Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Jamie Eason's Zucchini Turkey Burgers

Another great recipe comin atcha! This one comes from the amazing Jamie Eason, fitness model and write for bodybuilding.com.

I have been making these on Sunday afternoons to prep for the upcoming week's lunches for the Hubs and I. The recipe makes about 9 burgers, and are chock full of protein and veggies!

Turkey Zucchini Burgers (makes 9)
Originial recipe here

Ingredients:

 Directions:
  1. Set broiler on high, arranging rack so that burgers will be about 2 inches from the heat.
  2. In a large bowl, combine grated zucchini, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, oregano, pepper and then turkey.
  3. Mix well and scoop out 4-to-5 oz portions. Mixture will be really moist so for easier clean up, use a foil-lined baking sheet, prepped with non-stick spray.
  4. Place burgers in oven and broil for 7 minutes. Carefully flip each burger and continue to broil for another 7 minutes on the other side. Serve warm!

I have also made these into meatballs, that go great on top of spaghetti squash for a great low carb meal!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Eat More Veggies...Juice Em Up!


Just recently I have found a new hobby...juicing. It all started with a "Coffee Girl" a precious coffee shop in Kansas City that is the home to a large and in charge industrial juicer. I walked in the shop and having smelled fresh ginger, oranges, and kale I immediately knew I was doomed. My first juice at Coffee Girl was delivered to me in a huge mason jar with a cute little straw. I sipped and died all at once. After Coffee Girl I went on a mission to find my very own juicer. Any juice including a beet has to be my current fav. I have found juicing to be such a great energy booster after workouts or just a great way to start my day. Sometimes I can even substitute a juice for my morning coffee! (GASP! I wasn't planning to admit it)


First Juice at Coffee Girl
I've always gone the smoothie route in life and after juicing the past couple of months I was curious to see the different health benefits of juices and smoothies and find out how they compare.

Juices

 1) Digestibility

- Whole foods have a lot of pulp and fiber. This requires quite a bit of work from your digestive system. Juicing delivers a fresh and super concentrated supply of nutrients to your cells and tissues a lot quicker than solids and smoothies. The bloodstream can easily absorb all the minerals, vitamins, and enzymes with fresh juices.

2) Concentrated Nutrition

- It turns out you can consume a lot more vegetables by juicing rather than eating. Because it’s easier to grab an apple on the way out the door before work or school, we tend to eat larger quantities of fresh fruit and miss out on our 5-9 servings of daily fresh veggies. Juicing is a quick and easy way to reach that serving size goal. Just remember the 3 to 1 rule. 3 parts veggie and 1 part fruit. The fruit should just add sweetness. Your intent should focus primarily on obtaining the nutrients you receive from the vegetables.

3) Power

- Juicing can improve brain function and vitality, treat inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis and is great for detoxing.



Smoothies

 1) High Fiber

- As mentioned earlier, smoothies have lots of fiber from the whole foods you toss into the blender. Fiber not only fills you but it also encourages the elimination of bodily waste. Fiber is part of a healthy diet and fiber DOES have great nutritional value so it’s important to keep both juicing and smoothies in your diet.

2) Slower sugar release

- Juicing contains lots of natural sugar. Juices lack protein so when your diet is heavy in fresh juices without any protein to accompany it, you may spike your blood sugar. Smoothies also have a lot of sugar, but they can be paired with protein from nuts and powders, fiber from chias and flax, healthy fats from coconut oil, avocados, and fish oil to lower the glycemic index of your beverage so your body can absorb nutrients much slower.

3) Post workout support

- Fresh juices won't support the recovery your muscles need after a workout. Protein is needed after a workout and this can best be met through a smoothie and not a juice. Blending up whole foods in a smoothie after a workout can also replenish your electrolytes and glycogen stores.



Things to remember:

 -Almost all commercially prepared drinks have been pasteurized. This process destroys vital enzymes and heat-sensitive nutrients so preparing your juices at home rather than purchasing them from the store is best.

 - When juicing, try and enjoy your juice immediately after it’s made. The longer it sets the more nutrient damage and loss due to oxygen exposure. 15 minutes is the maximum time your juice should set before drinking.

Recipies to try:
5 carrots
1 beet with leaves and stem
2 stalks celery
1 cucumber
3/4 lemon, peeled
1-2 in. piece of fresh gingerroot



1 cucumber

1 fistfull kale

2 stalks celery

1 broccoli stem

1 pear or green apple






CHEERS to healthy sips!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Adventures with Laurey!


The most difficult thing about moving from Colorado to Kansas City has been leaving my core four and building new friendships here. One of the many things I love so much about "my core" is that they are always up for any adventure. We never sit around  unless its to watch the Bachelor and drink wine of course. Some of my best memories in college were our  mountain getaways, running trails between classes with Erin, driving to Denver  to run at Wash park with Lauren capping off our runs at Linger (fav. spot in the Lower Highlands), dub step yoga with Gabrielle and so much more. Having friends that love to adventure and exercise as much as I do is one of the reasons we are so close. My friendships with them will never be replaced, but I'm so thankful that I have found a new friend in Kansas City that is also passionate about exercising and adventuring. I met Laurey in May and we became fast friends. So far we've hiked, gone to sporting events, and went white water rafting but best of all we recently decided we would try something we both had never done before. We took a paddle board yoga class. We became immediately obsessed and started dreaming of how we could own our own boards before the class was over. It turns out paddle boards are SUPER expensive so we plan on doing a couple days of rentals while we save for our own.


 The class was at this beautiful  lake in Shawnee Mission Park. At the beginning our instructor went over the basics, how you stand on a paddle board, techniques of paddling, sitting down etc. She then led us out to a perfect little cove for our yoga practice. We all anchored our boards to the bottom of the lake so they would stay somewhat still and completed an hour practice on the paddle boards listening to the birds, frogs, and fish. It was so quiet and peaceful as the sun  began to set. The practice was a little more intense than other yoga classes as your constantly using your core for balance and fighting for stability on your floating yoga mat. Only one girl fell in. We laughed, we talked, we were silent, and we stretched. It was easily my favorite summer adventure so far.

I couldn't bring my camera out on the lake to document, but I wanted to include some pictures of us before we started.


I'm sure there will be many more paddle board pictures to come!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Jamie Eason's Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread

GREAT recipe today! I (Lauren) posted these on my instagram last night, and had a lot of responses of people wanting the recipe. So here ya go! This yummy bread is dense and moist, and packed with lots of protein to keep you fuller longer! It makes about 16 small squares, and a serving size is 2-4 squares. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread


Ingredients:



Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 X 8 inch Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
  2. In small bowl combine: (set aside)
  • 1/3 cup Ideal (Xylitol)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  1. In a large bowl combine: (whisk together)
  • 1 1/2 cups oat flour + 2 scoops vanilla whey protein
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup Ideal (Xylitol) or ¼ cup Stevia in the Raw
  1. In a medium bowl combine: (whisk together & add to lrg bowl)
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (Almond Breeze)
  • 1/3 cup or 1 4oz jar of baby food applesauce and ¼ cup low sugar vanilla yogurt (optional)
  1. Pour a shallow layer of batter into the loaf pan (about 1/4 of the batter).


  2. Sprinkle heavily with half of the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining batter & cinnamon/sugar on top.


  3. Draw a knife through the batter to marble. Bake for 24 to 28 min. Let cool for 10 min. Bread will be dense.

Check out bodybuilding.com/livefit for more delicious recipes!