I could really come up with something every day of the week! Today is going to be awesome though.
SWEET POTATO FRIES
Oh yeah! Everybody loves fries and I’m giving you, not only a healthier way to cook them, but a healthier fry in and of itself. Read all the way down so you can see come variations, then get in the kitchen and get creative!
Shopping list:
- 3-4 medium baked potatoes
- 1 tablespoon EVOO
- 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour*
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Additional spices and herbs: dill, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, parsley, cinnamon (for sweeter fries).
Prep work:
- Slice potatoes into strips (about the size of your pinky) or chips (small, thin rounds). Try to get them cut as evenly as possible.
- Place in LARGE bowl. NOTE: I slice them the day before, cover with really cold water and throw in some fresh rosemary= heavenly.
- Add EVOO and mix. Use your hands, they won’t bite.
- Add flour* and herbs/spices and mix.
- Put them evenly on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes THEN for crisper fries, turn the broiler on HIGH and leave them in for another 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with a small dusting of sea salt and some no sugar added ketchup.
Now, if you want these to REALLY take on the “fried” texture of fries, you’ll have to do more work. The BEST way I’ve found is to use panko bread crumbs (found in the Asian foods) and egg whites. After mixing everything together, roll the potatoes around in the egg whites then toss them through the bread crumbs. Same cooking process.
*If you have a wheat allergy, you can omit this altogether OR use ground flax, ground millet, or ground spelt.
To be honest I most enjoy these with an open face buffalo and avocado burger, loaded to the brim with fresh veggies, but I cook them almost every week and we have them with everything! Sweet potatoes are one of your true super foods in that they offer up vitamin A, E, and C as well as plenty of good fiber and energy boosting good carbohydrates. Don’t overdo the ketchup and ruin all you’ve worked for though, limit the serving to 1 tablespoon. 3-4 potatoes will get you about 6 generous servings of fries topping out at around 95 calories and 2 grams of fat.
Stay on the FIT track!
Michelle
Short and simple today:
First of the morning is a great time to get a little burst of movement and get your metabolism revving. There is a lot of debate about whether you shoudl or shouldn't eat before a morning workout. My advice is to go with your gut on this one. If you feel light headed or sick then make sure that you take in something light for your body to function off of. If you have some energy and feel fine, then you can skip the early morning snack and just have a good breakfast after a workout. Always pay attention to your body.
My favorite early morning trilogy:
Plie Squats 20x These not only tone the legs, but first thing in the morning they help to warm and open the hips
Walk out with a pushup 10-20x Start standing and with a flat back and strong core, fold over and touch the floor. Walk the hands out in front to pushup position. Perform 1 pushup and walk back, satnding tall.
Full Body Crunch 20x Lie in an X on the floor. On an exhale, engage your core and curl up into a tight ball lifting shoulders and hips off of the floor, inhale to return to your X slowly.
Life is a series of events. To feel successful in life, you must incorporate some balance into life. It is extremely important to understand that not every aspect of your life will be in perfect balance at all times. After all, we live in an imperfect world. I thin kthe mistake that most of us make is that we begin trying to balance from the outside in rather than the inside out. We balance time, money, food, exercise, family activities, etc. It is wonderful to have balance in these areas, but you must make certain you are not obsessing about the outward things. Take your weight for example. As a nutritionist I work with many people, most of whom are trying to lose weight. One of the most basic lessons I try to teach is that your weight fluctuates day to day and within each day itself. Since we are composed of mostly water, we are assured that our weight will not be stable. Does the ocean stay the exact same size? No. Why would expect such a feat from ourselves?
In order to achieve external balance, an internal mindset must first be attained. You will never have balance with food unless your mindset is changed to take on a healthier relationship with food. You will feel unbalanced in your finances until you produce a healthier relationship with money. Your homelife will feel unstable until you approach time management and priorities with clearer vision.
In order to help you accomplish more balance in all areas of your life, the next few posts will focus on achieving internal balance and more positive internal dialogue through a few simple changes. It will take only a few minutes a day to begin the process. You can have more balance and feel more grounded throughout your days. Fall is the perfect time to implement these principles as it is a time of welcome change in the environment. So, check back in this week as our first subject will be balancing the inner body. No craxy cleanses will be needed, but mindfulness is required 
To get started towards a healthier inner body, add 1 cup of hot water with the juice of 1/2 lemon to your morning routine. Drink this mix before you eat to help boost digestion and in turn help you absorb more nutrition from your food.
XOXO Michelle
The most common way people
give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.
Alice Walker
Ever feel like you missed hte memo? Sometimes it seems like the articles and suggestions being pounded at us day after day are overwhelming. We’re in line at the grocery store and headlines like “One Easy Move to Slim ALL Over”, “Weight Loss That Sticks”, “5 Weeks to a Better Butt”, “Love Your Middle”, “Lose Your Thigh Jiggle in 5 Easy Moves”, Amp Your Training for the Arms of Your Dreams”, “Bootcamp Moves for a Better You”. I could go on and on and on. As you read these articulately put together articles titles it serves to remind you that you’re so not there yet. If you’re having a particularly trying day, it’s enough to make you leave your Ban and Jerry’s in the cart and head for the nearest gym, or vice versa. Constant reminders that you are not perfect don’t keep you on your game do they?
Since I began coaching (as opposed to training) the world looks much different. I see things in a different light and am now allowed to take in instead of always fix a problem. Are jiggly thights a life threatening problem? No. The fluffy fat on the waist? Only a problem if the doc says there is an overabundance of it. Triceps wave? Not life threatening. Junk in the trunk? Desireable in most cultures.
The things listed above are about vanity. Now, don’t get offended! It’s just fine to want to look your best and I think that is a tangible goal. However, when we become OBSESSED with it, it turns to a problem. If we scrutinize every inch and loath certain body parts all together, it’s gone into the unhealthy stages. We must then pull ourselves back.
The “problems” that I deal with the most are the mind and the eyes. These 2 things can have a stronghold on our entire being and we must be the ones to reign them in every once in a while. Our minds can talk down to us and make us feel as though we are lacking in our attempt at perfection. Our eyes tend to be blinded to our true nature. To help gain control over these the first step is to stop comparing yourself to others. That’s why when people ask what my workout consists of (happened last night) I tell them 1-2 hours of yoga everyday, but only because that serves me. If it stops serving, I’ll adapt. Don’t compare yourself to others at the gym, people in magazines and on TV, family members, friends, or strangers. You are an individual and shoudl regard yourself as one.
The real deal is that if you’re looking to lose weight it will take longer than 5 weeks. It took longer to put it on right? We have to look at the big picture. Stop putting bandiades over the small things (diets, bootcamp, etc) and start treating the big picture. Once you make peace with food and move becasue it makes you feel good, everything else falls into place, naturally. If you want to be a success story in your own life, look to your own self to find the answers you need. It’s doable with TIME and a little elbow grease
XOXO Michelle
Just Published my first e-book. Check it out and browse through it a bit. You'll find practical ways to get the results you want within your lifestyle :)
Yesterday I was blessed to lead a group of local 5th graders through a workout. What started as an hour long workout, quickly escalated and grew into over an hour of movement and excitement. I had a mission yesterday: I wanted the kids to learn that moving is fun and they should revel in their own abilities. I didn't want to pound them into a mold. By the time I left, each of the children were sweaty and smiling ear to ear. They had dance battles, kicked it up a little with some boxing, and stretched to serenity with yoga. They wanted me to come back again and again, and that wasn't because of me: it was because they were free to move without judgement. I hope and pray that a seed was planted that allows them to feel able and powerful in their own bodies.
That's the same way I feel about each client, whether we're face to face or online or phone. I think we've become a little too structured with our fitness regimes. It is the common perception that in order to lose weight or get "cut" that you have to have pain in your body. The mantra "No pain, no gain" has been around forever and hasn't served much of a purpose except to make those who follow it feel better and those that can't feel worse. Maybe a new revolution should commence where we move to feel good, NOT as a punishment. Somehting to think about....
XOXO Michelle
What events do your days consist of? Are there things that are immovable (such as a job) and things that tend to get shoved around? In today's fast paced world, we work ourselves (understandably), but provide ourselves with little cross training for that very activity. If you were to run for a living (big Kara Goucher fan) then you would be required to cross train in order to prevent injury. Injuries take you out of the game. The most common reason for onsite call ins and injuries is lower back pain. This is where cross training comes in! If you have a job that requires sitting, driving, etc then you're doing yourself no favors by vegging on the couch to your favorite shows at night. Don't panic, I'm not taking away the shows! I want you to try something for 1 solid week. Have a timer (watch, or microwave timer will do) and set it for 5 minutes. While you're watching your show, take those 5 minutes to do some core strengthening exercises (planks, Pilates style strengtheners, leg lifts and lowers, etc) once the timer goes off you can watch the show for 5 minutes without interruption. The next 5 minutes incorporate some stretches to help open the hips and hip flexors and don't forget to stretch the quads too. Keep alternating like this and you'll find you have less kinks in your back. Even is your not one of the vast majority that suffer from low back pain, you will benefit.
Keep checking in for more fit ideas and remember to find your version of healthy everyday!
Check my official blg here: www.michellecfitness.com/blog/
Stay in touch!
Michelle
In my opinion we overuse this word almost as much as we overuse LOVE. :)
I want everything to look perfect.
Dinner needs to be perfect.
In pursuit of perfection....
This seems to be a common goal, especially amongst those in fitness (it spreads deeper through the veins of gym goers).
Perfect can actually mean different things depending on it's usage. As an adjective it means excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement. As a verb it can be to bring to completion; finish or even to bring to perfection; make flawless or faultless
Let those definitions sink in for just a bit. Excellent or complete. Beyond practical or theoretical improvement. To bring to perfection. To make flawless or faultless. This is what we strive for. It's bit unnerving to the perfection athlete (those of us that beat our bodies to get there) since "there" is really a destination that will never be reached. I remember starting out I just wanted the energy to keep up with my kids. Then, as my weight started to drop, I wanted a certain size. Then I wanted a certain number on the scale. From there I wanted to see more muscle, then I really wanted a 6 pack. I wanted it so badly that it consumed all thoughts. My kids would even say,"Why don't you just eat some bread?". It was basic survival to them. And to tell yo the truth, even when I got all of that there were still flaws. I was not faultless.
Now I realize that not everybody reacts this way. There are some competitive body builders that seem to have the psychological aspect a little more down. The majority of the population doesn't though. Then we are left with little more than feelings of inadequacy.
To help pull us out of this funky place, there are a couple of small things we can do.
- Stop comparing yourself to the models (men too!) on the magazine covers. It's ok to admire ;) but let'e leave it at that. Photshop is a girls (and guys) best friend.
- Practice positive thinking. Say something you like about your physical self out loud everyday. Bonus points if you say it in front of somebody! I'll give all my pear shaped friends a head start on this one: I would LOVE to have a booty to complain about!
- Focus on the state of your health as opposed to the state of your abs. The 2 are totally different. Just like research has proven you can be overweight and still have good health, it has also proven you can be ripped and have heart disease. Think about improving where you are right now and you will reap rewards... http://www.michellecfitness.com/blog/?p=149
Keep focusing on the here and now. Change your mind and make fitness fun.
Over the past month I have completely immersed myself in yoga. Keep reading, it gets good. I started my teaching as a yoga instructor and slowly lost my wasy from there, delving into anything I could wear spandex in. Over the course of the past 5+ years I have beat myself up teaching 20+ classes per week, most of which were kickboxing and weight training with the occasional step and cycling. All of these are good, but without proper cross training they can take their toll on the body. So I committed to 30 days of yoga 1-2 hours per day. And so it began....
The first few days were a little rough as my body began to detoxify. taht's one of the MAJOR advantages yoga has over other forms of fitness: it works on a cellular level. Once I formed a calendar and kept up with my mat dates I noticed my flexibility returning and my self confidence soaring. My fire like temper was becoming more controllable and my creativity in my training and my writing opened up.
The Ashtanga tradition was my yoga of choice (though I had fun sprinkling in some Kundalini and Anysara as well). Let me tell you, if rockin arms are on the top of your to-do list Ashtanga should be your go-to toner! Ashtanga translates to 8 lImbed (or limbs) and refers to the 8 limbs of yoga. It is challenging though I encourage you to approach it with an open mind. Ashtanga Yoga works wonders for those of us who like a little structure to our workouts (if you live in the group X room , that would be you) and provides both strength and cardiovascular benefit.
I haven't lifted any weights other than that which belongs to me in a month and I feel awesome! Best news of all: I have definition. My arms are defined, yet long. My thighs have thinned out and elongated and I feel better about my abs than I have in years.It took some getting used to as my mind has been programmed that if I don't feel like I'm going to die I'm obviously not working hard enough; however I'm proof that you can love your body into better shape. My arthritis isn't flaring up nearly as much and my intuitive eating skills feel even sharper.
So, whether you're looking to add some cross training or forgo your regular routine for a while, Ashtange yoga might just be your path to fitness elightenment.....and great arms :)
Don't get turned off by the word bran! I was playing in the kitchen the other night and came up with this recipe for a tasty dessert or healthy grab and go breakfast. You take in about 150 cals per muffin with almost no fat (<2g) it's a good snack. Just watch your portions!
Blueberry Bran Muffins
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unbleached bread flour (go as natural as you can)
1/2 cup oat bran
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ginger
2 tablespoons ground flax meal
Mix dry ingredients together ensuring baking soda/powder are clump free!
In another bowl mix:
2 mashed ripe bananas
2 eggs (whisked)
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons no sugar added orange juice
1/2 cup natural sweetener (sucanat works well)
Gently stir wet ingredients into dry then fold in 1 cup fresh blueberries
Fill muffin tins to about 1/2 full (make sure to use liners or non stick spray)
Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen.
For more recipes like this as well as tips on weight loss and healthy living check the site:
