Monthly Archives: August 2014

Body Beast Banana Pancakes

Hi my name is Nikki and I am addicted to pancakes!

I have been eating pancakes almost every morning since I started Body Beast back in July and I am not tired of them yet.

There is just something comforting about them to me. They are like a nice warm hug for my soul and who wouldn’t like a nice warm hug to start their morning off, right?

Coffee + Pancakes = Perfection (to me)

Below, is one of my go-to recipes for pancakes, Body Beast Banana Pancakes, which is from the Body Beast “Book of Beast” nutrition guide. I don’t use this exact recipe everyday, but I do make these often. I also make a few variations to them since I have gluten sensitivities. I make sure I buy gluten-free oats and if I don’t have gluten-free flour on hand, I just blend up a cup of oats, until they’re a fine flour-like consistency and I always make sure my baking powder is gluten-free too.

Body Beast Beast Banana Pancakes

This recipe also works AWESOME for meal prepping! I make multiple batches and keep them in the fridge, but you could store them in the freezer too (They just don’t last that long in our house).

Another go-to pancake recipe for me, are the Healthy Pancakes I started making while I was doing the 21 Day Fix. These are super quick and easy to make, plus they make a double batch so you’ll have breakfast for two days, while only cleaning up mixing bowls and pans once! Since I’m doing Body Beast now, I  add a scoop of protein powder to them as well.

Pancakes are really just a blank slate to me, which is probably why I haven’t become bored with them. They can be topped with syrup, fresh fruit, preserves, nut butters, and so much more! You can make a huge batch of them but still enjoy a different flavor profile everyday, which I think is what draws me to them so much. Currently, my favorite way to enjoy them is with some real maple syrup (make sure your syrup is real, people…no maple “flavored” high fructose corn syrup, okay?!) and a sprinkle of unsweetened, shredded coconut. Another favorite of mine is topping them with some peanut butter, sliced banana and a drizzle of raw, local honey.

How do you like to top your pancakes?

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Body Beast Fajitas

Messing around in the kitchen is one of my favorite things to do. It helps to calm me when I’m stressed and it’s actually just become part of my fitness routine. I spend a lot of time on Pinterest looking for new recipes to try. I own a lot of cookbooks and I love that all of the workout programs I own come with nutrition guides and recipe ideas.

So far, the nutrition guide that came with Body Beast, “The Book of Beast” is my favorite. I have tried just about every recipe in it and I have loved them all. As a matter of fact I have shared quite a few of the recipes already. They contain things that are important to me when picking a recipe; they are quick, easy and of course, they all work well for meal prep. This recipe for Body Beast Fajitas is perfect to have on hand for a quick lunch and it packs a lot of flavor!

Body Beast Fajitas

You could also easily substitute steak, shrimp or pork if you want to change things up and keep things interesting! Having basic recipes in your arsenal, that you can make simple changes to is so important when eating clean. Spices are such an important part of keeping things interesting and with a recipe like this, you can easily play around with amounts to suite your tastes. You could add jalapenos, cayenne or use a variety of pepper colors. Little changes like that can completely change the flavor of a dish and keep you from getting bored with your meals.

If you’re like me and LOVE eating at Chipotle, you should definitely try skipping the tortilla and making this with some cilantro-lime rice or as a salad. It would make a super quick dinner option (if for some reason you forgot to meal prep…but we don’t forget to meal prep, right?!) and as an added bonus, you get to skip the drive, looking for a parking spot AND that long ass line! Oh…and when you make it home, guacamole DOESN’T cost extra! SCORE!

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Chase Your Dreams

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Once again I have been a slacker when it comes to writing here and honestly, I’m okay with that, because I’ve been busy chasing my dreams.

I was feeling a little bit lost in my life and what direction it should take, but I’m feeling much more focused now. I suppose it’s something we all go through at some point in life. When I lost my job a year and a half ago, I knew I wanted to switch my focus towards my passion, which was health & fitness. I spent some time deciding how I wanted to go about doing it and eventually decided to begin studying for my NASM Personal Trainer certification, as I’ve mention here before. I’m proud to say I completed it, however once I did, I didn’t know what I wanted to do next. I was never comfortable being in a gym and that is where most people start out once they are certified, so I sucked it up and went to meet with someone at a local gym about shadowing and learning the ropes. While I was there, I knew in my gut it wasn’t for me. NOTHING about it felt comfortable and after speaking with the trainer there, I knew in my heart I wasn’t going to be happy following that route. So I went home, cried and questioned everything I had been doing to this point.

That is when clarity took over and I realized that the answer had always been in front of me. I had taken steps down the path toward it in the past, but always got scared, worried about what other people were going to think and talked myself out of it.

You see, back when I completed my first round of P90X 4 years ago, I tried Shakeology for the first time and really liked it, however I really couldn’t afford it. I saw the nutritional value it offered, but I couldn’t get past the price tag. That is when my coach introduced me to Beachbody Coaching (Yes, I said Beachbody Coaching…please don’t run away now) and how I could get a 25% discount on Shakeology. I was very skeptical at first and I asked a million questions to everyone I knew who was doing the program on Twitter and I eventually decided to sign-up. While I was told I was inspiring and motivating by many people I met at that time, I wasn’t comfortable coaching anyone so I just enjoyed the Shakeology discount and if people asked me what I was doing to get in shape I would tell them, share a link and make a little extra money by doing so.

From time to time I would attend a local Beachbody event, because I loved the programs. Coaches I met there would try to talk to me into “working my business” but I refused to “drink the Kool-Aid” so I would just smile a nod. In all honesty I was intrigued by it, but I was also scared of it. I wasn’t a fitness professional and I was still trying to figure out all this fitness stuff on my own. How on earth could I possibly help other people reach their goals when I hadn’t even reached mine?! When I look back on this I was stupid and I was just scared. I was scared of leaving my comfort zone, scared of what other people would think and scared of failing. Now I know that failing at things is the way to grow in life. If we just sit back in our comfort zone, we aren’t living life to it’s fullest, and we certainly aren’t being as happy as we could possibly be.

Over the course of 4 years I have toyed with the idea of actually following this path and coaching others, on and off. I always allowed the fear to stop me but I never quit. I thought about it many times but for some reason I never called and cancelled my coach account and I never fully gave up on the idea of doing it. Why? I’m pretty sure it’s because the Universe wants me to pursue this. I know … I know… the Universe?! Yeah, well… I’m not religious but I do believe in a higher power. I wholeheartedly believe that we have a path we are meant to follow in life, and that people and events come into our lives to lead us to this path. When we ignore the path things will keep happening to redirect us towards it, and that’s what kept happening to me with coaching.

So, as of this month, I am officially applying myself with my coaching! I am chasing my dreams of helping others and paying it forward. I am no longer running from this opportunity to touch other peoples lives and pass along the knowledge that I have gained over the course of my 5 year weight loss journey. I was able to change my life and I know that YOU can too. If you have been scared to start, I want you to know that it is normal and it doesn’t mean that you can never do it!

Now that I have  finally, openly, talked about what it is I do, I hope that if you are ever up late watching TV and an infomercial comes on for P90X, T25, 21 Day Fix, PiYo or any other Beachbdoy program, you will wait to order it and come speak to me first. If you already own one of these programs but have struggled with them or never even got started, I would love the opportunity to coach you,  find out what your goals are and help you to reach them!

It’s time to chase your dreams and make them a reality!

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Filed under 21 Day Fix, Body Beast, Focus T25, Health & Fitness, Insanity, My Ramblings, P90X