Ultimate Reset Quinoa Salad

I will be posting a week 1 re-cap of my experience with Beachbody's Ultimate Reset this weekend but I've had so many peeps asking about this quinoa recipe that I wanted to get it out there ASAP.  Feeling AMAZING btw. Energy is way up and it's only day 6! Enjoy friends :-)

Ultimate Reset Quinoa Salad 


Ingredients

• ½ cup cooked Quinoa
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Himalayan salt or Bragg® Liquid Aminos (to taste)
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. finely minced fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp. finely minced fresh mint leaves
• ¼ large ripe tomato, diced
• ¼ large cucumber, peeled and diced
• 2 Tbsp. chopped pitted Kalamata olives

Directions
Toss quinoa with olive oil, salt or Bragg Liquid Aminos, and lemon juice, mixing well. Gently fold in parsley and mint, followed by remaining ingredients. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Serves 1.

Nutrition

• 270 calories
• 18 g fat
• 2.5 g saturated fat
• 0 mg cholesterol
• 135 mg sodium
• 25 g carbohydrate
• 4 g fiber
• 5 g protein
• 254 mg potassium

Rest in Peace Sean Michael O'Malley aka Cardio Coach

This is a hard blog post for me to write. Certainly not one I thought I would ever be writing. I sat down and said out loud~ "Where do I start?" A little voice inside my head simply said...start from the heart. So that is what I'm going to do.

For those of you who had the pleasure of knowing Sean, in real life or through his workouts, you know what an incredibly kind, caring, and giving man he was. The fact that his physical body stopped being on Sunday, March 25th seems unreal but it's true. I truly believe that he had a positive impact on every person he was able to reach. I know he definitely had a major impact on mine.

I discovered Sean's Cardio Coach workouts several years ago when I was living in rural Virginia. A gorgeous part of the country for sure but WAY different than what I was used to. Thousands of miles from home, in a place that I felt like stranger in, and dealing with a stupid amount of debt it felt to me like I was NEVER going to have my life back. I was also still dealing with the recent death of my beloved father and grandmother. Despondent and hopeless pretty much sums it up. Alive but not living life. Getting by, whatever. For those of you that know me now that probably seems hard to believe but it was TRUE. I honestly do not know what got me out if bed some mornings but what I do know is that I was aware that feeling good physically would be the first step in getting my mojo back. Cardio Coach became part of that journey.

Based on what I had heard about the workouts, I expected to have my butt kicked and kicked it was!! I surprised myself and found that I COULD run more than 2 minutes without my legs falling off or coughing up a lung. What I wasn't prepared for was that these workouts, that Sean's gentle, wise and sometimes tough love words would also begin to change my perception of my life. They would change me, what I could experience and what I was capable of. A little tiny light appeared at the end of the tunnel. At the time I had no clue as to how I was going to back myself out of this situation but I KNEW that it was going to happen. I KNEW there was a future that did not include depression and hopelessness. I KNEW that I would get it all back and more. I did not have complete control over my present situation but I DID have complete control over how I reacted to it and over every decision I made going forward. Every workout became a sweaty attitude adjustment.


So THANK YOU Sean. Thank you for giving me hope and belief when I needed it the most. Thank you for helping me realize that I have an infinite amount of strength and potential, that I have the power to choose how I live my life. Thank you for leading by example and for teaching me that, a true measure of a coach's success is the success of the people they coach. Thank you for making me a better coach and a better person even now, as we try to make sense of you being gone. Thank you for the friends I've made along the way. Thank you for always being a light to so many of us and for the inspiration you will continue to provide.

I feel compelled, more than ever, to follow your lead and be true to myself, my heart, and to the people in my life. Whether they are in it for 1 minute or lifetime.

Oh, and I also promise to bring my A game to each and every workout :) 

Until we meet again in Cardio Coachland...

xoxo

Success Defined

I came across this quote by Bob Dylan the other day and thought it summed things up PERFECTLY.  

"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."

Truly, what else is there? It made me realize that, as perfect as any life may be, we can always be truer to ourselves and our priorities. Are YOU spending your days doing what you want to do or are you spending them doing what you think you should be doing? NO ONE should ever have to settle for a life they don't really want. Yes, at one point or another we all have to make concessions and compromise but if you consistently spend 5 days of the week wishing it was the weekend and the other 2 days dreading Monday you owe it to yourself to make a change!

What moves you? What can you get passionate about? What do you LOVE? I promise you there is a way to get paid to do it. It might be a little scary and feel a little uncomfortable at first but living a successful life is worth it, yes? 

Are you living your dream life? If not, what would you rather be doing?? Post below and let me know so we can get you closer to what YOU want!


xoxo Coni

No Excuses

It's too hot.

It's too cold.

I'm not as young as I used to be.

I don't have the time.

I'm not naturally good at sports/running/yoga/business/dealing with people/being creative, etc etc etc

I'm too shy.

I'm too busy.

I'm too afraid to fail.

I could never be as good as "so & so"

I don't have enough money.

I'm too tired.

I don't believe I can be thinner/fitter/healthier, it's not in my genes.

I don't like vegetables. 

Maybe once the kids are out of school/this project is done/after the house sells/once things improve with my job.

I'm too scared to take 100% responsibility for my life, my future and the amount of awesomeness in it.

I don't want to hear all the reasons you can't. I want to hear the one reason you CAN. 


The truth is that, every successful/fit/happy person had that moment when they stopped looking for reasons why they couldn't be their best and started looking for reasons they could. Why not you?

If you are ready to bust your excuses, I'm here to help.

Super Spicy Chicken Caldo

If you love spicy food and you love chicken soups you will LOVE this. One of my new faves :-)

Primal Chicken Caldo

Ingredients~

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & minced
3 habanero peppers, minced (leave ALL the seeds in if you are a spicy fiend)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
5 medium carrots, cut in large chunks
12-16 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in half
48 oz low sodium chicken broth
2 medium yellow and/or green zucchini, cut into thick slices
1 small head of cabbage, halved and sliced into thick shreds
1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
juice of 2 limes


Directions~

1~ Heat oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven or other big pot until hot but not smoking Add onions, peppers & garlic and cook until softened and a little golden, about 5 minutes.

2~ Add carrots and chicken until chicken just starts to brown. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 45 minutes.

3~ Add zucchini and cabbage. Mix well and return to simmer. Cover and simmer for an additional 30-45 minutes or until all vegetables are soft.

4~ Add cilantro and limes juice.

5~ Serve with yogurt, sliced peppers and avocado if desired.

Enjoy!

Cathe's Imax 3~ The Sound of Fat Cells Crying

That is all. Just finished the bad boy and NAILED IT. Go me :-)

Spicy Paleo/Primal Chili

Who doesn't love chili on a chilly winter day? By popular demand here is the recipe that goes with the pic I posted on facebook a couple days ago. I like LOTS if heat so there are lots of peppers. Feel free to adjust according to you taste :-)

***Special Note*** Since I published this recipe I have cut WAY down on my bacon intake (as in none at all lol) and also eat much less meat. I will be revamping this one to my current tastes but did not want to just replace this one because, well because it's freakin tasty! If you do try this one PLEASE treat yourself to the very best meat you can get (nitrate free, grass fed, non factory farmed, etc etc, etc.) Your taste buds will thank you and it's good karma I believe <3 

Spicy Paleo/Primal Chili 

Ingredients~

• 2 lbs ground beef chuck
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1/2 package bacon, chopped
• 4-5 carrots, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 habaneros, diced
• 3-4 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 jalapenos, diced
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 4 14.5 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
• 4T Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1.5T Oregano
• 1.5T Basil
• 1.5T Cumin
• 1T Pure Baking Cocoa Powder
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 1 Cup Strong Black Coffee
• Chicken/Beef broth to cover

Directions~ 

Brown the meat (ground meats & bacon) on medium high heat until bacon starts to cook and meat is no longer pink. About 5 minutes Drain most of the excess grease off.

Add all vegetables to the pot (carrots through garlic) and continue cooking until veggies start to soften. About 5 minutes more.

Add spices (Chili powder through salt & pepper) and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 more minutes.

Add canned tomatoes, coffee, and broth to cover. Stir well and bring to boil. Once boiling lower heat to a gentle simmer and let it cook for at last another 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Garnish with avocado, plain yogurt, more sliced hot peppers and cilantro if desired.

ENJOY :-)