MACRO FRIENDLY QUESADILLA

MACRO FRIENDLY QUESADILLA

Every so often I get cravings for certain snacks and today it was the quesadilla snack attack so I came up with this awesome solution for only 7f/22c/18p

Ingredients:

2 Sonoma low carb tortillas (found at Trader Joe's)

1.5 servings of Light Shredded mozzarella cheese, also from Trader Joe's

Flavor God Everything spicy seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Make a quesadilla :) Pretty simple

EASY CROCK-POT SALSA CHICKEN

EASY CROCK-POT SALSA CHICKEN

I have been giving this 'recipe' (ie world's easiest protein option to make in large quantities for the week) to a lot of friends and clients recently so figured I would add it to the blog for reference and to share with the masses. This is a simple but flavorful protein that you can use in any meal or snack. I toss it into my salads and it also pairs well with any veggies, potatoes, rice, squash or whatever else you may have on hand.  Also, if I ever get into a bind mid-week and start running out of food it's easy to put into the crock-pot before bed and it's ready to go the next day. Problem solved, no need to panic -- protein on my friends! 

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of your favorite salsa

(all the the ingredients below are optional but do help enhance the flavor)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
Wash and trim chicken, if needed
Put in the bottom of the crock-pot in a single layer as best you can

Empty jar of salsa on top

If adding the extra ingredients:
Evenly distribute garlic, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and cayenne over the top of the chicken.
Juice the 2 limes over the chicken

Otherwise:
Put the lid on and set the crock-pot to cook on Low for 6 hours

Once it's done cooking, let it cool and shred the chicken. 

4 INGREDIENT CHICKEN NUGGETS

4 INGREDIENT CHICKEN NUGGETS

I have been having quite the unusual craving for chicken nuggets lately so tonight I decided to make my own and this definitely did the trick. I will be making these again soon in the very near future. They are a good change up to the usual BBQ chicken that I eat and well --- they're chicken nuggets :) As with most of my recipes, they are simple, quick and highly adaptable so change it up based on your taste preference and enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces (mine weighed 530g)
55g (2.75 servings) Ian's whole wheat panko-bread crumbs
2 TBSP egg whites
1 TBSP BBQ seasoning blend

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a pan with foil and mist with coconut oil spray
Pour egg whites into one bowl
Mix bread crumbs and BBQ seasoning mix in a separate bowl
Dip the chicken pieces in the egg whites then in the bread crumb mix and place on baking sheet
Cook in oven for about 25 mins until chicken is cooked through and turn the pieces at 15 mins to make sure they cook evenly

*You can adjust the amount of bread crumbs based on your preference for how breaded you want your pieces of chicken

*Macros for 3 pieces (about 100g) of my recipe was 2f/8c/27p

FAST & EASY 4 INGREDIENT PROTEIN MUFFIN

FAST & EASY 4 INGREDIENT PROTEIN MUFFIN

These are a staple for me! So easy to make and toss in my bag as I walk out the door. I have been traveling a lot lately and this recipe has been a life saver. You can change it up for any flavor combination that you want and the ingredients you have on hand. I will eat these every morning before I workout since they are just enough to fuel me through the early session and easily digestible so not heavy in my stomach. They are also a good snack in between meals on when I am on the road and meals are less predictable. 

Recipe makes 6 muffins

Ingredients:

- 1 serving of pancake mix <==I use 7TBS(57g) of Trader joe's Coconut Pancake mix but any pancake mix should work
- 1/2 scoop or serving of protein powder <== I use a 1/2 scoop of the quest protein powder since I find it cooks the best
- 3 TBSP egg whites
- 1 5.3oz cup of non-fat greek yogurt <==any flavor will work!
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (optional)
- water to mix if needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix the pancake mix, protein powder, egg whites, greek yogurt, and baking soda in a bowl until combined, add a little water if necessary to adjust batter consistency
Put batter into 6 muffin tins
Bake in over for 12-15 mins until tops of the muffins are firm 

Macros for these are about 1f/9c/5p depending on the specific pancake mix, protein powder and greek yogurt that you use.

STRATEGY TIME: What to do when you travel

STRATEGY TIME

What to do when you travel 

One of the biggest challenges that I have experienced with flexible dieting and have talked to many others about are maintaining both sanity and consistency when you have to travel. The biggest issue for me when I am on the road is that I have less control over the foods that are available and the schedule that I have established for hitting my numbers throughout the day. I travel much more frequently now with work and am still in the process of figuring out the best way to make this system work when I am on the road.

Ultimately, I think there are three strategies for when you are on the road: 

1: Take a break and enjoy - sometimes this is the best opportunity to just take a little break from the counting, tracking and planning. This is definitely the strategy I would recommend if you are going on vacation. Take full advantage of the situation and just enjoy yourself, the people you are with and the destination. As long as you are not totally out of control everyday, you will be able to get right back on track when you get home. Your mind and body will thank you :)

2: Do your best, don't stress and estimate as best you can - This is the mid range option and probably the most practical. This will allow you to still keep things in check as long as you aren't stressed out by the fact that things may not be exact. 

3: Plan and pack - If you have a very specific goal and really want to stay dialed in while you are gone then is the the most involved and consistent option. With this strategy, you can pre-package and plan all of your meals for your time away to make sure you are able to meet your numbers with accuracy. This will take a lot of preparation and creativity but is definitely achievable.

All in all, every one is different, every one has different goals and every trip has it's purpose. These are just the three tactics that I will use when I am on the road depending on the situation and how I am feeling with my current training and nutrition goals. 

I recently bought these two travel friendly options to try and make this situation a little more manageable: 

Digital pocket food scale This is about the size of my cell phone and easy to toss in my purse or carry on to use as needed
*bought on Amazon -- click the link above*

Travel size bathroom scale This is about the size of a license plate, lightweight and easy to toss into my carry-on
*bought on Amazon -- click the link above*

FOOD CHOICE TIP: Variety is the spice of life

FOOD CHOICE TIP

Variety is the spice of life 

One of the tougher components of a macro-based nutrition regimen is the ease of a routine. If you always eat the same things then you always know what the macros are. For some people this works and eating the same thing day in and day out is totally doable. However, for the majority of people variety is the spice of life and they need to work different foods into the mix in order to stay on track. Here are a couple things that I do regularly when I feel like I need to change it up:

*Eat Seasonally -- that way you are eating the food with the most flavor

*Buy what's on sale -- it will force you to learn how to cook and prepare new foods and saves some cash.. Double win!

*Recipe hunt -- Pinterest.com can be your BFF here

*Stalk your friends on myfitnesspal if they share their diaries to find some new food ideas

*Have breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast

*Think back to your childhood and recall things you used to love to eat and work them back in somehow 

*Go to the grocery store in off hours -- it will be less busy and you can browse the aisles for new food options without getting run over by the masses -- this is the one time you don't want to go to the grocery store with a list -- just go in and shop and see what you find to put in your cart.

WIN THE DAY: Ideas on foods that will help finish your macros at the end of the day

WIN THE DAY

Ideas on foods that will help finish your macros at the end of the day

A lot of people find it hard to finish off those macros at the end of the day in order to get those last couple grams of carbs, protein or fats in without totally throwing off one of the other numbers that is already maxed out. Below is a helpful list of foods based on different macro make-ups that will give you some ideas of the foods that I use frequently based on the numbers I need to fill in to hit my numbers. This is just a start and I will continue to update it as more ideas come to me-- feel free to leave other ideas of foods that you use in the comments sections, the more the merrier!! Let the games of 'Macro Tetris' begin!

Some of the foods in these groups might have small amount of other macros but I tried to come up with as many ideas as possible for each of the categories below. 

Carb Only
Fruit
     High: Bananas, apples, pineapple, berries, dried fruit (raisins)
Potatoes
Rice
Rice Cakes
Cereal
Canned pumpkin
Spaghetti Squash
Applesauce
Instant pudding mix
Candy (not highly recommended in large quantities but sometimes it's the only option)
Poptarts
Carrots
Non-fat Yogurt

Fat Only
Oil Based Salad Dressing
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil 
Shredded Coconut, unsweetened
Coconut Butter
Butter
Full fat Coconut milk
Macadamia nuts
Ghee

Protein Only
Egg whites
Protein powder
Sliced Deli Meat
Chicken breast
Gelatin powder
Shrimp
Canned tuna

Carb+Fat
Ice cream
Avocado

Protein+Carb
Non-fat Dairy products (cottage cheese, greek yogurt)
Veggies (snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower)
Beans
Quinoa
Lentils

Fat+Protein
Salmon
Cheese
Red Meat (steak, bison)
Whole Eggs

Save this image in your phone and keep it handy!