Day 78- Thai Lettuce Wraps

Do you have any recipes that you know you love,
you know your family loves, but for some
reason you don't make it very often?
Well this is one of those recipes for me!

My family LOVES this recipe-
we have been making these for so long,
I couldn't even begin to track down
where the original recipe came from.

Believe me, make an effort to
have ALL the ingredients if at all
possible. The unique combination of
fresh ginger, mint, cilantro and lime
is amazing! Every one of your taste buds
will pop with joy as you eat these.
And made with ground turkey,
these come in at less than 100 calories
each!

Go, go NOW to get these yummy ingredients!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

1 T. Oil                                                                1 lb. GroundTurkey

1 sliced red pepper                                       3 thinly sliced scallions

2 T. Finely chopped ginger                        2 chopped garlic cloves

½ t. red pepper flakes                                 1 t. sugar

3 T. Soy Sauce                                                 1 t. sesame oil

12 boston lettuce leaves                            1 cucumber, thinly sliced

1 bunch mint & cilantro leaves               1 lime

 ** I added avocado because I had some and wanted to use them up

Cook & crumble ground turkey. 

Add pepper, scallion, ginger, garlic, pepper flakes & sugar. 

Turn off heat, stir in soy sauce & sesame oil. 

To serve: Put lettuce, cucumber, mint & cilantro on platter. 

Place 1/4 c. turkey mixture in 1 leaf of lettuce. 
Top with cucumber, mint and cilantro. Squeeze some lime on top and roll.

Day 78- Stats & Facts
B: Mango Berry Protein Shake
S: Cottage Cheese & Tomato Slices
L: Boar's Head Chicken sandwich on 
Ezekial Bread
S: Pear, Cantalope, Cucumbers w/ Hummus
D: Thai Lettuce Wraps w/ avocados
1 cup milk
Total Calories: 1202
Exercise 60 minutes, strength &
60 minutes treadmill steady pace

Day 79- Maybe You Need a New Playlist

I have an awesome workout instructor
who can motivate the sweat out of my
body in a rapid High Interval Heart Beat!

I do whatever I can to make it to her classes
and have signed up for her semi private fitness
teams as well. She is well known for saying,
"Oh, I love this song, lets do one more push to
get our heart rate up". Regardless of how hard
we have already pushed and despite moanings from
the room, she leads us through a High Intensity Drill
that sends us to our maximum heart rate!

On my own, I can't get nearly as good as a workout
as I get with her at the lead.

Today, my husband and I both wanted to get
a workout in before we started a hectic day with
the kids. We went to the gym, and I brought along
a book my son has been begging me to read. I am
not a good runner, inside or out, so if I am going
to be stuck with the treadmill, I will crank up the
incline and walk as fast as I can, this allows me
to pass the time reading. I usually can get a
pretty good workout it and I figure it's better than
sitting on my hiney reading a book!!

Well today, I decided to do a few High Intensity Intervals
to get my heart rate up a bit before I settled into my
normal pace. I had just updated my workout playlist,
so I knew I had some good songs to keep me focused.
As I approached the final few minutes of my
pre-determined time before I settled in, one of my
favorite songs came on the i-pod. In my head, I heard
Juliett's voice "Oh, I looooove this song, let's push 3 more
minutes- you can do anything for 3 minutes"

So push I did, and got my heart rate up to where
Juliett would be proud. Just as I had recovered,
another great song came on and I hear that same
voice again! Sure I can push another 3 minutes!!
Well that pattern kept repeating and I kept pushing.

By the time my husband was ready to call it quits,
I was finishing up with a great workout where I had
maintained the highest incline, the fastest speed and
the longest duration I have EVER done on the treadmill
AND I had burned an impressive 700 calories!!

HOLY COW!! Are you serious?? I cannot even begin
to say how proud I was of my workout. This is more
impressive because I DON'T do running! I do NOT do
it Sam I Am. Not on a road, not at the gym,
Not with a friend, Not on a Whim! 

I just kept thinking the entire rest of the day,
 "What else in my life do I have a lack luster
interest in? What else is there that could turn
from a 'can't do' to a 'let's see how far I can push'?"

Is the difference really just the playlist. Updating
the motivation, is that all I need in more than just
exercise? I came up with a list of things
that I think could be improved with
a change to my playlist-

What could you change? What could be your
motivation to get over the hump of what you feel
stuck in? I was surprised at my list, and a little
grateful for the perspective that I received while
pushing myself to my ultimate limits.
I was more surprised by how I felt after.
I felt stronger, more able and more confident
than I have in a long time.

Get out and Change Your Playlist!

Today's Low Down:
B: Fage Greek Yogurt w/ berries & granola
S: Celery with peanut butter
L: Cobb Salad & Multi grain crackers
S: Fruit Salad & Special K granola bar
D: Chicken Lettuce Wrap sandwich,
roasted butter nut squash & corn on the cob

Day 80- Snack Attack

I have two main concerns to my healthy diet-
First, I often don't eat enough in a Day!
Surprisingly, a lot of women,
especially mom's do not!
When we don't eat enough, or don't
eat a consistent diet on a daily basis,
our bodies get confused and go into
a starvation mode. When this happens
our bodies hold on to every bit of food
we give them and store them as fat, to
be used at a later date.

If exercise is part of your routine,
the importance of making sure you are
getting enough calories is that much
more important.

This has been one of my biggest enemies
over the past several years. I have to be
vigilant at ensuring I get the right number of
calories with the proper allocation of
protein, carbs and fats.

The second challenge I face, is I am
a sugar addict. This is no surprise and can
be easily proven by the number of desserts in
my personal recipe collection. I need to be
extra cautious that I keep my sugar cravings
at bay. The biggest trick for me is to keep myself
out of the kitchen during the day. If I can
have snacks pre-made and pre-portioned,
I am more likely to stand around the kitchen
trying to decide what to eat.


I have noticed that when I follow the nutrition
advice of eating five small meals a day at intervals
of between three and five hours, I can get a pretty good
grasp of both of these issues.

Because exercise is a big part of my daily routine,
I pay special attention to the amount of protein
I get each day. The general consensus is that
your diet consist of about 1/2 of your body weight
in protein. Make sure you get about 20-30 grams of protein
within one hour of a weight lifting workout.

This list of easy and simple snacks keeps me
craving free, satisfied throughout the day
and ensures my protein needs are met.


Simple & On The Go Snacks

Banana with 1-2 TBSP. peanut butter & a dallop of Vanilla Paste
Celery sticks and pisatchios
Almonds and Apple
Greek Yogurt and Berries
Tuna on a rice cake with Salsa
Jicama, sliced peppers & Guacamole
Turkey Slice & cheese stick
Hummus & Persian cucumbers
Gluten Free crackers & 1 oz. cheese
Rice chex, dried cranberries & almonds
Cottage cheese & tomato slices

I love that with these easy snack combination
I can ward off cravings for sugary foods,
keep satisfied and because I am eating the
right combinations of food, I am less likely
to over eat on dinner or the occassional
dessert night.

Day 81- Quality Counts with Oil & Vinegar

My sixteen year old is our resident
salad dressing maker.
I am usually running around the kitchen
in the final minutes before dinner is served
and all of a sudden I realize I forgot to make
the dressing-
lucky for me, in walks Miss Kutie Pie
and she saves the day.

She makes some yummy ones,
and is a pro at deciding what flavors
will best compliment the fresh ingredients
we are using in the Salad de Jour!

With the exception of one dressing that
we use once in a rare while, we make
our own salad dressings- no matter what
type of salad we are eating. 
This is one of the things we did long ago
when I started eliminating processed foods
and I have loved it so much. No more drowning
our greens and toppings.

The secret to great tasting homemade dressings
is great tasting oils

Specialty and high quality oils are available at most fine grocery stores.

and vinegars.

There are specialty oil & vinegar shops in many areas or you can buy online

They may be a bit more pricey-
but ohhh, soooo worth it-

Miss Kutie just recently made us a dressing
that was out of this world,
It was made with
Grapeseed Oil
Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt
Coconut Sugar
Lemon Extract

Nielsen-Massey has great ingredients and can be ordered online if you can't find them locally

We used small dashes on this Delicious Salad

It was truly a match made in Heaven!

Day 81 Stats & Facts
B: Greek yogurt with berries and granola
S: Whole Grain crackers with guacamole
L: Grilled Tuna Sandwich on Ezekial Bread, mango slices
S: 1/2 c. cottage cheese & grapes
D: Fruit salad & Luna protein bar
S: Whole Wheat Graham Crackers & Kettle Corn
Total Calories: 1214
No Exercise

Little Miss Sunshine Salad

Little Miss Sunshine Salad

It doesn't seem like
anything special at first glance.
With just a few ingredients it
just seems to good to be true.
But I can promise you this salad
will make you smile :)

Seriously, my mouth is watering just thinking of this salad!!

Even Dear ole' Hubby liked it
and he is usually not too fond
of vinaigrette dressings.

Let's just cut to the chase here shall we??
This salad starts with some pretty
simple basics:

A mixture of baby spring greens and baby spinach
Fresh Raspberries
Craisins
Bleu Cheese or Feta (depends on what you like)

Than you add some delicious Glazed Cashews,
* we make these by melting butter in a heavy pan,
adding cashews and tossing them until lightly
roasted. We then add agave nectar and continue tossing
until they are nice and glazed over. We have used
various flavors of agave and have never been
disappointed with the flavor of the nuts. 

Drizzle lightly with this Vinaigrette
Grapeseed Oil
Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar
Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar
Lemon Extract
Sea Salt
Coconut Sugar

Go Ahead- admit it
You like it LOTS!!

Day 82- How Fresh Can You Get

I absolutely LOVE Farmer's Markets-
I love the busy-ness,
the interaction with the vendors
and the samples of fresh fruits & veggies-

I fell in Love with Farmer's Markets in CA-
I found many an excuse to go as often as I could.
My favorite was held on Wednesday Mornings
in Santa Monica along 3rd Street Promenade!
With the beach just down the road, it made for a
picture perfect day for me!

When we moved to TX, I was less than
confident that I would find one I loved as much.

In an effort to Make our Way in TX, we decided
to get out and LIVE a little-
and one of our first items of business- find me
a Farmers Market-
and Farmers Market we Found!!
 
The Dallas Farmers Market was by leaps and
bounds the best I have seen.

The produce was splendid,

Peppers are so full of nutrients and a staple at our house for quick and easy

the displays were perfect,

So many varieties and options to chose from

the vendors were just the right amount of helpful

... even if a little shy

and the other patrons were beyond friendly!!

In my previous life I do believe I was a farmer-
at least I would believe that if I
believed I'd lived a previous life.

It is difficult in these busy days to make time
to eat healthy, let alone to eat
Healthy AND Fresh!!
But I am going to say
Do IT! Make whatever sacrifice you can
to eat your food as close to the source as you can.

If there is one single change I have made that I
KNOW has made a difference in my health,
it is eliminating as much processed food as
absolutely possible from my diet.

If you have any questions-
this is close to the source

and this is NOT!

Here are some of my favorite recipes for
eating fresh-
Favorite Veggie Salad- just use a different
dressing if you are trying to lose weight or
Spinach Salad with Carrots & Israeli Couscous
or simply these Roasted Veggies


Day 82 Low Down
B: Greek Yogurt w/ granola and berries
I used a Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar for flavor- yum!

S: Celery w/ 2 TBSP peanut butter
L: Cobb Salad w/ Balsamic Vinegar
multi grain crackers & red pepper hummus
S: Fruit Salad
D: Boars Head Sandwich wraps on Butterleaf Lettuce

Total Calories: 1327
Exercise: Treadmill Intervals at 5 mph 12 incline
on 3 minutes, off 2

Day 83- Make Friends With Salad

Holy Mouthful Batman!!

Today I am including a salad that is a Mouth Full
of Yumminess from beginning to END!

Rule # 6 (read here for my "rules")
says to avoid Carbs after lunch- which means
that during this 84 day process, I will be
eating a lot of Dinner Salads.
I'm not talking boring old Dinner Salads-
No Way Jose,
These are mouth watering treats, full of
goodness, nutrients and healthy living!

I have several Salad Recipes that I love
this one is easy & one I make ALL the time for lunch
or this one just omit the noodles.
 

This recipe actually serves double duty-
Day 1: It's a yummy Flank Steak served with
this Delicious Mango Berry Salsa
and caramelized peppers and brown rice

and then on Day 2, it's this delicious salad!

So sorry, it tastes much better than this looks

For the Steak:
1-2 pounds flank steak

Rub:
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 lime, juiced
1 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the rub spices together. Add lime juice
and olive oil- stir to combine
Place the steak in a shallow dish like a pie plate
and pour rub over. Rub it in on both sides.
Allow the steak to sit for 15 minutes.
Getch'yur grill ready-
Gill over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes to your desired
doneness, I like to leave it a little pink on the inside.
Let the steak rest for 5 minutes and then Cut steak into strips

For the Salad: 
Romaine and Mixed Greens
Red Onion, sliced thinly
Drained Black Beans
Avocados, sliced
Red, Yellow & Orange Peppers-
slightly sauteed so they are a little more than 
al dente

Top with a delicious, spicy, homemade salsa
in place of a dressing-

Okay, so for the Low Down on Day 83
B: Steel Cut Oats, Blueberries & Pecans
S: Banana & 3 TBSP almonds
L: Boars Head Chicken Sandwich on Ezekial Bread & an apple
S: Turkey Jerky & Grapes
D: This delicious Salad!
Total Calories: 1242
Exercise: Strength, 65 minutes at home