Les Mills Combat: The Battle Begins Monday!

I think everytime I get a package from Beachbody in the mail its like Christmas for me. No, really, it is! I guess I just get excited to start something new, especially when it comes to working out, so I was happy to get my Les Mills Combat package in the mail this week!

I ordered the "Ultimate Warrior" package which came with 4 additional workouts above what you would get in the base package. It also comes with training gloves, and a bonus workout because I ordered through a Beachbody coach (me - haha).

I had decided to give myself a week off from working out after my last race. There is no real rationale behind this other than the fact my body was super tired. So I used this past week to take a lot of walks, do some stretching, and get prepped for LM Combat!

I went over the workout schedule and decided that Sunday will be my day off from LM Combat. I still want to keep my running up as well, so I will be running 3 days a week, most likely Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday. Lastly, I went over the meal plan so I could get things prepped for the week.

Instead of giving several recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Snacks, the LM Combat nutrition guide defines portion sizes for food groups like starches, legumes, veggies, fruits, proteins & fat. The nutrition guide also lays out how many servings of each you need to eat for the day as well as a estimated calorie goal you should hit by eating the correct amount of each food group. This is a different approach than other Beachbody programs I've done, but I think it will give me more flexibility. The nutrition guide did include some sample recipes to give you some ideas.

Here is my mix:

Week 1 is a 7-day "Metabolic Jump-Start" where you eat a lower-calorie diet than for the remainder of the program. I took some time to organize my meal plan for the week. I believe that I mentioned this before, but I often repeat meals & snacks. Because I work & go to school, I'm short on time and it is just easier for me to cook in bulk & repeat meals!

Here is a snapshot of my Week 1 eating plan. I alternate between the two days to fill out the week:
Day 1
Breakfast - Tofu Scramble w/an orange
Snack 1 - Shakeology
Lunch - Brown Rice Bowl
Snack 2 - Ricecake w/Tofurkey slices and Strawberries
Dinner - Spicy Tomato & Lentil Soup

Day 2
Breakfast - Quinoa & Broccoli pilaf w/Toast & an orange
Snack 1 - Shakeology
Lunch - Avocado, Tempeh & Almond Salad
Snack 2 - Ricecake w/Tofurkey slices and Strawberries
Dinner - Southwestern Chick'n Salad

I think that is it for now. I will check in tomorrow with a report on how the first workout goes!

♥L

Black Bean Burgers

A friend of mine has decreed I should start posting recipes of the food I post pictures of and make people drool all over Facebook and IG. As I mentioned yesterday, I had a bunch of black beans left over from Thanksgiving and decided to make some burgers from scratch. I used the recipe in Veganomicon as start and played around with it a bit to make my burgers:

These were actually pretty easy to make & cook up quick. A much healthier & cheaper alternative to veggie burgers offered on the market!

Black Bean Burgers
2 c cooked black beans (or 1 15oz can)
1/2c flour (I used a little less)
1/2c bread crumbs
1 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp smoke paprika
1/4 - 1/2 c water
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic

1. Mash up the beans using a fork or potato masher until only a few whole beans remain
2. Add flour, bread crumbs, spices, 1/4c water, tomato paste & garlic
3. Mix everything together first with a fork and then knead with your hands. Add more water if the mixture feels too dry
4. Heat 2tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan.
5. Divide the mixture into 6 balls and then press flat to make a patty
6. Cook burgers, 3 at a time, for 5 min on each side

See, simple! While I was making these, I had some "Ranch Potatoes" in the oven. Its a variation on something my dad used to make. Basically you cut up a bag of baby red skin potatoes, add ranch dressing until they are just coated, and also add 1/2 packet of lipton onion soup mix (dry). Shake it all up in a bag to make sure the potatoes are well coated. Then you bake them for about an hour at 350 degrees on a flat baking sheet. Of course, I don't eat ranch dressing anymore - but I make my own vegan version!

Vegan Ranch Dressing
1 c vegan mayo
1/2c almond milk (or less, if you like your dressing thicker)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
garlic powder
pepper
salt
dill
parsley

Mix the mayo, milk, and vinegar together until you get a dressing consistency you are happy with. I kind of wing it with the spices usually, but you won't want to use more than 1tsp of anything.  I like my dressing to be more dill-y and garlic-y so I add more of that, but just find a balance you like!

It is best to let the dressing sit for an hour or two before using, to let the flavors come together, but if you can't wait, that is ok too!

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I hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday. The weather is still great here, so I took my dog for a long walk & then did some yoga for my workout today!

Stay Positive,
L ♥

Experimenting in the Kitchen

I took some vacation time this week from work since I had a few more days to use before the end of the year. With my extra free time I've been able to sleep in, go to the gym with Jon (a nice change from going by myself) and do something I love - experiment in the kitchen!

Being a vegetarian since early college, and more recently a vegan, I can't tell you how many times I've heard "so where do you get your protein?" Depending on my mood you'll get a sarcastic or informative answer! Truth is, I have no issues getting enough protein from my diet, because I eat a variety of whole foods. Yes, protein makes up a lower % of my calories as opposed to protein or carb percentages, but I promise I am in no danger of a protein deficiency!

When I am working out and trying to build muscle, I will include a protein smoothie into my eating plan. Sometimes though I would love to EAT my protein and not DRINK it...especially in the cooler, winter months. Enter the protein waffle. I first heard of these through Jon, who gets a powder mix for waffles from an bodybuilding store, adds water, and boom - protein waffle. I've also seen other people on Instagram make protein waffles/pancakes, but had never tried myself.

If you know me, you know I bake from scratch. The same applies to waffles/pancakes - I haven't used an Aunt Jemima mix in years. So I just had to figure out how to tweak my own recipe in order to get the right consistency of the batter with the inclusion of my vegan protein powder. My final inspiration came from the blog The Guiltless Life.

Ta-Da!

This was a chocolate chip protein waffle with a peanut butter sauce & bananas. Yum! I found the waffle to be a little sweet (I think from the Stevia) and I had to use a lot more almond milk than what TGL calls for. Next time I think I will omit the Stevia and this should be perfect! I used Vega Sport Vanilla protein powder as my protein of choice - vanilla goes with anything!

Jon and I rented some movies to watch over the long weekend so I thought I would make a snack for us to enjoy while we watched. Remember this post? I love the mix of sweet - salty - crunchy but the marshmallows were a little overwhelming to me. Smaller marshmallows or bigger chunks of chocolate may balance the mix better, but I thought I would try a rice krispie treat concept this time around.

Mega RK Treat!

I think my balance of marshmallow to other ingredients was still unbalanced, but it was a step in the right direction. The cinnamon flavor from the cinnamon toast crunch really pops in this mix! A great evening/movie snack. I ended up rolling the mix into a log and cutting into individual pieces for grab-and-go convenience.

Today my plans include taking advantage of the mild weather we are having here and going for my long run OUTSIDE!! I can't believe it's December 1st and we are getting into the 50s today. Also, I have some black beans left over from Thanksgiving cooking so I'm going to try to make some homemade burgers from those to eat tonight & also freeze for later. I will post on how that experiment goes later!

Stay Positive,
L♥

Beachbody Ultimate Reset - Day 22: Life After the Reset

Day 22! I graduated! First of all I want to give a shout out to my support team, Hazel, Katie, and Sean - without y'all I would have thrown the towel in early on! Thanks for being rockstars :)

I am meeting with my personal trainer later this week and after that I will be able to post all of my final results. I like to have her measure me since so that the measurements are consistent. I can't wait to share my final results & before/after pics! Ok, maybe I'm not super thrilled about the 'before' pictures but hopefully sharing my story will inspire others to take on a health challenge of their own. That's what its all about - sharing the information I have gained & hopefully inspiring others to do the same!

To be honest, I was a little nervous about going into this week. The UR guide gives general ideas of what to do in weeks 1, 2, etc after the reset but I was so worried about undoing all the hard-work I have done the past 21 days! I am also gearing up for starting a TurboFire/Chalean Extreme hybrid program, and want to make sure I am incorporating the optimum combination of fat/protein/carbs. Anyways, here is what I ate today!

Started off the day with some steel cut oats with 1/2 a banana, agave nectar, and cinnamon. This was my first try of steel cut oats and I give them a thumbs up! I made enough for my parents and I since I was home for the holiday weekend. They are looking to shake up their eating habits so it was great to be able to share this meal with them! They also got to see me prepare some of the UR meals this weekend - and liked the idea of eating less foods that are processed! How cool!

Hearty Breakfast

My fiance and I were going to go out to lunch today to celebrate the end of the Reset. In the plan they say if you have to eat out, find a vegan/vegetarian restaurant because these types of places will be most likely to accommodate your dietary needs. That works for me - I have lots of favorite vegan restaurants in and around Detroit (where I was visiting this weekend). Unfortunately they were ALL closed for the holiday - all 3 of my favorites! Instead, I decided just to make my favorite meal from one of the restaurants - Enchiladas Calabaza. These enchiladas are squash or pumpkin filled and seriously are so yummy! I have made this dish before, but never when I was vegan. I was able to find Daiya (the best vegan cheese!) to make this dish completely vegan friendly!

Enchiladas Calabaza

Lastly dinner - and a tip! I find cooking to go much smoother if you just have everything prepped and ready to go. This way, you won't be scrambling around for missing ingredients while your creation is burning on the stove-top.

Let's do this.

Today's dinner was pretty simple, I was really just craving some fresh veggies! I did a stir-fry with broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, and red pepper. I used about a tablespoon of coconut oil to caramelize some onions, added the veggies with some garlic & ginger and then finished it off with Bragg's & Nori Gomasio! All done in about 7 minutes!

Stir-fry Veggies

 Be sure to check back tomorrow - my Reset Graduation present to myself is scheduled to arrive! I can't wait :)
I hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend and that you were able to spend some time with family and friends! Most of all thanks to those who have served so we can enjoy all the freedoms of this great country we live in. I am PROUD to be an American!

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Interested in Beachbody's Ultimate Reset? For more information click here!
http://myultimatereset.com/LauraLou831