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!

Kesto!

Basil pesto, puh-leassse!  Let’s spice this sucker up by using kale instead. Kale pesto.

I know what you’re thinking, GENIUS! Ill be honest, it wasn’t my idea. It was my mother in-law’s. She is the mad scientist behind this recipe. We’re also using walnuts instead of pine nuts.

Kale is wonderful for so many reasons. It’s highly rich in antioxidants, high in fiber, high in iron, high in vitamin K and vitamin A, has anti-inflammatory properties, etc. 

Let’s just say IT’S REALLY GREAT FOR YOU!

Without further a-do here is the best kale pesto (aka kesto) recipe:

Tools:

- Food processor or food blender

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups of Kale
• 1/4 Cup of Walnuts (Chopped)
• 2 Cloves ofChopped Garlic
• 2/3 Cup of Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup of Grated Cheese

Step 1: In a food processor toss in the kale, walnuts, and garlic. Blend them together until all of the kale & walnuts are finely chopped

Step 2: Pour in half of the olive oil and blend for about 30s. Then toss in the rest of the olive oil and blend again.

Step 3: Lastly, put in the grated cheese and blend. Here comes the best part, put it on whatever you would like. Ha! It is SO GOOD!! Enjoy it! 

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.

The Delicious Delicata Squash

Out of all the squashes, I think this is our favorite. 

It is the easiest to prepare and it has a slight nutty taste with a little bit of crunch from the skin. NUM NUM’S!!!

Here is my delicata squash recipe:

Ingredients:

-Delicata squash

-1 Tsp Olive oil

-Salt & Peper

Step 1: Pre heat the oven to 420 degrees and put aluminum foil on top of a non-stick baking sheet. 

Step 2: Wash your delicata squash and cut the ends off.

Step 3: Cut the delicata squash in half and scoop out all the seeds.

Step 4: Cut the delicata squash into 1/2 inch pieces (they should look like stars).

Step 5: Place the pieces onto the baking sheet and sprinkle salt & pepper and drizzle the olive oil. Mix it all around until each piece is completely covered.

Step 6: Separate them on the baking sheet, so they are not touching each other and stick it in the oven for 12 mins. 

Step 7: Once the 12 mins are up, take them out of the oven and flip them (it should have a slight char or brownness to the side that was down). Put them back into the oven for another 12 mins. 

Step 8: Take them out and let it sit for about 2min. Then, it’s time for my favorite part. TIME TO CHOW DOWN!!

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!

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!!!

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!