Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Blackberry Pom Margaritas

Blackberry Pomegranate Margarita



What can I say; I am a margarita girl when it comes to picking a special drink. If I am going for a cocktail I will usually always swing for that option. This holiday season I decided I wanted to make my own, but I wanted mine to be a little healthier than the ones you can get in a restaurant or bar. Most of those margaritas are made with lots of premade mixes, which have oodles of sugar and calories in them. We made these to go with one of our holiday dinners. The color is perfect for Christmas! Cheers to a fabulous drink! Enjoy!

Recipe makes 1 serving

Ingredients
·       2 shots gold tequila
·       2 shots 100% pomegranate juice
·       1/2 shot triple sec
·       Juice of one lime
·       Ice
·       Pomegranate seeds -a tablespoon or so per cocktail
·       4 blackberries muddled
·       Sugar for rim – I used organic but it really does not matter
·       Lime wedge, to garnish

Instructions
1.    Using a lime wedge, moisten the lip of your glass.
2.    Pour some sugar out onto a small plate and dip the rim of your glass into the sugar. This should sugar your rim. Add a few ice cubes to your glass and set aside.
3.    In a shaker filled with ice, add in your tequila, pomegranate juice, triple sec, lime juice and blackberries. Shake vigorously.
4.    Pour your drink into your glass with the sugared rim.
5.    Add in your pomegranate seeds and stir.
6.    Garnish with a lime wedge and serve.
If mixture is too strong for your liking add in more pomegranate juice.




Tuesday, December 23, 2014

May Your Days Be Merry & Bright


From the bottom of my heart I wanted to take the time to wish each and everyone one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I cannot thank all of you enough for supporting me on my health and fitness journey as well as joining me to start your own journey. I have been fortunate enough to create so many new friendships with my challengers and fellow coaches. I have loved being able to be a part of your lives! The positivity that comes along with being a health and fitness coach is indescribable.



My wish for you this holiday season is that you take a minute to step back from all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and remember why we celebrate. I want to encourage you to take time to pull your phones from your hands and replace them with the hands of a loved one. BE FULLY present this holiday season. Make memories. Share love and laughter with all of those around you!

As you finish up your shopping and wrapping, know that the best gift you can give someone is your time and your love.

May your next few days pass by slowly and you enjoy every minute of the holidays!


Here’s to another year of health and happiness!



Sunday, December 21, 2014

Insanity Max 30 - Week 2 In Review

Insanity Max 30- Week 2 In Review

Well week 2 is in the books and I am starting to love the program even more than I had anticipated. My reason being is that it is challenging but in a fun way, like I want to prove to myself that I can do it. I am finding that my max out times are getting better and better. Aside from building more endurance I have also lost 4 lbs. I am not doing this program to lose any weight because I am happy with what I already weigh, but the weight seems to be melting off. I was 120 lbs when we started and am at 116 right now. Its funny how weight can look different. I look back and look at pictures of myself right before I got pregnant with Carter and I weighted 105 lbs right when I got pregnant. I look at those pictures and I do look thin but not really any different than I do now. Maybe a flatter stomach but that’s really it.  I have always been naturally thin thanks to genetics. I ate whatever I wanted and aside from being a swimmer in high school I didn’t really workout. Now I look at how hard I am working and my weight and I realize that I am a “fit” weight. I have so much more muscle than I did back then and don’t think that weighting what I used to weight is a reasonable goal. I eat too much and exercise to hard to get down to that weight, nor do I even want to. Being skinny is not my goal; being fit is.



I have also started to notice a difference in my upper and middle abs. They are starting to feel stronger and I am enjoying doing the extra 10 -minute ab attack that comes with the program. My upper abs have already been strong thanks to the other programs. My lower abs are still a different story. However, I think that is going to change after a few more weeks with Insanity Max 30. There is SO much lower ab focus and I love it!

I found that I did a great job with my nutrition last week but struggled with the workouts. I am a morning exerciser but my husband is an evening exerciser. I have mostly agreed to compromise and workout with him in the evenings but last week we seemed to be on separate pages. I also found myself two days behind because of sleeping in or falling asleep before I got my workout in for the evening. I hate being off on my dates that the workout calendar has scheduled for me, so I put time in this past weekend and made up for the days that I had missed earlier this week so that I could be back on track today. 


The key to my nutrition success last week was my planning and preparation that I had done in advance. It helped keep me on track. We enjoyed some fabulous dinners last week, but my favorite was the steak with brown rice and I roasted cauliflower. DELICIOUS! I also came up with a new snack idea. I was craving carbs like crazy last week so I enjoyed a whole grain English Muffin with cashew butter and a few chocolate chips. Really hit the spot!





Last week I also hit the E&E pretty hard. E&E is a pre- workout formula that you can drink before or during your workouts. It gives you a little bit of extra umph to get thru your workouts and wake you up! I swear by it and I am using it every day now for the workouts. Ended up finishing up a tub of it last week. (Not all in one week though ;) Thank goodness for the delivery of a new tub on Friday!


With the chaos of finishing Christmas shopping, hosting a family gathering on Sunday and preparing for being away for the holidays, I didn’t officially “meal plan” for this week. I did however plan out my dinners for the first few days of the week while I am home. I will also be packing with me for the visit lots of healthy snacks and things that travel well.


Excited to start week three! Time sure flies when you are having fun!! Happy Holidays to all of you!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Creamy Herb Dressing

Creamy Herb Dressing


Well when I started into Insanity Max 30,  I knew that the ranch yogurt dressing I was currently using had to go. It was better than some ranch dressings but did have a few ingredients I would rather do without. Part of the Insanity Max nutrition plan as well as the 21 day fix nutrition requires you to make your own dressings. This one seemed to be the closest to my ranch dressing so I decided to whip it up. Tastes great and is a close second to what I was currently eating. Simple to make and much better for you! 

1 serving is 2 tablespoons 

Ingredients:
  • 1 medium avocado
  • 1 1/2 cups nonfat plain Greek Yogurt
  • 4 Tbsp finely chopped herbs (I used fresh parsley and thyme)
  • 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 
  • 1/4 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 dash ground pepper
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
  1. Place avocado, yogurt, herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in blender until smooth.
  2. Continue blending avocado mixture, slowly adding oil until well blended.
  3. Store in fridge, tightly covered, until ready for use.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Insanity Max 30 - Week 1 In Review

Insanity Max 30 – Week 1 In Review



I will be the first to admit that when Insanity Max 30 launched on December 2nd I pretty much had my mind made up that I was going to pass on trying this program. You see right after I had my son my husband bought Insanity off the infomercial. We had good intentions but the truth is, we never were able to stick with the program. The workouts were killer hard and were also very long. Needless to say it put a bad taste in my mouth and has kept me away from crazy cardio workouts.

Fast forward to now. When the program launched I did not buy it for the first few days. Then my husband somehow heard about it and was like we are doing this. You are in so much better shape now and plus its important that as a coach you try all of the new programs. I decided he was right and liked the idea that we were going to do it together. I was surprised how excited I was while waiting on the package to arrive at our doorstep.

Like all Beachbody challenge packs, it did no disappoint, particularly the nutrition guide. What got me even more excited was that I realized that the eating plan with the exact same concept and plan as the 21 day fix. This is the program that I started with last February and absolutely loved. In fact, 10 months later I am still eating according to the fix just not as strict as I had been when I did that program. 

Last week since the program arrived on a Monday we jumped right in without meal planning for last week. I would say my nutrition would receive a solid B for a grade. I was very cautious, but I did have some cheat meals, particularly Papa Johns pizza for dinner Friday night. I had to get the last hurrah in before we buckled down and got serious. I meal planned this weekend and we are prepared to kick butt this week and stay focused. Below you will see a copy of our meal plan we are going to follow this week.
Insanity Max 30 Week 2 Meal Plan
Sarah Griffith
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Shakeology
Shakeology
Shakeology
Shakeology
Shakeology
Apple w/ natural PB
Egg Omlet
½ peppers ½ onions with motz cheese ½
Egg Omlet
½ peppers ½ onions with motz cheese ½
Cheerios
Egg Omlet
½ peppers ½ onions with motz. cheese ½
Fajata Chicken
Brown Rice/ Black Beans
Greek Yogurt Parfait with mixed berries and Pecans
Turkey Bagel Sandwich
Spinach Salad
Strawberries
8 pecans
Steak Salad
Lettuce
Peppers/Cucumbers
Creamy Herb Dressing
Apple w/ natural PB
Hummus Chicken
Lettuce
Peppers/Cucumbers
Creamy Herb Dressing
Apple w/ natural PB and greek yogurt
Tomato Basil Pasta
w/ grilled chicken  
Pomegranate seeds
Peanuts
Red Pepper Slices
Mixed Berries
Air Popped Popcorn
Pomegranate seeds
Apple w/ natural PB
Grilled Chicken Salad
½ Peppers/ ½ Cucumbers
8 Triscuit Crackers
Creamy Herb Dressing
Steak
Green Beans
Brown Rice
Black Olives
½ Blue Hummus Chicken
Baked Potato
Mixed Fruit
Tomato Basil Pasta
w/ grilled chicken  
Lean Burgers
Broccoli
Bun
½ motz. cheese




The program is a Monday – Friday one with Saturday and Sunday off for rest or an optional stretching workout.  I have decided that the workouts are a mind over matter thing. I had to keep talking myself into not quitting because quite frankly they are hard. The point is that you go until you have to “max out” then you take a quick break and jump right back in. Crazy right? I know! Lets just say I was torching calories and sweating like crazy! Having my husband there to compete with did make it a little easier though. I was pumped with I “maxed out” after he did our first day! Its been fun to show him how conditioned I am now from all of the other programs I have done.  Friday Fight was the hardest day of the week for me because of the duration before a quick water break. I also thought that the tabata workouts were challenging particularly the triceps portion. My arms are weak and it really showed during those moves. Anxious to do the 10-minute ab attack as often as I can fit it in, this ab workout is KILLER but it really works on the lower abs; which is an area I am hoping to improve.



Saturday, December 13, 2014

Clean Chili Mac



My husband was getting grumpy about all of my clean healthy meals so I decided I needed to set out to find something that he would approve of. I tricked him into loving this clean version of Chili Mac and Cheese.  We absolutely loved it and enjoyed it as leftovers the second day! 
(Makes 9 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground meat 
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped fine)
  •  8 fresh cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, no sugar added, low sodium is best
  • 1 cup water
  • Whole grain macaroni, cooked to package directions (as much as you like)
  • Salt to taste
  • Parmesan cheese for garnish
    DIRECTIONS:
  1. In a medium to large soup pot, cook the meat in the oil.
  2. When the meat is about half way cooked, stir in all the spices.
  3. When the meat is finished cooking, stir in the pasta and remaining ingredients.
  4. Served topped with parmesan cheese.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Salted Caramel Shakeology



Ingredients 
10 oz of water
8 oz of ice
4 oz of vanilla almond milk
1 scoop of chocolate Shakeology
1 tsp of caramel extract
A dash of pink himalayan sea salt

Directions
Combine ice, almond milk and water into a blender
Add in extract and sea salt
Add in 1 scoop of the Shakeology

Blend for 1 min and enjoy!