Tag: lifestyle

Saintly Reese’s Shake

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Reese’s is my absolute favorite chocolate bar! Anytime there is a combo of chocolate and peanut butter, I’m there!

This Shake has quickly become my favorite post workout recovery. Frozen banana and cauliflower rice make for an extra creamy texture, and you’d think this a milkshake. Just slice up a banana and freeze overnight. And for the caul rice, just blitz half of a head of cauliflower in a food processor until fine.

Full of nutrients to refuel, I will be drinking this a lot! You can purchase any IdealFit product on their site and be sure to use the discount code CARMEL10 for savings (who doesn’t love saving?!).

Saintly Reese’s Shake

Ingredients: unnamed-11.jpg

1 frozen banana

3 heaped tablespoons cauli rice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon honey/agave nectar/maple syrup*

1 1/2 teaspoons cacao powder

1 scoop chocolate protein powder, I used IdealFit Chocolate Brownie

1 1/2  tablespoons IdealFit Peanut Butter Powder

1/2 cup vanilla almond/soy milk*

Method:

Put all ingredients in your blender and bitz, scraping down the sides, until smooth! Drizzle almond butter on the sides of a tall glass, and top with coconut cream, chia seeds, and nuts.

*If you like your Smoothies on the sweeter side add a teaspoon more of your sweetener

*If the frozen bananas aren’t breaking down, add a few tablespoons of water

 

 

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Pineapple Lime Salmon and Lime Cauli Rice

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This week marks teaching at Burn Pilates SIX MONTHS! It’s been a whirlwind and it really does feel like six months, yet it also feels like I just started. It is truly inspiring to see client’s transformations(mentally and physically), and lately, maybe it was the Rihanna vs Beyonce Playlist I had for them today, but clients have been PUSHING! Like 150%. So if you’re a Burn client and have been to my class, THANK YOU for working hard!!

I really have been feeling inspired by my clients/classes to stay on track. Not only does staying healthy give me the energy I need to teach, it allows me to perform better when I attend fitness classes. Working out makes me feel strong and clears my mind, while eating right is my fuel.

After teaching my Sunday double, and doing a home workout, I needed some refuel. This is the perfect balance of sweet, savory, spice, and packs a BIG NUTRIENT DENSE PUNCH!

PINEAPPLE LIME SALMON AND LIME CAULI RICE

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Ingredients:

Serves 1

Salmon filets (1 per person)

Fresh pineapple chunks

1/2 clove of garlic minced (use 1 whole one if cooking for more than one)

1/2 teaspoon paprika (more for an extra kick)

1 teaspoon of roughly chopped parsley

1 lime

1 head of cauliflower

2 tablespoons white onion, diced

 

Joy Loops Hot Pepper Mix

Pinch of Himalayan salt and pepper

Method:

FOR SALMON:

Preheat oven to 400F. Tear of enough foil to wrap around salmon filets.

Zest the lime(you may only end up using a little bit, but why not put some in your Paddy’s Day cocktail later this week?!). Then cut in half. Using one of the halves, cut three slices. With the other half, juice it. unnamed-3

Lay foil flat on baking tray, and drizzle a little bit of oil(olive or avocado). Play two slices of lime. Then place two slices of lime. Top with your salmon. Add two pinches of lime zest, paprika, salt and pepper, garlic, pineapple, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a tiny bit more oil.

Wrap up the foil and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until salmon is flakey.

 

FOR CAULI RICE:

In a food processor blitz the cauliflower until rice like consistency. I only used about less than half a cup of cauli rice, feel free to use more or less! Store the rest in fridge, for the recipe coming up next!

In a sauce pan melt two teaspoons of oil or butter of choice, I used Earth Balance Vegan Butter. Then saute the onion until translucent, add in the cauliflower for about 2 min. Stir in lime juice(pan will sizzle) and 3 big pinches of zest, season with salt and pepper, and BOOM! Cauli rice in under 5 minutes that is flavorful!

PLATE UP: Just top a bed of the cauli rice with the salmon, serve with a side of greens, and drizzle a tablespoon of Joy Loops Hot Pepper Mix! Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Mac and Cheese and Pilates

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It’s been a minute! If you been following on my Instagram(the social media I post on the most, find me @cookinwithcarmel), you know I can now call myself a FITNESS INSTRUCTOR! It was this time one year ago I started out my own transformation, and what a year it’s been! SO much sweat, a few tears, lots of doubt, but I can say I am in a VERY happy place since I made the choice to give my life a makeover. And now I’m helping people with their own transformation!

Since moving into fitness I get asked A LOT if I’ll ever become a chef again, and this was a question brought up many times at my high school reunion this past weekend. I’d still call myself a chef, just a former commercial kitchen chef/at home healthy chef. I’m focusing more of the nutritional side of food when it comes to eating and cooking, how we can use food as fuel. So if you need a little help in what to eat to help you get through a workout, I’m here to help! And that might actually be my next blog post!

Anyways, this past weekend was Thanksgiving! My favorite holiday! Not just because of all the food, but because it’s a time for family. And with my large family, the holidays are always a blast! Back to the food, we had a SPREAD: pumpkin donuts for breakfast; dinner was turkey, ham, two bowls of stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, more veg, and PUMPKIN MAC AND CHEESE!

The recipe was highly requested, and I highly recommend it this time of year! Such a cozy dish! It’s really easy and quick! There is dairy in it, those following me for a while know I cut dairy out for a little bit. But this is a HOLIDAY dish, and during the holidays you’re allowed to indulge a little! I cut back on cheese and added nutritional yeast. That way I was going even a small amount of benefits, without losing that cheesey flavor. I used 3/4 of a cup of cheese, but you can even experiment and cut it down o 1/2 of a cup and add 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.

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Here’s what you’ll need: 

1 can of pureed pumpkin

1 cup of milk (I used dairy; alternative: use unsweetened/unflavored almond or soy milk)

2 tablespoons butter (alternative: Smart Balance vegan butter)

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

3/4  of a cup cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Pinch of salt and pepper

Elbow/macaroni pasta or spiralized zuchinni

Method:

Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally, bring to the boil. Stir until cheddar has melted and ingredients are combined through. Add a little more salt and pepper to adjust. Cook your choice of pasta and mix it with your sauce!

This recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups of sauce. Store in a mason jar and use within three weeks!

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IdealFit Protein Bars

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unnamed-2.jpgThese are SO much better than store bought!

I used the IdealFit Vanilla Protein Powder, but the Cake Batter or Chocolate Brownie flavor would be just as amazing. Shop here for all IdealFit products: bit.ly/2trHGG3

Now, you can also go and buy cashew and almond butter and mix the butters and protein powder together in a bowl-but I like making everything from scratch when I can!

Ingredients:

2 scoops IdealFit protein powder

1 cup cashews

1 cup almonds

Teaspoon of maple syrup or honey

Teaspoon of vanilla extract

(have ready a few drops/tablespoons of almond or soy milk)

handful of dark chocolate chips, dried fruits or shredded coconut

Method:

In a food processor, blitz the cashews and almonds until smooth. Add the protein powder, and blitz until mixed. You might need to add a few drops of soy or almond milk so that the dough does come together. Shape dough into bars or balls. Press the dark chocolate chips, or fruit(like cranberries or goji berries) or shredded coconut onto the top of the bars. Keep sealed in the fridge until you want to eat them!

 

I’m an IdealFit Brand Ambassador!

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I have been a Brand Ambassador for a couple of months now, so I’m not sure WHY it’s taken me so long to write this post!

I really had no knowledge of supplements: protein, preworkout, and BCAA shakes. But it’s more than a shake or vitamin- it’s fuel for my body. Idealfit has shown me what my body is really capable of. As I’ve gotten stronger, I don’t want to wear and tear, or exhaust my muscles and joints. By implementing Idealfit products into my day to day eating habits, I can give every workout my all and feel fantastic.

Besides making me feeling amazing, the taste is GREAT(as someone who’s always around food, it gets a big thumbs up from me!)! I tried a couple of different protein shakes, and Idealfit really does stand out. There’s no bloating, and there’s no gross chalky texture. I LOVE the Cake Batter and Chocolate Coconut Protein Powders.

Being an Idealfit Brand Ambassador has been so exciting and rewarding! The community of IdealFit has been so supportive and I have learned A LOT from other ambassadors, from workouts to nutritional tips! They have so many delicious recipes on their site, which I’ve been putting my own spin on, which you can find on my Instagram @cookinwithcarmel. I’m actually just about to start one of their FREE workout challenges this weekend, which you can find on their site.

Go check out all the deals(there’s always a great offer) at http://www.idealfit.com, and use CARMEL10 on your order! Or just click my quick link: http://bit.ly/2trHGG3

My Weight Loss to Wellness Story

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In the past 8 months, I’ve lost ~35LBS! Although my weight loss journey began just that, a weight loss journey, it has turned more into a Wellness Journey.

I’ve never been an athlete, or even really interested in working out or nutrition. I grew up playing the typical grammar school(3rd grade-8th) sports: volleyball, basketball and soccer; then in high school I ran cross country for a year. After high school, I did yoga and Zumba(which I still LOVE), here and there, and went on the treadmill.

My third year into college,  I left for Italy on study abroad. There, I had a mindset of ‘I’m only here for a short time, so may as well eat this gelato for breakfast!’, and within three months my jeans were much tighter. I don’t regret those bowls of pasta, but I do regret neglecting to take care of my body.

I never really was able to tackle that 10LB or so weight gain, well because I was lazy and didn’t care. And I’ve always loved food.

Three years ago(and three years after my trip to Italy), I attended culinary school in Ireland. During culinary school, I just had to sample everything more than once. Instead of two cookies, I ate ten. Instead of just one plate of dinner, I almost always went back for a second helping.

I knew I was going to gain weight in culinary school, it’s almost a given. What happened after culinary school is what sent my health out of my control.

I couldn’t land a job for several months, now, this was sort of my decision, I wanted to get work experience in each part of a professional kitchen. But the amount of peer pressure I got while job hunting/choosing internships over ‘real’ work, combined with my own pressure, made my anxiety creep in. I turned to food and alcohol as a coping mechanism.

After almost a year of hopping up and down Ireland taking part in internships in kitchens, I landed a head cook role! But a month into it, I slipped and broke my ankle. Breaking my ankle shattered my self confidence. It took me so long to land this job!

The months following the break drained me physically and mentally. I was unemployed; I felt lost and felt like a failure. I turned to food and alcohol more than ever. I gained a ton of weight, lost all of my esteem, and was on the road to some SERIOUS health issues. 

I decided to move back to San Francisco, back to my siblings and parents. I was so sick of feeling sick, and at the end of the day, my family are my biggest supporters. I knew I had to change my lifestyle.

I hired one of the best trainers in the Bay Area. It was really hard at first, and I doubted I would stick to it more than a couple of weeks. When I changed my nutrition it got much easier(tips to follow, for now check out my Saintly recipes). And even though I still struggle some days, fitness and feeling good has become part of my day to day routine.

Hiring a trainer was/is the best decision for me. I have accountability and my trainer is such an inspiration. Working out is my therapy. I’m gaining strength, confidence, and living life to the fullest(in the healthiest way). There’s something really empowering see what our bodies are capable of.

I am not a personal trainer or a nutritionist/dietician. But I hope my story will inspire you! And if you’re just starting out, and need help/support, message me!

Spinach Arugula Walnut Pesto

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I’m a sucker for bowls of pasta! When I first started working out and resetting my body, I thought I had to give up my favorite foods. And I sort of do, as processed foods no longer agree with my stomach. So, I experiment and turn my favorite foods into nourishing dishes, that help fuel my workouts and keep me feeling great.  Instead of traditional flour spaghetti noodles, I like to spiralize veggies into pasta noodles! Recently, I purchased a box of Edamame Noodles and LOVE them! The noodles are just made from Edamame, which hold so many benefits, and big bonus, they only take four minutes to cook!

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I’ve been using these noodles with some of my favorite sauces. Last week I made a Lentil Bolognese, and honestly as a meat eater I didn’t even notice a lack of ground beef! I’ll share that Lentil Bolognese later this week, right now I want to share a quick pesto that has some pretty big benefits. A typical pesto usually calls for parmigiano cheese, but I ditched that and used NUTRITIONAL YEAST; and I went with avocado oil instead of olive oil.

Spinach Arugula Walnut Pesto

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of washed spinach and arugula

1/2 cup of walnuts

2  cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

Big pinch of Himalayan salt

Roughly 1/3 cup of avocado oil

Method

In a food processor, blend all the ingredients EXCEPT  the oil until it’s a paste. Then slowly add the oil.

Enjoy tossed in your favorite pasta or salad!

 

Beat the Bloat Berry Smoothie

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Bloating sucks! It’s a really uncomfortable feeling, so I like to get rid of it ASAP! My secret weapon: APPLE CIDER VINEGAR! I drink a tablespoon of it a day, either right when I wake up or about a half hour before I go to bed. But I also like to put a big splash in my midmorning or lunchtime smoothie.

I do like to drink this smoothie a couple times a week, it’s refreshing, and I do find it helps with the bloat. If I’m making this after a workout, I like to add a scoop of protein powder.IMG_3999.JPG

Ingredients

8 ounces of liquid (I like to do half water/half coconut milk)

1/2 avocado

1 banana

1/2 cup of frozen berries

1 tablespoon hemp heart seeds

1 tablespoon ground flax meal

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Optional: a tablespoon of nut butter/a scoop of your favorite protein powder

Method

In your food processor, blend until smooth! You might need to add a little more water as you go! I like to put my smoothies in a bowl, so I like when smoothies have more of a sorbet/ice cream texture.

 

 

 

 

Avo-Cashew Ice Cream

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When I made my Protein Cookies earlier this week, I made A LOT of Cashew Buttercream, so I stuck it in the freezer, thinking I’ll use it eventually. I happened to throw about 3-4 tablespoons of it in a smoothie I was making for my sis and I, it was DEELISH! It added such a creamy texture.

I started thinking how this Cashew Cream is such a great starter for an ice cream! I didn’t want to make another banana ice cream, so I reached for avocados! With their good for your fats, avocados make for a great ice cream base.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups Cashew Cream

About 1/4 of the avocado- so slice the avocado in half, and then again in half

1/2 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened but whichever you prefer)

1/2 tablespoon of vanilla

Pinch of Pink Himalyan Salt

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Optional: Since this sweet treat has a green hue, add a teaspoon or two of peppermint extract for a Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream! Also optional, more than just that 1/2 cup of chocolate chips!

Method

Put the Cashew Cream and avocados in a food processor and blitz until smooth and blended. Add in the vanilla and almond milk and blend until smooth.17796492_1500259119986239_5436749948448470280_n.jpg

Fold in chocolate chips.

Stick it in the freezer, and wait to to eat at least about a half hour-any earlier it will be more like soft serve, which is also a great treat!

 

 

 

Pro tip(s): Freeze your bowl before putting your ice cream in it. I also suggest using a glass, or Pyrex bowl. Be sure to take your ice cream out of the freezer about 7-8 minutes before you plan on serving it, so it does soften.