Have a birthday, wedding or holiday party to attend and worried about staying on track with your diet? Well I can share what I do, what has helped, and hopefully show you a successful and fun way to get you to your goal without blowing it!
Staying on track with your diet is a hard task in itself. Throw in a birthday (which I just had on October 22nd), and now you really have hit a mental low of wanting to give in. As I write this, I am six days out from my show, and I have had an amazing company help me with my food prep! I ordered from fixtfood.com and spoke directly with Josh Truex, Director of Member Experience. He had no idea I was a competitor and I told him about my specific dietary needs. He worked on a deal with me and helped me with my last few hectic weeks of contest prep. This helped me stay on track with my 12-14 hour days at work. What I did was store the extras in my freezer and was good to go for weeks.
If you in the Las Vegas area, e-mail Josh at jtruex@fixtfood.com. Mention you saw this and he will work with you on pricing and meals custom for you! He has numerous pros, competitors, and everyday lifestyle go-getters. He understands our needs and wants. This helped me stay on track even on my birthday! I just whipped out my meals and there ya go! I enjoyed a nice clean filet with asparagus for dinner and it still kept me on track. Make clean choices wherever you go (i.e., no oil, no salt, no butter and grilled, steamed or poached). If you’re someone like me who has long workdays and always has an excuse for not being able to make meals, I think a meal service plan would be the way to go. I know that most companies will work with you just like Josh did for me. It can be pricey but just like with your food, you have to be upfront to get what you want. Don’t be afraid to be the one person out at dinner who whips out their own pre-made meals. Remember to visualize your end goal and what those goals mean to you! YOU got this!
Now let’s talk about on-the-go snacks. One thing that saves me every day is a homemade protein pancake or homemade protein bar! They are to die for, especially when I have a craving for sweets! Much like myself, my big sis Danitza is a baking fool in the kitchen and has taught me a few tricks to help me survive during prep and be ready at any occasion with handy and healthy snacks! Yes, even a staple in prep! www.danitzadenn.com is where she posts most of her recipes like her protein pancakes— which I take with me everywhere! Check it out!
Here is a recipe I have had many ask for: RED VELVET PROTEIN BARS. They taste amazing and are so simple to make!
Red Velvet Protein Bars
Dry ingredients
1 c oat flour or 1 3/4 regular oats and grind to a flour
3 scoops Vanilla whey Protein powder (I used All Natural Vanilla Isoflex by ALLMAX NUTRITION)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/4 c Xylitol sweetener or Truvia (baking)
1/4 c Stevia in the Raw (baking) (Also add a couple drops of liquid Stevia if you like it a bit sweeter. I DID!)
Wet Ingredients
8 oz unsweetened applesauce (or 1 cup)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (I used Bragg’s)
4 egg whites
1/4c Stevia in the Raw
½ c water
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tbsp baking soda
2 tsp all-natural red food coloring (from Whole Foods. Regular food coloring is fine; it doesn’t change calories. It won’t hurt either. It’s exactly what they would put in pre-workout shakes for color. So either is fine).
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients (oat flour, vanilla whey protein, baking soda, salt, baking cocoa, Stevia in the Raw) together in a large bowl.
3. Mix wet ingredients (egg whites, Stevia in the Raw, unsweetened apple sauce, apple cider vinegar, water) together in a medium-sized bowl till it froths.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together. Then add food coloring at the very end!
5. Spray cooking dish with a non-stick butter spray and add batter to dish. I used an 8×8; you can use any dish of your choice. I recommend a Pyrex dish; it bakes it evenly— just perfect and fluffy! Other dishes can cook too quickly and cause the bars to come out well done.
6. Bake 20-30 minutes in oven. Poke in the middle to test because it depends on your oven.
Serves 16 (cut in three’s, diagonal and across) in a 8×8
Per 1:
63 calories
9.37 g carbs
1 g sugar
0 g Fat
6.31 g protein
Serves 2-3.
This has helped me stay on track for my upcoming competition October 27, 2012— Jon Lindsay’s Border States (for more info, please go to lindsayproductions.com). Please come out and support! This will be my second time gracing the stage and it will be my birthday celebration weekend! Border States always has a special place in my heart, being that this was my first show as well as my birthday weekend. Can’t wait to see everyone there!
