Showing posts with label healthy eats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy eats. Show all posts

3/25/14

Crockpot Fish Stew w/ Red Wine

 Ingredients:
inspiration: http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotsoup/r/bl16c11.htm
  • whiting fish (wild caught, store bought)
  • olive oil
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • .5 purple onion, sliced
  • 1 zucchini squash, sliced/diced
  • 1 yellow squash, sliced/diced
  • 1 can basil/oregano diced tomatoes
  • shake in dried basil
  • shake in dried oregano
  • shake in salt
  • shake in red cayenne pepper
  • shake in pepper
  • pour in dry red wine (I used Redwood Creek Rich Red Blend (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah)
  • pour in chicken broth -- maybe 1/2 cup
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in crockpot -- try to spread the fish out--some at the bottom, some in the middle, and top. Stir gently. Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 3 to 4.5 hrs, the squash needs to be cooked well. You should hear the olive oil popping/zzing in the crock pot.

1/27/14

IM GOING VEGAN: day 22 ... JOURNEY COMPLETED

Today felt normal. No anticipation that it was the last day. I don't feel different.


TMI MOMENT!!

Except for the Lady in Red trying to creep upon my person. UGH

I'm confident that I lost inches, definitely in my belly. BUT weight... with lifting, I know I'm adding muscle & like I just said the Lady in Red is coming, so its going to fluctuate.

---

So over graduate school.

Meals:
banana, gluten free Oats & Honey granola

vegan bean soup, raw spinach, bean burger,

raw spinach/grape salad:
------sauteed brussels sprouts, onions, fried tofu, vegan chickn strips,- w/ olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.
honey roasted peanuts
.5 miso soup packet

Water: 60 oz -- try to hit 90

No Workout. booooo. I know.




Will post my measurements/weight results tomorrow. I actually don't have a scale so I won't be able to weigh myself until I go to the gym.... so I might try for a true weigh-in later this weekend. I really need to update my VeganVlogs. lol eek

1/25/14

Homemade VEGAN bean burgers recipe

So how do you get your protein?


For vegans or vegetarians this is a common question. My favorite protein thus far has been beans. Now of course it can leave you feeling bloated because it FILLS you up but its better than ridiculous snacking. IMO.

There are a ton of recipes, which I glanced at for a general idea but this was an original idea for me.

I bought a ton of dried (bagged) beans -pinto, black eyed, lima, kidney, black beans, etc-- I have a container and mixed them all together. So I truly don't know what beans I used, just that it was an assortment.



Official Recipe:

  • let beans soak overnight
  • next day boil the beans in your choice broth--I boiled the beans in chicken broth (gasp) but for a vegan lifestyle, you should definitely boil them in vegetable broth-- on a low-medium temperature. 
  • The goal is soften up the beans. 
  • Seasonings: i poured olive & sesame oil into the boil, added in curry/pepper/salt/garlic powder/onion powder/cumin into the boil 
  • let the beans simmer. mine simmered for 2-3 hours. i just kept adding in more water
  • Test the beans occasionally, you want them to start feeling softER
  • Turn the burner off, leave the beans in the broth, and place in the fridge till the next day 

So this is where it gets complicated.......................... TRIAL & ERROR

Now remember I'm a practicing vegan so while I could have used EGG I had to use a substitute.


Flax Seed is an interesting concept. I highly encourage you to READ the instructions.

Don't follow my folly.

I have various batches of the beans.

1 batch included garri  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garri & flax seed
1 batch included yellow corn meal & flax seed
1 batch included garri, yellow corn meal, & flax seed

They all tasted fine you just have to understand the flax seed consistency ....

  • In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork/spoon/ -- i didn't smash all the beans nor did I worry about them being flat
  • Mix in (garri/corn meal) bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. 
  • Stir the Flax seed mixture
  • Divide mixture into patties.

Now again it gets a bit ...... weird

So remember I had issue with the flax seed consistency. So the cooking portion was trial & error.
watch the video on my instagram

  • Heat the olive oil or cooking spray in a large skillet.
  • If your flax seed mixture is correct, the patties should hold together ... 
  • One option is to bake your patties at 350 in the oven, let them sit for about 10 minutes, than transfer them to the large skillet to make them crispiER
Now don't worry if your patties fall apart, they are STILL edible and you can use them later for a salad, frittata, burrito, etc. 

PLEASE NOTE:

I didn't add any additional seasonings to the patties. YOU can but I didn't. It wasn't needed. Especially since I added condiments for my burger. 


Burger Toppings:
raw collard greens, onions, tomato, soy cheese

srirracha sauce, bbq sauce, 
wheat bread (perhaps gluten free if you want to get adventurous)

Sides: 


Initially I wanted potatoes, but c'mon thats a lot of carbs. So some steamed green beans with garlic & salt did the trick!


NOMNOM. 


Hope my directions weren't too confusing. 


Let me know how it turns out :)






IM GOING VEGAN: day 20 (kinda)

Strong!

Focused!

Diligent!

Weak!

Last night, I fell, not to steak, shrimp, but to cheese.

Emotional eater am I. Sad/Nervous/Shock. Consume cheese did I.

As a vegetarian cheese is fine. For some Vegans its a cardinal sin.

Something unfortunate happened last night and it had me SHOOK! No one died but money will be paid to fix it. I am a decent driver... but I could be better..... it was horrid. Shame I feel. But I'm not letting it control me like last night.

Workout:
20 mins = 1 mile
30 mins - arms
30 mins - arms
= 927 calories burned

Water: 60oz -- need to buy a water purifier. Im feeling thirstier and drier. its not okay. and my face keeps peeling ugh.

Meals:
 2 bananas, 1 tbsp peanut butter
pre-workout drink
salad: raw baby spinach, pico de gallo, kimchi, parmesan garlic veggie wings

Ok so I went to a wine party after the unfortunate incident occurred. judge me if you shall but i consumed.....

Cubed cheeses
crackers
tortilla chips
chip dip
brie
sweet cashews
cheddar popcorn
and 3 glasses of wine...


So, my point is that I'm repeating day 20.

Gotta cleanse the cheese/dip out of my system and keep my life focused.

1/22/14

IM GOING VEGAN: day 18

OMG I'm like 4 days away from completing my 22 days vegan challenge!!!! aaahhhh

Still going strong. No meat cravings. No Chocolate cravings.. perhaps I should continue on for another 22 days??

So for my meals I've been obsessed with beans for the past few days, so I did something awesome and created my own bean burgers --recipe coming coon! it was quite delish!

I wasn't feeling motivated to workout today. I've been going strong with #nodaysoff but today I was like ... ummm so maybe I should have a "rest" day and just do yoga... nopers. I was feeling quite lazy and I have my goal of burning 500 calories (or more) per day. So around 8pm, I popped in Turbo Fire and it got me motivated. I burned 573 calories! woo-hoo ... #noexcuses Chalene Johnson pumps me up! I love her energy!

For some reason I think I should lower my food intake into 1340 instead of 1500... ugh I can't wait till my appointment so I can know my accurate calorie intake...

On another note. Is it weird that my "beachbody coach" no longer follows me (or contacts me) on ANY of the social media sites. Duped... much... nah, its outside of my control so I will just comment on it here and move on from my life.

Tomorrow I have an action packed evening so I need to get a workout out in the morning and one before my organization event.

Meals:
1/4 cup old fashion oatmeal w/ 1 tbsp peanutbutter
almonds
Bean soup
2 slices wheat bread, 3 bean burger patties w/ 2 slices soy cheese, raw collard greens, onions, sweet baby rays & whole green beans

Workout:
Turbo Fire
- sculpt 30
-core 20
- hiit 25

Water- 90oz in progress

I'm actually kinda hungry after my workout so maybe I'll snack on some grapes.

Oh yea I went grocery shopping and bought a LOT of leafy green veggies and less meat substitute products. fun times.



IM GOING VEGAN: day 17

I don't even remember what happened on Tuesday, so this is just a synopsis from MyFitnessPal lol oooopsie

Meals:
1 slice of wheat bread w/ peanutbutter
Tofu Miso Soybean Paste Soup
Bean Soup w/ Tortilla chips
honey roasted peanuts
gluten free cookies
air popped yellow popcorn

Workout:
Cardio -- stairmaster
Upper body- arms (trx & free weights) --
burned 672 calories

Water: I think 90oz

1/17/14

I'M GOING VEGAN: day 13

Today I have something to say and I'm kinda pissed. I'm trying not to be. Maybe I just woke up snappy. Catching shade where there is none. Oversensitive. Or just plain over it.

As well all know when attempting to loose weight or become healthy, its a journey and won't happen in a few weeks. It takes patience, understanding, research, and understanding of progress not perfection. To me this is a "duh".

Sure I post #beyoncebody or #teamthighgap or #teamnogut .. what's wrong with it? Does it mean I love myself any less... or worse that I don't know my selfworth?

Nonsense.

Yes, I have a goal of loosing 45lbs by August. I realize that inches will be my most prominent non-scale victories.

So today, I posted in a Facebook fitness group "My main focus is to achieve a thigh gap. So what will tone/slim down my thunder thighs?"... some of the responses were helpful like

  • Make sure you are eating enough calories or you will shut down the metabolism. If you are burning 600 cals a day through exercise then a healthier and more sustainable number would be 1600-1800 calories a day.
  • Keep an eye on calcium, iron, and your b vitamins. Lots of dark leafy greens, citrus fruits, legumes, starchy fruits, and whole grains. Enriched non dairy milks like almond, rice, or coconut so avoid overdoing it on the soy. Use olive, grapeseed, and eat nuts and avocado for EFA's.
  • you can't spot train fat loss. You can spot train muscle build/tone but not fat loss.
  • "Thigh gap" or the "hip bridge" is not something every woman, in fact most women, can attain. That is actually genetic. If you aren't genetically predisposed to them then you have to have a very low body fat %. Our bodies are designed to store fat there for pregnancy & breast feeding.
  • The stair master actually builds up legs so you will gain the muscle mass in your legs which can and will tone your legs. But as far as not needing the storage you can't really stop where your body stores body fat. And you can't stop your body from storing. Especially if you are calorie deficient for your activity level. Then your body holds on to everything it can and starts to feed off of muscle and organs.
  • around a 45lb weight loss with an august goal (that is maintainable) is doable it would just require a lot of determination and commitment.
  • once someone is able to achieve a very "fit and healthy physique" with lower bf (body fat) levels (not dangerously low), then things like muscle definition in that area will be more noticeable
  • If you want to tighten up the inner thigh look into some hip Adduction exercises.

    But I wasn't here for this:  "Why not just be as healthy as you can be because you are worth it?" ... or the motivational stories about why a thigh gap isn't that important vs being healthy/fit. 
I just wasn't here for it! Like re-reading everyones comments a few hours later I can see their points. But in that moment all I saw was red, when it was implied about self-worth.

Like sooooo over it! My mindset was that, I naturally HAD a thigh gap, however my NEW thighs overlap/rub... for ME that's not what I like. So I'm making a change.

YET, that wasn't even the point of my post. I just wanted information on weight training I could use during leg days as the majority of my weight (IMO) are in my thunder thighs.

It was suggested that I utilize the (female)  trainers in the group for assistance. But, I really am over the motivational/encouraging speeches about progress not perfection. Love your self.. blah blah. I do love myself. Too much sometimes! lol

I just need simplicity. The facts. I appreciate that these women wanted to share their personal stories, it shed light BUT maybe only 2 people truly answered my question....

One suggestion I took action on was making an appointment with the Wellness Center, to learn more about my body fat % and metabolism to make sure I'm consuming the right amount of calories,  so on Feb 7th, I got an appointment for setting up a bod pod (for body fat) and metabolic testing.

I'm excited. I'm also thinking about enlisting a personal trainer (probably male) to teach me proper weight training.

Anyhoo, that's my rant for today. I increased my calorie intake to 1500 and right now I'm at 700, so I'll need to eat some more before the day is over (healthy of course).

ps. I might be a tad oversensitive and a bit confrontational lol

pss. something important that has stuck with me. Gluten-free cookies are STILL cookies. :) lol I only had 2 today.

Workout:
2.5 miles on treadmill --Beyonce keeps me going! I was jamming to Yonce)
hip abbduction/adduction machine (weights 80-90), 3 sets of 15
Pull over weight machine (Weight 50 -did 1 set lol- changed to 40) 3 sets of 15
Free weights 2 sets of 15 (weight 10) -- I use 8's at home so it was a struggle.
Rowing machine 2 sets of 500 meters

Meals:
pb & j on wheat, no crusts
2 gluten free cookies
Soy Chicken Parmesean (2 soy chicken patties, 1 slice soy cheese, spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, green/yellow pepper, onions, curry/garlic powder/salt/pepper/ginger seasoning)

Water: 90 oz. I'ma hit 128oz  today ya'll

If I consume More I'll update below
****



For motivation check out Fat Girl Meets Fit World -- check out her amazing "thigh gap" it may not have been her goal but I'm a fan. If I can achieve something similar with clean eating and training dirty I will be just as happy. :)


Please comment below with your thoughts and any suggestions. Don't worry I'm not feeling snappish now lol :)
xoxo

1/13/14

IM GOING VEGAN: day 9

No huge updates today. Seems super natural to be eating vegan. I actually don't mind it. I still want chocolate :)

Workout: p90x chest & biceps, t25 speed 2.0

Water-- 80 in progress - I really need to get a new camelback

Meals:
Kimchi & rice
Miso soup
Handful of Tortilla chips
1 burger griller, fried potatos, fried tofu - fried/baked in sesame oil
.5 acorn squash (stuffed with kale/quinoa), 1 chicken griller,
1 glass of wine

Currently I'm at about 700 calories so I think ill treat myself to another glass of wine & maybe snack on some popcorn :)