When you have food in the house you are less likely to swing by the drive through or hang out by the vending machine. It’s a big time savings do that during the week, when life get hectic you know you can always reach in the fridge and food ready to go!!

When I meal prep I just focus on lunch — I make my dinner fresh every night. Most of us work from home and I find that making lunch breaks my flow or if I’m between coaching calls, it’s easier to just grab something prep cooked then to plan around making lunch.

Plus — I don’t really enjoy cooking so this makes one less meal to deal with during the week.

▶️ Choose one time per week to cook. If you can, shop and cook your meals on one particular day and time each week.

▶️ Use a crock pot or insta pot to save time and effort. Pinterest is brimming over with recipes.

▶️ Plan for snacks. Rather than leaving your fate to the vending machines or what’s in the display case at your favorite coffee shop.

Enjoyment of your food is key here – and when you love a recipe or enjoy eating leftovers, it’s perfectly okay to make up a batch and serve it later on during the week.

I shop on Saturdays and cook on Sunday evening. I’m not a Martha Stewart! So don’t think it’s gourmet throw down!!

• I buy 2 different veggies (butter squash, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower)
• I buy 2-3 different lean proteins (I’ve gone vegan, but my hubby ain’ about the so I need to have some meat in the house)
• I cook a big batch of rice or quinoa — I add in some green veggies
• I’ll make a roasted veggie soup
• I’ll have a big ass salad

This is all done in 1 hour on Sunday. I’m not spending hours in the kitchen nor am i posting freaking a picture of a million pieces of tupperware!!!

I’m all about efficiency. I get in an out of the kitchen no messing around!!!

What’s your hack to get your food prepped”’

The post 3 Meal Prep Hacks to Help Make It Easy on You appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Every part of shelf signage and displays is trying to get your attention and keep it long enough for you to decide to buy what’s on it. Common tactics for grocery stores include things like false scarcity (limiting items to a certain amount per customer) intended to make you think that because there’s a limit on how much of a particular item you can get that you should get as much as you can or you’ll miss out. This is why keeping a list and sticking to it will help to keep you away from items you don’t need.

Another trap to watch out for is the “multi-purchase deal” common with snack items. It’s not uncommon to see prices like $3/5 or $4/10 which may initially look like deals, but are actually incentivizing you to purchase more than one of an item you might only need one of because it seems like a better deal. In this case though, make sure to watch out for required purchase minimums for actually getting that better price. I’ve fallen victim to this, salad mix was 4 for $5 well I didn’t need 4 bags of salad and just bought 2 — when I got to the register they were the regular price because I needed to buy 4 to get the discount.

When an item is on the end of the aisle or in a special pallet in the middle of the store, manufactures are paying a premium for that space.  The “deals” may seem enticing at first, but when compared to similar items in their aisle home aren’t nearly as good a deal. Also avoid “eye level” products in favor of those on high and low shelves. The most expensive products are placed there on purpose because it’s where you’re already looking. I’ve been guilty of being in a rush at the grocery store and just grabbing something vs take the extra few minutes to see what other items may be available.

At the end of the day, the key to saving on your groceries is smart, comparative shopping. Don’t be fooled by flashy signs, bright colors, and misleading math. Take a hard look at the prices of the items you’re buying and you’re bound to save a bundle on your groceries in the long run.

If you have any other grocery tips I’d love to hear them, please share them below.

The post Common Traps at the Supermarket and How to Avoid Them appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Well you can still have these types of food and drink even if you are trying to lose weight. All you need to do is be armed with the right information about the types of goodies that are not too high in calories.

You do not have to cut out all these foods, you just need to cut down.

• Eat Well Balanced Meals
  When you eat a well balanced meal, there should be less need to snack. A good meal should leave you feeling full and satisfied. Snacking can sometimes occur if you have not eaten enough during your mealtime. So the first thing you want to ensure is that you are eating enough during the day. Make sure all your meals have a protein element. This is a lean protein — chicken, fish, beef, shellfish, eggs, greek yogurt or cottage cheese.
• Choose Alternative Snacks
  I’d be lying to you if I said go it, and have all the cookies, candy and chips you want. While I don’ t believe in an all or nothing mentality. There are plenty of alternatives that you can eat so that you still get the same satisfaction but not the weight gain. One of my favorite things to do is go through Pinterest to find new recipes to keep it interesting. Make sure you set your timer, this could be a time suck.
• Choose The Mini-Size Options
  Sometimes when you are craving a snack, like a candy bar or a bag of popcorn, you might not actually need that much in order to feel satisfied. This would be a great time to actually look at buying the mini-size options of your favorite snacks.

Any one of these three options will give you a way to enjoy snacks without packing on the pounds. If you have any other suggestions, please leave me a comment below.

The post How To Enjoy Snacks Without Piling on The Pounds appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

what’s better’ Adding some tasty flavor to air popped popcorn!

Try this on for size… lemon pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese!

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 3 cups air popped popcorn
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Whisk the lemon pepper and olive oil together and drizzle it over the still hot popcorn.
2. Toss the popcorn and sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Serve while still hot.

If you don’t have air popper — you can cook it the old fashion way.  Click here for a great recipe.

I make my popcorn the old fashion way and I use a combo of veggie and coconut oil.

The post Lemon Parmesan Popcorn appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

I want you to enjoy this weekend without feeling guilty!

Here a few past posts to help you glide into the weekend.

5 ingredient clean grilling recipes

You have control

10 ways to fight holiday weight gain

Looking for  a blueprint check out my summer sprint. You’ll receive 4 weeks of emails to help you glide through the summer with clean eating.

The post Suriviving Memorial Day Weekend appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

1. Eat Breakfast — I know for most that’s pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t. Also make sure you are eating breakfast within 30 min of waking.
2. Drink Water — Water flushes out our systems. Drinking a big glass of water whenever you feel hungry and before a meal or snack fills the stomach briefly and makes you feel fuller and stop eating sooner. Hunger is often confused with thirst.
3. Eat Frequent Meals — You’ll want to keep your metabolism fueled so you’ll want to eat every 2-4 hours. Depending upon when you get up in the morning you’ll want to eat at least 5-6 meals.
4. Strength training — When you strength train, your metabolism for up to 38 hours after the workout. Strength training coupled with diet and cardio burns fat far more than cardio and diet alone.
5. Post workout nutrition — Within 30 min of strength training you will want to eat a protein and a fast acting carb. I will go into more detail later in the program as to why this is important.
6. Green tea — This must be fresh, it can’t be the pre-bottled kind. You can’t take it in a pill form. Green tea, helps to slow down digestive enzymes. It must be at the perfect temperature 140°F – 150°F. BTW — It doesn’t suppress your appetite.

Today’s challenge

1. Drink a 1/2 gallon of water — you can add lemon or other fruits to it to give it a little more flavor. Sorry coffee doesn’t count.
2. Eat 5-6 meals today.

Don’t forget Leave a comment below. Write a facebook post on the Fabulous Fit Squad. If you have a personal blog, write a blog post. Make sure you link back to the site so we can cheer you on and hold you accountable.

Just joining now” Don’t worry you can catch up.
Day 1 — Intro the challenge
Day 2 — Getting your mind straight 
Day 3 — Goal setting 
Day 4 — What’s on your plate
Day 5 — Lift
Day 6 — Cardio
Day 7 — Living on your own terms
Day 8 — Rest day
Day  9 — Forming a habit
Day 10 — Just Breathe

The post [Day 11] Shh.. Fat Loss Secrets Revealed appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

Don’t forget Leave a comment below. Write a facebook post on the Fabulous Fit Squad. If you have a personal blog, write a blog post. Make sure you link back to the site so we can cheer you on and hold you accountable.

Just joining now” Don’t worry you can catch up.
Day 1 — Intro the challenge
Day 2 — Getting your mind straight
Day 3 — Goal setting
Day 4 — What’s on your plate
Day 5 — Lift
Day 6 — Cardio
Day 7 — Living on your own terms

Stay tuned……

The post [Day 8] Rest Day!! appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

1. We are no longer going to count calories. Calorie counting sucks out loud. I haven’t counted calories in years!!! In all my years of competing it was NEVER about the calories.
2. We are going to read the back of foods to review the INGREDIENTS list, not just to look at the calorie count see number 1
3. Snacks will no longer consist of  just 1 food item. (ie. just nuts, fruit etc)
4. We are going to learn how to cook 1x week.

The key to nutrition is meal timing. We were taught to eat 3 meals/day. Well that’s really hard and leaves us with low energy spots in they day. Those low energy spots cause us to crave. You want it’s like when you crave. You need to be tied to your chair with chains to keep you from the object of your desire.

Eating should include all food groups, we are not going to ban ANY food group. You have limited quantities but all food groups are include in your plan. ** With that said, some of you many have certain intolerances or food allergies that keep you from eating certain foods. All meals should include:

• protein — unlimited lean protein (cheese is not a protein; keep diary to a minimum)
• unlimited veggies and fruits (exceptions — bananas, mangoes, pineapples, papayas, grapes)
• starchy carbs — limit the breads, pastas obviously the desserts

You’ll want to avoid alcohol, it’s considered a treat, we’ll discuss treat meals at later time. Artificial sweeteners, if you must use stick with Stevia.

Okay now let’s put that together.
Shopping list — grab your list from the email
7 day meal plan — grab this from the email

Okay now that you have an idea of what to eat how do you make it happen” Well.

1. Go grocery shopping every week. This way you have fresh foods in the house and there are no excuses.
2. Cook 1x week, yes you heard correctly. Every Sunday I set aside 2 hours and I cook ALL my food for the week. I know you are asking will it say fresh. Yes.. I leave in the fridge 3 days worth of food and then I freeze the rest and then thaw it when I need. Now I don’t do this freezing every week because it depends on what I’m having, but if I’m cooking up a bunch of chicken or other protein yes this is what I do.
   • My protocol
     • Saturday
       • Grocery shop
       • Marinate any protein that I’ve purchased ( use store-bought that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup or make my own)
     • Sunday
       • Chop veggies. I will roast or grill them — I like to have flavor (my quirk its post competing syndrome)
       • Grill or roast protein
       • Chop any fruits that need it and put a squeeze of lemon to keep from browning
       • Once I’m done cooking I put everything into glass containers — I recently switched from tupperware.
       • Depending on how much I’ve cooked 1/2 goes in my fridge and the other half goes in the freezer. You can take the freezer stuff out the night before and put it in the fridge and it thaws quite nicely.

       Resources:

       • Recipes
       • Even more recipes
       • Need more I’m a sucker for Pinterest, be sure that you put a timer on this could be a time suck =)
       • Protein powder that I use is called Isagenix — no artificial sweeteners, all organic. Also available dairy free.  For  a free sample shoot me an email with your mailing address. In the subject line write free shake sample.

       Today’s challenge

       1. Review the menu and create your own menu
       2. Make a shopping list
       3. In the comments below on or on my Fab Fit Squad Facebook page please let me know how you feel about today’s challenge, did you learn something new. Where you confused by anything. Do you think this will be hard to sit with or does this seem like something you can achieve.

       BONUS– I’m attaching a measurement sheet. Now… you don’t have to do this or publish where you are but it’s nice to know where you started from.

     Missed a few day — play catch up

   • Day 1 Introduction
   • Day 2 Mindset
   • Day 3 Goal Setting

   ** As with any exercise or weight loss program, you should consult with your doctor and consider any current or past health conditions or injuries before participating. Information provided here is based on my experiences as a certified ACSM personal trainer, fitness professional, Lifestyle Management nutrition manager and ACSM wellness coach.

The post [Day 4] What’s On Your Plate’ appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

For the report, ConsumerLab.com bought, tested, and analyzed the quality of 17 protein-based products that are used for everything from bodybuilding to weight management. What they found was surprising: some protein powders exceeded limits for lead, contained more carbohydrates or cholesterol than advertised, or less protein than advertised.

A total of five products out of the 17 tested and ConsumerLab.com gave them a “Not Approved” grade—as in “Buyer Beware”. The products were tested to check the accuracy of label claims (total calories, total protein, etc.) as well as possible lead contamination. The products that raised red flags were then sent to another independent lab to confirm the findings.

Of the five products that failed to meet testing requirements, quality problems they had included:

• Less protein than what’s listed: One product actually had 16 fewer grams of protein than listed on the label—that’s almost 70 percent less! Also, the same product had 16 more grams of carbs than listed, including 3 extra grams of sugar.
• Contaminated with lead: One protein-based meal replacement shake had 12.7 micrograms of lead per scoop, which can exceed daily limits (as outlined by U.S. and Health Canada regulatory guidelines) if two or more are consumed daily.
• More cholesterol and calories than what’s listed: One product that claimed to have “0 mg” of cholesterol actually had 10.2 mg. Another product had 25.7 additional calories per serving.

For consumers who are looking to meet health or athletic goals with products like these, it’s easy to see how inaccuracies could be problematic. That’s why it pays to have a company like Isagenix with a “No Compromise” quality policy.

Isagenix products are rigorously tested to be sure they meet label claims. This means that when the label says “24 grams protein,” it’s what you’re getting. Our Isagenix Quality Assurance department performs routine testing of label claim accuracy for the duration of each product’s shelf life, too.

The strict quality policy at Isagenix also involves testing of raw ingredients and finished products for microbial activity, pesticides, and heavy metals including lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium. Isagenix uses independent laboratories for testing to guarantee quality and safety.

The process that Isagenix uses for continual inspection of raw materials and analysis of finished products is an expensive enterprise. Because of the high cost of testing, other companies will often cut corners and avoid such extensive testing. At Isagenix we believe that meeting and exceeding safety guidelines is absolutely necessary as integrity and the health of our customers, friends, and family is paramount.

Once again, as evidenced by this latest report from ConsumerLab.com, you just can’t trust every protein powder or drink product you come across.

Reference:  Product review: protein powders and drinks (for body building, sports and dieting). ConsumerLab.com 2013.

The post “Buyer Beware” Not All Protein Powders Aren’t Created Equal appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.

In a very large skillet, add cooking oil over medium-low heat.
Add pine nuts and cook, shaking skillet gently, until just starting to brown a little, about 2 minutes.
Add minced garlic and continue cooking, stirring constantly for 1 more minute.
Turn heat up to medium and add spinach, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Toss spinach around in skillet for about 3 minutes or until it just starts to wilt.
Add fresh basil leaves, tossing to combine, and continue cooking for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Grate fresh Parmesan cheese on top of each serving if desired.

The post Quick Spinach Basil Stir-Fry With Pine Nuts appeared first on Kim Barnes Jefferson.