Enjoy The Journey!

Mindfulness: More than Mediation The fitness and gym industry is at a beautiful crossroads. The tendency for aesthetically based fitness goals are beginning to more often merge towards wellness and health related aspirations. Our society is starting to earnestly view exercise as a preventative and treatment method for many autoimmune and chronic diseases. More and more, individuals want to improve their longevity, extended their independence in later years, and feel good in their body. Unfortunately, many people are exercising “blindly”. They find a workout in an article or from Pinterest and go through the movements. Now don’t misunderstand me, there are still many benefits and results that will occur from this. I am not advocating that this is a wrong approach. For many it is a huge accomplishment to get themselves to the gym, and truly it is! Beginning or continuing a regular exercise schedule is a feat in itself. What I do want to suggest is bringing mindfulness into yo...

Now is the time... The time to inspire yourself, to find your confidence and discipline to achieve your goals. To take charge and find your best self! What does it mean to find your best self? We often mistake our best for something materialistic and visual. The automatic answer is "a sixpack" or "getting into my old jeans". But I have found that those are just the things that come along once you have found your best version of you. Ask yourself: when am I most happy? What is it about that time that makes me happy? Now ask yourself...what do I have to do to find myself in those situations more often? Find the moments that fuel you, that improve your energy and your outlook on life. Exercise helps me find my find my happy... but it doesn't make me happy. There is a difference. You see, exercise empowers me, it makes me stronger and reminds me that I have to take care of my health so that I can live life and treasure the moments. Travel makes me hap...

I am filled with gratitude today… I give thanks for my life that is on this day and has been for the last several years. And I think about how far I have come. In May of 1996 I came home from college to realize I was fitting into a size 16 clothing. I was smoking over a pack of cigarettes a day and had gone from being an active athletic kid to dreading my soccer workouts and struggling to gain my health back. But I was at a place where I realized how far I had fallen… call it my first “rock bottom”. I knew I needed to do some work to regain my health and most of all my energy and confidence. Exercise and better habits slowly became a bigger part of my life and things got better overall. As my health improved so did my energy, my confidence and my passion for getting out of bed every day. In May of 2008 I was sitting in a therapists office in Sheridan, Wyoming… Deeply depressed, with thoughts of ending it all as I struggled to deal with post partum depression. Call it my 3 rd ...

I have been working on this recipe for a while... It all started when I was looking for a slow cooked pork recipe that did NOT include a bunch of super sugary bbq flavors and ingredients. I will say that the best cut of meat for this is boneless country style ribs. But those babies are loaded with excess fat and calories and not my favorite for a regular week night recipe. So I leaned it up a bit by using a pork loin instead and it turns out great. * This was made in a Le Creuset Dutch Oven but you can finish it in a crock pot. Crock pot instructions are included below. INGREDIENTS: Pork Loin 2-5 lbs 2 TBS olive oil 1/2 cup of red wine 1 Bag Peeled Organic Carrots 1 Bag of Parsnips 1 whole white  or yellow onion. 1 carton of organic beef stock 6 whole garlic cloves  Package of grape tomatoes Two bay leaves Homemade  Montreal Steak Seasoning   Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Start by heating up the oil heavily seasoning Montreal...

Smoothies! I try to get as many servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day as I can. A smoothie can be a yummy way to get your greens and fruits in! They are hydrating, can make your skin glow and give a great energy bump to your mornings! One of the biggest problems I have found though is that I either don't put enough veggies in, or it turns out to be a total sugar/calorie bomb with all of the extras I tend to add for variety. I once read that the ingredients inside your blender should be the same amount that you would eat on a plate. So as you add your ingredients, keep in mind that as you blend, the ingredients will easily shrink and condense into a "1 Glass" serving. But you might be eating alot more than one serving.

I teach 3 classes a week at the gym and we often spend the first few minutes of class discussing health or nutrition questions. Last week we were talking about what to eat when you really want junk, also known as how to love the food that loves your body. General Tso's chicken, french fries, ice cream, pizza... oh the list goes on and on.... If you are trying to improve your eating and possibly your waistline it's handy to know how to cook! Here is the number one thing I learned to make that "diet" a lot less like one and still have the flavors you love. CHASE FLAVORS, NOT FRANCHISES: Craving a slice from your favorite pizza place but know that the extra dough and salt will make you feel awful later? Focus on what you want... Is it the dough? Is it the sauce? Is it the melty mozzarella and romano salty goodness? Eat the part you crave and sub the rest with something healthy! Check out recipes for portabello pizzas, pizza on an eggplant, pizza on an english muff...

I freaking love this commercial... But guess what.. Quinoa (pronounced Keenwah even though I like to call it Kweeno) does NOT have to taste like a "dirty ole tree branch". Quinoa is a seed that is eaten like a grain. It is extremely high in protein and fiber with lots of other great stuff like flavonoids that are antiviral and antiinflammatory. It is full of amino acids (for recovery) and magnesium. It comes in 3 main varieties: Red, White, and Black You cook it by boiling it like rice. I like to cook it in chicken or vegetable broth instead of plain water. I find it takes on a flavor similar to those chicken flavored rice packets we used to eat in college when you cook it this way. Goodbye tree branch! I made this recipe last week and it lasted the whole week as a solid side for my lunches and dinners throughout the week. It's a little bit crunchy, sweet, salty and fresh. I messed around a bit with the flavors and didn't follow this recipe exactly but sinc...