Healthy Recipes by Instant Fitness

Smoothies are a great way to get fruits and veggies into your diet in a fun and tasty way.
They can be a great meal replacement or side dish. Try them as a dessert and even freeze them in popsicles for a great summer treat!


Here are a few recipes to get you started:

Banana Berry
1/2 banana
1/2c frozen mixed berries
1/2c water or skim milk
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
ice

Protein shake
Banana Berry shake + 1-2 scoop(s) protein depending on your requirements*

Tropical Kale Smoothie
1/2c frozen mango
and/or frozen pineapple
1/2c water
lime juice
fresh mint
1c fresh organic kale

*Underweight men trying to build muscle should do 2 scoops. Women, stick to one scoop (~25g protein). Talk to your trainer or nutritionist to get specifics

Cherry Vanilla
1/2 banana
1/2c frozen cherries
1/2c Light vanilla soy milk
1/2c ice





Some things to keep in mind: Yes, smoothies can be a good meal replacement, especially when trying to lose weight. But you need to be cautious of how many calories you're throwing into the blender. For instance, one medium banana is about 100 calories, 1/2 berries is about 40, milk-- 45, so on and so forth. Adding one scoop of protein will double the calories of  the Bananaberry shake, but will make it a complete meal. If you're trying to gain weight, add foods like natural peanut butter and oatmeal to your shakes.

The takeaway: Sneaking fruits and veggies into your diet is a whole lot easier with smoothies. Stick to serving sizes of fruit, but definitely get creative and have fun with your food!

Tony Tiamiyu
Instant Fitness Personal Training
(404)941-4348

LOW-CALORIE (but delicious) SNACKS HERE! From Instant Fitness via Greatist.com

Image courtesy of Greatist.com

Everyone always craves something around the mid afternoon. It’s easy to give in to those cravings, but if you have a few more healthy options, you won’t go off the deep end.

I stumbled upon this list of low-cal snacks. Check it out!

http://www.greatist.com/health/88-unexpected-snacks-under-100-calories/

For more ways to cut calories and eat healthier, click here!

-Tony T

Instant Fitness

Atlanta’s Best Weight-loss Professionals

(404)941-iFIT(4348)

Ask Instant Fitness: What do Nutritionists order when they go out to eat?

People nowadays don’t cook as much as they used to. So many of my clients bring questions to me like, “is a Subway sandwich okay?” “What about chicken enchiladas?”

Here are the basics that nutritionists follow when they eat out. They are so simple, everyone should follow them.

 Rather than going through a whole list of restaurants and calories, let’s narrow it down to a few basics which will help you in ANY restaurant you go to.

1. Limit alcohol. A lot of calories are quickly thrown down or slurped up through a straw. One or two drinks are okay. Liquor is less calories than beer and wine, but only if it’s by itself. Try drinks like Vodka Soda, rum and (diet)Coke, Skrewdriver, or Bay Breeze with diet cranberry.

2. Avoid condiments, ESPECIALLY mayo and other specialty sauces. Ketchup has a ton of sugar and other condiments cary  crazy amounts of sodium and fat. Reduced fat, reduced sugar, reduced sodium and light condiments are better options.

3. Avoid those french fries! Sides are easy to substitute. So get a salad or fruit salad instead of potato chips and fries.

4. Just sample some ice cream with the small spoons or cups they have, and you might find you don’t need any more. A lot of ice cream shops now have sugar-free and low-fat or non-fat ice cream. They are just as delicious as the others, but it doesn’t mean you can go overboard either.  You could also try a kids serving.

Overall, being healthy while eating out means you ask the waiter lots of questions and ask for substitutions, but just make sure you tip well! :]

Click here for more free tips on eating healthy, used by top professionals.

-Tony Tiamiyu

Instant Fitness

Atlanta Personal Trainer

(404) 941-iFIT(4348)

The SINGLE Ingredient to Omit From Your Diet from MyInstantFitness.com

So many people don't understand why they can't drop those extra pounds. I believe the number one reason they can't do so is because they are still eating lots of sugar in their diet.

Added sugars are sugars that are added to foods when they are made or processed or any sugar you add to your food yourself. Added sugars are part of your daily “discretionary calories” which are the left-over or extra calories you have left after meeting your nutrient needs and before your fill your daily requirement of calories. For example, in a 2,000 calorie diet, the discretionary calories are 267. These calories may be distributed to other parts of the diet like enjoying 2% milk instead of skim and eating pork instead of chicken. In order to maintain your weight, besides exercise, you should keep your caloric intake close to your caloric needs. In other words, don’t go overboard on your discretionary calorie allowance. A simple way to do so is get rid of the extra sugars in your life. Here are some tips to help you do so.

Ways to Decrease your Added Sugar Intake:

• Use less of all sugars: white, brown, honey, jelly, and syrups.
• Limit intake of foods high in added sugars: soft drink, candy, cookies, cake, icecream, pies, and fruit drinks
• Canned fruit packed in juice (NOT syrup) to satisfy your urge for sweets
• Check the ingredients list on nutrition labels of foods. If any of the sugars (brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, honey, malt syrup, molasses, maple and pancake syrup, powdered sugar, raw sugar, and white sugar) is listed as the first or second ingredient, choose a healthier option.
• Remember to brush your teeth not too long after consuming sweets to prevent tooth decay and cavities
• substitute fruit juices for fruit drinks, soft drinks, and punches.
• Buy unsweetened cereals
• try reducing the sugar content in your favorite recipes by half. It will probably taste the same, maybe better.
• Fruit has sugar, but naturally occurring sugars, not added sugars.
• Still like the taste of sweets? Add these spices to give the illusion of having sugar: allspice, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

Some information included in this blog is  from Personal Nutrition by Marie A. Boyle and Sara Long

Find out what else you should omit from your diet here! Live a longer, fuller, happier life!

-Tony Tiamiyu
Instant Fitness, LLC
Atlanta's #1 Personal Trainer!
Lindbergh City Center

The Dish on Dessert: Nutrition Tips from Instant Fitness

Click here for even more FREE healthy eating tips from a professional!

So many people think that when they get on a diet, they have to skip dessert. This is not the case. With proper planning and a little compromising, you can enjoy your dessert, everyday!

A great way to cut back in the sweets department is to keep your dessert treats limited to one a day. If you have been craving a sweet treat after every meal, I encourage you to break that habit. Instead of indulging in a piece of cake or bowl of ice cream after every meal, try drinking a glass of light fruit juice or having sliced strawberries with 0% fat Greek yogurt (mix the yogurt with 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract for more flavor). Even a glass of water might suffice your craving for fulfillment.

Here are a few more suggestions for light desserts:

-Fresh berries with a dollop of light Cool Whip, topped with lemon zest

-Sugar free pudding (fold in light Cool Whip to make a mousse)

-Vanilla Roasted Pears recipe at http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/12/vanilla-roasted-pears/  (use Splenda or Truvia instead of sugar)

-You can have your ice cream, just serve yourself a small scoop of no-sugar-added ice cream in a smaller dish.

-Slice a banana in half lengthwise and sprinkle a few (no more than 10) dark chocolate chips on top. Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds until the banana is soft and chocolate has melted.

For more advice on eating healthy, CLICK HERE!

-Tony Tiamiyu

 Instant Fitness, LLC

 Atlanta's BEST Personal Trainer

 Lindbergh City Center