Raw Recipe of the Week: Avocado Lettuce Wraps

This is my fave lunch/dinner as of late and it's so easy!



Ingredients:

1/2 avocado
1/2 cup shredded beet or red cabbage or both
1/2 cup shredded carrots
alfalfa sprouts
1 tomato chopped or sliced

Crisp romaine lettuce

Wrap up first 5 ingredients in romaine lettuce and enjoy! You can also drizzle a little of you favorite Raw dressing inside or just a little olive/flax/hemp oil. These are so easy to whip up in a hurry. A lot of times I'll just grab whatever veggies I have in my fridge and throw them in lettuce and eat up!

Nicole

Clean Eating Recipe of the Week: Chili Chicken Kabobs

I thought this would be a great summer meal idea for all of the Clean Eating men out there! This recipe is from The Eat-Clean Diet for Men™. Pick up your copy today! Yield: 4 kabobs
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 - 15 minutes


Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp / 45 ml best-quality olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp / 22 ml balsamic vinegar
• Juice of one fresh lime
• 1 tsp / 5 ml chili powder
• 1/2 tsp / 2 1/2 ml paprika
• 1 large onion, chopped into thick pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 1 tsp / 5 ml cayenne pepper
• Sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb / 454 g boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 inch / 4-cm pieces

NOTE: Use pork, beef or bison tenderloin, or turkey as alternative kabob meats. A sturdy, meaty fish such as salmon works well
here too.


Preparation:

1. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Season with chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and pressed garlic.

2. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with the sauce and stir to coat.

3. Preheat the grill to medium high. Thread the chicken onto the skewers, alternating with chopped onion pieces. Discard the marinade.

4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the skewers for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.

TOSCA'S TIP: When grilling kabobs, group foods with similar cooking times. Cut meats, veggies or fruit into a uniform size: 1 1/2 inches / 4 cm works well.


Nutritional Value for One Kabob:

Calories: 186 Calories from Fat: 75 Total Fat: 8.5 g Saturated Fat: 1 g
Total Carbs: 6 g Fiber: 1 g Protein: 25 g Sodium: 334 mg Cholesterol: 61 mg

Workouts in Review- Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism

What is it?

Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism is one of two new workouts from Jillian Michaels. This is a 55-minute bootcamp based, cardio workout and it is intense! Who knew using your own body weight could challenge you this much? The cardio segments include non-dancy, athletic moves like kickboxing, jacks and plyometric jumps. I have to admit I wasn't expecting much from this workout but I was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked my whole body.

Who is it for?

This workout is considered intermediate/advanced and I would agree with the rating. Although some of the moves could be modified, the workout never stops moving so you're going to be sweating a lot! It would definitely challenge even a seasoned exerciser.

What to expect:

The choreography in this workout is easy to follow. Since the workout is more bootcamp style there really isn't "choreography" to speak of, just basic moves kicked up a notch. There are 8 circuits each of which are done 2 times through. The second time through the circuit you're supposed to work as hard as you can for maximum results. Jillian is a no-nonsense instructor and I really enjoy her teaching style. This is a great addition to my cardio workout library.

Click HERE for a clip.

Click HERE for another clip.

Click HERE to purchase both workouts at 50% off. This price also enrolls you in her weight loss program which you can cancel at any time.

Stay tuned for a review of Jillian's 2nd workout No More Trouble Zones.

Workouts in Action: 30-Minute Total Body Burn

It's summer and for most of us that means we need shorter workouts. Of course, we still want to get the most bang for our buck and this is the perfect workout for that. This is my go to, in a crunch workout. This workout is easy to modify and takes minimal space and equipment. The best part is, you can do it virtually anywhere. I hope you all get plenty of use out of these moves during the warm summer months:)

• Intermediate/Advanced: Perform each exercise one after the other, resting when you need to.
• Warm up with a few minutes of light cardio or light versions of each exercise.
• Complete 1 circuit for a short workout, or go through the series 2 to 3 more times for a more challenging workout.
• If you don't have weights, use whatever is handy (water bottles, soup cans, etc.) or use no weights and add reps if you need more intensity
• Modify the workout as needed, and avoid any exercises that cause pain or that are confusing.
• See your doctor if you have any medical conditions, illnesses or injuries.

Are you ready to go? Then let's get started:

1. Squats with Overhead Press Holding medium-heavy weights just over the shoulders, squat as low as you can and do 3 slow pulses, only coming halfway up. On the fourth pulse, stand up and push the weights overhead. Repeat the series for 12 to 16 reps.

2. Plyo-Jacks Begin with feet together and jump up, taking feet out to the side while circling arms overhead and land in a squat. Jump up and bring feet back together, circling arms back in. This is just like a slow jumping jack, but really use power when pushing up into the jumps. Repeat for 30 to 60 seconds.

3. Wall Sit with Chest Squeeze Squeezing a medicine ball (or any other type of ball, dumbbell, or even a pillow), slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold this position and keep pressure on the ball as your straighten the arms out in front of you and slowly pull them back in. Repeat the chest squeezes in and out for 12 to 16 reps, and then stand up.

4. Front Kick with Squat Lower into a squat and, as you press up, kick out with the right leg. Repeat, squatting and kicking with the left leg. Continue alternating squats and kicks for 1 minute.

5. Walking Lunges with Lateral Raises Step right foot forward into a lunge and, with elbows bent to 90 degrees, lift the arms up to shoulder level while holding light/medium dumbbells. Step in, lower the arms and repeat on the other foot. Continue walking lunges and lateral raises for 12 reps on each side.

6. Plyo-Lunge Begin in a lunge position and jump up, switching the feet in the air, landing with the other foot forward in a lunge. Repeat for 30 seconds, rest and do it for 30 seconds more.

7. Low Lunges

This is a different take on the traditional lunge. Begin in a split stance, but with the feet closer together than in a lunge. Tip from the hips, keeping the back straight, chest up and lunge down, taking weights towards the floor on either side of the front foot. Keeping weight in the front foot, push halfway up and repeat for 16 reps, keeping the movement small and the weight on the front foot. Switch sides.

8. Plyo Jacks Begin with feet together and jump up, taking feet out to the side, landing in a low squat. Jump up and bring feet back together (a very slow jumping jack). Swing your arms overhead to add intensity. Do this move for 30 seconds, rest for a few seconds, and repeat for another 30 seconds. (This is a tough one!)

9. Pushups on the Ball This is a very challenging move, targeting both balance and strength. Hold the ball wherever feels most comfortable to you (you could even prop it against a wall if needed) and lower down until the chest touches the ball. Repeat for 12 to 16 reps. If you don't like this move, do regular pushups.

10. Squat Thrusts Stand with feet together. Squat down and place your hands on the floor next to your feet. In an explosive movement, jump feet backwards into a push-up position, jump feet back between hands and stand up. To add intensity, you can jump up instead of just coming to a standing position. Perform 6 reps, briefly recover, repeat 6 more times. March in place to lower the heart rate before the last exercise.

11. Plank Support the body on the elbows and toes, keeping the back straight and that abs engaged (don't sag in the middle). Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds. Okay, now let's do it all over again! Get moving! Nicole

Remember Why We are Able to Celebrate Our Freedom

Thank you to all of our men and women who sacrifice daily to protect our country and keep it free!

We can never show you how much we appreciate your service, THANK YOU!

Attention Tosac Reno/Clean Eating Fans!!!

Clean Eating buffs out there, I wanted to let you know that Tosca has a new TV series that started on June 6th. The eight-part unscripted Flexing at 49 follows Reno at home and in the gym as she prepares for the final bodybuilding competition of her career.

The unfortunate part is that we cannot view it here in The States. To let the producers know you want to see it here e-mail them: we.want.tosca@upfront.ca

I would love to see the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to be at the top of your game even if you're 49!

See a clip HERE.

Thanks for taking the time to write the producers,

Nicole

Workouts in Review- Kick Max

During my STS program I have been enjoying playing with lots of different cardio workouts. I like to mix it up a lot so I don't get bored. The good thing is that Cathe has over 60 workouts to choose from so boredom is definitely NOT a factor:) The toughest thing is choosing which one I want to do. Today I chose to review one of her kickboxing DVD's.

What is it?

Kick Max is definitely one of my go to workouts. I love kickboxing and this is a tough but fun calorie burner. This workout is 74- minutes in length.

Here is how the workout breaks down:

Warm-up 12 minutes

Kick & Punch Combo's 22 minutes

Kickbox/Bootcamp Challenge 15 minutes

Leg Conditioning Drills 18 minutes

Cool Down/Stretch   7 minutes

There are also several premixes:

Low Impact Kickbox 58 minutes

Low Impact Timesaver 48 minutes

Kickbox/Bootcamp Challenge 50 minutes

Cardio Leg Sculpt 52 minutes

Who is it for?

In it's entirety, this program is for the advanced exerciser. For those of you who are intermediate or looking to become advanced you can work through a few of the premixes then move on to the whole workout. Honestly, I usually do the premixes for times sake. 

What to expect:

If I am really looking to burn calories this workout is a calorie killer! This workout will increase your coordination, flexibility and endurance. The leg conditioning drills alone are a great reason to purchase this workout. I find the more I do them the higher my kicks become throughout all of my kickboxing workouts. 

Cathe as always, has stellar form which she continually reminds you to use. I know that my form is at it's best because of Cathe's awesome instructing and careful attention to detail. If you've never tried any of Cathe's workouts pop on over to her website and check them out. I have every one and am always looking to add more as she releases them. I will be reviewing more of her workouts over the next month or so, so stay tuned! 

Click HERE to purchase and see a clip.