Highly Requested Bread Recipe

So you know how I am a huge fan of homemade bread and I make at least one loaf of homemade bread each week. Well, this past week I attended two potluck events and I took homemade bread to both. I created some raving fans. People couldn’t stop talking about “The Bread”. So now I’m going to help you create some raving fans too by sharing my recipes. This bread is 100% whole grain and as you read the recipe you'll see it has only pure healthy ingredients, unlike 99% of the breads you'll find on the grocery store shelves.

This is the recipe I made for the Women’s Cycling Group on June 20th….

Whole Wheat Oatbran Bread (2lb Loaf)
1 ¼ cup water
3 TBS honey
2 TBS applesauce, unsweetened
4 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup oatbran (farina or cornmeal can be substituted)
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp bread machine yeast
2-3 tsp vital gluten

I know different bread machines have different instructions. For my machine, I put all of the wet ingredients in first, followed by the flour and other grains. I make a well in the flour and put my yeast in the well and then cover it up with some of the flour. Then I sprinkle the salt around the edge of the bread pan, to keep it as far from the yeast as possible. Then I sprinkle the vital gluten over the top of the flour. I bake this on the whole wheat cycle.

If you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise, ENJOY!

Recipes that are coming in the near future are Whole Wheat Strawberry Craisin Sunflower Bread, Whole Wheat Oatmeal Maple Bread, and Homemade Hummus.


To Your Best Health,

Melissa Guthrie
Triumph Training Fitness & Nutrition
BSc Nutritional Science
BSc Exercise Physiology
Nutrition Coach
ACE Certified Fitness Trainer/Group Ex. Instr.
New Leaf Metabolic Technician
Competitive Triathlete
Healthy Cooking Enthusiast

Fitness with a Focus

Fitness with a Focus

When I am doing a strategy session with a new client, we spend a significant amount of time talking about and defining specific goals related to their health, fitness, and nutrition. Have a goal to focus on is key to motivation and plays a very important role when challenges pop up, as they most certainly will. One of my favorite saying is “I see only my objective, the obstacles must yield” - Napoleon. Or stated another way, when the goal is big enough the obstacles don't matter.

The folks that tend to struggle the most with being consistent and persistent are those who have not set a meaningful goals or have not subdued their limiting beliefs. Others just have a low discouragement threshold or are too impatient. What I've found is the best way to move over, through or around these obstacles is to have a fitness focus that is outside of oneself, one that is far bigger than “self-gratification” or a number on a scale.

I have some personal experience with this which stretches back to my days in college. It was my freshman year that I really began to LOVE running and within a few years I was running races. I liked the challenge of racing and always trying to do better than I did at the previous race. However, there was something tugging at my heart that said “who are you running for?” I was running for my own health and fitness. I was running to challenge myself physically, mentally (racing is a big mental game). This thought kept leading me to ponder - is there someone else I should be running for? I often thought how I really wanted to run for my Lord - to bring honor and glory to Him. As I prayed, I would always express gratitude for my athletic abilities and tell God that I wanted all of my athletic pursuits to be for his glory. I received a feeling that God accepted my offering and this desire of my heart, yet there was still a nudge to run for something else or someone else.

It was not too long before I was introduced to a charity organization called Team in Training - they are a non-profit organization that fund research and patient aid for the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society. Their cause and mission penetrated my heart and I knew that this was the cause I was to run for. Even though I didn't personally know anyone who had ever suffered from these types of cancers, I felt the importance of supporting and running in honor of those who were less fortunate than healthy, fit ME. I ran with Team in Training for many years and it brought a whole new level of purpose to my training, my competing and to my general fitness.

Since that time, I've been introduced to another non-profit endurance training program called Chances for Children. Although I truly loved the people I met and the experiences I had through my involvement with Team in Training. There was something POWERFUL about Chances for Children, which called to my heart like nothing had before. Their cause and mission filled every fiber of my being. You see, their focus is to eliminate childhood obesity by teaching grade school (in many cases underprivileged kids) how to develop fit and healthy lifestyles. Chances for Children raises money to purchase running shoes for these kids, to set up running and fitness programs in their schools, to pay the entry fees for thousands of kids to run races each year and thus teach them how to set goals, work hard and achieve. As a once Fat Kid who went through my own amazing journey to fitness, and now as I am a fitness and nutrition professional, it is a dream come true to be part of an endurance training program such as Team Chances. I am privileged to be able to work with the Team Chances member athletes and soon-to-be the children and their families on their nutrition. My heart has found its home and my fitness and racing has an even clearer focus.

I encourage those of you who may be struggling with your own health and fitness and who could benefit from having a goal and focus bigger than YOU - come be part of the Chances for Children Community. Come improve your own health and fitness, meet incredible people, and make a huge impact in the health and fitness of kids all over the state. I can promise the experience will be priceless and rewarding beyond your expectations. You can learn more about Chances for Children and Team Chances at http://www.chancesforchildrenaz.com/

Melissa Guthrie

Triumph Training Nutrition & Fitness

Calling all Walkers & Runners!!
“TEAM CHANCES”
Information Meeting for 2009/2010 Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Training Programs
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
6:00 pm @ Sole Sports
(Rural & Warner in Tempe)

Whether you want to train for your first marathon or 1/2 marathon or whether you are a marathon veteran, training with coach Susan Loken and Team Chances will assist you in having a training and racing experience that is second to none! Groups forming for…Tucson Marathon, PF Chang's Rock 'n Roll Marathon & 1/2 Marathon and Carlsbad Marathon & 1/2 Marathon.

ALL Team Chances Information Meeting Dates
June
· 23rd Tempe

July
· 21st Maricopa
· 22nd Tempe
· 23rd Scottsdale
· 29th Phoenix

August
· 4th Maricopa
· 12th Tempe
· 13th Phoenix
· 19th Scottsdale

Location of Meetings
Tempe…Sole Sports 1006 E. Warner Rd. Suite 104 Tempe, AZ 85284
Scottsdale…Endurance Rehab 9376 E. Bahia Dr. #D103 Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Phoenix…Endurance Rehab 4440 N. 36th St. Suite 240 Phoenix, AZ 85018
Maricopa…Chamber of Commerce Maricopa

The Key to Success in Achieving Fitness Goals

What does it take to succeed in achieving ideal body weight or optimal health and fitness?

I received an email this morning that brought me such joy and exemplifies the type of action and commitment necessary to achieve a worthy ideal. Earlier this year (late January), I began working with a gentleman to assist him with his nutrition and overall fitness. After discussing his current health and establishing some clear fitness goals, we developed a plan of action. He took the initiative to contact a friend who is a high school strength & conditioning coach and had him design a weight training routine. He also mapped out his workout schedule each week including his cardiovascular exercise. I, of course, developed a healthy, balanced meal plan (NOT a DIET) to promote maximal nutrient intake, increased energy, stable blood glucose levels, all the while allowing for him to shed some excess body fat.

In the email I received from him this morning, he let me know that he has reduced his body weight by an additional 25lbs. He is consistently working out each week doing his strength training and riding his mountain bike. He is doing very well following his meal plan, making healthier food choices and eating smaller meals more consistently throughout the day. In additional to shedding the excess body fat, he is greatly improving the health and fitness of his heart and body overall. His cardiologist is delighted at the progress, as they’ve done cardiovascular testing which has shown how much more efficient his heart and lungs are functioning.

I want to give a HUGE congratulations to Dan, for his diligence and commitment to improving his health and fitness. My greatest joy is seeing you succeed! Continued Success!!!


"You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end." Sidney A. Friedman


To Your Best Health,

Melissa Guthrie
Triumph Training
Nutrition Coach & Fitness Trainer
BSc Exercise Physiology
BSc Nutritional Science
ACE Certified Personal Trainer & Group Fitness Instructor
New Leaf Certified Metabolic Technician
Competitive Runner/Triathlete
Healthy Cooking Enthusiast

Take the Ultimate Grocery Shopping Tour

I am constantly confronted with folks who are at some level ready to make some improvements in their health and yet are a little stand offish because they tell me how hard it is for them to eat healthy. They tell me, if they are going to eat healthy, it's gotta be really fast, it's gotta taste really good, and it can't cost a small fortune. Excellent!! that is what I do best...fast and simple, delicious and nutritious, and super cost-effective.

Where do we start? I believe a great place to start is the grocery store. If our refrigerator & cupboards are full of unhealthy foods, then that is really going to make eating healthy hard. I often have people tell me things such as they don't buy fresh produce because it goes bad before they use it and that they just CAN'T resist the cookie dough ice cream at 9pm. Well, of course the cookie dough is going to win over the carrots, but for heavens sakes if the cookie dough wasn't in the freezer to begin with then we just might be able to tackle that issue. It's time to do a little kitchen klean out and purge those less-than-healthy heavily processed and refined foods. Then it's time to start fresh and take the Ultimate Grocery Shopping Tour...


Embark on a fun-filled, educational adventure through the untamed isles of the supermarket guided by nutrition coach, Melissa Guthrie. In this exciting 2 hour workshop, you will learn how to decode the deceptive food labels that mislead you (i.e. The SIX Sickening Ingredients), how to easily replace your favorite "not-so-healthy" foods with delicious & nutritious alternatives, how to get the entire family eagerly engaged in healthier eating, how to cut your grocery bill significantly, and how to save precious time by trekking the perimeter path, and more! Including the NEW segment on Functional Foods that can keep you and your family super healthy by developing strong immune systems and thus, dramatically reducing doctor's visits and the associated expenses.

All participants will receive: The ULTIMATE Grocery Shopping Guidebook.

Who: You, your children (8yrs or older), your spouse, your friends, your neighbors, etc
Fee: $30 per individual or $45 per household (2 people: husband/wife, parent/child, roommates, etc)
Where: Fry's Marketplace (Stapely & McKellips) Mesa, Arizona

RSVP is required by midnight June 3rd in order to attend. Call 1.800.775.0712 ext 7015 to RSVP.

To Your Best Health,

Melissa Guthrie
Triumph Training Nutrition & Fitness
BSc Exercise Physiology, BSc Nutritional Science
ACE Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor
New Leaf Certified Metabolic Technician
Competitive Runner/Triathlete
Healthy Cooking Enthusiast