Superfoods for GORGEOUS Skin

Anyone else out there every struggle with their skin? I've tried like a GAZILLION products... basically if it's on the market, I've more than likely bought it. Lately, I've been looking into how the foods I am eating (you know, in my quest for everlasting health and fitness, right?!) affect my complexion, and here's what I've discovered...

Not only does eating clean help you keep extra weight from creeping on, but it actually makes you MORE BEAUTIFUL. I don't know about you, but I'm not in a position to be rejecting extra beauty, haha. When you take care of yourself your health radiates from the inside out! Good nutrition naturally nurtures healthy, glowing skin to help keep it free of acne. I always wondered why many skin-nurturing beauty products on the market sound like you could eat them... a lot of them have ingredients like citrus, acai berries, camu-camu and other potent superfoods in them; apparently, these ingredients are as good for you insides as they are for your exterior.

Good nutrition also can do wonders for strengthening your hair from heating products you may use every day and it also supports healthy growth and texture. Finally, when you’re eating right you may also notice your nails become stronger, grow faster and maybe don’t crack and break as often. This is all thanks to good nutrition! So what should you be eating to enrich your hair, skin and nails?
Here are a few ingredients that are great for all of the above. You can find these ingredients in many foods at your local grocery store and you can find ALL of them in Shakeology, which is ridiculously easy for a crazy busy teacher like myself!

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I'm BAAAAACK!! Time to get BEASTY :D

My FITFAM!!

Thanks for bearing with me as I took the summer to reconfigure LIFE a bit. :)

As a middle school teacher, summers are pretty precious. This summer, my husband and I decided to do a good bit of traveling and spend time at the beach, as well as re-evaluate some of our plans for the rest of 2015 and 2016. And let's just say that in this summer whirlwind, my proverbial dance card got mega full. Unfortunately, the blog was one of the things I took off my plate for a few weeks. HOWEVER, I have been collecting TONS of great content to share with you! From recipes to fitness tips to PERFORMANCE SCIENCE... (yes, this teacher got SCHOOLED this summer!), I've got so many fun things to share in the coming weeks! 

So you may (or may not) be wondering... what the heck have I been up to?! Lazy middle school teacher, vacationing all summer! Well, not exactly. On a personal note, David (the hubs) and I have been struggling with selling our town home. It's been a vortex of showings, offers, and... no contracts. Our buyers just can't seem to get their financing. So in true teacher fashion (yes, he's a teacher too... it's how we met! ) we've been working on a "Plan B"... saving money like it's going out of style, and paying off debt. I'm really happy to announce that as of last week, we have completely ELIMINATED our credit card debt. HAPPY DANCE!!! 

Fitness-wise, I took on a challenge I thought I'd NEVER do. I'm a cardio girl and love my Insanity workouts, so lifting weights has always been something I've shied away from. Enter... THE BEAST: 

I'm tackling one of the toughest programs I've ever encountered... it's called Body Beast, and it's all about heavy weight lifting. I'm trying to grow muscle and also decrease my body fat percentage, and I'm learning so much about the nutrition side of what occurs in your body post-workout, overnight, and during the workout so I can fuel it correctly for maximum results. I'm now in Week 5, and I've got 8 more to go... so not quite half way! I'll keep you guys posted as I continue to learn and experience more in this new realm (well, new to me) of my fitness world. :)

New post coming soon! xoxo, Alison 

How Do You Break a Plateau?

I get asked this A LOT. In fact, I've even asked MYSELF this question, ha. It seems like you get on a roll... you're eating well, you're working out every day, and you're KILLING IT. Or so you think.

For me, I can be a master of discipline and precision. However, I just wasn't losing that extra little bit of "pooch" in my lower stomach. I was doing all KINDS of ab exercises, insane cardio workouts (literally... Insanity! Haha), and some weight training, too. But that layer of fat over my lower abdominal wall was killing me. Not literally, but I was working wayyyy too hard for those abs to NOT make an appearance! Can you relate??

So here are some research-based strategies that have helped ME break my plateau... hopefully they can help you with yours, too!

1. Zigzagging my calories: You're probably wondering what the heck that means. When I first saw this, I was wondering the same thing. Let me break it down for you...

Body builders call this "refeeding" the body. Basically, you're eating at a a caloric deficit on some days and you're eating more calories on others. Hence the name. Why? You're keeping your body guessing. What USED to work for you in the past is no longer cutting it, because you're now MORE fit, and you require MORE calories to continue progressing toward your goals.

So, What might this look like? Let's say you need 2000 calories per day. You might eat 2000 calories per day 3-4 days per week and 1500 calories on the other days. If you’ve been eating a low-calorie diet you can assume you need to add calories. To find out how many, try increasing by 300–600 a day (depending on your size). Eat that way 4 days per week while keeping calories where they are now on the others.

2. Working out (especially on cardio days) on an empty stomach. You'll burn stored fat instead of the meal you just ate an hour earlier for energy.

3. Get enough protein, and don't cut out fats and carbs. The trick here is getting your numbers right. Goal for about 40% carbohydrates and 20-25% HEALTHY fats (think avocados, nuts, seeds, etc.)

4. You can't diet restrictively ALL the time. I had a hard time letting go of this one. I thought that to look good, that meant that I had to be on point CONSTANTLY. Your body adapts. You have to change it up... and more importantly, you have to ENJOY life! :)

These are just a few little snippets I've learned along the way... and believe me, I'm still learning! I'd love to hear from you if you're looking for a little advice, some support, or even accountability in reaching your personal fitness goals.

Coconut Raspberry Loaf... Bring it!

Wanna have your "bread" and eat it, too?

Lookie what I found... this one was shared on Instagram by @GoldFenger and it's AMAZING. My husband even ate it! Not that he doesn't like my cooking... he's just a big wheat-eater, and can "tell" when I sub out other ingredients. 

Anywho... here's what you'll need for this little ditty:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1.5 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• a pinch of sea salt (I prefer Himalayan salt)
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 cup raspberries

What do you do with it?

1. Preheat your oven to 400F. 

2. Whisk your eggs together and combine everything except the raspberries. You'll fold those in at the end. 

3. Put the dough in a baking tray for 30 minutes, or until golden brown (my tray was bigger, so the depth was pretty shallow... it cooked in half the time).

4. Store in the fridge! :)

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cup Pancakes!

And THEN, I fell in love. Breakfast foods. Peanut Butter. Chocolate.

I may have just died and gone to heaven.

While trolling around on the internet, I found these, done by Handle the Heat, a culinary school graduate in Arizona. I HAVE to share. P.S., these bad boys are MINE on Saturday morning! :)

Suuuuper simple recipe, which I love...

What you'll need:

• 1 cup (4.5 ounces) white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup almond milk (or other milk)
• 1/3 cup peanut butter, plus more for garnish
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips, plus more for garnish
• 1/3 cup peanut butter chips, plus more for garnish
• Maple syrup, if desired

What you'll do with it:

• In a large bowl combine the flour, baking power, and salt.
• In a medium heatproof bowl combine the almond milk and peanut butter. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, continue microwaving in 15-second bursts, whisking, until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the sugar, egg, and vanilla then stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.
• Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened, being very careful not to overmix.
• Grease a nonstick griddle or skillet with nonstick cooking spray or butter and heat to medium-high heat (about 350-375°F). Drop 1/4 cup portions of batter onto the hot griddle and gently spreading the batter to form a disk. Cook until bubbles begin to appear on the surface and the edges are dry. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.
• Serve hot with more melted peanut butter, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and maple syrup if desired.

My 21 Day Experience...

Summer... a love/hate experience for me. Let me explain why...

The transition from spring to summer has always been a little anxiety-driven for me. The weather turns warmer, people invite you to more "stuff," and there's always some event you have to go to, right?! Weddings, birthdays, cook-outs, baby showers, and... oh yeah... for us coastal people, THE BEACH.

It's not that I don't love those things. I totally do! I really love hanging out with my friends and having a good time. But I also want to be comfortable in my own skin, too. One of the things I love most about what I've been doing is I feel like I can finally eat whatever I want, and still get amazing results. The magic is in those Rainbow Brite containers, and in those 30 minute daily workouts.

So I use the term "magic" loosely. Really, the "magic" is in YOU. Have you decided that you want a healthier, stronger, leaner you? Have you committed to making that happen by following the nutrition and fitness plan? Then YES,

You.
Will.
SUCCEED.

21 Days. Not a hell of a long commitment, but it's 3 weeks of forming good habits and breaking bad ones. And yes, wine is allowed. And chocolate.

So what does this look like?? Pretty simple, actually...

Does this look like something you could do? I actually started a group TODAY focusing on the ins and outs of the meal plan and how to work those Rainbow Brites. :) We're starting with the workouts on the 8th, so if you need to refocus, recommit to yourself, and you want to slim down a bit for those summer events, hit me up!

Ginger Peach Pudding Parfait... Oh My!!

So I was perusing my US Weekly (don't judge me) and came across this AMAZING looking recipe that's totally 21 Day Fix approved... I'm in the throws of another round, and as you know, I have a wicked sweet tooth. Let me just say, this totally hits the spot.

Ginger-Peach Pudding Parfait

What you'll need:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1.5 TBSP vanilla protein powder (I choose to use Shakeology)
• 3 TBSP chia seeds
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 cup diced peaches
• 1/2 cup all natural granola or oats
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

What you'll do with it:

1. In a blender, combine the almond milk and protein powder until smooth. Stir in the chia seeds and ginger (and oats, if using), and refrigerate overnight. 

2. In 2 dishes, layer the chia pudding with the peaches, granola (if using), and coconut. Serves 2!

Enjoy! Share with a friend who'd LOVE this recipe!