Fast Food, Brilliant Edition: 3 Fast-Food Salads That Won't Derail Your Diet!

Good Good Gooood Morning All! 

I'm really excited about this little post today - short and simple but hopefully valuable to you! :)

I work in Car Sales and for any of you that have had friends or family work in the industry, you'll know - there is a LOT of fast food involved! One of the keys to being successful in sales is that you've gotta BE there to sell - so we definitely do spend a lot of time at work and a lot of the days will revolve around someone asking "What's for lunch?!" The guys take a few minutes to negotiate through which kind of burger or fried junk they should get today, then someone runs out to grab a bunch of brown greasy bags filled with sweaty beef and french fries for the team to quickly chow down on. 

While it definitely makes for a challenge, I am able to stick to my guns (almost) all of the time and enjoy the healthy, nutritious meals that I've packed for myself the night before.  I 110% believe that dedicating time on a regular basis for prepping foods for the week is one of the keys to living a healthy, happy life, but -- I also understand that sometimes that just doesn't work! I'm at the gym untill 11, I'm out of groceries, I stayed at work late...  life happens! 

Now.. obviously eating fast food every day isn't going to get you anywhere towards any health goals you may have, but what I'm here to tell you is there IS a way to still grab food from fast food restaurants and not get too derailed! What I think is the key here is, is how often you're grabbing food and what you are grabbing! Personally, I try to keep it to 1-2 meals per week max, and only eat from places that I can get my food to order -- point at a big table of veggies in a row and tell them how much I want of each! As for the what -- here are a few of my favs! :) 

Mucho Burrito

If I could eat one style of food for the rest of my life, it would be Mexican. I LOVE Mexican. There are pretty much a bajillion types of salsas and types of tacos out there... Ooohh just thinking of all of the options gets me excited haha! Fresh salsa, and limes and cilantro and beans and spices.. yum!

Mucho Salad!! I switched it up with this one and
went with steak instead of chicken. 

Mucho’s kinda a hidden gem because when most people think Mexican, a lot of people think more of the burritos and quesadillas which aren’t that awesome. If you take a big tortilla, add a pile of rice, beans and one of the fattier cuts of meat (beef or pork) it’s easy to end up with a really carby, starchy, heavy meal. The key here is to load up on the fresh veggies and salsas and keep the protein nice and lean and you can absolutely build a great, nutritious and balanced meal! This salad's super filling and I've even converted some of the GUYS at work to salad-eaters with this lunch! 

What I Order:

Salad, no bowl. Romaine, black beans, sautéed veggies, corn + black bean salsa, chopped red salsa, medium red salsa, cilantro and guac  <3 When I’m looking for a little treat and I’m not dieting for a show, I’ll add a side of the tortilla chips!

Pita Pit

Ok.. this is hands-down my #1 FAV at the moment!! Lots of fresh veggies that are full of nutrients, a lean protein and low sugar/calorie dressing = awesome. The salads here are really similar to Subway, but they have a few extra exciting veggies that Subway doesn’t, and a few light salad dressings so the selection’s a bit bigger. I really love how you can throw veggies on the grill too – they add volume to the chicken so it makes the salad more filling, which is always a nice little bonus! The guys at work love this option too and order their lunch as a pita instead of salad.

What I Order:
Small “Make Your Own” salad with Extra Chicken. I get romaine, sprouts, green pepper, cucumber, tomato and banana peppers in the salad bowl, chicken, mushrooms, red onion and pineapple on the grill, and hot sauce as a salad dressing. If it fits into my meal plan at the time, I also get them to put some tzaziki on the side... sooo good.. you don’t even know!

Subway

Can you handle the heat??? ha ha!
Spicy Subway salad

Another one of my go-to grab-a-salad spots... Subway! There’s so many of them around, so even on roadtrips through small towns.. you can pretty much rely on spotting one. The chicken portion size here is 2.5 oz, so again, I get extra chicken (a good portion size for a 150 lb female is 4-6 oz).

What I Order:

Chicken salad with Extra Chicken (plain, not teriyaki which is loaded with sugar and other junk). Shredded iceberg, tomato, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, banana peppers and hot sauce as the salad dressing.

Now, while these options are a great alternative to grabbing a burger and fries from the food court or drive thru, I do want to mention that because they are from fast food restaurants, the food is still going to be fairly processed. For this reason, I do want to remind you that buying actual chicken breasts from the store, cooking them yourself and chopping your own veggies is absolutely the best way of fueling your daily activities!

Until next time... remember that "your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow".  

Whatever you have going on in your life today -- Rock it Out!!! ..... life's too short not to! ;)

xo Brooke

The World's Most Delicious Salsa Recipe + My Next Fitness Adventure: Mission Hardware 2013

Hot Off The Press :) Today's Special:  A peek into my next fitness adventure + one of my favorite recipes in the WORLD.... Avocado Black Bean Boyfriend Salsa. No.. there’s no boyfriends in this super nutritious and deliciously amazing side,  (hehe) but this was one of mine + my boyfriends-from-the-pasts favorite snack (with a bag of wholegrain Tostitos... holy moly.. yum!) and so it is named. Ha ha! Is that weird? Naming a recipe after an ex? Lol! Ah well.. wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been told I’m a little “special”... ;)

This salsa is super bright and perfect for so many different occasions, so it’s easily one of my favs. I’ve brought it to parties, BBQs and family dinners and I’ve got to say.. it’s one of my most requested recipes of all time. Tons of fresh veggies which are packed with vitamins and minerals, some avocado as the healthy fat, and the black beans to add some fiber and protein, this salsa is a serious HOMERUN! On it’s own, added to salads, or on top of a BBQ’d chicken breast, this salsa will add more flavor and awesomeness than you’ll know what to do with! Promise. :) 

I like it best after it has about an hour for all of the flavors to mix together, but if it’s just too tempting, you can dive right in.. I won’t tell anyone! ;) 

Avocado Black Bean Boyfriend Salsa

½ can black beans, rinsed + drained

1 avocado, pitted + chopped

½ red pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

¼ cup chopped banana peppers

½ bunch green onion, chopped

½ cup chopped cilantro

10-20 shakes of franks’ red hot sauce (to your taste)

Juice of 1 lime

Super easy + simple – just chop, mix + enjoy <3

Anyways... enough about boyfriends.. and salsa.. ha ha! Let’s get to the good stuff... Operation Hardware 2013: Muscle Beach Fall Classic. I have officially started my contest prep for my next competition, the Muscle Beach Fall Classic in October... and I am REALLY EXCITED! J In the past, my prep dieting/training has been a bit shorter – a 12 week process, but after talking to my trainer and deciding that if I want to do this show, I am going to bring home some METAL, we’re doing the 16 weeks. Now... a little something about body fat. I am actually starting this prep at the same weight (152 lbs) as my 2012 Muscle Beach prep but last year, I was at around 24% BF and this year, I am starting at 15%. Kinda crazy considering last February I was close to 28%!

My trainers and gym fam have been telling me over and over again that it takes time to get your body to that peak, but me being insanely impatient of course, wouldn’t buy it. My understanding of “it takes time” was “you’re too big or you started with too much fat and you can’t have a perfect body right now”. Ha.. if you’ve ever had more than a 5 minute conversation with me, you’ll quickly realize that I don’t take no for an answer. So, I would keep thinking “I’ll show you, I’ll work 10 times harder than everyone else, and I’ll do it now, I don’t need all that time” – but I’ve finally come to understand that that isn’t what they meant at all. I have now been training (lifting 5 days a week, and cardio 5-7 days/week) and eating clean or dieting with my trainers, Rob and Asha of Excel Fitness and Nutrition, for just over a year now and the changes I have seen in my physique – muscle definition, shape, size, body fat are just unbelievable. Now, starting my contest prep at 15% body fat, and 152 lbs, (my goal stage weight is somewhere under 138 lbs and 12% BF) I finally understand that what they mean by “it takes time” really means that you’ve got to be consistent with your training and over time, your body comp will change. As your “offseason” or “everyday” body comp changes (your body comp is your body’s ratio of fat vs. muscle, and your body weight), your “starting point” for each show or shoot is that much better and therefore, the “package” you bring to the stage is that much better and more improved. Anyways! As promised...here are the goods :-)

14 wks out - Muscle Beach 2013 /// 12 wks out - Muscle Beach 2012
Rounded delts, tigher core, tighter legs... yeeeeah buddy!!
Also: I think it's safe to say my posing has improved... lol!
My pics from last year is like a bad mug shot! haha

14 wks out - Muscle Beach 2013 /// 12 wks out - Muscle Beach 2012
Nice + toned up top, smaller waist, tighter, higher glutes and tighter legs ...
What a difference a year of hard work + consistency makes!

Until next time... Here is one of absolute fav mantras for a long run, a tough leg day or KILLER candy cravings....  Repeat this over and over in your head until you believe it - "I will persist, until I succeed" 

Have an amazing and aerobic day you beauties!!!! :-)

xo Brooke

The Gummi Bear Dilemma: Cravings + How to Kick them!

The Gummi Bear Dilemma. In order to be successful in living a happy and healthy life where you feel like you're in balance (and not in the middle of some diet battlefield), one of the important things to master is cravings!

As I'm sure you'll know if you've spent more than an hour with me, I have a major sweet tooth. Major! ha ha The guys at work all make fun of me because when I want something sweet, everybody knows. I literally go from office to office asking if anyone has a stash of candy... ha ha! But then, almost always, everyone says no, so I make my way over to our lunch room & grab one of my freezer treats. They're just sweet enough to cut the craving, but still nutritious so there's no "damn! damn! damn! why did I just eat those neon gummi worms!" afterthoughts ha ha ha! ....what? is that just me?

What I've learned is you've got to reprogram your brain to act differently in the situation. What is that saying? The definition of crazy is doing the same thing and expecting different results? And it's so true! Until you change your attitude towards the cravings and find a new way of reacting in the situation, you will most likely end up defeated again.  So, here's a few of my tricks! :-)

- Distraction - I go and do something! A lot of times, I'm just bored, or thirsty, or saw someone else eating sweets. If you focus your attention on something else for 15 minutes and still can't stop dreaming about Reese's pieces, have a snack, but opt for something like fruit or a healthier substitute - in this case, my peanut butter protein cups would be a great substitute!

- Be Prepared! - Making sure I have other, much healthier, treats on hand, like the recipe I've got for you today -- Pumpkin Protein Bars

- The with-yourself Convo - I was in Wal-Mart last night looking for the natural peanut butter and of course, their organic foods are right between the 8 billion bags of chips aisle and 4,000 bags of cookies section. If this isn't temptation, I don't know what is! I started thinking about buying a bag of chips and "just leaving the rest for Adam" (my brother).... but as soon as I caught myself justifying it, I shut that voice off and switched into mantra mode. "Resist, resist, resist, resist" "Our character is a sum of our choices" -- and guess what! I walked right outta that aisle like it aint no thang! ha ha ha :-)

Anyways... now for the good part! On to the recipes!

Pumpkin Protein Bars 

pumpkin protein bars

This recipe is originally by a huge inspiration of mine, Jamie Eason. She is a serious fitness guru and has tons of great recipes and tips worth checking out! I couldn't find brown sugar xyla so I just used the regular kind, and opted for greek yogurt instead of apple sauce because it's a little higher in protein and it's what I had! A few other small changes and voila.. my version of Jamie's little treats. :-)

1/2 cup xyla (natural sweetener)
1/2 cup natural, plain greek yogurt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp non-iodized sea salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract (not the fake stuff!)
4 large egg whites
1 can of raw pumpkin puree
2 cups brown rice flour
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I use IsoNatural which is sweetened with Stevia, and has no artificial flavorings or additives)
1/4 c almond milk
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Get your oven up to 350 F & your pan ready to rock n roll. I use a dash of grapeseed oil to grease the pan, but you can use whatever type of oil you'd like. I also use a mini loaf pan because I have a bit of OCD... ha ha! This allows me to portion the bars properly and it just looks nicer and more intentional than baking them in a big tray & cutting them up. But you could just pour the mix into a 9 x 13 pan like Jamie does, up to you.

Be careful not to overfill! The recipe should
make 24 bars, so it fills each mini loaf
about 1/3 of the way. 

Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients in another. Combine. Ooooohhh... ahhhh... such a fancy process.. ha ha (not!) I pour my flour through a hand sifter just because my dad's always used one and it makes sure it's nice and airy, but I don't think this is necessary! Also, if you want to throw in a few extra shakes of cinnamon, you go girl! (or guy?... ha ha) Cinnamon is absolutely packed with health benefits including lowering cholesterol, helping with dairy & fruit digestion and it's antibacterial & antifungal (prevents yeast growth which leads to stomach ulcers and a variety of other problems). Aaaaanyways... the point being: adding extra cinnamon is a great idea. ha ha

Depending on the tray/pan you use, baking time will vary, but start by checking them at 25 mins if you're using a muffin/mini loaf tin and at 30 mins if a larger tray. They're ready when you can stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. I like to keep mine in the freezer because they stay fresh longer and I just like them cold.

Anyone else have any freezer treats they whip up and love??   Tried these & love em or hate em? Let me know!! I love reading your comments!

Happy Thursday all! Have a freaking fantastic day and remember that our character is a sum of our choices!

- brooke :-)