SUCCESS: When Preparation Meets Opportunity

I'm sure you've heard it that quote about "success" before. It's not luck when someone is successful at what they do - it's because they did what was necessary while waiting for the right opportunity to arrive. I apply this principle to my business and personal life so why would it be any different with my Maximized Living nutritional plan? I would like to share with you a few simple preparation techniques and tips that I incorporate into my daily living to ensure that I will experience health and wellness success!

• Wash, cut, and store food in advance. I know this sounds terribly simple but how many of us do it? Before putting your groceries away, place on the counter anything you know you can wash, separate, and store right then and there. Do it right now. I wash, cut, and store as many fruits and vegetables as I can for the week ahead. Some go to the fridge and some are headed for the freezer as an ingredient for smoothies.

• Prepare, prepare, prepare! Even when it comes to the simple things like pouring your coconut milk (which is a constituent of many of the Maximized Living recipes) in a glass jar in the fridge. Pour your organic coconut milk in a Mason jar with enough room to shake like the one here in my fridge, and when you need 3 tablespoons or half a cup for a smoothie, it's readily available (and cold!). You will see that I have Mason jars for just about everything. What I did in advance for this week was (from left to right): make trail mix; bottle organic coconut milk; make green pomegranate tea to add to water several times a day; and make my own Maximized Living granola. Green tea has many health benefits and drinking it cold in the summer is an easy way to consume and reap the benefits! For this particular jar of iced tea I added 2 teaspoons of Xylitol (optional). I can't say it added enough sweetness to make it worth adding to be honest.

• Make recipes ahead of time, especially snacks! I make sure that I am prepared for emergencies - those times when you're running out for a meeting and don't have time to prepare food. Sometimes, a snack has to replace a meal so have some Chocolate Almond Protein Bars and trail mix ready to throw in your briefcase or purse! When I make these protein bars I divide them up in groups of 6-8, wrap them in parchment paper, and then place them in a snack size ziplock bag. I put them in the freezer and every few days I take a little snack-size baggie of them out of the freezer and transfer them to the fridge. If I'm on the run - I grab a baggie and I'm off! This means my diet doesn't suffer and I have fuel for the next few hours. Sugar-free, packed with protein........ YummO! Even my young grandchildren love these bars!

Refreshing Lavender Lemonade

I made this last night as a nice treat for the weekend. It chilled overnight, I tried it this morning and ohhhh soooo refreshing!

• 8 cups filtered water
• 2 tsp spoonable stevia (I used Xylitol)
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/8 cup dried lavender (or 1/4 cup fresh lavender flowers)
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (I juiced my own with organic lemons)
• lemon slices or blueberries (optional)

Combine 4 cups of water, stevia, lavender, and lemon zest in a pan.  Bring to a boil and simmer until water turns a light shade of pink - about 10 minutes.  Strain sauce and discard flowers.  Pour into a pitcher and add the lemon juice and remaining water.  Serve over ice with lemon slices or blueberries.

Inspired Tip: Definitely use organic lemons for this one and freshly squeeze or juice the lemons. It makes ALL of the difference in the taste.

Choco-nut Mint Smoooothie

• 1/2 can whole coconut milk (canned)
• 1 Scoop chocolate whey protein (I use the Harmonized Protein from Maximized Living)
• 1 scoop greens powder (Greens +, anything with lots of greens!)
• 5 drops unsweetened, no preservative mint extract
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1 tsp organic raw cacao nibs
• lots of ice!!!

Blend and ... enjoy! 


Inspired Tip: Either add crushed ice in the blender or pour over LOTS of ice because remember, your liquid (coconut milk) is not coming out of the fridge so you need the freeze factor to be added manually :)

Caribbean Chicken

I can't believe how simple the Maximized Living recipes are. Seriously! This recipe has only a few ingredients and I had enough for 3 days :)  YUMMO! I made a variation of this recipe by adding avocado and sweet potato chunks (photo on left). The lighting makes it look green but it's not - it's the same colour orange as the photo on the right without the sweet potato and avocado. Sweet potatoes are for the core program only - I bought one without realizing this (I'm hard-core advanced program). I will eat it this one recipe and then no more yams for a couple of months :)

Inspired Tip:  Serve over a mixture of lightly pan-fried veggies OR put it in a whole grain, gluten-free wrap to take for lunch.

SNACK IDEA: Trail Mix

Organic Unsweetened coconut

Almonds

Walnuts

Pecans

Sunflower Seeds

Organic Cacao Nibs

Hemp Hearts (deshelled dry Hemp seeds)

Dried cranberries (very very very small amount)

Toss all ingredients in a large stainless steel bowl, pour into glass jars, and refrigerate! I poured some into those teeny Mason jars to take on the road when I'm rushing around. It fits perfectly into the Maximized Living advanced & programs. 

Be sure NOT to roast the nuts or seeds as it makes the oils rancid and un-useable by your body. 

Do you have a recipe for trail mix? We all need snack ideas - tell me yours!


Alteration: I added Hemp seeds today - even MORE deelish and healthy!

Inspired Tip: Leave out dried fruit as it spikes your sugar and insulin levels which is the MAIN thing we avoid on the Maximized Living nutritional plans. DO add a variety of nuts -macademia etc.

What Can I Drink Besides Water???

I asked this question at my Maximized Living Health Centre yesterday. Here was a great suggestion given to me by Sonia: make some tea, refrigerate, and add it to your water for  flavour.


What I did. I used loose leaf tea from Teaopia, poured it in a glass Mason jar (always use glass and not plastic) and put it in the fridge.  This morning I poured a little in the bottom of a glass and topped it up with water. My plan is that every other glass of water I drink will have tea in it for added flavour. Here's a photo of the finished product. What else do YOU drink beside water that is acceptable on the Maximized Living nutritional plan? Do you use Stevia or Xylitol in any of your drinks?

Side note: Today (22 June) I purchased Pomegranate green tea from Teopia.... can't wait to try it in my water! YummO!

Your (ex)Boyfriend Said WHAT To You??!!?!?

Yup. That's what he said. For realz. "If you don't lose weight you're going to have trouble with your joints."


Here's what you have to understand. I MAY need to lose 10-15lbs; mostly I need to rid my body of some visible fat. According to the medical profession or any other profession or definition, I am not OBESE. So when I heard this concerned comment about my joints, I was appalled. I thought wow, I must look fatter than I realized in order for someone who cares about me to say THAT. 


I needed to know for myself that my (ex)boyfriend loved me for who I am, just the way I am so I didn't do anything about my physical condition until last week when I visited a Maximized Living Heath Centre near me. Most of my friends laughed when I told them what the (ex)BF said to me because they thought it was so ridiculous but somehow....... those words haunted me. I tried to love myself regardless and continued to carry on eating the crap I was eating and not exercising regularly. I never thought that those words would ever be anything but a source of negativity to me but guess what?! I now use those words to motivate me (that's not all that motivates me). 


There's one photo you'll never see of me and that's one that involves a walker or a wheelchair because my "joints gave out."

Inspired Tip: If you have an idiot in your life who tells you you're too fat - get rid of him (or her). Then RUN (don't walk) to a Maximized Living Health Centre in your area and get on the path to making yourself feel good for YOU.

Links to Maximized Living Resources

Advanced Plan Recipes by Kimberly Roberto

Maximized Living Facebook Page


Maximized Living Blog


Maximized Living YouTube Channel


Find a Maximized Living Doctor NEAR YOU


Purchase the Maximized Living Nutrition Plan book (complete with recipes)


Dr. Jeff - "My" Maximized Living Practitioner

Introduction to an "Inspired" Version of Maximized Living

A couple of months ago I went to visit a good friend of mine who I hadn't seen for about a year. She moved slightly out of town and it was time for a visit. What I saw when I walked into her house almost made me fall over. My friend was completely transformed. Glowing skin. A teeny waist and hips. Shapely arms. And energy to burn.

That night as we sipped red wine, my friend and I talked about the Maximized Living nutrition plan and her Maximized Living practitioner, a chiropractor. I listened about how my friend's health problems completely disappeared since she embarked on the Maximized Living lifestyle; now gone were her migraine headaches, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and lumps in her breasts. The following week I located a Maximized Living Center in my area and went there to purchase the Maximized Living Nutrition Plan book. I read it with amazement. What I knew about nutrition (and I know a fair bit) went out the window and in came new knowledge that I wanted to apply to my own life. Here's the book.

It took another two months before I made an appointment with "Dr. Jeff" and had my initial consultation. Today is officially Day 1 of my nutritional program and this blog is intended to help others who begin the program and don't know what to expect or are seeking support from another person who is "doing it."

Here's what I know. I'm tired of being over-fat, un-fit, nutrient-depleted, and de-energized. I want something that will work for me FOR LIFE. I believe this is it. The program is based on scientific principles and it makes complete sense. Also, you don't need to have a gym membership or fancy equipment at home to get fit and stay fit. With the Max T3 workouts, all you need is 12 minutes a day! There goes your excuses out the window about not having the time or money. If you have an extended health care plan through your employer you're set to go because all of the wellness services are covered under "chiropractic."

I fully expect to suffer from sugar withdrawal, yet I am really excited about the benefits that are to follow!