Hearty Oats

Protein-packed, full of fiber and low on fat, oats are designed to boost your energy levels and help you lead a healthy lifestyle. Oats contain a wide range of nutrients including vitamin E, essential fatty acids and the list goes on!! They are not only good for the stomach but are interestingly super filling, satisfying and very versatile! Due to their versatility they are super easy to add into your diet whether it be your morning oats, your afternoon snack or even dinner!

One benefit of Oats that may actually surprise you is that oats May Help You Lose Weight!! By delaying the time it takes your stomach to empty of food, the beta-glucan in oats may increase your feeling of fullness. Beta-glucan can also promote the release of peptide YY, a hormone produced in the gut in response to eating. This hormone has been shown to lead to reduced calorie intake and may decrease your risk of obesity! And for those asking what is Beta-glucan.. Beta-glucan is a type of soluble fiber!

Now we all now the everyday uses for oats so I thought I’d share with you a two recipes that include oats that aren’t muesli or porridge!

Oat Burgers (Makes 10)

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup Coconut Aminos Sauce or Tamari
• 1 tablespoon onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic mince
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian season
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 cups oats
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds

METHOD

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees. Bring water to boil in a saucepan.
2. Add Coconut aminos or Tamari, onion , garlic, Italian seasoning and cayenne pepper.
3. Stir in oats, cooked rice, walnuts, black beans, and flax seeds.
4. Reduce heat and keep on stirring until liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool enough to handle.
6. Using a large canning jar lid including the rim, form patties placing them on a lightly oiled baking paper.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, turning halfway. You may also cook in a lightly oiled pan on both sides. Top with your favourite toppings!

Banana & Zucchini Oat Muffins
Perfect afternoon snack or breakfast on-the-go.
(MAKES 16)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water (alternatively, you can use 1 egg)
• ¼ cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 3 small-medium over-ripe bananas
• 2 small zucchinis (2 cups grated, don't squeeze water out)
• ½ cup almond milk (any milk will work)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups oats (alternatively can use gluten-free)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• Optional add-ins: ¼ cup of walnuts

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a muffin tin with coconut oil. 
2. Place flax and water in small bowl. Stir and set aside to “gel." 
3. Place bananas in a large bowl and mash with a fork. Add grated zucchini, almond milk, vanilla extract, almond butter, maple syrup, and flax mixture and combine.
4. Add oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and add-in's of choice. Stir until just combined.
5. Spoon mixture into muffin cups, filling to the top.
6. Bake for 23-28 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean. Store cooled muffins in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. These freeze well, too!

Pre & Post Workout Meals!

Fuelling your body pre and post workout is more important than any other meal throughout your day. Many people don’t realise the role that pre and post workout meals play in the effectiveness of your workout! To break it down a little… the food you consume before your workout will affect your energy levels and your performance output throughout your workout whereas what you eat after your workout is crucial for optimizing the recovery process and replenishing your body!

PRE WORKOUT

Now I’m not recommending you go eat a large meal before working out to ensure you have maximum energy for your workout, all you need is a quick snack! Ideally you should try to consume your snack 30-60minutes  before but this can depend on how your body tolerates food! So experiment and see what time frame best suits your body!

Each of the snack ideas below contain some protein as well as carbs. Carbs are the fuel they are NOT the enemy!! Protein helps rebuild and repair, but also "primes the pump" to make the right amino acids available for your muscles.

Pre Workout Snack Ideas:

• A teaspoon of peanut butter and banana
• Greek yogurt with berries
• Oatmeal with coconut/almond milk and fruit
• Apple and peanut or almond butter
• Handful of nuts and a piece of fruit

 

POST WORKOUT

Your Post workout meal plays a vital role in refuelling your body with the nutrients it will need to repair, replenish, recover and adapt. A post workout meal should accomplish the following:

• Replenish muscle glycogen that was depleted during your workout.
• Reduce muscle protein breakdown caused by exercise
• Reduce muscle soreness and fatigue
• Greatly enhance overall recovery
• Reduce cortisol levels

Post workout meal ideas include:

• Protein shake with a piece of fruit
• Turkey on a ancient grain (wheat free) wrap with veggies
• Yogurt berries parfait
• 1 slice of ancient grain toast with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and ½ sliced banana
• 1 to 2 eggs with a slice of ancient grain (wheat free) toast
• 1 rice cake with ricotta cheese and berries

The above offer mainly carbs, some protein and are convenient — with the first two liquid options also helping to rehydrate the body.

If you need any more ideas on pre & post workout snacks, check out My Nutrition eBook available here or My 7 Day Meal Plan here! 

My Toning & Sculpting class at UFC gym, 11am Saturdays!

My Toning & Sculpting classes at the UFC Gym my focuses is to get the heart rate up and burn those calories for fat loss and then focus on the parts that us ladies need to work on the most, such as the butt, tummy and thighs. In this class we work hard to get that nice toned, sculpted shape. If you are in Vegas, come join the classes. All you need is yourself, a towel and water!

Home Workout Videos available for 6 DAYS ONLY!!

I will be launching my new workout videos at the end of the month. They will be sold in a fitness bundle for almost 70% off. But they will only be available for 6 days!!!

These videos are a result of my years of experience as an athlete, a trainer/coach and are designed to sculpt muscles and burn fat at the same time.

These workouts can be done any time, any where. All you need is 30 minutes, a mat and some hand weights! Perfect for the busy mom or when you are travelling. 

My Home Workout Series includes 7 video workouts that focus on a different aspect of fitness to work your entire body that tones and sculpts as well as builds cardiovascular fitness and burns fat:

1. Full Body Sculpt
2. Full Body Cardio
3. Sculpted Shoulders & Arms
4. Shapely Legs
                                     5. Toned Tummy                                     
6. Booty Blast
7. Zen, Strengthening through Lengthening

Stay tuned for more info so that you can receive them at a huge discount. And remember, these are only available for 6 days!

Carbs, Protein and Fats = ESSENTIAL

Life is all about Balance!

Let’s talk about Protein, carbs and Fats!

Protein is essential for the growth of muscle, hair, skin and bones. Whilst carbs provide your body with energy to fuel your brain and muscles. Fat is also incredibly important for insulation, brain health and the production of hormones. When protein, carbohydrates and fats work together they keep your body healthy and functioning. The carbs you eat give you energy while the protein builds muscles. Fats and proteins are essential in order to stabilize the blood sugar levels in your body and are best eaten together! To put it simply without carbs your body would not have the energy  it needs to workout and train  hard and without protein and fats you would not be able to build muscle or grow skin and hair and regulate your hormones and mood as effectvely. Demonstrating that these elements are equally essential for your diet!

This doesn’t mean you can go out and order a crispy chicken burger to ensure you include this essential relationship is in your diet. Instead you need to choose with care and be smart about it! The best protein choices are lean meats, eggs and tofu. The best carbs are whole grains, fruits and vegetables which offer more health benefits that refined grains! The best fats are monounsaturated olive oil and avocado as well as almond butter!!! Coconut oil has been shown to have a myriad of other health benefits also.

Some examples of nutritious protein and carb combinations that you can include in your daily diet include brown rice and broccoli with legumes, tofu or grilled chicken, grilled salmon with steamed asparagus and quinoa, low-fat cottage cheese with fruit or oatmeal and nuts! These food combos will take longer for your body to absorb therefore there will be a slower release into your body and a steadier energy source to keep you going!

Source: Muscle & Fit

Is eating less and doing more the key to long term fat loss?

I eat more than most...  have learned that starving yourself is not the way for long term fat loss or for health

There is a reason why the weight loss industry is a billion dollar industry. People will try almost everything to lose those stubborn last 5 pounds. Thermogenics, diet pills, grapefruit diets, ketogenic diets, skipping meals, you name it....  And to top it off there are a lot of frauds out there who are capitalizing on this, making their millions but misinforming the masses. 

the main theme that runs throughout all of these diets,  is restriction or cutting out a food group. None of this is healthy. To top it off, as a trainer I was taught the very simplistic notion that input vs output is the key to weight loss. Basically we must burn off more than we eat. This idea may work for someone who has not spent years yo-yo dieting and has literally destroyed their metabolism, but for most of us, especially women we know that just isn't true. It is due to years of calorie restriction and more exercise that most of us are in this situation in the first place!!! If a client comes my way who has spent years dieting and destroying her metabolism do you think it would be wise of me to tell  her to eat even less and spend another 30 mins per day on the treadmill? I think not. 

WHY CALORIE RESTRICTION IS SO BAD:

Long term calorie restrictioin or dieting causes the metabolism to slow down, which is the rate at which the body burns calories for energy. Instead of using up the fuel for all bodily functions, it stores the calories since it thinks it is starving and wants to save every last calorie for survival. 

SOLUTIONS: 

We need to shift the idea that eating less is conducive to weight loss. In reality, eating for weight loss is all about changing the way we eat so that your body can deal with the calories in a way that is hormonally conducive to fat loss. Basically we need to eat in a way that enables our calories to be utilized for energy rather than stored. 

There are a few factors involved and WHAT you eat is only one of them... When you eat, how much you eat, sleep, and water intake all make up  the recipe for eating for fat loss. 

Here are a few tips to get you on the right path:

1/ Eat regularly: to keep your metabolism elevated and burning fuel the entire time.

2/ Eat a big breakfast: Eat breakfast like a Queen and dinner like a pauper. Start the day off with a good hearty meal. This is creates the benchmark on what rate your body will be burning your fuel for energy throughout the day.

3/ Pile your plate high with greens: The enzymes which are responsible for every biological function in the body are derived mostly from the raw veggies we consume.  Eating loads of salads will fill you up on nutrient rich foods. 

4/Drink plenty of water: Water is necessary for proper digestion and to filter toxins from the body. 

I am writing a series for the magazine Whole Life Challenge. Stay tuned for the Full info. If you would like to receive more health, fitness and nutrition tips please subscribe to receive my weekly newsletters :