Ideas for Lunch & Dinner~

Hi everyone. So I thought I should expand and give you some ideas of lunches and dinners that I make for myself and my family. As my competitions come closer in September and October, I will decrease my red meat and focus on lean meats like chicken and fish so variety of taste is important to me so I don’t feel like I am eating the same things over and over again!

1 chicken breast seasoned with Jamaican Jerk seasoning from Pampered Chef and Grilled on the BBQ. I combine this with either a cup of low-fat cottage cheese or a green salad.

2 sirloin hamburger patties with swiss or mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of cauliflower and 1/2 of broccoli.

Grilled salmon that is seasoned with lemon pepper spice from Pampered Chef and wrapped in foil and cooked on the BBQ. I serve this with a side of mixed cauliflower and broccoli. If it is for dinner we serve it with red potatoes broiled in the oven and seasoned with Mrs. Dash low sodium original seasoning and extra virgin olive oil. Very delicious!

Crok Pot cooked BBQ sauce chicken with green salad.

“Stir Fry” version without the sauce. Chop up the chicken and cook over the stove with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. Mix in my California style veggies and cook brown rice to serve with it on the side.

Ground turkey breast mixed with salad greens, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese.

Sliced steak with red potatoes.

Avocado and chicken wrap! Use carb right or whole wheat tortilla. Inside I put grilled chicken sliced into pieces, sliced avocados, cucumbers and a little bit of shredded cheese. I make two of these to have during lunch but 1 may be filling enough for others.

pineapple & teriyaki marinated sirloin patty with melted piece of cheddar of mozzarella cheese. When I am done cooking the patty on the grill I add a few more pieces of fresh pineapple with it. So yummy! My version of the bun-less bonzai burger from Red Robin.

These are some of the things I make to eat for lunch & dinner. My goal is to make sure that I have at least 20-25 grams of protein and the rest with veggies or complex carb like brown rice. Hope this give everyone some ideas as well.

Karly Beth

Hi, it’s Andrea – I’m not here, but my shoes are!!

I am soooo in love with my new sneakers.

It’s okay, I’ll admit it – I love shoes.  I “accidentally” wore my gym shoes to do some yard work, and well they were muddy, and yucky, and stinky…  So, BAM, I found myself in the market for new sneaks.

I originally thought that I was going to be the proud owner of a pair of Nike Shox.  I always thought they looked “so groovy,” and I just knew that they were going to be mine.  However, with a price ticket of $120.00 – I thought I had better look around “just to be sure” they were the ones I wanted.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I saw these funky little, no name, shoes on the shelf at Lady Foot Locker, they were orange and yellow (and because I will judge a book by its cover) I decided to try them on.  Oh, Heaven!!  I am so glad I did.

My feet were so happy! (and did I mention they were only $67.00, SCORE!) So now, if you see me out and about – working out –  I will tell you, “it’s like I am walking on pillows.”  They are soft, comfy, light, and offer lots of support in all the right places, and as I tell Karly, “they make me fast.”

So, folks – if you want happy feet get a pair of Ryka’s.  I don’t know if I’ll ever buy a different brand again.

Ideas for snacks~

Here are some ideas for good snacks in the mid-morning and afternoons.

Greek yogurt mixed with basic granola, blueberries, raspberries or strawberries.

String Cheese, swiss cheese or sharp cheddar cheese with an apple.

Raw veggies with humus 

An apple with organic peanut butter.

Low-fat cottage cheese and pineapple or strawberries.

Steamed veggies and brown rice.

1/2 cup of brown rice, 1/2 ground turkey & 1/2 scrambled eggs- all mixed (sounds gross I know, but it is a great afternoon snack of mine).

boiled eggs

fruits and veggies of any kind!

My fruit based snacks I use for the morning snacks.  For the afternoon, I save my veggies, cottage cheese, brown rice, and boiled eggs.

Hope this helps for some ideas for snacks throughout the day!!

Karly Beth

Eating Clean???

I have had several requests from readers to define what I mean when I say “eating clean.” So, here goes…

First of all, let me list what I limit in my diet.

1. Avoid processed foods. I try to avoid anything in a box or that is packaged such as chips, cakes, cookies, hamburger helper, pudding, sweets, candy, pop, sugar drinks, hotdogs, ice cream, Mac & Cheese, frozen tv dinners, and baked goods like muffins, donuts and breads.

2. Say “NO” to fast foods!!!!!!! Limit eating out as much as possible. I say this because you don’t know what all they are putting in your food. At home, you have the control of what you are eating.

The reasons why I avoid the items above are because they are processed, have lots of refined sugar or high fructose syrup, contain bad fats known as LDL’s, and or have lots of sodium.

Did you know that refined sugar creates the same reaction in the body that morphine does? It affects the same part of the brain which is one of the main reasons why your body has the “satisfaction reaction” when you eat the sugar and is also why you crave these items too. No wonder it is so hard for people to stop eating this stuff!

Now on to what eating clean means to me. Basically, eating non-processed food as close to its whole version/original state as can be. This includes lean meats like grilled chicken, fish, turkey and red meats like sirloin steak. I also eat eggs ,scrambled or boiled. I try to avoid frying my food and grilling it or baking it instead and I use extra virgin olive oil when cooking as well. I also enjoy vegetables raw and cooked as well as all fruits. Dairy products such as low-fat or skim milk, greek yogurt because it is lower in carbs and sugar and has higher protein than regular yogurt, and low-fat cottage cheese. I also enjoy cheese and organic peanut butter. Nuts, that are unsalted are also great. When eating salads, I avoid salad dressing but I have never been a dressing gal. Dressings pack a ton of empty calories so if you must get dressing, try a light vinaigrette type dressing rather than a blue cheese or ranch dressing. I don’t eat bread very often and when I do, it is the carb right tortillas or the whole wheat tortillas. If I make pasta, I use whole grain noodles. I enjoy brown rice, red & sweet potatoes. I make homemade protein pancakes and protein bars, old-fashioned oatmeal, basic granola, green tea, coffee and lots and lots of water.

Once you rid your body of processed food, you will be amazed at how good you feel. I have been off of the processed food for almost a year now. It wasn’t easy at first. I would get really bad headaches and my mood swings were terrible. I craved this stuff like crazy. Then, after a month, it started to get easier and I didn’t miss the treats so much. I am satisfied through the other foods that I eat and I still get my sweet tooth kick by eating strawberries and pineapple with greek yogurt and granola.

My body is happy with the clean eating and there have been times when I have had the bad stuff and boy do I regret it after! I get sick and my stomach is miserable. When I am faced with eating the bad stuff, I ask myself if it is worth making myself sick over. 99% of the time, my answer is “NO.”

I hope this helps explain what I think is eating clean. If anyone has any questions, please let me know! Thank you!

Karly Beth

A Day in the Life Of…

Ever wonder, “hey, what are they eating?”  Well, here is a snapshot into our daily diets.  These snapshots reflect days where we are both working out.  (We’ll have to do another version for days that we aren’t).

Let us know what you think, or if you have any questions at all.

Karly’s Food for Today

Breakfast 7:00 a.m.

Water

6 egg whites scrambled

1/2 old fashion oatmeal

1 scoop vanilla protein

Morning snack– 10 a.m.

Water

Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup of blueberries

1/2 strawberries

11:00 a.m. on workout day at lunch

1 scoop of size on pre- and during workout drink/ Water

15 minutes after workout post workout drink (recon by Scivation) Water

Lunch 1:00 a.m.

Water

6 oz of grilled, boneless chicken breast

1/2 cup cooked broccoli

1/2 cup cooked cauliflower

Afternoon snack – 3:00 p.m.

Water

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 homemade protein bar

Dinner– 6:30 p.m.

Water

6-7 oz. Steak- BBQ

1 cup mixed green salad (no dressing)

Evening snack: This is before bed time

Protein Shake/Water

Overall Totals:  Protein= 191.9; Carbs=84.1; Fats= 55.1; Fiber= 15.2; Water= 1 gallon; Total Calories= 1615

Andrea’s Food for the Day –

7:00 am                Protein Shake: Myofusion Banana is my FAVORITE

8:00 am                Oatmeal Instant

10:00 am              Carrot Chips and humus (I make the carrot chips using Pampered Chef’s Crinkle Cutter.  That way I feel like they are fancy!)

12:00 pm              Chicken Breast with Pampered Chef Ginger Wasabi Sauce (soooo good) and a cup of grapes.

1:30 pm                Post Workout Protein Shake

3:00 pm                Greek Yogurt with Honey – my favorite is Fage.  The honey is on the side, and I so feel like I am cheating.

6:30 pm                Dinner – Chicken Breast with enchilada sauce and cheese, green beans, and a spinach salad (topped with tomatoes and cucumbers and 5 squirts of vinaigrette dressing).  I usually have a glass of milk with dinner as well.

7:30 pm                Here is where my candy cravings get REALLY bad so I will take one medium-sized bite of my protein bar, wrap it back up, and put it in the cupboard.

9:30pm                 Protein Shake – Before Bed… 9:30 is ballpark-ish

Overall Totals:  Protein= 193.3; Carbs=139.9; Fats= 53.9; Fiber= 17.8; Water= enough to drown a turtle; Total Calories= 1844

Something to think about, you should try to limit your carb intake in the evening and before bed.  This is especially true if you are working out in the morning or early afternoon.

Make it a great day!

Click on this link for a Good Laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC4-2b2DjEs

Promise me that if I start getting like this that you will tell me?!!

Karly Beth

Whatever Keeps You Motivated

Today I saw something interesting as I was doing stairs and lunges at the WSU Football field.  A guy and a frisbee.  He would throw the frisbee as hard and as far as he could and then when the frisbee landed, he would run as fast as he could to retrieve and then throw it again.  My first thought was, this guy is like a dog or something.  Throw and retrieve but then I realized, it must be his way of motivating himself. 

Being creative while staying fit helps because it keeps things new and exciting and you don’t feel like you are stuck in a rut by doing the same routine over and over again.  For those of you who can’t see yourself chasing after a frisbee for motivation, take your most prized possession and toss it as far away as possible in a crowd and then chase after it in hopes someone else doesn’t pick it up.  Ok, I was just kidding 🙂  But seriously, be creative and do things that are fun while you are exercising at the same time!

Karly Beth

Attack of the candy cravings!!!

Howdy folks!!

I will not lie to you.  I LOVE candy.  Everyone who knows me, or has worked with me, knows I have a drawer in my office that is FULL of candy.  Well, used to anyway (sorry guys.)

This was my biggest challenge.  How could I, Andrea – Queen of the Candy, Ms. MunchMouth, get through the day without: Jolly Ranchers, Twix, Licorice, Jelly Bellys, Starkist Fruit Gems, Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears…. well you get the point.  First, I had to cut it off cold turkey.  I gave it all away, put it out on my desk, or trashed it.

Next, I bought six packs of sugar-free gum (alright except for the juicy fruit).  I totally understand that six packs is excessive – but that’s how I roll.  (cannot believe I just said that).

My final step was finding a healthy substitute – and no, I am not talking carrot sticks.  I found, and fell in love with, ProMax Protein Bars.  Go ahead, roll your eyes – they are scrumptious.  With protein bars you have to be really careful that you aren’t over-doing it (with some, you might as well eat the Snickers).  Whenever I am dying for candy – I grab a nibble off of one of these, and my craving goes right out the window.  I suggest you try: Lemon, Nutty Butter Crisp, Cookie Dough, and German Chocolate Cake.  Also,  THEY SELL THEM AT WINCO!!!  (Imagine me, squealing with delight, breaking into the best happy dance you have EVER seen.)

If that doesn’t work… bust out the Juicy Fruit.

Until Next Time – Andrea

10 Songs to get Your Booty Movin’

I don’t know about you, but music is a HUGE motivator for me.  I know if I have a great playlist on my iPod – getting moving is so much easier.  I get into the music and forget about the pain.

Here are 10 songs that I am really diggin’ at the moment.

1. Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine

2. Little Secrets – Passion Pit

3. Can’t Touch It – Ricki Lee

4. Bulletproof – La Roux

5. Major Tom – Shiny Toy Guns

6. Don’t Upset the Rhythm – Noisettes

7. Telephone – Lady Gaga

8. New in Town – Little Boots

9. I Want You To – Weezer

10. (an old classic) – Take on Me – a-ha

Now you just try not to dance to those jams!!!

Until next time – Andrea

Calling all readers…

Hey Friends, Family, and Strangers –

We would love to hear from you.  Do you have a particular topic you would like us to chat about??

Need some advice or an opinion on something?

Let us know what you think!!  We would love to hear from you.

Until next time – Andrea