Whole Foodie Fitness

I woke up yesterday with a craving for bagels but we didn’t have any so toast with peanut butter it was. As the day went on my craving for bagels didn’t go away so I decided I should just make them myself.

I’ve been wanting to make bagels for awhile now but never got around to it. I always thought it looked like a difficult process that I didn’t want to bother with.

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Here’s what you’ll need:

1 1/4 cup boiling water.

3 tablespoons raw sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm water

4 cups whole wheat flour

 

1. Place the raw sugar and salt in a large bowl & set aside.

2. In a small bowl prepare the yeast by mixing it with the 1/4 cup of warm water. Set aside.

3. Boil 1 1/4 cup water and combine with salt & sugar. Once the water is lukewarm add the yeast mixture and stir together.

4. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix well. Then slowly add the remaining flour. You will end up with a pretty stiff ball of dough.

5. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.

6. Then form the dough into the shape of bagels. You will need a very cute helper for this!

7. Then let the dough rise for another 30 minutes.

8. Drink coffee. If you’re an adorable toddler drink milk.

9. After they are done rising bring a large pot of water to boiling. Boil the bagels in the pot for about 5 minutes & watch them fluff up BIG!

10.    Arrange the bagels on a cookie sheet & if you would like sprinkle with cinnamon & oats.

11. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees.

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These were actually pretty easy to make, they just took up a good hunk of my day. If you’re a bagel lover like me it will be worth it. They were really good & I can’t wait to experiment with different flavors like blueberry, chocolate chip, & “everything”.

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I was a little burnt out after making the bagels but I promised that I would make everyone pizza.

So off to work Bella & I went making the dough! I don’t know why I let her get so messy.

         

We went with whole wheat deep dish crust. One pizza had spinach & the other had mushrooms.

Another winner! I had a small slice of each and topped them with raw spinach & mushrooms, kinda like a pizza salad. Derek & Bella enjoyed theirs the traditional way, just pizza.

 

Pizza and bagels in one day? Have I gone mad? Absolutely not! I don’t know how people live on low carb diets. Not only do we need adequate amounts of all three macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, & fat) but carbs are just too good to pass up. As long as they come from fruits or whole grains I see no reason to cut them out of my diet. Then again, everyone is different you have to do what you think is right for you (especially if it is for medical reasons). I just hope this shows that our diets don’t need to be extremely restrictive in order for them to be healthy. Take a favorite food and mess with the recipe to make it your own! You’ll have a few flops from time to time but the recipe winners are worth the effort you put it.

See you guys later! Derek just got home so I’m going to relax with him & watch some football. Or you know, watch him watch football.

Hey everyone! how is the end of your week going? We just celebrated Derek’s birthday which was foodie bliss & I completely forgot to bring along my camera. Eats for the day included a pumpkin “muffie” from Panera Bread, a few pumpkin lattes (that I sooo don’t feel guilty about), self serve frozen yogurt with fresh fruit & chocolate chip toppings, pizza, some Blue Moon Ale, and best of all… a stuffed avocado!! I was so excited when I saw this on our lunch menu. It was open faced & stuffed with apples, diced chicken, and bacon. I loved it so much I think I’m going to re-create it minus the bacon asap.  We also went to the Sacramento Kings game and enjoyed the usual greasy food you would expect to eat at any sporting event but I loved it.

I’m back home now which means back to my normal eats.

I started the day off early (4:30 am) with two slices of toast topped with organic peanut butter & pomegranate arils plus a cup of coffee.

Then I headed off to the gym to train a few clients & took a trip to the grocery store to pick up some produce & a few other staples.

I’m making an eggplant parmesan for the first time tonight, wish me luck! Derek also picked out some New York steaks that I didn’t take a picture of because the sight of raw steak makes me want to puke.

Snack was a cup of yogurt with ground flax & more pomegranate arils.

I’m so addicted to them right now. Something I never mentioned is that I live on a pomegranate orchard. We have a little over a thousand trees but they’re still babies & the wait for them to grow is killing me. In a year or two I will be in pomegranate heaven! For now we’re just having fun chasing Bella through the orchard, she loves it!

After I munched on that I took Bella to play outside & “help” feed the chickens. Then we came back inside so I could make lunch which was raviolis with wilted spinach & sautéed mushrooms & a few slices of horseradish cheese.

Spinach+cheese+more spinach+more cheese= my kind of lunch!  If you haven’t tried horseradish cheese you need to go to Costco & get some, it’s seriously addicting!

Now I’m just chilling drinking another cup of coffee before I need to start dinner. I’m going to start it early incase I screw it up & have to make something else. It doesn’t look complicated, I just don’t have much experience with eggplant. 

I may or may not try to make Mama Pea's peanut butter cookie dough balls that I’ve seen popping up everywhere. They look too good to not make.

See you guys later, hopefully with an eggplant dinner post!

Something I get asked a lot is how I became a personal trainer & what made me want to be one in the first place.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is why do you want to be a personal trainer. If your answer is to get a big paycheck you should consider a different career. I hate to be so harsh but being a personal trainer is all about helping others achieve their goals & making them feel great about all their new accomplishments. I find that way more rewarding than money! You have to put your clients first so they feel comfortable, most people are pretty nervous when they first start working with a trainer. If they don’t feel comfortable around you they aren’t going to want to go to you for help. You also have to ENJOY putting them first. Sure there will be days when it will get to be very stressful working around the clock completing your clients program design in time for their next session, conducting free consultations, looking for new clients to add to your schedule, & getting in all those continuing education courses but it all pays off in the end! There is nothing better than the feeling you get when a client simply tells you that they enjoy the time spent with you even though you’re giving them a butt kicking!  So if you want to be a personal trainer to lend your fitness expertise to those in need & change people’s lifestyles for the better (often times for very little pay, especially while you are first starting out), then this may be the career for you!

Now there is the question of how. How does one going from fitness enthusiast to fitness professional? There are a few different routes you can take but today I am going to focus on the route I took which was going straight to getting an NCCA accredited certification. Why? It’s really simple actually, whether you take classes at a community college, go to a seminar, self teach, shadow another trainer, or even have a bachelors degree in exercise science a gym is going to ask that you have a certification that is accredited be the NCCA before they hire you.

I went with The National Academy of Sports Medicine (or NASM). I chose them because they focus a lot on corrective exercises. Many gym members that you will meet will be plagued with muscle imbalances & injuries. It’s really important to know how to handle this, you don’t want to further injure your clients! While this is my personal choice there are many certifications out there to choose from, you have to just look around and find an organization that suites your needs & relates to your own training philosophy. It is also very helpful to visit some of your local gyms and ask what certifications they prefer their trainers to have or ask some trainers at your gym what they suggest, most are happy to lend advice.

Other organizations to consider are:

• ACE
• ACSM
• ISSA
• AFFA

NOTE: You will also be asked to obtain a CPR/AED certification. Visit The American Red Cross website to find a class in your area!

Each organization has a different certification process. Some are entirely done at home, some involve a weekend seminar or webinar. Some are done on the computer & some provide textbooks or a combination of the two. Again everyone will have different needs or preferences you just have to do your research & find the one that the on that is right for you. Just please be careful and watch out for scams! There are so many people out their trying to make money off of people with the best intentions of finding a good certification, don’t let them fool you. This is another reason to ask gyms in your area what they prefer for you to have.

Once you get certified the next step is to look for the perfect gym for you! It can be a little discouraging at first, some gyms want trainers that already have experience but don’t give up! Everyone has to start somewhere & you WILL find a gym that is willing to give a new trainer a shot. You can also try shadowing a trainer that already has experience. You won’t be compensated but he or she will give some very valuable advice.

From there everyone has their own journey. You may decide to work in a health club for the rest of your career or start your own business. You may also find an area of fitness that you want to specialize in and limit yourself to that specific area. The possibilities are endless from this point on!

I hope some of you found this helpful if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment & I’ll do my best to answer you. Are there any trainers out there that want to share their experience or have any advice? I would love to hear from you too!

 

The holidays have always been my favorite time of year and they have gotten even better now that we get to share them with Bella.

                  Bella during her first Thanksgiving & Christmas.

This year will be even more exciting since she will be more excited, she’ll finally sort of understand what is going on & how to open her presents.

Another thing is that she loves to help her mommy cook, or at least she tries. She usually winds up making a mess but she has fun & that’s what’s important.

Over the years I feel like I’ve mastered the basics (different types of cookies, pies, traditional entrees, YAMS) so this year I’m looking forward to going outside my comfort zone & experimenting a bit.

Recipes I’m trying this year:

Alton Brown's Eggnog

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Candy Cane Brownies

Sweet Potato Pudding

Gingerbread Men

Peanut Butter Cups – I may also do almond butter.

I’m also on the lookout for a stuffing that actually tastes good. My best friend’s mom has a great recipe but it’s a secret. Any suggestions?

Repeats from last year will include:

Pinwheel Cookies

Mixed Berry Pie - Not exactly holiday like but it was a hit last year.

Coconut Macaroons – If only I knew Fitnessista's recipe!

Oatmeal cookies with Hershey's Cinnamon Chips

I’m trying to think of more but I’m still in the beginning stages of planning (which is horrible since Thanksgiving is a couple weeks away!) I’m enlisting Derek & Bella’s help so I don’t turn into a holiday zombie. Last year I made 5 different kinds of cookies for about 30 people the day before Christmas Eve and I was exhausted!!

I also want to healthify/veganize a few traditional recipes & test them out on people to see if they notice. Again, if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

 

 

Coming up on the blog:

• Re-caps of my recipe experiments & holiday planning.
• My tips for sticking to a food plan during Thanksgiving & Christmas.
• HOLIDAY BOOTCAMP!

Welcome to my little blog, Whole Foodie Fitness!

The title of my blog pretty much explains myself. I am a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, I love strength training, and I love food! I decided to write this blog to show how food & fitness pair so well together. I think there is a huge misconception in today’s society that to be fit you have to deprive yourself of your favorite foods & exercise like a maniac, but that is so not true! Of course you need to exercise & eat healthy to be healthy but it is all about balance & that is how I try to live my life.

A Little More About Myself…

I grew up in Sacramento California where I met my Derek. A few years back we moved to Idaho for a little bit to enjoy more of the outdoors.

While living there we had a daughter Bella & when she was about three months old we moved back to California so she could grow up closer to our family…

… and since then she has grown so much!

<--------That’s her now.

Having her is part of the way that I changed to way that I view being healthy. I used to be one of those girls that thought being healthy meant exercising (correct statement but I wasn’t exercising effectively) & eating small amounts of food without letting myself enjoy some of my favorites. I wasn’t starving myself or exercising 5 hours a day but I was still way off base. Then I had Bella & decided when it was time to take the baby weight off I had to do it right. I want to set a positive example for my daughter & I hope that she grows up knowing that it’s about being healthy, not “skinny.” I also had to make sure that I was still nourishing my body since I was nursing her until she was almost a year old.

It took a lot of learning and a lot of trial & error but I have finally reached a healthy balance between eating foods that I enjoy & achieving my fitness goals.

Me about 5 months after giving birth…

                     

                                  …and me now.

                 

After achieving my goals & finding my happy place in the middle I decided I wanted to help others, that is why became a personal trainer. I absolutely LOVE my job! There are not a lot of people out there that can say that they teach others about their passion and make their clients feel great about themselves for a living.

Between having a great job and an even greater family I feel truly blessed. I don’t consider my life perfect but who’s is?

Thank you for stopping by!

 

-Sarah

 

The weather has been so wonderful lately, it is finally cooling down here in Northern California.  I’ve switched over to hot coffee instead of iced & have been baking up a storm which makes it official in my book, it’s finally fall! I’ve been making quite a few different things but my favorite creation so far was a cake that I made to celebrate game two of the World Series.

Behold the Giants cake aka a giant orange edible baseball:

(This picture was taken with Derek’s crappy camera phone so it’s kinda blurry but you get the idea.) When I made this cake the Giants won.  Today I didn’t bake at all & sadly they lost so I may have to bake some sort of Giants themed creation for the rest of the series!

Yesterday morning I got a surprise in the mail from my twin sister.

She works at a Natural Foods Co-op about 40 miles from where I live & I’m always telling her how much I wish we had a place as awesome as her work to shop at around her so she sent me a box of her favorite goodies.

In the mix

• A 4 pack of Pacific Foods Vanilla Almond Milk
• Two Lara Bars
• Two individual packs of Justin’s Nut Butter
• Oatmeal flavored animal crackers for Bella
• Crofters Super Fruit Spread
• Dagoba Chai flavored chocolate bar
• Once Again Peanut Butter
• Late July Vanilla Bean & Green Tea Cookies
• Sunspire Almond Butter Cups
• Ground coffee
• Energy bites from the bulk bin

…and probably what I was most eager to try

Cheezy Kale!!

I’ve always wanted to try kale chips sprinkled with nutritional yeast but could never stomach paying for nutritional yeast before trying it. That stuff is expensive & I have been forcing myself to be a bit more thrifty lately. They were awesome & I can’t wait to make them myself.

I’m trying to think of what I should bake for her now, I really wasn’t expecting a package with this much stuff in it. So far on my list is almond butter cookies & macaroons! Derek’s dad saw the package & was kinda teasing me for it. He thought I called her & said I was going hungry or something!

My sister and are twins & are super close but are complete opposites. One of the biggest things that we have in common  has to be our love for “different” foods as some people would call it (I don’t think the things we eat are that different from other people but whatever.) Anyways, I guess this is just one of the ways we can bond while still living an hour away from each other!!

 

Hey everyone! A question I get asked a lot at work is what to do to loss fat in the mid section of your body & if it is a good or bad idea to do endless crunches. Well the first thing that I’ll say is something that many people are sad to hear,  it is IMPOSSIBLE to target one area of your body and lose fat in just that area.  You lose fat by burning calories (the best way to do that is through cardio) and where you lose that fat is somewhat based on genetics. Doing crunches are highly ineffective if that is the only thing that you are doing.

So now that we’ve got that out of the way… The good news is that you can target the areas that you want to define your muscles, this is done through resistance training!  So the magic formula for getting a flat stomach is cardio  (to burn fat)+ abdominal resistance training (to define your muscles).

Here are my 5 favorite core exercises!

1. The Plank

 

In my opinion this is by far the best move that you can do for your core & it is very challenging! Even holding this position for 30 seconds will make your abs BURN!

2. The Jack Knife

Takes a little getting used to but it is not as scary as it looks. You can start with the ball resting on your thighs for more stability.

3. Bicycle Crunch

This is a fun move that is also really challenging and effective.

4.  Mountain Climbers

I love this because it combines my favorite move, the plank, with some cardio when done at a fast pace.

5. Side Planks

Same idea as the regular plank but it targets your obliques!

Those are my 5 favorite moves! Try them out along with a regular cardio routine and you’re on your way to a flat stomach!

Also, it’s not a good idea to only focus on your stomach while in the gym. You want to build lean muscle all over to turn your body into a healthy calorie burning machine! Focusing on just one part of your body isn’t effective and leads to frustration. You will get the best results from training all of your major muscle groups, not just your abs.  Women should not be afraid that they are going to “bulk up” from resistance training. We simply do not have the hormone levels to do so, unless of course steroids are involved. 

Good eating habits are also very important & I can’t stress that enough. The saying goes, “Abs are made in the kitchen” & it is 100% true. You can workout all day but if you aren’t eating right you will be running in circles trying to reach your goals.

Good luck! Anyone can reach their fitness goals with a willpower and determination. It takes a lot of hard work but it will payoff in the end if you stick to it I promise! Thank you for reading my little blog, I’m having a lot of fun putting it together & I hope that someone out there is having fun reading it!

Something to talk about:

What are your favorite core exercises? What are your least favorite? Leave your answer in the comments!

Something to read:

An article & short video form two of my favorite fitness trainers about spot reducing fat and why it doesn't work.