Recipes Vol. 1

This has been weighing on me to jot down a few of my GO TO recipes for you Brian. Almost as much as the weight of my first Sharing Time lesson this Sunday along with the Christmas gifts/Primary program/Baptsim Fireside/Priesthood Preview/and recommendations of about 50 Primary workers. But I care about you this much Brian, to take some time to share a few of the snacks I love.

I saw some sign floating somewhere online saying that a healthy body is 80% nutrition, 20% fitness. While I don't know if that is a true statistic, I think it is on the right track. I have found that what I eat impacts me so much more than the exercising and weight-lifting. While fitness is super important, it is not the only thing to focus on. 

I am constantly eating! Every 1.5 - 3 hours I am in my pantry or fridge concocting something to satisfy my active stomach. So I have had to do a bit of research to find what works for me in terms of health vs. taste. I have always had the mindset that I eat for pleasure, not for survival. While Matt Neve is totally against this thinking, it is a hard thing for me to break. So I have had to work hard at finding things that are tasty but low calories. 

(First off, I apologize for the picture quality, there kinda terrible but will have to do)

Breakfast:

My usual breakfast is Steel Cut Oats with some kind of fruit and nut. I am a skim milk kind of a girl, I know to some that is barely a step up from water, but YUM, it's my thing. I also use Truvia which is a brand of Stevia for my sweetners. I used to use one packet per bowl of oatmeal or hot drink (which I will get to) but I my sweet-tooth is more like a tiny baby tooth compared to the giant, four-rooted freak sized molar it used to be, so now I only use half a packet. 

Some other breakfast ideas I like to mix in are "overnight oats". This is one of the meals from a cleanse some of the Heslop's have done. During that three days, the overnight oats are heaven sent! It is super easy too, you just have to be thinking the night before. I get Silk dark chocolate Almond Milk, but any kind of almond milk/soy milk would work. In a mason jar measure out 1/3 cup oats and 1/3 cup of your choice of milk. Put a lid on it and stick in the fridge till morning. Then, when I'm ready to eat it, I cut up some almonds to throw in. You can also do some fruit - raspberries or bananas are my favorite with overnight oats. Really whatever you have or feel like. Super easy!

Another yummy breakfast, or I actually use it more as a snack. In fact, I am eating it as we speak (or I type). Coconut Granola. I almost always have this on hand. It is so good and curbs any sweetness I am craving. It is a GO TO for me at night, because I am always so munchy at night and it is very filling. I got the recipe here. But the beauty of this recipe is you can really just throw in whatever you have. I usually add Fiber One Cereal (the ones that look like little sticks) because it adds some good fiber. I add hemp seeds, flax seed, this last time I added banana chips, craisins. Seriously, whatever you have that sounds good to you. I always double the recipe, and that is not for my families sake. I eat about 97% of every batch. I also cut down on the brown sugar, so for doubling the batch I use 3 TB and I sub agave for pure maple syrup (because I think agave is cheaper and I always have it on hand). Also a note, the higher the temp and the longer you cook it at, the crunchier it is, so keep that in mind if you want a softer or harder granola. Every batch I make is a little different, which keeps it interesting :)

Snack Time:

Which lets face it, is a majority of my day! Daily I have cottage cheese with cut up tomato and avocado and a little sea salt. Sometimes I eat it with rice crackers to give it a nice crunch. 

Another is homemade Granola Bars. Recipe here. Again I sub agave for the maple syrup. They are great for a sweet treat. I usually package them in individual squares and freeze them so they last a long time. When you crave them, because you will, pop one out of the freeze and eat chilled or microwave for a few seconds.

Chobani yogurt - passion fruit flavored (my favorite) is also a great snack. It has a bit of sugar like any yogurt, but it is packed with protein so if my day is lacking protein and I've had little sugar, I go to Chobani.

Hot drinks are my new found love! Seriously, I can't get enough of them especially with this changing weather. They take a long time to drink which is good for me. At night they help me curb my munchies and I don't eat as much. Things like Pero, herbal tea, or hazelnut steamers. If you want more in depth on those, let me know, they are kind of an acquired taste and not everyone appreciates them.

In my efforts of trying to fuel my body with mostly healthy foods some other tips I use daily are:
I rarely use white sugar at any time. I use other sweeteners such as Truvia, honey, or agave. In any recipe if it calls for butter, I generally cut it in half or use coconut oil instead. Or in baking instances, I use applesauce. I try to use wheat flour, or when buying any breads, I stay away from whiteness. Brown in any form is always better, right?!
While I love the idea of Paleo eating, I in no way would say that is my current life-style. But I think it is something to think about. I try to stay away from packaged foods. It is an expensive and time-consuming way of living. But for the amount my family can handle of it, it is well worth it. It means that I am in the kitchen...a lot! I am baking some form of bread at least 4 times a week along with all the dinnertime meals. I'm not saying that is for everyone, because it is not. Even for me, which I LOVE to cook, it can get exhausting at times. But just something to think about when possible...

These are just a couple of my ideas/recipes for healthier eating. Hence the "Vol. 1". I am hoping to post some more recipes and meal ideas soon. But this is a start. Also, I have a Pinterest board titled Successful Yumm-os found here, that has some great recipes that I have tried and liked. Especially the banana bread, it is a found weekly baking in my oven. (Just keep in mind it is a healthy bread and don't compare it to your mom's delish banana bread). Until Vol. 2...

Laura

A key change that has worked for me

I've been going strong since I started the blog. Two months ago I set a goal that I would work out 4 days a week.  Since making that goal, I have not missed a day's workout. I don't think I've ever gone this long in my life without missing a single day, and I was wondering why that is. Is it because Mexico is less than 7 months away? Is it cause I've been juggling more things and need the gym? Is it because I'm stubborn? All of these reasons are true, but I think the thing that's made consistency a lot easier for me is the time of day I do my work out. I've never committed to getting up and working out before I begin the day, and I must say, it has made all the difference. Working out makes me feel good, but getting there can be a horrible experience sometimes. You know what's coming. You make up errands that "have" to be done, and the gym is put off once again. 

When I go to the gym in the morning, I'm done with it. I don't need to agonize over it for the rest of the day. I don't need to fight myself over it or wear myself out making excuses. It seems like I have more time for all the things that demand my attention. Not only this, but working out in the morning is the proverbial folgers in my cup. It definitely starts my day right.

My experience with this pattern of consistency has also opened my eyes to the actual weight of my many duties. On the days when going to the gym is more challenging, and I'm struggling through my workout, something just short of Disney magic happens by the end. As soon as I take my last step on the treadmill and finish my workout, I feel as light as a feather. It's as if I carry a lot of weight from all the duties and chores and tasks I have in my life, and exercising is just one more weight. But it's a weight that, as soon as I've bore it sufficiently that morning, releases the rest of the weights of my life. It's weird. But it has changed my actual motivation to go to the gym. I've learned that working out isn't just something that will help me with my physique.  I need it for all the other aspects of my life. And it should be this way, because don't the other activities of our lives--sleeping, eating, working, and playing--each contribute to and shape our health?

If it's possible, I encourage you to try out working in the morning before you start the day. It's worked for me in a very positive way, and the results are starting to show.

Motivation: Mexico

Remember when that lady told us in her Boston accent to use plenty of sunscreen, or the time the three Mexican kids cornered Eric in a pool and he didn't know how to tell them in Spanish: "Excuse me, but you're in my personal space." Remember zip lining, parasailing, swimming up to the bar, telling venders "I'll take that one," and eating at the delicious Pipi's? Yes friends, I'm talking about Puerto Vallarta. Whether it seems like that happened yesterday or was a lifetime away, it's going to happen in nine months. Yes you heard me. Nine. So that means I've got to get myself in gear for the beach. I've got to build up my energy to suck every last ounce of enjoyment out of Mexico as possible before another 2-year separation. And last time I checked, unlike Matilda I AM in a family. We're ALL going to Mexico.

This blog is a prep for Mexico 2014 and beyond. Every day from here to there matters because it's the little things that make the big things. Just look at your body calorie intake. Each hour of each day for the next nine months will determine how much you'll be able to enjoy running along the beach, dominating in ultimate frisbee, flying up in a parachute, swimming through the ocean waves, and looking good in that two piece. I'm talking to you, Michael.

Because Mexico is the product of the next nine months, I need to take each month at a time, by each week, each day. What I do/don't do and eat/not eat will produce the days, weeks, and months until Mexico happens.

My goals: increase energy, increase endorphins, build muscle, lose fat.

How to get there: manage my life by focusing on what I eat, find resources to eat healthy, receive encouragement and motivation from others, help motivate and encourage others.

So, for my very first post, I would encourage everyone to think about balance. What is balance? We sometimes balance things like a scale, or we have balance like a well-designed room. It's something we hear a lot about, but it's often difficult to understand how it's used or how we can actually see it and apply it in our lives. I've been learning a lot about balance since living in Memphis and being a grad student. If my life is off-balance, I definitely feel it. It effects everything, like a broken wing crashes an entire plane. My knee-jerk reaction to finding balance is taking away the excess that makes it hard to balance everything. By getting rid of things in our lives, that helps ease our daily balancing act, right? Not necessarily. Imagine walking a tight rope. Holding a pole helps you walk the line. If you were to take away part of the pole, it would make it harder to keep balance. My calling as Young Men's President is something I'm going to add to all the other things I'm juggling in my life. But it's actually going to help me (as it already has) keep things balanced. Since getting my calling, I've gone back to the gym. I'm doing some great summer reading. I'm preparing for school and going to present at two conferences this fall. My calling helps me because it gets my mind off of the consuming presence of school. The gym helps me clear my mind from my worries of my calling. Socializing with friends, going to the temple, vegging in front of the TV, and studying all help me give balance to my life so I'm not idly trying to get the one thing on my list I've been meaning to do. I've experienced drowning in a pool of time. For some reason, when I have less, I get nothing done. Maybe it's just the way I am, but the principle of balance can be applied to everyone.

I encourage you to think about what balance means for you, how you maintain balance in your life, and how eating healthy and exercising play into your daily balancing act.