Melissa-Brooke-Macrina

Hmmm...had this conversation yesterday...Who needs the scale? Yes, I own one, only because it was a bonus add-on when I bought my townhouse 9 years ago...HAHAHA! I may have stepped on it here and there, but it's not something I do regularly and I don't pay much attention to the numbers because what I really care about, is DO MY CLOTHES FIT and do I FEEL healthy :) Now scales not only measure our weight, but some scales measure our % body fat. SAY WHAT!? Yes, they do and while it's nice to know what we're working with to begin with, these are not always accurate just like any numbers on a scale. They are going to fluctuate week to week, if you're exercising and building muscle, you may see your weight increase. BUT HOW!!!? How is this happening!!!! Well, muscle takes up less space than fat, it's more dense than fat, it takes up less space which is why your clothes fit better :) Now as far as the %body fat, the scales are not always accurate. Like an...

All I can say is I LOVE SALADS!! Especially during the summer 😊 They're quick and easy to make and help me stay healthy, energized and focused on my goals! This is one of my favs and I LOVE even more the bowl & chopper that I use to smash it all together and combine the flavors of all of the healthy goodness! Here's what you need: Combine the following in a bowl: • 1 can chickpeas (drained & rinsed) • 1 medium cucumber (peeled & diced) • 1 package cherry or grape tomatoes (halved) • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives sliced • 3 stalks celery (chopped) • Juice of 1 lime • 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil • fresh or dried basil & oregano & salt & pepper to taste ••• mix together & 1 cup to the top of 1 cup fresh baby spinach (if you have the chopper and bowl, chop away 😊) •••Top with chicken, salmon or hard boiled eggs and enjoy!

One of my most favorite and simple go-to meals :)  It's super delicious, super healthy AND super EASY!!!  What do you need???? Quinoa (gluten free)  1 medium cucumber  1 package cherry/grape tomatoes 1/4 red onion 1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) 1 Lime 1. Boil 2 cups water, add 1 cup uncooked quinoa. Follow directions on package :) 2. Chop cucumber, half tomatoes, chop onion, slice kalamata olives. Combine these in the same bowl and add 2 Tbsp EVOO & juice of 1 lime.  3. Cool quinoa and add to veggies. ***Makes aboout 4 servings.  You can also server over lettuce or fresh spinach.

Parmesean Kale Salad... Let me just say this, I've had some AMAZING kale salads... WHEN I GO OUT TO EAT! In fact "their" salads somehow ALWAYS taste better than when I make a salad myself! Can anyone relate to this!? UGH! It doesn't matter if I'm at a top notch restaurant or someone else makes the salad at my very own place, with my very own ingredients. Somehow, everyone else's salad is ALWAYS better! BUUUUUTTTTT... last week I discovered this yummy & HEALTHY salad! It's VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE! OH...AND SUPER SIMPLE TO MAKE! Here's what you need: • 1 bunch of organic kale • 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) • 1 lemon • 1 cup raw almonds • 1/4 nutritional yeast 1. Vegan-Parmesean Cheese: In a food processor or blender (I prefer Vitamix) combine 1 cup raw almonds & 1/4 cup nutritional yeast Blend until almonds are small pieces 2. Remove the stems from the kale and the juice from the lemon.  Chop up the leaves (I use my OXO Go...

Pretty sure this will ROCK MY WORLD...and quite possibly YOURS as well! THIS ONE HERE MAKES ME SOOOO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS GOING TO ROCK!!! By the end of January BB will be unveiling Digital Unlocks via Beachbody On Demand. What does that mean? Well, Beachbody On Demand premium paid club members will be able to unlock our T25, Body Beast and CIZE programs directly on BOD at roughly 50% of the cost of the DVD programs. This will only include base kit workouts, deluxe kit workouts, and base & deluxe workout bundles. ***It ALSO means...LESS CLUTTER of DVDs AND NO MORE SCRATCHES! Stay tuned for news and details.  For more information on these programs click here------>  www.beachbodycoach.com/mmacrina

Roasted Root Medley Soup AND Almond-Green Beans with Red Onion Oooohhhhh how I have missed doing these things! Yes, I kinda fell off the wagon since school started.... and, YES!!!! I'm ready to get back on! Here is a pic of tonight's DELICIOUS dinner! I totally did NOT expect to like this Roasted Root Medley turned soup....AT ALL...but it was AMAZING! Roasted Root Medley/Soup Recipe 2 medium sized beets- peeled and cubed 2 medium sweet potatoes- cubed 1/2 red onion- diced 5 large carrots- peeled and sliced ***Toss in a bowl together using 1 TBSP Organic Coconut Oil ***Bake on cookie sheet at 350 until potatoes, beets & carrots are cooked (makes about 6 servings) ***Enjoy as is OR toss the Medley into the Vitamix, add water until desired  thickness is reached, add a dash of pepper and salt and enjoy as a SOUP :) Almond-Green Beans w/ Red Onion Fresh green beans-cleaned and halved 1/4 - 1/2 red onion- diced 1/3 cup whole almonds- ...

Today was my LAST long run before my full marathon and also the day MY BODY SAID, "NO!!!!" I was feeling pretty fabulous before hitting the asphalt. I'm one month out from my full marathon. I've run 22 miles before. This 20 should be CAKE!!!! Or, so I thought.... About 1 mile in, I had this super strange twinge in my Achilles. As any Macrina/Unsinn kid would do, I ignored it and thought to myself, just run it out. That I did. I ran it out....ran it out til about mile 11 when my Achilles apparently had enough and said, "NO MORE!" It kind of sent this painful sign telling me to stop and startled nearby runners as my stride quickly turned into a less than sweet dance move and no, that wasn't music from my headphones the passers by were hearing. It was more than likely an F-bomb or two flying from my little mouth not realizing how loud it was actually coming out...SORRY FRIENDS! So here I sat.... ...legs stretched out before me. Trying...

PROUD TEACHER MOMENT.... We all know I'm a health, fitness and nutrition NUT...I mean HEY, my undergrad degree IS in Exercise Science, I AM a Beachbody Coach, I grew up as a dancer and gymnast and am now a runner, rockstar Cizer and true believer in all things Beachbody because who doesn't like to slam out their workout from their home in the mornings before work and have time to do whatever your heart desires in the evenings!! And come on...what do you expect... OF COURSE I'm going to plant little seeds throughout the day while I'm at my full time teaching job :) Many people have NO clue what they're feeding their children...the box says "low-fat" or the bottle says "100% juice," so it must be good for us and our kiddos, right??? NOT SO FAST!!! So here we are, it's day 11 of school, 9:15 AM, we're about to read a story together, and one of my kiddos was just a little off....very lethargic with quite the attitude...he forgot to bri...

Looks like breakfast for lunch today for this girl!!!  ;) But man....do you ever get the urge to SLAM a Tablespoon of Peanut Butter because you're just so darn hungry and it's such a quick easy fix?!? I buy the natural kind. You know, the one you have to stir...so it's not that bad, right? But not gonna lie...PB is kinda on the same level as OREOS in my world. One Tbsp turns into half a jar....a LARGE jar! Yikes!  Thankfully I did a little food prep on Sunday and my containers were staring me in the face when I walked in the kitchen, screaming, "HOLD IT TOGETHER, GIRL!" before I could get to that cabinet where my PB hides. Keeping it clean is hard but MUCH easier when prepared :) CLEAN EATS....AND 21 Day Fix Approved!!! Quinoa = 1 yellow Blueberries & Raspberries = 1 purple Slivered Almonds = 1/2 orange 1 tsp EV Organic Coconut Oil Cinnamon

  Once again, my random "throw it all in" cooking event turns into a yummy, HEALTHY, CLEAN meal! And the outcome was pretty too :)  Keep scrolling down for the HOW TO and the ingredients you will need.... What you Need: squash zucchini cherry tomatoes fresh baby spinach mushrooms red onion 1 package raw cashews 2 lemons fresh garlic avocado oil or EVOO Directions for Cashew Cheese: 1. Soak cashews in a bowl of water for at least 4 hours 2. drain and rinse 3. toss them in the Vitamix or other food processor with 1/2-1cup water, juice from 1 lemon and a dash of salt 4. fire up the blender and VOILA! There you have it! "CHEESE SAUCE!!!"  5. add more lemon juice, water and salt depending on desired consistency and flavor Directions for the Goods: 1. Saute garlic, onions and mushrooms in avocado oil- used probably 2 cloves of garlic...look out world ;) 2. Toss in 2 large handfulls of fresh baby spinach and about 1/2 pin...

THE NEXT BIG THING!!!! It's here!!! It's here!!! And the next support group is starting soon! We saw hundreds of amazing results with the 21 Day Fix and I'm beyond excited to announce that I'll be starting the NEW 21 Day Fix EXTREME in just a few short days! I'm even more excited to experience the results of this program myself and watch hundreds, even thousands, change their lives in many ways just by committing to an exercise and nutrition plan for ONLY 21 days!!! Are you ready for a major calorie burn in only 30 minutes? These workouts were made short so you can get in, get out, and get on with your day. But that does NOT mean they will be easy...the will in fact challenge you at every level physically, mentally and yeah, sometimes even emotionally...but this craziness will help you reach your goals and maximize fat loss. Oh, and if you're just starting off on your fitness journey, there's a modifier on screen to show you how to dial down the inten...

HAPPY 2015!!!!! This year, I rang in the New Year with some very beautiful people ~inside and out.  Some old friends.....   Like Amy, whom I've known for years and became very close with over the last year and a half....gosh, such a funny story as to how we met. What was it, first FAU? Then CHE? Then distance where barely spoke, and then something clicked a few years later and she became part of my church crew and the best Sunday beach buddy :) Those can be stories for another day.... And then this guy, Daniel, my other little brother who is not related at all but in fact a best friend of my ex-fiance....another whole slew of stories for yet again, another day. I'm so thankful for our friendship. Just one of the many reasons I truly believe that good things  really do come out of difficult situations. And then those new friends....  Like this girl right here... Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have met her.... W...

SAY WHAT!!??? BUT HOW!!!!!????? Yes, here it is.... I know most of you can have cheese, but this girl CAN NOT! So, here is my cheese substitute for my taco nights :) soak RAW cashews in water for about 4 hours drain and rinse place cashews in food processor or VitaMix with 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice and blend away add water until you have your desired consistnency add a bit of salt to taste and there you go....super easy "cheese"    ***It's great on rice, tacos, to dip veggies in or corn chips....but remember don't indulge too much...cashews are good for you, but too many can add too much fat to your diet :) So eat in moderation and shoot for a serving size no larger than 1Tbsp.

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE RECIPES!!!! I've been making it for years and you can use it in so many different ways!!! I love using it as a side salad at BBQs, or scoop some up on a corn chip -remember serving size ;) or use it as a salad topper as shown below. I thought I posted the recipe here before, or on my Instagram or on my Facebook, but for some reason, I cannot put my hands on it! I know my dear friends Nicole and Leslie have requested this recipe from me several times and I swear I posted it....Well if it did so happen to slip my mind, it's here now...for ALL TO SEE :) Here you go!!! This recipe will make about 3-4 servings: 1 can rinsed low-sodium black beans 1 can rinsed low-sodium corn 2 vine tomatoes chopped 1/8-1/4 red onion chopped 1/2-1 whole green pepper chopped 1-2 jalapenos chopped...depending on your love      for fire in your mouth ;) A good amount of fresh chopped Cilantro 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EEOV) Juice of 1-2 l...

Sweet meets.... SPICY!!!! For those of you who know me I am a pretty simple, healthy eater...but the ONE thing I love more about food than those two things is SPICY!!!! I HEART SPICY!!!!! I used to eat grilled cheese at work...you know, as in the SCHOOL LUNCH grilled cheese??? The one that was OH SO YUMMY!!! The one that they used to smother with butter and then bake!? Yeah, that grilled cheese...the one I used to eat BEFORE I discovered that I CAN'T eat cheese?! Yeah, that one. Anyway, I was the girl the cafeteria staff died laughing at as I doused that yummy deliciousness with some HOT SAUCE (as in about 1/2 a bottle)!!! HELLO SPICY!!!! HELLO LOVE IN MY MOUTH!!!! ***Confession***To this day, I keep a bottle of hot sauce AND a bottle of sriracha in my fridge at work....YES.I. DO. I may not add hot sauce to everything, but I do add a little spice to just about every meal or snack :) THIS is the YUMMY #CleanEats salad that I made for lunch! Oh, and what's even better...

mmmmm.....cupcakes...... No, no, no silly....not your junk food junky cupcake. As yummy as that sounds, this girl needs to pass on those. With these cupcakes, #21DayFix approved I may add, I can have TWO "cupcakes" in each hand!!!! SO, I saw this awesome recipe on...Pinterest!? Yes, Pinterest...ME on Pinterest? NEVER! OK, OK, GUILTY! Well, the recipe was for a breakfast-for lots of people- you know, for family get-togethers (which I totally missed the boat on when I was home in NY two weeks ago) or even for a baby shower-which one day I will have (after I meet Prince Charming) and my friends will have the rest of the day to themselves after enjoying cupcakes and mimosas. Anyway, here it is... a picture of MY cupcakes and MY rendition of the recipe I found on the one and only Pinterest... According to the 21 Day Fix, 4 of these bad boys is ONE SERVING and counts as 1 red container (protein) and 1 green container (greens/veggies)!!! In order to prep f...

Besides the fact that I don't have to report to my teaching job over the summer, therw are quite a few other things that I just #LOVE about summer! I love that I can get up and go for a run at 6:30am and run for as long as my little heart desires. I love that I get to take these summer days and focus on me...my health and fitness journey and spend more time helping others with their journeys as well. Oh, and I just LOVE the yummy, sweet fruits that come along with these summer months! Berries, berries and MORE BERRIES and the health benefits that we reap when we add these bad boys into our daily diets. You may be wondering what that YELLOW IMPOSTER is... it is NOT a berry as you probably gathered and NO, it's not balled pineapple...that would be SUPER ANNOYING! It just so happens to be........ .......YELLOW WATERMELON! WHAT? I know, I know....it was crazy, I think I've heard about it before, but not so sure if I had ever seen it in person! Well, I...

OMG.....SOOOO DELISH!!!!! AND SO EASY TO MAKE!!!!! So, here's what you need to make these yummy little guys :) 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons NATURAL (the kind with the oil that you actually have to mix) peanut butter 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup gluten free, vegan chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients into a food processor (except the chocolate chips) and blend til smooth. Use a spatula to remove the mixture from the food processor into a mixing bowl. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spray the cookie sheet or use parchment paper to line the cookie sheet.....great idea for one less pan to clean :) Roll the cookies into 1 inch balls and bake for 10 minutes. ***a little tip....keep your hands damp when rolling the cookies into balls to prevent the cookie dough from sticking to your hands. I think I'm going to add raisins ...

MAN!!!!! This hits home!!! This past January, I was standing in line at Target with just a few healthy items in my basket as I was on day 3 of the Beachbody Ultimate Reset, but ohhhh Target...the smell of popcorn, the very lonnnnggggg candy aisle, the sales of the post Christmas holiday candy! TEMPTATIONS EVERYWHERE!!! I went back and forth over and over and OVER in my head, I'll get a bag of candy and have just one piece. It's JUST ONE, RIGHT? Oh, just ONE piece of candy...like ONE alcoholic drink for an alcoholic or ONE hit of cocaine for a drug addict. JUST ONE, RIGHT? JUST ONE???? WRONG!!!! This day was a HUGE eyeopener for me....I was battling my inner thoughts and desires of the oh so highly addictive SUGAR while my best friend was battling his addiction with drugs. I finally understood the battle in his head that he went through and to this day and every day from here on out will go through with the "It's JUST ONE." With any addictive substance, ONE leads t...

Well, I never, EVER, NEVER-EVER thought I'd EVER be saying this, but I absolutely LOVE KALE!!!! I've always associated it with cooked spinach....mushy, slimy and stinky....and for those who know me, cooked spinach and I have NEVER, EVER been friends, right mom? I remember one hot summer evening, way back when I was probably about 10 years old when my amazing mom insisted that I eat some spinach (from a can) for dinner...I mean come on....my brother and sister LOVED it!! What was wrong with me!? HMMM.....could it have been the smell? the texture?? Who knows exactly what it was. All that matters is that my mom was coming at my mouth with that fork full of spinach, trying to convince me to try it and all that happened was an awful chain reaction of me gagging for about 5 minutes...It WASN'T happening! To this day, cooked greens completely gross me out (spinach, Italian greens, Collard greens, etc...). I really think it's a texture thing. Until one day......what is that on...