Confessions, thoughts and a yummy breakfast

One of the reasons I took a big break from this blog was because I realized that I had gained weight because of reading other food blogs!! I mean, obviously it was still my fault--reading doesn't make you gain weight, shoving food in your mouth does. But I would get all these food ideas from other healthy bloggers that would sound so good. I wasn't realizing, though, that many of these healthy bloggers also happen to be 23 and have never had children. I may feel like I am 23, but my metabolism doesn't. Bummer.

So I'm trying to be really careful about what I put on here now. I have to be VERY careful with what I eat these days. I really try to keep my daily calorie intake low. I have many strategies for doing this--mainly myfitnesspal.com!! Usually I make separate meals for my family and myself for breakfast and dinner. That is my reality. I am almost 36 and things have changed.

Confession: my freshman year in college I ate an entire box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars in one sitting. By myself. I weighed 115 lbs at the time! I NEVER, ever worked out. I probably couldn't even have run for 30 seconds straight. Yes, things have changed.

Here is an awesome breakfast recipe for the whole family (like, I get to eat it, too!!!)

Baked Oatmeal with Bananas and Blueberries--adapted from Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

2 medium ripe bananas, (the riper the better) sliced into 1/2" pieces
1 1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup honey (or agave)
1 cup uncooked quick oats
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup fat free milk (or Almond Milk--less calories!)
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Lightly spray a 8 x 8" or 9 x 9" ceramic baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on the bottom of the ceramic dish. Sprinkle half of the blueberries over the bananas, 1/4 tsp of the cinnamon, 1 tbsp of the honey and cover with foil. Bake 15 minutes, until the bananas get soft.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the oats, half of nuts, baking powder, remaining cinnamon, and salt; stir together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining honey, milk, egg, and vanilla extract.
Remove the bananas from the oven, then pour the oat mixture over the bananas and blueberries.

Pour the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the mixture as evenly as possible over the oats. Sprinkle the remaining blueberries and walnuts over the the top.

(I do all this the night before and stick it in the fridge. Then the next morning...)

Bake the oatmeal for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the oatmeal has set. Serve warm from the oven.
I always double this--those warm bananas...ahhh, heaven in the morning!!!

Plans

A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that she JUST STARTED planning out her meals before going grocery shopping. (And no, she is not 18, she is my age.) Another friend recently asked me to come over so she could, "pick my brain about food." I brought her my meal plans for the next month so she could photocopy them. I plan out every day for a month--breakfast, lunch, dinner, after-school snacks and Friday night game night dessert. And now I am discovering that not everyone does this!!! Wow. How do you people function?! :) I love to do it. I love to plan. I love to cook. I love to try new recipes. I love to alter them to make them healthier for my family. It is right up my alley. I'm going to try to find a convenient way for me to share my plans on here--so that those of you who aren't planners can take advantage of my OCD. I say convenient because as much as I love to plan and try new recipes, I don't particularly love typing them out. Really it takes me long enough to do this...

my cute, brainwashed child

This morning Lincoln (3) was "helping" me pack for a trip I am taking tomorrow. I was putting snacks into my bag and he grabbed a granola bar, studied it and said, in his adorable little three-year-old language, "You can't take this, Mommy. It has high fwuctose cone soo-up." (Do you need a translation?) SO CUTE!!

By the way--he was wrong, it doesn't have any HFCS. :)

Aid for Japan

Yesterday marked the beginning of our week of eating food we already had to help out Japan. We went shopping together on Saturday morning to get the supplies to send overseas. I was disappointed at how NOT far our money went. But we still tried and hopefully the kids got something out of it.

(Is something wrong with my camera? Do these look blurry to you?)

So last night we just ate leftovers and tonight we had stir fry. The brown rice, ground turkey, soy sauce and green onions we already had, so all I had to spend money on was the Napa cabbage.

This morning Lincoln and I took our first bike ride of the season. It was beautiful!! The trees are all in bloom and the scent was heavenly. We did get chased by a dog, but that just made us go faster. Hopefully we can get back into the swing of two or more rides a week now that the weather is getting nicer.

A challenge!!

Or just something to think about.

As a family we were brainstorming ways we could do something to help the people suffering in Japan. The kids' school is collecting supplies that the U.S. Navy is then going to deliver directly to those in need. So we decided to get creative with our food next week. We have been looking through our pantry, food room and freezers for food we already have. Our plan is to eat from our storage and use all the money we are able to save out of the food budget to hopefully make a somewhat substantial donation. (Well, substantial is a relative term, but every little bit helps!)

So I thought I would turn it over to you as well. A challenge to my readers if you will. How many of you are willing to try to eat what you already have and sacrifice a little to help someone in need? It doesn't even have to be the people in Japan. Why don't we all do some good and see what comes of it!!

I'll let you know how it goes--I will do my minimalist grocery shopping on Friday, then we are taking a family trip to Wal-mart on Saturday morning to shop for supplies. Another way to be healthy is to serve others. I swear I heard that on a Kaiser commercial the other day. ;)

Big Brother is coming to a cafeteria near you...

I found this on Facebook and I am shocked. If I was in that school district, I would throw the biggest fit--right before I pulled my kids out of school and moved somewhere NORMAL. I cannot believe this!!!!!

Being proactive

I realize this blog has been a bit of a downer lately. It is hard to stay positive when it seems like everything is working against you. From knee and foot problems, to house problems to major illness, it's been a ride.

And then I really do believe in keeping it real. I'm not fishing for compliments when I lament about my unexplained weight gain on here. I appreciate your comments, but the facts are pretty depressing. I have gained 30 lbs. in the past year. And it keeps going up. My BMI is now officially overweight. Despite working out an average of 90 minutes a day. Despite the fact that I eat better than most people I know. It is depressing.

So, I am trying to be proactive and maybe that will help me stay positive. First of all--this new diet I started. I have been reluctant to actually name it on here because it seems like such a fad diet and I am totally opposed to such an idea. I believe in long term solutions--not "quick fixes." As a personal trainer I always thought it was ludicrous for people to sign up for one session. COMPLETELY POINTLESS!!!

The more I researched this eating style, the more I saw the value in it. Plus I know a few people that have had great success with it. So, here I introduce...

The South Beach Diet. I think it would seem a lot more legit if it had a different name. I mean, really. What a stupid name.

So I'm over a week into it...with absolutely NO POSITIVE RESULTS. And I haven't cheated once. At least on purpose. I did accidentally taste a lick or two of the frosting for the cupcakes the other day. But that's it in a week and a half. And still, nothing.

That leads me to my proactive decision numero dos...

I set up an appointment with an Endocrinologist yesterday. I went to the doctor about six months ago for this exact issue with my weight and left very, very, very discouraged. She tested my thyroid and all came back normal so I was basically without answers and told to join weight watchers. Like a slap in the face.

So I finally called and made an appointment with a specialist. They can't see me until May, but at least I got an appt. and got the ball rolling. There has to be something wrong, right? It just doesn't make sense.

And, for the record, I can't stand medical receptionists. Guess what, lady with a job answering a phone in the doctor's office, you. did. not. go. to. medical. school. In fact, I can almost guarantee that I am more highly educated than you. I am not an idiot. So don't tell me something lame like, "We normally wouldn't see someone for something like that, but..." What is that even supposed to mean? I am the one paying (or at least my insurance is.) Shouldn't I be allowed to see the doctor if I want to? She finally set me up when I told her I needed a second opinion. Apparently second opinions are legitimate reasons for seeing a doctor, but unexplained weight gain is not.

Okay, enough for my negativity. I will think positive thoughts and get this figured out...

Weigh-in

Yesterday was weigh-in day. You'll notice I'm just now getting around to posting about it. It was not pretty. I gained over a pound. It makes perfect sense, really. I mean last week I
-ran over 12 miles (over five days)
-did three hour-long intensive strength training sessions
-did Pilates at least 4 days
-took Kirby on a brisk walk every single morning
-ate no meat
-limited my sugar
-watched my portion sizes
etc. etc. etc.

Yeah, it really makes sense. UGH!!!!

Here are my goals for this week:
-continue to follow my marathon training schedule (which means I have a 1.5 miler tonight)
-bump up my cardio more--add the elliptical on my short run days (Mon, Wed, and Fri)
-do Pilates 5 days
-Get in at least 4 days of strength training
-continue to eat nearly perfectly
-not get suicidal over the numbers on the scale because obviously it doesn't matter what I do!!!

I GIVE UP!

Okay, I have given it over a month and tonight I snapped. I am SO SICK of making dinner every night only to have my kids scoff at it and say they hate it. I'm done. I personally enjoy making new and interesting dishes, but obviously my kids can't handle it. I am going to have to give my vegetarian ways some sort of an overhaul--maybe I will just stick to altering recipes that are more kid friendly. I don't know. I just know I'm SICK of it.

So, no more potato and vegetable curry around here.

Maybe I should write my own cookbook. I certainly haven't come across any that are healthy and vegetarian and include recipes that my kids will actually look at.

It's times like this that I really wish I kept chocolate in the house.

Who needs Juicy Juice?!

Lincoln is getting to that lovely age when he doesn't want to nap anymore. So instead of doing my upper body work out right now like I want to be, I will blog. Good thing I quit my job so I will have plenty of time to work out and run tonight.

So besides my lovely little new laptop I got some fun things for Christmas. My mom got me a juicer. (Prompted by my fascination with the movie, "The Gerson Miracle.")

Oh, the excitement this appliance has been causing around my house! Our first concoction was an apple/carrot/tangelo blend. We have gotten a bit more daring--adding celery and blueberries and bananas. The kids can't wait to come home from school today to get their after-school snack of homemade juice! Today Lincoln and I made them carrot/banana/apple/peach/pineapple/blueberry/strawberry/tangelo...I think that is all. After you make the juice, you end up with the dry pulp, which we have been mixing into our garden beds (we need to get a composter!) Today I also tried putting the pulp in the dehydrator to see if we can make fruit leather. I feel so domestic.
Here are the kids watching Ryan make our second batch of juice. They are like this every time we make it!

Day One

While it is not technically the first day of the New Year, it might as well be in my mind. I am finally home and settled in and ready to start things off! So today was also my first official day of marathon training. I am using a modified version of Hal Higdon's Novice Supreme Marathon training schedule. Today was easy--just 1.5 miles which I ran barefoot on the treadmill. I also did a lower body strength training work out. And I took Kirby out for an early morning walk/jog. That dog has major energy in the morning so I plan to start taking him out for some sort of exercise every morning before Ryan has to go to work.

I have a lot of goals this year. I have decided to spend the month of January really focusing on weight loss. I am going to be writing down every thing I eat (not on here--I think it just gets too boring for you.) I am also going to weigh myself weekly and try to really ramp up my exercise. If I don't see some sort of definite improvement this month I am going to find a new doctor that will actually listen to me and figure out what is going on. I have tried to come to terms with where I am at and I just don't feel happy with it. I don't even want to see anyone because I am so frustrated with the way I look. So I weighed myself tonight and I am ready to do this.

Thoughts on travel and coming home

I really do love to travel. But more than that, I love to come home! I have found it is really hard to live my lifestyle on the road. I do plan ahead, but there is really no way to do it all when I'm not at home.

Food on the road. I plan healthy snacks and meals for the road. But let's face it--there are not a whole lot of options if you are in the middle of nowhere Wyoming and hungry. And vegetarian. Can someone please invent a healthy fast food restaurant? With a drive-thru, please? Last night I had Annie's Organic Bunny Crackers and a Kashi TLC cookie for dinner. Probably better than a Big Mac, though.

Food at other people's houses. I am not complaining--we were at my Mom's for most of this trip and she is a wonderful cook--and very health-conscious as well. I just think when other people are cooking, I tend to eat more. And then there is the whole issue of being on weird schedules and having to eat other places that don't have a lot of options. We went to a great cowboy dinner with my parents--all the food was cooked in dutch ovens and it was great. But cowboys aren't really very health conscious. I ate pinto beans, roasted potatoes, salad and a roll. The kids and Ryan loaded up on the chicken and beef (they'd better get it while they can!) At Ryan's grandma's 100th birthday party the food was catered by Wallaby's (Ryan's parents' restaurant.) It is very tasty stuff!!! But they are known for their meat, which I obviously don't eat. We also ate late (bad planning on my part--I should have packed a snack!) By the time we ate I was FAMISHED and almost threw the whole vegetarian thing out the window to have some pulled pork. But I resisted and instead ate my body weight in salad, potatoes and bread. (I do highly recommend the food at Wallaby's! If you are ever in the Lindon, Utah area--it is awesome!)

Working out. This was really hard this trip. The weather made things quite tricky. I had been so excited to run with Ryan. We only got out ONCE! You really can't run in three feet of fresh powder over a layer of thick ice. I didn't have any access to a treadmill. I tried to be as active as I could. I did Pilates with my mom just about every day. I also lifted free weights and used my kids as weights to strength train as well. I just have them hop on my back in weight order (Lincoln, the lightest goes first) and I do squats and lunges. Then I have them lay straight as a board in my arms and do curls. This works well in hotel rooms also. Oh and I ran laps with Kirby in the 7 degree weather at every rest stop and gas station we stopped at yesterday!

Anyway--now I'm home!! I'm excited for a new year and a fresh start and my own work out room and treadmill and elliptical and running partner and no tempting food every where I look! There's no place like home.

I got a new laptop!!

Merry Christmas to me! I am blogging from the mountain tops of Park City, Utah thanks to my new laptop. It has been cold, snowy, full of fun and family and WAY TOO MUCH FOOD! Oh well (cue music)-- "it's Christmastime in Park City." I have been doing 45 minutes of Pilates every day and strength training with free weights. Ryan and I have been running which was awesome because I rocked it. Even though we are at a higher elevation here and my knees still hurt and it is downright freezing--I rocked it!!! I am sure my new running tights and running jacket had something to do with it.
So here are a few pictures that I never got up here before we left...

This is the delish recipe I mentioned...grilled Polenta with a veggie sauce. Wowza. The basic recipe is at home, but I will get it up when we return.
That is the Polenta.

Linky with a breakfast I concoted on the fly--baked apples with quinoa and oats. Tasty stuff.

Some of my new books I ordered...

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday! We will be back in a while, but I might get some more blogging in. We are planning on snowshoeing in the next few days--I can't wait!

Superfoods to the rescue!!

I came across a list of superfoods a few months ago and have been talking about them at home quite a bit. "Wow, that smoothie you just drank had three superfoods in it..."

Here is a bit of info about what they are... (taken from WebMD)
Imagine a superfood -- not a drug -- powerful enough to help you lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, and, for an added bonus, put you in a better mood. A healthy diet incorporating a variety of the following superfoods will help you maintain your weight, fight disease, and live longer.

Top Superfoods Offering Super Health Protection

• Beans
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Oats
• Oranges
• Pumpkin
• Salmon
• Soy
• Spinach
• Tea (green or black)
• Tomatoes
• Turkey
• Walnuts
• Yogurt

So lately Lincoln (age 3) has been asking about everything he sees. "Mommy, are hot dogs superfoods?" Absolutely not. "Mommy, is cake superfood?" Nope. Then this morning, "Mommy, are french fries superfood?" No, french fries are not superfood. "Oh. They are just good, then?"

What to do?

That is the burning question...

My knees are killing me. They haven't been great since last Saturday's long run. I don't know if it has to do with the suddenly colder weather or what. But tomorrow I really wanted to try for 10 miles! What to do?

And the blog...Are any of you interested? I know I have a few readers. I just don't know if this is really beneficial to anyone. Besides myself. Do you want recipes? Ideas? Thoughts? Successes and failures? Or is this just a waste of my time? I'd really like to know if anyone out their cares. :) What to do?

This was my failed attempt at the elliptical last night...

Kirby kept trying to attack it while I was on it. What to do?? :)

A 10K!!

Today Becca and I started out bright and early to do our long run of the week. I planned out our route before we left so I would know how far we needed to go. Using mapmyrun.com I found a 6.5 mile course. That is definitely longer than I have ever run before, but that is pretty discouraging when I think that a marathon is 26.2 miles. I have such a long way to go!! When we were almost finished, Becca commented that we had just run more than a 10K. Well, that made me feel a heck of a lot better for some reason. I ran more than a 10K this morning!! Go, me!

So including my barefoot running and sessions with Becca I logged 17.6 miles this week. Not too shabby. My goal was to be consistently running at least 15 miles a week before I started the actual training program in January.

In terms of eating I had a banana at 5:30 am because I didn't want to run on a completely empty stomach. I had some biscuits when I got home and then my normal oatmeal for breakfast. Lunch was a PB&H in the car because today we got to go pick up this little guy...


Don't be too jealous. He got carsick and threw up on me the whole way home. But he is cute!

I made Risotto with Butternut Squash and Sage for dinner. I think Risotto is quickly becoming one of my new favorites!!

And one more shot of Kirby for your viewing pleasure...

Family fun and bliss

Yesterday was a great family fitness day! The weather has been really nice so we all took advantage. I took each of the kids running with me in the morning. We just went around the block--but we live in a hilly area so the girls found it somewhat challenging and kept wanting to rest. I just kept telling them, "You were born to run! You are made to do this! No stopping! You can rest when we get home!" Hee, hee. So by the time I did that 3 1/2 times (Lincoln didn't make it all the way around the block) I had run 3/4 of a mile. And I spent a little alone time with each of the kids!

In the afternoon we decided to go for a bike ride. I ran alongside Audrey to help her out. It was an interesting training experience--run really fast, then stop suddenly, then go slow, then really fast, then really slow. Very unpredictable. But she wants to go riding again today--hopefully she will get good enough soon that it won't be that crazy to run with her. By the time we got all the way home from that, I had run about 4 more miles.

I ate really well up until the end of the day. I had some friends over to celebrate our dear friend's birthday and I bought gourmet cupcakes from Bliss for everyone. I have never tried these, even though I have bought plenty of them for other people. I haven't wanted to taste them because I was afraid I would become addicted. Finally around 10 pm I caved and ate one. WOW. It certainly was blissful. Oh well, at least I ran 4 3/4 miles yesterday and did an upper body workout first thing in the morning!

Viva L'Italia!

Today I have been really exhausted. I told the three younger kids we were all going to nap while Isaac was at his afternoon class. We all snuggled up in the bed, but I was the only one who slept! Obviously I must have needed it!

Today was a rest day from running. Ryan has tomorrow off, so I should be able to get outside to run! And the weather is supposed to be great, so that's even better. I did some Pilates, Yoga and stretching and that is about it in terms of working out.

I was so worried when I started this vegetarian thing that I wouldn't know what to eat for lunch. That hasn't been a problem at all. We have leftovers coming out of our ears!! It's quite nice, I have to say. That was never the case when we were eating meat--it was so pricey I just bought enough for one meal, no more.

One thing I have decided--I need to start re-naming things. Tonight we had the most fabulous risotto. Really, it tasted like something you would get at a NICE Italian restaurant--IN ITALY.
(Have I ever mentioned how much I would love to go to Italy?? Especially on days like today...)

Yet my kids hear the word "risotto" and FREAK OUT. Next time I serve it we will call it "Cheese Pizza Rice." I'll post the incredible recipe next!!

Overheard

Isaac: Dad likes action movies.

Lincoln: What kind of movies does Mommy like?

Isaac: Vegetable movies.

A late night post...

Well, Ryan is upstairs snoring, which means I am down here not sleeping. So I thought I'd share all my deep thoughts on a late night post.

A few months ago my sister asked me why I hate running. I was thinking about that this morning as I ran. I woke up with a splitting headache and a sore throat, but the weather was supposed to be decent today and Ryan was home, so I had to take advantage of my moment to get out and get going. I bundled up and headed out to brave the 35 degree weather. I actually had a great run--my headache went away and I didn't stop at all, except when I was trying to avoid being hit by a car. The end of my route is uphill and I was running against the wind (barefoot and through three feet of snow and in blinding hail, too...). This is when I recognized why I haven't been a big fan of running, or of any cardio for that matter. I have asthma. My lung capacity isn't great. When I go to the doctor and they make me take the little breathing tests that they have it isn't pretty. So I think that is why I don't love it. I can't breathe when I do it. When I got home I was literally gasping. I think the cold air made it worse. But I just took a few puffs of my inhaler and rested for a bit and I was fine. I know I am certainly not the first asthmatic to train for a marathon--I think the more I train, the better things will get.

And I am loving it more. I find myself wanting to run. I want to be a runner. Today was just three miles, but three miles outside is different than three on the treadmill. More interesting. More variety. Hills, trees, grass, dogs. It's better. Plus, my foot didn't hurt at all, which makes me wonder. Maybe the treadmill has something to do with it?

(BTW--I hope you all know I was kidding about the running barefoot in the snow comment. I only run barefoot in the house.)

And--I really am gung-ho about this whole vegetarian thing. I just didn't think about how big of a change it was until I started trying to do it without having planned ahead. I found myself wondering, "What do vegetarians even eat?" So today I went to the library and stocked up on some cookbooks. I revised my week of meals for this coming week and I am excited to try all these new recipes! I'll tell you all upfront, though--I HATE tofu. I have tried many, many times to like it. I have cooked it many different ways. They say it takes on the flavor of what you are cooking it with. Ryan and I both think that is crap. It tastes horrible. So don't expect to be seeing many recipes calling for a block of firm tofu. Not happening here!!

This is the book I am using this week! I will keep you updated. I know you are all waiting on the edge of your seats...