Y-Von's Potato Soup

5lbs of potatoes ( I mix about 1-2 of sweet then the rest russet) Diced into 1" cube
1 med yellow onion
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, peeled and chopped
5 tsp jarred garlic, minced
2 containers of chicken stock or broth
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz Greek yogurt
Salt, pepper 
optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, green onions

Add potatoes, onion,carrots, celery, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.
Cook on high for 6-8 hours 
Add the cream cheese and Greek yogurt. If you have an immersion blender you can blend right in your slow cooker. I usually use my food processor. Mike likes his lumper so he mashed it all?! It depends on the consistency you want. I blend 3/4 and then mix it back in with the rest. 
Stir well, top with your choice of garnishes & enjoy!

Coconut Crusted Pork Chops

Ingredients:

3 - 4 pork chops 

2/3 cup Ground almond meal 

2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

3 Tbls of Coconut Thai Spice  (Bulk Barn) 

Grind some black pepper

In a separate bowl 

One egg white 

1/4 cup of water 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the egg/water mixture together in a separate bowl. Add all dry ingredients in together I use a large plate with sides so I can get the whole of the pork chop in there. Dredge the pork chop through the egg/water bowl then cover with the dry ingredient mixture. Place in a roasting pan uncovered and cook for 15-35 mins depending in the size of your chops

Use any style of fruity salsa as a topping. This time I chose to experiment with a cucumber salsa and yum! A definite winner!

Cucumber Salsa Recipe is from All-Recipes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cool-cucumber-salsa/

Erin Stern's 4 Week Trainer- Recap Week 2!

Week 2 complete!!! Most of the moves from week one are repeated through week 2 with the odd exception. Due to my teaching BodyPump classes my shoulders are taking a killing with 2 shoulder workouts included in this program and 2 with my classes! Thankfully shoulders is one of my fave body parts to train. I find especially with women that shoulders tend to not get the attention they deserve. If your going to kill yourself building up those triceps and biceps you need a gorgeous shoulder cap to top it all off! After all rumour is tank top season should be coming soon!

Yesterday I completed the "Plyo Leg Day" with no add-on's! It's a great endurance workout and really gets that heart rate up there. If I didn't have additional leg work throughout the week I personally would add in a second leg day!

If you give this program a try I would love to hear about your experience! 

A Fitness Page doesn't = Fitness Expert!

   There are many of us out there who are like me that love to share our journey and our passion for health and wellness. Each one my have their own speciality and actually be a subject expert on a certain topic. For many pages it's just average Joes and Janes sharing and using their journey to encourage others. Although it is a wonderful compliment to have people reaching out by asking for advice and opinions please be cautious who you are going to for that advice and opinion! Yes I am certified yoga instructor and I'm happy to provide some ideas on general add in to your practice, moves that will help with tight areas etc. I have recently been receiving messages involving actual injuries, people in the process of recovering, chronic pain issues asking for advice. This is where I become scared! Myself personally I will message back and always with a bucket load of my own questions and they will always include- Have you spoken to your doctor? Have you seen physio? What was their recommendations? Etc, etc.... My fear is this is your health and well-being! It isn't possible for anyone to be able to provide truly helpful beneficial information without having actually spoken to the individual, qualified them with a dozen to hundred questions and partnered with other medical experts if necessary. Please be wary of where you going for your health and fitness questions! Ask yourself, is the person your speaking to able and qualified to help you?! Free advice could come at a HUGE cost to your health and wellness!

On a side note* This post is not to discourage your messages because I truly do love hearing from you! When you do send those question expect that you will be receiving several questions back?! There's no quick, easy answers out there! Stay healthy!

Erin Stern's 4 Week Trainer- Week One

For the month of March I decided to challenge myself a little further as I was missing my time in the weight room. I decided to check out the FREE training programs available through Bodybuilding.com and came across Erin Stern's program that was a perfect fit with my already busy schedule and the timeframe of 4 weeks that I was able to commit too. 

Saturday was my last workout of week one and I loved all the workouts! I am a personal trainer and sometimes it is nice to have someone else tell you what to do so this program worked perfectly. Added bonus was trying new moves I haven't done before! I always love learning something new and have already included some of them in my private training sessions. Saturday was another introduction to a new idea for me a Plyo Leg Day! This was a unique experience as I am very much the lift heavy person on leg day. I was definitely tired at the end of each plyo round but I was still unsure that I had done enough to annihilate leg day so I did complete a few weighted exercises and once I was satisfied it was home time. It appears Plyo Leg Day's are sneaky.... upon attempting to jump a puddle I found my legs didn't really want too. In the evening and parts of the next day I had my moments of wishing we lived in a rancher. I would definitely say it was a success and I am committing to completing the workout as written in the program to really get an idea of the end result! Of all the workouts my favourite from last week was "Back" for sure. It's one of those super important body parts that most of us don't spend enough time on it and I liked the creativity of the workout! 

Here is the link if you would like to check out the program further..... 

Erin Stern's 4 Week Trainer

Banish the Negative Self Talk!

   I was finishing off my workout and burning off that last little bit on my triceps and decided to hit up the cable machine! Now the cable machine for me in the past has been a session of brutal negative self talk. Lets face it you are standing directly in front of the machine and there is "always" a mirror to one of your sides! So I know you have the image clearly- full head to toe side profile! In the past I'd be powering through my reps and that mean inner voice would kick in....  "Maybe one of these days you might even see a tricep?" "how long have you been working those muscles and you still can't see them?" "is that your belly rolling over your pants" and " girl you need to get yourself an ass" and whatever other real or imaginable things I could trash talk to myself in the time it took me to finish 3 sets. No wonder I had to psych myself up to use the cable machine. 

 I marched up to that cable machine, lined up and looked over to check my form. Then that moment, where the usual mean girl would kick in I finally heard a different voice. A much friendlier and kind voice "Hey! There's that mysterious tricep muscle. It really does exist!" I kept powering through my sets and then noticed how different I looked completely head to toe. I am owning a whole new profile and more importantly I felt that I could look in the mirror and be proud of what I was doing and knowing that finally I have found my key and I am making progress. 

There is nothing more frustrating then the beginning stages or in my case years of the beginning stage, plugging away, staying dedicated and STILL not seeing the results your looking for. Then throw on-top of that negative trash talk! After my sessions of beating myself up mentally I would give myself the good ole cheerleader chat. "Have faith it will happen"and "if you keep at it you will get results"  Honestly most of the time I think my cheerleader talk sounded much more like "blah! blah! blah! Yvonne are you even listening?" Thankfully due to a real stubborn streak and the fact that I actually love my gym time regardless of the years of not getting the results I felt I should have been seeing. They are finally happening! 

My message to you! If your in those beginning stages or battling the years of waiting for the magic, know that yes it's possible. Keep pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone! Keep trying new things! If your not seeing the results you want then you need to keep experimenting. I committed to myself to a spend a year trying new and different things. Keeping my mind and opinion open. Tracking how my body felt, noting when I saw results and when I backtracked! It's a journey but the time goes by so make it a productive one and get to know your body! 

I promise you! If you want it and your willing to do the research and work for it  "IT WILL HAPPEN!" 















Get after your goals, keep your dreams alive and tell that Mean Girl to just "SHUT UP!" She doesn't know anything! 

Why Hire a Personal Trainer?

Let’s be realistic everyone is money conscious these days and personal training can and does add up?! After all you can sign up at the local gym hit the treadmill, then make your way around the training circuit or perhaps enjoy a group class. That is fantastic! Sometimes we are looking for that little bit more. Maybe you’re just starting out or getting back into fitness, perhaps you want to tie your fitness goals in to match your lifestyle and hobbies,  or you want to lose weight or sometimes you just need that extra accountability to ensure those workouts get done.  Wherever you are on your journey a Personal Trainer might be just what you are looking for?

• You don’t know where to start! Sitting down and creating your own exercise program and schedule can be overwhelming all on its own then add in the knowledge it takes to choose the exercises, complete the exercises with correct form and then keeping yourself accountable. This alone could be your stumbling block to forget the whole crazy idea. Working with a personal trainer they will create a schedule that meets your specific goals, maximizing the use of your available time while providing you with the knowledge to complete the program and adding that extra much needed accountability. The “tough love” 

• You are not seeing results! If you have been consistent with your workouts for several weeks or months and you are still not seeing the gains or shall we call them losses hiring a trainer might be your golden ticket. A trainer can look at your current training program, eating habits and help you see where you can make some changes to be more effective in fueling your body and workouts.  A trainer can work with you on your goals. Are they SMART- specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timely?! They can hold you accountable and help to motivate you to take those workouts to a new level. Perhaps you are getting results and your unable to see them. A trainer can help provide that 20/20 vision from seeing on the outside.

• You are bored and need the challenge! Perhaps you have been following the same old routine and exercises and need a little something added to your workout?! Maybe your  workouts have gotten easier because you have gotten better? Sometimes we are so used to our own routine and our self-perceived limitations that working with a trainer can push us outside of our usual bubble. A trainer can introduce you to fresh new ideas, equipment to challenge you in different ways. Even setting up a workout with a trainer once a week, every couple weeks or once a month to give you that additional push and variety in your workout can be that much needed change to inspire all your workouts. That one workout will always be the one that you push a little harder and possible even surprise yourself of what you are truly capable of.

• You have a specific injury, illness or condition! If you have any specific health injuries working with a personal trainer in partnership with your doctor and/or physical therapist can be beneficial in the healing of an existing injury but also in avoiding any future problems. Your program can be created specifically for you and your health concerns.

• Training for a specific sport or event!  Perhaps you have an upcoming running race in mind? Thinking about completing your first ever Triathlon?  You want to improve your golf game? Your trainer can complete a training program specific to your sport of choice with a timeline specific to meeting your goal.  

• You want to workout at home or perhaps at the office? If your preference is to completely avoid the crowds and enjoy your workout within your own home or office a personal trainer could be a great choice for you. If you don’t have any equipment your trainer could bring the gym to you. Or perhaps you have some equipment but you are not sure how to use it. Your trainer could even provide you with insight on what equipment you might want to include into your home gym.

Still unsure if a Personal Trainer can provide benefit to your training?! Most trainers offer a free 30 minute consultation where you can discuss your goals, what you want to accomplish and basically if I was you- interview them! Are they the person who will push you? Will they be able to inspire you when you are not in the mood for that workout? Are they focused on what you want to accomplish? Is this the person who you can have that fabulous “love/hate” relationship with?! Do they get you and do you get them?!

Yvonne Bainbridge

Eat Well. Be Active

For more information on Personal training/ On-line coaching with me please contact me at

 2eatwellbeactive@gmail.com or (403)634-5075