The London 2012 Olympics

Welcome back to another week of PGXs’ Thursday Obsessions!

PGX is obsessed with the London 2012 Olympics and the inspiration that it provides the world.

The London 2012 Olympics are finally here, so it’s no wonder that this week we’re obsessed with The Games! Like many people around the world, I’ve been tuning into the 2012 Olympic Games since they began last Friday in London. And like many people, I’ve become obsessed with watching the world’s greatest athletes achieve the seemingly impossible, day after day!

Personally, I find that witnessing these extraordinary athletes achieve their personal bests is incredibly inspiring (nevermind that some of their bests are breaking Olympic Records!). Watching an athlete who has given a sport their all, finally reap the benefits of all of their hard work is inspiring. Not that I believe that the Olympic Games are anywhere in my future, but I find myself wanting to challenge myself in my workouts. I want to run faster, longer and train harder. Here’s to hoping that I can hang onto that Olymic Inspiration when the Games are finished!

Some of my favourite Olympic sports to watch are gymnastics (how DO they do all that?!) and volleyball. What are your favourites to watch? Do you find that the Olympics inspire your workouts?

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Salad in a Jar!

This is an easy and convenient way to make salads-to-go!

Bring your salad to have along side a sandwich at lunch, on a picnic or anywhere. You can either eat the salad from the jar or tip it out into a bowl or onto a plate. Just take it and shake it when you?re ready to eat.

The secret to jar salads is to keep the dressing on the bottom, then layer your ingredients from most hearty, such as carrots to least. Just make sure your greens are on top! Here are a couple of recipes ideas to get you started. Sprinkle with PGX Daily Singles for a great source of fiber and much more.

Balsamic Chicken Salad
Dressing: Mix balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Layer it with: Cold, cooked chicken, chopped walnuts, apple, celery and onion. Top with leaf lettuce. For a vegetarian option, use tofu instead of chicken.

Hearty Spinach Salad??
Dressing:
Select your favorite dressing.
Layer it with: Carrots, cucumber, celery, hard-boiled egg, tomato, walnuts or almonds. Top with baby spinach.

Summer Salad
Dressing:
Mix in 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/8 cup lemon juice and dash of salt.
Layer it with:  Cold, grilled chicken, pecans, fresh raspberries and blueberries, and crumbled goat cheese (optional). Top with arugula or Boston lettuce. For a vegetarian option, use grilled tofu instead of chicken.

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Homemade Snack: Beet Chips!

Got a craving for chips? Try something different!

Let’s give the potato a break and try homemade beet chips instead!

Every once in while I just crave that satisfying crunch of chips. But when you buy them from the store, most of the time all you can find are potato chips.  Maltodextrin, monosodium glutamate, modified corn starch, swiss cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes)… not exactly typical ingredients you can find in the store, right?

So let’s go back to the root of the potato chip and use beets instead! All you need are beets, vegetable oil and an oven! The best thing about making these at home is that you can control how much oil you use. Not a fan of frying? Try a straight to baking method and let us know how it goes!

How To Make Beet Chips :

  • Peel and slice beets very thinly or use a mandolin
  • Fry beets in vegetable oil at 350 degrees, for about 2-4 minutes
  • Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes

Cool and enjoy!

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Toast to a Healthy New Year!

Cheers to a new year!

It’s 2012 and it’s time to get healthy.

What better way to start a healthy new year than with a fabulous delicious and low-calorie dessert recipe?! If you’ve got weight loss on your mind this year and a major sweet tooth (I know I do), then you will love this recipe. Believe it or not, but it is possible to drop the extra pounds without depriving yourself of all the truly scrumptious treats of life!

So, cin cin! Salut! Cheers to 2012 and to the success of our health goals!

Yield: 2 Servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2.5 Hours

This low calorie dessert is the perfect guilt free ending to a delicious meal. It has all the class and decadence of French cuisine with less than 100 calories.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sparkling white grape juice
  • 5 grams PGX Daily Singles (2 sticks)
  • 2/3 cup raspberries and blueberries

Directions

  • Wisk PGX Daily granules into the cup of sparkling white grape juice until fully blended.
  • Stir until mixture begins to congeal (about 5-7 minutes)
  • Divide mixture evenly into 2 glasses full of berries (1/3 cup of berries per glass)
  • Allow to set in fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve and enjoy!

Note: Can be used with champagne and sparkling wine but due to the increased acidity, you must increase PGX to 1.5 scoops and refrigerate for longer.

Nutritional Information:

Serving Size: ? cup

  • Calories: 87
  • Fat: 0.5g
  • Carbs: 20g
  • Protein: 1g
  • Fibre: 4g

Did you know?

White grapes contain resveratrol, which is a high potency antioxidant that has been touted as the ultimate protector against heart disease. Try sparkling red grape juice for an extra boost in antioxidants!

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Learn to Love Exercise with PGX!

Guess what?! Exercise can be fun!

Here are 7 tips for people who hate to exercise…

I’m pretty sure we’ve all experienced, at some level, the lack of motivation to exercise. In fact, I don’t really like exercising. I like the idea of it but when it comes down to actually working out, I am a professional procrastinator and avoider! But exercise doesn’t have to be draining, tricky, frustrating or dreaded. Here are seven very easy to follow tips that will help those of us who do not like exercising!

Best Tip for Couch Potatoes (like me!):

If you don’t like to work out or go to the gym, choose an activity that is fun! I don’t go to the gym, so I get my exercise by dancing regularly, at least three times a week! I go to dance classes but who says you can’t work up a sweat dancing in the kitchen?!

For six more tips, check out Oprah’s 6 Tips for People Who Hate to Exercise and you might just find yourself falling in love with regular exercise!

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Motivation Monday: Everybody’s Free!

PGX wants you to live life to the fullest!

Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen! -Baz Luhrmann

Have you ever seen the video for Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann? It may be addressed to graduating students of the class of 1999 but its messages can hit home for anyone who lives and experiences the ups and downs of life. This Motivation Monday, take five minutes for yourself; listen or watch this video and you will feel inspired to live your life to the fullest!

Stay healthy and take care everyone! Have a fabulous week!

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Weight-Wise Wednesday: Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet uses Mediterranean-style cooking and is considered a heart-healthy eating plan.

The Mediterranean diet is based on a healthy eating plan using the traditional cooking style of countries around the Mediterranean Sea.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes:

  • Getting plenty of exercise
  • Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts
  • Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
  • Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
  • Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
  • Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
  • Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)
  • Enjoying meals with family and friends

As the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid shows the diet includes plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables! Many people who switch to this diet say they’d never eat another way! For more on the Mediterranean Diet check out the Mayo Clinic website.

Does this look like something you’d like to try out? Let us know in the comments below! 

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

PGX Office Tip: Desk Exercises

Stuck at desk all day? Here’s a simple desk exercise!

Relieve the tension in your legs with this easy desk exercise we’ve found for you!

Do you sit at your desk all day, staring at your computer, hunching and tense all over without even realizing it?  Work can be a really busy place that doesn’t always allow you the luxury of a midday stroll. We’ve done some internet sleuthing and found how you can loosen up stiff leg muscles without leaving your desk or disrupting your productivity!

Wellness Matters and BC Living have come together to share this easy exercise to relieve the tension in your legs.

It’s always best to get up from your desk, stretch and take a short walk around to keep your muscles limber, but when short on time, try this desk exercise!

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

PGX and Green Tea!

There are more ways than one to enjoy green tea!

PGX checks out new ways to enjoy green tea…

I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the health benefits of green tea: antioxidant power, cancer cell inhibitor, headache aid, weight loss benefits, harmful bacteria-killing properties… To sum it all up, green tea is good for you. But what if you don’t like the flavour? What if you aren’t really a tea drinker?

Here is a useful slideshow for those of us who aren’t fans of steeping leaves in our water. Shape Magazine shares 20 New Ways to Enjoy Green Tea.

Reap the benefits of green tea and cook with this super antioxidant power! And don’t forget to get your daily fiber!

 

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)