I Made It To Thanksgiving… Pretty Much

Hello all! My goal for the past month or so has been to just make it to Thanksgiving, and I am happy to say that…. as of tonight I did! I had my last test tonight and edited a whole 100 page dissertation over the weekend (not mine, I was paid to edit for an English as a second language PhD student).

Other accomplishments included seeing Skyfall Saturday night, going to bed at 9:30 the last 2 nights, and strength work on Sunday (150# back squat 5reps x 3 :), and today’s lunch.

I love eating out of season fruit and pretending it is summer. Okay, it would have been super impressive if I had finished that but I only ate like 5 of the sushi rolls after the salad and fruit and was done. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cream cheese with the smoked salmon, sounded great… not really though. I went to Wohlner’s for the salad bar BUT they were out of proteins.. I mean not even boiled eggs. I was sure the salad wouldn’t fill me up so I picked up the sushi but I think I would have been fine without it I hate wasting food so much but sushi doesn’t really carry well to class.

I also completed “Karen” in 7:12 on Sunday. If you are not a crossfitter you may not be familiar with Karen… 150 Wall Balls for time. Or as I like to call it….UGGHH. I despise wall balls… I don’t really know why, but I ALWAYS complain about them for at least 15 minutes before I actually have to do them. Anyhow, I finished well before the 10 min cutoff and well before I imagined I would! Woo HOOOO for another record board time 🙂

Today’s workout was a fun one with some scaling options

I used the prescribed weight of 83# (pretty heavy for my OH squat) but I had to do bar jumps instead of muscle-ups because…. those scare the hell out of me and if I could ever just get my darn pull-ups MAYBE I could move on to other things….

Saturday’s workout was a good one too…

I scaled my weight to 85/105/115 and finished in 10:40… the 115# hang cleans and push jerks were one rep at a time 🙂

And tomorrow morning I am off to NYC to visit my dad! My sister and brother-in-law are already there so it should be QUITE a week. Lots of adult beverages and karaoke I expect 🙂 I know you may have heard about the extremely small yet very expensive apartments in Manhattan and I want to inform you that it is not a rumor…. With all 5 of us in Dad’s apartment it will be a bit like… camping except trendier and next to Central Park.

Speaking of trendiness…

I know right… pleather! But let’s face it… I am too poor at this point in my life to afford any leather other than this Target jacket, BUT I love it. And come on… I kind of look like a badass especially with my zebra print. P.S. I do not, repeat DO NOT actually have a double chin in real life, it was the angle or something… promise.

A little sad about leaving the Nugget for Thanksgiving 😦 I always miss her when we leave!

And also, I am hitting up the Reebok 5th Avenue CF gym to check it out and do a WOD. Hopefully I can get my butt up and go at 7am on Wednesday… alright, I said it so now I have to do it! I will definitely update you all on how it goes! 

Are you traveling for Thanksgiving? Where? Or are you just chilling at home? 

Here is a snapshot of some of the stuff I will be doing this week.. Okay, this is my sister’s itinerary and she has a fine arts degree and does creative artsy things for a living so substitute drinking or crossfit into any of the museums slots 😉 Have a happy Turkey Day y’all!

Currently Cooking

Tonight I was chatting with some friends about our husband’s eating/cooking habits….  the conversation was very interesting. One said her husband made her hot chocolate and toasted the marshmallows with a torch (that is dreamy). One said her husband doesn’t cook and also doesn’t like eating the same things ever so she is constantly having to find new things to make. What about me, you may ask? Well, J can grill anything but doesn’t usually get into cooking in the kitchen, which is fine because I enjoy it. The only complaint I usually have for J is that he is a meat and potatoes guy and I like EVERYTHING. The more ingredients in a dish, the better! I usually cook things and J looks on and says “what is that?” And he means it. He literally is not familiar with many of the foods I grew up eating… it is a regional thing. Let’s face it, there is corn and cattle farming around these parts! And no, that wasn’t a generalization about all Midwesterners, it was just an observation after being here a little over a year.

Here is an example situation that occurred recently at my house…

I was out and about one evening and I called J and asked him to start cooking the spaghetti squash for dinner (because honestly those things take FOREVER to cook).

I told him to cut it in half, leave the stuff in the middle of it and put the halves face down in a baking dish in the oven. I told him where to locate the spaghetti squash and how to cut it…. When I got home, all of the steps were complete.

But he had cut zucchini squash in half length-wise and put them face down in the oven. The simple distinction between the squashes was the confusion you see. We (I) had a pretty good laugh out of it, he is a good sport though!

I was getting to my point that I usually end up cooking 2 different meals. J likes his baked chicken breast with green beans and I make something a little more complex for myself. Tonight was one of those nights where I made a really random 1 dish meal that I was pretty pleased with and J didn’t touch.

Yep! Still steaming. On Monday nights as part of my Childhood Obesity Prevention class we counsel Latino families. Occasionally the facility has a chef do a cooking demonstration of a modified “healthier” recipe. I always leave those demonstrations in a random cooking mood so tonight you get what I put together from my pantry.

In a sautee pan I cooked up some sliced zucchini in olive oil and then added a can of no salt added pinto beans  and diced tomatoes. Once those were really hot and simmering I threw in 2 tilapia filets (cubed). It was a really weird combination but surprisingly delicious. I seasoned with onion powder, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper so it was semi-Mexican tasting and I ate it on a few chips.

I have also been sustaining life in the form of turkey burger salads. I made turkey burgers in this previous post.

I made these on Monday of last week and again today. I make little sliders and one pound of ground turkey makes about 12-15. They are really convenient for lunches on-the-go. I just put the salad together: spring greens, avocado, tomato, green pepper, anything you want pretty much, and then the chilled turkey burgers. When I get to school I can just microwave the burgers! I don’t even put dressing on it because the burgers have so much flavor that drips down!

I have also been finishing off my evenings with either:

these are my new obsession… if you haven’t noticed, these obsessions come and go 😉 I am loving these right now!

Or a few forkfuls of greek frozen yogurt. I don’t know why but I have been wanting something sweet after dinner these past few days and I just have something small and move on. I am a huge proponent of this concept. Sometimes I make a conscious effort to avoid sweets for a day or week but usually I just have something small and then don’t think about it anymore. Some people seem to get a bit caught up in what is allowed and what isn’t but I am not on any sort of a plan so I just eat healthy and balanced. 🙂

Today’s WOD:

In teams of 2, complete 12 rounds:
15 air squats
20 sit-ups
25 Double unders (50 singles)

You rest while your partner completes a round and so on… My partner and I finished in 13:24!

Hi from the nugget… is it surprising that there is football on the TV yet again? The prospect of football season seems to always be better than the reality eh?!

Other than that… just counting down the days until Thanksgiving. Spending the holiday in NYC visiting my Dad!!!

Does your significant other like to cook? Picky eater? Think they can cook but really can’t? 🙂

I May Have Overdone It On This Salad

I have been asked in the past to write a post on salad topping and the like so here I go!

I have recently been hitting salad bars… Hy-Vee and Wolhner’s (If you aren’t from Omaha or the Midwest you probably don’t have these!) have awesome salad bars that I have been frequenting in my lack of cooking during this internship.

Last night after open gym I stopped by Hy-vee (a grocery store similar to any Mega-chain grocer) to grab J and I some salads for dinner. I have been MAJORLY slacking on my cooking for lack of time and lack of planning, to be honest.

Toppings included: Mixed greens, cucumbers, red onion, Parmesan cheese, green pepper, tomatoes, banana peppers, boiled egg, croutons, chicken, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, and roast beef. I think I got all of them. Some of my other favorites salad toppings are mandarin oranges, candied nuts, ANY and EVERY vegetable (the more the merrier 🙂 ) and feta cheese. YUM! I am hungry right now I think!

It was delicious but I definitely overestimated the size of my appetite. I got near the end of this big boy but not all the way.

I spent about $15 on 2 salads and while that is not too bad, I could have made the salads for about $5 at home 😦 Why is it that I do not enjoy salads made at home? I eat them occasionally but I don’t enjoy them really…. it is very bothersome. Someone once told me it was probably because the salads I eat out are less healthy but I don’t think that is true, I generally eat the same toppings at home or at a restaurant/salad bar.

I will say that if you have no groceries at home (oops) or are on the go these salad bars are a great option to get you by!

What are your favorite toppings? Do you prefer salads made at home or out? I am running the Jack-O’Lantern Jog tonight in the dark with a friend… update tomorrow!

Nutrition Fact or Fiction: Caffeine, friend or foe?

I got the idea to start periodically (hopefully once a week) addressing a Nutrition “myth” or widely believed notion. I will research actual peer-reviewed, scholarly journals for primary research and will report back. Sound good? This will help me to stay up on some of the hot issues out there which is a huge part of the dietetics field! I will also ask that you guys leave me comments on my Facebook Page or in the comments below to suggest topics. If you have heard something recently that you want to know more about or if there is a fad diet going around I would love to research it for you. I will also decipher between what it my opinion on something and what is research.

Today’s topic is caffeine: is there a risk? I got this idea when my sister asked me about caffeine and whether it dehydrates you. I told her that I could not tell her for sure at that moment but I would do some research and let her know. Here are my findings.

(Source)

For risk of boring you with research terms like double-blind placebo, I will just tell you now that everything I am reporting is from a scholarly study with actual human participants. It is pointed out in the research that caffeine has some benefits such as “improvements in physical endurance, cognitive function, particularly alertness and vigilance, mood and perception of fatigue.” This would be because caffeine is a stimulant and would thus give you energy by stimulating cells.

The majorly accepted concerns of caffeine intake include increased risk of dehydration, anxiety, headache and sleep disturbances. This study showed that caffeine consumption up to 400mg per day did not increase dehydration risk. This even included subjects who were regularly exercising. The study also concluded that the range of caffeine that should be consumed in order to maximize the above mentioned benefits and minimize the risks was 38 to 400mg per day (i.e. 1-8 c tea or 1-4 c coffee).
**1 cup of coffee = ~ 100mg caffeine
**1 cup of tea = ~ 50mg caffeine

A larger amount of caffeine MAY effect hydration status and electrolyte balance so try to keep it near this range every day. Also, a review of research does suggest that regular consumption of caffeine can build tolerance to the stimulant. Also, don’t use coffee as a crutch. If you cannot go a day without coffee then there may be a bigger issue such as sleep deprivation that needs to be addressed.
Moderation is key in everything. Water should always be your source for hydration but you don’t have to give up your morning coffee either. If you are consuming soda (pop, coke) remember that you are increasing caffeine consumption. Try cutting out the soda… it contains tons of other things you wouldn’t even care to know about and just have your morning coffee!

Source: The impact of caffeine on mood, cognitive function, performance and hydration: a review of benefits and risks. Ruxton CHS, Nutrition Bulletin. March 2008.

(Source)

Even if you can’t have the doughnut without a guilty conscience you can have your morning coffee!

Let me know if you enjoyed this post or if it was too wordy for your liking! Also, if you have any topics you want to discuss let me know!

Pumpkin Smoothie + A Question on Staying Motivated

To start I would like to address a question that came from my sister today as she searched for motivation to get her daily exercise in…I would also like to thank her for giving me a suggestion that she thought would be helpful to readers. I sometimes skip a day of blogging to spare you insipid details about my day-to-day life and was thrilled to have a topic 🙂 I have one for tomorrow too!!

Don’t worry, the pumpkin smoothie recipe is coming too!

My sister and avid blog follower 🙂 text me today asking me to post about “how do you motivate yourself after feeling sh***y for a week and need to start up your routine again”?

I think this is such an important topic especially with flu season around the corner.

(Source)

I think it is so hard for some of us fitness freaks out there to focus on a topic like this because my problem is usually allowing myself to rest long enough when I am sick. It is important to understand that people are all in different levels of their training and motivation levels are completely different at this stage. Honestly I think good habits are just as difficult to break as they are to develop. This is so important  if you are struggling to stay motivated while sick if only for the fact that you are still in the process of creating that habit. The hardest part of the daily exercise routine is the beginning. Once it becomes habit you will enjoy the feeling so much that when you are sick you will be pissed that you can’t workout! (I promise, it happens).

She asked me if she should wait for it to pass. She has been having some sinus headaches and congestion and the like. My answer to her was “I wouldn’t wait for it to pass because that will make it even tougher to get back into the routine. Also, you need to get back into it to remind your body of the great feeling you get from exercising.” Exercising can also help you clear some of your congestion by opening the nasal passages. Scaling your exercise routine is also an option. If you had it on your calendar to run a long run maybe do a shorter run or do a quick circuit workout to get your blood pumping. It is so easy to woller (apparently only a word in the urban dictionary) in our misery when we are sick and just getting up and getting moving can help.

(Source)

I think this is so very important to remember! Anytime you feel like you need inspiration to get moving just think about how much better you feel after you complete a workout. This is true for ANY and EVERY level of training. Whether you are working to complete your first 5K or working toward doing your first pull-up (mine 😉 ) EVERY workout helps, every workout counts!

It is also important to listen to your body. There is definitely a time when you are sick that you should rest. You have to be able to recognize when you are really needing a rest day or when you are “convincing”(don’t know why it is in quotes, it just felt right) yourself you need a rest day. Whether you are a person who overexerts yourself and is hard pressed to take a rest day or are someone still searching for motivation to get into your workout groove you have to recognize signs from your body.

(Source)

Decide to do it and … do it. Another part of this is, like I have stated before, finding something you ENJOY! If you dread doing it, you will always find a way out. When you enjoy it, you will find excuses to make time for it. And when you get that routine and that feeling it is awesome!

Listen to your body, reduce duration and intensity of the workout, and try not to break the habit forming cycle.

PUMPKIN SMOOTHIE RECIPE

I played around with some other names for the smoothie (pumpkin pie in my mouth, gluten-free pumpkin pie, budget my pumpkin spice latte)  but honestly I am going to call it what it was… delicious. Plus, none of those are all too catchy 🙂

SO simple. When I bought my canned pumpkin last week they were out of regular size cans so I got the big boy can. I used some of it for my muffins and had a ton left over in a Tupperware. And so came the inspiration for the pumpkin smoothie. In my “Childhood Obesity Prevention” class tonight we talked about school lunches using locally grown produce as part of school lunch programs and pumpkins came up and our speaker mentioned a pumpkin smoothie. DING DING. Leftover Pumpkin + Smoothie mentioned = deliciousness. I think I will try it with fresh pumpkin next time!

RECIPE– just throw it all in a blend it 🙂

Spices: I just estimated everything so just go with your gut (or your 6 pack abs)
pumpkin pie spice  (which I do not have) so I used a mixture of: cloves, ginger, nutmeg, CINNAMON (heavy on the cloves, heavier still on the cinnamon). If you taste it after you blend it and it needs more just throw some more in!

1/2 cup puree pumpkin (pimpkin sometimes)
1 banana
1/3-1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2-3/4 cup almond-coconut milk
5-6 ice cubes depending on the texture you prefer. Ice will make it thicker!

You can also add molasses, honey, flax/chia seeds, oats or anything else you desire!

ta-da it exists! I love it! A hybrid between almond milk and coconut milk!

And quickly, a nutrition benefit of pumpkin. You know I can’t resist!

Beta-carotene– beta-carotene is an antioxidant that is converted to Vitamin A in the body. It is also converted to retinol for vision health (like carrots, see the similarity in color? orange foods= beta-carotene!). 1 cup of mashed pumpkin is 245% of your daily needs for Vitamin A and 50 calories. YAY!

I hope I gave you some good motivation and a good fall smoothie idea! If you have an idea for a post you are interested in let me know! And remember Nutrition topics are right up my alley 🙂 I will also update you on yesterday’s workout tomorrow!

Traveling Asian Chicken Salad Slaw + A Healthy Assessment

Okay so it is a little blurry but the above is my annual health assessment. I got a 97! That means for a 20yr old (I am 23 but I guess they still use 20yrs as an age marker for my age) I am 97% healthy. WOOHOO!

This means that all the crap about eating healthy and exercising that I talk about it actually working and now you have no reason to hesitate in trusting me 😉 or something like that!

A few good numbers to note.Cholesterol Total: 149, HDL: 62, LDL: 79, Ratio: 2.4… that is great! Triglycerides: 39, Blood Pressure 107/53.
I was discussing with J the reasons why my cholesterol levels are so great… notice all the almonds, fish, flax seed, whole grain oats I consume! Omega-3 fatty acids are key in maintaining healthy levels, they actually raise your HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and lower your LDL (low-density lipoprotein). In case you are wondering… that is what you want. A little exercise never hurt anything either. Any questions?

 

Also, my 2011 results are posted directly to the right and I have gotten healthier according to my blood work 🙂 another WOOHOO!
And if you are looking at the weight.. yes I weigh 170lb. Nobody ever believes me and I want to say it aloud, because I do and I feel great about it! This is not to say that I am not trying to tone up and get leaner, I am just not too terribly concerned with my weight at this point in my life. About last years weight.. hmm not sure what happened there

Moving on…

My (traveling) Asian Chicken Salad Slaw. I call it traveling because..

I ate it in the car.

I have a wacky schedule this semester and seem to be driving or working out during times when I would usually and ideally eat. I seem to always do the 12pm crossfit class and then rush around to get to class on time while getting home around 8:30pm.

So, I was thinking of a recipe I could make that would travel well in a lunch/icebox and thought of this. I just threw a tupperware (okay, it was the container from my eggdrop soup) of this chicken salad into the cooler with ice and ate it while I drove home around 7:30. It was still exceptionally cold and tasted delicious!

Recipe: (I know 2 new meals in 1 week, I am getting crazy!)

3-4 chicken breast (I baked mine, you can boil or any other cooking method)
1 bag broccoli slaw
4 chopped stalks celery
approx. 1 cup sliced almonds

Dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil/canola oil (I used the one infused with omega-3 DHA)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
2-4 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)

Just shred the chicken and then mix everything in a bowl. Refrigerate and eat. YUM! This is a healthy, low-cal recipe that is great on the go! You can modify the dressing to have less oil or sugar, I already cut the recipe I found.

Here is the info on the Omega-3 canola oil. That is a pretty healthy oil! Look for it next time you go shopping.

• Serving Size 1 Tbsp (14g)
  Amount per Serving
  Calories 120
  Calories from Fat 120
  Total Fat 14g
  Saturated Fat 1g
  Trans Fat 0g
  Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
  Monounsaturated Fat 9g
  Cholesterol 0mg
  Sodium 0mg

Other eats today included: oatmeal, a protein smoothie (both before noon workout), ~3 oz. sliced turkey, mini babybel cheese, a banana with almond butter, an apple, and black cherry chobani for dessert. Yes, that is a lot of snacks but that included my lunch!

Today’s WOD:

That is a good one! key word: UNBROKEN: The idea is that you perform these lifts without ever dropping/taking your hands off the bar. This was not for time it was for max weight you achieve without dropping/failing. 20 burpee penalty for taking your hands off. I started at 55# and moved up gradually  to 85# by my last round. After that many reps the hang power cleans and split jerks got pretty heavy. I did some sort of a hang split clean on my last round but hey, it worked! No burpees for me 🙂

Are you doing a good job at keeping your cholesterol levels healthy?

Run From The Bear + A Gluten- Free Gift

This is all that remained of my Rainbow Roll before I even thought to take a picture. I got home around 8pm after a loooong day, devoured my sushi and am now sitting on the couch in the less than cool living room. Yes, I think maybe our A/C is performing less than stellar as the thermostat has been set at 62 degrees all day and it is a balmy 74 degrees in here. Ick, I have to have it really cold when I sleep so we shall see how the night goes.
Before I move on I also want to mention that a reader sent me a gift today!

Barney Butter! I have never heard of it but am open to all Nutbutters and gifts that you guys want to send me 🙂

These come in little 90 calorie packs which I love since I am gone for sometimes up to 12 hours per day (today for instance). Gluten and Peanut Free. She says she has some tips for me so I will have to share with you what she bestows upon me! I also want to mention that the little gift was a thank you from a reader. She was thanking me for a small list of things but I will quote the ones I am most excited about: (I hope she doesn’t mine 😉 )

“I exercise more and with more joy and focus”
“I dropped nine pounds without paying a lick of attention to anything – not even the tape measure”
 And last but not least “I have an interested awareness of cross fit”

I thought this was such a fantastic encouragement to me as these are the things I am trying to help people with!

I had a health screening this morning which requires fasting for blood work so I enjoyed this to-go breakfast after:

Pumpkin Overnight Oats. In the mix: 1/3 cup coconut milk, 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup pumpkin (I totally typed pimpkin and I kinda like that word), and cranberries overnight in the fridge. To top this morning: flax seed, cinnamon, strawberries, blueberries. YUM!

I went to Crossfit over lunch… today’s WOD:

Run From The Bear:

For Time:

Run 800m

Then immediately perform

3 Rounds
5 Bear Complexes (135/95)
15 Toes 2 Bar

Then immediately

Run 800m

I finished in 15:30 using 65# barbell

ONE bear complex= deadlift, power clean, front squat, push press, back squat, push press. I did a semi squat clean thruster through most of these to make it more of you movement.

For lunch I stopped at Ingredient. The only couple of times I have been to Ingredient I have always gotten the Sweet Leaf salad and it has been delicious. Today I ordered the Salmon Flats Salad : grilled cajun salmon, crisp greens, avocado, roasted red peppers, black beans, roma tomato, fresh cilantro, and crisp tortillas with our roasted garlic chipotle dressing.

The salmon was cooked perfectly. That is about the only good thing I can say about this salad. I always order dressing on the side and this time I forgot and I couldn’t even eat the sopping mess of greens I got.

There had to be at least 1/3c of dressing on this salad. I literally ate the salmon and left everything else. So disappointing 😦 **always order dressing on the side so you can control the amount!

I think I am going to curl up with a book… as the temperature continues to rise in my house. Doesn’t make sense right? It is night and cooler out. UGGH!

Have I helped you get motivated to do anything to improve your diet or exercise habits since you starting reading? Or maybe just given you a new insight to something you already knew? I hope so! If you want, post something in the comments so I know what topics y’all enjoy.

The Smart Seven: My top 7 healthy snacks

I decided to give you guys an idea of the snacks I usually have throughout the day since I generally post meals and that is not all that I usually consume. It is best to have some protein with your carbohydrates to slow the digestion process and keep you full longer. *Don’t forget this when planning snacks to bring along with you!

#1 – 1 Tbsp Maple Almond Butter on a Banana (my personal favorite “food jag” currently) 2 Tbsp Almond Butter has 200kcal, 6g Protein, 17g Fat)

#2 – Grapes & Cheese (any fruit will work!) I usually choose Mozzarella string cheese (80kcal, 8g Pro, 6g Fat) or Mini Babybel (70kcal, 6g Pro, Fat 6g)

#3- Almonds (also with some fruit for the carbs!). Try for Whole Natural (Raw) or Lightly Salted (low sodium). About a palm full is a good serving (1oz).

  

#4- Fruit/Protein Smoothie. My favorite blend (or any combo of the following): banana, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, lowfat vanilla yogurt (or greek for more protein), coconut/almond milk/skim milk, flax seed, spinach, one scoop whey protein (optional). Any fruits generally work!

#5- Raw Veggies and Hummus. I don’t pack this one to-go as often as I should! Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, grape tomatoes…all good choices! 2 Tbsp hummus has 80kcal and 2g Protein

# 6- Greek Yogurt, I pack these all the time in a cooler when I go to school! They have from 14-16g Protein!! Black Cherry is my current favorite 🙂

#7- Apple Slices with Cinnamon and 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter (2Tb PB has 190kcal, 8g Pro, 16g Fat, 2g Saturated Fat)

These are my top 7 go-to Smart Snacks. They are easy to pack or throw in your purse as evidenced by my Post a few weeks ago!

Emma’s favorite healthy snack is Pirate’s Booty Smart Puffs… but she isn’t allowed to have them 😦

I hope this post gave you some good/fresh snack ideas! What is your favortie go-to healthy snack? I always love adding new foods to my list!

P.S. Don’t forget a spoon if you throw the PB jar in your purse 😉

Gluten Filled and Gluten Free + a BONUS life lesson

As I have previously mentioned, I have been following a primarily low gluten/low glycemic index diet. I do not do this for any other reason besides the fact that Jordan has a sensitivity (not a full-blown crap your pants sensitivity, just a mild stomach discomfort) and also because of recovery time with high intensity exercise (which I have greatly increased in the last few months). In case you didn’t catch all of that:

Sprinting backward with a sled + Husband with Gluten intolerance = decrease in gluten rich/ high glycemic index foods.

*Don’t know what glycemic index (GI) is? GI is the measure of how rapidly and how high a given carbohydrate raises a person’s blood sugar in a noted amount of time. High GI foods include any carbohydrate that is easily digested and rapidly releases the consumed glucose into the blood stream (i.e. bread, rice, sugar, or any food containing all of these… pastries, white bread). Foods with low GI include carbohydrates which have a high amount of fiber or protein in them (or eaten with them). Fiber and protein increase digestion time causing the blood sugar to rise slowly and more steadily instead of a burst of glucose/sugar into the blood stream all at once.  Aim for COMPLEX carbs.
*Disclaimer: the source for this information = the many hours of Nutrition courses I have taken and the knowledge I have gained and thus, applied to my life experiences.

With that being said, I have actually decreased my want for breads and pastas and other things. BUT sometimes I cave. Yesterday I was craving carbs! And I don’t mean bananas, sweet potatoes, and apples. I was craving CARBS! Like the ones where a little bit goes a long (bloating) way.

Like this kind! No worries, I used whole wheat pasta 🙂 I haven’t had a meal like this in …. a long time. I made the meat sauce with ground Turkey also for a lower fat option to ground beef. Please read the below side note.

** Side note: as we sit down to eat Jordan casually asks “So what did you put in this that I hate”. Okay, I do have a record of trying to hide nutritious deliciousness  in his meals and not telling him (i.e. flax seed, spinach) but he usually notices somehow (maybe he has a radar for extremely healthy ingredients). So I answered “nothing”. As we ate our dinner and he was about 3/4 through I mentioned that I used ground Turkey in the preparation of this sauce…. Oh the look of disgust. Can’t taste a difference, not sure what the problem was?!?

Here let me also mention that I purchased GF Penne, I cooked GF Penne, I threw out GF Penne. I am sorry, to all you Celiacer’s (no, that is not a real word) I disliked the texture and chalky taste. So I said screw it, and we ate the whole wheat!

Also, I think when diagnosed with Celiac Disease there should also be a mandatory six figure pay increase or glamorous job promotion so you can afford the chalky, inaccessible, extremely high-priced food. If you don’t have Celiac and you CHOOSE to live GF then… sell your car and start walking. But… I digress.

So that was my gluten filled dinner last night. I did however, abstain from wine/beer with dinner. The gluten filled deliciousness was enough to cure my cravings!

This morning J made a smoothie before heading to work. No doubt to pay for our GF living, stolen vehicles, and his wife’s new found crossfit passion. God bless the man! I had half of the fruit smoothie: Strawberries, banana, blueberries, almond milk, nonfat vanilla yogurt and ice (no flax OR spinach).  And a Van’s GF blueberry waffle topped with PB, Crofter’s fruit spread, and blueberries (oh glorious day, no oats).

These are pretty good! I have had the whole wheat one’s and they are better. But for a GF option these are the best I have tried!

Just got on the Crofter’s wagon. Love it!

And I just ate my GF version of last night’s dinner. Not down with this 2 letter acronym? GF=gluten free, now you are.

Just use a spoon to take out the middle of the zucchini or yellow squash, I used yellow because I had a large one. Make sure to leave a base so the filling doesn’t drip out. I took last night’s leftover turkey marinara (literally ground turkey and a jar of whatever marinara I had :/) and mixed it with about 1/4 c. of italian blend cheese and some Parmesan and filled them.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25min. Sprinkle with more cheese and bake for 20 more min.

The need for the above photo is lost on me…. In case you didn’t understand what bake means?!?

YUM! The cheese gets toasted and brown and melts in the center! It was a great GF option to eating the sauce over pasta!!

Emma approves 😉

Today I am giving myself a rest day from exercise. Yesterday I was strangely exhausted and although I am twitching with energy right now I am making myself find another outlet… most notably right now, sarcastic blogging and studying. But alas, the rain has ceased so I think it is time for a walk with the little nugget. I will get back to the gym tomorrow, I have a good workout planned!

Though I hate to disrupt her floor gazing.

Not sure what is on the agenda for this evening… you never know 🙂 Happy Saturday!

Superfoods: a lesson in chemistry

Today I was a guest on my long-time friend’s radio broadcast Live With Katie. Katie has started this radio show in order to showcase some of her friend’s talent (notably mine!) 😉  Katie is working in broadcast journalism and is hoping to break into on camera work soon! You can listen by clicking HERE!!

Isn’t she purty 🙂

That being said…. we had a great interview today. Today,  Katie wanted me to discuss Superfoods and their health benefits. I learned the bulk of my knowledge about this topic in my Human Metabolism course at Georgia State. I like this subject but there are soooo many superfoods out there! So, I chose just a few to discuss. Though I left out coconut and wish I had remembered… 😦

Some of the superfoods I mentioned are:

-cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, kale, cauliflower)
-sweet potatoes
-blueberries (or berries of any kind)
-spinach and other dark leafy greens
-avocados
-dark chocolate 🙂
-salmon (or other fatty fish containing omega-3 fatty-acids)
-flax seed
-sunflower seeds
-walnuts

These foods are all Superfoods because of their antioxidant characteristics. Oxidative stress is caused by normal cell metabolism. Meaning that just by performing normal daily activities your body produces free-radicals which contribute to aging and inhibit health. The antioxidants we eat bind to the free radicals and decrease the oxidative stress. (decreasing the effects, duh right?)

For a quick chemistry lesson see below: (if you hate chemistry skip the next paragraph)

Atoms have protons in their nucleus and electrons in their outer shells. The electrons in the outer shell determine the behavior of the atom. By nature an atom will try to gain electrons or lose them to fill or diminish its outer shell for maximum stability. Free radical are formed when bonds split leaving an unpaired electron to steal an electron from a stable molecule thus creating another free radical and the cycle continues. (Yay for chemistry!)

I also discussed how Vitamin C and Vitamin E are the key antioxidants in many of these foods and are key in terminating free radicals.

***If you skipped that paragraph it is okay… here is the take home message, EAT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGGIES (and omega-3 fish oil).

They have capsules too if you can’t stomach the oil but the oil is absorbed a bit better. And try not to buy anything synthetic. The fish oil decreases inflammation. Inflammation is a key element in chronic diseases… and muscle soreness (another duh) so take your fish oil!!!

This morning was yoga and a random protein bar and fruit for lunch amidst walking Emma and preparing for the interview.  Back later with more!

Sometimes she really knows how to look cute right when I am leaving… all a ploy to make me feel horrible and come back and rub her ears some more 🙂