Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

We are lucky that we live in a town that thrives off small business. If you ever get the chance to visit downtown Greenville, you will be so impressed with the variety of shops and restaurants that crowd the streets of our beautiful downtown. "Main Street Greenville promotes historic preservation and economic development, resulting in a cultural downtown district that attracts and retains businesses and entrepreneurs, making downtown a desirable destination." As a small business owner, I know how hard it is to build a small company in a big business world. But then again, everything big starts small. I encourage you to shop small this Saturday - even if it's just a cup of coffee or small gift for a friend, the small business that you support will greatly benefit from your support. What's your favorite small business?

May this holiday season bring you love to your heart, health to your body, happiness to your soul and and peace and joy to your home. From our homes to yours, wishing everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! ~The Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition team Marni, Karel, Joe and Joey

Overeating and overdrinking. This doesn't sound healthy, right? For many, Thanksgiving is a day to surround yourself with family and friends, all while consuming a smorgasbord of food in a short period of time. Although "a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year", Thanksgiving is a holiday that makes it socially acceptable to binge eat. Regardless if you have a meat or vegan feast, Thanksgiving is known to be the holiday in which you have the permission to indulge and eat with reckless abandon. But knowing how binge eating and overeating makes you feel, is it really worth it to eat until you are stuffed on Thanksgiving?  Maybe because I've spent the last 25 Thanksgiving's as a vegetarian, but this holiday doesn't make me think "food" but instead, "family." I think back to many Thanksgiving holidays with my mom and dad, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin and grandparents and it was always a fun time to...

With Paris Mountain standing just a few miles away from our house, we have the opportunity to bike (or run) up the mountain anytime we want. Here's a picture (below) of my ride on Thursday, when I did 4 x 9 min heavy gear (45-50 rpm) intervals up Paris Mountain (and descended 3 minutes down between each interval). With no lookout point to stop at on the mountain, it's an added bonus to bike riding when we can enjoy the views and get in a great workout at the same time. Once a year in Nov/Dec, the Greenville Track Club puts on the "toughest race in the south" with a 20K road race that goes up and over Paris Mountain and covers 2500 vertical feet of elevation gain, 89 curves and a few hills over 15% grade. For any athlete who likes a challenge, this is the race for you. This year, the race was the host of the 2017 Road Runners Club of America South Carolina 20K championship. In 2015, Karel and I participated in the race and enjoyed using our triathlon resilie...

Ooey Gooey Double Chocolate Teff Cookies (gluten and vegan free) The holidays can be overwhelming, especially if you have dietary restrictions. For all my vegan or dairy/egg allergy friends/followers, there's a good chance that you will feel deprived of the many delicious desserts offered to you, filled with ingredients that you can't (or should not) eat. While your reasons may be for ethical, religious, moral or health, the holidays are for everyone, regardless of your dietary needs. Everyone deserves to yum! In my recent issue of Food and Nutrition (Nov/Dec 2017) on pg. 23, there was a great article titled "Mastering Vegan Baking." I wanted to share a few ingredient swaps from the article, to help you make eight traditional desserts, vegan friendly. Whipped cream - Combine full-fat chilled coconut cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Tiramisu - Extra-firm tofu blended with raw cashews, sugar and lemon juice. Flan - Extra-firm silken tofu paired with ...

History has taught us that plants were commonly used for medicinal reasons, either to cure or reduce symptoms from an illness. Still today, there's no denying that food can be our medicine. Back in the 1600's, in ancient Egypt, Rome and China, celery was medicinally used to treat health issues, like arthritis and indigestion. Rich in water and a good source of Vitamin K, Celery provides antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, thanks to it's many phytochemicals (ex. phenolic acids, flavones and flavonols). Although commonly recognized as a "diet" food, with every crunch, you are also providing your body with a great dose of nutrients, like vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin B6. I love celery as each stalk provides a nice crunch. And despite containing only around 35 mg of sodium, somehow the slight bitterness tricks the taste buds to make you believe that you are eating something salty. Whether you enjoy your celery as "ants on a log" or cho...

When Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition LLC became an official business, I was given a lot of advice about starting a new business - some advice was helpful, a little was discouraging and a lot of it was overwhelming. But the best piece of advice that I was given was "don't try to do everything. Ask for help." Many people do not like to ask for help as it can be seen as a sign of weakness, there could be fear of rejection or feelings of not being good enough. Some people just don't like to ask for help due to pride or ego. But this piece of advice encouraged me to focus on what I was good at (ex. coaching and nutrition) and to let others help me in the areas that I knew nothing about (ex. accounting). Still today, I don't mind asking for help as I like to collaborate with professionals who specialize in areas that I am not an expert in and I can learn from others. There's nothing foolish or inadequate about not knowing it all. Asking for help, whether it...