Sweet Potato, Sausage, & Kale Soup

I always want to cook more this time of year and I don’t typically eat a lot of soup but this recipe sounded a) easy and b) like a nice change of pace from chicken. The original recipe sounded amazing but I gave it a little GTS makeover to balance it out. It’s a really delicious seasonal soup that will keep your belly full and warm through the season. You can sub your greens for whatever you like just be aware that they cook swiftly so adding them last is best. UPDATED: I re-vamped this a tiny bit and it’s even better than before. Protein hounds feel free to increase the amount of sausage in this recipe if you prefer.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
1 1/2 pounds low fat turkey sausage, crumbled (freezer section)
1 large white onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
8 cups peeled and diced sweet potato (about 2 pounds)
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/2 can tomato sauce
3 cups roughly chopped kale or chard
6-8 Fresh Sage leaves rough chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and fresh-cracked black pepper (to taste)
Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and sausage and cook for 5-7 minutes until the onion is translucent and the sausage begins to slightly brown, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add chicken broth, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Let cook for an additional 10-15 minutes on low. Stir in the kale, sage and season the soup with black pepper, cayenne and additional salt if needed. Serve warm garnished with a little freshly-grated Parmesan cheese if you prefer.

Calories: 257, Protein 18g, Carbs 28g, Fat 8g

One Pan Taco Chicken Dinners

This is easy meal prep that anyone can do.  I have tested this recipe out twice now and it makes a lot of food in a few easy steps.  You can scale this recipe to make enough for a family of 4 for dinner or enough to have lunches ready to go for several days.  Best part is, only one pan and easy clean up.  It’s delicious too!

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 bell peppers, any color, sliced
1 large red onion, sliced
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tbsp taco seasoning
1 jar of your favorite salsa
1 lime, sliced into wedges
Fresh cilantro to garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F/200˚C.  Line a baking sheet with foil.   Place the chicken, peppers, and onions onto the baking sheet and drizzle with oil.  Sprinkle the taco seasoning evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts.   Salt and pepper the peppers and onions, tossing to coat.  Top each chicken breast with a generous pour of salsa. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.  Rest chicken for 10 minutes, before slicing into strips.

Routine vs Extra Sleep

Let me tell you a little story about a man named Jed, the poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed… then one day he was shooting at some food… Anyone know the rest of the song? When my family moved from the back woods of eastern Kentucky to Augusta Georgia, I swear I heard that theme song when we pulled out of the driveway. In case you don’t recognize it, it’s the theme song from Beverly Hillbillies.

It’s totally random I know, but I wanted to tell you a story and it popped in my head 🙂

So here’s the story;

Yesterday, morning my normal early morning athlete (who is an absolute superstar at McIntosh) that is 16 and actually gets up before school to come train with me, was heading out of town to visit a prospective college.

So, that meant I got to sleep in a bit.

I was so excited, but then I got to thinking about my schedule. Normally I see her, have about 30 minutes to read, pray and practice what is called Miracle Morning then I see Sue Zeller for her private torture session then immediately go for a tempo run.

It’s become my routine, and is working really well.

Since I was sleeping in, I decided to ask Sue to meet me later in the morning when the studio was clear of classes.

That meant, I got to see the kids off to school, complete my morning ritual and then it hit me… I’m off schedule. I’ll see Sue at 10:30, then I have a consultation and a couple of meetings then have to get my brakes worked on before heading out of town. Then I got to see another one of my favorite people, Patti Kadkhodaian for coffee.

I was supposed to be breaking in my new trail shoes before an 8k trail race this weekend and my big 50mile hike next week on the Appalachian Trail. But I don’t want to run at 3pm, it’s supposed to be 90 degrees. Arghh…

Can you see how easy it is to miss or skip a workout (or something important) when you don’t follow your schedule?

What started as excitement on getting to sleep in, turned to a little chaos as I tried to figure out WHEN I would get this important run in.

That’s why Routines and Schedules are SO important when exercising. Without it, life can take over, things come up and before you know it it’s evening time and all you want to do is relax after a long and busy day.

A few extra zzz’s may seem exciting, but as it pertains to workout success it can be a HUGE obstacle.

I know everyone doesn’t have set schedules for work every single day and week, but try your best to stick with a time each day that is dedicated to YOUR workouts.

Hope you have an amazing weekend, filled with lots of outdoor activities.

Your Coach

Jeremy

P.S. Yes, I did get my run in 🙂

Flourless Banana Nut Muffins

These are the perfect pre-workout or recovery snack. Good healthy carbohydrates, no refined sugar or wheat, and healthy fats and a little protein. The original recipe I used claimed it made 9 muffins, my attempt yielded about 7.  These freeze and reheat well for on the go breakfast and they are simple to make as far as muffins go.  Put everything in a blender and then bake.  You could make this into a mini loaf too if you wanted to!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 2 extra ripe medium bananas
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp honey (raw preferably)
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp  cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a muffin pan by spraying 7 cavities with cooking spray. Set aside.  Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until oats are broken down and batter is smooth and creamy. You will probably have to pulse it at first to get it going.  Spoon batter into muffin pan, filling each muffin hole until it is about 3/4 of the way full.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they start to look golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes before removing gently. These freeze well and reheat in a few seconds but will also keep in an airtight container for a week. Makes about 7.

Nutrition Info: Calories: 166, Carb 16g, Fat 9g, Protein 6g

Quit Dieting

Why do 95% of people who go on a diet end up gaining back more than they lost?

Because they thought their weight was the problem.

Rather than focusing on THEM, they focused on IT (the number on the scale).

Here’s a quick quiz to see if you are focusing on IT, rather than YOU.

  1. Do you weigh-in more than once per week?
  2. Are you often times happy or sad, based on a number on the scale?
  3. In the past month, have you ever said… “I feel strong today”? If you say NO, count that as a YES in the totals below.
  4. Do you keep several “sets of clothes” in your closet? (ie… skinny clothes, normal and fat clothes)
  5. You often refer to yourself as fat or overweight (non verbal and or outloud)?

If you answered YES to at least 3 of the above, you might need to re-evaluate what you focus your attention on.

My assumption is that you did, so here is a little tip to help you shift your goals to YOU instead of IT.

Tip #1 – Gratitude of Power: Pick two body-parts that you feel are an attribute and either say them out loud or write them down every day! (Such as, I’ve got really great calves or I feel like my core is really strong)

Tip #2 – Shift your goal setting to a Habit Goal instead of a Weight Goal. Something specific like, 2 extra 30 minute cardio sessions each week.

Tip #3 – Put the scale away and ONLY get on it once per week, in the morning, just to check progress rather than obsessing everyday and night about IT.

I know these are relatively Small changes, but that’s what makes them do-able. I also think it makes them something you can fit into your life without doing any kind of crash or fad diets that are doomed to the 95% failure rate.

Over the past decade, the vast majority of my clients who have taken this approach are the ones who have those dramatic life changes. Some are amazing body transformations and others are more mental shifts in thinking and confidence.

Here is a perfect example from a former client:
“Well, I want to share how much your staff and you have inspired me and helped me get back on track with exercise and healthy living.


Although I was not able to continue with the 5am boot camp, i am currently training for my first 5k run (with the C25K app) in November, and I’m continuing to lose weight and eat healty. I’m in my third week of training and am excited and anxious at the same time. :-%

It was your generosity and encouragement that made me want to push myself and believe that I could do more. Thanks again for helping me get back on track”

It’s not always about dropping a bunch of weight or getting back into your skinny jeans (guys, I know y’all have them too).
Wishing you an amazing day!

Your Coach

Jeremy

Beef & Sweet Potato Paprikash

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs lean ground beef
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion, chopped
  • 3 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup frozen peas or edamame
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 3 sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel sweet potatoes and slice to about 1/4″ thickness. Lay a single layer in a 9×13 pan, and drizzle with a bit of the olive oil. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet, add onion and cook until translucent. Add in the meat, tomato paste, water, and seasonings and cook until meat is browned. Pour a layer of meat over the sweet potatoes in the dish. Layer another layer of sweet potatoes, then meat, then potatoes, then meat, until everything is used up. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 35-40 minutes, until sweet potatoes are cooked through. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Nutritional Info per serving: Calories 252, Protein 28g, Carb 12g, Fat 10gm Fiber 2g, Sugar 3g