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!

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!

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!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Ideal (Xylitol)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 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
• 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)

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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. Pour a shallow layer of batter into the loaf pan (about 1/4 of the batter).



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



7. 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!

Swimming Suit Safe SWEET treats!

Summer in Kansas City is hot! I'm in a constant state of craving for some frozen yogurt. If you're anything like me your always on the hunt for something healthy to appease your after dinner sweet tooth or pool side snack desire. Yesterday my friend Hannah came over and showed me my summer time saving grace....

Get excited for HEALTHY BANANA ICE CREAM!!!  I die.

The small amount of fat in bananas become magic when frozen and blended up. They turn creamy instead of crumbly, with a smooth custdard-like texture.

Here's how its done friends:

Grab a couple ripe bananas

Peel your bananas and slice into small pieces. Freeze the cut pieces.

Put your frozen banana pieces in a food processor and run it until bananas are smooth and creamy

Watch the magic happen when they turn into ice cream. Always add peanut butter if you love it as much as I do.
 (or cinnamon)

Enjoy!

What to expect when your expecting...to run a race!

I am in no way qualified to write this post as I am very much a novice runner myself but on behalf of National running day yesterday I couldn't let the week pass by without speaking to one of my favorite hobbies in the whole world. I fell in love with running a couple of years ago. It started with a few 5K's and than I allowed myself a promotion to half marathons. I hope to run my first marathon within the next year. I love setting fitness goals and training for things that push me to accomplish what I would never guess I could do before. In high school I had to run the mile once a month in weights and conditioning class and I would scower the halls of school looking for my brother, an expert signiture forger to write doctors notes, parents notes, anything I could think of to get me out of running that mile. You would have never been able to convince me I would one day enjoy running. 

Again, I am far from an expert runner and focus most of my efforts in the "running world" on figuring out what shoes to buy and what course would be the prettiest rather than perfecting my form, working on splits or anything else that would further my running abilities. I simply just really like the feat of running a good race. It makes me feel alive and motivated and accomplished and so I do it. That being said and having fully squelched all credibility I might have had I give you my list of what to expect when your expecting...to run a race.

1) Runners trot:The 'plague' of a runner.Running jostles the intestines and removes the blood flow to the intestines as it works to move your blood to your working muslces. It also stimulates changes in your intestinal hormones that speeds up transit time and alters absorption rate. Part way through your run you might get a terrible urge to go to the bathroom. Thats normal. At least for me it was. Expect this sensation as a runner and plan accordingly so you can stop off during your training or find a spot during your race. Someone once told me that during marathons some people poop their pants. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not that dedicated to my time. Ill skip the poopy pants dance and take the time hit.  
2) Feeling like your not going to finish 
- When you feel like you won't finish try to think about your form. Are my shoulders low and loose? Are my feet landing directly underneath me? Am I landing between my heal and mid foot? Am I landing lightly? Am I running upright? Is my gaze guiding my run? When you get tired you get lazy with form. You'll endure your miles better and faster and have better performance if you think about form during your runs. 
- Eating a good breakfast is important. You need to have enough energy in your body to sustain you for your whole race. 
- Eat the breakfast you will have the morning of your race during training so your body will know how to react with the food you have in your stomach come race day. 
3) Feeling like your not ready for the raceduring training
- Try to plan your training schedule around the same time your race will start. This will give you a chance to experience how strong your body will feel during race day.
4) Feeling unmotivated to train
- Switch up your running routes
- Make a new music playlist 
- Buy a race day outfit 
5) Think like a runner: Mental preparation
-  Decide what gets you mentally prepared for a race. It might be quoting a verse, visualizing your course, having solitude time before you begin. Whatever it is, get yourself in race mode.
6) Buy a good pair of shoes
7) Adrenaline Rush
- Prepare yourself for an adrenaline rush on race day. My very first race I started way too fast at the starting line and found myself feeling fatigued early. Pace yourself

Happy National Running Day! (late) Now lace up those runners and get outside.