FLAG Unfurled!

Did you know Get Fit NH has a FLAG?

As promised, our Fat Loss Accountability Group is now open to accept a limited amount of new members.

To unfurl our FLAG, we will meet either Wednesday, September 26th or Saturday, September 29th for a “Cooking with the Carlson’s – Behind the Scenes Planning and Prepping Meals” seminar and get together. The final date will be announced soon.

This is an exclusive meeting for FLAG members, so don’t miss getting in on the action!

If you are interested in becoming part of FLAG, Fat Loss Accountability Group, please call me (Coach Nancy) so I can answer questions, and if you are all ready to go you can sign up at here.

My number is 344-2651. Please call me, I won’t twist your arm or pressure you into our group. FLAG takes work. It is not for everyone. But please call me so we can chat.

The hard works has its rewards in benefits like a body you enjoy seeing each morning, healthier insides for a healthier you, accountability to yourself, and a coach to help you along your way.

To your best health,

Nancy

What’s In Your Cupboard?

I went shopping yesterday.

“Big deal” you may be saying, “Why should I care about your grocery shopping?”

Well many of you have asked me “What do you eat? How do you make PPW (Protein, Produce, and Water) a reality?”

I thought I might answer that question with a few pictures. While you won’t see exactly what lunch or dinner is (Lunch was Salmon cakes, salad, and Deb’s Cucumber salad, while dinner is Grilled Enchilada Salad) you will see what I use to fix our meals.

Our cupboards for our dry goods is filled with spices, tuna, natural peanut butter, and things like ketchup and mustard. The Salmon was here until lunch time. This is it besides a big box of oatmeal, dried beans, almonds. Those are down below so the kids can reach it.

Here’s the fridge. All the typical stuff is here. Veggies located in the bins below but also scattered throughout the place. My rule of thumb is that my grocery cart should not be overloaded with fruit. An equal amount or more of veggies should be included.

The white bowl on the top shelf is full of hard boiled eggs.  There are over 48 eggs in the picture along with 5 family size containers of yogurt. They both make a great snack – quick and easy.

And the freezer? Its been stocked with frozen veggies, some of which are from our garden. Frozen shrimp, chicken, and also frozen fruit. I guess I didn’t need to say ‘frozen’; Imagine that frozen food in a freezer? 🙂

Meal Movement is also a main feature in our freezer. If you haven’t checked out the benefits of Meal Movement, find out more here.

And then finally the picture of my counter (I avoided the piles of papers and stuff that piles high only to clutter). You’ll see the fresh fruit my family enjoys eating.

If you see me at the grocery store, say hi. What’s in the grocery cart won’t embarrass me. I am not always perfectly compliant. No one is. But in general what you see is Protein, Produce, and Water.

Hope you enjoyed taking a peek into the Carlson’s Cupboards.

Now ask yourself “What’s in YOUR cupboard?”

To your best health, Nancy

A Festive Feast for the Eyes, and It Tastes Good Too!

I am eating this as I edit. Delicious! – Coach Dean

Although it is almost Labor Day, don’t let this summer pass you by without sinking your teeth into this incredibly colorful tasty meal.

The fantastic zing of mango with lime and red pepper drizzled over grilled salmon. A tomato salad sprinkled with feta cheese – I just love the combination of tomatoes and feta. Contrasting the color of the tomatoes and beets with green beans. I am making myself hungry as I write this. You’ve got to try this one out.

Salmon With Mango Salsa

• 1 mango peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice (about one lime)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 skin on salmon fillets (about 2 pounds)

Stir together the mango, cilantro, rep pepper, oil,  and lime juice. Heat a grill to medium high. ( If you can hold your hand 3 inches above grill grates for 4-5 seconds its medium. If you can’t hold it there that long you’ve got medium high or high heat. Be careful when testing heat of grill this way.) Season salmon with salt and pepper and lightly brush with olive oil. Grill skin side down for 4-6 minutes. Turn them over and grill for another 4-6 minutes. Remove from grill and spoon salsa over top.  Serves 4

(I buy fresh mango salsa pre made. I squeeze a bit of lime juice, add a bit of cilantro, and a few red pepper flakes to the premade salsa.)

Tomato Beet Salad

• 1 pound of beets
• 2 pound of tomatoes
• 1 pint of cheery tomatoes
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• fresh cilantro, optional
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the beets until clean. Roast on a baking sheet for 75 minutes. Cool. When they are cool to touch you can rub the skins together slightly to remove. Slice beets into rounds. Slice the tomatoes and halve the cherry tomatoes then arrange on platter with beets. Top with feta cheese and sprinkle with cilantro. To finish, drizzle with olive oil. Serves 4

Braised Green Beans

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 5 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

In a large skillet, bring chicken broth and garlic cloves to a simmer. Add in the beans and thyme. Cover. Cook for 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil on top. Serves 4

To your best health (while satisfying your taste)

Coach Nancy

Don’t Lock Your Car This Summer

The summer time joke is that you need to lock your car or someone with a green thumb and a garden will leave zucchini in your car while you’re not watching.

Well don’t lock your car!

Here is a wonderful recipe sent in from Judy at 6:15 in Epsom

• 2 medium to large zucchini
• 2 medium to large summer squash
• 6 large leaves fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (can substitute slivered almonds)

Use vegetable peeler lenghtwise on zucchini & squash (stop at seeded core – can chop up core for spaghetti sauce, etc.) & put in large bowl. Remove basil leaves from stalks (discard stalks) & chop leaves & add to bowl. In separate small bowl whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt & pepper. Drizzle over salad & add chopped nuts. Serve immediately
3 servings, increase all ingredients to serve more. Great topped with grilled chicken or turkey!

Try it! Quick & Easy!

Thank you Judy. In case you are over run with zucchini Judy comes to train at 6:15 in Epsom, I’ll point out her car to you. 🙂

To your best health,
Nancy

S3 Winners Eating Ice Cream

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown otherwise known as S3 successfully ended with many losing weight and making life-long changes. Winning our team challenge, the 6:15 crew in Epsom, enjoyed a cookout complete with summer’s favorite dessert – Ice Cream.

The menu they enjoyed looked like this:

Grilled Chicken

Marinated Steak

Greek Summer Salad

Watermelon

Spinach Salad with Cranberries

Veggie Platter

Peach Melba Sundaes

While they enjoyed being pampered with a meal Dean and I fixed, you can also enjoy these same foods. Don’t tell them, but this cookout was simple recipes. (What you can do though, is ask how it tasted. 🙂 )

Grilled Chicken

• 3 pounds chicken breast
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup McCormick’s Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning
• I put this in a ziploc bag for 2 hours before Dean put it on the grill

Marinated Steak

• 2 pounds Steak
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 -3 Tablespoons McCormick’s Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning
• This too went into a ziploc bag for 2 hours before Dean took it over on the grill

Greek Summer Salad

• 1/2 red onion, cut into small rings
• 1 tomato, diced (I use cherry tomatoes, cut in half)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Pepper to taste

In a glass bowl combine the onion, tomato, zucchini, and feta cheese. Add in vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and then refrigerate to allow the flavors to develop.

Spinach Salad with Cranberries  (this is one of my favorites, Thank you Helen from FLAG)

Salad:

In a large bowl, toss together:

• 10 cups baby spinach
• 1 ½ cups sliced celery
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Dressing:

Whisk together:

• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ tsp. each salt and pepper

I served the dressing on the side but you can toss it lightly to coat if you’d like. Good news is that I now have this fabulous dressing for other salads! It made a ton.

Serves 4.

Peach Melba Sundaes, without any guilt!

• 1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2
• 4 cups of ice
• 3 scoops of vanilla UMP
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Infographic: Nursing Your Sweet Tooth

Created by: www.OnlineNursingPrograms.com

No Name… but It’s Great!

I love seafood. Grilled, baked, sautéd, in some cases raw, seafood is yummy.  Of course you won’t find me on the ocean trying to catch them myself. (You might have to be in the ladies training at 9 in Epsom to get the reason). Oh sorry – too far off course – back to fish.

One of my favorite side dishes along with seafood is coleslaw. Ah, but coleslaw contains mayonnaise, and on a hot summer’s day, mayo will not last long. I came across this recipe and modified it just a bit to meet my needs. It’s cool. It’s refreshing. And it goes great in place of coleslaw.

Now to think of a name for this recipe. (Maybe someone could help me out?)

• “In Place of Coleslaw Recipe”
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 3 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon basil

In a large bowl, combine beans, cabbage, red pepper, onions, feta cheese and parsley. In a jar with a tight lid, combine the rest of the ingredients. Shake the dressing ingredients well. Pour over the cabbage mixture and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Remember this recipe needs a name. What is a snappy name that will fit the bill?

Coach Nancy

Greek Summer Salad Recipe

Salads and summer go hand in hand. Often the sun’s heat makes cooking dinner just too much.  Instead of heading out to your favorite take out, take time to make this dish. By adding it with grilled chicken, it can easily become an entire meal. Voila! You’re a summer sensation!

Greek Summer Salad

• 1/2 red onion, cut into small rings
• 1 tomato, diced (I use cherry tomatoes, cut in half)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Pepper to taste

In a glass bowl combine the onion, tomato, zucchini, and feta cheese. Add in vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and then refrigerate to allow the flavors to develop.

Every time I make this recipe, someone asks me to send it along to them. Give it a try. But don’t say I didn’t warn you – you’ll be sharing this link constantly!

Make it happen,

Coach Nancy

Nutrition Knowledge: S3 and Beyond

The Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown might be over, but eating healthy is here to stay.

Join certified Precision Coach Dean Carlson, PFT, YFS2, Pn1 as he shares the why’s and how’s of eating to live instead of always living to eat.

This seminar covers how Coach Dean earned “Former Fat Boy” status by dropping over 80 pounds and shares how to keep making steady progress toward your goals, even after the thrill of losing the first 10 pounds wears off and real life sets in.

Nutrition Knowledge: S3 and Beyond
Get Fit NH Bootcamp Concord
Tuesday July 31, 2012
6:45pm to 8:00pm

Ice Cream, We Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

It’s hot and it’s summer, so of course we are thinking of dipping up some of the cool stuff to enjoy.

Guess what? It doesn’t have to be bad for you! Try this delicious and easy to make recipe next time you need a cool treat.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 Tablespoon Cocao nibs
• 2 Tablespoons Natural peanut butter
• 3 Scoops of Chocolate UMP
• 4 Cups of ice

Add all the ingredients into a powerful blender. (we use a Vitamix) Using a dampe,  blend for 30-45 seconds. Going longer will melt your ice cream. Scoop this out and enjoy – it is really good!

Look for more new recipes soon. The S3 winners are going to enjoy their cookout, served up by none other than Coach Dean and I, on July 28th. At the cookout we are going to serve Peach Melba Sundaes with a recipe I created. Watch out, it is fantastic!

Enjoy your summer,

Coach Nancy