Adding Sweet Potatoes into Your Diet

When you hear the word “potato”, you think OMG starch and carbs.....get away from me!! BUT sweet potatoes are actually beneficial to your health, and can be a good item to add to your diet plan.

Why are sweet potatoes beneficial for you? Wellll they provide a good source of vitamin C, they are high in vitamin B6, AND they are also a good source of vitamin D. Sweet potatoes are also a source of potassium, a good source of magnesium (which acts as an anti-stress mineral), and contain iron which help support a healthy immune system.

There are also so many ways to make sweet potatoes. You can roast them, you can puree them, you can bake them, grill them, and steam them.

I like to cook them in the microwave or in the oven and then bring them as a side for my lunch. They also help to crave my sweet tooth, while also leaving me pleasantly full =)

MDW Ready

Memorial day weekend is finally upon us! This last week has been a super exciting/crazyyyy one for me! I got engaged to the love of my life last Wednesday, I started my birthday celebrations this past Saturday, and then my actual birthday is this coming Saturday!

Of course a celebration calls for lots of drinking and eating, and that is exactly what I did! This week I will be going to the gym for at least 40-50 minutes a day so that I feel great for the weekend to come!

If you had a weekend like me that contained alcohol and some good food, then you should probably stick to my workout routine for this week so that you will feel confident in a bathing suit this weekend.

I will be splitting up cardio and weight lifting. Today I am going to do about 20-30 minutes of cardio (to work off all of the crap I fed my body this past weekend), and about 20 minutes of weights. I am going to focus on arms today. Tomorrow I will do some light cardio for about 15-20 minutes (bike or elliptical), and then focus on butt and legs. Wednesday I am just going to focus on arms and abs. Thursday I will see if I deserve some time off, and Friday I will do some early morning cardio, and then focus on different parts of my body that I would like to target for the weekend to come.

I am also meal prepping my lunches for the short week. Today and tomorrow I have my "Adult Lunchables", for Wednesday and Thursday I will have a nice salad with some cucumbers, peppers, carrots, turkey, with apple cider vinegar dressing.

If you are at a good weight, and you just want to maintain it, then some light cardio will do the trick. Spend more of your time weight lifting so that you look more toned and won’t start losing your muscle due to HIIT cardio.

Be sure to drink responsibly this weekend and don’t worry about all of the pizza and burgers you’re going to be eating ;)

Outdoor Workouts

Now that the weather is finally getting nice and warm, it is a great opportunity to move your workouts to the outdoors.

Whether it is in your backyard, a park, or even at the dead end on the street you live on, you can set up your workouts anywhere there is a good amount of space. Living in the city, there isn’t much you can do outdoors unless you live near a park or you want to go to Central Park, but there are definitely ways to make it work! I for one, do not like running on the sidewalks here in NYC… it gets too crowded and it’s just not for me. There is a park next to my building, so it is a perfect spot to set up your workouts and outdoor activities.

Some things you can plan for your outdoor activities are small obstacle courses, HIIT workouts, even play some basketball and tennis. All of these are great workouts that will help you stay in shape, break a sweat, and also shed some pounds if you are consistent with them.

If you like to jump rope, bring your jump rope outside and do some things with that. Set up cones and do some sprints. Jumping squats are also my fave to do, especially outdoors. Run a mile or 2 whether it is in the park or on the sidewalk. Take a yoga or martial arts class outside.

There are sooo many different things you can incorporate into your exercises outside, so what are you waiting for?!

Thirsty Thursday Gym Sesh

Hey guys,

I’ve been a bit under the weather this week, so haven’t really had the chance to blog, but today I am finally feeling better and ready to get back into the swing of things!

I haven’t had a good workout in almost a week, so tonight I plan to go HAM. Memorial Day Weekend is approaching, and we need to be in the best shape of our lives!

My workout tonight will consist of the following:

• 1.5-2 mile sprints on the treadmill
• 10 minutes on the Stairmaster
• 3 sets of 20 machine kickbacks
• 3 sets of 15 on the squat rack
• 3 sets of 12 lunges (on each leg), with a 10-20 pound free-weight
• 3 sets of 12 bicep curls into an overhead press (10-20 pound dumbbells)
• 3 sets of 15 overhead triceps extensions
• 3 sets of 12 bent over reverse fly
• End with 3, 1 minute planks

Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Francese

I don’t know about you guys, but I looooove chicken francese…. it’s definitely one of my favorite dishes when I am out at an Italian restaurant. What makes it so good obviously is the fact that it is pan fried and probably cooked with a lot of salt and butter. Last night I decided I wanted to try a semi-healthier version of chicken francese by baking it. 

Here is what you will need:

• Sliced chicken breasts (I like to use the thin cut)
• Regular flour or almond flour (1 tbsp; I used almond flour)
• 1 large egg (beaten)
• Italian bread crumbs or panko crumbs (1 cup; I used Italian because it has more flavor)
• Dry white wine (1/2 cup)
• 2 lemons
• Salt and pepper
• Unsalted butter (about 3 tbsp)
• Chicken stock (2 ¼ cups; I use low sodium)
• And last but not least…. chopped parsley

Pre heat your oven to 450 degrees. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on both sides of your cutlets (only if you are using panko crumbs), dip your cutlets into the egg, and then straight into the bread crumbs. Once your cutlets are coated, place them in a glass pan or a baking sheet. You should coat your baking sheet or your pan with some olive oil just so that the chicken doesn’t stick to the bottom. Pop your cutlets into the oven for about 10 minutes and then flip them so the other side can bake.

While your cutlets are baking, melt 1 tbsp of butter in a saucepan and start whisking in your flour. Add the chicken stock, wine and lemon juice. I also added in some garlic powder for a little more flavor. Cook your sauce for about 15 minutes. Melt the rest of your butter (1 tbsp at a time), into your sauce. I added a little more salt and pepper after all of the ingredients were together in the pan.

Your chicken should be done around the same time as your sauce. Take your cutlets out of the oven and pour your sauce over them. Add some of your chopped parsley and dinner is served!

I guess since this was a healthy recipe, the sauce was not supposed to be thick like regular chicken francese. I had to add some more flour, but it still did not thicken up much, so don't be surprised if your sauce isn't thick.

I also made some roasted asparagus as a side (pictured below).

Tuesday Turn Up

The weather is finally getting warmer (and also playing some tricks on us here in NYC)! Now is the time to really crack down and get all of your gym time in. May is the month where I start doing two-a-days… sounds fun right?! Not really, but it will all be worth it come summer (I hope).

Before work, I try to do at least 30-40 minutes worth of cardio, so that after work I can focus on lifting and toning. Meal prep is also a MUST. Since my boyfriend is a huge foodie and loves to try new restaurants, I can’t completely cut that out, but for the most part, making dinner at home during the week is something that has to be done.

If I do not have time (or am too tired) to go to the gym in the morning, then my evening gym routine will consist of 30 minutes of HIIT cardio and weight training. Some people spend hours at the gym, but I like to get in and get out. An hour at most is how long I will spend.

Since I did not make it to the gym this morning, I will be starting off my evening routine with 10-15 minutes of sprints on the treadmill (7.8-8.2), followed by 5-6 minutes on the Stairmaster. I will be focusing on arms chest and back today, anddddd some abs.

Most days I like to do a little bit of everything and target different parts of my body, but now that I am switching up my routine a bit, I am trying to focus on at least 2-3 relevant muscles a day. This way I can give the muscles I worked on the day before, some time to relax.