Recipe:

3 Tomatoes

1/2 cup cilantro

That’s it!  But you can add 1/2 red onion, jalapeños, or salt and pepper to taste.  You can either cut the cilantro and tomatoes into smaller pieces manually or use a food processor.  I have a Cuisinart 14 cup food processor, and I love it!  If you use a food processor, choose the S blade.  After washing your veggies, I chop the tomatoes up into smaller pieces before I put them in the food processor.  Then I use the “pulse” function until I get my desired consistency.

Other serving suggestions besides tortilla chips, include putting the salsa on bread or if you do not want to eat processed foods or on a raw diet, you can use cucumbers instead of chips.

Cilantro:  1/4 cup of cilantro (about 4 grams) contains 1 calorie and 0 grams of fat. It contains, vitamins C, A, and K, folate, potassium, and antioxidants like beta-carotene.  Oil extracted from the leaves of cilantro has been shown to delay spoilage. Cilantro leaves have also been found to have an antibacterial effect against Salmonella!

Tomatoes:  Tomatoes have high anti-oxidant properties and help lower cholesterol, reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease.  Tomatoes are rich in lycopene (anti-oxidant), vitamin A, beta-carotene, vitamin C and potassium.  They also have B-complex vitamins.

Here’s the episode that you have all been waiting for finally; it’s the No Excuse Fitness Workout!  You can follow along at home with your pause button.  Make sure to incorporate the stretching at the points that it cues you in the video.  Check out the No Excuse Fitness/Kickboxing Facebook page for more information.  If you would like some company working out, consider joining No Excuse Fitness at 5:45pm on Mondays at Magic Island.  Enjoy!

Benefits of Exercise:

1.  Exercise is helpful in stress management.  Exercise increases concentrations of norepinephrine, a chemical that moderates the brain’s response to stress.

2.  Exercise releases endorphins, creating feelings of happiness.  Exercise can improve depression.

3.  Exercise boosts the chemicals in the brain that support and prevent degeneration of the hippocampus (the part of the brain involved in memory forming, organizing, and storing).

4.  Various studies have shown that cardiovascular exercise can create new brain cells and improve overall brain performance.  A tough workout increases levels of a brain-derived protein in the body which helps with decision making, higher thinking, and learning.

5.  Exercise helps people fall asleep at the right time.  Exercise five to six hours before bedtime raises the body’s core temperature. Body temperature drops back to normal a few hours later, signaling the body that it’s time to sleep.

6.  Research shows that workers who exercise on a regular basis are more productive and have more energy than their sedentary co-workers.

7.  An exercise session can boost creativity for up to two hours afterwards.

8.  Exercise boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol and decreases (bad) triglycerides.

9.  Exercise can help prevent and manage health problems, such as stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, arthritis and falls.

10. Exercise helps prevent weight gain and maintains weight loss.  Engaging in physical activity burns calories.

11.  Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women. Men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than their sedentary counterparts.

 

In this episode, I include the stretching to do before and after the no excuse fitness workout.  Art usually warms up first with a jog (included in the next episode) and then does the stretching.

You should never stretch a cold muscle in any way.  Doing static stretches,  where you hold the stretch before a workout can lessen your strength, power, and performance.  In addition, stretching without warming up your muscles may cause injury.  To improve range of motion and avoid injury, you need to stretch, but always start with some aerobic warm-up to get the blood flowing into the tissue before stretching.

Benefits of Stretching:

1.  Improved flexibility and range of motion

As the body ages, muscles can become tighter and range of motion in the joints can decrease, causing movement to become slower and less fluid, making you more prone to muscle strain or other soft tissue injury.  An increase in flexibility improves balance and coordination.

2.  Good posture

Stretching lengthens tight muscles. Tense and tight muscles cause poor posture. Stretching the lower back, chest and shoulders can help keep the spine in good alignment and improve posture.

3.  Prevent injury?
This is still widely debated but stretching has been proven to help increase blood flow to the muscles. This increase in flow brings a greater nutrient supply to the muscle, reducing muscle soreness and speeding recovery from muscle and joint injuries.

4.  Stress relief

A buildup of stress causes your muscles to contract. Tension has a negative impact on your body. Like all types of exercise, flexibility exercises like stretching relieve stress.

 

This episode is about Art and Justin, who started the No Excuse Fitness Club group.  I share an inspiring story about how Art gained a lot of weight after an injury in the war but was able to bounce back to unbelievable shape and compete in the American Ninja Warrior.  Art also shows us some of his martial arts stunts in the end of the episode.  His workout does not require any equipment and you can follow along at home (or in your neighborhood park)!  Stay tuned for the following episodes for the workout.  If you live in Oahu, you can join him and Justin on Mondays at 5:45pm.  Check out their Facebook page No excuse fitness/kickboxing.  Enjoy!

 

 

This is an easy 3 ingredient recipe that is quick and easy.  It has no sugar or oil added.

Ingredients:
2 small bananas (apple bananas) or 1 large banana:
Bananas are a great source of dietary fiber, about 3 g per serving.  They are rich in potassium (450 mg per serving), Vitamin B6, manganese, Vitamin C, magnesium, folate, Iron, Riboflavin, and Vitamin A.  They are naturally cholesterol and fat free!

1 cup of rolled oats
What are rolled oats?
Oat groats are what is left after the outer husk has been removed from the bran-covered oat grains. Rolled oats are oat groats that have been de-husked, steamed and then rolled flat and lightly toasted.  Rolled oats are also often the main ingredient in granola and muesli.  Steel-cut oats are oat groats that have been chopped into smaller pieces before any steaming and retain bits of the bran layer. Raw oat groats are often further steam-treated to soften them for a quicker cooking time (quick oatmeal) and allow for a longer shelf life.

Oats have no cholesterol and have 5 g of fiber per serving! They are a good source of manganese, phosphorus, thiamin, selenium, magnesium, copper, zinc, and iron.

1/3 cup raisins
Raisins have no cholesterol (as with all plant matter).  They are rich in potassium, copper, manganese, phosphorus, Vitamin B6, iron, magnesium, thiamin, and riboflavin.  They have 3.7g fiber per serving.

Instructions:

Add all ingredients and stir.  I have a kitchen aid mixer, which I love.  It is a great investment if you like to bake, but it is not necessary, as all you need is a bowl and spoon to stir for this recipe.  I like to use an ice cream scooper to scoop out the cookie dough.  I like to use non-stick silicone baking mats.  They are reusable and easy to wash.  I put them on top of cookie sheets, or in this case I am using a pizza pan, since I did not have a cookie pan available.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  After preheated, bake for 13-15 minutes.  The batch makes about a dozen cookies.  Enjoy!

 

 

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread

1 avocado

lettuce

pea sprouts

Directions:  Place avocado first to cover each slice of bread.  Place lettuce on top of avocado on one side and sprouts on top of the other slice of bread (on top of avocado).  Then put the lettuce slice on top of the sprout slice of bread and cut in half for easier handling.

Nutrient content:

Bread:

You can use any kind of bread.  I like Dave’s Killer Bread  because it is organic, non-GMO, and contains no animal products, artificial preservatives or ingredients.  They also add flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and poppy seeds for extra fiber; plus include whole grains such as quinoa, millet, gamut, and barley.  Each slice of bread has a whopping 5 g of fiber and 260 mg of omega-3s!

Avocado:

Avocados are a great source of vitamins C, E, K, and B-6, as well as riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium and potassium. They also provide lutein, beta-carotene and omega-3s.  Avocados are full of healthy fats that help to keep you full and satiated.  Healthy fats make your skin glow, increase vitamin and mineral absorption and help boost your immune system.

Lettuce:

Lettuce leaves are low calorie vegetables which possess health promoting and disease prevention properties. Lettuce contains Vitamin A, C, K, folate, and beta carotene.  It also contains minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which are very essential for body metabolism.

Sprouts

I used pea sprouts that I got at Nalolicious farms (in Waimanalo), but you can use any kind of sprouts that you like.  Sprouts refer to a number of different vegetable or plant beans in the period of time after they begin to grow.  Sprouts represent a much more significant amount of vitamins and nutrients than they do in an un-sprouted form.   Health benefits of sprouts include the ability to improve the digestive process, boost the metabolism, increase enzyme activity throughout the body, prevent anemia, help with weight loss, lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, protect against cancer, boost skin health, improve vision, and support the immune system.

I posted this because I have a lot of people ask me about the contents of my sandwich when I go to work.  It is also something easy that you can make and take anywhere (see video)… Enjoy!

What are Omega-3’s?

Omega-3’s are essential fatty acids because our body does not make them.

What is the Omega 6:3 ratio?

Human beings evolved on a diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids of approximately 1 whereas in Western diets the ratio is much higher. Western diets are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and have excessive amounts of omega-6 fatty acids compared with the diet on which human beings evolved. Excessive amounts of omega-6  fatty acids and a very high omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today’s Western diets, promote many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

How can I get my Omega-3’s?

Omega-3’s are found in some fatty fish because they eat micro algae that contain them.  Vegans may be deficient in Omega-3’s because micro algae and other sea vegetables generally do not contain enough to satisfy requirements.  Foods high in omega-3’s include flaxseed, green-leafy veggies, and chia seeds.  Therefore, I have an green omega 3 smoothie every morning!

Recipe:

Ingredients (with omega 6:3 ratio):

1 papaya (1:4)

1 banana (1.7:1)

1 handful of :

kale (1:1)

chard (9:1)

spinach (1:5)

2-3 tablespoons of flaxseed (1:4)

*The banana and chard can be omitted if you would like to tip the scales more in favor of the omega 3’s!  I just like the sweetness of the banana in my shake!

Directions;  Place ingredients and fill with about 20 ounces of water (plus or minus depending on how thick you like your smoothie) and blend in a high power blender.  I use a vitamix, but you can use any other high power blender.  Enjoy!