Yum! One of the healthiest trends this year is overnight oats. Its easy and packed with delicious nutrients and protein to energize you throughout the busy day.

Let’s face it, most of us don’t have a lot of time during the week to indulge in a healthy breakfast or snack but this will save you a bunch of time. Best part? You can make it however you like with all of your favourite toppings. Here’s how:

  1. Quarter Cup Quaker Oats (or any you prefer). Try to not buy quick oats.
  2. Honey or any sweetener of your choice
  3. Quarter cup of milk, creamer, Almond milk, Oat milk or any milk of your choice! My recommendation: Ensure the milk is above the line of the oats (add as much as you like, its up to you!)
  4. A spoon or two of vanilla Greek Yoghurt or any yoghurt of your choice to add a little more flavour!
  5. Peanut Butter, Vegan Peanut Butter or Nutella
  6. Fruits of your choice
  7. Any other toppings you prefer! We also love chocolate chips.

Step 1: Add your oats, milk, yoghurt, and honey to your jar and stir until it has a smooth consistency and cover

Step 2: Leave it overnight or longer than 2-3 hours

Step 3: Add your peanut butter or Nutella and your toppings of choice such as, fruits, chocolate chips, granola, and more!

Step 4: Enjoy this packed protein jar!

This week’s Fitness Post is brought to you by personal trainer Igor Klibanov from Fitness Solutions Plus.

If you perform resistance training (AKA strength training, weight training, etc.) on a regular basis, chances are that you organize your workouts in one of two ways:

1.     You do straight sets. In other words, you do an exercise, rest, and repeat the same exercise.

2.     You do circuit training. In other words, you do one exercise, then move on to the next, and so on. Once you’re done all the exercises you had, you repeat the entire sequence.

But there is one other way of training. It’s called “supersets.” Supersets are when you perform 2 exercises for opposing muscle groups back to back. A classic example might be to do an exercise for the chest, followed by an exercise for the back.

One major advantage of supersets is that you can get a lot more done , compared to straight sets. Think about it this way: you do your exercise for the chest (like pushups), and the more repetitions you do, the more tired you get. So you have to rest long enough for your chest muscles to recover before you can do that exercise again. So while your chest is resting, why not do an exercise for a muscle group that is fresh? Because when you’re working the fresh muscle group, the chest gets a chance to rest.

When you pair up exercises to work opposing muscle groups, you take it a step beyond. You see, muscles naturally work in opposites. When one shortens, the muscle on the opposite side lengthens. Flex your biceps, and your triceps lengthens. Flex your triceps and your biceps lengthens (by the way, a technical, geeky note: the words “bicep” and “tricep” do not exist. There is always an ‘s’ at the end. Always. Even if you’re referring to just one arm.)

The major advantage of this is by working opposing muscle groups, they recover faster than if you were simply resting. For instance, working biceps, and then triceps will help the biceps recover faster than if you were just working biceps and then resting.

The same applies everywhere else in the body.

So if you want to get a lot more done in the time that you have (thereby really speeding up your metabolism), give supersets a try. If you want specific exercises to use, you can get my seminar, Strength Training for Beginners.

Quick Summary 

3 of the most common ways of organizing your workouts are:

  • Straight sets. In other words, you do an exercise, rest, and repeat the same exercise.
  • Circuit training. In other words, you do one exercise, then move on to the next, and so on. Once you’re done all the exercises you had, you repeat the entire sequence.
  • Supersets. Supersets are when you perform 2 exercises for opposing muscle groups back to back.

The major advantages of supersets are:

  • You can get more done in the same amount of time
  • You speed up recovery

According to Northwestern Medicine, keeping your heart healthy during the fall/winter is important. They have put together tips on how you can manage your heart-healthy during the colder months. Here’s how:

  • Dress for the weather. Wear layers and especially wear hats, gloves and heavy socks.
  • Come inside often. Give yourself breaks to warm up if you’re spending time outside in the cold.
  • Avoid excess alcohol. Alcohol can make you feel warmer than you really are and therefore can be particularly dangerous when you’re outside in the cold.

Number of servings:  4 Oven:  400°F

Ingredients

QuantityIngredient
4 tbspOlive oil
1 lbPotatoes, your choice – washed, not peeled, thinly sliced
1Medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 clovesGarlic, thinly sliced
2-3 sprigs eachThyme, Rosemary
4Fillets – tilapia (5-6 oz)
2Thinly sliced lemons
1 cupDry white wine
4Medium tomatoes, diced
½ cupKalamata olives (or other black olives)
4 tbspChopped parsley
1Lemon – juice

Method

  1. Heat olive oil in an oven-safe pan over a medium heat.
  2. Add the potatoes, cover and cook until tender.
  3. Add onions, garlic, herbs and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender – about 5 minutes.
  5. Lightly season fish with salt and pepper, place on top of potato and onion mixture and top fish with lemon slices.
  6. Increase heat to medium high, add wine and cook it until reduced by about 1/2 – no more than 2 minutes.
  7. Cover and place in oven to bake for 8 minutes.
  8. Transfer fish and vegetables to plates, saving the sauce in the pan.
  9. Place the pan on the stove at high temperature – reduce the broth 1-2 minutes.
  10. Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley and lemon juice to the pan.
  11. Cook until sauce thickens – about 10 minutes.
  12. Drizzle sauce over fish and serve.

Recipes From Our Resident Expert, Marsha Rosen, RD
Here are some heart healthy recipes provided by Marsha Rosen, RD (Registered Dietitian). Marsha is Mike Salem’s sister and in addition to offering private nutrition counselling, Marsha provides group lectures, seminars and cooking demonstrations, and is a sought-after contributor to health-related publications.

If you have nutrition question for our dietician, you can email Marsha here…

Do you have a heart healthy recipe that you would like to share? Send your recipes to info@mikeynetwork.com

According to Healthline, here are 28 Heart-Health Tips to include in your diet:

Move your body

Ensure you’re always moving! Consider going for a stroll during your lunch break or exercises in your spare time.

Know your numbers

Visiting your doctor and checking your vitals is important for your heart-health. Schedule regular check-ups with your doctor.

Eat chocolate

Eaten in moderation, dark chocolate can actually be good for you. It can help lower the risk of heart disease.

Kick your housework up a notch

Activities around the house keep your heart pumping and body moving! Consider mopping or vacuuming.

Consider pet therapy

Our pets offer more than good company and unconditional love. It may also help lower your chances of dying from heart disease.

Check out more here