Super Bowl Party Ideas

Game day is officially upon us. Whether your team is in the BIG game or not, I am sure you are still out there watching to see who wins. Maybe you have some money in a poll or you just always get together with friends no matter who is in it to catch up and you now have an excuse to have a party. Whatever the reason is you know the typical football foods will be there....pizza, wings, dips, you name it. But what if you are hosting or going to a party and you don't want to throw away all your hard work you put in during the week with your workouts & eating. How about making some healthy appetizers or taking something you know you can eat to a friends?

You don't have to throw away all your hard work for one football game, try out some of these appetizers.

1. Buffalo Chicken Meatballs - what you need...

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, sliced

4 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs

1/2 cup very finely chopped carrot

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons hot sauce, such as Frank’s RedHot

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 pound lean ground chicken

 

how to cook them -

Finely chop mushrooms, onion, celery and garlic in a food processor. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

2.Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
3.Add breadcrumbs, carrot, cheese, hot sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper to the cooled vegetables; stir until combined. Add chicken and mix gently to combine (do not overmix). Form into 30 meatballs (a scant 2 tablespoons each) and place on the prepared baking sheet.
4.Bake the meatballs until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 165°F, about 15 minutes.

2. Pita Pizzas - pita-pizzas

3. Buffalo Chicken Tenders - what you need -
4 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce (like Frank’s®), divided use
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 dash cayenne pepper (to taste; optional)
1 lb. raw chicken tenders
¼ cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. crumbled blue cheese
4 medium celery stalks, cut into sticks

 

how to cook them -
 1. Combine 1 Tbsp. hot sauce, vinegar, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne in a small bowl; mix well.
2. Add chicken; toss to coat. Marinate, covered, in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375° F.
4. Place chicken in a baking dish. Discard any remaining marinade. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
5. Combine yogurt and cheese in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.
6. Combine chicken and remaining 3 Tbsp. hot sauce in a large bowl; toss gently to blend.
7. Serve chicken with dip and celery.

4. Nachos - what you need
 4 corn tortillas, cut into wedges
2 tsp. olive oil
½ medium lime
1 dash chili powder
Sea salt (to taste, optional)
½ cup cooked pinto beans, warm
4 oz cheddar (or jack) cheese, shredded
2 medium tomatoes chopped
½ medium onion, finely chopped
½ medium green bell pepper, chopped
½ medium jalapeno, seeds and veins discarded, finely chopped
¼ medium avocado, chopped
4 fresh cilantro sprigs, chopped
2 Tbsp. nonfat plain Greek yogurt

how to cook them -
 1. Heat oven to 375° F.
2. Brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp.
3. Squeeze lime over chips. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt (if desired).
4. Arrange half of the tortilla chips in a medium baking dish. Layer with half the beans and cheese. Repeat.
5. Bake chip mixture for 3 to 4 minutes, or until cheese melts.
6. Top with tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, avocado, cilantro, and yogurt.

5. Baked Corn Tortilla Chips - what you need -
15 corn tortillas, cut into wedges
Nonstick cooking spray
1 tsp. sea salt (or Himalayan salt)

how to cook them -
 1. Heat oven to 375° F.
2. Lightly coat both sides of tortillas with spray. Arrange in a single layer on two baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp.
3. Sprinkle with salt.

6. Zucchini Fries -  what you need -
Nonstick cooking spray
¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
3 medium zucchini, cut into ½ x 3-inch sticks
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

how to cook them -
 1. Preheat oven to 475° F.
2. Line baking sheet with foil; lightly coat with spray.
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag; shake to combine.
4. Working with a few pieces at a time, dip zucchini in egg whites and lift out, letting excess drip back into bowl; drop zucchini into bag containing flour mixture. Seal bag and shake to coat. Repeat with remaining zucchini.
5. Place zucchini on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes, or until tender-crisp and golden brown.

Insanity Max30 : Week One Overview

The newest program is here, out, shipped, and in my hands! It can be yours too if you order from your coach. If you don't have one sign up here and let's get ya goin'!

These weekly updates are going to be my thoughts, meal plans, how I am doing, & such. So excuse me if I am brutally honest and blunt about these next 8 weeks.

I notice I tend to be a follower when it comes to a lot of things in life. If you know me I didn't start with insanity (the original), in fact I never did it & had no desire to. Shaun T you scare the livin' daylights outta me. But honestly, what would make me want to Max30 without doing insanity...am I crazy??? I said in the beginning, I'm a follower & I ordered it to see what the hype was about. I wanted something different. I wanted a challenge. And I wanted to prove to myself, I COUD DO THIS! 

 

So, I ordered. Committed to doing this with a team of coaches, and helping challengers with what to expect and reach their fitness goals.

Day one came and went.can I say I just didn't expect it to be that hard. I'm actually not really sure what I expected. My max out time was 5:02 into a 30 minute program. I felt awful, I felt like I should have been able to make it further but I couldn't. And I remembered to get the results you must push yourself to the MAX....you WANT to fail!

 

For this week I kind of stuck my meal plan to simple. Call me plain Jane if youd like because  that's who I am. I need variety, but if I could have the same thing all week while at work (makes my life easier). 

- chicken (flavor up with spices)

- boil eggs off

- tried some new veggie ways from max30 booklet

 

- but I must say dinners haven't been planned and you can't succeed with a half assed meal plan. The energy you are giving, the high intense workouts, the sweat means NOTHING if you aren't following your nutrition plan. To get the max insane results you'd half to follow the plan 100%. Here I tend to follow the 80-20 rule. But this first week I was doing 60-40. I was making excuses...I was nervous for the program, terrified, my workouts certainky got done & i pushed to my limit, but my eating just FAILED and i knew i could have done better. But NO MORE! 

To say the first week kicked my butt in an understatement, I got my bootay handed to me. I was screaming at Shaun t. , telling Eric to be quiet because I can't talk and push myself hard at the same time, feeling like I couldn't catch my breath, feeling sick, & like I wasn't going to be able to move from the floor. But at the same time when you finish and your on the floor (dead) collecting yourself, you feel accomplished & strong. Your times may have sucked all week, but you just gave your workout for the first time in forever.... YOUR ALL!!!! You recommitted to your health, you are doing this for you. I can't tell you how many times when I was laying there, just talking to myself, saying "congrats" although, I may hate Shaun T. during the whole time, but after I feel 100% better.

 

Something has to motivate you, move you, & get you going to change your life. If you don't like something about your life, change it! For me, I was slacking. I didn't have the drive or motivation to get myself moving, but I was so tired of feel disgusting. I started doing little things daily & when this program came out I said this was going to be a program for me.  I took my before pictures & that was all the motivation I needed!! I really let myself go & I let myself down. 

if you don't have an accountability partner, I highly suggest getting one. This person knows your goals & gets you moving when you don't feel like it. It's nice having one at home too. I have been trying to get E to workout with me forever. Now we always can't workout together (trying to get him to be an early riser) but when we do I feel like I push harder and give it my all.

 

This week was hell! The workouts were hard. My muscles were burning. I was screaming & sweating. My calves were on fire & tight like I couldn't move. There were days where I didn't want to do it. Days I didn't think I could push longer, but when I told myself just one second longer I noticed I pushed one minute longer. YOU are your biggest competition. This program is all a mental game...will you let your mind or body win?

 

Monday- 5:02

Tuesday- 7:00

Wednesday- 6:30

Thursday- 9:45 (same workout as Tuesday) increased my time

Friday- 8:06

Follow my journey over the 60 day program, here I will be posting weekly updates and share my honest opinions. Or over on IG- ayourish123 you can see my daily action! 

If you have any questions about the program and are interested in it,please feel free to reach out to be: alyssayourish@gmail.com or on FB- Alyssa Yourish (send me a message) 

Stay tuned for max out times & stay true to yourself!!!!

 

What is an Accountability Group?

 

What is an accountability group? How does it help you reach your fitness goals?

 

Have you ever started your weight loss journey and after two weeks decided it was either too hard or you didn't see the results quick enough so you gave up? Maybe no one supported you in your journey? You didn't like the workout program?

 

This was all me at one point until I heard about a challenge group & just invited myself to be in one...best decision to the day ever made!!

 

What is an accountability group? this is a group that is done online in a closed facebook group. or we could have a local meeting place if people were closer.

 

Why is it done online? it is easiest to run them online that way everyone is able to join and you do not have to be from a specific city/state.

 

Who can join these groups? anyone is able to join the groups. you just have to want to change your current situation and be ready to be surrounded by a group of amazing people.

 

Why join? like I said before have you tried to workout and then two weeks into it you just gave up? maybe you weren't sure where you start? if this is you, the support group is full of individuals who are where you are & with a group for all of us together we push each other to reach our goals and NOT give up.

 

Where is the done? this accountability is all done online, but the workouts are done in the comfort of your own home! 

 

What will you get? every morning I will post a small assignment or video that will last no more than 5 minutes. A tip to get you through the day, recipes, things that have helped me stay on track, meal plans, meal prepping, etc. I mean this is only half the stuff...every group is different and I tend to make my posts on what everyone has questions on, what they are struggling with.

 

An Accountability group is just another way for us all to stay on track. Because let's be honest.....we just can't do it by ourselves!!! There are times where we get frustrated, we aren't seeing the results we want so quickly, maybe we are struggling with our meal plan. When we struggle by ourselves we tend to let the negatives come into play. But when we are in an accountability group you have people cheering you on. Asking where you are if you do not show up daily posting all about your day. When you go to reach for that cookie a light bulb goes off and you think about the group and you put the cookie down. And if you don't put the cookie down and decide to eat it, you are in the group posting about it and everyone is saying okay, and giving you tips to swap it out next time and saying you can do anything & everything!

 

It is a safe place for everyone to come that have a weight loss goal! I remember when I started I was so scared. I did not know what anyone was going to think of me. Were they going to judge me? Was I going to be accepted?

 

 Guess what?!

 

No one knows about this group except, you, the other challengers in the group, myself  (as your coach), and then anyone you tell. This group is totally secret and everyone in the group is there for one of the same reasons. That is to get healthy and start a new journey.  Everyone may have a different end results and a different goal in mind, but we are ALL in this together. We all cheer each other on, we all are here to inspire. I may be the coach, but this is YOUR group. Tell everyone in the group what is working for you, shout yourself out for how much weight you have lost, your non scale victories, anything you want! Make the group fun, exciting, and most importantly BE YOU!!!!


Do you have more questions about accountability groups? Do you want to know when my next one is? Feel free to email me : alyssayourish@gmail.com and I will answer you back within 24 hours.

If you are ready to sign up and start your healthy journey TODAY, please take a moment to fill out the application listed below!

Fill out my online form.

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Weekly Update and Progress- Week 4 T-25

Another week comes and goes. Can you even believe that October is here?! This year is flying by and I guess it is just not going to slow down anytime soon. 

Dream Big

It's a new month and time to start fresh with a clean slate. Don't look at it as if the year is almost over. YOU are just getting started. I don't care if you set a goal for yourself back on January 1st as your New Years Resolution...you are going to write that down again and push hard for the next three months. Don't think it can happen?? I DARE you to try it. Give yourself 90+ days to go in 100%. Put your head down and focus - see what can happen. 


So lets talk about the week. T25 it just keeps getting better and better. I really can not get over the fact that this program is only twenty-five minutes long and you are sweating by the end of it. I know I say it probably ever week, but Beachbody really NAILED it on the head when people said they wanted a shorter workout, but with the same crazy good results. I love how each DVD is different but the same in some ways. Each move you do is thirty seconds and even though you may not think it is enough time to really work your muscles....trust me it is! You really FOCUS for these thirty seconds. You slowly work your way up to the "hard" step in a matter of two minutes. You get no breaks it is just non stop from the time you push play until you end at the cool down phase (unless you need a break of course).

I am going to be honest with you of course.....

This week I really really struggled. I didn't struggle with the getting up and working out aspect so much. It was more the going downstairs and when I pushed play, my head was literally all over the place. Which in my mind is BAD. I was not there mentally. I still did the workouts but I would give myself a three on a scale up to five. I am boggled but why happened last week, because everyday I look forward to going downstairs as getting a good sweat sesh in before work. It is my SANITY. It is what makes me clear my head from all those random thoughts. And I just could not do it. I was just going through the motions. Stopping when I needed a drink. Usually, when Dexter lays by my feet I pick him up and put him on the chair & last week I caught myself petting him...in the middle of my workout! I was watching the time clock. Just bad, very bad. I still them, but I didn't push myself to my max and best potential. 

Onward and upward... Right??

One thing I always say to my challengers who either had a bad week or skipped a few workouts is it's okay, you are in the learning process. Dust yourself off and try again. If you know you are not going to be able to do a workout that day, really focus on your eating. 

I always thoughts loosing weight came from working out....WRONG! Well not totally, you can loose weight from working out. But, it is not the number one reason. Fueling your body with the proper nutrition is. That is right, you heard me, nutrition is key!!!! 

This week was great with eating. I have been drinking my shake for breakfast because it is quick and easy for me with work. I had my complex carb and lean protein for a mid-morning snack (apple/peach w/14 coco roasted almonds OR two plain rice cakes w/natural pb and bananas). Lunch lately has been TONS of fruit (because summer fruit is my FAV) along with tuna on salad or a flat sandwich bread. Dinner: ranges all the time. Turkey chili, turkey meatloaf, baked ziti, salads, grilled chix, fish, etc. 
 

Clean Eats

The only bad thing I noticed this week with me was my late night snacking. Not sure what was up with that but I was always craving a snack after dinner time. I have been making myself a cup of green tea w/honey when I am craving something or before bed and that always seems to work. If I don't have that cup of tea I am always in the kitchen looking for something. So if you are a late night snacker like me try a cup of warm green tea. It's the time perfect time for it too, it's getting a little bit chilly every night!!

Which brings me too my favorite season!!!! FALL. I simply love it. 

Overall, week 4 was an okay week. And the reason why I say that is because food was on track - but the workouts Alyssa was MIA! But we are starting fresh with a clear mind and a new goal to help stay on track!

Ever feel like you are just not mentally there. You are there physically, going through the moves and the motions, but your mind is racing with a million different thoughts? YEP, we've all been there. But the good thing about my online health and fitness challenges- is that you do NOT have to go through it alone. You have the support from me (your coach) and from the other challengers in the group. We are in this TOGETHER. To SUCCEED together. Want some more information on my next group starting??  Send me a private message on Facebook or email me. I would love to chat with you to see if this is something you would like to join.

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!!