Whew.... look at all the dust and cob webs on this blog. eww...
F'AB'ruary challenge is well under way on my Facebook page. Click on over there and have a crack at the most sore abs and fun you'll ever have. Wohoo! Rock that body ladies and guys! Food suggestions soon!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Monday, May 27, 2013
Oh YES! IT WORKS! The Body Wrap Company that is.
Results from the body wrap from IT Works
Before: 1 inch above belly button 39 After 37
At belly button before 42 After 38
1 inch below belly button 49 After 45
A total of TEN inches off just by using that one body wrap. I was shocked. I want to wrap my whole body in it for a week! That was on Monday. Four days later the measurements haven't changed all that much. My weight did not change but then it wasn't supposed to. My poor stretch marked skin where the wrap was placed is much smoother looking, the dark brown patches/scars on my stomach, from being burned by a piping hot bowl of chicken and dumplings being dropped in my lap, faded too and the stretch marks are much less visible. Yep. I'm sold on it! Dang, I'm even considering selling it myself.
That said, body wrap results are not permanent. They are not cure alls. They are not substitutes for real diet and exercise. Diet and exercise are where the permanent changes come in. It's up to you.
Before: 1 inch above belly button 39 After 37
At belly button before 42 After 38
1 inch below belly button 49 After 45
A total of TEN inches off just by using that one body wrap. I was shocked. I want to wrap my whole body in it for a week! That was on Monday. Four days later the measurements haven't changed all that much. My weight did not change but then it wasn't supposed to. My poor stretch marked skin where the wrap was placed is much smoother looking, the dark brown patches/scars on my stomach, from being burned by a piping hot bowl of chicken and dumplings being dropped in my lap, faded too and the stretch marks are much less visible. Yep. I'm sold on it! Dang, I'm even considering selling it myself.
That said, body wrap results are not permanent. They are not cure alls. They are not substitutes for real diet and exercise. Diet and exercise are where the permanent changes come in. It's up to you.
Getting your just desserts
Are you ready for some GOOD FOR YOU WHILE ALSO YUMMY RECIPES? Then keep reading on!
The past few weeks I have been slowly transitioning to a raw diet. By raw I mean raw veggies, no meat, little to no sugar or oils, I did not give up boiled or scrambled eggs as I'm a die hard protein addict and all the fruit I can stand. No sodas or dairy. Today, I backslid a little, needing something to help me swallow some nuts and upon seeing that my sam's choice water had INGREDIENTS besides water in it I decided what the heck, it's that time of month I'll wash it down with some chocolate milk. BADBADBADBAD idea. I gagged. The milk came back up. (mmmm chemically fake chocolate milk second time around, True Moo my ass!) I can still taste the CHEMICALS in it. You know you're on the right track when you can taste the things in food and drinks that you couldn't taste before. You thought it was normal, even good. It isn't.
This s a tough lifestyle change; one you can't just jump into and expect to stick with it. I indulged once or twice a week on some sugary things or some bread, only a mouthful though, just enough to make me think oh...blech....and blech indeed it was. I can taste the bad stuff in my former diet.
It's unnerving.
My calorie count is much lower because it's an all you can each non-starchy fruits and veggies diet. However, I gained weight at first. Then I lost it plus and extra pound or two. I have more energy. I dont' feel full, but I feel satisfied if that makes sense?
I found all kinds of cookie and cake recipes that will knock your socks off. The carrot cake is not cooked at all, the banana cookies and chickpea cookies are baked. They do have a bit of sweetener in them, namely either Organic Maple Syrup or Dark(as dark as you can find it) Raw Honey.
Here's the banana oatmeal cookies,
Ready? This is a really difficult, I'm tellin ya.
Base recipe:
4 slightly over ripe banana
1/2 cup old fashioned (not instant) oatmeal
See, hard as it can be! Now start adding stuff (or not)
1 tablespoon either honey or maple syrup (optional)
1 dash cinnamon (to taste) (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup raisins or cranberries (optional)
Turn them into double chocolate chip cookies by ommitting the cinnamon and adding a tablespoon of cocoa and 1/4 cup organic chocolate chips
Mash bananas until they're kinda soupy, stir in oatmeal and any, or all, optional ingredients. Put on a parchment paper lined pan and place ina 350 degree oven no longer th an 12 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy.
If you need a bland diet then the banana cookies are for you. Experiment. Just look carefully at your add ins for things you can't pronounce. If you have no idea how to pronounce it or what it even is you don't need to be eating it. You certainly don't want to be putting it in your children or grandchildren's mouths.
Mmmmmmmmmm Carrot Cake!
Cake:
1 cup shredded raw carrot
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw medjool dates, pits removed
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped raw walnuts
Icing:
1 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (I prefer cashews)
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 tablespoon water, add more as needed
Carrot Cake:
Fine chop the carrots into a quick "shredded carrot" in the food processor, then scoop into a bowl. Puree 1 cup walnuts in the food processor. Add in 9 mejool dates into the pureed walnuts, and then blend into a sweet paste. Add walnut/date paste into bowl with the grated carrots, stir and mash in together, and add in dried coconut, vanilla & five spice. Then add in raisins, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts. Mix until well incorporated. Shape the carrot cake with your hands onto a plate, it will be easy to shape into a cake mold. Chill in the fridge to help firm up.
Icing:
Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender or food processor. It may also help to soak your cashews for an hour prior to making for easier blending, if you soak the cashews, expect to use less water in blending.
First: it isn't as easy as it looks. Second I added a tablespoon of honey to the cake part of the recipe, not a lot,but I felt it needed something. third, medjool dates are freaking expensive! I bought bulk dates out of a barrel at The Fresh Market for more than half the price of Medjools and had enough left over to nibble on. I'm almost willing to bet figs can be subbed for the dates. Fourth add a dash of cinnamon to the cake part of the recipe. Fifth: You absolutely MUST MUST MUST use a food processor for this recipe. I killed my blender. Poof! Up in a little cloud of smoke. (not a small one either!) Sixth: I bought and grated my own coconut, froze the milk in an ice cube tray for later use)
NO Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Are you ready for this one? My family ate every last one of them before they realized they were completely flourless and totally healthy for them. YOU MADE THEM WITH WHAT?
1¼ cups canned organic chickpeas or cannelli beans (whie kidney beans), well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup + 2 tablespoons organic almond butter (or other organic nut butter. I love almond butter, it's quite versatile)
¼ cup honey or agave or maple syrup
½ cup organic chocolate chips
I also added 1 tablespoon of chia seed and 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed
Directions
This is another blender killer. High powered food processorsonly need apply for this awesome recipe)
Preheat your oven to 350°F Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. (this line isn't kidding....it's a lick your fingers AND the bowl type recipe)
I just spoon dropped them then flattened out a little with the bottom of the spoon on a parchment lined pan. They don't do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes. They will be a little soft so they're not milk dippin cookies, sorry, but I'm sure milk would still go well with them...if I drank milk that is.
This recipe called for salt and baking powder. I omitted both and the cookies were delicious and eaten within an hour or so.
So there you have it. My current favorite Just Desserts!
The past few weeks I have been slowly transitioning to a raw diet. By raw I mean raw veggies, no meat, little to no sugar or oils, I did not give up boiled or scrambled eggs as I'm a die hard protein addict and all the fruit I can stand. No sodas or dairy. Today, I backslid a little, needing something to help me swallow some nuts and upon seeing that my sam's choice water had INGREDIENTS besides water in it I decided what the heck, it's that time of month I'll wash it down with some chocolate milk. BADBADBADBAD idea. I gagged. The milk came back up. (mmmm chemically fake chocolate milk second time around, True Moo my ass!) I can still taste the CHEMICALS in it. You know you're on the right track when you can taste the things in food and drinks that you couldn't taste before. You thought it was normal, even good. It isn't.
This s a tough lifestyle change; one you can't just jump into and expect to stick with it. I indulged once or twice a week on some sugary things or some bread, only a mouthful though, just enough to make me think oh...blech....and blech indeed it was. I can taste the bad stuff in my former diet.
It's unnerving.
My calorie count is much lower because it's an all you can each non-starchy fruits and veggies diet. However, I gained weight at first. Then I lost it plus and extra pound or two. I have more energy. I dont' feel full, but I feel satisfied if that makes sense?
I found all kinds of cookie and cake recipes that will knock your socks off. The carrot cake is not cooked at all, the banana cookies and chickpea cookies are baked. They do have a bit of sweetener in them, namely either Organic Maple Syrup or Dark(as dark as you can find it) Raw Honey.
Here's the banana oatmeal cookies,
Ready? This is a really difficult, I'm tellin ya.
Base recipe:
4 slightly over ripe banana
1/2 cup old fashioned (not instant) oatmeal
See, hard as it can be! Now start adding stuff (or not)
1 tablespoon either honey or maple syrup (optional)
1 dash cinnamon (to taste) (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup raisins or cranberries (optional)
Turn them into double chocolate chip cookies by ommitting the cinnamon and adding a tablespoon of cocoa and 1/4 cup organic chocolate chips
Mash bananas until they're kinda soupy, stir in oatmeal and any, or all, optional ingredients. Put on a parchment paper lined pan and place ina 350 degree oven no longer th an 12 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy.
If you need a bland diet then the banana cookies are for you. Experiment. Just look carefully at your add ins for things you can't pronounce. If you have no idea how to pronounce it or what it even is you don't need to be eating it. You certainly don't want to be putting it in your children or grandchildren's mouths.
Mmmmmmmmmm Carrot Cake!
Cake:
1 cup shredded raw carrot
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw medjool dates, pits removed
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped raw walnuts
Icing:
1 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (I prefer cashews)
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 tablespoon water, add more as needed
Carrot Cake:
Fine chop the carrots into a quick "shredded carrot" in the food processor, then scoop into a bowl. Puree 1 cup walnuts in the food processor. Add in 9 mejool dates into the pureed walnuts, and then blend into a sweet paste. Add walnut/date paste into bowl with the grated carrots, stir and mash in together, and add in dried coconut, vanilla & five spice. Then add in raisins, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts. Mix until well incorporated. Shape the carrot cake with your hands onto a plate, it will be easy to shape into a cake mold. Chill in the fridge to help firm up.
Icing:
Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender or food processor. It may also help to soak your cashews for an hour prior to making for easier blending, if you soak the cashews, expect to use less water in blending.
First: it isn't as easy as it looks. Second I added a tablespoon of honey to the cake part of the recipe, not a lot,but I felt it needed something. third, medjool dates are freaking expensive! I bought bulk dates out of a barrel at The Fresh Market for more than half the price of Medjools and had enough left over to nibble on. I'm almost willing to bet figs can be subbed for the dates. Fourth add a dash of cinnamon to the cake part of the recipe. Fifth: You absolutely MUST MUST MUST use a food processor for this recipe. I killed my blender. Poof! Up in a little cloud of smoke. (not a small one either!) Sixth: I bought and grated my own coconut, froze the milk in an ice cube tray for later use)
NO Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Are you ready for this one? My family ate every last one of them before they realized they were completely flourless and totally healthy for them. YOU MADE THEM WITH WHAT?
1¼ cups canned organic chickpeas or cannelli beans (whie kidney beans), well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup + 2 tablespoons organic almond butter (or other organic nut butter. I love almond butter, it's quite versatile)
¼ cup honey or agave or maple syrup
½ cup organic chocolate chips
I also added 1 tablespoon of chia seed and 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed
Directions
This is another blender killer. High powered food processorsonly need apply for this awesome recipe)
Preheat your oven to 350°F Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. (this line isn't kidding....it's a lick your fingers AND the bowl type recipe)
I just spoon dropped them then flattened out a little with the bottom of the spoon on a parchment lined pan. They don't do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes. They will be a little soft so they're not milk dippin cookies, sorry, but I'm sure milk would still go well with them...if I drank milk that is.
This recipe called for salt and baking powder. I omitted both and the cookies were delicious and eaten within an hour or so.
So there you have it. My current favorite Just Desserts!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Fast Food Snobbery
I've been kindly silent of late with good reason; I dont have internet access from home. I'm home schooling my kids and time for blogging isn't high on my priority list. But I'm making time today because I just don't understand all the bashing being heaped upon McDonald's of late.
No one eats there out for their healthy menu. It's Fast (hence FAST FOOD) and cheap. They're not there to cater to your picky healthy snobby palate. One persons big mac is another's sushi. You leave my choice of food alone and I'll leave yours alone? Fair enough?
But let me point put my menu when I do eat at McDonalds. Side Salad 20 calories. Balsamic Vinaigrette (half packet 15 calories or whole packet at 35 calories) Unsweetened ice tea 0 calories. Sometimes I'll add string cheeseat 70 calories. Sometimes I'll add 4 count chicken mcnuggets at 190 calories. I don't care about the pink sludge...its ground up chicken parts and in my opinion protein is protein. As long as it's cooked it's bacteria free. I haven't heard of anyone dying from chicken mcnugget poisoning. I have heard of people becoming deathly ill from consuming sushi, undercooked chicken breast and so on.
While McDonald's isn't the healthiest choice out there, I pick them for price and convenience if I'm out and about because I can still make a few healthy choices from their menu and some other restaurants out there can't even make that claim.
Education can get you a long ways when shopping the fast food market. I suggest you fast food snobs try it. Just because health weekly or whatever publication of the week says it's so doesn't make it so.
No one eats there out for their healthy menu. It's Fast (hence FAST FOOD) and cheap. They're not there to cater to your picky healthy snobby palate. One persons big mac is another's sushi. You leave my choice of food alone and I'll leave yours alone? Fair enough?
But let me point put my menu when I do eat at McDonalds. Side Salad 20 calories. Balsamic Vinaigrette (half packet 15 calories or whole packet at 35 calories) Unsweetened ice tea 0 calories. Sometimes I'll add string cheeseat 70 calories. Sometimes I'll add 4 count chicken mcnuggets at 190 calories. I don't care about the pink sludge...its ground up chicken parts and in my opinion protein is protein. As long as it's cooked it's bacteria free. I haven't heard of anyone dying from chicken mcnugget poisoning. I have heard of people becoming deathly ill from consuming sushi, undercooked chicken breast and so on.
While McDonald's isn't the healthiest choice out there, I pick them for price and convenience if I'm out and about because I can still make a few healthy choices from their menu and some other restaurants out there can't even make that claim.
Education can get you a long ways when shopping the fast food market. I suggest you fast food snobs try it. Just because health weekly or whatever publication of the week says it's so doesn't make it so.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Wheee! Here I am!
I bet you wonder where I've been. Still not recovering as well as I'd hoped to be from my not so fun health crisis last November, then an attack of (suspect) Trigeminal Neuralgia, talk about brain splitting pain, omg just kill me now, followed by a massive tooth/gum infection resulting in a root canal, that's where. I gained 25 pounds then lost 20,so there lol!
My measurements are in the basement again, but that's only because I've not been working out at all until the last week or so. My eyes are on a 5k run this fall for Susan G Komen, fitting since I have several friends and family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I've got to run again, it's in my blood shin splints, heel spurs, and all.
I've had plenty of time to read and reflect on what I'm trying to do here and in my life. I want to coach people, help them find their perfect healthy lifestyle because there is no one size fits all diet. People are unique so they have to have a tailor fit diet to meet their needs and lifestyle. I want to teach others to be self sufficient, take care of themselves and their families, and not be so dependent.
Have you seen the new food pyramid now calling itself 'myplate'? See what I mean? It's a one size fits all politically motivated scheme designed to try to make everyone fit into one mold, be dependant on the government to tell them how to eat and I don't like it one bit.
I searched around and found a school that shares my belief, Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). I've seen a lot of good information on the program and a lot of bad so I'm hesitant. I like what I see in their brochures and a book I downloaded, but....there's still that little voice that asks what if you're wrong? Am I just trading on the 'myplate' scheme too? I would hope not. Just because I like to eat sushi doesn't mean all of my blog followers , right? I'm not sure where sushi would fit on that diagram anyway lol!
Where was I? DREAMS AND GOALS!
I want to become a certified Pilates instructor in matwork and Rhthym Pilates, but that little voice says 'you're too old and still a bit too fat for that too."
The same for the desire to study alternative therapy like aromatherapy, reikei, herbology, angelology(just because I'm amused that there is such a thing) acupuncture, and massage therapy.
Why all of that?
I want to open a practice that teaches people how to eat better, take care of themselves instead of relying the a doctor and a magic pill to take care of them, make a custom fit lifestyle that they can live with for the rest of their lives. I want to be able to help people relax without pills but that damned little negative voice is freaking annoying!
I want to dabble with body wraps and infrared saunas too just because they intrigue me as well.
SHUT UP annoying negative voice, eesh! lol!
I've even named my pracite RE: New U
So what is in my way besides a bit of fear? Money. I can't borrow it because I made some really bad mistakes in handling money in my younger more foolish years and my credit is shaky at best. Since IIN isn't a federal program they don't take federal money ie: pell grants or student loans so all I 've got right now are some really big dreams.
In the meantime I set goals for myself. I'm out of 14s and back in 16s. I refuse to gain any more weight. My goal is a 12 by the end of summer. Fortunately the 16s are getting a bit big on me.
YAY!
I signed up on Pilates Anytime so I can take all kinds of Pilates classes on demand over the internet and have found a program in Knoxville that certifies Pilates instructors in matwork. I can take a Rhthym Pilates certification course online after I get the matwork certification. So it's baby steps.
Found an awesome bread substitute for my carb addicts out there. Ezekiel 4:9 bread is pure plant protein bread. No eggs. No dairy. No flour. Gluten Free. No sugar. No oil. It does have to stay in your fridge because it has no preservatives, but it looks like bread, it tastes like bread only with a little more texture, it's low on the glycemic scale, and if you don't tell your family they won't notice the difference. It is a bit on the pricey side, but then so is a heart attack etc.
There are several manufacturers of this type 'bread', I've only tried Ezekiel 4:9 at this point so I think I'll stick with it for a while.
And what know you? It took manufacturers long enought o jump on the grapeseed oil bandwagon! Pompeiian now makes grape seed oil for cooking as do a couple of other companies, look at the ingredient label carefully when you buy to make sure it doesn't have added 'other oils' like vegetable oil or peanut oil. The liquid in the bottle should have a clear greenish tint to it.
I found Pompeiian Grapeseed oil at WalMart and Kroger but it's a smaller bottle than the Grapeola brand. I found GrapeOla brand at Kroger and Bi-Lo. Kroger had some kind of grapeseed oil in a much smaller gourmet 'tin' at a huge gourmet price so I didn't pay much attention to it. I think I'll have a less severe heart attack by avoiding that gourmet price while going for the WalMart Pompeiian price lol!
That's my update for now. Everyone please have a happy healthy Wednesday!
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