IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN!

I’m talking about summer time. Woohoo!! 

If it’s summer time, you know what that means, BBQ TIME!!! I love a good bbq. 

Here is a great chicken & cilantro recipe that Victoria and I love to have during the summer time. 

Enjoy!

Simply Slow

I think one of the top 5 best inventions in the world is the slow cooker. 

Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit, but if you don’t have time to cook or if you want to prep your meal the night before and still have it steaming hot to eat, the slow cooker is your best friend. 

Here is a yummy chicken slow cooker recipe that Victoria and I had last night. 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of Ketchup
• 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce or Bragg Liquid Amino's (soy sauce replacement)
• 1/4 cup of Olive Oil

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 Medium sized Sweet Potatoes (Chopped)
• 1 cup of Baby Carrots or Large Carrots (whichever you prefer)
• 1lb of Chicken Breast
• 2 servings of Celery
• 1 Tablespoon of Onion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning
• 1 Teaspoon of Parsley Flakes
• 2 minced Garlic Cloves

Step 1: In a measuring cup mix the ketchup, soy sauce, olive oil, & all of the spices together until well blended and set aside.

Step 2: Put the chicken in the slow cooker with the carrots, sweet potatoes, and celery. 

Step 3: Pour the olive oil mixture into the slow cooker and make sure all of the dry ingredients are covered. 

Step 4: Cover the slow cooker with the lid and set it on low for about 8 hours (or you could also put it on high for about 3-4 hours).

Step 5: Take the lid off and enjoy all of the juicy greatness of the slow cooker.

Who Loves Ranch Dressing?

Kyle loves ranch dressing! I am not kidding. 

As a kid, I put ranch dressing on pizza, nachos, and lots of sandwiches. 

I wanted to make my own ranch dressing because not only is it healthier but I know what ingredients is actually in the dressing. 

So, here is my ranch dressing recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of 2% greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup of buttermilk powder
• 1 Tablespoon of onion powder
• 1 Tablespoon of onion flakes
• 2 Tablespoons of parsley flakes
• 1 Tablespoon of garlic or garlic paste
• 1 Teaspoon of Red Pepper (If you want to kick it up a notch)
• Salt & pepper for taste

Step 1- Toss all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Step 2- Season to taste.

Step 3- Store it in the refrigerator for about 5-7 days in a airtight container or tupperware.

BUNS OF STEEL!

Now that I have your attention obviously these buns are not made out of steel. That would not be tasty. 

Instead they are made out of cauliflower. 

The other day Victoria and I were making burgers but we didn’t have any bread or buns. The only thing we had was cauliflower.

So what does one do when there is only cauliflower? They make cauliflower buns of course!

They do taste pretty darn good and you get to have at least two servings of veggies per burger. BOOMSHAKALAKA!!

Here is my cauliflower bun recipe: 

Ingredients:

-   3/4 of Cauliflower

• 4-6 Tbsp of coconut flower
• 2 Tbsp of garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp of salt
• 4-6 Eggs

Tools: 

• Food processor

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Take out a baking sheet and line it up with parchment paper (if you don’t have that, you can use aluminum foil).

Step 2: Put all the cauliflower in the food processor and pulse until finely shredded. 

Step 3: Crack all of the eggs in a large bowl with the dry ingredients and slowly add in the cauliflower and mix it all together. 

Step 4: Take a small portion of the cauliflower mixture and put it on the baking sheet. Press down on the small portion with your hands until it becomes flat. Continue to do this until all of the mixture is on the baking sheet. I personally made 6 buns with this mixture, but you probably could make smaller buns and make more. 

Step 5: Stick it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. 

Step 6: Take them out of the oven and let them sit for about 2 minutes. After that, enjoy a bite into those awesome buns of cauliflower. Haha!

American baked?

This is not French and it’s not fried, so should we call it American baked? 

I am giving everyone my homemade baked french fry recipe. 

IT IS MY JAM (not the jelly kind, the cool kind. Haha)!!!

The best part about this is you can’t tell that they are baked because they are still golden brown and crispy. 

MIND BLOWN!

Without further ado, here is my baked french fry recipe: 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium russet potato
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Half tsp minced onion
• Half tsp garlic powder
• Basil
• Salt & Pepper

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Take out a baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil. Make sure you spray the aluminum foil with non-stick spray (I use coconut).   

Step 2: Wash the potato. I like to keep the skin on because I like the taste of it but that is up to you. Cut the potato in half (short ways) then into quarters (long ways), then into slices. Stick all of the cut pieces of potato in a bowl.

Step 3: Put all of the spices into the bowl with the potato slices and pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil on top. Mix until all of the potato pieces are covered and then dump the fries on the baking sheet.

Step 4: Line up the fries evenly on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other (if they are, they will steam each other and it will take longer to cook). 

Step 5: Stick them in the oven for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes are up, take them out of the oven and flip them. Put them back into the oven for another 10 minutes. 

Step 6: Take them out and let them cool down for about 2 minutes. Then enjoy the crunch of the delicious baked french fries.

Slurp up Some Warm & Cozy

The squash season seems to never end and I LOVE IT!!!

A few days ago I decided to make butternut squash soup, but I didn’t want to cook it on the stove. So, slow cooker butternut squash soup it was. 

Here is my recipe and I must say, it would be an excellent appetizer for Christmas dinner!

Ingredients:

• Butternut squash
• Granny smith apple
• Yellow onion
• 3 to 4 carrots
• 2 cups of vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• Nutmeg 
• Cinnamon
• Salt & Pepper
• Ground Sage

Tools: 

• Slow cooker
• Hand Blender or Blender

Step 1: Take out the slow cooker and clean it.

Step 2: Chop up everything from butternut squash to carrots and toss them in the slow cooker.

Step 3: Add the vegetable broth, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and ground sage to the slow cooker and mix it.

Step 4: Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. 

Step 5: After the 4 hours, use a hand blender (if you don’t have one, use a regular blender) to blend all of the ingredients together, and pour in the coconut milk. 

Step 6: Enjoy the delicious greatness!

Not Your Normal Mashed Potatoes

We're going to keep the mash a little lighter and use cauliflower. You heard that right everyone. Mashed Cauliflower!

Not just any mashed cauliflower, I’m about to give you my mashed cauliflower gratin.

If your kids aren't big veggie fans, this is a great trick (Shhhhh!! Don’t tell them). They won’t be able to tell the difference.

Here we go people, my mashed cauliflower gratin recipe:

Ingredients:

Cauliflower

Parmesan cheese

Panko

Almond milk

Olive oil

Salt

Tools:

Food Pressor (If you don’t have one, you can use a potato masher or fork)

Deep dish pan

Step 1: Cut the cauliflower into florets and toss them into a pot of boiling water for roughly around for 15 minutes or until fork tender. Set some florets to the side and finely chop them for the topping.

Step 2: Time to make the topping while the cauliflower is cooking. On a baking sheet or a large surface, combine the raw florets (finely chopped), about 1/2 cup of panko, 1/4 of parmesan cheese, salt, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Mix it around and admire your topping.

Step 3: Set your oven at 400 degrees for the upcoming step. Then put the cooked cauliflower into the food processor. Add salt, 1/8 cup of parmesan cheese, and about 1/4 of almond milk. Pulse it until all of the cauliflower is mashed and it looks like mashed potatoes. 

Step 4: Transfer the mashed cauliflower to a deep dish pan. Add the topping to the mashed cauliflower and spread it around until it is even. Toss it in the oven for about 20 min (if you are really short on time, put the oven on broil and leave the gratin in until the top is golden brown).

Step 5: Take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 2mins to cool down. Serve when ready! BOOM!!!

Got Almonds?!

Almond milk that is….

Victoria and I usually have at least 96 ounces of almond milk ready to go. Not kidding. We love the stuff! This is a great option for those that are lactose intolerant and it’s low in fat. 

Fun fact: it also contains minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc. Woohoo!

Ingredients:

Almonds

Water

Dates (Optional) 

Vanilla extract (Optional)

Salt

Tools:

Blender

Strainer

Cheese Cloth (If you don’t have one, paper towels work perfectly) 

Large bowl

Step 1: Soak a cup of almonds in a bowl of water for 8-48 hours. Make sure the almonds are completely covered by the water.

Step 2: Pour the almonds into the strainer and get rid of all the water. You may notice that the almonds look bigger. 

Step 3: Put the almonds in the blender. Measure out 4 cups of water and pour in (for every cup of almonds, you would use 4 cups of water).

Step 4: Technically, those are the only ingredients you need but I like to sweeten it up a little. If you do too, add two dates and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with a pinch of salt (Don’t forget to remove the pits from the dates).

Step 5: Blend on low for 1 minute. As that is blending, grab your large bowl, strainer, and cheese cloth (or paper towels). Put the strainer on top of the large bowl (this will catch any almonds that might slip out of the cheese cloth) and lay the cheese cloth on top of the strainer. 

Step 6: Once the almonds are all blended, take the blender over to your station and slowly pour the almond milk onto the cheese cloth (the cloth or paper towel should catch all of the chopped almonds). Pick up the corners of the cloth and squeeze out the milk and throw away the almonds. You might have to do this a few times to get all the almond milk out.

Step 7: My favorite step! Enjoy the frothy almondy goodness. Maybe, even with a puppy. Haha! Just kidding! I promise we really don’t give him almond milk.

DO THIS in order to be SUPER!!!

If the squat, deadlift, overhead press, and pull-up are the compound movements, then I would consider the TGU (Turkish Get-up) a SUPER compound movement. Ha! Here are a few reasons why...

Reason #1:

This is a full body movement that starts from the ground. Think about this for a second; it takes your whole body to work together to get you up off the floor to a standing position under resistance. Most folks are really surprised by how challenging this can be, including many athletes like bodybuilders, olympic lifters, and powerlifters.

Reason #2:

Great shoulder mobility and stability is needed. During the TGU, the load is in the overhead position. Your entire shoulder complex has to be activated to keep the kettlebell as still as possible and dynamically staying perpendicular to the floor.

Reason #3:

Your lower body strength must be legit. As you press off the floor in the beginning of the TGU, you must drive through your heels to create power and keep your legs from floundering up into the air. You then require leg strength going into a glute bridge followed by a lunge position. 

Need I say more why this should be in your exercise program? The benefits go way beyond this list, so give it a try (without weight first), and experience the super and SUPERIOR benefits of the TGU!

Why Did They Let the Turkey Join the Band?

….Because he had the drumsticks. HAHA!! I crack myself up.

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, a time for family & friends, and LOTS of food!!! I’m kind of excited because I love to eat. 

Who doesn’t?!

The best part about all the food (for me at least) is definitely the sides. I’m here to give you my turkey bacon brussels sprouts recipe. This one might turn some heads at thanksgiving. 

Normally there’s so much rich, calorically-dense food on the table, that it’s a great idea to have something more fibrous and green, but also appealing.

Ingredients:

2 and half pounds of Brussel sprouts

1 large Onion (chopped)

4-6 Slices of turkey bacon

Olive oil

Thyme (optional)

Salt & Pepper (For Taste)

Lemon Juice (Optional)

Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to boil and cut the brussels sprouts in half.

Step 2: Once the water boils, toss in the brussels sprouts for about 3-5min or until slightly tender.

Step 3: While the brussels sprouts are boiling, cook the turkey bacon until slightly brown in a large pan on medium heat.

Step 4: Take the bacon out and set aside. In the same pan, toss in a teaspoon of olive oil and chopped onion, stirring often.

Step 5: Once the onions are slightly soft, lower the heat and toss in the brussels sprouts. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Mix all together and taste.

Step 6: Once the brussels sprouts are tender, mix in the turkey bacon and lemon juice. 

Step 7: Enjoy the deliciouso-in-your-bellyoso!

What Kind of Socks Do You Need to Plant Squash?

…Garden Hose! Get it?!!

When you look at certain variations of squash (by the way, did you know there are more than 50 variations of squash) are you unsure how to eat it? You might say, “What the heck am I supposed to do with that?!” or “That doesn’t even fit on my counter!” Haha!

There are technically two types of squash, summer and winter squash. More popular types of summer squash include: yellow zucchini, crookneck squash, and Cocozella Di Napoli (Italian heirloom zucchini).

The most well known types of winter squash include: acorn squash, butternut squash, and kabocha squash (sweet with a mild nutty flavor). 

Today I am going to show you how to prepare one of our favorites, an acorn squash. It is soooo easy it will blow your mind. 

Ingredients:

-acorn squash

-olive oil (you can use coconut oil if you want to make it sweeter)

-salt & pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Step 2: Wash the acorn squash and dry it

Step 3: Cut the top of the acorn squash to get rid of the stem so it’s easier to handle

Step 4: Cut the acorn squash down the center from the bottom

Step 5: Take out all the seeds and guts (you can use the seeds for a later time)

Step 6: Score the acorn squash vertically and horizontally. Score simply means to cut a line on the surface of what you’re cooking. I do this to allow the oil to get all the way through

Step 7: Rub the olive oil all over the acorn squash (except the skin) and season with salt and pepper

Step 8: Place it in the oven for 1 hour

Step 9: My favorite part. TIME TO CHOW DOWN ON SOME GRUB!!!

YUM!

I’M ON A CAULIFLOWER KICK!

For the past few months, I don’t know what has come over me but I just have caught the cauliflower cooking bug. Haha! 

Today I am going to share my cauliflower cous cous recipe. If you are looking for more quantity out of your food, give this a try. For every 100 grams of cauliflower, their is 10 grams of carbohydrates. 

Yup, that is true! So, without further a do, here is my cauliflower cous cous recipe.

Tools:

-Food Processor (or if you don’t have one, use a cheese grader) 

-Pan

Ingredients:

-Cauliflower

-Garlic cloves

-Olive oil

-Bone or chicken broth

-Basil

-Salt & Pepper

Step 1: Wash the cauliflower and get rid of all the leafs

Step 2: Cut the cauliflower into small pieces (so you can fit it into the food processor or it’s easy for you to handle with the cheese grader)

Step 3: Take the food processor (or cheese grader) and place it by your station and slowly start to grade or feed it through the food processor (if you are using the food processor, make sure you are using the blade with the smaller holes)

Step 4: Put a pan on a stove over medium heat with about 2 or 3 teaspoons.

Step 5: Chop up the garlic cloves and toss it in the olive oil. 

Step 6: Wait until the garlic starts to sizzle or slightly brown and then toss in the desired amount of cous cous. 

Step 7: Put 1/4 cup of bone or chicken broth in the cous cous and mix it around. 

Step 8: Add basil, salt, and pepper. Then let it sit for about 2min or until hot and most of the moisture is out (it still will be slightly moist)

Step 9: Enjoy the AWESOMENESS!!!

Cauliflower Steak Anyone?

Let’s be realistic, there is actually no steak in cauliflower steak. Sorry to let you down so soon, but let’s just get that out of the way. Cauliflower is a great substitution for high carb ingredients like dough, cous cous, or mashed potatoes. 

Technically you could get cauliflower all year long, but the best season for it is in the spring. It falls into the cabbage family and it is more difficult to plant than most of the cabbages just due to the fact that it can’t handle climates that are too hot or cold. So, if you were thinking of planting any cauliflower, start planning to plant the seeds in the spring and keep the temperature around 60 degrees. If not, it will bloom too fast. 

Without further a-do here is the recipe for my cauliflower steak.

So here are the ingredients you need:

-Head of cauliflower

-Lime

-Lemon

-Olive oil

-Garlic clove

-Paprika

-Salt

Step 1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Step 2. In a bowl pour in some olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, and crushed garlic (you can use garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic). Mix it and leave it to the side. 

Step 3. Wash your cauliflower and take off the leaves at the stem.

Step 4. Put a skillet on the stove at medium heat.

Step 5. Cut the cauliflower in half and then cut 1” slices all the way through the stem (the stem will keep the cauliflower together. Without it, it will crumble). 

Step 6. Wipe one side of the cauliflower with the olive oil mixture and season with paprika and salt. 

Step 7. Put a little bit of olive oil in the skillet and slowly put the seasoned side of the cauliflower face down. Cook each side for 6 minutes. 

Step 8. Season the unseasoned side of the cauliflower in the skillet the same way you did before. 

Step 9.  Flip cauliflower and let it sit for another 6 minutes.

Step 10. Take out a baking sheet and spray the pain with non-stick spray (we use Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray but you can use whatever is available). 

Step 11. Take the cauliflower off the skillet and place it on the baking sheet. Cover it with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 12. Remove the cauliflower steaks from the oven. Uncover it and let it sit for 2 minutes to cool down.

Step 13. Enjoy the GREATNESS!!!

The Difference Between Knee and Hip Dominant Exercise

When it comes to exercise selection, lower body movements can for the most part be split into two different categories: knee dominant or hip dominant. Some exercises can be a little trickier to categorize. No worries, I have an idea that might help.

Look at a lower body exercise from the side; you can see which joint is flexing the most (either the knee or hip). You would choose knee dominant if you are working on quad development. For example: squat, lunges, front squats, etc. You can also check out the angle of your torso versus the angle of your tibia (shin) to tell the difference as well. All of these knee dominant exercises will have your torso more vertical and your tibia more angled. Below are a few videos to help.

Hip dominant (glute dominant) will allow your hip to flex more in the exercise. You would choose this if you are working on glute development. For example: deadlifts, 45 degree raise, Romanian deadlifts, etc. But if you look at your torso and tibia, the torso will be angled more and the tibia will be more vertical. Check out the videos below to understand a little bit more. 

Now, could you make some knee dominant exercises more hip dominant and vice versa? You bet! Examples: lunges, step ups, hip extensions, etc. Always use your hips to angle the torso and keep an eye out on your shin to see if its vertical or not. Take a look at these videos to differentiate.

Normally a split squat is knee dominant. If you notice, Christine, is using the rings to make it more hip dominant by pushing her hips back and make her shine more vertical.

Walking lunges tend to be more knee dominant. As you can see here, angling my torso and keeping the shin more vertical can allow the movement to be more hip dominant. 

I hope this helped. If you are looking for more lower body videos, check out our youtube channel. Now, go get your lower body on! It will thank you. HAHA!

My Secret Chicken Recipe

Some people love to bake their chicken. Some like to put it into the slow cooker. I’m the kind of guy that likes to make his chicken as juicy as possible, in whatever method works. I found this recipe on youtube but then added my own twist to it. I’m not kidding, it’s like butter when it comes out. HALLELUJAH! So without further ado, here is my secret chicken recipe that is not so secret. Enjoy!

1) Lay out all of your spices and chicken (of course). Normally I use my favorite spice from Trader Joe's, BBQ coffee spice rub. But unfortunately, I ran out :( so today I used a different poultry rub.

Laying it all out

2) Put two oven safe pans on the stove on low heat and pre heat your oven to low broil.

Low Broil and low heat on pans

3) Place all of the chicken into a large mixing bowl, use whatever spices your heart desires, and mix away.

Chicken time!

Spicing it up

Happy times

4) Put two teaspoons of coconut oil to coat each pan and swirl it around to make sure you don’t miss any spots. 

Here comes the coconut oil

Swirl!

5) Now it’s time to put the chicken on the pans folks. As you put the chicken on the pans, make sure the smooth part is facing down and you roll the chicken away from you. This will prevent any splatter from the oil. Once all of the chicken is on the pans, turn the heat up to medium heat.

Rolling the chicken away from me

6) Make sure the chicken has a golden brown color and then flip it. To flip it, use a fork, tongs, or whatever you have available.

Golden!

7) Wait until the other side is golden brown as well, then put it in the oven for about 5-10min.

8) Take it out and cut into the chicken or push down onto the chicken to see if it is cooked. When you push down onto the chicken, it should feel like the bottom part of your palm (closer to your thumb).

Woohoo! It's done!

Juicy!

9) My favorite part, enjoy all the juiciness from the AWESOMENESS!

End result.

“Is Prepping Food REALLY That Difficult?”

A lot of people tend to shy away from food preparation because they feel it would take up too much time. Well…I’m here to see to it that I can convince you other wise (in a snooty Downton Abby British accent). Haha! Here are a few cool tips that have helped me and my awesome clients.

Choose one specific day or a few designated times in the week to cook all of your meals. For instance, if you choose Sunday’s, cook all of your chicken, put together all of your salads in tupperware’s, bake all of your starches in the oven, and you are ready to go for the week ahead. BOOM! If you would like to spread out your days so it doesn’t take as long, you can choose to cook on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This will eliminate cooking so much on one day and have fresher meals prepared. 

Sweet Potato Wedges

Chicken for the week

If you want to cook everything else but not your proteins, thats easy too! Try a slow cooker. Here’s what I suggest: before you go to bed, place chicken/turkey cutlets, etc. into a slow cooker with broth and spices of your choice. Once you wake up in the morning, you have juicy protein ready to eat (it’s almost like the texture of pulled pork). 

Take ziploc bags or containers of food with you to work. Personally, I use coconut or olive oil on my salads as dressing. If I want more acid I’ll add lemon or lime juice. I’ll put it in a small container and use it later. It’s an easy way to incorporate fats into your everyday adventure. In addition to that, I also put almonds, walnuts, or sunflower seeds in a bag, to add a little crunch to some of my meals.

Coconut oil and Coconut Spray

These are just a few simple tips but the big one is this, YOU SAVE A TON OF MONEY $$$$! In NYC, the average dinner at a restaurant could cost you $150, even without drinks. If you choose to grocery shop once or twice a week, that could be the cost of one week’s worth of food. WOOHOO!!! Saving money and time, who doesn’t want that?! It’s a no brainer. Try to meal prep just for a few weeks and let me know if you can see the changes in your life.

“Is Sitting the New Smoking?”

Come on! Really? Could this statement possibly be true? A lot of recent research has been done to evaluate the health risks of a sedentary lifestyle. Well…here is the jist of it. 

Let’s start with the body position. About 80% of americans have desk jobs or a job that requires you to sit for a long period of time. And when I say long time, I’m talking close to 12 to 14 hours a day. HOLY MOLY BATMAN (in the Robin voice)! Due to gravity pushing you down onto the chair, your spine is experiencing more compressive force than if you were standing with your muscles engaged to hold you up. Leaning over to type on the computer is exaggerating the kyphotic curve in your upper back which adds unnecessary pressure to your organs and limits lung capacity for breathing. And last but not least, increased tightness in your hip flexors, glutes, quads, upper back, and chest, which can lead to discomfort and injury. This is just a look from the outside.

What about the inside? Ok! Lets get geeky! “According to science writer Gretchen Reynolds, a recent Swedish study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that when you sit all day, your telomeres (the tiny caps on the ends of DNA strands) get shorter, which, you can imagine, is not a good thing. As telomeres get shorter, the rate at which the body ages and decays speeds up. Conversely, the study found “that the telomeres in [those] who were sitting the least had lengthened. Their cells seemed to be growing physiologically younger.” The shortening of DNA strands could lead to diabetes, heart disease, and possibly shorten your life span. 

So how do you prevent this from happening? Here are a few simple tips to try during the week:

• Set an alarm every 30-60 minutes to get up and move (the more you move, the less compressed your joints will be and the happier your body will feel).
• If your company can supply it, request a stand up desk. This is a great alternative to a regular desk. There are tons of unique options.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Optimally we would all average 10,000 steps per day. Use those two legs!
• Arrange your desk so you can sit in the correct anatomical position. Move your desktop/laptop high enough so you’re not rounding forward towards the screen and close enough to you that so your spine remains neutral while you type.

These are just some simple changes to your everyday work-life that could add years to your life.