by Carrie Adams

We’re back with another installment of some of our biggest stories of 2012!  Not surprisingly, many of our top 10 blog posts dealt with, what else, training and nutrition!  Spartans commit to a healthy way of living and it was clear that our community was paying attention and getting it done.

Some of our biggest blog posts of the year were centered around how to get fit and how to eat right.  In addition to providing resources on our blog, at Spartan HQ, we are trying to make it even easier to get these tips delivered to you, so if you want our daily WOD delivered directly to your inbox for FREE, click HERE.

Here are our three biggest training posts of 2012!

Breaking down the Warm-Up: As our own Spartan Coach manager Jeff Godin, Ph.D. CSCS always says, “Always start your workout with a warm-up.” Although flexibility and unrestricted movement may be important for long term injury prevention, static stretching and flexibility exercises are not an important part of a warm-up. Stretching moves a joint through its full range of motion, however it does this passively and does very little to increase the temperature of muscle. The warm-up should be active and move the joints through their full range of motion. The warm-up progresses from low intensity towards high intensity. For some, the warm-up may actually have them gassed by the end. The benefits of a warm-up include; increased tissue temperature, tissue compliance, energy metabolism, movement efficiency and reduced tissue stiffness. The warm-up can also be used to reinforce fundamental movement mechanics related to speed and agility. The warm-up should emphasize proper foot placement to promote acceleration and prevent deceleration.  Read the rest of the post by clicking HERE.

Spartan Ab 300:  In this post, Dr. Jeff gives a great ab workout for the ages!  300 reps never felt so good!  Click HERE for the full workout and breakdown.

Buck Furpee Day:  The burpee is quintessentially Spartan in that there is nothing wasted in the activity.   It carries with it efficiency,  and, therefore, concentrated effectiveness.  When you train, focus on training – don’t over-complicate things.  When in doubt, do burpees.  How did Buck Furpee Day go down?  Click HERE and find out.

Spartan Race Nutrition:

It should come as no surprise that training, while a critical piece of the Spartan equation, it isn’t everything.  You need the right fuel to get that Spartan body and keep moving!   Whether your goals are to lose weight, get lean, or perform better, nutrition has to be a part of your plan.  And if you’re not sure where to start and you want some help from the Spartan team, we have good news!  Just like our daily WOD’s we offer FREE daily Food tips and recipes as well.  Simply click HERE to get signed up for yours!

Eat to Live: Spartan Performance Nutrition: Not sure what to eat the night before a race?  This popular blog post solves that problem with ease!  Our own Spartan Champion and Chick Rose-Marie Jarry provides her favorite recipe for a pre-race trio.

Click HERE for the full recipe.

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

What sounds better on a summer day than  a mint and mango salad.  Light, sweet, and filling this is filled with nutritious and delicious ingredients to keep you hydrated and cool on a hot summer day.  

Directions:

Slice the mango in long pieces, put into a bowl. Slice the cucumber and tomatoes as well and mix into the mango with the mint leaves and whole grapes.

Warm up a pot and add the coconut palm sugar with the water. Keep the heat a medium and let it boil until it forms a brown caramel, should take about 1 minute. Drop the walnuts in it and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well so the caramel if all over the nuts.

Sprinkle your salad with those delicious sweet and salty nuts.

336 calories per serving

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

Who says you can’t have satisfy your sweet tooth cravings and still be healthy?  These vegan high protein cookies are not only delicious but made from healthy, organic ingredients that will keep your body fueled so you can keep going with your Spartan training!  Making the recipes?  Send us your pictures of your own Spartan nutrition recipes to carrie@spartanrace.com!

This recipe can be made with any kind of flour. If you don’t have the Amaranth or rice flour, you can use any other gluten free flour. But if you can use the Amaranth one, you’ll get all the good nutrients from it that work well with this recipe. Amaranth is not well known, but you might want to start using it more often to get all of its benefits. If you don’t want it to be gluten free you can use organic wheat flour.

Pre heat the oven at 375 degrees.

Grease a cookie sheet, or use a non-stick cooking sheet.

Mix in a big bowl with all the dry ingredients. Add all the liquid, fruits and chocolates chips.

Mix well to get a nice thick texture. You want to be able to shape cookies on the cookie sheet.

Depending on what type of flour you use, you may find your mix too dry as well. If that happens add some coconut milk or sprint water, until you get the right consistency.

Cook for 15 minutes.   372 calories per large cookie

 

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

Bean & potato nuggets

4 cup of raw potato                                                                                         Veggies side dish

1 ½ cups of mixed cooked beans        200 cal                                            1 red bell pepper

2 table spoons of virgin coconut oil     160 cal                                          1 yellow bell pepper

1/3 cup of light coconut milk                 20 cal                                           1 pound of fresh asparagus

60 g of basil and garlic pesto                 230 cal                                          Olive and feta Tapenade

Sea salt and pepper                                                                                       40 calorie 1 table spoon

(Make about 10 nuggets)

Batter mix

¼ cup of chick pea flour                       175 cal

1 tea spoon of ground cumin seeds        2 cal

Sea salt

Directions:

Steam your potatoes. When they are cooked mashed them then add the coconut oil, pesto and salt.

Cut the bell peppers into 4 pieces and grill them on the BBQ along with the whole asparagus.

Blend the cooked beans in a blender with the coconut milk, add the mix into the mashed potatoes. Mix well and mold some patties with your hand then roll them into the batter mix.

Pre heat a pan on high temperature, add 1 table spoon of coconut oil and immediately add the nuggets. Let them grill for about 4-5 minutes each side. Turn them gently, until they are cooked they may break apart easily.

When they are ready set one nugget in a plate, spread 2 tables spoons of tapenade on the nugget and stack 3 layers of grilled bell peppers and asparagus. Sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

Fresh apple and endive salad (2 portions)

200g of red cabbage sliced

2 organic spartan apples sliced

3 organic endives

Dressing

2 table spoons of low fat mayonnaise

3 table spoons of olive oil

1 table spoon of balsamic vinegar

1 squeezed lemon’s juice

1 table spoon of organic cane sugar

Salt and lemon pepper

1 portion 372 calories

 Directions:

Slice the Endives, apples and cabbage together in a big bowl

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and add it to the fruits and vegetable bowl

Stir well and then serve right away.

Proposed servings

Endive salad with an all-natural pork honey Dijon sausages.   230 cal  + salad

Salad + 1 natural sausage  602 calories

 

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by Rose-Marie Jarie

Summer ushers in a whole crop of fruits and vegetables in season and what better way to add some flavor to a salad then some avocados and mangos.  Try this unique salad as a side or as complete meal.  Enjoy!

Avocado & mango salad

2 avocados

2 tomatoes

1 ripe mango

50g of lactose free allegro cheese 4% fat.

½ Lemon’s Juice – Squeezed

2 table spoons of fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper to add taste

 Directions:

Cut avocado in two from top to bottom and empty, preserve the shell to create a bowl to serve the salad.

Dice the mango, avocado, tomato and the cheese in smalls cubes. Add the lemon juice, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Place the salad in the empty avocado shells.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

Soup is always a good choice when planning meals.  This is a great one for a weeknight or even a Sunday dinner.

Pasta fajiol soup

Ingredients:

6 cups of water

1 whole canned tomato (796 ml)

3 tables spoons of your favorite organic vegetal broth powder.

3 bay leaves

1 pound of mushrooms of your choice

½ red bell pepper

1 sweet potato cut in small cubes

1 red onion (diced)

1 table spoon of olive oil

2 cups of cooked beans, equates to 1 cup of uncooked (pinto beans and black beans)

55 g of rice noodles

Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat up a pot and add 1 table spoon of olive oil, the diced onion and bay leaves. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the water and tomato. Once it comes to a boil add the broth powder. Cut your veggies into small piece and add them to the soup.

Reduce the heat.

When the veggies are cooked add the cooked mixed beans to the soup, with the rice noodles. Let cook for an additional 5 minutes

Ready to serve

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

Another delicious healthy serving heading your way courtesy of Spartan Nutrition.  How about some Chicken and blue potatoes?  Here you go!

INDIAN CHICKEN DRUM STICKS AND BLUE POTATO (2 servings)

Ingredients:

2 blue potatoes with the skin on

1 red or yellow bell pepper

1 cup of cauliflower

6 skinless chicken drum sticks   

Marinade

3 garlic cloves

10-15 fresh basil leaves

½ tea spoon of sea salt

1 tea spoon of grama masala

1 tea spoon of paprika

1 tea spoon of curry

¼ cup of coconut milk

2 table spoons of coconut cream

1 table spoon of honey

 Directions:

Marinate the chicken drums stick for a couple of hours or longer. The longer the better but really no longer than 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken in a pan, add the sliced bell peppers and cauliflower. Also poke a few holes in the potatoes and cook for 45 minutes with the chicken and veggies.

When the chicken is all cooked, it’ll be ready to serve.

Serving display on the picture.

724 calories per serving

 

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

Chicken Soup

Ideal for a rainy day or when you have a cold. Very comforting, my favorite meal for any situation. Quick and delicious.

900ml of Organic chicken broth (without additives)

50 ml of Gluten free soy sauce

10 g (about 1 inch long) fresh ginger root

65g of wide flat vermicelli noodles

1 tea spoon of hot pepper paste (if you like a little spicy)

1 tea spoon roasted sesame oil

½ cup of chops broccoli

1 cup of red and green Kale leafs

1 cup of sugar peas

 Directions:

Heat the chicken broth with the grated ginger until its boiling, add the broccoli, noodles and sugar peas. Let it cook for 2 minutes, then add the chopped kales leafs, soy sauce, hot pepper paste and sesame oil.

Let it cool down and serve.

213 Calories per medium bowl. Gluten free, dairy free.

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by Rose-Marie Jarry

What better way to celebrate a summer meal than with a flavorful BBQ twist.  This Asian BBQ mean dish won’t disappoint and you’ll be surprised how much flavor goes with this healthy, nutritious dish!

White Asian BBQ beans on a crunchy bed of veggies. (4 serving)

 2 Cups of cooked with organic bean

1/3 cup of Asian BBQ sauce (suggestion brand: San-J gluten free)

1 table spoon of organic cane sugar

1 table spoon of soya sauce gluten free

½ cup water

½ tea spoon of lemon pepper

1 cup of rice ready to cook

Veggies mix

3 cups of Broccoli

2 Bell Peppers

2 cups of sugar peas

1 red onion

3 garlics cloves

½ cup of water

60 ml of soy sauce gluten free

1 table spoon of virgin grilled sesame oil

Lemon pepper

Instructions: 

If you are using raw beans, make sure to soak them at least 2-3 hours in advance before cooking them. When they are soaked, it takes a good 30-45 minutes to cook.

Put the cooked beans in a small pot, and add the BBQ Asian sauce and the table spoon of organic cane sugar, let it simmer for 10-15 minutes at low.

In the meantime, cook the rice and set aside.

Cut the veggies in big slices. In a wok, warm up the sesame oil, add the garlic and red onion. When it’s roasted, add all the other sliced veggies with ½ cup of water and the soy sauce, cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes at most. You want to keep the veggies crunchy.

To have best results, steam the broccolis 2 min adding them to the wok.

How to set the plate:

Take ½ cup of the cooked rice and cover the bottom of your plate. Add a big cup of the veggie mix and ½ a cup of the beans with the sauce on top of the Veggies.

Enjoy!      1 serving   400  calories

 

 

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