"Mostly-Healthy" Almond Joy Brownie Bites

Time for a new recipe!

Who doesn't have a craving for chocolate every once in a while?  If you don't, the rest of the world hates you and I would advise you to keep that to yourself.

It is almost bikini season and I, like most everyone else, want to look top notch in my bikini.  Especially as a bikini competitor, I know that I have to have my body right if I am going to be walking around scantily clad at pool parties, lake get-togethers and beach trips.  All that to say, that even I have cravings for ooey, gooey chocolatey desserts sometimes.  Yesterday was one of those days, so I decided I would come up with a somewhat guilt-free dessert that wouldn't sabotage my efforts to get that bombshell booty by the time I put on my bikini.  Hence, the "mostly-healthy" almond joy brownie bites.  

Nutritional Breakdown per Serving:

Makes 16 servings

126 Calories

7 g Fat

14 g Carbohydrate

9 g Sugar

4 g Protein

Ingredients:

1/2 C Almond Flour

1/2 C Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats

1 T Flaxseed

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

2 T Almond Slivers

1/4 C Brown Sugar

1/4 t Baking Soda

1 t Baking Powder

2 T Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 C Coconut Flakes

1/2 C Cooked Quinoa Flakes

1 T Coconut Oil

1/4 C Egg Whites

1/2 t Vanilla Extract

1/4 C Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

1/2 C Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.  Combine all dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a medium size mixing bowl.  Blend thoroughly with a fork.  Add Cooked Quinoa Flakes, Coconut Oil, Egg Whites, Vanilla and Almond Milk.  Blend thoroughly with fork.  Add chocolate chips and mix well.  Coat an 8X8 cake pan with baking spray, lightly.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Oatmeal

Hi Bloggers!!!

I have a new and simply delightful recipe for you guys!  I call it Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Oatmeal.  Man, I should really get an award for the creativity displayed in my recipe titles.  Anyway, this recipe is a favorite of mine for breakfast.  It's very filling and well-rounded, nutritionally.  It also tastes almost just like an oatmeal no-bake cookie.

Ingredients:
1 Scoop Chocolate Protein
1 Tbs. Natural Peanut Butter (or PB2)
1/3 Cup Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1/3 Cup Water

Directions:
Add protein, oats, milk, and water to a microwaveable bowl.  Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes.  Add peanut butter immediately and stir until well blended.  Top with additional almond milk to achieve desired consistency.

Enjoy!!! <3

LiveFit Update

Sometimes life just gets crazy.  I'm sure you all can attest to the validity of that statement.  I apologize for the extended amount of time in which I have produced zero words of motivation, helpful clean-living tips or delightfully nutritious recipes.  I promise I will make up for it.

For now, I am going to briefly update you on what has been going on in my life over the last two months. 

First, I finally competed in my first bikini competition!  I competed in the Open Bikini division at the NPC Midwest Championships in St. Louis, MO.  After battling a terrible stomach bug for 5 days the week of the competition, I was quite nervous about getting on stage. Mashed potatoes and applesauce are, unfortunately, not a part of your typical precontest diet. ;)  However, I am certainly glad that I did.  I placed 3rd in my class and qualified to compete at the national level!  

Second, I received an invitation to join the most prestigious training team in the world, Team Bombshell!  I am beyond excited to be a part of such an amazing group of women and cannot wait to begin training with them.  

Lastly, between all of the training, dieting, competing, studying and working I have managed to squeeze in a few photo and video shoots.  I have uploaded a few of the pics in my photo galleries above and I've attached one of the videos below.  Please take a look and share to inspire others!

Xoxo~

Also, be sure to check out Fitness Motivation Information on Facebook for more fitness inspiration, as well as on their website! 

You can find my athlete profile on the Athlete/Model Hall of Fame.  If you click on my photo, it will take you directly to my Facebook Fan page.  Check it out!! <3

www.fitnessmotivationinformation.com

www.facebook.com/kelithomasonfitness

www.facebook.com/YourFitnessExperience

Meal Preparation

Today I'm going to tell you how I prepare my meals for the week. I have found that this is pretty much the only way I can stick with my diet as I need to during contest prep. If I prepare my meals ahead of time then I have no excuse to not eat clean and it makes my crazy week just a little less crazy since I don't have to think about preparing my food.
I prepare my meals on Sundays and Thursdays. That is just because those are the days that I have the most time.
I begin by thawing my chicken breasts. While those are thawing, I prepare my Oatmeal Protein Pancakes (see my recipe page for the full recipe and nutritional info). I do not cook the pancakes at this time. Instead, I place the batter in the refrigerator.
Next, I cut up and season my vegetables for my chicken. After the chicken is thawed, I trim the fat and lightly coat it with olive oil. I then season it with Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Chipotle seasoning. After seasoning the chicken, I spread my vegetables on top of the chicken in a baking dishing and bake at 350 for approximately 50 minutes.
While the chicken is baking, I clean up the kitchen and then cook my pancakes. These are the only things that I prepare ahead of time, as the rest of my meals are pretty quick to pack each morning.
I hope you find this helpful and will give it a try! It has been such a lifesaver for me during my prep for my upcoming contest!

<3 Keli

My Philosophy

I just wanted to take a minute to share with you my philosophy.  It is nothing profound and you may not even be interested, but it is important to me so here it goes...

I believe that the best way to reach one’s optimal quality of life is dependent upon two things: physical well-being and inner well-being.  For me, physical well-being is achieved by finding some form, or many forms, of physical activity that can be enjoyed throughout a lifetime.  I have achieved and continue to maintain physical well-being through my own training sessions, mountain biking, trail running, kickboxing and hiking...just to name a few.  Believe me, the list could go on.  Inner well-being is found by cultivating relationships and sustaining peace within oneself.  I have found inner well-being by surrounding myself with people that I love and that I know genuinely care about me.  I find it through being actively involved with my church family.  It is when we make the effort to lose sight of ourselves long enough to look into the lives of others that we are given the chance to experience a glimpse of divinity. 

As always, LiveFit. 

     <3 Keli

Strawberry Drizzle/Strawberries-N-Cream Protein Shake

     This morning while making some more of my delicious Protein Oatmeal Pancakes, I decided to try to come up with something with a little less calories and sugar than the store-bought fruit spread that I have been using.  What I came up with is what I like to call Strawberry Drizzle.  It complimented my Protein Oatmeal Pancakes quite nicely.

Strawberry Drizzle

Ingredients:
1 C Whole Strawberries
1/3 C Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Directions:
Puree ingredients together in a blender.

1 Serving = 1 T
Makes 16 Servings

Nutritional Info/Serving:
6.7 Calories
0 g Fat
1.2 g Carbohydrate
0.5 g Protein
   
     Now that you know how to make the Strawberry Drizzle, I will tell you how to make the Strawberries-N-Cream Protein Shake.  Keep in mind, if you use only 1 T of the Strawberry Drizzle the strawberry flavor will be fairly mild.  I preferred it that way, but if you want more Strawberry you can obviously add more.

Strawberries-N-Cream Protein Shake

Ingredients:

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein

1 T Strawberry Drizzle

½ C Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Mix all ingredients together in aBlender Bottle.  You can add water to it if you prefer a more "liquidy" consistency.

Makes 1 Serving

Nutritional Info/Serving:

123.7 Calories

2.2 g Fat

6.6 g Carbohydrate

21.9 g Protein

I hope you have a fabulous day and enjoy these tasty, nutritious treats as much as I do! 

As always, LiveFit.

<3 Keli

Protein Oatmeal Pancakes

     I have a new absolutely delicious and healthy recipe!  It might be my new favorite.  It's called Protein Oatmeal Pancakes. I made these this morning and loved them.  I top mine with either Sugar-Free Syrup (be sure to watch out for and stay away from sugar alcohols and substitutes like aspartame or saccharine) or 100% All-Natural Fruit Spread.  These can be frozen after they have cooled which makes for a quick and easy breakfast later on.

Protein Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
3/4 cup Egg Whites
1 Whole Egg
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon

Makes 12 medium size pancakes
1 serving = 1 pancake
Nutritional Info/Serving:
57.3 Calories 0.9 g Fat 5.6 g Carbohydrates 6.7 g Protein

Directions:
Blend all ingredients together in a blender.  Let batter sit in refrigerator for at least 5 minutes.  The longer it sits, the better.  Can even sit in refrigerator overnight.  Heat a skillet to Medium, spray with cooking spray and cook pancakes as usual.  Top with sugar-free syrup or 100% all-natural fruit spread.  Toppings not included in the nutritional information above.

Tips to Increase Your Metabolic Rate

     Here is an excellent article I read today from musclespro.com.  It shares 3 nutrition tips to boost metabolic rate, which is something the majority of us try to achieve.  I found these tips to be very helpful and I hope that you do as well!

3 Nutrition Tips to Boost Your Metabolic Rate

As always, LiveFit.

<3 Keli

Why I Train

I cannot begin to count the many times that I have been asked that question… “Why do you train? Why do you spend so much time at the gym?”  Typically I will give a vague, quick answer and not really give it much thought.  However, lately I have been thinking about this and here is what I have found.  Last year, I spent over 300 days and approximately 450 hours training.  This does not even include recreational activities that I enjoy, such as mountain biking and hiking.  Why would I devote so much of my time to throwing iron around a gym?  I’ve narrowed my answer down to three major reasons.

1.      Tangible Goals and Absolute Improvement

I am a very goal-oriented person.  I love the feeling of setting a goal and achieving it.  Lifting weights is something that when done correctly, will always produce tangible results.  If I break a new PR, there is no doubt that I have improved.  If I lower my body fat percentage, I have gotten better.  Numbers don’t lie. So many of the activities that I have been involved in are left to someone’s personal opinion of whether or not I did it well.  If I performed a classical art song for a vocal competition it was up to me to learn the music and give my best interpretation of the piece, however it was up to the judges whether or not I interpreted it in the way that they believed to be correct.  Then, it was also up to the judges whether or not they found the tone of my voice to be pleasing.  While I find music to be extremely rewarding and I could never give it up, it does not satisfy my need for absolute improvement. 

2.     Mental Toughness

Training, whether in the gym or outside, is so much more about mental strength than physical strength.  My workouts are extremely influenced by my current state of mind.  To train the mind to overcome pain or whatever mental obstacles you are facing at that point in time is a skill that can and should be developed.  My goals do not care about my excuses.  My goals do not care if I am tired.  My goals do not care if I don’t have time.  My goals do not care about ANY excuses.  If I let my excuses keep me from training, I will never reach my goal.  Period.  The human body is capable of so much more than most of us will ever even come close to touching.  As Americans, most of us spend the majority of our time at a desk or in front of a screen of some sort.  Our bodies were designed for so much more!  Think about it….before this technology era began, people had to walk everywhere they wanted to go, they had to grow or hunt their food, and they made their own clothes.  Technology has made our everyday lifestyle become so sedentary and we don’t even realize it!  I type this as I am sitting on my bed.  

Point made.

3. One Chance

     We are only given one body.  This is the only chance I have to take care of it and see what it is capable of doing.  I want to do everything I can to avoid becoming that person that needs help getting in and out of the car.  I realize that there are some things that are out of my control, however I am going to make sure that I am taking care of the things that I can control.  I have been blessed with a healthy body and I am doing my best to maintain that through clean eating and consistent training.  Lastly, 1 Corinthians 6:19 says “Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit…”, that being the case, I’m going to make sure that I keep it in the best condition possible.  

So there you have it, that's why I train.

And to be a beast.  :)

     
     <3 Keli

Workout #1-Legs & Glutes

I have had some requests for specific workout examples so here is the first example!  Now ladies out there, don't you dare skip on the back squat! Squats are the key to getting your rear to look like those lovely girls on Pinterest! :) You will notice on this workout that the number of reps is not very specific (Ex: 12-20 reps).  That is for a reason!  On each set like this, I want you to perform at LEAST 12 reps, but if you get to 12 and you can keep going, DO!!  I want you to perform these sets to the maximum number of reps that you can get, however if you can do more than 20 reps, you should increase your weight.


-Dynamic Warm-Up-included lunges, body-weight squats, hip-ups, jump rope, groiners
-Compound movement:
     3x12-20 Back squat **Really focus on squeezing those glutes as you power up
     3x12-20 Incline leg press (superset with GHR below)
-Target: Glutes/Hamstrings
     3x12-20 Glute-Ham Raises (GHR)
-Target: Quadriceps
     3x12-20 Leg extensions
-Target: Glutes
     3x12-20 Butt Blaster
-Target: Glutes/Hamstrings
     3x12-20 Balance Touches (Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift with plate or barbell)
     3x12-20 Stability ball planked leg lifts w/ cable
-Target: Hip Abductors/Adductors
     3x12-20 Hip Ab
     3x12-20 Hip Ad
-Target: Calves
     5x12-20 Calf raises (weighted)

  STRETCH AND RE-FUEL!!! :)

<3 Keli

Sweet Potato Protein Muffins!

Happy Saturday!!
     As you know, I am a HUGE fan of easy, portable, but most importantly nutritious foods!  These delicious sweet potato muffins definitely fit my standards.  They can be easily frozen so that you can just pop one out of the freezer whenever you are ready for it.  This recipe yields 6 regular size muffins.
Nutritional Info/Muffin:
62 Calories
0.5 g Fat
8.3 g Carbohydrates
6.9 g Protein
Ingredients:
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1/4 cup Oats
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 cup Pumpkin
3 oz Sweet Potato w/ skin (baked)
3 Egg Whites
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Vanilla
*Cinnamon
*Cloves
*Ginger
     *to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin tin w/ cups
and spray with baking spray.  Blend oats in a food processor or blender, then add oats to protein powder and baking powder in a medium size bowl.

Next, blend baked sweet potato with skin, pumpkin, egg whites, vanilla and honey in the food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add sweet potato mixture to bowl with dry ingredients and add spices to taste.  Blend together until well-incorporated.

Now spoon into muffin tin.  Tip:  Use an ice cream scoop to spoon into muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and brought out clean.

I enjoyed a sweet potato protein muffin this morning for breakfast with 1/2 cup of organic plain Greek yogurt and scrambled eggs with peppers and onions (1 whole egg, 2 egg whites). Yummy!!

Nutritional breakdown for the whole meal:

256.5 Calories, 5.5 g Fat, 15.05 g Carbohydrates, 33.9 g Protein

<3 Keli

Contest Prep is on! (+ an update on a recipe) :)

     Contest prep has officially begun.  I am 10 weeks out from my chosen competition, the NPC Midwest Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.  I have taken my diet to a more lean stage where my macronutrient ratios are 50% protein, 30% carbohydrate and 20% fat.  Hopefully I will maintain these ratios up to contest, however adjustments may be needed as time progresses.

     Today was a meal prep day, meaning I prepped my meals for the next several days this afternoon.  This makes dieting so much easier, as I don't have to worry about cooking the rest of the week and I have no excuse for straying from my diet.  I grilled my meats, cooked my vegetables and divided them into Tupperware to be stored in the freezer and the refrigerator.  I also  cooked a large pot of Mexican Quinoa Stew and made a few minor changes to the original recipe.   Enjoy and always, LiveFit!

<3 Keli

Mexican Quinoa Stew
Makes 12 servings
1 cup/serving
Nutritional Info/Serving
133.17 Calories
3.43 g Fat
15.13 g Carbohydrates
11.05 g Protein
Ingredients
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Small Onion (diced)
1 Medium Zucchini (chopped)
2 Medium Peppers (I prefer red and yellow, but choose your favorite!)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning (reduced sodium)
15 oz Pinto Beans (canned)
15 oz Black Beans (canned)
10 oz Diced Tomatoes with Chili's (canned)
14 oz Beef Broth 99% Fat Free (can use chicken or veggie if preferred)
1 Cup Quinoa (uncooked)
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
Cooking Spray (Canola or Olive Oil)
Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese (not included on nutritional info)
**On all canned vegetables, choose reduced sodium.
Directions

     First, you will dice all of your vegetables (red pepper, yellow pepper, zucchini, onion) into small pieces.  Tip** Before dicing the onions, light a candle or two. This will help reduce the tear flow. :)

     Next, spray a large pot with Olive Oil cooking spray.  Brown the ground turkey and onions over medium heat.  Add taco seasoning (reduced sodium), zucchini and peppers.  Stir until the seasoning is well incorporated.  

     Now add the pinto beans, black beans, broth, diced tomatoes and quinoa to the pot.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.  

     After a rolling boil is achieved, reduce heat to low/med-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is fully cooked. The quinoa will absorb much of the liquid. Add lime juice and top with fat-free cheddar cheese, if desired.