New Favorite Site for Recipes

I'm always looking for new smoothie recipes. I stumbled onto this site that has an "app" built into the web (you can also download for your iPhone/iPad here: Visit the App Store

http://greensmoothiesblog.com/recipes/index.php?view_page=categories

You can categorize by recipe, ingredient, or type of recipe by the navigational tools at the bottom. Check out these great webshots:






If you find a great recipe source, please share in the comments below! I would certainly love it if I could find one site that had them all!

Celery Smoothie!

....whaaa???? It's good. And this coming from the girl who has hated raw celery since I was born. I would hide it in my mouth and spit it in the toilet, bury it in my mother's house plants, conceal it in my napkin to throw it away... ANYTHING to avoid swallowing it! I don't mind it cooked in stuff, but it's one of only maybe two or three vegetables I cannot stomach. So when my daughter decided today that she had changed her mind and no longer liked it raw either, well, I couldn't really say too much. I had only bought it because the kids said they had it at camp and she liked it. Jack has never liked it either.

So I looked up celery as a keyword at the Vitamix recipe site and tried this one:
1 celery stalk (about 8 inches)
1/2 frozen banana
1 orange, peeled and quartered
3 baby carrots
1/3 C dried cranberries
1 C ice
(a bit modified from the original with more carrots than called for and dried cranberries since I didn't have fresh, and frozen banana, not raw)

It's good! Really didn't expect that. Perfect amount in my frozen mug. And even the kids liked it. Cheers!

The Blendtec

I did a lot of research on blenders before investing in the Blendtec. The Vita-Mix looks pretty good too, but I liked the design of the Blendtec, especially because it would fit under my cabinets, and it seemed more powerful than any others and I believe that it is. You'll have to do your own research to choose for yourself, but this is what I like about it…

• one touch buttons and self timing categories for blending like: soups, ice cream, smoothie, etc. So whatever it is you want, there is no complicated techniques to blend.
• it's fast and very thorough, it creates a vortex, sucking everything down into the blades and blends everything finely including ice and does not need a tamper to push the food into the blades like some other blenders (even other expensive ones). You only need just enough liquid to get things moving if you're using mostly frozen foods. This means you can put the whole fruit in and benefit from so many more micronutrients that you would normally cut off to eat whole (fibrous centers, leafy tops, seeds, etc.
• so versatile, you can make your own nut butters, dressings, soups, smoothies, baby food, ice cream, you name it! For this reason, you could wind up using the blender all day… fruit/veggie smoothies for breakfast, soup for lunch, dressing/sauces at dinner, blended cocktails or ice cream for dessert! And we do use it a lot.

Here are a couple sites and a few websites where you can see various demos:

http://www.blendtec.com/roadshow
http://www.willitblend.com



(click on image to enlarge detail)


Look for online coupons at RetailMeNot.com (type in Blendtec to see what the best current coupon is) or go to Sam's Club or CostCo. I saw an awesome demo at Sam's before we bought ours, but it looks like the demo closest to us is coming up in KC at a CostCo. You can look here for a schedule nearest you:

http://www.blendtec.com/roadshow


I'm not going to lie, this is not an inexpensive purchase. It is an investment in an appliance that will change your lifestyle forever IF YOU USE IT. You have to be committed to real change. You can make smoothies with your home blender. You CAN. It's just that a typical blender will not blend whole fruits without a lot of cutting or ice without burning up over time. Results vary, smoothies may be chunky with fruit or ice. For some people, those textures make it harder to swallow and much harder to motivate yourself to choose to use green smoothies as a healthy option for some meals or to accompany meals. I don't want to make my blog out to be about meal-replacement shakes. I'm not an "all-exclusive" thinker. I don't necessarily believe you need to replace all of your meals with veggie/fruit smoothies. But if your breakfasts normally consist of high saturated fat, high refined carbs, and you don't have time to sit down to eat a banana, an apple, an orange and a handful of kale or spinach, then a green smoothie is a great alternative to your current habits.

Reviews:
• ConsumerReports.org... editors include the Blendtec Total Blender in regular testing and performance comparisons with other models, but they also give the Blendtec special consideration in this preview. Its ability to go beyond normal blender duties is assessed and compared with its main competitor, the Vita-Mix 5000 (now the Vita-Mix 5200).
• Amazon.com... more than 100 owners award the Blendtec Total Blender an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Owners say that this is a powerful, heavy-duty blender that can handle any vegetable or fruit, no matter how fibrous. Owners also report that the Blendtec is extremely noisy.
• Epinions.com... there are reviews of several different Blendtec models here. According to Blendtec, the HP3A model has a menu button that allows you to access a screen with more speed selections, while the Blendtec TB-621-20 model has nine buttons, one for each available speed. The blenders are otherwise the same. Owners say that the Blendtec Total Blender is powerful and easy to clean, but also say it's noisy.
• PerfectSmoothie.com... the editors evaluated several blenders, although their methods aren't detailed. In the High End Blenders category, they praise both the Vita-Mix and Blendtec blenders but choose Vita-Mix as a top pick.
• GreenSmoothieGirl.com.... editors compare the Blendtec and Vita-Mix blenders, noting the difference in features between the two. that the reviewer says she's had to send her Vita-Mix back to the manufacturer several times but not so with the Blendtec.

My review:
It's amazing! I've had mine for over a year and absolutely LOVE it still. There are a ton of recipe sites out there if you look. Sign up here for a weekly recipe to be emailed to you. Vitamix recipes work just as well, too. I have a few links in the nav bar to the left of this page. Have an open mind, you will find ones that you like. This is a fun and super easy, time-saving way to get way more fruits and vegetables in your diet when you choose to adopt a healthier plant-based lifestyle.

My Favorite Yogurt

Yogurt is a wonderfully healthy food. It's even better if you choose wisely the one you will eat. So let's say you are used to fried eggs, potatoes and bacon for breakfast or a big bowl of sugary cereal covered in whole milk... then those sugary yogurts you see in the store with all kinds of artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup is still probably better for you than what you've been eating. BUT if that's the yogurt you've been eating for breakfast, then I have a much healthier option for you, and here's why:

Yogurt promotes intestinal and vaginal health, improves lactose intolerance, builds stronger bones, enhances immunity, lowers blood pressure, and may even have anticancer and weight-loss effects. In a recent study in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers found that obese adults who ate three servings of fat-free yogurt a day as part of a reduced-calorie diet lost 22% more weight and 61% more body fat than those who just cut calories. A plus for Greek yogurt, in particular, is that it doesn’t give you the sugar overload of what you usually find in U.S. grocery stores. To save on fat and calories, reach for a low-fat version.

Specifically, I buy Fage 0%. It comes in a larger tub, or single serving size. I buy the larger tub for meals and the smaller serving sizes for popping in the freezer- then I cut those in half after letting them loosen a bit out of the freezer and toss one 1/2 into my smoothie and put the other half away for another day.

Greek yogurt does take a little getting used to. It's really thick and it's not sweetened with a ton of sugar like Dannon or Yoplait. But I'm telling you, it gives me a lot of energy and I don't have that sugar peak and valley that regular yogurt gives me. I'm sure that is due to the astronomical amount of protein per serving.

So here is what I do with it: I take strawberries and chop them up fine. You can also add blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, mango, or just drizzle with honey and sprinkle with a little almonds or walnuts. When you start out, you could use 1/2 packet of Splenda or Stevia or a drizzle of sugar free raspberry syrup or guava. Reduce this a little each time until you are only relying on the fruit juices and fruits for sweetness. Mix it all up and put just a sprinkle of crunch on top if you like. This could be smashed cereal like Fiber One or Kashi Crunch or sunflower seeds, walnuts, low fat granola, almonds, whatever.... but only a tablespoon or two.

Sonic has dropped their salads

My little ones will be pretty disappointed that our trips to Sonic are going to be even farther and fewer in between. Want to tell Sonic to bring them back like I just did?

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/business/contactUs.jsp

I realize that fast food restaurants are entitled to serve basically junk. But even the best of them that carry 98% complete trash, have one or two healthier options. Come on, which way are we moving, America? I actually thought most of these kinds of chains had been making some improvements.

So sad.

Door to Door Organics

How does a box of mostly local organically grown produce delivered to your door for $13 sound?? What if I said the box was actually worth $26?

I picked up this Groupon today http://gr.pn/qALwWW and this is probably the most excited I've been about a Groupon in a long while!

A little bit about Door to Door Organics from their website...

Door to Door Organics is a home, office and co-op delivery service of organic produce and select grocery items. We deliver year-round, bringing you the freshest organic produce directly to your door at competitive prices. We have close relationships with our farmer partners and we work around the clock to ensure that we bring you locally grown produce whenever it is available.

Door to Door Organics knows that supporting local organic farmers and local businesses is good for the planet. Keeping business as local as possible also keeps our economy strong. We support our customers by providing the freshest organic produce available. We offer the convenience of delivery and customization, and your satisfaction is always guaranteed. We care about what you eat because we eat it too! In judging the character of our food we support quality, organic, all natural, fresh, simple, delicious and safe. We advocate for food we love and back all our products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

A Word About Forming a Co-op:

A co-op is formed when four or more orders are going to one location, such as a home, school or office. Each person still has individual control over their box, such as what size they want and what substitutions they want to make. Each person simply picks up their box at the same location as their co-op buddies -- instead of having it delivered to their home.

Door to Door Organics currently offers two types of co-ops:

• Community Co-ops are designed for groups of four or more friends, neighbors or co-workers that want to save money by having their orders delivered to one location. Each box is discounted by $3.00.

• Fundraising Co-ops are also available for schools, non-profit organizations and religious institutions. A fundraising co-op functions the same as a Community co-op. However, instead of individual discounts, Door to Door tracks all monthly sales and donates 10% of each box sale to the school or organization. Donation checks are mailed to the school or organization on a monthly basis for as long as the co-op is active.

We want to make organic produce as accessible and affordable as possible, so please contact us for more information about sharing the benefits of organic food co-ops with friends, family and neighbors, or visit our co-op page for more details.


There's only 2 days to grab this 1/2 price deal... here's the Groupon if you want to get a $26 box for $13:

http://gr.pn/qALwWW

I thought about waiting to post about Door to Door until after the delivery has been made, but then you'd miss out on this great special price. So stay tuned, I'll let you know how it turns out....

*** UPDATE: if you miss this promotion, use this one, I just found it also!
To receive $10 off your first order use promo code: dtdtb11

The Back Story

So how did this all get started, right?

This will be redundant for some, I've told this story before. I haven't been "thin" since I was a teen. I've struggled with my weight since I graduated from high school and put on the freshman 20. I've always eaten generally pretty healthy, (which has probably helped keep me in denial for about as long) but it's when the balance is tipped that I get into trouble. I have a pretty good sweet tooth and I love good food. But I've never been a binger or an over-eater. I think I just ate too many calorie rich foods too often.


This is about changing the way you think to have a healthier lifestyle. I had to tell myself it is just as easy to grab an apple as it is to grab a high calorie granola bar... or quarter pounder, or peanut butter cup blizzard, or whatever the vice. 60 calories? or 400 calories? big difference. And think of your children learning this while they're young and saving them the heartache of figuring it out on their own. What a gift. Because of our life choices, these children, statistically, are expected to live a shorter life than their parents.

(Mother's Day 2010, see my close up at the bottom to compare)

Since I had my children though, we've generally had a pretty healthy diet. Fruits, veggies, whole grain everything. BUT I also generally always kept ice cream on hand too. : ) We had also started to enjoy having a french loaf in the house that we could dip in balsamic and olive oil almost nightly. And I never really kept track of calories or carbs, but I did watch my fats. I couldn't figure out where I was going so wrong, besides not getting any exercise, I knew that was a problem, but not much I could do to change it with my schedule. You always hear about people that say, "oh, I just quit drinking soda and lost 20 pounds" or "I quit eating out and lost 30 pounds" well, we didn't do either of those on a regular basis, so I didn't think I had anything I could really take one sweeping stab at.

Then one night at a mommies' night out dinner in May of 2010, a friend mentioned that she had just invested in a really good blender and was making smoothies every day for her kids and making her own dressings, peanut butter, soups, etc, etc. Then it hit me. That could be really good for us. Quick in the morning for breakfasts, but perhaps get another serving of veggies in the kids before they even start the day. Sign me up. I did a ton of research, even went to Sam's and saw a demo, and finally decided on the BlendTec blender. Now, I'm not saying you need a fancy blender to make a green smoothie. You can use a regular blender, no problem. You may have to blend it longer (thereby processing the greens more than ideal, BUT it'll work) It's just that the BlendTec will make the best, most smoothest smoothie you've ever had. And it has a ton of other uses. I looked at this as the last blender I'd ever buy in my life and I planned to use it at least daily.

(spinach, mango, greek yogurt, cinnamon, almond milk in a frosty mug with a big smoothie straw- the way to go!)

That blender changed my life.

It was mid June. After a week of making veggie/fruit blended smoothies, I had lost about 4-5 pounds. I was shocked. Not what I had expected at all. I wasn't trying to lose weight, I was just trying to do something good for all of us. So I stopped to think. What had changed? I wasn't having my usual big bowl of whole grain Kashi with Silk soy milk, piled with strawberries, blueberries and bananas. Sounds healthy, right? It IS! (for someone that doesn't sit on their bum all day) But I can't burn all those carbs off. And it was around 30 carbs just for the cereal alone. I also noticed that the more green smoothies I had in the morning, the more my body craved veggies in the afternoon. I was making salads for lunch and eating more veggies at dinner. I was inspired by those few pounds that had evaporated without trying and I wanted to run with it, so I started to apply this thinking to other areas.

(July 2010, my face was already beginning to change.)

Pasta. We eat a lot of pasta, whole grain, but still.... all those carbs. Now, don't get me wrong. My middle name is MODERATION, so I wasn't about to eliminate every carbohydrate from my diet, but I knew that this was my major threat. When I would make pasta, I would substitute my plate with spaghetti squash. I don't mind the kids eating it, but my steamer only does 1/2 a squash at a time. So my hubby's biggest complaint was not being full at the end of dinner, so I kept serving them the whole wheat pasta. I also started to use a smaller salad plate instead of my typical dinner plate (about 8" instead of maybe 12"). I'd heard of this trick before. Smaller portions on this plate makes your brain think it's eating a lot more than if the same amounts were on a larger plate that looks more empty. Within a couple of weeks, I'd lost another 5 pounds and I was back into a tight size 14. But I was happier because I could see the light! I was a bit frustrated because no one could really notice yet, but that didn't stop me. I cut breads and tortillas out and we quit buying French bread to dip in olive oil at dinner. No more ice cream either. That was tough. But I knew I needed to watch the sugar more. I was bound and determined to NOT live a completely exclusive lifestyle. I was not going to "never eat bread again" or ice cream, or cake. I want to enjoy my life, for goodness sake. I just wasn't going to eat it every single day.

I bought a scale that could read BMI and bone density/water, etc. and I was happy to have something more accurate. I was a bit obsessive about the scale, but only because it encouraged me to keep it up. And the crazy thing was that I wasn't really missing the cereal anymore or all the breads. It was the beginning of August.

We ate out for a week during our trip to Disney World in September for my 35th birthday. I even enjoyed the Wishes Dessert Buffet while watching the fireworks over the castle. The trick to that was to take a bite out of everything I wanted to try, but only finish what I really loved. They were all tiny little mini desserts. We did a ton of walking that week, so that helped. I still lost 2 pounds.



Going into the fall, I started to use more frozen fruits and less fresh as they began to get more expensive and out of season. Eating healthy, for me, is getting back to healthy portions. 1/2 my plate should be vegetables and the other have should be 1/4 whole grains, 1/4 protein/meat. Sometimes, I would just opt for a humongous salad in a serving bowl. I could load it up, but it still never hit 400 calories. I would make my own dressing from fruits and balsamic or nuts. I would sprinkle treats like sunflower seeds or pistachios, glazed almond or walnuts and cranberries. I added whatever goodies I wanted on top because I knew it was still healthier than anything else I could have been eating. And I was still being reasonable with those toppings, but not depriving myself. And still losing weight.

It was Halloween and I was down 25 pounds. I could actually wear something cute for Halloween and I wasn't embarrassed about how I looked. A few people were starting to notice.



I was energized to keep going and find still more ways to be healthy. Eating out and holidays are two major areas of concern when you're trying to eat healthy. However, I looked at it this way, Thanksgiving was one day, Halloween and Christmas and even New Years, all just one single day. So for Halloween, I picked a couple pieces of candy out that night and I left the rest alone. Yes, you will have to have self control at some point in your life. That is where the "choosing to be responsible" comes in that I mentioned before. BUT you CAN enjoy a mini Twix if you want a mini Twix. You are not going to be obese all your life from one.

(KU home game November 2010, really noticing now how easy stairs feel because I'm actually lighter and my energy level has been so improved)

I enjoyed every dish at Thanksgiving (even my Yukon gold smashed potatoes with gouda cheese, cream and parmesan. I make them once a year. My mother on the other hand, had been on a very restrictive diet and had lost a lot of weight pretty quickly and having only a handful of pounds left to reach her goal, opted to not try a bite of the potatoes but replaced those with mashed steamed cauliflower. Folks, I can't live like that. I'm a foodie! I love to try all dishes that are fabulous, especially the ones that take a lot of work to make. I was sad for her. I would rather take off 50 pounds in a year and a half eating fairly consistently than to be under a doctor's care and "special" diet to drop it rapidly and then live in fear the next year that it's going to come back when I resume some foods I used to eat. But like I said, this blog is about what is working for me. You have to do what is right for you. I didn't have a heaping serving of anything. I had a modest taste of all that was prepared, and loved the cauliflower, too. To my mother's credit, it's been 7 months since then and she still looks great, she's very fortunate to have personal trainers and time for working out, pilates and massage therapists that most of us are not blessed with.

I lost another 5 pounds over the holidays.

In January, I was browsing through the Parks and Rec catalog to see what sport classes to sign the kids up for when I ran across two things I REALLY wanted to try. I paid $42 for a "flex card" to go to whatever Yoga class I wanted to that was offered at Crestview Community Center. There were a handful I thought might work with my schedule if I could make it when the kids were in preschool. I also thought the Shadowboxing class sounded totally fantastic. It was only $17 for 7 weeks, on Wednesday nights at 7:15.

I never went to one Yoga class. NASCAR season started in February and it just seemed impossible to make it over there during the day. My husband, unexpectedly (for me) turned our second vehicle over to his cousin's body shop for repainting. He said it would only take 2-3 weeks, but any time he took the kids to their Saturday classes, I was stuck at home. so the Yoga took a hit. As a matter of fact, 5 months later, the truck is still MIA making personal trips anywhere a scheduling hassle. (but I digress…) Luckily, the kids had a religion class on Wednesdays, and we were able to drop them off and then I could go to boxing and be picked up after they got out. It was still tricky, and I missed a few for work reasons too, but I was still signed up through July and I know the last 15 pounds came off more easily because of that class. I LOVE it! It's on a good night with work, doesn't matter the weather, there aren't a ton of skinny people there to make you feel like crap about your own body image, I like Laura's music selection, I get my aggressions out, I started seeing tone almost right away, I mean everything about it was great. And it's the ONLY fitness time I could spare. But EVERY pound I took off, I could basically attribute to eating healthy. I couldn't pin it on 3-4 hours per month of low cardio and toning. It helped, just can't take all the credit- or even most of it.

In February, my husband saw an infomercial for TurboFire. It sounded pretty awesome. I thought it looked super fun and he got me really excited about it, so I found it cheaper on eBay and we ordered it. We took our measurements, before pics, the whole 9. We lasted two weeks before we fell off the wagon. He got really sick and skipped a day and then NASCAR season started about the same week, mid-month along with the all-nighters that come with that -pshh, that was the end of that. I loved it, but there is no way I can sustain 45 min-1 hr work outs 5-6 days a week. Sorry, I just do not have the lifestyle that fits that. I work 40-70 hours per week and I never know how many it's going to be and I'm raising two children while I'm trying to work those 40-70 hours FROM HOME. From home, people. It's a blessing and a curse, let me tell you. So, I'm sticking to the shadow-boxing for now with hopes of being a TurboFire hottie come fall when my oldest little one hits Kindergarten and the other one is in preschool 4 mornings per week and maybe just maybe I can start to work a more normal daytime schedule and free up my evenings. I have a feeling the TurboFire will be on my terms though, not 6 days per week, but I might try to get back into it. I'm happy with shadow-boxing for now. The best thing that came out of TurboFire is that I lost a quick 4 pounds. And because my calories stayed the same afterward, of course it stayed off. So I know it works, it's just a huge time commitment.

So it was mid-March and I was down 35 pounds and super happy about cleaning out my closet, looking forward to the garage sale in May. I had hung on to clothes I'd worn and loved before my pregnancies and I was anxious and nervous to try them on. To my shock, most of it didn't fit! They were TOO BIG!! yay!

In my former life, I would lose five pounds and reward myself with a Dairy Queen Blizzard. hahahaa. Then I got an app on my phone that helps me count calories and that app (LoseIt!) tells me that the little blizzard I thought was fairly harmless, was over 600 calories! holy crap! People really don't know what they're pigging out on. So instead, now I buy new clothes!! It's a little more expensive, but WAAAAY longer lasting.

(May anniversary, 2011 in cutest dress from Maurices, my favorite place to shop)

I buy one new thing that fits and one new thing that's a little too small - just to encourage myself to keep it up! It's worked really well! It is so exciting to lose 3-5 pounds more and be able to zip up that cute little capri pant, or wear a slim top and not have to suck anything in, it feels amazing! By March, I was putting on a snug size 10. I actually weighed less than when I got married!

(our 2002 wedding, dress was a size 12)

That hadn't happened since I was 22 and in Air Force Basic Training. All the new 14's were huge and the 12's were pretty loose. I was kissing the 16's goodbye forever and had my sights set on a size 8! I bought two shorts in 8's and vowed to be in them for summer.

April and May quickly went by, so busy with holidays, birthdays, anniversaries… busy time.

(Mother's Day 2011)

Around the first of May, my husband saw a very cute, slim navy ruched dress on the front of a catalog on the counter and jokingly said, "if you can get into that, I'll buy you the washer and dryer you want."

(Ruched dress from Venus.com on sale right now for $24, I should order that!)

My bonus had been smaller this year than typical and I wasn't going to buy the set I thought I was going to get. Ours were over 13 years old and it was showing. I said, "how long do I have?" He said 6 weeks, no Spanx. I scoffed, "no problem." I was confident. I was only 5 pounds from my original goal anyway and I hadn't donned the Spanx since before Christmas. So to be fair, I added another 5 pounds to that goal, hoping to drop another 10 pounds total.

Well, he screwed that all up by going out and looking a washer/dryers because he found a sale and got them about 3 weeks early. Burst my bubble, really. I did lose the original 5 pounds I wanted to, but didn't get to the farther reaching goal. Losing it this slowly is healthy for the long term, but I know if I really want to trim down another 5 maybe even 10, I'll have to add more physical activity to burn it up. So tough for me with the little time I have for it. And with the kids out of morning preschool in May and home full time, whew, any minute of free time evaporated. I looked up the BMI charts and I would have to be at 129 to be considered "ideal weight". I know pictures of myself at that weight. I look sickly (my opinion anyway). I looked like that at Basic Training graduation after a 6 week course of barely anything but a liquid diet and 8 hours per day of physical exhaustion and a solid 6 hours of sleep per night.

(USAF Basic Training graduation, June 1998. I'd lost about 30 pounds in 6 weeks.)

None of which is close to a reality I could recreate today (surely that's why it all came back so fast, and besides, that's just not a "normal" life"- that's "the Biggest Loser Ranch" -hahahaa).

So the goal isn't to be 129. But I'm thinking 135-138 could be a really nice long term goal. That would likely put me in a size 6. wow. the thought of putting on my Oleg Cassini original design slinky hand beaded gown from my high school prom just gives me goose bumps. "THE Holy Grail". hmmm…. 20 year reunion coming up in 2013… ah, but I digress….. I just keep thinking, "what's another 5? then I get there and I think well, maybe I could do another 5. I'm in no rush, by next year, I could potentially be another 10 down, who knows? I think it's been good for me not to have a deadline, or be up against a beach vacation coming up, or wedding, or whatever.

It's now July and I'm down 43 pounds. Those size 8 shorts I bought? piece of cake.

(more clothing rewards! -40 lbs)

I actually went back this week to see if they had more of those shorts in different colors, but they only had a size 6 left. I hesitated trying them on, just seemed unrealistic to me. But I was curious to see how much work was ahead of me. Shock and awe. They slid on and zipped up pretty easily. However, they're too snug for me to wear them without being self-conscious about them, especially because they're khaki, I think that makes it worse. No worries. I think another 5 pounds and I'll have it. If that doesn't happen before the end of summer, no biggie, they'll be the first pair I wear next summer! I've been trying to remember to take a few close-ups now and then of my face because I'm really starting to see how it's changed. Cheek bones and lines, but also really clear skin way more often! And the heavy eyelids I used to always contend with that probably made me look way more tired and aged have evaporated away too.



I also finally had to admit that I may have to get my wedding ring re-sized. It slips off easily and I'm losing it when my hands are wet. I have a feeling this will only be worse when the weather turns colder.

Some bad news came this month, my shadow-boxing class is ending and it's not going to be available next fall. So super bummed, can't even explain it! I actually talked to some of the girls in class about hosting boxing night at our house so we can keep it up. But my schedule with work has been all over the place and I'm so afraid to commit to this with the other girls counting on me if a deadline comes up for work and I can't host. I'm really rethinking this, but would love to have an inexpensive alternative. Just not sure what to think, anxious to see how I'm going to figure it all out.

One other note before I close.... the last thing I want anyone to believe is that I'm on some "shake diet". Not at all. And I don't necessarily believe you should process ALL of your veggies and fruit into juice or smoothies and that should be every meal you ingest every day for the rest of your life. I'm not sure that would be sustainable, though I find some truth to a 10 or even 30 day "detox" period where you do only consume that. It sounds like you could get bored with that and then turn back to unhealthy choices. It's all about moderation! I have a smoothie in the morning or sometimes at lunch or even for a sweet treat at night when I'm craving a big ol' bowl of ice cream! Certainly not every meal, and sometimes not even every day. I also listen to my body. As a matter of fact, I was seriously craving an egg this morning. Sometimes I think that's my body's way of saying "your low in some nutrient this food provides". I had my mango, greek yogurt, spinach smoothie this morning with every intention of cooking up an over-easy egg, but when I finished the smoothie, I was too full. So, maybe for lunch, if I'm still "feeling it". No, that doesn't mean if you're hankering for a twinkie, it's your body's way of saying you're depleted in some "high fructose corn syrup creamy filling" nutrient, that's totally different and something you just overcome in time. You know, I haven't had a fast-food hamburger in over a year? I think I've only had a bite of a regular hamburger cooked at home once. I did make a Boca Burger over the 4th, but I haven't missed it one bit. Feed your body good stuff and it likes you back! Those cravings start to go away and they'll be replaced with cravings for better, healthier food.

And then look! You're old clothes can spring forth a second life!

(a dress in my closet from about 10 years ago!)

Of course, buying new is a little more fun....



I've found what works long term. I'm going to stay focused on a healthier lifestyle through my food choices. I sure hope you'll find something here that helps you, inspires you, or educates you - or all three!

Thanks for letting me share.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I can try to address them in a new post, your question could help many others, so don't hesitate to ask! I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor, but I'm continually researching, so if I don't have the answer, I'll do my best to point you in the right direction!
peace and health to you - cheers!

Yummy Treat

This is one of our favorite little summer treats right now.

Take 1/2 a banana and slide a popsickle stick into it and then thinly coat it with about 1 Tbs (maybe even a little less) of dark chocolate almond butter. Sprinkle sunflower seeds all over. Wrap lightly with plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for a few hours.




Happy campers!

The Next Generation

I always wince when my son announces that he wants a "big lunch". That usually means I have an hour of work ahead of me, trying to fill him up. But today, after camp, he came home saying, "mom, today I want carrots, broccoli and cauliflower with ranch." I said, "raw?" to which he replied, "what's that?" I said, "not cooked." He said, "yes, with ranch." This from the boy who typically declines on the raw broccoli, but snarfs it if cooked. I love that my hard work is paying off in the dividends of their healthful choices. Proud mama. I realized later that I didn't have cauliflower on hand, I'd forgotten it was tinged a little brown at the store, so I'd passed on it and besides, we still had a bunch of it that was steamed and in the fridge. So I made cute little happy faces out piles of the broccoli for eyes, carrots for spiky hair, a few grape tomatoes for noses and low fat ranch for big white smiles. I wanted to take a picture to post, but the kids came and snatched the plates too fast. If you're curious what else they had to round out the meal.... I wrapped baby dills in a slice of ham and gave each of them a few, called it pickle burritos which they loved, and then they split a 1/4 of a watermelon. There's nothing like having your child ask you to serve healthy foods. It's awesome.

Favorite Sandwich Builders...

I've found this bread to be the healthiest of all the ones we've tried. My kids have always eaten wheat bread, and no, I have never cut off the crusts. Even when they were babies, I used a pizza cutter and just cut them very small. They love it, and have never complained, but then again, they have nothing to compare it to since it's all they've ever known. I believe you have to start them out in the way that you want them to grow. So if you want them to eat healthier wheat bread, don't start them on white. If you want them to eat all of the sandwich and crusts, don't cut them off. I think it's simply wasteful and they stay fuller longer if they eat the entire sandwich. That's just my take.

Good Option: We buy Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat (45 Calories and Delightful). You have to read the labels to see that bread REALLY does have whole wheat, and 100% at that. Check the labels! I prepare this bread for my family, but for me, if I'm going to make a sandwich, I typically use leaf lettuce for a wrap, or I'll use these tortillas occasionally...

Better Option: Ole Extreme Wellness tortillas. Walmart actually has the spinach type now, too. Look at that label! Love those low carbs, high protein and fiber. Awesome. And they taste really good, too. Best wheat tortilla on the market in my opinion. Try them!




Best Option: But the healthiest option is just to load up that sandwich in a big piece of leaf lettuce (or Romaine, but I prefer leaf, and green- the red kind I bought once seemed a lot thinner and more delicate) I'm not going to tell you it's pretty and clean. But you just saved another 80 calories and a load of carbs! Good job!
This is as close to what mine look like as I could find. I'll post an image of my own soon!

For the Love of Cashews!

Did you know that two handfuls of [raw] cashews a day gives one the therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of Prozac? (Andrew W. Saul Ph.D, Therapeutic Nutrition Specialist) I found this wickedly coincidental since I grab a handful or two anytime I'm in a pinch for time and can't make breakfast or lunch until later. No wonder I'm so happy even if I haven't had my regular meal yet! try it!