Shortstaxx1

For a while I was reminding myself every night of 5 things that I was greatful for. Then for some reason I stopped. Thanks to this post, I'm going to start up again. It puts things in perspective. 1) That I can support my son and myself 2) That I am taking a positive step towards improving my work conditions 3) That I have the most wonderful best friend EVER!!!

Well, it's been a too long since I've checked in. Waaaaay too much going on at once. But I'm slowly getting a handle on things and getting back on track. Food intake has been acceptable. Exercising has been sporadic but I'm not giving up. Working on the business has been put on hold for now. I am currenlt taking courses online to improve my job situation, so that takes priority right now. Today I'm starting a 3 day Spring cleanse. I'm just feeling the need to "re boot" and get rid of some toxins that are dragging me down. I know this will be tough because I won't be eating, just drinking. Hope I don't get crabby

In this day and age it is hard NOT to compare yourself with others. You see women on the front of magazines and you thingk "I wish I could look like that". Then you read the article that tells you of the latest diet and how you can lose 15 lbs in 3 weeks. So what do you do? You buy the magazine, read the article, hit the grocery store and start your new diet. After a few days of feeling great about yourself, life throws you a curve ball and all of your good intentions are out the window. Not to worry, there will be another thin woman on another magazine touting another diet. The problem is that usually the woman on the cover isn't the typical woman trying to lose weight. She isn't a single mom working a full time job while driving the kids to soccer, football or gymnastics. She isn't a stay at home mom that sews the costumes for the class play. Once I truly realized that, I stopped comparing myself to these women. And I stopped buying the magazine...unless they had rally great DIY projects! Right now I am working on who I want to be, not what I think others want me to be, or how I think they should perceive me. I can see myself in the mirror and I will make that match up with what I see in my minds eye. And I will not compare myself to anyone because I am me, and that make me happy!

Well, a problem with the computer has not allowed me to work on my Life Goal, but I have taken the opportunity to advertise by word of mouth...and got a job with one of my neighbors! When one door closes... I have been doing good with my food intake. I have realized that I will never bee 100% Paleo. There are too many things that I am not willing to give up, such as a cocktail with friends, a little icecram with my son or jelly beans with my nieces. So I'm going to revise my goals slightly to make them more realistic to my life choices. Exercising has been a hit and miss. Because of my job, I have been working 16 hour shifts and covering shifts for other people. This has put a damper on my schedule because I either have to sleep before I go in for a midnight shift, or I have to catch a nap when I get home from a double shift. Raiden and I are still walking every day, but I feel like I'm missing so much when I don't get to strength train. Hopefully things at work will slow down a little so I can get back on track. WHen I do get to work out, I fel great! So far I haven't lost any weight,but I haven't gained any either. I really need to exercise more if I'm going to get down one pants size.

The tough thing about sticking to a plan, is when life has other ideas. I was all set to get back in the groove after resting Sunday. But alas, that was not to happen. Monday was a bust because I had to move furniture and paint the living room. I made the most out of it by exaggerating my movements, but I still felt cheated out of a work out. Tuesday I found out I had to work my regular shift, then come back to work the 11pm-7am shift, and stay on for my regular shift ending at 3pm. Ugh...I was tired just thinking about it. So I went home to whip up some dinner for that night and breakfast for us both for Wednesday. I made an abreviated version of the Egg Muffins, and to my utter surprise, my son loved it. (Sausage, eggs, spinach, mushrooms and zucchini) I am hoping that I will be awake enough when I get off work to walk the dog our 2 miles and work out but I'm not going to beat myself up if I can't. I'm only human. But I know I will stay on track with my food and hit that work out tomorrow. Yay me!

Yikes! I'm not sure if I ROCK at anythign yet. I'll have to ponder this...

Quick, easy, healthy and portable! Perfect! Thank you

My son is alwqys on the goe but doesn't make time to eat breakfast. For a while I was making him smoothies but then he'd run out of time, or forget about it. If I'm lucky he'll grab a protien bar on the way out the door. Sometimes he'll heat up frozen breakfast sandwiches, but I try to stay away from those. What I'm looking for are any ideas that I can make ahead of time and he can eat on the go or just reheat in the microwave with minimal down time. I remember reading something about egg muffins that can be frozen but can't recollect where I saw it. Please help me get this kid back on a healthy track...

Sounds interesting. I'm going to experiment on my son Thanks

I invested in the Magic Bullet and it takes me less than 1 minute to make an awesome breakfast smoothie that fills me up. half banana 1/4 cup blueberries 2 tbs organic oats (uncooked) small handful fresh spinach 1/4 cup walnuts vanilla protien powder water or coconut water to cover all food (alter ingrdients to taste) Blend in Magic Bullet and you're done. Drink this slowly, chewing the nuts and oats. It will satisfy you and keep you full for quite a while. Alos, tossing some eggs, spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms in the microwave makes a great omlette that is quick and yummy. Prep the veggies the night before and put them in a snack sized baggie. Another dish that is nearly Paleo is something that we came up with doing living history reenactment at a chuckwagon. I'm going to experiment with replacing the milk and the cheese but this is the basic recipe that will last you all week. Dozen eggs Milk Sausage 3-4 medium Potaoes 1-2 Onions 1 Block cheddar dheese, grated Preheat oven to 350 Brown sausage Cook potatoes in skillet until almost soft. Toss in onions and cook to taste. Scramble eggs, adding milk to taste. Mix all ingredients except cheese in a dutch oven or cassreole dish with a lid. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 30-45 minutes depending on amount of milk and depth of dish.

Today was a bust! Well not comlpletely since it's on lunch, but seriously, potato chips and sour cream for lunch?!?! I can blame it on my job, but actually it was me being unprepared. I dispatch so have limited time to leave my station, and where was my lunch? At home. So I made do with what was available. Thank goodness I have my walk with Raidon and my work out today. I'm actually changing the workout up a bit. I found a book in the bargain area of Barned and Noble about strength training. It had all of the same things that Steve has talked about. I like two of the work outs that they have so I'm going to incorporate them this week and see how things go. So far I am please with my diet and my work out regimen. No if I can stay away from the chips and sour cream for lunch, I'll be very pleased!

Day 4 and I'm feeling pretty darn good. Every day the dog and I have walked 1.5 to 2 miles. Then it's back home to do the Angry Birds workout or play Kinect with the kids. I've been doing great with the Paleo, and only gave in once to a bit of cookie dough. After the guilt of giving in, I started researching healthy sweet snacks and desserts. If I'm going to "cheat" at least it can be healthier than the crap you buy in the store. So I'm adding a side goal to my challenge to find healthy, delicious and esay snacks and desserts for my kiddo and I.

THis is a great Paleo recipe for chicken that uses the Magic Bullet. Ginger garlic scallion crusted Chicken 2 pounds (1kg) boneless chicken breast (pounded to even thickness) 2-3 tbs. fresh ginger (peeled) (more if you like lots of ginger) 4 cloves garlic 1/2 cup (10g) scallions (chopped) 2 tbs. olive oil 1/2 cup (75g) almonds (chopped) 1 tbs. coconut oil salt and pepper to taste Directions1. Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness 2. Peel ginger and garlic cloves and cube your ginger into chunks. 3. Roughly chop scallions and combine ingredients in mini-processor (Magic Bullet). Pulse them a few times to combine. (you can also use a blender or food processor). 4. Add olive oil to processor and mix into a paste. 5. Preheat oven to 450F (230C) and chop nuts. 6. Heat coconut oil in large oven-proof skillet and place chicken “smooth side†down – sear chicken (about 2-3 minutes). 7. Flip chicken, turn off the burner and coat seared side with ginger/garlic/scallion paste and sprinkle nuts on top. 8. Place chicken in oven for 10 or so minutes until chicken is cooked through (internal temp reaches at least 170F (75C)) and the crust on the top is golden brown and nuts look…well…browned! 9. Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes and serve

Here is the pizza receipe. I found it on www.nutribulletblog.com. Inflammation-Fighting PizzaWe have been hearing a lot lately about the effects of inflammation on the body. Many who have changed their diets to include anti-inflammatory ingredients have been experiencing the benefits, including increased energy, fighting illness, reducing pain or improving skin tone. A change in what we consume and how we prepare our food is definitely worth the effort. I’m all about simplicity, especially when it comes to the kitchen! Since I am on a gluten-free diet and love a good pizza, I came up with a delicious recipe for gluten-free pizza that incorporates many inflammation-fighting ingredients and, of course, I use my NutriBullet to simplify and speed up the cooking process. The following recipe takes a total of 15 minutes including baking time! Ingredients: Frozen Gluten Free Prepared Pizza Crust (I use Nature’s HiLights Brown Rice/Whole Grain Crust)2 fresh tomatoes (use organic, if possible)Garlic, ground basil, fennel and onion salt – to tasteFresh parsley1 teaspoon olive oil¼ onion-choppedFresh cilantro8 Fresh basil leafsFresh spinach leafs¼ cup lite mozzarella cheese-shreddedDirections: Warm pizza crust at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 minutes and remove from oven. Reduce temperature to 425 degrees. If using a different crust, follow instructions on package for warming. While warming the crust, pulse tomatoes, garlic, parsley, olive oil, onion salt, ground basil, and fennel in your NutriBullet for a few seconds until it becomes a sauce. Spread sauce evenly over crust. Layer with fresh basil leafs, cilantro, spinach leafs, chopped onions and cheese. Bake for 8 minutes directly on oven rack.This recipe is low sodium/low sugar. If you like a sweeter sauce, you can add a little Stevia. My teenager LOVES this!!! He'd rather make this pizza then order in. Yay for me...eating healthy AND spending time with my son!

I recently purchased a Magic Bullet. I found a great receipe that I have been making for my son. It is a Brain Fog Buster. Basically it has: Blueberries Walnuts Banana Spinach Protien Powder Water I tweaked it a little by adding coconut water, and I use a protien powder that tastes like cake mix. I also change up the nuts when I'm out of walnuts. It tastes so good that I have been drinking it for breakfast every morning for the past week. It is remarkably filling. I also made tomato sauce for our home made pizzas. It was the best I've ever had. I will post the recipe when I have access to it later. Does anyone else have healthy ideas for the Magic Bullet? I'd love to add to what we already have.