is more...If you haven't been doing much over the last month, ease into all your new changes.  If you try to change everything at once, by the end of the week you will be exhausted and frustrated.  New to exercise, try 2-3x week, alternate workout days with rest days, or if you already workout regularly, try increasing your speed and intensity levels.  Choose, to change two items in your diet for the week, then add on each week.  If you feel like your giving up everything, you'll be more likely to have "food" cheats.   

#5...IDEA+PLAN=ACTION!  You have to change things up, get out of your comfort zone, and not be afraid of change.  I know you want this!  Picture what you want in your head, put pen to paper and write it out, make a mind map of your goals, then list how you're going to get there.  List the obstacles as well...you want to be prepared when they come up and have a "solution" action plan so you don't get blindsided.  Once you see your path, there's no stopping YOU!

YOU CAN HAVE RESULTS OR EXCUSES, BUT NOT BOTH!  So, take a deep breath, make one new change today, come on I believe in you.  Get your shoes on, go outside, go for a walk or a run, just get moving!  Need some motivation, send me a message, I want to hear all about your plan of action!

January 1st...A New Year's work out and a full belly!

We made it!  Good job Trellia, Ashley, Crystal  Melissa and Janine for showing up today and working your butt off!

 After a couple of circuits and runs,  I explained to the group that, that was their warm up! lol and now were gonna do the "real work out" of the day...how I spoil you all!

 Since we burned some serious calories, I think we all deserve some good grub and have our Trainer serve us!

 I'm not saying "who" ate the cinnamon buns...

 ...but we chowed down on some serious good, healthy food...I made Protein Pancakes with reduced berries for topping, Greek yogurt with homemade Quinoa granola, egg white veggie "cupcakes", fresh fruit, and I added cinnamon buns and chocolate cressent rolls!

 The sun was out this morning and begging us to come out and play!  This was the best way to start my year off, with great food, great friends and a great work out!  See you all tomorrow night!

December 28th...Back in action!

Well I'm back, as the Terminator would say...I wonder if he ever got the flu?  OK I have to say...I haven't felt that run over by a train, in a long time!  The flu hit our family pretty hard, I was the last of course, believing that I wouldn't get it...until our youngest was really sick and spent several nights in our bed coughing thru out the night...in my face.  I will spare you the gory details!  Then Christmas came and went, in a wink of an eye!  And now, New Years is right around the corner!  I just realized that I haven't Blogged since Dec. 4th!  And I have also realized that part of the reason I got sick was my body was saying slow down!  I did work out during the flu and have to say I did feel better, but afterwards I was wiped for the day.  One thing I really noticed was how sugar effected my moods and energy level.  With all the left over baking and party food and no self-restraint, I have been over indulging and really just eating with out thinking. This has done a real number on my system.  After eating this type of food I've notice shortly after, a huge energy crash, where I literally have to go have a nap, and then wake up feeling like I'm hung over. Ok so I don't look that cute after I wake up!

This yo-yo sugar diet has also increased my irritability...go figure! Which is not so good, since the kids are home from school for another week! So what have I learned...to enjoy the holidays, family and friends, and eat lots of food you wouldn't normally eat!  The great thing about the holidays is, you feel so grouse afterwards, like a bloat seal that you won't do it again til next year!

December 4th...Christmas Calorie Creep, DAY #2 work out & Veggie Stuffed Meatball!

Well here we are, day 2 of the Christmas Calorie Creep and I have to confess I've already indulged.  My brother is in town...have to blame it on someone, anyhow we went for breakfast at a local place Floyd's Diner and I had the hash scramble, and yes it had bacon and no I don't need to eat now for the rest of the day!  Not the end of the world, did a work out and feel human again.  I found this recipe for meatballs way back and decided to give it a go, with the exception of tweeking it into a healthier version...Mel's veggie stuffed meatballs, here's what you need...

INGREDIENTS: one package of ground turkey and extra lean pork, 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, celery, carrots and your choice of either chestnuts, walnuts or pecans.  2 tbsp of Italian spice blend...

 ...I put all the veggies in my food processor, chopped them all up and then sauteed them in 1 tsp of Coconut Oil.  Once softened, set aside to cool...

 ...here is the Italian spice blend...1 tsp of sea salt, ground fennel seed, dried parsley, 1/2 tsp ground sage, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper( had to use the coffee grinder to finely chop up the fennel seeds)...

 ...mix the ground turkey, pork and seasoning all together.  Then add the veggies/nuts and mix again.  You can see by adding the veggies the recipe almost doubles!  Then roll out into little balls, you should be able to get 12 meatballs per tray, I got 36 in total...Oven should be set at 425 degrees and bake for 25mins...

...I let them cool for about 5 mins. and then took them off the tray before they had a chance to stick to it...

...and here they are!  The kids will love the bite size meatballs.  Get creative and make your own healthy dip, try tzatziki or cranberry sauce!

Below is your DAY #2 work out, get it done!

Beginner workout-full body circuit-MelFit TV Dec.3.MPG

OK as promised, here's the first video of the Christmas Calorie Creep!  We are going to take you on...shortbread cookies, butter tarts, bacon(that ones for me) and eggnog and what ever else you TRY to temp us with...we are ready! 

Below is a healthy recipe, Zucchini Pancakes, OK I know your thinking, Mel...this just might be going too far.  Nope, these actually turned out surprising good!  This is the base recipe, 3 ingredients, can't go wrong.  I say it's a base recipe because there are so many combos you could add to this, green onions and low fat cheddar cheese, dill or red peppers, or even sun dried tomatoes.  Here's what you need...

 ...3 eggs, 2 Zucchini's (you need 2 cups total), 1 tbsp Coconut flour and Coconut oil to cook it in...

 ...whisk together 3 eggs, Coconut flour and Sea salt and pepper to taste...

 ...I used the food processor to chop up the zucchini or you can do it by hand with a grater...

 ...mix together...

...place a small amount of Coconut oil in pan, heat on about 7, and cook for about 3-4 mins. per side....I made 6 pancakes first, tried it and then added extra ingredients to give it a little more umf!  These would be great served with some turkey bacon! 

The whole recipe comes in at 290 calories, I got 16 mini pancakes total, so that's 16 calories each!  Zucchini is packed with vitamins and minerals, so give it a try and let me know what combos you can up with!  See ya tomorrow!

December 2nd...Survival Guide to the Christmas Calorie Creep!

Welcome to the Christmas Calorie Creep!  So I'm not a big fan of jumping on the scale as our weight can fluctuate so much over any given day.  What frustrates me is that sooo much emphasis is put on that number, it can make or break our day.  But on special occasions, i.e. the month of December, so much damage can occur!  So here's where I pull out the big guns and ask my clients to step on the scale to keep the "Christmas Calorie Creep" at bay.  This month is all about over indulgence, from drinking, to eating to shopping, so let's not try to go up a belt size!

My goal for you this month is to hold steady and stay on track.  All month long I'm going to give you your daily holiday survival guide. You'll have work outs to do, healthy recipes to make, learn how to substitute your favorite high calorie dishes , party survival tips, keeping your cool when family invades your home, and taking a few moments for yourself.  So tune in daily, get what you need and get on with your day!