Monday munchies- schweddy balls

Shweddy Ball’s Recipe…
Our good friend Pete Shweddy gave us this incredible recipe for his Shweddy Protein Balls. They take just 5 minutes to prepare and are a great addition to your daily diet plans. They are actually so great tasting that they are a real treat – you won’t be able to resist putting your mouth around Pete’s balls.
Portion sizes – one ball for girls and 2 balls for guys.
Check out the video below for an interview with our friend Pete :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXSyzeVWueI

ok after that little bit of fun.....

Here is the recipe break down: 

2 table spoons of organic natural peanut butter (no salt or sugar added)

2 table spoons of agave nectar ( or honey)

1/2 cup of naturally flavoured vanilla protein powder sweetened with a natural sweetener.

Mix all the ingredients well.

Add about two table spoons of organic shredded coconut.

You can also add 1 table spoon of slivered almonds and 1 tbsp of raisins.

From this amount we made 3 protein balls. The portion sizes are: 1 ball for girls, 2 balls for guys. The balls should fit in the centre of the palm of your hand. Put them into the fridge so they can set.

Chop some fresh celery, apple,carrots, and pack it with a schweddy ball as an easy take with you meal!

Grab one of your protein balls and you have 1 meal taken care of. this is based on attempting a 5 meal eating plan.... otherwise by themselves they make the perfect post work out boost .

WORK for it WEDNESDAYS! 2

ok so wednesday has rolled around again..... it has a habit of doing that you know.
So i guess its time for this weeks challenge.

last week we worked on the water thing WFIW 1
lets try somethign food related this week

Lets work on the 30g of protein in your first 30 mins awake everyday... and see if it makes a difference

The idea behind this is kick starting your metabolism at the beginning of the day promoting calorie burn throughout the day.  
Now let me be even more specific here.  You should ingest the 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking,  this is the 30-30 rule.

There are many ways of achieving these kinds of numbers for breakfast:
the following eg- is for weight lifters/ muscle builders or people doing HIGH leveles of training  in the mornings

one protein shake or roughly 4 large eggs cooked or raw.  Now the raw part might disgust you but  mix the protein shake and 4 raw eggs each and every morning giving you a total of 63 grams of highly usable protein to kickstart my day.  The advantage of raw versus cooked eggs is the absorption time, raw taking merely 30 minutes for the body to digest.



Following the 30-30 rule should get you metabolism going in the morning and let you finally start noticing changes in your weight loss program


food ideas---

Pancakes

While traditional pancakes are high in carbohydrates, you can make a low-carb version using cottage cheese, eggs, soy flour and a non-caloric sweetener. Whip the egg whites with cream of tartar to form stiff peaks. Stir together one egg yolk, a cup of low-fat cottage cheese, a tablespoon of soy flour( or jsut go the normal- not as good for you but hey we aint all got a healthfood store in the pantry ;) ) and a sugar alternative such as stevia or aspartame.
Cook on a griddle/ nonstick pan until brown. The entire recipe contains  about 40 g of protein and just 9 g of carbs. Serve with low-carb syrup or fresh raspberries, which contain just 7 g of carbs per ½ cup.

Smoked salmon

smoked salmon, and it is often used as a topping for bagels and bread, but most people think of it as party food snacks.  Although those items may be too high in carbohydrates for your diet, you can put SS on vegetable strips for a low-carbohydrate alternative.  SS is low in carbohydrates and fat--
one 135g serving contains

181calories,

6.1of fat and

31g of protein.

Cottage Cheese

While all dairy products contain protein, cottage cheese boasts a much higher protein concentration per serving than cheddar cheese, milk and even eggs. One half(1/2) cup of low-fat cottage cheese provides 16 g of protein. Although rich in protein, ½ cup cottage cheese isn't likely to curb your hunger for long. Combine cottage cheese with whole grain toast and fresh fruit for a well-rounded--and protein-rich--breakfast.

dont have time or want cooked food like eggs... which are high in protein?
hard boil a few eggs a couple times a week and store them in your fridge ready to go.
in the morning grab 2 boiled eggs and 100g of ham.... and your done! obviously you can add some toast to that , but if your aiming for low to no carbs, ham and eggs and your out that door!

Do you crave chocolate when you feel down? Find out why! by Kara on January 26, 2011 · 9 Comments

Do you crave chocolate when you feel down? Find out why!

by Kara on January 26, 2011 · 9 Comments

why does eating chocolate affect your mood?

The term ‘comfort food’ and the indulgent chocolate often go hand in hand…but why?! I know people often crave the sweet taste and smooth mouth feel, however there must be more to it if so many people throughout the world crave the same foods for the same reason.
With this in mind I found this Mood Foods slideshow which sums up quite nicely the nutrients that affect our hormone levels, and thereby impact on our mood.
The main nutrients that got the thumbs up for helping elevate mood and reduce stress were the following:
Tyrosine- an amino acid found in meat, dairy and protein rich legumes
Vitamin C- in fruits and vegetables (in particular kiwi fruit, strawberries and mango)
Magnesium- found in nuts, seafood, leafy green vegetables and wholegrains
Chilli- well that one is pretty straight forward where you get it from!
Ginger- ditto to the above comment
Omega 3′s- found in cold water fish such as salmon, herring and tuna (as well as walnuts and flaxseeds)
Sedatives- found in onions, fennel, honey and spices (garlic, ginger, parsley, sage, spearmint, cumin, clove and anise)
Iron- found in meats, eggs, fish, legumes and dark green leafy vegetables (but this source of iron is not absorbed very well)
Tryptophan- found in turkey, milk, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sea weed and baked potatoes
Cocoa- found in dark chocolate
Vitamin D- obtained from the sunshine
As you can see, there are a variety of nutrients that can help or impact on our moods. I guess it just keeps adding to the pull of evidence that a nutritious diet really does impact so many

thought for the day

WORK for it WEDNESDAYS!

Welcome to work for it wednesdays!
Designed to give your body/nutrition a little boost for the week.
We're going to put out the challenge that makes you work for your goal!
Ususaly it will be a physical challenge........but

..... This weeks challenge is water!

I'm going to offer two levels of the challenge. Basic, and Warrior.
Obviously a  Wednesday Warrior challenge will be more beneficial for you. But, everyone has busy lives and may not be able to be a Wednesday warrior.

Basic challenges will still give your body that boost but may be easier or shorter to complete

Today, tomorrow and Friday I challenge you to drink the recommended amount of water daily. 

Basic Challenge :
Over the day ( defined as from when you wake untill you go to sleep) Drink 2L or atleast 8 glasses of non sugary fluid. ( if you want something other then water and want it to count Tea, esspecially green or white tea is beneficial and extra low in caffeine so wont dry you out and counter the good you are doing with the water!)

Warrior Challenge
Same challenge... Drink the recommended amount of water.
But we're gonna be more specific about that!
I challenge you to drink the recommended 30mls of water for every kilo you weigh + 400ml for every 30 mins of exercise you do.




GO on ! sign up in the comments below and  commit to a challenge this week!
Whoch challenge are you doing?

Goal setting and Evaluation day- 2.1 Some Vision Board Inspiration

Some Images that may speak to you and some of your goals ..............................
random topics... may be helpfull