Happy Halloween!!

From my tee pee to yours. I hope your Halloween is happy, healthy, and full of spooks!

xoxoxo, Megs

If You Didn't Know, Dancing is Good Cardio

So, I have a secret. I LOVE a good dance party. I don't care if it's in the kitchen, my car, or in the neighbors living room...or in this case...at a cabin in the woods. We had our annual themed Halloween party this past weekend, and we may or may not have danced the night away. It is a GREAT workout. I will tell you that.

 Last year for our party we did the WWII theme, and it was so fun. This year we had a Twenties Gatsby party, and it didn't disappoint.

Food, friends, fun, and like I said...a lot of dancing. Such a good time. :) If you can't make it to the gym and you want to burn a few, just turn up the jams and get low! Oh...and if you are looking for away to avoid snacking at a Halloween party, just wear some finger gloves. I didn't touch any of the appetizers because it was too much work. ;) Happy Halloween Eve!

So much candy...so many calories...

Halloween is in the air. If you haven't already celebrated five times over, this sugary season is sure to hit you sooner or later. I know I have already done my share of celebrating.

Our Gatsby Halloween Party this past weekend was amazing...there are more pics where that came from I promise. :) 

I have a lot of my clients tell me some of the following obstacles that can thwart healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle during the holidays...
- Halloween is centered around candy. Hence; candy is everywhere.
- There are a million parties/functions/get togethers (all of which serve a million desserts.)
- Handing out candy to little trick or treaters means leftover candy, which means bite size pieces of candy for snacking.
- Halloween candy usually comes individually wrapped. One grab here, and one grab there doesn't seem like a big deal. (Unfortunately, all those "grabs" add up.)
- Fall food and treats are delicious. Pumpkin anythings just smells and tastes fantastic.

Now...I get it. I promise. Just because I choose not to eat candy and desserts, doesn't mean I don't understand the temptation and draw to deliciously decadent pumpkin flavored desserts and bite sized Snickers. Yum. BUT...I also know the benefit that you can receive from NOT gorging yourself on Halloween candy. Click HERE for some excellent Halloween help tips from years past.

As for this years tips, I'm going to keep it simple. Focus on your goals. Don't go crazy like a kid in Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. When all is said and done and it is November 1st, chances are you won't remember what you did and didn't eat on Halloween. So...maybe you don't HAAAAVE to have that doughnut, cookie, candybar, handful of candy corn, and caramel apple...just saying.

Don't forget to enter this October's Mix Giveaway!

October Mix Giveaway - Trick or Treating Tracks

I have had so many favorite songs this past month, so I am excited to share a new mix! I hope you are ready for it. These tunes can get you in shape to chase your kids from door to door as they go trick or treating...or they can help you to burn off those extra candy eating calories. ;) Here you have it. 

Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding 

Die Young - Ke$ha

Skyfall - Adele

I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift

Diamonds - Rihanna

Man on Fire (Little Daylight Remix) - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Madness - Muse

Clique - Kanye West

I Cry - Florida 

Gangnum Style - Psy

Red - Taylor Swift

Feelin' Single - R. Kelly

This is Love feat. Eva Simmons - Will.i.am

Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - P!nk

Hall of Fame - The Script

Runaways - The Killers 

A Drop in the Ocean - Ron Pope 

To enter to win this mix...
1) Become a follower and leave a comment letting me know that you are one!
2) For an additional entry...leave a separate comment telling me what you are dressing up as for Halloween!
3) For more additional entries...tweet about the giveaway, blog about it, pin it, etc. and leave a separate comment for each telling me you did so!

Good Luck! The contest will end Sunday November 4th at midnight! The winner will be announced on Monday the 5th.

Click HERE to view past mixes! 

Jet Setting Tips to Keep You On Track

Traveling is one of the fun things we get to do in life. Vacations are wonderful, and they are definitely a great time to allow yourself to be a little bit lax with your diet and exercise if you are really needing a break from the regimen. BUT...they surely don't have to be. We could think of a million reasons why we are going to "put our diet on hold" for some period of time for another. I hate to break it to ya...that just gets you nowhere. Instead, why not do your best to stick to some principles that will keep you from feeling like you need to be wheeled into your room on a luggage dolly at the end of the day. Here are some of the things I do to stay on track when I'm away from home.

- Pack snacks. I always plan ahead when I leave for trips because you never know what is going to be available to you. It is better to be prepared! My standards are almonds, Larabars, turkey jerky, apples, and other nuts. Breakfast is usually the hardest meal when you are traveling, so I plan on eating the things that I bring instead of going for a stack of pancakes or something else that is likely to start my day on an insulin rush.

- WALK. You may not have the opportunity to exercise wherever it is that you are going. If you can. AWESOME. In fact, it is very possible to do squats, planks, push ups, lunges, sit ups, heck...even burpees in your hotel room. But, if nothing else choose to walk. When you are doing your sight seeing, strap on a good pair of walking shoes (yep, be that tourist) and get your walk on. You will burn a ton of calories as you get to enjoy your sights, and it will help to make up for your lack of exercising.

- Remember your moderation. It is pretty easy to make every meal like Thanksgiving when you are eating out on vacation. There are oftentimes restaurants that you are dying to try along the way, and a lot of crazy delicious food can sometimes me a lot of crazy outrageous calories. Instead of gorging all the time choose to share meals with the people you are with. This way you get to try a little bit of everything without going calorie crazy. You can also remember that you don't HAVE to fall into peer pressure while eating out. While I was in NY, the people I was with had a long list of eateries that they wanted to stop at...The Donut Plant, The Shake Shack, Max Brenner, and on and on...and guess what, I never ate at any of them...GASP. I know, crazy right? I was pretty sure if I would have, the chances of me feeling sick the whole day were fairly high, so I opted out. I actually managed to stay very close to my Paleo eating while I was gone. If I couldn't find something on the menu that suited the way I wanted to eat, I didn't just give in. The good news is that at almost every place you go to eat you can usually modify your meal to make it healthy and worthy of your hard working body. With that being said...it is totally fine to have some meals where you let loose and enjoy. Life is to be enjoyed! Just try to avoid being gluttonous.

- Drink a lot of water. I always notice that my water consumption drops a TON when I am traveling because it isn't as easy to grab a drink when you are nowhere near a drinking fountain or sink. Bring a water bottle with you and fill it up whenever you can. When you do stop to eat, be sure to drink a full glass of water first before you eat.

- Try for healthy eateries. Some of the best places I've eaten are fun health food spots. Try to find some fun local healthy options!

- Don't kick yourself. If you do feel like you go overboard, don't let it ruin your trip. Simple pick yourself up, start over, and move forward with the desire to do better. What's done is done, but there is always a new day with new decisions!

I like Apples. Especially the Big Apple.

Thank you for all of the sweet birthday wishes! It was a GREAT day! I thought I'd share some of my favorite pics from my trip to New York. It was such a blast!

 The New York City Library.

 Central Park.

I want to live here and run in the park every morning. So pretty!

 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. (So funny!)

 Bethesda Fountain.

 Radio City Music Hall. 

Yep, growing up as a dancer I aspired to be a Rockette. Maybe one day?

 Max Brenner.

 The Brooklyn Bridge.

 

Laduree. 

New York was a whirlwind of amazingness. I am fairly certain we walked at least 15 miles every day. It was definitely a great way to get a good workout in without even trying. Although, I'm grateful for appropriate footwear. Turns out boots are not the best walking shoes...who knew? ;)

Hey shorty...it's your birthday...

Actually it's my birthday. 

Here's to the big 2-8. 

Feeding An Army & Crock Pot Chicken Chalupas

I mentioned yesterday how much I loved my trip to Lake Powell. I also mentioned that we had 40 people that I planned food for. Many people think that feeding a large group means immediately resulting to frozen pasta dishes and pizza, with lots of potato chips and packaged cookies. I get that those are easy options, and sometimes in big groups the easy option wins out. However, maybe the following tips can help you think in quantity AND quality.

1. Include a fruit tray or a veggie platter at EVERY meal. Even if your "veggie platter" is nothing more than a big bag of baby carrots and some hummus. If you don't want to cut up your veggies yourself, purchasing a tray at Costco or your local grocery store is really easy to do. We had a fruit tray or a veggies out for every single meal in Powell and they ALWAYS were scarfed up!

2. Use a crock pot. It is easier to cook for a crowd when you don't have to be a slave to the kitchen all day. One of the recipes that I make every year in the crock pot are chicken chalupas. This recipe makes a lot, but I doubled it. People then have the option to put this chicken over chips, in a tortilla, over salad, or on its own. It is SO tasty!

Crock Pot Chicken Chalupas

4 lbs. cooked cut up chicken

2 large onions diced

3-4 cloves of garlic

3 - 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes

2 – 7 ounce cans diced green chilies

3 - 151/2 ounce cans pinto beans

2 cans black beans

1 1/2 Tablespoons oregano flakes

1 tablespoon cumin

Cook chicken in crock pot, add remaining ingredients (mix tomatoes, garlic and onions in food processer )

Mix together and cook in oven at 325 degrees in a large roster for 2-3 hours, or crock pot for 3-4 hours. Squeeze lime juice in before serving

I also served this with diced tomatoes, avocado, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, black bean salsa, and any other toppings you may want.  This stuff is SO GOOD, and it keeps really well too. 

3. Give "create your own" options. One of the hardest parts of feeding a large group is attempting to please everyone's tastes. For lunches I always have several different kinds of lunch meats, cheeses, wraps, bread, toppings, and even lettuce for lettuce wraps. It is amazing to me that people really do usually go for the healthier options. Even with the chalupas, people have the option to make salads if they wish to avoid all of the extra chips and tortillas. 

For one of the dinners I had everyone assemble their own pita pizzas. These are so easy, healthy, and portioned perfectly. These are great for kids as well because they love to get involved on making them! When kids are involved in the cooking and creating process they are far more likely to eat their food! 

4. Have a good mix of healthy and not so healthy snacks and treats. You may want to eat perfectly healthy, but that doesn't always mean everyone else does as well. Moderation is a good thing, and having a good mix of healthy treats with some others sweets is OK. Once again, if you provide the healthy options, you may be surprised at how people devour them. Along with whatever treats you may have, include nuts, pieces of fruit, fruit leathers, jerky, etc. Not all snacks on vacation need to be covered in sugar and processed to the nines.

Feeding a group can be healthy, and may just require a little creativity. Include as many fruits and vegetables as you can! Keep it simple, keep it healthy, and you will have a happy crowd!

Lake Powell Recap

Lake Powell is one of those places that I think everyone should get to visit at least once in their life...or preferably at least once every summer. It is absolute paradise. I am fairly certain that if I was accidentally left there I wouldn't even mind. A few weeks ago I planned a trip for 40 people for a little weekend getaway in paradise. It was so much fun. I planning the trip I was also in charge of planning the food, which mean I was able to secretly healthify everything. Muah-hahahaha...I'll be posting my menu for the week tomorrow! 

Not too bad, right?

The Get Back At It Workout and a DANG Good Salad

If there is one reason I love coming home from vacations...and there is probably only one...it is because I really like to get back into my workout/eating routine. I have been out of my normal routine, and that was made clear to me when I became very sore after my Monday circuit workout. It was the perfect little boost towards getting me back into the swing of things, and so I thought I'd share.

One mile run to warm up OR 10 minute elliptical intervals

3 sets of the following alternating between exercises
15 squat, curl, presses with 20 lb db's
15 burpees with a push up
20 walking lunges with 20 lb dumbbells
2 minute plank hold (1st plank no weight, 2nd plank 10 lb plate on your back, 3rd plank 25 lb plate on your back)

and then...

3 sets of the following alternating between exercises
15 bent over rows with 20 lb dbs
15 squats with 35 lb dbs
2 minute plank hold (1st plank no weight, 2nd plank 10 lb plate on your back, 3rd plank 25 lb plate on your back)

finish with
1 mile run OR 10 minute elliptical intervals


DONE. I think it was the walking lunges that got me. I guess walking around New York City in boots uses different muscles.

So, while I was in the Big Apple I ate at a place called Chop't that I guess is a chain restaurant? Have you eaten there? I'm probably just out of the loop on this one, but I am a HUGE fan.
Basically you go through and pick your lettuce, your protein, your veggies/toppings, and then they chop it all up into one HUGE salad.

I had baby spinach and mixed greens, lemon pepper chicken, beets, tomatoes, broccoli, and sunflower seeds. Maybe it sounds strange to you...but it thought it was bomb. I ate every last bite. And I'd do it again. I love when I find new healthy options of places to eat that are good. Now, if they could just bring one of these to Utah...

Oh my GOODNESS.

Wow. Where to even begin. I am finally back home, and attempting to catch up with life! I have some AWESOME new workouts, and some fun new recipes to share. I also need to update y'all with all of the fun photos from my travels!

From Lake Powell...

 to New York...

and back again.

Man, it is good to be home...and to have the internet again. Let the games begin! xoxoxo

Winner!!

The winner of the Fall Favorites giveaway is.......

Steph Rigg! She said...

 I wish I agreed with you on the cool weather...but I hear you with the pumpkins and the fall wardrobe! congrats girl! Email me at megolina21 at gmail.com and I'll get you your tunes!

Gone for now. Not gone forever.

Although when this is my view...I may consider never coming home.

Be back soon.

Costco Laps Count, Right?

Remember how I planned THIS group trip to Lake Powell Last year?

 Well it is that time of year again. I'm prepping a trip for 40 people for the weekend, and it may or may not take some effort...I fully intended on getting a real workout in today. Instead a pushed shopping carts around for a couple hours. That counts right? I hope so...here is a sneak peak at the groceries.

And this isn't even the half of it. Needless to say, I haven't had much time to do anything else. I can't wait! It's going to be awesome!

Don't forget to enter the Fall Favorites Mix Giveaway if you already haven't!