Qiuck Healthy Dinner

So Dusty and I have been consciously eating a lot more clean foods, (not processed anything etc.) and I must say I am proud of myself for venturing and trying new things and actually liking it - not to mention sticking with it and loving it! [and no I still do NOT like any form of uncooked tomato, especially a cherry tomato....even home grown ones--so let's not go there, k?!]

This week I threw together something that turned out way good and I wanted to share. Feel free to share your quick healthy meals that you can think off of the top of your head. Us women LOVE to swap quick-n-healthy meal ideas.

PITA PIZZAS

• 1 stone ground whole wheat pita
• some spaghetti / marinara (whatever) - nos sugar added
• little bit of low fat mozzarella
• grilled onions ( i do this cause I hate them real crunchy - more work but way better)
• mushrooms
• grilled chicken (if you want)
• small chunks of cauliflower
• sprouts
• ...and whatever other veggies you want

bake at 350 till cheese is melted and it's SO good.

Tips for Healthy Snacking

I can't tell you how much I love this site. It is such a cute idea. You can just cruise the site yourself or do it for like an FHE activity or something.

http://www.licensetosnack.com/

Just Humor Me....

When ever you go to a restaurant (or at home) and you ask/get something on the side like salad dressing, butter, sour cream etc., why do you do this? Do you end up using all of it any way? Is it a way to still get the flavor but not intake as many calories? Is it just a habit? Why did you develop the habit?......

Like I said I really want you to humor me. Really take a moment to think about the psychological reasoning behind his. (I do it too so you will get my answer later.) I want to hear from you. I am doing a study of sorts and I think you all can provide some great feedback. Thanks!

Zum Zum Zumba!

So Dusty and I are taking a night work out class together. We went for the first time last Thursday and thought it was going to be a Turbo Kick class. It was the same instructor but they have changed the format this semester and on Thursdays they are going to do zumba. Zumba is a like a 60 min salsa / Cuban workout. I was bummed at first because I thought Dusty wouldn't want to do it. Lo and behold if he didn't shake what his mamma gave him and had fun!! I love my husband!! He did SO GOOD! He and another guy took the back corner but he could have been front and center as much as he was shakin it and workin up a sweat. It was AWESOME! So, Tuesday nights will be Turbo Kick and Thursdays will be zumba and Saturdays I will probably go to by myself cause it's 1/2 Turbo and 1/2 step and I don't even like step that much and the teacher is just OK and her step routines are next to impossible to catch on to.

Anyway, props to Dusty for doing so good at the zumba!

Ohhhhh. It Ain't My Fault.

First off that title is in reference to a rap song. There are many of those throughout this blog so, just read it and move on knowing that you are not as ghetto as me :-) You can take a girl from the south but you can't take the south out of the girl!

Anyway. I realized than on my last trip home that my picky eating habits is NOT my fault. I grew up thinking that my parents ate a variety of different vegetables, fruits and adventurous foods. Um, what crack was I smokin? I tried to go home and fix meals for them and help out and I had a hard time figuring out what to make because they are PICKY!! Way picky. So I am relinquishing my guilt and resigning to my victimhood that my parents did this to me and it's not my fault. I think out of all of us Melissa is the one who will eat the most variety of fruits and veggies.

I will admit that I have been trying harder to expand my food vocabulary and I do eat peaches and black beans now. My parents have never even had black beans! Dusty has played a big part in helping me try new foods. Oh yeah and the other day I had fried pickles and delicious spinach salad. The pickles were just OK. Ranch overs anything up :-)

What is your most adventurous food you have eaten? What do you suggest I try next? (and you can forget about cherry tomatoes. Marcie could tell you I almost threw up in her kitchen....)

Wogging, Thanks Heather!

One of my awesome friends, Heather, coined a phrase for me the other day -- Wogging. Ya know, when you walk and jog. You see I am not a runner. The 5K I "ran" was comical at best. As much as I would like to be I have to face hard facts that when I say I am going to jog a mile, it just doesn't happen, let alone 3.2 miles. I always have high hopes to get out there and run the whole thing and when I don't I get discouraged.

Well, for some reason knowing the phrase of wogging helped me to put things into perspective tonight. I knew I was going wogging and not jogging and it felt good to go out there and do it :-) I jogged the straights and walked the circles of the track and I was so focused. I ran good. And I went over a mile and didn't just go the mile and I could have even went for more. When you take it in little pieces like that, things come into perspective and it seems more manageable.

The power of the mind is amazing isn't it.

*as a side note, Dusty and I were laughing at the numerous fast food places and restaurants that surround the track across the street. As you try to take a deep breath and run you can smell over 12 food places and see them directly across the street! It's the closest track to our house but we may have to scout out a new spot...

It's Official! I feel like a fitness instructor :-)

Dusty and I have searched long and hard for equipment to get me started on my journey of fitness instructing. As you all know the first type of instructing I will do is Turbo Kick. It's funny how you end up where you started. I remember getting up at 6 am when all the "big kids" and mom and dad got up to go to school and work to watch, and sometimes do, Mousercise :-) and here I am full circle trying to work towards getting up at 5 or 6 am again to take and teach Turbo Kick. I am doing better with my practicing but as you all know I freak out a little....OK OK....I freak out a lot when I start something new like this and put so much pressure on myself. But, as Dusty reminded me today that one of the reasons that it is so much fun to do Turbo is the FUN Factor! I need to lighten up and just have a blast with it and as soon as I do that, I will do awesome!

It's lots to remember and it's lots to do, but this is what I want to do so I gotta just relax and know that this is my time to learn the ropes and before you know it I will be amaza-za-zing :-) Hopefully next time I come home to visit I can go somewhere to do a class with some of you guys. Maybe Makayla, Isaac and Jackson again. They did so good!

We have invested in some professional audio equipment for me and it's also things that we can use in our future band room and family room. We have already hooked up this AWESOME PA to our tv and watched Jurassic Park through it and it was so flippin clear and loud....and I STILL fell asleep during the loudest most exciting part. (I swear I have a sleeping disorder....) The sucker's volume was only on a 2 and you could feel the vibrations of the dinosaur's roar sitting on the couch. It's like having surround sound. The thing takes me like 10 mins 0r less to set up and when we want to we whip it out for a movie. I am also considering another way to make money off of the equipment but more on that later.

My mic is actually wireless so there is no cords or belt pack I have to wear and so far it is serving me well. It feels really good to have it on and get used to the sound of my voice cause I used to not like my voice on a mic. Now I just don't even think about what I am hearing so much because I am trying to teach a class!

...and the back of my hair because you haven't seen it curly yet....

My First 5K!

I finally ran my first 5K today! When I got up this morning at 6:30 I woke Dusty up so he could wish me luck and the only thing he said was, "I have been thinking. Maybe you shouldn't run today. People usually train for these things."

Ha Ha Ha Ha.

In retrospect he was mostly right :-) It was a lot harder than I thought. I actually don't like running but I have always wanted to run a 5K. Go figure. I even had to stop off at a store and pee during the race. I took them literally and stayed really hydrated and it took a toll on me.

The race was called: Break the Silence and it was a run to help raise awareness and rally support for those affected by abuse and pornography. It was such a great race and their message was very powerful. Instead of having numbers on our backs we had messages from anonymous abuse and pornography victims, stats on the widespread and devastating effects of pornography etc. When you ran you read the messages on the backs of people in front of you and you really did feel empowered to keep going.

It was a free race but at the end a won 2 Jamba Juice gift cards and a t-shirt! :-) Overall it was a great day and I have something checked off my bucket list.

Power over Pizza!

So Dusty and I are on Day 5 of a 10 Day kick start workout / diet program in junction with Turbo Jam. We are basically just working out everyday for 10 days while eating foods with optimum protein and complex carbohydrates, low fat etc. It hasn't been too bad but it's when you do this that you realize how much food can be a temptation. The foods we have made have been flavorful and we have been very conscious eaters which is a big change for us :-) It also helps to do this together and give and get motivation from each other.

My problem is 1) sweets and 2) portion control. I have no understanding of how much is enough. Another part of this thing that we are doing is trying to retrain our bodies in a sense that feeling satisfied is enough; I don't have to feel full every meal.

I have resisted every kind of chocolate imaginable and today even pizza! I thought about eating it and not telling Dusty :-) but quickly realized that I have power over my body. I have power over what I feel. I chose not to eat any of the chocolate or even pizza. This is a major accomplishment for me. So when it really came down to it, it wasn't too much of a temptation.

I know that I will eat pizza and chocolate again and probably too much of it at times but this little experience has been great for me to really realize the power I have over my body and how my unconscious living and eating can have severe effects on my overall well being. So next time I will consciously pig out on chocolate and pizza (ha ha just kidding). Seriously I have felt empowered as I have striven to live the Word of Wisdom a little better and create the life and health that I really desire.

Updates

OK. I have been kind of lame when it has come to blogging lately. Not too much has been going on. Here are some random things that has been happenin':

1. I have had a sore throat and a bad headache the past few days.
2. I just got back from St. George Utah and it was gorgeous down there. It was like 60 degrees :-) I had to go for work but it was really nice down there.
3. I am getting my haircut tomorrow and paying like $30 for someone to help me pick a new style etc. I haven't really paid that much for a haircut like ever but we'll see how it goes. I will post pictures on Thursday probably.
4. I am looking forward to Thursday....valentines day.....
5. I actually ate black beans and pico degio on an AMAZING sweet pork salad from Cafe Rio and actually loved it and went back for another one yesterday.
6. I ALSO ate kale and swiss chard for the first time in the past couple of weeks....I know, I know....I almost had a heart attack too...
7. I am still getting up at 5:30 AM to go to my workouts and also going to my night classes. (I know Melissa is working out a lot too...YOU GO GIRL!)
8. Even though I have eaten healthy foods and working out, I wish I could be there with Jason to go hit up the Cheesecake Factory together again!!! :-)

My Schedule Today...

Woke up at 5:15 AM was at my workout class by 5:50 am. Did weights and sculpting for an hour. Came home read scriptures, a chapter of a book, got dinner in the crock pot got ready for work etc. by 9am. Watched devotional with President Eyring for a break at work. Came home from work around 5:45 pm....this is where it gets bad.....ate two bowls of taco soup and cheesecake AND THEN went to another workout class at 8 pm. BAD IDEA!!! I felt s-i-c-k the entire time. At any moment I was a time bomb ready to explode. What possessed me to eat all of that before a workout? I am an idiot plain and simple. It won't be happening again that is fo sho.

Overall today was a great day though. On Tues / Thurs I will be working out at 6 am and then again at 8pm with another workout class on Sat mornings. It feels so good to get up and do that. I can tell that I won't be getting up as early tomorrow. And I can also tell that my body will be mega sore, but I am excited to try this out and see how it goes. I really want to train my body to be an early riser (yeah I know what you are thinking, dad...)

Now I just have to try to eat healthier. I really want to try hard. What are some of your tips for healthy eating on the go?

Ways to sneak vegetables into kids (or adults) foods!

Here are some links that I found while searching tonight that try to incorporate veggies in foods for picky eaters! I hope some of them help. The first links are books and then there are article links below.

Books:

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food (Spiral-bound)

The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids Favorite Meals

Disney's Family Cookbook: Irresistible Recipes for You and Your Kids

Kid Favorites Made Healthy: 150 Delicious Recipes Kids Can't Resist (Better Homes & Gardens)

FamilyFun Kitchen: Super Snacks (Familyfun)

Here are a few links of articles too:

http://www.essortment.com/family/parentingtipsh_sasb.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/128914/three_ways_to_sneak_vegetables_in_your.html

What things have worked for you all?