For the better part of a year I’ve incorporated a new affirmation in my daily affirmations.
“NO EXCUSES”
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Moving yourself forward and improving yourself is an ongoing daily exercise. Like many things in life. Right?
Stray from the practice and things start to slide.
Stay committed day-to-day and awesome things start to happen.
For me to really GSD (as my mentor says) “NO EXCUSES’ is the kick in the pants on the days when I’m not feeling it.
One of the areas of my life that has opened up the door for excuses is when I travel.
It’s really easy to say “the heck with my workout” and just go sight-seeing or put myself on lockdown for work stuff.
BUT…
- I also know that I’m a happier person when I workout
- I can concentrate better
- I have more energy
- and I feel really freaking good
A few weeks ago I was in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego to meet with my Mastermind group.
Did I workout while I was there?
YES, because I told myself “NO EXCUSES” I’m going to do this.
Here’s what I did, and you can use it the next time you’re traveling too.
GASLAMP GASSER
3030 Tabata
Round 1 – Work = Spiderman pushup, Active Rest = Shooter
Round 2 – Work = Goblet side lunge, Active Rest = Stability ball cobra
Round 3 – Work = Renegade row, Active Rest = Shooter
Round 4 – Work = 1-Arm Dumbbell Clean, Active Rest = Stability ball cobra
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Keep in mind Tabata’s work best when you push hard. I love them because they’re quick and to the point.
If you’re already pretty solid with the “NO EXCUSES” thing when it comes to fitness, don’t forget, you can apply that principle to other areas of your life that aren’t exactly where you want them to be.
Rock On!
John
Posted in Fitness by .
Have you ever been at the grocery store and just kinda went into a shopping orgy, only to come home and go “WTF?!” as you’re putting stuff away?”
That’s how I found myself staring at 3 huge red, yellow, and green peppers.
I took a deep breath and that’s when the wheels started turning. I grabbed all the stuff below, because the voices in my head were telling me to make Curry Quinoa Stuffed Peppers.
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YOU’LL NEED THIS
1 cup wild rice
1 cup quinoa
1/2 onion chopped fine
2 stalks of celery chopped
garlic
1 can garbanzo beans
1 medium sweet potato diced
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
4 cups veggie broth
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp curry powder
pepitas
salt and pepper
4 bell peppers with tops cut off
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THEN DO THIS
- preheat the oven to 35o degrees
- microwave the sweet potatoes for 2 minutes and set aside
- saute garlic, onion, celery, and curry powder in coconut oil until onions turn translucent
- add wild rice and quinoa and saute for another 2 minutes
- add veggie broth and simmer until the liquid is almost gone (you’ll want to taste the rice and quinoa, if you find they’re too hard, add 1/2 cup more broth and simmer until grains are cooked to desired doneness
- turn the heat off and fold in the garbanzos, sweet potatoes, and sun dried tomatoes
- adjust seasoning with salt and pepper
- fill the peppers with the rice quinoa mixture and replace the tops
- bake the peppers on a sheet tray for 25-30 minutes
- serve with the pepper tops off and garnish with pepitas
and BOOM!
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This dish was a total accident and it was really good. What I like about it is, that it’s meatless, but still packs a protein punch from the quinoa, garbanzos, and sun dried tomatoes. Great stuff for “putting the proteins into the muscles” after a workout as my mentor Bedros Keuilian says.
Try this recipe out and let me know what you think, or if you have your own stuffed pepper recipes, leave me a comment below.
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Be UNSTOPPABLE!
John
Posted in Recipes by .
Use this white bean hummus instead of creamy dressings or cheese in your sandwich. The hummus is filled with protein and fiber – both important for building your best body.
Servings: 8
Here’s what you need:
- 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- dash of salt
- Throw everything into the food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Spread onto bread or use as a dip for cut veggies.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 124 calories, 1.6g fat, 20g carbohydrate, 5.5g fiber, and 7g protein.
Let me know how you like this hummus recipe and what you’ve paired it with in the comments section below.
Be UNSTOPPABLE!
John
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- It’s not a grain it’s actually a seed
- It is loaded with protein
- AND it’s gluten-free
Now I know so many people live the “I don’t have a lot of time” lifestyle. You hit the ground running after your early morning workout (you do, do that right?).
So for all my fast lifestyle peeps here’s a gift to you from your fat loss coach in the Santa Clarita Valley.
This meal is simple, wholesome and ready in 30 minutes – perfect for busy weekday dinners. There’s no reason to hit the take out line when you have this quick and delicious recipe on hand. Eating simple, wholesome meals like this and exercising regularly will get you to your goal weight.
Servings: 4
Here’s what you need:
- 1 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 ear of corn, kernels cut from cob
- Handful of asparagus stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cups baked chicken breast, cut into small cubes
- 1 can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed
- splash of lemon juice
- splash of lime juice
- dash of salt and pepper
- splash of soy sauce
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Cook the quinoa and set aside. Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, onion and garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the bell peppers, corn and asparagus, cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the chicken and beans, cook for another 10 minutes, adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Place a serving of quinoa on each plate and top it with the vegetable mix.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 293 calories, 5g fat, 32g carbohydrate, 4.6g fiber, and 29.4g protein.
On a side note quinoa also makes for a great oatmeal replacement in the morning, like this breakfast bowl from Backyard Bowls in Santa Barbara.
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Be UNSTOPPABLE!
John
Posted in Recipes by .
Most creamy soups are filled with fat – but not this one. Indulge with this healthy carrot soup and don’t feel guilty about undoing the fat burning you did during your workout.
Serve with a side of lean chicken breast or grilled fish and a small salad for a balanced meal.
Servings: 2 Here’s what you need:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- Dash of sea salt
- 4 cups carrots, diced
- 5 cups filtered water
- 3 Tablespoons White Miso
- In a soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion with a dash of salt and cook for 4 minutes. Add carrots and stir, cook for another 4 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Use a hand blender to process the soup until smooth.
- Remove 1 cup of the soup and mix the miso into it until dissolved. Add back into the soup and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 187 calories, 4g fat, 27g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 5g protein.
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You like music right?
I love listening to music when I’m cooking. When I’m making any sort of Italian food I especially love me some Louis Prima.
I know, if you looked at me you’d say “huh?”
It all goes back to this movie called Big Night where Louis’ music was featured on the soundtrack. The movie is about two brothers from Italy who come to America to start an Italian restaurant in the 1950’s.
Anyway if you love food, the stuff they make in the movie is some of the best food-porn you’ll see AND the soundtrack is the perfect match.
What does this have to do with Lobster Spaghetti?
The movie and the music always inspire me to cook, and the other day I happened to have some lobster. I was sitting on it all day because I wanted to figure out another way to cook it besides the usual boil.
Soooooo…in the middle of “Papa loves mambo” I got the idea to do a lobster spaghetti.
Grab this stuff from your pantry:
- 2 lbs lobster cut into small pieces
- 1 whole head of garlic finely chopped
- 1 bottle of white wine (doesn’t have to be expensive, but if you’d drink it you can cook with it, I had some Sauvignon Blanc lying around)
- 2-3 cups of marinara sauce (I make mine from scratch, but you can use bottled if you like)
- 2 tb olive oil
- 1 pack of Tinkyada Brown Rice Spinach Spaghetti (it’s gluten-free from Whole Foods)
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 lemon and zest
- salt
- pepper
- red pepper flakes
- dry oregano
Now it’s sweat time:
- Heat the olive oil in a pan, and start a separate pot full of salted water for the pasta.
- Season the lobster with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano.
- Add the lobster then the garlic to the hot pan.
- Saute the lobster and garlic just before the lobster turns completely opaque. Don’t overcook the lobster.
- Add some white wine to de-glaze the pan then add the marinara.
- Turn the heat off. The lobster will continue to cook in the residual heat.
- By now your pot of salted water (remember that?) should be boiling so add the pasta.
- Cook the pasta al-dente (you’re gonna have to taste it as it cooks). If you’ve never made brown rice pasta it continues to cook after you take it off the heat AND it gets mushy fast so make sure you have a lot of water in that pot.
- Once the pasta is done, drain it, but set aside some of the water it was cooked in, then add the pasta to the waiting lobster and marinara.
- Toss it around to mix everything, and if it looks too dry add some of the pasta water.
- Dish it up with a splash of olive oil and lemon juice on top, and garnish with the cilantro and lemon zest.
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If you go to our boot camp in Santa Clarita then you saw the pic of this dish I posted on our Facebook page, which is why you’re reading this recipe today : )
One more note I’d add about this dish is that the pasta soaks up any liquid you give it, so if you have any leftovers the next day you may have to add some liquid to the sauce.
I hope you enjoy the Lobster Spaghetti, and please leave me a comment below.
Rock on,
John
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Wake up early, stumble into your workout clothes, sweat your butt off at boot camp (like we do in Santa Clarita), go home and shower, drive to work, deal with calls, write emails, talk to clients, sit in meetings, fight traffic to get home, then…
Dinner??
Don’t lie, I know many of you do the fast-food thing because it’s easy or even worse skip dinner altogether.
What I’ve come up with for you is perfect for busy weekday dinners.
Not only is this meal delicious, it’s also incredibly healthy. A tangy herb paste coats both the fish and zucchini, which roast on the same pan.
The best part…the entire meal is ready in 30 minutes!
Servings: 4
Here’s what you need:
- 6 scallions, chopped
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup packed fresh mint
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon chopped, peeled fresh ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 zucchini, cut into spears
- 4 skinless fillets firm white fish
- 1 cup dry whole-wheat couscous
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Throw the scallions, cilantro, mint, oil, ginger, coriander and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a food processor and pulse until a coarse paste forms. Season with pepper.
- Toss zucchini with 3 tablespoons herb paste in a bowl. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 5 minutes.
- Rub remaining herb paste onto both sides of fish fillets. Push zucchini to edges of baking sheet, and arrange fish in center, leaving about 1/2 inch between each fillet. Roast until fish is opaque and semi-firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare directions. Serve fish and zucchini over couscous.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 354 calories, 10g fat, 29g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 32g protein.
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Dec 12
23
Delicious Kale and Pinto Bean Soup
My very first experience with Kale was at a buffet as a kid. All around the buffet items was this crinkly green dinosaur-skin looking stuff that was there for decoration.
If you’d have told me that kale was good and you could eat it, I’d be staring back at you with that “huh?” look.
Fast-forward to now and kale happens to be one of the foods on Whole Foods’ ANDI list that scores a perfect 1000 points. What that means to you and I is that kale…is a superfood.
Granted in its raw state it doesn’t look as sexy as a bone-in ribeye done medium, but stay with me here.
The magic happens when you start talking soup, and there’s nothing better than a warm bowl of soup on a chilly fall Santa Clarita day. Kale is packed with vitamins, minerals and cancer-fighting enzymes. It contains loads of vitamin A, vitamin C, B6, manganese, calcium, copper and potassium.
Along with that, the pinto beans are an awesome source of protein. Meal in a bowl : )
Servings: 10
Here’s what you need…
- 1 cup dried pinto beans
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups filtered water
- 2 bouillon cubes
- dash of freshly ground sea salt
- dash of freshly ground pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed between your fingers
- 5 large carrots, diced
- 2 bunches kale, chopped
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the beans and cook for 60-90 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In your soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked beans, water, bouillon, salt, pepper, bay leaves, rosemary, and carrots. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the kale and cook another 15 minutes or until kale is tender. Add more water if needed.
- Remove the bay leaves, add more salt and pepper if needed.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 112 calories, 2g fat, 20g carbohydrate, 7.3g fiber, and 6g protein.
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Dec 12
16
Mean & Clean Burrito
It’s no secret I have foods I go absolutely ga-ga over. We all do.
In no particular order here are the things that make my taste-buds do the happy-dance…
- Pizza (sadly I’ve recently been widowed by my fave place http://ravanellis.com/ : (
- Wine (red and white because there’s just too much good stuff to be “just red” or “just white”
- Burrito’s (specifically carnitas)
Servings: 1
Here’s what you need…
- 1 sprouted grain, flourless tortilla
- 1 Tablespoon hummus
- 1/3 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/4 cup cooked black beans
- 1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped (or baked tofu)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh corn kernels
- 2 Tablespoons chopped cucumber
- 1/4 cup shredded arugula
- 3 cherry tomatoes, chopped
- Warm the tortilla in a dry skillet. Spread the hummus evenly over the tortilla.
- Top the tortilla with rice, beans, chicken and veggies.
- Fold the two sides of the tortilla in over the filling, then flip up the bottom edge and roll tightly.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 380 calories, 7.8g fat, 45g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, and 31g protein.
Posted in Recipes by .
Dec 12
10
Perfect Packed Lunch
Here’s an example of a healthy and balanced packed lunch. Try this one out, and then use it as a springboard for your own creative lunch ideas. Don’t fall into the trap of eating the same thing day after day. Remember to use the 7 steps above to create your perfect packed lunch.
Servings: 1
Here’s what you need…
For the wrap:
- 1 green tortilla
- 1 chicken breast (or your choice of protein: veggie patty, lean turkey, hardboiled egg, smoked salmon, grilled white fish, or baked tofu)
- Sliced tomato
- Romaine lettuce
- 1 Tablespoon hummus
For the veggies:
- 1/2 cup cut veggies (try broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and bell peppers)
- 1/4 cup hummus
For the yogurt:
- 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- Handful of berries (strawberries and blueberries)
- 1oz raw mixed nuts
- 5 golden raisins
For the trail mix:
- Spread the tortilla with hummus, line with lettuce, tomato slices and chicken breast. Wrap and slice in half.
- Wash and pack the cut veggies in plastic container. Pack the hummus in a small container.
- Pack the yogurt in a small container and top with the berries.
- Mix the raw nuts with the raisins and pack in a small container or bag.
- Don’t forget to pack a container of water and a napkin!
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 547 calories, 19g fat, 39g carbohydrate, 12g fiber, and 55g protein.
Posted in Recipes by .
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