Social media, blogging and regular updates are not my strong suit...
Teaching people to exercise safely and efficiently is more my jam! Helping you learn to overcome your gym anxiety, to develop the mindset of an athlete, and to understand that strength is for everyone is definitely my jam.
Hit me up via email if this sounds enticing to you:
info@kkofitness.com
Well it's January, which means social media feeds everywhere are a buzz with promises of how to be better in 2017. Collectively this is the time of year our culture decides to start fresh, to get down to business, to make change...
That is until the sheen and urgency of whatever new fitness/healthy eating/dry-January/hot yoga regime you've decided to adopt for the month wears off. And old habits rear their ugly heads: why gym when I can Netflix? I'll start the diet tomorrow. I deserve this. Etcetera, etcetera...
Sound familiar?
What if there was a better way? A saner way? A kinder way? Which could ultimately produce better and more long lasting results. An approach that feels manageable year round, not just for the first few frantic weeks of January.
I've worked with hundreds of clients over the last six years and come to realize that sustainable behaviour and lifestyle change isn't glamorous. It's often mundane and repetitive and challenging. But here's the thing, it works.
Are you interested in finally dropping that last 10 pounds? Getting off the couch and feeling light on your feet and fit again? Would you like to learn how to stick to a healthy meal plan for once?
I'm happy to help, we're in this together.
The weather is colder, the days are shorter and there is absolutely nothing better after a long day than a pipping hot bowl of chicken noodle soup. This recipe is super easy and extremely versatile. You can make the broth in around an hour and then store it in the fridge until required. Assembly is also super fast, so dinner comes together in a flash.
Yes please.
You will need:
For the broth...
To serve...
What you do:
Cut your chicken into pieces. If you don't know how to do this Gordon Ramsay is happy to teach you here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvPUV5vyKII
Prep your aromatics: peel and slice the shallot, discard the roots of the green onion, peel the ginger, smash the garlic.
Put the chicken pieces and everything else in a pot, cover with water. Turn up the heat to medium high and bring to a boil.
Once it's boiled, turn it down to a simmer and leave it for an hour or so. You don't want to over cook the chicken to the point it's falling apart. Cooked through, slightly pealing off the bones and tender is perfect.
Once the chicken is cooked (anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hrs) reserve cooked chicken to a bowl. Season the broth with soy sauce and strain out the vegetables.
Place the broth in the fridge once you've strained it, the fat will harden and it will make it a lot easy to scoop it off. Get rid of the fat. Strain again into whatever receptacle you choose to store it in.
YUM! The world is your oyster. See below for ideas on how to serve.
Reheat the broth, boil some rice noodles, pick the chicken off the bones, wash some greens and you're about to have yourself a great time. This is just one option of what can be done with a good home made soup broth.
Pictured: enoki mushrooms, spinach, mint, watercress, cilantro, green onions, lime wedges and rice noodles.
Serve with: chilis, fresh herbs, bean sprouts etc!
Enjoy!
I love these pancakes. I eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They are high protein, high fiber and low carb. There are a lot of "protein" pancakes floating around on the internet and you can even buy pre-made mix these days at health food stores. Save yourself the money. Here is my go to pancake recipe:
Macros: without toppings
400 calories
9 grams fat
13 grams carbohydrate
6 grams fiber
66 grams protein
Things you will need:
- 1 egg
- half cup egg whites
- 1-2 scoops protein powder
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour (or almond flour or regular old flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 small pat butter
- whatever pancake toppings your heart desires: peanut butter, maple syrup, greek yogurt, fruit (be aware your topping choice will change the macros significantly)
Not pictured: coconut flour
Beat egg and egg white until frothy. Add protein powder. Whisk until smooth. Add coconut flour, mix until smooth and then add leavening agents (baking powder and soda.)
Melt butter over medium heat until frothy.
Pour in your batter.
When it looks like this, flip em. Don't touch them before they start to bubble, trust me.
NOM! Enjoy.
I am a lazy woman. I am an especially lazy woman when it comes to convenience eating.
We've all been there, exhausted, starving and staring into an empty fridge. These times are generally when we make the worst decisions. These are the times when Poptarts with peanut butter sound like an ideal dinner.
Make your life easier. Take the decision making process out of the equation. Keep your fridge stocked with some quick-cooking or pre-cooked protein and veggies. Make more than one serving of something at a time. Bulk cooking will make your life so much easier. Let eggs and egg whites become your new best friend.
I eat this probably 2-4x/week. An open omelette or frittata finished in the oven is a great way to get your protein and veggies in all in one go. They're fast, easy and actually taste good. Feel free to add a carb of your choice (if post-workout or looking to bulk.) Also tasty with a side of avocado and some hot sauce.
You will need:
Method:
Egg whites are your new best friend.
Saute your chopped veggies in a little oil
Beat egg(s) and egg whites together, pour into pan
Broil!
This is a really tasty, fairly fancy looking any-time meal.
Asian..ish.
You will need:
Method:
French people call this your mise en place. Compile your shit before you start.
Season your steak with sesame oil and salt and pepper, oil the steak. Not the pan. It will stick less.
Massage your steak.
Chop your veggies while the steak sears.
Get that pan hot.
Slice your aromatics.
We're in business.
Work clean. Use a plastic produce bag for compost, wipe as you go.
Let the steak rest, divide your veggies in two.
NOM! Cook with the fat, discard the fat when serving. This is a piece of grass-fed beef, so it's a little on the fatty side (cause I am cheap and bought a cheaper yet fancier cut.) I suggest going with a striploin or flank cut instead.
It's 2015...
This year I resolve to update this website at least monthly.
Welcome to the new KKOFITNESS.com
I hope you find it easy to navigate and useful.
- Karen
One of my newer clients wrote me a new review on Yelp! I have to admit, the first time I read it I almost teared up.
You can check it out here:
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/kko-fitness-toronto#hrid:frwKmZC_TNuVHdUEUJZFsw
One of my clients wrote me a new review on Yelp!
Check it out here: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/kko-fitness-toronto
Baked Eggs in a Turkey Basket I was going to start this recipe with one of a dozen or so awful egg puns I had thought up, instead I'll skip the fowl humour and get straight to business.
Do you enjoy hard boiled eggs? Does their perfect protein packed oval shape please you? Do you also like turkey? What about green things?
These little guys are a great portable snack or on-the-go breakfast option.
Meet your new best friend:
What you need:
What you do:
Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) is a unique system of assisted stretching that leads to dramatic increases in mobility, reduced pain, and improved athletic performance. FST is performed on a massage table by a certified Fascial Stretch Therapist. Therapists apply slight traction to joints before introducing strategic stretches for your whole body. FST works to correct dysfunctional movement patterns, and increases flexibility and range of motion; imagine a cross between massage, yoga and assisted stretching. It is a great tool to alleviate mental and physical stress while improving performance, sleep and reducing chronic pain. What is fascia?
How can FST help me?
Big Batch Bison and Chicken Sliders Nothing makes me happier than large batch cooking. Exhausted and stressed at the end of the day? Feel your hunger transforming into hanger; that dreaded combination of low blood sugar and high emotion? Fear not, large batch cooking will save your life. Good quality, hormone and antibiotic free ground meats from your local butcher are an inexpensive and easy way to get your protein fill. Here is my favourite bison-chicken combination of late.
Prep time: 20 minutes. Cook time: 30 minutes.
Things you need:
- 3 lb ground meats best quality you can afford (I chose 2lb bison and 1lb chicken)
- Package of mushrooms
- Half a large red onion
- Half a large bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon organic butter
- Half a lime
- Handful of spinach
- Chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 egg
Step 1)
First things first compile your ingredients and preheat the oven to 375 F. Next chop your bell pepper, mushrooms and onion.
Step 2)
Sauté onion, pepper and mushrooms over medium heat in butter until translucent. Add handful of spinach and squeeze lime juice into spinach. Cook until wilted. Set aside and let cool slightly.
Step 3)
Plonk your ground meats in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper (really important other wise your sliders will be bland.) Add cooked veggies and egg. Now it’s time to get your hands dirty.
Mix everything together until well combined. Form into patties or a loaf and bake until golden brown.
And enjoy!
So, as a "health and fitness professional" I get asked a lot of questions regarding health and fitness. A lot of these questions come from well-intentioned curiosity and a lot of these questions are a by-product of the relentless stream of "health-fat-loss-fitness-toning-trouble-spots-low-carb-bootcamp-Jillian-Michaels "nonsense that constantly bombards us on TV, in magazines, and on the interweb. "My Nike Trainer app tells me I should be doing 20-30 reps of everything?"
"If I lift heavy weights, I'll bulk up and look like Arnold in the 70s."
"Cardio and salad are the best way to get ready for summer."
"Really, it's the healthiest diet I've ever been on. I only eat things from a straw." (the-horrible-new-diet-that-totally-stinks)
Sound familiar?
Here are the top fitness myths I would like to see die, forever.
1. Women should not lift weights heavier than 12 pounds. Further, women should abstain from: deadlifts, Olympic lifts, barbell squats, bench pressing etc.
This is the biggest crock ever.
Reasons why weight training is in everyone's (but especially women's) best interest:
According to Tufts University, the two leading predictors of lifespan are: How much leanbody mass you maintain over the course of your lifetime. How strong you are.
2. Cardio is the best way to lose fat. In fact, running gets you fit.
3. If you fall of the wagon of your (no-carb, no sugar, no solid food, all grapefruit) super restrictive diet, you are a bad person and your body is broken.
4.But I want to lengthen and tone my muscles, not bulk up.
All genders are guilty of this irrational fear mongering. When people tell me they want to "tone or lengthen" I sigh internally and try to explain what they're looking for is fat loss, not toning. Strong and lean = healthy, functional and less disease prone.
The best way to get lean is to get strong. And we do that by lifting weights. Properly, with respect for the generations of strength coaches and athletes that came before us.