Friday Faves - Fixate Cookbook

Happy Friday! Today my fave focuses on my all time favorite cookbook - Fixate cookbook. I love all of the recipes! There are appetizer, soup, salad, main course, dessert and drink recipes. In all there are over 100 recipes in the book. The only thing I find I substitute in the recipes is the sweetener. I substitute stevia or coconut sugar for honey. Great tool to have in your kitchen! You can check it out here: www.mybeachbodycoach.com/nicolelarcenaire1

Thirsty Thursday - Blueberry Basil Smoothie

Happy Thursday!  This is an awesome and very refreshing snack.

1/2 cup   Unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup   Water
1 Scoop  Vanilla protein powder (I use shakeology)
1/2 cup    Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
4              Chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup        Ice

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth  Enjoy!

Two For Tuesday - Headphones - Wired or Wireless?

Happy Tuesday!  Two for Tuesday today features headphones - wired or wireless?  I have used both and at times still do depending on my mood or type of work out.  I wear Beats wireless headphones the majority of the time.  For one reason, I find people are a lot less likely to interrupt my workout when I have them on.  For some reason people don't seem to mind, at all, asking you to pull that one headphone out of your ear to chat but that is not true with the much larger wireless Beats. Since I keep myself on very short rest periods between sets, that is a HUGE plus for me!  Another plus of wireless headphones is I never catch them on a weight rack or weight stand and rip them from my ear!  Oh if I had a dollar every time I had done that with wired headphones.  Another big plus!

The upside of wired headphones is they are a lot smaller, your hair does not get totally trashed and they are not hot like the wireless set I use.  So if I am only doing cardio or something that does not involve weights I will wear wired headphones at times.

As far as my Beats - I highly recommend them.  They are awesome as far as the sound produced and the noise they cancel out and they stay put on my head during the work out.  Love love them. If you are in the market for headphones, check them out.

Cheers to a fantastic day!

What's In My Gym Bag - Coconut Hand Sanitizer

Happy Monday!  Today from my gym bag I am featuring a product I always have on hand - The Body Shop coconut hand sanitizer.  I have used several different brands and scents but this is my absolute favorite.

I really cannot think of anywhere that is dirtier or has more germs than a gym.  Everyone is handling the same equipment and let's face it, if you pay attention most people are not very sanitary!  That's why I never leave home without this.  I get the travel size so I can keep it in my gym bag and my purse.  It is an awesome product.  You can check it out at the link below:

Cheers to a fantastic Monday!

Sunday Newsletter - Do You Really Need to Stretch??

Wondering if you really need to stretch?  This weeks newsletter is for you!

Saturday Secrets - Boiled Eggs

Happy Saturday!  My secret this week is boiled eggs.  Such a simple food item but it keeps me on track and away from the snack cabinet!  I boil some every week and they are amazing snacks, especially as a grab and go snack.  If you are looking for an easy addition to your snack list, give this  a try!  Cheers!

Thirsty Thursday - Homemade Gatorade

If you love gatorade but don't love the ingredients, check out this recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water or coconut water 
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon calcium magnesium powder
• 1/2 cup juice (make sure it is 100% juice)
• 1 tablespoon stevia, coconut sugar or honey.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together & serve chilled. Enjoy!

Mindset - What A Difference it Makes!

I have a lot of people ask me about this "clean eating thing."  People who have tried everything, every "diet" and exercise program around.  The missing link, at least for me, was a change in mindset.  Clean eating/living is not a "diet" or some new fad.  It has been around for a very long time.  It is a lifestyle and part of being successful is having that mindset.  It is not temporary.  It is not a quick fix. It is a way of living.

Does it happen overnight?  Not even close.  It takes a lot of trial and error.  A lot of reading.  A lot of learning.  But when you have the mindset that you are in it for the long haul, those little glitches and little errors don't derail you. You learn from them. When you are "dieting"for example, its temporary. You tell yourself that you just have X amount of time to get through it and you do your best to follow the plan to perfection, or you just throw in the towel.  This is not like that.  It is an effort, day in and day out.  One "clean" meal won't change your life, and one "treat" meal won't either.  A rule of thumb I like to use is to be on plan 100%, 80% of the time.  That leaves you the 20% to indulge in your favorite meal, drink, whatever.

Leading a clean lifestyle isn't just about eating either.  It is about exercise and getting your body moving and taking care of yourself emotionally.  Setting aside time for you to get a manicure, a massage, read a good book, whatever soothes your soul.  It's a long term plan.  Is it always easy?  No it isn't.  Do I sincerely believe it is absolutely worth it?  Without question.

I can tell you that since I have been injured I have been a little more off plan than usual.  The meds make me sick at my stomach a lot of the time and things I have always loved to eat do not sound good to me now.  Unfortunately, as always, tacos sound amazing! :)  It is a process.  If I eat a taco, I enjoy it and I go on because I know that cutting out that taco did not get me to where I am and eating one won't ruin me either.

Mindset.  It is absolutely the key to success!  Cheers to an amazing weekend.

Two for Tuesday - 2 Sugar Alternatives

Happy Tuesday!  At 37 I started learning about all the negative effects of refined sugar and started on a journey of eliminating it from my diet.  Yes I make slips and get fooled at times but learn and continue on.  It was Dr. Nicholas Perricone's work that started me on this journey.  He is famous for his anti-inflammatory research and diet (www.perriconemd.com).

Two of my favorite sugar substitutes are stevia and coconut sugar.  I primarily use stevia as it is lower on the glycemic index but I do find that it has a slight aftertaste when cooking.  For those situations I use coconut sugar.  It tastes fantastic.  It does however have a slight brown tint that it leaves to the food (I use it in cole slaw for instance and it tints it brown.) Both are excellent alternatives to refined sugar.

Give them a try on one of your next recipes.  Cheers!

Saturday Secrets - Almond Flour

Happy Saturday!  My Saturday Secret today is almond flour - one of my favorite ways to clean up some yummy recipes.  I grew up eating most everything battered & fried.  There are times I still want something that satisfies that "chicken strip" craving.  Almond flour is a perfect alternative.  You get to skip all the negative effects of flour and have a coating that I believe much more resembles panko. When I make chicken strips,  I either bake the chicken in the oven or I do a quick fry in olive oil to get that crispy texture and then bake the remainder of the time in the oven.

Almond flour is a little pricey.  I have experimented with making my own when I find almonds on special but I must admit it takes ALOT of almonds to make a significant amount of flour.  I also use it to coat tilapia and bake in the oven.  Delish!  One of my favorite recipes of course is chocolate chip cookies made from almond flour.  You get that cookie and nut texture all rolled in one.  (Recipe can be found on my website www.platinumsass.com) Give it a try on one of your next recipes.  You will not be sorry!

Cheers to a fantastic weekend!

Friday Faves - 21 Day Fix

Today my Friday Fave is my favorite "kick it in gear" workout program.  If you have fallen off the wagon, just starting your fitness program or need to kick it up a notch, I highly recommend 21 day fix, or 21 day fix extreme depending on your goals and fitness level.  I love 21 day fix for several reasons:  it comes complete with an easy to use, effective meal plan, the exercises are 30 minutes or less and they are well worth the time! If you stick to the plan, you can also see some amazing results in only 3 weeks.

Since I am a long time fitness enthusiast, I started with the extreme version.  It does not allow for cheat meals during the 3 week period.  Longest 30 minutes of my life!  I absolutely felt the intensity of the workouts and it was an awesome addition to my lifting routine.  I love how the exercises focus on building your glutes and creating beautiful legs.  There is also plenty of variety as far as the exercises go.  You are not stuck doing the same routine every day.

If you are looking to shake things up, be sure and check out 21 day fix!  I love it.  If you have any questions I can answer, just shoot me a message!

www.beachbodycoach.com/nicolelarcenaire1

Oh What A Difference A Week Makes

Last week I could barely sit up or smile when I arrived for my doctor's appointment. This week I did not use a wheelchair and actually had my hair & makeup done! Oh what a difference!

Progress is slow and steady but looking at these pictures exactly one week apart shows me how far I have come. Great news at the doctor and I also got a sporty new brace. I know it will be much better when I get used to the differences from the other brace. I can bend my ankle and move my foot which is a beautiful thing!

To anyone suffering with an injury, I feel your pain and my heart goes out to you. Take pictures. Celebrate the victories. And above all keep on keeping on! 

Cheers to health & healing! 

An Exciting Week! Injury & Recovery Week 1

My goodness how life can totally do a 180 on you in only a week!  I never imagined on Sunday of last week when I was goal setting and planning my workouts how completely wrong I was about my week!

This week was Spring Break for my youngest daughter so we slept late on Monday and then planned on going for a walk in the park with our 4 golden retrievers and my hubby, Gary. 

We loaded up and left the house about 10 am,  grabbed some tea and arrived at the park. My hubby was very excited to take us to a new park. We unloaded everyone and as always, we put the two babies (age 6 so not really babies) on a double leash together, Jewelie, the matriarch, on one leash and Gentleman Jack leashless as always. (He normally carries his own leash.) 

We got a few feet on the path when my sweet Jewelie stopped to relieve herself which made us realize we had forgotten our waste bags! We moved over to the side and waited while Gary ran to the truck to get a bag to clean up the mess. Coming down the path was an older gentleman with a medium sized dog.   We held the dogs off to the side, hoping the man would quickly pass us. No such luck. It's literally like he froze with fear at the possibility of having to pass our beautiful blonde pack. He stood there for what seemed an eternity with his snack size morsel of a dog yapping at the pack.  After a few minutes, our pack decided they were going to investigate this man and his pet.

I am not exactly sure what happened but according to Elizabeth, one baby went on one side of my leg and the other baby on the other side, all the while my leg trapped in the middle.  I pulled back trying to get the dogs away from this ice figure of a man and all I remember is feeling a horrible twist and excruciting pain and knew my knee was  gone.  I fell forward into the grass face first all the while still gripping the leashes for dear life as the little man was STILL standing there a foot from me.  I remember my ears ringing and feeling the sensation I was about to get very sick and just kept repeatedly saying:  "please pass" to which he never did.

The next thing i remember is my hubby running from the truck at first thinking this was some kind of practical joke.  I told him I could not stand or walk and I needed to go to the hospital asap.  (Yes the man is STILL there with the barking dog at this point.)  He finally passes and my hubby brings the truck over to me and a park worker helps get me into the truck.

Just for context, I have a very high pain tolerance and going to the doctor or taking medications is at the very bottom of my list of things to do.  I am very blessed to have exceptional health and remind myself of this daily.  The ride to the hospital seemed an eternity for me. We finally arrived at the emergency room and I was wheeled in to register.  Oddly enough, I remember my dogs were incredibly silent through all of this.  Goldens are notoriously known for their ability to feel/sense things.  I was checked in and put into a room about 11:00 a.m.

I was given x-rays and then about two hours later was finally given something for pain. (Yes, another eternity.)  I was given morphine, and if you have never experienced that, thank your lucky stars.  I cannot fathom how people become addicted to that medication.  I literally felt like I was dying and that my body was paralyzed as the medication moved through my system.  Worst feeling ever.  Needless to say I requested an alternative medication after that.  I was then wheeled off by two sweet ladies for a CT scan of my leg.   After returning I asked to be wheeled to the restroom.  What a mistake that was!  They sent a precious young lady to wheel me over and on the way back she accidentally hung my broken log on the trash can and door frame and according to my family I flew from the chair hollering.  I think I scared her to death and needless to say, I was never able to fully manage my pain after that.

It was several hours before I saw the doctor who finally told me I had broken the tibia in several places and pulled the ACL loose.  She said they would be prepping me for surgery that afternoon, therefore no food water, etc.  This was the plan for a few hours and then she consulted with an Orthopedic Surgeon and it was decided there would not be any surgery that day.  This went back and forth for hours and finally at 7:30 pm the Ortho on call came by and made a custom brace for my leg.  He had decided he was not the one to handle my case so he consulted with a parter to take it over who ultimately consulted with someone else to take it on.  WHEW!

A little after 9 pm I was loaded up on medication and sent home with crutches and an appointment for Thursday with the Orthopedic Surgeon.  We met with him on Thursday and he showed us all the images and we came to understand all the confusion that seemed to surround my leg on Monday.  Surgery at this point has far too many risks.  There are many spider breaks in the bone and operating could cause the whole thing to blow up basically.  The ACL is not torn but has however broken a piece of the bone away that is sticking out between my knee & tibia.

He said total recovery will be 3-4 months.  Also that if the leg healed on its own, we could get some healing out of the way and then do surgery to clean up the inside with a lot fewer risks.  I had an x-ray this week and everything looks good and I will go back next week for another x-ray to check the progress and to also get switched to a different kind of brace.

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions to say the least.  I am an extremely active person.  One of the most active people I know of and now am totally immobile.  My right leg is the broken leg which also prevents me from driving.  I am completely home bound.  I am however very grateful that I have a loving family that is taking amazing care of me.  My every need and want is met.  My husband prepares amazing meals served with beautiful fresh flowers.  My neighbors, friends and family have sent food, flowers and baskets to cheer me up.

My fitness and clean eating journey has been a long one.  I have made so much progress and feel I am in such a good place.  I am very fearful about being unable to exercise.  I am fearful of depression.  I am fearful my leg will never be the same.  I am not however letting myself get taken over by all these fears.  I acknowledge them and go on.  I am blessed.  I have a family that loves me.  I have health insurance.  I have excellent medical care.  I am blessed far beyond most. This will be an opportunity for me to understand injury and recovery and share this knowledge with others in the future. Pain is a big issue for me this week.  Hoping for it to be less of an issue next week.

Cheers to next week!


(Here is a pic of me & my little culprits.)