A new edition of "Things I'm Loving" Friday this week! Here are my list of current loves: Mini Naan Pizzas We've talked about my new love of making pizza using naan. But what could be better that one naan pizza?! Mini ones! Brushing Up on my Spanish...soon you'll find out why! Buy One Get One Free Chipotle...don't mind if I do! Play this game and get your own coupon. This excerpt about food waste on Last Week Tonight. Apologies for the language at parts. What are you loving this week?
This recipe is coming to you straight from the source, my mother. It's always better when mom makes it, am I right?! I used to eat this slaw for breakfast at times because I am that obsessed with it! I love the combination and flavor. It's such an easy recipe, but provides fantastic nutrition. There aren't measurements for the many of the ingredients because you really can add or subtract amounts of things as you want! Let me know if you like it! Ingredients: 1 Avocado, cut into small cubes Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved or large tomato, chopped 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped Broccoli Florets Drizzle of Olive Oil Splash of Lemon juice Salt and Pepper to taste Directions:
1. Mix cubed avocado, tomatoes, chopped bell pepper and broccoli florets in a large bowl. 2. Add olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. 3. Enjoy! It's been awhile since I gave you all a full garden update. I've talked about using kale from the garden in salads, but haven't shown any full garden pictures. Well here they are! The garden is flourishing this year, but looks as if it could stand to be a bit bigger! Our kale (planted back in August of 2014) is really coming up this summer (this picture is after i've plucked some off!). The tomatoes are starting to go crazy, which is my favorite part. You really can't beat a tomato straight from the garden with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Our strawberries were a bit of a dud, but I think they need more room to spread out, which we didn't plan for. And finally, our carrots are really taking off, but still need more room and time to grow big and strong! From left to right we have kale, carrots and then top right is tomatoes and bottom right are strawberries.
All these little guys are my pride and joy. I really love seeing something grow and develop from small seedlings. And I can't express enough how much I love being able to get fruits and vegetables directly from my garden. This is the true meaning of farm to table! Now if only the boy will let me expand (hint hint if he's reading this ;) )! Happy Monday! This has been quite a week and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down anytime soon. I've been busy getting ready for upcoming parties and trips. So today I thought i'd throw in an old favorite and do a "Things I'm Loving" Friday. Here goes! Old Navy Women's Jersey Circle Skirt These skirts are simple, inexpensive and perfect not only for daily wear, but for work. I purchased these (3 to be honest haha) for an upcoming trip and I can't wait to wear them! Kale Salads Nothing beats kale straight from the garden. I absolutely love that we grow some of our own food and our kale has erupted this year. Grow your own! Legos 3 in 1 A certain person is currently on bedrest and we found these on Amazon to entertain her. Can't beat entertainment for 3 days in one box! We've also been inundating her with puzzles galore! Bedrest is no joke! Running Belt I got this belt off Amazon as a two-fold. I plan to use it on runs to keep my keys etc. However, I purposely bought it right now for an upcoming trip. I plan to keep my money and information in it, hoping that it's a little more comfortable than the traditional money belt. Peanut Butter Pretzels These are my little treat lately. I love peanut butter and to combine it not only with a pretzels, but inside a pretzels just blows my tastebud's minds. It's a nice little snack before a workout, but they can get addicting!
Happy Friday! What are you loving lately? In my creation of workouts and training plans for clients, combination exercises are a great and welcome addition. Combination exercises are those that combine more than one movement or exercise occurring either simultaneously or directly following each other. These types of exercises help to build muscle and strength and increase endurance and power. Below are a few of my favorite combination exercises. 1. Woodchopper *Make sure you rotate your body to the side and pivot the back foot for abdominal engagement 2. Push up and Plank Row 3. Squat, curl, press 4. Side Lunge and Front Arm Raise What are your favorite combination exercises?
The boy and I enjoy sports and we have gotten really into minor league baseball. We enjoy going to games in different cities when we can. North Carolina has a good bit of minor league teams, so we decided to make a weekend of it! Our first stop was Asheville, NC to see the Tourists play on a beautiful Friday night. We grabbed a bite to eat and a beer at Wedge Brewery. The Melt Your Heart Food Truck specializes in grilled cheese and boy do they do a good job! I could eat this every day if my body let me! We stopped by French Broad Chocolate Lounge to cap off the evening with a slice of amazing chocolate cake and the best coconut macaroon i've ever had! Saturday marked a trip up to Winston-Salem to see the Dash. We stopped at Willow's Bistro for a bite to eat. We had the roasted vegetable appetizer. The boy had the fried green tomato BLT and I had the fried goat cheese salad. Another incredible meal to get us pumped for the game! We had some fantastic local brews at the stadium while watching the Dash obliterate the Nationals. The evening finished with a visit to Krispy Kreme. Why you might ask? Because Winston-Salem is the birth place of the brand. Nothing beats a hot and ready Krispy Kreme donut! Sunday included a two-fer, with our first game being the Durham Bulls. We took a few pit stops before the game, one being to Duke University. We walked around campus and saw the arena for the famous Blue Devil Men's Basketball. One last stop before the game was to The Parlour for some ice cream. The Parlour is listed as one of the country's best ice cream shops and the Salted Butter Caramel did not disappoint. I promise we saw baseball there too! We ventured our way to Greensboro for our final game of the weekend. The Grasshoppers didn't fair very well, but we sure had a good time. Quite a busy, but fun weekend with incredible food! Now back to my case of the Mondays.
What did you get into this weekend? I was recently speaking to athletes at a local university about nutrition during their season and how it needs to be adjusted in order to allow for peak performance. We discussed carbohydrate intake and calories and how all of those should be increased due to the amount of activity they do. Most of us have our ducks in a row when it comes to training season. We make sure we have excellent nutrition and hydration. However, one thing we often fail to mention is nutrition during off-training. All of these collegiate athletes are active year round, but there is a big difference between their in-season training and off-season training. Many of us go through these periods of our lives where our activity has changed and we often forget that our nutrition needs to be re-evaluated. For many athletes, off-training periods mean that their activity level has decreased. With a decrease in activity, calories and carbohydrate levels typically need to decrease. A balanced diet including complex carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats should be our goal all the time. But, when we aren't training, we can usually decrease our carbohydrate percentage as our body does not need the same intake for energy. While in training we may have athletes consuming 60-70% of their calories from carbohydrates. We can often decrease that percentage to 50-55% in off-training season. It is especially important to discuss this information with athletes who may not go on to become professional athletes. Many athletes continue their heavy eating patterns long after their days of collegiate sports or intense activity have ended. This can often lead to a high weight gain and the issues that come along with that. Overall, it's important for all of us to be proactive about our nutrition and adapt it based on our activity level. Educating younger athletes about the need to alter their nutrition during different times can ultimately help them with performance and health, not only in athletics, but in life. How do you change your diet based on the activities you do or on your training seasons?
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AuthorKatie is a Registered Dietitian in the Greenville, SC area. She currently works as a surgical weight loss dietitian. In her spare time she enjoys playing volleyball, cooking and hiking. Archives
January 2016
CategoriesDisclaimer: I am a Registered Dietitian and Personal Trainer, but I am not a Medical Doctor. Please check with your doctor before changing your activity level or making changes in nutrition based on medical conditions. My recommendations are generalizations and may not be appropriate for all individuals.
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