Recipe: Sweet Potato Collard Green Wrap

July 10, 2014
Recipes
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It’s summertime, which means it is WAY TOO HOT to leave the office in the heat of the day to go get a $14 wilted salad. Bring this shit to work and you’ll stay cool, satisfied, and FULL OF NUTRITION. You know you’re supposed to bring your damn lunch to work anyway, so try this one.

I like eating, so I usually put 1/2 of a sandwich’s worth of food in each wrap and have two wraps, as opposed to bringing one huge burrito of a wrap. Also, collard green leaves aren’t always big enough to make a huge burrito. But, you do whatever works for you. Here’s what you’ll need (per serving; if you wanna make a bunch for the week, go for it):

  • 1 small sweet potato
  • 1 small chicken breast (4-6 ounces)
  • 1/3 cup sweet onion “mayo” (that Greek yogurt concoction we made last week)
  • 2-4 collard green leaves, depending on their size

That’s all! These are simple and packed with flavor. You can also toss in any other raw or roasted veggies you might have lying around. I added roasted asparagus once and it was very tasty indeed. Read More

Sweet Onion “Mayo”

June 26, 2014
Recipes
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Adding a little extra flavor to a meal doesn’t have to mean adding a bunch of fatty or sugary bullshit (GET OUT, KETCHUP AND RANCH). Here is a great staple to include in any summertime meal. Also to include in any wintertime meal. Just include this when you eat things.

The first thing we have to do is choose a base for this tasty, sweet, salty, savory, delicious condiment. Let’s explore our options:

Mayonnaise = high in fat, high in calories, low in protein

0% Greek Yogurt = low in fat, low in calories, high in protein

This is an easy decision, right? We’re gonna make this mayo with Greek Yogurt cause it is the shit and way mo betta for you. Here are all of the things you need to make this: Read More

Cheat Meals

June 19, 2014
Advice from Experience
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Now that we’re all making smart choices, eating minimal processed foods, and loading up on healthy veggies and grains and lean protein, you might be wondering: am I ever going to eat pizza again? The answer is yes, but you STILL HAVE TO BE SMART. Let’s talk about cheat meals and what the deal is.

A “cheat meal” is a meal wherein you indulge, or “cheat” on your usual healthy diet. Sometimes it’s also called a “free meal” because you’re free from the typical constraints of your daily food choices. One thing you should NOT call it, as I have heard it referred, is a “reward meal.” You don’t reward being a fitnessing badass with eating a burger. That is not the mindset we’re going for. Your reward for that is being healthy and living longer and being able to do fun activities because you have so much energy and maybe even you get to wear shorts without looking like a sausage. Those are rewards. The Cheat Meal is a way of keeping you on track, long-term, in a realistic way. It helps most people to stick with their healthy lifestyles, because being healthy won’t mean NEVER having french fries again, or NEVER having a bowl of straight up regular pasta. Knowing you can indulge in those once in a while is what can keep most people making healthy choices the rest of the time. Read More

Your No-Excuse Workout Resource

June 5, 2014
Advice from Experience, Workouts
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Hey y’all, just a quickie post to tell you about a pretty awesome site (it’s okay, I know you look at other sites) that’s a GREAT fitnessing motivator and resource called Fitness Blender. Don’t be intimidated by their gorgeous 6% body fat photos. They’re an incredibly accessible couple of personal trainers that just want to spread some health around. Super neat!

On the site there are hundreds of free workout videos, ranging from low-impact, level-one light workouts to incredibly difficult high intensity interval training sessions. You can specify the area you want to work, the type of workout, the level of difficulty, even the amount of time you want to spend or calories you want to burn. They’ve been working on their site constantly, and now that they have these new search filters, it’s even easier to use as a quick go-to when you want a workout for home or the gym.

Here are a few reasons why I really like these guys: Read More

Summer Peach Salad

May 29, 2014
Recipes
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This is my new favorite salad and I’ve been eating it All. The. Time. Its fresh, summery, bright flavors are the perfect way to welcome the GODDAMN HOT WEATHER that’s coming. This is great as a side dish, a full meal when you toss some chicken on there, to bring for your lunch (which you should always bring to work, never buy), or to make a bunch and impress all your sassy friends at a summer BBQ. Let’s make this thing.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4): Read More

Push It Real Good (your werkout)

May 15, 2014
Advice from Experience, Workouts
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We’re all fitnessers here, which means we make time to work out regularly and eat things that are healthy most of the time.  Good for us. But one thing to be wary of is falling into a routine, and letting our bodies be lulled into a state of meditative workout oblivion. Our bodies are adaptable, which is awesome from a survival perspective, but mildly annoying from a fitness perspective. What happens is your body gets more efficient, and tries to use less energy (burn less calories) to complete the same amount of work. Great job, body! If bodies were employees, we would all be very happy with this increased efficiency. However, what we’re actually getting is a plateau. Our workouts become less effective as our bodies adapt.

This is why you should keep adding goals to your workouts. Pushing yourself from week to week, instead of completing the same workout every time, will keep your body working hard and burning calories. Changing up either the type of workout or the intensity of the workout are the only ways to push through a plateau, or decreased results. Here are a few ways to make sure you Push It. Read More

My Mom Is Awesome And Lost 27.5 Pounds So Far

May 7, 2014
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My mom has always been awesome, but recently she’s taking it to a new level by making fitness and health a real priority. She, like so many moms, is one of those ladies that makes sure everyone else is taken care of before caring for herself, and works harder than anyone I know. But sometimes it’s better to be selfish, especially regarding your health, and Mom finally decided it was time to focus on making a change in her own life for a minute. And, since it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, I figured it would be a great time to INSPIRE YOU ALL with what a badass she is, and how manageable her journey has been.

Mom and I are similar in that our body types will take just about any type of food we eat and ask CAN I CONVERT THIS TO FAT NOW?! which means losing weight requires a lot of attention to detail. However, it is still totally doable. Here’s how the lovely Mom O’Neill got on the fitness train, starting at the end of January: Read More

Eat Real Food

May 1, 2014
Hey, Friend
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Eat Real FoodWe’ve talked a lot about werkin out, and eating good stuff, and having a healthy mindset, and all kinds of things that can make you strong and healthy and awesome.

I’ve been a little slack in my writing the past couple of months, because I’ve been focusing on the “eating good stuff” part in a serious way. I’ve gotten a specialty certification in Fitness Nutrition (FANCY, Y’ALL) and really nailed down the most important part about eating right. Oh and I started a new business you guys. Here’s the main nutrition philosophy that sparked the idea: Read More

Good Health is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

April 22, 2014
Advice from Experience
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Oh, hey. It’s been a while. Sorry. I have about a dozen half-written posts and I PROMISE I have TOTALLY been considering writing them, and have been thinking about you guys and your fitnessing, but I also have been real busy starting a new exciting venture, which I will tell you all about in the next post. Right now, though, we got some business to take care of.

So, right around now is when magazines and commercials start pummeling you with “Shape Up For Summer,” and “Get a Hot Swimsuit Bod” and “You Need To Look Better Real Soon Cause It’s Getting Hot Out” headlines. This can make it really tempting to go into crash diet mode and Get Fit Now, but there are a few things you should consider. Read More

Okay Guys Let’s Make Some Pesto

March 5, 2014
Advice from Experience, Recipes
3 Comments

Cooking healthy foods isn’t rocket science, but it isn’t always easy either. And eating healthy foods isn’t much easier if it isn’t tasty. Or, if it’s tasty, but it’s the same tasty healthy recipe you’ve been making all year, and now it’s boring. So, let’s do something that’s easy to make and easy to eat and easy to switch up when you’re over it.

PESTO! Which you already knew because TITLES. Pesto is super easy to make — you pretty much cannot screw it up — it keeps really well (in the fridge for a while, in the freezer for longer), and you can make a bunch of different kinds so you don’t get bored. It’s a great way to flavor your food without using sugary sauces or dressings you find at the store (and trust me, even if it’s a savory sauce….check the label. It’s probs sugary). Read More