Peanut Butter Fudgy Pops

Some things were just meant to go together: strawberries and cream, oatmeal and raisins, peanut butter and chocolate. Our Peanut Butter Fudgy Pops blend the latter two made-in-heaven flavors into ice-cold pops that taste like a peanut butter cup on a stick — without the truckload of fat and sugar to weigh you down.

Most better-for-you popsicles are usually fruit-based, but these offer something a little creamier. Blend and freeze just three ingredients — Chocolate Shakeology, peanut butter, and milk — and you’ll be enjoying a satisfying, healthy treat that also has 9 grams of protein. (Not a fan of chocolate? Then check out our avocado and banana popsicles).



Peanut butter may sound like an indulgence, but it can be part of a healthy diet — in moderation, of course. Peanuts pack a lot into a little package: They contain fiber, protein, key vitamins and minerals like potassium and vitamin E, and monounsaturated fats.

If you’re feeling a little ambitious, consider making your own. All you need are peanuts and a food processor and you can make homemade peanut butter in five minutes flat. If you don’t own a food processor or don’t want to mess with kitchen appliances, just make sure to use natural peanut butter. Check the label: The only ingredients listed should be peanuts and salt.

Want more delicious and healthy Shakeology dessert ideas? Here are recipes for brownies, energy balls, and cookies for you to try! Let us know how they turn out.




Author: Beachbody
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup reduced-fat (2%) milk
1½ scoops Chocolate Shakeology
1 Tbsp. all-natural peanut butter


Instructions:
Place milk, Shakeology, and peanut butter in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.
Pour evenly into four ice pop molds; freeze until hard.

By:  Beachbody

Container Equivalents:  1/2 Red, 1 tsp.

Apple Cinnamon Granola

Apples and cinnamon are classic fall flavors, and they both come together to create this healthy granola recipe. It’s crunchy, sweet, and perfectly spiced.

Total Time: 1 hr. 52 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 37 min.
Yield: 32 servings, 2 Tbsp each

Ingredients:
¼ cup raw honey (or pure maple syrup)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin organic coconut oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup coarsely chopped raw walnuts
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 medium apple, cored, chopped
¼ cup raisins

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Heat honey and oil in small saucepan over low heat; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes or until oil has melted.
4. Add extract; mix well. Set aside.
5. Combine oats, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a large mixing bowl; mix well.
6. Add honey mixture, apple, and raisins; mix until oats are evenly coated.
7. Place on prepared baking pan; spread evenly in a thin layer.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until granola is light golden brown and crisp.
9. Cool granola completely (it will get more crisp as it cools).

By:  Beachbody

Container Equivalents:  2 Tbsp. = 1/2 Yellow, 1/2 tsp.

Mexican Chicken Zucchini Boats

I don’t always associate the word “healthy” with the kind of Mexican food that I tend to gravitate toward — chips, guacamole, and queso, anyone? But these Mexican Chicken Zucchini Boats are the real (healthy) deal: rich flavors, a spicy kick, and 9 grams of fat per serving.

These boats are a healthier spin on chicken burritos, swapping in nutritious zucchini for flour tortillas. A typical flour tortilla contains 25 grams of carbohydrates, 458 milligrams of sodium, and not much else. One zucchini contains 10 grams of carbs, 26 milligrams of sodium, as well as vitamins A, C, and K, and minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Using zucchini as the vessel is also convenient way to watch your portions without having to think too hard: 1 boat = 1 serving.



You can cook the chicken however you choose, but for tender, succulent chicken, check out this no-fuss cooking guide for baked chicken breasts.

There’s a boatload of good stuff in this dish: protein, vitamins, and minerals from the spices (cumin, paprika, and chili powder), and lycopene from tomato sauce and tomato paste. And of course, everything just tastes better with melted cheese on top.



These zucchini boats are also incredibly versatile — serve them as a main course with a green salad, or cut them into smaller pieces for a unique, nutritious one-bite appetizer for your next party. Plus, these boats can travel: Pop your leftovers in a container and you’ve got a fast, easy lunch to bring to work.

For more Mexican-inspired meals, try these recipes for chicken burrito bowls, a breakfast scramble, and cheesy slow-cooker enchiladas.

Mexican Chicken Zucchini Boats



Author: Beachbody
Serves: 8 servings, 1 boat each

Ingredients:
4 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
4 tsp. olive oil, divided use
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup tomato sauce, no sugar added
2 Tbsp. tomato paste, no sugar added
1 Tbsp. ground chili powder (or 1½ tsp. chili powder and 1½ tsp. ancho chili powder)
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground paprika
3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1⅓ cups corn kernels
1 cup shredded cheddar (or Monterey jack) cheese
2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Using a spoon (or melon baller), scoop pulp out of zucchini to make boats.
3. Place on a large baking sheet. Brush with 1 tsp. oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until tender-crisp.
4. While zucchini is baking, heat remaining 3 tsp. oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
6. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
7. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and paprika. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
8. Add chicken and corn; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from heat.
9. Evenly spoon chicken mixture into zucchini boats. Evenly top with cheese.
10. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
11. Sprinkle evenly with cilantro, tomato, and green onions; serve immediately.

Container Equivalents:  1 Boat = 1 Green, 1 Red, 1/2 Blue, 1/2 tsp.

Yogurt Berry Parfait

There are countless yogurt brands out there, some flavored, some with fruit on the bottom, and others are sprinkled with granola. Some might say that the recent yogurt boom is thanks to Greek yogurt, the super thick yogurt that has more protein and less sugar and almost resembles ice cream.

But, here’s the thing – even though yogurt is a popular, probiotic-packed snack that turns up on most diet plans, not all yogurt is healthy.

Many yogurts you find at the market are loaded with added sugar and chemicals. Those strawberries at the bottom of your cup? They’re pretty much pie filling. Other strawberry or cherry-flavored yogurts source additional color from crushed up beetles. And, don’t even get us started on the ones with candy in them. So while adding your berries is slightly less convenient than reaching for the store-bought stuff, it’s worth the extra 15 seconds.

This yogurt berry parfait is a delicious, fiber-rich alternative to pre-packaged offerings. The plain yogurt, which is sweetened naturally with applesauce, can provide your digestive system with good bacteria without synthetic sugars getting in the way. Top it with a little bran for fiber and texture and mix in some fresh fruit. We chose blueberries and raspberries for this recipe, but you can swap them out for the same amount of your favorite. Peaches and blackberries also make a great combination, especially in the summer when stone fruit is at its juiciest.

At 245 calories and a whopping 14 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber, these yogurt berry parfaits are a great quick breakfast for those mornings when you hit snooze.

Ingredients:
2 cups reduced-fat (2%) plain yogurt
2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
½ cup unsweetened bran cereal
⅓ cup fresh blueberries
⅓ cup fresh raspberries

Instructions:

1. Combine yogurt and applesauce in a medium bowl; mix well.
2. Divide evenly among two medium serving bowls; top evenly with cereal, blueberries, and raspberries.
3. Serve immediately

Container Equivalents: 1 Red, 1/2 Yellow, 1/2 Purple

4 Eating Habits That Can Mess With Your Sleep

Like most of us, you’ve probably experienced an evening tossing and turning in bed but were unsure of what the reason was — especially because you felt exhausted since early afternoon! The reason you can’t sleep might be due to something you ate before bed.

“I’d suggest people avoid eating right before bed,” says Kit Broihier, M.S., R.D., of NutriComm Inc. in Maine. “Our bodies are working on repairing things and rejuvenating during sleep. It’s harder for the body to do that if it’s digesting food at the same time.”

More specifically, a heavy, big meal eaten too close to bedtime can disrupt sleep cycles. However, taking in a little protein before bed (think: Beachbody Recharge), promotes muscle and tissue repairing. The minimal digesting effort is worth the benefits to muscles, says Denis Faye, Beachbody’s senior director of nutrition content. Let’s take a look at some of the ways your food habits might be derailing your best sleep intentions.

4 Eating Habits That Can Mess With Your Sleep

You eat way too much:

You’re probably not likely to be hungry if you’re going to bed two to three hours after your last meal of the day. But, if you don’t go to bed for four or more hours until after dinner, a small snack — like plain yogurt and fruit or Beachbody Recharge — an hour before bed is fine, says Broihier. “Large meals before bed frequently keep people up because reclining after eating a big meal can cause heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (or GERD).”

You eat fatty foods:

Foods high in fat can slow digestion and lead to reflux, which can impact sleep. High-fat meals (think fatty burgers, creamy pasta dishes, and some fast food) can cause GI distress for people at any time of day, says Broihier. “Combine that with a reclining position at night and heartburn can easily follow,” she says.

In general, try to eat a balanced meal a couple hours before bed. A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that when study participants ate meals that were balanced, lower in saturated fat and higher in protein, they fell asleep faster than when they ate meals they prepared on their own.

You eat salty restaurant foods:

Restaurant meals and takeout foods tend to be salty, so eating those a few hours before bed could wake you up if you’re thirsty and need to make a run for water, says Broihier. They also might be fattier and larger in size than the healthy dinner you’d cook at home, so keep that in mind if you’re dining out.

If you are dining out, consider an appetizer and a salad instead of the giant entree. Even if you’re not eating out for dinner that night, think twice about eating that sodium-packed frozen dinner or salty snack before bedtime if you’re concerned you’ll be parched all night long.

You eat sugary foods:

If you like to finish off your day with a big bowl of sugary ice cream or a large sweet treat (hey there chocolate chip cookies), there’s a chance you might wake up more throughout the night. The aforementioned Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine study found that greater sugar intake was associated with more sleep disturbances. It also found that a diet higher in fiber predicted more time spent in the stage of deep, slow wave sleep among study participants.

Have a low-sugar, fiber-rich snack an hour before bed if you’re hungry. Top 1/2 cup of low-fat plain cottage cheese with berries, or top a slice of whole wheat bread with avocado slices spritzed with lemon juice.

You add hot sauce to your meals:

Spicy foods can do a number on anyone’s digestive system, but Broihier says “Combining spicy food with fatty food (such as a cheesy, spicy Tex-Mex dish) shortly before bed can be even worse. Say no to those late-night nachos!”

By:. Beachbody

Sore, Hungry, or Slow? 3 Signs Your Program is Working

Exercise makes us feel great. It makes us less hungry. It helps us perform everyday tasks better. Besides our health and the way we look, feeling great, being less hungry, and performing better are exactly the reasons we put ourselves through exercise. However, en route to ultimate fitness, there are some hurdles we all need to clear. Mainly, they include being faced with the opposite of our intended goals. Enter the trilogy of grumpiness: getting sore, slow, and hungry. We tend to look at these as negatives, but you want these feelings because they’re clear signs your program is working.

Sore, Slow, and Hungry

Before we analyze why you need to embrace “going backward,” let’s answer the obvious question: why would we design this type of program? Certainly, there are exercise programs that don’t put you through torture. Could we have chosen such a path with P90X?

The answer is that programs lacking this trilogy don’t provide you an incentive to get in top shape. In the early stages of any exercise program, it’s possible to structure the schedule and diet around making small improvements. You push your body above its normal output, though just barely, and you keep it there. If you are greatly deconditioned, it will yield improvements. This approach doesn’t hurt, and frankly, it helps people who’ve never exercised — mainly due to the mental boost they get from feeling they can exercise. It’s a nice alternative for some people. But let’s be realistic. None of them would sit through a P90X infomercial, much less be inspired by it.

This is what we would call a foundation phase of training for someone who has never exercised. The upside with this method is that each day you leave the gym feeling better than when you walked in. The downside is that you’ll never have the body of a fitness model. To achieve a higher level of fitness, you need to periodize your training and eventually stare into your Nietzschean abyss. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is more than a cliché with P90X — it’s your life.

Getting Sore

Soreness is the easiest symptom to understand. Most of us have been sore at some point. It happens anytime we do something physical that we’re unaccustomed to. From yard work to a pickup game to a marathon shopping spree, when you push your body beyond what you do in your normal day-to-day activity, you get sore. This is true even if you used to do the said activity all the time. In fact, that generally makes it worse, because you still hang on to the muscle memory of how to do the activity, which means you can really put the hurt on if you don’t have the requisite fitness base.

Most soreness comes from the breakdown of fast-twitch muscle fibers. Our bodies have both slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers. Slow-twitch fibers have a low recruitment factor, which simply means they get fired up at low outputs. Fast-twitch fibers have a high recruitment factor, meaning it takes something more intense to get them going. A simple example would be raising your fork to your mouth, which requires slow-twitch fibers, compared to raising a heavy barbell over your head, which requires fast-twitch fibers. Furthermore, we all have some extra fast-twitch fiber for emergencies. When you run from a bear, you’re engaging these, which is why you’re likely to run faster than you ever have before.

Fast-twitch fibers are repaired much more slowly than slow-twitch fibers. You can pretty much keep shoving food into your mouth and never get tired. When you do get tired, you’ll be able to resume the activity quickly. Lifting a barbell over your head will wear you out, and it will take some time before your body is able to do it again. The more weight you add, the quicker you’ll get tired and the longer it will take before your body is ready to do it again. And once you’ve escaped the bear, you’d do well to avoid him for a couple of weeks. Those emergency fibers you’ve thrashed will take that long to recover.

Hypertrophy means muscle growth. Almost all training programs target this, even weight loss programs, because changing a body from rotund to svelte requires you to lose body fat. And the quickest way to lose body fat is to gain more muscle. Muscle requires more work from your body, even at rest, so your body will take the nutrients from the foods you eat and store them in muscle tissue rather than adipose (or fat) tissue.

To create hypertrophy, you need to overload your muscle fibers progressively to keep breaking them down. As you get fitter, you engage higher-threshold muscle cell motor units to keep the overload coming. Breaking down exactly the number of muscle cells your body can replenish right away is nearly impossible. This means that to advance your level of fitness, you are going to break down more muscle fibers than you intended. When this happens, you get sore.

Furthermore, the more varied the exercise you do, the more you’ll find areas where your body is out of balance. This means some muscles are stronger than others. When you do new exercises, your stronger muscles are forced to do extra work as the weaker ones catch up. This results in both the strong and weak muscles being overworked while they sort out the balance problem. This is the first step of Muscle Confusion, and as you know, there is no shortage of it in P90X.

Getting Hungry

“I heard I would get less hungry and all I can think about is eating” is a common sentiment expressed on our Message Boards. The reason is somewhat obvious—our entry-level programs have low-calorie diets, not to mention restricted diets. Most of these people are simply craving the junk foods we’ve had them cut out.

But Xers get hungry too, and they’re usually eating enough calories. This is because your body cries out for nutrients when it’s in breakdown mode, even when you’ve eaten all you can. Learning that this craving is normal will greatly help your success curve.

When your body is craving nutrients, you want to feed it. However, under the type of duress a hard program creates, you can’t possibly give it enough nutrients. Many of us try. We eat and eat. And while eating can help ease the mental anguish your body is going through, you can’t put all of these calories to use, and some will get stored in fat tissue.

When your body is hungry, supplements are your best friend. Most have very few calories and a lot of nutrients. Some have targeted nutrients, which basically means they’re designed for nutrient efficiency. But no matter how well we strategize, we’re all going to get hungry at some point in our programs. So much so that staying hungry is a metaphor for the bodybuilding lifestyle. In the film Stay Hungry, a bodybuilding champion (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) sums this up with the line, “I don’t want to get too comfortable. I’d rather stay hungry.”

A note from expert Denis Faye: “If you’re hungry even though you’ve eaten all your calories and you’re trying to lose weight, your first course of action is to fight it. Hunger doesn’t necessarily mean you need food. It just means you’re used to food. However, if you’re going completely nuts, then you want filling foods with few or no calories. Herbal tea is good, so is broth or veggies, as long as they’re fresh and raw. If you must eat something more substantial, I’d opt for a straight protein, like chicken or egg whites. It’s not going to impact your blood sugar as hard and it’s not all that yummy, so you know you’re not just comfort eating.”

Getting Slow

This is the hardest condition to conceptualize but the easiest to explain. During hypertrophy, your muscles are growing. Growing muscles are a bit like a growing person. Just as you learn how to grow into a developing body, you need to learn how to use new muscles. During the hypertrophy stage of your exercise program, your muscles are “big and dumb,” like the old-school concept of the “musclehead.”

Larger muscles have a greater capacity for strength than smaller ones. A large muscle isn’t necessarily stronger, but if trained properly, it will become stronger. Muscular efficiency (or absolute strength) is what gets targeted in the latter stages of a training program. Doing low repetitions, along with eccentric and plyometric movements, is all about teaching your muscles efficiency — essentially, the ability to recruit high-threshold muscle cell motor units.

While your muscles are growing, your ability to move quickly lessens. This is why athletes do all of their body-altering training in the off-season. When you start to feel slow, it’s a sign that your program is working. Just remember that you’ll want to increase your intensity and whip those big lugs into shape later on.

Remember these are stages, not chronic conditions. You should only experience them early in a program or new cycle of training. If you aren’t experiencing them at all, it means you’re ready to ramp your training up to the next level. But if they persist beyond four weeks, you’re overdoing it and risk overtraining. You may also experience them each time you transition to a new phase. In this case, though, they should be gone before you move into the next phase.

By: Beachbody

Philly Cheese Steak Sliders

As delicious as they are, Philly Cheese Steak sliders are notorious for their heartburn-inducing piles of greasy meat and oozing cheese on a processed white bread roll. But, with a few healthy tweaks, they can fit into your healthy eating plan. By using fresh veggies, lean sirloin steak, and smaller whole wheat rolls, you can get the same authentic flavor without the extra fat and calories. Slap on a slice of provolone cheese and you’ve got yourself a meal!

Total Time: 31 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 16 min.
Yield: 4 servings, 1 each

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium green (or red) bell pepper, sliced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves)
Sea salt (or Himalayan salt) and ground black pepper (to taste; optional)
8 oz. raw lean beef sirloin, sliced very thin
¼ cup sliced banana (or cherry) peppers (optional)
2 oz. thinly sliced provolone cheese
4 small whole wheat rolls, split, toasted

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet (or griddle) over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onions are soft.
3. Add mushrooms and oregano. Season with salt and pepper if desired; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft.
4. Add sirloin; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until beef is cooked through.
5. Top evenly with banana peppers (if desired) and cheese. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 1 to 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
6. Top buns evenly with meat mixture; serve immediately.

Tip: To make slicing sirloin easier, freeze it for approximately 30 minutes before slicing.

By: Beachbody

Container Equivalents:  1 Green, 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1/2 Blue, 1/2 tsp.