Meet Coach Danette

How did you find Mama Bootcamp? 
A girlfriend and I were looking for a way to get in shape before a planned trip to Hawaii. She lives in the Roseville area and saw a group of women running around Maidu park so she stopped to ask them what group they belonged to. The women responded with, Mama Boot Camp, you should try it you will love it. So we did our first 12 week session beginning in September 2009 and by January we had reached our goals for the Hawaii trip. We couldn't stop once we started with the program and I have been an active boot camper since September 2009.

What is your favorite healthy snack? 
Greek yogurt with honey, apples and hummus with veggies.

Besides being a Mama Bootcamp Coach, what other ‘hats’ do you wear? 
Although I am currently working I will be retiring after 35 years with the State of California, currently the HR Director at the Department of Veterans Affairs. My last physical day will be February 3, 2012 and will then be on vacation status until my retirement date of June 2, 2012 my 55th birthday. I have two grown daughters, 25 and 31 who are both nurses, I also have one granddaughter who is 3 years old. I have been married for 29 years and we are best friends and have so many plans when I retire.

What do you like to do in your free time? 
My husband and I are avid bike riders, both road and mountain biking, we have a fifth wheel trailer and love to camp, hike, snow shoe, and jet ski. We plan on going cross country in our fifth wheel when I retire.

What is your favorite part about being a coach and being on the Mama Bootcamp team? 
Bootcamp has given me an opportunity to be in the best shape ever, even at 54 years old. I enjoy the triathlons and the tri training. I have met so many generous and caring women through Mama Bootcamp and it is something that I love participating in so when I retire I can spend more helping other women get healthy. I appreciate the diverse group of women who are part of MBC.

Weekly Challenge #48: Easy Meal for Busy Weeknight

It's a bit of a coincidence that this week you are challenged to make a healthy dish using turkey.  You could use leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but the original recipe uses inexpensive and naturally lean ground turkey.  Your challenge this week is to make this recipe and hopefully it will become something you keep in your cooking arsenal as a go-to dish for a busy weeknight.  This is a recipe where it's really just about the method; the ingredients should be whatever lean protein and healthy green veggies you want to use.  Increase the nutrition with super-veggies like spinach and kale.  Make it meatless using tofu or cooked quinoa.  It's easy to just increase the quantities of everything to feed more people or to ensure you have plenty of leftovers for lunch.
The basic recipe with photos can be found here- e-mealplanning Recipes or you can copy it from below.


Cheap and Easy Turkey Stir Fry

Ingredients

2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp vegetable or canola oil
2-3 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 green onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini sliced and then cut into match stick size pieces (julienne)
1 carrot julienne sliced
½ lb French green beans (these are the thin kind, fresh or Trader Joe’s sells them frozen and they’re great)
1 clove crushed garlic
2 tbl fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbl hoisin  or teriyaki sauce (flavors are different, just use what you prefer)


Directions
In large skillet or wok, heat oils and crushed garlic over medium heat until fragrant.  Add turkey, thoroughly break up and cook until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.
Turn heat up slightly to medium-high, add vegetables and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey back, combine thoroughly, add onion and hoisin sauce, continue to stir to incorporate keeping heat up so a slight bit of carmelization occurs.  Add parsely and soy sauce, stir for one more minute and then serve with steamed brown rice with extra soy sauce on the side.

 Serves 4- Recipe as written has 274 calories per serving, 13g of fat


Have a great week and get cooking!

Meet Coach Shannon

How did you find Mama Bootcamp?
The first time was when I was at the park running and started talking to a group of women who said they were with Mama Bootcamp. They all said they loved it and looked so happy. About a year later, I was talking to a high school friend who was talking all about food logs and working out so I asked her what she was doing. It was Mama Bootcamp so I decided I had to try it out.

What is your favorite healthy snack?
Oh so many! I love any vegetable with hummus or a crisp apple with a slice of Swiss cheese or string cheese.

Besides being a Mama Bootcamp Coach, what other ‘hats’ do you wear?
I am a wife and stay-at-home mom to a 2 year old. When I am working in my profession, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to spend time with my family and friends. I enjoy reading, going to the movies, exploring the foothills by hiking and/or car rides (depends if our two year old falls asleep). When there is actually free time with a sitter, my husband and I love going on our motorcycle to explore.

What is your favorite part about being a coach and being on the Mama Bootcamp team?
I love seeing mamas' connect through health and fitness. It is amazing to see the joy on a mama's face as she reaches her mini and long term goals. While the inches, weight, and percent body fat loses are awesome, it is also fantastic to hear a mama rejoice in being able to physical activities that they thought they could not do (plank for a minute, go from walking to running, increase the time they can wall sit). They are so inspirational!

Weekly Challenge #47: The Tough Turkey Express Workout!

The number one question I hear this past week at Bootcamp was "Do we have Bootcamp on Thanksgiving?"

The short answer: No, there are no bootcamps scheduled for Thanksgiving Day.

The long answer: No, there are no bootcamps scheduled for Thanksgiving Day BUT you can, and should, still get a workout in!!

This Thanksgiving, treat yourself to the Tough Turkey Express Workout! It will only take a few minutes, and its a great way to start off your holiday weekend.

Here's the set (repetitions in parenthesis are for beginner, intermediate and advanced, respectively):

Pushups - box-style, on your knees or on your toes (20, 25, 30)

Dips (20,25,30)

Butt Bumps (20, 25, 30)

Wall Sit (60 seconds for all levels)

Flutter Kick Hold 10 kick, 10 hold (3 sets, 3 sets, 4 sets)

Need refresher for some of the moves? See the video here.


YOUR CHALLENGE: Repeat the Tough Turkey Express Workout circuit 3 to 4 times in a row. Your body will love you for it!

Have a happy, and HEALTHY, Thanksgiving!

Ashley's Story: Procrastination

My motto has always been "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" I've been a procrastinator for as long as I can remember. I work best with a deadline. I thrive when I'm being pushed to finish something NOW. My house gets cleaned when I know company is on the way. I can get two weeks of work done in two days when my annual conference is looming.

Lately, I realize that I've been procrastinating with my body and my health. Despite the month of plague that hit my house, I've been pretty dedicated to my workouts (at least my walking and bootcamp), but my eating habits have hardly changed. I can't say that I'm surprised that I haven't had the greatest results in the past few weeks considering what I've been shoveling into my mouth. So, knowing that I am one of the world's best procrastinators, I've decided to give myself a due date.

Today, I printed out a week's worth of food logs and a code enforcer. I'm writing my workouts onto the code enforcer and those are workout due dates. Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I challenge you to call me out everyday this next week (even Thanksgiving!) to see if I've filled in my food logs (and for you to do yours too!). I need some accountability. Or if we're not friends on Facebook, call me out on the Mama Bootcamp page.

It's time for me to stop putting this off. Yes, it's going to be hard, but that doesn't mean it won't be worth it!!

New Service- Get help with Meal Plans and Cooking

Hi!  Coach Erika here.  I'm so excited to be a part of the Mama Bootcamp team!  I write a blog, e-mealplanning.com and I help people with customized meal plans or in-home personal chef services.  I'm now offering these services for Mama Bootcampers as a part of your program!  Check out all the details here - Mama Bootcamp Meal Planning

You can sign up with your coach or contact me directly so we can get started! 

Meet Coach Erika

How did you find Mama Bootcamp?  
My friend and fellow coach, Allison Brewer told me about it and how it had changed her life.  I was definitely in need of finding something for myself so I gave it a try and I'm so glad I did!

What is your favorite healthy snack?  
It's a toss up between sweet- sliced apples with peanut butter, or savory- hummus with carrot sticks.

Besides being a Mama Bootcamp Coach, what other ‘hats’ do you wear?  
I am a wife and a mother to 2 girls and a new baby boy.  My oldest plays competitive soccer so I spend a lot of time driving to practices and games.  I write a blog, e-mealplanning.com and work as a personal chef and meal planning consultant.  

What do you like to do in your free time?  
Well, my interests seem to blend with the 'hats' that I wear; I love to cook and bake for family, friends and for my blog.  I also play a lot of Words with Friends, and I love to read and if there was more free time, I would sew more often.

What is your favorite part about being a coach and being on the Mama Bootcamp team?  
The opportunity to meet so many great women who share the common bond of being empowered to strive for living healthier lives and having fun with fitness