Who doesn't love pancakes?!

OK, this isn't a post on making pancakes but on the toppings that go with! I ran across this article with healthier alternatives to the transitional maple syrup. I'm dying to try the Greek yogurt one. Enjoy!!

Skip the Maple Syrup: Low-Sugar Pancake Toppings

Goal Setting and Lifestyle Changes!

One of the hardest parts of a lifestyle change is deciding where to start. This can easily become an overwhelming task for nearly anyone. We often become accustomed to our every day routine (or lack there of). While we have the best intentions to (INSERT GOAL HERE e.g lose weight, get organized,etc), it can be tough executing the plan. 

Being that this is a fitness blog, below are a few suggestions on how to implement change to attain your goals.

1. Get some sleep! It's amazing how much better our bodies and minds function when we aren't dragging. Try getting to bed even 1/2 hour earlier. Give your body a chance to rest and recover from all it's hard work each and every day. Personally, I aim for a minimum of 7 hours, but I'm a real happy camper if I get  7.5-8 hours.

2. Eat Breakfast! Starting the day with a balanced meal is one of the best things you can do for weight loss. You are kick starting your metabolism for the day and helping yourself stay focused! You should aim to get a balanced amount of protein, carbs, and FAT! I personally recommend eggs, yes whole eggs, cooked in coconut oil or ghee along with some veggies or sweet potato or one of my Super Greens Smoothie (tastes like a milkshake). To be honest I have been addicted to my Smoothies lately. You can really do so much with them by playing around with the ingredients. The best part is that it's like an ICE CREAM SHAKE for breakfast! Yum!! Don't skimp on the fat at breakfast! You can be sure to get enough by either eating whole eggs, adding avocado, cooking with coconut oil/ghee, etc.

3. Take a quality probiotic! Taking a high quality probiotic daily is like giving your  army (belly) the proper artillery needed to win. I recently started taking Dr. Ohhira's Probiotic. You can order it online at Amazon. However, if you have one that you prefer and it WORKS, then by all means keep taking it. 

4. When it comes to meal planning, be REALISTIC. We've all been told at some point that if you want to lose weight, you should eat "X,Y, and Z" Well what if you hate X, Y, and Z? What do you think your chances of success will be? Probably ZERO! Why not give yourself a fighting chance and do a real reality check. What is a reasonable and attainable goal for YOU? Not your friend, not the person in the magazine article, but YOU. Perhaps you hate cooking and always eat out. Why would you want to start a new diet plan that requires you to cook 5 -7 nights a week? Instead, perhaps you should look at the types of placing you are eating out. Maybe you can substitute dinner at Whole Foods instead of dinner at Popeyes or McDonalds.  To be successful, you have to set goals for yourself that you can attain. Focus on your strengths instead of what you are not good at. Also, even if they are small, goal setting allows you to work towards improvement instead of falling further and further behind.

Good Luck!

Great Read!!!

I have recently finished reading an AMAZING book by Dr. Brene Brown, I Though it Was Just Me, But it Isn't. This is a fascinating book that addresses some of the more uncomfortable talk-about topics of shame and disconnection. Brene Brown does an excellent job of identifying and describing strategies that we can all use in our daily life to help break down barriers and allow our authentic self to shine. I have included the book description below from her website. I highly recommend this book. I was pleasantly surprised with everything I read. It was very eye-opening and thought provoking! I hope you decide to check it out! If you are local, you're more than welcome to borrow my copy :) Otherwise, your local library should have it or Amazon.com :)

http://www.brenebrown.com/books/2010/8/7/i-thought-it-was-just-me-but-it-isnt.html

From the book jacket: The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting. We spend too much precious time and energy managing perception and creating carefully edited versions of ourselves to show to the world.

As hard as we try, we can’t seem to turn off the tapes that fill our heads with messages like, “Never good enough!” and “What will people think?”

Why? What fuels this unattainable need to look like we always have it all together? At first glance we might think it’s because we admire perfection, but that’s not the case. We are actually the most attracted to people we consider to be authentic and down-to-earth. We love people who are “real” – we’re drawn to those who both embrace their imperfections and radiate self-acceptance.

There is a constant barrage of social expectations that teach us that being imperfect is synonymous with being inadequate. Everywhere we turn, there are messages that tell us who, what and how we’re supposed to be. So, we learn to hide our struggles and protect ourselves from shame, judgment, criticism and blame by seeking safety in pretending and perfection.

Based on seven years of ground-breaking research, I THOUGHT WAS JUST ME shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we’re all in this together.

Dr. Brown writes, “We need our lives back. It’s time to reclaim the gifts of imperfection – the courage to be real, the compassion we need to love ourselves and others, and the connection that gives true purpose and meaning to life. These are the gifts that bring love, laughter, gratitude, empathy and joy into our lives.”

Kobucha & Greens Smoothie

I should have probably named this something more interesting, but the creative juices don't start to flow until after 8am :) Anyhow, I was having a bit of a hectic evening last night. Ran errands, went to Yoga, house stuff, and then Dutch class. Somewhere between all that I needed to prepare and eat dinner. YEAH RIGHT!

In an effort to ease the stress, I opt'd to make a smoothie for dinner. I used my breakfast smoothie as a base, removed the avocado, and added some kobucha... and VIOLA ! a masterpiece. I know it sounds a little funky, but it's pretty damn good. I will be making this AGAIN. The kobucha squash adds a nice sweetness and it super filling. I had my shake around 6:30 and didn't get out of class until 10 and I was STILL full. Best part, it's low calorie and packed with nutrients!

Kobucha & Greens Smoothie

1 cup Almond Milk

1 scoop MRM Chocolate Protein Powder
1 scoop of Green Superfood Antioxidant Berry Drink pwdr

1 cup cooked kobucha squash

1/2 c crushed ice

Combine ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. ENJOY!

Nutritional Analysis:

Calories 270; Protein 22g, Carbs 36 g, fat 4g.

Back on the Wagon and Protein Avocado Smoothie Recipe

The past few weeks have been a whirl-wind! We headed up to Reno to meet my BEAUTIFUL niece, Valentina Rose, and spend some time with the fam. Then, my younger sister and her hubby spent a few days with us in San Diego... and finally, I spent last week in Houston! Whew! The past two weeks have been filled with lots of yummy food and a wee bit of drinking :) All worth it!!! So, now it's Monday and time to get back on the wagon :) Actually, I have decided to start a new diet. I'd like to lean out a bit and start body building. I'm tinkering with the idea of competing but that takes serious commitment, and I'm not sure I have that kind of time right now. So, I think for now, I will start the process and see how I can adapt it to my life. (cause I don't have time for 3 hours of cardio a day in my schedule!!!)

So, Day one of my diet, I decided to start my day with a tasty shake! This is a meal replacement shake that is loaded with protein, good fat, and some carbs. Definitely play around with the recipe, but try the original!!

Protein Avocado Breakfast Smoothie w/ added greens!

Ingredients

1 cup of ice
1 cup of almond milk
1/4 avocado
1 scoop whey protein powder (i prefer chocolate)
1 scoop of Green Superfood Antioxidant Berry Drink pwdr
1 pinch of nutmeg
3 shakes of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. I usually blend an extra 30 seconds or so to make sure it's extra creamy :)

Nutritional Information:
1 serving:approximately 285 calories, 30 g Protein, 8.5 g Fat, 13 g Carbs, and loaded with vitamin A, C, K, B, Iron,  Folic Acid, and much more!

Roasted Kobocha Squash

Ok, I'll be honest. When I first heard about roasting Kobocha squash, the first thing that popped into my mind was that fizzy Kombucha drink which I am NOT a fan of. Since the names are similar, I assumed they were derived from the same plant. WRONG! The Kobocha squash is nothing like the sour, fizzy drink. LOL. We all make mistakes :) I saw a post on another blog where the gal seemed to make kobocha squash almost daily! She ate even prepared it for breakfast and ate it with a a variety of tasty toppings!  This of course, prompted my interest. After seeing them around Jimbos for a few weeks, I decided to give them a shot. WOW! They are amazing! Nothing like I thought. They are nutty, sweet, and a little like sweet potatoes. These tasty little treasures are packed with bete-carotene, iron, B vitamins, and more!! And, even better - it's low in calories!!! Only about 40 kcals per cup! So I scoured the internet for recipes and found a very simple and very tasty one from Nom-Nom Paleo! Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium kabocha squash
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 F, rinse the squash under running water, and dry it.

Cut squash in half. It might be easier to cut off the top and bottom in order to expose the flesh. From there, it is easier to cut in half.

Next, clean out the seeds and stringy bit.

Slice up each of the halves (like cantaloupes)

Toss in a bowl with some melted coconut oil, salt and pepper.

Arrange on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.

Remove from oven and ENJOY!!!

The original recipe is from Nom-Nom Paleo and can be found at http://nomnompaleo.com/post/11136213353/roasted-kabocha-squash

Weekly Meal Plan March 11

So now that all of the crazy studying is over, I have free time again and can put more attention to my blog. In the next few weeks, I’d like to experiment with some different ingredients and recipes. This week I picked up a kabocha squash from Jimbos. I’m not sure yet on how to cook it, but once I find an appetizing recipe, I’ll be sure to post. J Also, I ordered some ‘creamed coconut’ which is supposed to resemble a cross between coconut butter and coconut milk (I think). I’m going to try to incorporate some recipes using it next week. Apparently, you can add it to just about anything to make it creamy AND you can also use it for PALEO baking e.g. brownies, cookies, etc. More to come on that one….I also plan to start experimenting making my own protein bars. I currently buy protein bars from Quest Nutrition (natural line only). They taste great and have 160 calories and 20 grams of protein! They are great in a pinch. Only drawback is they’re about $2 a bar L I hope to be able to come up with a comparable homemade version for a fraction of the cost! *fingers crossed* It’s so nice to be able to have a healthy, tasty ‘go-to’ snack. More to come…

Here is the weekly meal plan for this week. I have two more weeks of Spanish on Wednesdays. After that, I’ll start to have a meal planned for each night. Enjoy!

Weekly Menu

Monday: Scrumptious Slow Cooker Chicken with broccoli

Tuesday: Grilled mahi-mahi, kale, and roasted kabocha Squash

Wednesday:- *class* Urban Plates!

Thurs: Spaghetti Squash with veggies and meat sauce

Friday: Mahi-mahi fish tacos with beans & roasted corn