Fall Fast Challenge: Lose weight, gain energy, detox the body, eat good food

Are you ready to gain some more energy, not feel starving all the time, plus, detox your body before the Holidays start? This 21-Day challenge does it all. And don't worry, you eat food (and lots of it) every single day; don't let the word "FAST" freak you out. During the challenge, we will eat during specific hours of the day...which can be flexible to fit all schedules.

Intermittent fasting, or simply eating all of your food during a specified window during a 24 hour period, has been shown to have the following benefits:

1. Weight loss
2. Improve muscle strength and workouts 
3. Normalizes insulin sensitivity
4. Decreases hunger
5. Lower triglyceride levels
6. Help slow the aging process

The challenge starts Monday, October 29 and ends Sunday, November 18 and includes:

• 21 days of clean eating in specific blocks of time
• Grocery lists
• Sample meals (make at home, on the go, out to eat)
• Recipes that are simple but tasty
• Quickie workouts
• Accountability and encouragement with access to an ACE certified wellness professional
• Access to a small group of people doing the exact same thing you are, who have the same questions and struggles and we will all work through them together
• Most importantly, NO supplements-just real food and an easy to follow schedule, PLUS, you don't have to come to any special classes or appointments, it's all online via private Facebook page just for our little group.
• All for just $29*

Don't wait until after the Holidays to get your wellness groove on. Get ready for the parties and treats and feasts by training your body to burn fat fast-this is something you can take into the Holidays to maintain or even get closer to your goals!

Simply e-mail erin@ehfitness.com to sign up or ask questions!

*I will invoice you via PayPal and add you to the group as soon as I get confirmation of payment :) 

Sticky note workout for your booty

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. Do each exercise for 1minute...then repeat it 3 times. Enjoy! 

The perfect protein ball

When I asked my three-year-old what she wanted to make for a snack with her friend today, she said "protein balls, please." So we did...in 10 minutes flat...and they are rock-star protein balls! PLUS, you can make them with all sorts of stuff. You could add flax, chia seeds, chocolate, fruit, etc

What you need:

• Parchment paper lined cookie sheet
• 1 cup nut butter (we used raw salted creamy natural peanut butter but almond butter or sunflower butter would be great too)
• 1/2 cup sweetener (we used raw organic honey but agave or maple syrup or brown rice syrup will do)
• 54 grams of protein powder (we used 2 1/2 scoops IsaPro vanilla...just make sure it's unsweetened and just protein powder)
• 1 cup oatmeal (we used gluten free quick oats)
• 22 chocolate chips

What you do: 

1. On medium-low heat, combine peanut butter and honey and stir until smooth (be careful, it can burn!)
2. Remove pan from burner and let cool for a minute stirring continuously.
3. Mix in protein powder and oatmeal in (you get a bit of an arm workout since it gets pretty thick)
4. Make into tablespoon sized balls (or use a cookie dough scoop if you're lazy...er resourceful... like me).
5. Top with a chocolate chip (totally optional :) ) 
6. Refrigerate for around an hour and eat 'em!

Nutrition stats:
(per ball...recipe makes 22)
115 calories, 6 grams fat, 11 grams carbs, 6 grams sugar, 1.5 grams fiber, 5.5 grams protein

EDIT: I made another batch using half the sweetener and added 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk and they were perfection, plus you shave off 15 calories and 3 grams sugar :)

Make in a blender perfect autumn soup

Always the lazy cook, I've come up with the easiest and cleanest and tastiest Butternut Squash Soup that is perfect for the fall, winter or even cold in the summer. Plus, butternut squash is super high in vitamin A (you’ll get over 100% of your daily recommended intake). Vitamin A is required for the development of eyes, skin, and immune system. So it’s important. AND it has the super spice turmeric which is believed to aid in digestion, prevent Alzheimer’s disease, heal wounds, ward off cancer, control diabetes, relieve arthritis and a bunch of other awesome things. Makes you kind of want to just eat a whole canister of it, right? Don’t, that would be gross. But DO eat this soup!

 To make this the easiest thing ever, I recommend cooking your butternut squash in a crockpot. I often will just do this move and then keep the perfectly done squash in my fridge if I'm not read y to make the soup-yay! Check out this recipe in all of it's glory.

Butternut Squash Soup:

What you need: 

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• 1/2 TBSP minced ginger
• 1 heaping TSP tumeric
• 1 TSP curry powder
• 3 cups vegetable broth (or chicken bone broth or stock)
• 1 cup light unsweetened coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Cook the butternut squash (whole) in a crockpot for 3-4 hours on low, let cool a bit and then scoop out the insides (toss the seeds). You can totally do this part a couple days in advance and keep the perfectly cooked squash in the fridge.
2. Saute the onions in a bit of the chicken broth until they are soft (about 10 minutes), add all the spices and rest of the broth. Set aside and let cool a bit.
3. Dump everything into a blender...you might have to do this in batches. If the broth and onion deal is still hot, make sure to only fill the blender halfway as you could end up covered in the delicious soup
4. Blend until smooth, add the coconut milk, blend again and you are done!

enjoy!

Quickie Ab HIIT Workout for Busy Days

High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, has been all over the news, in magazines and praised by trainers everywhere as a way to increase muscle, burn fat and save time even more so than regular, moderate exercise. Sounds good to me! And pair that with some awesome ab movements, you've got yourself a 30 minute workout that will keep burning fat for up to 9 hours as well as tone and train your core. 

HIIT plus ABS Workout

Here's the deal: do each exercise for 35 seconds with a 5 second transition between moves. Repeat list for a total of 4 rounds and ta-da, you're finished in less than 30 minutes!

1. Jumping Jacks

2. Bicycle Crunches

3. Leg Lowers

4. Flutter Kicks

5. Mountain Climbers

6. Butt Kicks

7. Right Side Plank 

8. Left Side Plank

9. Plank

10. Jump Squats

Wew! Enjoy!