Lincoln Nebraska Boot Camp Workouts, Weight Loss for Ladies Only, ELS Boot Camp, Ed Scow

Fit Mom’s Corner – An Awesome Summer Pizza Recipe!

By The Fit Dad · Comments (0)

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Wow! Summer is officially here and I can’t believe how fast it is going already! I have been busier than usual and we are all feeling it in our house. Dinners need to be healthy, easy and fast so that we can get to the pool!

A favorite meal in our house is pizza. Who doesn’t love it!? During the summer we use the grill to cook them. I love how easy it is and that we don’t have to heat the house up with the oven.

Here is how we make our pizzas. There are hundreds of combinations for pizza toppings; I have listed a few of our favorites that are pretty healthy. As I have said before, I tend to throw in ingredients to our taste, so I don’t have specific measurements.

We use whole-wheat pitas for the crust. There are pre-made crusts that are a bit more moist than the pitas, but have nearly DOUBLE the calories BEFORE you even top them. The whole-wheat pitas I found have 160 calories per 6” pita and the 8” pizza crusts have 380 calories!

Another nice thing about individual pizzas is that everyone can make their own, using the toppings they want. Maren loves to make her own, but I guess right now she still loves to help with everything!

To start, for any of the recipes, heat grill to medium and brush olive oil on the TOPPING side of the crust and place that side DOWN on the grill to heat for 2-3 minutes. Bring the crusts back inside, turn them over and top with your favorite toppings. Then put back on the grill for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted.

BBQ Grilled Chicken:

The favorite in our house is BBQ grilled chicken. Spoon on a approximately 3 TBS of BBQ sauce on each pita, add chopped red onion to taste, shredded chicken and top with shredded Pizza mix or Cheddar/Jack cheese. Garnish with cilantro when done grilling.

Margherita:

A favorite of mine is Margherita. This is typically meant to be a dry cocktail pizza, however the pitas can dry out fast. Using canned tomato sauce or crushed fresh tomatoes will help the crust stay moist. Mix sauce/tomatoes, and garlic to taste. Spoon approximately 3 TBS sauce onto each pita and top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil and grill. Sprinkle basil on when done grilling.

Goat Cheese and Pear Pizza:

When we were in K.C. in the Plaza to celebrate our 10-year anniversary we had a Pear, Chicken and Goat cheese pita pizza at one of our favorite restaurants. I have since tried it a few times at home; it tastes great, but had trouble getting the toppings to stay on as the goat cheese doesn’t melt down. A tip I just ran across is to blend the cheese with olive oil to desired consistency and then spread on the crust. I found a cranberry fig goat cheese that is really good; 4 oz log would probably cover 3-4 pizzas. Top with shredded chicken and thinly sliced pears and drizzle with olive oil.

I did a little research on goat cheese, and found an interesting tidbit.

Compared to cow’s milk products such as cream cheese, goat cheese is lower in fat, calories and cholesterol. It also provides more calcium and fewer carbohydrates than cream cheese. Even though goat cheese has fewer calories, it has a full, rich and creamy flavor.

Not sure that I would use it in place of cream cheese in a recipe though!

Have a great week!
Andrea

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Categories : Fit Mom's Corner, Nutrition

Tags : Fit Mom's Corner, Nutrition

Do You Know Big Mo?

By The Fit Dad · Comments (2)

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Sometimes I’m an annoying hard ass.

I text ladies when they skip boot camp – sometimes early in the morning.

I email ladies when they don’t show up for sessions – repeatedly.

I call if they do it more than once.

To some it may seem annoying, but I don’t care.

Why don’t I care if I’m annoying?

Is This Big Mo?

Why don’t I care if I can be perceived as a hard-ass?

Because I’m trying to instill the “Big Mo” in everyone.

Before you ask, the “Big Mo” is momentum.

More specifically, it could be said that I’m trying to instill a positive habit in everyone – the habit of working out (whether it is with me in boot camp, or on their own).

Getting into the habit of working out is tough.

That’s not totally true because in the beginning it’s not that tough.

You’re full of enthusiasm about a new program and the devilishly handsome and wicked smart boot camp trainer (it’s okay if you gag…I know Andrea will give me crap for saying that).

Sure you’re sore and sure you don’t like it when you’re told to do Burpees and that you need to cut down on some of your favorite foods in order to lose weight and tone up, but it’s okay because you’re excited.

Everybody gets excited about the new stuff.

But pretty soon, it becomes easy to hit the snooze button on the alarm and/or skip your workout. You tell yourself, “It’s just this one time…I’ll workout on my own later.”

But do you?

The problem is, you’ve slowed the “Big Mo” down and the Big Mo doesn’t like to be slowed down. The Big Mo gets cranky when he gets slowed down and pretty soon, he completely stops moving.

The Big Mo thrives on you moving forward because the Big Mo knows that if you keep moving forward, you’ll get to your destination…it’s the Law of Big Mo.

That’s the real reason I call, text, email and sometimes can feel like a giant thorn in your tush.

I’m the Big Mo’s assistant and let me tell ya, Big Mo can be fun to work with when you understand his laws…but if you try to fight the Big Mo or think you can alter the Big Mo’s laws, he’ll put you in your place.

Okay, I think I’ve crushed the term “Big Mo” to death and I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

Big Mo = momentum.

Big Mo = good habits.

You need to continuously workout to make positive changes – whether that’s to lose weight, tone up, or just be more fit and healthy.

Momentum is a really cool thing if you let it work for you.

If you keep putting one foot in front of the other (meaning continue working out while adding good foods and subtract bad foods), you will reach your destination. Some people have a longer path, but the analogy still holds true.

So let Big Mo work for you rather than trying to work against Big Mo.

Okay, that is the end of my version of Aesop’s fables

Have an awesome day!

P.S. – Did that make sense? Leave a comment below if you have any questions or would like to share any of your own stories…or if you’d just like to give me crap.

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Categories : Boot Camp

Tags : benefits of boot camp, Boot Camp, exercise, Getting Toned, Goals, weight loss

Change Your Perspective And Change Your Figure

By The Fit Dad · Comments (2)

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Just a quickie for you today.

Having just said that, I realize that it’s very difficult for me to write a “quick” article. I say they’ll be quick, but they end up being…not too quick. Hopefully I stick with the “quick” mindset.

I guess I better get on with it, huh?

I want to ask you a question.

Are you ready for it?

I know that was a question, but it wasn’t the question I wanted to ask.

What did you eat this weekend?

I don’t just mean for dinner – I mean EVERYTHING. What did you eat?

Not only that, but what did you drink?

Okay, that’s 2 questions, but they’re essentially the same.

If you need to sit and think for a bit, that’s fine. I want you to think about everything you ate or drank over the weekend.

What feelings does that food bring up?

Did the food make you feel good? Did it make you feel good AFTER eating it or did it make you feel bloated, “heavy” and with thoughts of “Why did I eat that?”

If the answer is more the latter, than the former…why?

If what you ate and drank over the weekend made you feel like crap and will eventually lead you to either gaining weight or maintaining your current weight, why did you do it?

If it made you feel like crap, did you tell yourself you wouldn’t do it again?

Did you feel bad after eating/drinking what you did?

If you did, that’s the wrong feeling you should be having.

Food is meant to not only provide you with fuel, but it should be something you enjoy and if you feel bad about what you ate, how much you ate and how often you ate, then you’re thinking about things incorrectly.

Yes, I said “thinking” and not “doing.”

What do I mean? Read More→

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Categories : Boot Camp, Nutrition

Tags : benefits of boot camp, diet, exercise, Getting Toned, Nutrition, Snacks, weight loss

Awesome Boot Camp Slider Workout

By The Fit Dad · Comments (2)

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

If you haven’t been to boot camp in a while, you have been missing out on one of my favorite toys – The Slider!

These puppies are so versatile and turn any lower body exercise into a killer abs exercise and they turn any abs exercise into an even more intense version…and the best part is everybody groans whenever I get them out!

That’s how I know when something really works…when everyone simultaneously groans and cusses under their breath (or out loud!).

I made a quick video for you showing you an awesome mini-circuit taken straight from a recent boot camp workout using The Sliders.

It’s short and sweet, but don’t let the small amount of time it takes to do the workout fool you because it’s an awesome little circuit that hits virtually every muscle in your body and cranks your metabolism up which means you burn more calories and get rid of even more tummy fat!

All good things, right?!

Check out the video below… Read More→

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Categories : Boot Camp, Boot Camp Workouts, Spend A Minute With The Fit Dad

Tags : Boot Camp, Boot Camp Workouts, exercise, exercises, fat loss workouts, Getting Toned, themed workouts, Videos, weight loss, workout

A Superfood And A Super Easy Dinner Recipe!

By The Fit Dad · Comments (2)

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Last year I discovered a Superfood called Kefir. It is an ancient, fermented probiotic milk drink. Kefir has a unique, tangy taste (some say it tastes horrible by itself) and is mildly self carbonated and is said to stimulate the immune system, enhance lactose digestion and inhibit bacteria including those that cause ulcers.

We like to use plain Kefir in place of yogurt in our morning smoothies. There are also flavored varieties that would be easy to quickly pour and enjoy! I have bought the strawberry before and added it in with Maren’s milk. She thought that I had bought the real (sugary) strawberry milk! I have found Kefir at every local health food store and grocer.

Now for a Super easy meal.

I love it when I get creative with a meal and it ACTUALLY tastes good! A SUPER quick and easy dinner that we like is Basil Pesto Chicken served over spinach.

I have never measured this out – I just pour and throw in ingredients till I have enough for the Pesto, but here are measurements from a recipe I base mine on (3/4 c pesto total):
¼ c olive oil
½ c chopped walnuts or pine nuts
2 c firmly packed fresh basil leaves ( I use dried from the spice isle, probably 2 TBS)
½ c grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
black pepper to taste

If using fresh pesto: place all ingredients in food processor and blend until nearly smooth. I use dried and just mix it all together in sautee pan.

Bake the amount of chicken you need as you normally would and shred it. Or, pick up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. I have found they are easiest to shred when still warm. Always throw out the skin if using a rotisserie chicken.

Throw chicken in with pesto and heat through.

Serve over baby spinach. Heating the spinach a bit with some olive oil makes it really tasty. Heat it just a minute or two, not enough to where is breaks down.

Baked sweet potatoes go nicely with this meal. We usually split a medium size one, add some real butter with a sprinkle of cinnamon. When you add cinnamon to foods, it sweetens them without adding the sugar! Besides it is said to help control blood sugars. Super Sweet!!

Oh my, I think Ed’s Superhero style is rubbing off on me! Better get that under control

Till next week!

The Fit Mom

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Categories : Fit Mom's Corner, Nutrition

Tags : diet, Fit Mom's Corner, Nutrition