How to Increase Omega 3 Fats and Raise Your Good Cholesterol HDL Levels

Do you need to increase your Omega 3's? Try adding these to your diet to boost those heart and brain healthy oils! I like to add chia and flax seeds to my daily smoothie for an easy way to boost my Omega's. You can also add ground flax meal, chia seeds or chopped walnuts to yogurt. I love to make fresh berry yogurt parfaits - just add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup berries, 1/4 - 1/2 cup greek plain yogurt, a pinch of stevia or honey, and a tablespoon or two of ground flaxseed, and a few walnuts, pecans or almonds, chopped! It's so good.

 1. Chia seeds - powerhouse seed! And they keep you full longer.

 2. Hemp seeds or hemp oil (don't cook with the oil or you will loose the benefits)

 3. Walnuts - greatest way to increase your good Cholesterol HDL!

 4. Flaxseed - make sure to grind them or buy flax seed meal

 5. Edemame - you can find it in the freezer section - usually with natural organic foods

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Email me @ jenniferwoodfitness@gmail.com if you are looking to get started in one of my online support accountability groups. Let's chat! I take the time to talk to you and make sure we get the right tools in place for you!

Lower Calorie Chicken, Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo

Healthier Version Turkey, Chicken & Shrimp Gumbo


Healthier Version Turkey, Chicken & Shrimp Gumbo

This is my favorite way to make Gumbo. It's a little bit healthier than most versions because the amount of flour and oil is much less. The original recipe was 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of flour. Ouch!

The hardest part is making the roux -- takes about 20 minutes of continual stirring. Once you get through that, it's a piece of cake. You can also add a can of crab meat if you prefer more seafood.


Roux:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup flour

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 lb smoked turkey sausage, cut into slices and then halves

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp Pepper

2 tsp Creole Seasoning

6 -8 Cups Chicken Broth

1 bay leaf

Approx 1 - 2 cups of shredded chicken (you can use previously cooked and frozen shredded chicken - I love to make a large batch and freeze it into recipe portions to save time)

1 bag of frozen okra

1 can rotel

1 lb medium or small raw shrimp, peeled


First step, chop up your onions, green pepper, garlic and celery





Next, heat the oil and flour over medium heat; stirring constantly (you are making the roux). Cook slowly until the roux looks like a copper penny (either the color of this photo or a little darker). About 20 minutes on medium heat.


Add onion, bell pepper, celery and sausage to the pot; cook for a few minutes. Add garlic, 2 tsp cajun seasoning, 1/4 tsp pepper (you can add more later).


Pour in chicken broth, chicken, frozen okra, can of rotel mild; ring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour; stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add in shrimp. The will cook in a few minutes. Serve over rice.


Chicken and Butternut Squash with Roasted Corn Soup

Chicken and Butternut Squash with Roasted Corn Soup Recipe



Chicken and Butternut Squash with Roasted Corn Soup Recipe


1 package ground chicken
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp sea salt
a few twists fresh pepper
2 quarts or 8 cups of chicken stock/broth
1 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (bite size pieces is better)
2 ears of corn, roasted with a little olive oil on grill, in oven or over open flame. Cut off corn.

In a large stock pot, saute onion and bell pepper in a tiny bit of olive oil. Add in chicken and cook; sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add garlic a few min before chicken is completely cooked. Add chicken stock, thyme, butternut squash, and roasted corn. Simmer until squash is done. Don't over cook or it will be mushy. 

Options: add in cooked barley to make soup go farther. I made some and froze it, so just thaw and have each person put how much barley they want in their soup bowl. It was really good but optional. I also like to add hot chili pepper flakes. You can make this with a rotisserie chicken. Remove skin and shred meat. 

Easy Blender Banana Nut Protein Pancake Recipe

Banana Nut Protein Pancakes
Banana Nut Protein Pancakes

These are seriously SO easy to make. This batch will make 2 servings. They may seem flat and small, but trust me, it will fill you up.

1/2 cup of egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup cottage cheese
tiny scoop stevia, tsp sugar, or leave out
dash of cinnamon, optional
1/2 tsp vanilla, optional

Place the ingredients above into a blender and blend.
Heat up non stick pan to about med-high heat; spray with coconut spray or a little coconut oil. If your pan is not warm enough your pancakes will not have a golden color.

Slowly pour in batter to make a small pancake. It should make around 4-5 pancakes depending on how large you make them.

Top 2 or 3 pancakes with 1/3 sliced banana, 1 tbsp chopped pecans, 2 tbsp maple syrup. Enjoy!

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Email me at jenniferwoodfitness@gmail.com if you would like help with nutrition and or fitness.

Healthy Greek Yogurt Honey Mustard Salad Dressing Recipe

Heathy Honey Mustard Salad Dressing Recipe

This is seriously so simple! You can make this in a small jar, or one of these salad dressing containers with a tight lid.
I made a smaller batch since it's good for about a week. You can always double it and make more. I also made mine a little runnier so it would pour over the salad easier and I could use less.

Heathy Honey Mustard Salad Dressing Recipe

1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp regular vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
pinch sea salt or pink salt.
*If it is really thick, you can add a little water to thin it out.
Shake to combine.
Follow me for more great recipes, meal prep ideas, funny photos, fitness motivation and more@ Jennifer Wood

Need help with your nutrition? Check out my 10 day group! It's only $42 and you'll get a really good meal plan, 7 packets of Shakeology, my support, a private online group for daily support and accountability (we focus on progress not perfection!) and a chance to win a fun prize! 

New Kickboxing MMA Workout Available NOW ~ Featuring Trainers Joel Freemon and Jericho McMatthew's

New Kickboxing MMA Workout Coming November 2016 - It's HERE! 

ORDER HERE - AVAILABLE NOW
Featuring Trainers Joel Freemon and Jericho McMatthew's


AVAILABLE NOW CLICK HERE TO ORDER OR CHOOSE THE LINK BELOW

All orders from me include a bonus MMA Mashup workout DVD worth $24.95. Free shipping until December 15th on base program and $2 shipping on the Challenge Pack. You can bundle your challenge pack with Shakeology or the Performance Pack with pre-workout Energize and Post Workout Supplement, Recover. Any questions? Email me! 

Base US: $59.85 FREE SHIPPING






Les Mills trainers, Jericho McMatthew's and Joel Freemon have teamed up with Beachbody and created a new hot workout program that will help you lose weight and get in shape quickly. It's kickboxing & MMA fight style workout that will have your hear rate amped and your metabolism speeding up so you burn fat faster. The workout program will be available in November.

It will be available for 2 weeks exclusively through your Team Beachbody Coach (that's me!) PLUS, when you order from a Coach, you'll get a bonus workout for free AND you pay less than you would pay through Beachbody.com. And, one last PERK ;) you will get my support and encouragement and be eligible for a special online test group to help you stay focused and on target to your weight-loss goals.


Contact me for discount options with this program. Core De Force will have some special deals like free shipping and approx $50-70 savings when bundled with Shakeology in a Challenge pack during November. Not sure which one to choose, just send me an email 

Email me and I will help you get the best deal available. 

Beachbody Team Cup: We worked hard to win this hat!



Every few months our company does this mini challenge called the Team Beachbody Cup Challenge. It's just a fun way to build relationships and move your business forward in a more focused way. Nothing crazy really; just focusing on the vitals, being consistent and showing up each day. We set a goal to win this hat and I am beyond proud of these ladies (Katie Hartman, Colleen Twing, and myself) for bringing it in August. August can be a slow month in the fitness industry because people are busy and struggling with finances and all the back to school activities/costs. But, these ladies PUSHED hard and we managed to get our last few points on the last day. All 3 of us earned this cool USA Team Beachbody ball cap.

What's even cooler is we helped get 15 people started on their health and fitness journey which means 15 lives are going to be changed for the better! It's not about being perfect, but about making healthier choices most of the time and getting active. It's about feeling confident in your skin and learning to love you again. I really do love what I do as a Beachbody Coach. Yes, it requires work and effort, but so does any job; but I get to set my own hours and I am the best boss. HaHa ;) If you have ever wanted to learn more about what we do as Coaches and how amazing our Team is, please contact me and let's chat. I am just a regular hot mess mom who had a dream in her heart and has just followed a simple recipe to build this business. I teach my team to do the same and they are achieving goals like paying off debt, traveling more and some are almost ready to quit their full time jobs after just a few years of working this part time in the mom cracks. If they can do it; so can you!