You hear fitness professionals everywhere preaching about the importance of being healthy in mind, body and spirit, right? Right.

I’ll be honest, of those three categories, my spirit bucket is the weakest link. So how does one put on a little more spiritual muscle? Prayer? Yoga? Meditation? Volunteering? Cheerleading? All or some of the above?

I don’t have the answers.

But, I will tell you about a resource I’ve recently added to my spiritual-building program.

Through Divine Intervention (and/or Twitter) I found a great website called Prayfit.com and signed up for their daily emails. Each email usually contains a verse or two from the bible, a short little story or thought for the day, and then a workout or fitness tip. The Prayerfit.com messages have been a positively fitting way to kick off the day and give my spirit a little warm up.

What to you do to keep your spiritual muscle fired up? Enlighten me…

Now I really must go…peace out!

There are two types of dips I have been enjoying lately:

1. Body weight dips in the gym. And..
2. Roasted red pepper hummus.

Guess which one I’ve been enjoying more? If you guessed the tricep torture chamber, you are wrong. But I’ll give you this recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Hummus anyway…

• 1 can (15 ounces) Garbanzo Beans (drained/rinsed)
• 1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper (peeled and seeded…sure, you can buy them in the jar, but roasting them in the oven or on the grill is not hard)
• 1- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Tahini
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Honey
• 1/2 – 2 teaspoons Hot Sauce (like Tabasco)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Toss all ingredients into your high powered blender (I used a Vitamix) or food processor and pulse until nice and smooth. Garnish with red pepper flakes. Serve with baked pita chips, carrots, cucumbers, eggs (yes, I said eggs), or use as a sandwich spread.

Now I really must go hit the gym and then tri some more dip!

2. Enjoy the Journey. Kate did not sprint to the alter, in fact, I heard it took her 3 and a half minutes to walk down the aisle, granted it was a pretty big church, but still. She took the long walk and soaked in the surroundings. How often do you do that?

3. K.I.S.S. Sure, smooching is probably good for a little adreneline rush, which is probably why Will and Kate did it twice publicaly the day of the wedding (rebels!), but it’s also a bit of a stretch a reminder to K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Sweetheart) when it comes to nutrition and fitness. Don’t overthink it, just do it.

4. Drown out the noise. I love this photo of the little girl covering her ears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during one of the biggest photo opportunities ever. Do you ever get information overload when it comes to diet and exercise advice? I know I do. Sometimes I find it necessary to turn down the volumes (and volumes) of healthy-living content I read and listen to so I can pause and tune into what my body is telling me.

5. Celebrate! Every now and again take time to give yourself the royal treatment. Dress up, polish your tiara, do a few cartwheels, and most importantly, eat cake!

Now I really must go shut off the TV, get off my royal highness, and maybe enjoy a spot of tea!

If you’ve been in earshot of me in the last week you’ve probably heard me ramble on and on about this New York Times article discussing what’s the single best exercise. Experts interviewed for the article chimed in with everything from swimming, to burpees, to brisk walks, to high intensity interval training (HIIT).

It got me thinking…what really is the best exercise?

Part of me says, any exercise you will do is the best exercise. But that’s an easy answer isn’t it? Because, honestly, taking a brisk walk is great, but it is not THE best exercise for me personally.

And part of me says, it’s a trick question, because I whole-heartily believe that a body needs a variety of cardiovascular and resistance training at a minimum.

And part of me says, no matter how much I love to hate burpees, if I had to pick just one exercise to do it would be burpees with a push up tossed in the mix. Why? Because it’s an effective cardio and body weight resistance move all in one. In fact, I really should do burpees tmore often.

Now it’s your turn to chime in…What do you think is the best exercise for you?

Now I really must go grab a glass of water and do a few quick sets of burpees…excuse me.

Raise your hand if you’ve said one or more of the following statements more than once in the last two weeks:

• I’m fat
• I’m so tired
• I hate my job
• Nothing fits
• I hate Monday’s
• I have no energy
• I’m starving
• I have no time
• I hate cardio

Are you raising your hand? So what are you doing to make “it” better?

Are you just complaining about it? How’s that working out for you?

I’m convinced that you are what you repeat.

Listen to your words.

If the negative thoughts really are true, take action for change…set a goal, ask for help, change your behaviors. Then, try replacing those thoughts with something positive because, let’s be honest, you really are phat.

Now I really must go do some cardio because I’m a lean, mean, fat-burning machine….I’m a lean, mean, fat-burning machine…I’m a lean…

Oven roasting vegetables is a multi-taskers dream. I mean, really, you can get a heck of a lot accomplished while your oven is busy busting out the flavors of some of the healthiest foods on the planet.

Let me explain.

Sunday afternoons around Fitness & Spice usually involve 4 things: A trip to the grocery store, food prep for the week, laundry, and goal setting. This Sunday was no exception.

After stopping at the market for bags and bags and bags of fresh produce, I was roasting. OK, I was not roasting because the weather was not that warm, but my veggies sure were. Here’s how it went down:

• I prepped a bunch (and by bunch I mean two pans full) of Summer squash, cherry tomatoes, red onion, carrots, garlic, asparagus, and broccolini. Next I coated them with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and put them on a pan lined with foil. All that was left to do was toss them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes to an hour.

Nothing too ground breaking, eh? But while the oven was on I managed to toss in a load of laundry, write out my goals and workouts for the week in my fitbook, write this blog, and do some push ups because I still had time on my hands, pun intended.

So, in under an hour I had vegetables prepped for the next several days, my workout clothes washed and ready for the week, my training organized, an award-winning article written (just checking to see if you were still reading), and an impromptu workout done. Not to mention I had some simply amazing roasted vegetables with my dinner.

Now I really must go…now that I’m prepared for a healthy week, I have plenty of time to snuggle up on the red chair and veg out!

Fitness & Spice is where fitness, food, and fashion get a healthy shake. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a few last minute ideas for stuffing a perfectly healthy Easter basket for just about any bunny on your list . Let’s get started…

FITNESS:

• Jump ropes
• Resistance bands
• Gym bag accessories – Like this new Daily Skin Balance lotion I love that Eucerin sent me. It feels and smells amazing!

FOOD:

• Hard boiled eggs, of course
• Homemade chocolate peanut butter cups
• Individual packages of almonds or microwave popcorn
• Spices. If you live near Penzeys Spices, go straight there and stock up!

FASHION:

• RoadID Personal Identification Wrist Bands (You’re running out of time so just scoop up an eCard here)
• Sport Socks: What Fitness & Spicer couldn’t use new gym socks? Grab some at Target or your local sporting goods store. And if you’re lucky to live near a Lucy store, I’ve heard the chicks really dig their socks

Now I really must go put away the peanut butter cups, I’m stuffed!

When I find something I love I:

• A. Buy one in every color
• B. Eat it every single day until I fear camera crews will show up for a filming of the reality TV show Intervention
• C. Tell you about it
• D. All of the above

If you answered A, B, or C you are wrong.

Right now I am obsessed with fresh veggies (in every color) and portabella mushrooms. And when you slap them together you get a very healthy, easy to make, highly customizable…

Bella & Spice Pizza

• 1 Portabella Mushroom
• 1 heaping spoonful of Marinara Sauce (I make my own because I can, but out of a jar will do)
• Loads of fresh veggies (green, red, and yellow peppers, red onion, spinach, you get the idea)
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Italian Seasoning

Clean and cut off the stem of the portabella and pile the sauce and veggies inside the cap. Top with cheese and seasoning. Toss on the grill or on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler for about 15 minutes. Eat.

Now I really must go clean up the Fitness & Spice kitchen and hit the gym…ciao bella’s!

There are a lot of events brewing in preparation for Friday’s celebration of Earth Day. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite events happens to be a free coffee or tea offer at Starbucks, but that’s not important right now.

What is important is that Earth Day is creating awareness and education about sustainable environmentally-friendly practices.

Sustainability is the capacity to endure, according to the latest entry in Wikipedia.

The capacity to endure.

The concept of sustainability has been a topic of conversation with several friends over the last few weeks, not in terms of the environmental movement, but in terms of our own healthy-living journeys.

I’ve asked this question to my friends, to myself, and now I’m asking you:

Are your workouts and nutrition programs sustainable? Or are they too extreme, or conversely, not extreme enough?

I’m on a mission to strike a healthy balance in terms of fitness and nutrition. There was a time where I would spend well over an hour in the gym a day. And there was a time where I tracked calories and macro-nutrients in spreadsheets to the decimal point. I’ve even gone to the extreme and tried to endure low carb, low fat, and (gasp!) even low calorie diets. But this type of behavior is not sustainable. Not for me anyway.

Besides, I really don’t want to spend more time in the gym than necessary and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life meticulously counting calories, carbs, fat, and protein. Instead, I’m now focused on sustainable workouts and ways of eating. My workouts are challenging but efficient. My diet is balanced and not-so-calculated or limiting.

And I’m happy to report that my energy levels and my body fat are sustainable.

Now I really must go unplug and get ready to endure a core workout that is out of this world!

I’m all of a sudden, no kidding, addicted to lemons. Lemon protein muffins, lemon protein bars, lemon Greek yogurt…you name it, smother it with lemon juice, and I’ll eat it.

This weekend when I was needing yet another hit of lemon, I hopped into the Fitness & Spice test kitchen and whipped up this simply refreshing…

Lemon Protein Shake

• 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
• 2T Sugar Free Instant Pudding Mix
• 1/2 t Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Lemon (if you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, toss in the lemon skin and all, if not, just use the juice of the fruit for best results)
• 10 to 12 Ice Cubes
• 12 -16 ounces of Water

Combine. Blend. Drink.

Want to make this shake even better? Add a shot of Skinnygirl Margarita. Kidding! No I’m not. Yes I am.

Now I really must call 911, I’m in desperate need of some lemon-aid.