Lazy Hazy Days of Summer…

Today was another lazy day. What can I say, after finishing my program I really can’t get myself to do anything productive. There are plenty of things that needed to be done; however, I just can’t. I need to get over this mind block, write a to-do list, and get things done!

Before talking about today’s eats I should mention my yummy dinner from last night. It was fabulous. I had Deconstructed Healthy Spanakopita, it was aaaamazing! RhodeyGirl is a genius for coming up with this idea. I’m drooling just thinking about it. I can’t wait to have it again.

One thing that I am working on and is definitely on track is my vegetable intake. Today was another great day with a yummy lunch. I ended up making those yucca fries and they were sooo delicious! I dipped them in bbq sauce and was in heaven.

Basically, I chopped up the yucca root, which was very very difficult to chop. Next time I might boil the yucca before I chop it. I put the ‘fries’ on the pan and added some olive oil, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and paprika. I left them in the oven for about half and hour and they were done. I will definitely be making them again.

I couldn’t really pinpoint what I was craving for lunch today so I had a bunch of things. I had sauteed some zucchini and mushrooms, added some carrots, and some grapes. I ended up making a little tasting plate of everything that I wanted in the moment. The only thing missing was some hummus – that would have made this lunch perfect.

For dinner tonight we had some rice and beans. The rice were white (ate about 3/4 of a cup) as they were not enough brown rice. The beans were great. Along with that I had some yogurt and a salad.

After dinner I set out for a run. I ended up covering about 2 miles before I got home. It was a great run. I’m seriously considering signing up for a race and training for it. I’m thinking small first, probably a 5k (3.1 miles) just to see if I like it or not. I enjoy running though. It is a great stress reliever along with a great time to just contemplate a lot of things. I haven’t tried to run farther than 3 miles and I can’t wait until I do.

Now before I leave, I leave you with this quote.

“You start out life with a clean slate. Then you begin to make your mark. You face decisions, make choices. You keep moving forward. But sooner or later there comes a time when you look back over where you have been … and wonder who you really are.” – The Wonder Years

Does the past really depict who we really are?

Zucchini Patties

I love to try new recipes! However, by the time I’m done going through a recipe, I have subbed and added so many new things that it really just becomes a recipe of my own. I love getting inspiration though. While on the search for a veggie burger recipe, I stumbled upon a zucchini pattie recipe and was instantly inspired. I had 3 zucchini’s in my fridge that needed to be used up. I only used one for today but I’m sure this recipe will be a keeper!

The picture really don’t do the zucchini patties justice. Unfortunately, I left the patties on the pan for a little longer than they should have so you can’t see the green as much. The zucchini patties had corn, red pepper, and mushrooms inside them. Along with a little bit of mozzarella cheese (I will leave this out next time, I couldn’t taste it!). I did not have whole wheat bread crumbs on hand so I used whole wheat flour instead. I also used one egg to bind all the ingredients together. My sister whipped up some sour cream and dill as a topper for the patties. They were delish! I could definitely see myself putting this in a sandwich, burger, or all on their own like I had them today.

Because lunch was so late today, I’m not sure I’ll get to the yucca fries. I might have to save that for tomorrow. Off to have some coffee with friends now!

Yucca

Yesterday my family attended a wedding and I attended the wedding reception with them. It was definitely a test to see if I could go without stuffing myself to the brim. I think I was successful overall though. I tried one of everything and didn’t finish my dinner plate. One of the things that I have been working on is eating when I am truly hungry and stopping when I am full.  Full does not mean “ughhh, why did I eat so much” but satisfied. When you are satisfied you are neither hungry nor feeling like you are going to puke any second. It has taken quite awhile for me to understand where my body is satisfied and I’m still working on it. This illustrates to me how much distortion there is between food and body. I can remember often times eating just because I was bored. Yes, food can be great entertainment but that great fairytale becomes a nightmare when you step on the scale and realize your up 10+ pounds. Being in tune with my hunger cues will be essential to losing the last 10-15 pounds.

Yesterday’s food:
Breakfast: Bran flakes, cheerios, granola with skim milk

Lunch: Leftover red kidney beans with broccoli, mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, salsa, 1/2 cup brown rice, and a little garlic and herb feta cheese

Snack: Some grapes and a couple of multigrain tostitos with homemade salsa

Dinner: Appies: 1 vegetable, 1 fish, and one paneer pakora. 1 piece of tandoori chicken, 1 spring roll. Entree: A little bit of each: Greek salad, butter chicken, rice, 1 piece of naan, pasta, yogurt. Dessert: A piece of watermelon and cantaloupe. One bite of cake.

After reading about it on many blogs I bought a Yucca Root while at the grocery store a few days ago. I was intrigued by how many bloggers were cooking this vegetable in many different ways. A yucca root  (aka cassava) “is a white, starchy tropical vegetable that widely grown and consumed in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In many countries, yucca is a dietary staple usually eaten boiled, steamed, and in flour form as thickeners or additional ingredients for noodles, cakes, and pastries. It is a source of Vitamin A, B, and C. The yucca root has many health benefits. The plant contains something called saponins, chemical compounds that are helpful to the human body. A saponin can be used to reduce muscle spasms and is an effective treatment for internal inflammation.”

After reading the benefits of eating yucca, I looked up the various ways of preparing it. I think I will make yucca fries tonight with dinner and see how that goes. I will explain how I prepare it later on. Stay tuned!

Yesterday I completed Level 2 of the shred and will be attempting Level 3 today. I’m very excited for something new and nervous to see what Level 3 is all about!

Introduction

Hello world! This is my first blog post and am very excited to join the blogsphere. So why am I writing a blog? Well, first of all it seemed pretty darn cool. Especially since a friend of mine just started one to discuss her detox diet. Check out Aman and Meena’s Diabolical Detox Blog. I also wanted to start to document the journey I have been on for the past couple of years. My goal is to strive to be as healthy as I can. I’m not saying I’m a perfect, healthy, fitness freak but I am trying. This blog will document what I eat and how I move my body to meet my goals.

Right now I’m a little apprehensive about posting a goal weight of some sort. I do have an idea of where I’d like to be but I do not want the focus of this blog to be a number. I want the focus of the blog to be about eating right and moving my body on a daily basis. I do, however, believe that when you embark on something there should be a goal in mind. So, my goal will be to lose several inches overall. Maybe I should get a goal outfit to work towards??? I like to gauge my success through the way my clothes feel instead of the scale as I feel its a genuine indicator of how my body is changing. Now I should put out there that I will be traveling to Vegas in about 18 days. That gives me almost 3 weeks to get my butt in gear.

So what have I been doing so far? Well for the past month I have been ‘Shredding’ with Jillian Michaels by using her 30 days Shred Dvd. This dvd completely kicks my butt! I’m always sweating buckets afterwards and can really feel it the next day. The dvd is only 20 minutes long which makes it manageable especially during school. Well, now that I am finished with school (just completed my Bachelor of Education, hooray!) I will have more time to dedicate to working out and eating. I enjoy Jillian’s interval training system and feel that it is very effective. The interval training system is a 3-2-1 method which means you do weights for 3 minutes, cardio for 2 minutes, and abs for 1 minute. There are 3 of these circuits in the Shred dvd. There are also 3 different levels. You do each level for 10 days and then proceed to the next one. Right now I am on level 2 on day 9. I’m excited yet nervous to see what level 3 has in store for me!

I would like to focus a lot of energy on what I eat. Although I have been working out consistently for the past month, my food has not been up to par. I believe food is definitely 80% of dieting (ugh I really hate that word!). My struggle right now is that I often undereat or overeat. I need to find a balance and plan my meals around vegetables. I have an ongoing battle with vegetables. I love them but always find it hard somehow to get them in everyday. I can sometimes go a whole day without eating one. This has got to change! In order to help myself get some more vegetables in, I’ll keep a log and take pictures of what I eat.

Okay, on to today’s food.

Breakfast: Cereal with skim milk (mix of bran flakes, a small handful of Cheerios, and some granola), tea

Lunch: Yam topped with red kidney beans, homemade salsa, and some garlic and herb feta cheese. This meal was delicious! I never thought to have beans with yams but it was a great combo. I will definitely have this again. The homemade salsa also added a great flavour to the whole dish.

Ok, before I reveal what I had for dinner I would just like to say that all day I wailed and whined about working out. I hmmed and hawed about whether I should workout or not. I convinced myself that I had already had 5 days of activity this week and that I really didn’t have to workout if I didn’t want to but after the indulgent 2 days I have had I needed to do something. I can tell I am getting bored of level 2 and those damn squat thrusts! Luckily, today was day 9 and soon I will be graduating onto level 3. Anyway, after my workout for some reason I was not hungry at all but was craving some good ol’ sweetness. I ended up cutting up some strawberries…and adding them to a bowl of…..wait for it…….some vanilla chocolate crackle ice cream! I am not perfect and do not claim to be but I really had a light food day today. The ice cream hit the spot and left me feeling satisfied.

Dinner: Sliced strawberries with half a cup of vanilla chocolate crackle ice cream aka heaven in a bowl

Tomorrow I will be attending a wedding reception which means that I will have to grow a pair and eat as healthy as I can throughout the day. Breakfast and Lunch will definitely be on the lighter side. Wish me luck! 🙂