Learn how proteins, carbohydrates, and fats play vital roles in fueling your body and how tracking them can optimize your health and fitness goals.

The fitness and nutrition industry is constantly pushing to add more and more supplements to your regimen. A lack of knowledge on the consumer end, combined with marketing campaigns that aren’t telling you the full story, can lead to confusion and misinformation about what you should and should not be taking for your health. One of those supplements that can be quite confusing to understand is collagen protein. What is it? What are the benefits? What is the difference between collagen and protein supplements like whey? I hope that I can answer a few of those questions for you.

The perfect protein frozen waffles!

I have been so disappointed in frozen waffles recently and I knew I could do it better, so I did.

No prep meal prep foods can be a LIFESAVER during busy weeks, traveling and weeks when you just don’t have the mental capacity to cook everything fresh.

Black Iron Nutrition coach Ryann breaks down “No Prep” food options by macro, along with some additional no prep food options specifically for fruits and vegetables. Hopefully this makes you dread meal prep a little less and gives you some more time on the weekends for FUN!

These whip up quick and easy! I keep a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer at all times because they defrost quickly for those nights where I forgot to go grocery shopping.

One of the first obstacles that many nutrition clients face is figuring out how to add a little more protein to their diet. Your first inclination may be to order up a big batch of protein powders and bars—I mean, the word “protein” is in the name…it’s a no brainer. However, there are also plenty of ways to incorporate more protein into your diet utilizing real, unprocessed, whole foods without sacrificing flavor and while still being able to enjoy the meals you know and love. Here are five go-to ways to add more protein to meals.

1 pound of dry & rinsed beans of your choice

4-5 frozen chicken breasts

200g chopped or baby carrots

100g-200g white or yellow onion

4 cups water

2 cups broth

Dried bay leaves

3 good size garlic cloves, smashed

Braggs, Coconut Aminos or Soy Sauce

Mujaddara is generally made using brown or green lentils and rice, that can be seasoned with cumin, coriander, or mint. Lentils are a great vegetarian source of protein.

Do you love quick and delicious meals? If so, check out this one from coach Emi!

This is such a good mix of sweet, heat, crunch and some extra volume from all of the veggies! You can do lettuce wraps to keep your carbs down or throw it into a bowl with some rice to bulk up the carbs, throw some avocado slices on top for extra fat or even a sriracha mayo. You can also use ground turkey instead of ground chicken if you’re not a ground chicken fan. Plenty of ways to switch things up and keep it interesting!

Nutrition for hiking is something we see a lot of people make mistakes with – they’re either overcomplicating it and bringing too much food, or underestimating how much they should eat OR choosing types of food that simply aren’t as optimal for a day hike.

When you’re planning out a hike and trying to determine how much food to bring, we don’t need to be concerned about mileage or vert. We are most concerned with how long the hike is going to take you and how hard that hike will be for you.

This is a question I get weekly and its a good question! It’s hard to sift through all the adds on social media and see what’s truly important.

I want to start this off by saying if your nutrition, sleep and hydration are not on point, supplements aren’t going to be doing ya much good. Supplements are just that, to supplement the things you are missing from your diet and lifestyle.

This recipe is so quick and easy! You can start your rice up ahead of time — I throw some jasmine rice in my rice cooker, set it and forget it. Cutting the chicken thin and cooking on higher heat makes the process fast, plus it doesn’t dry your chicken out. Not to mention the amazing sauce that packs so much flavor and deliciousness.

Protein is involved in nearly EVERY process in the body! It’s essential for muscle, cell, and tissue growth, as well as repair. It’s involved in cell structure, enzyme function, and transport in the body. It improves recovery and increases strength. It even strengthens our immune function!

Most people know that protein is essential for body composition, performance, and muscle gain, but they’re unaware of how important it is for optimal health. With so many functions, adequate protein consumption is incredibly important.

All in, the recipe took less than 30 minutes and I only had to use one pan! You could sub out the chicken tenderloins for chicken breasts or thighs, but make sure to either butterfly your chicken breasts or pound them out a bit in order to make it thin. Chicken gets dried out easily, so I find that using thin slices and cooking at higher temps gets that awesome flavor but keeps it moist.

Looking to load up on protein and carbs for that training day but don't have much wiggle room in fats? This paella recipe is great for those who need a high-protein and high-carb meal.

You can take a ride to flavor town in less than 30 minutes with this bad boy. Protein-packed and delicious.

I can’t get enough of Italian food lately and it has become my mission to find healthier versions of my favorites. I love the sweetness of Spaghetti squash with the acidity of red sauce and sausage. This is a great addition to your meal prep this week.

April is here and the weather is warming up (in the Northern Hemisphere at least). And we’ve been talking a lot in the office about what that means for our clients. We start to see it in check-ins, the “Summertime Panic” to lose weight, and a lot of questions about how to handle barbecues and social gatherings. If you’re a BINer, you know our philosophy, your diet should be a part of your lifestyle, something that you can manage no matter what time of year it is.

Do you hear the words “Meal Prep” and instantly cringe at the thought of all the time and effort that needs to be put into that task? Let’s be honest, those Instagram pictures of Tupperware perfectly lined up on the counter with every meal for the week specifically weighed out are beautiful, but a bit hard to execute without wasting a whole day! Well, I am here to offer some assistance and help you prep for the week ahead in a very efficient and realistic way.

There’s nothing worse than getting home late after a long day and realizing you have nothing in the fridge to eat. It’s times like this when a lot of us succumb to less than ideal food choices, or expensive takeaway. Having a backup plan for times like these is important. And it can be as simple as having nonperishable food items in your cupboards like pasta, rice, quinoa, canned vegetables, and frozen food in your freezer like seafood and vegetables, all of which can be cooked quickly in a pinch.