Eating Seasonal & a Black Bean and Tomatillo Chili Recipe

I am nearly 34 years old. I have never flown on an airplane, I’ve never gone on a cruise and… I have never seen snow.

The word “Seasonal” is relative when you live in a place like Florida. The extent of fall foliage color we achieve is dead tree branches on the ground from hurricane Irma a few weeks ago. For a total of 2.5 days in February, all of the leaves will fall off the trees at one time. We have to cover our palm trees and hibiscus bushes up when it dips below 50° and flip flops can be purchased right next to the Christmas décor.

This means that on the rare occasion the temperature DOES drop.. you must take full advantage… and that is why I’ve broken out my favorite chili and fall recipes this week. The weather says it will be 47° this week!!!

So eating “seasonal” may sound a little unnecessary. But that is not the case! Here are 4  reasons you should eat seasonally, and then , a great recipe filled with some seasonal veggies!

1. Cost Efficient: Purchasing foods that are in season is an optimal way of eating healthy while on a budget. Foods that are in season are more cost efficient to grow and that savings trickles down to you, the buyer.
2. Nutritional Value: Foods that are grown in season tend to be more dense in nutrients. These foods are sold closer to their harvest date, meaning they maintain more of their freshness at the point of sale.
3. Taste and quality: When food is harvested from the vine or plant in season, they normally boast a much more flavorful experience. When grown out of season, foods must be stored and transported, meaning extended periods of refrigeration and sometimes chemical treatments to maintain freshness. Eating in season helps eliminate much of that.
4. Supports your nutritional needs: Personally, this is one of the primary reasons I started trying to eat more of my food in season. Evolutionally speaking, our bodies have adapted to eating the food that is available at certain times of the year. Have you ever noticed that citrus fruit, with all its Vitamin C, is at it’s peak during flu season? Or that summer vegetables are high in beta-carotene, which protects our skin against the sun’s harmful rays? There are examples of this all through out the plant kingdom. Eating in season gives your body the nutrients it needs, right when it needs them.

Sounds great, right? It’s easier than you think to eat in season. And below, you’ll find a perfect recipe to get you started.

Black Bean and Tomatilla Chili

Ingredients

1 1/2 C black beans

1 1/2 C garbanzo beans

corn off of two ears of corn (or 1 can)

1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 yellow onion, diced

4 large carrots, diced into 1/4-1/2″ slices

2 large tomatillos, diced

1lb + of ground turkey or grass fed beef

3 tsp EVOO

1 tbsp. minced garlic

3 tsp chili powder

dash of cayenne

dash of crushed red pepper

dash of salt and pepper

1 avocado (optional topping)

Monterey Jack cheese (optional topping)

Place the first 7 ingredients into a slow cooker. In a large skillet, sauté the garlic in olive oil just until lightly browned. Add the meat and all seasonings and cook until no pink shows. Strain lightly and add to the slow cooker. Cook over low heat for 8 hours. You can add more cayenne or chili powder an hour before serving to get it slightly spicier.

Add either of the optional toppings, I love avocado for the healthy fats you gain from it.

This keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days and can also be placed in the freezer if you choose, just give plenty of time to thaw when you are ready to eat it.

Below are a couple of resources if you want an idea of how to eat seasonally. One of the best ways is to visit a farmer’s market and buy local, this is a 5th benefit to eating this way… you can support your local economy!

 

 

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Growing up, I had a half brother that I lived with all of the time, and three step brothers that we visited who lived with our dad and step mom. As the only girl out of 5 kids, my life was constant turmoil.
I couldn’t walk around a corner without being scared by someone in a werewolf mask. I couldn’t eat dinner without picking spitballs out of my hair and we will not even discuss how gross the bathroom stayed, or how frightening it was to navigate the house in the dark.

But by Far, the cruelest thing they ever did to me was while we were eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant. As usual, the kids sat at one table, the adults occupied one nearby. My oldest step brother, (sadly he passed away this year) left to use the restroom. So we poured a heaping helping of salt into his sweet tea. We all laughed and laughed when he took a giant gulp of it and did a spit take in the middle of the restaurant.. 

Later during dinner, I myself got up to use the restroom. When I got back to the table, my food had arrived, it was just tacos. But this place had the best tacos I can ever remember having. I could feel my mouth salivating as I took a colossal bite out of my first taco. 

I knew instantly I’d made a huge mistake. My eyes started to water and my face got hot, and my mouth may has well have been engulfed in flames. My brothers must’ve realized that this surpassed being funny and could possibly constitute an emergency because they were shoving drinks in front of me as the scooped ice out of the cups for me with spoons… glancing nervously at the table where our parents sat, hoping they didn’t notice. 

To this day our parents don’t know about it, because had I told them, I would’ve gotten in trouble for formulating the salt trick that started it all. That’s how the sibling code works. It’s sacred. 

Since the day my brothers drowned my taco in hot sauce, I have avoided anything even remotely spicy. My Mom makes chili, and I follow her recipe, but it is a safe one that even my kids will eat. So when I saw a picture of this Stuffed Spaghetti Sqaush recipe, I was saddened to see it had the word “Buffalo” in the name.

But then I thought about adding feta cheese. And how chopped celery would offset the spice. And how good the roasted squash would be with chicken… and I broke. I went so far out of my comfort zone, and I made. 

Best. Cooking. Decision. Ever. It was super simple, besides cooking the squash it didn’t take long at all either. 

You can really control the heat of this dish, one variation would be to roast the chicken with cayenne and chili powder to give it an extra kick. or add a little bit of hot sauce to the buffalo sauce that’s giving in the recipe.

Here’s how I made it. Sans hot sauce or cayenne. 

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 spaghetti squash 
• 2 roasted chicken breasts (I cooked mine in the crockpot with garlic for the day)
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2-1 cup buffalo wing sauce (I use Tessamae’s because it’s a super clean variation) 
• Feta or Bleu cheese as desired 
• Small amount of salt and pepper and extra virgin olive oil

Start by cooking your squash. Preheat your oven to 375. Cut the ends off and then cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop the seeds out of the inside (think like a pumpkin). Brush each half of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Like a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the squash, cut side down, on the paper. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until you can easily pierce the skin with a fork. 

Meanwhile, shred the chicken and place in a large bowl with the cut vegetables.

 At this point, I added the buffalo sauce a little at a time to be sure I didn’t go overboard because I was scared of it burning my mouth. 

When you remove the spaghetti squash, it will be ready to shred. Be careful, it will be hot! Using a fork, scrape the “noodles” out.

Add the scraped squash into the chicken mixture. Stir just until it’s blended. Once combined, fill what’s left of the spaghetti squash shells up with the mixture you just created. Sprinkle feta cheese on top and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Remove from the oven and let cool. You can serve them right in the “bowls” of the squash or scoop out to serve. 

10 Things I did to Get Healthy

I don’t especially love sharing my “before” pictures. Not so much because I’m embarrassed because of how I looked, but because I really don’t care to revisit the mental state I possessed back then. It’s a part of my story though, and an important part at that. 

So here is me in 2010-ish, and me this summer on the right… The left picture was about 2 years through my healthy lifestyle change. I’d lost probably 40 pounds by the time the picture on the left was taken. The right one is close to where I am today, I have a little more muscle now because I have taken a powerlifting approach in my training.

There are so many things that had to happen for me to progress the way I have. I should also add now, that I am nowhere near the end of my fitness journey. I find new goals, new methods and tactics. I learn more and I figure out what works best for the current season of my life.

There are things that I never would’ve experienced success without, however. Especially when I first started out. They may not be the same things that work for you, but we can definitely find what WILL.

I woke up early. Sometimes, early needed to be 4 am. Thankfully now it’s 5 am most days, but regardless, this was probably the most important change. Other things had to happen, for this to become a habit though.

I found a workout style I love. Some people love Zumba. Some people commit to cross fit. Some love bodybuilding and others, yoga. Find what’s best for you and you’ll be more likely to stick with it. 

I set goals. No matter how small, I set goals for EVERYTHING.

I smiled more. This one is cheesy. But it’s very key to success. As is the next one…

I found a hobby. This allowed me to have some clarity, down time and focus my thoughts in a productive way.

I reached out to others in my position. If you are old enough to remember, 2007-ish was the dawning of Myspace (yes I just went there….) and I sought out people and pages geared towards my goals.

I stopped smoking. Yes. I smoked. Off an on for about 6 years. I would stop when I was pregnant and begin again afterwards. It was terrible and by far the hardest change to make, especially since it hindered my weight loss temporarily when I quit.

I joined the gym. For the first 2 years, I ran, played with my kids and did little challenges I found online. Eventually, to stay motivated, I needed the gym. I haven’t looked back since.

I stopped buying garbage. This was another huge step. Especially because my family was used to eating a certain way, I had to change that for all of us.

I got a divorce. hahahaha, just kidding… but it’s definitely changed the way things work a bit. Actually 10: I stopped being so hard on myself. You are human. You will experience set backs. You will struggle. You will have to take a different route and sometimes, as hard as it is, you may even have to start from scratch. But the beauty of all of that is this: You are under no obligation to any but yourself to make YOU better. Do your best and take your time.

Your ten things may consist of some of these. Or all of them. Or none. It might be 1 thing. It might be 37. But you won’t know until you get started. Start with step one. There’s help along the way, you’re never alone.

Trust me when I say this: I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. You are not hopeless, it is not too late, and you CAN do this. Just take the first step!

Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss (and why one means absolutely nothing)

You found this AWESOME 500 calorie military diet on Pinterest and you’ve been sticking with it for a few weeks. You’re losing weight! Perhaps lightheaded and weak, maybe your skin doesn’t look as healthy but whatever, you’re skinny! <sarcasm>

Or did it happen like this….

“Hey <Insert Name>, haven’t seen you since <Insert Timeframe>! Hope you’re doing well! By the way, have you heard of <Insert ANY. I MEAN ANY multi level marketing supplement company that requires a monthly supply of some shake, patch or pill>”

You re-read the text or facebook message and recall seeing that she has lost some weight recently, she looks great. Huh. Wonder what this is about. You send her back a message and before you know it, you’re trying out samples and committing yourself to trying what she’s selling.

Now both of these can go one of two ways. Either you fully commit to the diet/product and see “results”, or you don’t adhere to the protocol and you give up. What’s important to understand is that this product, This DIET, didn’t work or fail for you. At all. It is not the product that produced results, and you didn’t miss your mark by NOT committing to eating 500 calories.

Fad diets, Meal replacement shakes, pills and patches can be a catalyst for change in people’s lives, because when you begin taking/drinking/applying it, you should be eliminating the current negative habits you have. THIS IS WHY THEY WORK. You are not losing weight because of the product, you are losing weight because you ELIMINATED the bad stuff.

LET ME SAY THIS AGAIN FOR THE FOLKS IN THE BACK. You are losing weight, your body is shrinking because you aren’t eating chocolate and drinking soda every day. NOT because you found a miracle product that melts away the pounds. Sadly, if you didn’t see results, it’s likely you still consumed the not so good for you stuff as well.

NOW. Here’s where it gets tricky, because you’re losing weight, and that seems like a good thing. But what most fail to recognize is that ideally, you would specifically lose fat, not just weight.

Read this over. If you didn’t feel like going over all of that, let me sum it up for you. When you lose weight in the wrong manner, when you lose weight by drinking a few shakes and skipping meals, it is unsafe, unhealthy and not sustainable. Your muscles will deteriorate, your organs will begin to break down, your cells will age faster… you can’t live off of supplements! These changes happen slowly, over the course of months and even longer. But ultimately, your body will notice and crave the missing elements you’ve removed.

(Not to mention 130 pounds of strength trained and 50/30/20 fueled bodyweight looks way better than 130 pounds of deprived organs and skin)

When you fuel your body with the RIGHT AMOUNT OF REAL FOOD, you will lose fat while maintaining the integrity of the rest of your body. You can eat this way forever and ever and ever, safely. It’s also less expensive than a multilevel marketing plan, when you know what you’re doing.

Does meal prep take time? It can. Does planning your weekly menu take a little effort. If you do it without help, yes. BUT it is sustainable and it works. This is how the body works, guys, clever marketing and pretty packaging don’t make a product or lifestyle good for you, it’s only pretty on the surface. Dig dipper, start a movement with your health by eating well and moving more.

Why Grind and Shine?

I have a bad habit of creating this grandiose plan in my head: this goal and dream and idea and it’s going to be AWESOME and NO ONE is going to stop me and I map it out and get started and….

I freak out.

I get scared. I hear negativity directed my way. It doesn’t go as I’d hoped right off the bat. It doesn’t end up as… well, grand as I wanted. People don’t like or “need” what I have, So I back down and I stay quiet so as not to disturb others or humiliate myself. People don’t think what I am doing is what I should be doing with my life. So I quiet my thoughts so as to not make waves.

I’ve gone through a series of changes in my life that have required different levels of confidence, counterbalanced with keeping myself out of the line of fire. I have struggled between wanting to feel and look great while worrying that people are “watching me”. (Not like peeking through the windows watching me, but “hey look, that girl doesn’t know what she’s doing” watching me).

I don’t really know which was harder. When I had less confidence physically, when I was my heaviest weight after my three children were born? Or maybe 3 years ago… when my divorce happened and I felt as though everyone I knew was judging me and watching my every move. Neither were a great feeling. At all.

I spent time during both phases worrying a lot about what others thought of me. I stayed small, stayed quiet about myself and my ideas. My goals, dreams and plans sounded fantastic in my own little world, but when presented to the one outside of my mind, they crumbled, and so did I. I smothered whatever fire I had going, trying to make sure I didn’t burn too brightly, because shining too brightly meant people would look at me. Couldn’t have that, now could we?

So what happened? What flipped the switch? I really don’t know. I DO know that I got tired of stifling myself for the comfort of others. I became very depressed by living solely for the satisfaction and approval of other people. It’s wearisome. It makes you feel inadequate and steals your joy.. it dims your light.

So Slowly, I started to shed the weight of other peoples’ opinions. Now, something important to note here is that I did NOT start disregarding their feelings, I did not start to mistreat people because I wasn’t adhering to THEIR expectations. If anything, I find myself even more caring and patient in dealing with negative people, because I have been there and I understand the cycle. But when I set out for the day, I try my hardest to let my light shine so brightly that other people are warmed and inspired by it too. I try to make sure THEY are positively impacted by me, rather than letting them get to me first.

I simply live MY life on my terms, choosing to shine regardless of how they interpret it.

What’s all this have to do with health coaching? It’s my “why”.  It is the reason I do what I do. I know how it feels to be in a dark, lonely place and how your heart hurts when your light is smothered, whether by your very own breathe or someone else’s. My “why” is to make sure I help as many people as possible find THEIR light.

It is hard. It is challenging. It takes grit, grind, determination and discipline.

Get it??? Grind and Shine!!!

But all the work you put in, all the positive thinking, all the good you put out into the world in the process, creates a ripple effect and little by little, by changing our mind, outlook, bodies and health, we can create something amazing.

 

 

Eating Mindfully

Eating mindfully is an art form. It’s almost meditative and if you don’t understand that, or if you think it sounds silly, you’ve never tried it before. Eating mindfully is something that yes, everyone can benefit from, but for the purposes of this post it’s directed at those who are trying to be more active in changing their eating habits, specifically for weight loss.

Eating mindfully promotes cognitive awareness of what you’re putting into your body. It involves taking deliberate steps to make the process enjoyable, because so many times we eat to feel better. It requires us to be completely present in order to avoid over eating, emotional eating, boredom eating and unhealthy eating.

**Disclaimers**
It is imperative that you recognize that this is about eating mindfully. Not starving mindfully. You have got to eat. It is unnecessary, counterintuitive, unhealthy and pointless to starve yourself, especially with the goal of losing weight. It won’t work. YOU HAVE TO EAT!! Just make it the RIGHT foods.
Also, if you don’t struggle with maintaining healthy eating habits, that’s awesome for you. But these things are very real struggles for some people. If someone close to you is doing their best to get on the right track with their eating, do your part and encourage them. These efforts may seem like very simple changes to you but to some people, they could be the difference between getting healthy or staying unhappy….. so here are some simple solutions if you’re one of those people who’s ready to eat mindfully and as a result, be healthier.

Plate your food: take attention to how it looks. When you go to a restaurant, they typically take care to make sure that the plate comes out in an appealing manner. This is textbook marketing. It makes you want to come back and eat that same food again. So what happens when you prepare your own meals at home like this? You look forward to them more.

Create a distraction free setting: put down the phone, turn off the TV and clear the table of clutter. Just let you pay attention to what you’re doing instead of mindlessly eating a lot of food. This is a really important step for those who partake in “grazing” (my biggest downfall personally!). The more distracted you are, the less attention you were paying to what goes in your mouth.

Sit at the table to eat: or a desk, or a specific spot that you go to when you are ready to eat. Removing yourself from other distractions and environments where you are more prone to overeat is key.

Savor it: take smaller bites and chew more slowly. No one is going to take your food from you. Unless you have kids in which case you may be more likely to have someone taking your food.. The point is, really take the time to enjoy your food.

The most important part to all of this is to pay attention to what you are eating. Make a conscious decision to acknowledge each and every bite you take. Be honest with yourself when it’s something that you know is an unhealthy choice and be proud of yourself when you make healthier decisions.

Take it one day, one meal and one bite at a time.

She loves new beginnings

I can’t express how excited and nervous I am about this adventure. It’s been 10 months since I quit my job at a gym to run a frozen yogurt shop and even longer since my employment status said “trainer”.  But I’ve come full circle and am ready to bring this 5 year old dream to life! 

Backstory: I became an ACE certified trainer back in 2012, then a health coach in 2015. In the interim between then and now I’ve maintained those and added others (weight management specialist, senior and youth fitness specialist, TRX certification, Alloy Certified and so on) and guess what? Not one of those certificates could give me an ounce of the knowledge my real life clients have given, and continue to give me on a regular basis. 

My favorite part of what I do is the problem solving. I love to pick apart a person’s habits, lifestyles, nuances and quirks and find out how to maneuver them through the channels to become healthier. It’s the best kind of puzzle to me. I love biomechanics and am absolutely fascinated by how the human body articulates and functions… but beyond that? The mind is what captivates me. I am enthralled with the different demeanors and personalities and learning how we all think, what drives us. 

So here I am, slinging froyo to the masses while I try to help people live a healthier lifestyle. I want to help you find your way in the gym, arm you with the tools to make the most out of your workouts. I want to assist you in determining the healthiest foods for your goals. I will help you prioritize the things that are important to you so you can prioritize YOURSELF AND YOUR HEALTH. And I want to help you find your happiness again. 

It is such a long journey and I’ve learned there’s really no destination, and that’s totally ok. It’s a beautiful ride, especially when you take care of yourself to enjoy it to the fullest extent possible.