easy healthy recipes and tips that helped me losE weight at home

EASY HEALTHY RECIPES AND TIPS THAT HELPED ME LOSE WEIGHT AT HOME

My fitness journey is one that’s had some amazing results all thanks to the people who encouraged me and reminded me that the work I was doing was all for me. Fitness is, and should always be thought of, as a journey and not a destination. Every day I try to eat and workout as best as I can for my overall wellness goals. Rather than to simply try and reach a number on the scale. Each of us has an inner athlete and we all have the potential to tap into them and bring them out. 

With the ongoing pandemic, I like everyone else initially embraced lethargy at home. But after getting frustrated with knowing that I was being uber lazy and eating poorly I chose to change it up. I’ve started building beginner workouts for myself while at home and I developed a list of easy healthy recipes I could follow. I’m proud to report that in quarantine I lost almost 10 whole pounds - 7 to be exact! After seeing some amazing comments from friends and questions about how I stay fit in quarantine, I made this post to offer some ideas and inspire you to know it’s never too late to get back on that hot girl summer grind!

Disclaimer - I’m not a registered trainer or nutritionist by any means. The workouts and recipes I made are particular to my body and its needs. These are all ideas, not suggestions. For all posts, the workouts and diet/food recommendations are modified versions of what I’ve been taught by my personal trainer Andrea, from Planet Fitness, and coaches and classes from the high-intensity interval training studio OrangeTheory Fitness. Please be safe and take care of yourself!

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Breakfast -  Easy Healthy Recipe Protein-Packed Berry Smoothie

My morning is never complete without my protein-packed berry smoothie. I started making smoothies out of convenience and they’ve now become probably my favorite meal! This easy recipe requires the following:

• A vegan protein of your choice. (I recommend vegan proteins because whey contain trace amount of lactose aka dairy) My vegan protein of choice is currently the Organic Protein™ Plant Based Protein Powder in vanilla!
• 1-2 cups of a leafy green. My current green of choice is kale. Another classic is spinach.
• A cup of frozen berries of your choice. The berries I highly recommend are blueberries - these babies are packed in great nutrients and vitamins. Make sure to stick with a cup! Fruits are healthy but too many and you’re upping that sugar intake.
• ½ a banana. Most people use a whole banana in their smoothies or fruit bowls. However, like my note on the berries, if you’re trying to lose weight be cautious with sugars.
• 1-2 scoop of nut butter. Currently, I’m using the Organic Stir Creamy Almond Butter by Good & Gather™. I just found this stuff at Target and I was like why not!
• ½ cup of unsweetened almond milk and then water. This one just makes sense. 
• Bonus
  • If you’re looking for a sweeter or thicker, like thicc with two Cs, smoothie, try to find organic Medjool dates! These fruits are also very nutritious and they offer a caramel consistency to your smoothie. Yum!
  • An ingestible collagen supplement. Full transparency, I am a Vital Proteins social media ambassador but long before my affiliation with the brand, I added their collagen to my smoothies. Collagen has made an overall improvement in my wellness. 

I’ll usually drink my smoothie after a hot cup of water with a drizzle of honey and lemon. Sometimes I’ll replace this with a hot green tea and the same additions. No matter what, always make sure that the first thing you drink in the AM is a tall glass of water. Get ya body right and tight.

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Healthy Snack Idea 

A piece of advice I’ve gotten from fitness coaches and readings online is that small, and I mean small, and healthy snacks can actually help you lose weight. Let us think about it, it makes sense. If you only eat three times a day you’re probably intaking more at once than if you had small bites throughout the day. Below is my snack:

• 1 apple
  
• 1-2 tablespoons of nut butter
  
• Cinnamon to sprinkle on the apples 
  

An easy healthy snack I have at home is an apple with cinnamon and 1-2 scoops of a nut butter. The apple is not only filling but the addition of the protein helps you stay fuller longer! Cinnamon has also been proved to help kickstart your metabolism. The Independent UK even published a piece titled, “CINNAMON HELPS BURN FAT CELLS, STUDY FINDS."

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keto friendly lunch idea - egg white powerbowl

A major change to my diet that helped me lose weight was through omission rather than any additions. Now, I never condone eating less than you should - we are afraid to snack in this home! While I have not gone full keto, better known as the ketogenic diet, I have lost weight through practicing a carbohydrate diet. Below is not only another healthy breakfast idea but it's a ketomeal that works just as great for lunch too! 

The recipe for this egg white keto meal power bowl calls for:

• ​4 egg whites
• 1 handful of spinach
• 1/2 a cup of chopped onions and tomatoes 
• 1/2 an avocado 

EASY HEALTHY RECIPE - Keto Friendly Egg White Power Bowl recipe by William Samayoa

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Overall advice to make salads and meals healthier

Another one of my favorite meals is a classic healthy recipe and that is a green chicken salad. I love buying those prepackaged salads that come in the family sizes since it makes preparation so much easier. But watch out for those wontons! Remember that while you may be eating clean those add ons add up the amount of calories and carbs in your diet. I advise you to limit the add ons that come in prepackaged salads. Whether it's croutons, wontons, even berries, either use them gingerly or not at all.

A great tip to keeping your salads healthy is using the cap of your dressing to measure how much you put in. I usually do 1 cap, and my go-to dressing is Newman's Own Lighten Up! Light Balsamic Dressing. Make sure you find a light version. 

Consider portioning out your protein by the palm. A good general rule of thumb, or in this case hand, is having a protein the size of the palm of your hand. This is a great way to portion, yet if you’re building or very active add ⅓ more protein. 

One last tip is pile up on the veggies! Toss in some bell peppers, red onion, cucumber slices, the more the merrier. Adding in additional vegetables is a win in this case as you will feel fuller longer and get even more great vitamins and minerals in your diet.

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I hope you enjoyed this piece with some healthy recipes and meal ideas! I invite you to share this with your friends and on social and let me know if you want more of these kind of posts!