A Day Of Food

I've really been enjoying the slow pace of summer and making nutritious meals for my family.  I've been trying to make a new recipe every day and I'm trying hard to keep those recipes healthy and full of local fresh veggies.  So I thought I would share my day in food with you guys.

For breakfast I had banana bread oatmeal.
1/2 c. Irish oats
1 c. water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp agave nectar
1 banana
7 walnut halves

In a bowl combine oats, water, agave, cinnamon and nutmeg heat in microwave for 3 minutes.  Stir in sliced banana and walnuts
 

For lunch I had a homemade veggie burger with some shreds of local cheddar cheese on it.
2 cooked red potatoes
1/2 c. black beans
1/2 c. irish oats
1/4 c. shredded zucchini
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 clove garlic
seasonings to taste ( I like McCormick Hickory Maple)
sometimes I add a little egg if the mixture doesn't want to stick together

Puree all ingredients in food processor until no large lumps are visible.  It will be like a paste.  Spread four equal size portions into burger shapes in a hot greased pan.  Cook until firm and brown.

For dinner we had 'Disappearing Zucchini Orzo' from "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"

Finally this is what dessert has been looking like in our house these days.

-Kim

Power Smoothie Recipe

Well I've had a whirlwind week here at the abode.  The 4th of July was tons of fun, so much so that I took no pictures at all!  I was just so busy being.  I wish I had in hindsight.  We also started doing p90x this week.  Today is day 5.  Let me tell you it is not for the weak of heart .  I have had some days were I've made it all the way through the grueling hour plus workouts and some where my body has given out before the end of the tape, and I literally mean that.  I haven't just given up my arms have given out.  I'm trying to push myself for as long as I can in each workout.  Last night was by far the toughest and it was the one I was most looking forward to, Yoga.  The Yoga is 1.5 hours long, I only made it through about 35 minutes of it which was all plank and downward facing dogs into runner pose, with a few warrior poses thrown in.  My arms were trembling and I just could not do one more. I wish I had stuck with it, my husband did and said that as soon as I left they stopped doing planks, of course.  With that being said I've been reading Tony Horton's Bring It book, and I really like his philosophy on food, I've been trying to get rid of so much processed unhealthy food for more whole foods and natural foods.  I feel so much better when I don't eat bad and getting rid of the artificial sweeteners, caffeine and garbage makes me feel great.  So this week I made a little jaunt to Whole Foods to get a few things and made my take on a power smoothie.  I don't use protein powder in mine but I do when I make my husbands, but for me it's too many calories.  I made this yesterday afternoon before my workout and it gave me such great energy, better than an energy drink!

Power Smoothie Recipe
4 oz. Strawberry Kefir
5 frozen strawberries
7 frozen blackberries
1 package or serving Amazing Grass Chocolate Flavor
1 tbs Chia Seeds soaked in 2 tbs water
splash of skim milk if needed to thin

Pour everything into your blender and puree until smooth.

Back on Track

Well, I lost 2 lbs this week getting me to the 50 lb mark! I also bought a new pair of Reeboks, tossing out the old crappy New Balance. Such a difference. Today I did Yoga with the kids and then the treadmill and topped it off with weights. I also should say that I have thrown the Candida diet out the window. I tried I really did, but I wasn't doing good. Part of my success at Weight Watchers has been eating a good breakfast with lots of fiber. It's really hard to get enough fiber on such a limited diet. I'm glad I went back to eating normal, I feel better.  I have been changing some foods, trying to find better alternatives.  I use to eat a lot of Fiberone bars, but recently switched to GNU bars, they are all natural and have more fiber and no high fructose corn syrup.  I also switched to Kashi bars for snack bars.  This morning I had a bowl of shredded wheat with kefir and a banana, so good and so filling.  How is your week going so far?

New Shoes?

So this morning I woke up bright and early, donned my workout gear and went downstairs to do my Bootcamp video. I was about 10 minutes in and in the middle of doing jumping jacks when I felt a pop in my knee and couldn't do another jumping jack. Also my feet were killing me after only 10 minutes. I'm 100% sure that it's my shoes that are to blame. I've had the same pair of poorly fitting New Balance for the last 5 or 6 years (sad, I know) They give me no support, it feels like I might as well be wearing flip flops. They are too wide and too big and just bad. I have another cheap pair of tennis shoes from Target (also at least 4 years old) that are too small and hurt my toes when I wear them. I think I'm just going to break down and get a new pair and I guess I'll stick to Yoga and weights for a few days until my knee feels better. Anyone have any good suggestions for shoes?

Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

Well on my quest to find suitable foods for this Candida diet I have found breakfast to be the hardest. Most mornings I just drink a glass of Kefir and call it a day. After a while though, that gets pretty boring. So I decided to try out quinoa for breakfast. In case you don't know about quinoa let me fill you in. Quinoa is a grain-like seed that can be cooked as you would rice, it is also a rare complete plant based protein, containing 12-18% protein and having a balanced set of amino acids. It is a good source of fiber, phosphorous, magnesium and iron and it's gluten free. It's pretty much a perfect food. We often make it for dinner with lots of veggies, beans and a little chicken. This week I bought a box of it and cooked the whole thing so I would have it ready in the fridge. So one morning for breakfast I mixed a little unsweetened coconut milk, stevia and fresh berries into and heated it up like you would oatmeal. At the end I added a little cinnamon. It was really good although the texture took a little getting used to, and I was really full all morning. If you have never tried quinoa before I can't recommend it enough, it's such a versatile food.

Weight Watchers Update

Had a great week this week. I weighed in yesterday and lost 3lbs!! I think doing the Candida diet has made a difference. I'm still doing Weight Watchers but I've cut out most of the sugar and all of the bread. I've been trying really hard on the Candida diet but I've decided there is no way to go cold turkey on it. I've been easing myself into it. I've had a few slips I ate a regular tortilla, a scoop of ice cream and some balsamic vinegar dressing, not together of course :) Those were my big slips, so not too bad for a week. I've been eating a lot of quinoa, veggies, kefir and brown rice cakes, tortillas and crackers. I've eaten a ridiculous amount of cucumbers, they are just so good. As far as workouts go, last week they were all in the pool, except for one day when we went to the zoo and I counted walking the zoo as a workout. It was in the upper 90's here all last week and that was all I could make myself do. I did do strength training a few days, but this week I really want to make sure I'm doing it everyday switching between legs and arms. So looking forward to another good week this week, we're off to the zoo again today.

Candida Diet Day 1

Have you ever had that moment where you realize something so obvious that that you feel kind of dumb for not thinking of it sooner? I totally had that moment this week. I've been battling a really bad sinus infection that I'm sure was allergy induced. I am seriously allergic to mold. When I was tested the doctor had to redo all of my tests because I reacted so strongly to mold that it covered all the other test marks. So knowing this I try and avoid mold. I don't go into the basement or damp areas, I wear a mask when raking leaves and I take an allergy medicine every day. Yet I still end up getting sick from my allergies a lot. I always have this drainage going on. So here I am making something to eat the other day and I had this realization that I never considered the foods I eat as a culprit in my allergies. I mean hello, cheese and mold go hand in hand!

I started reading up on it and found that a lot of people have relieved themselves of their allergy symptoms by following a yeast free/mold free diet. It's kind of extreme, there is a lot that you can't have. You have to avoid sugar since it feeds yeast and mold in your body, a lot of fruits are out since they have high mold contents, basically you can have berries. Starchy vegetables have to be avoided for the same reasons. Peanuts, out. Breads or anything made with wheat or oats, out. Dairy, out. The good news is that vegetables are in and beans are okay as long as they are made from dried and not purchased canned. Meat and eggs are okay and kefir and yogurt are in. Stevia is the only sweetener that you can have. Most nuts are okay and grains like brown rice, buckwheat and quinoa are all acceptable. I have been thinking for a long time about giving up dairy since it absolutely kills my stomach and makes my drainage way worse. So I don't think that will be that bad. I also can't have caffeine, so no coffee, which is also okay because every time I drink that I feel terrible also. I can drink water and ginger tea and some almond milks.

After thinking about my day and how I eat I've realized that i really only need to make a few changes. This is what my typical meals look like and the Candida/Mold free changes that I hope to make;

Breakfast:
I always eat a fiberone bar and banana

Candida/Mold free switch will be 1 cup Kefir or greek yogurt and berries.

Lunch:
I most often have a lo carb tortilla with black beans, peppers, lettuce, onion and a tiny amount of dressing.

Candida/Mold free switch will be either finding a buckwheat tortilla or skipping the tortilla and adding extra lettuce. The dressing will have to go but I'l either replace it with a dressing made from greek yogurt or a squeeze of lime.

Snack:
I usually have either kefir, yogurt or carrots dipped in a greek yogurt dip.

Candida/Mold free switch: I'll probably just switch the carrots for bell pepper strips.

Dinner:
I usually have a lean protein (chicken, fish, beef) and veggies. Sometimes we have pasta or wraps.

Candida/Mold free switch: I'll be eating more brown rice and quinoa in place of pasta and as I said I'm hoping to find a tortilla substitute. We usually have fish that has a very light breading so that's out. I also love potatoes so that will probably be the hardest thing to give up. I'll be increasing my intake of greens, broccoli, squash and green beans.

Dessert:
This is the tough one. If I have dessert I usually eat a weight watcher ice cream. Ice cream is my weakness, even though my stomach hurts every time I eat it.

Candida/Mold free switch: I'm hoping that I can find a sorbet that is made with Stevia that would be awesome or maybe a coconut milk ice cream with Stevia.

So anyway, I'm headed to Whole Foods today to see what I can find and to get some Grapefruit seed extract since I keep hearing how great is is for sinus infections. I'm at least committed to giving this diet a good try while maintaining my weight watchers diet. If it made a change in my life where I didn't feel sick all the time it would be worth giving up any food.

Weight Watchers Update

(image at weheartit)

This week was rough. I didn't lose anything at my weigh in Sunday. I know it was because I didn't pay close enough attention to my nutrition. I'm not going to make any excuses for myself, the week was really busy with my husband out of town and preparations for my son's birthday party and I let that get in my way. I know better and this week I'm kicking it up a notch and making sure I follow the program to a tee. I want to be down 50 lbs by my daughter's birthday on June 20th, so I have a few lbs to lose over the next few weeks. Wish me luck!

Weight Watchers Update

So this Sunday when I weighed in I had lost 3 lbs. I was kind of surprised because the week before I only lost 1. I've been pretty consistently losing 2 each week, so maybe it just balanced its self out. So that brought my weight loss to a total of 41 lbs. I'm loving that I'm losing weight and I feel so committed to weight watchers but I have been struggling with the fact that nothing fits. I don't want to keep buying a new wardrobe every 2 months. I've been getting a few pieces as I go down each size. I'm officially down two sizes. I'm just trying to imagine the awesome wardrobe I'll buy when I reach my goal weight :)


-Kim

House Party!!

Are you down with House Party?  If you haven't heard yet this site works with companies to offer up party opportunities.  All you have to do is go to their site and register.  After that keep your eyes open for a party that you are interested in hosting, apply for it and then wait.  After a few weeks they will let the chosen folks know.  If you are selected you get a party package for the item you are promoting.

I hosted my first House Party this past Saturday for Weight Watchers Ice Cream.  It was a pretty great experience.  They provided me with coupons for all of the ice cream, a few items to help with the party and some fun activities for my guests.  We had a great time hanging out and eating some yummy snacks.  One of my favorite activities was making inspiration boards with the ladies.  We cut out magazine pictures and words that went with our goals and made little collages.  Mine is hanging on my fridge and every time I see it I remember my goals.

Check out some of the fun pictures from my House Party and head over there now to register for yours.

inspiration boards

girls working hard 

strawberry shortcake kabobs

Drink bar

All the yummy goodness

-Kim

I'm Back!!

Anybody who still bothers to read this probably knows that I started blogging over at D.I.Y. Louisville late last year.  I'm busy as a bee over there blogging about crafty and local stuff and had pretty much abandoned this blog.  Much has been going on in my life and I see blogging here as a new opportunity to journal the many thoughts I have everyday.  So be prepared, I have lots to say.  You probably won't be seeing much crafty stuff here, but you'll be hearing a lot about my current weight loss plan, my family and kids, my thrifty goals, my crazy ass ideas and maybe you can struggle through some pictures of me as I attempt to be more fashionable.

So first things first, I have been on Weight Watchers since January.  I really can't believe I had let my self get so out of control.  My weight was crazy.  I had been eating fast and bad for years and dealing with my emotions by shoving food in my face.  Since January I have lost 37 lbs and I feel so amazing.  It's been hard, I've struggled with new ways to cope with my emotions and learning to eat for fuel not for fun.  I love Weight Watchers, I have tried so many diets that didn't work because they were diets.  I think it's impossible to stay on a diet for your entire life.  Weight Watchers has been slowly teaching me how to eat to be healthy.  I still have  along way to go to reach  my goal weight, like about 75 lbs.  I hope you guys will join with me as I reach my goals!

So I'm sharing a terrible picture of myself from November 2010 that made me want to cry and one from Easter 2011.

Starting:

I'm in the cranberry dress.  This is at my sister's wedding.  She has also lost 35 lbs since then.

Current:

-Kim