Challenge yourself!!

"The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit." ~Jim Rohn

Monday...let's do this!!!!

I'm hitting it out of the park today! I'm on fire...watch out now!! LOL!

I had a great day today. I got up in the wee hours for my morning cardio - 30 minutes on the treadmill at 4.4-4.8 and 10-15% incline. I came home and ate my first meal. I worked and then it was back to the gym. Isn't it funny? I realized the other day that I'm at the gym every 12 hours! Yes, every 12...what a life I have, huh? But I'm quickly approaching my goal and I'm very proud of myself for sticking with it as well as I have. Again, not that's it's been easy but it's been simple having everything laid out for me from my meals to my workouts, my sleep, water intake, etc. Okay, not the sleep and water intake...I got those on my own but I know if I don't get enough sleep I can't accomplish my daily, weekly, monthly or FINAL goal so those are things I have to do for myself to accomplish my goals! So I'm really getting better at setting and accomplishing goals.

My meals for today:
1) Matcha green tea protein waffles
2) Zucchini loaf
3) Crunch A Munch with tilapia and 1/2 cup brown rice
4) Zucchini pancakes with egg whites (see recipe below)
5) Mexican style turkey meatloaf, tomato slices, 1/4 cup brown rice
6) Tilapia and radishes on the side
7) Will be April's Chocolate Protein Cake!!! Yummy!!! You must try it. It literally takes 1 minute to cook it and maybe 30 seconds to make it...please try it! It's DELISH!!!!

Zucchini Pancakes

I'm on a roll. You just can't stop me now!! LOL! These are delish and if you have carbs in your meal then make these. They're so yummy! My goal was to make something crispy but that really doesn't work with these so I settled for not crispy. So, they're not crispy but boy are they tasty!

Pancakes (2 servings - about 15 pancakes):

2 zucchini, grated

2 tablespoons red onion, grated

3 egg whites

1/2 cup oat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together well. Heat skillet over medium high heat and spray with olive oil spray. Drop by heaping tablespoon spreading into a circle with back of spoon. Cook about 2 minutes or so then flip and cook about 2 minutes on other side or until golden brown. Serve warm with dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce:

rice vinegar

low sodium soy sauce

Optional: chopped green onions, sesame seeds

Mix about equal parts together. Add green onions and sesame seeds if desired.

For my 4th meal,  I cooked my egg whites and then I put them in the pancakes taco style and dipped in dipping sauce. TASTY!

Moist Turkey Meatloaf and Mashed Cauliflower

 

Turkey Meatloaf

1/2 small purple onion (or any color, that's just what I had on hand)
1 small zucchini
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 egg OR 1 egg white
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 t Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Optional: 1/2 cup tomato sauce

Grate zucchini and onion in food processor. (You can skip this step but it just assures all the veggies are uniformly teeny.) Remove grating disk and put in S blade. Mince onion and zucchini very finely in processor or blender. Place in bowl with remainder of ingredients and mix by hand till fully incorporated. Place in loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on top if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until internal temperature is 165. Remove from oven and let stand at least 5 minutes. 

Mashed Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower

3-6 cloves garlic

1-2 T I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (or olive oil)

Sea salt

Steam cauliflower and garlic for about 10 minutes or more. Put in food processor or just mix with hand blender along with butter spray and salt. Mix/blend/whip to desired consistency.

Crunch A Munch Salad

Crunch A Munch Salad

Crunch A Munch Salad

1/2 of a jicama
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
3 Persian cucumbers
jalapeno to taste, finely chopped
1 green onion, sliced
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 1/2 limes
touch of sea salt

Cut jicama, peppers, and cucumbers into similar size pieces. Add jalapeno, green onion, and zest of lime. Squeeze juice over top. Salt to taste and then just crunch and munch your way through this salad! Enjoy!

After a rough start to my week I'm glad to say I'm back in the swing and having a great weekend. So far so good. I even got a little R&R with a friend of mine yesterday just hanging, talking, laughing. It was nice to not be cooking, cleaning or working out. AND I got my hair cut...well, trimmed I guess. I look awesome! LOL!!!

Funny story: My friend and I were in Coffee Bean yesterday and in walks this person that we both definitely know so we decide she must be one of our patients since that's the common ground my friend and I have. So my friend goes up to her and asks her if she's a patient at our office. She says very haughtily, "I don't even know Dr. So-and-so." And proceeds to march off. Later we realized that she looked familiar because she's a supermodel! Yep, it was Rachel Hunter!!! Too funny. Not a very nice person. I'm sure she gets tired of being a celebrity but she was unnecessarily rude.

I was on the stepmill early this morning, around 6:30 or so and I was wondering how much more cardio I'm doing now than when I started with Gina in January. Guess what? In January I was doing 240 minutes a week and now I'm doing 380!!! WOW!! That's a lot! No wonder I have no "free" time per se. Since the beginning of my prep 5 weeks ago I'm doing 70 more minutes a week. Yep! That's right!

Today was the first day in a long time that I got to eat fruit...granted it was only 1/2 a cup of berries but I put it in my shake with some almond butter (1 tablespoon) and it was so delicious. I was trying to figure out how to lick the inside of my fairly skinny glass. It was funny! And then I went on to practically licking out the blender. In fact I got to the blades and almost licked them without thinking! Luckily my brain kicked in and I didn't do it but yes, it was that tempting. A week of no fat and no fruit and then to have both in one meal. Apparently it makes a girl lose her mind!!!!

I know I owe you all some recipes and I'm going to get them up here in a minute. I've come up with a couple that I think you'll like and I'm also going to let you in on my little "secret" online recipe that is to die for!! RICH, you're definitely going to want to try this...Chocolate Protein Cake!!

I'm going to try to be better about sharing my diet and workout with all of you. I just feel so busy and I'm trying to not be on my computer as much so that kind of is a problem.

I'm off to the store then cooking and hopefully done a little early so I can enjoy a little more free time later today before Monday sets in!!

Have a great rest of your weekend!!! Enjoy! Live, breathe, laugh, and love!

 

“The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.” ~Shirley MacLaine

 

 

Thursday and I'm chugging along...choo choo!!

So much improved from my last post! Whooosh!! Got my head back in the game...not to mention my body of course!!!

Went to see my chiropractor on Tuesday. She put me back together. My shoulder was out of place. And my neck a little so I'm all straightened up. I go back there again tomorrow for one more "fixin'" and then I'm good to go she said. Awesome!! She really got in there and massaged the heck out of my lats and scapula. It hurt so good! LOL!

So I'm back to my normal ol' self. Tuesday I did 50 minutes on the stepmill for my AM cardio and I didn't have any PM cardio. I also got in a great back workout with some biceps and abs thrown in for good measure. Yesterday I did 30 minutes AM cardio (walking on treadmill at 4.4-4.8 and 15% incline) and bike sprints for about 30 minutes followed by PM cardio (30 minutes on stepmill at level 9!). I was hyped up and really could have done more but I think my little friend (my knee) couldn't handle more. This morning it was up and at 'em again to hit the treadmill for a "variety" workout - mixed up workout of incline fast walking, sprints, and jogging. It was FANTASTIC!! So nice to give my mind a break. It felt so awesome! Those of you that know me know I'm not much of a runner but it felt good this morning, that's for sure!

My eating has been ON since Sunday and I feel so much better. I made a couple of new things last night that I will post later today or definitely this weekend. One is my Crunch 'N' Munch Salad, also a turkey meatloaf (haven't tasted yet so not sure if I will like it) and my new find and favorite personal size chocolate cake - to die for! I also made some Mashed Cauliflower Tuesday night that I got to eat yesterday and that will go very well with my meatloaf today! Yummy! I can post that recipe too. Wow! I have a lot of work to do already! 

Meals today:
1) Spelt flakes with protein powder "milk" made with Paradise Green Tea...yum!!
2) Egg whites with Crunch N Munch Salad!! and oatmeal with cinnamon...slurp! Delish!
3) Will be turkey meatloaf with mashed cauliflower and rice
...can't remember what the rest will be but it's a good food day so I know it will be good!!

Here's to another STUPENDOUS DAY!! Enjoy!
 

 

“The possibilities of creative effort connected with the subconscious mind are stupendous and imponderable. They inspire one with awe.” ~Napolean Hill

12 WEEKS OUT!! - 2 days ago!

Well, my weekend didn't quite go as planned. I ate something Friday night that either didn't agree with me or gave me a little food poisoning. At any rate, I felt less than great waking up Saturday. But I got up and headed to the gym for my cardio but my workout was really sub-par and I just felt like I was going through the motions. It was not good. I had to take my car in for an oil change so I did that after my workout and then came home. I didn't feel good so I went to sleep and spent most of the day feeling queasy and sleeping so that was a loss of a weekend day! And I have to say that sucked but oh well.

Yesterday I tried to catch up on everything I didn't get around to on Saturday but I was still behind by the time I went to sleep. So I got off to a kind of bad start for the week. I did get up and did my cardio this morning and felt pretty good but something's wrong with my shoulder and the pain is not good. I'm going to my chiropractor tomorrow to see what's up with it. Hopefully she'll be able to tell me what's up. It kind of feels like bone rubbing bone or a nerve is getting pinched. Not really sure but it hurts like a mother so I'm not happy about that. I'm trying to stay positive and taking it easy. I'm icing it and tonight I'm taking Advil and we'll see where we stand tomorrow.

I'm going to head to bed now but I just wanted to let you know where I went over the weekend. The week can only get better so here's to me! Onward and upward!!!

This quote always makes me feel better and gives me a little lift and smile. Hope you enjoy it!

If you are feeling sad, imagine that you're sitting in a glass filled with bonbons and a marshmallow holds your hand.

It's Friday? Wha-what?!? Where does the time go????

Really! I can't believe how busy I am these days. And when I'm not busy I'm making a concerted effort to really relax and unwind. Yesterday I was on the go from 5:30am until 8:30pm! Crazy!!!

But I did manage time for a massage...aaaaahhhhhh...gotta love the massage! It really helped opened up my chest and made my shoulder area feel looser in general. Great!

Yesterday I had quite the leg workout! Whew! Gina gave me a new leg workout and it was TOUGH!! I really liked it though because I enjoy working my legs. Let's see...my favorite body parts to work are shoulders and legs and glutes!! I think I like biceps least. They're just NOT that exciting.

I just wanted to give you a quick update. Hope you all are finishing out your work week with a smile and a fantastic attitude! I'll update more over the weekend! Stay safe and be cool!

“I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.” ~Billie Jean King (American Tennis Player considered to be one of the greatest female tennis players in history. b.1943)

Monday Night Scramble and on to Tuesday...WHEEEEEE!!!!

Okay, so last night I had to do some catchup on cooking and boy did I do it? I made a double batch of my Thai Basil Chicken but contest prep friendly so no oil but chicken broth instead! Look at that! Awesome!!

Nicely proportioned in 4 and 5 oz servings (yep! 8 meals total!!!)

Ready for the fridge and freezer

Do you think that will last long? I doubt it. I didn't add the veggies but sauteed them separately so that I will be able to add them in as needed. Yummy! Can't wait. I also pan fried some pork chops. So delish! Last night I ate that with my caponata I made the other day. I need to post that recipe! I'll do that later, probably not tonight. At any rate last night I finally plunked down on my couch at around 9:30!! That was to eat my final meal and chill. Right before bed I thought I had better practice my posing. Like I said before this is not NEARLY as easy as it appears! So I did that for about 5 minutes. I feel better about it and I think I'm getting it down. I'm trying to practice about 5 minutes every day so it will just be second nature by the time the show is here.So clearly I wasn't in bed on time. Oh well. Tonight will be different. Last night I also got wrapped up in my book so I don't even know when I went to sleep because it was so good.

Lesson Learned: So one thing I have definitely learned about me and working out is that I just have a much better cardio workout in the evening. I don't know why but I do. Since I'm doing an equal amount of cardio in the morning and evenings now I can really tell a difference. The morning I just kind of slog through and then the evening workouts are really awesome! I enjoy them and they go by quite quickly. And I'm always at a higher level than I would be in the morning. Just all around much more effective and better workout for me

So at any rate, I'm off to bed soon. Again still late to bed! Ugh! I don't learn my lesson! I just won't read very long tonight though and tomorrow I just have cardio in the am and pm and no weights so I will just relax tomorrow night, have a little downtime so don't be waiting by your computers for an update from me. I doubt there will be one!!

I'll try to write more on Thursday though and you know me I'll get you all caught up come the weekend! Hope you're all having a great week and I'll see you here again soon!

 

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” ~Tom Bodett (yes, of the Motel 6 fame - "This is Tom Bodett...we'll leave the light on.")

 

13 WEEKS OUT!!!

Started this Thursday night!
So today my energy level was better than yesterday and I actually finished my workout feeling pretty strong tonight. That's a good sign. My legs were pretty sore from yesterday's workout! I NEED A TAN!!! WHEW! I wore shorts to workout tonight and I look ridiculously pale. You would think there's no yellow in me whatsoever...just plain ol' white! That's all I could see is white...pale...white...pale! LOL! So I decided that to go along with my goal of doing one thing a week outside of the gym (i.e. stroll in my 'hood, go to the beach, head to the Getty, etc.) I will try to get to the beach for some sunshine! Yes, I need and want it!!

Continuing Saturday morning:
I met with my coach yesterday. It's been a little under 3 weeks since I last saw her. She was very impressed with my progress so I am impressed as well! I've shrunk in all my measurements since my last visit. It's significant. She just kept saying "wow" while she was measuring me. We worked on my posing pretty much the whole time. I seem to have some kind of issue with my shoulder so I definitely need to work on that. I found this great video series that addresses part of my problem (sitting at a desk all day long) and this is it: Shoulder Pain Treatment Series. I did all these exercises this morning. My rear delt is super duper double looper tight! Really tight and that was painful. I'm going to try to get on the tennis ball again this afternoon and see if I can get more of a release. It was so painful that it was hard to stay long enough for the release!

So yesterday was a challenge for me since I knew I was basically going to be on the road all day and I had to pack ALL of my food. But I did it and did it well!!! Thank you very much! I ate my first 2 meals at home so that was good. Then I packed the rest - fish, fish, turkey taco meat, pico de gallo, tortilla "chips" from Ezekiel tortillas, caponata without oil, protein shake, rice cake w/ Nuttzo, olive oil...I think that was about it. A lot of planning but it worked great and I stayed on my plan, got to see Gina and also got to see some friends that I haven't seen for a LONG time so it was a great day if not exhausting! Drove home later and still had to do my cardio which I finished kind of late and then ate another 2 meals before going to sleep!

Slept a little longer this morning so I've had to tighten up my eating schedule to every 2 hours but that's okay. No big deal. Gina already gave me my plan for the next week. It's so awesome that she gives me a new plan each week. I don't even have to think about what I'm going to eat or do at the gym. I just have to follow directions. Apparently I'm pretty good at that. As I told her it's been simple, not EASY but definitely simple! And it's very rewarding to make such constant improvements and see such gains both physically and mentally! I'm very happy I decided to do this competition and take this journey. It is DEFINITELY paying off.

I need to go eat again but I'll check in again later or tomorrow if time gets away from me. Have a fantastic day!!! Enjoy your weekend.

  

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” ~Winston Churchill (British Orator, Author and Prime Minister during World War II. 1874-1965)

Wednesday is over!! Well...almost anyway!

Today I lacked my energy from yesterday. Don't know why. Oh well! Could it be that I'm doing cardio twice a day now and also have NO rest day anymore? Do you think that's it? Hmmm....maybe?

I've had almost all my meals by this point but this is the meal I just finished. Doesn't it look delicious?

Oh, believe me, it WAS!!! This is just 4 oz of dover sole. I put it in some egg white and then some herb and garlic seasoned brown rice flour. Sprayed my pan with olive oil spray and cooked it. Put a little lemon juice on top along with some fresh chopped parsley. To die for!!! Really? This is contest prep food? Yes!!! 100% approved by Gina! Of course I also had green beans after I finished the fish. I couldn't wait nor concentrate on veggies until this goodness had found its way to my tummy! LOL!

So today was leg day along with stepmill split into morning and post-training. Whew! I was feeling it on round 2! That's for sure. Everything was tired! My training was hard today too. I had to keep checking the weight stack to make sure I didn't put the pin in the wrong weight! Ridiculous! Well, it will get better I'm sure.

Meals today:
1) Spelt flakes and protein powder "milk" - YUMMY! Oh, spelt flakes how I have missed thee this week!!!
2) Egg whites, oatmeal and STRAWBERRIES!! - again YUMMY!
3) Ground chicken breast and "refried" black beans made with black beans, garlic, onion and chicken broth with pico de gallo
4) Tilapia, brown rice and salad
5) Oatmeal and protein shake (made with my yummiest green tea ever!!!)
6) "Breaded" dover sole as pictured above and my green beans!
7) Will be an egg white veggie omelet

Until tomorrow, I'm signing off! Hope everyone had a fantastic day! Tomorrow is right around the corner!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

So, how's it going?

Well, to be honest, yesterday I was worn out...washed up...exhausted...tired...worn out...oh, wait, did I say that already?! ? LOL!!!

The truth of the matter is that I was tired, very tired but I don't know why really. I wasn't too tired during the day but I didn't nap at lunch, yes, my own fault and I think that just threw me off. So by the time I finished heading out to the gym to train and then did my cardio I was BEAT!!! Very, very tired!

Yep! That's how I felt! I came home, ate and was sitting in front of the TV. At some point in my TV watching zone-out mode I thought...WOW! I haven't moved at all for at least the last 10-15 minutes. Not at all! Wow! I must be tired!!!!

But today...now THAT'S a new and different day! I have much better energy today! Got in bed early and slept like a baby. I LOVE my lavender neck wrap - heat in the microwave for 2 minutes and put it around my neck and it's off to slumber land! So awesome. So...great sleep and woke up with a fantastic attitude! What more could I ask for?

Got in the gym and hopped on my treadmill cruising away for 30 minutes. I was done lickety split and then did some stretching and tennis ball style accupressure! Then it was home for food and then food prep for the rest of the day and off to the shower. Feeling all fresh and clean I headed out to work. So far so good!

And I'm just about ready for my third meal. First meal was oatmeal and protein shake and my second was oatmeal with flax seed and egg whites with...what...you got it! Pico de gallo! Yummy!

That's about it for now. Just figured that the dichotomy between today and yesterday was so extreme I would share yesterday and give you a sprinkling of today's energy to help boost you up! Let's get this day! Woohoo!!!

Make it a great day!!! Enjoy!

14 WEEKS OUT!!! (Also known as 2 weeks in...)

I'm cruising right along with my prep here. Things are going along quite well. You know what I had for dinner on Friday night? PIZZA!!!! MMMMMMMM...

Okay, no it's not really pizza but this was really good! I made my egg whites and then topped those with some zucchini and mushroom saute and then added my oil-free tabouli on top!!! Soooooo delish! Really, really great flavor!

Yesterday was interesting. I went to do my morning workout and then headed into some Laundry Room Battle. The thing is that it wouldn't have been a battle if someone (let's just call them an idiot) hadn't washed...WHAT...a down pillow, comforter...something!!! Feathers EVERYWHERE!!!! Not noticing this at first since the barrel of the washing machine is grey I put my $1.25 in but as soon as the water started filling, here came the feathers and the more it agitated, the more feathers! Needless to say I was NOT going to put my laundry in there so then we're down to ONE washing machine so I just did ONE batch of laundry. I couldn't deal with the Laundry Room Battle. Nope!

Other than that yesterday went well and I had a GREAT workout in the afternoon and pretty much killed my legs after with my bike sprints. I like doing those though. They are fun.

I got my plan for this week from Gina and she's ramping it up! I've got more cardio but at least it's split between morning and night. Yeah! Apparently my training (weights) will be the same through most of the prep she said so that's good.

I've started being better at getting to sleep earlier and it really seems to make a HUGE impact on my workout and how difficult it does or doesn't feel. Sleep is a great thing!

So my goal for this week is to continue my fabulous job of following my meal plans to a T!! Also, to continue to be in bed on time - 9 and 9:30 at the latest! The hardest part about that is getting in my last meal in good enough time before I go to sleep. We don't need a reason for indigestion now, do we?

I went to the farmers market this morning as well as did my cardio. Luckily one of the stepmills opened up right after I got to the gym! Yeah! I have to get to Trader Joe's for some regular ol' staples like fish, shrimp, scallops, eggs...you know...the USUAL! It's a good thing that even though it's the usual I have an arsenal of recipes to keep it interesting. I think if I didn't I couldn't stick with the plan...REALLY!

Oh! And my Meal 3 today was this...Chicken tacos (with ground chicken) with pico de gallo and shredded cabbage on Ezekiel tortillas (the small ones)! DELISH!!!!! Here's how I did it!

1) Ezekiel Tortillas - put on plate and cover with slightly moist paper towel and microwave about 30 seconds.

2) Add ground chicken spiced with Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning

3) Add shredded cabbage

4) Add pico de gallo (recipe on RECIPE page)

Before folding and devouring...

Mmmm....see what I mean? FINAL PRODUCT...DELISH!!!

So there you have it...one really delicious meal! Really it's not that hard to eat this way. You just have to find the recipes that work for you.

I'm off to the store and then cooking, cooking, cooking!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” -Luciano Pavarotti

Step By Step

So, it's so great that I improved my relationship with the stepmill. Yep, we're TIGHT now! We're just buddy buddy. I had a split cardio workout today - half this morning then the other half after training. It was great. Let me just say that 30 and 20 minutes goes by A LOT faster than 45 minutes. It was nice for a change. Variety is key, right?

I was thinking about that when I was on my second round of stepmill today. Even though I miss the variety of workouts I used to have at least within my workouts there is still a great deal of variety so that is really helpful to my mental state. Yes, I miss the outdoors. That's to be expected I think. Who wouldn't? The outdoors do wonders for you. So I've made a little pact with myself to at least go for a stroll once a week outside somewhere. Luckily I have a nice neighborhood so I can even just walk around my 'hood. I will try to get to the beach though because there's that therapy of the ocean. I just LOVE it! So to keep your head in the game of bettering your body, remember variety! If you can then change WHAT you do. But if you have some more specific goal, as is my case, then change HOW you do what you do! That's an important point indeed! Your body and mind always need new stimulation to grow. Change whatever you can. For example if you can only walk on a treadmill for whatever reason then maybe vary the incline and speed, maybe do some HIIT (high intensity interval training) for a shorter period of time. If you can do anything, try all the machines. You can even do them all in one workout, maybe just 10 minutes on 3 different machines. Keeps the body and mind stimulated and wards off boredom.

My meals today:
1) Spelt flakes with protein powder "milk" made with my delicious Paradise Green Tea from Lupicia and some yogurt with cinnamon
2) Egg whites with oil-free tabouli and oatmeal
3) Ground turkey, shrimp and tomatoes with brown rice and jalapenos :-)
4) Same as Meal 1 minus the yogurt
5) Salad with Scallops and oil-free balsamic vinaigrette
6) Pork tenderloin and green beans and on the side a tablespoon of Nuttzo!
7) Will be Veggie egg white omelette and some almonds

Today as I said earlier I had cardio in the morning and then after work I had shoulders, tris and abs followed by some more cardio. I actually really enjoyed all my workouts today!

I was in bed last night at 9:15pm reading my book and then lights out shortly after! That must be why I felt great for my workouts today. So again I will be doing this tonight. So off I go to eat and then it's to bed.

Enjoy this video. Not a great video but great lyrics!!! And so appropriate for me on the STEP mill!!




Until tomorrow! Love yourself and share that with others in ANY capacity you can!

Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself. ~Julia Cameron 

Rest Day!!

Now when I say rest I don't mean it like I used to!!! No, not at all! Before rest meant I did nothing. I woke up in the morning and took my shower, ate my breakfast and relaxed before heading off to work and then come home to rest/relax some more. Oh boy! Those are definitely the "good ol' days"!!!!

The good thing is that it IS a rest day. I still was up early this morning and on the treadmill for 45 minutes at 4.7 on 15% incline. I actually wanted to be on the stepmill but alas, there were only 2 and they were both taken. So now I have many days of stepmill ahead of me (at least 4!). I'll be able to do it though. It will just be a matter of getting ON the stepmill.

So I worked out, went to work and now I'm home. I'll be able to eat my final meal at about 8:30 and then I get to hit the sack! I'm tired. I didn't sleep well for the past two nights so I really need my sleep and that's what's happening tonight.

These are my meals for today:
1) Spelt flakes with protein powder "milk" and Voskos yogurt
2) Egg whites and oatmeal
3) Brown rice medley and turkey w/ pico de gallo
4) Spelt flakes with protein powder "milk"
5) Tilapia with oil-free tabouli and green beans
6) Shirataki noodles with shrimp and asparagus and MORE tabouli and olive oil
7) Will be egg white veggie omelet and some almonds or walnuts...hmmm...which it will be?

Meal 6 - Shiritaki noodles with shrimp, asparagus, tabouli, olive oil

So that's about it for me. It's off to wash dishes and pack meals for tomorrow and it's going to be a great night of sleep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Until tomorrow then! Have a fantastic evening.

 “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life’s about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

Tabouli Recipe and Parsley Benefits

So I've been craving tabouli but it has things in it that I can't really eat, basically bulgur and olive oil. Well, actually I can have olive oil but not at all meals. So I decided to make an oil-free bulgurless tabouli last night. That way for the meals that I can have oil, I can just add it to my tabouli. Much like the pico de gallo I like to pretty much put it on anything - fish, egg whites, chicken, meat. So with this being made and having lemon juice in it, it should last about a week or so and that's a lot of meals it will cover. I had this today for my 5th meal over some tilapia. Delish! And refreshing considering summer's here!

Oil Free Tabouli

2 tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

1 cup chopped green onions (about 8)

2 cups chopped flat leaf parsley (I used the stems for volume and I like the crunch)

1 cup onion, chopped finely

6-8 sprigs mint (leaves only)

1/2 - 1 t sea salt

1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 t cayenne

Just mix all together and adjust salt to taste. Refrigerate and let flavors meld for a few hours.  It's better when the flavor have a chance to meld.

If you want to you can add 1/4 cup dry bulgur (soaked = 1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup olive oil.

It was a lot of chopping and yes, you can make it in a food processor but you have to be really careful not to over grind and make it a puree. NOT the texture you're going for here! 

I don't know how correct these are but I do know that parsley is a pretty awesome vegetable/herb. 

Parsley’s Many Therapeutic Health Benefits Include Its Use For:

• Anemia: Builds up the blood because it is high in iron.  The high vitamin C content assists the absorption of iron.
• Antioxidant: Increases the anti-oxidant capacity of the blood.
• Bactericidal (kills bacteria)
• Bad breath
• Baldness: Believe it or not, men even scrubbed parsley onto their scalps to cure baldness—which doesn’t work. LOL!! I thought this was funny!
• Blood purifier
• Blood vessel rejuvenation: Maintains elasticity of blood vessels, and helps to repair bruises.
• Diarrhea is greatly helped by drinking parsley tea.
• Digestion: Parsley is an excellent digestion restorative remedy. It improves the digestion of proteins and fats therefore promoting intestinal absorption, liver assimilation and storage. Because of its high enzyme content, parsley benefits digestive activity and elimination.
• Dissolves cholesterol within the veins
• Diuretic
• Ear health: Treats deafness and ear infections.
• Edema: Acts as a diuretic and blood vessel strengthener.
• Fatigue: Parsley is high in iron so helps repair and provides components for better blood cells.
• Gallstones: Helps dissolve them.
• Glandular support of the liver, spleen, kidneys and adrenal glands.
• Gout
• Hormonal support: In women, parsley improves estrogen and nourishes and restores the blood of the uterus. Conditions like delayed menstruation, PMS, and the menopause (dry skin, irritability, depression and hair loss) can often improve.
• Hormone balancing is achieved through the volatile fatty acids contained in parsley.
• Immune booster: The high vitamin C, beta carotene, B12, chlorophyll and essential fatty acid content render parsley an extraordinary immunity enhancing food. Parsley is an immune-enhancing multi-vitamin and mineral complex in green plant form and one of the most important herbs for providing vitamins to the body.
• Inhibits tumor formation, particularly in the lungs.
• Insect bites: Rub on to relieve the swelling and itch.
• Jaundice
• Kidneys: Parsley is effective for nearly all kidney and urinary complaints except severe kidney inflammation. It improves kidney activity and can help eliminate wastes from the blood and tissues of the kidneys. It prevents salt from being reabsorbed into the body tissues; thus parsley literally forces debris out of the kidneys, liver and bladder. It helps improve edema and general water retention, fatigue and scanty or painful urination.
• Liver congestion: It enriches the liver and nourishes the blood. Parsley helps reduce liver congestion, clearing toxins and aiding rejuvenation.
• Menstrual pain
• Night blindness: Bad eyesight is a sign of Vitamin A deficiency.
• Rheumatism
• Spleen strengthening: The parsley root in particular strengthens the spleen, and can, therefore, treat malabsorption.
• Stamina loss and low resistance to infection, point to a sluggish liver. This can manifest itself in blood deficiencies, fatigue, a pale complexion and poor nails, dizzy spells, anemia and mineral depletion.
• Stomach problems
• Strengthens loose teeth: In the Middle Ages parsley was used for many conditions including 'fastening teeth' (Scurvy, which is caused by a Vitamin C deficiency, makes the gums spongy and the teeth loose.)
• Uterine tonic
• Weight loss benefits from being a diuretic

Vegetables (and Fruits) - My 2 cents worth!

Okay, summer's coming and that means there will be a fruit bounty, right? Ah, yes, fruit! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fruit so this is in no way anything against fruit but just trying to help all of you understand one of the many reasons why I've been able to accomplish my goals where food and fitness are concerned. It has to do with vegetables. Lots and lots of vegetables!

If you're like me you probably love fruit as well. The problem with fruit is the high sugar content. And, yes, it's natural sugar but it's still sugar. The great thing about vegetables is that most of them have little to no sugar. Vegetables are such a fantastic food group and they have so much to offer. Like I used to be, probably most of you don't eat enough veggies each day. I understand why. Believe me. It's not as easy to grab a piece of vegetable as it is a piece of fruit. Most of them have to be peeled or sliced or diced. Yes, they are THE high maintenance food! Imagine veggies trying to get a date, huh? That would be hard.

But they are critical to your success in losing and/or maintaining not only a healthy weight but healthy way of living. You've heard it all over the place about how good fruits and vegetables are for you. But if you're not one that loves vegetables and prefers fruits, getting your veggies in is hard to do. I have a few recipes on my blog that can help you with that.

Have at these vegetables below! They're all good for you. Just make sure you remember that putting tons of butter and salt on won't really help you here. Pretty much any vegetables are good for you but you'll want to stay away from corn and green peas. Carrots really need to be limited. And beets are perfectly fine to have but in moderation due to their sugar content. Beets are a powerhouse food though so don't forget about them entirely. This is no way a limited list. If you find another vegetable that's not on there, feel free to eat it but just be sure to check for its sugar content.

Asparagus
Bell Pepper
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage - including bok choy and napa
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Chinese Broccoli
Cucumber
Eggplant
Green Beans
Green Onions
Greens - including chard, kale, collard, dandelion, etc.
Hot Peppers - including jalapeno, serrano, habanero
Jicama
Kale
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onions - red, yellow, white, Vidalia, Maui
Radishes
Snow Peas
Sugar Snap Peas
Spinach
Watercress
Zucchini

So, enjoy your vegetables. It's summer time so you can get creative with your mixes. I posted a recipe for Pico de Gallo today that is delicious and fresh. You can always cut up any vegetable any way you want to and then make a "salad" out of it with some lemon or lime juice and herbs.

I also try to make a big salad each week with Farmers Market greens (usually the Sweet Mix, basically mesclun, tatsoi, mizuna, pea shoots) and then I slice celery, radishes, mushrooms, green onions, red peppers. Since the greens are from the farmer's market they last all week long. I just keep it in a Tupperware cakekeeper of all things! That way I can just grab a handful or 2 and take it to work or have it to toss with my fish, turkey, chicken, or pork and it's ready to go! So easy that way. I don't dress it because I prefer to make my dressings individually each time I eat.

So, become one with the vegetable and enjoy them! Continue to eat fruit too though. Variety is key! Just cut down to 1-2 pieces of  fruit...but preferably 1. To help you out over the next couple of weeks I'll try to post some salad dressings, both fat free and with some oil. Hopefully you'll try them and like them. Much better and cheaper than the store bought kind. So keep on the lookout for that! Make it a VEGGIE SUMMER!! BE the vegetable!

Pico De Gallo Recipe

I wanted something spicy to put on my egg whites so I made some pico de gallo. I made it the other day but had taken out almost all the seeds and membrane (the heat) but today I put the heat back in and maybe a little too much because my tongue is still en fuego (on fire)!

 Pico de Gallo

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

1 very small red onion, chopped finely

1/2 jalapeno (seeds and membrane to desired heat), chopped very finely

2 T cilantro, chopped

sea salt

Mix all ingredients. Add salt to taste. Make sure to add enough salt since it definitely makes a difference in the flavor!

Put it on anything you want - eggs, fish, chicken...anything! Enjoy!

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.  ~Voltaire