Healthy Fat Snack Mix

We had a great time last night at the launch of our Keepin' It Real Nutrition series. Here is the recipe for the healthy fat snack mix that Melissa made for the group. ENJOY!

1 cup each:

• goji berries *available at HyVee, Co Op, and Pomegranate Market
• macadamias, roughly chopped *available at Costco
• brazil nuts, roughly chopped *available at HyVee, Co Op, and Pomegranate Market
• pistachios
• pecans
• cashews
• almonds

2 cups:

• unsweetened coconut flakes

**you can find a great mix at Costco that contains pistachios, pecans, cashews, and almonds

Keepin' it Real Introduction

Fanciful claims and sensational headlines dominate magazine covers and Twitter feeds. Miracle pills, powders, and potions promise to banish belly fat and cut five pounds in one week. Oh, and “for less than $10 a day, you are guaranteed to lose weight while eating delicious pre-packaged foods like pasta, pizza, chocolate bars, and even ice cream sandwiches!”  Really?! 

According to Money magazine, Americans spend more than $60 billion dollars a year feeding the diet industry’s bottom line. We are emptying our pockets at an alarming rate in the endless pursuit of health, but are we getting any healthier?  No.

Obesity rates in adults have more than doubled since 1980. Rates in children have tripled. Tripled.

Ironically, the number of diet programs has risen right along with the rates of obesity. We get sicker, fatter, and sadder despite the inundation of quick-fix programs. We grow more frustrated and weary with every calorie we count and gram we graph. Friends, the answer to our problems isn’t a meal replacement shake, processed protein bar, or math equations.

The answer is food.

Real, nourishing, healing FOOD. Hippocrates so famously advised, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” But how? With all the misinformation and conflicting opinions out there, how can we keep it real and not fall for the mounds of BS that surround us?

Does anyone really enjoy feeling hungry and deprived?  Guys- we don’t need to. Life is meant to live in abundance. Food should be enjoyed without guilt.

It is my mission to empower you with the tools and knowledge you need to nourish your body, feel your best, and look your best. I want you to feel confident knowing that you are providing yourself and the people you love with clean, wholesome nutrition. You can design the life- and the vitality- you want for yourself.

So, yeah! That’s the story behind Keepin’ it Real. Let’s get started feeling awesome!

Three ways to feel awesome today:

1) Begin a love affair with fat. First of all, get over the idea that fat makes you fat. It doesn’t. Sugar makes you fat. Fat helps you become lean, energized, smart, and sexy.

Try these sources of healthy fats:

•  Saturated fats from happy, healthy animals such as ghee, organic eggs, grass-fed meats, and antibiotic free poultry.

•  Saturated fats from extra virgin coconut oil and coconut.

•  Monounsaturated fats from olives, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, wild salmon, and ground flaxseed.

•  If you tolerate dairy, use real cream, full fat cheeses, milk, and yogurt. Fat-free and skim are not the answer. Your body needs fat. Period.

Side note: Make sure you tolerate dairy. Not sure? Completely remove it from your diet for 10 days. Add it back in and see how you feel. For some of us, dairy brings on acne, digestive problems, and sinus issues. Others can do dairy just fine. Try a little self-experiment.

Another side note: My husband recently removed dairy. After 10 years of him sawing logs next to me every. single. night., he no longer snores. So...give it a try!

2) Think about your drink.

Real drinks don’t contain artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. They don’t have cheap sweeteners like corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. They don’t have trans fat in the form of partially hydrogenated oils. Read your labels! If you see these ingredients, move along, Savvy Shopper. Move along.

What should you drink?

•  Plain green, herbal, and black teas

•  Black coffee (add real cream if it works for you)

•  Water with lemon

•  Red wine or vodka with soda if you like a cocktail now and then

3) Breakfast is not a piece of cake. Don’t eat cake for breakfast. You may be thinking, “Umm...no one eats cake for breakfast.”  Actually, most Americans eat cake for breakfast.

Cake = muffins, donuts, toast, cereals, waffles, pancakes

You see, when you eat a breakfast full of baked goods and grains, your blood sugar spikes. Insulin is secreted to clear the sugar from the blood stream.

Where does that sugar go?  If you eat a lot of cake-like products, that sugar is stored on your belly as fat.

What happens after the insulin surge?  Your blood sugar crashes and you feel sluggish and hangry after two hours. Yes, hangry! No one likes a hangry person. Don’t be that guy.

I sure hope these tips were helpful! 

Here is my family’s favorite “no-cake” breakfast recipe. I like to make up a big batch on Sunday, so we have easy breakfasts ready for the week.

Breakfast Hash

Cook Time: 15 minutes    Serves: 4

Ingredients:

•  2-3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

•  1 pound ground turkey

•  1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

•  1 sweet yellow onion, diced

•  2 red or yellow bell peppers, diced

•  2 teaspoons each sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, cumin, coriander, and paprika

•  2-3 eggs per serving

Method:

•  Brown all ingredients together until turkey and sweet potatoes are cooked through.

•  Top your hash with 2-3 eggs cooked over easy.

•  Enjoy! 

Want to learn more from Melissa? Join FORM for a seminar this Sunday, March 29th from 7-8:30. Call the studio or register online. 

Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You

 We’ve all heard it…a few of us do it…most of us don’t…and if you haven’t yet today, IT’S NOT TOO LATE. When given two options, choose the more challenging of the two. We jump to the safe option because we fear failure. The reality is the fear of failure will leave you doing nothing and deprive you of the opportunity to strengthen and grow. Fear only leaves you in self-doubt and reaching for the safe option. The safe option is NO LONGER AN OPTION! Take a look inside. Dig deep. Be inspired. Be confident. Take control of your fears. Do you hear me?

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.” – J.K. Rowling

So what is it that scares you? What is it that takes you out of your comfort zone and leaves you feeling vulnerable? Our challenge to you is to find the answers to these questions. And why is this challenge oh-so-perfect for our very first post? Because OUR ability and willingness to challenge and push each other is hugely credited for our strong friendship and successful business partnership. We’ve been motivating each other to be our best for years - from our high school sports days when we would push each other to run just one more mile (when we really didn't want to), to today when we challenge each other on new ideas and decisions to make your experience at FORM nothing short of the BEST!

We know we already do a darn good job pushing you physically and mentally in barre, yoga, rowing, PiYo and Pilates classes, but now we want to take it further. We want to challenge you, and for you all to challenge each other, to do that thing that scares you! No, we are not asking you to jump out of an airplane or ride a bull, but we do want you to find what it is that takes you WAY out of your comfort zone. Try a new class. Try a new recipe. Say hi to every person you walk by. Start a conversation with a stranger. Write a book. Commit to running a race. Try something brand new! And tell us about it next time we see you, or in the comments below so we can support you and hold you accountable.

We’ve had the best year sharing our passion for fitness and fashion with you! At the core there is one reason alone that we get jazzed to jump out of bed and go to work everyday. That reason is knowing that we are making a difference in YOUR life. We have genuine concern of your mental and physical health and love witnessing you strengthen inside and out with each and every FORM workout. Possibly the best part of all, is the time that we get to connect and build our relationships with you before and after class.

We truly believe the better you know us, the better we know you and this is where we can make that all happen! Stay in touch with us here as we share our love for all things fitness, fashion and real food. Enjoy inspirational and educational posts from us and from our guest contributors who are all excited to spill on the topics they are most passionate about. Our intention with inFORM is not only to strengthen our community - our family - by “getting real” with you and letting you in to all that we LOVE. We also hope with every post, we inspire you to live your happiest, healthiest life by challenging yourself each day to find the most authentic version of YOU!

Trust yourself. You have everything you need inside of you. Tell yourself that no matter what happens, you are still you, and you’ll be ok. Breathe deep and get out there to do that thing that scares you. Let us know how it goes!

Stay tuned. Our next post is not to be missed. Get ready to share in one of our very favorite topics…NUTRITION!