Anyhow, check out my latest pancake recipe:

Ingredients used:

1/4 cup Trader Joes Whole Grain pancake mix

1 Scoop Garden of Life Vanilla Protein Powder

1 Teaspoon Spirulina

1 Scoop Amazing Grass Amazing Trio (Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Alfalfa)

1 Egg

1 teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Tablespoon Raw Local Honey (mine from Bay Area company Marshall’s Farms)

1 Tablespoon Organic Coconut Oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground Chia and ground Flax

Hand full crumbled Walnuts or Pecans (Optional)

Hand full of Blueberries

Dash Nutmeg

Unsweetened Almond Milk & Coconut Milk Mix (I don’t measure. I just pour until I get a nice creamy consistency)

As you can tell, I don’t count calories and this meal should keep you satisfied for a long period of time. Not only that, but it’s nutrient dense.

Mix all the ingredients together until blended well. Heat a pan to a mild temperature. Pour batter into the pan and heat until bubbles around the edges and they begin to pop before flipping over.  Trial and error to get that perfect shape and pancake color you want. Good luck!

Feel free to leave questions below.

ACL injuries have grown at an alarming rate among females. Females are 4 to 6 times more likely than their male counterparts to suffer a serious knee injury according to Dr. Wendy LeBolt. In her brief summary she stated that according to the July 29, 2002 issue of Soccer America,“nearly one quarter of the players in the WUSA have torn ACL’s at some point in their playing careers.” Now many of you would probably say well there’s an easy answer for that, women are not as strong as men. Not so fast…

Women are stronger, faster and bigger than they have ever been before. However, here lies the problem. The faster and more powerful you are, the more likely you are to damage your joints or muscles if you have not trained the body to be able to absorb the increased forces. Girls move differently than boys and also tend to be quadricep dominant (front of the legs). Dr. Timothy E. Hewett states in his article titled, “Leveling the Playing Field” that:

“As a girl grows, she also becomes more powerful. But unlike her male counterpart, she becomes proportionally more powerful and does not experience that same “neuromuscular growth spurt.” Unless she makes the appropriate neuromuscular adaptations to dissipate the forces and control the additional mass as her body matures, the forces and mass will be transferred to the joints and the ligaments. ”

What I tend to find while working with female athletes is that they typically lack hamstring and glute strength and rely solely on the quads while landing. Most lower leg injuries occur to an athlete during landing. It is the position of the body when landing; the loading of forces and the energy’s need to either be dissipated or released that tends to drive ligament and tendon injuries. The inability for the hamstrings and quads to work in unison also relates directly to knee injuries.

Neuromuscular training is essential for females with a focus on glutes and hamstrings as well as stability. With the girls and women that I have had the opportunity to work with, from Olympic Athlete Sutiya Jiewchawlomit of Thailand to high school Soccer and Basketball players, I make an effort to focus on challenging exercises in a controlled environment making sure the girls understand why they are doing the movements and what the movement will translate into on the playing field or court. My training is exactly what it is. It’s training. We train the mind and body and build the two that have been moving separate from one another into one.

Neuro being the first part meaning brain and muscular being the second part referencing the body. We’re teaching the kids to move from an automatic to a manual, just like a car. No one wants to drive manually any more because they have gotten lazy…Oh it’s too much work to think about each movement, but it affords the driver better control and handling. This is what we are teaching kids to do. We are showing them how to break out of that thoughtless realm and into the realm of complete control between mind and body. My father always said, you’ll be a better, more complete driver if you can drive manually. Guess what? The same goes for your body. The more manual control you have over your limbs, the better you’ll be at sport and at life.

Before I start, I need to know your “Why”. Why do you want to workout? Is it because you want to get healthy, lose weight, look or feel great or have marathon to train for? Having a goal that is attainable and realistic is a great start.

Here are some tips that work for me:

1. The thought of attending an event such as a wedding or family reunion. This is purely out if vanity but it works. Imagine friends and family coming up to you and telling you that you look slimmer and fitter. Of course, it is important that you feel positive about your body image but nothing beats getting compliments for all the hard work you have put in.
2. Having a workout buddy. Working out with a friend is never boring. This is what I call “healthy socializing”, you are catching up with your friends while burning calories together. A workout buddy also keeps you on track and make sure you keep your exercise appointments with him/her.
3. Pick up a new sporting activity or join Group Training. Group training is a great and inexpensive way to get you motivated. Bring a friend along and have fun working out together. Find a group that suits your needs or a sport that keeps you moving. Check out Body Transformation Bootcamp
4. Telling yourself that you will feel better after working out. I have never had a client that tells me they feel awful after a workout; they always come out of it sweaty but smiling. It’s those Endorphins again, these feel-good hormones are produced when you exercise.
5. Focus on having Fun. Remember when you are a kid and you can play all day without feeling out of breath or tired. Kids never get tired because they are so focused on playing and having a good time. If I am going out for a run, I make sure that I have a playlist of songs that are fun and upbeat to keep me pumped.

There are many more reasons to get motivated. These are a few that help me. Leave us a comment below and let me know what motivates you?

A good question to ask is, what shouldn’t my child eat? Well, the simplest answer is to ask, would I feed my dog Cheetos, Doritos, Sugary Cakes and Pastries every day, etc? If you answered no to that question then I ask you, why are you feeding this to your kids? If this stuff isn’t even good enough for dogs, then why is it a staple of your child’s diet? Now, sure you can have one of these items as a rare treat, but these are not appropriate for a balanced and healthy diet.

As parents you are responsible for what your child consumes. Just like “you are what you eat”, your child is what you feed them. Feed them junk and guess what? Children have awesome metabolisms, but that can easily be destroyed by what and when you feed your child. Going through long periods without caloric intake is devastating to the metabolism. Eating large quantities of sugar, processed foods and calories is also damaging. So portion control and healthy choices are in order.

The goal with children is no different from that of an adult. The ultimate goal is to keep a steady level of insulin and energy levels in the body. By providing the body with the right types of carbohydrates, high fiber, good quality protein and essential fats, you can set your child on the right track to becoming a healthy adult.

Protein is absolutely necessary for a child’s diet. Proteins consist of amino acids, which are the body’s building blocks. Children are constantly growing and utilizing energy. Muscle breakdown and repair is rapid and having the right amount of amino acids available their body is essential. Some good sources of protein for your children are nut milks (check for allergies), eggs, lean meats, poultry and fish, as well as quinoa and actual nuts. Green leafy vegetables are a great source of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Each day your child’s diet should consist of a mixture of these foods.

Carbohydrates are absolutely necessary for children and adults the same. Children should never be on a carbohydrate restriction unless prescribed by a doctor and even then the only carbohydrates that should be limited are simple carbohydrates from packaged goods, refined sugars from soft drinks and juices, candies and snacks.

The carbohydrates from fresh fruits and vegetables are a must. These complex carbohydrates are essential for your child’s energy. The additional fiber in fruits allows for a slower uptake of the sugars so that your child’s insulin levels don’t spike sending them through bouts of hyperactivity and then into low groggy periods. Fiber is essential for keeping cholesterol low and also contributes to a healthy digestive tract and arteries. Not to mention all the essential vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients that are found in fruits and vegetables, and contribute to a well balanced nutritious diet.

Essential fats can be obtained through nuts. Almonds and walnuts would be two of the highest sources of essential fats among nuts. Can’t have nuts then try seeds. Sunflower and Pumpkin seeds are good. Chia Seeds, Flax and Sesame seeds are also good for you. Coconut meat, coconut milk, avocados are also good choices. They can also be obtained from fish like salmon and tuna. These essentials play a major role in memory function, as well as the reduction of cholesterol and body fat. Including these fats in your child’s diet is absolutely necessary.

Giving your child healthy and balanced diet options creates a great foundation for their life. Nurture your child and give them the tools to better cope with the rigors and stresses of life, starting at ground zero…their diet.

Over the last few months, both of my parents have lost weight and become much more fit. I’ve worked with both of them in different ways to help get their health in check and try to reverse some of the health issues they are facing. My father has gone from hovering around 195lbs to 181lbs. He’s gotten much stronger and is lifting weights with me two times per week. My mom has lost a little over 10lbs and lost a bunch of inches around her waistline.

So here we go with an introduction to vegetarian lifestyle. Now I’m not a vegetarian, nor am I trying to convert my family to vegetarians; What I am trying to do is decrease meat dependence and decrease the overall meat consumption weekly. Everyone in the household will have to take responsibility for Meatless Monday so we will rotate cooking duties each week with the goal to create a meatless dish containing a protein, green leafy fiber and carbohydrate.

Yesterday’s recipe is a Lentil dish that I just created out of an idea. Try and out and let us know what you think.

Recipe:

Trader Joes Steamed Lentils
2 Cups Kale
2 Cups Broccoli
1/2 Large Red Bell Pepper (Diced)
2 Medium Persian Cucumbers
1/4 cup Cilantro or Coriander
Sea Salt, Pepper, Garlic Herb Seasoning, Cracked Black Pepper, Paprika (to taste)

1 Sweet Potato

Procedure:
Mix Lentils, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Cilantro and Seasonings in a bowl. Stir fry Kale and Broccoli with a dash of Sea Salt in Coconut Oil. Once cooked, add the Kale and Broccoli to the Lentils mix. Bake the sweet potato. Serve together.

Also if we look at the comparison of Quinoa’s mineral composition in Table 2 against that of rice and wheat we will see the glaring superiority that Quinoa has over the alternatives. Quinoa has 20 times the amount of Calcium as Rice and about 15 times the amount of Iron; 9 times the amount of Calcium and 3 times the amoung of Magnesium. Wheat also trails Quinoa in its nutritional value with half as much Calcium and four times less Iron. It should be a no brainer to choose Quinoa the next time you’re at your local grocer.

Table 1: Amino Acid Content (g/100g protein)

Source: Johnson, R. and R. Aguilera. 1980. Processing Varieties of Oilseeds (Lupine and Quinoa), In: Report to Natural Fibers and Foods Commission of Texas, 1978 – 1980 (Reported by D. Cusack, 1984, The Ecologist 14:21 – 31)

Table 2: Comparative Mineral Composition (mg/100g protein)

Source: Kosiol, M.J. (1992). Chemical composition and nutritional evaluation of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild). In Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Vol. 5, n 1, pp 36 – 68.

Feel free to leave your comments, questions or your own personal input in the comments section below.

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There are a few factors to make functional training functional.

1) Muscle balance: If you have a tight muscle for example, a tight hamstring, doing single legged deadlifts though a “functional movement” is not going to improve function. In a similar case, if you have tight pecs (what is known as upper cross syndrome) pushups are going to decrease rather than increase function. A proper assessment has to be done to find out what exercises have to be prescribed (and in what ratio), only then can you improve function. Having muscle imbalance is like a guitar with some strings too taut, some strings too loose..It’s just gonna play bad music.

2) Stability: Now just because you manage to stand on a bosu ball doesn’t mean that you are stable. Or just because you can kneel on a swissball doesn’t mean that either. Sure you are stable while you are static, but look at the word – Static. How functional is that? Let’s not forget that the body can move in 4 directions, back and forth, left and right, it can rotate and it can change levels. “Being stable” means being able to move in these directions while being stable.Either that, or we call it being mobile.  Also, even when static, the body MUST know which muscles have to be fired up. You don’t just wing it. You MAKE it happen! You make it happen by firing up the right muscles, at the right time ( We call this the kinetic chain )

Now, I’m not saying that movement has to always be abnormally strict, I am saying that the proper progression has to be followed to let functional training increase function. The body can move in countless ways. YES. But it has to be trained to move in countless ways. Not taking the proper steps and progression is as good as throwing a child into the deep end of a pool and saying “we humans were born to swim.”

3) Strength: Now this is a VERY important part of Functional Training and is often dismissed. Without Strength, the body can NEVER generate power. Strength will promote speed.  Power = Mass x Acceleration. So if your functional training program sees you picking up 5 lb mediballs from the floor for the past 6 months. Time to think again if any of this exercise is benefiting you at all.

Strength training is ALSO used to improve flexibility! YEP! doing a load of stretches will not necessarily improve flexibility. Ask yourself, why are you tight in the first place? Why are you tight in that specific place? Why? Why? Why? It’s okay to ask yourselves questions like you were a 4 year old. Static stretching (usually done after a workout) relieves a tight muscle. Dynamic stretching (usually done before a workout) promotes range of motion of a joint and when done right, fires up the muscles required to activate for that particular movement you are about to do. Now there are many benefits of stretching, i won’t go into that right now. Will be a very long story. But stretching like this alone does not solve the reason on why a muscle is tight in the first place. Simply put – A muscle gets tight, too tight when it is overused while compensating for a weaker or unstable muscle group.

Don’t understand me?

Ok, Imagine a room, with a floor covered in ice. Now walk across it. What happens?

A) Legs tense up (compensation for lack of stability)

B) you take shorter steps (shorter range of motion)

Get it?

4) Power: Now you might be thinking, I’m in the gym to lose weight, I’m not an athlete. Why is power training important? Is it applicable?

Ok, let us take a power workout that HOUSEWIVES love. STEP AEROBICS. Now without power, do you think, you can leap up and down, across and over? Again, when we talk about power movements, we are talking about moving FAST with good alignment. Now, if someone didn’t have proper rotary and lateral skills in the hips and torso, do you think they can change direction while moving up and down a step without compensating with their knees? And if they didn’t TRAIN to have the right firing patterns in their body’s kinetic chain, can you imagine the disastrous effects of overcompensation? Think about it.

So to sum it up - Functional training is NOT doing balance acts, it’s about moving right. It’s about tolerating positions WHEN your body knows how to fire up the right muscle groups. Like any workout, it requires progression.

Exercise = moving the body.

Training = exercising and progressing.

Don’t train blindly.

Train Smart.

Live Easy.

If you liked this article, share it with your friends. Feel free to leave comments in our comments section below.

The first thing I speak about with my young clients is their nutrition. Nutrition is such an important part of their everyday life, yet we tend to overlook it. What you’ll find with a lot of children (and adults alike) is that they don’t eat enough food during the day. It doesn’t matter whether they’re in shape or overweight, the same thing tends to hold true. The only difference is that the overweight kids are typically inactive. We’ll leave junk food consumption for another article.

The issue facing most of the kids I have spoken with has been time. We are placing such a burden on our children for time these days. Childhood is no longer full of freedoms and care free activity. Our kids are on a schedule that rivals our own daily professional schedule. They’re up at 5am, in class by 7am…going from class to class with barely 5 minutes between; after school meetings, practice, competitions, homework, tutoring, etc. The list goes on and on.

When speaking with one of my teenage clients, she told me that after breakfast at 6am she doesn’t eat again until nearly 12pm. During those 6 hours she’s in class straight through. During this entire time, her body is low on energy as she’s had no snacks or breaks in order to consume them. We are setting our children up to live the life we currently live. We are setting our children up on a path to obesity, poorly managed stress, depression and other lifestyle related health issues.

Find this recipe and others like it in our recipe section

First things first, we should make sure all of our children leave the house with a solid breakfast. I know it sounds cliché, but breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. I don’t know how many people I meet who have weight issues and the first thing they say is “I don’t eat breakfast”. A breakfast high in protein and essential fats can not only keep you full and focused, but contributes to increased mental acuity as well. This directly impacts performance in school, work and play.

Don’t make excuses for not eating throughout the day as well. Blood sugar tends to drop over time and can contribute to feelings of being tired, lack of focus, etc. Making sure you top up your energy with healthy snacks is a must. Start the good habits at an early age by providing high fiber, high protein snacks with low sugar. Stay away from packaged goods for your child’s daily snacks and give them things like an apple and peanut butter, yogurt, nuts and fruit.

Make sure your child has a serving of vegetables for lunch. The canteen can be full of lots of high fat, high sugar products. Teach your child to distinguish between what’s good for them and what’s wrong for their afternoon. A lunch full of heavy fat and bread can lead to an afternoon of drowsiness.

Finally, make dinner time family time. Schedule to eat dinner together as much as possible. Keep the meals consistent with fresh vegetables, a source of lean protein an occasional starch (potatoes), and a healthy grain choice like quinoa. Designate a particular night during the week where the entire family has a special outside the box treat.

Your children should be eating 5 to 6, even 7 times per day depending on their metabolism. This doesn’t mean consuming large quantities, but consuming often in small portions will keep them focused and productive in school and during play. I know they told you that your child has ADD, but sometimes their attention span and lack of mental acuity simply boils down to their daily eating habits.

What I didn’t know at the time is how diverse the use of Sweet Potatoes could be; desserts, snacks, spreads and this just in…Burgers??

My attempt doesn't quite look like the inspiration, but it will suffice.

Here’s the recipe

1-2 small Sweet Potatoes
1/4 cup Almonds (ground into a flour)
1 cup Oats (ground into flour)
2 teaspoons of sea salt
2 teaspoons ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspon ground black pepper:

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Check out this Kettlebell flow sequence:

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Recipe:
½ Cup Quinoa (cooked) – packed with protein and essential amino acids
1 Granny Smith Green Apple – Loaded with fiber
1 Small Banana – packed with potassium…be sure to use a small banana to keep calories low
2 Heaping Tablespoons Plain Lowfat Organic Yogurt – loaded with protein and calcium
½ Hand full of walnuts –packed with protein and essential omega 3 fats (substitute sunflower seeds for nut allergies)
Honey – honey is not only packed with vitamins, but according to a September 2010 Men’s Health Article, research at Purdue University suggests that honey increases absorption of calcium

Directions:
Put Quinoa in a bowl. Slice apples with the skin on. Slice the bananas. Place yogurt in the bowl with apples and bananas and nuts. Drizzle a bit of honey and serve.

More Quinoa dishes in our Recipes Section.

Try it out and tell us what you think of this recipe. We’d love to hear in our comments section below.

But why should I have strong or shaped Glutes you ask?

Well first of all, to hold up those pants without having to pull your belt so tight that it cuts off circulation. On a more serious note, having strong Glutes can help improve posture, ease back pain, strengthen your running stride, help prevent knee and hamstring injuries and increase power output during activities involving the legs, like Basketball, Sprinting, Volleyball, Soccer, Football, etc.

One of the things I emphasize with all of our new personal training, group training, weight loss and fat loss clients here in San Francisco is the importance of Glute activation. A good personal trainer should first identify weaknesses or imbalances during initial evaluations and many of the problems that clients face, whether it is in their performance or dealing with pain can often be traced directly back to a weakness or an imbalance in the Glutes.

Activating the muscle fibers of the Glutes are the first step in developing a stronger, more shapely butt and legs. Learning how to trigger those muscles on command and integrating their usage into the lower leg exercises that you may have done for years will provide much greater results over the long haul.  Once you have successfully learned how to activate the Gluts, multi-joint exercises like squats and lunges will provide much more results.
For the ladies who are concerned with having a larger butt, don’t worry one bit. These are the reasons why:

1. The Glutes are the largest, most powerful muscle group of the body. For this reason, when we stimulate growth of these muscles, not only are the muscles used more, but more calories are utilized resulting in greater overall fat loss throughout the body.
2. Muscle takes up less space than fat. More muscle, less fat…less space. Just ask my personal training clients how their jeans fit since we’ve been Glute training.
3. Muscle has a defined shape giving the body nice curves. Need I say more?

For all the guys who are thinking, I don’t want to do Jane Fonda exercises; these are the reasons to reconsider:

1. Consider Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth. For all of the men striving to be faster but focusing on the quadriceps, think again. It is the Glutes that are required for horizontal propulsion and according to studies fire more than twice as much as the quadriceps during sprinting. Don’t forget your backside gentlemen!

So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get off your backside and get moving. The road to a happier, healthier body starts here.

Feel free to leave your comments, questions or your own personal input in the comments section below.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup of Kale, chopped
1 Carrot, diced
2 plum Tomatoes, diced
10 to 15 stalks Asparagus, cut into 1 inch long pieces
3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 Red Onion, finely chopped
2 inch long Ginger, finely chopped
4 pieces Sun-dried Tomatoes, soaked first then chopped finely
2 Eggs
2 sprigs Coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp Lime juice
2 tbsp cold-pressed Coconut Oil
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tbsp Ground Chilli (depends on your heat tolerance)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Step 1: In a wok/big frying pan, heat coconut oil along with onion, garlic and ginger.
Step 2: Once onion is slightly translucent, add sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus and carrots. Cook them till slightly soft.
Step 3: Add cooked Quinoa along with cumin, paprika, ground chilli and lime juice. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Step 4: Make a pool in the centre of the wok, crack 2 eggs in the centre and let the eggs cook for 1 minute.
Step 5: Add kale and tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.
Step 6: Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish it off with freshly chopped coriander.

For More Recipes Check out our Recipes Section.

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It’s December 1st and the inevitable time is upon us once again. It’s no surprise to us but each year we act like it’s something we didn’t see coming…What am I talking about? I’m referring to the office Christmas parties, family parties, parties with friends, random Christmas cookies brought into the office, the wine, the eggnog and so on and so forth. We knew this time of year was coming and just like the old tale of The Ant & The Grasshopper, each year we arrive at this point unprepared and ill equipped to face the next 30 days of foodie paradise.

This year, why not arm yourself with a few tools to help you keep that waistline trim and survive those Christmas parties without doing too much damage? Staying slim during the holiday season doesn’t mean you have to become an antisocial recluse, it simply means that you have to be smart about your choices.

The first step in surviving the holiday party is to make sure you attend the party after you’ve had a little food; preferably something high in fiber. Not only will this be slow digesting, keeping your insulin levels steady, but it will give you a slightly full feeling. By no means should you attend a Christmas party on an empty stomach unless you’re on a “Seefood Diet” and no I didn’t spell seafood wrong for all you nitpickers. My point is that when you have an empty stomach you’ll see food and most likely eat with your eyes.  Have you ever heard that phrase, “your eyes are too big for your stomach”? Well situations like these where you eat too much too fast, leave you feeling like a Burmese Python that just consumed a goat, barely able to move and needing a week to digest.

Article: Three more tips to keep the holiday weight off

Ok so now that you’re at the party…”put down that massive plate”. Ok, so now that we’re at the party go for the small plate and don’t load it up. Sample a few items, but choose the healthier, lower calorie options first. Move around the party and talk with people. Stand as far away from the food table as possible. This means you have to break your conversation to head back to the food. You don’t want the person you’re talking with to feel like the food table is more important than they are do you? Obviously the food table might be a good out for those times where you’re cornered by someone in the office you can’t stand chatting with or even worse, by your boss, but when going back for seconds choose a few delectable desserts and enjoy (no seconds on these).

Steer clear of the alcohol. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Hey, if weight loss or fat loss is your goal then stop fooling yourself and just cut it out. It’s easier if you nominate yourself the designated driver.

At the end of the night, don’t take anything home except your secret Santa gift. No doggie bags…put the Tupperware down.

Now that you have a game plan, get out there and make it happen this holiday season. If you don’t manage to stick to the game plan this December, then tune in this January as I give you tips for shaking the holiday weight.

1. Getting enough Rest – Lack of sleep have been proven to contribute to weight gain. Not catching enough Zzzs may reduce metabolism by reducing the secretion of cortisol; a hormone that control appetite. Getting the required 6 to 8 hours of sleep is essential to lowering stress levels and making sure your hormones are well-balanced.
2. Have a Strategy- Decide early on when are your  “cheat days”. There are many parties and holiday functions that you need to attend but that does not mean you have to over-indulge at every single event. Wear a tighter pair of pants or dress to these events so that it serves as a reminder to you that portion control is important. Eat a light meal before so that you won’t be starving which can result in overeating. If there is a buffet, start with a bowl of  salad before deciding on what else to have.
3. Exercise – Regular physical activity has been shown to control weight and improve your mood. Set aside some “me time” by scheduling 30 minutes engaging in a  physical  activity that you enjoy. If 30 minutes is too long, do mini-workouts throughout the day. Three 10 minute mini-workouts throughout the day will reap the same weight-loss benefits. Not only as exercise been known to release feel-good hormones called endorphins that makes you feel happier and more relaxed, but regular exercise can also improve your mood and increase your self-confidence.

An organized exercise program like the San Francisco Urban Fitness Bootcamp can help you.

Related Articles:

Preemptive Strike: Lose weight and get in Shape before January

Christmas Conundrum: Lose weight while still enjoying holiday parties

Ingredients:

2 pieces of boneless Chicken thighs (quantity/size is up to you)
1 head of Cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
2 Carrots, diced
1 Green Bell Pepper, dices
2 Plum Tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup Coriander, chopped
1 cup of Vegetable stock (or water)
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp Grapeseed Oil (or any cooking oil available)

Spices:
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Cardamom
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Ground Chilli Powder
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1 tsp Tumeric Powder

Step 1: Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, pepper & tumeric.

Step 2: While waiting for chicken to marinate, cut up the carrots, cauliflowers, bell pepper & tomatoes.

Step 3: Brown the chicken pieces in a frying pan with a little grapeseed oil. You will only need to cook the chicken 5 minutes on each side. Take the chicken out of the pan once half-cooked.

Step 4: In a deep pan, use the oil from frying the chicken to cook the carrots and cauliflower along with the other spices above. Cook till the vegetables soften slightly.

Step 5: Add the vegetable stock and the chicken and let simmer for another 20 minutes.

Step 6: Add bell pepper and tomatoes along with salt and pepper after. Cook for another 5 minutes before adding freshly chopped coriander.

Try this recipe out and drop us a comment below and let me know what you think of it. Enjoy!

I wanted a creamy dressing and I wanted to try something different. I had herbs and spices and all I needed was something to make a cream. What would give me a creamy texture? Ah hah! Banana… So I took a few small bananas and made an creamy herb dressing.

Check out the awesome recipe and let us know what you think.

Kale & Pumpkin Salad

Ingredients:
- 3 small Bananas
- 1 Garlic clove
- 1 Shallot
- 1 sprig of Dill
- Pinch of Salt & Pepper
- Dash of Cardamon and
- Dash of dried Thyme
- 3-4 Tablespoons of Vinegar (choose between White Wine, Red Wine or Apple Cider vinegars to provide a variety of unique tastes)
- 1/8 cup of water up to 1/4 depending on how creamy or watery you’d like the dressing.

Dice up the Shallots and Garlic. Blend all of the ingredients in a blender except the Shallots and Garlic. I like to stir them in last.

Pour over your salad and enjoy. It’s quick and easy and best of all it’s healthy and you know exactly what’s in it.