What to do with leftover turkey

Leftover Turkey is AWESOME! Turkey is so good for you.
Here's a delicious soup that uses the leftovers...
After carving the turkey, there is still turkey left on the bone, so let it soak overnight on medium low.  Pull off all the turkey off the bone and keep the water as a broth.
Add whole wheat noodles, 1 cup of chicken broth, carrots, celery, peas, corn, etc to make a delicious turkey veggie soup.
Add black pepper for taste.  It's yummmmmyy!!

Freeze other turkey for sandwiches. Turkey is very good for you, don't waste any of it :)

Let's get back together!!

I hope you each had a fantastic Thanksgiving.  One thing I am thankful for this year is my job. I love being a trainer and am happy with all the fun we have had this year! Let's keep it up y'all!!!
If you have an available appointment, then you MUST come in this week. We will be doing plyometric circuits all month of December.  It will be very challenging, however, it burns calories at a higher rate. Therefore, you will need to suck it up and work hard.
A couple of things I have noticed...some of you may be forgetting about pre exercise eating and drinking habits.  Please eat more than an hour before but not more than two hours before a work out. And drink every fifteen minutes within that hour.  The food needs to have a little complex carbs and a little protein. Do not overeat, but do not come if you are not ready to get crazy busy! This month is vital. Many of you have goals that need to be reached by the end of the year..it is coming up!
I know there are many things that are keeping you busy. Finals. Work. Weddings. Christmas Shopping.  Kids.  There will always be obstacles, but it's about whether you want to prioritize this area of your life.
SOOOOO if you have not scheduled an appointment yet, do it TODAY.  I have opened up many more hours than usual. If you want to workout more than once this week, I definitely agree! Let me know how I can help you.

See you soon!

Saturday's Favorite

I hope you each had a great Thanksgiving! I hope you felt good afterwards and didn't eat too much!! This weekend has some important football games, I know I'm excited for several of them!! The perfect meal for football is some good ol' chili!!
Ingredients
1 can of Tomato Juice--it's a large can, generally next to V8 or pineapple juice..
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 can of Rotel
2 large carrots, diced to baby pieces
1/2 onion
1/4 cup of salsa
1 lb of turkey burger
1 can of black beans
1 can of chili beans
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon of chili powder

Ground turkey burger.  Add juice, tomatoes, Rotel, onion, salsa, beans, carrot, cheese, and powder.
Let simmer.
DELICIOUS!

Thanksgiving Motivation

I am so sorry I didn't post a memo yesterday! It was crazy with school and getting things together for Thanksgiving this week. I apologize.

So here's what I want you guys to really think about.  Choices.  Thanksgiving comes every year, we know that we tend to eat a lot and gain weight and not exercise during this time of the year, hence the New Year's Resolutions..right?? I want you to enjoy Thanksgiving, but enjoy in very small portions.  If you LOVE yams and pie, but you don't LOVE mashed potatoes, don't feel obligated to eat a lot of potatoes, and vice versa. I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE mashed potatoes and turkey and rolls and green bean casseroles, but pie and cheesecake and yams don't tempt me, therefore I don't go near them. I know I will eat enough calories, that is never the question...it's about will I overeat? It will put you behind if y'all get out of control.

After Thanksgiving, go for a walk. DO NOT GO TO SLEEP.  It's the most tempting part of Thanksgiving to pass out after stuffing your face, so please go for even like a thirty minute walk. Laying horizontally will give you heartburn and your body will be stopped in midst of digestive process.

Do the Turkey Bowl.  Run around and burn some calories.

If you're going home, pick up a Travel Pass from the front desk so you can work out when you go home.
Make sure that pre and post snacking is fruits and veggies.  Make sure your metabolism is going before you eat the big meal.  And, make sure you have enough fiber and water.  Which brings me to another point, keep all drinks to water this week.  Alcohol, punches, and cokes have too many calories and are not worth it at all. Please refrain from them!!!

I love you all!! I have the greatest job in the world working with you guys every day! I look forward to our appointments next week!! EVERYONE get in next week!  And be prepared when you do. EVERYONE will be doing plyometrics and circuit training next week. Hydrate yourself. You will need it. Get excited.
<3

Mandatory Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Brrrrr!!!!!! I don't know about y'all, but it is SOO cold and all I want is soup. So I will be posting a different recipe every day of yummy soups!!! Sorry I took a week off...but I as a trainer have regrouped and will be back on task this week for my lovely clients!!!

So this is super easy and warms you up fast!

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts

1 can of cream of chicken reduced fat

1 can of organic chicken broth

1 can of corn

1 can of black beans

1 can of stewed tomatoes

1 can of Rotel

After boiling and shredding chicken.  Put everything together into a pot and cook on medium and add a cup of water and 1/2 c of milk to make soupier.  Top off with tortilla strips. 

It's delicious and a little more fattening then I prefer for all meals. However, it's so yummy and has some veggies and good protein.  Enjoy!!

P.S. Compare to Zupas Chicken Enchilada soup for half the fat!

Memo to Clients

Texting each of you and doing letters is not working exactly the way I would like it for each of you.  Therefore, every Monday I will be posting a memo on the blog.  You need to be checking this often. There are some of you that are trying so hard and doing everything that I have asked...others however, I still don't feel like we are on the same page.
I wanted everyone's Christmas challenge, evaluation, and goals turned into me and I have only received like five!! This is not okay guys! Get those goals to me.  And I need your evaluations or I can't improve to help you.
As far as the challenge, I need you to go on to the Challenge post, two posts below this, and tell me your miles.  Sorry for those of you who are doing this correctly.  I hope I don't sound angry, I'm not, I just need y'all to do your part, ok!?! Do this ASAP so I can make charts and put charts in your folder.
Other pieces of information...
I have received several valid complaints lately on lack of results.  I know that I have seen improvement in many of you, but until I see complete obedience to my rules, I will push those rules.  If, at this point, you have followed everything I have suggested for an ENTIRE month and have not seen results, then I will suggest you go see a physician.  I know what I am doing. I am confident in my ability to be a good trainer and I trust my nutritional information that I have learned and give out.  Therefore, it is not working, then we need to see what is going on inside your body.
Many of you know I was really sick for a couple months.  During the months of August through October, I gained five pounds and changed my percentage in body fat a couple points. When I was given the clear to start working out again and eating the way I want to, I am almost back to my pre-sick weight and getting closer to the strength. I know that many of you want to lost more than five pounds and change body fat more than a little bit. However, I only gave up working out and changed my eating habits for two and half months. I know it will take two months about to get back to where I was.  If it didn't take me a day to gain the weight, it will take me longer to get back down. Make sense?
I am not trying to discourage you, in fact, I hope this encourages you. Please try so hard! Tomorrow I will be posting an exact replication of my day, my sleep, eating, and exercising.  I will then show you the mathematical and scientific approach to what my body is doing with the food and exercise.  If you can model your life somewhat after this, then we should see some results!!
On top of this, I am starting a competition, I will let you know details very soon! Stay tuned !I love you guys!! Please keep it up!

Mandatory Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

This shouldn't take too long. Just stick everything in the crockpot and it should cook within a couple hours. Don't put the crockpot on too high or let it sit too long, it gets really gross :)

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken tenderloins (7)
2 cups of Chicken Broth
1 1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of Half and Half
3 cups of whole grain rotini noodles (check health store if you can't find at regular grocer)
1 cup of carrots, diced
1/2 cup of celery, diced
1/2 onion chopped
1 tablespoon of basil
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 teaspoon garlic
salt and pepper

Thaw chicken and chop into bite size pieces.  Throw everything into crockpot. Takes about four hours. My mom goes home on her lunch break to start things in crockpot and then you come home and it's done!!
Let me know when you have tried it!

Turkey Burger night!!

For my hamburger lovers...you know who you are! I don't think this meal should be a regular, however, go ahead and try it out for those night you are really craving a cheeseburger!!
Get a couple pounds of ground turkey meat and make sure it is thawed out enough, because you will be getting very touchy with it tonight!
Throw the ground turkey into a large bowl and put a cup of pure salsa in with it.  The salsa I recommend is Archers Farm from Target or an organic store, like Sunflowers.  Put 1/2 cup shredded cheese and mix around.  You don't want too much cheese, just enough for a little flavor, but too much will place you over your caloric and fat limit.  Once it's mixed up, make into hamburger patties.  Freeze patties that won't be used that night, so you can eat them later when you need a quick meal.  Throw the patties onto a George Foreman or another kind of grill.

Use whole wheat sandwich thins from any grocery store.  These are low calorie and come from whole grains.

The salsa and cheese provide enough flavoring there won't be a need for mayo, mustard, ranch, etc.  Just throw some lettuce and tomatoes for veggies, and bam, you have a delicious burger!
Eat with a fruit salad and you will be full for hours!

Because Who Doesn't Love Cafe Rio???

As a trainer, you find that there are those restaurants (and foods in general) out there which clients all around can't seem to get rid of.  However, as a trainer, I HATE these restaurants.  Well, instead of hating them, I took upon a new project for myself...I am going to take requests from my clients and friends of what food and/or restaurants they can't give up, and want a healthier alternative.

First of all these requests is Cafe Rio...who doesn't love Cafe Rio?!?  This is going to be dedicated to some of my best friends and I who happen to LOVE Cafe Rio, don't we Britt, Sarah, and Whit?!?! This isn't exactly Cafe Rio, I wouldn't claim that I'm capable of producing that kind of deliciousness (because I refuse to pack that many calories into food) :)

Okay the first thing you want to do is get the chicken boiling to be shredded and the rice cooking.  Remember whole wheat rice! Instead of using water to boil the rice, or use in the rice cooker, use chicken broth. Add lime juice.  Add 1 teaspoon of fajita seasoning.
While these are cooking, make tortilla dough:
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of unbleached flour
3/4 c of hot water
1/4 c of milk
2 tbsp of shortening (no trans fat)
1 tspn salt
1 tspn baking powder
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet. Knead. Let sit while finishing preparing meal.  After rest of meal is prepared, go back to tortilla.  Roll out dough til about 1/2 inch thickness.  Place on skillet.  Cook on medium for five minutes and flip over. Continue til middle is done.  Don't burn!
Other preparation:
Chop up the following:
Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Red Peppers, Cilantro, Onion, Olives
Shred chicken
Shred cheese
Shred dark green lettuce leaves.
Warm up black or pinto beans and corn.
When tortilla is done, place a handful of chicken, 1/4 cup beans, 1/4 cup rice, Chopped up Veggies, place 1/4 cup of cheese on top. Place in microwave for thirty seconds.  Put a couple tortilla strips on top for crunch.  Add salsa if desired!
You don't need to add any dressing! This is good without it! Squeeze lime juice if you want!
Enjoy! Let me know if you love it!
Not even close to amount of calories from Cafe Rio! Don't forget to stop eating if you get full! Split with roommates or spouse or child or sibling, it's a pretty big amount. Also, don't let your eyes do the loading of the food, get portions of PC Combo right!!

Recipe #2: Italian Night

I am craving a yummy taste of Italy, and as much as I want to go to Olive Garden, I fear I can't afford the calories or money this week! So I decided to create my own Italian night for a third of the calories and the money!
Menu
Whole Wheat pasta with homeade marinara sauce
Lemon pepper grilled chicken
Peas and carrots
Dessert: Peaches

Marinara Sauce:
2 cans of Hunt's Steamed Tomatoes with Oregano and Basil (Don't drain)
1 can of Hunt's Tomato Paste
3 tablespoons of EV Olive Oil
2 tablespoons of half and half cream
2 tablespoons of water
3/4 teaspoon of each: dried onion, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme (it may be easier to use 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Try to use one that uses only chopped up herbs and not extra sodium)
Garnish: Baby Spinach Leaves
Heat and stir all together.  After it comes to a slight boil, place a lid on top and put on low. Stir every minute for ten minutes.  Add to whole wheat noodles.  Place four leaves on top of pasta!

Lemon Chicken:
Chicken Breasts
2 lemons
1 Tomato
Cut chicken breasts into halves.  Chop up 1 lemon and squeeze an entire lemon over chicken.  Place on George Foreman.  Salt and pepper after squeezing lemon.  Chop up tomato into fourths and lemons into fourths. Place chicken on plate and garnish with lemons and tomatoes.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on chicken and pasta.
Heat up carrots and peas.
Enjoy your meal.  This is a perfect meal!!! And it's DELICIOUS!

Let's Get Moving!

Here is a new challenge one of my friends suggested and I jumped on the bandwagon.

It's time to give ourselves a Christmas present.  This year I am giving myself the gift of 200 miles! I am going to walk or run 200 miles before Christmas. I want each of my clients to make a pledge to themselves and me. Do something that works and is realistic, but it MUST be more than you are currently doing. So for me, 200 miles is about five miles a day, which is more than I currently do.  This is on top of my weight training every day, so don't wimp out on me.  Look in your folder at the gym.  You will find a sheet with a pledge you make to yourself and me.  After you tell me your pledge, I will make you a chart so you can gage where you are at.  The weather is GORGEOUS right now so take some time to strengthen your heart and enjoy the beautiful world around us! Let's get moving people!!

I want the pledge filled out and turned in by next Monday. I will have charts for you by Tuesday!

One piece of inspiration for you...I have a very dear friend of mine who was paralyzed a year and half ago. She can't walk anymore. She would love to have an opportunity like this.  Be grateful you can move and get moving!

Money

If I had a dime for every time someone told me they couldn't afford to eat correctly, I would be a millionaire! If money is an issue, please come talk to me and show me how much you are currently spending, and bring a grocery receipt. I am not made of money either! My roommates and I each spend about 30 dollars a week on meals give or take a few.  The first week was a lot more than that, because we bought a lot of bulk food from Sam's, such as flour, etc.  However, now it's come down to around 30.  We get three meals and two snacks with this budget.  Given, there is three of us chipping in money so it takes it down, so if you can find people who will do this diet with you, it is better. But we can still figure things out.  Just don't let lack of money stop you from being healthy.  It's either now or later.  The studies shown on how many people get diabetes, heart problems, colon problems, etc are large enough that it is easy for me to say, "if you don't want to pay now, you will pay later, make your choice when you want."
So make a choice. Get organized.  Spend time on food.
Let me know if I can help

!

Snacking....Good or Bad??

Snacking is a great idea! In fact, we should have two snacks a day.  It helps keep our metabolism going and if snacking is done properly, we are more likely to not have cravings where our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.
Snacks should be around 250 calories and should be a mixture of protein and whole grains and is even better if it contains a fruit or veggie.  In my apartment, my roommates and I have what we call wet snacks and dry snacks.  Each of us get two ziploc baggies, one wet snack and one dry snack.
Wet snacks contain: four baby carrots, two cucumber slices, six grapes, and three cheese cubes.
Dry snacks contain any assortment of the following:  four almonds, handful of trail mix (nuts, raisins, etc.), 1 chocolate pretzel, 1 yogurt pretzel, handful of cereal, handful of crackers, granola, etc.
We always have a mini can of peaches with our dry snack as well.
Other good examples of snacks
Real yogurt, not gogurt :)
String cheese
Nature Valley granola bars
Apple and peanut butter
Smallest size of Jamba Juice

I want each of you to try and implement the wet snack! I have very few clients who have yet reached the needed amount of fruits and veggies in a day! Let me see who can do it this week!  Let me know what you try out!  Try and go as natural as possible. The more processed a food is, the more they pack in.

Preparation is Key to Success!

One thing that I have really noticed in my life as a college student is the need for preparation.  If I want to be successful in any aspect of life, I must prepare. This is also the case with our health.  If I wake up in the morning and think that if I have time, I'll go to the gym, I'm never going to get there.  However, if I wake up and think I'm going to the gym at 6:30, and I am going to complete my hour of readings for my class, or I will go to the gym at 7 while my show comes on and watch while I run, etc. We can fit in exercise, it just is a matter of moving a few things around.
On top of that, food is another area we must prepare in.  Sundays are generally pretty chill days for the majority of Americans.  This is a great day to sit down in the kitchen and pantry and see what groceries are available and making good choices to begin preparing meals so we don't get crammed at the last minute and resort to what I call Satan's restaurant: McDonalds, or for that matter, any fast food restaurant.  Even if we don't choose fast food, we may choose processed food, such as, Mac n Cheese, PastaRoni, or Ramen noodles. These are full of sodium and horrible chemicals that give us problems in our digestive track and give us a lot of calories with little substance.
When I take some time to prepare food, I put all my snacks into Ziploc baggies.  This accomplishes the need to prepare, but also helps to sort out food so when we grab a snack, we don't grab too many calories.  (Check out my posting on snacks)
Another good idea is to make sauces, soups, chilis, etc and freeze until you are ready for it.  Take a Sunday to make a huge batch of homeade spaghetti sauce. Then on the day you want it, take out of freezer. Put a chicken on the George Foreman, boil some whole wheat noodles and broccoli, and BAM you have a delicious meal!

Mandatory Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas

Clients! This is your mandatory recipe this week! Please find time to make it. The leftovers of it are delicious so it could easily last you for days and is not too expensive and it's very, very healthy!!

This recipe is enough for 8 servings.
Ingredients
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of yellow corn.
1 cup of cooked whole wheat rice
1 tomato
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of Rotel
1 tsp of chili seasoning (Both seasonings need to be organic: buy them from a farmers market)
1 tsp of fajita seasoning
1/2 c. original salsa (target has an archers farms brand that is good)
1 tspn black pepper
1/2 c. chicken broth (no sodium and organic)
3/4 c cheese, separated
8 whole wheat tortillias

So the first step is to get that chicken boiling because it will need to be shredded, so get the chicken boiling!
Then, get the rice into the rice cooker and get it cooking as well.
Next, work on the sauce, To begin with the sauce, combine the paste, sauce, and Rotel and mix together, and then add the seasonings and the salsa.  Stir, then add the broth and allow to boil.  Simmer for ten minutes.
Set aside 2 1/4 cup of plain sauce and spread one into 9x13 pan.
While it's simmering, shred chicken meat. It's best to do with a fork.  Hold chicken with one fork, then take another and shred it apart into bite size pieces.
Add chicken and both cans of beans and corn.
Add cooked rice.
Add one portion of cheese.
Stir together and make sure consistency is thick, but that there is still sauce covering all the ingredients.
Sprinkle tortillias with a slightest amount of water to make flexible.
Place tortillias in hand, and put 1/2-3/4 cup of mixture into tortillia, wrap and close. Place in pan, follow with all tortillias. Freeze any leftover mix and save for next time!
Sprinkle other 1/4 cup of sauce that was set aside.
Sprinkle remaining cheese.
Slice tomato into sandwich slices and decorate on top.
Optional: Olives and Tortiilia chips can also be crushed and spread on top. I <3 it that way!

Enjoy! Post a comment to tell me you did it!

Post Cleanse Thoughts

After completing this specific cleanse, I think it's a great idea to do every once in a while. The first day was horrible, but by the end I felt great.  I could feel a huge difference in just a few days. As long as people do it safely, I think it's a great way to cleanse your body and lose a couple pounds.

Your stomach will shrink a little bit, so it's important to not to binge when you are done. I think it should be the turning over of a new leaf of finding more ways to eat healthier. 

Let me know if you want help figuring it out!