Motivational Monday

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard."
- Tim Notke

Fitness Tip of the Week:

• In training, it's imperative that we break out of these ruts. We have to try new movements or try different ways of doing the same old movements. Variety is not only the spice of life; it's the main ingredient of bodybuilding and strength training success.

Smoothie Recipe of the Week:

Creamsicle Smoothie Recipe

• 1 cup strawberries
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt

Visit This Link to View the Full Recipe

Lunch Recipe of the Week:

Asian Wrap

• 4 large tortillas
• Several handfuls of spinach leaves - about 8 per wrap
• 1 cucumber, cut into long thin slices - 2 per wrap
• 2-3 mixed (mild) peppers - about 6 slices per wrap
• Fresh parsley sprigs, optional
• Tofu or other choice of protein, optional
• Sprinkle of hemp seeds, optional
Spinach Hummus (makes about 1 ½ cups)
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup vegetable broth (or water)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• ⅛ teaspoon cumin
• ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1½ cups packed fresh spinach

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Dinner Recipe of the Week:

Skinny Slow Cooker Kungpao Chicken

• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1 - 1¼ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2-3 pieces), cut into bite-sized chunks
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• **4 - 6 dried red chili peppers (to taste) found in Asian supermarkets or the International section of a large chain grocery store - see NOTE
• ⅔ cup roasted cashews (or roasted peanuts)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped into halves
Sauce (Feel free to double the sauce if you like more sauce)
• ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ½ cup water
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon dried red pepper chili flakes
Cornstarch slurry
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
• 2-3 Tablespoons water (plus more as needed to thin out consistency of sauce)

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Stretch of the Week:

Open Arm Chest Stretch (3 sets of 30 seconds):

Exercise of the Week:

   Chest Press Punch-up (3 sets of 10 repetitions):