My obsession with coconut continues.

These are a great snack to not only help curb that sweet tooth but nourishing as well.  High in protein and only natural sweetness from the dates make for a hard to resist treat. 

Almond Joy bites

1 cup almond meal/flour
2 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup slivered or chopped almonds
1-1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes (add more or less to taste)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c melted coconut oil
1/4 cup coffee or water (I prefer coffee YUMM)
2 scoops whey vanilla protein powder

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse 15-20 times.  I had to take out and use my hands to mix it as it was very thick.  Roll in balls.  I made 32 coconut bites.  You can make them as big or as small as you like. If you would prefer, you can put them into a glass dish and cut in squares.  For a complete snack, I eat two or three.

I'm on week 11 of my challenge.  I'm happy to announce that my hip is healing and feeling great.  I am back to teaching jazzercise and I even ran two miles today!!  I am sleeping better and my head is clear! I am not nearly as cranky!!  Yay!!!     I am down to 135 pounds, (up one pound pre-hip injury) 12 pounds from when I started my challenge.  I have had so many positive changes!!  I am so glad I didn't wait another day to start.  What are you waiting for?  Don't wait til next month or next week. Start your positive changes now.  I will be with you every step of the way.

Happy, happy, joy, joy....
j

"It's better to regret something that you did, than something you didn't."

80% of obese kids end up as obese adults…

I had to post this video to share with you friends.  It gave me the chills watching it.  It is SO true and it makes me so sad because so many people think this is the only way it can be.  Only we can change it friends.  How?  One meal at a time.

With love,
j

Butternut Squash Lasagna and Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

I've been trying to stay away from Pasta because I tend to lose my portion control with pasta.  I tried using butternut squash in place of lasagna noodles and I was quite pleased with the results.

Home made Marinara Sauce   

 2 cans crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1tbsp oregano

1 tsp basil

2tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp honey (more honey can be added if you want a sweeter sauce)

1 cup onion (optional)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

salt to taste 

Put all ingredients into crock pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours.  If time is an issue, you can cook on stove and simmer...taste better the longer it can simmer!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

1 Red Onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic

1 red or yellow pepper, diced or sliced

1 container of fresh portabello mushrooms, sliced

 extra virgin olive oil

1 butternut squash, cut in planks

Home made Marinara sauce (I probably used about 3 to 4 cups.)

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  Saute onions, pepper, mushrooms and minced garlic in olive oil.  But the top and ends off squash and peel it.  Cut it in half, then cut each half in half, lengthwise.  Pull out the seeds and then cut the squash into planks.  

Using a 9x9 or 8x8 baking dish- cover bottom of pan with marinara sauce, next add squash (do not overlap) then sauteed veggie and marinara.....  Repeat until all ingredients are used.  Reserve enough sauce to cover top of lasagna.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.   I didn't add any cheese or meat.  If you so choose you can add any veggie or sausage if you prefer!

Here is the end result!!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts..

I also made some Roasted Brussel Sprouts.  I took 2 pounds of fresh sprouts and put into a gallon size bag. I added 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, 1tsp each of salt and pepper and shook that bag good!  I cooked in oven at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  I pulled the pan out and shook every 10 minutes or so to cook them evenly.

  This is my daughter Cari, trying brussel sprouts for the first time.

She is being a good sport and trying foods that I could NEVER get her to eat before.  This is what she said "Sorry but it tasted like feet, then broccoli.  I'm not sure what to think anymore!"  She has a thing with food tasting like "feet."  I don't know about you, but I've never tasted feet before.


Step out of your comfort zone friends.  Try a vegetable that you have never tried or didn't like in the past.  Sometimes, it's all about the way you cook it that makes or breaks the taste.

With positive thoughts,

love j

Random facts...

1.  Many foods get their red food coloring "carmine" from ground up insect shells that can cause severe allergic reactions in some people.  Pink grapefruit juice gets its coloring from this.


2.  According to research from UCLA, it takes only two months to lower levels of brain chemicals responsible for learning and memory on a steady diet of processed foods.


3.  The same company that makes metal detectors for airports also sell them to food manufacturers, who use the devices to test processed meats for stray wires, metal shards and hypodermic needles.


4.  Castoreum is used to enhance the flavor of puddings, candies and some frozen dairy desserts.  What is castoreum?  Castoreum is a bitter, orange-brown, odoriferous oily secretion found in two sacs between the anus and the external genitals of beavers.  Yep and you can find it as "natural flavors" in your Yummy processed foods.  (Can you imagine a group of people sitting around the table saying, "This pudding is missing something....I can't put my finger on it....Oh wait, I know, let's try the secretions from beaver anal glands....yes that's perfect!"  Seriously?!  How does this happen?!


5.   An average person yearly fast food intake will contain 12 pubic hairs.  


6.  Propylene used for antifreeze keeps your salads crispy.


7.  Just in time for Easter- jelly beans keep their shine with Shellac.  It is associated as being a type of wood finishing material.  Shellac is derived from the excretions of the Kerria lacca insect which is native to the Thailand Forests.


8.  The FDA allows 19 maggots and 74 mites in a three and a half ounce can of mushrooms.


9.  Cheese products contain less then 51% cheese.  Any cheese whose package states it is processed is most likely less than 51% cheese.  The other 49%?  A blend of flavorings and additives to give you the illusion of cheese.  




10.  The following is the ingredient list for "Strawberry Flavoring"

• Amyl acetate
• Amyl butyrate
• Amyl valerate
• Anethol
• Anisyl formate
• Benzyl acetate
• Benzyl isobutyrate
• Butyric acid
• Cinnamyl isobutyrate
• Cinnamyl valerate
• Cognac essential oil
• Diacetyl
• Dipropyl ketone
• Ethyl butyrate
• Ethyl cinnamate
• Ethyl heptanoate
• Ethyl lactate
• Ethyl methylphenylglycidate
• Ethyl Nitrate
• Ethyl propionate
• Ethyl valerbate
• Heliotropin
• Hydroxyphrenyl-2butanone (10% solution in alcohol)
• A-Ionone
• Isobutyl anthranilate
• Isobutyl butrate
• Lemon essential oil
• Maltol
• 4-Methylacetophenone
• Methyl anthranilate
• Methyl benzoate
• Methyl cinnamate
• Methyl heptine carbonate
• Methyl naphthyl ketone
• Methyl salicylate
• Mint essential oil
• Neroli essential oil
• Nerolin
• Neryl isobutyrate
• Orris butter
• Phenethyl alcohol
• Rose
• Rum ether
• G-Undecalactone
• Vanillin
• Solvent

Now, who wants a strawberry milkshake?!  That is 46 chemical ingredients to make strawberry flavor!!!!!!!!!  Wouldn't it be easier to just throw some strawberries in there?  I don't know, I'm just thinking outside the box.  


Knowledge is power friends.  Keep reading those nutrition labels.  When in doubt, put it back on the shelf.  


Eat to Live friends, don't Live to Eat.


I am feeling a bit better.  My water intake is up and my weight is down two pounds. YAY!!! I also cut my portion sizes a little bit since I am not working out.  I have been eating as if I have still been working out.  I used to wear a body bug which is a device that you can wear on your arm to see just how many calories you burn in one day.  I would normally burn around 500-1000 calories (just working out calories-not my metabolic rate the entire day)   depending on how many classes I would teach.  So since I am not burning those extra calories, I need to cut my calories slightly.  I am lucky that I have a good amount of muscle that burns calories even when I am at rest.   
I don't count calories.  I have done so in the past and find it tedious and I tend to lose interest quickly.  I do think it is important to measure my ingredients though.  I also want to remind you that what works for me isn't necessarily going to work for you.  I believe writing down what you are eating and counting calories is the BEST way to lose weight.  Once you do it enough, you become more aware of what is in your food and you become more aware of portion size.  There is a program a lot of my clients are using called Lose It that you can download on a smart phone.  Sparkpeople.com is another weight loss support system that is free and has LOTS of resources on it.  




With light and love,
j

Frustrating...

I have been down (no cardio) going on a little over two weeks now with this hip issue.   Hip pain has been going on for more than a month.

I am up 4 pounds.
I am frustrated.
I am dehydrated.
I am sad.
I am not sleeping well.
I am hungry to jazzercise again.
I am scared.
I am tired.

I am  am in week 10 of my clean eating challenge.  I have been on steroids for 12 days and with no improvement decided to see an orthopedic doctor.  He had good news for me.  He is sure I will be up and running in no time after a cortisone shot.  With tears in my eyes, I agree and pray it isn't too painful.  Ok, the shot wasn't horrible but the pain after the shot was!!!  Sometimes the cortisone "crystallizes" in the body and causes more pain than you had before the shot!  Yep, that's what happened.

My eating hasn't changed since I have stopped cardio but my water intake has.  I  have been trying and trying to drink water but I am having a really hard time.  I have been reading that we are supposed to drink a gallon of water a day.  So I set out to see just how much I do drink normally.  I know when I am working out regularly, I consume about 4 of my metal water bottles daily.  Not sure how many ounces in them but thought I'd see if I really could drink a gallon of water in one day without peeing myself, ha!!

This gallon of water could not include coffee or tea or my cocktail with lemon and acv.  Sunday morning at 7am, I woke and started my gallon.  I finished it at 9pm.  I did it.  Turns out, one gallon is about 5 1/2 of my water bottles.  Since I normally drink about 4 of those in one day, I decided I'm pretty happy with that.  I am not however, happy with my intake over the last two weeks.  I can feel the water weight in my fingers.  I will do better.

Doctor thinks I can get back to teaching jazzercise by next week.  I hope to introduce running soon too.

I need those endorphins that exercise provides.
I need the toxic release from my body that exercise provides.
I need to energy that exercise provides.
I need the deep sleep that exercise provides.
I need the happiness that exercise provides.
I need the heart pumping and lung burning sensation that exercise provides.


It will happen and I will survive.  One day at a time.

By the way, someone left a Valentine on my desk yesterday but no one would fess up to it.  I got a package of Justine's Peanut Butter Cups and a Kroger gift card.  Thank you to my secret valentine!!

One more random thing- my friend Kelly has been watching her calorie intake since before Christmas and has lost 16 pounds!!  Way to go Kelly!!  I am SO proud of you.  She posted this on facebook earlier and I wanted to share with all of you!  

"I conducted a nonscientific experiment. For one week I ate the same # of calories per day, spread out at 3 meals, instead of my "new" way of eating - same # of calories per day spread out over 3 snacks and 3 meals. Guess what happened? I STOPPED losing weight and started to gain slowly. Reaffirmed to me that my "new" eating habits are firing up my metabolism and keeping me losing weight at a steady pace. The moral to the story is: it's not only WHAT you eat that matters, but also WHEN & HOW you eat it!"


YES YES YES!!!!!   Did you hear that friends!???!!!!  We do have to eat to lose weight.  We have to eat to burn fat.  Eating once a day is not good for our bodies.  I hear so many excuses and I have an answer to each one!  You can choose to change or choose to stay the same.  


I choose to be healthy!  I choose to eat to live!  I choose to continue to share my journey with you!  Please share your journey with me!


Mucho Love,
j

Benefits of Coconut Oil.

If you  haven't tried cooking with coconut oil, let me tell you what you are missing!  Coconut oil has many health benefits.  It is great for maintaining cholesterol levels, helping with weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and increased metabolism.  It helps kidney function, heart disease and high blood pressure.  It has been shown to help people with diabetes, HIV and Cancer.  It helps our bodies absorb minerals which can directly help bone strength.  It is also great for our skin and hair!!

The benefits of coconut oil is due to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid.  It has antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-fungal properties.  

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature and doesn't melt until 76-78 degrees Farenheit.  Do not store it in the refrigerator.  Coconut oil is great for high heat as the health benefits of the oil do not change as it is heated.  

I love making popcorn on the stove with coconut oil.  It gives the popcorn a delicious taste that does not need addition of butter.  I'm a huge lover of coconut and have a  recipes to share with you!

Almond Joys

1 1/2 cup 72% or higher cacao dark chocolate

1/2 c coconut oil

1 T sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

1 tsp coconut extract

30 almonds

Microwave chocolate 30 seconds stir and repeat until melted.  You can line a muffin tin with paper liners or use silicon muffin tins.(the chocolate will pop right out no paper liner needed)  Line the bottom of each one with just enough chocolate to cover the bottom and up the sides slightly.  Place in fridge until it hardens.  Mix coconut oil, sugar, coconut and extract with mixer about 2 minutes.  Put equal amounts in each section, put 5 almonds on top of that then top with remaining chocolate.  Put in refrigerator until hardened.  Enjoy!!!  

If you prefer smaller bite size pieces, you can make with mini muffin tins and put one almond in each.

Yes, there is one missing from the pan!  So YUMMY!!

Blessings,

j

Clean goodies...

 Can you say Peanut Butter Cups??!!!!  Oh my!!  I found these at the health food store on Michigan Ave!  They are dreamy!!  The ingredients are all organic and clean.  Decadent Dark chocolate and organic peanuts equal two perfectly proportioned pieces of heaven.  $2.19 for these two puppies BUT it came with a $1.00 coupon for the next batch.  I even shared mine and only ate one.  I ate it s.l.o.w.l.y.    If you have never had Justin's products, they are worth a try.  You can find more Justin's products at Kroger in the healthy, organic section.


Here are the stats- Two of these are 200 calories, 16g fat (say peanuts), 120 mg sodium, 20 carbs, 2g fiber, 14g sugar and 4g protein.  Here are the ingredients- Organic dark choc (organic evaporated cane sugar, organic choc liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic soy lecithin (extract of soy beans, prevents separation of cocoa and cocoa butter), organic vanilla), organic peanuts, organic evaporated cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic palm fruit oil, organic vanilla, sea salt.    There is sugar in this treat in the form of evaporated can sugar but if you are looking for a "treat" and not eating this regularly, I wouldn't worry about this amount of sugar.

To be fair, I bought a Reeses Peanut Butter cup to compare.  Here are the stats-  210 calories, 13g fat, 150mg sodium, 24g carbs, 1g fiber, 21g sugar and 5g protein.  Ingredients are-- Milk Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, pgpr, emulsifier), peanuts, sugar, dextrose, salt, tbhq (preservative).    Doesn't seem to bad right?  Well, what is pgpr and tbhq?  Hmm, let's find out. PGPR is known in the candy industry as polyglycerol polyricinoleate.  Does this make the chocolate better?  Of course not!  PGRP is used to replace the expensive cocoa butter that is normally found in chocolate.  To make a long story short, they are using the chemical because it is cheaper than using real ingredients.  Ok so let's check out TBHQ-  TBHQ is  the acronym used to describe tertiary butylhydroquinone, which is an antioxidant that comes from petroleum and is related to butane.  It is often used as a preservative, applied either to the carton of fast food items or sprayed directly onto them as well as in various other prepackaged food items. Yumm?!  NOT!!  

 Hmm, I guess I have lost my love for Reeses and found a new love in Justin's.  

If you are in need of a clean, healthy, quick snack on the go, the LARABAR is for you.  LARABAR are strictly fruit and nuts.  I don't know about you but I heart Key Lime Pie. LARABAR is a blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices. Made from whole foods, each flavor contains two to nine ingredients.  Pure and simple!   The only thing is-- I wish LARABAR had more protein.   

Key Lime Pie ingredients-  Dates, cashews, almonds, unsweetened coconut, lime juice concentrate. 5 ingredients make one tasty treat. It has 220 calories, 10g fat, 31g carbs, 4 g fiber, 4g protein.  It is a very calorie dense bar because it has nuts in the mix.  Don't let this scare you away. Nuts can be a healthy part of every diet!!   

LARABAR has many flavors so you are sure you can find one to fit your taste buds!  They can be found at Kroger in the health food section or anywhere protein bars are found.  

Eating clean does not mean being deprived.  Love your body and what goes in it.

Namaste,

j