Green Tea Smoothie

Happy Saturday!

Today I would like to share with you a wonderful shake that I like to make in the afternoons. Green tea is known for it's ability to detox the body and increase energy. I simply like the taste. It's like having a healthier version of a green tea frapaccino from Starbucks.

Trust me when I say, use "Frozen" banana chunks for a thick and rich consistency.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Vegetables Meal Prep

Planning meals for the week can be daunting. What can you eat for lunch during the week, prepare a head of time, and have it be satisfying?

I find that chicken breasts are the most versatile food. And what is extra great is that supermarkets are offering a large variety of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ready for quick cooking.

One of my go-to meal preps is chicken. This week I will feature the fastest and easiest way to have chicken and vegetables. This is great to have for lunch without burning through your calorie budget.

TIPS:

Make sure you season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides

When you cut your vegetables, make sure to cut the pieces in the equal size pieces for more even cooking. Salt, pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. 

After your food is cooled down from cooking, you can divided it up in containers for the week.

Enjoy!

Food Prep Friday: Recipe for Tortilla Soup

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for all long break in between posts. I am going to try to post more for you all.

I am also trying to get back on track with my diet and exercise. So let us do this together.

Today’s post will focus on a food prep recipe of Tortilla Soup. It’s actually my favorite soups and I usually make so much that I have to give some away to friends and family.

If you don’t add the “extra ingredients” of sour cream or fried tortillas, the soup is pretty healthy. You have a ton of vegetables and we use lean chicken breast.

The best part is that this soup is really easy to make and you can put it in containers for the whole week or freeze portions of it for future.

I like to do it on a Sunday morning and as I prep the rest of my meals for the week, this soup just cooks on its own in the back ground. It makes the home smell awesome. 

Now let's start chopping

Now we can start adding the canned and frozen ingredients.

This is a warm and healthy meal to have for dinner or for lunch. If you skip the sour cream and tortilla chips, you will save a ton of calories. What is good about this soup is that you don't really need those items to enjoy it, but if you want to "cheat" - use the low fat sour cream and BAKED TOSTITOS.

Just one more suggestion for an "Add ON"- diced fresh avocado- I used about 1/2 of a HAS avocado for my soups at home.

Enjoy!

Nutrion

What is Plate by Zumba?

Last year, I took a course on nutrition. Although I am not a licensed nutritionist, I was able to learn some really helpful information on health and nutrition that I wish to share with you.

Zumba Plate is a set of lesson plans that are designed to help you make more informed decisions on foods that you choose to eat. Plate by Zumba offers information on food science and nutrition based on the advise of professional doctors and nutritionists.

If you are interested in learning this information. Kindly contact me via email requesting to be on the program. For 12-13 weeks, you will receive a lesson plan once a week. Each lesson will explore food science and information that can help you with your food choices.

Here is a little taste of Lesson 2 of my program:

Food Labels and Grocery Shopping

Learning to read labels can help you make more important decisions, when buying food.  Sometimes how a product is labelled can be confusing. Some products will be labelled as “healthy” or “Diet” to persuade you to buy their product.

There are few health claims that are regulated by the World Health Organization like:

·         Low Fat- which by definition is 3 grams of fat or less per serving

·         Fat Free= less than 1/2 gram of fat per serving

·         Low Sodium= Less than 140 milligrams per serving

·         Low Calorie-=less than 40 calories per serving

·         Calorie Free=less than 5 calories per serving

·         Low Cholesterol =less than 20 milligrams per serving + two gram of saturated fat.

Other claims that are regulated are:

·         Heart Healthy

·         Reduced Sodium

·         Good Source of Whole Grains

Other Health claims to consider would be:

·         “Certified Organic or non-GMO”: products make without genetically Modified ingredients.

·         “100% Organic”- means the entire product is organic

·         “Organic”- Means 90% of that product is organic

·         “Includes Organic” -means 70% of the ingredients are organic.

Foods that do not require a label:

·         Foods that are served for immediate consumption

·         Foods that are prepared behind a counter

·         Foods shipped in bulk

·         Medical food

·         Plain coffee, tea, spices that do not have labels

****For more on this subject and other lessons, you must subscribe to my email Newsletter for the 13 week course. Email me at zumbawithannmarie@gmail.com

Re-styling a shirt Part Two

A month ago, we did this to another blue Zumba shirt. Here is a slightly different look. Again, no sew modifications. All you need are really sharp scissors and a ruler.

If you want, you can actually stop here, but to get more details out of it, you can proceed to the next steps.

Here is another shirt I modified for an event, last week. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, it has a heart shred.

If you look at my reflection in the mirror, you will see the heart. I should wear a black tank under, to see the shape better. By the way, the more you wash and wear, the shred pieces will get finer. So make sure to cut your stripe wide enough.

PEACE, LOVE, & ZUMBA

Green Machine Smoothie

Here is a recipe that I like to do for breakfast on the weekends for my husband and myself. It is great way to get your veggies in and really tasty.

Here is what you need:
Fresh Kale (large handful)
Baby Spinach (small handful)
2 stalks of celery
1/2 Granny Smith Apple
Flax seed (1 teaspoon)
1 cup of almond/coconut milk (unsweetened)
a few chunks of frozen banana for sweetness
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (for flavor)

Tip:
I like to blend the greens, celery, and apple first with 1/2 of the coconut/almond milk to break up the veggies. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth

I know that is it GREEN, but I promise it tastes good.

Calories:
1 cup of Kale = 34 cal
1/2 cup of Spinach = 3 cal
1/2 Granny Smith Apple = 40 cal
Teaspoon Flax seeds= 13 cal
2 celery Stalks = 12 cal
1/3 banana = 30 cal
1 cup Coconut/Almond Milk = 50 cal
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder = 50 cal

Total: 232 calories

Enjoy!

Over-night Oats: Breakfast you can make for the week

Having the time to do anything is a challenge. Our busy schedules can often hinder our weight loss goals. Often times the food that is most convenient to us, is the wrong food.

Here is something that is easy to do and will save you time, during the week.

Over-night Oats. 

What's that? Well, it a easy way to have your oats for breakfast without all the cooking. 

Yes,,, you read that right. NO COOKING!

This can be prepared the night before or you can do several batches for the whole week. The longer the oats and chia seeds sit, the thicker and more flavorful they become.

You can use regular milk instead of almond milk. You can use vanilla Greek yogurt instead of the protein powder, but this may change the calories and thickness of the product.

You can add different fruit and nuts to make different flavor combinations.

Calories:

1 cup of almond coconut milk = 45 calories

1/2 cup of rolled oats = 190 calories

1 tablespoon of chia seeds = 65 Calories

1 teaspoon of flax sees = 45 calories

1/3 of banana 35 calories

1 small scoop of protein powder = 50 calories

Total Calories : 430 calories

* Remember that this is a meal. With this hearty breakfast, I promise you that you will feel very satisfied for the morning and may not need a mid morning snack.

All the items used in the jar are all good for you. So please enjoy and feel free to share your experiences and flavor combos with me.

Have a great week.