A Recent Find

One of the staple meals in our household is a good ol' fashion stir-fry. Growing up, my mom always made our stir-fry using a pork tenderloin. I've always done the same, sometimes I substituted with chicken, but it always tasted best with pork. Recently, however, I've discovered a healthier (and more cost efficient) substitute. Turkey breast tenderloin:

Turkey breast is one of our leanest proteins and is an excellent source of iron, zinc, and others. The best part about it, at least according to my husband, is it tastes great! You will not lose any flavor with this substitution.

Speaking of stir-fry this is what I do. Add a little oil to your pan/wok and heat for just a second. Add your chopped meat and cook until meat is completely cooked through. Add veggies (to make it easy on yourself grab a stir-fry bag in the vegetable aisle) and saute until softened, but still have a little bite.


Pour on your favorite, healthy teriyaki sauce (watch for high sugar). Stir. If your sauce is too thin you can always add a little corn starch to thicken and better coat your meat and veggies.

Serve over brown rice. Enjoy!

Eating, Drinking, and Sleeping for Two

I'm sorry for the impromptu hiatus, but to be honest, I wasn't sure how to explain my health decisions without spoiling my big news. The truth is that I'm pregnant. I'm 13 weeks, which means Saturday I will be out of the dreaded 1st trimester. Nate and I are as happy as could be and can't wait for our little one.

What does this mean for me and my health? Well, there have been a couple of big changes in my eating and working out. The biggest changes in my work outs is that I am no longer running and keep any weight training light. Although some say running is okay during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, I've chosen to omit it due to the extremely high heart rate I get while running. Basically, when I'm running at a comfortable pace, able to talk even, my heart rate is high to the point where it would be dangerous for some people. With this in mind, I thought Why take the risk? and have been walking and riding my bike, instead. It's been nice to slow down the pace of my working out... BUT I know that once I have "peanut" I'll be signing up for the next half marathon :)

As for my eating, I feel like I am eating a TON. I get hungry more frequently and hunger pains come on fast and furious. I think because of the intense hunger (and probably prego cravings) I have eaten a couple things, I wouldn't normally consider. For example, I've had cheeseburgers a couple of times and anything cheesy and of the Mexican variety is often on my mind. Fortunately, I have by no means let myself go. I have only gained 2-4 pounds, which is good for first trimester.

Some positive changes I have made include trying to eat A LOT more vegetables. Broccoli is a natural superfood and I love carrots and celery, so I create my own little veggie tray for snacking. I've found that cutting up a red bell pepper and taking it as a snack or part of my lunch is delicious (and high in Vitamin C). Also, I am avoiding nitrate-high foods like bacon, peperoni, cold cuts, and sausage. I never ate too much of these things before, but I am choosing to completely skip them now (bye, bye peperoni pizza and antipasto salad!). Finally, I am trying to not have too much soda or artificial sweetners. My doctor has given the okay to sucralose and aspartame, but I am happy to avoid them if I can. As a soda lover, I find that a great substitute for me right now is delicious Izze:

Izze's are 70% real fruit juice and 30% sparkling water . I love, love, love grapefruit and pomegranate. They are a great when I want something with a little natural pick-me-up (I'm not drinking any caffeine). Oh, also, I've found that the cans are cheaper than the bottles. So instead of buying the bottled Izzes in the soda aisle, head to the juice aisle, you will find the canned ones next to the Kern's.... And, now, I just talked myself into having one. It's pomegranate :)

Since being pregnant, I am drinking A LOT more water. Drinking more water is necessary when pregnant, but also just helps you feel better. You can start feeling sick if you haven't had enough water.

Finally, my most glorious accomplishment since being prego: sleep. I have never been much of a sleeper, but boy do I make time for it now! Early on, I was taking 2 hour naps, which is completely unheard of for me. Now that I am further along, I can make it through the day without a nap, but am often in bed around 9pm. The bottom line is that I am allowing myself to listen to my body. If I'm tired, I sleep. That's it.

What I am consciously aware of is that what goes in my mouth is shared by another. My body has a current tenant so I need to be sure that it's a Hilton, not some two-star hotel. And, although most of you out there are not pregnant, these changes are ones that benefit all.

Long post this time! Phew! I will try to post soon. If my dinner of Healthy Spicy Shrimp Pasta comes out delicious tonight, maybe I will pass on the recipe :)

Resolving to be Healthy

I'm not the type to make resolutions. However, if there was a resolution for me this year it would be to be the healthiest person I can be. This means making almost all meals at home, it means exercising, and it means allowing myself time to rest. Making my meals is somewhat challenging because it feels time-consuming, but really making our dinners is something that I enjoy. As I've said before, the more I cook, the more I love it. I love the control you have when choosing what ingredients you will be consuming. I'm always suspicious of those too good to be true "low-fat" options in restaurants.

As for exercise, I am trying to stay consistent with getting my body moving at least four days a week. For me, personally, this seems like the easiest goal to accomplish. It helps to have a work out partner (Nate), and a frequent walking buddy (Turi). I recommend that anyone who needs help with consistency finds a partner right for them.

Lastly, rest. This year I am all about allowing myself time to relax and rest when I need it. Never in my life have a been a person who requires naps. I used to feel like napping was a waste of time; sleeping happens at night. Fortunately, I don't believe this anymore. Our bodies need time to recoup. More rest means fighting off more disease and destressing. Two things that will be important to me this year.

All in all, I think 2010 will be a great, healthy year for me.

How are the Holidays Going?

Wellll... To be honest, I haven't been perfect. Holidays and food seem to go hand in hand and my holidays definitely reflect this. Fortunately, the major feasting is now over and I can get back to my normal, healthy choices. I definitely have to be grateful that even when things are busy over the holidays, I can still keep a consistent workout regimen. Without my workouts, I would surely fall victim to the holiday pounds.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays as much as I am. Remember, don't fret if you haven't been as healthy as you like... just get movin'!

What's for Lunch?

Throughout my journey of being healthy and maintaining my weight there has definitely been one significant change. I make most of my meals. I love cooking and have gotten better at it throughout the years. The truth is simple. When you make your own food, you can control what you eat; you choose exactly what goes into your mouth.

The easiest meal to eat at home is breakfast, of course. Cereal, oatmeal, or toast and yogurt are easily prepared and eaten. The next easiest meal to prepare yourself is lunch. Now think about something for a minute. If you choose to always prepare/make your lunch, you already have 2 meals a day that you are in complete control of.. and 2 outta 3 ain't bad. When I started making my lunch everyday was when I really started having a consistent, healthy diet.

For this post I thought I'd share a very frequent lunch of mine. Take a look at the salad I just had for lunch:
Ingredients are romaine lettuce, chicken, apple, avo, almonds, celery, little bit of feta, and a fat-free (low sugar!) balsamic vinaigrette. I like to think of my salads as somewhat hearty because they actually make me full. I find that if you have too much lettuce and not enough protein, you can get hungry shortly after. Also, I like to put apples in my salad because its delicious and helps kick hunger. This salad I had for lunch happened to have chicken breast in it, but normally it's just good ol' deli turkey breast slices. Recently, I've cut out most of my cheese-eating, but I feel like a little bit in your salad won't hurt. If you can omit cheese altogether, great.

You may have noticed my little "low sugar!" note above. When/if you choose fat free dressings (or other fat free products for that matter) make sure to check sugar. Often fat free = tons of sugar, which is no better for you.

So, that's it. That's what's for lunch. If it's not salads, it's sandwiches, but the idea is always the same. Make your lunch yourself and pack it with all the healthy "goods" you can.

Life Changes

I want to take a moment to talk about life changes. There are two people in my life right now who have made the decision to live a healthier life and I have got one thing to say to the both of them.. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! Both have decided that it's time to jump into action and even lose some unnecessary weight. Having made that decision myself, a few years ago, I know that it can be hard to finally choose to be healthier and can be even harder sticking to your goal. But here's the thing - YOU CAN DO IT.

Everyday that you get yourself up and choose the healthier food and choose to go for a run,walk, or do any other exercise, just know that I am proud of you. Be proud of yourself for changing your life.

Yesterday I was in a wedding and there were people there who I hadn't seen in years. One told me that he hardly recognized me. At first I didn't get it. I thought, 'I'm still brown-haired and freckle-faced, what's so different?' After thinking about it, I realized that the last time this particular person saw me, I could have been 20 lbs heavier. Kind of a big difference in appearance. Take a look..


Before (probably my heaviest and most unattractive picture):


After:


After losing that 20 lbs. I am happier and take pride in the healthier choices I make. For me, I didn't have a goal weight, I just knew it was time to make some changes. Also, it didn't happen over night. I am happy to say that I didn't lose weight trying a fad diet, using supplements, or starving myself. I lost weight the old fashion way- watching what I ate and working out. The choices I made may have made it a longer process, but it has proved a successful one since I am still maintaining my weight.

So to the two of you and any others that have made the decision to live a healthier life, I applaud you. You have a happy, healthy future to look forward to.

Back At It

When things get crazy in my life I have a hard time keeping a consistent work-out routine. Luckily, I finally seem to be getting some control over my schedule and I've been working out like a good girl :) This week, I should get 5 days in, which ain't too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Although I've been working out more, I still haven't been doing a good job of keeping up this blog (as you may have noticed). This is partly because I feel like, "What do I know?" and "Who am I to offer advice/suggestions?" But again, that's just not the point of this blog. I'm doing this to keep myself healthy and if I say something of interest to you along the way, great.

So what I'm saying is.. I'm gonna try and be better about updating (Do I hear crickets chirping?). Talk to you soon!