Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s, Grandmom’s, and women who act like moms. This day only comes around once a year so it is a perfect time to try something extra tasty, yet still nutritious for your first meal of the day. As the doctors say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

It was a special day in our house as this was our first Mother’s Day. I am a proud mom of a healthy five month old boy. At this age he still requires lots of attention, which I love to give him, but today my hubby was entertaining him so I could play in the kitchen. Breakfast is my favorite meal but I typically just have time for one easy food. I wanted something special today, but still wanted to keep it healthy, as I only have a few pounds left to get to my pre-baby weight.

Because I do not have a lot of  “free” time, it was a treat for me to make one of my favorite breakfasts. It is easy to prepare and is healthy with protein, fiber, and low sugar. I like to serve this with a side of scramble egg whites so I get even more protein.

Dark Chocolate Ginger Pancakes

1 c Gluten-Free pancake mix

1/2-1c oatmeal (your choice)

1/2c Pasteurized Egg whites

1/2 Almond Coconut Milk

1 Tbl of Canola Oil

10 Dark Chocolate covered Ginger bites

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl, it should be a little thick, but if you like thinner pancakes, add another tablespoon or two of the pasteurized egg whites.

Cut into quarters the 10 dark chocolate covered ginger bites.

Pour the mix onto the griddle into small sized pancakes. Add the cut pieces of dark chocolate covered ginger bites into each of the pancakes.

Cook until slightly browned, then flip to other side.

Serve hot, makes 2-3 servings.

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day, and this breakfast can actually be enjoyed any day of the year, guilt free! 

With my schedule not quite my own lately, I have had to create a few more “on-the-go” meals that I can eat easily and in between feedings with my newborn. This is one recipe that I have played with different ingredients and this was the final outcome.

I chose to include protein, antioxidants, fiber, and keep it a low carb meal/snack too! Here it is . . .

Power Pancakes

1/2 oatmeal

1 cup eggwhites pasturized

1/2 gluten free pancake mix

3 tablespoons wheat germ

1/4 walnuts

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon agave nectar

dash of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together until completely blended. Then cook in pan like a regular pancake.

To add more antioxidants you can add two or three blueberries, strawberries, raspberries to each pancake.

These will make enough for about two servings!! I like to make even more and then you can keep them in the refrigerator and eat as a snack on the go. I sometimes add peanut butter on them for the afternoon snack, agave, or organic maple syrup. Enjoy this healthy guilt free snack.

Bon Apetite!

When you are asking about the importance of periodization, you have to be thinking about the fact that you cannot train always in the same way if you would like to achieve good results. In case you don’t change something about your fitness routine from time to time your body will get used to it, and you will get settled at a certain level.

If this happens, you can train all you want, there will be no improvements. If you truly want to get better, you have to make the exercises gradually more difficult.  This can be done through increasing the volume, intensity or frequency of the training. This doesn’t mean that you have to push yourself too hard. Make sure that your body can adapt to the workout that you choose.

One of the biggest secrets regarding bodybuilding that you should know about is to respect the limits that are set by your own body. If you are trying too hard, you might end up having reverse results, doing more harm than good.

As it has been mentioned, you could increase the volume, speed or frequency, but this still isn’t enough to improve your performances. During the process you also have to stay goal oriented. There are some goals that you have to set in order to truly improve your performance.

VO2max

This is what you have to extend to make sure that your body is producing as much energy as possible. This way you will be able to work out without fatigue, meaning that you will be able to cycle, run swim, skate, row or ski faster and for a longer period of time.

Muscle strength

Muscle strength is another aspect that you have to work on. If your tissues and muscles are strong, you will be able to exercise without being injured, having uninterrupted sessions.

Lactate threshold

This is something you have to lift. It is also known as LT, and in case you manage to lift it, you will be able to perform the exercises faster than ever before without having to deal with fatigue.

Optimizing power

This refers to the fact that you need to develop greater force when it come to the muscles. In this case power refers to the possibility to have faster and explosive movements. This can be achieved through special training sessions, and the previous methods might not be enough to achieve it.

Author Bio:

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This is one of my favorite Fall/Winter seasonal recipes.  It is simple to make a big batch or just a single serving size for on the go. This is easy to eat on the go, so there are no excuses why you can’t start the day out with a healthy breakfast that is stocked full of protein, fiber, and flavor. Here is the short video of how to prepare this tasty treat.

Click here to watch Laura Mak presents Pumpkin Yogurt Delight

I love to use Fage greek yogurt as a base,because this brand has the highest amount of protein and lowest amount of carbohydrates. You will ingest 18 grams of protein in just the 6 oz serving, along with only 100 calories, and just 7g rams of carbohydrates. That is an excellent base for a breakfast.

See how to make the tasty Pumpkin yogurt. (Kids will love this one too!!)

6oz Fage Greek Yogurt, plain

2Tbls Organic Canned Pumpkin Mix

1Tbl wheat germ

1 Tbl Ground Flax Seed

1Dash Cinnamon

1 Dash Nutmeg

1-2 Tbl Agave  (optional)

Blend all ingredients thoroughly by mixing for 2 minutes.

There you have it, a healthy, tasty, and easy to eat on the go breakfast or midday snack that will give you a complete serving of protein, fiber, and a low carbohydrate alternative.

**If you are looking for more healthy nutrition options please check out my online training programs or online nutrition.  I have the perfect nutrition program to meet your specific needs and all programs are customized with your goals in mind.

For more training and exercise routines  you can check out my fitness and inspiration book, “Fast and Fierce Fitness Made Fabulously FUN!” This is a twelve week program, complete with exercise descriptions, photos of each movement, motivational guidelines, tracking system, progressions for each level of fitness, weekly upgrades on fitness programs, and most of all, FUN creative workouts that leave you more energized, looking great, and feeling fantastic!!!

Because I had so many people request the recipe from facebook,  I decided to share one of my favorite fall/winter recipes, a hearty chicken soup.

Now, there are several optional ingredients and a few staple ingredients that I use every time. A good soup can begin with either chicken stock or vegetable stock. I typically like the brands you can get in the card board box either Emerils, Imagine Creations Organics, or Pacific Natural Foods Organic. You can find these at both Trader Joe’s or Wholefoods, two of my favorite grocery shopping stores.

Add a variety of cut veggies such as carrots, celery, broccoli, snap peas, and I even added seaweed this time. It was a special seaweed from my accupuncturist, but I have used Nori seaweed. Just break it into bite sized pieces before you place it in the soup.

Hearty Chicken Soup

1 rotisserie chicken breast

1 box of chicken broth or vegetable broth

1c of chopped celery

1c chopped carrots

1c brown rice

2-4 pieces of Nori Seaweed (optional but tasty)

Season the soup with pepper to taste. You can even add an Italian blended herb seasoning for a slightly different taste.

Let simmer together for about 10-15 minutes on a medium low temperature. Increase the temperature for two minutes just before serving.

Enjoy this hearty and healthy chicken soup plus much more!

**If you are looking for more healthy nutrition options please check out my online training programs or online nutrition.  I have the perfect nutrition program to meet your specific needs and all programs are customized with your goals in mind.

For more training and exercise routines  you can check out my fitness and inspiration book, “Fast and Fierce Fitness Made Fabulously FUN!” This is a twelve week program, complete with exercise descriptions, photos of each movement, motivational guidelines, tracking system, progressions for each level of fitness, weekly upgrades on fitness programs, and most of all, FUN creative workouts that leave you more energized, looking great, and feeling fantastic!!!