Category Archives for "News and Notes"

For many years I've participated and encouraged you to join in on the Rock N Race 5K. This year again I am encouraging you to join this great event as a fundraiser for the Payson Center in Concord. They do a great job making this event for everyone. You can walk or run or do some of both. There are bands playing, people dancing, and many that come out along the street to applaud you as one actively participating. They even feed you at the end of the race. And yet this year, I am choosing not to be there. My heart is just too heavy this year. 

I of all people should lead the charge on May 16th. As you know last September I asked each of you in the gym to help me as my Dad battles pancreatic cancer. He is in his 10th month of chemo and treatments. The treatments alone are taking a toll on his health. At this moment in time, I am hating the word 'cancer'. It is a knife that strikes the heart each time I hear it. My sister is still recovering from all the treatments she endured for her throat cancer. I know many of you can relate. 

This year I am a chicken (an emotional basket case) and I don't choose to put myself in a place that is a sea of T- shirts reminding me of all the pain so many endure and have endured with cancer. I will be back to this fundraiser. I am asking for your help in two ways.

1. Support the Rock N Race. Join a team. Cr8 Fitness's very own Hall of Fame member Jenn is team captain of the Davis & Towle team. She'd love to have you join them that night. If you can't get there on May 16th, you can support the Payson Center or other cancer centers. 
2. In September when I let you know about my dad I asked you for a head nod every once in awhile to let me know your behind me in this. I am thankful for those nods. They are more important than you know. 

Cancer is a word that makes me angry. That word alone stirs up the fighting spirit inside of me. I will be there to fight against this terrible disease, I will battle it to the end. Today I need your help in holding strong for me. 

Coach Nancy 

Can you believe it's that time of year already? Spring is around the corner, and you know what Spring leads to?

SUMMER!!!

And it also means we are getting ready to ramp up for our annual challenge... 

The Sizzlin' Summer Slimdown!

We are stoked to be getting the whole gang back together from the the two best gyms in New Hampshire, Get Fit NH in Concord and Cr8 Fitness in Epsom, for what has traditionally been our biggest challenge of the year.

The goal?

Getting healthier and shedding some unwanted pounds and inches as we head into the summer season.

 Remember this from last year?

All the details are coming soon, but here's just a little snippet to be thinking about. This year the brain power behind the two gyms (Coaches Nancy and Meagan) brought back one of our favorite challenge formats -

Teams of Four! (happy dance ensues)

Why teams? Because we all need someone to lift us up on the down days, and kick us in the pants when we are slacking off. And the truth is we are more motivated to do our best by not letting others down...it's a fact. 

More details are on the way, so really all you need to be doing right now is to be thinking of who you want to team up with, and be brainstorming a team name. Your team could be from your own gym, a mix of peeps from both gyms, or even friends and family (framily?) who don't train with us - yet! 

And don't worry, we'll be flexible with team sizes (from 3-5), and if you need help finding a team, we will assist you with that too!

Cant' Wait!

- DC

March is typically known for crazy weather, a leprechaun's pot of gold, and College Basketball playoffs (March Madness). It seems to me that March is deemed to be the time of reaching high fetched dreams. That sounds perfect for our group challenge. 

Let me tell you a story first. 

"Once upon a time there was a man on a mission. This man's name was Dan. His mission was to complete a million meters of skiing in a year. He laid out his plan. He thought it well through. In order to achieve his goal he would complete 20,000 meters each week. He'd ski 1,500m before each training and 1,500m after each training session. At home he would work on the remaining 8,000m for the week. He even planned in rest weeks from his schedule. Before long those in his training time got word of Dan's Million Meter Mission. They were there with encouraging words and spent time skiing next to Dan to keep him going. Then the word spread far and wide and soon others were joining in on the skiing fun." 

..... Oh Wait, this is not a fairy tale. Dan trains at 6:15 and he really has a Million Meter Mission this year!

In March as a team we are going to match Dan's Million. He is going to take a year. With over 100 of us at Cr8 Fitness, we're going to accomplish our Million Meter's in a month. "It's March Madness- Baby!"

I did some number crunching. With everyone skiing this month, each person will need to ski 10,000m in March. I know some of you can do that in one taking. For the rest of us: Each day as you come in, ski 313m meters before training and another 313m afterwards. Now I know some of you will take this challenge very seriously and do more than your fair share. I'm counting on that. There are those that will need a boost with their numbers as they train 2 days a week.  I built in a bit of cushion room as we have 113 people in the Cr8 Fitness Family. I'll join in and I know Coach Dean loves a good challenge too. 

We'll be marking our meters on the board so everyone can see the progress we're making towards our Million Meter Match Mission in March. (I just had to write out all those M words one More time)

I can't wait to blow your mind as we take home the pot of gold because no matter what the weather is like outside, we can ski inside. March Madness begins Friday. 

This is the BEST Challenge Ever,

Coach Nancy

My favorite meals are those that are easy to fix, don't have me in the kitchen for hours at a time, and taste fantastic. One of my favorite tools to help make that happen is the crockpot. What's better than one meal that is easy to fix, fast to put together, and that the whole family loves? Five Crockpot meals! 

About three years ago, I found a process for Crockpot Freezer Meals. It was one of those moments when I thought: "I wish I would have thought of that, It's brilliant!".

Imagine this you trek to the grocery store, spend an hour or more shopping for the week and then come home and prepare all your dinner meals within the next hour. How cool would that be? When you're ready to leave the house each morning, you place one meal in the crockpot and when you arrive back home- Voila, dinner is done. Repeat that for a total of five days. (You'll probably have leftovers for lunch too. Win/Win) That is a picture of how it will feel after you participate in the Crockpot Workshop. And yet there is one small difference. You can take out the grocery shopping because I already will do that for you.

At the crockpot workshop you'll walk away after an hour with five meals ready to place in the freezer until you are ready to cook them in your crockpot (or Instant Pot). It might not actually take you an hour to put these meals together. It goes that fast. 

Here's what you get at this workshop:

• Every Ingredient is provided to make 5 meals that feeds 4-6 people
• I do all the shopping for you
• I set up and clean up for you
• You walk out with 5 meals ready to cook in your crockpot (or instant pot). 
• These meals can also be thrown in the freezer until you need them.
• Use these meals when you want or need them most.
• I often give one or more of these meals away to someone who is sick, had a baby, going through a rough time etc. Then they have an option when they need it most. 

What you don't get:

• Long lines at the grocery store
• Figuring out which recipes are Coach Nancy approved 🙂
• Forgetting an ingredient at the store so you have to make a second trip
• Being alone as you prepare your meals. Friends make this workshop even more fun.
• A messy kitchen. These meals go from Ziploc bag to Crockpot. BAM you're done.

The Crockpot Freezer Meal workshop is:

Saturday, March 23rd.

9-10am 

At Cr8 Fitness in Epsom

The cost for this workshop is only $105. That is $21 for a meal that feeds 4-6 (most likely with leftovers).

Want Proof?

Here is what others have said after they finished the workshop.

"Nancy, Thank you so much, I felt like I was on a game show. Can't wait to put the Crock -Pot into action!!" -Anne

"Last night was a lot of fun! It was totally worth it to be a repeat participant. You do an amazing job with the shopping and having everything so easy to assemble. Walking out with five delicious crockpot meals makes meal planning easier for the upcoming weeks. The fact that I got a chance to socialize on a Wednesday night was an added bonus." - Tracy

"I loved the crockpot seminar. It was fun and has been feeding my family for the past several weeks. We loved the cashew chicken and beef stew the best! I liked how we were able to leave with the meal completed and participate. Thank you for putting this on!"  -Christine 

If you're curious if your family will like the meals we prepare, here's the five meals we'll fix in less than an hour.

1. ​Queso Chicken Chili
2. Scrumptious Coconut Chicken Curry
3. Easy Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore
4. Yummy Italian Chicken
5. Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

All these recipes are Carlson Kid tested and approved. 🙂

Sign up quickly, because although I'd love to have everyone there, I only have room for 20 Crockpot Chefs!

To your best health,

Coach Nancy

I am a Patriots fan. I'll be watching in just over a week as they play again for a Super Bowl title. The consequences of watching the game is a late night. I am usually like a toddler when it comes to bedtime- 8:00pm and lights out. But it's hard not to watch the Big Game - there is a high amount of energy as the whole house loves football. So I'm not going to bed early, I'll be up late watching the game! 

So what? Here's What. You asked for it, you got it!

Turns out I'm not the only Patriots fan around here (who knew?) 🙂 There are plenty of us at the 5:00am and 6:15am training that are fans of the game. Good News! The post game celebrations won't need to be shortened this year because of an early morning training schedule. 

Here's how we are going to celebrate the Super Bowl.

On Monday February 4th we will not be opening until the ladies class at 9:00am. The crew at 4:00 and 6:00pm will train just like normal. We're going to push the 5:00am and the 6:15am that day to 5:00am and 6:15 on Wednesday, February 6th. 

Here's the deal for that time; the training on Wednesday morning will be the same training as everyone else will have already enjoyed on Monday. (So try to keep the training a surprise, don't tell them how much FUN they will have). Remember; It's ONLY the first two training hours that will be affected on Monday. Everyone else has the same schedule the whole week. 

Yeah, I am the coolest coach ever. 🙂

Since you aren't going to be stressing about staying up late, you'll have more time to prepare some awesome food for the Big Game. Here's is on of my family's absolute favorites. These take a while to make but are delicious. I’m excited to have them as a special treat while watching the Patriots win the Super Bowl this year.

Avocado Chorizo Sweet Potato Skins

Ingredients:

• 1lb chorizo
• 3 sweet potatoes
• ½ red onion, diced
• 2 ripe avocados, halved and seeds removed
• ½ lime, juiced
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon almond flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Use a fork to poke some holes in your sweet potatoes. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft when you poke them. (Time will range depending on how fat they are. I used thin ones)

While your sweet potatoes are baking, pull out a large skillet, place over medium heat and add your chorizo to it. Use a wooden spoon to break up your chorizo while it cooks.

When chorizo is halfway done cooking, add your onions to sweat it out.

When your chorizo is cooked completely through, put your chorizo mixture on a plate with a paper towel to soak up some of the excess fat and to cool.

Now pull out your handy dandy food processor. Use a spoon to scoop out the inside of your two avocados and place in the food processor. Mix until you get a smooth paste.

Add your lime, lemon, cumin and a bit of salt. Pulse until mixed thoroughly.

Place your chorizo and ¾ of your avocado mixtures in a large bowl to incorporate. Leave the other ¼ of avocado mixture for toppings.

When your sweet potatoes are done cooking, let cool, cut in half, scoop out insides (leaving about ½-1 inch of sweet potato still inside) of sweet potato, and use a pastry brush to brush on coconut oil on the inside and all around the sweet potato.

Place back on cooking sheet and in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until crispy.

Once potatoes are crispy, add your avocado and chorizo mixture into your sweet potato, top off with a little sprinkle of almond flour, and place back in the oven for around 5 minutes.

Happy Super Bowl Watching- Go Pats!

My favorite meals are those that are easy to fix, don't have me in the kitchen for hours at a time, and taste fantastic. One of my favorite tools to help make that happen is the crockpot. What's better than one meal that is easy to fix, fast to put together, and that the whole family loves? Five Crockpot meals! 

About three years ago, I found a process for Crockpot Freezer Meals. It was one of those moments when I thought: "I wish I would have thought of that, It's brilliant!".

Imagine this you trek to the grocery store, spend an hour or more shopping for the week and then come home and prepare all your dinner meals within the next hour. How cool would that be? When you're ready to leave the house each morning, you place one meal in the crockpot and when you arrive back home- Voila, dinner is done. Repeat that for a total of five days. (You'll probably have leftovers for lunch too. Win/Win) That is a picture of how it will feel after you participate in the Crockpot Workshop. And yet there is one small difference. You can take out the grocery shopping because I already will do that for you.

At the crockpot workshop you'll walk away after an hour with five meals ready to place in the freezer until you are ready to cook them in your crockpot (or Instant Pot). It might not actually take you an hour to put these meals together. It goes that fast. 

Here's what you get at this workshop:

• Every Ingredient is provided to make 5 meals that feeds 4-6 people
• I do all the shopping for you
• I set up and clean up for you
• You walk out with 5 meals ready to cook in your crockpot (or instant pot). 
• These meals can also be thrown in the freezer until you need them.
• Use these meals when you want or need them most.
• I often give one or more of these meals away to someone who is sick, had a baby, going through a rough time etc. Then they have an option when they need it most. 

What you don't get:

• Long lines at the grocery store
• Figuring out which recipes are Coach Nancy approved 🙂
• Forgetting an ingredient at the store so you have to make a second trip
• Being alone as you prepare your meals. Friends make this workshop even more fun.
• A messy kitchen. These meals go from Ziploc bag to Crockpot. BAM you're done.

The Crockpot Freezer Meal workshop is:

Wednesday, January 30th.

6-7pm

At Cr8 Fitness in Epsom

The cost for this workshop is only $105. That is $21 for a meal that feeds 4-6 (most likely with leftovers).

Want Proof?

Here is what others have said after they finished the workshop.

"Thank you Nancy! This is the most efficient, high quality, useful, and good for me "cooking workshop” I’ve ever taken. No, it’s the second one I’ve taken because I’m still working on the proceeds of the first one. I look forward to the next one!" - Elizabeth

"Nancy, Thank you so much for last night's session! I appreciate how efficient the 1 hour prep process was to get 5 meals prepared and new recipes for my family. With the kids busy sports and music schedule we have been eating out far too often. It will be nice to replace eating out with home cooked crock pot meals. Thank you! We are trying the first meal this evening." -Tammy

"I loved the crockpot seminar. It was fun and has been feeding my family for the past several weeks. We loved the cashew chicken and beef stew the best! I liked how we were able to leave with the meal completed and participate. Thank you for putting this on!"  -Christine

If you're curious if your family will like the meals we prepare, here's the five meals we'll fix in less than an hour.

1. Cashew Chicken
2. Balsamic Chicken
3. Thai-ish Chicken Wings
4. Italian Chicken
5. Beef Stew

All these recipes are Carlson Kid tested and approved. 🙂

Sign up quickly, because although I'd love to have everyone there, I only have room for 20 Crockpot Chefs!

To your best health,

Coach Nancy