Posts

Showing posts from January, 2019

The Friday 5

Image
And just like that, it’s February 1st! Holy cow, was January the craziest month ever or what? I thought the holiday season was nuts, but January totally blew it out of the water. But, this year, unlike previous years , I was happy and not insanely stressed about it. Ok, sure, I felt overwhelmed at times, especially working at odd hours of the day (4:00 AM is honestly a nice time to work if you can get to bed at a reasonable hour), but running my own nutrition business is much more enjoyable this time around – and the hard work is finally starting to pay off! 🙂 In December and January, CNC Macro Plans + Coaching grew by 151 new clients. Incredible, right? I also hired a new coach (we’re now a team of 4) and added a few new nutrition offerings (with more to come). Needless to say, I was BUSY, but I’m so excited to continue the momentum throughout 2019 (and beyond)! Anyway, since it’s Friday and all, I wanted to share my top 5 favorites from the week, so let’s get right to it! “

Busy Mom Marathon Training Plan

Image
I always wanted to run the Boston Marathon, so when I was approached with a free bib, it was an opportunity that I just couldn’t refuse. At the time, I was only 3-months postpartum and running just a few miles at a time. I typically ran with Quinn in a jogging stroller, which often included lots of walking breaks, so I really didn’t think I could run 26.2 miles. Obviously, physically, running a marathon was going to be a challenge, but, as a brand new mom, making time to properly train definitely wasn’t going to be easy either. I know busy moms and working moms train for marathons all the time, but I didn’t know how the heck I was going to do it myself. In the end,  it took a village for me  to run the  Boston Marathon , but what ultimately helped me run a good race was my training plan (linked below). DOWNLOAD BUSY MOM MARATHON TRAINING PLAN This training plan is easy to follow whether you are a seasoned runner looking to PR or a newbie runner hoping to just cross the finish li

15 Easy One-Pot Keto Recipes

Image
Thanks to Paleohacks for today’s awesome keto recipe roundup! Following the keto diet is a snap with these easy, one-pot recipes! Skip the complicated recipes and keep dirty dishes to a minimum with these nourishing and delicious keto meals that are anything but boring. Think egg roll in a bowl with ground pork and plenty of deliciously stir-fried veggies, or whip up a quick pesto chicken for a simple Italian-inspired dinner. You can even update the classics with ultra-creamy tuna zoodle casserole. Whatever you choose, there will be no slaving over a pot . We promise. #1 Peace, Love and Low Carb | Pork Egg Roll in a Bowl In need of a simple, one-pot stir-fry? This recipe will do the trick. Rife with veggies like onions and cabbage, this stir-fry gets its sweet and savory flavor from ginger, coconut aminos and rice vinegar. Add some spice with diet-compliant Sriracha or garlic-chili sauce. #2 Paleo Scaleo | Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole Chicken, bacon and ranch are a winning

Birch: The Fourth Trimester

Image
Look who is 3 months old!! Birch’s three month birthday was also sort of his one year birthday here on Earth because I am fairly certain he was conceived on January 29. Born and conceived on the 29th – how’s that for some more number fun for ya! Look at him sittin’ up all by himself! Talking I swear he is a little genius who can already talk. Often when he needs me in the bouncy seat he says “Mama” (I am not joking!) and Thomas got him to repeat “I love you” a few times. He says “NA” a lot when he’s tired (aka “nap”). He’s sort of like a parrot who can mimic sounds! We know he’s not actually talking, but his little noises are so similar to real words sometimes. He’s doing a ton of cooing now, and his little laughs are the cutest ever! Smiles He is a very smiley little guy and greets new people with big grins. He smiles at me before and after naps. A few mornings ago I opened my eyes to find him looking at me through the mesh of the Halo Bassinet and he broke out in a big smile

Does Vegetarian Collagen Exist?

Image
I’ll start with the bad news: There are no vegetarian collagen sources. Every collagen supplement you see on the shelf came from a living organism. Though somewhere down the line someone will probably grow legitimate collagen in a lab setting, it’s not available today or for the foreseeable future. Now, some good news: Vegans and vegetarians probably need less dietary collagen than the average meat eater or Primal eater because a major reason omnivores need collagen is to balance out all the muscle meat we eat. When we metabolize methionine, an amino acid found abundantly in muscle meat, we burn through glycine, an amino acid found abundantly in collagen. If you’re not eating muscle meat, you don’t need as much glycine to balance out your diet, but it’s still a dietary necessity. Collagen isn’t just about “balancing out meat intake.” It’s the best source of a conditionally essential amino acid known as glycine. We only make about 3 grams of glycine a day. That’s not nearly enough.

10 & 2 Q: Does Dietary Cholesterol Affect Blood Cholesterol?

Image
Whole textbooks have been written on the topic of cholesterol and lipoproteins, yet it’s not uncommon to see folks on the interwebz reduce this complex subject to something that appears simpler than a recipe for boiling water. Few appreciate that there is a massive amount of information related to the biochemistry, metabolism, and immunology of these critical molecules. Should one desire to be just a bit conversant on the topic there is a lot of material to cover. That said, there are still so many unanswered questions…this video is a very brief attempt to provide a bit of context and hopefully a sense that if folks are providing a sound bite and calling it a day, they have perhaps not put in much time understanding this topic. from The Paleo Diet http://bit.ly/2UqN7zz

Quick & Easy Mediterranean Salad Bowls

Image
These colorful salad bowls with a Mediterranean twist have a satisfying combination of sweet and savory flavor as well as creamy and crunchy texture. The more flavor and texture boxes I check with each meal, the better! Best of all, these bowls call for ingredients you likely have on hand in your fridge and pantry. When Emily (my dietetic intern) and I were dreaming up lunch, we asked ourselves what kind of formula bowl we could make that would look pretty and be packed with nutrients. We assembled these in about 10 minutes and ate them just as quickly! I love the texture of dried figs, and my pantry always has canned artichokes. The Cava brand hummus is one of the few store-bought kinds I really like. You can swap as many ingredients as your mouth desires: Dates for dried figs Hearts of palm for artichokes Romaine lettuce for kale Fresh pita for pita chips Cucumber for zucchini Crumbled feta for hummus Olives… Red peppers… Sun dried tomatoes… Grilled chicken or salmon…

My Lowest Low Point as a Mother

Image
I’ve partnered with the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) to bring you this blog post. Read on to learn more about a new resource that was just launched to help women navigate  IBD and pregnancy . At the end of my pregnancy, I started to have a few flare symptoms related to my ulcerative colitis diagnosis. They were fairly minor to start, but got worse and worse as the weeks progressed. My GI doctor put me on a steroid treatment, which my OB/GYN assured me was safe for my unborn baby. Of course, I was a little uneasy about this decision, but the last thing I wanted was a situation where I was battling a full-on flare during labor and delivery. I was only a few weeks from my due date, so I just hoped the both of us would be okay. In the end, everything worked out just fine. I made it to my due date (+ 7 days) with only minor flare symptoms. Besides pushing for nearly 4 hours (I’m so glad that I wasn’t in a flare!), labor and delivery were pretty “ uneventful ” and our

Keto Masterclass Success Story: Strong Like Mommy

Image
Testimonial by Julie C. @ketojulez  About 7 years ago, I learned about Paleo when I started CrossFit at my brother’s gym, Vagabond CrossFit. I was overweight and I needed to get back into doing something. I have always been very athletic but my weight would tend to go up and down. I started CrossFit slowly and my brother, Kevin O’Malley, introduced me to Paleo through Robb Wolf’s book, Paleo Solution . I got myself on track and was doing well in CrossFit and I really was trying to embrace the Paleo life. I figured out what worked for my body—discovering that just because something was “Paleo” it didn’t necessarily agree with me.   Life happened and I got married and we were ready to start a family. That started my two year journey to try to get pregnant and with that came fertility treatments, depression, anxiety, and about 40 lbs of weight gain. I was not in a great place in my life as I was just so focused on wanting to be a mom. Long story short, I lost about 20 lbs and then fo

Dear Mark: Iron Followup

Postpartum Nutrition + Weight Loss

Image
For the first six weeks after Birch was born I knew I needed to give myself grace in all ways. I put no pressure on myself to work on the blog, no pressure to exercise unless I felt the urge, and certainly no pressure to lose weight. My goal was just to do what felt good movement wise, to care for my baby, and to eat whatever and whenever I desired in the moment. Exercise has always come easy to me. I crave a good sweat, and I found myself walking with other new mom friends and eventually doing some light workouts and jogging by the end of the six weeks. I couldn’t wait to do more when I was cleared by my doctor. On the other hand, eating mindfully has always been a bigger challenge. As I have said before, it’s easier to add than subtract , so adding exercise was easier to me than subtracting delicious food. During those first six weeks, I wasn’t trying to subtract food. I ate 100% intuitively. I ate by my heart’s desires and by my hunger cues. Our sweet friends brought us meals th

Clean Eating Kale Salad Recipe

Image
This clean eating kale salad is quick, simple and delicious! Have you ever wondered what people are talking about when they say they “ massage ” their kale? Sounds like they bust out a whole massage… Read more → from The Gracious Pantry http://bit.ly/2B8zZYK

Brain Bending Science + Color Chemistry Sets

Image
Happy Monday, friends! So, I’m a little behind on, well, everything lately, so I’m just now hitting publish on this blog post from last Friday. It was our typical “Quinn and Mumma” day, which included a  gym+swim morning as well as lots and lots of experiments throughout the day. I’ve been sharing Quinn’s love for science (I always want to write it: SCIENCE!) on Instagram Stories and have received a ton of questions about them, so I wanted to share the details in a blog post. Prior to Christmas, we had been doing little science experiments using common household ingredients – pretty much ones that Mal and I remembered from our childhoods + a couple of new ones we had heard about on the internet, like foam slime , and Quinn really loved them. FYI: The foam slime is still a favorite in our house. It’s super easy to make and (bonus) doesn’t make a huge mess! When family members asked what Quinn wanted for Christmas, we told them that he was really into science experiments, so he en

13 Functional Exercises You Can Do At Work

Thank You Bonuses for Pre-Ordering Feeding You Lies!

Image
It’s getting so real now. My latest book hits shelves in a few short weeks. And,  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous but it’s too late to turn back now… and my gut tells me that you’ve got my back, which makes me so grateful. Your support for my new book has been phenomenal. To see excitement building for Feeding You Lies makes me feel so happy. While we are all anxiously awaiting its release, I want to give you  something NOW as a big THANK YOU! I want to do this in a big way, and couldn’t think of anything better than to give you some FREE bonus goodies! I’m crazy excited about the first bonus because you will receive it regardless of how many books you buy: Product Lie Detector Guide –  $39.99 VALUE! A step-by-step guide to help you navigate your way through any grocery store with ease. With over 70 pages of information, you’ll never be confused about what foods to buy again!  I walk you through each category of the grocery store and put some of your favorite food bra