Totally Free - Just click on the Protein Powder Recipes Link to get them.

Here is one of my favorites:

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Oatmeal Protein Cookies

In a food processor, blend:

• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 cup almonds (raw, unsalted, natural)
• 1/2 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter-natural
• 2 tbsp. water

Chop until all is small and uniform, and it develops into a dough vs. a powdery meal. If it's dry, add more peanut butter (the oil particularly), or water 1/2 a tbsp. at a time till desired consistency.

Dump cookie “dough” onto a piece of wax paper, make a tight log, and wrap tightly, both sides first, then roll tightly and put in the freezer. When very well chilled (about 1 hour), take out and slice into 1/2 inch cookies. Store these in the refrigerator in a single layer in a well-sealed ziplock baggie. Or, keep these in the freezer, and take them out one at a time. They won’t be hard and frozen, they stay soft because of the oil in the peanut butter, and the oils in the nuts.

Makes 12 Protein Cookies

92 Calories, 4 grams of protein, 3 grams of carbs, 7 grams of fat each

It is a good, fun read with lots of interesting pictures to explain the benefits as well as the science behind this super-nutrient.

A short list of benefits discussed:

• Prevention of blood clots and high blood pressure that lead to heart attacks and stroke
• Reduced risk of sudden deaths from coronary heart disease
• Decreased blood triglycerides
• Improved glucose metabolism and diabetes prevention
• Reduction of PMS symptoms and other mood stabilizing effects
• Protection from bone loss
• Anti-inflammatory effects
• Anti-obesity effects
• And more…

Click Here to find out what your Doctor Never told you about fish oil.  Please enjoy this revealing report and send your friends here to get their own free copy.

I hope you have a Healthy Day!

A new study shows that this practice is also great for increasing insulin sensitivity too.

Researchers gave overweight  (but non-diabetic) subjects 2 blueberry smoothies per day for six weeks. At the end of the study, 67% showed a 10% or greater improvement in their insulin sensitivity.

More than 1/2 of the American populations is predicted to be insulin resistant by the year 2020, so you can start hedging your personal bets now and decrease your risk of type-2 diabetes.

On to my Recipe!

Blueberry Power Protein Shake

• 1/2 cup frozen bluberries
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1 scoop favorite protein powder
• 1 scoop greens or handful baby spinach
• 2 tbs walnuts or golden flax seeds
• dash of cinnamon

Try my recipe – your thighs will thank you later, and your taste buds will thank you now!

Was the 1st ingredient Avocado?  Not Anymore!

Check out this video of Karen Pauza discovering that her guacamole contained only 2% avocado!

If you read the ingredient list, it has over 35 ingredients!  Crazy!!!  There’s whey, egg yolk, sugar, dried milk, sodium benzoate (a preservative, but also a known carcinogen, when combined with vitamin c, it creates benzene, known to damage DNA and cause diseases; it also affects children with ADHD and makes them more hyper, malt dextrin (another sugar), gelatin, cornstarch, blue #1, red #40, yellow #5 and yellow #6. Why food coloring? This is nasty! I guess with all those ingredients they couldn’t get natural avocado green. If the first ingredient is skim milk, then we know the majority ingredient is milk, so they have to color it somehow. These food colorings contribute to allergies, cause asthma, thyroid tumors, etc.

Want REAL Healthy Guacamole?

• 1 whole avocado
• 1/2 Garlic Clove
• 1/2 to 1 Serrano or Jalapeno Pepper to taste
• 1/4 of an Onion
• 1/2 a large  heirloom tomato
• 1 small bunch of cilantro
• 1/2 a Lemon or Lime Juice
• Salt to taste
• Cayanne Pepper (if  no peppers available)

Karen has a great product that teaches you how to eat with a healthy vegetarian lifestyle filled with tasty recipes and food choices called Easy Veggie Meal Plans. I encourage you to check it out!

Two of the main functions of water in the body include temperature regulation and removal of waste products.

Here are 4 great reasons to fill your glass to the brim with crystal clear water:

1. Staying hydrated enhances weight loss.
2. Drinking water prevents dehydration.
3. Filling your stomach with water before meals prevents overeating.
4. Quenching your thirst with water hydrates your skin, giving it a more youthful glow.

It’s a lot easier to drink extra calories than to eat them. Most of us drink 21% of our daily calories. An average of 460 each day! Just STOP!

• 3 oz Chicken Breast, diced
• ½ cup Brown Rice (Raw Measurement)
• 2 Egg Whites
• ½ cup finely diced Peppers, Onions, and Mushrooms
• ¾ cup Chicken Broth
• ½ tbsp Soy Sauce
• ½ tbsp Olive Oil

First dice chicken breast and stir-fry in 1 tsp of the olive oil until tender. Set aside.

Next, heat remaining oil in pan and pour in egg whites, stirring until cooked. Remove from pan and set aside with the chicken.

Pour in the chicken broth and soy sauce into a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, add in vegetables along with rice, cover, and simmer for five to ten minutes, or as indicated by the package directions.

Once finished, stir back in the chicken and egg whites and gently pan fry for 1-2 minutes until slightly crispy. Serve.

According to NutraIngredients:

“The rhizome of the ginger plant (Zingiber officinale) is a rich source of antioxidants, including gingerols, shogaols, zingerones and other ketone derivatives … ginger’s pain reducing effects are biologically plausible with both in vitro and in vivo animal studies showing an effect of gingerols, shogaols, and zingerones on inflammatory compounds.”

Ginger has a long history of medicinal use, primarily for soothing nausea and easing stomach upset and dizziness. But it’s also a natural immune system booster with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties — as this latest study confirms — and has even been found to promote cardiovascular health.

Ginger as a Natural Pain Reliever

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, the participants were given either two grams of raw or heat-treated ginger supplements, or a placebo, for 11 consecutive days. They then performed a strenuous exercise with a heavy weight to induce “moderate muscle injury” to the arm. Pain- and inflammation levels were assessed prior to the exercise and for three days afterward.

While both types of ginger produced good results compared to the placebo, the raw ginger was slightly more effective, reducing exercise-induced pain by 25 percent within 24 hours. The heat-treated form reduced pain by 23 percent.

Part of the explanation for ginger’s pain relieving properties is its potent antioxidant content, which includes gingerols, shogaols and zingerones. It is believed that these compounds have particular anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties similar to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Co-author Patrick O’Connor is quoted as saying:

“The economic and personal costs of pain are extremely high. Muscle pain generally is one of the most common types of pain and eccentric exercise-induced muscle pain specifically is a common type of injury related to sports and/or recreation, like gardening.

Anything that can truly relieve this type of pain will be greatly welcomed by the many people who are experiencing it.”

Yes, knowing that there are far safer options out there that cost a fraction of conventional painkillers is indeed a very valuable piece of information.

I’ve written extensively about the health dangers of NSAIDs such as Vioxx, Celebrex, and even common over-the-counter painkillers. The short- and long-term side effects of these types of drugs can cause far more suffering than the pain you’re trying to get rid of.

Other Natural Pain Relievers

Aside from ginger, there are several other natural products and strategies that can offer pain relief, including:

Boswellia: Also known as boswellin or “Indian frankincense,” this herb contains specific active anti-inflammatory ingredients.

Krill oil: The omega-3 fats EPA and DHA found in krill oil have been found, by many animal and clinical studies, to have anti-inflammatory properties that reduce joint inflammation and promote joint lubrication.  (You can get a great Krill oil supplement HERE)

Bromelain: This enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form, but eating fresh pineapple may also be helpful.

Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO): This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a “joint lubricant” and an anti-inflammatory. I have also used this for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and a mild annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pops up when I type too much on non-ergonomic keyboards. I used a topical preparation for this.

Evening Primrose, Black Currant and Borage Oils: These contain the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is particularly useful for treating arthritic pain. I personally prefer the use of GLA supplements from evening primrose oil but borage oil contains a higher concentration of GLA, which means you need fewer capsules, and it tends to be less expensive.

Cayenne Cream: Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body’s supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.

Another pain relieving strategy that includes neither drugs nor supplements or creams of any kind, is to use an energy tool such as the Meridian Tapping Technique/Emotional Freedom Technique (MTT/EFT).

Many types of pain, especially chronic pain, can be the result of a disruption in your body’s subtle energy system, caused by unresolved emotions or emotional trauma.

Granted, emotional trauma may have little to do with the pain you experience after straining your muscles from vigorous exercise. However, if you suffer from chronic or other hard-to-treat pains, MTT/EFT may be something you’ll want to look into as this simple do-it-yourself technique has been shown to provide effective pain relief about 80 percent of the time — on everything from headaches to cancer pain.

Ginger – The BEST Therapy for Nausea and Morning Sickness!

Getting back to ginger, one of the most common traditional uses of this medicinal tuber is for nausea, including the morning sickness experienced by about 80 percent of pregnant women.

Ginger has been proven to be more effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in pregnant women than a placebo, and it also works just as well as vitamin B6, which can also improve morning sickness symptoms in pregnant women.

I believe it’s one of the absolute best therapies for nausea of any kind, and can even work on motion sickness as well.

However, last year NutraIngredients reported that the Finnish food safety agency, Evira, “recommended warning labels for ginger supplements, after its Risk Assessment Unit highlighted dangers for consuming them for pregnant women.”

“The assessment found that ginger food supplements, teas and drinking powders should be limited in pregnant women because elements in ginger may be harmful to fetal development if consumed in great enough quantities.” [Emphasis mine]

The warning label issued in Finland was not necessarily due to scientific evidence of harm, but rather implemented as a precaution.

I’ve previously stated that ginger is safe for consumption during pregnancy, and I still believe it is safe in moderation.

It’s worth considering that whole ginger root contains a variety of synergistic compounds. This natural synergy typically ensures that one compound in the food doesn’t “overtake” the others to inflict harm. It is rare for any type of whole food to be dangerous enough to not eat during pregnancy.

That is typically only a concern that arises when you extract individual ingredients or compounds from a food or plant source, which is done in drug development, and to a more limited extent for certain supplements.

That said, whole ginger can be consumed in a variety of ways, including:

My favorite way of using it is to cut off about a teaspoon worth, dicing it very fine and swallowing it with water. This is far more potent, inexpensive and effective than any other way I know of.

Cooking with it: Ginger tastes great lightly sautéed with other vegetables, meat, sesame oil, and a pinch of natural, unprocessed salt.

As a tea: Simply put a couple of thin slices into hot water. A little bit of raw honey can sweeten the otherwise “hot and spicy” flavor of the tea.

I’ve previously also recommended ginger syrup, which you can easily make on your own or purchase in most health food stores. However, knowing what we now know about the massively negative health ramifications of fructose consumption, I’d recommend avoiding this alternative and just stick to eating or drinking the ginger without loading up on unnecessary sugar.

Using a ginger syrup, which consists of about twice the amount of sugar to ginger, doesn’t make much sense in terms of overall health – especially if you’re drinking it regularly.

Added Boon: Ginger May Also Help Prevent Heart Disease

In the past decade, researchers have also discovered that ginger may benefit your cardiovascular health, including:

• Preventing atherosclerosis
• Lowering cholesterol levels
• Preventing oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL)

One animal study found that mice who received 250 micrograms of ginger extract daily experienced:

• 44% reduction in aortic atherosclerotic lesion
• 27% reduction in triglycerides
• 29% reduction in cholesterol
• 53% reduction in VLDL cholesterol
• 33% reductions in LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Reduced LDL oxidation and aggregation

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to make sure you’re eating (or drinking) fresh herbs and spices such as ginger on a regular basis.

Here’s a delicious recipe from my partners over at Prograde Nutrition for you.

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken and Avocado Salad

• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1 tsp.  lemon juice
• 1 bag (10 oz.) torn romaine lettuce (about 10 cups)
• 2 cups  shredded cooked chicken
• 1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 small  cucumber, sliced
• 1/4 of a medium Vidalia or Walla Walla onion, chopped
• ½ cup Red Pepper
• 1/2 cup  Light or Fat-free Italian Dressing
• ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Toss avocados with lemon juice in large salad bowl.

Add lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions; mix lightly.

Add dressing; toss to coat.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.

Hey, if you like that one they’ve got 196 more!

Seriously, Prograde has a really cool 197 Healthy and Delicious Fat Burning Recipes ebook for just $4.95!

1. Protein should come from Organic Sources if you are going to consume Animal Products and Whey Protein, and Vegetarian Sources should be Non-GMO
2. Fats should be balanced between Omega-3′s, Omega-6′s, and Omega-9′s (for example walnuts, eggs, and olive oil)
3. Carbohydrates should come from Whole Food Sources: Vegetables, Fruits, and Whole Unprocessed Grains like Steel Cut Oats and Quinoa for example.

Calorie Calculator:

Here is Coach Alan Aragon’s “Calorie Calculator” to determine how many calories you should eat each day. According to Aragon, to determine the number of calories you should eat each day, you need this equation:

Daily calories = Goal weight x (workout hours per week + 9.5)
•    Protein grams = goal weight in pounds
•    Fat grams = half goal weight in pounds
•    Carbohydrate grams = [Daily calories – (protein calories + fat calories)]/4

NOTE:
o    1 gram of protein provides 4 calories
o    1 gram of carbohydrates provides 4 calories
o    1 gram of fat provides 9 calories

Female Example:

160 pound woman who wants to weigh 140 pounds, exercising for a total of 3 hours per week:

Daily Calories = 140 x (3+9.5)
Daily Calories = 1750
Protein = 140grams (560 calories)
Fat = 70grams (630 calories)
Carbohydrates = [1750 – (560+630)]/4
Carbohydrates = 140grams

Male Example:

220 pound man who wants to weigh 180 pounds, exercising for a total of 3 hours per week:

Daily Calories = 180 x (3+9.5)
Daily Calories = 2250
Protein = 180grams (720 calories)
Fat = 90grams (810 calories)
Carbohydrates = [2250 – (720+810)]/4
Carbohydrates = 180grams

I hope you find this as useful as I did – Please Share this post on Twitter and Facebook!

1. Lemon is awesome for cutting fat, phlegm & mucus in the body, it’s full of vitamin C, helps boost your immune system, fight infection, and reduce inflammation which will help you recover from your workout. Lemon also helps detoxify your liver aiding your body in flushing toxins and fat.
2. Cayenne pepper, some people know it as red pepper/capsicum, and it’s spicy! This herb is one of the most powerful herbs on the planet…… and is one of the ancient healing herbs going back hundreds of years. It has a high heat unit which helps increase circulation so you carry more oxygen and nutrients into your cells and body, and it helps increase your energy. Cayenne pepper also helps cut fat in the circulatory system and lower cholesterol. Ultimately it will help your body and brain have more energy in the morning! It’s an amazing fat burning tool! (you can get cayenne or capsicum capsules if you prefer)
3. White Tea…this tea bag includes some other herbs including the shizandra berry. White tea is the least processed tea of the black tea, green tea, and white tea (they all come from the same plant) and has the highest antioxidants. It also gives you an energy boost without the crash later. It’s also a great boost for the immune system!

If you are interested in Healthy Vegetarian Meal Plans, they are on Sale Here Now.