This Blog Has Moved!

This site is no longer active. 

Love Fresh, Fit, and Fancy? For more fresh recipes, fit tips, and fancy ideas, head on over to the *NEW* site at freshfitandfancy.wordpress.com. 

See you there!

Eat Local April

Spring has officially sprung, and the birds and the bees are buzzing from budding tree to blooming bush. I love the brink of a new season, and every year I tell myself "Oh! Spring is just my favorite!"Until Summer or Fall come around, then I am their biggest fan (shhhh, don't tell Spring!). Call me fickle, or call me optimistic. Either way, every new season beholds it's own kind of beauty, and I love them all!

I was wandering around downtown yesterday and I came across this poster that informed me that it was "Eat Local Month" in my city. I was having a difficult time coming up this ideas this month (I'll admit I have been a little busy as of lately…), but when I saw this poster, I thought to myself, "Ah-HA! This is it!" It was fate.

This April, in honor of "Eat Local Month", I want to challenge all of you in a manner that is different than just physical trials. This month will be a little more holistic in the sense that the challenge is not only beneficial to you, but greatly influences the well-being of your immediate community, as well.

Here's the challenge:

• Shop your local market for fresh fruits and vegetables that were grown in your area. 
• Eat local foods as much as you can!
• That's it! 

Seriously, there is no catch. I am literally challenging you to eat. BEST CHALLENGE EVER, right?! Not only do you get to spend the month indulging in some of the most fresh food you can get you hands on, you will be doing wonderful things for yourself AND your community. Double whammy!

Some of the benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Local foods are often more fresh, because they spend significantly less time in transit from location to location. They get from the farm to your plate much quicker!
• Since local food does not have to travel as far, and therefore not exchange between too many hands, it often costs a lot less. Less transit time and distance and less exchanges leads to less expensive products. 
• Small farms that provide the community with fresh food usually do not have to produce in mass quantities, unlike large commercial farms. Therefore, small farms can utilize cleanlier farming practices, i.e. less exposure to pesticides and chemicals. 
• Chemical run-off is minimal from small farms utilizing cleanlier farming practices (less pesticides, etc.). You can enjoy fresh food AND help the environment!
• By eating local, you are supporting small business, local farming families, and your local economy.

*Notice: On Instagram (IG) my username is no longer @fitspobod. It is now @freshfitandfancy. 

Grocery Store Guide

I admit it, I am one of those rare people who loves spending time in the grocery store, as soon as I get past the overly crowded, crazy parking lot! (I swear, some people forget their manners when food is a factor.) I am a bonafide grocery shopping nerd. I should probably find a hobby other than shopping for groceries, although it is a rewarding one (dank food on the REG!) Anyway, grocery shopping can be a headache, sometimes. There are so many products out there that claim to be healthy for you, but are secretly fatty little buggers. Don't be fooled by the marketing scheme! A lot of companies are packaging their products in earth-tone colors with "organic" looking designs, giving off the impression that they are healthy to the untrained eye. DO NOT BE FOOLED! You know how it goes, "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is." (kind of pessimistic, but unfortunately true in this case).

I spend a good chunk of time reading labels of products that I am unfamiliar with. I do my absolute best when trying to determine if a product is "clean" and therefore something I want to put into my body. It is hard to keep up with all the lingo for artificial ingredients; it seems like there is a new one every couple of months! So, I decided to write up a little grocery store guide that can help some of you weed through the good and the bad products.

My suggestions are just a short list of many! If you are really so inclined, there are boat loads of conflicting articles and research on these things that you may sort through. This is my general guideline for what I look for when I go to the store.

What to Look For:

• FDA Certified Organic.
• Naturally Occurs in Nature.
• Fresh Produce.
• Whole Ingredients.
• Whole Grain Breads NOT Whole Wheat.
• Local.
• Natural Sweeteners. 
• Honey.
• Raw Sugar.
• Stevia (see section below regarding its use.)
• Pure Maple Syrup (none of that Aunt Jemima or Hungry Jacks stuff!)
• Stick to the outer edges of the store. The aisles are basically lined with processed junk, minus a few exceptions (olive oil, nuts, beans, etc.)
• Read your labels! The only "ingredients" listed should be familiar to you and should be whole ingredients.

What to Avoid:

• Unfamiliar or lengthy ingredients that make you go, "huh?"
• Whole Foods provides a great list of such ingredients here.
• I am sure there are more than what is listed, so the general rule of thumb is if you don't know what it is or if you can't pronounce it: don't consume it.

• Artificial Sweeteners:
• Aspartame: Equal, NutraSweet,
• Sucralose: Splenda.  
• Saccharin: Sweet'N Low.
• Sorbitol/Mannitol.
• Neotame.

*These are just the most common ones. There are many more artificial sweeteners that are listed with their respective "E" numbers here.

• "Diet" ANYTHING! (These products usually contain all kinds of chemicals, artificial sweeteners, and sodium)
• Anything that comes in a bag or a box. (Of course, this excludes bags of apples, greens, or otherwise "whole foods" that you can buy in bulk)
• "Refined" Carbohydrates. 
• Anything that has been bleached. Gross.
• Added sodium or excessive sodium (usually used to preserve "diet" foods or "healthy" frozen meals. Again, don't be fooled!)
• Excessively fatty foods like bacon or whole milk (these ones should seem obvious to you).
• Over-the-top Claims like "0 calories!" or "Sugar-Free!" This usually means that they are either loaded with sodium or artificial sweeteners and are completely devoid of any nutritional value.

Why I Agree With the Use of Stevia as an Alternative Sweetener:
I do not include Stevia in my list of artificial ingredients, although some may consider it one. The premise of the argument is that although Stevia is a naturally occurring substance extracted from the stevia plant, it is still considered processed, because commercially made stevia extract involves a refining process. I will delve into this process further in a future post where I compare natural sweeteners with processed or artificial sweeteners.

For now, my thoughts on the matter are simple; the stevia plant's compounds responsible for the sweetness (steviol glycosides, of which there are over 30 different kinds) is naturally occurring within the leaves of the plant, therefore it is not artificial. It was not created in a lab. Point blank: that makes it okay with me. Stevia extracts, like the brand Real Stevia, are often "refined" in alcohol, which is the basis of almost all extracts out there. Under this premise, vanilla extract or maple extract would be "no-no's," as well. I think that classifying stevia extract as a "processed" food is a little extreme and unnecessary.

Don't like any kind of refined products? Grow your own stevia and make your own extracts and powders! That is about as natural as it gets. It's a fairly adaptable plant and can be grown as a houseplant if you don't have the space to cultivate it in mass quantities (let's face it, most of us do not own a farm…).

Not familiar with stevia and wondering what the heck I am talking about? Check out some stevia FAQ sections here and here to learn some more about it. Or check out that handy dandy Google machine.

An Example of My Grocery List:
So, now that I boggled your mind with a lot "do's" and "don'ts" of the grocery store, I'll share with you an example of what I buy every week or so at the store in order to lay it out a little more clearly.

*This list changes weekly, based on my weekly cravings, weekly sales, and seasonal availability. Asterisks (*) denote something in my kitchen that is considered a "staple" item, meaning I buy it once and use it for a long time until I use it up, and then I buy it again.

Vegetables:
Onion
Tomato (I know, I am old-school and still consider it a vegetable. Shame on me. Old habits die hard.)
Garlic
Sweet Potato
Butternut Squash
Spinach
Broccoli
Carrots
Cucumber
Mushrooms
Squash
Celery
*I like to experiment with a new veggie every time I go. This time it was watermelon radish!

Herbs/Garnishes/Spices:
Scallions/Green Onions (or Chives)
Cilantro (Coriander)
Rosemary
Ground Black Pepper*
Cumin*
Cinnamon*

Fruits:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Bananas
Lemon
Lime
Apples
Frozen whole fruits for smoothies (Mango, Pineapple, raspberries, etc.)*

Meats: (Only when on they are on sale, in which case I stock up on them)
Lean, Ground Turkey*
Shrimp*
Fish Filets*
Chicken Breast*
Smoked Salmon (often times, this is a splurge, but I shop the deals as best as I can!)

Grains:
Whole Grain Bread
Whole Grain Pasta*
Quinoa*
Whole Grain Couscous*
Lentils*

Other:
Fat-Free Greek Yogurt (I like Fage 0%, and I get a big 'ole tub of it!)
Fat-Free Cottage Cheese
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Unsweetened Apple Sauce
Eggs
Beans (black, pinto, kidney)*
Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)*
Sriracha Sauce*
Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
All Natural Peanut Butter (or another kind of natural nut butter)*
Almonds*
Coconut Oil*
Coconut Flour*
Almond Flour*
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder*
Vanilla Extract*
Baking Powder*
Whey Protein*
Casein Protein*
Stevia*


As you can see, it appears pretty extensive. However, a lot of those items (noted with a *) I buy in bulk and they last me a long time, so it is only expensive on the initial trip. I buy my vegetables and most of my fruits at a local market, and it rarely costs me more than $20-$25. I shop the sales with my berries at the grocery store, and they are often on a "two-for" or "buy one get one" type of deal.

Here are is an example of a typical shopping trip to my local market. For all of the veggies shown below, it only cost be $20, and I couldn't even fit all of them in the picture!

With all of the above ingredients, I can make so many awesome, clean meals and snacks for up to 2 weeks. Some examples include but are not limited to homemade hummus, pancakes, stir-fry, mug cakes, omelets, and frozen yogurt. All the flavors are so fresh and complementary that you will rarely run across a bad combination.

My refrigerator and pantry are a clean eating GOLD MINE, and I LOVE IT! It took an adjustment period to stock my kitchen with these essential items, but I eventually made the full transition and opted to buy healthier foods each time I went back to the store. It is now a breeze, not to mention SO worth it.

Any and all feedback or questions is welcome! :)

Bangin' Beach Abs

An intensive abs circuit that tones your tummy everywhere! Get those bangin' beach abs and rock them in your itty-bitty ab-tacular bikini! ;)

March Madness

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen! A challenge for March that involves your entire body! It's madness, I tell you!

For those of us in the Northern hemisphere, summer is just around the corner! Challenge your entire body and get it in tip-top shape for the warmer weather that is coming our way! My lovely Southern hemisphere subscribers, you all are so hardcore that you are already enjoying your bikini bodies, but will do this challenge anyway, because you are just that tough. ;)

Read below for the details.

The Details:

1. For the squats, feel free to do ANY variation of the exercise that you wish to do. Mix it up with regular squats, plie squats, sumo squats, one-legged squats; if you can dream it, you can do it! 

2. All Ab workouts can be found either on my instagram feed or on my blog under the "Fit" page.

3. Like the February Ab Challenge, this does NOT replace your normal exercise routine. This is meant to challenge you and supplement your normal exercise routine.

4. It is absolutely essential that you maintain a clean, healthy diet in order to see optimal results! Don't sabotage your efforts with a poor diet. Don't starve yourself either. Eat plenty of fresh and healthy food!

5. Last, but certainly not least, send me any and all workout, progress, and before/after pictures either on instagram (#fitmarchmadness AND @fitspobod) or through e-mail (fitspobod@gmail.com) for a feature!

Let the madness commence!

   

Love Your Lower Abs

The "pooch," the "bulge," the "FUPA." Whatever you call them, who doesn't dream of more flattering lower abs?! Turn that "pooch" into perfection. Make that "bulge" bangin'! Transform that "FUPA" into FABULOUS! Love your lower abs! 

**Make sure to do this in combination with cardio and a clean, healthy diet for maximum results!

Oblique Burner

A circuit to target your obliques! Give it a try. Repeat 2-3 times for maximum results!

Descriptions and examples of each exercise are best searched on Google. You can find videos that are very detailed! :)