Home Made Granola

I can’t take ANY credit for this recipe, but I just had to share it straight from Tony Horton’s book, BRING IT!, which is in stores now.

As many of you know, Tony is the creator of P90X and a major contributing factor to my physical and mental make over.  I gel with much of what he says, as it JUST MAKES SENSE!

When I say “contributing factor”, it’s just that, as I am the ONLY person that can implement it.  I just had great direction when I was ready.

That being said, any chance I can bring light to anything easy and tasty, I will share it!  Especially when it comes t granola…as I love it!  Just no longer the store bought kind.

So many Granola’s out on the market claim they are healthy, but are loaded with fat and added sugar.  You certainly won’t find any added sugar in this one, as concocted by Tony’s personal chef, Melissa Costello or Karma Chow.

It’s so incredibly easy to make, deliciously HEALTHY and will fall in line with any nutrition and exercise program you may be on.

Makes 4 – 6 servings

3 Cups Rolled Oats (I prefer Gluten Free)

1 Cup Oat Flour or Spelt Flour (Almond or Millet Flour are good too – Gluten Free)

1 cup chopped walnuts or any other nut (optional)

1/2 cup flaxseed

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

3/4 cup grapeseed oil

3/4 cup agave syrup or maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (alcohol free)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper (I used a non-stick baking sheet, so didn’t need to line it.

In a large mixing bowl combine the “dry” ingredients (oats, flour, nuts, flaxseed, salt, cinnamon and cardamom).

In a small bowl, combine the “wet” ingredients (oil, syrup and extract).  Whisk together until well combined.  If you whip too quickly or long, it will crystalize.  Pour the oil mixture over the oats mixture and stir to combine.

Spread the granola evenly on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes (the book calls for 30 minutes, but it turned my first batch too dark).  Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes to crisp up, and break into chunks.

So easy…even a 5 year old can make it AND eat it!

This granola is great with some unsweetened coconut, almond or hemp milk, topped on some Greek Yogurt, dessert topping or put in your favorite shake (for me, it’s Shakeology).

BUT, if you need a little grab n’ go snack, check out what Melissa added to the mix (1 serving):

1/2 banana

1/2 cup Granola (above recipe)

1 tablespoon of Almond Butter

Use fork to mash up the banana and mix with the granola and almond butter.  Roll mixture into a bar.  Freeze.  When ready to eat, either allow to soften on the counter or zap in microwave for 20 seconds on high.  DELICIOUS!!!  OH, and you can double, triple or quadruple the recipe…it’s THAT good.

Ok, just one of my favorite quick to make meals and snacks I had to share.  Again, this and SO much more is in Tony Horton’s book, BRING IT! in stores now.  It’s chalked full of valuable information to really set the foundation of proper nutrition and exercise.  It’s a way of LIFE people.  Not a fad.

Your partner in health  & fitness.

This may be the #1 question I get asked by women as new Mom’s, seasoned Mom’s and all others looking to shed excess belly fat. Ok, men too! Who doesn’t want to shed belly fat??

Whether that excess belly fat be post-baby weight, the “Freshman 15” or years of neglect of YOURSELF, the answer is simple and straight across the board.

Nutrition and Exercise. It doesn’t get any more tricky than that. Certainly no magic pill, “fad” diet or magic wand is going to intervene. At least not for the long haul.

Magic Pills and “fad” diets are SO yesterday. Agree?

Almost a year ago to the date, I wrote the article Top 7 Tips to a Tighter and Stronger Mid-Section.  Ring a bell?  These all go hand in hand in how to dial in on your mid-section.  There is NO spot reducing…sorry to burst the bubble to ya my friends!

The wave of the future and your flat belly, comes down to what you consume and how you move.

As a former gym rat and 2-pack contender for YEARS before I had kids, I thought I was of the elite in the dingy gym I went to. Often feeling confident about the abs I was creating with countless crunches and wasted time on the treadmill, only to go home and refuel with all the wrong things.

Hmmm….why wasn’t I getting that 6-pack I knew was in there?

Fast forward a few years and 2 kids later. As a Mom and a women, I was prepared by so many friends that being “mushy” and “frumpy” just comes with the territory. You mean, um, sort of like a reward we reap for bearing little miracles? Shoot, really?

No way…I wasn’t going to settle for that.

As you may know from my success story, post-baby, I surpassed the “frumpy” Mom category and got that 6-pack I knew I had in me, even 15 years since I saw my last one, from high school.

How? Well, for me, it came with a home fitness program called P90X®. Never heard of it, right?? Hahah. If you know me, chances are you SICK of me boasting about it.

Why do I boast about it? It taught me so many things I was doing wrong with my Nutrition and Exercise. Boy, and was I WAY off on how good I thought I was by hitting the gym 3-4 x’s a week and eating “selectively”. And Mom’s, selectively doesn’t mean eating the crusts of your kids sandwiches, picking at the remains of their Mac N’ Cheese or drinking the remnants of their Organic Chocolate milk. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Ok, so aside from the lessons I learned about overall nutrition and exercise, I learned HOW and WHY I was, just NOW, in my 30’s and after bearing 2 children, successful with achieving that 6-pack. And guess what, it didn’t come from the 367 or so ab exercises that comes with the famed Ab Ripper X. Of course a contributing factor? Yes!

But, it was how I nourished my body with CLEAN and WHOLE foods, is what shed the BELLY FAT and BODY FAT, from my post-baby-former-frumpy-self!

YES, those abs I so adamantly wanted so I could prove some of my friends wrong – they were APPEARING! Right before my eyes. Holy cow! Imagine that, ladies!

The best part was, it was simple. Sort of. To me, I find peace with eating well and exercising. Others, find it a chore. So I suppose I use simple as a selective term.

But the core of the story here, (pun intended) is that any Mom, Dad, former athlete or anyone else in between, has the chance to see those abs again! Yes you do, and don’t you dare say that it’s in your genetics to have belly fat! Don’t get me started on that topic.

People, it starts with your nutrition. Eating clean foods will sculpt your core giving you those lean, flat and sexy abs you admire from your favorite fitness model, P90X® grad or athlete. We are ALL capable of having them and they don’t need to be airbrushed on.

Did you know that 80% of any success in weight loss comes from what and how you eat?? 80%!

Here’s another little thing that P90X, but namely Tony Horton (the celebrity brains behind this 90-day Extreme Home System; pictured below with me), you don’t need to train your abs DAILY, just to firm up that 6-pack. In fact, in my recent stint on QVC with himself and another crew of P90X grads, I asked him that very question.

His response? “There is no need to beat yourself up over 3,000 crunches a day, just to get a lean core.”

That’s going to come from A) what you EAT B) how you TRAIN (train with a purpose; train like an athlete – think Pull-ups, push-ups, functional training moves and C) how you FEEL.

It’s amazing how a good attitude can be the foundation for success in your 6-pack abs.

Generally, happy people are healthy people. Thus, healthy people are happy people. Why? Because we ENJOY taking care of ourselves.

Ok, so think outside of the box when it comes to training your core/abs (just say no to 3,000 crunches a day!). A few little tips to leave you with:

- EAT CLEAN and LEAN (Remember, it’s 80% of your weight loss, core-tightening, success).

- Engage your core with any exercise activity you do. Pull belly button into the spine and focus on your breathing.

- Body weight training exercises are major core stabilizers: Pull-ups, Push up’s, Plyometric jumps, Squats, plank)

- Watch your posture. Stand up TALL with shoulders back, chest up, core strong.

- Get P90X®. Oh, is that a shameless plug? Ok, yes, but only cause it WORKS!

Again, shedding that belly fat isn’t going to come by way of a magic pill, quickie “fad” diet or countless crunches. And it’s certainly not going to come over night. It’s all in how you nourish your body and train as you exercise.

I always advise my customers to TRAIN and LIVE with a PURPOSE.

Your partner in health & fitness.

We all laugh along with the pain that he instills with our P90X workouts, so of course it only makes sense for him to do Improv right?

Makes it a tad easier to get up at 5:30am to PUSH PLAY when you have his stupid humor to look forward to.

Your partner in health & fitness.

I get this question asked to me A LOT!  So, in the effort to hopefully help others that have this very same question and are looking for something that is suited to their own fitness style and ability, I thought I’d break it down a bit:

Let’s start with the basics:

1.            What’s your current level of fitness activity?

A.  Very limited, maybe a short walk here and there. (May also have some health issues that inhibit workout activity – high blood pressure, pre-diabetic, Type 2 Diabetes, heart condition, etc).

B.  My activity is sporadic, some weeks are better than others.

C.  I’m fairly active and hit the gym as much as 3 x’s a week, but not seeing results.

D.  I’m VERY active and strong. (i.e.: I run quite a bit, do cross training, boot camps).

2.            What are your fitness goals?

A.   To find a program with a consistent level of lower impact activity.

B.   To find a program that will keep me active and is active.

C.   I want to see results, but I’m not a beginner and I’m not advanced

D.  I want something higher impact and that incorporates weight training & cardio.

3.          What is your time commitment to reaching your goals?

A.  I can commit to about 45-60 minutes, 2-3 days a week.

B.  I can commit to about 30-60 minutes, 3-4 days a week.

C.  I can commit to about 45-60 minutes, 4-5 days a week.

D.  I can commit to about 45-75 minutes, 5-6 days a week.

Ok, so these are just 3 top questions that I generally ask anyone interested in getting started with a workout program, but not really knowing what is the best one for them.

Often times, people want to immediately start with P90X, when they are NO condition to begin with a program that is so advanced.  The beauty of the selection of Beachbody programs, is that there is something for EVERYONE, and not every program will be suited for all…but definitely challenges to work towards.

So here’s a breakdown of what workout program would work best based off these category of questions (scroll down to bottom of the page to review the short video clip showcasing each product and its brief description):

If you answered mostly A’s:

A few recommended programs would be: Slim in 6® Rapid Results, Kathy Smith’s Project: You! Type 2®, Total Body Solution™ or Tony and the Folks® (for active adults 55+)

If you answered mostly B’s:

A few recommended programs would be: Slim in 6® Rapid Results, 10-Minute Trainer®, Power 90® or Yoga Booty Ballet®

If you answered mostly C’s:

A few recommended programs would be: Turbo Jams®, Hip Hop Abs®, Rockin’ Body®, 10-Minute Trainer® or Power 90®.

If you answered mostly D’s:

A few recommended programs would be: P90X®, Tony Horton’s One-on One Series, ChaLEAN Extreme® or Insanity®

Here are the descriptions of each suggested program above:

SLIM IN 6® Rapid Results, by Debbie Siebers

The original 6-week miracle makeover combines daily cardio with light resistance to burn fat fast. Fitness expert Debbie Siebers developed Slim in 6® through a combination of low impact cardiovascular and weight-bearing exercises collectively called Slim Training®. This three-phase, 6-week slimming program helps shed pounds quickly in a healthy manner, while jump-starting the body onto the path of long-term health and fitness.

Kathy Smith’s Project: YOU! Type 2™, by Kathy Smith

Kathy Smith’s Project: YOU! Type 2™ is a step-by-step guide to creating a healthy lifestyle for people with type 2 diabetes and anyone who wants to reduce his or her chance of getting diabetes. Developed in conjunction with doctors, certified diabetes educators, and the American Diabetes Association, this is a comprehensive program to take control of your health and your life!  This 12-week workout system comes with a cookbook, fitness & food journal, workout calendar, workout guide and a wallet to house the 8 workouts.  For more detailed information, click here to review the product page.

Total Body Solution™, by Debbie Siebers & Chad Waterbury

If minor or major post-exercise soreness has sidetracked your workout program, this program will help you get back on track. Created by Debbie Siebers and neurophysiologist Chad Waterbury, Total Body Solution™ is an incredible preventative and rehabilitative series of drills to help you recover without pain pills or chiropractic visits. Even if you’re not suffering from pain, you can use Total Body Solution as part of your warm-up to help prevent muscle strains and pains before they happen. Take control of joint and muscle health today so you can maintain your workout routine—and be comfortable doing it.

Tony and the Folks! by Tony Horton

It’s never too late to get fit!  Now there’s a great way for anyone age 55 and up, with the help of Tony Horton himself!  A fun half hour of fitness for anyone who wants to ease into a new exercise program and get results. You’ll get the heart pumping and blood flowing with each low-impact exercise presented in this program.  In just over 30 minutes, Tony & the Folks! will help you: increase energy, reduce joint stiffness, improve flexibility, strength & balance.  All the moves in this program offer alternate positions to increase or decrease the intensity. It’s truly one of the most entertaining ways to achieve and sustain a healthy lifestyle for someone new to fitness.

10-Minute Trainer®, by Tony Horton

No matter how busy you are, you can always find the time to squeeze in a 10-minute workouts.  With these breakthrough workouts and his easy-to-follow eating plan, you’ll lose weight, get toned, and have plenty of time left over!  Tony’s breakthrough Super Stacking Technique™ using resistance bands, combines the most effective moves I know into each 10-minute workout. Instead of starting with cardio, then working different body parts one at a time, he stacks them to work everything at the same time—in just 10 minutes! It’s multitasking for your muscles!

Power 90®, by Tony Horton

Total body transformation in just 90 days!!  Fat burning and total-body sculpting focused on abs, thighs, and upper body.   This in-home boot camp for dramatic body transformation uses Tony’s Sectional Progression™ technique, which gives you an effective workout in as little as 30 minutes each day.  The program comes with 4 workouts that are progressive to maximize your results and keep you active.  Plus, get a program guide, food plan and a few other special gifts thrown in for fun.  If that’s not enough, with Tony’s Fat Burning Express plan, you can lose up to 10 lbs. and 10 inches in your first 6 days!

Yoga Booty Ballet®, by Gillian Marloth & Teigh McDonough

Hollywood’s fun fitness secret combines yoga, dance, and body sculpting to blast calories and target your abs, thighs, and booty. Yoga Booty Ballet® is a dynamic fusion of yoga, booty sculpting, and dance that will make you feel strong, confident, and beautiful! You could see a dramatic difference in your body after just 2 weeks.

Turbo Jams®, by Chalene Johnson

Kickboxing and body-sculpting workouts set to the hottest dance music.  Get ready to rock your workout!  Chalene packs each workout with calorie-blasting kickboxing, body sculpting, and the hottest dance music. The “Elite 11″ signature moves are proven to burn fat and give you a sleek, sexy body and ripped, rock-hard abs.

Hip Hop Abs®, by Shaun T

Dance your way to hot, sexy abs and burn the fat off your entire body with Shaun T’s fun, exciting dance program! Using Shaun’s revolutionary Absolute Engagement™ technique, you’ll “Tilt, Tuck, & Tighten” your way to 6-pack abs without doing a single sit-up or crunch.

Rockin’ Body®, by Shaun T

Get a hot new Rockin’ Body with Shaun T’s high-octane dance party that will have you sweating off the pounds to all your favorite dance-floor hits!

P90X® Extreme Training System, by Tony Horton

P90X is not for beginners.  Designed by celebrity fitness trainer Tony Horton, P90X gets you absolutely ripped in 90 days. Through 12 sweat-inducing, muscle-pumping workouts, a comprehensive 3-phase nutrition plan, a detailed fitness guide and a calendar to track your progress, the P90X program will define muscles you’ve got and develop muscles you never knew you had. In just an hour a day, it will physically and mentally transform people from being in good shape to being outstanding athletes.  By way of Tony’s advanced training method, dubbed “Muscle Confusion”, your body or your mind, won’t get tired of the workouts, as they switch every 30 days.

Tony Horton’s One-on-One Series

Have you hit a muscle building plateau? Break through the plateau with celebrity trainer Tony Horton’s workout series Tony One-On-One. Designed to compliment or coordinate with his P90X® series, Tony’s constantly introducing new workouts will keep your muscles “confused.”  With this workout series your muscles are forced to adapt to new moves all the time, so they keep growing. Tony’s vastly successful concept of muscle confusion will get you the results you are looking for. Work out with Tony in his own gym, mano a mano. You will love to see Tony sweat and suffer, just like you. It’s like working out with a buddy!

ChaLEAN Extreme®, by Chalene Johnson

Get ready to burn fat and get lean with ChaLEAN Extreme™!  It’s a fact – the more lean muscle you have, the more fat you burn. You can burn up to 60% of your body fat in just 3 months and see visible results every 30 days—GUARANTEED!  MUSCLE BURNS FAT™! This proven circuit training technique shifts your fat-burning focus from cardio to resistance training. You’ll be lifting heavy weights in 3 phases to ignite your metabolism and burn fat long after your workout—even while you sleep!  Click here for the product sheet.

Insanity™ 60-Day Total Body Conditioning System, by Shaun T

Transform your body in 60 days with the most intense workout program ever put on DVD. Shaun T will push you past your limits to get the hardest body you’ve ever had.  The secret to these mind-blowing results: MAX Interval Training. Shaun T took traditional interval training and flipped it on its head—you perform long bursts of maximum-intensity exercises with short periods of rest. Each workout keeps you constantly challenged as you alternate between aerobic and anaerobic intervals performed at your MAX. The results: burn up to 1,000 calories an hour and get the most insane body in only 60 days.

You can view all these products and many more of the Beachbody workout systems at my Team Beachbody Store.  There is something for everyone and maybe a program that I have one that’s NOT listed here, that’s just right for you.  Go ahead, ask me to help you get started with your next fitness challenge.  And why not?  I’ll do a FREE fitness and nutrition analysis.  Who doesn’t like free?