NEW Wild Berry Blast XS® Energy Drink!
Get all of the energy and none of the sugar with our new Wild Berry Blast XS Energy Drink. With a delicious berry taste, it delivers a powerful punch of B vitamins to help boost mental and physical energy.
Mediterranean Farro Salad
Wow your neighbors at the next potluck with this colorful and delicious Mediterranean Farro Salad! With Italian ingredients like black olives, Parmesan, and farro, they’ll be coming back for more!
Ingredients
10 ounces farro (about 1 1/2 cups): can substitute with barley or spelt
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips (about 4 ounces or 1 cup)
3 ounces Parmesan, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1 small bunch chives, snipped (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups of water with the farro. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the farro is almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and simmer until the farro is tender, about 10 minutes longer. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.
Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 2 minutes. Drain the green beans.
Once the farro has cooled add the green beans, olives, red pepper, Parmesan, and chives. Stir to combine. In a small bowl mix together the sherry vinegar, olive oil, mustard, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine. Pour the sherry vinaigrette over the farro salad. Toss to combine and serve. Makes 6 single-dish servings.
(Recipe by Giada De Laurentis: Everyday Italian)
I Just Read Andre Agassi’s New Book!
The semifinals of the French Open are here. So I’d like to share a book written by one of my favorite tennis players, Andre Agassi. From the first page of Open: An Autobiography
you are drawn into Andre’s world of tennis and his journey to the top. Driven by his father to play tennis, Andre learned to hate the game . . . even when he was ranked #1. He played professionally for two decades (1986 to 2006), won eight Grand Slam singles championships, and has raised more than $85 million for the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy for underprivileged children in Las Vegas. His story is honest, revealing, compelling and inspirational. A great read!
Don’t Miss the Kickoff
Madison Sports & Social Club is holding their official Kickoff Party at the Stadium Bar and Grill located at 1519 Monroe Street on Sunday, June 6th from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm. It’s MSSC’s goal to connect individuals who want to participate in sports-related activities and social events. The Club promotes a healthy lifestyle by encouraging members to pursue hobbies and activities that encourage physical activity and making healthy lifestyle decisions as well. Hope to see you there!
Trip to California
When I visit family and friends in Southern California, I enjoy reconnecting with former clients. Hey, I was a personal trainer there for nine years. Here’s some fun pictures: Susan and me with my two boys at Redondo Beach, Jennifer and me at The Coffee Bean, and Ted and Cynthia at their home.
Achieve Your Healthy New Year’s Resolutions
Follow these goal-setting steps and get in the best shape of your life.
1. WHAT is your goal? Try picturing it in your mind. Is it losing weight, feeling better about yourself, lowering cholesterol levels?
2. WHY do you want to achieve this goal? Are you more confident? Imagine what it feels like. This is what’s going to motivate you every day.
3. WHEN is your goal going to be realized? This spring? A year from now? Give yourself a date and you have something to aim for.
4. WHAT do you bring to the table? Take a personal inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Under strengths, maybe you can include “a willingness to learn”. Under weaknesses, maybe it’s a “fear of the unknown”.
5. HOW much are you willing to invest? This has to do with time, money, knowledge. It takes time to read a book on nutrition and to exercise. It takes money to buy new athletic shoes or hire a personal trainer. But in my opinion, the most important investment is knowledge. Take the time to learn about yourself.
6. WHO can help you? Find resources (people, books, or even websites) to help you succeed.
7. Anticipate SETBACKS. Realize that things don’t always go as planned. What’s the solution? Be flexible and understand that you will need to overcome obstacles in order to achieve your goal.
8. Take LITTLE STEPS. Let’s say your goal is to complete a 5k walk/run in mid-April. What you are doing right now to move you towards your goal? Look at your calendar and see how many weeks until your walk/run. In this example, about thirteen weeks. Next create a plan of action for every week, progressively increasing the distance and/or shortening the time. In week 1, maybe you’re walking 1/3 mile. In week 2, you walk 1/2 a mile. And so on. By the time you are at thirteen weeks you’ve done it!
9. DECIDE to do #8. This is about making daily decisions. Everyday decide that you can achieve your goals and that you deserve it.
10. HAVE FUN! Getting in shape doesn’t need to be a big production. Enjoy the journey!