With the day-by-day busy routine and living in a very cold place, sometimes it may be hard to keep eating healthily. It may seem that your body is asking for more and more food. Then we exceed with the food without even noticing that. But, as we know, the Jiu-Jitsu always takes us to a healthier life-style.

And this is what happened to the couple Fabio Costa – 3rd degree black belt – and Márcia Carvalho – 4th degree purple belt – from Gracie Barra Georgia, US.  For a long time, Fábio tried many diet plans, without great results. Meanwhile, Márcia was trying to lose some weight in order to get into the mats with a better disposition and so honorably defend the red shield.

The couple then understood that it was time to search for a professional guidance and, through a referral from the Almeida’s (instructor Flávio and coach Vivi) they got to the nutritionist Fernanda Mello.

Fernanda Mello gained our trust with her wide knowledge and the way she could explain everything to us. We have 2 children and it is very important for us having a health life, so we can see our little beauties growing up and, of course, being an active part of EVERYTHING.” Márcia Carvalho

And since the whole family trains, they got to combine “the business and the pleasure”. The results are being incredible. Fábio already lost 100lbs and Marcinha 30lbs.

“But the best result was the change in our lives. Our family is now more gathered than ever. Facing all of that together made us stronger. Having the opportunity to train and do physical activities together is priceless.” Coach Marcinha

Keeping yourself motivated with a diet plan is not that easy. Besides, it takes a lot of discipline and willpower. And our couple has been showing lots of these qualities in the social medias. “Knowing that I’m not only eating better but also teaching my daughters a healthier life-style is really rewarding”. Márcia

Not to mention the delicious dishes you can have, still being very healthy. With this new life-style, Marcinha became a great ‘chef’ when it comes to reinvent old recipes to new and healthier versions. And of course we asked her for one of these recipes.

“One of our weekly meals at home is kibbeh. But we replaced the wheat with quinoa. I find almost all my recipes in Instagram and when I look for something that really interests me but it takes any ingredient that would not fit in my diet plan, I replace it.”

Once again, the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle defeated every barrier and took an actual improvement to the life of its practitioners.

Recipe: Baked Kibbeh ‘Fit’

You can prepare that in a baking pan or with the traditional kibbeh format (oblong, more accepted by children).

Ingredients:

– 1/3 cup of raw quinoa

– 1 cup of water

– 400g ground meat (lean)

– 1/2 medium onion

– mint

– Salt and black pepper

Preparing:

Blend the onion and mint until get a smooth paste. I use a good amount of mint to give a special taste.

Meanwhile, I cook the quinoa in 1 cup of water (actually, I always keep cooked quinoa in the freezer, so that I only need to take it off and thaw overnight. I prefer to use it cold).

Stir in the quinoa, the onion paste and the ground meat in a bowl. I’ve already used beef, chicken, turkey and even buffalo meat.

Mix the ingredients and add spices to taste.

Spread the mixture in a baking pan and mark/’draw’ it with a knife, to give a good looking.

The kibbeh cooks really fast, so use the highest rack in your over. You can use the broil or grill function to brown it at the end. It will release a bit of water due to the quinoa and some other ingredients. I use to discard this water in the half of the cooking time.

It must be done in about 20 minutes.

I combine the kibbeh with a very healthy eggplant paste (known as baba ganoush) and with tabbouleh. It’s perfect! 🙂

This article has only an informative purpose and has no intention to replace a professional guidance. The use of vitamins and supplements can offer you great results, but before using any product, we strongly recommend you to visit a Nutritionist, Doctor or another specialist for an analysis and follow-up.