Collagen Protein: What you need to know about the supplement

The fitness and nutrition industry is constantly pushing to add more and more supplements to your regimen. A lack of knowledge on the consumer end, combined with marketing campaigns that aren’t telling you the full story, can lead to confusion and misinformation about what you should and should not be taking for your health. One of those supplements that can be quite confusing to understand is collagen protein. What is it? What are the benefits? What is the difference between collagen and protein supplements like whey? I hope that I can answer a few of those questions for you.

Your Simplified Grocery Guide

In this grocery guide, we have broken down everything you need to create a balanced and healthy meal plan. We suggest how many items to pick from each category, including your major macronutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, as well as micronutrient-rich fruits and veggies, quick snacks, and seasonings to add flavor to your meals.

SODIUM: How Much Do We Really Need?

Many of us have been told that too much salt is not good for us, kind of like how we’ve been told saturated fat isn’t good for us (but that’s a topic for another day). Well, I’m here to let you know that much of what you’ve heard about sodium isn’t quite true for a lot of us. If you’ve ever talked to anyone in the health world, you know that as with most things the answer to, “How much sodium do I need?” is, “It depends” on the situation and the individual.

Katie's Favorite Blaze Pizza

I’m trying to limit our eating out as much as possible and it’s amazing how much money you can save! While this isn’t quite as good as the real thing, it’s still amazing! (You can see mine in the background with just cheese & bacon cause I’m basic like that).

RecipesAshley BeaverApril 28, 2020pizza, cheese, bacon, macros, Black Iron Nutrition, balsamic glaze, salad, pizza recipe, macro friendly, EmiComment

Arugula Fruit Salad

This is my attempt at copying my wife’s favorite salad, which happens to be from Blaze Pizza!

The balsamic glaze is super versatile so throw it into a small jar and save it for other things as well! I like to keep honey to a minimum in order to bring carbs down, but you could also reduce the balsamic on its own, it will just take longer. Once it cools it will thicken up a bit, so don’t reduce it too much!

Italian Sausage + Kale Scramble

Sometimes it’s hard to add veggies to your breakfast. The best way to do it is to mix it in with other food and let it absorb the flavors! With kale, I find that if you let it cook enough the texture is SO much better, and the bit of fat from the sausage really makes it more flavorful.

With this recipe, you can definitely customize it to fit you best! More or fewer potatoes. Egg whites to increase lean protein. Add in other veggies like bell peppers and onion. Take out the ricotta. I just used what I have in my kitchen, but that’s really the beauty of a scramble!

RecipesAshley BeaverApril 16, 2020eggs, breakfast, sausage, kale, italian sausage, breakfast recipe, recipe, Black Iron Nutrition, potatoes, egg whites, bell peppers, onion, EmiComment

Protein-Packed Paella Recipe

Looking to load up on protein and carbs for that training day but don't have much wiggle room in fats? This paella recipe is great for those who need a high-protein and high-carb meal.

RecipesAshley BeaverApril 13, 2020paella, chicken, protein, rice, Black Iron Nutrition, recipe, tomatoes, high protein, low fat, paella recipe, high-carb meal, DianaComment

5 Cookbooks to Jumpstart Your Food Prep

Have you ever been stuck in a meal prep rut? Maybe you’ve been eating the same thing for a week straight, maybe you were never “all about that broccoli and chicken lifestyle”, or maybe you are a little intimated by cooking altogether. Whatever your particular hurdle maybe, I have always found that a good cookbook (or two) can really help shake things up, provide some inspiration, and help guide you towards your next culinary success. Here are the top five cookbooks that I keep in my kitchen…

How to Make Your Health a Priority During a Challenging Time

I firmly believe that now more than ever, it’s important for us to prioritize our health and nutrition. Having support and accountability during this time is what many of us need right now. You can work with your coach on…

Should You Gain Mass

It’s all too common to see clients believe they can ONLY improve their health and/or sports performance by LOWERING their weight - that a lower body fat percentage and improving sports performance and/or health markers are directly connected. Heck, I used to be one of these people!

Fitness, NutritionAshley BeaverMarch 13, 2020muscle gain, bulk, Black Iron Nutrition, weight, muscle, gain mass, improve health, strength, fat, Lifestyle, PerformanceComment

3 Things Essential For Gaining Muscle

3 things will optimize your muscle gain: Resistance training, A calorie surplus, Adequate protein intake.

Each of these things plays off of one another. You can gain muscle in a calorie surplus without resistance training, but you’ll likely put on more fat than you will lean body mass if you don’t lift. If you don’t eat enough protein, you won’t put on as much muscle as you could.

Should you be supplementing creatine?

Probably. Creatine is popular in strength athletes but it does so much more. Creatine is produced by your body and found in foods like meat and fish. Creatine is a combination of different amino acids and helps produce energy!

Transitioning Away From Tracking

Gasp! I no longer track my macros. I stopped in 2019 after tracking my food since 2016. I made this decision for a few reasons…

Lemon Oregano Chicken

Chicken doesn’t have to suck! Marinades are your friend. Sweet, sweet little chicken baths that load it with flavor and juiciness. Whenever I cook a chicken I stick with the tenderloins or thighs — if using full breasts, butterfly them so they’re not as thick! The quicker we can cook these suckers, the better.

RecipesAshley BeaverJanuary 23, 2020recipe, chicken, meal prep, food prep, Black Iron Nutrition, lemon, oregano, chicken recipes, macros, EmiComment

What Your Teacher Never Told You About Your Cycle

“If I see one more of those articles, I’m going to lose my mind! Women don’t need to train around their cycles, that’s absurd!” I was sitting in a Strength and Conditioning class with my favorite professor. We were talking about fitness articles that discussed women adapting their training in the gym to sync with their menstrual cycles. The whole class laughed, and I chuckled along. Sure, I myself had problems getting out of bed and taking care of my kids, but maybe there was just something wrong with me?

NutritionAshley BeaverJanuary 16, 2020women's health, pmdd, pms, cycle, Black Iron Nutrition, health issues, women's strength, PMDDComment

One Sheet Garlic Lemon Salmon + Green Beans

I used to be SUPER intimidated to cook salmon since it’s much more expensive than meat and fairly delicate. I was afraid I would completely screw it up all the time. There are times where I don’t cook it exactly how I want to (honestly, while making this recipe I got distracted setting up my camera for photos and cooked it for a minute too long lol). But the thing is, it’s still delicious! And you only get better with practice. If you’re really nervous, try starting off with one fillet and go from there!

5 Tips to Help You Achieve Your Goals This Year

New year! New you...? What’s it really going to take to accomplish those goals this year? Here are five things you should be focusing on.

Goal Setting Best Practices: Get SMARTer!

So, you’ve made the decision to improve your health through nutrition this year. Uh, okay… now what?

Having a vague goal like “eat healthier” or “lose weight” can end up being really frustrating. Why? Because there is no clear starting point or first step and no clear endpoint or why to evaluate that you have attained your goal.

Honey Roasted Vegetables with Dijon Vinaigrette

What do you get when you prepare sweet, roasted veggies with the tanginess from a very Dijon-y dressing? Perfection *chefs kiss*

You don’t have to use the pre-cut and trimmed veggies from TJ’s, I just do that for convenience. So if you don’t have access to a Trader Joe’s... don’t fret!

RecipesAshley BeaverDecember 22, 2019vegetables, Trader Joe's, Black Iron Nutrition, honey, roasted, dijon vinaigrette, macros, recipe, vegetable recipes, lemon juice, EmiComment

Asparagus Salad

We all get sick of the same old salads sometimes. Luckily, this asparagus salad offers a little something different for the palette. Crisp, blanched asparagus mixed with the sweetness of an orange and the bitterness of browned endives and radicchio will leave a complex yet refreshing taste in your mouth while filling your belly and leaving you wanting seconds.

RecipesAshley BeaverDecember 19, 2019asparagus, salad, recipe, Black Iron Nutrition, delicious, macro friendly, clean recipes, healthy, DianaComment