Challenge Workouts

You know that curbing your carbs will help you lose weight and tone up, so try this low carb breakfast. It’s a great way to eat some veggies with breakfast.

Servings: 4

Here’s what you need…

•     4 large, round tomatoes
•     1 teaspoon olive oil
•     1 clove garlic, minced
•     1 small onion, finely chopped
•     3 slices organic, nitrate-free turkey bacon, chopped
•     dash of dried oregano, plus more for garnish
•     optional dash of salt (added salt is not in nutritional analysis)
•     dash of pepper
•     4 organic, omega-3, free range eggs

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.     Wash tomatoes, slice off the tops and scoop out the insides. Place tomatoes on a pan, and bake for 5 minutes.
3.     In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add garlic. Add onion. Add chopped bacon. Saute for 5 minutes, until mostly cooked. Add the spices and mix well.
4.     Turn oven to broil.
5.     Fill each tomato with the bacon mixture, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the top of each tomato. Crack an egg into each tomato then sprinkle with oregano. Place in the oven under broiler for 5 minutes. Remove from oven once the top has set, and you’ll have perfectly done over easy eggs.
6.     For well done eggs: change oven temperature back to 400 degrees F, and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 98 calories, 5g fat, 162mg sodium, 3g carbohydrate, .6g fiber, and 9g protein.

Here’s a great recipe to make the night before for an easy grab-n-go breakfast straight out of the fridge. It’s packed with protein, vitamins and minerals for sustained energy all morning long. And it tastes great too.

Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…

•     1/4 cup Greek Yogurt, plain, fat free
•     1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
•     1 scoop high quality strawberry or vanilla protein powder
•     1/4 cup fresh berries
•     1 Tablespoon pecan pieces, toasted

1.     In a small bowl use a whisk to combine the yogurt, cottage cheese and protein powder. Mix until well incorporated.
2.     Place half of the yogurt mixture into a clear cup, top with the berries and then the remaining yogurt mixture. Top with pecans.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 260 calories, 6g fat, 307mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, and 38g protein.

Here is a protein packed snack that the whole family will love. It’s important to enjoy snacks that are low in carbohydrates and sugar, and high in protein in order to shed body fat and develop healthy muscles. This recipe delivers on all fronts, without sacrificing flavor.

Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…

•     6 oz Greek Yogurt, plain, fat free
•     1 scoop high quality chocolate protein powder
•     Sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa powder

1.     In a small bowl use a whisk to combine the yogurt and protein powder. Mix until all lumps have disappeared.
2.     Garnish with a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 220 calories, 0g fat, 445mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, and 42g protein.

Here is the perfect snack to enjoy guilt-free. Each muffin is packed with protein that will fuel your day and support muscle growth. Make a bunch of these and save them in the fridge for snacks-on-the-go.

Servings: 6

Here’s what you need…

• 6 omega-3, organic, free range eggs
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/8 cup of organic shredded cheese
• sprinkle of salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease lightly.
3. Mix up the eggs, add bell pepper, cheese and seasonings. Fill 6 muffin tins.
4. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the egg is fully set.

Nutritional Analysis: One muffin equals: 89 calories, 6g fat, 120mg sodium, 1g carbohydrate, .16g fiber, and 7.5g protein.

Monday morning….how do you feel?

How did the weekend go nutritionally? Often times, the weekend is the toughest time to stay the course on your nutrition plan.

I had a fantastic weekend of recharging and now I’m excited to dive into what I loosely call ‘work’. You know you’re doing the right thing when you can’t wait for Monday morning to come 😉

It was my girlfriend, Cat’s birthday so she and I spend a night in Canmore, AB. This is a small mountain town about an hour west of Calgary. It’s scenic and peaceful, only a short drive away, but really a million miles from the stress of every day in the city.

We found an amazing restaurant where we shared a Thai chicken dish and a Red curry seafood dish (chicks can get away with doing this sort of thing ;). Then we just hung out and relaxed.

The bonus part of the whole weekend was that we were able to enjoy good food without feeling like we blew our nutrition plan. There are a couple nutrition lessons here that I want to share:

First, Cat is very nutrition conscious.  You’re more likely to be successful on YOUR nutrition plan if you hang out with others that have similar goals and lifestyles. If you hang out with others that aren’t health conscious, it really makes it tough on you. Surround yourself with people that support your nutrition goals. 

Second, we really focused on the good company of each other rather than on the food during our getaway. After dinner our gorgeous server presented the dessert menu. Everything looked spectacular, but we decided against even sharing one. We were both satisfied with our meal and knew that we’d be uncomfortably full if we ate more. It’s important to stop eating before you’re full since your belly takes some time to single to your brain that it’s full.

Third, restaurant food is delicious, but it’s really hard to control what you’re eating when you dine out. That’s why we decided to make our own brunch. We made it an event of cooking together since we had the time. We were prepared by bringing supplies from home. We all know that failing to plan ahead is really planning to fail. We knew that our ‘treat’ meal would be dinner so we wanted a healthier brunch. It was easy to pack these items for a spectacular brunch:

• eggs
• coconut oil
• sprouted grain bread
• strawberries and blackberries
• Greek yogurt
• dash of Truvia (stevia)

We were in a condo like hotel, so we had fun whipping up French toast and felt like we had a feast.

If you’re ready to transform YOUR body and need to surround yourself with like minded people, if you want tips on how to meet your goals, recipes and a road map, then consider the 21 Day Challenge Diet.

Take a look at Patti’s day yesterday:

Look at the success Robin has had in 5 days:

You’ll get constant support and new information to help you face the weekends, or what ever YOUR challenge is.

If this Monday you’re feeling sort of blah, you can change next Monday and every Monday there after by learning strategies to avoid sabotaging your nutrition.

Check out all the success stories from the 21 Day Challenge Diet, wouldn’t YOU love to be a success story?