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4-COURSE VALENTINE’S MEAL FOR 2: ASIAN STICKY CHICKEN WITH PINEAPPLE “FRIED RICE”
Feeling joy in what you eat is an important part of having a positive relationship with your food, as is enjoying a holiday meal or a date night that feels decadent. So, we created this delicious four-course meal in honor of Valentine’s Day so that you can enjoy a big meal in a way that aligns with your goals and helps you recognize that no food is good or bad.
MACRO FRIENDLY DESSERT: SALTED CARAMEL APPLE YOGURT BARK
Tracking your macros doesn’t have to be restrictive and in fact, we pride ourselves on coaching our clients on ways to be more flexible with their food choices. We feel it’s important to include foods that you love and that means dessert and sweet treats! This peanut butter salted caramel apple yogurt bark is the perfect sweet treat for this season (or any season, really!) It’s super easy to make and for 22g of protein per serving, it can actually play a role in helping you nail your protein goals!
7 MACRO TRACKING TIPS FROM EXPERIENCED NUTRITION COACHES
We work within a framework of tracking macros to facilitate sustainable progress and, eventually, move away from tracking completely. However, while tracking, there are some ways we can make it easier on ourselves! In this blog post, we’re sharing our favorite tracking tips as “macro coaches,” experienced trackers, and coaches who help our clients make tracking work for them.
EASY 30-MINUTE DINNERS FOR THE WHOLE WEEK: 5 MACRO-FRIENDLY RECIPES
In today’s post, I’m sharing 5 meal ideas that use 5 totally different flavors to create 5 easy, high-protein meals for your lunch or dinner meals this week. The idea here is that you’ll prepare your proteins at the start of the week and take just 30 minutes to make your meal each night. Whether you’re cooking just for yourself or your whole family, these simple, high-protein 30-minute meal ideas can easily be scaled for multiple servings, and most use easy freezer and/or pantry ingredients that you may already have on hand!
OUR NEW FAVORITE OBSESSION: NINJA CREAMI PROTEIN ICE CREAM
Ice cream is a top three favorite dessert for me and sometimes, a small serving or just a few bites isn’t very satisfying. It can feel disappointing when you want to work towards your aesthetic goals but also want to enjoy your food. Enter: the magic that is created using the Ninja Creami. This week’s post shares two very simple recipes (plus flavor ideas!) for making low-calorie, high-protein ice cream that won’t break your macros, even if you decide to eat the whole pint.
MACRO-FRIENDLY CHICKEN MEAL PREP: CUBAN BOWL + JERK CHICKEN THIGHS
Let’s be honest, when it comes to meal prep, a bowl-style meal is my go-to. It’s super easy for throwing together a meal that’s packed with protein, loads of veggies and it really lends itself to adjusting the amount of carbs and fats you need to stay aligned with your macro targets. I love it because it’s packed full of flavor and an easy recipe to prep ahead for the whole week, whether you’re cooking for yourself or your whole family. This healthful Cuban-inspired meal has flavorful jerk chicken thighs over nutritious veggies and wholesome beans making this balanced meal perfect for tracking your macros and working towards your weight loss and fitness goals.
MACRO-FRIENDLY BOWL RECIPE: PLANT-BASED GOLDEN TAHINI PROTEIN POWER BOWL
This power bowl is loaded with protein, high-fiber vegetables, and a nutritious golden tahini sauce. Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, or plant-based (or even if you’re not!) this simple meal is great for tracking your macros (or not!) and can help support any body composition, fitness, or overall nutrition.
MAKING PLANT BASED EATING EASIER: HOW TO EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN, PLANT BASED PROTEIN SOURCES, AND HEALTHY RECIPES
For many, one of the biggest barriers when first starting to track your macros is hitting your protein target. It’s easy to think that eating protein is only important for bodybuilders and elite athletes, but it plays a crucial role in all of our bodies, regardless of our age or athletic ability. Hitting your protein target may be hard at first, but it’s not impossible -- and it definitely doesn’t require just eating meat all day, every day. In fact, since making the personal choice to stop eating meat last year, I know that it’s totally possible to eat an adequate amount of protein and even follow a higher-protein diet with little to no animal-based sources. In this week’s post, I’m sharing just how to do that along with a list of plant-based protein sources and some awesome, easy (and macro-friendly!) plant-based recipes. With the surge of popularity of plant-based diets has also come the increase in plant-based marketing. Walking around the grocery store, you’ll find “plant based” whole wheat pasta, donuts, and chips - all foods that are generally free of animal products anyway, and foods that don’t become automatically healthy just because of a plant-based label.
HEALTH IN THE NEW YEAR: 5 UNEXPECTED “HEALTH BOOSTERS”
It’s the middle of January and you’re a couple of weeks into your New Year’s resolution. While we’re all about BIG goals around here, we’re also about finding effective and sustainable ways to improve your overall health, beyond only losing weight or going for PRs in the gym. With years of experience working with hundreds of clients, our coaches have A LOT of experience supporting others in all areas of their health and nutrition. Our team is sharing that expertise with this list of unexpected ways to improve your health this year and continue to work towards your body composition and fitness goals sustainably. It’s a culmination of our work with our clients as well as our own personal journeys as nutrition coaches. We’re sharing how getting in touch with different aspects of your health will allow you to look and feel your best not only this year, but for years (and years!) to come.
MACRO-FRIENDLY ONE POT RECIPE: CROCKPOT CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
It’s soup season, y’all! It’s truly one of my favorite times of year when it comes to cooking and meal prep. I love a good crockpot meal and anything that allows me to be warm and cozy during these chilly winter months is what’s on the menu in our house! This recipe for Chicken and Dumplings can be made in either the crockpot or on the stovetop (I share both ways below!) and is a perfect recipe for making a big batch to enjoy now and then freeze some to enjoy later!
MAINTAINING MINDFULNESS THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS: THE GIFT OF A MINDFUL MEAL
In the throes of the holiday season, it’s easy to push your nutrition goals to the side and tell yourself you’ll gear up to tackle those big goals in the New Year. But in the spirit of flexible nutrition, we find that this is the perfect time to work on building important skills around eating and making food choices as well as improving your relationship with food.
MACRO-FRIENDLY RECIPE: COACH D’S HIGH-PROTEIN OATMEAL BOWL
Y’all, I LOVE oatmeal. It’s something I could eat for multiple meals a day because I love it that much. This week’s recipe is my go-to version of oatmeal and I love it because it’s protein-packed, sweet and nutritious. It’s something I can eat before or after a workout and sometimes I enjoy it at dinner when I don’t feel like having something savory or cooking (it was a life-saver when I was pregnant!) I hope you like it as much as I do!
MACRO-FRIENDLY RECIPE: BROCCOLI CHEDDAR CASSEROLe
Many of our clients are busy individuals working full-time jobs, managing their time with kids and family and traveling, so time is of the essence. That’s why we continue to create easy, no-hassle recipes from easy pantry staples and frozen foods so that you can work towards your nutrition goals while still spending your time doing the things you love. This week’s recipe is no different and a really great one for easy meal prep with hearty servings.
MACRO-FRIENDLY RECIPE: SOUTHWEST TURKEY BURGERS
Burgers are a love language in our household, so it only seemed fitting for me to share a burger recipe as a favorite of mine! These healthy southwest turkey burgers are in our monthly recipe rotation for meal prep because they’re that good. They’re great for weekly meal prep and also work wonderfully for a yummy weekend meal when hosting friends or for holiday weekends like Memorial Day coming up.
FROM AN ONLINE NUTRITION COACH: DIANA
As nutrition coaches, we have the privilege of building close relationships with our clients as we help guide them toward their goals - be those related to aesthetics or fat loss goals, performance goals, or goals of optimal health. Along the way, as we work on building a better relationship with food and our habits, we get to share parts of our stories that are relevant to our coaching styles. We’re taking time this year to share more about us, our nutrition journeys and transformations, our road to becoming nutrition coaches and educators, and the amazing clients we have the privilege of working with.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST PROTEIN SMOOTHIE FOR TRACKING MACROS
We think smoothies are awesome! They can be a great addition to your day, regardless of your goals, and are also a really great way to get in extra protein as well as lots of nutrients. So, this week, instead of sharing more recipes with you, we’re going to share a little more about why we think smoothies are beneficial and, more importantly, how to make the best one for your needs and preferences.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MACRO-FRIENDLY BREAKFASTS
We typically encourage clients to eat breakfast as it helps you manage your hunger throughout the day and can be a great way to recover from early morning workouts. It can be tough when you’re busy and getting everyone out the door for the day, so we’re here with a list of easy breakfast ideas (many of which can be meal prepped) whether you’re tracking your macros or not!
MACRO-FRIENDLY RECIPE: BUFFALO & BBQ STUFFED SWEET POTATOES
We’re all about easy and yummy around here and these BBQ and Buffalo stuffed sweet potatoes check both of those boxes plus some. We plan to make these for the Superbowl and have been enjoying them often during this cold winter season. Hopefully, you and your family will love them too!