Get snacking

I eat constantly. You’d think I’d be big as a house but quite the opposite actually. I’m always working on keeping my sugar levels…well, level and my metabolism churning away. Don’t want that to slack off. Thought I would share a bit of what I like to nibble on.

• Plain rice cakes with almond butter
• 1 packet plain oatmeal made with skim milk and chopped walnuts 
• Veggies with no fat dip (I like hummus)
• Fruity shakes
• Low-fat string cheese and a small pear
• Blue berries and Greek yogurt with almond slivers and cacoa nibs
• Low fat cottage cheese and fresh pineapple
• Hard boiled eggs (minus the yolks)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Raw nuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Apple with almond butter
• 100 calorie popcorn
• Rice chips
• Dried coconut pieces (I pick it up at Costco)
• Hemp seed bars (Superstore)

Love the one you’re with. XO

ME

A wise, dear friend gave me some advice her Dad had given her once, "you're not that special." Sounds harsh but it's true. I know I'm special to some folks but in the grand scheme of life, I'm just a girl. I need to work hard every day to make my mark on the world. Never expect someone else to do it for me. I need to be responsible and kind and true and loving and caring and live each moment with integrity. I need to be 100% me.

• Scared of spiders
• Strong dislike for country music (sorry but just can't get my ears around the twang)
• Eight tattoos
• Nine toenails (lost one walking 13km with a ruck sack on my back)
• First born grandchild on my Dad's side
• Big sister
• Big dog lover
• Used to race snowmobiles
• Own a toolbox with lots of tools in it
• Love to lay in the grass on a warm summer night and look at the stars
• Melt when my baby girl smiles at me
• Have a warped sense of humour
• Believe in angels - have felt my best friend, my Grandmother and my Grandfather in my dreams after their passing
• Don't like going barefoot in the house or any place else for that matter
• Own waaaaaaay too many pairs of jeans
• Love to read everything and anything
• Used to train my dogs in Schutzhund
• Delivered a calf

Love the one you're with. XO

Happy, healthy mind, body, heart

As with most people, as I get older, I'm evolving. My mind is evolving as are my thoughts on things. On life. As I work on my body and getting it into the best shape I can, I need to continue to work on my spiritual self too. We all do. We can't put 100% into our temple from the neck down. The whole temple needs to be strong. From the top of our head to the tips of our toes. Our brain needs to be clear. Our thoughts free of bullshit. Our minds open to receive.

At the end of February I'm doing a level one Reiki course. I can't wait. I'm looking forward to adding a new tool to my tool box. I dabble in tarot (for meditation purposes). I journal. I have angel cards and cards to push my thoughts in a positive direction, to a happy place. I have CDs to listen to that help open up my mind and lots of books on being aware and open. I read my Bible and I pray everyday...to God...one God, the Father Almighty (Raised Anglican. Organized religion may drive me nuts but I have an incredibly strong faith).

Don't be shy when it comes to trying new things that can free your mind. It doesn't have to be this stuff. If you love the walk. Read. Do crossword puzzles. Sing. Dance. Write. Go for a drive. Ski. Whatever it is, just do it. Happy, healthy mind equals a happy, healthy body and a happy, healthy heart...the physical one and the emotional one you wear on your sleeve.

Love the one you're with. XO

Busy morning of prep

I don't have to tell anyone that the key to success is prep. Just a glimpse into my usual Sunday.

Made an eggplant lasagna, prepared some steel cut oats, made a brown rice pasta with local hamburg bake, baked up some sweet potatoes.

Got all the veggies and fruit washed up and in containers.

Bought a Magic Bullet so I have a couple shakes prepared in the Magic Bullet cups. They're hanging out in the fridge waiting for me. Protein in both of them. Very important for building and maintaining muscle.

Got the kitchen cleaned up. It looked like a bomb hit it.

Then threw in a Jullian Michaels' workout... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pc-NizMgg8

No gym day today.

Prep. Prep. Prep. You will thank yourself for it when you're looking for that extra time with the kiddies at night.

Love the one you're with. XO

I want this back...

...and I'll get it. Worked my butt off for two months while away on training. Came home. Life happened. Now I'm back to the gym. Back to my meal plans. Back to being active. It'll happen. :)

 

Beautiful bodies

I had to share this. Wowzers. Human forms in their finest. Simply stunning.

Check this out at Bodybuilding.com's Bodies of Work.

Just to let you know...there is some bare bum here and a little side boob so if that offends you, you might not want to click on the link.

Be inspired!!!

Love the one you're with. XO

Inspiration

Inspiration can come from a lot of places. Mine comes from my massage therapist. What a natural beauty! If she doesn't motivate me to do my best then nothing will. :)

Love the one you're with. XO

The passing of a fur child

I found out last night my neighbour's dog passed away. He was getting old and his health wasn't the greatest. When my Mom told me I cried. I know what it feels like to lose a pet. I had my Wilson for 12 years before I had to take him to the vet to be put to sleep. He got sick. It was very fast. I sat on the floor with him and he passed away in my arms. I would have it no other way.

He was my constant companion. He slept on my bed. He went everywhere in the car with me. He sat beside me at mealtime (and we may have shared a piece of cheese or two). He was there for me to hug when the times got really rough. He was that other living being in the house when I was alone. He was intuitive. He was loving. For many years he was my everything.

My heart really breaks for my neighbour. She had her dog for many years. He had become her everything. What a vacant place this will leave...in her home and in her heart.

I feel so passionate about being a pet owner. My animals never have been and never will be 'just a dog' or 'just a cat'. They're my babies. I love them to pieces.

Give your fur baby a squeeze. Someone is really missing theirs today...

Love the one you're with. XO

Kale Chips

I have been dying to try these and the other night Jbird and I made some. She LOVED them. I loved them.

• Rip the leaves off the stems.
• Wash and dry leaves really well. I spun in the salad spinner three times and then blotted with a paper towel.
• Laid the leaves out on my Pampered Chef baking sheet. Made sure they weren't on top of each other. They need some room to breathe. ;)
• Drizzled some olive oil and put some coarse salt on them.
• Pop in a 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. I just kept and eye on them until I noticed the tips of the leaves were getting a little brown.
• Take them off the baking sheet and place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb a little of the oil.

Best if eaten right away. I did take some to work in a baggie and they were good but not as crispy.

I made a second batch with some spices. Can't say they were as well liked as the ones with a little salt. But the sky's the limit. Just good to be getting the greens in your belly.

Love the one you're with. XO

Soooooo good!

This is breakfast for me most days. I did modify though. No more flour. I use a wheat free flour blend. You can pick it up at Bulk Barn.

Enjoy this delish treat...Bumbleberry Crisp.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about the KALE CHIP adventure!!

Shows Pride in Ownership

"Shows pride in ownership." We've seen this before when someone is selling a house or a car. How about showing a little pride in the ownership of our temple. Yup our bodies. If we can take the time to keep our house up and wash the car every weekend in the summer then we can take the time to maintain our bodies. Read labels. Shop sensibly. prepare meals when we're not feeling the time crunch (i.e. Sunday afternoon - boil up 6-8 eggs, make a healthy batch of quinoa and brown rice, wash and cut up all your veggies and fruit, put an assortment of nuts in small Tupperware containers so you can throw them in your bag on the way out the door, put a roast in the slow cooker, etc.), maybe do some squats in the bathroom while the kiddies are floating in the tub, go to the gym, grab 8-10 minutes to do a quick circuit (there are simple apps for your phone that can give you a quick circuit, gets the heart rate going), etc.

And DO NOT feel bad if you can't hit it hardcore. Just try your best and have faith that you can do it. You can take it as far as you want to go. You're the boss. In charge of your own temple.

Love the one you're with. XO

Butterscotch Chip Cookies - Wheat Free

This called for chocolate chips but I didn't have any so butterscotch it was. They passed the test here so I guess they will go on file as a "make again sometime soon" recipe...unlike my quinoa black bean patties. They weren't such a great hit. I liked them but one out of three people liking them means this recipe doesn't make the cut.

1 1/3 cups Gluten free all purpose flour blend*
1/2 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda, xanthan gum (I used cornstarch)
1/2 cup each of margarine, peanut butter, granulated sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanuts (I used crunchy peanut butter so there's my peanuts)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheet.

Combine flour blend, salt, baking soda and xanthan gum in medium bowl.

Beat margarine, PB, sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Use electric mixer on medium speed to do this. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well blended. All flour mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and peanuts.

Drop onto cookie sheets (rounded tablespoons). 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Cool two minutes on cookie sheet and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

*The all purpose flour blend:
1 cup each:
White rice flour
Sorghum flour
Tapioca flour
Cornstarch
Almond OR Coconut flour

OR you could buy the blend already made (I later saw it at Bulk Barn).

If you make your own mix, you combine in a large bowl that you can seal. The book I have said to store in the fridge but it's not stored in a fridge at the Bulk Barn and it's just fine so mine's in the pantry.

Hope you like. Will post more of my concoctions as I make them.  :)

Love the one you're with. XO

Off the Wheat

Heya!

It's been a while. I'm on a computer all day so rarely do I feel inspired to get on it at night or during my off time. I'm feeling it today. :)

Off the wheat. It's  been a week. I feel so much better already. I'm reading Wheat Belly and before I even got done the first chapter I was making the cut. First thing was to clean out the pantry, the cupboards and the fridge. The family cringed when I said this stuff was going....

They were very happy to receive it at the food bank.

When I told family and friends we were making the cut; to be healthier, I think they thought I had lost my mind. And the first day I went grocery shopping I thought maybe I had. A lot of label reading, which I do anyway but that pesky wheat hides in some pretty bizarre places. It took me an hour to get groceries the first time.

I've done A LOT more research. I've bought the products to get us going on the right track (i.e. wheat free flour mixtures, wheat free breads and snacks). Keeps us all from getting frustrated.

Honestly, the key to success is going back to basics. Veggies, berries, meat, fish, eggs, nuts. I bought a half a cow I think. Grass fed. Fresh eggs. Local as much as possible.

Eating like this for the past week and I'm already down 6 pounds. I honestly think it was 6 pounds of stinky crap. Literally. Talk about gas and a stench as it was purging out of my body. Ugh! But now, less ick. What I put in my body is being used by my body. Less waste. More energy. My blood sugar isn't pitching and diving every couple hours. Makes all the difference in the world, not only for the body for the mind.

So onward we go. Healthy food. Exercise. On the right track.

Love the one you're with. XO

PS Yummy cookie recipe tomorrow.