Tag: health

Workout Wednesday: TSC Bombshell Body Guide

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I adore Lauryn Evarts at the Skinny Confidential.

Girl crush would be an understatement about this lady. She is aspirational, real, and the friend you wish you had.

I’ve been following her blog for some time (coconut milk ice cubes, chia seeds, diva cups…she covers it all), so when she announced that she was creating the bombshell body guides I just had to try it.  If you are wondering, I bought the guides, tried them, and fell in love with them long before I talked to anyone at Skinny Confidential to review them…that’s how much I loved them!

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The Best Part of Waking Up

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Don’t worry this isn’t a post about coffee…that’s for a later time.

This is about how I start my morning. I start every morning, 30 minutes after I wake up, with a green smoothie.

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Now this isn’t a magical 14 ingredient green smoothie that you see on some IG pages, this is quick and easy.

1 banana (preferably frozen so it’s creamy dreamy goodness)

1-2 big handfuls of spinach or any other dark leafy greens (I’ve used baby kale before)

1 cup milk (almond, coconut, cashew, whatever floats your boat)

1 scoop of pea protein (like Perfect Fit Protein)

…and it’s that simple. That’s how I start my mornings.  Now if you want to know why I eat something 30 minutes after waking up, that’s another post about my adventures in carb cycling 😉

I start the day with a protein packed, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, nutrient dense smoothie that gets my metabolism humming along for the day.

Hopefully seeing how easy it is to incorporate more greens or nutrient dense food in your day will inspire you to give this a try.

XOXO,

MacKenzie

This or That: Flywheel vs. Soulcycle

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Not since East Coast versus West Coast has there been such a debate, Flywheel or SoulCyle.

I used to be a spin instructor, so I’m super picky when it comes to where I take spin classes. Like no joke I lose patience really quickly when its a wordless, 4% incline, super basic type of spin class. Yes, I know all the spin instructors out there are probably yelling about contraindication spin…blah blah I know, and sorry not sorry, I don’t like those classes.

For every person in my class at CBS, I’m finally ready to answer what the difference is…from a philosophy stand point. Because rather than get in to price comparison, locations, instructors, and all that jazz, I figured I’d tell you about what makes the style different.

Soul is an interesting beast.  It is truly a cult that when you agree to drink the kool-aid, you are all in my friend. Its about the pack, the collective motivation of the group.  Your position in the room matters in relationship to the pack. I personally like to lead the pack from the front row. Its the kind of experience where you go, turn off your brain, and surrender to the energy of the room and the instructor.

Flywheel, on the other hand, is where I go when I want to plug in and compete against myself.  Flywheel isn’t about the pack, the music, the rhythm, or anyone else, it’s about you. Honestly, Fly is where I go when I want a slightly selfish experience, when I want to just focus on my ride. Your position in the room doesn’t matter, but if you are super competitive like me you take a spot and laser focus on the torq board (the leaderboard that runs during class showing you your position among the room). I have to forget trying to ride the beat of ever song, forget about catching the same cadence as my neighbor, its about how hard I push myself.

Both have their ups and downs, and I’ve ridden both. I have moments where I love spin and when I abhor it, but when I’m in the mood to spin I go for Soul or Fly. I honestly prefer Soul more because I worked so hard to get to the front of the pack, and I love any place that allows me to twerk on a spin bike. Thanks to some persistent classmates here at Columbia, I’ve started riding Flywheel. The extremely competitive person in me loves that I can see how I fair, and that I have actual stats to try and best for the next ride.

If you are ever walking around Manhattan and see a girl changing from a Soul top into a Fly one with a high bun, it’s probably me 🙂

XOXO,

MacKenzie

Work It Out Wednesday: The Name Game

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With the stress of school, my number one addiction is the post workout endorphin rush.

I’m pretty sure if I didn’t sweat it out for at least 10 minutes every day I would go crazy.

I love new fit challenges, and one challenge I’m embarking on come Monday October 12th is the Amanda Bisk Fresh Body Fit Mind 12 Week Challenge. I’m mainly telling you all this so everyone can hold me accountable to completing the full 12 weeks.  But also because I’m headed to LA in January for a big job trek, and we all know what Dion Sanders said about feeling good. (You Look Good You Feel Good, You Feel Good You Play Good, You Play Good They Pay Good!)

In the mean time leading up to Monday I’ve been all over Amanda’s insta feed to find workouts to ease me into the sweet torture I know is starting soon. One awesome workout I found on her page was this Name Workout.IMG_1058

So my full name has lots of Ms and Ns in it…I’ve never been more mad at my parents until I was doing 40 full burpees back to back.

I wanted to share it here, so you can tackle your first name, middle, last, married, and sweat it out while celebrating yourself! Come on, who doesn’t love a workout based YOU!!!

If you’d like to follow my #FBFM journey or join in the fun, I’m going to chronicle it all on my instagram.

I’d love you hear how you are sweating it out this Wednesday.

XOXO,

MacKenzie

Egg Sluttiness and Paleo Bowls

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Some how Wednesdays have become my recipe days…or I eat a lot and this is an excuse to share my eating habit with others.

I fell in love with eggs about a year ago.  And I don’t mean rubbery scrambled eggs, I mean poached eggs with a runny yolk, soft scrambled eggs that taste like melted cheese (without the cheese), soft boiled eggs…I’m what some would call an egg slut.

I also love good wholesome food.  Now don’t get me wrong I go H.A.M. on some doughnuts and fried chicken (shoutout to Astros Doughnuts in DC), but I also love simple delicious food.

Meet my favorite breakfast of all time…

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Now this isn’t a recipe kind of post, it’s a put stuff in a bowl and enjoy kind of post!

2 super soft scrambled eggs (p.s. I believe in making my eggs in either “real” kerrigold butter or coconut oil, with yolks…got to have those good fats, but just 0.5-1 tbsp)

2oz of smoked salmon

1/4 avocado

2 cups mixed greens (or more, no one will fault you for wanting more veggies)

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Simple, right? You can layer everything on top of the mixed greens like I did, or you can throw it all together and enjoy.  I love the briny taste of the smoked salmon with the creaminess of the egg and avocado.  If I really want to go to flavor town (DDD is my jam), then use arugula instead of mixed greens and you get that yummy peppery bite. And if I really want to go nuts I put a few oil packed sundried tomatoes on top.

I have been known when I’m feeling culinarily uncreative to make this meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This yummy bowl is paleo friendly, gluten free, dairy free, full of healthy fats, and tastes like heaven.

It’s also good for those times when you are trying to go low carb and you feel like you are moments from devouring your entire kitchen, or biting off the next person’s head who asks you why you’re so crabby…not like I’ve been there before or anything.

Hope you enjoy this bowl of yumminess as much as I do!

XOXO,

MacKenzie

Ice Cream, Nice Cream

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I love ice cream, and honestly who doesn’t…and if you say you don’t, I know you are lying.

When I was younger I discovered Hagen Daaz on a family vacation to Mexico, and legit ate it every day, for almost every meal (man I miss my 8 year old metabolism).

Fast forward to my adult life, and I have yet to find a flavor of Steve’s Ice Cream I don’t like. I fully endorse everything in moderation, including moderation. But even I know if I want to fit into my skinnies, I can’t have it every day. So thank goodness for Nice Cream!

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Nice Cream is a cleaner alternative to my favorite treat. Honestly, it’s bananas blended with some of my favorite healthy mix-ins. It satisfies my sweet tooth, I don’t feel guilty, bloated, and stuffed with added sugar.

Here’s how simple it is:

1 banana

1 tbsp chia seeds (I love adding tons of fiber where ever I can)

2 tbsp almond butter (preferably raw, cause it’s amazing)

…and that’s it, maybe a splash of almond milk. But you blend all of that, or toss it in the food processor.  And if you want more, double it, share it, do whatever. It’s vegan, dairy free, gluten free, and makes your taste buds so happy. Switch it up however, use cashew butter, peanut butter, carob chips, goji berries…play with your food and find what makes you happy and satisfied…maybe even add a tablespoon of protein powder.

Clean eating takes an adventurous spirit, finding out how to enjoy what you like in a way that you can enjoy it, and that your body will thank you.

Hope you like this nice cream as much as I do.

XOXO,

MacKenzie

Coco Crazy: Gluten Free Protein Cake

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I love food.

I love the process of creating food.

I love health and wellness.

I have a few bloggers that I absolutely adore. One such blogger, Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth. Not only is she amazing, has a great plant based focus, but she makes single serve recipes! Now I will be completely honest, I am a portions monster. If a really good recipe has 6 servings, it’s hard to stop yourself at 1/6th of a delicious black bean chocolate cake. A while back she posted an amazing single serving chocolate cupcake/mug cake. Well I just had to try it, with a little modification. I wanted some added protein, and to make it gluten free. I don’t have celiac’s disease, but with an underlying thyroid/autoimmune issue, it doesn’t hurt to avoid it from time to time.

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Adapted RFFMBT Chocolate Protein Mug Cake

3 Tbsp Brown Rice Protein

1 Tbsp Unsweetened carob/cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp unsweetened carob chips (or vegan carob, or chocolate chips…use what works for you)

1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 Tbsp maple syrup

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Egg Whites

1/2 Tbsp Almond Butter

1. Mix dry ingredients – protein powder, cocoa powder, baking powder, and carob chips together in a small bowl. Mix everything together until just combined. DO NOT overmix.
2. Add wet ingredients – melted coconut oil, maple syrup, egg whites and water and stir until batter is well combined.
3. Spray a microwave safe mug generously with nonstick cooking spray and pour batter into the mug.

This recipe is delicious, dairy free, gluten free, packed with protein, and you can fully devour it all alone and not feel awful. I like to top mine with some raw almond butter because why the hell not.

If you aren’t sure about what kind of brown rice protein to get, I recommend Perfect Fit Protein or SunWarrior Protein (I used Perfect Fit Vanilla to make this one).

Have fun experimenting in the kitchen, mix it up!

Can’t wait to hear how much you enjoy this cake :-p

XOXO,

MacKenzie

My Worst Relationship

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I have to be honest about my absolute worst relationship. I hate running.

Now the asterisk of this statement, I’ve run 3 marathons and 1 half marathon.

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…and I have hated every second of it.

I have tried so hard over the last year, like any bad relationship, to make it work.  I even recently signed up for a half marathon as a way to force myself to fall back in love. Much like a last ditch effort vacation to rekindle a romance, I knew it was a bad idea when I hit register but went through with it anyway.

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Between the stress of business school orientation, and reading Maria Menounos’s Every Girls Guide to Diet and Fitness, it hit me that it was time to cut it off. She talks in her book about the 50 year plan. Try as I might, I don’t see myself 50 years from now running road races. I don’t need to pick up a lifestyle habit that stresses me out, makes me feel awful, and just doesn’t give me that emotional support I get from other forms of exercise.

I have new fit goals, and I’ll share them another time. But I think I’m ready for a trial separation from my worst relationship. Running and I will see each other time to time through some HIIT intervals, a Precision Running Class at Equinox, or even a trip to a boutique workout…but in terms of being as serious as we’ve been in the past, I think those days are over. And maybe, just maybe, one day I’ll run another Disney race, or this time apart will draw us back together, but for now running and I are going to see other people.

XOXO,

MacKenzie

Clean Eating and Candice Kumai

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When I was a pre-teen I was diagnosed with PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It’s a nasty health issue to deal with, and if you want to learn more follow this link.

I refused to spend my life taking countless pills and struggling to feel normal when all my friends were enjoying pre-teen life. I learned about blood sugar, macrobiotic eating, alkalizing your body, and a host of other healthy living topics. I’ve always had a fascination with holistic living. To be completely honest, my parents let my have a holistic living coach when I was 13, who also acted as my spiritual shaman, because I refused to take adderall after a teacher’s recommendation. I shopped at Whole Foods when it was still fresh fields, and I used to eat birthday carrots instead of cake…by choice (geez no wonder I had a hard time making friends).

It wasn’t until college that I started trading my raw vegan chocolate balls for chocolate cookies.

Now my body is so sensitive to clean eating that I can feel the imbalance coming. I swear if I get “cute” and binge on sugar I can legit feel the insulin pouring out of my eyeballs.

I’m always experimenting with how to enjoy food and feed my body properly. There are a host of chefs and cookbooks that do a solid job of helping to find that balance (shoutout to Rocco Di Spirito and Goop.com)…but my favorite and #WCW is Candice Kumai. Kumai is a former Top Chef contestant, Bar Method enthusiast, road runner, amazing chef, and all around badass.

This past Lent session I gave myself a Julie/Julia style challenge of cooking one recipe daily from her cookbooks: Cook Yourself Sexy, Pretty Delicious and Clean Green Drinks.

So Cali Nicoise
Zoodles and Noodles with Nutritional Yeast
Chinese food, green juice, smoothies, veggies, and yummy pineapple upsidedown cake

I cooked up a storm, made amazing things from scratch, tried new ingredients, and every day was a new culinary adventure. My real test was if my dad would eat it, I knew I was on to something…and he loved every bite.

I think the most daunting thing about changing your eating habits is the fear of deprivation, at least for me. I find that all of Candice’s recipes are bursting with flavor, and they even inspired me to create my own healthy swaps (I’ll share those another time).

But seriously, how could you not want to listen to this woman, look at her…

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Candice has a new cookbook out called, Clean Green Eats. I can not wait to work my way through the recipes in that book (when I moved to Manhattan one of the only boxes I cared about had all my healthy eating cookbooks).

XOXO,

MacKenzie

New Domain, New Home, Same Glitter Bomb

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1689326_1409058896011726_938528847_nMy dream for Miss USA to MBA is to see it evolve along with me. I’ve had a desire to move the blog over to WordPress for a while.

For those that are just discovering the blog let me introduce myself.  My name is MacKenzie Green. I’m a former Miss DC USA (2010) and currently a Columbia Business School student. This blog originally started as my Miss USA blog, took on tons of different incarnations, and finally settled on what it is now. This blog is every bit of me, style, beauty, lifestyle, business school tips, and random thoughts.

If you want to see any previous posts, go to this link to see the former home of Miss USA to MBA.

I look forward to this journey at our new home, and I hope you enjoy this crazy right right along with me.

XOXO,

MacKenzie