Quiona…A Dieter’s Dream Food Especially If You LOVE Rice!

Today I am feeling a bit under the weather, I have some kind of allergies or a head cold….(& I really don’t like to take meds ) , so anyhoo, my appetite wasn’t much of anything today, but of course I had to cook for the kids and eat something. I baked some boneless, center cut porkchops, & of course, I wanted to make white rice, but my mind was like no, make quinoa….I really didn’t want to, but I did make quinoa, because I know it is really good for me, and I needed to eat something healthy.

When it came time to eat, I was wowed once again with the taste of quinoa. Completely forgot how good it is, and how much it’s consistency is like rice especially with a good piece of lean meat and a salad.

Tips when cooking quinoa: cook quinoa like rice, read the instructions on the box, and add a little of chicken stock or chicken broth to remove the bitterness during the boiling process.

Half way thru my dinner grabbed my phone and took a pic to share 🙂

Here are some Quinoa benefits and use the link below to get more details:

• A grain packed with protein
• A dream food to add to your list of clean foods
• Acts as a detoxifier
• Great for your bones
• Food your brain

http://www.3fatchicks.com/5-health-benefits-of-quinoa/

food can be medicine or poison…..you have to choose

so I coordinated the 5th grade dance for my daughter and her fellow classmates this evening….although we had fruit, veggies, there was a ton of sugar being served, and I felt so convicted cause I know I wouldn’t eat that stuff…..I kept thinking it’s a party and these are kids, but that is not a good enough reason especially since I know the way sugar is ‘over used’. It’s the norm to celebrate with food. Yet, I know sugar can be toxic, addicting and it’s hidden in our foods to make it taste better when promoting fat free foods today.  I guess it’s a mind set that I have to get over.

Food is not your enemy. Food can be a medicine if treated with respected. Eating the right foods have changed me. I think better, and I am more focused. My sugar levels are balanced, and I feel good and my level of productivity is amazing.

Got Back Pain?

Got back pain? Did you know that Ab exercises can most likely help with that? I use to suffer from back pain. However once I started doing core and abdominal exercises in my workout program, my back pain was pretty much gone. (*core muscles are your hip, back, abdominal muscles)

This article does a good job explaining what makes up the core muscles and recommend exercises on how to specifically target  those mucles that will help decrease lower back pain….as always consult with your physician.

http://www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/back-exercises-and-abdominal-exercise-recommendations

forget fat burners…build fat-burning muscle!

Muscle is a very important asset on your body to invest in and develop. Strength training is something that pays you back, it rewards you by burning fat even while you are at rest not only just when you are doing it. You are building fat burning muscle in your work outs especially with P90X.

Love this pic….this is one of top BB Coaches, Jenelle Summers, and I just had share this pic she posted today, because I love what she says about MUSCLE:

Praying for better legs?!?!? No really, if you feel your bottom half is too big already, choosing to NOT strength train those muscles is a mistake! Those large muscles, your #quads, your #glutes, are calorie & fat burners for your WHOLE BODY. I don’t take fat burners, I build fat-burning muscle! #trainmean #muscle #fitness #domore #squats

No more pancakes from the box for us!

Made these pancakes for the kids this morning, and they loved them!

Almond blanched flour is a bit pricey, but if you are tired of constantly eating wheat flour, brown rice flour, multi-grain, this recipe is a great one to try.

Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, has an awesome variety of gluten free flour that are way cheaper than the Almond flour….to make pancakes, cookies, cakes and even brownies.  And, the site below also has other recipes for gluten free pancakes as well 🙂

Used organic coconut oil instead of the grapeseed oit…..Trader Joe’s price for this was the best: about $5.00; Coconut oil can be pricey as well.

My son requested pancakes yesterday morning; I told him that I was no longer buying pancakes in box and need to find a good recipe…luckly the same day one of my FB friends posted this recipe! Very happy I tried it! 🙂

Click on this link for the gluten free, almond blanched flour pancake recipe:

http://www.elanaspantry.com/silver-dollar-pancakes/ Elana’s Pantry

No more pancakes from the box for us!

I had fitness club membership before I had my 1st car!

I’ve exercised for as long as I can remember. My first workout was with Get in Shape Girl back in the 80s…lol…wow. It was a Christmas gift. I did it because it looked fun, and I wanted to be healthy….back in the 80s, Aerobics was the new craze or at least it seem to be. I continued to workout as I got older, however the reason as to why I would exercise changed drastically. I started hating my legs and my butt. I honestly wanted to be skinny with 2 stick legs. I continued doing aerobics, started to jog, and when I was able to get my 1st membership at a fitness club, I did! I had fitness club membership before I had my 1st car!!

Anyways, it was long journey of exercising (on & off) for me after that. I was never into fad diets or diet plans, but I was into eating as healthy as I could, although I hated healthy food at the time. Eventually I ended up getting into working out with weights along with cardio. As I educated myself and reading up on weight lifting and eating clean, I stop hating my legs and butt. I saw myself in a different light; I accepted my body, and no I didn’t become a muscle girl,lol…my body didn’t respond as easily to the weights, but I did change my perception of myself, and it was defintitely a more positive image.

Eventually, I grew up and I had kids, exercising went to the back burner during those years, I didn’t have time. Juggling a career with 2 kids, my energy was zapped and stress levels where high since I was raising a family on my own.  As my kids got older around 4 and 5 yrs old, I was able to focus on getting healthy and get my body back in shape. I started workouts at home which were ok. I found Zumba which I loved because I love music and I love too dance which I do here and there.

Then I found P90X in 2010. It changed my life!  One day, on facebook, someone posted about ab ripper x. I quickly looked it up and started doing it. It WAS HARD! and I loved it……I started slowly and would do 15 – 20 mins of Cardio X, Kenpo X, etc and gradually performed better. My results were incredible; what would take me 6 months at the gym, I saw in 4 to 8 weeks. My arms were toned, legs were tighter, abs were starting to be defined. It changed my life and took my fitness journey to a different level. I couldn’t believe I could get results like that at home with just 3 pd weights.

I now truly workout because I love me, I love my body and I want to be as healthy as I can be. My workouts are not done because I want to change something about me, I workout because I want to improve and enhance what I already have: physically, mentally and emotionally.

If you are interested in learning more about P90X or any Beachbody product, please feel free to contact me. FB me at facebook as well. I love to meet new people and chat; if you have any fitness goals that you would like help with, I am here as well 🙂

http://facebook.com/lsanta20

The Skinny Chicken Alfredo – yes! it’s possible :)

In the mood for Alfredo but not for all the fat that comes with it?…here is a low cal/lower fat recipe to try —- you can also sub in wheat pasta and fat free greek yogurt to get the calorie count under 500. I will definitely be giving this a try soon!

http://www.celebrations.com/content/skinny-chicken-broccoli-alfredo

The Importance of a ‘To Do’ List

Are there goals you would like to reach but sometimes you bite more than you can chew? Are you so busy that you jam pack your brain with stuff to do, so you rely on memory and end up not getting it done? Or, the things you want to get done become to overwhelming and you just give up?

As a mom of two elementary age kids, I have been there! With music lessons, after school sports, school projects, lunches, doctors appts, picture day, play dates and then add all the things I have to do for myself, I wonder how I have not lost my mind, hahaha. How do I keep myself organized and goal oriented? While I did learn to say ‘no’ to many activities (which is another post), there are commitments I have to keep and yet keep my family, work & personal life running as smoothly as possible.  One of my key tools is the old fashion to-do list!

I usually have one to-do list with 3 columns. One column is for my daily activities, second column is for my work responsibilities and the third is for my goals. I use a paper to-do list, because as I get things done, I cross it off. I rewrite my list weekly which helps me keep track of my progress, and it is a nice reminder.

What can an ordinary list, whether on paper or on an app, do for you?  Lots!  Here are some benefits:

• It helps you prioritize
• It keeps you on track
• It relieves stress
• It keeps you focused
• It saves you time & helps you plan
• It is a friendly reminder of things left undone
• It shows steady progress (not everything needs to be done in one day)
• It helps you reach your goals
• It makes you feel good, because you are on track and making things happen that are important to you

So, grab a notebook or open an app and start your list in whichever format works for you. As you continue to write your list, the style and format of your list will come natural to you. This is just a baby step to reaching many goals in your life. Why not start as soon as possible?!?!

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” ~Napoleon Hill

who said healthy doesn’t taste good?

Want a quick, tasty & healthy a.m. meal or snackl?  Tired of boiled eggs?  Make these…Paleo eggs & Canadian Bacon!

To see recipe, check out: http://www.health-bent.com/pork/bacon-and-eggs-to-go

Tips:

• Make sure each piece of bacon is on the bottom, so eggs won’t stick to the pan. Might want to slightly grease each section.
• Prepare these ahead of time, freeze in a baggy so on those busy mornings, you can grab & go and heat at work or throw in the microwave as you head at the door.
• Great source of protein snack before a workout!
• Great for kids too!