How Sweet it is to Start Anew!

Today was the first day of the SWEET START to 2015, and what a great kickoff!

We have an awesome group of dynamic women who have made the smart choice to treat their bodies well this New Year: old friends from my early fitness teaching days, former Bootcamp clients, current regular class-takers, and even my cousin! We are already having a blast sharing our recipes and Detox-friendly ideas to ENJOY what we put IN our bodies while we gently get the toxins OUT. With guidance and program development from Certified Holistic Health Coach Jen Morris (Co-founder, Urban Detox Club), we can't go wrong!

A little insight into how we roll: 

The Sweet Start program focuses on manageable goals and attainable challenges. We are slowly eliminating common toxins from our diets over the first three days - today was sugar & caffeine.  We are not trying to reinvent the wheel or go into starvation or major deprivation mode!  I am not a sugar fiend but I DO love my coffee, and coasted through the day without it because I had so many other delicious things to prepare and enjoy while I fueled up for the first day of the Winter 2015 schedule - four classes strong tonight!

One of our goals throughout the program is to add more cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts - to name a few).  

I'm already a big veggie-lover, and as I told the Sweet Start crew today, one of my favorite ways to cook vegetables is Simply Steamed. I throw a bunch of garlic cloves in the steamer basket (adds flavor and may have antibacterial properties) and layer in my organic veggie(s) of choice. I like to throw some onion and fresh ground pepper on top for flavor. No need for oils, salt, or other seasoning - just cook to crispy deliciousness - yum!

One other fun tip: did you know it's great to cook the thick stalk of the broccoli as well? Cut off the hard outer layers and divide the sweet inside into cubes. They will take a little longer to cook than the flowers, so be sure to either cut them into smaller pieces or throw them in the steamer first. Now you are receiving the yin-yang and full energy balance of the vegetable!

Keep following for more updates on all the Sweet Start goodness!

BRING IT ON, 2015!!