Positivity of the Week: Test your Adventure Side

How adventurous are you?  Have you always wanted to go sky diving?  Keep saying you would love to try a new restaurant?  Want to learn a new language?  Want to travel to Italy?  Or enroll in a cooking class?  Talk to that long time crush about how you really feel?  Ask your boss for that raise you deserve?

Are there things in your life you just keep passing up on?  Why is that?  What’s stopping you?  Most often it is confidence, fear of something new, or just finding the time!  Our lives and the world is always changing and it’s time you do as well!  Start conquering your dreams and wishes today!  Yes it is scary at first but the boost of confidence and excitement will keep you coming back for more!

We only get one life and it is time you started living yours to the fullest!  And it all starts with a good plan!

1. List out your dreams, wishes and goals!  Stuff you have always wanted to try.
2. Rank these items by cost and time.  Some things are $$$ or just take some planning.  For example Italy.  Anthony and I are finally going to Italy.  Something we have both always wanted to do.  So last year spring 2013 we decided we would go this October 2014.  This is giving us plenty of time to save, plan the trip and learn a bit of Italian without causing us extra stress!
3. Decide when you would like to conquer these dreams and write these times down!  Use a wall calendar so you see it all the time.
4. Recruit friends and/or family to join you … the more merrier!

Start Living Your Dreams Today!

Workout Wednesday: Upper Body Posture Week 4

This week is the last week of our upper body postural alignment series!  If you have not tried the three previous sets of exercises go back and check them out!  This week we really challenge those muscles of the upper body in a quick and intense sculpting session!  This is a perfect series to take to the gym or do at home, just make sure you have a mirror!  Alignment is key and the previous three weeks have prepared your body to work in the proper alignment… keep that in mind as you tackle this series!

For this series you will need two sets of free weights, one set of light weights (2lbs-8lbs) and one set of heavier weights (8lbs-20lbs).

Learn this series from the video below or follow the steps below.  Complete this series a total of three times. ->

1. External Rotation- 10 reps
2. Lat pinch- 10 reps
3. Curl- 10 reps
4. Overhead Press- 10 reps
5. Bent over row- 10 reps
6. Tricep Kickbacks- 10 reps each arm
7. Anterior Raise- 10 reps
8. Lateral Abduction Raise- 10 reps

Congratulations on completing the 4 week postural series

Recipe of the Week- The Warm Triple Green Quinoa Salad

Let’s shake up lunch this week by fancifying your standard cold salad.  It is winter, well in most states it is winter (Cali is a warm 80), and who really wants to eat cold food when it is cold out?  So I created this warm triple green quinoa salad to keep your nutrition high, your insides warm and your taste buds excited!

Ingredients-

• 2 c kale, chopped
• 2 c spinach, chopped
• 1 c broccoli, chopped
• 1 c tomatoes, chopped
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1/2 c cooked quinoa
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2-1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp crumbled goat cheese

Directions-

1. In a large skillet heat in olive oil and shallot to medium until shallot is soft.
2. Add basil, oregano, black pepper and broccoli to skillet.  Mix thoroughly and cook 3-5 minutes.
3. Add spinach, kale and tomatoes.  Mix thoroughly, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 5-7 minutes until greens have softened.
4. Add quinoa.  Mix thoroughly and cook an additional 2 minutes uncovered.  Just to warm the quinoa.
5. Serve up and top with goat cheese.  Or put in a Tupperware for lunch this week! 

Bonus Post: Cheezy Vegan Roasted Broccoli

I cannot remember the last time I had broccoli covered in melty cheddar cheese.  I have been cow’s milk free for over a decade.  I honestly never really missed it… broccoli is so delicious on its own!  But then I found Nary Dairy… this delicious treat is 100% cashew cheese.  I first came across Nary Dairy at the Studio City Farmer’s Market.  Nary Dairy cheezes come in a variety of fabulous flavors and are great used in dishes or as a quick pick me up snack.  These stuff is so much better than the other non-dairy cheeses I have tried because of its texture and flavor.  It melts perfectly and spreads like a champ!

Try this cheezy fabulousness and you will never be able to live without it!

Serves: 2-3 people

Ingredients:

• 3 c chopped broccoli
• 1 tbsp walnut oil
• 1 tsp dried garlic
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp Nary Dairy Beddar Cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spread broccoli on foil lined baking sheet.  Top with walnut oil, garlic, and black pepper.
3. Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove and stir broccoli.
4. Cook an additional 5-10 minutes until broccoli is crisp and a touch light brown.
5. Add the secret ingredient.
6. Mix thoroughly.
7. Serve & Enjoy.

Check out Nary Dairy’s website to immerse yourself in this delicious treat: http://narydairy.com/

Positivity of the Week: Get off on the right foot

The alarm goes off and you press snooze… and snooze again… and snooze again… and before you know it you have 30 minutes to get out the door – no time for some morning mobility, no time for breakfast, no time to pack a lunch – and your day is now a crazy rat race!  This is the time we tend to spill our coffee down our white shirt, get in minor fender benders, break our healthy eating goals and make mistakes at work.

How can we prevent this?

1. Pack up the night before.  Prepare lunch, snacks, breakfast, outfit, workout stuff, and work needs the night before.  We always think we will get much more done then we end up in the mornings.  Get as much done as you can the night before.
2. Get to bed.  Get in bed 30 minutes before you actually need to get to sleep.  Allow your body time to fully relax to get the most solid sleep you can.
3. Give yourself time in the morning.  Don’t sleep down the the wire.  Give yourself an extra ten minutes.  This ten minutes can be used for unplanned morning problems or to relax and enjoy your breakfast.
4. Stop pressing SNOOZE!  This may be one of the hardest commitments for most of us.  Whoever invented this darn button ruined us all….lol.  When you press snooze you mess with your sleep cycles and end up waking up more tired!  It will be hard at first but after a few weeks you will jump out of bed the first time your alarm goes off.  Try and set your alarm away from you so you actually have to get up out of bed.

This will be hard at first but after two weeks it will be a lifestyle and you will notice the difference in your daily life.  Stop scrambling and start planning!

Workout Wednesday: Upper Body Posture Week 3

Week 3 of our upper body posture series!  Are you standing a bit taller?  Are you noticing that your neck is returning?  Are people no longer calling you trap man/woman?  Have you noticed you can breath a bit better?  Are you starting to correct your slumped over posture throughout the day?

This week we start to strengthen those muscles between the shoulder blades as well as give you some overhead shoulder control.

Start this exercise without any weights and then slowly add in some light weights, only we can be done with perfect form!  Add this in at the gym or at home!

Follow this simple vid or the photos below ->

1. The A- with thumbs up to the sky and arms straight lift your arms up to shoulder height.  The hard part about this is staying out of those upper neck muscles and rounding those shoulder down and forward…keep reaching those shoulders down and back! (as you can see I need to continue to do some stability work with my left shoulder; I have had tendonitis in this shoulder since high school…these exercises really help!).  Complete 3 sets of 10 reps
2. The Y- bring the arms out 45 degrees, thumbs up, arms straight lift the arms up to shoulder height.  Complete 3 sets of 10 reps. (again working into my left shoulder more… we all have those area ;).
3. The T- bring the arms out in line with the shoulders (90degrees), thumbs up, arms straight lift those arms up. Complete 3 sets of 10 reps.

Get ready for next week, Week 4… Sculpting time!

Recipe of the Week: Meatloaf

So I have to be honest, I have never really been a fan of meatloaf.  My mother and grandmother would make it occasionally and I would complain.  I found it strange that many people were obsessed with meatloaf and even put it into a sandwich!

Since I was never really a fan of meatloaf after I moved out of the house I never made it.  It wasn’t until I saw Anthony’s fixation on meatloaf (I think it’s a man’s thing) that I decided I would finally try to make it (girlfriend points).

Instead of the traditional drab gluten filled meatloaf I created my own twist!  And it turned out absolutely incredible!  I now officially love meatloaf!

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb grass fed organic ground beef
• 1/2 c cooked quinoa
• 1/4 c diced sweet onion
• 1/2 c diced mushrooms
• 1/4 c diced green onion
• 1/2 c diced cherry tomato
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil + oil to coat pan
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or your hands (works the best if you can handle it).
3. Coat a 6.5″ x 4.5″ x 2.5″ baking dish with olive oil.  You can use a variety of sizes.  If it is a smaller yet deeper pan or a large pan yet less deep baking times will vary*.
4. Place mixed ingredients in coated baking dish.
5. Bake for 35 minutes.
6. Let rest 3-5 minutes.
7. Cut – serve – top with a touch of organic ketchup (HFC of course) and enjoy!

*You can cut the center of the loaf to take a peak.  You want to be sure all the ground beef has turned from red to brown.

Positivity of the Week: Let’s Get Physical

Happy Valentine’s Day all you love birds!  It may not be just love that makes couples celebrating this day seem to be in this eternal bliss.

Endearing physical touch has been proven to lower blood pressure and cortisol levels; thereby lowering stress levels.  Overtime this reduction in stress can lower your risk of heart disease.  Our central nervous system also responds positively to this “loving feeling” to impact our mental state, giving us feelings of happiness and joy.

My client Judy always talked about he importance of good hugs and always made sure we had a good one at the end of each session.  I always left her house feeling positive but never took the time to see the importance of this simple action.

Challenge yourself next week to give at least one REAL enduring hug each day; not a pat on the back but an actual hug.  Now boys…it’s okay if it’s that strange handshake man hug that I have yet to figure out, just make sure it last a few seconds.

Google Image

(Facts borrowed: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/the-power-of-touch-physical-contact-health_n_3253987.html)

The Lifestyle Accountability Show… find your healthy

It is February and many of those New Years Wishes may not be sticking as well.  As our life and lifestyle gets in the way it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up those promises we made to ourselves in January.  Do you need some extra motivation?  The best way to have continued success for your health goals is to immerse yourself in a positive healthy environment.

How? 

Surround yourself with healthy people, read interesting articles about health, subscribe to a health magazine, follow inspirational social media accounts, sign up for a fun workout class, and fill your home with healthy fuel!

The goal is to find your personalized enjoyable healthy lifestyle.

My friend Adam Bate has created this very exciting and entertaining podcast called the Lifestyle Accountability Show!  This show highlights a variety of people motivated towards health.  You will find great educational chats from health and wellness professionals as well as motivational and inspirational discussions from everyday fitness enthusiasts.  It is so important on YOUR journey to health that you find people you can relate to!  This show brings a great variety of people and stories together can help you develop your own personalized enjoyable healthy lifestyle!

Listen to my recent discussion with Adam here: http://www.lifestyleaccountability.com/jessica-no-stove-no-oven-no-problem-healthy-living/

Join the healthy lifestyle movement at the Lifestyle Accountability Show here: http://www.lifestyleaccountability.com/

Stay healthy my friends!

 

Workout Wednesday: Upper Body Posture Week 2

Welcome to week 2 of our upper body posture series!  If you haven’t tried week one go check it out!  This week we start to strengthen the upper body postural muscles!  These two simple exercises take no time and will not only help your posture but help to stabilize your shoulder joints in the correct position, giving you a tall sexy look.

These exercises can be done in the gym or at home.  You will need some light free weights 2-5 pounds and a medium exercise band (if you don’t have the band no worries).

Follow along with this video or the photos below ->

1. External rotation- this exercise will help to strengthen your shoulder joint in external rotation (taking you away from that rounded forward position).  You can use some light weights or resistance bands.  Perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions.
2. Lat Pinches- this exercise is the perfect warm up before any back or lat strengthening exercise.  Pick up your light weights and go into a bent over row position with your shoulders back and abs pulled in tight.  Pull the elbows in close to your sides, externally rotate at the shoulder joint and visualize pinching those elbow together behind your back (it won’t really happen).  Complete 3 sets of 20 reps.

Join me next week for upper back strengthening series 2!  Week 3 of Upper Body Posture Exercises.