Wednesday, April 28, 2021

The Low Carb Biscuit You'll Want to Make ALL THE TIME!

You guys!!!! If you like biscuits, keep reading...


You HAVE to make this Low Carb Biscuit from Better with Emily. It took me less than 5 minutes to create this yumminess -> in the microwave!

Sometimes on low carb days in the FASTer Way lifestyle, I still crave bread type foods: pasta, toast, crackers, muffins, BISCUITS!

I made a savory breakfast sandwich out of mine -> egg with ham, Applegate chicken sausage patty and a bit of hummus, but you can also make it into a sweet treat, like my co-coach Renee did. 


Here’s how you do it:

3 Tbsp Almond Flour
½ Tbsp Coconut flour
2 Tbsp Melted Coconut Oil
1 Egg
½ tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Salt (couple dashes)

Melt the coconut oil.
Add the egg and mix together.
Add dry ingredients.

Add it to your small dish and put in the microwave for 80-ish seconds. To check for doneness, the top should bounce back after you touch it. I like to split the mixture into two ramekins (I got a set of 6 on Amazon), but you can also cut it in half when it's done.


Now, plop it upside down on a plate (might need to loosen with a knife) and create your very own delicious creation.


Save this post for later and be sure to let me know if you try this recipe for yourself!

Want to know more about the FASTer Way lifestyle? My next group is starting soon! Learn more here: FASTer Way with Amy Caine.





Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Zucchini Pasta with Turkey Pasta Sauce

Zucchini Pasta with Turkey Pasta Sauce  


Most people have been eating zoodles for a few years now, but here I am finally giving them a try.
  I’d blame my tardiness on living in Shenzhen and Hong Kong and never seeing them sold there (and not having a spiralizer), but we’ve been back stateside for almost 2 years. 

No, the reason I was hesitant to try them is that I’m not a huge zucchini fan. 


Today, I thought we’d finally join the zoodle club and use up our can of hometown favorite pasta sauce with some ground turkey thrown in.




The frozen bag of zucchini noodles (we used Green Giant) took about 6 1/2 minutes to cook in the microwave while mrC was browning the turkey burger and heating up the sauce. Dinner in under 10 minutes!


This meal worked great for our FASTer Way Moderate Carb day, but would also be fine on low carb day - for any carb cyclers reading this. My plate is the suggested serving size of zucchini spirals 85g, 5 ounces of turkey burger and half a cup sauce.


I actually enjoyed these zoodles and think I’ll have them again, but I’d like to try some different recipes. Let me know how you eat your zucchini spirals in the comments below.





Tuesday, January 26, 2021

When the Winds Chased Us Up to the Lanikai Pillboxes

Fridays are our day for active recovery - low impact activities. We love to take the SUP boards out. We paddle and float, paddle and float. It's relaxing, but also great movement for the day.

Lately, the winter weather in Hawaii has been making it difficult to get out on the boards. We have had wind advisories and high surf advisories a lot more than last year. So, it wasn't super surprising when we loaded up our boards last Friday only to discover the water was way too choppy.

Instead of paddling out to the Mokuluas, we did a quick change of clothes and went for a hike up to the Lanikai Pillboxes.


The first time we did this hike was right after moving to Oahu in May of 2019. It's right in our neighborhood, so we pledged to do it ALL THE TIME. That hasn't happened.

But thanks to the windy day, we got back up to enjoy the views of the Mokes from above. 


This hike is short and sweet...or maybe quick and dirty is a better description. From car door to the top and back down is only 1.40 miles over an elevation gain of 418 feet.

Most of the hike is a gradual (less than) moderate climb, but there are some portions (like the beginning) that are leg burners and get your heart pumping. The best part of the big climbs are the views you get while you're taking a break to catch your breath.



We passed the first pillbox and made our way to the second one at the top. Once there, we found a spot to sit, enjoy the view and the blueberry protein bars we brought with us to break our fast! I love them, but I think they taste even better with that view.



So the day the winds chased us up to the Lanikai Pillboxes turned out to be an awesome back-up plan for paddle boarding.



When has your plans fallen through only to end up leading to something even better?





Wednesday, January 20, 2021

15 Minutes of Fire and Breaking in New Shoes

Tuesday's workout was 15 minutes of FIRE!!

Haha, not kidding. I should have known that Head Trainer Le was going to bring the fire to her Kettlebell workout. She always does. This workout had every single muscle shaking and completely dead in 15 minutes.

There were three pods
Each pod had 2 sets
Set 1 was 3 minutes of EMOM
Set 2 was 2 minutes of endurance

Here are some screen shots of some of the moves. To see videos of my workouts, you can follow my IG stories.


OMGOSH! Those were the longest 3 minutes and 2 minutes!!


It was the toughest FASTer Way workout for me so far in 2021 and I love it!

I love being part of a program that continues to challenge me. As I told my VIP clients this week, if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. I might not have finished all the reps each time, but I know that in this program I will continue to get stronger and grow. I’m proud of that!

The weather was so much better (if you missed it, Monday I wore pants), so I was able to get in a walk for my LISS. Best part, I broke in my new shoes! I know they are running shoes and I don't run anymore, but after walking over 15 miles last week, I need shoes with cushion. This is my first pair of Brooks and I figure run happy, walk happy. Same, same.


I only had time to walk to the Lanikai Monument and back before getting home to eat and get cleaned up for client calls. The monument turn around used to be my long walk. I love going down the hill to the lava rock to look for honu (turtles) and enjoy the view. No honu today, but the view was spectacular.



Do wear different shoes for your workouts (HIIT, strength) from your running/walking?




Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Cold Enough for Pants + Low Carb Eats

Yesterday was our first low carb day of the week. Sometimes I like low carb days, sometimes I don't. I think I was feeling a little cranky about all things yesterday because it was cold and rainy in Hawaii. Full disclosure it was about 70 degrees most of the day. Cold enough for me to wear pants -> I wear shorts 99.9999% of the time for my workouts.

Our workout for the day was HIIT with giant sets. We did three giant sets and completed each one twice. Each giant set had 4 moves with 10 reps each. It was a typical high intensity workout. The first move is kind of easy and fools you into thinking the workout won't be that bad, but then the intensity sneaks up on you! This might sound crazy, but it's the ones on the ground that get me every time - in & outs, man makers, mountain climbers on steroids. I was happy when it was finished!



Since it was too rainy to go for a walk, I did 20 minutes of LISS (low intensity steady state cardio) on my spin bike as my cool down.

Then it was time to break my fast. In the FASTer Way lifestyle we practice intermittent fasting. I fast 16 hours a day and eat for 8 hours. Most of the time I break my fast around 11AM and close my eating window by 7PM. Yesterday, I made egg wraps using low carb (but not gluten free) wraps. These wraps are stuffed with eggs, ham, chicken sausage, spinach and avocado. They were soooo good!

For lunch I made a chocolate blueberry protein shake. It's a recipe from the FASTer Way meal guide and currently on repeat.

Before lunch, I used our indoor grill to prep a few chicken breasts for dinner and probably today since I'm on my own ---> mrC had another overnight trip. 

My afternoon snack: strawberries. Low carb day doesn't mean no carb. We subtract fiber from our carb total. So the more fiber you have, the more carbs you can have.

For dinner I heated up some green beans and mashed cauliflower to go with the chicken breast I grilled earlier. Protein and veggies is the basic combo for low carb meals. And simple.

I spent the rest of my day checking in on my clients and hanging out in my winter wear. It was kind of nice wearing pants all day because it doesn't happen often...or ever here.


What's the weather like where you live?

Do you eat low carb at all?





*