How To Season Chicken In Two Minutes

Summer time means many things to many people. To the food-obsessed, summer exists to grill (unless you're like me and stuck in an apartment). Here's a quick way to season chicken for the grill (or any cooking appliance) without making a mess.

Step 1 - Get an empty tupperware container

Step 2- Get your seasonings of choice

I like garlic, onion powder, oregano, paprika, red pepper, black pepper, and salt. Experiment with different combinations to find out what your taste buds prefer.

Step 3 - Season the tupperware

Lay down a base of seasoning on the bottom of the tupperware.

Step 4 - Apply chicken

Step 5 - Season chicken

Apply the same seasonings from Step 3 to the top of the chicken. Then put the lid on the container and...

Step 6 - Shake it like a Polaroid picture

Actually, make sure you grab the container with two hands. Unless you want your kitchen covered in chicken and pepper.

Step 7 - Finished product

You now have seasoned chicken ready to be cooked to your preference - grill it, bake it, stir-fry it, eat it raw (don't actually do that).

This whole process takes two minutes, TOPS, once you're acquainted with your spice rack. Enjoy!

How To Incorporate Exercise Into Your Daily Routine

Planning a workout routine is not hard. There are literally thousands available, some free, some not so free. For many people, planning a new workout routine isn't hard - it actually tends to be rather enjoyable. In the same way that starting a new job or degree, or moving to a new location can be very exciting, planning your new exercise routine brings that excitement of the "unknown" and starting something new.

One of the biggest struggles people face when trying to form a habit of regular exercise is actually implementing a workout into their daily routine. Implementation is the sticking point for many, many people. Planning is easy. It's the actual execution that takes hard work, dedication, and really tests who you are and what you're made of.

Luckily, there are some strategies you can use, and before you know it, you'll naturally have the desire to run, lift, and be physically active every day.

I've already covered how to overcome the mental barriers and "that voice" which holds you back. Part of getting into an exercise routine is overcoming those barriers. Another part involves the psychology behind forming habits.

At this point, I want you to drop any preconceived notion of how long it takes to break an old bad habit or form a good new habit. The point is NOT to see how quickly you can do so. Our goal is forming long-lasting, life-changing habits. If you're able to do this within two weeks, fantastic! If you're still struggling after 21 days, don't fret - again, the goal here is forming a habit you'll keep up with in the long-term. It is worth the short-term struggle.

If You Feel Overwhelmed, Start Small

Some people can handle working out 6-7 days from the beginning. However, if this is NOT the case for you, start small to avoid burning out or feeling overwhelmed. Per Newton's 1st Law of Motion, a body at rest tends to stay at rest (hey, looks like I DID learn something from physics!) - it will be a struggle at first to get yourself moving. Take a walk around the block when you wake up or get home from work; do a 15-minute bodyweight workout when you wake up. Do this every single day. This is where the other part of Newton's 1st Law comes into play: an object in motion tends to stay in motion. Once you get moving, you'll find it's hard to stop!

Find A Time That Works Best For You

In the beginning, ignore research that tells you this time or that is the best time to run, or lift weights, or whatever. This may come into play much later down the road, but for now, the most important thing is to simply get moving - find the time that works best for you. Work around your schedule and find the best time for you to exercise every day - then set up cues around that time.

Set Up Cues

A cue is simply a reminder that triggers your mind and body towards a certain behavior. Your body has natural, built-in cues, such as your stomach rumbling when you're hungry. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors could rely on the lack of food in the morning as a cue to track down food, but we need different cues to remind us to exercise. This will vary depending on when you work out. It could be something as subtle as placing your gym shoes near your bedroom door to remind you to take a walk in the morning. It can be as blatant as setting a reminder/alarm on your phone that goes off after work before you can make it home and get stuck to the magnet known as the Living Room Couch. I don't want to go into specifics here, because the point is to find a cue that works for you.

Organize The Rest Of Your Day

This is not directly related to exercise, but having a structure to the rest of your day will allow you to incorporate exercise into your daily regimen much easier. Make a to-do list for tomorrow at night before you go to bed. Set aside specific times for certain tasks you repeat each day. This not only helps you stay organized, it also builds natural cues to exercise into your daily routine.

Just Do It

At some point, you just have to stop thinking and take action. Your mind may fight it. You'll start thinking of the other things you could be doing, telling yourself that you're wasting time. This is where the battle is won or lost. Turn off your mind, stop thinking, and just MOVE.

Putting It All Together

Remember, we are NOT looking for short-term solutions or quick-fixes. Forming healthy, long-term habits will give you better and longer-lasting results.

Start off with something you KNOW you can do every day - even something as simple as a 10-minute walk each morning. Establish the foundation and build from there. Incorporate cues to help you remember to exercise and automate the process. Eventually your subconscious will make the process automatic. Not only will you stop struggling to exercise, you'll begin to look forward to doing it every day.

Why 63% (Or 77%, or 94%, Whatever) of Life Is Mental

Life is not hard.

When you break it down, there are three simple steps: we are born, we live and do some stuff, and then we die. Not complicated, right? So why then, you might ask, does it feel so hard so much of the time? Why do we feel like we're drowning? Why does it feel so hard to balance schoolwork and mortgages and eating healthy and taking care of kids and working out and keeping the dog out of the trash and praying that the house your neighbors just moved out of doesn't end up occupied by crystal meth addicts?

Because we make it hard.

The human mind is one of the greatest developments in evolutionary history. It has enabled us to reach the stars, transform the face of our planet, and advance our species so far that we are without equal on Earth.

But the human mind is also one of our greatest enemies. Your mind makes you scared. It causes fear. It's immediate reaction to any situation is to retreat to safety. It's not your fault - evolution works, and it works pretty damn well. You likely would not be here had your ancestors NOT been intrinsically motivated by their mind to seek the safest environments and make safe decisions. While this helped your ancestors survive, in our modern civilization, sometimes our mind's preference for safety is detrimental to our success. The mind fears risk, and wants to avert risk at all costs. 

What does that mean for you? In a society full of comfort, it means you must now actively seek out challenging situations for yourself. Without challenge, you become content. When you become content, you become bored. And when you become content and bored, well, that's when you end up eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's (mmm, ice cream..) while watching infomercials at 2am, wondering what the hell you're doing with your life.

SO WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?

Overcome your mind. Ignore it. Drown it out with other messages - positive messages, motivational messages, silent messages. Do whatever it takes, whatever works best for you and keeps your mind quiet while you push yourself physically and mentally. Your mind opposes self-improvement because it opposes change, but you overcome it each time you choose hard work over comfort.

Overcome "That Voice"

"This bed is just so comfortable.."

"Just five more minutes. I'll get up the next time snooze goes off, really!"

"I've already overslept 30 minutes. What's another 5 going to harm?" 

We all know "that voice". 

Listen to this corgi instead

"That voice" tells you to hit snooze; just five more minutes this time. "That voice" tells you to stay on the couch, because you've had a long day and can go to the gym tomorrow. "That voice" tells you learning to cook is a waste of time because you'll never become Guy Fieri (or even Guy Fieri's distant cousin, Bro Fieri) so why bother? "That voice" is one of the most underrated, insidious, treacherous villains around. Why? Because "that voice" is internal.

The best way to defeat "that voice" is through action. Verbs. Doing. Remember the Nike "Just Do It" ads?

Want to get up at 5:30am to get to the gym before your busy day hits? Just do it.

Want to learn to cook a killer salmon with sides that would make KFC green with envy? Just do it.

Want to build up the stamina to run a 5K? Just do it.

Whatever it is you want (or need) to do, STOP THINKING AND JUST DO IT.

Whatever your fitness goals may be - whether it's a starting step like walking 1 mile every day, or something more advanced, like reaching 6% body fat - there are no shortcuts or magic bullets. As far as science and technology have come, there is still no replacement for blood, sweat, tears, and hard work. It's a cruel irony that our ancestors had to run for food, and now we must run from it. But that's life.

The good news is that the more you tell "that voice" to shove it, the easier it becomes, the quieter "that voice" gets, and the stronger YOU become mentally. You'll soon discover you have the willpower to accomplish anything you set your mind to, as "that voice" of negativity and darkness is replaced by a calm, cool confidence, leading you to the accomplishments you've dreamed of, and beyond.

Preparing a Week's Worth of Salad

Every Saturday or Sunday, I set aside a few hours to prepare all my food for the week- washing and seasoning meat, cutting vegetables, etc. The majority of this time goes towards preparing a big-ass bowl of salad that lasts me through the week and makes throwing together a quick healthy salad a breeze.

The great thing about this is its very easy to edit and rotate what foods you include, making it very easy to add variety week after week. I'll include the ingredient list I use to make my "go-to" version

Ingredients

• One (1) bunch kale or other green leafy vegetable
• One (1) head romaine lettuce
• 2 bell peppers, color of choice
•  One-two (1-2) onions, color of choice
• shredded carrots
• cheese crumbles (I use feta)
• grape tomatoes
• garlic croutons

 Instructions

1.  Cut the stem (white portion) off the romaine lettuce
   
2. Set a leaf of lettuce on the cutting board. Cut length-wise along the stem on both sides, and cut the top portion to remove the stem from the leaves. 
   
3. Fold the lettuce onto itself, and cut sideways along the length of the lettuce leaf, as shown. Place in salad spinner or some other sort of container to wash and rinse the lettuce.
   
4. Repeat until all lettuce is cut. To reduce time, leaves of similar sizes and stems can be stacked and cut together.
5. Dry lettuce using salad spinner. If you don't have a salad spinner, pat dry with paper towels, or let air dry. Place cut romaine lettuce in large container
   
6. Next, take your kale (or whatever other green you are using) and cut it into similar-size pieces. Wash, rinse, dry, and place in the giant salad bowl. You should now have romaine lettuce and kale leaves mixed together.
   
7. Take a bell pepper, and cut along the top in a circle to remove the stem. Next, slice down the middle to halve the pepper. Cut and remove white portions, and cut into strips. Dice into small squares, and place in the bowl. Repeat for the other bell pepper.
   
   
8. Dice/cut onion into whichever shape you prefer. I used crescents here but any shape/cut will do. Repeat if using a second onion
   
9. Next, toss in your shredded carrots
   
10. Add the grape tomatoes and croutons
11. Sprinkle crumbled cheese on top
    
12. Close the lid on the large container, and shake around to distribute ingredients evenly. Refrigerate and enjoy!
    
    This will hold in the fridge for 5-7 days, depending on your temperature settings. This is the easiest way I've found to get in large servings of greens every day.

If you are stressed for time, this can also be done with pre-cut bags of lettuce and veggies. This is typically what I do during the school year when I've got exams coming up, or I'm just simply pressed for time.

Toasted Egg and Peanut Butter Sandwich

 

Random group of ingredients, I know. But take my word for it, this is delicious

Ezekiel Bread is a low-GI carbohydrate source. The egg, and peanut butter provide a bit of protein. This is a great meal or snack for any time of the day.

Recipe

 

Ingredients (makes one sandwich)

• two slices Ezekiel bread
• 1 egg
• olive oil or cooking spray
• 1/2 - 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Cooking Hardware/Utensils Needed

• Toaster/Toaster Oven
• Skillet/Pa
• Spatula
• Butter knife

Steps

• Insert bread into toaster/toaster oven and, well...toast it 
• While bread is getting its toast on, add just enough olive oil or cooking spray to coat your skillet/cooking pan. Turn on low heat. Once cooking surface is heated, crack egg and fry over-easy.

• After bread finishes toasting, add peanut butter to one slice: 

•  Once the egg finishes frying, toss it on the other slice of bread
• Combine slices of toast and boom! Sandwich is ready

Ghetto Push Sled

A sled/prowler is a great tool for conditioning work. As a college student living in a apartment, though, I do not have access to a good place to use one, and I lack the funds to purchase one. I am also not very handy, and don't have the tools to build one anyway. So, sled training has been out of the question for me.

The other day at the gym, I noticed a guy using an upside-down box as a sled.The set-up is real simple:

Take a box, flip it upside down and place it on a towel so you don't ruin the gym floor and get chased out. Place weights in the flat area of the box, and push 'til you puke. I've started doing HIIT with the box- 1 min pushing at a fast pace, 1 minute catching my breath, rinse and repeat.

The janitors also thanked me for helping them clean the basketball court floors.

Don't have access to a prowler or a sled? Get creative and get pushing.