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DAY 5: How To Prep Carbs Fabulously
Today’s Goal: To gain an overall understanding of how to prepare a few our favorite HEALTHY carbohydrate options!
We are more than 1/2 way through our 7 day challenge, and I sure hope you are gleaning some helpful nuggets of information that will help you on your meal prep journey!
Please be gently reminded that if you are enjoying the information shared during this 7 day meal prep challenge, you would love our 30 day make-up and meal prep accountability challenge. We share both make up and meal prep tips DAILY! (CLICK HERE: MAKE-UP & MEAL PREP)
But most importantly, we get consistent, long term, body changing RESULTS!!!! Check out our girl Courtni’s transformation below, and more pictures are included here (CLICK HERE: COURTNI TRANSFORMING)
The last day to join our 30 day challenge is July 11th.
Now on to that carb discussion…
DIVA TIPS: PREPARING FABULOUS CARBS
- When losing weight, be careful of the amount of carbs you eat. It is very possible to lose a considerable amount of weight while still eating carbs. So, don’t cut them out entirely. Besides, if you are working out, you need them for energy diva!!! No carbs? Low energy!!! It’s just how our bodies are crafted!
- When eating carbs, opt to eat them during the morning / afternoon hours. This allows you to use the energy from the carbs to fuel your day. Avoid eating carbs at night, if at all possible (this includes FRUIT!!!) Yes diva, fruits contain a considerable about of carbs mostly in the form of sugar.
- The best fruit to eat for weight loss are berries and melons they are lower in carb content compared to their fruit cousins! However, bananas are GREAT for those of us who are going hard in our workouts!!
- If your goal is weight loss, try limiting your carb consumption to no more than 3 servings per day. Only 1 of those 3 servings should be fruit. Fruit is far better than processed snack ideas, BUT, in excess, they too can derail your goals.
- The serving size for fruit is 1 cup or in a bananas case 1 medium sized banana. Now for our potatoes, grains and beans, the serving size is even smaller 3/4 cup.
- Personally, I eat 1 serving of fruit (1 cup) and the remaining 2 servings of carbs (3/4 cup ea.) during the first 3 meals of your day.
- Outside of fruit, my preferred carbs sweet potatoes, quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”, or black beans.
- Because beans are carbs. Eating beans and rice together is a double dose of carb energy. After that meal, you would only have 1 serving of carbs left, if you hadn’t eaten it earlier in the day. Be careful carb mixing <3
- Grain based carbs like brown rice, wheat noodles, barley, etc. are definitely healthy options. But please keep in mind, everything that is typically a healthy option, is not always good food choice for YOUR body!! For example, brown rice causes belly bloat, gas and inflammation for me. (Just here keeping it real, it does!!) It’s definitely a healthy food choice for most!! But it does not work well with MY body. Divas, be aware of how food (including healthy foods) make you FEEL!! You could very well have a food sensitivity or allergy, but have been ignoring it. Keep your eyes open and learn your body from the inside out <3
Basic Carb Prep Instructions
Quinoa – I prefer it over brown rice (less bloating for me personally)
Quinoa is delicious and nutritious, but it can end up tasting bitter if not prepared properly. Quinoa is covered in a soapy substance called saponin that will result in this bitter taste if not removed.
1. Rinse your quinoa in a fine sieve (click here) until the water runs clear.
2. Drain, and transfer to saucepan.
3. Heat on medium-low and toast the quinoa for about 5 minutes, stirring it around in the pan.
4. Once it’s hot and the water is absorbed, you can add your water or liquid.
5. Add a pinch of salt, turn the heat up and allow the water to come to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15–20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
7. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
8. Fluff with a fork before serving. Ratio: 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water
Baked Sweet Potatoes
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Pierce each potato with a fork several times, and wrap in foil.
3. Place on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven for about 45 minutes. (Check for “doneness” at 30 minutes, they can take up to 1 hour or longer– simply unwrap one of the potatoes with foil and pierce with a fork or knife. If it’s tender and soft, it’s done!)
4. Eat or store for later.
5. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
NOTE: You can also buy sweet potatoes wrapped in plastic. You can easily prepare the sweet potatoes in the microwave!
There you have it diva! I sure hope you enjoyed our Fabulous Carb Prep Lesson!! Now let’s rock this Easy Diva Task!
TODAY’S EASY DIVA TASK:
1) Review the basic produce prep guidelines provided.
2) Share in our Private Diva Support Group (CLICK HERE: Fit, Fyne & Fabulous Divas) if you have learned something new today about carbs specifically!!
3) Click share at the bottom of this post. Please help us share informative & Free healthy topics / recipes.
If you have any questions about any of the items listed above, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or in our Fit, Fyne & Fabulous Diva Support Group! I would be glad to hear from you!
Live fabulously,
Coach Twy
You can reach out to me here:
Twitter: @fitfynefabulous
Instagram: @fit_fyne_fab
Facebook: Nicole “Coach Twy” Dyer-Twyman
Private Diva Support Group: Fit, Fyne & Fabulous Divas
P.S.: If you would like to learn more about our monthly 30 day diva support meal prep challenges, please visit: Make Up & Meal Prep July
I’m Nicole Twyman, a native New Orleanian, who has lived all across the US! Although, my small family of 4 currently calls Los Angeles, CA home. I am a proud 40+ year old mom of a wonderfully energetic and theatrical daughter, and a handsome, scholarly athlete!
While I have worked in corporate America as a certified senior project / program / portfolio manager for Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Procter & Gamble & IBM, my passion is service. It has always been my desire to live a life of service to others; which I took every opportunity to explore as an active member of many of my church’s ministries and of my public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.
Well, now I am over the top excited to have the opportunity to serve divas through my very own ministry, Fit, Fyne & Fabulous.
very helpful