March 11, 2014

I had a little reminder today...

March 11, 2014/ sherri d'alessandro

In high school, every year on the first day of both Winter and Spring track practice, our head coach would ask one of the guys to come to the front of the room and hold up his arms. He'd then try to push the guy's arms down... and he wouldn't be able to do it. Then, he'd tell the same guy to take a tablespoon of sugar and let it melt in the back of his mouth... a few minutes later - he'd do the same thing and the guy's arms would fall with barely any pressure.

We didn't learn too much more about nutrition in track practice, but, we did learn that sugar can really wreak havoc on your workout.

Today, I had one of those not so pleasant reminders that sugar is, for argument's sake... poison. We all know this. Refined sugar has absolutely zero nutritional value. We all know that it gives a quick high and then makes us crash and burn and then leaves us in search of the nearest coffee machine to fill up on caffeine. Why do we keep eating it? Because it's ADDICTIVE. Yes, just like caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Click through the below image to get a full explanation of why its addictive, why all sugars are not created equal (ie: glucose vs. fructose), and finally why it raises triglycerides and ultimately cholesterol. Oh, and it increases the waistline. It's not about fats, my friends... it's about SUGAR.

So what happened? We had cupcake delivery at work yesterday... I had been eyeballing the strawberry one since yesterday so when 3pm rolled around... I made my way to the fridge - chopped off most of the frosting and ate the rest of the cupcake. I tried to reason with myself because I chopped off the frosting and thought I'd be fine for boxing class. WRONG. Wrong wrong wrong...

I felt like total and complete crap for the first half hour of my workout. I felt worse than I have felt in longer than I can remember at class. Now, yes, I've had sugar before class before... we have birthday celebrations and I dabble in a cookie or a mini cupcake here and there. That being said, I never feel 100% on those days. Today, was just another reminder. So here's my PSA for the evening: Stay away from the damn sugar. You'll thank me later.

To clarify, am I saying to not eat birthday cake or get dessert at an amazing restaurant or never make cookies? No, not at all. I'm saying that is it really necessary on a Tuesday afternoon to eat a cupcake for no real reason? Not really. Is it ever a good idea to have a cupcake or an ice cream cone before a workout? No, haha it's never a good idea before a workout!

Have you had a similar experience during a workout? Do tell!

Have a great week! xo

March 05, 2014

Smoothie Staples

March 05, 2014/ sherri d'alessandro

If you've been following me on Insta... you know I've been on a serious smoothie kick lately. What I love about smoothies is that, well, they taste delicious, and, they pack so many beneficial nutrients and vitamins in one punch. I'm not much of a kale-lover, but, you can't taste it in smoothies and the health benefits of kale are unparalleled. I love the idea of fueling my body with so many vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, omegas & antioxidants first thing in the morning (super health-nerdy - don't care).

First let's start out chatting about what "Smoothie Staples" I keep in my fridge:

1. KALE: Extremely high in Vitamins K (helps with blood clotting & bone health), A & C. Also a great source of manganese, copper, iron, B6, fiber, potassium, and calcium. It's antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and great for cardiovascular system due to cholesterol lowering properties. There's more - click it to read it.

2. BERRIES: Who doesn't love berries? I buy them frozen this time of year. Extremely high in antioxidants, vitamin c, fiber, vitamin K, and manganese.

3. ALMOND MILK: I like THIS BRAND. It has less sugars and fake stuff than the other brands. (SILK almond milk is actually a better choice than Almond Breeze believe it or not - read the ingredient list). The health benefits are basically that it's high in vitamins because they are added. I just really prefer it to regular milk and personally feel that it offers more health benefits.

4. MANGOS: High in the B vitamins, Vitamin C, carotene, copper, & fiber.

5. AVOCADO: Extremely high in Vitamin B5, fiber, Vitamin K, Potassium, Vitamins C & E

6. CHIA SEEDS: High in omegas, fiber, protein, and high in protein considering their size

7: GROUND FLAXSEEDS: Omega-3's, Fiber, a little protein, and B1

8. ALMOND BUTTER: High in monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, manganese, biotin, and copper. A good source of magnesium, molydenum, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and phosphorus

9. CINNAMON: Super high in antioxidants. Good source of calcium, fiber, & manganese.

Ok now that we have the benefits down... let's get into the tasty recipes!

The GREEN MONSTER! Cup of kale, cup of frozen mangos, half an avocado, vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, ginger, tbs of ground flax. Sprinkle with cinnamon and ginger and serve.

KALE-RAZZLE DAZZLE! Cup of kale, cup of raspberries, whole banana (save a couple slices for the top to make it pretty), cinnamon, vanilla almond milk, almond butter, chia seeds, ground flax seed, sprinkle with cinnamon.

ALMOND BERRY BURST! Half banana, almond milk, tbs almond butter, 3/4cu kale, 1/2cu organic berries, tsp of chia seeds and ground flax seed, cinnamon, ginger, 1/4cu coffee.

BANANARAMMA COLD-KILLA: 3/4cu Kale, 1/3 avocado, frozen mangos, banana, vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, ginger. (Rob was fighting a bad cold last week and I started to get a sore throat this week --- BUT, between shots of apple cider vinegar (we'll talk about that another time) and these smoothies - my sore throat is pretty much gone - no joke)

QUICKIE COLD ZAPPER: I was freezing this morning so I didn't want my frozen fruit - I ended up using a regular mango and it came out great: Cup of Kale, 1/3 avocado, 1 whole mango, cinnamon, almond milk, tbs shredded coconut.

I'm going to keep on making these so I'll continue to post the recipes on Insta - what's your favorite smoothie staple?! Have a great week! xo

February 28, 2014

Friday Favs_2.28.14

February 28, 2014/ sherri d'alessandro

Good news: My sink is fixed and it's Friday!
Aren't we all just so sick of the weather? I've been positive for so long, but, I've just had it. I'm even sick of comfort food... which could be a good thing because I've been EXTRA healthy lately. I think all this coldness is making me focus in on things I can control... like my health. I've been paying extra careful attention to what I eat and my beauty routine. (Are you thinking... um, you're a health blogger... don't you always do that?) Well yes, but, there's always room for improvement. I'm testing out some new skin care techniques that I'll give you the results on in a few weeks. Also, my smoothie kick is still in full swing and I've been eating less gluten and some raw foods. I'll always be the 80/20 girl (be as healthy as possible 80% of the time), but, switching it up every once in a while and going 85-90% can create some long lasting habits with a lifetime of benefits. I'll keep you posted on my findings. Instagram will include a more detailed view. Stay tuned!

Have you heard about the Nutrition Label makeover? What do you think of it? I think there are some vast improvements such as increasing the serving size to reveal a TRUE serving and the addition of showing added sugars. That being said, the below image would be even better. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Click through the image to view the entire article.

Last Friday night, we stayed in for the first time in a while. I made one of my absolute favorite recipes: Chicken, Broccoli & Ziti (or penne). It is deeeelishhhh. I should really do a post on it, but, if you're interested in whipping it up this weekend, here's the down and dirty:
- Parboil Broccoli in salted water (ALWAYS SALT WATER BEFORE COOKING PASTA)
- Keep the water and add the pasta to it (so much flavor)
- In a saute pan: 3 garlic cloves, crushed red pepper, juice of one whole lemon, salt/pepper to taste
- Chop organic chicken breasts into chunks about the size of the penne, lightly flour them, and add both the broccoli and the chicken to the pan, add a little pasta water to the pan
- Finish cooking the pasta and add it to the saute pan with a little more of the pasta water - stir it all around, add Parmesan and serve!

This article on photo-shopping is very telling. I can't emphasize enough how you should NEVER compare yourself to someone in a magazine. They aren't just photo-shopped, they have professional hair and makeup artists and THEN get photo-shopped. The women in this article are not models. (Click through image to view)

Roasting garlic makes me so happy. And it's SO HEALTHY. It's an excellent source of manganese and vitamin B6, a very good source of vitamin C, and a good source of selenium. Plus, it's anti-inflammatory, an anti-oxidant, and anti-bacterial. We ate this entire thing last night - partially in bread and mostly in pasta with crushed red pepper and evoo.

Natalie Morales has always been my favorite anchor on the Today Show. This is a great article. Can we all just stop comparing ourselves to other women? Just stop.