Blog

  • Berry Blemish Blaster

    hey girl hayyyyyy.

    I need to share with you my all time FAVORITE smoothie. I started drinking it about three-ish years ago and it is a staple in my life.

    It brings me great pleasure to introduce you to the Berry Blemish Blaster.

    This is my go-to drink. It is fresh, sweet and oh so good. (You know it is delicious when the three year old I babysit BEGS for it)

    Lets get right into it, shall we?

    Here is what you need:

    1/2 cup blueberries

    1/2 cup raspberries

    1/2 cup blackberries

    A LARGE handful of kale

    1 packet of Truvia

    Water to taste

    Throw all your ingredients in your NutriBullet or blender and turn it on baby!!!

    Most days I use organic frozen berries, sometimes I use fresh ones. I hate strawberries in smoothies but add them for a daiquiri vibe. The best part about the BBB is you don’t taste the kale…at all. Tastes like berries but has a super food in it, sign me up.

    So why do you need to add the BBB to your daily routine? Antioxidants.

    Antioxidants can prevent and delay cell damage by fighting free radicals (the nasty bullies who beat up our cells). Free radicals enter the body when we eat foods with preservatives and it is in the air we breathe. So if you are living and breathing, you need antioxidants. I could write a novel on antioxidants… it deserves its own post.

    Do me a favor…try my BBB and leave me a comment//tag me on insta//tweet me your thoughts.

    Im dying to know what you think!

    xoxo,

    K

  • Greens for a Queen

    Green smoothies are very in right now and I have to be honest, I love it.

    I have tried dozens of green smoothies, but my favorite has to be the one I make at home.

    I took the basic ingredients from my FAVORITE juice company Suja. Their Green Supreme smoothie is what got me hooked on juicing.

     

    Greens for a Queen

    Here is what you need:

    1 green apple

    1 lemon

    a LARGE handful of Kale

    water

    Chop up your apple, squeeze your lemon and throw it all in your blending devise (my heart belongs to the NutriBullet)

    **Pro tip: make sure you cut your apple into even sized chunks… if they aren’t roughly the same size it won’t blend evenly. 

    Here is the thing… I like mine to have the apple skin in it. It is definitely a lot thicker than Suja’s… but that is my personal preference. If it is too foamy for you use less apple and more water. Finding the consistency that works for you is key…. it’s a process people. I always drink mine in a blender bottle to shake up the pulp. I like having all that extra fiber to keep me feeling fuller longer.

    Per usual, I need to know what you think. Are you loving Greens for a Queen? Send me your favorite at home green smoothie recipe to try, please and thank you!

    xoxo,

    K

  • Two Minute Challenges: How to track your fitness progress without a scale

     

    When I first my fitness journey three years ago I wasn’t looking to be Candice Swanepoel on the cover of Victoria’s Secret Swim Catalog. I wanted to just be fit enough to get through my day. I wanted to get out of bed with ease, walk down the stairs and maybe take a walk around the house.

    My goals were geared towards physical milestones and NOT a number on the scale or fitting into a size 00 dress.

    Today, I try and make my goals the same way. A few months ago however, on a day I was feeling Sasha Fierce,  I jumped on the scale for the first time months and the number was shocking.

    I had recently stepped up my lifting and my body puts on muscle extremely quickly. I hadn’t been on the scale in so long I didnt know what to expect, but the number was far from where I thought I was. I freaked. Started going through all my progress photos trying to find the week where I went wrong…but I couldn’t find it.

    Looking back I don’t know what the major issue was.

    YES that number was the highest I have ever seen but I didnt look or feel my heaviest. The number on the scale didnt stop me from getting out of bed in the morning. That number didnt make me a bad person or less fit. The only thing that number did was mess with my head.

    Confession: I haven’t been on the scale since.

    The number doesn’t matter.

    Here is how I track my progress instead. I set a timer for TWO MINUTES. I do two different two-minute fitness tests.

    • Two minute push up challenge
    • Two minute squat challenge.

    Why two minutes? I found one minute to be too short. I can do push ups for a minute straight, but I cant for two… There needs to be big room for progress. When I started adding these challenges into classes I taught and even the clients deemed the most ‘fit’ saw it as a challenge.

    Do these challenges once a week to measure progress. Start with traditional push ups do as many as you can, then drop to your knees for a modified push up. Count your reps. How many can you do without pushing back into a quick child’s pose? Here is what I ask… move until you cant anymore. Pause for second or two and give me a little more. Try to keep moving the ENTIRE two minutes.

    As for the squats, I have crazy strong legs so squats are pretty easy for me. However I have knee issues so I stick to a wider stance. I never go below parallel (parallel is a 90 degree angle created by your knee, below 90 degrees means dropping your booty closer to the floor) on a narrow stance. I like to switch up my squats during the two minutes. Narrow, wide, pulses.. I like variety. If I really want to do a full two minutes narrow (shoulder width or less) I will usually do a wall sit at parallel to take pressure off my knees.

    Continue your fitness routine the next week as you normally would and try the challenge exactly a week later. Did you improve? If not reevaluate your workouts.

    These little fitness Check Ins test strength and endurance. Remember your eighth grade math teacher preaching “show your work” nineteen times each day? Show me your work. Send me videos. Email me your progress. Tag me on Instagram. Tweet me… I really want to see.

    Tell me how you track your progress without numbers!!

    xoxo,

    K