Recipe: Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

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A recipe that’s incredibly easy, packed with protein and Olympic athlete inspired!

It’s Day 11 of the Olympics and, here at PGX, we’re still feeling very inspired by the drive and dedication of all the athletes who are taking part in these Winter Games. While, of course, we know that training is the most crucial element of any athlete’s regime, eating well also plays a large part in athletic achievements. Which is why we wanted to share another Olympic-inspired recipe with you!

The below quinoa recipe, adapted from Olympic runner, Kara Goucher’s recipe, is the perfect quick and easy snack to eat at home, in the office or on the go to fuel your body up with energy and protein. With only a few simple ingredients, this recipe takes practically no time to make. Prepare a large amount Sunday or Monday and continue to snack on it whenever hunger strikes throughout the week.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of quinoa
  • 1/3 cup of canned black beans
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 scallion
  • 1 tsp of olive oil
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice
  • 1 stick of PGX Granules per serving

Directions:

  1. Cook quinoa as directed on package.
  2. While quinoa is cooking, drain and rinse black beans, chop tomato, slice scallion and squeeze lemon.
  3. Mix all ingredients, except PGX Granules, together in a large bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Serve individual serving and add PGX Granules.

Train hard, eat well and tackle those goals, PGX’ers!

 

The PGX Center’s DEXA Machine

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Take advantage of our DEXA scanner and discover your body composition.

One of the cool things about our new PGX Program Center is the DEXA scanner. It looks a bit like a tanning bed but it is actually a unique kind of X-ray machine.

DEXA Scanner

DEXA is an abbreviation for “dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.” This piece of equipment provides one of the most accurate measurements of body composition available, registering the distribution of fat and lean muscle throughout the body. A DEXA scan sends low-energy X-rays from two different sources through the body, which is about as much energy as an airport body scanner. The person lies face-up on the machine and the scanning device makes several passes over the body. It takes about 6 minutes for the scan, with the whole process taking about 15 minutes. Information from the scan is sent to a computer where calculations are done to provide a detailed score and illustrated printout that helps the nutrition and fitness experts at the PGX Center advise that individual on an appropriate program for weight management, fitness, and lifestyle changes.

 

Train Like an Olympian

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5 tips on how to train like an Olympic athlete.

Although standing on the Olympic podium may seem like a dream fit for only the world’s most elite athletes, there’s no reason why we can’t all take notice of how they train and find inspiration for our own fitness goals and workouts.

Below, find motivation from our top five favourite tips on how to train like an olympic athlete, inspired by an article shared by Men’s Fitness. Read the full Men’s Fitness article here.

  1. Fuel your body: Eat well and stay hydrated. For extra help in preventing sugar cravings and overeating, try adding PGX to your diet.
  2. Rest: Downtime and getting enough sleep are just as important as training. Don’t work your body too hard without giving it the proper rest it deserves.
  3. Warm-up: Be sure to warm-up your body properly and leave time in your workout for a proper cool down and recovery.
  4. Believe in yourself: Mentally prepare yourself for your goals. Write them down; find inspiration and don’t allow yourself to give up.
  5. Early bird gets the worm: Schedule your workouts for the beginning of the day before you can get too tired or distracted.

 

 

Wear Red Day

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Support Heart Month and women’s heart health by wearing red today.

Today is National Wear Red Day in the United States and we want to help spread the word on how you can support the movement! By wearing red today, you’ll be helping raise awareness of heart disease, which is the number one killer of women.

Learn more about heart disease and how you can help create survivors by watching the video below and visiting the Go Red for Women website.

Exercise & Heart #Health

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How exercise can help support your heart health.

This February, we are focusing on Heart Month in more ways than one: with healthy eating (read our latest Heart Health Tasty Tuesday recipe) and healthy habits, such as exercising regularly.

We all know that being active is a part of a healthy lifestyle. But did you know that regular aerobic exercise can strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system and improve heart failure symptoms?

Aerobic exercise can be as simple as taking a 30 minute walk or jog, or as complex as hitting the gym and engaging in multiple exercises, such as jumping rope, using the stationary bike and the rowing machine. No matter which exercises you decide to do, however, it’s important that you commit to doing them at least three times a week in order to reap the maximum health benefits.

If you’re just getting started, try taking your dog for a walk or ask a friend to go on a leisurely bike ride with you. It’s best to begin slowly and increase the level of difficultly and the length of the exercise as you go along; this will prevent feelings of frustration and you’ll be more likely to stick with your new routine!

PGX Tip: Try fuelling up with a PGX protein shake before you begin your exercise.

 

Heart Healthy Berry Smoothie

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It’s Heart Month and we’re celebrating with heart healthy recipes!

In honor of Heart Month, we’ve decided to dedicate every Tasty Tuesday this month to heart healthy recipe. This week, we’re kicking it off with a heart healthy breakfast smoothie, adapted from the Heart and Stroke  Foundation, that is the perfect option for those of you who are too busy in the morning to sit down and eat. Grab it on the go, fuel up for the day and feel good about what you’re feeding your body and your heart!

Find the full recipe below.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups 1% milk
  • 1 cup frozen mixed berries
  • 1 pear
  • 2 tbsp flax seeds
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 0.5 – 1 tsp PGX Granules per person

Directions:

  1. Cut the pear up into small pieces.
  2. Blend all ingredients together, except for PGX granules.
  3. Pour into glasses, stir PGX into individual glasses and serve.

 

How to Keep Your Resolutions Alive

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Checking in on your New Year’s Resolutions.

Tomorrow marks the end of January and we want to take a moment to check in with all you PGX’ers and see how your New Year’s Resolutions are coming along.

If you’ve found yourself falling behind, don’t panic! We have some tips on how you can get back on track.

3 Tips to Help Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions Alive:

  • Be specific – Setting goals is a great start but broad, general resolutions, such as “get healthy,” most likely won’t get you very far. Try to be specific with your goals, such as “I will eat one piece of fruit with breakfast and lunch, cut out my afternoon latte and go to the gym every day after work.”
  • Ease your way into it – Trying to quite bad habits and pick up good ones cold turkey will only set you up for failure. Try giving up your vices gradually. For example, if you want to cut down on your daily two trips to Starbucks, instead of attempting to not go at all, try cutting your trips down by half for one month. Then the next month, cut it down even further, etc.
  • Share you goals – Tell your friends and family about the goals you’ve made and ask them to help keep you accountable. Better yet, pick a resolution buddy and make your goals together. It’s always easier to achieve your goals with support!

Let us know how your goals are coming along in the comments below. And if you have any other tips, we’d love to hear them!

 

30 Day Squat Challenge

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Kick off 2014 right by adding this 30 day squat challenge to your workouts!

You know you want to get healthier this year, and heading to the gym and being active is part of that plan. But figuring out workout ideas once you’ve gotten to the gym can present a whole different kind of problem. It can be hard to pick which type of exercises you want to do and little bit daunting if the exercises you attempt are not broken down into step by step, day by day progressions. Which is why we’re thrilled to introduce to you (and challenge you!) to the below 4 week squat challenge by PopSugar.

Take each workout day by day and at the end of day 30, tell us about your results. And don’t forget, you can come try your workouts at the brand new PGX Center for free!

Do you have a great workout to share? Let us, and your fellow PGX’ers, know all about it below in the comments. Let’s get fit together!

Recipe: #Healthy Homemade Oatmeal

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A quick and tasty recipe for a healthy breakfast in the morning.

When you’re trying to eat right, breakfast can be one of the most difficult meals of the day to do so. More often than not, we’re in a rush in the morning and, although we know we should, we rarely make eating a healthy breakfast a priority.

But what many of us don’t realize, is that a healthy breakfast doesn’t have to take hours to prepare, nor does it have to be anything overly elaborate. What’s important is that that it is packed with nutrients and healthy ingredients to help fuel your body for the day ahead; which, with the right ingredients, can be fairly simple! Below is a quick, easy, and above all else, healthy oatmeal and fruit recipe for all of you busy PGX’ers out there.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup of pecans
  • 1/2 cup of raisins
  • 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds
  • 2 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
  • honey, to taste
  • seasonal berries
  • 1 packet of PGX Daily granules

Directions:

  1. Mix rolled oats, pecans, raisins, sunflower seeds and cinnamon in a large bowl.
  2. Dish out mixture into an individual serving bowl (you will have leftovers for a second bowl or for breakfast tomorrow – yay!).
  3. Add water to your individual bowl and microwave for a minute and a half.
  4. Add Greek yogurt, PGX granules and berries.
  5. Drizzle honey over top and enjoy!