Clean BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1 large Ezekiel sprouted tortilla or Ezekiel Brown Rice Tortilla (gluten free option)

Natural BBQ sauce (low sugar)

4 ounces cooked, boneless skinless chicken breast cubed

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2  cup sliced pepperoncini peppers

¼ cup natural sharp cheese (any flavor)

Optional :1 sliced jalapeno

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.       Place tortilla in oven while it is warming to start crisping it up for the topping. Leave in oven for 5 minutes, 2 ½ minutes on each side.

3.       While the tortilla in warming in the oven cut up your toppings so they are ready to put on the tortilla

4.       Take the warm tortilla out of the oven and spread 2 tbsp of natural BBQ sauce, watch the sodium and sugar content on this.

5.       Then top with chicken, cilantro, peppers, onions
 

6.       Top with the shredded cheese

7.       Bake in oven for approximately 6-8 minutes turning the pizza frequently so it cooks evenly. I place mine directly on the rack so it is crispier.

8.       Enjoy with a side of store bought yogurt ranch - YUM!

Newest Beachbody Program - PiYo

In just 10 short days Beachbody will be releasing its newest at-home dvd program: PiYo! I have not been this excited about a Beachbody program, ever! Why, because not only is it going to be a program that is done by my favorite trainer Chalene Johnson, but it also is easy on the joints and knees, requires no weights and absolutely no jumping! To all of you living on the 5th story of an apartment who have been hesitant to purchase an at-home-dvd program due to disturbing your neighbors, well say hello to PiYo!

Chalene Johnson is the trainer who spurred me into health and fitness. I started with her Turbo Jam workouts, followed by Turbo Kick, followed by Turbo Fire and Chalene Extreme. All of which I love. She is positive with high energy and a best selling author who focuses on improving life, not just health. PiYo is going to be amazing and will fit any age group, fitness level and I guarantee you will love Chalene if you have not done her workouts before.

 

PiYo, a high-intensity, low-impact workout for a new kind of STRONG. Chalene Johnson took the very best Pilates and yoga-inspired moves and cranked up the speed to give you full throttle cardio, strength, and flexibility training—all at once. PiYo packs it ALL into each workout so you can build lean muscle mass—as you're burning crazy calories.

                                  

Now you can carve every inch of your body. How? You'll use your body weight to perform a series of continuous, targeted m...oves, to burn fat as you redefine every single muscle. No weights. No jumps. Just hardcore results.

The result? Problem areas become no problem. You'll get sleek, long arms, sexy, flat abs, a tight, lifted butt, and the confidence that comes from knowing you're at your best!

This is your chance to define exactly how you want to look—and how you want to feel. You're in control.

                                 

"PiYo gives you hardcore definition, intense calorie burn, and allover strength—without weights, without jumps, and without destroying your body."

—Chalene Johnson, creator of PiYo

    

Who is this PiYo designed for anyway?

PiYo is designed to create lean muscle mass in order to burn fat more rapidly. These workouts are designed to be low impact, yet high intensity. The low impact PiYo workout will be great for any man or woman that is interested in slimming down and toning up while following Chalene Johnson’s new workout from Beachbody Fitness.


How does PiYo help me get the sleek, long arms; sexy, flat abs; a tight, more lifted butt?

When completing PiYo you will use your body weight to burn fat and redefine every single muscle. There are no weights, there are no jumps. The continuous series of moves in PiYo will help you define exactly how you want to look and feel.

What types of results are participants seeing with PiYo?:

                               

                                


If you are interested in purchasing PiYo when it comes out and want to be apart of my EXCLUSIVE TEST GROUP please fill out this form below for consideration. Limited spots available!
 

 

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Oh Baby! Pregnancy, Fitness & Family

Let’s face it, my generation (the Millennial Generation) did not exactly grow up with the best health and nutrition values. I have many memories from childhood eating Totino’s Pizza’s, ice cream cones, fish sticks and the Fun Pak frozen meals (you know – the one with the Penguin on it and ‘brownie dessert’). Many of these items contain fake ingredients, soy products and items I cannot even pronounce. But, it was what we were told to eat and so we did. This lack of understanding of nutrition continued into the middle school and high school cafeteria. It was not until I got half way through college, 25 pounds heavier than I wanted to be, that I realized I had completely slacked on feeding my body appropriately. Then a switch went off, I started to work out and really put a lot of whole natural foods into my body. I am so grateful for this, because now when I have children I can pass this knowledge onto them at a young age.

I have a sense of excitement while I am typing this, because I have seen how much of an impact working out can have not only on your own body, but also on your family and values you teach your children. Several memories that stick from my childhood have to do with my parents exercising. I remember attending Jazzercise with my mom, watching her workout and even joining in sometimes. I loved it! These values are something that you pick up at an early age and they follow you into adulthood, which is why working out before, during and after pregnancy has huge benefits. I have seen this first hand with several of my challengers who are in different stages of this. Setting an example for little ones about health and showing them that exercising is important, will instill important values they will take into adulthood.                                         
                        

Now, onto my challengers, one challenger, Alice, is a petite- fiery Brazilian – just shy of 5 ft 2 in. She started doing Beachbody programs beginning with P90X3 where she lost over 6 lbs. Here is her before and after photo:

                                  

Soon after this she found out she was pregnant. Alice had set out a strong foundation with her eating habits and exercise from P90X3 and she is already seeing and feeling noticeable difference between this pregnancy and her last. During her last pregnancy she did not watch what she ate and did not exercise and she ended up gaining 15 pounds just in the first trimester. She is through the first trimester now of this pregnancy- actually she is now 17 weeks along and has gained a healthy 3 lbs. She has been incorporating Shakeology and now the 21 Day Fix with her doctors approval. The most noticeable difference between this pregnancy and her last is that she developed gestational diabetes in the last one during the first trimester. She has had the check and so far she is in the clear on this as well. What a huge difference, clean eating and exercise can make! Alice gained 45 pounds with her last pregnancy and hopes that she is able to gain a healthy range of 25-30 this time around and bounce back much quicker due to the lean muscle she has created with the programs. Her husband has also joined in on this health kick and their little boy loves to watch her and her husband do the videos.

 
Another challenger was 2 months post baby and wanted to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight with the help of 21 day fix. This was her first pregnancy and she had a goal of losing 8 lbs…..well she surpassed that goal and is still going strong. Here is what she had to say about her experience:

The best part of this program for me is the workouts (21 Day Fix). They are just the right amount of intensity so that you don’t dread them but feel like you benefitted, also the ability to work out from home with minimal equipment has been a life saver.

She has lost 9 lbs now, below her pre-pregnancy weight, after going through 2 rounds of The 21 Day Fix. She has higher energy and is ready for summer, just a few short months after giving birth to her daughter. Amazing!

                                          

      
We have the ability to step up and be examples of health for our family and our children. Whether you need to lose weight after pregnancy, want to get in shape before pregnancy or just are in a rut with your current situation and want to take your health and fitness to a new level, please reach out to me. I have several challenge groups coming up and would be happy to discuss your health and fitness goals.

Southwestern Spaghetti Squash

This could not have been any easier. I found this amazing chili with veggies and beans and great flavor. Cooked it up with some ground turkey and voila! Cheap, easy and flavorful!

Ingredients:

- 1 large spaghetti squash

- 1 pound ground turkey breast 7% fat or less

- 1 can Staggs Chili Vegetable Garden 99% Fat Free

- 1/2 yellow pepper diced

- 2 cloves minced garlic

- Greek yogurt (optional)

Directions:

·         Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

·         Cut the spaghetti squash in half and put both halves face down on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until you can easily slice a knife through the skin of the squash. 

·         While the squash is baking - combine, can of chili, ground turkey, garlic, and peppers in a large skillet and cook until turkey is no longer pink.

·         Once the squash is fully cooked use fork to scoop out all the seeds and toss those. The squash will be very hot, so use an oven mitt.  

·         Using a fork carve out all the squash and throw away the skin. The squash will come out in strands like spaghetti!

·         Top 1  to 1 ½ cups cooked squash with the ground turkey mixture and then I like to top is all with a tbsp. of plain greek yogurt

Just Show Up!

Anyone tired and weary? The monotonous daily activities that get us from sun up to sun down, the things that we wake up everyday and have to finish can cause us to feel like a car with flat tires. This life is going to throw unimaginable things your way. It could be a sickness, a broken family, abuse, or just overall loneliness. There are plenty of days where I do not want to show up, I want to push my alarm one more time. I want to let go of my responsibilities and hide in the corner, because it is just OVERWHELMING. Every great outcome was produced by small baby steps. What if you went into each day and decided that you were going to take everything one day at a time? Not think about whats behind or what is before but showing up that morning with an understanding of what you are capable of. Each of us has gifts and has amazing talents, actions, words to offer this world.

If you are weary with your health or faith or just in life in general - do one thing; just show up! No expectations. Do not allow anxiety to take hold and your brain to leap from thought to thought. Show up with your hurts and insecurities, your vulnerabilities and just allow yourself to live in the moment. These are things that you need to lay at God's feet so that you can enjoy a healthy and happy life. For me, pushing play and getting that workout in can be a daunting tasks on certain days. But I know that if I show up and push play even for 5 minutes this could ignite an energy and clear my head. For me, prayer can sometimes be difficult - so sometimes I just show up with a deep agonizing sigh and I know God is listening. Come with what you can and know you are loved in all circumstances by God. His favor and love for you is always available.

I found there was one big factor missing in my Beachbody accountability and challenge groups; faith. What does faith look like to you? I ask myself that question and I can define the word but it is difficult for me to apply it and live it in my life day-to-day. If you are reading this and it resonates with you, consider messaging me to be apart of my Challenge Group starting June 2nd. I am looking for a group of women to go on a Faith & Fitness journey with me! There is no requirement to buy a program or purchase any Beachbody product. Only that you are willing and ready to go through a book called 'The Faith Dare' that is 30 days while focusing on fitness and clean eating.

You may already be in one of my challenge groups, you may be a friend of a friend, you may want to learn more about clean eating or you may want to be apart of a group of women who are daring to take their faith to a new level - whatever the reason, please message me. I'm beyond excited for this and cannot wait to see who will go on this journey with me. If this blog post resonated with you or you want to talk more about your faith, fitness or health goals please do not hesitate to reach out to me: marisfit@gmail.com

Happy Sunday!