Eating something delicious and nutritious certainly isn't hard to come by. But sometimes it requires some work. Sure eating a salad for dinner is easy but can get boring after awhile. So as I always do, I looked for a low carb recipe for dinner when I had a craving for steak. Here's what I got for you. 

Ingredients incude: 
Skirt steak
Bell peppers
Onions
Carotts 
Zucchini 
Mushrooms

Sauce/Marinade:
Teriyaki 
Balsamic
Barbecue 
Garlic and fresh herbs
Taco seasoning
​Soy sauce, ginger and brown sugar 

Since I like recipes that are more on the quick side and less prep time, I used low sodium teriyaki sauce I had from the store. By all means make your own sauce! There are a few options for the marinade depending on what you kind you like, as I listed a couple above. 

When buying the skirt steak, make sure it is a piece large enough to be cut into at least four. If you are making this recipe for a larger group of people, I suggest purchasing 2-3 steaks. 

Slice all of the vegetables as below. They are kept raw and don't need to be cooked ahead of time. 

Next, you'll want to cut the steaks and pound them out a bit to make them as thin as possible. Following this, marinade the steaks in the sauce of your choice for 5 minutes or so. 

Once your steaks are all sauced up, start to roll in the vegetables and hold it together with two toothpicks. 

Cook the "rolls" on each side for about 1-2 minutes. Cook to preference and serve right away! 

You know what I truly hate? Being deprived of something I want. If its food, seeing someone I love or just sleep, I try to eliminate deprivation from my life. And on Saturday night, I definitely didn't deprive myself. Upon taking my boyfriend out for his birthday dinner, I told myself I would eat what I was in the mood for, not what I felt I needed to eat. And so I did. We ordered the bang bang shrimp for starters to go along side my very dirty martini. A couple of days later I started to crave the appetizer that was filled with a punch of spicy, a little bit sweet and a lot of calories. I figured I could easily re-create the recipe but to fit my healthier standards. I searched around for a few different options and this is what I came up with! 

Skinny bang bang shrimp 
1 lb of shrimp peeled and deveined 
3 tablespoons of plain greek yogurt 
3 tablespoons of green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons of sweet Thai chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha  
1 cup of panko bread crumbs (optional)
1 cup of coconut flour (optional) 
1 egg white 

Directions:
1. Mix in a bowl the greek yogurt, onions, chili sauce and sriracha.
2. Toss shrimp in a bowl with the coconut flour 
3. Then toss shrimp in egg white (just to get slightly wet)
4. Toss shrimp in panko bread crumbs 
5. Cover shrimp with sauce (leave half on the side)
6. Place on a baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
7. Brush the shrimp over with the sauce 
(Steps 2, 3, and 4 are all optional- if you want to make the dish gluten free)
Enjoy!! 

Much easier said than done. When it comes to truly understanding food and nutrition one of the toughest things to manage (at first) is your portion control. Being in America where most entrees are super sized it can be difficult to re-wire your brain. I am guilty of it often like when I go out to dinner. Have you ever been to a restaurant and you order a pasta dish and when you are served it looks like your entree could be for a family of four? Yet you gobble down the whole delicious carbs. I can name countless times I've done this too! You are not alone! 

One really great way to start monitoring more of what you eat is understanding what actual sizes of foods you're consuming. For example, when you are cooking a new recipe you would follow the instructions on how many tablespoons or cups goes into what you're cooking. Similar concept for when you are eating. If you are at a family party with buffet styled food you have options of how much you want of each item. Instead of depriving yourself of all the "bad" carbohydrates or completely excusing any fats, wouldn't just be easier to know how much of each you could have? Without going completely off your weight loss plan! 

Check out the photo below that I find perfectly explains food portions. It is like your beginner guide to eating all the best foods and even some of the not so best, but in moderation! 

It is super easy to tell someone to eat healthy and workout and you will get results. It super easy to give someone a meal plan and a fitness guide and tell them good luck. It is super easy to guide someone in the right direction. But what happens after all the super easy stuff? You just met with your coach who gave you a plan of workouts, a grocery list and in essence just changed your entire daily routine within minutes. Are you freaking out a little bit? I would be too. 

When it comes to taking that big leap of faith into taking better care of your body a lot goes into it. It is a lot more then just following a new eating plan. It is now buying different groceries and understanding what is in the foods you are eating. Now add working out and doing mental growth to the mix and you could be setting yourself up for a break down. 

Instead my approach is different. When I found that I was having trouble keeping off some belly fat I tried to understand why, like honestly really why. I wasn't eating as great as I could- clearly. But it takes a lot to be that honest with yourself. I simply changed 3 things in my daily regimin to take care of what I felt was a problem.

#1 I added vegetables to every meal 
I made sure that I was eating a leafy green with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also made sure there were vegetables in my snacks. 
Alternative: If you are having a meal with less vegetables, grab a green juice as a snack. 

#2 I added cardio to my workout schedule
When I workout I typically would do weight lifting or full body circuits. I made sure that at the end of all my workouts I would hop on the treadmill and do 20 minutes to amplify my workout for the day. I then began to build it up from 20 minutes to 30 to 40. 
Alternative: Take a class like spin or zumba! 

Breakfast has never really been my thing- or mornings. But over the years I have tried to figure out little habits I can do to like my mornings a bit more. I have mastered the art of laying out my day the night before. I have my work clothes, gym clothes, food for the day and bag all set to go. All I have to do is actually wake up. Typically I would make a protein shake or throw a yogurt in my bag for breakfast. While this was super easy and convinent it wasn't filling. I always wanted to be able to wake up early enough to cook breakfast like an omelet but I could never force myself to do it. So I turned to plan b, meal prepping breakfast.

I know it sounds kind of gross making eggs ahead of time but hear me out. My aunt every Easter always makes a delicious quiche that we usually end up having left overs of. I figured if her left overs are good to eat for the following couple of days then I could make something similar. My quiche is simple, healthy and delicious to say the least. But the best part is its all divided up for work each morning! And the even better part is if you know you may not eat it all in one week you can freeze it for another time! Check out my recipe below: 

4 whole eggs
4 egg whites
Spinach
Onions
Tomatoes 
Turkey bacon 
1/4 cup of milk (almond milk or any kind that you like)
Shredded cheddar cheese (use as much or as little as you'd like)
Onion salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder 

I don't have a specific amount of each vegetable because I used whatever I had in my kitchen-which is what makes this recipe so easy! 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and you're good to go! 

I have a soft spot for Chinese food. Maybe its because its not something I typically eat but I can never get enough of it. I recently had a craving for lo mein but knew I really didn't want to eat all those calories filled with carbs, sugars and sodium. I took to Pinterest instead to figure out a better recipe instead of take out. I found one I liked and altered it even more to my likings. My recipe is as follows: 

Black bean spaghetti pasta
Baby corn
Peas
Spinach
Carrots 
Mushrooms
Water crests 
Zucchini 
Bean sprouts 
Garlic
Pepper
Onion salt 
Garlic powder

Sauce: 
2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of honey 
1 tbsp of fresh ground ginger 

*Dairy free - Gluten free - Low carb - High protein*
​
Cooking it was also super simple. Throw all your veggies into a pan with oil and seasonings, as the pasta boils in its own pot. When the pasta is drained and ready, combine with the veggies and add the sauce. Now you're ready to serve! I chose black bean pasta because it is high in fiber and protein as opposed to regular pasta that has barely any of either. This makes a great dinner for a family meal or divided up for lunch for a couple of days.

It's Monday again. And if you're in New York it's even more of a struggle today as the clouds have rolled in and the rain washes the weekend away. Sipping your cup of joe getting ready for your day to begin, you have two options. Push through the week and let life happen to you, or make this an extraordinary week and allow you to happen to life. I am far from a morning person and if I neglect to lay my day out the night before it can go downhill pretty quick. I have found a few things I do every night, but especially on Sunday's to help me get my week going in the right direction.

1- Lay out your outfit for the week the night before
2- Prepare your breakfast, lunch and snacks for the day (or week) Sunday/night before 
3- Lay out your gym clothes for the day 
4- Drink a glass of water upon waking up 
5- Have your cup of tea for a natural pick me up 
6- Make your bed 
7- Make a task list for the week 
8- Plan one fun thing to do that week 
9- Meditate 
10- Send out a loving good morning text to a friend or family member 

I have gotten into the habit of doing at least 8 of the 10 on my list. Some tips sound funny to others but I'll give you my reasoning. Number 10 for example, send out a loving good morning message. It may sound silly but we live in a world of emotion. When we do something nice for someone else, their happiness makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Plus it is never too early or too late to let someone know how much they mean to you. Life is short. Unless you wake up at 4am for work, maybe hold off on that text for a few hours! 

Plan something fun to do that week. I know I always operate better when I have something to look forward to, a goal as some would say. Now while getting cocktails with your friends may not be a goal it is nice to know that Thursday at 6pm you have plans and are excited to do something fun for you! 

I have never been huge on making my bed, in fact I usually just pull all my covers up and call it a day. And that is somewhat, what I mean by making your bed. There is some kind of accomplishment met when your room doesn't look like a complete disaster before you leave for school, and the same goes for when you come home. You can cross it off your task list. Which brings me to number 7. Us humans like to feel worthy of our  time. Like we are a functioning member of society. Even if it is as small as picking up your roommates dry cleaning to paying off that big college loan- write it down. Make a check list and see what you can accomplish by Friday. Remember you have the same exact hours in the day as Beyonce. :) 

Meditation may not be something you're into or maybe even something you've tried. But I recommend it to everyone. As someone who suffers with a lot of anxiety and stress it is sometimes the only time of the day where I can completely shut my mind off and be at peace, even if its just for 10 minutes. If you have no idea where to begin, YouTube guided meditations or look at my previous posts on meditating!