A boost of protein

100 calories and 14 grams of protein? I like the sound of that!
For lunch I will have a greek yogurt, add almond slices and cut up a piece of fruit. This meal holds me over for a couple of hours. I love eating plain greek yogurt, because it is low in sugar, has a good amount of protein, and it tastes good! You can also use plain greek yogurt to replace sour cream or  add it to your smoothies for a thicker consistency.  Eating  plain yogurt by itself can be boring, because it's plain! So add something to it (fruit/nuts) so you stay away from flavored yogurt that has too much added sugar.
Enjoy!!

Bring the gym home

Somedays you might not have time to go to the gym, that's okay! But make sure you still get a short workout in, even if it's only 30 minutes. You can work out right in your home, you don't need to go anywhere, just grab a couple pieces of equipment and you are set!
The other day I worked out at home, I did leg lifts with my ankle weights, curls with my dumbbells, abs with my abdominal  roller, stretched out over my stability ball and of course push ups and squats. I worked out for 30 minutes and I was sore the next day!
If you don't make it to the gym, don't worry, just make sure you do some sort of workout at home and (hopefully) break a sweat!

What the kale!?

I am a vegetarian, so the question I get often is, how to you get your protein?
I get protein from dark leafy greens, vegetables, nut butter, beans, legumes, protein powder, veggie burgers and so much more!
Let's talk about  dark leafy greens. Kale for example...

* Kale has 14 times more iron than a 14oz serving of steak.
* It also contains more calcium per calorie  than milk and is better absorbed by the body than milk.
*  One cup of chopped kale provides more than 100% than the daily value of vitamins A, C and K.
* One cup of kale contains 36 calories, so eat up!!

I love kale now that I know how to cook and work with it. Here are some of my favorite kale recipes...

Kale chips
Remove leaves from the stems, tear into bit sized pieces, drizzle olive oil and sea salt, and bake in the oven (375 degrees) for 8-10 minutes or until edges are brown.

Kale Salad
Remove leaves from stem. Chop up into pieces, drizzle olive oil and sea salt. Massage olive oil and sea salt into the leaves with your hands (this will soften up the leaves). Add whatever your heart desires once the leaves are massaged. I love adding avocado, pine nuts, bell pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Steam Kale with other veggies and pour over quinoa or your favorite grain.

Saute Kale with tomatoes, onion and garlic for a 'spaghetti sauce' yumm!!!

There you have it, go enjoy some kale!

The kale in my yard is growing like a weed! 

Wake up with lemon water

Having a warm glass of lemon water first thing in the morning is one of the best things you can do for your body. Here are a few reasons why:

* Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is will boost your immune system.  Vit C also helps keep skin clear of blemishes and wrinkles. They are also high in potassium, which helps control blood pressure.

* Lemons will balance your pH and reduce your body's acidity level. Yes, lemons are full of citric acid, but this will not create acidity in the body once metabolized. People who maintain an alkaline diet loose weight faster.

* A lemon a day will keep the fat away! Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings.

* Lemon juice helps digestion. Flush out unwanted materials! Lemons encourage the liver to produce bile which then aids in digestion.

* Kick the coffee habit. Lemon water will wake you up even more than coffee. Trust me, I haven't had coffee for years!

Drink your lemons!

Vegetarian pizza

Nick and I love pizza. Especially when it has a lot of veggies on it...  Check out our pizza recipe here.

Enjoy!! 

Monday weigh in!

Today is the day we weigh and measure ourselves. It has already been three weeks. Check out our progress!!

Nick's progress here
Alex's progress here

Every step counts

Somedays the last thing I want to do is go to the gym. When I feel this way I just make myself go.  You have to trick yourself into going by telling yourself to go walk on the treadmill for  just 15 minutes. 15 minutes is better than nothing! Plus, when you're finally there working out, usually you end up walking longer and maybe even doing some weights afterwards.  Just go! Make yourself. Everyday counts, and the last thing you want  is to feel bad about yourself for not making the effort to go just because you didn't feel like it. No excuses! Summer is right around the corner, you've got this!

Chew on this...

I love to snack, but sometimes snacking can be risky. When you snack on crackers or chips you can loose track of how many you eat, then 400 calories later you regret even eating them in the first place. At least that's what I do... This is why I like to make sure I always have a bowl of Cuties on my kitchen table. If I'm hungry and don't want to eat junk, I grab a Cutie, or two. They hold you over until your next meal,  they are full of vitamin C and overall they are better for you than chips or crackers. Go grab yourself a bag of Cuties and start eating healthier snacks today!! 

Vegetarian pasta

If you love pasta as much as we do, try our healthy vegetarian pasta dish. You won't feel guilty after having a serving because it's mostly veggies. Who says you can't have your pasta and eat it too?

Check out out recipe here
Enjoy!! 

Fat

I know it's hard when you work out all week, step on the scale to find out you have only lost one pound.   I think most of us would like to loose two pounds a week, but do not be discouraged! Loosing one pound is a great accomplishment! Seriously, it is. Go to a grocery store to the bulk section, or produce and buy one pound of your favorite healthy food. Let's just say you buy one pound of popcorn kernels (I love popcorn) when your bag of kernels is a pound, feel the weight of it. See how much there is?  One pound is a lot. Imagine that on your body. So, good for you for loosing one pound. It takes work, time and patience to loose weight. Keep at it!!

One pound of fat 

Stuffed bell peppers

Last night's dinner was so good! I had never made stuffed bell peppers before, but I will definitely make them again. Very fast, easy to make and of course very healthy!
Check out the recipe here

Monday weigh in!

Today is our weigh in day. We take our measurements and weight  then compare them to last week. We had a great week of eating healthy and working out. We like to have one 'cheat day' of eating. On our cheat day we eat and drink whatever we want. This last cheat day we had In N Out Burger and frozen yogurt. I don't eat meat so I prefer In N Out's grilled cheese. Nick and I felt so full and gross afterwards, but that's what a cheat day is all about, feeling gross and full. We feel that having a cheat day helps you to not fall off track during the week of healthy eating. It's hard to a perfectly healthy diet, I have tried being perfect with my eating habits (no sugar) but by week two or three I always slip up and end up on a eating  binge. Having one day a week to splurge on whatever cravings you have is perfect for us. The next day we don't want anything to do with junk food. We fall right back into our healthy eating habits, but by the end of the week we secretly look forward to cheat day!

Check out:
 Nick's fitness here
Alex's fitness here

Next week our lighting/pictures will improve. We noticed our lighting isn't the best, improvements to come!

Motivation

One more day left for workouts this week. My body is definitely feeling the change going from not doing anything to pushing hard. I don't know if  I'm seeing a physical change just yet, but mentally  I am feeling better and more alive  (I'll take it)!
 One more day to push hard, I can do it, I know I can.
Here's to a little motivation and one more day (until next week) of giving it my all!

-Alex

Let's go sweat!