OMG. That's all I can say about this one. It tastes far too good to be healthy.
Raspberries
Cranberries
Banana
Honey
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Ground flax
Water
Blend and enjoy!
Monday
Cranberry Chocolate Shake (non-dairy)
Today I was looking for a non-dairy shake that used cranberries, since I have a surplus of those at the moment. This is what I came up with that worked very well:
1 banana
2 mandarin oranges
3/4 cup cranberries
2 tbsp cocoa powder/sugar mix (I used Starbucks hot cocoa mix)
Water
Blend to desired consistency
The cranberries are very tart, and when I initially tried the shake without the cocoa/sugar mix, it didn't work for my taste (the oranges weren't sweet enough to compensate). Adding the cocoa/sugar mixture was the perfect solution.
1 banana
2 mandarin oranges
3/4 cup cranberries
2 tbsp cocoa powder/sugar mix (I used Starbucks hot cocoa mix)
Water
Blend to desired consistency
The cranberries are very tart, and when I initially tried the shake without the cocoa/sugar mix, it didn't work for my taste (the oranges weren't sweet enough to compensate). Adding the cocoa/sugar mixture was the perfect solution.
Saturday
A Quote I Liked
Gwyneth Paltrow, on how she stays so fit:
"It's not an accident. It's not luck, it's not fairy dust, it's not good genes. It's killing myself for an hour and a half five days a week."
Enough said :)
"It's not an accident. It's not luck, it's not fairy dust, it's not good genes. It's killing myself for an hour and a half five days a week."
Enough said :)
Monday
Homemade Granola Bars
Here's what I've been doing lately, as a healthier alternative for myself and my kids. Rather than buying granola or cereal bars, I've been making them myself. Although the store bought ones are very convenient if you're counting calories, the homemade ones can be so much healthier.
Here's my recipe. Quantities are approximate, and you can vary the ingredients slightly as long as you have the main elements in place:
Main ingredients (provide the foundation)
3 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup liquid honey
Additional ingredients (add nutritional punch and flavour)
Vanilla
Cinammon
1/3 cup each: raisins, chocolate chips, quinoa, wheat germ, flax, coconut, sunflower seeds, etc...
...and so on. You could add all kinds of nuts as well but I don't, because nuts are not allowed at my kids' school due to allergy concerns.
Basically you mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the oil and honey, and stir until combined. Press the mixture flat into a greased 9x13 pan. Cook at 350F for about 20 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm but leave them in the pan - don't remove them until completely cool or they'll fall apart. Once they're cool, I wrap them each in plastic wrap and store them in the fridge.
Yum :)
TenGone Home ('
’)
Here's my recipe. Quantities are approximate, and you can vary the ingredients slightly as long as you have the main elements in place:
Main ingredients (provide the foundation)
3 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup liquid honey
Additional ingredients (add nutritional punch and flavour)
Vanilla
Cinammon
1/3 cup each: raisins, chocolate chips, quinoa, wheat germ, flax, coconut, sunflower seeds, etc...
...and so on. You could add all kinds of nuts as well but I don't, because nuts are not allowed at my kids' school due to allergy concerns.
Basically you mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the oil and honey, and stir until combined. Press the mixture flat into a greased 9x13 pan. Cook at 350F for about 20 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm but leave them in the pan - don't remove them until completely cool or they'll fall apart. Once they're cool, I wrap them each in plastic wrap and store them in the fridge.
Yum :)
TenGone Home ('
’)
Why Is Maintaining Weight Loss So Hard?
My friend is gaining back the 25 pounds she lost on the Dr. Berstein diet.
The diet was very effective in taking the weight off, but she's simply not able to follow it long term. It makes me think yet again about lifestyle and overall awareness of what keeps weight off.
There's more to keeping weight off than skipping egg yolks and getting vitamin B shots, or weigh-ins and point counts. It's more than just time on a treadmill or laps on a track. It's more than a goal, an objective, a dangling carrot.
It's about making a lot of small changes that will end in one big result. What good will eating the egg whites do if you still have the processed food in the pantry? What good will training for a yearly community run do if you still drive your kids several blocks to school every day? Sure you can eat the egg whites and stay away from the pantry for awhile, or you can turn your already tight schedule upside down even further to squeeze in time for the runs, but isn't that just so hard? Isn't that too hard?
It would be for me. I take my hat off to you for trying. I wouldn't be able to keep doing it.
Instead, healthy weight maintenance could fit your life like a comfortable pair of shoes - ones that you slide your feet into and would prefer to wear than to take off. They would add support to each step, without pinching or leaving blisters.
Like a pantry stocked with whole grain foods, instead of sugary cereal. Go ahead, have a snack! Or the mini-van that stays parked in the mornings before school, to be replaced by an umbrella on rainy days. Guess what - you won't have to look for parking. Oh sure in the beginning change is hard, but once you get used to it, you won't remember what the beginning felt like.
I think the major difference between myself and my friend is lifestyle. My exercise isn't a yearly event that's participated in and then finished (her community run). Mine is part of my day to day life which is set up in such a way as to leave me little choice. We have only one vehicle insured, so I have to walk the kids everywhere, for example. The work from home job that I've chosen is a paper route, all done on foot. She works from home as well, but at a computer doing customer service for a telecom company. She earns more money than I do (which enables her to afford to insure a second vehicle ;) Hmmm.
I could go on and on, and to be fair, there are equal pros and cons to different lifestyles. Some are just better suited to maintaining a healthy weight.
Why is maintaining weight loss so hard? Maybe because it's not at the top of the priority list.
The first step could be assessing what your priorities are. The next, figuring out what changes need to be made to fit that list. The next after that, accepting that not all the changes will be easy.
The objective, though, is to make the changes that best support the item on the top of the priority list, so that item is most likely to be achieved. Sure it's hard to brave the cold when you're walking and not in a heated car, but you know what? Maintaining a healthy weight won't be hard.
TenGone Home
('’)
The diet was very effective in taking the weight off, but she's simply not able to follow it long term. It makes me think yet again about lifestyle and overall awareness of what keeps weight off.
There's more to keeping weight off than skipping egg yolks and getting vitamin B shots, or weigh-ins and point counts. It's more than just time on a treadmill or laps on a track. It's more than a goal, an objective, a dangling carrot.
It's about making a lot of small changes that will end in one big result. What good will eating the egg whites do if you still have the processed food in the pantry? What good will training for a yearly community run do if you still drive your kids several blocks to school every day? Sure you can eat the egg whites and stay away from the pantry for awhile, or you can turn your already tight schedule upside down even further to squeeze in time for the runs, but isn't that just so hard? Isn't that too hard?
It would be for me. I take my hat off to you for trying. I wouldn't be able to keep doing it.
Instead, healthy weight maintenance could fit your life like a comfortable pair of shoes - ones that you slide your feet into and would prefer to wear than to take off. They would add support to each step, without pinching or leaving blisters.
Like a pantry stocked with whole grain foods, instead of sugary cereal. Go ahead, have a snack! Or the mini-van that stays parked in the mornings before school, to be replaced by an umbrella on rainy days. Guess what - you won't have to look for parking. Oh sure in the beginning change is hard, but once you get used to it, you won't remember what the beginning felt like.
I think the major difference between myself and my friend is lifestyle. My exercise isn't a yearly event that's participated in and then finished (her community run). Mine is part of my day to day life which is set up in such a way as to leave me little choice. We have only one vehicle insured, so I have to walk the kids everywhere, for example. The work from home job that I've chosen is a paper route, all done on foot. She works from home as well, but at a computer doing customer service for a telecom company. She earns more money than I do (which enables her to afford to insure a second vehicle ;) Hmmm.
I could go on and on, and to be fair, there are equal pros and cons to different lifestyles. Some are just better suited to maintaining a healthy weight.
Why is maintaining weight loss so hard? Maybe because it's not at the top of the priority list.
The first step could be assessing what your priorities are. The next, figuring out what changes need to be made to fit that list. The next after that, accepting that not all the changes will be easy.
The objective, though, is to make the changes that best support the item on the top of the priority list, so that item is most likely to be achieved. Sure it's hard to brave the cold when you're walking and not in a heated car, but you know what? Maintaining a healthy weight won't be hard.
TenGone Home
('
’)Saturday
Making Healthy Choices For Quick Snacks
I had a conversation with a friend of mine the other day about boxed cereal. She loves it, because it's "quick and easy". The problem she has with cereal, though, is the fact that it uses up too many of her diet's daily points all at once.
This got me thinking about the "quick and easy" aspect. I'm not on a points based diet plan - I count calories and exercise. I too love quick and easy food. I have two kids to chase around (part of the exercise ;) and a house to de-chaos, so quick and easy works for me. I think many people are in the same boat.
I also think that for many people, quick and easy amounts to high calorie/additive and low nutrient food. Anyone can buy the ingredients for a salad or stir fry, but if you're starving, you want something right now.
The solution, then, would be to have a stock of right now foods that are also healthy. Here are some ideas...
What healthy right now foods are in your kitchen? I'd love to hear more ideas!
TenGone Home
('’)
This got me thinking about the "quick and easy" aspect. I'm not on a points based diet plan - I count calories and exercise. I too love quick and easy food. I have two kids to chase around (part of the exercise ;) and a house to de-chaos, so quick and easy works for me. I think many people are in the same boat.
I also think that for many people, quick and easy amounts to high calorie/additive and low nutrient food. Anyone can buy the ingredients for a salad or stir fry, but if you're starving, you want something right now.
The solution, then, would be to have a stock of right now foods that are also healthy. Here are some ideas...
- bananas
- cheese strings
- grapes
- granola bars
- yogurt
- apple sauce
- raisins
- apples
- whole grain crackers
- homemade whole grain cookies
- carrots
What healthy right now foods are in your kitchen? I'd love to hear more ideas!
TenGone Home
('
’)Thursday
How Many Calories Are In Fast Food?
Ohhh I don't wanna know. DON'T wanna know.
Somehow I ended yesterday at under 1,700 cals, even though my kids begged their Dad to go get Burger King take out. In their defense, it had been a long time, so I agreed.
You can find most caloric values on-line simply by Googling, and I was impressed to find that Burger King actually has their own nutritional summary for their menu items.
This is where you need to bother checking, because something as harmless seeming as their Tendergrill Garden Salad has 460 calories. That's a lot for a salad, on a calorie restricted diet! (I'm not even going to mention the Triple Whopper With Cheese value meal at 1,710 calories, which is more than I try and eat in an entire day - oh wait, I just did mention it ;) OMG
I opted for the 6 piece chicken fries at 250 cals, plus a Dutch Apple pie at 320. While I know this is more than the salad and not as nutritious, this way I got to have a "junk fix", complete with dessert, and not blow my calorie count. I had a few fries too (maybe 8-10), so I called it a total of 700 cals just to be safe.
It's so deceiving, isn't it? Fast food is not really that much food, and yet it's packed with so much of the stuff we're trying to avoid.I can't imagine eating this food more than once or twice a month, and yet many people do. This brings me back (yet again) to the issue of caloric awareness. If fast food chains had a caloric value by each item, say right next to the price, I wonder what kind of effect it would have on sales?
TenGone Home
('’)
Somehow I ended yesterday at under 1,700 cals, even though my kids begged their Dad to go get Burger King take out. In their defense, it had been a long time, so I agreed.
You can find most caloric values on-line simply by Googling, and I was impressed to find that Burger King actually has their own nutritional summary for their menu items.
This is where you need to bother checking, because something as harmless seeming as their Tendergrill Garden Salad has 460 calories. That's a lot for a salad, on a calorie restricted diet! (I'm not even going to mention the Triple Whopper With Cheese value meal at 1,710 calories, which is more than I try and eat in an entire day - oh wait, I just did mention it ;) OMG
I opted for the 6 piece chicken fries at 250 cals, plus a Dutch Apple pie at 320. While I know this is more than the salad and not as nutritious, this way I got to have a "junk fix", complete with dessert, and not blow my calorie count. I had a few fries too (maybe 8-10), so I called it a total of 700 cals just to be safe.
It's so deceiving, isn't it? Fast food is not really that much food, and yet it's packed with so much of the stuff we're trying to avoid.I can't imagine eating this food more than once or twice a month, and yet many people do. This brings me back (yet again) to the issue of caloric awareness. If fast food chains had a caloric value by each item, say right next to the price, I wonder what kind of effect it would have on sales?
TenGone Home
('
’)
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What I've Written About
Book review
(1)
Carb Curfew
(2)
Counting calories
(9)
Diet ideas
(2)
Exercise
(10)
Habits
(10)
Health
(3)
Indulgence
(8)
Metabolism
(3)
Motivation
(8)
Shakes
(2)
Sleep
(1)
What I've eaten
(5)
Will power
(4)