21 - Day Sugar Detox Starts January 2nd - Join the Group!!!

b.a.s.e.Fitters!  2012 is just around the corner and one of my top goals is a cleaner diet (yes, I am far from perfect and continue to be a work in progress). 

I am so excited to announce that a group of us will be doing the 21-Day Detox from Balanced Bites.  21 Day Sugar Detox - download your copy and join us today.  Diane's book has recipes, tips and she will provide you with emails to support and keep you focused on your goal.

If you are local, follow the program and come workout with me. Strength is in numbers.  I will hold you accountable. Your friends will hold you accountable.  You will hold yourself accountable.  Not local?  Don't let that stop you, discourage you or give you an excuse not to participate!  I will be posting regular body weight workouts that you can do in your own home...NO EXCUSES!  Got kids, guess what ~ put on some music and let them dance around while you do my workouts.  Got a job?  So do the rest of us!  Set your alarm earlier, get up and commit to starting your day with my workouts.  Everyone loves a good endorphin rush to kick off the day.

I teach classes 6 days a week and offer personal training sessions 4 days a week...so seriously folks ~ no excuses!

Click on the link above and get ready to hit the ground running in 2012!

Smoothies ~ too busy to prepare a healthy meal, try one of these!

I  wish that I had nothing but time to prepare homemade, clean, perfectly balanced meals for everyone in our house all of the time...but the honest truth is that there just isn't the time.  I have a full-time job and I teach at 3 different locations, so I have to find healthy shortcuts that still pack a nutritional punch while keeping it quick and easy.


Here are two smoothie recipes that we use in our house (kids aren't on them quite yet as the green color scares them.  I make them the night before, then freeze them and drink them midday.  You get 3 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit plus an extra boost! 

Current Favorite Smoothie Recipes:

½ cup frozen blueberries

2 cups spinach

1 cup kale

1/3 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 banana

1 tsp Macaforce Maca Powder

1 tsp chia seeds

1 tsp flax seeds

Small handful of goji berries & coconut chips

12 oz water

12 oz coconut milk

4 ice cubes

OR (Mark’s favorite):

4 oz water

10 oz coconut milk

1/3 cup of each: strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches

2 cups spinach

1 cup kale

1/2  banana

1 tsp coconut butter

1 tsp coconut flakes

4 ice cubes

As promised ~ paleo friendly holiday recipes

I have been working on recipe modifications and substitutes for the past several months trying to make recipes more paleo friendly as I move our entire family to a completely clean diet.  The holidays are such a hard time as everywhere you turn there are sweet treats and indulgences that can easily add inches to your waistline. 

It is said that one can gain as much as 10 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Years...if you are going to holiday parties, work events, social events during this season and having a few drinks and adding nibbles and desserts not normally on your list, you could definitely start to pack on some weight.

I will be sending out some more savory options to add to your holiday meals.  Enjoy ~ Amy

Try these three out:

Coconut Flour Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls
1 3/4 cups coconut flour
1/3 cup coconut/palm sugar
2 large Omega 3 eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda (slightly less than 1 tsp)
1/4 cup chia seedsb
2 tsp alcohol free vanilla (or vanilla powder - which I love)
Dark Chocolate Chips (70% if you can find them) - I use about 3/4 bag

heat oven to 375.  Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, chia seeds) and set aside.  Mix wet ingredients until well blended then add to dry ingredients and mix.  Add in chocolate chips.  Because the coconut flour crumbles, you need to make balls and set them on the baking pan.  I line mine with parchment paper.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  These are dense and really high in fiber.  My kids love these now.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Macaroons (recipe from the healthy cooking coach blog). 
I suggest a double batch if you like coconut as these disappear in the blink of an eye.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites from large or extra-large eggs (about 1/2 to 2/3 cup)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup raw honey 
1/4 teaspoon pure stevia extract powder with nothing added to it - I have done two batches, one with stevia and one without and you don't need it w/ the raw honey (do not substitute stevia extract liquid; do not use stevia that contains FOS, maltodextrin or other fillers)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or alcohol-free vanilla flavoring
2 cups unsweetened, sulfite-free, finely shredded coconut; additional 1/4 to 3/4 cup if needed*
Virgin-pressed coconut oil grease baking sheets (omit if using parchment paper)

1. Start with impeccably clean bowls and utensils. Separate the whites from yolks when the eggs are cold. Try to use a glass or metal bowl.  Let whites stand at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 300˚ F (lower if your oven runs hot).  Use parchment paper or coconut oil to grease the baking sheet.
3. Using an electric mixer or beaters on medium speed, beat the whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar. Beat until stiff peaks form when mixer is turned off and beaters are lifted.
4. Gradually add honey, then stevia and vanilla. Turn off mixer. Gently fold coconut in with a wide wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula. Whites may deflate—don’t panic. Add additional coconut, a little at a time if batter appears wet and loose. You want it a to be stiffer than meringue batter, but not as stiff as cookie dough.
5. Drop batter by level tablespoons onto the baking sheet
6. Bake in the center of the oven until set and lightly brown around edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Once cooled, dip in melted dark chocolate (I love the 88% endangered species bars)

Chocolate Truffles
- 1/2 Cup 100% raw cocoa power, unsweetened
- 1 Cup coconut oil, cold pressed (from Whole Foods).  If you don't like the   taste of coconut, WF also makes a refined Coconut Oil which has a very very mild coconut taste.
- 1/3-2/3 Pure organic, grade B maple syrup, to taste
- 2 T. coconut milk
Toppings:
I used a variaton of all 3 of these toppings below and rolled the truffles in them after taking the mix out of the freezer and scooping out the truffles
- unsweetened shredded coconut
- finely chopped nuts
- Raw cocoa powder- stiff rubber spatula, for mixing
- a double boiler or set a mixing bowl on top of a pot half-full of water. Fill pot with enough water to boil but not too much that the water touches the bowl.
Instructions
1) Place pot of preference on stove. Set heat on high (low if using a single pot).
2) Drop coconut oil into pot. Wait for it to melt.
3) Mix in cocoa powder using rubber spatula.
4) Stir in coconut milk. (optional)
5)Add Maple Syrup to taste/desired sweetness. 
6) Transfer the chocolatemixture to a smaller bowl and place in fridge or freezer for a few hours to let cool and harden. Once hardened, the mix will be easier to shape into truffles.
Making the Truffles
1) Using a tablespoon measuring spoon or small ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of the hardened ganache.
2) Scoop a bit of truffle coating into a small bowl. Using two spoons, roll each ganache ball in coating.

I store mine in the freezer until I am ready to serve - they are really yummy!