Peak Blog

For those of us living a healthy lifestyle, pizza is usually on the no-no list. Our Cauliflower Pizza now makes it possible to enjoy one of America’s favorite foods, so you won’t have to ruin your diet! We’ve developed a cauliflower crust topped with pizza sauce, low-fat cheese, and lots of veggies. You can really add anything you want, though, like turkey pepperoni, diced chicken, and Canadian bacon. The options are endless!
This pizza is incredibly simple to make, but flavourful enough that you won’t miss the mainstream alternative. Enjoy with a side salad for a complete meal that’s both gluten- and guilt-free!

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons water
2 egg whites
1 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup no sugar added pizza sauce
2 tablespoons green pepper, diced small
2 tablespoons mushrooms, diced small
2 tablespoons red onion, diced small
2 tablespoons black olives, sliced
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Remove core from cauliflower and cut into small florets. Place florets into food processor and finely chop until cauliflower resembles rice.
3. In a large skillet on medium heat, add chopped cauliflower and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until cauliflower “rice” is soft. If needed, add more water. Once cooked, drain off excess water and set aside to cool.
4. Once cool to the touch, pour cauliflower onto a thin kitchen towel or cheese cloth. Squeeze out any extra liquid and return cauliflower to a bowl. Add egg whites, 1 cup cheese, garlic, oregano, basil, onion powder, and paprika and mix well. If mixture appears too wet, ad a tablespoon of almond or coconut flour.
5. Line a pizza pan with parchment paper and spread cauliflower mix onto sheet and shape into a circle about 1/2 in thick. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and spread pizza sauce evenly over crust, followed by remaining cheese, then top with remaining ingredients. Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
Optional: This pizza can be made without pizza sauce. Substitute sauce with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Brush crust with oil after it has been baked for 30 minutes and top with your favorite toppings!
Nutritional Analysis: Two servings equals: 292 calories, 21g protein, 16g fat, 21g carbs, 9g sugars. 876mg sodium, 7g fibre

Just as we need guidance in life, we may need even more guidance when it comes to our bodies, our health and our strength. That’s what we hope to give you in this article. We’ll remove the noise, the overload of information, and bring to you the simplest, most straight-forward way to your best body.

Follow these 4 tips and we PROMISE you, you will see results.

1. Sculpt and tone your physique by adding weights to your training.

Not only is resistance training good for your bone health but also 80% of your metabolic rate is determined by how much lean muscle you have. This means the more muscle you have the more energy your body will burn whether you are working out or at rest.  Two to three 30-minute weight sessions per week is the secret to a toned body shape.

2. Eat the right food specifically for you.

We love healthy fresh food and encourage all our clients to have a nutritious well balanced diet but it’s important to understand that there are healthy foods that may not be good for your specific goal. Research it yourself or find a professional who can advise you on the right foods to eat.  For example, nuts are awesome these bite-size nutritional powerhouses are packed with heart-healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals, but if you are eating too many or at the wrong time of the day, these tiny pieces of goodness could be preventing you from getting your best body ever!  If you want a professional result that your friends will be jealous of, use a professional approach.

3. Change it up.

If you have been doing the same exercises for months and you have noticed your results have plateaued, this means you need to change up something about your exercise or the food. The body takes around 4 weeks to make physiological adaption to any exercise, so at week five you have the perfect excuse to add variety and will also prevent boredom setting in. Your body needs to be continually challenged so that it will burn more energy and get strong or faster but that doesn’t mean you need to train for longer.  The change can be made in the intensity of the workout or in the type of workout.

4. Set a deadline

It is important to set a date for yourself if you want to see strong results. You have deadlines at work, at school, at home because deadlines get things accomplished!  Getting the body you desire is no different than all the other things you do every day.  You need a deadline to get moving and stay on track.  Once you do set a deadline you start to take action and the results happen.

Balsamic beef can be served on its own, or over rice or pasta. A green salad or vegetable makes the perfect side dish. It’s lighter than a hearty beef stew, with the fresh flavors of tomatoes and balsamic.

Ingredients:
2 pounds round steak or cube steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (not chopped)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (for gluten-free use White Balsamic Vinegar which doesn’t have caramel coloring)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp each: dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
Ground black pepper and salt, to taste
Directions:
Pour the olive oil on the bottom of the slow cooker. Salt and pepper the beef and add it to the slow cooker. Placed sliced onion on top of the beef, and sprinkle on the dried herbs evenly. Add the garlic cloves. Pour in the vinegar and top with the tomatoes.
Cook on high for 4 hours or low 6 to 8 hours. Serve over whole wheat angel hair pasta or long grain brown rice.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 200 calories, 7g fat, 218mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, and 26g protein

Whether we are standing, sitting or lying down, gravity exerts a force on our joints, ligaments and muscles and posture simply refers to the body’s alignment and positioning to help us look better, but also ensuring we move more economically so no one structure is overstressed.

In our modern day lives, posture suffers due to life style choices and genetics.  There are range of specific exercises that we encourage clients to do to build strength however, it is important to speak with an exercise professional if you have any specific postural concerns.

The following back and core exercises will help improve your posture by strengthening your supporting muscles so you stand straighter and pull your shoulders back.

Cable seated row
Set the appropriate weight on the weight stack and using a close grip bar, grasp the bar with a neutral grip, keep your legs slightly bent and sit upright with your shoulders back and down.  From this starting position pull the handle into your stomach, squeeze your shoulder blades together, pause and then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.  Your back should remain straight at all times.  For each exercise repeat 3 sets of 12.

TRX row
This works all the muscles in the back and allows you to lean backwards while using gravity to increase the intensity of the movement.  Stand facing the anchor point, lean back with your arms straight with palms facing each other.  Keeping your torso stiff as a board, pull your body toward the anchor point and squeeze your shoulder blades together and return to start again.

Standing cable twist
This exercise works your abdominals and lower back. Stand on one side of the cable at chest height, arms straight and legs shoulder width apart.  Bend the knees slightly, engage the core and pull the cable across your body to the other side, twisting your torso, keeping your arms straight.

Plank hold on a Swiss ball
Beginner – Position the ball so the top of your chest is resting on the ball and place your hands around the ball.  Your body needs to be in a straight line, feet on toes, pull in your belly button towards your spine and head in line with your back.  Work at staying balanced on the ball.  Hold position.
Advanced – complete the exercise with straight arms and hands on the ball