Orlando Fitness Boot Camp – Orlando Boot Camp – Orlando Personal Trainer

You probably know by now that I love great food. I don’t discriminate- pizza, burgers, chocolate, you name it– I have a tooth for all the foods we deem “naughty”.

I am also a woman that likes to bend the rules whenever I can. Who says that all of these yummy things have to be awful?  My Orlando Boot Campers know my love for my healthy pizzas and my d-light-ful french toast, but what about the other stuff? What about chocolate?!?!

I am going to share with you something I discovered today using my crutch ingredient and my new food love. Whenever I get that sweet tooth urge, a lot of times I’ll make a nice hot cup of low-calorie hot chocolate. It’s filling and sweet and chocolaty, but at only about 25 calories a cup.

I also recently discovered greek yogurt. It has about 17 grams of protein a serving and almost zero carbs and sugars (not that i am a low-carb advocate– but it has it’s place). Now some of my clients complain that it has a bitter taste and it’s not sweet enough. I guess it’s hard to hold a flame to the sugary yogurts we buy at the store. (YES! Even the non-fat yogurts are loaded with sugars).

However, the creamy delicious consistency of the greek yogurt is beyond compare. It is truely a unique texture. I do agree that it does need something, so I usually load it up with berries and fruits (frozen fruits are a lot cheaper and contain the same wonderful nutrients) and a bit of splenda.

Well today, I was talking to my colleague who runs incredible Elk Grove Boot Camps outside of Sacramento, and we were wondering what else we could concoct with this incredible ingredient. All of a sudden my brain went into chocolate mode and I started mixing together the low-cal hot chocolate, a tiny bit of splenda, and my beloved greek yogurt. It is incredible!! It’s like chocolate moose with a unique twist. It’s so amazing, you have to try it to believe it.

Go on, try it!

I am known for my crazy food concoctions. When I was really overweight, I was that girl that hated eating the healthy stuff. Veggies, fruits, lean proteins, healthy fats— I barely even gave them a second thought. I loved my pizza, I loved my pastries and ice cream, and I loved (more than anything) sitting on my bum and watching TV. Okay okay, so I still do love those things, but now I have learned to indulge in moderation.

Nowadays, my friends and family give me a hard time and accuse me of only eating “that healthy stuff”, but what they don’t understand is that I absolutely love the foods I eat- otherwise I wouldn’t eat them. I don’t just eat rhubarb and lettuce salads. Everyday I fill my stomach with delectable ingredients like yogurt, peanut butter, whole grain breads and wraps, cheeses, veggies, cottage cheese, avocado, chicken and pork and beef, salmon and tuna, fruits, nuts, and I could go on forever to complete my shopping list. You see, I do eat healthy. The foods I eat are full of nutrients and vitamins, and all that other good stuff. The key is though that I prepare my meals and snacks in creative ways that not only keep me from getting bored with the same foods, but in a way that is so incredibly DELICIOUS that I don’t even notice that I’m “eating healthy” . Why would you mind eating healthy if you love the foods you are eating?

When I feel like really indulging in something naughty or fried or chocolate-drizzled, I do it in moderation.

I concocted something for breakfast that some might consider weird or cooky or just plain gross. I am that girl that loves to mix sweet and savory. Apples with cheese and fruit in my salads is definitely not a rarity. I know that my “creative” way of coming up with some of my creations isn’t for everyone, but for those of you that want to take a walk on the wild side, check out what got my day started today. Yuuummmmy!

Blueberry Waffle Parfait

• 1 Kashi Blueberry Waffle
• 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (thawed out)
• 1 tbsp. Splenda

****While the waffle was in the toaster, I simply mixed up in a small bowl the cottage cheese, blueberries, and splenda. Once the waffle was done, I spread it out on top of the waffle.

*** About 220 calories

Don’t Knock It Until You Try It =)

Last week after boot camp, we took a field trip down the road to a meal-prep kitchen called Let’s Eat. Not only did we have a blast, and act like Chef Boyardee, but we also made some delicious concoctions that can last up to a few months if you freeze it, but is enough to feed your entire family. The preparation only took about 10 minutes (even less for some dishes), and after mixing or mashing the pre-chopped, pre-diced, and pre-prepared ingredients, it makes anyone feel like an amazing cook— not to mention that the staff at Let’s Eat were about some of the nicest people I have ever met. I felt right at home. Watch some highlights…

I just got back a couple hours ago from celebrating my great uncle’s 80th birthday in Cleveland, Ohio. Now I may simply be a wimp, but it was so extremely cold up there! Not to mention that they were recovering from a 2 foot snowfall from the previous week. It was cold and gray and slippery and snowy and wet. Yet among all this frigid terrain and mounds of possible excuses, people were exercising. Don’t get me wrong. They were bundled in multiple layers, scarfs, hats, and mittens, but by golly, they were out and moving.

What’s my point? You see, we could spend our whole lives making excuses for what we didn’t do or what we should have done, but the truth is that excuses are just words. A great life, success, and happiness don’t just happen- you make them happen. So next time you feel like playing hooky, not doing something because you “don’t feel like it”, or simply making dumb excuses, I want you to stop and think about mountains and mountains of snow.

I’m a big fan of Google. I Google everything. When I’m out with friends or family and a subject or question comes up that none of us know the answer to, immediately I think, “My dear friend Google would know the answer to this”. In fact, I now consider Google to be my most commonly used verb. (by the way, it’s a verb now)

That being said, if I want to know how many calories something has or how to order healthy at a particular restaurant, I simply Google it. Don’t get me wrong. There are countless tools that have food banks with nutritional information, but none of them hold a candle to my new favorite: The Daily Plate.

I eat a lot of different foods. I am constantly trying out new brands and new flavors to seek out the best of the bunch. Every once in a while I will actually record what I ate at the time that i ate it, but most often I’ll do it later in the day or at my earliest convenience. At this point, i have thrown away the item along with the nutritional information label. That’s where Google comes in.

If I were to Google a name brand food, I would have tons of options to get my nutrition information from. But what if I am eating my local grocery store’s brand? That is a lot harder to find. You know who hands-down always has that information? You guess it. The Daily Plate. No matter what it is, they seem to know how many calories it has and every other bit of info you could possible want. It is amazing. Plus, they have an online food log that you can use on your computer to compute your daily caloric intake. And attention iPhone users: There is a free version you can download as an application to sync with your phone. Isn’t technology fabulous??

Hey guys,

This Tuesday, February 3rd is my birthday, and in honor of the festivities, I am passing some savings on to you! From now until February 3rd at 11:59pm, if you sign up for the next session of Not Your Average Boot Camp, you will receive $10 off your boot camp tuition.

All you need to do is log on to our Orlando Boot Camp website, click on REGISTRATION at the bottom of the page, and enter in the coupon code “birthday” (that is the word birthday in all lower case letters without the quotation marks)

Hurry up though, the coupon will expire this Tuesday at Midnight!!

Cheers!

United States of America (Press Release) January 26, 2009 — This Sunday happens to be one of the most celebrated days in sports of the entire year. It is without a doubt that the Super Bowl evokes a spirit in us that makes us get out, get social, and celebrate the night away. Even though there are countless gatherings and parties alike, your Super Bowl get-together doesn’t have to go down in diet-sabotaging history. Here are a few healthy Read the rest of this entry »

One of the hardest things to do when gradually switching over from bad habits to better ones is getting yourself to actually feel good and ENJOY your new, healthier style of eating. That is one problem that my Orlando Boot Camp members find to be especially difficult: Passing up junk and saying yes to the healthy stuff.

That’s where I come in!

I am the queen of coming up with healthy alternatives to your favorite tasty foods. In this post, I share with you the delicious and healthy French Toast Breakfast Sandwich. Look out McDonalds! Read the rest of this entry »