Is it too late for a New Year's Resolution?

January's not quite over, so I'm going to add a resolution.  I know many people don't like New Year's Resolutions anymore, but it's just a goal by another name.  (Just like the people who say, "This isn't a 'diet,' it's an 'eating plan'" -- it's all the same if you're making a switch.  What you eat is your diet!)

Anyway, I want to write more (and I know I've been saying that I haven't been writing enough in my blog for a few years now), but I'm feeling the need even moreso now, especially with my fitness videos.  I want to share more about my workouts because it's such a joy (and a health benefit) in my life and I want to help others find the gems I have if they are looking for workouts to do at home.  So many of my friends say that they can't work out at home, but the video fitness market is HUGE, so I'm sure there are still many out there who do. 

I may plow through my favorite Cathe workouts first since that's what I'm doing right now, but don't hold me to it.  I may change my mind mid-stream.  I've been known to do that.

I'm also seeing if I can renew my love for running.  I used to run 5-6 miles a day, but stopped when I moved to L.A. and didn't want to breathe the smog so intently.  I have a treadmill now though (and clean air if I want to venture outside) and I'm getting the nudge inside to start running again.  My favorite way to do it is with my Cardio Coach cds.  I need to download them onto my iPod.  That would be another good resolution for the year -- learning how to download from iTunes.  My son has only showed me 3 or 4 times and for some reason, it never makes sense.  And I'm not a computer dummy -- I've solved so many virus problems, changed hard-drives, reformatted the computer, etc.  The time has come to add "downloading songs to my iPod" to my list of computer achievements.  I will shout from the mountain tops when I can do it!

Raspberry Romaine Salad -- just in time for Christmas!

Ho ho ho!  Nope, we're not making cupcakes, but aren't these cute?  I don't even like cake, but I think the way pastry chefs make cupcakes these days is just adorable.  Salad may not draw people in quite as well, but THIS salad is one of the best green salads there is for a sweet-tooth like me AND it's festive for Christmas time. 

I originally got this recipe from a Pampered Chef party.  (In fact, I believe I was the host!)  It was called Chicken & Berry Salad and included 2 cups of chopped chicken (in which the Pampered Chef lady used for demonstrating the Chopper which I've loved over the years!  I've never used it for chicken, but I always use it for nuts and sometimes for veggies if they need to be small).  I searched for the recipe online and they have it posted on The Pampered Chef website as a Chicken & Strawberry Salad (which they must have changed over the years because I know the recipe I had from them said, "Chicken & Berry Salad" and used raspberries, with a sub suggestion of Craisins, which is good, but full of refined sugar.   There's probably a naturally sweetened dried cranberry that would work, though, if you want to give that a try).  I rarely eat meat, so I omit the chicken from my recipe, but you are most certainly welcome to add it in.  It's a satisfying meal either way.

I have a hard time loving salads, I think, mostly because I love sweet more than savory when it comes to fresh foods.  So this salad caught my attention with it's Citrus Salad Dressing.  I've used it for other salads too.  And just so you know, the dressing doesn't work if you try to sub fresh orange juice.  I tried it and it just didn't have enough flavor (and made the whole salad too watery and lacking -- sad mistake last Christmas eve).  I've thought of adding avocado (or putting it in place of the sugar-snap peas) but haven't tried that yet.  Perhaps I should only experiment when I'm not cooking for others :).

I usually double this recipe for crowds.  This recipe should fill a medium-sized salad bowl (just to know how to gauge the lettuce needs) and if you double the recipe, it will fill a large salad bowl.  Don't be afraid to add extra berries.  'Tis the season to add some red flare!

Raspberry Romaine Salad w/a Citrus Twist

Salad --

1 c. raspberries

1 head romaine lettuce torn into pieces (or 2 romaine hearts)

1 c. sugar snap peas (cut diagonally in half)

1/4 c. red onion

1/4 c. pecan pieces, toasted (lightly in the oven -- you can leave them raw)

(Options -- Sub strawberries or pomegranate seeds for raspberries or do a mix)

Citrus Vinaigrette --

1/4 c. frozen orange juice concentrate
2 T. oil (olive or canola)

1 T. white wine vinegar

1/2 t. dijon mustard

Combine salad ingredients and toss gently.  Shake or stir vinaigrette ingredients.  Just before serving, toss salad with dressing. 

Blackberry Pear Crisp -- Oh so yummy!

Yesterday we had some friends over for dinner and I was wishing for some dessert that I could eat while not sabotaging my weight loss efforts (6 pounds gone so far!)  I have plenty of raw food desserts up my sleeve, but I wanted something warm and without any kind of flour.

I noticed some blackberries in my fridge and thought they would taste wonderful in the oven.  So I went through the options.  Pie?  No.  Cobbler?  Another no.  Crisp?   Oooh, I love apple crisps or any of those fruit crisps with the crumbled oatmeal topping.  But those have butter, sugar, sometimes flour, and yes, oatmeal.  The only food I'd allow was the oatmeal.  So I started to think. . . If I started out with a raw food recipe, but cooked it, it would still be whole foods and would be better than the traditional crisp recipe.

I remembered that I can make a cookie dough like paste from equal parts of walnuts and dates.  So I blended up a cup of each.  Then I mixed it by hand with a cup of oatmeal and had my crisp topping!  How simple is that?

Next I got out the berries (I had 2 cups) and saw that it wasn't quite enough for a crisp on its own.  I wanted enough to be able to share with guests and not just have my own private dessert while they ate the brownies I'd already made.

I remembered I had some pears in the pantry that were perfectly ripe and thought, "Oooh, yes, I love baked pears!"  So I washed and cut 3 pears and mixed them with the berries.  I chopped the bigger berries in 1/2 just to get them more mixed in with the pears and added a tablespoon of pure maple syrup since store-bought blackberries aren't nearly as flavorful as handpicked. 

Then I put the berries in a round baking stone, topped it with the oatmeal mix and realized I should add a little holiday flavor.  So I sprinkled about 1/2 t. of pumpkin pie spice over the top of the mix.  That could have been blended in earlier, but it worked this way for me.

I baked it for about 1/2 hour at 350 degrees and covered it in foil after about 5 minutes because I could see that the topping was browning far too fast (perhaps due to the oil content in the nuts?)

It was much tastier than I had expected.  It's definitely a keeper!

 Blackberry Pear Crisp

2 c. fresh blackberries (frozen may work, but I haven't tried it yet)
3 large pears, cut into small squares
1 T. pure maple syrup (optional)

Mix fruit together in a bowl and set in a baking pan

1 c. walnuts
1 c. dates (not soaked)
1 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice (you may want to increase it to 1 t. if you really love the flavor)

Blend nuts and dates in a food processor until completely smooth.  Mix in oatmeal and pumpkin pie spice by hand. 

Plop the oatmeal dough on top of the fruit to almost cover the fruit.  Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Take foil off and let top brown for the last few minutes.

If you want it to serve more people, you can double the fruit and make it a deeper dished dessert.  Enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Smash -- Jamba Juice style!

 

I've tweaked a few Jamba Juice recipes that I found on-line for Pumpkin Smash and came up with a few that my kids and I love!  I want to work with it a bit more to see if I can take out the soy creamy, but for now, this is where it stands.  We've made it two ways and both are yummy.  I tend to make it with the peaches to give me more nutrients and to save a few calories.  I'll give you both recipes since I add a bit of soy milk to the peach recipe to keep the creaminess in.  The full-fledged soy ice cream way is super creamy, though and quite wonderful.

Pumpkin Smash Smoothie

2 c. vanilla soy ice cream **
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. vanilla soy milk
2 T. agave or 3 T. real maple syrup
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 c. ice

Blend it all up in your blender on high until smooth.   Divide amongst 2 tall glasses and savor.  Ahhh!

Pumpkin Smash Smoothie w/peaches

1 c. vanilla soy ice cream **
1 c. frozen peaches
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1 1/4 c. vanilla soy milk
2 T. agave or 3 T. real maple syrup
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 c. ice

** I use Soy Creamy from Trader Joe's.  It's about 1/2 the cost of any other soy ice cream and is really tasty.  The only other brands of soy ice cream that I like are So Delicious and Purely Decadent.  Don't confuse So Delicious with SOY Delicious.  The latter is nasty tasting stuff!

Pomegranate Salsa -- Raw Recipe!

I promised a birthday friend yesterday (Hi Lareesa!) that I'd post my newfound Pomegranate Salsa recipe for her birthday.  It's a bit belated, but I'm sure her pomegranates haven't gone bad yet.  I should just call it Birthday Pomegranate Salsa because my friend Thira made this pomegranate salsa for my birthday. (She brought it to a picnic we had with friends out on the grass by the lighthouse.  It was so wonderful!)  Thira had heard me talk about how pomegranates are my very favorite food and she told me I needed to try her recipe.  Well, I loved it!  I probably ate 1/2 of it that day! I finally bought all the stuff I needed and made it the other day and once again, tasty and heavenly!

I will admit to trying to just mix pomegranate seeds with the salsa I already had (which is my favorite fresh salsa from where I used to live -- Casa Lindra.  I wish they sold it everywhere, but you can only get it within about 100 miles of Humboldt County.  I have friends bring it to me when they visit).  But it wasn't spectacular with the pomegranate thrown in.  I needed to make Thira's recipe. 

When I ate it the first time, I had some tortilla chips, but these last few days, I've just been eating it with carrots.  The salsa is not blended up at all, just mixed, so it's harder to dip veggies in.  So I just broke my carrots into bitesize pieces and threw them in and ate it with a spoon.  Tasted great!

Try it yourself and let me know how you like it!

Pomegranate Salsa

Pomegranate seeds, extracted (either 2 small or 1 very large)
2 avocados sliced into small chunks
2-3 diced tomatoes (she said 2, I ended up using another one)
1/2 red onion
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 t. coriander
1 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Mix all together.  Enjoy!

Post-poning your cravings

This morning I made my healthified brownies for the early morning Seminary class that I teach.  I try to have some food for them each morning in case they have to leave their house without eating first.  I'm on the weight-loss quest right now, so the plan was for me not to eat any.  I was fine whipping them up and taking them out of the oven.  I knew I could resist them without a hitch.

A few hours later, I walked into the house after taking some of my kids to school and I saw the rest of the brownies on the counter.  All of the sudden my memory of not being tempted by them had vanished.  I wanted some brownies.  They were much more tempting and I started evaluating my need to stick with my plan.  I figured another day without reaching my goal wouldn't hurt and was about to eat one (or two or three -- it always spirals from there). 

Thankfully, I paused to ask myself if this is what I really wanted.  Was the brownie more important than my goal to fit back into most of my clothes?  No, it wasn't.  Would I ever be able to eat a brownie again?  Sure.  I could make more another day and could eat one then if I wanted.  But it wouldn't be today. 

I love the power of post-poning my cravings. I can save them for another day.  And the great thing is that cravings are temporary.  They may seem so strong at the moment, but if you let them pass, later on, it's quite possible that they won't be so powerful.  You just have to beat them in the heat of the moment.  It's so empowering to do that!  Give it a try and you'll get closer to your healthy eating goals, too.  TTFN!

Oatmeal a' la Jamba Juice! -- Recipe

I absolutely love Jamba Juice.  I love their smoothies, I love their friendly employees, I love their baseball caps and t-shirts,  I love their fun signs and playful font, and I love how there's always a lot of sunshine coming in through their windows!  If I could get them to make me a smoothie every day, I would.  (Pumpkin Smash*, 5 Fruit Frenzy, and Peach Perfection are my favorites).  I've tried to get my kids to get a job there so they could bring me one home after work, but I've only found the Job Applications on the bedroom floor afterward.  Oh well!

My latest discovery is their steel cut oatmeal.  Granted, I've only tried one flavor, but once I find one I love, I have no need to try another.  I absolutely LOVE their Blueberry & Blackberry oatmeal.  I always have them OMIT the brown sugar crumble topping and just have the oatmeal with the berries.  I make oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon at home quite often, but it's not as dreamy as this oatmeal.  Theirs is so soft and super tasty.  I just love it.

The sad part is that:

1. It's expensive unless they are offering their "Do you want some oatmeal with your drink for $1 off?" deal, but usually I don't want oatmeal when I already have a smoothie.  
2. They never seem to have it when I'm there.  I usually go into Jamba Juice after school with my kids and they've started stopping (I know that sounds weird to write start and stop together, but it's how it happened in my head) selling the oatmeal after 3:00 at our closest store.  Once I got there at 2:30 on an early release day and they had run out.  !!!

I just have to insert my sad oatmeal airport story.  A few weeks ago, I flew to Arizona for a wedding.  When I was at the airport waiting to depart, I passed a Jamba Juice.  I had already eaten breakfast and was quite content.  I just didn't have room for Jamba Juice.  But I made a mental note that it would be wonderful to have some of the oatmeal when I got to Phoenix since I had a layover in L.A. and knew I'd be hungry again.  (Who in their right mind would want those honey peanuts they serve on the plane? -- Blech!)

When I got to the Phoenix airport, I walked out of my way hunting for a Jamba Juice, but never found one.  I was busy enough while I was visiting that I couldn't stop at one, but the craving was still planted in my heart and I did indeed think about it.  On the way home, I was determined to get some oatmeal back at my airport when I arrived.  It was only going to be noon, so they couldn't pull the, "We don't serve oatmeal after 3:00" trick on me.  I got off the plane and smiled as I saw the Jamba Juice sign so bright and cheery.  I walked up and ordered a Berry Oatmeal and they said they weren't selling it that day.   I was so sad!

So I determined that I need to figure out how to make oatmeal just as wonderful as theirs and not depend on them to have it anymore.  Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.  I still haven't found a good Pumpkin Smash recipe, but I'm going to work on this today.  My euphoria from figuring out the oatmeal is giving me the belief that it can be done!

First I just Googled it, but didn't find anything even worthy to try.   I knew the basic ingredients were the oatmeal, soymilk and berries and figured they had sweetened the berries a bit even w/o the brown sugar.  Here's what I came up with and oh was it heavenly!


Jamba Juice Berry Oatmeal

1 c. old fashioned oats
2 1/2 c. water
1/4 c. organic plain soy milk
1 c. berries (I used the frozen 3 berry blend from Costco)
1 T. pure maple syrup

I use a rice cooker for my oatmeal and cracked wheat. It keeps me from burning my grains and keeps it warm for me when I walk away and forget about it.

Put the oatmeal and water in the rice cooker.  Click the "Cook" setting.  When it's all cooked (it probably took 15-20 minutes) and has changed to the "Warm" setting, then add the soy milk and stir in.  Let it sit and warm for a few minutes.  I was amazed at how soft and fluffy this made the oatmeal.

Stir the berries in a pot with the maple syrup on top of the stove.  Bring to a boil and let boil out most of the liquid that develops when the frozen berries thaw.

Scoop the oatmeal into a bowl and add the berries on top.  Should be enough to serve 2.  Enjoy on these cold November mornings!



* Just wanted to clarify that when I get the Pumpkin Smash smoothie, I have them substitute frozen peaches for the frozen yogurt.  It's just wonderful and doesn't give me the refined sugar or the dairy.   There's only been one time that the worker totally messed it up.  I took a sip, it was soup-y and weird and went back to tell him it should be more frozen.  He tried adding ice and then it was just ice-y and weird.  So he offered to make a new one and I explained how the other people had done it before - just sub frozen peaches for the frozen yogurt and it turned out just fine.  They are great at guaranteeing satisfaction!

Plan around your Vegetables

I found a way to plan a menu!  It's not my dream of planning my whole day's menu and absolutely sticking to it (I'd be militant in my life with things like this if I could).  And it's not planning a weekly menu where I can look at the calendar and see what I'd be eating that whole week for dinner.  (Maybe that will come later).  But it IS figuring out dinner before 5:00 that night so I actually make dinner and eat with my family.  I even eat a decent breakfast and lunch on occasion, too.

What I've been doing this past week is each day, I think in the morning of what I'd like to eat that night that would give me at least 2 or 3 vegetables amidst.  Usually I work with what is in my pantry or fridge, but if I have to run down to the market for some mushrooms or spinach, I can do it and it works well.  Even with my other meals, I try to think vegetables first.  I don't always feel like eating vegetables for breakfast.  Most of the time I eat fruit.  Sometimes I choose oatmeal or cracked wheat instead.  But occasionally I'll want some eggs with salsa, spinach and mushrooms stirred in.  At lunch, I think soup, beans or sandwich with veggies.  I should be thinking salads or green smoothies, but I've been stubborn with that lately.  Maybe it's my move (I love blaming my inability to get back to my usual goals on moving, have you noticed? -- but it's almost been a year, I need to shape up and get my good groove back). 

So that's my healthy hint for the day.  Think about what vegetable dish sounds good, then build your meal around that.  Simple is fine, as long as you get your ever so nutrient dense veggies for the day.  TTFN!

Menu Planning

Is anyone good at menu planning?  I'm sure many are.  Maybe even most are.  I'm HORRIBLE at it.  I rebel at the thought of it.  I'm not sure why.  I'm not rebellious in other areas of my life, but I fight being locked into deciding in advance what I'll eat. 

I Googled "menu planning" hoping for some counseling with those who fight it, but only found ideas on what to eat, recipes, why it's important, etc.  That's probably helpful.  Maybe I'm just going through a phase (a very LONG phase!)  Organizedhome.com tells me:

• A menu plan saves money.
• A menu plan saves time.
• A menu plan improves nutrition. 

I want it to tell me how to make a menu that I'll be excited about and how to stick with just eating that!

When I was in high school, I used to make a menu for my family, would do the grocery shopping and all the cooking.  I loved it!  Where did I go wrong?  *sigh!*  I did snack occasionally, but I mostly waited for my meals and enjoyed them.

Somewhere along the line I became a grazer and thought eating around the clock was the way to go.  Meals just got in the way of my eating if that makes any sense.   But I'm thinking that I need to get back to that structure.  I do like structure.  If only I could get myself back to it. 

I'm going to work on planning and sticking to a menu this week, not just for dinner, but for all of my meals be it 3 meals or a few more.  I don't require variety.   I don't mind eating the same thing practically every day.  I just need to eat less of it and increase my vegetable intake (which takes planning on my part).  I'll let you know what I come up with.  I can do great things when I put my mind to it -- (Can't we all!) 

Healthy Desserts Galore!

Yes, you CAN have your chocolate chip cookie dough and eat it too!  Even mint chocolate chip ice cream!  If you haven't notice this deliciously adorable blog on my list of favorite blogs (way down low on the right), I need to draw your attention to it.  Even if you never make anything from the recipes (and I hope you do), the photos are stunningly tasty to the eyes and her personality is adorable and fun.  

The blog used to be called Chocolate Covered Katie (which shows her zaniness right there), but somewhere along the line, she changed it to Chocolate Covered Healthy, which gives you more of an idea of what you'll find.  Katie makes up recipes without dairy and healthier versions of pretty much everything.  She started out making her fudge babies and Lara Bar alternatives (since they are so expensive to buy) and is quite talented at figuring out just the right way to make everything taste wonderful.  As she says on her "About Me" page:

What will you find on this website?
Naughty treats that have been given a healthy spanking! My aim isn’t for people to say, “This is good… for a healthy dessert.” I want them to say, “This is good. Period.”

That's kind of how I never wanted people to say I looked good for just having a baby after I had each of my children.  I wanted to look good even for NOT just having had a baby.  :)  She does tell you which of her recipes are great for taking to parties (like this chocolate raspberry fudge cake!), where people won't even suspect they are healthy versions (which is so interesting to me.  I've always thought people would WANT the healthier version or to know that little tidbit, but it tends to scare them away!)  

Mmm!  Look at this one.  Homemade Fudgsicles!  I want to make those tomorrow.  I even have a coconut waiting to be cracked open!

So go enjoy Katie's website and sign up for her e-mails.  She'll send you new recipes practically every day. 

P.S. (Katie gives permission in her FAQ to post her photos in your blog, as long as you give her credit.  So Katie, the credit goes to you at chocolatecoveredkatie.com !)

Slim Series Rotation Update

I've been doing the Slim Series for almost 2 weeks now and have gone down one size.  Feels great!  I lost 5 pounds the first week and so far have just maintained this week, but feel a teensy bit smaller.  I've been eating a high raw diet too as best I can. 

Usually when I do the Slim Series, I follow the guidelines in their Slim Training rotation which is to do all 5 workouts during the week with a yoga day in place of the Cool It Off (stretch routine) day.  This time I knew I'd have to start off slower.  So last week I did 3 SS workouts with yoga on the alternate days.  This week, I'm doing 4 SS workouts with yoga after 2 in a row.  I've been sore a bit all over, but I'm finding that my quads and hamstrings have been the tightest and most sore (sore-est?) which to me means they were quite weak.

I'm excited about my progress and plan to continue on for 4 more weeks.  Afterward, I'll probably get back into my Cathe workouts.  Hopefully by then, her new Low Impact Series will be out.  Hope, hope!

So many options and opportunities

It seems like when I break away from the way most people eat (or as many say, the Standard American Diet or SAD way of eating), I hear people comment on the foods that they would miss or what I "don't get to eat."  People on diets talk about feeling deprived or having cravings for what they love most and miss.  I've had similar thoughts.  I've been known (in the past, I might add) to walk around the grocery store thinking of all foods that I can't buy or eat anymore (I should be so grateful -- look at all the money I'm saving and all the health problems I'm avoiding).

It's easy to fall into that trap.  First of all, cravings are real and habitual thoughts are hard to erase from your mind (like ice cream is the best thing to eat when out with friends).  But it is possible.  And the more you fill your mind with helpful and healthful information, the more these old thoughts will subside.

An approach I've loved seeing develop in my mind is seeing how MANY options I have for eating healthy and tasty foods and how blessed I am to have the opportunity to live in a place and situation with such an abundance of foods.  Forget all the stuff I'm passing up!  I don't have enough time in the DAY or space in my stomach for all the yummy healthy foods I could be eating!

If my fridge is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables and I have a variety of nuts and seeds in my cupboards, I can think of all kinds of combinations or simple delicious treats to eat throughout the day.  My mind fills with the choices at my finger tips and then I eat one or two until I'm full and save the rest until later.  I never get to them all in a day.  It's a great way to eat!

This only really works when I'm eating a high raw or all raw diet.  When I add in cooked grains/starches (or especially processed foods), I end up craving more than I should eat and get off track with identifying my body's needs.  It's not always easy to get my body away from them, but once I am, it's quite liberating. 

Life is good!  TTFN!