Tag Archives: Whole 30

02.13.14
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A few of my favorite paleo recipes!

It’s been 2 weeks since the end of the 30 Day a2achallenge and I wanted to share some of my favorite paleo recipes with you all!  I did some serious experimenting in the kitchen during those 30 days and I learned a lot!  If you follow us on Instagram, you’ve probably have already seen these, but I though I should post them here so we can all access them a little easier!  If you have questions about any of the recipes, you can leave a comment below or shoot us an email at average2athlete@gmail.com.

Chicken Marbella

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Ingredients:

  • 4-6 chicken breasts, cut in chunks
  • 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1/4 cup dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup pitted prune
  • 1 cup dried apricots
  • 1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
  • 1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients above, cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly.
  4. Bake for 40 minutes

Stuffed Peppers

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Ingredients:

  • 3 peppers (to stuff)
  • 2 peppers chopped
  • ½ onion chopped
  • 1lb ground turkey
  • 1 cup mushrooms chopped
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 3-5 garlic cloves

Directions:

  1. Cut pepper in half & place on baking sheet face down
  2. Bake peppers at 350 for 15-20minutes
  3. Saute onions, peppers, mushrooms & garlic in 1 pan
  4. Saute ground turkey in separate pan
  5. Combine turkey & veggie mix in one pan, add diced tomatoes & sauté together.
  6. Stuff peppers

Coconut Chicken

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Ingredients:

  • 3 chicken Breast
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 cup #coconut flakes
  • coconut oil

Directions:

  1. Cut Chicken breast in chunks
  2. Beat 2 eggs
  3. Combine almond flour & coconut flakes in separate bowl
  4. Dip chicken in eggs, then in almond/coconut mix
  5. Cook in skillet w/coconut oil
  6. Served with Grilled Pineapple & Snap Peas

Spaghetti squash with ground turkey & side of bokchoy

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Ingredients:

  • 2 spaghetti squash
  • 1lb ground turkey
  • 1 can marinara sauce
  • 1-2 cups mushrooms
  • 3-7 cloves of garlic
  • olive oil
  • 2 heads of bokchoy

Directions:

Spaghetti squash

  1. Cut in half length-wise
  2. Scoop out “guts”
  3. Place on baking sheet – Cut side down
  4. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes
  5. Scrape squash with fork

Meat/sauce & Bok Choy

  1. Slice Mushrooms
  2. Mince garlic
  3. Split garlic & mushroom mix in ½
  4. Sauté in olive oil in 2 separate pans
  5. Cook meat with mushroom & garlic in 1 pan
  6. Cook bokchoy in other pan for about 1-2minutes (as soon as leaves start to welt, take out!)

Chicken & Cashew Lettuce wraps

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Ingredients:

  • 2 peppers
  • ½ onion
  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 1 head romaine lettuce leaves
  • ¾ cup raw cashews
  • curry (to taste)

Directions:

  1. Dice peppers, onions & chicken
  2. Sauté together
  3. Once almost cooked, add raw cashews & sprinkle curry
  4. Serve on lettuce

Banana & Berry Fruitcake

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Ingredients:

  • 9 ripe bananas
  • 5 eggs
  • 4 egg whites
  • Cinnamon (to taste)
  • Berries of choice

Directions:

  1. Mix/Blend banana, eggs, whites & Cinnamon
  2. Pour in greased baking tin
  3. Sprinkle mixed berries on top
  4. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes!

Cauliflower Mash

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Ingredients:

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1-3 Tbsp Oil (I used coconut oil)
  • ¼- ½  cup water
  • Salt/Pepper

Directions:

  1. Steam bundle of cauliflower (over cook)
  2. Add cooked cauliflower to blender
  3. Add water, oil & salt to taste
  4. Blend (Use blender or food processor)

Happy Cooking!

-Kayte

01.16.14
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Who doesn’t love a CHALLENGE?

We are about half was through our January a2achallenge, the Whole30!  We’ve made it over the hump, Yay!  If you have been participating in this months challenge, we hope that you are enjoying it as much as we are.  I really started to tell a difference within days of cleaning up my diet…especially after the Holidays!  At this point, 15 days into the challenge, I have more energy and almost don’t want any chocolate (almost!)  That’s been my biggest demon; my sweet tooth!  On the bright side, I’ve been very creative with some sweet alternatives using fruits.  It sounds like most people have at least one craving that lingers a little longer than others and that is really where the challenge comes in! What is your hardest craving to kick and how are you handling it?   We want to hear about your experience during the challenge:

  • What is the hardest part for you?
  • How do you feel?
  • Has it changed you?
  • Do you have any new favorite paleo recipes?
  • Did you take before and after pics?

Share your story by replying in the comments below or by sending us an email to average2athlete@gmail.com.

So, even though we still have about half of the challenge left, what’s the next step?  It’s time to start preparing for after the challenge…once we complete the Whole 30.  Over the next 2 weeks, take some time to reflect on how you feel and to think about what you want to add back into your diet.  Remember, you took this challenge for a reason!  There is no sense in cleaning up your diet if you are going to jump right back into old habits.  If you need any help or tips with what to do after, check out our post from the last challenge or just ask us.

Keep up the good work #a2achallengers!

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Enough about the current challenge, let’s talk about some other challenges out there!   If you follow our Instagram or Facebook, then you probably have seen our handstand/headstand pictures from December and know that we were doing an inversion challenge.  We challenged our fitfam to get inverted everyday in December.  Handstand, headstands or even just hanging upside down. We got some awesome feedback from so many of you and we realized how much we LOVE doing things together with our friends and followers!  This thought sparked the idea of doing the whole30…which got our wheels turning even more!

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So, what’s next?  In February, we are challenging you to fail!  That’s right, you read that correctly!

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We’ve deemed next month’s #a2achallenge as #FebruaryFails and we are asking you to embrace your failures!  Share a video of you failing, falling, or losing your balance. Don’t be shy.  We want to see your outtakes & see your human side…Nobody’s perfect!  Failure shows that you’re stepping outside of your comfort zone. Let us see your fails, or as we like to think of it, your path to success by tagging us @average2athlete, #februaryfails & #a2achallenge!

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Finally, the last challenge that we have been working on is a “Workout of the Week” or as we are calling it, our “a2aWOW.”  We will be putting out a short WOD (under 15 minutes) for you to tack on to the end of your workout or do in a time crunch.  We encourage you to video these workouts and share them with us by tagging #a2awow!  We can’t wait to see all of the different variations and twists you guys put on it!

Week 1 a2aWOW

Week 1 a2aWOW

As always, Thanks for reading and being part of our #fitfam!

12.30.13
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On To The Next One! Looking forward to a great New Year after an incredible 2013

I can’t believe we are only days away from New Years Eve and the start of a brand new year! It’s been way too long since my last post, so I thought that I’d share a brief recap of what I’ve been up to this past year!  A new year filled with infinite possibilities always gets me thinking about what I hope to accomplish in the future, so I’ve also decided to share my goals for 2014!

My 2013 Year in Review

I started the year off with a bang and had 2 amazing trips with the NBA just before we started this blog.  I was lucky enough to travel to London in January to cheer for the Knicks vs. Pistons Game during the London Live series. Then in February, I traveled to Julia’s hood, Houston, Texas for the NBA All Star Games!

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In March, Julia and I decided to partner on a Health & Fitness venture to inspire & motivate and help people find their inner athlete…thus, average2athlete was born! We’ve had such an amazing time making videos & posts, trying & sharing new recipes, developing our page & our voice and mostly interacting with so many awesome people via instagram, facebook & the blog!  If you are reading this now, Thanks for following!!  Our first event after a2a was born was the CMC Intrepid event in April.  If you haven’t done so yet, check out our recap!

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In May, we started our first a2aChallenge….a modified 25 day Whole30 Challenge. (Side note: We are starting another Paleo Challenge January 2nd if you’d like to join!)  At the time, I had no idea that this challenge would double as the start of my competition diet!  In June, after about 4 weeks of prep, I competed in the Fitness America New Mexico pageant, where I ended up winning the Fitness division and earning my Pro Card!

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The month of June ended up even better than it started!  Not only did I run my first ever 5k race with the Clean Water for Haiti Organization, but my sister was married June 22, and I celebrated my one year wedding anniversary all in the same week!

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Moving onto July, every year my family friends and neighbors volunteer for an adaptive water ski clinic with Three Rivers Adaptive Sports.  This is one of my favorite weeks of the year.  There are so many incredible athletes that come out to ski….it’s so inspiring and a good reminder of the important things in life!

"If I can do this, I can do anything."

“If I can do this, I can do anything.”

The remainder of the summer held a Wedding in Vegas, being crowned the 2013 Equinox Burpee Champion, a Tough Mudder, an abbreviated neighborhood triathlon – named “Mini-Thon”  and another CMC event with some of my favorite fitness friends!!

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The Fall was almost as jam packed as the Summer!  It started it off with a Bachelorette Party in Nashville, complete with a Bull Ride and Line Dancing! I also went hiking for the first time in upstate New York at Mohonk and I can’t wait to go again!

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In October, I was given the opportunity to go on another amazing trip around the World with the NBA for the Global Games Pre-season circuit.  We got to travel and perform with the Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers & Philadelphia 76ers in Spain, Philippines & Taiwan!

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As the fall wrapped up and winter officially started, I had one more Wedding, a great Thanksgiving with my family, the most unbelievable surprise 30th Birthday Party EVER and an amazing Christmas week!

That’s a tough year to beat, but I’ve been taking some time to think about how I can grow in the new year.  While I don’t love the idea of a “News Years resolution” that can quickly be abandoned, I do like the idea of a fresh start…a time to set some new goals.  I wanted to share my goals for the year so you can help keep me accountable!

2014 Goals

Fitness

1.) Be more active on the blog & write more frequently!  Stay tuned for more frequent posts in 2014!  And let us know what you want to hear about by sending us an email average2athlete@gmail.com

2.) Be more consistent with my nutrition.  I do so well when I have a short term goal ahead of me, but its not always easy in between to stay away from the sweets! I am hoping that the Paleo challenge that I mentioned above will help start the year off right!

3.) Try new things!  Specifically, in the next 12 months, I want to do Crossfit, Soul Cycle, Yoga, Olympic lifting & go Rock climbing.

4.) Program for myself and stick to it.

5.) Improve skills – Pull-ups, Pistols, HSPU, Muscle ups & Double-unders.

Career

1.) Group Fitness – Get certified & start teaching classes.

2.) Further my education with additional workshops & certifications – Crossfit, KB, Animal Flow, TRX, FMS.

3.) Build Private Training Business – Expand private client base in NYC as well as virtually.  (Send us an email for more info!)

Financial – SAVE MORE…..Duh! 🙂

Spiritual/Social – So these are a little more “Big Picture” & more of a guideline or a vision than actual goals, but I think they are a good reminder of how I want to live my life.  So I am going to print these out along with my goals to hang on my wall so I am reminded everyday!   (P.S. I’m a sucker for quotes, and a lot of these go along with my favorites!)

1.) Be present, Live in the moment.  Don’t stress about the future and forget about the past.

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done.  One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”

2.) Don’t set limits.

“The only limitations we have are the one’s we set for ourselves.”

3.) Remember what’s important. Find the good in people and take each relationship for what it is.

“Be Kind; Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

4.) Don’t speak poorly of other people and don’t judge them.

“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”

5.) Enjoy a little downtime & appreciate each days accomplishments.

“Let go of the need to do more and be more; for today, you’ve done the best you can, and that’s enough.”

6.) Stay positive. Volunteer. Make a difference.

That about wraps it up!  If you made it this far, thanks for reading!!  We would LOVE to hear about you goals, so send them our way!

Happy & Healthy New Years to you & yours!

Best,

Kayte

05.21.13
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The Home Stretch – Tips for AFTER the a2a Challenge

If you have been doing the 25 Day a2a challenge with us, we are in the home stretch!  Only 2 more days left! This challenge means different things to everyone and no matter what your reasons were for starting the challenge, we are glad you joined us! So now, what’s next?  Well, we have some tips and suggestions for AFTER the challenge. Hopefully these will help you continue on the healthy path you have been on these past few weeks!

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1.) Evaluate how you feel and Recognize how far you have come.  Take notes about any changes that you’ve noticed with your weight, body comp, energy levels or allergies/irritation from food.  You may find that you love this way of eating!

2.) Don’t jump back into your old eating habits all at once – If you decide to add back dairy, grains, processed sugars etc, don’t add it back all at once.  Try adding one thing at a time and evaluate how you feel.  You may find that dairy or processed sugar really makes you feel crummy!  But if you add it all back at the same time, you won’t be able to identify what it is that makes you feel that way.

This goes for alcohol too!  With the Holiday weekend approaching, it’s important to remember that you haven’t been drinking for almost a month!  Definitely enjoy yourself, but take it easy…moderation is key!  Don’t let one Holiday weekend sabotage all of your hard work!

3.) Avoid the “because I can” mentality – To Piggy back off the last tip, try to avoid eating something just because you haven’t had it for 25 days.  If it’s something you have been craving the whole time, then go ahead and allow yourself a meal or 2 to indulge…but DON’T have it just for the sake of having it.  Before you splurge, evaluate and make sure its something you really want!

We have noticed that it’s become much easier to stay away from some of our old favorite cheats…the cravings have pretty much disappeared!  Before you allow yourself to return to an old unhealthy favorite, take a minute to think back about how much harder it was in the beginning of the challenge to eliminate these foods.  Now that your body has changed and craves healthier foods, do you really want to return to your pre-challenge habits?

4.) Make a plan – We have said it before and we will say it again, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!”  This applies to how and when you will reintroduce food, how you want to eat going forward and when/if you will have your cheat meals! If you have a plan for all of these things, you will be less likely to slide down that slippery slope.

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5.) Set Goals for the long-term and short term – Having something to work towards, even small goals, will help to keep you on track! Write them down and keep them somewhere you will see every day!

6.) Maintain the Support of family and friends – Make sure they know that this new way of eating is important to you.  Who knows, it might even rub off on them!

We hope that you have noticed some great changes over the past few weeks! We love how this challenge has made us feel and plan to continue with the idea of eating Paleo 80% of the time and non-paleo 20% of the time.  If you decide to adopt this idea, figure out how many meals/days a week that is for you and plan ahead! The occasional cheat meal can be an important part to staying on track and keeping your sanity, but there are a few things to keep in mind!

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Keep us posted on your progress this week!  If you took before and after pics, send them our way!  Let us know your weight loss, body fat % loss or just improvements in how you are feeling!  If you have a blog or want to share your story, send us the post or entry and we may feature it here!  Leave a comment, shoot us an email or just tag us on instagram @average2athlete.

If you haven’t seen on Facebook or Instagram, we are doing a giveaway this week for the best challenge recipe.  Share your favorite a2achallenge recipe on your social media page before Thursday at noon and tag us @average2athlete, the challenge #a2achallenge, and the giveaway #a2agiveaway for your chance to win! (More details on out Facebook & Instagram.)

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-Kayte & Julia

05.02.13
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Metabolism Rundown and a2a Egg Muffins

First off, I hope everyone participating in the 25 day a2achallenge has been enjoying these first few days!  We have had such a great response from so many of you who have stepped up to the challenge! Stay motivated and keep sending those “a2a approved” healthy meals and recipes our way!

I know this challenge came at a great time for me and I’m excited to see how I feel and look after 25 days.  If you are looking for the “challenge approved” egg muffins that I made earlier this week, they are at the very bottoms of the post and have really come in handy so far!

Since one of the objectives of this challenge is to restore a healthy metabolism, I thought I would take this opportunity to dive into what metabolism really is.  It can be a huge player in fat loss…either working for or against you.  This has actually been a hot topic in my daily life lately, as I have been working with a client on how to repair a damaged metabolism. While repairing metabolism is a little more involved then we’re going to get today, I’ll be sure to post more about that in the future and share my own story.  Today I’ll just run through a general overview about metabolism and how you can boost yours!

So what is Metabolism? 

Metabolism is a function of the body that processes food into energy.  This process establishes the rate that we burn energy (calories) and determines how quickly we gain or lose weight.  Essentially, our body is constantly burning energy…metabolism drives the amount of energy that the body burns in order to maintain everyday activities like eating, sleeping, sitting etc.  There are many different factors that affect metabolism,  which include:

  • Body Composition – More muscle generally leads to higher metabolism
  • Age – Metabolism slows as we get older
  • Sex – Men generally have a higher metabolism than women
  • Foods – The kind of food and timing of meals can impact metabolism
  • Activity (exercise) levels – Exercise can help boost metabolism

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If you are starting to fear that your levels may be a little low, don’t panic!  There are a number of things that you can do to increase your metabolism. I came across a great article, listing 23 ways to boost your metabolism and I have highlighted some of my top picks below:

1.) Build muscle – Simply put, having muscle burns more calories than fat…yet another reason to pick up those weights!  (If you haven’t yet, check out Julia’s posts about lifting heavy and Strong is the new Skinny.)

OK, maybe not THAT much muscle!!

OK, maybe not THAT much muscle!!

2.) Do interval training – Among other great benefits, this increases metabolism and resting metabolic rate.

3.) Eat smaller meals more frequently  – This helps keep your engine revved and your metabolism high!

4.) Incorporate certain metabolism boosting foods into your diet:

5.) Drink more water!

6.) Sleep more

7.) Avoid fad, or severe low-calorie diets – These can actually end up slowing your metabolism down by tricking your body into thinking its starving!  The result is starvation mode!

While I know that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to metabolism, I hope that it helped to give a general idea of what metabolism is all about and what you can do to help give it a boost!  If you still want a little information about metabolism, check out this article.

Now for the Egg Muffin recipe!  Feel free to incorporate some of the metabolism boosting foods into these eggs.

Egg Muffins

Egg Muffins

Egg Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 Eggs
  • 1-1.5 cups whites  (Feel free to try a different ratio depending on how many yokes vs. whites you want…this can also be made with just 12 whole eggs!  I did 8 eggs & 1 cup whites this time.)
  • Veggies of choice (I used broccoli & onion)

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Combine eggs into a bowl & mix
  • Pour eggs into greased muffin tin
  • Place COOKED veggies into each muffin cup
  • Bake for 25 minutes & allow them to cool for 5
  • Tip: Use a knife to loosen the sides of eggs from the pan.

Enjoy!

-Kayte

04.24.13
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a2a 25 Day Challenge!

Yes, we know what you’re thinking. We haaaaaaaate the word diet. In fact, you may often hear us preaching, “It’s a lifestyle, not a diet,” whenever people speak of such things.

However, sometimes you just need a little motivation to get your booty in gear.

Enter the Whole 30 Challenge, “a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits and relationships with food.”

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This is not a juice cleanse nor is this some crazy diet that forces you to eat cabbage soup for every meal. It’s simply eliminating any of the foods that could be having a negative impact on your health or fitness. Even if you think you eat healthy already, sometimes you don’t even realize that certain foods are making you feel tired, giving you headaches or causing digestive problems until you strip them from your diet completely.

Well, we have decided to do our own challenge, which will last 25 days instead of 30 (because we’re not going to pretend for one second that anyone would stick to this over Memorial Day weekend), and we’re inviting you to join us. Want to start “eating clean” but don’t know where to start? Well, here’s your chance! Feel like you’ve been going a little overboard with the “cheats”? Time to hit the reset button!

The challenge will begin on Monday, April 29th and continue through Wednesday, May 23rd. The rules are simple. Eat real food. Lots of veggies. Lots of protein. Fruits. Healthy fats. Nothing processed. No toxins. No inflammatory foods.

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More specifically, here is what you can eat:

LOTS of vegetables

Meat – beef, chicken, turkey, ham, etc.

Seafood

Fruits

Fats from oils, nuts and seeds (almond butter is allowed if it’s made from RAW almonds only!)

Legumes that are allowed – green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas

Clarified butter or ghee

Vinegar – white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine and white (just make sure there is no added sugar!)

And here is what you CANNOT eat:

No added sugar of any kind, real or fake. For realz, none.

No processed foods.

No alcohol (I know, we’re crying over here too.)

No grains. This includes wheat, rye, barley, millet, oats, corn, rice, sprouted grains, quinoa, bran germ, starch, etc.

No legumes. This includes all beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, peanutbutter and all forms of soy (soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, etc.)

No dairy. Yes, this means black coffee.

No white potatoes (sweet potatoes are ok!)

No “paleo” treats. This means no pancakes!

Now you’re thinking to yourself, “WTF am I supposed to eat? No bread?! NO PEANUT BUTTER?!?!”

Well, there are a million online resources where people have documented their Whole 30 meals. One of our favorites is Nom Nom Paleo, who documented her meals each day while completing the challenge.

We’ll also be posting our meals on Instagram (@average2athlete), and we’d love to see yours as well! Simply mupload your pictures to Instagram and tag #a2achallenge.

Ok, so you’re no longer afraid of starving, but now you’re thinking, “But it’s May and there are going to be so many fun happy hours I’m going to miss!”

 Unfortunately, there is NEVER going to be a good time to do something like this. There will ALWAYS be an excuse. It’s only 25 days. 25 DAYS! That’s seriously nothing. You got this.

And don’t worry, there are things that we’re going to miss too…

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Ok, enough embarrassing photos. Just join is. Pleeeeease? Misery loves company?

Oh, and we should probably also mention that this is NOT an excuse to stop eating altogether. That is absolutely not the point and please do not destroy your metabolism because you’d rather starve than eat your veggies. Enjoy this and eat up, knowing that everything you put in our mouth is GOOD for you!

Finally, we encourage you to take pictures of yourself (and calculate your body composition, if possible) before and after completing the challenge. However, during the challenge, just focus on eating right and think about how you feel. Trust us, if you stick to the plan, the physical results will come!

Questions? Let us know in the comments.

Good luck everyone!

~Julia and Kayte