The Making of My Little Pick Me Up…

 

One of the things I like to make to help energize me or to have for a snack or breakfast is called “Green Monster”.  A Green Monster is a shake that I discovered on the website www.ohsheglows.com  A Green Monster consists of:

1 Tbsp of Flax Seeds

1 Tbsp of Chia Seeds

3/4 cup milk (soy, almond, cow, whatever)

2 cups or two handfuls of spinach

1 banana

handful of ice

Put everything into a blender, mix, and then enjoy!

First put the Flax Seeds and Chia Seeds into the blender.

I use Chia Seeds that I found at Old Fashioned Foods.

(sorry about the lighting!)

Then add the spinach…

I bought my spinach at Sobeys called Botanical Organic Spinach.

Then add the milk.  I use So Good Soy Milk.

Add the banana…

Then mix in the blender…

Once blended, add the ice…

Then blend until ice is crushed and viola…

A perfect “Green Monster”!!!

 

This is my brother trying a “Green Monster”…

  He’s not too sure about it…

  He’s having a sip of it…

  Success!  He likes it!!!

 

Green Monsters are awesome!  You can find more recipes at www.ohsheglows.com

Dr. Oz: Ten Commandments for Weight Loss

 

So this year I’ve been on a quest to be the best me.  One of things that I’ve been focusing on is eating a lot better.  I don’t normally watch Dr. Oz, but I did stumble upon this a while ago.  For those who don’t know who Dr. Oz is he is a medical expert who was featured on many of Oprah Winfrey’s show.  He became so popular that he now has his own show called The Dr. Oz Show.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-s-10-weight-loss-commandments

 

1. Thou Shalt Not Wear Pants that Stretch

Your clothing is an early-warning system for weight gain. When it's getting hard to snap your jeans, you know it's time to be vigilant. Wearing stretchy clothes allows you to live in ignorance of how your body is growing, making it easier to pack on pounds without knowing it.

2. Thou Shalt Not Keep Fat Clothes in Your Closet

When you keep the clothes you wore at an unhealthy weight, it gives you a back-up plan if the pounds don't come off. Instead, force yourself to stay on track by 86ing your "fat pants."

3. Thou Shalt Not Eat Meat That Walks on Four Legs More Than Once a Week

Meat that comes from an animal with 4 legs is higher in saturated fat (the unhealthy kind) than that which comes from 2-legged animals such as chickens, or animals with no legs, like fish. Plus: women who eat large amounts of red meat more than once a week have a 50% higher chance of dying from heart disease and have higher cancer rates.

4. Thou Shalt Not Graze

Plan your meal before you open the refrigerator, get what you need, and close the door. Opening it throughout the day leads to impulsive choices and overeating.

5. Thou Shalt Not Eat After 7:30pm

When you eat late at night you are more likely to be eating in front of the TV (when you won't pay attention to how much you're putting in your mouth) and you're more likely to pick high-calorie snacks.

6. Thou Shalt Not Pile Food More than 1 Inch High or Within 2 Inches of the Plate Edge

Larger portions equal more calories. 'Nuff said.

7. Thou Shalt Not Chew Food Less than 20 Times Per Bite

Chewing allows your body to realize that you are eating food, prompting it to create a sensation of fullness at the appropriate time. When you don't chew enough, you get ahead of that process, eating well past when you are actually satisfied.

8. Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Plate

Spend your day nibbling bites on someone else's sandwich or afternoon snack, and you will add on 1,000 calories easy.

9. Thou Shalt Not Carry Small Bills

Nothing loves a small bill better than a vending machine. When you have them at the ready, you are one step closer to an impulsive, calorie-loaded afternoon slip up.

10. Thou Shalt Not Eat While Standing Up

Eating sitting down enables you to be aware of what you're eating and eat it slowly so that your body can tell you your full before it's too late.

 

I find these commandments very interesting and they helped me make better decisions regarding my health and what to eat.

Commandment number 3: Thou shall not eat meat with four legs, really hit me.  This commandment pretty much turned me to a vegan lifestyle.  If Dr. Oz is telling me that I shouldn’t eat meat with four legs more than once, why should I eat it at all?  I can get my intake of protein through beans, dairy products, etc. 

Also, I have high blood pressure.  My high blood pressure is heredity from my mom.  I developed it during all of my pregnancies and after the last pregnancy I wasn’t able to get rid of it.  Despite my changes in lifestyle I still have high blood pressure and I take medication daily.  I’m just trying to do my part in making myself healthier!

What a Zucchini!!!

 

Here’s a picture of a zucchini:

Here’s a picture of me holding a zucchini:

That is one big zucchini!  My neighbour gave me one the other day.  So, what am I going to do with the zucchini?  Well, yesterday, I spent the day figuring out what to do with it.  I decided to use it and make Zucchini Cake and Zucchini Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce.

 

Zucchini Cake

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup of cocoa

1 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

2 eggs

3/4 cup of vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups of grated zucchini

 

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Then add eggs and oil and mix well.  Fold in zucchini.  Pour batter into a greased 9 inch round baking pan.  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted into centre comes out clean.  Cool cake before frosting.

 

Here’s a picture of the zucchini cake that I made yesterday.

Unfortunately, my zucchini cake fell apart as I was prying it out of the pan.  Oh well, what can you do!  I just sprinkled some icing sugar and it was good to go!

 

Zucchini Pasta and Spicy Tomato Sauce

I discovered Zucchini Pasta from www.frontburnerblog.com  Zucchini Pasta is taking a zucchini and using a vegetable peeler to make long ribbons of “pasta”.

Then you saute the zucchini in a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

Now here’s the recipe for the Spicy Tomato Sauce:

1 tbsp of olive oil

2 garlic gloves minced

1/2 cup of chopped red onion

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1 can of tomatoes

1 tsp of salt and pepper

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

two or three dashes of hot sauce

1/2 jalapeno pepper chopped

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

Saute garlic, red onion, and onion in a pan for two to three minutes.  Add remaining ingrediants and simmer for five to ten minutes.

And here’s the finished product!

This was the first time I made this and it was absolutely delicious! 

A New Addition to the Family

 

Since picking up running this year, I’ve also discovered barre workouts.  Barre workouts can be defined as a fat burning format of interval training using isometric exercises and physical therapy stretches to help create a longer and leaner body.  Unfortunately, where I live there are no barre studios or gyms that teach barre.  So, I use dvds!  Some of the dvds I use are Bar Method, P57, Pure Barre, and my newest find BalletBody.  I will touch more on my dvds later :)

Since barre workouts involve exercises similar to ballet, the exercises involve using a sturdy support to help with the exercises.  Before I was using a chair, but now I use a Fluidity Bar.

 

My Fluidity Bar is my most prized possession.  I love it.  In fact I have a name for my barre and it is called my “Maddy Barre”.  The reason why I call it Maddy is b/c if my husband and I ever did have a girl, we would’ve named her Madison.  Since the chances of us having a daughter is slim, I consider my Fluidity Bar my daughter.  Also because my barre does “mad” things to my body!  Thus “Maddy Barre”  LOL  I know you won’t get it, but my workout buddies at Fitness Freaks will enjoy my little joke!  You can learn more about the Fluidity Bar at www.fluiditybar.com

Let Me Tell You More About Me…

 

 

I have been happily married to my husband Wayne for ten years.  We’ll be celebrating our eleventh year of wedded bliss on October 9 of this year.  Exciting!!!  During our ten years of marriage, we have been blessed with three boys.  Their names are Daniel (ten years old), Joshua (five years old), and Andrew (four years old).  Our lives are very busy with work and kids activities, that when we do have a moment, we just like spending it at home enjoying each other’s company.  Cause that’s what family is all about! :)

This past year, I’ve been focusing more on becoming a better “me”.   I’ve always been involved in fitness.  I enjoy working out, but over the years, the things that I was doing was not doing a thing to my body.  After three pregnancies (each pregnancy, I gained fifty plus pounds), I really wanted to slim my body down.  For years, I focused on step aerobics and weight training.  This type of exercise slimmed me down, but not the way I wanted.  Then during the Christmas of 2008, my husband bought a treadmill, hoping to whip himself into shape.  My husband last two months, bless his heart!  So, instead of letting the treadmill collect dust, I started using it.

Here’s a couple of pictures of our treadmill:

 

In February of 2009, I started running on the treadmill.  It was hard at first, but over time it got easier.  Then a couple of months later I discovered Cardio Coach.  www.cardiocoach.com  Cardio Coach is audio guided interval workouts set to music and the tantalizing voice of Sean O’Malley.  Cardio Coach really helped in my cardio endurance and soon I was able to run non stop for thirty minutes.  Then in May, my wonderful cousin who happens to be an avid runner tells me that I should run the half marathon at Queen City Marathon in September.  www.runqcm.com  I signed up and started my three month half marathon training.  I was anxious at first, but I was determined to do this!  When the marathon came around, I ran it at a time of 2:16!!!  My goal was to finish it in two hours and a half.  I totally outdone myself!

You can see my pictures and my finish line video here:

http://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event_entry.py?event=Sports/STCA/2009/Queen%20City%20Marathon&match=2489

Since then, I’ve ran in another marathon, the Regina Police Half and I’ll be running the Queen City Marathon in September again as a pace rabbit. 

I would have to say that if you run and you haven’t ran a marathon before, you should give it a try.  It truly is a wonderful experience.  I bet, if you do run one, you’ll be itching for more!