New Healthy Dessert Recipe

Here's a recipe for one of my favorite quick and easy healthy desserts... it tastes like delicious ice cream but is much better for you. It's much lower in calories than typical desserts like cakes or pies, and is also loaded with vitamins and antioxidants.

Here's what I do to make this:

1. Break up 1 to 1.5 ripe bananas into chunks and put into a zip lock bag into the freezer. I usually break up 3 bananas into each ziplock bag and then use half the bag for each time I need them.

2. Whenever you want a delicious frozen dessert with ice cream texture, take the bag of frozen banana chunks out and into a blender or food processor (fyi - this type of ice cream blending never worked for me until I got a really good blender...some blenders just don't cut it for this).

3. Add just a touch of vanilla extract, a couple tablespoons of milk, 1 or 2 teaspoons of organic cocoa powder, 1 or 2 teaspoons of your favorite protein powder, a touch of stevia (if extra sweetness is needed), and possibly a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter if you desire.

4. Blend the mixture until it becomes the consistency of ice cream (similar to making a smoothie, except since you use less total liquid, it stays more as ice cream consistency). You may need to add a little more milk to get it to blend fully to the right consistency.

You can even top this off with some berries and chopped walnuts or pecans for an extra dose of nutrition and healthy fats that'll do your body good!

Enjoy!

You can also try to use a different frozen fruit instead of the frozen bananas if you want to experiment with different flavors. Frozen strawberries may work well. I happen to like the bananas best because it makes a creamier texture and bananas go great with cocoa and peanut butter!

Feel free to fwd this email and share this healthy dessert recipe with your friends and family that would enjoy it.

Btw, if you haven't read the new nutrition guide that I've recommended recently, be sure to check it out...it's definitely a must-read for revamping your kitchen into a truly healthy kitchen for yourself and your family:

http://www.HealthiestKitchen.com

Til next newsletter,
Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com

Nutrition tips for fat loss -- high fiber pasta

I'm sure you've noticed from my newsletters that one of the nutrition tips I usually recommend if you're struggling to lose fat is to try to reduce or eliminate grains from your diet, such as pasta, cereals, and breads.

I know I usually feel sluggish if I eat too much grain-based food, and I feel much better when I get most of my carbs from fruits and vegetables instead of grains.

The fact is that a large percentage of the population has at least some degree of intolerance to gluten, common in many grains (the biggest problem being wheat).

Besides that fact... even whole grains pose a problem for many people as they are still fairly calorically dense compared to getting your carbs from fruits and vegetables.

But here's the PROBLEM:

Not many people are willing to give up foods such as pasta, breads, and cereals...which tend to be "favorite foods" for a lot of people. I definitely understand that it is hard to give up these types of foods.

So here are my tips, since I know that realistically, it's not likely you're going to entirely give up pasta, bread, and cereal...

1. Try to save pasta, breads, and cereal for your "cheat meals", and keep them to only 1 or 2 days/week.

2. If you're going to eat something like pasta or bread, choose the highest fiber version that you can find (and sprouted-grain versions are preferable).

I don't eat pasta that often, but I just decided the other day to have a pasta meal with grass-fed bison sausage, tomato sauce and tons of veggies mixed in.

So I went to the store and found this pasta called "Fiber Wise - High Fiber Spaghetti".
Most normal brands of pasta will have about 40 to 45 grams of total carbs per serving, but only 1-2 grams of fiber per serving.

However, this Fiber-Wise pasta has 12 grams of fiber out of a total 41 grams of carbs per serving... that's a pretty good ratio! And it tasted pretty good too.

You may not be able to find this specific brand in your grocery store or health food market, but at least try to find a pasta with 6-9 grams of fiber or more per serving instead of the normal 1-2 grams in most brands.

Keep in mind this should still be more of a cheat meal treat once per week rather than an everyday occurrence, but it is at least a better choice than typical low fiber pasta. You may find that you feel better and lose fat faster when most days per week you focus on fruits and vegetables for most of your carbs instead of grains.

And of course, don't forget that eating mostly quality protein sources and healthy fats is one of the most important things you can do to keep cravings at bay, keep your appetite satisfied, and maintain a good hormonal balance for fat loss and muscle building.

Lastly, if you missed the newsletter last week, make sure to check out this article about one of my favorite new nutrition programs I just found recently... some interesting info about some of the worst products (foods and cooking devices) and could be hurting your health and making you fatter:

http://truthaboutabs.blogspot.com/2009/02/nasty-kitchen-habits-that-are-making.html

I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets.
Til next newsletter,Don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & BusyManFitness.com

recommended fitness resource: http://7MinuteMuscleProgram.com

Nasty Kitchen Habits that are Making You Sick and Unhealthy

I just got done reading what I consider to be one of the top 3 nutrition books I've ever read (and I've read dozens, if not hundreds).

It's just so refreshing when I come across a nutrition professional who actually "gets it" and isn't clueless like some nutritionists that tell you to "eat 6-9 servings of grain and soy per day" or promote the use of artificial sweeteners in everything they recommend.

I'm also tired of people recommending "low fat" recipes... we don't need less fat, we need MORE...but we need more healthy fats (and yes, that CAN include saturated fats)!

I highly recommend this to add to your "virtual library"... I really enjoyed reading this, and it actually gave me some great new ideas that I hadn't thought of before...

http://www.HealthiestKitchen.com

This isn't a "diet" ebook and it's not just a cookbook either... (although it does have some amazing meal ideas and recipes!)

Here's some of the really beneficial info in here that you'll find:

• How to get rid of all of the hidden POISONS lurking in your kitchen (not just in your food, but utensils, cookware, cooking devices, etc).
• The healthiest oils vs the oils that are claimed to be healthy, but are actually detrimental to your body
• Why certain containers, spatulas, cutting boards, and certain pots and pans can be leaching nasty chemicals into your food
• Alternatives to grain foods for a leaner body
• the healthiest ways to cook foods to do the least damage to them for your internal health
• why using a microwave may be dangerous to the health of you and your family (this is controversial, but I gave up using a microwave about 5 years ago and never looked back... think about it... our foods were never meant in nature to be "zapped" by microwaves)
• the easiest ways to add variety to your meals but keep them as healthy as possible
• how to manage your busy schedule but still eat in a way that promotes a leaner healthier body.
• beyond just WHAT you eat...but also HOW YOU EAT! very important.
• and so many more handy tips to truly adopt the healthiest eating habits possible for life.

I'd suggest giving it a read through... I think it'll become one of your favorite nutrition guides. I'm really picky about which nutrition "experts" I'll listen to, but Antonio has 2 thumbs up from me, and my full endorsement...

http://www.HealthiestKitchen.com

I'll be back soon with more exercise and nutrition tricks, tips, and secrets that you can use daily for a better body and better health.

Talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com

http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com

Unique way to do pushups, pullups & other bodyweight exercises

I just got back a few days ago from a week's vacation on the Baja peninsula of Mexico racing Baja-1000 dune buggies through the mountains, deserts, and coastlines... what an amazing trip!

I even got to ride in a car with Jesse James of Monster Garage fame while he really pushed the car to the limits sliding through turns and launching off of jumps... that was a blast!

We had some great scenery too while driving through mountains, cactus fields in the desert, dried up lake beds hitting offroad speeds of 95 MPH, pine forests in the highlands, and along the beaches of the coastline... beautiful scenery!

So since I was on vacation for the week, this was my planned "off-week" from working out. I took a full 8 days off of training to let my body have a break from the resistance training. I do this about 3 times a year, and it's something I feel is important to keep your gains in the gym coming year round...otherwise you can burn out if your workouts aren't cycled properly.

You actually usually feel stronger when you come back to training after a week off.

Now for today's tip on the unique style of repetitions for bodyweight exercises (this can be applied to any other exercises too):

I've used this style of repetitions for pushups and pullups mostly, but can also be used for squats, etc. It's TOTALLY DIFFERENT from your typical style of repetitions.

Think of how most people would do a set of pushups or pullups...they would crank out the reps almost as fast as they can until they burn out...most people would actually use a rep speed of faster than 1 second up and 1 second down.

Now here's how you do my alternative style of repetitions:

Let's take the pushup for example...

• You take a full 10 seconds to lower yourself to the bottom position, moving slowly throughout the range of motion over that full 10 seconds.
• Then, you hold the bottom contracted position for another full 10 seconds (an inch or two off of the ground, so that the muscles are still in an isometric contraction).
• Then, you do the concentric portion of the pushup (pressing up) as fast as possible.

So, all in all, 1 pushup repetition will take you 21 seconds approximately. For most people, 2 to 3 pushups in one set is all they'll be able to do in this unique style of reps. If you do 3 reps in one set, that's basically about 1 minute time-under-tension for your muscles.

This exact method can be used to get some variety into your pullup training... instead of just cranking out your reps as fast as you can like most people do... try pulling up powerfully for the 1st rep, holding the top position of the pullup for 10 seconds, and then slowly lowering for 10 full seconds. Try to do 2 reps per set like this if you are strong enough.

Most people can not even do 1 repetition like this for pullups, so if you can't do the full 10 seconds of hold and 10 seconds down, just do whatever time you can, and build up to longer times for subsequent workouts.

You can also alternate these "super-slow" sets of pushups with super-slow sets of pullups... 3-5 sets of each, and you have one of the best upper body workouts you've ever done!

There you have it... a cool new repetition scheme to help break you out of your workout rut. Give it a try for a couple weeks, and I think you'll see some new results.

You should also check out my friend Jon Benson's unique style of training that he has put together at:

http://7MinuteMuscleProgram.com

The workouts he has there use some really cool rep/set timing schemes and great progressions. I like to use these workouts for a few cycles per year to mix up my routines and break out of a rut.

I'll be back in a few days with more Lean-Body Secrets for you to use.
Talk to you soon,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - http://TruthAboutAbs.com & BusyManFitness.com