Recipe: Banana Chai Protein Smoothie

If you are in the mood for a sweet and spicy smoothie, this is the recipe for you!

Cozy up after your workout with this nutritious protein smoothie from Alive Magazine!

There is something especially appealing about chai teas during the cold winter months. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the warming, spicyness of the aromatic herbs that mix together to create the chai blend…Or maybe it is its exotic origins of the far and warm east that gives chai its appeal. Whatever it is, chai tea is my favourite tea for the cold weather!

But even in cold weather, we need to keep our bodies moving and exercising! So why not go, workout, sweat and then recover with a tasty and nutritious Banana Chai Protein Shake?! With all the flavour kick of chai and the health power of protein, post workout, you really can’t go wrong with this recipe. Try adding some PGX Daily Singles (2.5 grams or 1 stick per shake) and get your fibre in there as well!

Get this Banana Chai Protein Shake recipe and all the nutritional facts for this smoothie from Alive Magazine.

Enjoy!

 

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Tasty Tuesday: Berry Summer Salad

Enjoy this delicous berry summer salad!

What better way to enjoy fresh summer produce than with a simple, tasty recipe?!

My mouth is actually watering for a delicous, homemade salad like this one. And it’s full of healthy ingredients like spinach, avocados, mushrooms, goat cheese and, of course, berries! Lots of berries!

So what’s so great about these ingredients? Well berries are full of antioxidants, powerful substances that can help protect your cells against free radicals. Goat cheese provides some protein, riboflavin and phosphorus. Avocados are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fibre. Spinach is also an excellent source of vitamin A, calcium, vitamin C and iron!

So what’s not to love about this recipe? Thanks to The Primitive Foodie, we have a delicious Berry Summer Salad! (click for recipe).

 

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The Eatery App & PGX

There’s an app for that! Change your eating habits for the better with help from PGX and The Eatery app.

Empower yourself with the tools you need to achieve your weight loss goals!

Now a days, there’s pretty much an app for everything. Whether it’s for Facebook, Twitter, or that awesome app that tells you the name of the song that’s playing on the radio, smart phones and their applications play a large part in how we socialize and spend our free time. So, why not start using one to help you lose weight!

Allow me to introduce (drum roll, please), The Eatery! Getting started is easy: Just take a picture of your food (don’t forget to sprinkle your PGX on top or into the mix!), rate your meal on how healthy it is, and record how much of your meal you ate. Then invite your friends to follow you for support, encouragement, or to strive for the same goals along side you. As The Eatery says, “You never have to eat alone.” Finally, The Eatery will provide you with feeback and stats on your eating habits, forcing you to see the facts on what you’ve been eating – this, maybe more than anything, will push you to eat healthier.

Why we like The Eatery:

It gives you a sense of community by allowing your friends to follow your progress, and vice versa. You can achieve your goals together, and have a buddy (or multiple!) to support and encourage you on your weight loss journey!

Have you used this app or something similar to help you achieve your weight loss goals? Let us know in the comments below.

 

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5 Ways to Spread Out Your Calories

Stay satisfied, eat healthy and lose weight by spreading your caloric intake throughout your day.

Although eating healthy, nutritious food is half the batltle with weight loss, sometimes one of the biggest challenges people face is figuring out portion and calorie control. With many of us, overeating may happen by accident: waiting too long before eating something and then ravenously consuming more than our body needs; or eating too fast in general.

So, we thought that we would put together a quick guide with 5 simple ways to help you spread your calories throughout your day, enabling you to intake less calories total and, ultimately, shed those pounds!

5 Ways to Spread Your Calories

  1. Have a good breakfast with adequate protein and fibre (if your breakfast is lacking fibre, sprinkle on some PGX!)
  2. Have a small healthy snack mid-morning
  3. Have a healthy lunch
  4. Have another healthy snack in the afternoon (a serving of plain yogurt with bran cereal, for example)
  5. Go head and “spoil your appetite”; eat a high volume, low calorie snack to reduce your appetite before your dinner

And don’t forget! When purchasing PGX Daily products, look for the ones with a BONUS pack of PGX Daily Singles!

 

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20-Minute Applesauce Cookies

Guilt-free, nutritious and tasty cookies for Tasty Tuesday!

Indulge your inner cookie monster with PGX and this healthy recipe!

Have you ever been hit with a serious cookie craving? Silly question. I’m sure at some point in our lives and at least once, we’ve all craved cookies or something along those lines of sugary goodness! Well I have big plans to indulge this particular craving in the healthiest way I possible! Shape Magazine has shared a quick and tasty recipe that won’t make your waist line grow!

This cookie recipe will let you enjoy delicious, sugar-free treats that are packed with healthy ingredients like flax! By adding PGX Daily Singles (try 2.5 to 5 grams of PGX granules= 1-2 sticks), you can give these cookies a kick of fibre!

20-Minute Applesauce Cookies!

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas
2 c. rolled oats
1/3 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. ground flax
1/2 c. dried cherries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a fork, mash the bananas in a bowl. Stir in oats, applesauce, dried cherries, flax and vanilla extract. Mix batter well. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 36 cookies

 

 

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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.

 

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Changing the Clocks and Your Children’s Health

With the change of the clocks, daylight fades earlier in the winter months. What does this mean for your children?

It is such a gorgeous sunny day outside as I write this, it’s seems hard to believe that in just a few hours, the sun will have set! Now that the clocks have been put back, our evenings come much earlier. What does this mean for your kids?

A recent study from UK researchers suggests that not changing the clocks would keep your children active by allowing them more outdoor play. What do you think?

BBC Health News reports on this interesting idea.

 

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Get the TIFF Red Carpet Physique

TIFF is on and the celebrities are out in full force, looking lean and toned.

PGX looks at how you can get those lean and toned limbs, celebrity style.

With the Toronto International Film Festival, or any Hollywood to-do that rolls out a carpet for that matter, comes the parade of svelte physiques, waiting to get their photographs taken! True, some of the stars could use some more meat on their bones but there are healthy looking, toned figures on the red carpet that are the result of good nutrition and exercise. On Wednesday, eTalk featured celebrity trainer Brent Bishop and he shared three easy moves that you can do at home to get those long lean limbs, flat abs and toned muscles!

These classic but tweaked exercises will help you reach your fitness goals. It won’t be long before those photographers are taking your photo and asking, “Who are you wearing?!”

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The Latest in Running Gear: Toe Shoes

PGX checks out the hot new trend for runners: running barefoot!

Runner or not, you’ll be intrigued: the latest running gear for those who enjoy almost barefoot running!

The no-shoes fitness trend is seems to be the “in” thing for runners. It’s a running style that’s grown in popularity thanks to evidence that it can reduce injuries and strengthen your feet. I know what you’re thinking: “Reduce injuries? If I run barefoot, I’ll probably cut my feet!” Good point. That’s exactly what I thought and that’s exactly what certain running shoe companies were thinking when they created the “minimalist” running shoe.

Hardcore “barefooters” will turn their noses up at the latest running gear trend: toe shoes. Remember those crazy toe socks where each toe had it’s own little sleeve? Well now you can get yourself some toe shoes! These shoes are the absolute bare minimum and act as more of a protective sleeve for your foot.Their essential feature is a tactile and flat bottom, lacking the elevated heel cushion typically found on running shoes. Now, people who like the idea of running barefoot but aren’t too keen on cutting their soles on a rock can wear these toe shoes!

Curious to know more or want a pair of these practically barefoot running shoes?  L.A. Times writer, Roy Wallack has got the details on the toe shoes out there.

Happy running everyone!

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Find the Spa in Your Refrigerator: Easy Face Mask Recipe

Want to make your skin glow? We’ve found an easy homemade mask you can try.

Steven and Chris and Peggy Kotsopoulos share an easy, skin rejuvenating recipe for a homemade face mask.

Happy Monday afternoon folks! With the change of weather and the stress of work or school, our skin takes a pretty good beating now and then. I’ve found a super easy recipe for a homemade face mask that will help your skin feel fresh and rejuvenated again. There’s no artificial colours or ingredients that you can’t pronounce the name of in this mask! Just open your refrigerator and you’ve got a spa treatment waiting to be made!

Here’s a recipe that will make you as happy as this young lady and her avocado, and as green as the Wicked Witch of the West (in a good way though)!

Check out this video to see how it’s made.

Skin Rejuvenating Face Mask Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 banana

1/2 avocado 1 kiwi, peeled

1/4 cup buttermilk

Mix in your blender and apply to the face. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse.

Beauty bonus: Follow up the mask by moisturizing with extra-virgin olive oil.

 

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