Pumpkin Spice Makes Everything Nice: Thanksgiving Holiday Clean Eating Survival Recipes

It's really feeling like fall out there. Or is it already winter? Or is tomorrow summer again? Here in Oklahoma it is always so hard to tell from one day to the next which season it is. But I do know that we just had Halloween and that Thanksgiving is approaching quickly. And regardless of how it feels outside, it is still Pumpkin Season. So if you haven't already moved on to Christmas, and are still soaking in this season for everything that it is worth like me, I want to share with you my favorite healthy clean eating pumpkin recipes from this basic season. Some of which will be making debuts at my family Thanksgiving this year to personally help me keep on track, but let me enjoy my Pumpkin Spice goodies at the same time.

1. Pumpkin Spice Latte
This seems to be #1 on everyone's list when it comes to getting excited about fall. I've created a recipe that is not only delicious, but is just as nutritious and can work as a snack or a meal replacement for a quick and easy breakfast.

• 8oz Coffee
• 1 scoop 1st Phorm Level-1 Meal Replacement Protein, Vanilla Ice Cream Flavor or Caramel Latte flavor for a more caramel tasting latte. I love it both ways. (Link to order Level-1 posted below)
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (More is not better in this recipe. Trust me on this.)
• Blend all ingredients and enjoy!

2. Protein Pumpkin Bread
This will be making an appearance at Thanksgiving this year. I took my great-grandmother's recipe, that I absolutely love, and turned it into a super yummy but healthier version.

• 2/3c Coconut Oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (16 oz) Pumpkin Puree
• 2/3 c Water
• 2 c Honey
• 2 c Oat Flour
• 1 1/2 c Level-1 Protein, Vanilla Ice Cream flavor
• 2tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 tsp Cinnamon
• 3 tsp Cloves
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• (Can add more of the spices if you like it a little spicier like me)
• 2/3 c Chopped Nuts
• 2/3 c Raisins

Directions: Preheat oven to 350'. Using coconut oil, grease bottoms only of two 9x5x3 pans. Mix wet ingredients in large bowl. Blend in dry ingredients. Stir in nuts and raisins. Pour batter into pans. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. About 1 hour and 10 minures. Cool slightly. Loosen sides of loaves from pans, remove from pans. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

3. Pumpkin Pie Protein Muffins
These make a great snack or breakfast to grab on the go!

• 5 c Oatmeal
• 1/2 c Raisins
• 3 tsp Cinnamon
• 3 tsp Cloves
• 1/4 c Flaxseed
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 c Crushed Walnuts
• 2 scoops Level-1 Protein, Cinnamon Cookie Batter flavor
• 3 c Pumpkin Puree
• 3 c Almond Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Eggs
• 1 T Coconut Oil
• 1/4 c Honey

Directions: Preheat oven to 350'. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix both bowls together. Fold batter into cup lined muffin tins. Bake 35-40 minutes until muffins start to brown. Let cool and enjoy!

4. No-Bake Pumpkin Oat Energy Balls
Another great recipe for grab and go.

• 2 c Oats
• 1/2 c Natural Peanut Butter
• 1 scoop Level-1 Vanilla Ice Cream flavor
• 1/2 c Pumpkin Puree
• 1/4 c Chia Seeds
• 1/4 c Honey
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1/2 c mini Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions: Mix all ingredients, spoon out and roll into balls, refrigerate.

5. Pumpkin Energy Bars

• 1/2 c Pumpkin Puree
• 1/4 c Walnuts
• 1/3 c Raisins
• 1/4 c Pumpkin Seeds
• 1/4 c Level-1 Cinnamon Cookie Batter
• 2 T Arrowroot Starch
• 1/2 c Almond Flour

Directions: Preheat oven to 275'. In a large bowl mix pumpkin puree and arrowroot starch well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Grease small bread pan with coconut oil. Pour in mixture and press down to level out and shape. Bake 30-40 minutes until edges are brown. Cut into bars. Makes 5 bars.

6. Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie Bowls

• 2 Frozen Bananas
• 1 c Pumpkin Puree
• 3/4 c Almond Milk
• 2 T Almond Butter
• 2 T Honey
• 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Directions: Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into bowl. Add desired toppings. Berries, sliced banana, pecans, granola, honey, etc.

7. Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

• 1 scoop Level-1 Protein, Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1/2 c Pumpkin
• 1/2 c Oats
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 c Water

Directions: Mix all ingredients. Pour 1/4 c batter per pancake onto nonstick skillet on medium heat. Cook 2-3 minutes per side until browned. Drizzle with honey and enjoy!

I would love your feedback on these recipes! Please leave comments below or feel to message me at JilliBeeFit@gmail.com

Link to order Level-1 Meal Replacement Protein and receive free shipping:
https://1stphorm.com/a/products/protein-powder/meal-replacement-proteins/level-1?a_aid=jillibeefit

Thank you! XX

What is all of the Hype about BCAAs?

Nutrition First
It seems that BCAAs, or Branch Chain Amino Acids, have been all the rage lately in the supplement world. It is a very highly marketed product these days. While BCAAs are a great product, and can benefit you when used in certain instances, they are not the most important supplement when it comes to results and recovery. In fact, supplements are just that. Supplemental to your nutrition to help you fill any voids that you might have in your diet.

It is most important  to make sure that your diet is on point to help with your results in the gym and your recovery. You need to first make sure that you are getting the appropriate macronutrients in your diet and taking a multivitamin to ensure that your micronutrients are being met as well. Getting a daily dose of fish oil is also high on that list of getting your proper nutrition. You need to make sure you have a strong foundation with your diet in order to get the best results to build a healthy body. After your nutrition needs have been met, then we can talk about adding in supplements to help you reach your goals.

Of all of the supplements, having proper post-workout nutrition is going to play the most vital role in your muscle building and fat loss goals and aiding in your recovery. Consuming a whey protein, which naturally contains BCAAs, is going to be your best recovery tool. But we will talk more about post-workout in depth later. Once your diet is on point with your macros, your micros, all of your daily vitamins and minerals met, and you are properly consuming your post-workout nutrition, then we can start adding in other supplements according to how you train and your fitness goals.

Amino Acids
There are many supplements that you can add in to your diet to help you reach your goals, but for now, let's focus on amino acids. What are amino acids? I will break it down for you.

• Muscle is made of protein.
• Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
• There are 22 amino acids.
• It takes all 22 to build muscle.
• 1 gram of protein contains all 22 amino acids.
• 9-10 of the amino acids are essential amino acids.
• The rest are semi-essential or non-essential.
• Your body cannot make essential amino acids.
• Essential amino acids need to be consumed within your diet.
• 3 of the essential amino acids are branch chain amino acids, or BCAAs.
• The 3 BCAAs are Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine.

BCAAs
So what makes BCAAs so important? BCAAs seem to be heavily marketed these days, and a lot of people are taking them, but do you know why or what they do? The 3 BCAAs are what help kick start the muscle protein synthesis. This is what helps you get into an anabolic state, or muscle building state. A popular time to take BCAAs is during your workout to stop some muscle breakdown and help with recovery and fuel you during your workout. You can also use before your workout. You want to make sure that your BCAAs contain at least 5 grams of BCAAs per serving, including at least 3 grams of Leucine, in order for it to be effective. 1st Phorm's BCAAs contain 7.5 grams of BCAAs per serving with 3.5 grams of Leucine.

There is a time and a place for BCAAs. I would most recommend you take BCAAs when your diet is in a caloric deficit, if you are dieting to cut weight for a show, or if fat loss is your goal. BCAAs are also recommended to supplement in a plant based diet to help you get enough BCAAs without over eating carbohydrates. You might not be getting enough of the essential amino acids, specifically the branch chain amino acids, to stimulate muscle protein synthesis to put the body into an anabolic state. As far as muscle building and weight loss, there are products far superior to help you reach those goals, such as 1st Phorm's Anabolic Bridge. BCAAs are not nearly as effective.

Anabolic Bridge
Anabolic Bridge is an essential amino acid product. It contains all of the essential amino acids. It helps keep you in an anabolic state in between protein feedings. It is great for travel or until you can get to a full meal or a full protein feeding. It comes in pill form, so it is the ultimate convenience product to help you reach those muscle buiding/weight loss goals. Anabolic Bridge is great if you are on a low calorie diet or plant based diet. You can take it before fasted cardio or first thing in the morning to get your body into the anabolic state. It is also great if you are having trouble getting in 6 meals a day. This product can directly affect your results by jump starting and keeping your body in a muscle building state throughout the day preventing muscle breakdown.

Intraformance
Intraformance is another amino acid product and is one that is on my must have list. Intraformance is an intra-workout, carbohydrate, amino acid, electrolyte blend. They have added in a carbohydrate complex and a superior electrolyte blend to help with performance in the gym. There is no need to pair this product with BCAAs. It contains a full serving of the BCAAs as well as non-essential amino acids. The carbohydrate complex increases performance in the gym and keeps the body from breaking down muscle tissue. When we workout we deplete our glycogen stores, as that stored muscle glycogen is depleted, your performance will start to taper off. That is why the last set is always much harder than the first set. Having that carbohydrate complex in the Intraformance will help to keep your endurance up during your workouts by giving you sustained energy. If your goal is fat loss, then I recommend you use BCAAs. But if your goals are to build strength, muscle size, and improve performance, then Intraformance is the product for you. Intraformance has become my must have supplement pre- workout or for my long runs as a fuel source and to give me sustained energy, strength, and improve my performance throughout my workouts.

Amino Acids are a great product to add to your regimen, but make sure the rest of your nutrition is in place first as well as you post-workout nutrition in order to get your best results. I know I just lightly touched on each of these products. I would love to talk more about amino acids to figure out what is the right product for you and to help you with your specific nutrition and fitness goals. Please feel free to message me with any questions or comment below. If you are interested in any of the 1st Phorm products, and you want to take advantage of the free shipping when you order from me, you can visit my website at www.1stPhorm.com/JilliBeeFit

Thank you! XX

Is Working Out During Pregnancy Beneficial?

Physical exercise is bodily activity that improves or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. There are many benefits to exercising during pregnancy including decreasing some of the common discomforts, and it can even help prepare your body for labor and delivery.

Is exercising during pregnancy safe? In most healthy pregnancies it is usually recommended. If you were physically active before pregnancy, you can remain active during pregnancy. You should be able to exercise doing what you were already doing with some modifications depending on how you feel and as your belly grows you may have to make more modifications. Always listen to your body. It is not the time to try something new, try to get into shape, or exercise for weight loss. And always consult with your physician about your physical activity.

There are several benefits to exercising during pregnancy.
-It may reduce backaches, constipation, bloating, and swelling.
-It may prevent, or treat gestational diabetes.
-Increases energy.
-Improves mood.
-Improves posture.
-Promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance.
-Improves sleep.
-Keeps you fit during pregnancy.
-May improve labor.
-Will make it easier to get back in shape after delivery.
-May help you lose weight after delivery.

Not all exercises are safe during pregnancy. Avoid anything that is high impact, that could put you at risk for falling, or anything with jarring movements. There are also exercises that are beneficial during pregnancy such squatting and pelvic tilts. These can help during labor and delivery. If you are not used to getting physical activity, walking is a good exercise to start with. And as always, check with your physician before doing any physical exercise to know what is safe and what is unsafe for your pregnancy.

Healthy Glazed Chocolate Protien Donuts

Happy National Donut Day! In honor of this awesome day, Sutton and I made healthy chocolate protein donuts using 1st Phorm's Level-1 sustained assimilation whey protein in Milk Chocolate. To order Level-1:

https://1stphorm.com/a/products/protein-powder/meal-replacement-proteins/level-1?a_aid=jillibeefit

Healthy Chocolate Glazed Protien Donuts

Donut:
1 Mashed Banana
1/2 C Almond Flour
3 T. Carob Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Large Eggs
1 T. Honey
1 tsp Coconut oil

Glaze:
1/2 C Carob Powder
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Coconut Oil
1/2 Scoop Level-1 Milk Chocolate
1 T Almond Butter
3 T Almond Milk

Preheat oven to 350' and line donut mold with coconut oil.

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients for donut until you have a consistent batter. Pour into mold and bake for 15 minutes.

Melt coconut oil and almond butter in a small saucepan. Add almond milk. Add remaining ingredients. Add a little more almond milk until it's the right consistency. Let cool.

Glaze donuts as they cool and enjoy!

Don't Force the Love

No matter how much you love doing something, as soon as it starts to feel like work or starts feeling forced, it may be time to take a break from it.

It's no secret that I love to workout. But what sport do I love doing the most? All of them! I am passionate about different activities at different times. And I am always looking for new activities to add to my repertoire.

I tend to go through phases in my workout routine. For a while I may be all about lifting, then it might be running or Jiu-Jitsu. Right now my focus and my new found love is yoga. I might be all about one thing one minute and completely focused on that and trying to perfect it, and then I may be on to the next thing for a bit. I do what makes me happy at the moment. I want to be excited and full of enjoyment and love in my activities.

As soon as what you are doing stops being fun, it may be time to take a step back and move on to something else. The key is to just keep moving. If it is something that you truly love doing, your passion for it will spark again and you can come back to it. If not, that's ok. You learned something new. You should never force yourself to workout doing something you don't love. Where is the fun in that? And it has to be enjoyable to make it a habit.

I know we all have those days that we don't really want to go to the gym or go run or go to that spin class, but we make ourselves and then we are happy that we went when we are done. That is different. If it's starting to feel forced all of the time, switch gears and try something different for awhile. It is a great way to prevent burnout and to keep your body moving and guessing. Also, switching things up can help you get over those humps or plateaus. There is also something to be said about your mental biochemistry affecting your physical biochemistry. If you're just not that into it, you may not get the results you want when you want them.

Working out should be fun. It's an enjoyment in life and a celebration of what your body can do. Find what you love to do and enjoy it!

Happy National Pi Day!

Recipe for a simple healthy macro friendly pizza in 30 minutes or less.

Carbs:
Sprouted grain tortilla (I like Ezekial tortillas)
1/4 c no sugar added marinara sauce
Veggies- I usually add 1/4- 1/2 c of whatever sounds good or what I already have on hand. Onions, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, etc.

Protein:
4 oz protein- steak, hamburger, chicken, bacon, sausage, ham. (I use whatever meats I have leftover from previous meals, what I already prepped for the week, or deli meat.)

Fats:
A little cheese (Feta, goat cheese, Tillamook cheddar, mozzarella) and/or olives


Preheat oven to 350'. Place tortilla on baking sheet. Add sauce, veggies, protein, and  top with cheese. You can get very creative with the veggies and protein or keep it as simple as you want. Bake for 15 minutes. The tortillas make for s very crispy yummy thin crust. I usually top with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or a little sriracha for a kick. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

One of my favorite snacks to cure a sweet tooth.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie

1 Frozen Banana
8 oz Almond Milk
1/2 scoop Phormula-1 Chocolate Milkshake protein powder
1 T. Sunflower Seeds or Nut Butter
1/2 T. Cocoa Powder
1/4 t. Vanilla Extract

Blend and then top with 1 T. each
Coconut Flakes
Granola
Almonds
Cacao Nibs

Meal Prep Monday

I am not one to spend hours one day a week prepping all of my meals for the week and placing them into individual containers. However, I applaud those that are. I did it for years when I was competing, and I know how tedious it can be. Tedious for a day, but does save you time the rest of the week. And I realize some people stay on track better with their eating when they are fully prepped this way.

I personally prefer to prep a different way now. I prefer to eat my meals fresh if at all possible. I know others are this same way. I am not one for reheating food unless it is something I can heat stovetop such as soup or chili. I don't even own a microwave. Have not for years, and I don't miss it. So I have found a way to prep that I feel saves me time, but keeps me on track, I can make most of my meals fresh, but I don't have to spend an entire day in the kitchen. It just requires a little bit of time over a few days, a little bit of planning and routine, but it fits better into my busy schedule.

Day 1. Clean out fridge, take mental inventory of what I have, make a meal plan for the week (exactly what I will eat for my 3 meals every day plus 2-3 snacks a day), and make a grocery list.

Day 2. Grocery store

Day 3. Prep snacks ready to grab throughout the week. (I think this is a really important step and where I could fail if not done.) I like to do individual bags of dates and almonds and deli meat for grab and go. I might also slice some veggies, make a big bowl of salad to use throughout the week, or cook some things in bulk that I can use in recipes during the week. I.e. Quinoa, rice, bacon. Things that don't require a lot of work, but take time to cook. Things that will simplify my cooking and save me some time the rest of the week.

That's it. I don't like to spend more than an hour each of these days on the tasks. So it's easy to find the time spread out over a few days rather than cramming it all into one day. I know this isn't the ideal way to meal prep for everyone, but this is what I've found works for me. I like to keep it simple because if it's too complicated or time-consuming, I'm less likely to stick with it. And knowing that I will only be spending a short amount of time on it each day, I enjoy it.

Food is Fuel

Health and fitness are a huge part of my life these days. I not only love eating healthy and working out, but I also love to study and learn about health and fitness as well. Nutrition is a huge component of being healthy and being able to achieve your goals. Whether that is to lose weight, put on muscle, maintain, become a better athlete, or get stronger or faster. I had a big "aha" moment this last summer that really changed the way I think about nutrition. I went from a mentality of  "I need to eat to look skinny and fit" to "I need to eat to fuel my body".  When I changed my way of thinking, there was a complete shift in my progress. And a fire was ignited under me! This is where my true passion for it all started.

I want to share a bit of my health and fitness history to help understand where I am now in my health and fitness journey. Before I had my son, I was an NPC Bikini Competitor. I competed for a few years. Every time I would diet down to compete with a typical bikini diet. A lot of chicken, fish, veggies, and low carbs to cut weight.  I would step on stage at 5'9" 125 lbs. I looked great, but I would feel like crap. No energy or strength was left in me by the time I cut weight. And every time after the competition was over I would put the weight back on immediately plus some.

After I had my son, I would try to get my body back using those same methods. It was the only way I knew how to eat to lose weight. I would cut weight, feel like crap and like I was starving, I would feel weak during workouts, and when I would get to a certain weight that I thought I was supposed to be, I would start adding foods back in and would immediately put the weight back on plus some. I did not know how to eat. And what I was doing was not a realistic diet for long term. And when you diet like that, as soon as you start adding foods back in, your body holds on to everything because it's afraid of starving again. I felt like I was in a viscous cycle of weight loss/gain and a slave to the scale. I would weigh myself every morning and drive myself crazy. I was so weight focused. In January 2016 I dropped 12 lbs in 6 weeks and immediately put it back on even though I was doing bootcamp 5 days a week and training for my 3rd marathon. I would do really well with my diet all week doing my typical "bikini" diet, and then I would fail miserably on the weekends because I would feel like I was starving and deprived all week long. I was the poster child for "You can't out train a bad diet." I remember this last May looking at pics of myself running the marathon at my heaviest, in tears, and thinking, there has to be a better answer than this. I love food, I love to eat good food, and I can't go through life starving myself just to look skinny or to weigh this magical made up number that I thought I was supposed to weigh. I did some research and my prayers were answered.

June 1st 2016 I started a new diet plan. I don't even like to call it a diet. Because it's not that. It's a way to eat according to your goals with real food. I dropped 15 lbs within the first two weeks. I didn't lose much more after that, but I keep losing inches. I stopped weighing myself every day. When I did that, I noticed a big mental shift in my progress. I started paying more attention to how I felt and how I looked instead of what the scale told me I should weigh. The scale really does not matter in the big scheme of things. 5lbs of muscle is a lot smaller than 5lbs of fat. And I would really like to keep putting on more muscle. So weighing myself would just cause self sabatogery. From June 1st to September 1st I lost 6 inches in my waist, 6 inches in my hips, 3 in my bust, and 2 in my thigh. Every week those numbers went down even more. I got leaner and tighter and my cellulite disappeared. I was eating a lot more and way more variety. I eat beef, bacon, chocolate, cheese, dairy, nuts. All my favorite things that I didn't think were okay to eat before. I have way more energy, I'm stronger, I've put on muscle, my running times have improved, I'm a better athlete, and I feel amazing! I am so happy! The number one thing for me about the way I eat is that it is sustainable for life. And I could definitely eat like this the rest of my life. It's amazing what eating to fuel your body versus eating to be skinny can do. If you properly nourish your body you will thrive! Food is fuel!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I am so beyond excited about this new adventure! First off, I just want to tell each and every one of you how grateful I am for your support. It means the world to me! Secondly, I want to share with you all a little about myself. I want to give a little intro, but not go too much into depth just yet. We have plenty of time for that. ;)

I am a Christian. I am a wife and a mom to a very interesting four year old boy. When I say interesting, I mean he would rather watch a documentary about natural disasters than a cartoon any day. I have to force him to watch cartoons. What mother has to do that?! Ha!... I am also BIG into fitness, in case you did not know. I love all things that make me sweat. Running! I am starting my marathon training this week. Lifting! I attend a bootcamp class four to five days a week, and I have a background competing in NPC Bikini. I have also dabbled in Jiu-Jitsu with the plan of putting more focus on it this year. My husband is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, so he has been my motivation for that path. I love to cook. It is another one of my passions. I enjoy trying new healthy recipes, or taking an old country cooking classic and making my own healthier version of it. Yes, I am a country girl. I grew up on a ranch in Western Oklahoma. That is also where my husband and I keep our forty beehives. Add beekeepers to the list along with DIYers and gardeners.

We do a lot of things, but it all seems to revolve around living the health and fitness lifestyle in some form or another. And that is what I want to share with you! I will be posting about fitness, my training, favorite workouts and moves. I will also be sharing delicious healthy recipes, and about our bees, beef, and ranch life as well as the other adventures that come our way! So please stay tuned for exciting things to come! And thank you again for your support!

Jillian