Fit with FitBit

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my fun little purchase of the FitBit--we'll I've been using it for a little over 2 months now and it's really eye opening how much you walk throughout the day without even trying!

Studies say that 10,000 steps a day is necessary for "good health" approx 5 miles a day...so that's where my "goal" has been set since I started tracking things.  Here's last weeks progress report-I like getting the little updates on my "progress"

Loving the fact that steps and distance and calories burned are up from last week....

Not so much loving that the sleep duration is down but I guess that will happen as long as I am getting at least 7 hours that will work for me!

How active are you throughout the day? Do you make an effort to walk around the office regularly? Walk down the hall rather than emailing or calling a colleague or taking the stairs?

Yoga does wonders!

I know that people say all of the time that yoga is good for your body and mind.  While I love yoga I've never actually done weeks at a time consecutively...I can honestly say now as I come to the end of the first week of the APY60 program that I really am a believer!!

I feel so much more relaxed after an awful day, I feel like I am getting stronger, breathing deeper and letting things go much easier than normal.  That's not to say that I don't get stressed--yesterday was a crazy day!  But doing the yoga when I got home last night really helped me reflex and clear my mind.

Add to that I feel like drinking 100oz of water or at least 75oz a day my skin looks brighter and I just feel healthier.  I can't wait to start week number 2 of the program!  I've become a true believer in just one week of what daily yoga practice can do!  Maybe I should add becoming a certified yoga instructor to my bucket list...just kidding!

APY60 Day 3

I'll admit this morning it was really hard to get out of bed.  I'm not sure why, even my Fitbit said that I slept better last night than the night before (98% efficiency only woke up 5 times).  So this morning I have to admit that I didn't do the full morning blend of stretches.  I know day 3 and already slacking!  I did about half of the stretches from memory to get the blood pumping...a small setback!

Breakfast this morning I had a healthy porridge from the little recipe book that came along with the DVDs...Yum!

The "porridge" is actually a whole apple and 4 strawberries just quickly blended to a porridge like consistency with a little almond milk (unsweetened) and a dash of cinnamon.  I threw it in the microwave for about 45 seconds (could have heated it up a little more) and then topped with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, pecans and a little chia seeds for some protein.

It was quick and simple and got me moving and heading out the door for work.

Tonight more power yoga and a tasty smoothie since Rene is working late before I hit the gym for some cardio....Happy Tuesday!

Return of Green Juice

I switched things up a little bit today after having a bit of smoothie overload to a green juice mixture to start off the morning on the right foot!

Ginger

3 small handfuls of spinach

2 granny smith apples

fresh pineapple

This is I think my fave mix of the greens (lots of spinach but you can't taste it) and it was the perfect way to start off my Wednesday.  Rene of course has to be the over achiever and head to the gym in the early morning while I grabbed an extra 30 minutes of sleep or at least rolling around trying to sleep.  Here's hoping today shapes up to be better than that last 2 days--I'm staying positive!

Happy Wednesday!  

Benefits of the Green Juice From Yesterday

I almost forgot to break down the benefits of yesterday's green juice mix!

Pretty much anything leafy and green = good for you so you can't really go wrong with any of the ingredents.

Aside from the applies which I mentioned in the red juice here's what was packed into yesterday's drink of choice!

Kale:

• Packed with Lutein which is said to be good for your skin, eyes, 
• May even help prevent damage caused by UV rays along with being packed with nutrients.
• Lots of Vitamin K, A and C

Spinach:

• Vitamin K and A
• Manganese = bone health which is always important especially for women
• Folate, Iron and Calcium in large quantities -- much more easily absorbed into your system this way than in a multivitamin

Cucumbers:

• Improves the look and feel of your skin
• Due to silicone and sulfur content it helps with hair growth - and who doesn't want nice long hair?
• High water level to help keep you hydrated

Celery:

• Another item which is packed with Vitamin C, A, and Calcium

Detox Day 2 Part II

Finished with day 2--not sure if I'm feeling "detoxified" but I am definatly not feeling stuffed after dinner or "blah" mid-way through the day (even without my 3 cups of coffee) so that's a start right?!

Lunch was a nice little mix of veggies (califlower, broccoli, shredded carrots) mixed with sunflower seeds, golden raisins, and currants topped off with just a squeeze of lemon juice--it's really good!

Whole Foods makes a salad similar to this called the Detox Salad and I've had it before and thought, why pay $7.99 a pound I'm sure someone has copied this and listed what all is in it....low and behold Google came through with my answer!

I found the "re-make" of this salad on Oh She Glows though I did take out the parsley (I'm not a huge fan) and also the kelp (because I couldn't find it) and added in some wheat germ and chia seeds for a little extra different texture. The salad is great and crunchy and a little sweet and perfect for mid-day!

And I followed it up with a second glass of my green juice from this morning -- you'd be surprised at the looks you get in the office drinking a green something.

For dinner we went with a simple little stirfry of veggies and quinoa instead of rice (added protein).  The only downfall today was that I know I didn't drink enough water, I only made it one large glass of the way into the cold detox tea (recipe here) and was just bogged down with work throughout the day and kept putting off drinking/refilling my glass.

And believe it or not I was actually able to go to the gym tonight and NOT have to wait in a huge line for a machine--this may be the first time ever that I've gone to the gym after the new year and not seen 500 people wanting to "start the year off right", but this made me think....what does that say for today's world?  Does the resolution of getting into better shape no longer top the list? And if not, what does that say about how our society has changed....something to ponder!

Detox Day 2

This morning I started off first thing with my hot detox tea (recipe found here).

I followed that up with a scrambled egg white and a nice green juice.

Green Juice Recipe:
1/2 cucumber
2 stalks of celery
small handful of spinach
small handful of kale
ginger
green apple
juice of 1 lemon

This juice is not as sweet as the red juice from yesterday but it has a nice fresh taste to it, and it was a rather refreshing way to start off the day.  The one downfall is that the kale does give a bit of a gritty feel to the juice, I may try just spinach in the future with this green mix.  

Detox Day 1 Part II

Finishing out the first day of my detox I sipped on a second (different) detox tea* mix of  60 Oz distilled water 1 TBS sugar free cranberry juice (not from concentrate)2 dandelion tea bag and 2 TBS lemon juice throughout the day.

 *it tastes like watered down ice tea

More or less it serves as a diuretic that helps detox the body and flush toxins out.  I plan to mix this each day and sip throughout the day.

 Lunch consisted of 2 stalks of celery and a handful of baby carrots and 2 Tablespoons of hummus.  I snacked on a small handful of nuts and raisins and then finished out the day with some steamed broccoli, left over sauerkraut and some banana soft serve from the YoNana.  My soft serve was actually the most satisfying thing I had today and it's only 1.5 bananas!

And of course no day is complete without a trip the the gym and quick 15 minutes worth of yoga to round out the day. 

All in all not a very exciting day of meals, but I know in the end it's worth it to be healthy--plus I for sure got in my full daily suggested servings of fruits and veggies!

Detox Day 1

Today starts the first day of my little detox into the New Year.  So here goes.  There was a lot of liquid to be consumed first thing this morning.  First up a spicy lemonade.

This gained attention a couple of years ago when you had starlets doing a lemonade detox where this is all they would drink to slim down for a big red carpet event.  But in all actuality it does have some good reasoning behind it and any of the juice detox/diets out there (Blueprint Diet and Fresh Juice Delivery) all have a lemonade in them as a piece of their detox.

The reasoning behind it according to The Washington Post is that lemons are rich in bioflavonoids (pigments that act as excellent detoxifying catalysts); cayenne pepper is an anti-inflammatory which work to help detox and purify your body.  Which is why each day I am starting off with a cup of this lemonade before anything else.

Spicy Lemonade
1 cup hot water
juice of one lemon
1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup (high grade orangic is best)

*I may have added a bit too much of the cayenne (didn't measure just threw some in) but it wasn't completely awful.

Next up my "breakfast" consisted of what I am calling Red Juice #1 (green apple, 2 carrots, beet, small piece of ginger)

Keep in mind the ginger is something you can add as much or as little as you like, a little goes a very long way!

Beets are one of the best things to put in your juicer!  And they add a bit of a sweet kick to the juice.  Here are just a few of the benefits of beet juice:

• Lower cholesterol
• Improved brain health
• Lowers blood pressure
• Helps eliminate toxins from the body (small side effect is that you may feed dizzy because of this)
• Increased endurance for exercise (always a plus!)
• Anticancer vegetable-as with any dark red vegetable/fruit it is packed with antioxidents!

Carrots also add some sweetness and their own benefits:

• High levels of beta-carotene and vitamin A in carrots promote eye health by lubricating the eyes and preserving visual acuity.
• Healthy urinary and digestive tracts are linked to carrot consumption.
• The high mineral content in carrots aids in nourishing the hair, nails and skin. 
• Carrot juice cleanses the liver by ridding it of bile and fat. 
• Potassium content in carrots regulates blood pressure levels.

Green Apple benefits:

• Protect against diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer
• Only 47 calories per serving
• Drinking 100% green apple juice from a juicer allows you to still get all of the benefits of eating the apple.

Ginger benefits:

• Reduces inflamation
• Boosts immune system

2012 Detox

As I mentioned previously starting in 2012 I am going to be doing a bit of a detox...don't get me wrong this is not the starve yourself and hope that it cleans our your system detox but I've taken bits and pieces of different things that I have read and "developed" (I'm not a nutritionist by ANY means) a detox/jump start of clean, healthy food into 2012....I plan on doing this for at least 2 weeks maybe longer and it could just become a daily lifestyle!

Here are the basics.

  

What to avoid:

Processed foods (we pretty much do this already-minus some "cheat days")

Sugar

Carbs

Red meat

Caffeine (I usually drink 2-3 cups I'm cutting down to just 1 or none each day)

 

What to enjoy:

Detox "tea" in morning-recipe to follow

Lots of fresh organic veggies

Fruits with low sugar (no oranges)

Green Leafy Veggies

Lots and lots of water!

Fish and Chicken*

*most detox plans have you completely stay away from fish/chicken/soy products the first week....With Rene not having any protein is a big problem so for the first week I'll be cooking protein but not eating it, but if you are like him and need some meat stick to chicken (skinless) and fish or tofu those are the best bets!

I'll be kicking this off on January 1st (after my delish pizza pull apart bread and freshmade pasta-what can I say I enjoy food!) I'll be posting the recipes and foods that I am eating along with how I'm feeling and if I notice any changes...beware I typically don't do well without my 2-3 cups of coffee so taking it to just one might be ugly!

Time to get back on track!

After the holidays (Thanksgiving to Christmas) Rene and I both decided we needed a bit of a healthy detox from all the sugar and delish (though quite unhealthy) meals from the past few weeks...and since I've been thinking about getting a juicer for some time now we figured now was as good a time as any.

So lots of fresh veggie and fruit juices for breakfast and snacks will be getting made over the next couple of weeks as we do a semi-detox...and get back to healthy meals.  Time to start the new year off on a healthy foot!

Adding to that I got a great deal on Groupon  for an American Power Yoga DVD set called APY60!. 

 For $49 I got 10 DVDs of yoga routines which will be great since starting next week the gym will be packed full of people getting fit for their New Year's Resolutions.  It's 60 days of yoga (kind of like P-90X but just yoga) that is supposed to strengthen and tone--we'll see how it works, it will take up just enough time for everyone to stop working on their resolutions and I can get back to the gym and not have to stand in line for an elliptical!   

If you're sick please stay home

It seems like every year it starts in September and it runs through February...the dreaded cold/flu rotation within our office....yet no one seems to realize that each year if people just stayed home we could avoid this.

I understand that yes, in a sales job that if you aren't in the office and you aren't selling you aren't making money...however, if you are coughing, sneezing (not just allergy sneezing) and even throwing up and running a fever guess what? You aren't working either, you're complaining and feeling awful so please do us all a favor and stay home.

2 weeks ago a co-worker came back from vacation and quickly got sick, cough, cold, fever, throwing up...yet she still showed up to work! What the heck was she thinking! Everyone kept telling her to go home but she wouldn't because she didn't want to use her PTO because she didn't want to hit the negative in her PTO Bank--this annoys me beyond belief!

Now we've had over the past 2 weeks 8 others come down with the stomach flu, or a horrible cold with fever...did they learn their lesson though? Of course not each and every one of them started feeling sick and still came to work then the following day stayed home "sicker than a dog".

I have armed myself with hand sanitizer, super vitamins, and a can of Lysol to de-contaminate the work spaces of those who have fallen victims to the illness ...but sometimes that still isn't enough.

For anyone reading this please take heed and pass it along to all of your friends, if you think that you're coming down with something, or you feel a little "off" please do us all a favor and stay home. I take care of myself to prevent getting sick, I don't have an option when I am healthy not to come to work just to avoid getting sick, so please stay home--thanks!

Interesting....

I subscribe to a daily email called Healthy Bitch Daily...today's email was quite interesting about how to improve what you eat and help to decrease your stress levels! I figured it was well worth sharing!! Below is a snip it of the article visit the website for the full article!

Foods that Reduce Stress & Anxiety

Root veggies: yams, radishes, parsnips, beets, carrots and potatoes.
Dark, leafy greens: chard, kale, spinach, arugula and watercress.
Protein: black beans, black sesame seeds, tofu, mung beans and millet.
Berries: blackberries

I do a pretty good job of the berries at least! I always have blackberries for a snack with lunch as for the root veggies we do a much better job of this in the fall, so I guess I'll be stepping it up this year! Blackbeans, spinach and kale are also items that Rene and I use pretty frequently so I guess we are doing pretty well on that but now that I know it helps with reducing stress maybe they will appear in dinners more often!

Time Saving Meal

Since I knew that Rene would be home late tonight I planned on using this afternoon to whip up a quick and easy make ahead meal for later this week. I knew that I would need a break between working on homework and I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone! 1. Get a break from homework and 2. Make dinner for Wednesday (the night I have my live lecture) so that I didn’t eat dinner at 10 at night! Win-win situation there!

So what’s on the menu?

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos! Yum! I saw a similar recipe online for a cilantro pesto chicken with Asiago cheese but I decided cheese didn’t sound appealing to me so I added in some lime and make tacos instead!

Ingredients:

**Please note: this one is a big eyeball and taste type of recipe!**

1 lb chicken tenders (boneless and skinless) chopped up

1/4 cup chopped onion

2-3 cups of chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons of diced garlic

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons of lime juice (I used a little more to make it more limey)

1/4 cup chicken broth

Kosher salt

Prepare:

Combine all (except chicken and onion) in blender and blend into a saucy liquid

Taste and decide if you need more cilanto, lime or salt for your personal taste!

Pour sauce over the chicken* and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes

*use your judgment on this I had some extra and didn't want too much extra sauce on the chicken

While chicken in marinating add the chopped onion to a hot pan until semi-soft

Add in the chicken mixture and allow to simmer

As the chicken cooks and simmers the sauce will thicken.

To make ahead:

Once cooked transfer to a tupperwear container, or ziplock freezer bag. Allow to cool then toss in the freezer. When you are ready to make it allow to thaw and re-heat on the stove.

Or…eat it right away with flour tortillas, lettuce, and tomatoes and all the other taco toppings!

I’ll be having mine later this week, but I must say I snagged a “sample” piece of chicken and it’s pretty tasty!

Do you know what is even better? I have about a 1/3 cup of the sauce left over so I figure why not make cilantro lime rice for my dinner tonight – perfect!

What's your daily regime?

I'm talking about your daily vitamin intake! I am not one for putting a bunch of supplements into my body and I tend to steer clear of most medications (mainly because I break out in hives with most things with acetaminophen in them) but what you take in terms of daily vitamins and supplements are just as important as eating a well balanced breakfast and exercise.

What does mine consist of?I take 5 pills daily. A multivitamin, fish oil, 2 colostrum supplements and a Clarititn D (that's for allergies and prevents an outbreak of hives). During the winter I also take Vitamin D to help since I am not out in the sun as much.

But why take these? Rene and I eat a very balanced diet with lots of fruit and veggies and we typically stay with chicken and lean proteins so there isn't a large need for additional in our diets. However each provides great health benefits!

Multivitamin: This is important for everyone even if it's the only pill you take because it helps fill in the gaps from your diet that are not met for vitamins and minerals.
Fish Oil: Omega 3 Fatty Acids do amazing things for your health. And since we don't eat a ton of fish and really no salmon (full of omega 3) we supplement with a fish oil pill instead. Fish oil also has lots of other benefits such as eliminating joint pain, lowering cholesterol, and increased focus just to name a few!
Colostrum: This is one that most people don't know anything about. I actually started taking this after reading a homeopathic website which talked about suffering from chronic hives of an unknown cause--hello that's me!
So what is it?? Colostrum is the pre-milk fluid produced from the mother's mammary glands during the first 72 hours after birth. It provides life-supporting immune and growth factors that insure the health and vitality of the newborn...well as you get older and pass through puberty the amount of immune support decreases so taking a supplement helps build up your immune system first and foremost (which is why it helps with the hives).

There are a number of other things that this supplement has been used for to aid in treatment of: acid reflux, allergies, arthritis, digestive disorders (it improves the function of your GI system), high blood pressure and helps prevent diabetes. An all around great health decision!

So next time you are at the store think about swinging by the pharmacy and picking up at least a bottle of multivitamins if you don't ready you owe it to yourself!

Have a great day!

Time to knock something off the bucket list?

For the past 9 years I have been involved with Susan G. Komen.


Either through my sorority Zeta Tau Alpha or through the personal impact that breast cancer has had on family and friends I have been as involved as I could be with my schedule.

Each year of the past 9 I have participated in the Race for the Cure in one way or another and I plan to continue that for many more years to come!

When Rene and I were actually trying to figure out where we wanted to live while he was still in grad school Dallas was at the top of my list because the national headquarters for Komen is right here in Dallas and if I could leave my job today and work at the office I would. Oddly enough the office building that we moved to in May 2011 is right next to the building that the Komen office is in....so if I ever did get a job there the drive would be pretty simple!

Since I have yet to land that job however Rene and I like to stay involved still. Most recently this year we volunteered our time at a youth track event to pass out information about breast cancer and raise awareness, it's always amazing to see how many people recognize the pink ribbon which symbolizes breast cancer and how many people have been effected by it....

One of the things that I have kept saying that I want to do ever since we moved to Dallas was participate in the Dallas 3 Day. The 3 day is a 60 mile walk spread over 3 days that are done in a number of cities each year. I have been telling Rene the past 3 years "we need to do it!".

The first year that we were here and settled into the apartment and live was 2009, but the dates for the 3 day fell the weekend of November 6-8th...for those of you that remember we were in Florida for the wedding, so this was a no go. Somehow the walk in 2010 came and went and there were so many things going on we completely forgot. 2011's race is this November 4-6th so it hasn't happened yet but we clearly haven't trained to the point that my feet could take 15-22 miles of walking a day nor have we been able to raise the money to participate.

So today when the email hit my inbox noting that the 2012 3 Day in Dallas was starting to take registration I started to seriously consider participating. The dates for next year are Nov 2-4th....it gives us a full year to raise the almost $5000 (combined, $2300 each) to participate and get our minds and bodies ready to complete the walk.

Oh course as I am thinking of all of this and planning how to raise the donations Rene is in Arizona for work so no definite decisions will be made...but for some reason I feel like 2012 is our year to knock this item off my must do bucket list!!

Think I am crazy for wanting to walk 60 miles in 3 days and sleep in a tent each night as one of the must do things for my life?? Why wouldn't I want to?? I can give you plenty of reasons why I should and so should you....

Because you know someone who is fighting breast cancer.

Because you know someone who lost their fight.

Because you have a daughter, a mother, a sister.

Because its time to put an end to this disease.

Because everyone deserves a lifetime.

If you are interested in seeing if there is a Komen 3 Day near you check out the website and Register Today!

Sunday Breakfast

Sundays tend to be a bit of a more relaxed day of the week for Rene and I. As the weekend ends and it's time to get things ready for the next week it's nice to start the day with a nice morning walk with Stitch and end enjoy a delicious breakfast. This morning we made a quick and easy vegetable and egg dish that I made some changes to that I found in my Food Network Magazine.

"Eggs in a Squash Nest"

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 Zucchini Squash
1 Yellow Summer Squash
1/2 Large Onion (optional)
4 Cremini Mushroom (optional)
Thyme and Nutmeg

1. First use a grater to grade up the 2 squash and place in a bowl set aside, finley slice the onion and dice the mushrooms.2. Heat a pan that you can place in the oven and spray with Pam non-fat cooking spray

3. Add onions and allow to soften4. Add in the mushrooms and book approx 2-3 minutes

5. Add in the squash

6. Fold all ingredients together add thyme and nutmeg and allow to cook 5-7 minutes over a medium heat. (also turn on over to 350 degrees)

Once all of the vegetables are cooked place skillet into the over for about 5 minutes to help bake and remove excess moisture from the squash.

Remove skillet from the over and create small indentations and crack 4 eggs into the areas indented in the squash.

Place the skillet back into the oven from 5-9 minutes depending on how done you want the eggs.
And here's the finished product! Rene and I split this in half each having about a cup and a half of squash "nests" and 2 eggs each for around 200 calories and 11 grams of protein a great way to start the day!

Yonana!

A few weeks ago Rene and I were at Target when I remembered the YoNana frozen fruit/fro-yo maker that I had mentioned previously!
I decided to check it out and make the purchase!


So a few nights ago we had our first YoNana -- bananas and strawberries!


It was delish!! and the reviews that I read were completely right! Same consistency as soft serve and way healthier!

My next purchase!

I think that I have found the coolest kitchen item ever!

While I would love to have a Vitamix blender--I can't really swallow th $500+ price tag. However a Yonanas Machine might just be the next best thing for tasty frozen treats!

This was featured in the FoodNetwork Magazine this month and then I did some extra research and decided I want one ASAP! Frozen fruit with nothing added instantly made into a soft serve like dessert? Sign me up! Target will start selling them next week!

What's for Lunch?

Today I decided it was time to try out one of the fun summer salads that I posted about last week. Boring lettuce and veggies just wasn't cutting it! So I decided to go with a chickpea and herb salad.

This was so easy to make!

Ingredients:
Canned or dry chickpeas (soaked overnight and cooked)
Parsley (chopped)
Mint (chopped)
Onion (diced)
EVOO (about 1 Tbls)
Lemon juice from one half of a lemon
Salt and Pepper

You mash up the chickpeas just a bit then add in all the other ingredients to your liking.

I let mine sit for about a day so the mint didn't look as bright green but still delish
!

It was super quick and easy and a nice healthy change from everyday garden salads!