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Eggnog French Toast

November 14, 2011 By Courtnie Leave a Comment

Just in time for the Holidays

Seasonal French toast without the extra calories :O)

Ingredients

1/2 cup of Egg whites

1 cup of Almond milk (breeze)

6 Slices of Rye bread

1 TBSP of Vanilla

1/4 tsp of Nutmeg

pinch of Cinnamon

How To Prepare

 add the egg whites, almond milk, valilla and Nutmeg. then whisk together until completely blended. Then soak the rye bread in the mixture. Place in a hot, non-stick frying pan, or use some Pam Cooking Spray just prior to placing the bread in pan. Brown on each side, then add topping and severe warm!

 Toppings

For toppings without the added calorie count, try yogurt!! My favorite is the 35 Calorie source yogurt (desert line or plain vanilla) and then add some fresh fruit and cinnamon and “ta-da” Calorie wise, delicious french toast with a Holiday twist!! Mmmm so good!!

~Courtnie~

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Running shoes have a shelf life too

November 12, 2011 By Courtnie Leave a Comment

Once you have put too many miles on your running shoes you must get a new pair, to avoid injuries and set backs.

Running shoes have a shelf life too!

Stopping in at running shoe specialist store such as the Running Room, maybe a good idea before getting a new pair of runners.

They are professionally trained to assess the wear and tear on your old shoes and can suggest a new pair of runners that will meet you your needs in functionality and will help you choose a shoe that will provide your feet with the proper support.

Inspecting the wear and tear on my shoes, especially the soles, and also by feel. I can usually tell by small aches and pains that start in the chins, heels and arch of my feet.

I prefer the Sacony runner myself, it fits and my feet best, and I feel it is reasonably priced for it’s value! But again this is why seeing a specialists will help you in determining what shoe brand/model  best fits your needs.

Things to think about when choosing a shoe include:

  • Do you  have high or low arches?
  • Do you have wide or narrow feet?
  • Do your feet invert or evert?
  • Assessing your gait; such as your heel strike.
  • Most important of all what activity will you be using the shoe’s for?

As far as shoes life span, it depends on the activity that you are preforming and what type of surface your on! For a runner, running on ashfault their shoes life will not last as long if you were running on trails! For me personally an average life span is somewhere between 400-600km.

Exceeding your shoes life span can lead to major problems if not caught early. Including shin splints, knee, hip and even back issues, Yikes. So remember to be nice to your feet and treat them to a new pair of shoes when needed.

Once you have purchased your replacement runners remember to slowly switch over, break them in gradually!

And now tie up your laces and get sweating!! :O)

~Courtnie~

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Healthy Fats!

August 27, 2011 By Amanda Leave a Comment

Healthy Fats!!

Now, this is always a hard one for people to understand. But, you need to eat fat to lose fat!!

Here are a few reasons why you should be eating about 20 – 30 % of your daily caloric intake of fats!

~ They’re great for your heart

~ Slow digestion of quick digesting carbs and protein

~ Good fats will lower your LDL cholesterol

~ Reduce you cancer risk

~ Reduce oxidative damage

~ higher in fiber

~ increase satiety, decreasing your hunger

and many nuts, legumes, oils have essential vitamins and minerals to keep your body functioning the way it should be!

Here are a few different forms of fats to try..

  • Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, pecans, cashews
  • Avocados
  • Fish oils
  • Salmon
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Stayed tuned for some healthy recipes!

xo,

Amanda

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Healthy Slurpee

August 23, 2011 By Courtnie Leave a Comment

One large 41-oz. Slurpee can have as many as 570 calories, and 135g of sugar…….

That is the equivalent of eating 34 sugar cubes….


This subject hits close to home for me, as  my home town Manitoba, has been named the “Slurpee Capital of the World” the last 12 years in a row.

And it just so happens that the incidence of diabetes is also the highest in Manitoba than anywhere across Canada, and is still on the up rise.

So lets put the sugars drinks down and find a healthy alternative!

Here is a simple and easy solution;

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 packet of singles, crystal light (any flavor, there’s a lot to chose from!!)
  • 2 cups of ice cubes
  • 1 cup of water

Place them in a blender and tah-dah your very own calorie free, refreshing Slurpee!!

*They have recently come out with some great flavors of BCAA’s that you could supplement for the Crystal light, for a post workout slurpee*

*You can also add you favor fruit with a 1/4 cup of  ”Almond Breeze” Almond milk to give your drink more of a smoothie constancy and taste. This will also provide you with some nutritional value!*

My favorite Smoothie

  • 1 cup of  ice cubes
  • 1/4 cup of almond breeze milk
  • palm full (about 3 Tbsp of shave almonds)
  • 1/2 Large Banana (better if frozen!)

Blend it all up and this makes for delicious post workout treat!

enjoy :O)

~Courtnie~

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Seafood Orange Sauce Chicken

August 23, 2011 By Courtnie 2 Comments

Seafood Orange Sauce Chicken

Here is an amazing recipe that I got from one of my health conscious friends Mike!!!

Ingredients:

5-6 bonless skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Egg – Beaten

Breton Crackers – Crushed up

1 jar of Seafood Sauce – Our Compliments (tangy)

1 1/2  cups of Orange Juice

1/2 cup of Cooking Splenda

How to prepare:

Dry off chicken and dip in egg,

Then bread the egg covered chicken with breton crackers.

Cook chicken for 20mins after you cover with crackers…

Combine the seafood sauce, orange juice and splenda to make your sauce,

Than cover the chicken that has been cooked for 20 minutes with the sauce,

Then bake for another 20-25 mins @400F depending how much chicken you use.

And enjoy!

Mmmmmmm so good

Thanks for this one Mike!!

~Courtnie~

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50, 40, 30, 20, 10

June 22, 2011 By Courtnie Leave a Comment

Get in shape for free, and from the comfort of your own home!

Here’s another workout that we did in class tonight!!


Run through the list of exercises below, performing; 50 of each of the exercises and then 40, 30, 20, 10

  • Weighted step-ups
  • Weighted alternating lunges
  • Push-ups with a row (start in a plank position with weights in your hands, perform a push-up and then a single arm row)
  • Sit-ups of your choice
  • Plank (for seconds! 50 sec, 40, 30 and so on)

*Remove the weights for this workout, if you don’t have a set of weights at home or would like to perform a modified version of this workout*

Make sure you do a proper warm-up, cool down and stretching!

Have fun

you trainers and motivators

~Amanda Lee and Courtnie McInnes~

-If you are finding it hard to motivate your self at home, check out when we are offering our next Learn2sweat bootcamps and personal training

where we will provide your motivation and profession instructions!

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Mabba Provincials

June 10, 2011 By Amanda Leave a Comment

So SHOWDAY came and went! It was a whirlwind! I ended up placing 2nd in my category of Bikini Short and am very Proud of my accomplishment.

I find it even harder getting on stage in a crowd filled with your friends and family, as opposed to a bunch of strangers! Some people feel the opposite, but I guess it is just because I care about what those people think the most. It was really great to have my mom and dad in the audience! I could hear them from onstage cheering for me, so it ended up being a really great time. Here are some inside peaks at backstage with some friends and competitors!! :)

My make up and hair for show was done by the amazing Amy McLachlan! Check out her FB group, Vamp Industries!

Of course when anyone is competing they always dream of the first place trophy! But, coming in second has really made me want to push harder than ever to come home with the overall and a beautiful IFBB pro card at Nationals. Nationals this year will take place on July 23rd in Saskatoon. Six more weeks of givvener! Not very far away!! :)

I definitely believe I came in with my best physique yet, and the amount of support and feedback from everyone was really inspiring and motivating. Making this competition a personal win for myself I couldn’t have felt more love at the end of the day! <3

REBOUND

People always ask about the rebound after a competition and without proper guidance, support and education toknow what to do in the situation, it can be a very hard and confusing time for a competitor. I allowed myself a great reward meal after the show, and took Sunday off the gym and regimented diet as well. Just try not to go overboard! I made sure to drink lots of water and gatorade to get my electrolytes back in check and my fluids regular again after being dehydrated for a show (something competitors do to bring their leanest looking physique out on stage).

I was back at the gym Monday morning busting out my cardio and eating nice and clean. This way, I was able to accomplish no rebound and allow my body to get back on a regular pace again. It is possible to do! So make sure you hahve your plan ready for after show day!

I also have to think about the future and with some great photo shoots lined up while I am away at the IFBB Toronto PRO Show  and the Muscle Mag Model Search I have entered in it was important to not reward myself with too many treats and think about what was up next!

It was an amazing weekend, and I was definitely walking around with a smile plastered to my face the entire time!

Check back soon for my next blog!!

Yours in fitness,

Amanda Lee xo

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