I think I am the same as most where I want my breakfasts to be healthy, but needs to be quick. 

Two things I do that help:

• I do eat the same foods almost every morning, except Sundays where my husband or myself make flour-free waffles or pancakes. 
• I prep on the weekends

We need protein in the morning to help keep us full until lunch so my breakfast protein staple is ground chicken/turkey muffins (recipe here). We make these over the weekend and both my husband and I have one every morning. 

Using ground turkey: 172cal, 7.9g fat, 6.5g carb, 18.7g protein

Because I am super active throughout the day, I need a bit of carbs. I usually make a bowl of quick oatmeal. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup GF Quick Oats
• 1/8 cup raisins
• pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp nuts or seeds
• 1/2 cup hot water

I mix the above ingredients and I am good to go! No cooking required :)

Oatmeal bowl: 262cal, 6.5g fat, 48.1g carb, 6.5g protein

Sometimes, like this morning, we ran out of chicken/turkey...

Are you reading this article on either your phone, tablet, or laptop? Of course :)
 
It’s time to do a quick check … Is your head tilted down in order to see?
 
If you spend a lot of time in this position (and who doesn’t these days?!), you are actually at risk for developing something called “text neck”.
 
Text neck happens when you spend a lot of time with your head forward, shoulders rounded, and your back hunched. Many of us are in this position upwards of 4 to 5 hours a day!
 
When you spend a lot of time in that position the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the front of your neck/shoulders get compressed and tight – while the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the back of your neck and shoulders get long and overstretched.
 
You can see how over time, this can potentially cause imbalance, pain, and real problems.
 
Especially since for every inch your head juts forward, it puts an extra 10 lbs of pressure on your neck!
...

When it comes to your core muscles, one group often gets overlooked … until it gets to be a problem!
 
That’s because when we think of our core, we usually only think of the muscles that wrap around our body’s midsection.
 
But did you know that your pelvic floor muscles are the FOUNDATION for your core?
 
They work very hard to support you – as well as all the organs that are inside your pelvic region.
 
Keeping those muscles strong and fit can make a big difference in your body’s overall stability, as well as your digestive and reproductive organs. 
 
This doesn’t just apply to women, BTW – men also benefit from having strong pelvic floor muscles. Strong pelvic floor muscles help with urinary and bowel control as well as sexual function.
 
Many things can affect your pelvic floor muscles, including pregnancy, obesity, constipation, surgery and/or radiation, and just getting older.
 
3 Exercises For Your Pelvic...

An out-of-balance core can make it a LOT harder for you to reach your fitness and strength goals.
 
Before I get into the hows & whys, picture this:
 
Imagine your core is like a flexible piece of tubing made of dozens of intertwining muscles. One of its many jobs is to support your torso and protect your spine as it powers your arms and legs, keeping everything stable, balanced, and strong.
 
Now imagine you bend that tube and leave it for a few hours on a chair. Eventually, some parts of the tube get tighter and others get stretched out – resulting in weakness and imbalance.
 
Keep that scenario in mind! Because we’re going to talk about…
 
SQUATS
 
Imagine putting a barbell on the upper back of the tube that’s been sitting all day.
 
Because it’s out of balance, with the muscles in the front tighter than the back, all those intertwining muscles can’t provide as much assistance and stabilization as they normally would.
...

This recipe is from my 17-page 6-week Total Body Transformation Challenge recipe manual. It is an absolute favourite in my house full of picky teenagers. My husband and I wrap with the collard greens, but my teenagers use regular soft tortillas. I don't eat gluten, so I recommend the collard green, but if you wanted to use a tortilla too, I highly recommend Joseph's lower carb, high protein wraps. They are YUM!

Chicken Fajitas

Prep Time: 40 min

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 1 tbsp. Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 3 Peppers (yellow, red, green) (sliced)
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper (de-seeded and sliced)
• 1 Yellow Onion (sliced)
• 16 oz. Chicken Breast (cut into strips)
• 1 tbsp. Avocado Oil
• 1/2 cup Cashews (soaked for 1-2 hours in water, drained)
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Lemon (juiced)
• 2 tbsp. Water (as needed)
• 4 cups Collard Greens (washed and stems removed)
• 2 Lime (cut into wedges)

Directions: Preheat oven to 425....

Having three teenagers brings home new colourful and strange slang language. My teens say "lit" a lot. Googling the word, historically it meant "drunk", but now means exciting or excellent. And I can honestly say Pilates is EXCITING and EXCELLENT, but definitely has nothing to do with drinking, lol. 

The article below is why Pilates is lit:

If you are a regular to my classes and/or read my blog articles you know I stress the importance of building balance in the body. But what does that mean?

There is a constant play of stability and mobility within our bodies. Certain areas in our body function best when strong and stable (stability) and other areas of the body function best with more range of motion (mobility).

Pilates on the apparatus (reformer, stability chair, barrel, plus TRX) lays the foundation to build a highly functional body by uniquely building that balance of stability and mobility. A functional body has even strength in the muscles combined with proper...

 
It’s the season for setting goals … and today I’ve got something that will help you to make them a reality!
 
It’s a checklist to stay on-track, no matter what goals you’re working toward.

First: do you need help figuring out your 2021 goals? Click the photo to download my free Goal Setting e-book.


 

Now let’s jump in...

10 Steps to Conquering Your Goals

 
1. FOCUS & DECIDE. Instead of choosing several goals to work on all at the same time, harness all that energy and focus it toward just 1-2 main goals.
 
2. Pick the goal with your BIGGEST WHY.
 
This is the goal that you emotionally connect with and have a STRONG REASON for choosing. (example: “I want to have the energy to play with my kids.” - that’s a pretty big reason)
 
It’s your “WHY” that keeps you going, so it has to be a good one.
 
3. COMMIT (No, Really.) Commit the right amount of resources (time, energy, and...

I want to talk about something today that can set the tone for your ENTIRE YEAR.

It can help you make great decisions … set your priorities and stick to them … and even help you achieve your goals!

PLUS … it can even help you feel GREAT in the process. AND NO, it’s not an energy drink or a miracle cure!

It’s your FOCUS WORD for 2021.

Your word will set the tone for the entire year. It’s basically your 2021 mantra. It’s your intention.

Examples of focus words could be something like “STRONG,” or “RENEW,” or “TRANSFORM,” or “INSPIRE.”

Whatever word you choose, it should align with your goals and also, maybe MOST importantly, make you feel GOOD when you say it.

Words with a strong emotional response will keep you feeling excited and fired up!

First, having JUST ONE WORD to keep in mind is simple – and reminding yourself of the word every day will help you stay on track.

The whole idea is...

This week my kids and I had a contest who could design the best gingerbread house.

My tried and true recipe is one I make every year, and it tastes sooo good PLUS it's dairy free and gluten free, as I have an allergy to those ingredients. I have included the recipe below. 

For my private, semi-private, and group class clients, I thought you all would get a chuckle at this coffee mug I found online: 

Funny eh? My sets of ten normally turn into sets of 12...15...18 :D

It seems I am not alone with my struggle of ten, lol!



Dairy Free and Gluten Free Gingerbread Recipe

Ingredients:
1 Egg
0.5 cup Brown sugar
0.25 cup almond butter
3 tbsp molasses
0.25 cup earth balance
0.75 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp baking soda
0.5 cup quinoa flour
0.5 cup oat flour
0.5 cup buckwheat flour

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, add egg, softened butter, molasses, almond butter, brown sugar, salt, spices, baking soda and beat on low with a mixer, or...

Why I love Pilates mat:

Practicing Pilates mat helps build a strong, balanced body inside and out, while increasing flexibility through dynamic stretching movements.

• Inside: deep core muscles and stabilizers help keep the body optimally supported.
• Outside: our large, powerful prime movers are challenged making us stronger and more capable to function in our day to day activities and athletic pursuits. 

As you progress in your practice you will notice improvements in breathing, focus, stress management, and body awareness.

Pilates mat is perfect for beginners because you only need your own body, a mat, and some floor space to start. And perhaps investing in a light set of hand weights down the road.

My Pilates Fit classes take all that is good with classical Pilates and put a functional fitness training twist to the class. Adding light hand weights and/or a long resistance band to some of the exercises challenge our entire musculoskeletal system to improve...