Healthy Recovery Bowl Recipe

Posted on by costafitness
Healthy Recovery Bowl Recipe

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a little bit of a busier weekend with it being more of a birthday weekend, woot woot. I finished an ab workout on Sunday and wanted something with a little carbs but not too many, I opened up Instagram and saw a recipe on my guy Dustin Myers page (go follow him @coachmyers_gutcheck). Great guy and amazing strength and conditioning coach. Anyway, it was a little different than this but not by much so I threw my own thing together and it turned out amazing! Full of nutrients and nothing that was going to leave me “too full” whatever that means.

Here’s a quick throw together recipe you can do within 5 minutes! All you need is:

These are the ingredients I used here above in the picture
  • Oats (half cup)
  • Almond milk (about a half cup or full cup depending on preference)
  • Almond butter (1 tablespoon)
  • Chia seeds (1 teaspoon)
  • Blueberries (I did a mini handful)

First you can take care of the oats and milk by mixing them and throwing them in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes. After you take them out, let it cool for just a moment then place a tablespoon of almond butter on top. Afterwards, I threw the blueberries in on one side, then came the chia seeds to top it off.

This snack is full of vitamins, minerals and many other nutrients to kickstart your day and give you some energy! This was delicious and only took a few minutes to put together. Try it out and let me know how you like it!! Also feel free to throw in different fruits and toppings to match what you are craving!

Have a great Monday!

-Alex Costa-

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Super Bowl Sunday Smoothie

Posted on by costafitness

One of the biggest sports events of the year… The Super Bowl.

A day where millions of chicken wings and potato chips will lose their lives… Let’s save some chicken and some temptation by giving our body something that will fill it up a little bit.

Let me introduce to you The Super Bowl Sunday Smoothie. Totally not my recipe, I used some ideas off of Mel’s awesome blog. Check it out here.

The ingredient list is quiet simple:

- 1-2 handfuls of blueberries
- 1 medium size banana 
- 1 big handful of spinach
- About a half cup of Greek yogurt ( I used Vanilla)
- About a half cup of milk ( I used protein nut milk)
- About 1 TBSP of honey
- Some ice to give it a little cold crunch 

From here, it is pretty self explanatory. I put all of these into my blender and blended for about 1 -2 minutes. I love the taste of it, not too sweet and not too bland.

My banana was pretty ripe which can sometimes play a role in how it can taste. So if you are picky about that, pay attention to how the banana looks.

I usually count macros and give my audience a look at about the total of everything but I didn’t get a chance to weigh anything. My smoothies probably around 300 calories or so just cause of the greek yogurt, and milk. You can use a low sugar alternative for the yogurt or almond milk to reduce calories and sugar.

Try this smoothie out, I think you’ll really enjoy it! Plus it is better than greasy wings and potato chips that a lot of us will regret eating tomorrow.

Have an awesome day and enjoy the Super Bowl!!

5 Health Benefits of Eating Avocados

Posted on by costafitness

Where my avocado lovers at??

Avocados are such a great food to use in your diet, at least in my opinion. They have so many health benefits so I wanted to share 5 awesome benefits to enjoying an avocado!

Avocados are high in fiber. This helps with your digestive health and helps process foods as they break down in your bowels.

High in potassium. We hear all about this but what exactly does that mean? Yes it can lead to less muscle cramps for athletes but that’s not it! It can help build muscle as protein gets broken down. It helps with blood pressure, muscle strength and bone strength. I could go on and on but you get the point, get that potassium in!

Avocados are high in fat…healthy fat that is. Avocados contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats which aid heart health as well as healthy brain function.

Healthy eyes! This one was a new one for me. Studies have shown that avocados contain something called lutein and zeaxanthin which helps to keep your eyes healthy as we age.

Avocados can lower blood pressure. Cardiovascular disease as of 2018 takes a life every 38 seconds. This is insane and a big portion of the reason is what we are eating. Foods such as avocados can help reduce blood pressure but I also highly recommend some kind of daily activity or exercise and a diet such as the DASH diet. For more information on this topic, please feel free to reach out to me and ask me any questions. I will answer what I can but a registered dietitian will have the answers as well.

Next time you stop at the store, grab some avocados and make healthy guacamole or slice it up as a snack. You will be consuming a high quality food and may experience some of these health benefits! Share this with someone that needs to see this!

-Alex Costa-

Sources:
https://www.heart.org/-/media/data-import/downloadables/heart-disease-and-stroke-statistics-2018—at-a-glance-ucm_498848.pdf

https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/recipes/2014/12/5-surprising-health-benefits-of-avocados

Getting Food For My Powerlifting Meet

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In this video, I am going over what foods I am getting for the day of the meet. I also explain why you should get certain things if you are trying to have a good meet!

Thank up again for all of the support, I’ll be posting the meet video tomorrow!

-Alex Costa-

How To Make Healthy Stir Fry

Posted on by costafitness

Im am bringing you a recipe from the kitchen today! Stir fry is a popular food option but it can be made with high sodium levels and not be as healthy. I am showing you a recipe from scratch you can do at home within 20-30 minutes!

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The thing I really enjoy about stir fry is that you can personalize it to your favorite foods, at least to an extent if you’re trying to be healthy. 

You can do things such as add pasta noodles, rice, beans, etc for carbs. You can do this with thinks such as chicken, shrimp, beef, steak, turkey and more for a protein source. You can also add a nice variety of veggies for more micronutrients. It can be changed around to a different taste each time if wanted.

A few main Saftey points when preparing this meal:

  • Be careful cutting chicken, if you are a younger viewer then have a parent or guardian help you.
  • Wash your hands very throughly after dealing with raw products such as chicken.
  • Make sure you cook the chicken all the way to make sure any and all bacteria is out of the product.

I hope you enjoy this post and enjoy the video! Let me know how yours turns out! Post it on Instagram and tag me @costalottamoney1 or @ironstrengthandconditioning 

Have a great Monday!
-Alex Costa-

Easy Guacamole Recipe

Posted on by costafitness

This isn’t any chipotle guac but it still taste great👌🏼 Plus it is super easy to make. All you need is an avocado, lime juice, salt, pepper and some onion.
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1. First you need to mash up the avocado with a fork. Mash it until it becomes a smooth texture.

2. Now we will chop up onions and throw them in. If you do not like onion, then you can add in something else! Make it unique and use ingredients you would prefer.

3. From here, I add in the lime juice, pepper and a little salt to help with flavoring. Then continue mixing it up and mashing with the fork.

After you are done, take a chip and try it out! You could even put this with a quesadilla or whatever you’d like. It took me about 5 minutes total to do all this. I always put a little less of the ingredients into the mashed up avocado because you can always add more if it is too plain. If you throw too much in it could be too strong. One of the best things about making guac is that you can make it your own by adding whatever you like. Mine was a little more of a healthy option so if you are trying to keep the eating clean but also taste good then try mine out! Hope everyone is having a great week!

-Alex Costa-

St. Patrick’s Day Smoothie

Posted on by costafitness

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I have a St. Patricks Day smoothie for you to try! It’s not like the shamrock shake at McDonald’s but it is definitely healthier haha

All you need is the following:

  • 1 banana
  • ½ cup of blueberries
  • 1-2 handfuls of spinach
  • 2 TBSP of greek yogurt
  • ⅓ cup of granola
  • 8oz of milk (I use almond milk)
  • Ice
  • .

Throw these all in your blender and enjoy! Have a great rest of your weekend!

 

Chocolate Almond Butter Avocado Smoothie

Posted on by costafitness

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Hello everyone and happy Thursday! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their week. I have an article and recipe for all of my avocado lovers out there.

I discovered a few different chocolate avocado smoothie recipes the last couple days and switched some things around to get this delicious smoothie recipe. One thing I will say is don’t knock it till you try it!! This may sound like it could be gross but it is the exact opposite. This is definitely one of my favorite smoothies I have thrown together so far.

This is super simple and easy to make so lets get into what you need.

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces of chocolate almond milk
  • 1 TBS of organic almond butter
  • 1/2 of an avocado, should be about 60-90 grams
  • 1 banana, 100 grams is what I used
  • 4-5 ice cubes

Throw all ingredients into a blender and mix for about 30-60 seconds.

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Importance of fiber and healthy fats:

Fiber can be a key for weight loss. It doesn’t stop there, it helps your digestive track move smoother and faster to help digest the food you are consuming. When you consume fiber, it can clean your intestines and colon which in turn keeps bacteria away helping to reduce chances of colon cancer.

I found a study by Joanne Slavin that discussed how an increased fiber intake can reduce chances of cardiovascular disease. They state that “adequate fiber intake consistently lowers the risk of CVD and coronary heart disease (CHD), primarily through a reduction in low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels.” So in other words, it lowers your LDL cholesterol which is the bad cholesterol. HDL is the good cholesterol in the blood stream.

Avocados are a stocked house full of health benefits and can be used in so many recipes. They are mainly comprised of healthy fats which are crucial for cells in the body and play a role in brain function. They can reduce inflammation and reduce cravings as well.

I am also a big chocolate fan so if you are like me then you may find yourself making this smoothie quiet a bit. I have the macronutrients listed in the photo above for anyone interested in tracking macros. If you try this out then reach out to me and let me know what you think!

Have a great day!
-Alex Costa-

 

Sources:

https://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/education/why_fiber_is_so_good_for_you/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705355/#B31-nutrients-05-01417

Immune System Boosting Smoothie

Posted on by costafitness

Autumn is here

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a great day! I have been doing a lot of research into some foods that I would consider to be “super foods”. one that I came across was ginger root and I was blown away from all of the health benefits!! The health benefits consists of things like:

  • relieving nausea
  • Helps digestion
  • protects your immune system from getting sick
  • stops infections in their tracks
  • has the ability to fight against cancer
  • helps with weight loss

And so much more!!

With that being said, I knew I had to keep reading into this. I found so much and I can’t wait to share it with you but I will save that for a different article coming up very soon! I want to focus on this smoothie recipe that can help protect your immune system, especially with a bad flu virus moving around the United States. I incorporate ginger root into this smoothie recipe above.

It is important that you do all you can to help keep yourself healthy so you have a better chance of avoiding the flu. This involves:

  • Washing your hands A LOT
  • take a vitamin
  • eat healthy
  • keep hydrated
  • use germ sanitizer when you’re out in public
  • cover your mouth if you need to cough
  • exercise
  • Disinfect common house hold items

When it comes to eating healthier, it does not guarantee you from getting sick but it builds a strong immune system to fight off the thousands of viruses we are face to face with everyday.

As you can see, I have the recipe and macros shown in the image at the top of this post. I will explain how to use the ginger root for if you have never used it before.

First, cut off about an inch of the root, maybe a little less. A little goes a long way with this and it can be quite strong when used in a recipe. From there, you will peel the skin off of the root. You can then throw it in the blender.

Throw everything else in the blender and mix it up well. I do about at least a minute to ensure everything is mixed.

From there, it is the best part, enjoy the smoothie!

There are a couple things I would like to point out.

  1. I used a little dash of cinnamon to spice it up a tad. It is optional for you.
  2. The fresh ginger root is STRONG. It was the main thing I tasted in this smoothie so you may want to increase the serving size of fruits you use to even out the taste.

This smoothie is full of antioxidants and vitamins that will aid you in the flu season. I hope you enjoy it!! Please let me know how you like it and if you see any benefits.

Have a great day!!
-Alex Costa-

How To Make Sweet Potato Fries

Posted on by costafitness

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I did a video this weekend on sweet potato fries and wanted to share this with you.

I post a lot of pictures of what I eat on social media and people ask about the recipes so in this video, I walk you through everything you need to know!

A couple important things to note are that when you bake these in the oven, you may need to adjust cooking time. I did 400 degrees for 20 minutes. I may try these again at 450 for 15ish minutes to get more of a crisp.

The good thing about this is you can mess around with this recipe and do a couple different spices or even do some brown sugar if you have more of a sweet tooth.

I really enjoy these with a little ketchup on the side so try these out and let me know how you like them!!

 

 

Have a great day!
-Alex Costa-