Fit Tip Daily

I can’t go anywhere these days without seeing someone with a green drink in their hand. Maybe I live to close to Whole Foods? Nah… I myself am a big fan of greens. Greens help keep your body in an alkaline mode. We eat so many acidic foods that it is important to get greens in your day. The easiest way for me is through a drink and a couple of my favorites are: GT’S Organic Raw Kombucha (Multi-Green) and *Evolution FRESH (Sweet Greens and Lemon) 100% juice. I usually only drink the kombucha drink when I have a horrible headache, it’s the only drink that helps me with that. I drink Evolution all the time because it’s a true green drink that has juice from celery, apple, cucumber, spinach, parsley, romaine lettuce, lemon, lime, wheatgrass, and clover sprouts. Yum!

Most green drinks you get freshly blended always include spinach and/or kale among other ingredients. So, what’s better, kale or spinach? Both are great.

Here’s a quick and simplified break down:

Kale Nutrition Facts 

Calories 50

Fiber 2 grams

Protein 3.3 grams

Calcium 10% RDA

Iron 9% RDA

Vitamin C 160% RDA

Vitamin A 659% RDA

Spinach

Calories 23

Fiber 2.2 grams

Protein 2.9 grams

Calcium 14% RDA

Iron 15% RDA

Vitamin C 37%

Vitamin A 407%

The Best Green Drinks From Around The Web

Makes 1 smoothie (or 2 kid sized)

1/2 cup vanilla almond, soy, or coconut milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 cup frozen pineapple pieces
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 big handful fresh baby spinach

Variations:
- add a small container of yogurt for added protein and calcium
- add a scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder (I don’t do this for kids)
Add 1 tablespoon of any of the following:
- chia seeds
- flax seeds
- natural flaked coconut
- peanut or almond butter (source)

Grape – Cucumber Punch

Ingredients

2 cups kale, fresh
1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
2 cups grapes
1 cucumber, peeled
1/2 avocado
1 banana
1/2 cup pineapple

– Serves 2 –

Directions

Blend kale and almond milk until smooth. Next add the remaining fruits and blend again (source)

Cilantro Mango Detox 

1 ½ cups spinach, fresh
½ cup cilantro, fresh
2 cups water
1 ½ cup mango
1 cup pineapple
½ avocado

– Serves 2 –

directions

Blend spinach, cilantro and water until smooth. Next add the remaining fruits and blend again.

The super-food is KALE which contain large amounts of vitamins (A, C, K, & E).

All raw greens are great. I recommend having a green drink which includes both. However if you did have to choose, you now know kale is a more nutritional option.

Fitness Tip: GO GREEN and use the “Best green drinks” recipes from the list above

Ready. Set. Get Fit! GET HEALTHY!

Darese, ISSA CFT, Certified Boot Camp Instructor

Resources: Prevention.com / simplegreensmoothies.com

There’s a diet craze in the UK and it jumped across the pond into the US. The Fast Diet. Yes, it’s all in the name, you have to fast.

I read about it in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar and I thought perhaps I could deny myself the indulgence and forget about it, BUT of course not. Here in LA, especially West Hollywood, people talk about their bodies all day so it wouldn’t be weird to overhear people talking about a diet or two. Well, I did some investigative work(eavesdropping) and this girl had given up on The Fast Diet. She basically said on the days she wasn’t fasting she was eating like crazy and the fasting became obsolete because she would eat so much the day before and day after a fast day.

You’re all probably a bit puzzled by what The Fast Diet is, so here is The Fast Diet formula:

5:2 regime.

That’s it.

Eat “whatever” you want 5 days a week and fast for 2. They don’t have to be 2 consecutive days. On those fasting days you cut your calories to 1/4 of what you eat on your normal days. Women 500 calories and men 600 calories.

Let’s talk about some small print. So if you eat a 1/4 of your “normal days” calories then that’s about 2,000 calories on your normal days. 2,000 isn’t a lot, but I can eat 2,000 calories in one meal on my cheat meals. So as far as eating “whatever” you want on your normal days, that’s not true. Also, it was proven you can’t eat whatever you want by the girl I was eavesdropping on. You’ll never loose any weight if you eat whatever you want.

I think I could definitely do The Fast Diet…if I’m sleeping for the majority of my fasting days. 500 calories is 1 meal at Chipotle when I’m eating good, so perhaps this Fast Diet isn’t for me.

Here’s some food for thought. What about doing the old Oprah trick and eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, but no eating after 5! So many diets! I’m diet-ed out!

Always On A “Diet”,
Bianca