Offering Customize Meal Plans with my NEW partnership with Evolution Nutrition

Visit My Meal Planning Page

As a personal trainer and fitness nutritional specialist, I know the importance of having a solid meal plan to help achieve maximum results for all the hard work you put into training in the gym.  That's why I'm excited to have partnered up with the dietitians at Evolution Nutrition to create meal plans completely customized with your dietary restrictions, health concerns, and goals in mind.  No cookie cutter meal plans here!!

So how does it work?  

You provide me with:

• Current weight
• Height
• Age (birthday)
• Measurements: neck, chest, waist, hips, thighs, calves
• Goals (weight loss, muscle gain, etc) 
• Current photos in front of a white background (front, side & back)
• Your current way of eating
• Activity level
• What's your current workout schedule: style, intensity, duration
• Any specific dislikes of food
• Share with me what is motivating this desire change your eating lifestyle today?

Then I do the rest!  What I'll present to you will be 30+ page meal plan, which will include

• 7 Days of Meals (everyday is different to prevent boredom)
• Detailed Nutritional Breakdowns
• Recipes 
• Grocery List
• Portion Chart to help you learn what a correct portion looks like
• PLUS, exclusive access to my FB Support group where you can ask questions, have support of fellow clients, as well as member only content I don't share on my FB LIKE page.  

What You Should Eat Before & After Your Workout

Here's the lowdown on what you should consume before a workout:

Cardio ONLY workouts (44 min or less): Have a few extra minutes to squeeze in a quick HIIT workout or even just go for a power walk? If you are only doing a cardio workout, you should have a 50-100 calorie source of quick digesting carbohydrates to rev up your metabolism and keep your body burning fat throughout your workout.

Cardio ONLY workouts (45 min +): Hitting the streets for a hardcore run? (I would consider anything over 3 miles hard core - I am not a runner! Yet!) You should have any where from 100-150 calories of a quick digesting and a slower digesting carbohydrate source. Skip the protein source until after your workout.

Weight Training/Lifting Session: Planning to pump iron before breakfast? Not so fast! Make sure you eat 150-200 calories of a quick digesting carb (such as one 30 cal rice cake), slower digesting carbs and a lean protein source. Don't waste your hard work - you want to build those muscles!

Here is a quick list of snacks you can use to create your pre-workout snack. Please note: there are many other snacks you can choose from - I included only these as they are quick to prepare, travel well and tend to cause the least amount of stomach issues once you are working out. You can definitely add to this list!

Quick Digesting Carbs

Low Sodium White Rice Cake - approximately 30 calories per rice cake

Banana - approximately 105 calories per medium (7 in) banana

Green Apple - approximately 72 calories per medium (3 in in diameter) apple

Slower Digesting Carbs

Low Sodium Brown Rice Cake - approximately 50 calories per rice cake

Oats (Quick Cooking, Steel Cut or Old Fashioned) - approximately 80 calories in 1/4 Cup of oats

Sweet Potato - approximately 90 calories in 1/2 Cup of baked sweet potato

Brown Rice - approximately 54 calories per 1/4 Cup of cooked brown rice

Lean Protein Source 

Protein Shake - this is the sometimes the most quickest way to get your calories if you are in a hurry! Calories will vary depending on your brand of protein powder.

Scrambled/Boiled Egg White - approximately 17 calories per large egg white (4g of protein per egg)

Fresh, Raw Peanut Butter - I do not recommend that you consume this if you are doing cardio. It is somewhat harsh on the stomach. Approximately 105 calories per TBSP.

Raw Almonds - 10 raw almonds are approximately 70 calories.

What should you eat after a workout?

That's pretty simple - a 100-200 calorie snack consisting of a lean protein source and a quick digesting carbohydrate source. The carbohydrates will help your body to digest and use the protein source that you have consumed and repair your muscles (this is how you build muscle. Tear it down to build it up!). It is IMPERATIVE that you eat within 30 minutes of a workout for optimal results!!

Pre Workout Snack Ideas

• Banana + peanut butter
• Oatmeal + sliced almonds
• Sprouted grain English muffin or toast + almond butter
• Whole-grain crackers + hard boiled egg
• Fruit and nut bar or granola bar (watch the sugar content)
• Fruit salad + chia seeds
• Dried apricots + almonds
• Wrap: Tortilla + hummus + cucumber & tomato
• Piece of fruit + Greek yogurt
• Small quinoa salad
• Small baked sweet-potato topped with greek yogurt
• Date & almond smoothie: 1/2 banana + 2 dates+ almond milk +2 tsp. almond butter

Healthy Super Bowl Menu? Yes!!! Here's how...

Healthy Super Bowl Menu?  Yes!!!

Roasted Tomato Hummus Dip

4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
Two 1-pound 3-ounce cans chick-peas, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup well stirred tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 cup olive oil, or to taste
1/2-1 cup roasted tomato

Directions

1. Add all of the ingredients to a food a processor and blend until smooth.

Lime Marinated Shrimp Skewers

• 1 pound of shrimp, deveined and shelled
• Fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
• 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
• 1 jalapeno, seeded depending on your tastes
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Mix, cumin powder, and jalapeno in small blender or food processor (can add mango for a tropical flare)
2. Skewer the shrimp and cover with the half of the marinade. Allow the shrimp to marinade in the fridge for a half hour.
3. Cook until shrimp are pink in color and top with the rest of the marinade

Serves 4-6

Healthy Buffalo Style Chicken Wings

Ingredients

3 pounds drumettes and wings
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter
6 sprigs fresh thyme
10 garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 cup hot sauce

For blue cheese dip:
1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
Scallions to garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F, and lightly grease an oven-proof pan.
2. In a large bowl, generously season drumettes and wings with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. In a sauté pan over low heat, melt butter. Add thyme and garlic and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Once thyme and garlic become aromatic, add hot sauce and stir.
4. Pour entire mixture over chicken and toss to coat. Allow wings to marinate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, combine blue cheese and low-fat Greek yogurt in a small bowl. Mix well, and refrigerate.
6. Transfer chicken to oven-proof baking dish and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes; with tongs or a fork, flip and baste wings.
7. Bake for 25 minutes more, occasionally basting wings while they're in the oven.
8. Remove pan from oven, and allow wings to slightly cool in pan. Baste with juices, and serve with blue cheese dip!

Serves 6.Source: Calorie Count

You can eat alone, with baked chips/crackers, or
add to your chili! YUM! 

Quinoa Black Bean Avocado Salad 
Ingredients:
3 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups cooked black beans)


1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (more or less according to your taste)
2 fresh avocados, pitted, peeled and diced
Fresh lemon juice to prevent avocado from browning
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Juice of 4 limes
Zest of 1 lime

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions. While it is cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, and cilantro.

3. Dice avocados and drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside.

4. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bullet-style blender. Pulse until garlic is incorporated and dressing appears creamy. Set aside.

5. Fluff quinoa with fork and add to bean mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Add lime juice and zest; toss to combine. Top each serving with avocado pieces and dressing.

This served four adults generously, with one portion leftover for my lunch. We didn't use all the dressing, but it was nice to have the extra on the side for those who wanted it.

Nutrition information per 1-cup serving:
Calories - 293
Fat - 12g
Saturated fat - 1g
Carbs - 39g
Fiber - 6g
Sugars - 1g
Protein - 9g
Sodium - 59mg
Cholesterol - 0mg

Smoked Pumpkin Chili (Vegan)

• 1 medium to large cooking onion, chopped
• 3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cans (or one large can) of dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
• 1 can of low-sodium corn kernels, drained and rinsed
• 1 large (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, keep the juice
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1 cup vegetable broth (or beer of choice)
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (or regular)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 to 15 sage leaves (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook until onions are tender.
2. Pour in the pumpkin puree and vegetable broth (or beer). Mix. Pour in the can of whole tomatoes (with the juice). Mix again.
3. Then add the kidney beans and corn kernels. Season with the paprika, black pepper, and salt.
4. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. You'll want to use a spatula or mixing spoon to crush the whole tomatoes a bit. Keep them chunky, but try to crush each one a couple times to distribute evenly.
5. Then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 45 minutes. Again, stir occasionally.
6. Add in the sage leaves (I rubbed mine a bit with my fingers to get the flavor out before dropping into the pot). Cook at a low simmer for another 15 minutes.

Never Fail Must-Haves:

Veggies are always a perfect snack, fiber rich & filling

Fruit Platter for a Sweet Treat

BUT--I'll give one recipe for a sweet treat without TOO much guilt! ;) 

Dark Chocolate Gluten and Dairy-Free Cupcakes

Makes: 12 Cupcakes

Cupcake Batter:

1 C red beets, pureed until smooth (can use canned beets or fresh beets, washed, peeled, boiled until fork tender, then pureed)

1 cup XyloSweet or Truvia natural sugar substitute

1 C unsweetened almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour

½ C dark chocolate cocoa powder

½ C dark chocolate chips (at least 70% cocoa powder)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. vegan cream cheese, softened

½ C Cauliflower, washed, steamed then pureed until smooth

½ C XyloSweet or Truvia natural sugar substitute

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

Unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

 Directions:

1)      Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat with non-stick cooking spray.

2)      In a large mixing bowl or stand up mixer, combine beet puree, sugar substitute, almond milk and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Add in egg whites and gently fold in.

3)      Add gluten free flour, cocoa powder, dark chocolate chips, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined and no visible lumps.

4)      Divide mixture evenly into muffin tin, taking care not to overfill.  Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out of center clean.  Allow to cool on a baking rack.

5)      While cupcakes bake, combine frosting ingredients together and beat until smooth and airy.  Once cupcakes are completely cooled, smooth frosting over the top.  Top with fresh fruit, as desired.