Be Empowered!

Sorry guys, I’ve been a little MIA…

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I just dropped off my 12 year old for his first day of Middle School this morning!!

I’m kind of freaking out.

Time flies, ya know???

It seems like he was just a little baby a few years ago…

and I feel like I was just in Middle School a few years ago!!??

How does that happen?!

!?!?!?!?!!!!

I guess it’s just another reminder that I need to seize the day and get a handle on my health and my life before I’m a little old lady, huh.

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I have always valued health.  I haven’t always been committed to it, but I’ve always known it’s important.

I’ve exercised fairly regularly most of my life.

When I was 14 or so, my sister and our friends would workout to Jane Fonda videos in the basement.

It was fun.

I joined my first gym when I was 16 and loved it.

For most of my life I’ve usually either gone to the gym, done exercise videos, or created my own workouts at home.

I also started running about 3 years ago…LOVE it!

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However, I must say that sometimes I’ve been an exercising slacker.

For big chunks at a time too.

Like the last few months of pregnancy or when I have little tiny babies at home.

At those times, just surviving is about all I can handle…;-)

Or sometimes, I just really don’t feel motivated to exercise…at all.

But, I love it in a weird sorta way.

I don’t love the time commitment, hard work and effort it takes…

But, I do love the physical and emotional satisfaction I feel afterward.

I love pushing myself and feeling strong and empowered.

I love feeling disciplined.

It is worth every minute I put into it.

My body will thank me. 😉

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I’ve been a pretty decent eater most of my life.

I’ll admit, my idea of “healthy eating” has changed quite a bit over the years.

When we were first married, I tried to include vegetables with dinner every night.

I ate whole wheat bread, brown rice (although I always made white rice for Kev!), chicken, eggs and had cereal for breakfast most mornings.

I thought I was A-OK.

About 4 years ago, I really started to discover what it means to eat healthy.

My sister introduced me to a book by Tosca Reno called “The Eat-Clean Diet.”

LOVE it!

It’s basically a straight-forward “eat real food” kind of diet.

It seemed to make sense to me.

It intimidated the heck out of me though.

The book introduced me to things I had never heard of like Agave Nectar, Kefir and all kinds of funky grains and flours.

I started to improve my diet and take a lot of her advice, minus all of the funky intimidating stuff.

I eventually started to include a lot of the funky stuff too.

Now, I think it’s kind of fun to discover new healthy ways to eat.

I love checking health books out at the library, reading health magazines, searching the internet and learning more and more.

Sooooo, I will share what I learn with you!

If I ever use a “funky” ingredient, I will tell you everything you need to know so it won’t be so “funky” anymore.

K?

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With that being said, here are a few (not so funky) things I’ve been eating lately.

I’ve been feeling very very worn out and run down lately, so I’ve kept breakfast pretty simple and “comforty”….

Egg whites (with a little ketchup) and a side of fruit

OR

Cereal with Fruit

These are some of my favs...Uncle Sam (bought at Walmart) and Flax Plus (Costco).

Uncle Sam is an amazing cereal!  10 grams of fiber, 7 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of sugar!  WOW!  Love it! 

Oh, and the ingredients are: Whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed, salt, barley malt.

That is it.

It’s pretty tasty too.  I eat it topped with a little fruit or mix in a little Flax Plus to sweeten it up sometimes too.

Flax Plus is pretty awesome itself (5 grams fiber and 6 grams protein).  It does have a higher sugar content (10 grams), but it contains all real and healthy ingredients.  I just use it as an accent.  Oh, I also love any cereal made by Kashi (Go Lean is my fav!) and Fiber One cereal is good too!

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For lunch the other day, we had BLTs!  Yummy!

I used Turkey Bacon for the “B”,

Jennie-O Natural (no nitrates/nitrites) Turkey Bacon. 40 calories, 2 grams fat, 6 grams protein per slice! Not bad!

Iceberg for the “L”, and tomatoes from our garden for the “T”.

I put all the yummy ingredients on these yummy sandwich thins I found at Walmart.

Served with a side of veggies.

Guess what I had for lunch the following day too???

BLT+C Salad!

I just threw leftover iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, crumpled turkey bacon and cucumbers (because we have a million of them in the garden right now!) together and topped it all with a little mustard.  Very yummy!

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The other night we had a crazy night….so I just made breakfast for dinner!

Healthy Whole Wheat Waffles with egg whites!

I topped mine with a little Smart Balance spread, sugar-free syrup and fruit! YUM!

Easy, yummy, and the kids loved them!!!

I gotta go to bed….I am draggggggggggggin’

Healthy Eats!

So, here’s the deal….

I’ve been a slacker blogger.

My little sis has been in town visiting from Connecticut and we have been par-taying!  We’ve had so much fun, but I haven’t had much time to blog.   I’ve also been eating a little crappily…..all for the sake of my sister, of course! 😉  We had to eat some yummy sentimental treats.  It’s been very fun, but I’m ready to be disciplined again.

So, I am officially on the wagon again and it feels SOOOO good!

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I love to set short-term goals for myself.  They don’t seem so overwhelming that way.  So, here is my goal until Friday, August 12th (just under 3 weeks away.)

• No sugar or white flour
• Exercise 6 days a week (5 is acceptable if I have a legitimate reason)

That is it.

I will let you know my progress.  Oh, and btw the reason I chose to end my goal on August 12th is because Kev and I are going to be running a 12 person relay race on August 12-13th.  It is called Epic Cache-Teton Relay and it’s from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY.  It will be fun.  Yay.  Oh, and August 12th happens to be Kev’s 40th birthday.  Freaky.

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Anyway, Kev and I went on a 5 mile run tonight.  It was great, but I was a little bummed because we were supposed to go to our Boot Camp class (my fav!).  We went to the gym and when we got there we found that the child care place was closed (in honor of Pioneer Day).  Lame lame lame.  So, as I stood there with both my little kids, bumming out, Kev and I decided we would just go on a run later on when it cooled off.

I must say that as the night wore on, I really really really did not want to go on a run.  I was very tired and just wanted to veg.  But, I remained stalwart and strong and got ‘er done!  yay!  We didn’t leave until about 9:30 pm.  I hate to run late at night, but it actually felt pretty awesome.  It was quiet and peaceful and the perfect temperature.  It had also just rained, so it felt very fresh outside.  Loved it.

I must also say that I was tempted several times to just cut the run short and do 3-4 miles, but I just kept on going!  It was freaking hard at times as well!

I must also say that running is not easy and it is not for wimps.  Sometimes I have a great run and it feels effortless and energizing, but….lately most of my runs have been very hard and exhausting!  I still love it though!  I don’t know quite how to describe it, but there is something so awesome about pushing yourself…running farther and faster than you thought you could.  I also LOVE music and LOVE being outside.  It is so so so awesome….the best therapy ever.

If you don’t like running, it’s probably because it is HARD!  Do it anyway.  It is very very good for your body…and your mind!

There, that is my schpeal on running.

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I ate some very yummy healthy food today that I thought I would share with y’all.  Here ya go…

The kids wanted waffles for breakfast, so I made healthy, yummy whole wheat waffles.  No sugar, oil, white flour, nothin’.  Yay.

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 3/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 T Baking Powder

2 Eggs; separated

1 3/4 C. Skim Milk

1/2 C. Unsweetened Applesauce

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

In a large mixing bowl stir flour, baking powder and salt.

Dry Ingredients!

In a separate mixing bowl beat egg yolks, milk, vanilla, and applesauce.

Wet Ingredients!

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once.  Stir mixture until blended.

Mixing wet and dry ingredients together

In yet another small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Egg whites, before mixing...

Egg whites after mixing...

Gently fold beaten egg whites into original mixture.  Do not over mix.

Folding the egg whites in...

The waffle batter, ready to roll...

Pour batter onto preheated waffle maker which has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Cook and Enjoy!

I had two waffles. I topped one with almond butter and one with Smart Balance spread, sugar-free Log Cabin syrup and blueberries! Yum!

Smart Balance spread and Sugar-free Log Cabin syrup

These were very good waffles.  My husband, children, and even my son’s friend gobbled them right up!  I found they were a little better if I cooked them on the crispy side.  The applesauce makes it a little “softer”, so cook them a little longer!

Also, I loved these with almond butter, but the sugar-free syrup with blueberries was my favorite!  Yummmy!  If you don’t like sugar free/artificial sweetener things, you could also use “lite” syrup and just go easy.  You could also use any kind of fruit, with a little whipped cream or some honey or agave nectar too.  Whatever.

I loved the egg whites too.  Sometimes I add one whole egg, but today I just did the whites.  Yum.

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This is what I had for lunch…

Cottage Cheese/Yogurt/Fruit/Granola Mix-up

This is a pretty easy, yummy, healthy lunch or snack.

• 1/2 C. low-fat/non-fat Cottage Cheese

• 1 small container Greek Yogurt (I love Greek Yoplait honey vanilla flavor)

• Fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, pineapple, etc.)

• 2 T Granola, cereal, nuts, etc. (just add a little something for some crunch!)

Mix it up and enjoy!

I used low-fat Cottage Cheese, greek Yoplait honey vanilla yogurt, blueberries and Flax Plus granola

The finished product

This is a very easy, quick, healthy snack.  I loved it.  If you wanted to make it even healthier you could use plain yogurt and sweeten it yourself with fruit, a little honey or agave nectar…whatever.  I just really like the honey vanilla flavor one.  You could even skip the granola/crunchy stuff to save on calories.  After I ate this, I realized I should have chilled on the granola.  It is so yummy, but very caloric.  I should have just sprinkled a little on.

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For a snack/pre-workout meal (which ended up being a pre pre pre workout meal because I couldn’t go to the gym :-(), I had my current favorite protein shake…

Chocolate Spinach Almond Protein Shake

1/2 C Water (you could also use skim milk or almond milk if you want)

1 scoop Protein Powder; chocolate

1 T Cocoa Powder

1/3 C plain oats

1 T Ground Flax Seed

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 tsp Almond Extract

2 big handfuls fresh baby spinach

ice cubes

pinch Xanthan Gum(optional)

Slivered Almonds (optional)

Mix water, protein powder, cocoa, oats, flax seed, vanilla extract and almond extract in blender.  Add spinach and mix well.  Add ice cubes and mix very well.  Mix in Xanthan Gum.  Sprinkle almonds on top and enjoy!

Here it is. It looks a little freaky because of the spinach. I hadn't sprinkled the almonds on top when I took this pic either.

Seriously, so yummy.  I love it!  You can’t even taste the spinach at all (I promise!)  The oatmeal blends up so fine that it’s barely recognizable.  This is a very yummy, healthy shake.

What the heck is Xanthan Gum, you ask????  Well, I don’t know exactly what it is, but it is used as a thickener.  It makes the shake very smooth and creamy.  You really only need a pinch.  Don’t add too much.  Oh, and I bought mine at Winco in bulk.  I also bought a little empty spice jar to keep it in.  I’m sure you can find it at most grocery stores too.  Bob’s Red Mill brand sells it too.

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Oh, and this was dinner.

Taco Salad!

I love taco salad….yummy, easy, healthy…yay!  My husband and kids LOVE tacos!  It is so nice because nobody complains about dinner!  I love them because they are so easy and I can make them healthier for me!  When we have tacos, the kids just eat them on regular tortillas and I either make a taco salad or use a lo-carb, high protein/fiber tortilla for me.

Tonight I made it into a taco salad, obviously.  I used iceberg lettuce, baby spinach, fat-free refried beans, ground turkey taco meat, a little cheese (I splurged), low-fat cottage cheese, and salsa.  Yum!

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K, there is my day.  I’m sure I won’t post everything I eat most days, but I figured I would today since it’s been so long since I posted!