Category Archives: clean eating

Breakfast ideas that will make your stomach smile!

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The other morning I came up a with a quick-ish breakfast and it was savory enough to share, the bonus is that it falls into the “Healthy” category.  Niiiiicce!!!

Egg and Eggplant

2 slices eggplant seared in non-stick fry pan with Pam

1 egg, scrambled

chopped tomato

chopped spinach

small slice of cheddar

**I had already prepared the Eggplant.  Peeling and slicing it, salting and placing between paper towels for a day.  Cooked it quickly in a little olive oil on the stove and stored in Tupperware.  I’m the only one who eats it, so now it’s ready to go!

Scrambled the egg, added tomato and spinach, warmed up the eggplant all in one pan, threw the cheese on top until melted and made an eggplant/egg sandwich.  I’ve got to tell you, that baby had some staying power and I was feeling all kinds of healthy, too!

Yum!

An option for the not so healthy set..but completely delicious!

Chocolate chip scones

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup chocolate chips  (**I make one scone without CC, we have a daughter who prefers them plain with a little honey…I know, odd…if she didn’t look so much like the rest of them, I’d have her DNA checked!)

Mix and knead, shape and bake @ 375 for about 15 minutes or until done.

**I’m NOT a good or patient scone shaper…I ball up the dough and squash it into a thick circle…voila! scone.  No one complains.

Notice the lone plain soldier in the upper right corner.
**for other recipes check my “RECIPE” section**

Switching it up…again

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“They” say that the more you change it up in exercise routines the better result you get, what with muscle confusion and all.  Phew.  Because I am ALWAYS changing my routine and trying something new.  True, I have my regular lunch routine but the rest of it is always mixed up.  None of this is because I want to stay trendy, mainly because I get bored.  Often, it is a result of the kids and their schedules.  No matter the reason, every few weeks I am off to something “new”.

This week marks the return of the dreaded early a.m. workout.  Now, it positively BITES to get out of bed @ 4:45 a.m., but there is not denying that I am an early morning workout person.  Period.  End.  When I workout in the morning, I am more focused on the rest of the morning and tend to make better decisions (nutritionally speaking) throughout the day.  It’s a win-win.  The difference with this a.m. routine is that it is Monday through Friday rather than a few days during the week.  Next week I am considering another boot camp, however, this one is offered at 5 a.m.  ish.  It’s a 3-week deal.  I’m still considering it.  It won’t work long-term, especially when school starts back up, but definitely a good mixer upper.

The best thing, I find, about shaking up my routine is that it feels fresh again and motivates me to keep going.

I also find great stories like THIS @ Socially Fit to remind me that procrastination is not helping me.  Or THIS @ L-Jay Health to encourage me to add new ingredients to my menu.  Or THIS @ Peak 313 Fitness to try new moves.  And stories like THIS @ Eat Clean Diet to remind me we ALL have the power to change, but we have to WANT to and we have to put in the SWEAT equity to get there.  No one is going to show up for us.  Even if they do, it’s not going to do anything to help US.

What about you?  Do you mix it up.  Or is it same old same old?  Morning or afternoon?  What motivates you?

Have a great day!

Friday and I get to play “hooky”..

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Once again, it’s Friday and I’m recapping the week with Jennifer Fulwiler @ Conversion Diary and all her peeps.  It’s a good way to summarize the week and since I’m “blogging everyday in May” it fills another post!  So head over to Conversion Diary and check out everyone’s week and our little group as well to see what’s happenin’:

Laura

Lynnell

Apurva 

MB

Brite  

Amanda 

Lea 

— 1 —

There’s been a lot of cake and goodies around here this week.  Mother’s Day, my birthday.  YIKES!  At least I’ve been staying on my workout schedule and this week I’ve integrated the app myfitnesspal on my iPhone to help keep me accountable as I head into my Clean Eating next week.  Why next week?  Well, my mom’s here this week and my sis and her pals come in today, so I’m just being realistic…

— 2 —

Today I’ll actually have some time to look over the Clean Eating and pre-plan the week.  That really is the key, the planning.  I already do it for dinners for the week, I just need to apply it to my other meals so I don’t get in a rut.  That’s the problem when I don’t plan, I just get in a rut, get bored and boom–I’m done.  Besides, we also have our Anniversary coming up (18 years…holy cow, how did THAT happen?!?!), Hubby’s bday, our youngest daughter’s bday, Father’s Day.  Guess those will be my “cheat” days 😉

— 3 —

We were able to get our mini-tape adapter to work and watch old home videos in our VHS (remember those?) player this last week.  Oh, it’s sooooo funny to see how little the kids were and how our family changed as each kiddo entered in and rearranged the dynamics.  Again.  And a reminder (again) of how quickly time flies.  And that I just didn’t enjoy those years enough.

— 4 —

Our youngest daughter’s dance recital is this weekend.  Tomorrow will be a busy day.  All the more to enjoy today!!  She’s excited.  So are we. (happy to watch the final product and happy to be done with dance for a while!!)   With our family in town, she’ll have quite the cheering section!

— 5 —

The boys finished up their Faith Formation (Religious Ed, CCD…whatever you refer to it as, I can’t keep up with all the name changes..goodness!) and it worked out pretty well to homeschool them this year.  It’s been a fabulous transition year back to “normal” for all of us and as the boys are fully engaged in puberty and getting too “cool” for church, it was a help to be able to do this with them one-on-one.  We haven’t broken the “coolness” factor yet, but I imagine that will be a few more years, so we’ll just continue on and pray that we’ve built the foundation for them to always return to.

— 6 —

We FINALLY got some much needed rain this week.  Boy is our little garden happy!!  So is our lawn. Amazing how quickly the plants green up with a little rain!

— 7 —

Time to get these kiddos up and rocking since they have school today (snicker, snicker) and I can get to the gym before I go visit with my Mama and my aunt and my cousin and his daughter and wait for my sister.  Get all that?  Have a great day and a blessed weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

GOALS: Week Two and counting

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Second week of January.  Typically “resolutions” wax and wane about 3-4 wks in and by mid-February the gym is back to its regular clientele.  Since adopting the “GOAL” method rather than resolutions, my mental outlook is far less stressed and overwhelmed.  I don’t feel the need to do it all at once, but rather slowly and methodically approach my goals in a fashion that I can reasonably and realistically weave into my life routine.

And thus far, here’s the update:

  • Finances.  Moving along nicely.  Paid bills the other day without all the general anxiety that accompanies that task.  Hubby and I are going to look into Yodlee or Mint to have everything in one place and have a snapshot “real-time” look-at-a-glance rather than update the Excel sheet monthly.
  • Quiet time in prayer.  Continuing with my Daily Readings, however, that’s a several-years-old habit; more attention to working toward picking which spiritual book I’d like to work on in addition to my Reading time in the morning.  This week I have an interview with Pat Gohn on Among Women and have some retrospective digging to do prior to the interview; THAT will be some intense mediation time!!   So this week is covered.  Moving on.  One day at a time.
  • Healthy eating/exercise.  I’ve hit the gym twice this week.  Hard.  So sore.  Walked twice.  Pilates video for an hour with sore core following.  Incorporating oatmeal and fruit (working on protein) for breakfast, and additional fruit/vegs during the day.  (Taking this Clean Eating slowly…)  Not rocket science and I’m not dropping lbs like crazy, however, these are good solid habits that I can live with and that’s really the important thing.  If I can see some progress over the next few weeks and definitely by my annual check-up in February that will be motivating.  Baby steps.  One day at a time.

Last night we went to 6 p.m. Mass followed by a concert by Steve Angrisano with the kids.  What a tremendous family time.  Even our “very-14”, 14 year old was enjoying himself within 15 minutes much to his surprise.  (The only downside was, in hindsight, perhaps we should have either left the girls home or saved Mass for this morning…they were absolutely melting down by the end…WAY too tired.  Wish I could say I was gracious about it, but not so much……) Either way.  Great show and bed time was a breeze!

Off to take the girls to church and their Faith Formation class and I’ll be walking, catching up on podcasts, and praying.

***images from the web

Winding down and gearing up…

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As we wind down Christmas and our tree accelerates the dropping of the needles daily as ornaments desperately cling to crunchy branches, my mind turns to the coming of the new year.  While I’m not big on making/keeping “Resolutions”, I DO always seem to become reflective on things I’d like to improve upon in the coming year.  The New Year is always full of promise and hope, like new school supplies….unsharpened pencils, reams of paper, crisp folders; ready, willing and able to be molded to our choices.

Even though I am quick to claim I don’t make “Resolutions”, the truth is, of COURSE I do.  I just realize that I am only good at keeping them for a couple of weeks.  Since the gym is generally crowed until about February, I also know I have a lot of company in short-lived resolutions.  However, in the blissful, wide-eyed moments of promise and hope to come in the New Year, I feel propelled and motivated, especially after reading “5 Keys to Making and Keeping Your New Year Resolutions” @ The Hill House.  

My course of action for 2012 includes a few things:

  • Eating more healthy and exercising.  Quite the popular one.  Of course I’d like to lose weight, but the reality is that I’m not getting any younger and as my patients tell me daily, “It’s a B**** getting old!” I want to be in a good place to face those physical challenges getting older brings.  I want to run and bike and play with my kids and BEAT THEM in their games–yes, sometimes I AM competitive!  Therefore, in keeping with “defining the win”, my workouts will primarily occur at lunchtime, 3X a week and my eating will consist primarily of clean-er eating and learning how to ditch the processed stuff AND incorporate that into my family’s diet as well.  A HUGE task for sure, but some truly astounding payoffs as well. 
 Just as the story of Daniel (Daniel 1:8-15)  shows how eating clean makes for stronger, better, faster, it’s also indicative of the fact that everything we need to be properly nourished and strengthened is provided by nature, not Publix. 
  • More focused “Quiet time” in prayer and seeking time with Christ.  While my morning routine begins with The Daily Readings, it often ends there as well.  Since I am trying to cram EVERYTHING into my mornings (Quiet time, Exercise, Writing….) there is no singular focus on any one of them.  My quiet time has long sustained me, given me strength, peace, clarity and guidance; it’s time to return, focused and un-hurried to that precious time.  When I begin my day in prayer and focused on His will for me, everything else seems to fall in place.
Matthew 6:33  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
  • Reintroducing hubby to the finance side of the family and tightening up.  As we can finally begin to dig out of debt with his job adding to the household income, his TypeA personality will be crucial to my tendency to slide…..it’s a team effort for certain and certain to experience growing pains, but  we will be able to balance each other  as well as the budget along with becoming better stewards of all that God sees fit to bless us with, and bless us He has.  Abundantly.

Luke 6:38  Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

In reaching for my main goals this coming year, my writing may or may not blossom.  Time will tell.  However, as this has always been more about keeping in touch and therapy for my heart, I’m sure I can always find time to bang out a post now and then; it’s just not a huge priority.  Yet.