Clean Pork and zucchini

What's on the menu for you tonight!? Why not give this easy clean recipe a try!

It won't disappoint. 

Fire up the grill (ok we use a charcoal grill so it takes a while! call is crazy but thats what my husband likes.). 

Then begin cutting your zucs!  I like to use both yellow and green.  The green ones came straight from my garden!! Yay ( I love being able to go out in my back yard and pick fresh veggie, herbs and fruit!) 

  I slice mine very thin 

Once they are all sliced I cube my onion into small pieces. You need less than half of an onion this size!! 

Once all is chopped throw into a large pan with olive oil coating the bottom. 

I had a large pan full so I added a little extra evoo on top 

 

Cook on medium low heat and stir frequently. 

Once that's in the pan the grill should be ready to cook your pork! 

I first made a seasoning to sprinkle over it

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder 

1/4 tsp celery seed 

1/2 thyme 

1/2 tsp garlic salt 

Salt and pepper to taste 

I sprinkled the meat with the seasoning on both sides and grilled away! 

As that's cooking remember to turn your zucchini until all is translucent in color 

Once they are soft and look like this they are done!! I season with light garlic salt and added in some of my spicy oregano (chopped) from my garden 

This is optional.  I felt like adding a little zing to my zucs tonight. 

 

Serve up and enjoy!! 

Remember when eating although its clean, serving sizes are still important.

The protein (meat) should be the size of your palm. And  your veggies should be at least a cup! 

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!! Let me know what you think ! 

No bake Vanilla pumpkin shakeology cookies

I decided to create these today! 

Ok so this morning my bag of vanilla shakeology was strafing at me to come up with a yummy no bake cookie recipe. So then I thought- hmm pumpkin and vanilla = yummooo 

So I started concocting.  I may need to change up the recipe a little. But I am pretty happy with how they turned out!! 

1/2 cup vanilla shakeology 

1 1/2 cup Quaker oats 

1/2 cup pumpkin purée 

1 tbs flax chia blend 

1tbs honey 

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice 

1/4 tsp cinnamon  

Add in about 1/2 cup of raisins at the end and mix. 

 

Once mixed, roll into ping pong size balls and roll in crushed almonds ... I however was short on time and just added some slivered almonds on top 

Once all rolled - put into freezer and enjoy when ever you get a craving for a cookie! 

T25 steak and cabbage salad

This salad is so easy and tasty!! I found this recipe in the T25 nutrition book with 25 recipes in it.  So i figured id give it a shot!!  

I did add my own seasoning to the meat, to give it more flavor flave! So I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!  

I also used flank steak instead of sirloin, because it was on sale and I was getting  more lean meat in the package.  

Here is what you need 

-1 package flank steak

- red/purple cabbage 

- avocado 

- garlic powder 

- cayenne pepper

- chili powder 

-paprika 

- pink Himalayan sea salt  

- ground pepper 

- balsamic vinegar 

Let's  get started !! 

Cut your flank steak into thin pieces across the grain of meat 

Then season with the meat 

1/2 tsp chili powder 

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper  

Then sprinkle with salt and pepper 

Throw your meat into a skillet and cook over medium to low heat, turning often to avoid any over cooking 

While that cooks up chop up your cabbage! 

I love how beautiful cabbage is!  So I always enjoy cutting it! 

Once that's chopped add it to a plate or bowl.  

Add the strips of steak once cooked

Then cut up some avocado to throw on top and drizzle with balsamic vinegar! 

Serve it up and enjoy! 

This salad is surprisingly filling and it's super healthy! I enjoyed it- I hope you will too.  

Clean Banana pancakes

Need another clean pancake recipe!? I love these!! I switch up my recipes all the time but these are one of my faves !!

And yes sir- I said it- they are Clean! 

Here is the recipe: 

 

1 ripe or over ripe banana mashed

2 whole eggs beat together

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

*mix together to create batter 

Add in a handful of fresh blueberries. And cook on the stove as you would regular pancakes 

For the topping you can get creative!! 

For these I added about 2 Tbs of natural peanut butter warmed in the pan with some vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

I then topped it and drizzled some agaveon top  - or you can use 100% natural maple syrup. 

All American White Trash Party

The DeSanzo's trashed it up this 4th of July! 

We decided to do something a little different this year, since the 4th was on a week day and all the 4th festivities were on the following weekend. So we decided to have an ALL AMERICAN WHITE TRASH PARTY! We had so much fun and really trashed it up! We used fake tattoos, fake cigs, fake guns, jorts, wife beaters, and everything RED WHITE AND BLUE!!

***these are NOT really cigs! We do NOT smoke!!! But they sure made a great prop to complete our trashy look!! 

Oh ya- the black eye is fake as well!!

We had a blast! This was such a fun dress up party with such great family and friends. 

We made it a bring your own drink and appetizer to keep it simple.  

So we made sure to make most of ours healthy!!  

Our first appetizer was Cruddy Teeth  

We used apples with peanut butter and slivered almonds 

 

Our second appetizer was white trash sushi!  I love these.  Don't judge - we used to eat these all the time as a kid!! 

You take thick deli ham, spread it with cream cheese and roll it up with some Milwaukee pickles in the middle! Yummm-oh! 

And finally we had to have some sliced  watermelon!! 

It wouldn't be an All American party without watermelon!  

Enjoy!! 

We hope you had just as much fun as we did this 4th of July!  

Cant wait for next year ;) 

Workout While Traveling

THE TRAVELING WORKOUT 

We are in the heat of the summer now and many of you have travel plans, especially with the 4th coming up!

So I thought maybe you would like to know what I do on the road as we travel! It helps me to feel better about sitting all day, and I am honestly sore the next day!  

We go up to our Cabin in Wisconsin every summer and it is a 16 hour drive.  

We leave really early in the morning and end up getting to the lake really late- so often times I feel like a blob after sitting in a car so long! So I have incorporated challenges for myself to keep my workouts into the day! 

At every rest stop I do at least 50 squats, along with 10 push ups and another exercise, such as calf raises, jumping jacks or lunges.  

Here are some photos I complied of our travels and my traveling workout...

Our first stop... OHIO!

(not going to lie everyone thought I was crazy, and looked at me funny, but I honestly don't care! I got my workout in and I hope to inspire others to get theirs in as well! There are no excuses- you can always find the time and space to get some sort of workout in! I want to inspire and help END THE TREND of obesity and motivate people to become healthier!! )

Indiana stop- switched it up and added some baby weight ;) 

                                                                                                                Chicago Squatting

FINALLY AT OUR DESTINATION! 

SQUAT CHALLENGE COMPLETE 

DROP IT LIKE ITS HAWWWWWWWWWWT!

I also added a Car workout in as well to work my glutes and abs.  

Click > Car Workout to get your ab workout in while you drive.  

HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE

Are you prepared to stay on track over the Holiday?

The holidays can be a tricky time, but if you are prepared to stay on track you can walk away from a holiday party without the guilt! And WITHOUT THE ADDED POUNDS!

Here are 10 ways to stay on track this week over the 4^th!!  

1.     Take a healthy side dish with you so that you know you at least have some clean/healthy foods to fill up on.

            Example:  Bring a fruit salad, or raw veggies.  Make  

            a big batch of air popped                           

            popcorn and spray it with spray butter or light    
            Parmesan cheese.  Other dishes are shrimp cocktail, marinated  
            veggies or a healthy dessert.  This way you always have 
            something to fill up on while also being a fabulous guest.

2.      Push play or get moving.  Make your workouts the day of the event and after and push extra hard.  Know you will allow yourself some cheats but know that you worked hard to earn them.

Get your workout HERE

3.     Don’t deprive yourself.  You will end up binging.  A healthy life is all about moderation, so eat slow and enjoy every bite.

4.     Stay on track strategy:  To avoid an overdose of starch foods at meal times, start your day with a satisfying clean staple.  For me that is usually my over night oats! I switch it up but I love my oatmeal, scoop chocolate protein powder,  almond milk, bananas, chia/flaxseed.  It’s filling and I’m not starving and tempted later in the day.  

     ***I also make sure to drink my shakeology  right before the party! It keeps me satisfied and fights any cravings! ***  (www.shakeology.com/amiedesanzo) 

5.     Tip:  Prepare to treat yourself for the holidays by eating perfectly clean the week leading up to the feast.  Making good choices all week allows for you to indulge a little without the risk of going completely off track.

6.     Scheduling your cheats is the name of MY game!!!  I designate one cheat meal to eat whatever I want in one sitting.  I stick to it no matter what, or else one cheat meal turns into two, three, four and leftovers!!!  I literally write it in my meal plan each week!!!

7.     Keep yourself busy at holiday parties.  Help in the kitchen, converse with family, or play games with the kids.  Try to set an example of how you can still have fun and participate without over eating!!! And don’t hang around near the food! Move yourself and enjoy company away from the food table.  This way the temptation is not staring you in the face!

8.     Learn to say “I DON’T EAT THAT!”  - when you simply set these words in your head, and say them out loud ! This seems so silly and simple, but it honestly keeps you accountable to your word.  It frees you of the constant battle in your head of “should I eat this or not…” Just say YOU DON’T! and DON’T! It’s that simple. 

9.     DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! When you stay hydrated it will not only fill you up, but it will help to fight hunger! Here are some more reasons why to drink water

10.  Be strong and remember your goals.  Don’t let ANYONE make you feel bad about your decision to be healthy. If people are trying to get you to cave – maybe you need to re-evaluate this person.  Your friends and family should support your healthy journey and lifestyle.  Surround yourself with those who support you and are there to encourage and motivate you!

HAVE FUN and BE SAFE this 4TH of July ! 

Staying on track, on Vacation

Every summer we go up to our family cabin for two weeks and sometimes while your on vacation it's hard to stay on track! 

 Often times this is when people put the weight back on because they let loose! People allow themselves to eat whatever they want and drink an unlimited amount of pop and alcohol.  The truth is the amount of drinking, alone,  people do without even taking into account the amount of splurging on food - can pack on the pounds!!  

So why put yourself behind on vacation and un-do all the hard work you put in to look this good!? 

To me it's not worth it! If rather stay on track without having to work extra hard to get it all back off again!! 

So here are 6 ways I avoid packing on the lbs!  

1. Bring my shakeology and DRINK IT!! 

2. Drink lots of water 

Drink at least half your body weight in oz every day!! This water bottle helps me to keep track of my water in take. If I drink two each day I know I am good!  

Plus drinking water helps aid in weight loss!! Bonus! 

3. Do my workouts! No excuses 

4. Limit alcohol intake and choose healthier options when out (red wine and lighter beers) 

5. Do activities throughout the day with the family to stay active and burn extra calories!  

Some fun activities that we do are : skiing tubeing, wake boarding, paddle boarding, canoeing, playing volleyball, ultimate frisbee and swimming across our lake!! 

6. Try not to skimp on sleep! Sleeping actually helps to repair and build your muscles ! 

 My boys never seem to have a problem with this one!!  

Also when you get 8 hours of sleep studies have shown you are more likely to have a less body mass. Here's why! 

That's a good enough reason not to skimp on my beauty sleep!!! 

Use these tips on your vacation to help keep yourself in check and not fall off the bandwagon!!