Crockpot Creation... HEALTHY QUINOA CHICKEN CURRY BOWLS

So I've been on the hunt for some healthy crockpot recipes now that we're getting into fall, and I came across this one from blogger "Pinch of Yum." I'm planning on putting this in next week's dinner rotation to see if it passes the ultimate test... getting husband approval! :D

HEALTHY QUINOA CHICKEN CURRY BOWLS
Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onions
1 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs (breasts are also good)
2 tablespoons curry paste
2 teaspoons garam masala (cumin or roasted coriander are also good)
1 tablespoon ginger paste
3 cloves garlic
2 cups tomato puree
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups diced eggplant (peel removed)
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 cup uncooked quinoa
toppings: crushed almonds, rice, noodles, cilantro, green onions, almond butter

INSTRUCTIONS
Dump everything in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8. Delicious!

Enjoy, and share with a friend! :)
xoxo,
Alison

A Spoon in one Hand, and a Jar of Peanut Butter in the Other... Sound Familiar?

I don't know about you, but I have definitely been THAT girl. You know, the one who stands in front of the pantry in the kitchen with a giant spoon and a jar full of Jiff just going to town like a ravenous she-wolf. #thestruggleisreal.

So why do we "fit chicks" (or aspiring fit chicks, I should say) crave peanut butter so badly? I did a little research into this, because seriously... it's a thing! So here's what I found out...

You're craving those spoonfuls of delicious peanut butter because:

1. Your eating plan is low in carbohydrates. I've experienced this scenario first-hand. When I was doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme "Countdown to Competition" eating plan (which is AMAZING for getting primed for a special event, by the way... crazy results!), there were days cycled in that only allowed for 1 carbohydrate portion. This wasn't every day, but it was usually 2 days back-to-back, with a regular 21DFX eating day (with more carbs involved) in between. It was almost like the less carbs I ate that day, the better the peanut butter tasted. Right? Have you experienced that? Moral of the story? Whenever there is ANY kind of imbalance in your diet whatsoever... be it not enough carbs, not enough fat, etc... there will be weird cravings.

2. Your eating plan is extremely low in fat. Word to the wise... FAT IS NOT THE ENEMY! In fact, a proportionate amount of healthy fats can help you LOSE weight and stay healthy. Think of your body as a well-oiled machine... you need the oil! With that said, not all fats are created equal. Make sure you're not pounding sticks of butter, and you'll be ok. You want to stick to things like avocado, natural nuts (almonds, cashews, etc), coconut or olive oil, and yes... you said it... PEANUT BUTTER! Nut butters are GREAT in moderation. If you're on a low fat diet and you are craving PB like a mutha, guess what... you should eat it! Try adding in more healthy fats to your diet, and those cravings should become less severe.

3. You're stressed! You can be stressed from a variety of things... work, traffic, your kids/spouse/boss/mom/sister... or maybe you aren't getting enough sleep, or you were so busy you had to skip lunch that day. Wherever the stress-er lies, know this: our bodies tend to crave foods that are high in fat and calories. Guess what I learned? Peanut butter actually has a compound that FIGHTS stress! It's called beta-sitosterol, which can normalize high levels of the hormone cortisol, which is released in your body when you're stressed out. It's also a hormone that signals to your body (especially women) to hold on to some of those pockets of abdominal fat for later in case you might need them.

So what do you do about all this? Listen to your body! Cravings are there for a reason. However, this doesn't give you license to just down a jar of peanut butter with abandon. Put some thought into the WHY behind your craving. Try adding a little more healthy fat and a little more carbs into your diet. Don't be scared of the carbs... and remember... like fat, not all carbs are created equal. Try a little sweet potato, or some fruit when you're feeling a little punchy. Reflect on your habits and try to pinpoint any sources of stress. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you taking any "me" time to relax during the day? What does the rest of your diet look like? How are your relationships with your co-workers? Family? Spouse? Kids?

Remember, life is all about BALANCE.

So, don't punish yourself for your peanut butter binge. Instead, understand the causes, and make some small adjustments to alleviate that next pantry attack.

xoxo,
A

Crap! I Cheated on my Diet! What do I DO?!

As a coach, I literally get this question ALL the time. Hell, I've even wondered what to do myself. Long story short? You're human. It happens. It'll happen to you, and it certainly happens to me. The most important thing to do? Forgive yourself, don't dwell in the moment, and move on. Don't make that cheat meal a cheat day... or (gulp) a cheat WEEK. Simply enjoy it for what it was... a treat, and keep moving forward.

Now that you've read that, take a deep breath. Here is something else you need to consider...

Don't use the scale as a measurement tool. There's NO WAY you did enough damage this weekend for you to gain 5lbs worth of fat. You'd have had to eat like 40 slices of pizza last night ON TOP OF your normal calorie intake for that to happen. You didn't, did you? I'm pretty sure that's physically impossible, anyway. :)

Chances are the number you're seeing on the scale is reflecting fluid retention from all the salt... OR you've been eating at such a caloric deficit as part of your nutrition plan that your muscles were starved of glycogen when you decided to indulge... thus increasing your glycogen stores (not a bad thing!) and perhaps altering the number on a scale a bit.

This has definitely happened to me before. When I was doing the Countdown to Competition eating plan with 21 Day Fix Extreme, I was operating on very little carbohydrates. When I was finished with 3 weeks of that, the next day I definitely had a cheat meal (or two). Did I see the scale change a little? Yes. Did I freak out? No. Why? Because the very next day I jumped right back into a maintenance calorie bracket and continued with my healthy eating, and everything evened itself out.

So what's the bottom line? Although you should definitely try your best to stick to the nutrition plan that corresponds with your program and fitness goals, an OCCASIONAL slip won't derail all of your hard work and progress. The important thing is to make sure your slip doesn't turn into a landslide.

Keep up the great work, everyone!
-A

Skinny Mac and Cheese? YES PLEASE

So this recipe is one I adapted from Skinny Taste, and it's REALLY delish. Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite "comfort foods" by far, and any way that I can "healthify" it at all, I'm all about it!

Here's what' you'll need:

• 12 oz elbow macaroni (I use gluten-free quinoa pasta)
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter (Kerry Gold is my fave)
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup almond or coconut flour
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth (vegetarians use vegetable broth)
• 8 oz (2 cups) reduced-fat sharp cheddar 
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 12 oz fresh broccoli florets (I used pre-cut bag)
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• cooking spray

Here's what you'll do with it:

1. Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions for al dente (or slightly under cook 2 minutes). Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. In a large, heavy skillet, melt butter. Add onion and cook over low heat about 2 minutes, add flour and cook another minute, or until the flour is golden and well combined. Add milk and chicken broth and whisk, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil; cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat, add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked macaroni and broccoli and mix well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray on top.

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to get the breadcrumbs golden.

Enjoy, my friends!! 

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.