30 Minute Meals: Sauteed Kale & Quinoa

As you may know, I am working hard to reduce the amount of animal products and processed foods my family consumes. I just bought a veggie spiralizer on Amazon to make sweet potato and zucchini noodles! It should be on my front stoop today! As part of the meat and carb reduction, I was roasting up all the veggies in my house last week, and I thought to myself, why stop now?! I'll cook everything in my fridge! A little spur of the moment? Maybe. A lot of flavor? Definitely!

Kale and quinoa may be the two trendiest ingredients on Pinterest right now, but for good reason. They are a powerhouse combo! Kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there full of calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, antioxidants, fiber out the wazoo... I mean the WORKS! For a vegetable that was once just a garnish for salad bar, it's a staple it in my family's dinner rotation.

Quinoa is one of my favorite foods EVER! It's so diverse and yummy. I make breakfasts with it, I make burritos with it, soup.... Sweet or savory, you name it, I put quinoa in it - the options are endless! These delicious little pebbles are full of iron, b-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin e and has all the essential amino acids to make a complete protein. Quinoa is naturally gluten free if that's something you're concerned about. Did I mention toddler friendly too? (Although messy, very messy).

Organic Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion
4+ cloves of garlic
4 tbls olive oil (or coconut oil if you want the trendy trifecta!)
6 cups of ribbed curly kale torn into bite sized pieces
1 cup veggie stock
1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or sprinkle on some "nooch" if you're vegan)
A few shakes of red pepper flakes - dependent on your heat preference

Instructions:

I chopped my onion, minced some garlic, and got that cooking in some olive oil. Once that was fragrant, and the onions were translucent (about 5 minutes), I threw in about 6 cups of curly kale with 2 tablespoons of water and covered until the kale had wilted and was tender (12 minutes or so), stirring on the reg.

While that was going, in a separate pot, I cooked up a half cup of the perfect protein, quinoa. To do that, get your stock boiling, dump in your quinoa, cover. Cook on LOW for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Once the kale was tenderoni, I tossed in the red pepper flakes, some Parmesan cheese, the cooked quinoa, and tossed it all together!

Perfect.

I took the leftovers for lunch the next day and it warmed up VERY nicely. What do you take for lunch? Do you have any leftover go-tos?

Drink of the Summer: Sassy Water

The first time I had this refreshing beverage was Summer 2007. My goodness, it's been a decade! My mother had made it during one of my visits home and I was hooked. It may have been the name at the time. This was the beginning of this infused water craze! 

Now I crave it every year at the beginning of the summer. As soon as it heats up outside, and the nights are not nearly as cool, the ingredients start calling to me in the grocery store. The recipe came from the Flat Belly Diet, but I don't really adhere to it. I use what I have, and add fun things when the occasion calls for it! I just so happened to have ginger in my freezer - did you know you could freeze ginger?

Ingredients

• 1 Organic Cucumber, peeled & sliced
• 1 Lemon sliced (I peel mine because I don't like the bitter rind flavor - but that's totally your call)
• 1 Grip of Mint Leaves - try growing your own! Mint is like a weed! 
• 1 Tsp of Freshly Grated Ginger

Add that to a pitcher, add water, and let it soak overnight in the fridge. 

You are supposed to drink the whole pitcher in a day if you are looking for the flat belly. But, I just fill up my Nalgene and go! I continue to drink water throughout the day, not just the 32 oz of Sassy Water.

Now, you are curious about the additions, right? 

• Coconut water - extra potassium and hydration
• La Croix (Citrus flavor) - the fun fizzy bubbles make it a great poolside drink
• Apple Cider Vinegar - More digestive benefits 

This is a seriously refreshing drink. If you drink the whole pitcher in a day, you will absolutely be hydrated, which helps with bloating. Also, I use the concoction of ingredients twice. After I fill up my glass or Nalgene, I refill the pitcher and let it soak again throughout the day.

Do you infuse your water to make it more interesting or just go with old reliable? 

For more information on the actual Flat Belly Diet's Sassy Water, click here. 

Breathe Easier: 6 Air Purifying House Plants

Summer is encroaching. While this season is for vacations, holidays, and general easy, breezy livin', it is also the time of year when we Arizonans hunker down indoors. We close the windows and the shutters and live off A/C until October. I hate living off A/C for many reasons, but one is the terrible air quality that starts circulating, and then re-circulating through the house. Many indoor air toxins are potential carcinogens, and the closed up house and A/C pushes them from room to room.  

What's a girl to do? House plants. That's it. Well, that's not it, but it's a start! House plants gobble up toxins up for breakfast. While I don't want to be paranoid, I will do the simplest thing I can, and that is let the plants do some of the heavy lifting.

Spider Plant

This little baby loves sunshine and makes more little babies when treated well. My mom gave me my first one when I moved into my first apartment, and it has moved with me ever since! We've seen our ups and downs, but it's thriving again in my bedroom window.

Removes: Formaldehyde (found in car emissions, pressed wood, and other building materials) and benzene (found in plastics, lubricants, rubbers, dyes, detergents, drugs, gasoline/emissions, and pesticides).

Golden Pothos

Another plant that swings around our house as well as my childhood homes. This plant is practically unkillable. So if you don't have a green thumb, get this one. It tells you when it's unhappy, and you can easily re-root the trimmings. Given the toxins it removes from the air, I put one in our entry way and near the garage.

Removes: Formaldehyde, carbon monoxide (car emissions, stoves, lanterns, fireplaces), and benzene.

Snake Plant

My son and I recently planted this  new addition to our house. I have known of its crazy nightlife for a while, and I am super stoked to have it as an addition to our air purifiers. This plant does its work while we are snoozing, improving oxygen levels.

Removes: Carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, benzene.

Boston Fern

We received a sprig of this plant from my mother-in-law, who received it from her mother, who inherited it from her mother. This is a fourth generation fern. Oh the pressure! I finally have this fern in a place where it can be happy! It needs high moisture and humidity, of which Arizona has neither. This one takes a little more care, but it also takes care of us.

Removes: Formaldehyde

Lady Palm

This is a slow-growing corner charmer of a plant. It needs a little more real estate, but it can be a show stopper once it gets going.

Removes: Ammonia (found in house cleaning products, fertilizers, fabric dyes, and latex).

Peace Lily

This lovely, large plant doesn't require a lot of light and makes the most beautiful flowers. Use caution when choosing this plant, it is poisonous to animals, causing difficulty breathing, swallowing, and vomiting.

Removes: Acetone (found in nail polish remover, paint thinner, varnishes, plastics, and cleaning products) and Benzene.

There are many more plants that do good work in your home, and you can certainly find one that fits your decor. Plants also earn their keep making a house feel like a home, and I often dispose of un-drunk water into their pots as to not waste!

I am hoping to start adding more plants for the summer and have a few Golden Pothos rooting right now. What plants do you keep in your home?

The 3 Keys to IIFYM

If you’ve spent more than 10 seconds on social media chances are pretty good that you’ve encountered the IIFYM/flexible dieting craze.

There are thousands of diets out there to choose from so what makes this one any different or better?

First, let’s break it down…IIFYM stands for If It Fits Your Macros. Now that we know what that stands for, we need to understand what macronutrients or “macros” are. These little goodies are what make up your daily food intake. Simply put they are the things you need in larger (macro) amounts. They are as follows:

1. Carbohydrates – 40 to 60% of daily calories should come from carbs.
2. Protein – 10 to 30% of daily calories should come from protein.
3. Fat – 10 to 30% of daily calories should come from healthy fats.

What makes this way of eating more desirable is the fact that it really doesn’t eliminate any foods from your diet! 

By setting macro ranges, you can consume essentially whatever you want as long as it fits into your ranges at the end of the day. Craving a donut in the morning? No worries, just plug that in and adjust carbohydrate intake the rest of the day.

Fitness and meal tracking apps like Myfitnesspal make it simple to follow this lifestyle. If you are someone that gets easily caught up in what you “can” and “can’t” have during your diet I strongly recommend trying the flexible dieting route. With simple adjustments you can go from rapid fat loss to maintenance or muscle building to “getting shredded.”

For more information on IIFYM or general nutrition, reach out to Kevin Scrima, CPT via his website, Facebook, or Instagram OR comment below! 

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Post by Kevin Scrima, CPT

5 Easy Steps to Crush Your Fitness Goals

Goal Setting: The SMART Way

Let's set the scene:

December 31st [insert year]….one last hoorah.

January 1st [insert year]…..perfect diet? Check. Workout plan? Check. Motivation? At an all-time high. NOTHING is going to stop you this year.

January 14th [insert year]….well, February 1st is right around the corner. As long as it falls on a Monday I’m good to go. I was hoping to lose 50lbs but 20lbs isn’t bad, right?

Sound familiar? As someone that has spent the better part of a decade in the fitness industry I can assure you of two things

1. You aren’t alone
2. It’s not entirely your fault

I’m going to teach you in a five easy steps how to set S.M.A.R.T goals and ensure that you crush them…whenever you’re next 365 days starts.

S – Specific. 

This is the difference maker. Don’t just say “I want to lose 20bs.” Break that shit down like this…”I’m going to lose 20lbs in the next 12 weeks.” Allow yourself to think about how you will feel, what you will be wearing, what time of day it will be, what it will mean to you….think down to the finest details, as far as your mind will allow you.

M- Measurable. 

We can’t truly measure feelings but we can measure inches, pounds, distance, etc. 

Make sure you can physically measure each milestone.

A – Attainable/Agreeable. 

What resources will you need to achieve your goals? Who is on your support team?

R – Realistic/Reasonable. 

This is where things can get dicey. While your goals should be high and even a bit scary, they should also be realistic. In other words, start with the 5k and work your way up to the 100-mile ultra-marathon.

T – Time. 

This wraps it all up. Set a time frame. I always recommend setting a big goal, medium range goal, and several short term goals. Think 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 weeks and tie it together with the bigger 6 month goal. As I always tell my clients, you have to lose 2lbs before you can lose 50lbs.

There you have it, the blueprint to your success. I’d say good luck but with your work ethic and this plan I’ll just say “congratulations on crushing your goals!”

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This post comes from Kevin Scrima, a "father, husband, food enthusiast, personal trainer... order may be interchangeable depending on the day." Importantly, he has been a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) for over a decade and is a major nutrition freak. He is an entrepreneur and runs his own mobile fitness company (Nexus Fitness) where he brings tailored, functional fitness to his clients at their homes, park, or place of business. If you are in Boise, ID and looking for a great trainer and motivation, he's your guy. He's sarcastic and hilarious, and I look forward to his regular contributions to our "Wellness Wednesday" topics. 

Follow him on Instagram @kevin.nexusfitness

Follow him on Facebook @nexusfitnessllc