Strawberry Walnut and Oats Shakeology

As if Shakeology isn't already filling all on its own, add a little walnuts and oats and you got yourself a winner. Enjoy as a breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Total Time: 5 min.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop Strawberry Shakeology
2 Tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 Tbsp. chopped raw walnuts
1 cup ice

Preparation:
1. Place almond milk, Shakeology, oats, walnuts, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

Banana Honeymoon Shakeology Pie

A chocolate peanut butter pie with 14 grams of protein per serving? Did I hear right? Yes. It's true. This version of "dessert" is decadent and something you should make a staple in your dessert repertoire.

Total Time: 1 hr. 10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. nonfat milk
1 (12-oz) container firm (or silken) tofu
2 scoops Chocolate Shakeology
½ cup all-natural peanut butter
2 ripe medium bananas, cut into chunks
1 Tbsp. raw honey
1 Whole Wheat Graham Pie Crust (get the recipe here)

Preparation:
1. Place milk, tofu, Shakeology, peanut butter, bananas, and honey in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.
2. Pour tofu mixture into pie crust; refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
3. Cut into eight servings.

PB&J Shakeology

A healthy take on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Thank you Shakeology!

Total Time: 5 min.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:
½ cup water
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop Vanilla Shakeology
¼ cup red grapes
2 tsp. all-natural peanut butter
1 cup ice

Preparation:
1. Place water, almond milk, Shakeology, grapes, peanut butter, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.


Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 239

Fat: 9 g

Saturated Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 5 mg

Sodium: 302 mg

Carbohydrate: 24 g

Fiber: 4 g

Sugar: 14 g

Protein: 19 g

P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)

1 single snack

½ fat

½ fruit

Body Beast Portions (per serving)

1 protein liquid

1 fruit

1 fat

Neapolitan Shakeology

Have a variety of Shakeology and not know which one to pick? How about blend a little of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and make this Neapolitan Shakeology that is to die for!

Total Time: 5 min.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/3 scoop Strawberry Shakeology
1/3 scoop Vanilla Shakeology
1/3 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
1 cup ice

Preparation:
1. Place almond milk, Shakeology, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 180

Fat: 5 g

Saturated Fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 3 mg

Sodium: 342 mg

Carbohydrate: 17 g

Fiber: 5 g

Sugar: 7 g

Protein: 17 g

P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)

1 double snack

Body Beast Portions (per serving)

1 protein liquid

2 balanced liquids

Chocolate Brownie Snacks

Who says brownies can't be healthy? All you need is a little chocolate Shakeology, some rolled oats, almond butter, almonds and a ripe banana and you got yourself a brownie at 102 calories. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Total Time: 1 hr., 10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 12 servings, 1 brownie each

Ingredients:
½ all-natural smooth almond butter
1 scoop Chocolate Vegan Shakeology
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
¼ cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3 Tbsp. chopped almonds (or walnuts or sunflower seeds)

Preparation:
1. Combine almond butter, Shakeology, banana, oats, and almonds in a medium bowl; mix well.
2. Roll mixture into twelve 1-inch balls; place in airtight container.
3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 102

Fat: 7 g

Saturated Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 43 mg

Carbohydrate: 7 g

Fiber: 2 g

Sugar: 2 mg

Protein: 4 g

 

 

 

                              P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)

1 single snack

Body Beast Portions (per serving)

1 fat

2 balanced liquids

Apple Oatmeal Shakeology

For a great breakfast treat on the go, try out this apple oatmeal Shakeology.

Total Time: 5 min.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:
½ cup water
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop Vanilla Shakeology
1 Tbsp. quick-cooking rolled oats
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup ice

Preparation:
1. Place water, almond milk, Shakeology, oatmeal, applesauce, cinnamon, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.







Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 200

Fat: 4 g

Saturated Fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 5 mg

Sodium: 301 mg

Carbohydrate: 27 g

Fiber: 6 g

Sugar: 13 g

Protein: 17 g

P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)

1 double snack

Body Beast Portions (per serving)

2 protein liquids

1 carb liquid

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 15 - Cardio Challenge

During the course of two months, I'd like to take you into my journey as I strive to retain a healthy lifestyle through a healthy balanced nutrition program and Beachbody trainer extraordinaire -- and Men's Health cover man -- Shaun T's brand new workout regimen Insanity Max 30.

Day 15: Cardio Challenge

Back to the fitness test of Insanity: Max 30. This week, my short-term goal is to get a full week of morning workouts in. I found my days are considerably shorter if I get back home after work and spend the first hour (welcome home hellos; get dressed; workout; shower; get dressed) with my workout commitments then there is only a short window of time to spend with the whole family before prepping the child for bed, etc.

Needless to say, it's something that I felt needed to be done and I'm dedicated to get through the week -- and then aim for a permanent morning workout routine -- waking up around 5:20 a.m. and fighting Shaun T tooth and nail before maxing out.

If Monday was any indication of how it would go, I'm going to be happy with the change. I got through the Cardio Challenge workout with ease before getting to the first round of moves. I actually made it through the first round -- barely -- but got an additional 30 seconds of break time (who would have thought 30 seconds could be so long and fruitful to my body's recovery?!) before attempting to push through the second wave of moves.

Once again, a plank move got the best of me. It was plank jacks out and in, up and back. I'm starting to think my mind is saying the floor is so close, I should take a knee. Next time I have a plank move in a workout, I am going to do my best to think I am on two planks of wood and the only thing beneath me is a 1,000-foot drop. Maybe that will help.

Great news though. Getting to those plank jacks pushed my Max Out Time to 11:23 -- that's a four minute and 13 second spike from a week ago. I definitely got immensely stronger this week. Again, that break helped so much.

My Weep Time was toward the end of the routine. I was pushing through and just before my second to last wave of moves was out, I had to give a nice loud grunt (not too loud, since everyone was still sleeping). It felt great. Again, it was in a plank move. My time clocked in at 25:52.

My Shakeology was much needed at the end of the workout. Definitely replenished all shaky muscles after that romp.

More good news. Today was weigh day. After another week of total focus on workout and nutrition (less one cheat meal), I shred another 4.4 pounds to drop under 215, 214.8 to be exact. In total, I'm down 10.8 pounds and looks like inches off my waist. Great motivation to keep pushing through one day at a time. Next up: Tabata Strength.

Recap

Workout:               Cardio Challenge

Max Out Time:       11:23 (4:13 improvement from Week 2)

Weep Time:           25:52 (8:58 improvement from Week 2)

Weekly Weigh-in:   214.8 (Loss of 4.4 pounds)

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 30 of the journey

Orange-Chocolate Shakeology

Here's my Sunday treat. Can't go wrong with this. Simply put - about 8 ounces of fresh orange juice and one scoop of chocolate Shakeology. It's about 250 calories but the most nutritious meal of the day.

Here's how it works.

1) Get your ingredients: OJ and Chocolate Shakeology.

 2) Shake.

 3) Enjoy to the very last drop!

Insanity: Max 30 Journey Day 8 - Cardio Challenge

During the course of two months, I'd like to take you into my journey as I strive to retain a healthy lifestyle through a healthy balanced nutrition program and Beachbody trainer extraordinaire -- and Men's Health cover man -- Shaun T's brand new workout regimen Insanity Max 30.

Day 8: Cardio Challenge

Back to the fitness test of Insanity: Max 30, AKA Cardio Challenge. If you were with me last week when I began my journey, you know it was quite the uphill battle as Shaun T challenged me (no pun intended) in this cardio test. Not your typical recovery day by any means.

But considering I was weighing in at roughly 225 and a half pounds, what did I really expect. All told, I'm probably lucky I even made it to the 5 minute 54 second mark before I maxed out.

As I embarked on another week of the Max 30 journey I set for myself, I knew a couple things: A)  I was bound to do better since I was able to stick to the workouts and eating plan and shredded a whopping 6.4 pounds, down to 219.2; B) I had a go with this workout before so the familiarity would make my muscles a little more prepared for the movements; and C) I'm always challenging myself and would have that time set in my brain -- to conquer.

With all that, I got through the warmup -- still burning in the calves as I was last week -- and made it through another couple moves before I was done in by those darn squat, leap kicks. I successfully went through one round of the first phase, but the second round got the better of me. My Max Out Time was logged at 7 minutes, 10 seconds. Not going to beat myself up. That's more than a minute's time improvement from Week 1. I would have taken a second improvement.

I also was able to improve on my Weep Time. On Day 1 of my journey, I clocked in at 12:13. Today, I was able to push through and keep from squealing until the 16:54 mark. More than four and a half minutes improved from last week. I'll take it.

One other change I made worth noting, I had my Shakeology on hand with me as I worked out, so during my 30-second break I took a swig of that and it gave me a slight uptick in my energy. Then I immediately chugged it when I finished the cool down. Totally worth it!

What to make of this cardio endeavor? Strides have been made. It works. All I really have to do -- you all included -- is stick to the plan. Stick to it, and you'll see positive results. Stray off the path and ... well, you don't want to go there. I've been there and it's not pretty. I think I'll follow the path to success. Next up: Tabata Power.

Recap

Workout:               Cardio Challenge

Max Out Time:       7:10 (1:16 improvement from Week 1)

Weep Time:           16:54 (4:41 improvement from Week 1)

Weekly Weigh-in:   219.2 (Loss of 6.4 pounds)

Monthly Photo:       Stay tuned for Day 30 of the journey