Happy Friyay! It's the start of the weekend!!! When I was little, the weekend = pancakes and it definitely still does for me but I need some lasting energy that'll propel me through the day and into the night. So, I go for these guys ^ ^ ^ Wow! Don't those look amazing?! Would you have guessed that they're actually pretty healthy? Containing lots of filling fiber and protein and healthy fats? And gluten free? And taste delicious? Too good to be true! Here's my easy recipe: 1 serving Dry Ingredients: 1/3 cup oats (blitzed until powdery) 1 scoop vanilla Vega protein (this is plant-based protein. If you're not that into protein powders, just use 1/2 cup oats instead 1/3 and mix in a little stevia, honey, or maple syrup) Wet Ingredients: 1/2 cup almond milk 1/2 cup water 1 egg white Now, just mix the dry and wet ingredients together and pour into an oiled pan on medium/high heat. I like coconut oil but you can use butter too! Flip when the side down is golden brown and there are little bubbles around the edges of the pancake. After flipping, check if that side is golden brown too and cut into the pancake with your spatula to see if the middle has cooked. This recipe makes about 3 regular sized pancakes. When I've cooked all my pancakes, I like to cut up half a banana on top and spread about a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter (love Whole Food's pb!) on each cake and melt a piece of 85% dark chocolate in between them. The peanut butter and dark chocolate provide healthy fats and make the meal more filling overall. For nutritional info, feel free to ask. Y U M ! Enjoy your pancakes and your weekend! Next on the agenda... Melanie's Ballet Flow class! I took it for the first time yesterday and loved how she combined yoga and ballet for a relaxing and toning class. The room was dimly lit and there was soft piano music playing. We started the class lying down and stretching out our limbs, taking poses like happy baby. Then, Melanie took us through a flow from standing into baby cobra and back into child's pose, waking up our bodies. She started off the ballet portion of the class with demi pliés focuses on each leg and then both, finally taking us into a grand plié and back up onto our tip-toes. The positions involved balance and focus; Melanie was the perfect guide, while also challenging us to shift our balance on to one foot or the other. After these positions, she took us through the flow again. Later on in the class, she added other challenging moves like chair pose, pictured above, to help tone the thighs and glutes. We went through another salutation and then into warrior two, with one leg forward and our bodies positioned towards the side of the room. She moved us from this yoga pose into another pose called goddess pose, which is also similar to a grand plié in second position! We completed the class with shavasana, resting pose, which was totally relaxing and rejuvenating. The class was a great combination of lengthening and strengthening poses. I left with better posture and in a better mood! Thanks Melanie!
Melanie's Ballet Flow class takes place at TADA on Thursdays at 6:30 pm. Hope to see you there! That's all for today! Have a wonderful weekend!!! XOXO, The BellaVita Team Having to run out the door in the morning is stressful and leaves little time for you to make a nutritious breakfast, let alone plan and pack a lunch. Here, we make it easy for you! Pack your lunch the night before with the help of this mini meal prep guide. What you need: 1 protein, 1 whole-grain, whole-wheat, fibrous carb, 1+ green(s), a little fat! You want a quarter of your meal to be protein, a quart carbs, and a half greens/vegetables Preparation ideas: leftovers! Or plan to cook a little extra at dinner. Or cook a large batch of food for your lunches for the rest of the week. There are so many ways you can go about your prepping. Protein ideas: Eggs, a chicken breast/thigh, 3 oz. fish like salmon or tuna, 3 oz. tofu, 0.5 cups lentils or beans. For the eggs, hard boiling takes little time, allows for less mess during eating, and can cook a large batch in little time. Baking, sautéing, or boiling your other protein options in some healthy fats like olive or coconut oil are healthy and relatively easy cooking methods. Carb ideas: Sweet potatoes! (they're my favorites), whole grain/wheat bread, 1 cup of brown rice, quinoa, freekah, barley... there are so many healthy, filling grains available for you to try. Boil the grains. Bake/boil the potatoes (7 minutes in the microwave also works). I typically put the bread in a seal plastic bag the morning of, so it doesn't get soggy with the rest of the food! Greens/Vegetables: Kale, spinach, arugula, zucchini, broccoli, I could go on and on. You can boil, steam, sauté, bake... whatever your heart desires. An easy and quick way to cook everything, is to consolidate your cooking, for example, bake your vegetables with the sweet potato and chicken. Healthy fats: simply by sautéing your food in a healthy oil, you provide yourself with the fats that will keep you full until your next meal. I love adding an avocado to my lunch, perhaps a tahini dressing... Remember, the fats in your dressing on your salad are what allow your body to absorb the greens' nutrients, so don't skip/skimp on it! Want some full meal ideas? My meal pictured above includes whole wheat bread, two eggs, sautéed zucchini, 2 tbsp. hummus, and a quarter of an avocado. Y U M. I also go for a spaghetti squash dish - baked for 30 min at 425 or microwaved for 12-16 min the night before. I scoop out some spaghetti squash and sauté it in olive oil with boiled shrimp and parsley. Easy! I'll keep you updated on my daily meal prepping for inspiration. So now you have your lunch, what about a quick and easy breakfast to grab on the way out the door?Next food on the blog are overnight oats so stay tuned! This Week at BellaVita On Thursday night from 6 to 9pm, join our friends at Skintology for their white night party July 14th from 6-9pm at Chelsea 181 7th Ave! Enjoy up to a 40% discount and bring a friend and you will both get another 10% off any special!! RSVP at info@skintologyny.com or call 212.989.6555. One Last Reminder: Don't forget to sign up for Quinn and Mikah's Saturday Zumba class at 12 pm; you don't want to miss a great opportunity to shake it with these upbeat, fun instructors! See you tomorrow! XOXO, The BellaVita Team Hello! My name is Rose and I am currently BellaVita’s Studio Representative. Welcome to my blog on all things BellaVita! You may just know me as the person taking photos and videos in the back of your classes but I’m also the hand behind many of BellaVita’s Instagram and Facebook posts that keep you updated, interested, and inspired. Stayed tuned @ bellavitaworld on Instagram and Snapchat for healthy and happy lifestyle tips, news, and information on offers and discounts. Let me tell you a little bit about what BellaVita’s been up to… Some of our latest Instagram posts This blog will feature information in the format of: Monthly – New events, discounts, stories Weekly – BellaVita team spotlight Daily – Healthy tips and finds Weekly First on my to-do list is a little introducing. I’ve already told you what I do for BellaVita but we have so many more wonderful, hardworking people here who help BellaVita thrive. This can be the first official weekly BellaVita team spotlight, which is on ~drum roll please~ Izabella, our amazing founder! Izabella Steele – BellaVita Founder/Director What made you want to start BellaVita? Izabella: BellaVita is always something I’ve wanted to do. Growing up, I used to model and my first job was at a gym in Vancouver. I would always be working closely with individuals, especially women that were going through self-esteem/body-image issues. They would come to me asking for advice and my number one recommendation was to really take care of yourself through proper nutrition and exercise. I think that exercise should be made fun and working with individuals has always been the highlight and the most important aspect for me. As clients would see results and I would see them slowly transition, it was the best feeling to know that they took my advice and it helped them in some way. Clients did it on their own but they took the tools that I gave them and they reached and surpassed their goals. What makes BellaVita different from other studios? Izabella: We are judgment free, we’re fun, and we focus on complete wellness: body, mind, and spirit. We offer variety, that’s what we’re known for, everything from classes to events, seminars to certifications. We focus on physical fitness through personal training, private coaching, we have classes like Zumba, boot-camp classes, strength classes. Then we get into spirituality with yoga and restorative meditation. We focus on complete wellness, knowing that no one size fits all. What do you love most about BellaVita? Izabella: The people, the community that we created. It's the studio representatives, the instructors, and always the clients. Our instructors, team and members inspire me everyday and it’s an amazing environment to be a part of. Stayed tuned for next week’s BellaVita Team Spotlight Monthly Now, here’s some information on what we’ve been up to and some new things to look forward to this month. To start the month off, our two amazing new instructors, Quinn and Mikah led a lively and exciting Zumba Battle event on July 3rd, a fight for Orlando, which raised money for the victims through the OneOrlando Fund. The event was free but people were encouraged to bring their donations. Quinn and Mikah did some of their signature numbers and then split up the class to battle, Zumba-style. We can’t decide whether #TeamQuinn or #TeamMikah won; both teams brought their A-game! Here’s some info on #TeamQuinn and #TeamMikah. Look for them in the weekly spotlight later this month. #TeamQuinn Introducing our awesome new Zumba instructor, Quinn! Quinn has done professional ballroom dancing in the past and is a dance teacher. #TeamMikah Introducing our other amazing Zumba instructor, Mikah! Mikah is super talented, a singer, actress, and dancer. Here they are battling it out! Quinn and Mikah will join forces this month with their new Saturday morning Zumba classes! Speaking of Zumba events, we had a pretty special fitness mash-up event last month at Eddie Bauer Fifth Ave., which offered Zumba and Yogilates, as well as, yummy healthy treats from our sponsors WTRMLN WTR, ProTings and Rhythm Superfoods. If you’re into our fitness events that also offer an opportunity to shop then you’ll love our Yoga & Shop Weekend Events this month. What are you up to this weekend? Maybe a crazy fun night out? BellaVita hosts a special weekend recovery yoga class that not only will help you rejuvenate and relax from your weekend, but also will offer some retail therapy at the very end (40% off everything at Reebok!!!!) Check out our schedule to find a time that works for you. :) Daily Here are some aspects of my daily routine that make for the happy and healthy lifestyle BellaVita promotes! Check in soon for some healthy recipes, fun workouts to try, and information on what's new at BellaVita!
XOXO, The BellaVita Team |
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