Food Friday

Tostadas! 

I have been dying to try to make corn tortillas out of cauliflower. It sounded like a challenge and what better way to spend your Friday night than trying something new:)

I am always a fan of making cauliflower rice, the pizza crust was not my best showing but I was determined to master this.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

These were so easy and so yummy! 

How I did it:

1 head of cauliflower

Pulse it in your food processor until it is nice and fine (like grains if rice or smaller)

Put it in your microwave for two minutes. Stir and repeat another two minutes.

Drain the heck out of the cauliflower. I put it in a dish towel (clean of course) and squeezed it pretty hard. I was surprised how much water came out.

I then added the cauliflower back to the bowl along with two eggs and some s+p.

I flattened out a small amount on parchment paper and bakes for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. I took them out flipped ten over and baked for another 10 minutes. They were fantastic!

We ended up topping them with

Black beans

Shredded goat cheddar

Shredded cabbage

Thinly sliced jicama

Sautéed onions, peppers and zucchini

Guacamole and some salsa!

Amazing, simple and healthy meal. 

Definitely worth the effort 

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Workout Wednesday

Workout your Chest Wednesday

(And yes, he was our governor while in CA)

So I am not talking big chest but I couldn't help but post this picture. 

You don't have to live big heavy weights to work your chest.  I am usually not even a fan of chest work as we spend way too much time in the frontal plane as it is that our posture starts to suffer over time.  I will give you some chest opening exercises as well at the end. 

But for now....

Let's talk Push-ups!

One of the most convenient exercises you can do. 

They can be modified

Intensified

Challenging 

or 

just plain fun!

The Basic Chest Push-up how-to's:

1.  Start on your knees placing both hands in front of you on the floor, shoulder width apart.

Wrist and elbows should be in line with your shoulders and fingers spread wide with finger tips facing forward.  

2.  You can stay on your knees or you can tuck your toes under and lift your body up so that you are in a plank position. 

3.  In the plank position, you need to remember to keep your quads active, heels extended out behind you and hands firmly pushing away on the ground. Don't forget to pull your abs up to your spine focusing on lengthening your body in a nice level plank. 

4.  Draw in your abs and keep your hips/pelvis level and begin to lower your chest down to the ground. You want to lower your body down so that your upper arms are parallel to the ground. pause and then push away with purpose and return back to your starting point. 

5.  Remember it is all about form and it is all about control. Don't let your body fall to the ground and worm yourself back up to the top.  Think about lifting and lowering your body keeping in a nice level plank both on the down and up portion of the movement.  

This is a lot to think about for one movement but more times than none we don't think about the form and just move through the motion.  

Two of my favorite Chest Stretches

 

Find a corner in your house/room and place your hands against the wall at 90 degrees.  Keeping your body in line and abs pulled in you can begin to lean into the wall keeping your arms in place. You can even modify by placing one foot forward and lunge into the wall until you begin to feel the stretch. Take a deep breath and as you exhale you can sink into the stretch a little deeper.  

 Find a wall and stand close up against it so that you can keep your lower back against the wall. You might have to walk your feet out away from the wall to find that perfect spot.  You can take your hands and place them against the wall, opening the chest.  The important thing is to keep your wrist flat against the wall and elbows in contact.  You can slide your hands up and down the wall maintaining contact the whole time.  Keep your abs drawn in and enjoy this stretch.  It is not only great for the chest but also in helping work those shoulder blades back and down where they belong. 

Want more details, Want a video or want to learn more. E-mail me and I will be happy to help!

Enjoy one of my favorite exercises and stretches and have fun.  There are so many variation we can play with but for now, focus on your form and range of motion. 

Go on, get moving!

Food Friday!

Smoothie Friday

aka: Food Friday. 

Today I thought it would be fun to set up a little smoothie tasting post workout for my 6am class.  I am planning on rotating these around my classes so stay tuned to my other classes if you are reading this:) 

I always get asked about new ideas and flavors for smoothies, what protein I use and what is the best to use.  There are so many protein powders on the market and I have a new love for Vega Nutrition. Vega nutrition offers pure protein from plant based sources. It does not have additives or artificial sweeteners in it and having since moved away from meat it is a true source of plant based protein.  I will often use Egg White Protein on occasion but Vega Nutrition has been my main source and go-to product.  I will give you a breakdown of my other favorites from Vega next week but for today here are three new smoothie recipes you have to try! 

(left) Pumpkin Pie (center) Berry Bliss (right) Chocolate Fun

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1 Serving of Vega All-in-One Vanilla flavored

1 Scoop of Pumpkin spice flavored greens

1 frozen banana

1 handful of strawberries

1 serving of chia seeds

Pumpkin pie spice

2 cups of water 

Blend away and enjoy! 

Berry Bliss

1 Serving of Vega All-in-one Berry flavored

1 serving of Chia seeds 

1 cup of frozen strawberries

1 frozen banana

2 cups of water

Blend and enjoy!

Chocolate Friday Fun

1 serving of Vega Nutrition Chocolate Performance Protein 

1 frozen banana

1 serving of Chia seeds

2 Tbls of sunflower butter

2 Cups of water

Caco Nibs added at the end for a little crunch and fun. 

Blend and enjoy! 

The classes loved them all and we even ended the week with a little Friday Fashion as we had local fashion connoisseur Jill Hansen in class showcasing her fun and functional threads!  It was a great way to kick of a Friday Funday! 

Want to learn more about Vega Nutrition. Visit their website at myvega.com or shoot me a comment here and I can help.  Also check out their other fun recipes on the Vega online Recipe Center.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Workout Wednesday

TRX 

The lunge. The upper body. The everything.

What better way to get back in action than with a fun new lunge option using the TRX. 

What is a TRX you ask?  To those who are new it is suspension training body weight exercises using strength, flexibility, balance and core stability all in one.  Just starting out?  TRX can be used at any level and can be modified to support those new to working out or push those who are fitness animals. 

This particular TRX lunge is one of my favorites as it works the body in its entirety.  It also taps straight into your cardiovascular system while working all the strength, balance and stabilization that we hope to achieve in a workout. The picture above is only showing the reverse lunge but I also took the lunge from front to back and added a narrow row with the arms.   

Here is my squat lunge sequence: 

Basic TRX squat (arms straight or you can add the row)  20 reps

Right leg reverse lunge

Right leg forward lunge (Arms in a Y, keeping shoulders back and down)

Right leg reverse to forward lunge

Basic TRX Squat

Left leg reverse lunge

Left leg forward lunge 

Left leg reverse to forward lunge

Repeat 1-3x and you are good to go! 

Don't have a TRX?? Come to one of my classes!  TRX is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday's at 9am. You need to sign up at www.bendbootcamp.com 

Want to purchase a TRX at a discount and check out free workouts?  Click the site and enjoy a discount on me!  http://mbsy.co/htjT

Get Fit. Live Fit. Be Fit. 

Get out and move! 

Food (and drink) Friday!

Food Friday or in this case Hydration Friday!

The Water Challenge is back!

I want to circle back on a topic and challenge that I launched this past summer. It was hot and working out, outside I was trying to make sure everyone stayed hydrated in the summer heat. We had a ton of fun with the challenge and got the competitive juices flowing.  Now that the colder months are upon us and we are entering into winter I thought it was just as important to be reminded about just how important hydration is in the colder months. 

If you are like me, I am always cold. Drink cold water doesn't always sound fun nor does staying cold all day because of it. This is my excuse half the time and in talking to others this seems to hold true for most.  

I am re-lauching my water challenge to my classes next week in hopes that we all keep one of the most needed essentials to our health at top priority. 

Here is why water is so important: 

Life: We lose water daily so think of water as being an essential to help you keep your vital organs hydrated as well as your skin and hair. It also aids in digestion and helps keep your mind clear and sharp but most important it helps with circulation and body temperature. So going back to the excuse of being cold is not a good enough reason to stop.  We have turned on our heaters and things tend to dry out so keeping our body's full of the essentials is key. 

Muscles: Water helps energize muscles. When our muscles don't have proper hydration they can't perform like we want them to.  It is just as important to drink prior to working out as it is during. If you need something to give you a little pre-workout hydration my go to choice is the Vega Pre-Workout Energizer.  It adds just enough flavor to your water but includes natural key ingredients such as coconut oil, green tea, yerba mate and ginseng giving you a little push to start off your workout.  

 

Your skin: with your skin acting as a protective barrier against moisture loss it is one of your vital organs that truly benefit from hydration. Drinking water helps your skin maintain a youthful glow and also helps to eliminate dryness and wrinkles.  

Kidney Function: Your kidneys help to eliminate waste and without water this would not be possible.  Water soluble waste is passed through the kidneys thank to the help of fluids serving as a transporter and will definitely be key in keeping the bad stuff pass through. Not enough water can often times result in kidney stones as the waste is not able to properly pass through. This is reason enough. 

About 20% of water intake comes from foods (fruits and vegetables) but it is up to you to get the rest. I challenge you to begin upping your hydration this winter, keeping your body happy and healthy.  

Your goal:  90+oz of water a day!  Make this a new day and a new way to challenge yourself to a better you.  Let me know how you are doing and as always comment below if you have questions or comments.