Giving away P90X2!!!

Yes. I'm giving it away!

It's the entire base P90X2 program, and it can be all yours.

I've got the details all spelled out in a whole separate page. Just look at the top navigation bar. You can't miss it. Quick! Click on it and enter the contest!

Chicken Parm Meatballs

Oh yeah...

Ya know you want them. 

Challenge Groups and Inspiration

One of the best parts about doing a Beachbody program is the Challenge Groups!

Usually they are smaller groups led by one or two coaches. However, there are a few massive groups out there with large numbers of people from all over the place. The Memorial Day Fix Challenge Is one of those groups that I joined. It's got almost 12,000 members!!! And the inspiration, resources, and discussion is invaluable. 

I recently met a new friend in the Memeorial Day group named Tommy Storm. He's ROCKING his weightloss journey. Look at this... 

Those results are nuts! But I get how this program can do that. He's getting a balanced diet with sensible portions at a low calorie level, but one adjusted to his particular caloric needs. So he's not starving. Add the challenging but doable weight-based workouts that get your muscles growing and your heart pumping...Recipe for success! I love how he says that his weight is gone FOREVER. It's a lifestyle change! And one he is obviously happy with. 

Follow Tommy on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/followmytransformation. 

And search for some groups or join one of my Challenge Groups to give you motivation for the change you want to make! 

More Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Did you know that sweet potatoes can be purple? They have all sorts of good superfood nutrition and antioxidants in them too. 

Cube your potatoes fairly small. Then drizzle with olive oil or coconut oil. Add herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Shake the bowl a bit to mix it all in. Then dump into a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400. 

My Mom's Omelette and Ethel Merman

No joke. It's really my mom's omelette. And I'll get to the Ethel Merman part in a minute. This is the picture she sent me via text. She is about to finish her first round of the 21 Day Fix. She's always been an itty-bitty spitfire of a thing. I've always called her my mini-me. 

My love of coffee and stupid pajama pants come straight from her.

Top 10 Podcasts for Beachbody Coaches

As I've begun my coaching journey, I've been soaking up every bit of training and advice I can get my hands on. I have this desire to learn it ALL immediately. Which is impossible, so I need to chill out. But that's my standard operating procedure...

Anyway, if you're like me and want to fit in every bit of learning you possible can, podcasts are a GREAT learning tool while you're working out, driving, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, cooking... If you've seen me lately outside of my office job, it's about a 75% chance that I've had earbuds in and my phone blasting a podcast.

Since being a Beachbody Coach is all about sharing the journey, I thought I'd share my Top 10 favorite podcasts for personal development and business-building.

Runny Eggs Over Sautéed Spinach

Er-mer-gerd. 

I love eggs. I didn't realize how much I love eggs until I started my new 21 Day Fix Lifestyle. Economical, versatile, and just plain freakin' delicious. 

I'm not gonna tell you how to fry an egg. Everyone does it differently. It's more of an art anyway. Just keep cracking til ha get it right. 

Today, after I finished cooking my eggs, I took the still-hot pan and threw a handful of spinach leaves in it. I didn't cook them down completely. Probably just for a minute or two. I like mine with a little body left to it. Then slap those eggs on top and let them ooze on the spinach. Pinch of seasoning, like Autumn's all-purpose, and it's perfect. 

Chicken Spinach Salad

This is a simple one. This is also why I constantly have shredded chicken in the fridge. Quick lunch or dinner. 

I stick several breasts in the crockpot at the beginning of the week, couple hours in high with a splash of chicken broth in there. They shred easily and are not dry. I bag it all and use it as I need it.

Chicken Spinach Salad: 

1 green container spinach leaves

1/2 green container chopped tomato

1/2 green container cooked but cold green beans (optional but a great way to use a few leftover green beans) 

1 red container chicken 

1 blue container cheese (I used Parmesan) 

1 orange container salad dressing (I use Bolt Farms all natural yogurt ranch dressing) 

Pile and EAT. 

Breakfast and Mornings: My Love Affair

I LOVE mornings. Things are stil quiet and cool. It's my workout time, my me time. It's also going to start being my personal development time. I've been all over these personal development podcasts lately and am intrigued with Yo Pal Hal's idea of a Miracle Morning. Definitely thinking about implementing one. I know I can get up earlier if I go to bed earlier. So that's my challenge. I want longer mornings, and I think I want them bad enough to get up before the chickens. 

Obsessed with my 21 Day Fix T-Shirt!

It's awesome. I might never take it off. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shakeology

OMG. Total dessert treat, that's actually your healthiest meal of the day. 

How you make it...

- 1 Serving Chocolate Shakeology

- handful of frozen strawberries (can use fresh but I like mine frozen)

- 8-12 oz of water or almond milk

BLEND! It's so good that I made inappropriate noises when I first tasted it. So you may need a minute alone with it. 

Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus for People Who Hate Them

So you don't like sweet potatoes? And asparagus is not your things either?

I'm betting it's your cooking method. Let me change your mind about these two powerhouse foods. 

I've got the recipes below, but this video should let you in on how easy this is!

A Peek at the Upper Fix and Lower Fix Workouts

#21DayFix Upper Fix today. It's so humid outside, I gave up on shirts. Showing my belly in action is a big step for me, but I want y'all to go on this journey with me and know it's REAL. I don't exactly have Autumn's abs but I'm working on it! @autumncalabrese #FitLife #fitfiercefight #morningworkout

A video posted by Kristen Osborne (@kristenosborne) on Apr 14, 2015 at 5:28am PDT

#21DayFix Lower Fix - 30 min and done! #LegDay #fitfiercefight #FitLife

A video posted by Kristen Osborne (@kristenosborne) on Apr 15, 2015 at 5:32am PDT

How I Meal Plan on the 21 Day Fix

Meal planning and keeping up with your containers for the 21 Day Fix can be confusing. Don't let it deter you. There are dozens of ways to do this. I want to show you what I use: a simple, $.50 notebook that I keep in my purse. I've come up with a checklist format that works for me.





What works for me may not work for you. Please feel free to leave your comments about how you meal plan and keep track of your clean eating on a daily basis! All ideas welcome!

Strawberries and Keeping It Fresh

So I bought a giant flat of strawberries at the Loxley Strawberry Festival. Local berries. So excited! 

So how do you keep these fresh? Vinegar! Soak them in mostly water with a splash or two of vinegar. You won't taste it and the berries stay fresh longer. 

I'm already imagining my yummy strawberry parfait in the morning...

Half Marathon in the Rain

For my 30th birthday, I wanted to run the Pensacola Half Marathon. It's a great race at one of my favorite beaches. My bestie and I did it last year and knew we wanted to come back! 

While we had perfect weather last year, this year...not so much. It started out WET. 

I don't have any pics from the race yet since we left all electronics in the room. It was raining sideways for the first three miles. Then, just as I was fully soaked with sloshing shoes, it tapered off. Talk about HUMID. I know I live in Alabama and should be used to it, but we've had a long and cold winter, so I'm not adjusted to running in humidity just yet. But it was a FUN race. I might have started splashing in puddles near the end. I mean, they're there, and my feet are already wet...

Great after party with free beverages of course. 

Definitely a good way to ring in my 30s. I felt strong through the whole race, even though I've missed a lot of training runs lately due to weather and crazy schedules. I can tell that my workouts have made a major difference in my running, especially with hills. I'm very interested to see how I do at my race next weekend. It's the Statue to Statue in Birmingham, a 15k race with some legendary hills. Beast mode! 

Fast Food on the 21 Day Fix

Yeah, fast food is not easy on the Fix. It is so much easier to prepare your lunch and take it with you. Or carry a Shakeology packet and your blender bottle. But, sometimes, when you've had a leaking window, clogged gutters, are 4 hours late leaving town, and have run out of Shakeology packets because your husband has decided he loves it too...it just doesn't happen.

I've got an entire LIST of Fast Food options for when you just can't avoid a meal on the go.

Choice #1: Chik-fil-a 

There are a couple good options here. 

- Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap (red, green, yellow) with a fruit cup (purple) - the beauty about this beast is that they don't put any sauce or mayo on it. Simple and good. 

- Grilled Kids Nuggets (6 = red) with a side salad with light Italian (2 green, 1/2 blue, 1 orange) 

Sadly, however, Chik-fil-a does not exist everywhere. Especially not in some of the backwater, rural towns I frequent. So... 

Choice #2: Subway

- If you're not munching and driving, sit down and have one of their salads. They make it in front of you, and you control exactly what goes in. Perfect. 

- But if you're running 4 hours late like me, try a flatbread sandwich. The one below features turkey with spinach, cukes, banana peppers, bell peppers, and mustard. So, it's a red, green, and at least 1 yellow. It's about the same size as a tortilla, which is 1 yellow, but it's a little more fluffy...so maybe 1 and 1/2? This is one of those spots where the super strict Fix-ers probably hate me, but sometimes you just have to do the best you can with what's in front of you! 

These are just a couple good and easy options. Do you want the full FREE GUIDE to Fast Food on the 21 Day Fix? Subscribe to get my 21 Day Fix Eating Plans and Recipes updates. I'll send you my FREE GUIDE to eating fast food and not ruining your Fix! 

Opt-in HERE to get your FREE guide for Fast Food on the 21 Day Fix!

I cut my own pineapple, and it was amazing!

 So there were pineapples at Winn Dixie for $.88. Each. For the whole darn pineapple. 

Therefore, fear and ignorance of cutting a whole pineapple had to be overcome. (Thanks, YouTube)

Never going back. Ah-mazing. 

Fitness is more than weightloss.

Spaghetti Squash is Your Best Friend

Who loves pasta? Mememememe!!!

And you can have some whole grain pasta on the 21 Day Fix, but, let's face it, it isn't a lot and you probably want to save those yellow for something else. 

If you've never heard of spaghetti squash, or you've seen the big yellow bulbous things at the produce aisle and had no clue what they were, I'm about to rock your world. 

But let's get the basics first. How do you cook this thing? 

1. Slice the ends off. Just the very ends. This is easier said than done. Use a BIG Walking-Dead machete knife and don't cut your fingers off. 

2. Cut it in half length wise. Again, BIG sharp knife. You kinda rock the knife back and forth as you press down. It helps. 

3. Take a spoon and scrape out the seeds. Try to hit the trash can with them. Or, if you're like me, miss the trash and sling sticky seeds all over the kitchen floor, then have the dog get mad at you when she discovers it's not edible food. Anyway...

4. Place the cut halves in a casserole dish with about 1 inch of water. Cover with plastic wrap. 

5. Microwave it for 10-15 minutes. Start with ten. Poke it with a fork. If it doesn't pierce easy, keep going. If you're anti-microwave, you can bake it - no plastic of course - in the oven at 374 for 35-45 minutes. 

6. Use an oven mitt to pick it up. Scrape the 'noodles' with a fork. 

It ends up like this...

So what do you do with it? 

- Add marinara or meat sauce for a spaghetti dinner. 

- Sprinkle with Mediterranean seasoning and a bit of olive oil. 

It's a GREEN container. So eat up! 

Chicken Fajita Salad

This is one of those meals that seems HUGE. Which means it's a favorite. You can also use tortillas or lettuce leaves to make tacos with it. 

Egg, Bacon, and Toast - Yes, it IS a diet.

1 egg "fried"

2 slices of turkey bacon

1 piece of Ezekial toast 

And I might have put one tiny teaspoon of all natural, no sugar added jam on the toast under my egg. Probably not really a valid teaspoon, so don't do that if you're a super strict eating plan kind of person. 

Easter Comparison 2014 to 2015

In 2014, I was feeling alright. Running half marathons, had just started jiu jitsu. 

And then this year, subtract almost 20 pounds and 3 dress sizes... 

Still running half marathons. Still doing jiu jitsu (as evidenced by the bruise on my arm). The difference? A couple rounds of 21 Day Fix and Shakeology. 

The best part? This isn't my 'after' picture. I've barely begun. And I'm NOT hungry. 

Running Smalltown Alabama

I came to see my parents for Easter. 

Morning run with my stepdad. 6.5 miles around this tiny town. Then a 10 minute ab workout, courtesy of Beachbody On Demand, and a .5 mile run back home. 

I'm hungry. 

Apples and Cannoli Dip.

Yes, I said cannoli. It's flipping amazing. Well, to be honest, it's not totally like the inside of a cannoli, but it's really good. And ricotta cheese counts as a RED, not a blue container. So you can have a LOT of it. You can tell where my priorities are.

So the apples part of this recipe should be self explanatory. I use Granny Smith. 

The Cannoli Dip...

Egg and Avocado Salad

This is one if my favorite lunches! Like I need to get a private room while I'm eating it. And with Easter weekend, it feels appropriate to share an egg recipe. So here's something healthy you can do with your Easter eggs that doesn't involve gobs of mayonnaise.

There are an infinite number of versions for this so play with it. My version is...

Friday Struggles and Coffee Shakeology

This morning was hard to wake up...

Workout was great! I let Paden choose between Cardio Fix Extreme and Dirty 30 Extreme. We did Dirty 30 and killed it! Or it killed us? Both. 

Anyway, I'm struggling this morning at work to focus, so I pulled this together for my morning snack. It's super delicious and tastes just as good as any Starbucks iced mocha or frap. BUT it costs LESS and is so much better for me! Healthiest meal of the day...

My Favorite Breakfast - Strawberry Yogurt Parfait

Almost every morning. Because it's so good. I'm going through strawberries like crazy right now, which is why I squealed out loud when I saw this in the grocery store...

Oh yes. 

So the recipe...

Leg Day, a Workout Buddy, and a LOT of Sweat!

My friend and neighbor Paden came across the street this morning to do my Lower Fix day with me. I grabbed the regular Lower Fix DVD instead of the Extreme this morning since last night's jujitsu workout was so incredibly tough. I knew I couldn't handle the Extreme less than 12 hours after that AND still go to my group run tonight. But the incredible workout we got just goes to prove that, whether you choose the original Fix or the Extreme, you're going to SWEAT! 

I thought I might have killed Paden, but on his way out he asked, "Same time tomorrow?" I guess he likes it! 

Not-so-Chunky Monkey Chocolate Shakeology

My obsession right now.