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Natalie Scibetta

About Natalie Scibetta

I am a certified and award winning Lifestyle Fitness Coach. I specialize in helping people overcome the obstacles keeping them from accomplishing their goals and dreams. Every successful goal achievement plan requires focus, motivation and determination to reach the goal. I can guide you along the path towards a new better you!

Chicken Pot Pie on a Slab

February 6, 2019 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

Print Recipe

Chicken Pot Pie on a Slab

Adapted from Eating Well: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/269821/slab-chicken-potpie/
Prep Time45 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time1 hr 15 mins
Course: Main Course
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 5 cups unsalted chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp white miso paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup 2% milk
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
  • 1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 24-oz package of frozen vegetables (peas, carrots, corn)
  • 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 pkg whole wheat pizza dough
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 handful baby spinach
  • 1 cup sauteed baby bella mushrooms

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Combine broth, miso, bay leaves in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, undisturbed, until reduced to about 4 cups, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves.
  • Whisk milk and flour in a small bowl, then whisk into the broth in the pan. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Stir in chicken. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in mixed vegetables, mushrooms and parsley. Line the bottom of the dish with baby spinach, then pour the mixture onto a large rimmed baking sheet.
  • Spread out pizza dough like you would make a pizza.  Cut your strips as you would like to cover the dish.  I used a fancy pizza cutter.  Brush the top of the dough with egg white. 
  • Bake until the top is browned and the chicken is cooked through, 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Cut to serve.

Notes

I would use a 9 x 13 casserole dish next time, as using a cookie sheet was not deep enough.  If you use a cookie sheet, make sure you place something long enough in the oven below it to catch the drippings if it overflows while cooking.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes Tagged With: dinner

The Cinderella Shoes….Ending – What the Expert has to Say

December 14, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

As you know I’ve been dealing with what the first doctor thought was tendonitis, what my physical therapist was treating.  Although she thought the pain was being caused by nerves in my back, and decided to treat it as such, physical therapy definitely made me feel much better, limbered me up a bit so to speak.  While going to Physical Therapy I had my first visit to the Advanced Sports doctor, he ran nerve tests, ordered another x-ray because he didn’t like the x-ray that was taken the first time I was there.  (I could have told him that it wasn’t my knee!).  He also made me walk around the room a little funny, heel to toe, on my toes like a ballerina, whatever.  I get it, it’s all about the evaluation.  He determined it was a peroneal neuroma, the nerve that runs from my hip to my knee to my ankle to my toes.  That’s the best way I can describe it.  It makes sense.  So, he said to continue PT and off I went.

Physical therapy got better after that. It was more focused on the issue and not so much guess work as if it was truly a nerve issue in my back.  Again, my back has never felt so good since PT.  I continued doing the exercises, and when the pain went away or the stretch wasn’t working anymore we moved on to new exercises, stretches. About three weeks later the pain had almost gone away, I’d say it was 5% lingering.  We made adjustments to my seat position in my car, I bought a better lumbar support for my office chair and I started standing up straighter.  Physical therapy was actually fixing my posture too.   My last session of physical therapy I walked away with a list of exercises to continue at home, if and when the pain came back. (I know them by heart now.)  

My follow up with the Advanced Sports doctor was short and sweet.  He went thru the same tests as before, minus the x-ray and since the pain was almost none or gone, I no longer had to come back.  Of course, should it resurface then I would have to come back, but hopefully it will not come to that. (Fingers and toes crossed!)  

Overall, this learning experience showed me that painful shoes are not worth it, not even if I wanted a pair of sexy nude heels that I would wear to multiple weddings.  I refuse to settle for anything uncomfortable again.  They cost me months of a throbbing headache type of pain in my calf.  Almost 2 months of physical therapy and 5 doctor appointments.  I lived, learned and am pain free as I write this last paragraph (and I am rid of the painful Cinderella shoes as they are on their way to a better home).  Physical therapy is awesome, anyone who has the opportunity to do it to help them get better, heal faster, and recover stronger should do it.  It may be an inconvenience, but I’d rather be inconvenienced than live with the struggle to heal and be well.

Filed Under: Health and Education Tagged With: cinderella, high heels, neuroma, physical therapy

The Cinderella Shoes that….sent me to the Physical Therapy

October 26, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

My idea of a visit to the sports doctor was a trip to the orthopedist.  Mind you I have repeated my “how my toes got numb” story multiple times now, so my “poor choice of footwear” response has been clearly defined.  The appointment I had made was, at the choice of my health care insurance, made at a local orthopedist office, which I thought was going to be right in Easton, but it turns out its in Bethlehem.  Oh well, so I drive. Free parking was a bonus, unless I just got lucky. When I’m finally seen, I get to repeat my story yet again, and have to clearly explain that the issue is not my knee, its my calf, and either they just do it as protocol but they ended up x-raying my knee, when the pain is in my calf. (Did I mention that already?)  I’m a little frustrated as to why they wanted to x-ray my knee for calf pain, did not make any sense to me at all.

The doctor, after reading my x-ray, and determining that it was not my knee at all, said I had tendonitis along my calf and that Physical Therapy would help.  OK great, let’s get this fixed ASAP.

Keep in mind, both the foot doctor and the orthopedist did not tell me to stop playing sports, running, etc.  They both did not give me any restrictions, other than comfortable shoes and obviously not those heels again.

I’ve never been to physical therapy before, but had plenty of conversations with people who did.  My first appointment was an evaluation, a “let’s see where the pain is coming from” evaluation. Not poking and prodding but stretching, bending, extending.  It was not painful at all if you got that from my description. After putting me in uncomfortable extended positions, mostly related to extending my back, I was given 3 exercises to do 3x a day until my next session.  At this point he wasn’t convinced it was my back, neck or anything else. He was convinced it was a muscle irritation caused by a nerve that was irritated. OK no problem, he’s the expert. I continue with PT for the next week and realize that the exercises they want me to do, are helping and are helping my posture.  (Did I mention I have slight scoliosis?) Anyway, amazing how many things can be affected by just your back. So although I continue to run, play softball, I have limited my strength training since attending PT. I can’t wait to hear what my follow up with the higher level sports doctor has to report!

Filed Under: Health and Education Tagged With: orthopedist, physical therapy, posture, sports doctor

The Cinderella Shoes….

October 3, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

…that caused more Pain than Beauty

There is a reason why I’ve never bought Steve Madden shoes, even though most people are wearing them these days, I always walked right passed them in DSW.  No matter the price, I always thought they just weren’t for me, they didn’t fit right, the heel was too high, not in the color I needed at the time. Now I know, exactly why the heels that I just had to have for the dress I wanted to wear to a wedding, the heels that I know I could wear two more times for 2 more weddings this year, the heels that go with everything, made me regret ever buying them.


If history serves me right men created high heels way back in the 10th century when many horseback-riding men wore heels on their boots and shoes. The heels helped their feet stay in the stirrups while riding.  Now for us women, in the 1900s women wore high heels to make their feet look smaller.  (Huh?) I had to buy a larger pair of Steve Madden’s just so my foot fit correctly!

No matter what you think, this is what high heels do for you: they elongate the leg, they make us look sexy in skirts, dresses, accentuate the calf muscle (aka sexy).  They (sometimes) cause us pain, pain to look sexy and have confidence. I never owned a pair of nude heels and I needed one pair to get me thru 3 weddings in 3 months The problem was finding them…in July.  Earlier in the spring I visited DSW for shoes, sandals, crossed out a few brands that didn’t fit my foot right or were too expensive. JC Penny’s had a nice pair (on sale) but only one in my size and it looked that it was used.  I also looked in Macys (which had nothing in my size), and eventually I went back to DSW and tried on the Steve Madden nude heels and bought them, along with sandals and black Bandolino heels. When the price is right, ya know!

At the wedding, I noticed during cocktail hour it was a little uncomfortable to stand in them, little did I know that while we were dancing the night away I wouldn’t be able to feel my toes anymore.  Yup, my toes went numb. Me, the runner, cyclist, softball player, who exercises, my toes went numb in high heel shoes! WTF! How does this happen? I survived the night and finally took off those heels and traded them in for my flip flops.  Days later I made an appointment with a foot doctor.

Have you been to the foot doctor lately?  It’s an experience just sitting in the waiting room and being the youngest person in the waiting room.  I got to tell my ‘I made a poor choice in high heels for a wedding’ story and after further examination the doctor said I had a neuroma, numbness between the third and fourth toes caused by too much pressure on the ball of the foot.  Apparently my feet are not padded enough on the bottom, so he handed me Dr. Jill’s Gels Ball of Foot Gel Cushions and off I went. It’s the most uncomfortable feeling in the world, and I was afraid I’d become numb to the numbness and not know what it would feel like to walk normal again.

2 months later at my checkup with the foot doctor, the numbness is now 25% of what it was, however my calf has developed a dent, a divot on the side, a forever calf cramp so to speak. Unfortunately the foot doctor does not treat anything above the ankle, and therefore recommended if I wanted to, to get a nerve test.  So, I being the self treating, overthinking person that I am, decided to visit a sports doctor instead. And so on to my next journey in my next blog in this series of “The Cinderella Shoes that caused more Pain than Beauty”.

Filed Under: Health and Education Tagged With: neuroma, shoes, Steve Madden

Freihofer’s 40th Run for Women 5K

June 22, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

6 years ago my sister called me up and said, “Hey, want to run a 5K with me? We get cookies as part of the swag?”    She had been running much longer than I and knew that this was an event we could run together.  I instantly said, “Hell yes!”   At that time, I was also running in local 5Ks and this was a great opportunity to run with my sister.  Since then, we’ve ran in 4 Freihofer’s Run for Women events in Albany, NY, with 2 races competing as a Sister-Sister Team called Relative Danger.  Not only do I get to spend the weekend and visit with her and her family, but we also get a chance to compete together.  We haven’t had that opportunity to compete together since we were playing recreational softball when we were kids. 

In a mass start of  2500+ women, it’s wonderful to be lined up next to my sister, even if her pace is slightly faster than mine. Having the opportunity to run the race with her, also motivates me to go ‘find’ her in the pack when she just takes off.  Although I can never catch up, I know I’m not too far behind and I’ll see her at the finish line.  We share the love for running, the support and encouragement to keep going even when it’s hot, humid or raining, knowing that we have our meeting place after the finish line to rehash what just happened and take a fun after race picture.

 

Out of all the events I compete in throughout the year, this one is the one I will not miss for anything, the one that I look forward to.  Women supporting women, sisters supporting sisters, mothers supporting daughters and so on.  It’s inspiring for young women and children to know that events like this motivate others to give it a try, to show up with friends and motivate each other, no matter what their chip time is. (Except for us, because I always want us to place pretty well in the stats as a team!

 

I’ve become competitive since I started running and cycling on a consistent basis.  (No wait, I’ve always been competitive)  I also incorporate strength training into my workouts to help my lower body become stronger, for endurance training and going up those steep hills.  Along with exercise comes nutrition, the proper way to fuel your body pre- and post race.  Knowing the proper combination of what works the best for your body can be a work in progress, but once you figure it out, you’ll find you become stronger, and have less pain and discomfort after a race or training.  Having the right gear is also a bonus, so if you have your fuel, your strength training dialed in, plus the right gear, it will make you a stronger finisher!  You can also read my blog post on Beginner Running for tips if you are new to running.

Filed Under: Health and Education, Run Tagged With: 5K, beginner running, freihofer's run for women, race, runner, running, women's running

Tips on How I Prepare Zoodles

May 23, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

zoodles

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes Tagged With: healthy food, preparation, spiralize, vegetables, zoodles, zucchini

Healthy Taco Casserole

May 5, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

Healthy Taco Casserole
2018-05-05 13:21:39
Serves 6
A healthy alternative to traditional tacos in a one dish meal!
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
1 hr
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
1 hr
517 calories
32 g
58 g
35 g
21 g
21 g
363 g
228 g
9 g
1 g
11 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
363g
Servings
6
Amount Per Serving
Calories 517
Calories from Fat 308
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 35g
54%
Saturated Fat 21g
105%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 10g
Cholesterol 58mg
19%
Sodium 228mg
9%
Total Carbohydrates 32g
11%
Dietary Fiber 8g
32%
Sugars 9g
Protein 21g
Vitamin A
371%
Vitamin C
137%
Calcium
9%
Iron
20%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1-1.5 lbs grass fed ground beef
  2. 2 cups spinach
  3. 1 zucchini (zoodled)
  4. 2 cups diced bell peppers
  5. 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  6. 1 package of taco seasoning
  7. 5 cups shredded sweet potatoes
  8. 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  9. 1/2 tsp onion powder
  10. /2 tsp chili powder
  11. 1/2 tsp tumeric
  12. 1/2 tsp EVOO or Avocado Oil
  13. Sliced avocado on the side
Instructions
  1. I diced the peppers, zoodled the zucchini, used my food processor to shred the sweet potatoes ahead of time.
  2. Dice peppers and saute them in EVOO or Avocado Oil. Remove from pan.
  3. In same pan saute zoodles until almost soft. Remove from pan.
  4. In same pan, melt 1/2 cup of coconut oil and pour over the shredded sweet potatoes while warm, sprinkle with onion powder, chili powder, tumeric and mix together. Set aside.
  5. In another pan (or same pan once you remove the sweet potatoes), cook the ground beef until browned (drain grease as necessary). Then add the taco seasoning as instructed by package. Add the diced tomatoes and peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven 375 degrees.
  7. I used a deep dish casserole dish (larger than 9 x 13 pan) and layered accordingly - Bottom: zoodles, spinach; Middle: Beef, peppers, tomatoes; Top: Sweet Potatoes.
  8. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes covered with foil.
  9. Serve with avocado or hot sauce on the side.
Notes
  1. I substituted based on what ingredients I had and how healthy I like to cook. This meal lasted 2 people all week with some left overs.
Adapted from Paleo Tex-Mex Casserole
beta
calories
517
fat
35g
protein
21g
carbs
32g
more
Adapted from Paleo Tex-Mex Casserole
Run. Cycle. Lift. Play. http://www.runcycleliftplay.com/

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes Tagged With: cinco de mayo, healthy food, meal plan, nutrition, taco

My Digestion and Weight Loss Discovery

April 29, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

About two years ago I experienced a personal issue that affected me physically and mentally, and that I’m sure many of you can relate to.  Although I’ve always been active and fit, stress and an uneven diet led to digestion issues, which resulted in weight gain.  It was frustrating considering I was consuming enough water, exercising and eating healthy.  For nearly two years I struggled intermittently with finding the right plan that worked for me.  Ultimately, my experience and my work as a lifestyle fitness coach was what helped me get my body – and my health – back, and I will help you do it, too.  But before I could get my plan in place, I actually spent a lot of time seeking help with specialists – if only someone had told me from the start I could do it without tests, medications, or online calculators!

Here’s a little bit about my journey.

First, I began seeing a nutritionist who said I was doing everything right but that I should also incorporate more vegetables in my meals, do not rely on my scale weight, and don’t worry about the number of consumed calories.  This was very hard for me because I was a calorie counter and macro counter in knowing I had to meet certain goals for my health, and knowing that some health issues in my family such as cholesterol are hereditary.  With my nutritionist’s guidance, I saw my body change but not to my satisfaction, not where I wanted it to be, not to the physically fit photo I have from 2015.  I learned a few new things such as portion control, but the underlying factor appeared to be the food I was consuming.

To get back on track, I enlisted the help of a fitness instructor who supported me through a twelve week program that consisted of weight training with light cardio.  But after a few weeks I was still not seeing as much progress as I expected and the digestion issues still did not subside.

Then I had the flu.  I thought to myself here is another setback, I can’t exercise for a week until I feel better and now I’m delayed another week in my search to finding the right prescription.  It turns out it took getting sick for me to find it.

In order for me to kick the flu fast I ate chicken soup for lunch every day for a week and stuck with my normal dinner of vegetables and chicken or fish.  I wasn’t snacking during the day and I was consuming more hot tea to help with my cough and congestion.  Even though tea is a diuretic it made me realize while in search of the solution for my gut I was inevitably gaining water weight.  Fat cells inherently absorb water until you start burning fat cells.  “AH-HAH!” 

Two weeks later, following extensive research I reverted to a fitness plan that I designed: high intensity interval training, weights and cardio.   In light of this I’ve lost five pounds and kept it off!  It was mostly water weight and now my body is burning fat thanks to my new exercise program.

This journey was exhausting and frustrating at best.  It included other methods that I didn’t go into fully here – a gastroenterologist who prescribed a colonoscopy; a diet consisting of adding more fiber, more vegetables – but ultimately it resulted in what I can actually store after I consume any foods.  I didn’t need a cleanse, detox, or a supplement that I can’t continually afford; I just needed the correct plan, a little patience to research why digestive issues were occuring, and having the ability to accept that I may need to change my habits.  That cost is FREE.  

Not everyone’s gut is the same.  Nor is everyone’s metabolism, stress level, daily caloric needs, or fitness abilities.  My unexpected digestive issues have only better informed me to take my client’s whole body and habits into consideration when designing a lifestyle fitness plan – so that you don’t have to spend years getting the body you want like I did!

Filed Under: Health and Education Tagged With: digestion, fitness, fitness journey blog, health, journey, meal plan, online coach

Healthy Veggie Egg Muffins

March 18, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

Healthy Veggie Egg Muffins
2018-03-18 12:43:12
Serves 12
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Cook Time
20 min
Cook Time
20 min
72 calories
2 g
125 g
5 g
5 g
2 g
63 g
78 g
1 g
0 g
3 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
63g
Servings
12
Amount Per Serving
Calories 72
Calories from Fat 43
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5g
7%
Saturated Fat 2g
8%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 125mg
42%
Sodium 78mg
3%
Total Carbohydrates 2g
1%
Dietary Fiber 0g
2%
Sugars 1g
Protein 5g
Vitamin A
12%
Vitamin C
25%
Calcium
5%
Iron
4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  2. 1/2 yellow onion chopped
  3. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  4. 1/2 zucchini, shredded
  5. 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  6. 8 large eggs or split half with egg whites
  7. 2 cups arugula, roughly chopped
  8. 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large skillet on medium heat, drizzle olive oil and saute onion and garlic for about 4 minutes until tender and fragrant. Add in zucchini, red bell pepper, cooking an additional 2 minutes. Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 full with veggie mixture.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, arugula, cheese and fill each muffin tin evenly, being careful not to over-fill.
  4. Bake muffins for about 20 minutes, until they've risen and are slightly browned.
Optional
  1. 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
  2. 1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
  3. Salt and pepper to taste
beta
calories
72
fat
5g
protein
5g
carbs
2g
more
Run. Cycle. Lift. Play. http://www.runcycleliftplay.com/

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes Tagged With: healthy breakfast, healthy eating, meal plan, nutrition, protein

March Madness Challenge

March 1, 2018 By Natalie Scibetta Leave a Comment

5 Weeks of Food and Exercise challenges

It’s not easy at all to change your lifestyle into a healthier one all at once.  Shocking your system so to speak, all at once can cause you to lose interest, gain additional weight and risk injury.  If you make small healthy changes over time making bigger changes to your lifestyle will be easier to maintain.    Let’s face it, for me, to give up cheese entirely is difficult.  So for the next 5 weeks I want you to try this:

  • Pick 5 exercises and spread them out over the 5 weeks at least 3x a week. Example: Pushups, jumping jacks, bicycle abs, squats and planks.
  • Pick a Meal you have difficulty with. I struggle with Lunch (5 days a week), I never like what I make a head of time, I always want something else.  I will pick 5 different lunches that I enjoy and make 1 a week for 5 days.

 

Here’s what the month of March looks like as an example of what I would do:

Week 1:  Exercise: 20 pushups 3x a week.  Lunch: Tuna fish on a wrap made with hummus (not mayo)

Week 2:  Exercise: 25 jumping jacks 3x a week.  Lunch: Turkey chili with avocado

Week 3:  Exercise: 20 bicycle abs 3 x a week.  Lunch: Spinach mushroom frittata

Week 4:  Exercise: 10 squats 3 x a week.  Lunch: Chopped Chicken Salad

Week 5:  Exercise: 30 second plank 3 x a week.  Lunch: Tilapia stuffed peppers

All I ask of you is to be honest, to journal your struggles, your achievements, and share at the beginning of the week what you intend to add for your meal and for your exercise and post at the end of the week for accountability.

 

Interested?  Then email me at RunCycleLiftPlay to have access to my private Facebook group for accountability.

Filed Under: Health and Education Tagged With: online coach, online health and fitness challenge

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  • Chicken Pot Pie on a Slab
  • The Cinderella Shoes….Ending – What the Expert has to Say
  • Pumpkin Flax Quickbread
  • The Cinderella Shoes that….sent me to the Physical Therapy
  • The Cinderella Shoes….

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