Listening to your Body

This week has been an "odd" week for me, I don't usually get aches and pains but, this week, I did.  I wonder if part of it was from having to take medication for a migraine that got the better of me on the weekend.

Mediterranean Pasta Recipe

Now this recipe is something you can personally play with... try different veggies, or different pasta, or hot Italian Sausages, which is what I would use, if the kids weren't here eating it too lol!

Just remember to check the calories... if a box of past says that 56g is a serving and that serving is 320 Calories, divide the 320 by the 56 and that will tell you how many calories PER gram for that pasta.  Then you can adjust up or down for your own portion of pasta.

Chicken Shrimp Spring Providence Recipe

This is the kinda recipe that you can switch it up a bit, for example, if you are not into one of the veggies listed, substitute something else you like.

THE BEST PROTEIN SHAKE RECIPE BY FAR!!!

You could also use this as a morning Smoothie to replace your breakfast or post workout... it travels well in a cup w/straw lol!

Eating when its out of your control

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my mother's surprise birthday party, it was the first time where I was NOT in control of what my food choices were going to be.

And if you knew my family, when we get together for an occasion, most of the foods are fats, fats and more fats... like potato salads, macaroni salads, lunch meat tray etc... so I was a bit concerned, what I would eat.

I had made up my mind that I would have some birthday cake but, not the icing on it, which I DID have, just a 2X2" piece.

And there were Moose Meatballs, not in a "sauce" which was great!  there were SHRIMP! and I love shrimp! low in calories and taste great with nothing added.  And there were veggie trays with dip, I skipped the dip and went for the veggies and fresh fruit, but, not the tempting dipped in chocolate ones lol!! and there were these BIG cheese stuffed ravioli, I had one.

All in all, I made the best choices, raw, fresh, no or low fat and the least processed!  Of course, with the exception of the cake but, only had a small piece and cut off the icing.

When ever I am out and don't have the control over my choices, I do the best I can, knowing what I am looking at in Calories and Fat or Food Additives.

I don't believe in "dieting" which I have stated before, anything in moderation that is REAL food and knowing how to size up a portion and making the best choices under the circumstances... avoid the fat, processed (has high sodium) ABC "foods", and empty calories.

Since tomorrow is Good Friday, I won't be blogging... have a wonderful Easter Holiday with family and friends! ♥

Recipe Time ==> High Fiber Snack!

I've made these a few times now and each time, they turn out slightly different, but the same if that makes any sense lol!

I HIGHLY recommend increasing your water in-take if you are going to eat these, they are EXTREMELY high in fiber!

Weigh In Day is Here!

So this week was a bit different... and yesterday, I figured was a wash, a disaster of a day... maybe not?

I wanted to get my workout in first thing in the morning yesterday due to a packed day of things to get done and hubby is off on a biz trip again this week.

So I headed down to the basement to get my workout in... heard the door and the dogs so I came up... it was the Mailman dropping off the parts for our BBQ, which had fallen over during the Spring in a windstorm.  The main handle supports had broken off.  Yaaay! we can BBQ again... that is when SPRING GETS HERE! lol!! Had snow twice this week.

Transglutaminase OR Thrombin===> Do you know what that is? You should!!!

Transglutaminase or Thrombin...

Most of us have never heard of these names or what it is but, when we do, remember either these names or its slang name...

But, I have a question... why is it, this name does NOT have to appear on meat, chicken, fish, pork or any other meat label to inform us when and where it is being used? Why doesn't it come with a "must be completely cooked" label?

It really should cause, if you eat any of the above (meat, fish or poultry products) with this in it and it is not fully cooked, you are opening yourself up to listeria, salmonella, e-coli and a list of other deadly bacterias.

RECIPE TIME!! :o)

Due to a hectic family schedule this week... I didn't have much time to blog, so here is a little something to make up for it.

A Couple of otherwise "SINFUL" foods converted to a more healthy alternative... sorry, no pics to go with it at this point but, will add some at a later date if I can.

ENJOY!! And have a great weekend! Keep moving!! ♥

FORMS TO MAKE IT SIMPLE

Due to time restraints, I haven't been able to pour much of myself into the blog this week... sick youngen, doctors, allergy tests... I'm healthy LOL!!

So I hope this works, I want to help make things simple, so I redesigned some "Forms" to make things simple.

I keep a log in a simple note book from the dollar store but, I wanted something a bit more organized.  So here is what I created.

Hope it helps you in your own personal journey!

Recipes coming this week and a few news articles well worth reading (might make you gag too!!) 

I have created some great forms to help keep you organized and keep track of what works and what doesn't, so you can see where you need to improve.

If you are interested in having a copy, please leave a comment here and I will get in touch with you OR you can CLICK HERE to e-mail me your request for a copy.

Have a great day!
♥

Some Important Numbers....

To most of us, numbers matter, whether its on a paycheck, doctor's results, weigh scale or a report card, we use them no matter what to measure things that DO matter to us or as markers.

And there are more numbers than just the ones that are measured in pounds that we need to consider when we want to make a healthy life-style change.  As I mentioned before, an individual can be thin and be completely unhealthy.  So that number on the scale is NOT a marker... its just a number to be aware of.  If the number is too high in combination with other numbers like your HDL (Bad Cholesterol) being too high and your LDL (Good Cholesterol) being too low.  THESE numbers matter.

Also a very important number is the BMI, also known as the "Body Mass Index", this particular number tells us potential  "risks" based on the number, for the individual.  Along with your medical "predisposition", which is based on your family history of health risks.

EXERCISE JOURNAL === > Example Page

A week or so ago, I showed you what my Food Journal Page looked like, a quick example... so now, lets take a look at one of my exercise logs.

Keep in mind, I DO NOT keep the same routine all the time, I work out according to how I feel some days, cause if I really am not into it, and I force myself, then I am going to begin to dread it.

Whereas I personally love the challenge to better my time or my speed or my heart-rate or calories burned.  I find something to be competitive with myself about and then go for it.

Working Out.... a few thoughts...

Exercise should not be a dirty word, it also shouldn't bring about thoughts of dread.... but, most times it does.  And I think in part, its purely attitude.

So that means, we need to rewire or hardwire how we view exercise on the one hand and on the other, we need to find something we actually LIKE doing.

Whether its following along with an Exercise DVD with one of our Faves, like Bob or Julian from Biggest Loser, Walking outdoors, joining a gym, working out at home with equipment or even using the Wii or XBox... exercise should be enjoyable!

A few things to consider... if you are not a disciplined type person, you will struggle with working out at home and sticking with it.  There needs to be an accountability factor to help keep you going.

RECIPE!!! Awesome Tomato & Cucumber Salad

This recipe is soooooooooo very simple and amazingly good!!! It will be a crowd pleaser for sure!!

RECIPE! Tiger (Meatless) Mini/Maxi Burgers

This week, I set out to create a Healthy, Fiber filled, Meatless burger for my family.

It took a few days of trial and error but, the family really did enjoy this recipe.  Its an original!

I hope to create another Meatless Burger in the next few weeks ahead, I want to use TVP to see what I can create.

Enjoy and feed back is appreciated, either here or on FB, thanks!

RECIPE! Wanna have a great snack food handy?

My kids have never really tried this before so when I bought some and brought it into the house, I knew, don't tell them what it is till they taste it! lol!

I know they LIKE crackers... so I went for a flat bread and they are pretty good with veggies, only one of them hates mushrooms.

So I put some of "this" on a flat bread and stuck it in their face and said "try this"... "what is it?"... "just try it, you will like it"... you could tell by the faces they were ready to hate it before tasting LOL!! Love it!!

Everyone in the house loves it!!

A Giant Leap Forward... then 2 Steps back...

DISCLAIMER: What I am about to share is based on my own personal journey, I am not advising anyone, diagnosing anyone... I am simply sharing my ordeal and opinions regarding, myself.

In the past week, as I had mentioned earlier, I was feeling ill, no energy, like I was coming down with something but, it wouldn't fully manifest. So I assumed it was the antibiotics I had taken the previous month due to the flu.

As a result, I started on some Udo's Probiotic Advanced Formula and some Jamieson's "instant" probiotic formula supplements. After a few days of "bloating" I noticed I was feeling a bit better. But, there was some "achiness" on one side of my abdomen area.

I looked up the area on the internet and when I saw what it was, it triggered the last appt I had with the Doctor where she informed me, I have "fatty liver" spots. These appeared in an ultra sound when I had a kidney stone.

So I did some more research, seems, "they" say, you can't get rid of this once you get it, its like non-alcoholic's cirrhosis of the liver by comparison. Yet, they haven't done any serious testing or studies with supplements or herbs.

THE BRICK WALL

Everything has been going great!! Workout has been fitting in, getting done and seeing heart results, so I have been very pleased with the results.

The family likes the new foods, there's less "odors" in the house, if you catch my drift... so all has been on track and on target.

Then two days ago... I hit the brick wall and hard!!

Woke up, not knowing if I had a sinus infection, was I coming down with something, was I going to get a 'gift' after not seeing that for over a year!! and I just wanted to go back to bed! NO ENERGY!

I thought... If I can just get to a workout, I will probably feel better, so I will get a few carbs in me for the go... made a nice, homemade Egg White Spin-Muffin with Soy Based cheddar on a whole wheat mini soft bagel bun. I think they call them a bagel cause they have a hole in the middle, cause they are nothing LIKE a bagel! lol!

Nope, not working... Latte with a bit of extra espresso... nope... nothing is working!