Energy Boosters

On mornings when I just don't have the time to make breakfast or I know that I have a long day at work I will make myself a protein smoothie or a Maca powder shake. I'll be honest, I was quite skeptical about the whole Maca thing but from working at Sprouts I was able to sample a lot of different brands and the Essential Living was my favorite. I liked their brand so much I ended up buying their Coco Gogo Energy Elixir, Wild Protein (not in the photo), and Superfood Smoothie Mix. I've mention it before but Garden of Life is my absolute favorite when it comes to protein powders and the Raw Proteins & Greens is so great because it gives you your full serving of vegetables and other greens that you need all in one. Another protein powder by the I like is them Raw Fit for weight loss. (I threw the container away before I remembered I wanted to take a picture). It was actually the first protein power I bought when I started working out and it made me fall in love with the brand.

I'm not going to give you a full recipe for my protein smoothie but you can read my other post about my favorite smoothie and then just throw the powder in with it. But there is two ways I do it, I either use the Raw Protein & Greens for the all in one or I use the Raw Fit and the Superfood Smoothie Mix so that I still am getting some of my vegetables in. Switching it up every now and then is a good way to make your powders last longer and to make sure you don't get bored of the same tasting thing everyday.

For the Maca shake I used to just use the Maca powder and almond milk but sometimes I'l how in a scoop of the Coco Gogo Energy Elixir to make it a little chocolatey and give it some more kick!

Now these are a little pricey, once again I lucked out and got some of these as free samples from the vendors but there are plenty of cheaper and just as good substitutes for these broads that won't kill your wallet. But like I said before you do get what you pay for and these are pretty incredible. If you had to pink one I would go with the Garden of Life Protein & Greens because you can get much more out of it and that's what I'm here to help you do!
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NOCOMPROMISE Magazine Article

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A few months ago I was asked to write a women's specific fitness article for an online magazine and I was so excited to find out that I was chosen to be in the magazine! I write about the quick and easy ways to hit women's target areas and that all women should learn to love themselves.

Body positivity is something all women should have and it's ok if you are not where you want to be yet, because these type of things don't happen over night. I want all women to love themselves for who they are and not try to be something they are not. Please Please go check out my article, the magazine is only 99cents!

Bye Bye Batwings

Ever have the sleeves of your shirt squeeze the life out of your arm because of your sexy arm fat? Well I certainly have! Getting slimmer and stringer arms is really not all that hard but it is not very pleasant.

Push ups? Forget it, not a chance.

My arms have always been the weakest parts of my body. So I decided that I would start out slow and build myself up rather than going hard right away. Letting yourself ease into toning your arms will help you want to stick with it and not get discouraged. I still use the IntervalTimer app but I only have 4 intervals for 1 minute each at 3 sets versus my usual 6.

• Chest presses
• Shoulder presses
• Tricep extensions
• Bent mid row

For all these it is good to have two dumbbells of course. I ended up getting a second when I realized I needed to work out my arms instead of just wishing the fat would disappear. If you only have one and don't want to get a second instead of chest presses just do bicep curls, then just alternate each are after 30 seconds for each exercise. 

Be sure not to push yourself too hard, always remember that if you can't talk while working out you're not helping yourself. 

Legs for Days

Being the tall Amazonian warrior princess that I am, my legs and butt have always been my favorite and least favorite part of my body. I stand at 5'10" so you can imagine that my legs are longer than my upper body, and bless my father's side of the family for gracing me with a pretty nice booty. My only problem is that I haven't always taken care of my legs and glutes and now I am paying for it. Severely. (Seriously why do squats suck?)
Anywho! I've come a long way from what I had originally been doing to work out my lower body and let me tell you this will change your life. Like I do for all my workouts I use my IntervalTimer app with 6 intervals at 1 minute each and doing 3 sets of each.

• Squats
• Calf raises
• Donkey kicks (30 seconds each side)
• Glute bridges
• Leg lifts (30 seconds each side)
• Wall sit

This only takes you 20 minutes but believe me you will sweat your ass off. If you try to do more and more each set you will build up strength and it will become easier in time. Then it will be time to find some new exercises so that your body doesn't become accustomed to the same routine. I have already noticed a difference and I have only been doing this new combination for a few weeks. This is actually one of my favorite routines to do, next to my abs, because afterwards you can really feel what you did and the tightness in your legs and butt. I used to absolutely dread working out and any type of physical activity. I was super out of shape and hated my body, but once I put my mind to it I have never felt better. Slowly but surely I am reaching my goal body and my self confidence has sky rocketed. I just want everyone to feel good about themselves however they look because we are all beautiful in our own way. Just keep at working out and eventually you will begin to look forward to it!

Spicy Cajun Chicken and Rice

The first meal I ever learned how to cook all on my own was a simple version of cajun chicken with rice and vegetables. Now a few years later and after countless changes and mess ups I've come up with my favorite dish to make. It's simple and easy to make too! Trying to impress someone? Well here you go! It's perfect for a dinner at home date night, even if your partner doesn't like spicy just add half the measurement of spices to the mix and you're good to go.

Serving Size: 4-6    Prep Time: 30 minutes    Cook Time: 30 minutes    Total Time: 1 hour

1 lbs of chicken breast
1 8oz can of diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 white onion
2 jalapeños
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups of brown rice
2 cups of water or chicken broth
3 tbs of olive oil

For spiced mix:
1 tsp chili pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cajun
1/2 tsp creole
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. In a small pot add your water or chicken broth and rice and leave on low setting to cook while you complete the rest of your meal.
2. Dice your onion and garlic. Place 1 tbs of olive oil in a medium sized pan and add the onion and garlic, leave on medium/low heat and stir until the onions are translucent.
3. While the onion and garlic cook, in a small bowl mix together all the spices. Then dice your chicken and add into the bowl.
4. Once the onions and garlic are finished, remove them from the pan, add 1 tbs of olive oil and then the chicken. Be sure to continuously stir around and check the chicken so that it is cooked fully.
6. While the chicken cooks now you will chop up your bell peppers and jalapeños, don't forget to check you chicken so it does not stick to the pan or overcook.
6. When the chicken is finished remove from the pan and add the final tbs of olive oil and the rest of your chopped vegetables. Stir them for a few minutes before adding in the already cooked onions and chicken. Let that sit for about 2 minutes and then add in the drained can of tomatoes.
7. Let this sit for about 5 minutes, meanwhile check the rice and remove from its pot. After that, your food should be ready to be removed and you are ready to eat!

Unleash Your Inner Goddess of the Sea

For a while now I have been a huge fan of smoothie bowls, I've turned my sisters and my friends onto them. They are a great way to get in your fruits and vegetable servings without it feeling like a huge chore or having to force yourself. Lately there has been this trend of blue or "mermaid" smoothie bowls, and we'll since I myself am a mermaid I just had to try one. So I scoured through tons of Instagram posts and Pinterest pins looking for the perfect one to try, but it was all to no avail. None of them sounded like they would taste very good or had a bunch or weird stuff in it that would be way to hard to find or purchase and I'm not calling myself a broke girl's guide for nothing. Instead I decided to just try the ingredients that I knew would go well together and would taste just as good as it sounded.
The only ingredient that can be a bit pricy is the Spirulina or the Blue Green Algae, luckily from the good old days at Spouts I had some that I had gotten for pretty cheap. Other than that everything you will need might already be in your refrigerator!

The recipe I used for my Mermaid Smoothie Bowl is:

1 frozen banana
1 frozen green apple
1 frozen pear
4 frozen peach slices
1/2 cup of green grapes
1/4 cup of almond milk
1/4 cup of low-fat yoghurt
2 tablets of Blue Green Algae
                or
1 tsp of Spirulina (mix in slowly to get desired color)
Juice of half of a lemon to help counter the taste of the Spirulina
*top off with blueberries, sliced banana, grapes, chia seeds,and coconut flakes

I was very very skeptical before I tasted it because I had no idea how it would go but I was pleasantly surprised and loved how it tasted and I hope that you do too!

Fruit and Oats

Besides eggs, oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfast foods. It's quick and easy to make and fills you right up. I have so many oatmeal recipe varieties, and honestly you can put anything and everything in your oatmeal. Today though I will show you which is my favorite and healthiest, in my opinion.

For this recipe I used:

1/2 cup of steel cut oats
1 cup of heated almond milk

For garnishing I used:

1/2 of a sliced banana
blueberries
sliced almonds
agave syrup

Now of course instead of almond milk you can use water to whatever kind of milk you prefer, this is just what worked best for me and let me tell you it tastes pretty amazing. I used to put strawberries on top instead of blueberries because I like the taste of them better but I was surprised when I found that I did not like how sweet the strawberries made the oatmeal versus the blueberries. Also blueberries are a great source of antioxidants making this meal pretty well rounded.