Planning out a weekly menu for you, and your family can seem like daunting task. But, once you get the hang of it it can be quite fun, and, if you manage to make a weekly menu, and stick to it, you’ll thank yourself by the end of the week. Sticking to it is going to help you save you some money, time, and it will prevent you from making bad food choices. 
 
This post is going to center around a vegetarian week of dinner meal planning. If you’re not a vegetarian just simply add an animal based protein to any of the meals.
 
I don’t make 5 different dinners! I make 3, at most. I just alternate what we are having throughout the week.
 
Quick Tips to Start Your Week of Meal Planning:

• Plan your menus first, make your shopping list, then shop. Don’t decide your menu when you’re at the store. Plan ahead!
• Meal Prep on the weekend. If you work weekends, meal prep on your days off. If you already have a busy day, and you’re exhausted you will be less likely to take on any additional tasks.
• Plan meals around one main dish. If you’re not a vegetarian plan your meals around your protein.
• Add a variety of tastes, colors and textures to your meals. Nobody wants a one colored, bland plate of mush for dinner!

 
I tried to add as many repeat ingredients as possible. For instance, Olive oil, peppers, eggs, and chili powder appear more than once.  
 
Dinner 1:
Vegetarian Chili: This is a budget friendly, healthy and easy vegetarian chili recipe.
 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/22919/insanely-easy-vegetarian-chili/
 
Here’s what you need to make this chili:

• Olive Oil
• Onion
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Green Pepper
• Red Pepper
• Celery
• Chili Powder
• Fresh Mushrooms
• 1 Can of Tomatoes – I prefer the fire roasted canned tomatoes when making chili
• 1 Can of Kidney Beans
• 1 Can of Corn
• Dried Oregano
• Dried Basil

Dinner 2:
Vegetarian Lasagna: Who doesn’t like lasagna? This is an insanely tasty, healthy, lasagna. Give it a try!
 
https://www.inspiredtaste.net/22401/fresh-vegetable-lasagna-recipe/
 
Here’s what you need to make this lasagna:
 

• 14 lasagna noodles (2 extra for filling in holes) – Go for whole grain if possible!

·      2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
·      1/2 large onion
·      3 garlic cloves
·      Red Pepper Flakes
·      2 medium zucchini
·      2 medium yellow squash
·      One (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers
·      1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
·      Basil leaves
·      One (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
·      2 large eggs
·      Parmesan cheese
·      8 ounces) low-moisture mozzarella cheese – I buy blocked cheese and shred it. It’s cheaper and better quality, most of the time.
·      Salt and Pepper
 
Dinner 3:
Grilled Veggie and Black Bean Bowls: Not only does this look fairly easy, it looks delicious!
 
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/grilled-veggie-black-bean-meal-prep-bowls/
 

• White wine vinegar
• BBQ sauce
• Honey
• Lime juice
• Chili powder
• Salt

• Quinoa
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

• 1 medium zucchini
• 2 bell peppers 
• 1/2 red onion 
• 19 oz can of black beans

 
 
 

This is the kettlebell movement that you will see done incorrectly more than any other kettlebell movement. The Kettlebell swing is done as a hip hinge movement and not as a squat, or arm movement. If you are lifting the kettlebell with your arms while doing a kettlebell swing you are doing it wrong.  

If you take your time and learn to perform the KB Swing correctly, you will have a highly effective kettlebell movement in your arsenal that you can use in your workouts numerous times a week. 

Tips:
Russian Swing / Double Arm Swing:  

• It is not an arm/shoulder lift – your arms are just strings attaching you to the bell.
• The force generation comes from the hips and legs.

 
 Execution of the Russian Swing / Double Arm Swing:

• Set up like you would for a deadlift- bell in line with the center of your body - then step back 10 to 12 inches.
• Unhinge the hips - push your butt back - and load your posterior chain.
• Grab the handle of the kettlebell and activate the lats by attempting to bend the kettlebell handle.
• Once you’re set, kettlebell in hands, sit back a bit further and activate your posterior chain.
• Hike the kettlebell back – be assertive and don’t let the kettlebell flop around.
• During the hike of the kettlebell make sure you initiate contact between the lower forearms and the inner thigh.
• Push the forearms off of the thighs.
• Swing to chest or eye level. 

​

Kettlebells are amazing tools to use to improve your fitness! But it seems there is a lot of confusion as to what to do with them. I thought I would start introducing some of my favorite kettlebell movements via Lift Heavy and Eat Well. I am starting the series with the almighty kettlebell deadlift. 
 
-Kettlebell Deadlift:

I find the Kettlebell Deadlift to be a highly effective and useful kettlebell movement for weight-loss and for general fitness. The deadlift hits your larger muscle groups and can get your heart pumping if done with higher reps. Start slow and pay attention to your form! 

Tips: 

• It is essential to learn the deadlift before any other Kettlebell movement.
• The deadlift is the foundation of many other kettlebell movements – Swings, Snatch, Dead Cleans.

 
Execution of the Deadlift:

• Choose a 16kg – 20kg bell to start with.

• Place the bell directly underneath you body.
• Unhinge your hips and push your pelvis back.
• Back should be in a neutral position.
• You should lower yourself enough that your hands can easily reach the bell handle. If your client doesn’t have enough mobility to get into this position properly it’s a good idea to establish mobility before proceeding.
• Stand directly up and make sure to not hyperextend the hips in the top position.
• Pay attention that clients aren’t trying to shrug the bell when standing up, this happens often.
• Set up a progressive lift for your clients once the get more proficient with the deadlift. Start with 16kg and work your way up to 32kg or even double bells.

​

So it’s Sunday and that means it’s meal prep day at my house. Today I’ve got 2 slow cookers going. In one of my slow cookers I am making pulled pork and in the other I’ve got some Chicken Cacciatore cooking.
 
Chicken Cacciatore is great because it is such a versatile recipe. Today I didn’t have any mushrooms, or peppers on hand so I only added onions and garlic to the Cacciatore. Also, Cacciatore is quite healthy! Not to mention delicious!
 
Here’s the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8817/slow-cooker-chicken-cacciatore/

Cheers, 

​Adam
​

This is one of my go to recipes for my weekly meal prep. I’ve bee making it for years and I never get tiredof it. I usually buy a 4lb pork loin and cut in half for this recipe. That means that a 4lb pork loin will last me 2 weeks.
 
The 4 ingredients: (You can also add diced onion and garlic to this recipe for some added flavor) 

• 2lbs pork loin
• Chicken Broth
• Goya Adobo All Purpose Seasoning with Cumin
• Oil for browning the pork loin

 
Directions:

• Season the pork with the Goya Seasoning
• Oil and warm your pan to brown the pork – Medium to medium high
• Brown your pork – about 2 minutes each side – make sure all sides are browned
• Place your pork loin in the Crock Pot, or Dutch oven – I prefer the Dutch oven, but today I used a Crock Pot
• Cover half of the pork with chicken broth
• Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8
• The pork loin is done when it easily pulls apart with a fork
• Pull your pork and place it in some Tupperware for the week

 
Ideas for pulled pork:

• I toast a piece of Ezekiel bread, place a piece of Swiss cheese on the bread, and some warmed up pulled pork on top of that. There ya go! Easy open faced sandwich. You can even add some avocado to it if you want to get fancy.
• For breakfast I will cut up a sweet potato, place it on a microwave safe dish, and microwave the sweet potato for 6 to 7 minutes. Then I will warm up a pan and add avocado oil to it. Next I will place the sweet potato, and pulled pork to the warmed up pan. Cook until everything starts to get crispy. Easy, healthy breakfast! 

​What is kombucha? Kombucha is a sweetened tea fermented by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. It has been around in China for about 2,000 years, but it didn’t gain notoriety in the west until recently. The fermentation process that kombucha goes through creates an abundance of probiotics. These probiotic bacteria line your gut and help aid in digestion, and help strengthen your immune system.
 
Kombucha would be a great substitute for that daily soda, or sugary drink. Try it just for a week and see how your body responds. When I started drinking kombucha a few years ago I noticed an immediate, positive, change in my digestive health. Think about the fact that sodas, and diet sodas have no nutritional value at all. Actually it’s quite opposite, sodas have a negative impact on your health. Kombucha will have a positive effect on your health! 
 
When you start drinking kombucha do so in moderation. Let your body get used to it. Don’t go out and slam 32oz on your first day. Start with one bottle a day and then if you like the results up it to 2 bottles a day. I currently drink a bottle of kombucha every day and I look forward to it! In the summers I will drink 2 to 3 a day.
 
I have tried many different kombucha brands and there are some very tasty ones out there. My current favorite is Circle City Kombucha which is made right here in Indianapolis. Their Ginger Lemon Kombucha is absolutely amazing! One of my clients, Greta, turned me on to them this last summer and I am glad she did.
 
Go check them out at: http://www.circlecitykombucha.com/
 
That’s all for now.
 
Cheers, Adam

​Chia Seeds
 
About 10 years ago, I was browsing Amazon for some new and exciting health books to waste my money on, and I came across a book about chia seeds. Unfortunately, my chia seed book was lost somewhere between here and Denmark during one of my trips. But, nonetheless the book peaked my interest on foods like chia seeds and hemp seeds.


For a little seed, Chia packs quite a punch nutritionally.
 
A tablespoon of of Chia contains:

• 60 calories
• 4 grams of fat (Contains -  2,430mg Omega 3, 680mg Omega 6, 280mg Omega 9)
• 4 grams of carbohydrates
• 4 grams of dietary fiber (The 4 grams of fiber cancels out the carbs – chia wont raise your blood sugar)
• Contains Calcium, Iron and Magnesium
• Chia seeds are very high in antioxidants

 
As you can see one tablespoon of chia seeds has a very impressive nutritional profile and you could easily say that chia is a very nutritionally dense food source. This is one of the reasons I am such a big fan of chia and have been consuming it for years.
 
My other reason for consuming chia is that it makes an excellent mid afternoon snack!  
 
Now what do you do with Chia seeds? I tend to keep it simple. I take a tablespoon of chia, dump it in a glass, and pour a bit of orange juice over it and slam it. Surprisingly this can keep me full for a while.
 
Here are some other things you can do with Chia:

• Strawberries and “Cream” Chia Pudding: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-strawberry-chia-pudding-recipes-from-the-kitchn-189016
• Quinoa Chia Seed Protein Bars: https://wendypolisi.com/quinoa-chia-seed-protein-bars/
• Overnight Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding: https://minimalistbaker.com/overnight-chocolate-chia-seed-pudding/

 
 
As you can see Chia seeds are quite versatile! Now get out there and try something new.
 
Cheers, Adam 

​When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle choosing the right foods to consume is the most important thing you can do. But when we get busy it’s one of the first things we give up. I hear it over and over, “I was too busy to make lunch today so I just grabbed a slice of pizza.” These bad mid-afternoon snacks are causing us to crash a few hours after eating them and often start us down a bad path for the rest of the day. Usually tired and hungry people don’t make the best food and lifestyle choices. I’m sure we’ve all been there.
 
The best way to prevent yourself from making those on-the-go bad decisions is to plan and prep for your day. If you know you’re going to have a busy day tomorrow and will most likely be forced to eat on the run, why not spend a few minutes the night before prepping and planning for your food? Food planning and prepping can save you a lot of time, money and bad food choices guilt.
 
Here are some quick, easy and healthy on the go snack and meal options.
 
Snacks

• Nuts and seeds
• Fruit
• Veggie sticks
• Boiled eggs
• Peanut butter and sliced apple
• A good quality natural jerky. Beef, Turkey and chicken jerky are all fine.
• Homemade kale chips – My All Time Favorite!

 
Lunch/Dinners

• Chicken breast and veggies (Easy, healthy and also a great post workout meal!)
• Here’s a great portable idea! http://www.health-bent.com/snacks/paleo-italian-sub-roll-up
• This one will take a bit of prep time but I think it would be worth it.  http://www.paleocupboard.com/basil-avocado-chicken-salad.html
• This looks delicious! Start this one the night before and prepare it in the morning, or prepare during the weekend. It looks healthy and really tasty! http://soletshangout.com/slow-cooker-cuban-brisket-taco-bowls/

Meal prepping and planning sometimes takes some creativity. But once you get the hang of it, it’s not so hard. It truly does make your week go by a lot smoother. If you need more guidance that this post gives you, please just give me a shout. I’d be happy to help.
 
Cheers,
 
Adam 

In my opinion, one of the most important things you can do to improve your diet is limit the crap that you bring in your home. I know how it is to have a package of Oreo cookies in your cupboard. When you pick it up at the store you say to yourself, “I’ll just have two cookies after dinner to numb my sweet tooth and I won’t have anymore until tomorrow night.” The next thing you know the entire package is gone and you feel like your ass jiggles a lot more when you walk than it did before. Unless you have iron will, it’s a good idea to just keep crap out of your home.  
 

• Tip #1-Purge 

 
Purge your home of junk food! What is Junk Food? Junk Food is food that doesn’t contain any nutritional benefits for your body. Candy, cookies, white bread, potato chips, pretzels, and on and on. We all know what junk food is.
 
Purging your junk food doesn’t mean to eat it! See, I caught you before you did it, didn’t I?
 
In the past I have found it easier to explain junk food to athletes, because as an athlete you want to make sure you are getting your essential macro/micro nutrients every day so you can recover well and get back out and perform the next day. Athletes can’t afford to eat junk food for the most part. If I’m attempting to get in 220 grams of protein every day I won’t have a lot of room for a sleeve of cookies. (Sometimes I do surprise my self though!)
 
But, more recently, I have started thinking of everyone that comes in to the gym as an athlete. If you’re going to the gym 3 to 5 times a week and working out like you’re there to accomplish something and not just checking out your Instagram feed, then you’re an athlete in my opinion. So, you should be eating like an athlete too and junk food should be taking a backseat in your diet.
 
You can’t outwork a bad diet! Remember that!

• Tip #2- Don’t buy crap!

 
Shop with a purpose. Don’t bring crap back home from the store. Organic cookies aren’t better for you. Organic sugar will give you ass jiggle just like non-organic sugar. Organic chips are just chips! Bring real food home.
 
What is real food? Real food is simple and from the Earth. Real food has as few ingredients as possible. The meats shouldn’t be the pre-seasoned, pre-marinated meats. The meat should be just that, meat! If you want marinated meat, then marinate it yourself. You should be able to look at your plate and recognize each and every piece of food that is on your plate. For example, you should look at your plate and see, Chicken breast, a vegetable, and maybe a grain. Simple, simple, simple.
 
Examples are real food:

• Chicken Breast
• Fish
• Beef
• Pork
• Eggs
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Carrots
• Bananas
• Seeds and nuts

 

• Tip #3: Learn how to shop

 
I tend to shop at grocery stores like Fresh Thyme and Trader Joes. I like these stores because they contain less bad options. Now don’t take that the wrong way. They still have bad options at Fresh Thyme and Trader Joes, they just have less to choose from. Also, stores like Fresh Thyme and Trader Joes pretty much just sell food. You’re not going there to pick up your new 50-inch TV and dinner. You’re going there to buy your food and that’s what your mind should be concentrating on.
 
I also try to stay one the outskirts of the store and I try not to shop on the inner isles. If I go into the inner isles I have a mission. Coffee is usually kept on the inner isles and who can go without coffee? This rule doesn’t apply as much with stores like Trader Joes and Fresh Thyme. But with stores like Kroger, Walmart and Meijer it does. Think about what’s on the inner isles of a grocery store. Boxed foods like Hamburger Helper, chips, cookies, canned vegetables and other highly processed foods. Now think about what’s on the outskirts of the store. Produce, meats, dairy, frozen vegetables and other less processed foods.
 
That’s all for now!
Cheers, Adam
 

​I am starting Lift Heavy and Eat Well for a few reasons.
 

• My first reason is to give my personal training clients a reference guide to every day healthy living. Lift Heavy and Eat Well will contain advice on healthy eating and exercise tips for when you’re at the gym, or at home and not sure what to do.
• Secondly, I love the sport of Powerlifting and I would love to create a place for people to go to discuss everything that is Powerlifting related.

 
I would love to hear from all of you! If you ever have a suggestion for what I should write about, please just let me know!
 
Cheers, Adam