What's holding you back?

I was in a spin class the other day and the instructor was trying to keep us positive as we tried to 'break through' the challenge.  He said, "Just know there is something in the universe that is always trying to hold you back from obtaining your goals."  Well smack my butt and call me Sally...he is completely right.  Nine times out of ten this 'thing' holding us back is fear.  Fear is a hologram, of sorts.  Some of us are so afraid of failing that we don't even try.


Run?  Yeah right, I'll ruin my joints.  Cycle? I'll go flying off the darn bike.  You want me to stand on my head?  I'll fall and break something.  Dance for an hour?  Are you kidding?  I'll twist an ankle or hit someone in the head.  Give up fried foods?  But I love french fries so much.  Make time to work out?  I'm afraid I'll be too tired and waste money on a gym membership.


If we get right up to the very thing that is holding us back, we push ourselves to the limit and realize that fear is just an illusion.  Unless you are into death defying feats (i.e. jumping off cliffs or out of planes) most of us will not perish by switching things up and facing our fears.  You get right up to the hologram of fear and realize its power is fictitious.

There may be some pain involved in adjusting our lifestyle.  If you're a perpetual couch potato, you most likely will not take well to moving your booty more often.  If you're a 'go-with-the-flow' eater (meaning you eat whatever you like and throw dietary caution to the wind), putting restrictions on yourself will be nothing short of irritating.  There will be something in the universe challenging your commitment to honoring your health and well being, trust me.

The old me hated:

• sweating
• washing hair too frequently due to sweating
• push ups
• running
• weight lifting
• eating vegetables
• not eating mac n'cheese
• not eating french fries
• gyms
• skipping desert
• not baking

The new me loves:

• sweating
• standing on my head
• standing on my hands
• push ups (even though I'm still working on doing a real man's push up without knee assistance)
• free weights
• veggie/fruit juice
• veggie smoothies
• not putting cream and sugar in my coffee
• gym
• baking once in awhile and sending the treats off with my hubby to work
• feeling and looking soooooo...much better!!

So you see, the pros outweigh the negatives.  If you're not having fun, you only have yourself to blame.  I make my exercise fun while I'm doing it.  I love going for bike rides with my savvy hubby.  I love taking my pups for a morning walk.  Going to the gym is something I look forward to because I have found a variety of classes that keep me motivated and excited to see what I can accomplish next.

Life is a challenge, no doubt.  My savvy friend recently joined a gym across the street from her work.  She and her husband have planned their schedules to accomodate gym time.  They have a little guy at home so they take turns going.  I think she's super savvy because she only takes it one week at a time.  Life does have a way of 'getting in the way', so they have a plan that ebbs and flows from week to week.  She plans her meals, her workout gear and her office attire the night before.  So when her 6am alarm rings, she already knows what she needs.  That's half the battle right there!  She's never stressed and she's looking and feeling great!  

I think it's brilliant to plan ahead.  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  These are words I live by.  So plan out your meals, plan out your gym days and don't be afraid to change it if something comes up.  Just promise yourself that you will not let fear hold you back.  Make it work!

Negative calories?

Do you know what a negative calorie food is?  According to Wikipedia "a negative calorie food is a food that is purported to require more food energy to be digested than it provides".  The brief synopsis also says there is no scientific proof, but the list consists of none other than fruits and veggies!  Shocking, right?  Sorry, that cheeseburger didn't make the list.   My idea of heaven....mac n'cheese burning more calories than the calories it actually has.  Can I get an AMEN?!

So what does this actually mean?  Eat your fruits and veggies, regardless of the scientific proof, or lack thereof.  If you watch the news, read the magazine covers or hit the gym...you get a consistant message: eating fruits and veggies is truly the best thing for you.

It's not easy being green

Last night, I made the Deceptively Delicious vegetable sloppy joe's (again) for some friends.  It was another instant hit!  I confessed to my friend's husband it was loaded with veggies. To my shock he said he really enjoyed it. He's very much a meat and potato type.   I knew it wasn't lip service because he went back for a second helping.  AND I left them with the remaining leftovers.  It gave me great pleasure to do something kind for them.  They have a 1 year old and I could tell my friends appreciate some homemade cooking, even if it is from a veggie loving savvy foodie.

After dinner we started to talk about my new adventure.  I encouraged them both to eat naturally occurring food instead of resorting to popular processed foods.  My girlfriend, who is usually very laid back, said, "I hate taking my baby to the grocery store because she pulls everything within her reach off the shelves.  I frequent the place as little as possible.  And if you're suggesting I start eating more produce, I can't.  It's too expensive and I'd have to be making trips to the store every other day in order to get fresh fruits and veggies.  I'm a full-time mom and I work from home.  It's too hard and it's too expensive.  I need cheap and easy."

I got the sense she wanted to tell me to 'shove it' because she's currently in survival mode.  What she said is valid.  I agree, produce can quickly add up and it does require frequent trips to the store.  I don't have a child, so I can only imagine how difficult it must be to raise another human being and take care of yourself.

I gently reminded her it's her health I'm advocating for.  Her pocketbook may take a more severe beating later in life when she's popping pills and frequenting doctor's offices for health related problems.  She has the power to fill herself, and her family, with savvy choices!!  It's not impossible.  It will take some tweaking of previous habits.

I suggested she buy frozen fruits and veggies.  I also said in order to make these changes it takes determination and planning ahead.  One trick (that may take some time to get used to) is to redefine what you consider as a meal.  I, for one, don't believe in eating traditional meals every time.  I eat until I'm full and if I load up on string beans and almonds for lunch, it's cool.

I gave up on processed deli meats awhile back. They're the work of the devil, in my humble opinion.  There are alternatives!  I take a whole wheat wrap, put some mayo and mustard on one side, layer it with green leafy lettuce, 3 slices of cucumber, 2 tomato slices and a slice of swiss cheese.  It's filling and scrumptious!!

My friend inspired me to continue educating myself on alternatives for busy moms.  I picked up a book, Supermarket Vegan by Donna Klein, after my nutritionist friend recommended it.  It has a TON of easy to follow recipes.

Being savvy foodies is something anyone can do.  Let's continue holding hands and support each other.

Deceptively Delish!

I recently purchased Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook.  My family isn't wild about eating veggies, so these recipes incorporate the veggies into the dish.

There are many reasons why I love this book.  First of all, she provides an introduction that gives step by step directions for cutting, steaming and pureeing the vegetables.  It actually says: "cut the red bell pepper down the center, remove the seeds and the white stem", "steam for ____ minutes", "puree for ____ minutes"...BRILLIANT!  She also lists the benefits of the vegetables, just in case you had forgotten how healthy broccoli could be.  The recipes are geared towards kids, but kids aren't the only crowd needing to eat their vegetables!!

The one draw back to her method... it can take a super long time to steam and then puree the veggies.  After steaming the veggies, I throw them in a bowl and toss them in the freezer to aid in the cooling off time.  DON'T put pippin' hot veggies in the food processor.  If you are up for the challenge, heed my warning: make sure you read ahead to see how long the selected veggie will take to steam.  For example, the sweet potato (used in the sloppy joe recipe) takes 45 minutes to steam!  Prepare them ahead of time and freeze it.  This is what Jessica suggests for busy moms and dads.

So the two recipes I took on for tonight's dinner: Sloppy Joes and Spinach Brownies.  The Sloppy Joes have sweet potatoes and red pepper (you can use butternut squash instead and she also suggests carrots, but those are optional).  I was frankly too tired to cut the darn carrots!!  The recipe calls for 1 lb. of ground sirloin, I used 1.25.  Even with the quarter extra, I have very little for left overs.  I also used tomato paste flavored with Italian herbs.  I used 1/2 cup, instead of 1/4 like the recipe says.

  

It really helps to move things along if you keep all the ingredients conveniently next to the stove.  This is a recipe that you must stay on top of and constantly stir and add to the mix.  This was AMAZING!  I added some shredded cheddar and I'm tempted to have seconds?!

And for a special treat after dinner...I took on her spinach and carrot brownies.  Let me just say, when you puree the spinach, try not to let it deter you from enjoying the fruits of your labor.  I won't even say what I thought pureed spinach resembled!!!  

My mother reported, "They're not sweet, but you do taste the coco."  I think they're very tasty, but she's right they are not sweet.  One brownie bite and I'm left satisfied and I don't want to eat the entire batch.  This is a step in the right direction!  The book also lists the benefits of eating spinach and carrots.  These are wonderful!

I cut them fairly small so it's more like a brownie bite.  My father is always a veggie critic and he didn't mention a vegetable after taste with these.  Yeah!!!

Please allow for a lot of time to prepare her dishes.  I have dish pan hands and a sore back,  but it's worth it to know that my family is eating a healthy dish!