healthy

Weekend Recap & Recipes

02.03.2015

Hope you lovelies had a great weekend! We had a blast watching the Patriots take the win on Sunday. 😉 I’m definitely a San Francisco fan, but my boyfriend and friends are New Englanders so had to root for Mr Brady! I found tons of great recipes from some foodie blogs, so decided to host a mini Superbowl party… with some healthier snacks of course!

What’s a football game without chips and guac?! I randomly mashed up a bunch of avocados, added diced onions, onion powder, sea salt, lemon and lime, then topped with tomatoes and cilantro. Guac is always a must and by far the easiest thing to prepare!

These healthier pizza bites were definitely a favorite and gone in about 10 seconds. I baked them with whole wheat tortillas, tomato sauce, cheese and turkey pepperonis. Recipe can be found here on the Dashing Dish blog. Only 66 calories each!

Another recipe I tried were these black bean and corn quesadillas. Sooo delicious! I think we scarfed them down before I got a photo, but the recipe can be found here.

Superbowl selfie! 😉 I also changed my instagram name to @jennapardini. This is not only a fitness account, but also my personal so be sure to find me!

This crazy bunch after the big WIN. Horrible quality photo but I think it captures us perfectly. 🙂

I wanted to start posting more workout tips and exercises for you guys! What would you like to see more of? Let me know below in the comments! xo

My Guide to Supplements

11.06.2014

Hi loves! Let’s talk supplements. Supplements can be extremely overwhelming, there are so many companies, types, ingredients and so on. It’s confusing! On top of that, you have the myths that “girls will get bulky or manly” or “supplements are for guys”. But once you see past those silly myths, supplements can actually help you take your physique to the next level!

Here is my go-to supplement guide for the ladies!

Whey Protein: is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, a milk based protein that is naturally low in calories. Whey helps build and maintain lean muscle. More muscle=faster metabolism! Whey is fast and easy to digest and when consumed it quickly breaks down in the body and sends aminos to the muscle tissue. I usually consume 30-60 minutes before or after a workout.

My favorite from Cellucor: COR-Performance™ Whey (I am loving the mint chocolate chip flavor!)

Casein: Unlike whey, casein is a slow-digestive protein. Casein provides the body with a dose of amino over a long period of time. However, it also helps with building and maintaining lean muscle. Casein protein powder has a higher calcium intake as well as boosting your protein intake, allowing you to maximize your fat loss benefits. In my experience casein is best consumed right before bed, allowing you to digest over night.

Multi-Vitamin: Pretty straight forward! Multi vitamins are the most popular supplement among men and women of all ages. They supply all of the vitamins and minerals we need that our diet may or may not be providing. Being deficient can effect you in ways that decrease energy, or can keep us from loosing fat and gaining muscle, so this one little vitamin can prevent all of those things! I take daily with food.

Fish Oil: Fish oil supplements provide a wide variety of health benefits. Fish oil contains two essential omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. These fatty acids are termed “essential” because we need them for proper function, but our bodies cannot produce them. Thus, we must obtain them through food or supplements. Among the many benefits, fish oil can stimulate fat loss, as well as prevent a wide variety of illness.

Pre-workout: simply provides more energy for your workout, which can in turn improve strength and endurance. NO3 is Nitrate, an advanced compound found in pre-workouts that promotes energy and muscle pumps.

My favorite from Cellucor: C4 Extreme (I love the pink lemonade flavor)

BCAA: stands for branched chain amino acid. BCAA’s make up approximately 1/3 of muscle protein. The benefits include reduced muscle fatigue, speedy recovery, decrease the loss of other amino acids from muscle during exercise and help the body absorb protein. A deficiency in any one of these aminos will cause muscle loss. I love taking my BCAA’s in a post workout shake.

My favorite from Cellucor: Alpha Amino Sports Drink OR B-BCAA

CLA: (stands for conjugated linoleic acid) is a naturally occurring fatty acid (a good fat found in meat, cheese and dairy) which promotes fat loss. A number of studies have demonstrated that CLA reduces fat mass, while increasing lean body mass.

My favorite from Cellucor: CLK or Super HD

My routine: I take whey, a multi-vitamin and fish oil daily and the others just depend on my goals at the moment! I am usually on and off with pre-workouts, same with BCAA’s. Casein is also a great way to fill you up after dinner if you’re still hungry or need something to cure that sweet tooth.

Overwhelmed yet? Don’t worry, if your just starting out we all start somewhere! There’s a ton to know about supplements, but my biggest piece of advice is to do your research! My most useful reference is bodybuilding.com, but there is so much out there on the internet, or talk to a trainer or nutritionist for advice. (I am not a trainer or nutritionist, just someone who has done my research and sharing from my experience.) Hopefully this helps you with a general understanding of a few supplements. And let me know if I can help in any other way!!

Cellucor is offering all Fitness & the City readers 25% off with the code CELLUCORFIT. The code is good for supplements on http://cellucor.com.

Enjoy!

This post was brought to you by Cellucor.

Back & Shoulders Circuit Training

08.25.2014

Back circuit (Repeat 3x)

-lat pull down (15)

-cable seated rows (15)

-dumbell bent over rows (15 each arm)

-Assisted pull ups (15/last set to failure)

Shoulders circuit (Repeat 3x)

-Plate front raises (15)

-seated barbell shoulder press (15)

-barbell upright row (15)

-assisted pull ups (15/last set to failure)

I usually don’t train shoulders because it has a tendency to give me headaches the next day. However, I think it’s time to suck it up! After seeing a chiropractor for quite some time, I think we fixed the headache problem so I finally decided to give shoulders a try.

I have never been able to do a pull up. EVER. Until now. Practice, practice, practice and your body will become noticeably stronger! 🙂

Tip of the day: Do you find yourself asking what to eat before and after a workout? Here is what I’ve currently been consuming: 90 mins pre workout I try to eat .25 grams of carbs and .25 grams of protein. This meal depends on your tolerance before exercising. Some days I feel like I need to eat, others I can eat much less and still get after a session. Then I like to guzzle down a pre workout on the ride to the gym. This never changes. Love my pre workout! Directly after a workout I always go for a protein shake. Fueling immediately post workout helps the body repair and fuel right away. Once the post workout shake is down the hatch I usually give it an hour then have an adequate size meal consisting of lean protein and complex carbs. Your anabolic window is 3-4 hours post workout so be sure to make the most of it! Now I’m preparing for bed, and 8 hours of sleep is the most important time for your body to recover. I never want to go to bed hungry. This is a great opportunity for a casein shake (sometimes I go for cottage cheese) and a healthy fat like an avocado. To note, this is from my personal preference after lots of research. Find what’s right for you, even if it takes lots of trial and error.

Healthier Pita Pizza | Food Lately

05.30.2014

My favorite cheat in the world…pizza. My boyfriend and I love pizza. We would eat it every night if we could. I love finding new “healthier” ways to make our favorite things. This pizza is such a great alternative, and a whole lot healthier than your normal greasy pizza. It’s also super easy and fast to make for those who don’t have the time to cook an elaborate meal like myself. Confession time: we actually ate this two days in a row this week, its that good!

Directions: We cut a whole wheat pita in half, so we could have 2 pizza’s with 1 pita (less carbs), but feel free to use one slice of pita. Rub with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. Then load up on veggies of your choice! We used a thinly sliced tomato, artichoke hearts, black olives, feta cheese (I use fat free), and a small amount of garlic. Bake in the oven at 350 for 15 mins. Enjoy! (Sorry, I don’t have the nutritional facts.)

Here are a few other food favorites as of recent:

My delicious grilled chicken and shrimp from Maya in Sonoma. Highly recommend this place for some good Mayan cuisine.

Believe it or not, there’s a turkey burger in there! I love making these turkey burger lettuce wraps. Then adding low-fat cheese, tomatoes and avocado.

Our Memorial Day BBQ! Prepped by my mom, and BBQ’d by my dad. Grilled chicken, zucchini, mixture of edamame and avocado, potatoes and refreshing cantaloupe. We had a great time eating, drinking and enjoying the Sonoma sunshine. We also went for a bike ride (while I ran) through the winery’s…so much fun!

If you try out the pita pizza, let me know what you think!

Importance of H20 + Win a Thermos Filtration Bottle (Giveaway)

04.24.2014

I know a lot of us forget, or maybe don’t know exactly how important it is to drink water to achieve our fitness goals. I’ve heard a few dehydration stories during marathons recently, but running is not the only time we need to guzzle that H2O. Water also aids in weight-loss, increases energy and helps build muscle. For those who know me personally, know that I drink more water than anyone on this planet! I feel lost and totally depleted without it. Some people need more water in their bodies than others, myself on the high end of the scale.

So to get a little more scientific…the human brain is composed of 95% water. Blood is about 82% water and lungs are 90% water. So without a doubt water is the most critical nutrient for health, grow and development. It’s the most important and also the most abundant.

Healthy Benefits of H2O:

* Healthy skin
* Healthy teeth and bones
* Healthy joints
* Increase energy
* Helps build muscle
* Increases muscle tone

Who doesn’t want all of that?!

How much should we drink? They say the average person requires a minimum of 8-12 cups of water a day. But, this is far too low for active people who exercise on a regular basis. All depending on your size and perspiration rate, you lose 4 cups of water per hour of exercise. Or if in a hot climate you can easily loose a gallon or more by the end of a workout. So active adults, athletes and bodybuilders should drink 1.5-3 gallons at minimum of water/day. Before, during and after exercise water is most important, so drink up!

If you want to read some interesting key points I found on bodybuilding.com click here.

I want to give a huge shout-out to Thermos Brand for hooking me up with this pretty cool 22-ounce Filtration bottle (Target, $25). This water bottle filters water from nasty chemicals while reducing bad odor and taste from your average tap water.