When it comes to adding protein to one’s diet, most people reach for they typical grilled chicken breast, boiled eggs or even canned sardines. I do too, but I also love me some WILD GAME MEAT!

Not only is Wild Game meat safe and protein packed, but it can also be leaner and tastier than your fatty piece of steak. (Steak is always yummy still ) Some game meats provide less saturated fats than your average beef cut and can be a great substitute for individuals concerned with high cholesterol.

Check out some of the nutrition! (click on the chart to read more about the benefits of wild game meat )

If you’re curious about how to hook up a good Elk steak, then click here!

Stop being so boring with your protein and Get WILD & crazy!

What’s your favorite Wild Meat? (I love alligator, bison and ostrich!)

I have listed 11 solid exercises that I consider the meat and potatoes of exercises. You might want to consider incorporating them into your training program regardless of your body type or training level.

Home Exercises

· Walking Lunges

· Side Shoulder Raises

· Pull ups

· Push Ups

· Dead lift

· Calve Raises

· Horizontal Chins

· Triceps Dips

· V sits

· Oblique Crunches

· Bridge Hip Thrust

Gym Exercises

· Squat Rack or Smith Squat

· Overhead Press

· Lat Pull Down

· Peck Dec

· Leg Curl

· Good Mornings or Hyper Extensions

· Toe Press

· Triceps Pushdown

· Bar Curls

· Knee Raises

Incorporate a few at a time or try alternating them with your other exercise choices.

1. Depending on your goals, I suggest that you perform reps between 8-12 for muscle building with sets ranging around 2-4.
2. For leaning and lengthening ,I suggest that you perform reps between 12-20 with sets ranging around 3-5.

Tip: Try to vary your training program weekly with small changes and  give your body a break every 4th week by trying something different like taking a class or even playing a sport you don’t do often.

WARNING: Rest is crucial, so make sure you establish a balance to achieve maximum results!

If your goal is to shape and lean your lower body, try incorporating these exercises during your training cycles:

· Single Leg Squats

· Single leg

· Hip Thrusts

· Heal Prints

· Round the Clock Lunges

· Step ups

· ATG squat

· Squats below 90

· Butt Blaster

So try these out and send me a comment if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Shaneek AKA Miss Murder

 This concoction won the award for
 ‘BEST RECIPE IN THE WORLD!”

 Chef Gordon Ramsey tested and approved!

Just kidding! But this is one of my top recipes that seems to be popular among my friends and family. I honestly just made it up by combining some of my favorite ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of lean ground turkey
• 1 or 2 Yellow onions
• 1 can of Black beans
• 1 fat Eggplant
• 1/2 cup of lemon Juice
• 2 cans of low sodium chicken broth
• As much Broccoli as your belly desires
• 2 table spoons of Tahini
• Salt n Peppa

Preparation:

You will need 2 cooking wares, a frying pan/ wok and a cooking pot.

First we’re going to prepare the veggies.

• Chop up your eggplant and broccoli and place them in the pot.
• Pour the 2 cans of chicken broth on top along with the black beans and let the concoction simmer until the veggies are cooked.

Next! We’re going to prep the meat

• Saute the onions in the frying pan using a little bit of olive oil. (Yes, I forgot to mention that in the ingredients… but go along with it)
• When the onions turn brown, thrown in your ground turkey and Salt n Peppa and scramble for a few minutes until fully brown.

Third. Completing the dish

• After your turkey is brown, dump it in the pot along with the veggie concoction.
• Add 2 table spoons of Tahini and 1/2 a cup of lemon juice and let it simmer and cook. You’ll notice that your broth will turn thicker and creamier.
• When the meat is fully cooked, your dish is ready to be served!

Compliment this dish with a side of whole wheat penne pasta or a whole grain roll.

Love,

Ghada

DISCLAIMER I am not a chef, but I love to cook.

Sleep is a very important factor in weight loss management, and over all well-being.

Having a hectic schedule full of early gym sessions, a full time job and spending time with family and friends, I have to make time for my body to rest properly.

In the last few years, more studies have suggested a correlation between the lack of sleep and weight gain.  Sleep deprivation can cause our body to release excess stress hormones called cortisol, which may then lead to overeating and weight gain.

Inadequate sleep can also lead to a less optimum workout, concentration and over all sloppy body functioning.

Here are a few pointers that will help you achieve better sleep tonight:

We’ve all heard of the tryptophan-filled Thanksgiving turkey that puts everyone to sleep.

Well, it won’t quite make you sleepy but it will surely aid in calming you down.

Tryptophan is an amino acid used by the body to create seratonin, a neurotransmitter that slows down nerve traffic to the brain.

• Consuming tryptophan foods a few hours before bed time will help your mind wind down and get ready for rest.
• Try combining some carbs with tryptophan foods, and make the amino acid more available.
• Throw in some fat to your concoction, and time-release your seratonin.

Here are just a few examples of some tryptophan foods:

• Dairy
• Seafood
• Meat
• Poultry
• Whole grains
• Beans
• Hummus
• Nuts

Other ways to aid in  better sleep is to create a relaxing peaceful environment.

Resolve any arguments and riff raffs before sleeping. We’ve all had those annoying nights. 

Dedicate your bedroom to sleeping only. Try to limit television, radio and reading. Smash any ticking clocks! They rev my heart rate.

Have a hot shower few hours before. There’s nothing better than feeling squeeky clean before hitting the sheets.

Sleep when you’re very sleepy. Listen to your body and don’t force it to rest just because.

Make your sleeping hours routine. I love crashing out at 10:30 pm and waking up at 5:30 am for my gym session. 7 hours is perfect for me.

How is your sleep?

Love, Ghada

Traveling is a very spiritual experience for me. Not only do I get to meet new people, but I am continuously being exposed to new cultures, religions and lifestyles. Throughout my journey, I have come to the realization that I love all humanity’s differences. I love the different art, music, dance and food. Every religion brings something beautiful to the table and I am more than happy to participate in all the holidays of the world.

I am currently on business in Orlando, Florida and I had an urge to share my finding with you. I am working with two other people on this trip and they are both from Argentina, a South American country that I hope to set foot in soon. Joe and Norma, two fire crackers that exude the Latin flavor have exposed me to more information than I asked for, but I love it.

Similar to my Middle Eastern heritage, the Latin culture loves to indulge in food. After a long day of work, the three of us always head to a well-reviewed restaurant to experience new cuisine. Whole in the wall eateries are preferred because we love home-made recipes.

Joe loves to eat! After every meal, he complains about why he ate so much and mentions that he has to go back to his room to drink his “tea”.

“What is this tea?” I asked.

Joe rubs his belly and smiles “ah, it’s this amazing tea that we drink in Argentina. Yerba Mate; it’s so good for you! I’ll bring you some next time”.

Keeping his word, Joe surprised me with my first Yerba Mate kit. The kit came with 500g bag of this special tea, a weird coconut looking cup and a funky straw.

Hmmm… I had to ask “What do I need this crazy cup for Joe? Can’t I just brew it like tea?”

He laughed and grabbed the crazy cup to show me “This is a special cup. Let me show you”. He breaks open my Yerba Mate bag and pours the tea-looking flakes in to the cup while the straw remains put. He explains that I should fill it half way up. The funky straw has a strainer device on the bottom to prevent any flakes from flying into my mouth. Yeah, I don’t want that. Using the coffee machine in his hotel room, we brewed some water to pour in to the cup. Joe warns not to use boiling water, just hot.

So he pours the water in the cup, takes a taste to check the temperature of the water then passes it over for me to taste. He also warns that it will not taste comforting like other teas.  Ok! Trusting my friend, I took my first sip of the South American Yerba Mate.

“What the $#@! Joe! This tastes horrible!”. The tea tasted so bitter and smokey. Hmmm… almost like bacon.

But that didn’t stop me from finishing the cup. I stuck it out and just kept thinking about the benefits of this tea that I knew nothing about. I thanked Joe, and went back to my room to do some research on Yerba Mate.

What I learned and found about this tea, showed to be very impressive:

Yerba Mate comes from a wild plant grown in the forests of South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay. This loose tea has been clinically tested to have more nutritional benefits than Green Tea.

Yerba Mate’s benefits include:

• Amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
• A natural energy booster without toxic side effects
• A great detox and cleanse for the blood
• Helps with balancing the nervous system
• Promotes healthy shiny hair
• Combats free radicals to slow down aging
• Suppresses the appetite
• Relieves stress
• Aids in sleep

After researching Yerba Mate, I have decided to give this nasty tea a shot.  I’m sure it will take more than a day to notice the benefits, so I’ll comply to drinking it for 30 days. I’ll keep you posted.

I can say that I had the best sleep ever last night. I was knocked out and woke up refreshed and ready to workout. But, it’s just the first day so I won’t jump to conclusions already.

If you’re Yerba Mate drinker, I would love to hear your story and why you continue to drink it.

Love,

Ghada

Nutrition and exercise go hand in hand. What you eat before and after will determine the endurance you have during your workout and how well your muscles will recover after.

My favorite workouts involve heavy lifting which leads to tearing of the muscles. In order to help recover and build my muscles, I must fuel my lean machine with the appropriate nutrients.

After an intense workout, I have a 90 minute window for refueling. Optimum fueling involves a generous amount of quality protein and quality carbs. 

I don’t know how I came up with this post-workout concoction but I love it! 

This is my Pumpkin, protein, oatmeal power pie!

TRY IT NOW!

1 scoop of protein 20g +

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup egg whites

1/4 cup pumpkin

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp sweetner (honey, splenda, stevia)

1 tbsp flaxseed

Mix all ingredients and Zap it in the microwave for 6 min. You now have a post workout dessert!

Feel free to jazz it up with other nutritious toppings like fruits, nuts, hemp seeds, bee pollen or shredded coconut.

This concoction is great as your post workout meal, but eliminate some ingredients to make it lower in calories for non-workout days.

Let me know if you try it. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Love,

Ghada

1.  Enjoy eating 5-6 smaller meals instead of 3 big ones.
2. * Transform your body into a fat burning machine by feeding it every few hours and instead of starving it to avoid fat storage.

  2. Enjoy lean protein with every meal

 * Protein is an important building block for your body. Incorporating protein with your meals will help curb your appetite and assist in building and repairing muscle.

3. Enjoy lots of vegetables * Vegetables are full of essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and other important benefits. Vegetables are low in calories and contain so much water, helping you to feel full. 

4. Enjoy fresh fruits instead of sugary desserts

* Fruits are also full of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and more! Curb your sweet tooth with a juicy piece of fruit or two! Also containing water, fruit will help cut those cravings.

5. Enjoy the fresh taste of H2O

* The body is made up of 2/3 water. Consume 8 glasses of water to help boost your metabolism and rid your body of toxins.

6. Enjoy healthy fats

* Your body needs fats to function properly. Incorporating healthy fats in your program will boost energy, assist in absorbing more vitamins and minerals, and create a feeling of satiety!

7. Enjoy your complex carbs

* Carbs are your body’s essential and primary source of fuel. Carbs also contain important vitamins and minerals and will help fill you up.

8. Enjoy your active body and what it can do.

* 30 minutes per day of moderate exercise will not only benefit you physically, but also mentally Feel stronger, more confident and sleep better.

9. Enjoy 1 cheat day per week

* Pick one day to reward yourself and body for your great discipline.

10. Enjoy your sleep.

* Get your beauty sleep to prevent gaining weight. Studies have shown lack of sleep increases appetite and fat storage. Lack of sleep will also interfere with the intensity of your workouts.