Southwest Lime Salad

I normally don't like making salads with more than a few ingredients since it's time-consuming, but this one is worth it!  I am making this salad for the second time this week.  It is tasty and my kids love it too.  I got it from my sister who got it from her friend.  I made a few edits in the recipe.  You can really mix it up with different ingredients, spices, and measurements.


Today my baby turned 4 months -- and today I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight!!  It feels so good to be able to wear all my clothes again.  I'm not stopping though.  Lots more natural food to burn off the rest of this fat.  Who is with me??


Southwest Lime Salad:

-Cook 1 c dried brown rice in water
-Cool then stir in 1/2 c organic salsa

-Grill or bake 2-3 chicken breasts:
drizzle with olive
add:
-chili powder
-garlic powder
-onion powder

Chop into pieces.

Salad:
Mix of lettuces and spinach
2 chopped tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo/chickpeas
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1/4 red onion chopped
1 avocado chopped

Dressing
2 T rice vinegar
2 T olive oil
2 limes juiced
1-2 T canned green chilies
1/4 tsp Stevia
1 tsp salt

Toss salad with the chicken, rice mixture and drizzle dressing on. Serve in big bowls.


The key to burning fat is eating fat-burning foods.  You should combine a protein with good carbs at every meal.  Good carbs basically comprise veggies, but you can also have grains, sweet potatoes, etc, especially if you are working out.  Just remember that the more you cut out grains, the faster you will burn fat and lose weight.  Eat protein and good fats to burn fat!

Free Samples

Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar is SUCH a great health food and has many many nutritional benefits.  You can google it if you want to know more.  I found this recipe online for a great salad dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp dijon or yellow mustard

Other spices - garlic, onion, etc

Sea salt

(It doesn't really keep in the fridge past a day or two so half the recipe if you're not going to eat it all).

This salad dressing is tasty and a much better alternative to store bought dressings that are laden with bad oils like canola, not to mention the sugar!

Anyway, I found this link to get free samples of Bragg's seasonings.  I've never tried them and am excited to test them out.  Click to order yours!

The Good Stuff

I just got back from our local natural foods market with loads of fresh veggies and fruits, greek yogurt, and raw nuts.  I just have to make these cookies today.  I must!


I am at the store every other day to keep stock on the good stuff.  My kids can go through Costco-sized strawberries, blueberries, grapes, etc, in 36 hours.  (I'm seriously fearful of their future bigger selfs).  It's citrus season here and I just got tons of grapefruits for .19 each and oranges for almost as cheap.  We love to juice citrus around here. 


I will confess that last night in a total moment of stress, surrounded by 5 crazy kids, I threw about 20 m&ms into my mouth and sucked on that sweet chocolate to calm myself.  Man...it worked!  (And they tasted REALLY strong).  I didn't even crave more but the chocolate really helped me to chill for a second.  It's so weird how food can be tied to emotions.  And it's hard when there's un-natural food at arm's reach... 


I've been 99.9% sugar and processed foods-FREE for about 19 days and feeling quite good.  Almost all the "junk" in our house has been eaten up by my family too.  It feels good to be replacing everything with natural whole foods that will keep us lean and energized.


Blogging this is good for me since it will hopefully keep me accountable and motivated to not slip backward.


Tonight for dinner...chicken kebobs (or kabobs?  I never remember how to spell that word).

-Take a wooden skewer stick (we have 400 of them for some reason!)
-Poke on chicken, bell peppers, onions, pineapple chunks, and chery tomatos.
-Drizzle with sauce or marinade - we're doing them teriyaki style.
-Grill and devour.


Mmmmm I can't wait.


That's one problem with eating super healthy and fresh -- you always have to be planning your next meal.  And it usually makes me start drooling hours before.


I have ONE more pound of pregnancy weight to lose.  I've been working hard at it and the payoff feels really great.  (I've lost 7 lbs in the past 19 days - hooya!)

Sprouted grains

It seems like everyone is duped into believing that whole wheat flour (bread, pasta, tortillas, etc) is healthy! 

I have learned that for a grain to be useful to your body it should be in its whole form (or cracked open a bit like steel cut oatmeal) or sprouted. 

The images above are of some of my favorite bread - sprouted Ezekiel.  They are all delicious but the cinnamon raisin bread is divine when toasted.  I've made french toast out of the original Ezekiel bread too.  It's not a hard switch from whole wheat bread.  I haven't tried the other items pictured above, but if the grains are sprouted instead of processed into flour...it's going to be highly superior in the nutrition department.

WHY??

I like this answer by Dr. Andrew Weil.

Q	What's Wrong with Whole Wheat? In your book "Healthy Aging," you recommend eating whole grains but not whole-wheat flour products. Why?
A	Answer (Published 11/29/2006)
I recommend eating whole grains because they're a great source of important nutrients, including protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and, especially, carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic index (GI), a ranking of carbohydrate foods on the basis of how they affect blood sugar (glucose). This is important for many people because eating a lot of foods that are high on the glycemic index will produce spikes in blood sugar that can lead over time to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is associated with obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood fats, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Grains in their natural form have a low glycemic index, while processed carbohydrates, including those made with flour or puffed grains, have a high GI. The reason is that it takes longer for digestive enzymes to reach the starch inside whole grains or grains cracked into large pieces, slowing down the conversion of starch to sugar. True whole grains include wild rice, barley, quinoa, millet and wheat berries. You can be pretty sure you're eating a natural grain with a low GI ranking if you have to chew it or can see grains or pieces of grains in food products. The more your jaw has to work, the better. But when grains are pulverized into flour, whether whole or not, their surface area expands dramatically, providing a huge, starchy surface area on which the enzymes can work. Consequently, the conversion to sugar happens very quickly. Whole wheat bread and products labeled "whole grain" are usually made with flour. If you check a list of the glycemic index of various foods, such as the one at www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm, you'll see that finely textured whole wheat bread has the same GI as white bread – about 70, making both high GI foods. I recommend cutting down on all products made with flour and increasing consumptions of grains in their more natural state. Andrew Weil, M.D.

Soup!

I made delicious soup yesterday that was quick/easy and very filling.  Here's what I threw together:

Turkey sausage bean and carrott soup

About a cup of a 10-bean mix from bulk at Spout's. (it contains various small beans, barley, etc)
Water...maybe 6 cups?
A tbsp of organic "Better than Bouillon" chicken broth (love this stuff for soups)
Onion powder and garlic powder (I use these two in almost everything)

Let that boil for 1-2 hours
Add:
Chopped carrotts
Pre-cooked turkey sausage cut in pieces (great protein, low calorie!)

Let that cook on medium for about 60 minutes.  Eat and enjoy! 

I'm having leftovers now.  Mmmmm!

Smoothie Delight

I like to get the big bags of frozen fruit at Costco like the Wawona tropical fruit (mangos, papaya, strawberry, pineapple) and also the peaches.

I throw a cup or two in my blender, let it defrost for 10 minutes, add half a banana, a smidget of orange juice or water, and mix it all up til it's smooth and ready for consumption.

It is SO delicious.  Since the fruit is already frozen there's no need to add ice.  I usually drink down half and put the other half in my freezer for an evening snack.

You can throw virtually anything into a smoothie - frozen berries, milk, a little greek yogurt, etc, and it's better than a candy bar.  A great way to cool down after a workout too.

P.S. If you use protein powder, use one that is vegetable derived so your body can use it!

P.P.S. I really believe eating naturally is a long-term solution to staying healthy and lean.  Eating anything you want while counting calories usually yields weight gain and disappointment in the long run because the cravings and hunger are always present when we're eating the wrong stuff!  I think most of us have tried.

PB Bars

I was experimenting with some healthy bars the other day and came up with this recipe.  I would love any ideas to tweak or modify it!  It's pretty yummy though as is.

2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1.5 cups milled flaxseed
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup honey (should be organic, raw, cloudy-colored)
1 cup carob chips (fake chocolate!)

Mix together, press into pan, freeze.  Later on cut into bars, wrap in plastic or tinfoil and freeze.  I take them out one at a time to eat and they thaw within a minute.