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 This hardy and tasty salad is loaded with healthy nutritiousness. The beets and apples make it sweet and juicy, complemented with a bit of savoury with feta cheese, and parsley. I always feel pretty healthy after eating this one! Ingredients: 2-3 medium sized beets 2 medium carrots 1 medium Apple 1 head of parsley 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds Feta cheese (to taste) Vinaigrette: Olive oil Apple cider vinegar Dijon mustard Touch of maple syrup Salt and pepper to taste Instructions: 1. Use a food processor to grate the beets and carrots. Place in a big bowl. 2. Chop whole head of parsley and apple, mix in with beets and carrots. 3. Add pumpkin seeds, and feta cheese quantity to taste. 4. Top with vinaigrette and enjoy! Salad can live in fridge for up to 6 days. -Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program.
Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.  A lot of people have a hard time with breakfast. Either they don't like it, aren't hungry in the mornings, or have the same old, same old every morning. And it's no wonder why; we've been brought up on toast and cereal for breakfast. While these aren't necessarily bad options, they aren't very balanced meals; all carbs and no protein can lead our blood sugar levels to spike, leaving us "hangry" by mid-morning.
Instead we recommend the "Complete in 3" rule at every meal: a healthy balance of protein, fibre/carbs and healthy fats. This is where the Breakfast Salad comes in. You can use the exact ingredients below or you can get creative and add other yummy goodies! Ingredients: 2 hard boiled eggs 6-8 grape tomatoes 1/4 avocado 6 grapes Sprinkle of Hemp Hearts Salt and pepper Other possible goodies might include: Roasted root veggies (beets, yams, carrots) Prosciutto Little bit of feta cheese Nuts and/or seeds Different fruit: berries, kiwi, Apple, pear Drizzle of olive oil Really the sky is the limit. The key is to hard boil a big batch of eggs on your food prep day so they are ready to go as the foundation or as the bread and butter of your Breakfast bowl, shall we say. Go ahead, get creative and eat the rainbow for breakfast! -Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.
I have all my new clients submit a food log when they first start working with me. Often, I see store bought protein bars as morning or afternoon snacks on their food log, often without a workout prior to the snack. I think sometimes people buy and eat protein bars with a false sense of how healthy they are. While some protein bars on the market are less processed and much better than others, more often than not they are candy in disguise. Bars like Cliff and Builder's Bar are probably better suited to long outdoor hiking, biking, climbing or skiing expeditions than to a regular afternoon snack.
So I'll often suggest to my clients that they try making their own, less processed version of a protein bar. These tasty homemade protein bars are a spin off the Oh She Glows recipe. Give credit where credit is due. Here is my variation below: Ingredients: 1.5 cups of oats 1/2 cup of vega oh natural protein powder 1/2 cup of Kamut puffs (cereal) 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt 1/2 cup of nut or seed butter (peanut, almond, etc) 1/4 cup of maple syrup 1 banana 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4-5 ounces of unsweetened bakers chocolate Directions: 1. Mix all dry ingredients in a food processor: oats, kamut puffs, salt and protein powder. 2. Add nut butter, maple syrup, banana and vanilla to the mix. If consistency is too dry, add splash of milk and mix again. (Milk, almond milk, coconut milk - your choice). 3. Press mixture firmly into square pan and place in freezer for 10-15 minutes. 4. Melt bakers chocolate in sauce pan and drizzle overtop of bars. 5. Keep refrigerated or freeze in air tight container. Enjoy non-processed pre or post-workout protein bars! -Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.  This Green Smoothie Breakfast Bowl is the perfect way to get your morning started! I love smoothies, but I also love to actually eat and chew my food in the morning - otherwise I often feel unsatisfied.
So I've topped this green smoothie with local North Van Cascadia gluten-free granola, almonds, banana, chia and hemp hearts - but feel free to mix it up. Smoothie Ingredients:
Blend together and enjoy! -Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness. These breakfast cookies are really easy to make: two main ingredients are oats and bananas, then toss in whatever else you fancy.
If you're hungry before a workout, these would also make great pre-workout snacks; carbohydrates for quick energy. You could also bring them along for long hikes, bike rides or on a ski day. Interestingly enough, the only time our bodies need fuel for energy to be used right away is during long duration exercise - as in long distance runs, bike rides, hikes, etc.. That's why triathletes, marathon runners, iron men, etc, will bring along quick release chews and other forms of carbohydrates to fuel the rest of their activity. Most of the time, during a one hour workout, our bodies are actually using stored fuel from previous meals - not fuel that we have just consumed 30-60 minutes prior. In any case, these are tasty, and can be healthy little treats depending on what you choose to add to them: Ingredients: 2 bananas 2 cups of oats 1 tsp vanilla Possible add ons: Trail mix Pumpkin seeds Sunflower seeds Dried cranberries, raisins or other dried fruit Slivered almonds Chocolate chips Unsweetened Coconut shreds Chia seeds Hemp seeds Cacao nibs Cocoa powder Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 2. Mash bananas in bowl, add oats. Use blender to mix. 3. Add vanilla. Mix. 4. Toss in "add ons" of your choice. Mix with spoon. 5. Roll Into balls with your hands and place on cookie sheet. Gently press balls flat-ish. 6. Bake for 9-12 minutes. 7. Let cool on rack. Enjoy! - Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.
Chocolate cravings are ubiquitous. Cravings can occur for a variety of reasons: nutritional deficiencies, emotional triggers (including stress and boredom), digestive issues and others.
But chocolate is by far the most common craving and nutritional challenge that I hear from my clients. To some, chocolate is comforting - it releases those happy serotonin hormones. But dark chocolate and cacao is also a natural source of magnesium - a natural muscle relaxant. So sometimes we crave chocolate to ease stress and help our bodies relax. The only problem is we might reach for sugar-filled milk chocolate rather than a pure form of chocolate, that is sugar free. Try this Cacao Chia pudding to satisfy those chocolate cravings without the added sugar. Ingredients: Chia seeds Raw cacao nibs Almond milk Banana (or any fruit to top your pudding) Unsweetened shredded coconut Cinnamon to taste Instructions: 1. Take a small glass, fill 1/4 with chia seeds, top with 1-2 teaspoons of cacao. 2. Pour almond milk to top of mixture, and mix chia and cacao nibs well. 3. Top with banana, berries or fruit of your choice. (For no sugar, don't add fruit). 4. Sprinkle with coconut shreds and cinnamon. Enjoy! - Nikki To learn more about fitness, nutrition and a holistic approach to weight loss, visit the Fit Chicks Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program, and the Natural Weight Loss Coach program. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for outdoor fitness trips, recipes, and tips and tricks on everything Stand Up Paddle, & fitness.  Quite simply, sweet potato toast is a breakfast miracle. No pre-cooking, just a tiny bit of slicing and toaster popping. Everyone can handle making this.
I have been enjoying Sweet Potato Toast with my morning eggs and spinach 2-3 mornings a week, satisfying the "Complete in 3" rule that I follow for all my meals. My plate will always contain protein, fibre (the sweet potato) and healthy fats to keep me satisfied and balance my blood sugar levels throughout the morning. Literally, this is all you need to do to make sweet potato toast your morning miracle too: 1. Purchase sweet potato, preferably a smaller sized one. 2. Slice length-wise into long slices less than 1 cm thick. 3. Pop your slice of Sweet Potato in your toaster, and toast it three times. 4. Eat alongside eggs and spinach, or with avocado and cottage cheese, the possibilities are endless. Disclaimer: For step 3, depending on your toaster, you may have to toast it more than 3 times. However, if you find it is still not ready after 3 toasts, consider trying to slice each piece a little bit thinner. You're welcome.  The time has arrived, the holidays are upon us and the Christmas parties have started. I am all for a good time, good food and some indulgence - but with balance. So this Christmas season, indulge a little, but move and exercise a little (or a lot) too, Use these five tips to navigate the festivities and come out still feeling tip top in January! 5. Show up to Christmas parties with some food in your belly - don’t be ravenously hungry when you arrive, which might lead you to stuff your face. If you’re feeling hungry, make a protein smoothie before heading out. to help you feel at least temporarily satisfied. 4. Hydrate while you dehydrate, eg. drink water between drinks! At the end of the night, add electrolytes to your water - Ultima Replenisher from MEC is a good one. You’ll thank me in the morning. 3. If attending a buffet or finger food-style party, where possible, make a meal on a plate, rather than just picking here and there. When you pick at a buffet, or finger foods, you don’t always know how much you have eaten. Follow the Ideal Dinner Plate rule: your plate should contain 1/4 protein, 1/4 smart carbohydrates, 1/2 vegetables. If there are no plates available, eat slowly until you are 80% full. 2. Keep moving! Walk after dinner, get a 15 minute high intensity interval workout in from home before your next party. All movement counts. If you have to choose between diet and exercise, choose exercise! Exercise is a keystone habit, which has positive ripple effects in other areas of our lives. Chances are, if you exercise, you might be likely to make smarter food choices. And if you don’t, at least getting back to your exercise routine in January will feel less challenging. 1. Last, but certainly not least, please ditch the ALL OR NOTHING attitude - it made lead to a severe case of the “Fuck-its”. For example, if you ate waffles with whip cream and nutella for breakfast, then binged on caramel popcorn and sugar cookies in the afternoon, and you are tempted by the Doritos chip appetizers at your Aunt’s Christmas Eve party, you might think “Fuck it, I already ate like shit today, I might as well keep going. Go big or go home,” you think to yourself. Instead of saying “fuck it”, let go of food choices that make you feel guilty and move forward with smarter food choices. It all counts - aim for balance and moderation, and lose the all or nothing attitude. - Nikki Sometimes, or most of the time, life gets busy. It's hard to fit in your sports, workouts, yoga or movement into the day. So when you've only got 15-20 minutes, try this quick 15-20 minute High Intensity Interval Training at home. Lots of compound movements that work all the muscles in the body and leave you SUPER sweaty! 5 exercises - 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off, repeat 3-4 times. Download the Interval Timer app to time yourself. 1. Forward and Reverse Lunge with 6 Mountain Climbers. 2. Spider Push-Ups 3. Burpee with Back Fly 4. Exploding Jacks 5. Soldier plank with Butt-Ups After your workout, fuel your muscles with a post-workout drink or smoothie. Give this a try:
- Almond milk - half a banana - 1/2 to 1 scoop of protein powder (try Vega Sport Performance in Mocha flavour) - ice Blend and enjoy! Pat yourself on the back for your hard work. You'll be burning calories all day long after this doozy! |
AuthorNikki Johnston Beaudoin is an outdoorsy Mountain Mermaid, and the Owner and Operator of Sea to Sky Paddle Fit. Categories
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