Personal Training
Food Swaps and More Turkey Meatloaf
Hey hey hey! Happy Friday! This week for some reason crept by (even with my snow day on Wednesday) so I am very happy we have reached the weekend!
My day today started out great! I had a fabulous breakfast of oatmeal, egg whites, berries and coconut oil and then hit the gym for an arms/core workout (biceps/triceps)
Biceps are by far my least favorite body part to work. I don’t know why but I just have never enjoying doing isolation bicep work (which is probably why they are the weakest in my upper body) I LOVE shoulders and back, but I have never hopped on the biceps train very well. I had to mentally psych myself up for this workout and it totally worked! I had a great workout! I did mostly supersets of 1 tricep exercise back to back with 1 biceps exercise and a core movement. For instance:
Set 1
DB Bicep curls (turn palms out) 3×10
Triceps Pushdowns (palms face up) 3×10
Reverse toe touch crunches
For those that think visualization is a waste of time, I am telling you it really works. Visualize each exercise, set and repetition. Decide on the weight you are going to use. Visualize how good the workout is going to be. By visualizing the workout you will be preparing yourself for a great workout. You will know in your mind that the workout will turn out the way you intended it. You are re-creating the workout as it will be.
I’ll be wearing this in no time!
Visualization will help so much! I also use it this same technique when I am not feeling too motivated. Say I am lying in bed and not really exstatic about hitting the gym, I visualize all of the other people who got out of bed, off their butts and working hard. Just thinking about this gets me going and pumped up!
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Last night for dinner, I started with a baby spinach salad with mushrooms, red pepper, cucumber and a dressing made with 1 tsp sesame oil, mustard and rice wine vinegar
Sesame oil, mustard, rice wine vinegar
I also enjoyed some kale, cauliflower and zuchinni (all roasted in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes) And yes, that is the turkey meatloaf that I am utterly obsessed with and not not gotten sick of yet (I also just made a brand new batch with a little bit more cumin and turmeric so it has some Indian flavors which make it so delicious!)
Turkey meatloaf and veggies!
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A find that I cannot believe I went so long without is Sun Warrior Protein! Back last summer I was obsessed with this protein powder. I used it just about everyday. I think I wore myself out because I haven’t used it since! Well, today I decided to take some out (This is an old picture, I only have about 2 scoops left!!) I mixed one scoop with some oatmeal and it was DELICIOUS! Sun Warrior mixes so well and yes, it certainly has a different flavor and texture than whey protein, but once you get used to it, its so good! I wish it wasn’t so darn expensive, but I definately need some more!
I just took 1 scoop and mixed it with some melted coconut oil and some almond milk, stuck it in the freezer and so excited to break into that later tonight!
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I have been getting some emails from some readers asking me how I am doing with my whole competition prep meals and am I ever hungry and how my food always looks so good!
- Well to be honest, I am so loving everything about my plan right now. I am 12 weeks out from my show, so the diet is not extremely strict right now. I am doing about 80/20 which means 80% clean and on point and 20% enjoying whatever I want! I am following this pretty closely, and mainly during the weeks, I do all of my food prep on Sundays and that lasts me for at least 3 or 4 days. When I cook chicken, I don’t just cook 1/2 lb but I cook 2 lbs all at once so that I have it cooked and ready to go when I need to grab it for dinner or lunch. I have been making the Turkey meatloaf and as soon as its done, I take it out and pre portion it out, so I end up with about 8 servings from 1 meatloaf! (talk about saving money!)
- I love to flavor my food naturally with tons of spices, mustard, salsa, olive oil and vinegar. I love Mrs. Dash for no salt flavorings and I also just recieved this new spice called “Bagel Spice”
- A friend told me about this Bagel Spice and it ROCKS. I sprinkled some on my salad today and it gave it SO much flavor, I barely needed any dressing! It was a mix of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, minced garlic and onion and caraway seeds.
- I use spices in everything and try to use fresh spices when I can! In recipes such as my basil-italian turkey meatballs or balsamic basil chicken breast I the meat with fresh herbs and vinegar so it is PACKED with deliciousness but lower in fat
- Another trick I use is Greek yogurt in the place of mayo. I make a delicious tuna salad with 1 30z can of tuna, 2 tsp greek yogurt and mustard and it is creamy and delicious. The Greek yogurt really gives it that creamy flavor that so many people miss when they try to make ‘healthy’ tuna
- I did a whole post on Food Prep Tips so feel free to check that out if you are interested in how to make food prep work for you!
- The key is just finding foods you enjoy and always varying it up! Incorporate new veggies or fruits into your diet. Try out some new carbs like butternut squash or quinoa! And of course you must have those healthy fats–my favorites are coconut oil almond butter and sesame oil these days! You may discover a new favorite food!
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And I will leave you with a video that I took from this past weekend. It is some amazing women, Lori Harder, Amber Ameredes, Andi Martin and Gretchen Coley doing their ‘walk’ sorry its not the perfect view, but you can get a good idea!
Question of the day: What is your favorite “healthy” swap?
