Daily challenges in 6FIT are the same week to week. Mondays are meatless. Tuesdays are "tone up" (attend a toning class or do the toning at home workout). Wednesdays are dairy free. Thursdays are "try something new". Fridays are "fresh air". Saturdays are seafood for 1 meal that you cook. Sundays are sugar free. There are some days that I still forget, but for the most part I have come to memorize and plan my weekly meals around these ground rules. Restricting certain things for a short period of time works for me. Forgoing (my beloved) dairy products for an entire day of the week allows me to explore new ways to prepare my favorite meals in a healthier way. I have come to find comfort in these challenges and feel a real sense of accomplishment when I stick to them a few days in a row.
Lately I have felt like DanceFIT classes, preparing the classes I teach, planning a picnic for my entire church this summer, cleaning the house, dropping off dry cleaning, grocery / meal planning and shopping, walking the dog, visiting with friends and staying up to date with out of town family has all gotten in my way of doing structured things with Connor. Some days I fear I just drag him around with me from errand to errand and I don't feel good about myself as a mother on these days. So I decided to adapt the "daily 6FIT challenges" to some structured mother & son activities. Here's what I came up with:
Music Mondays
Touch and Feel play Tuesdays
Work your body Wednesdays
Thoughtful Thursdays
Free Fridays
Each week in addition to planning my workouts, meals and errands I will create each day's activity and write it on our calendar. All of things are "priorities" to me; I need to do things that make me feel good and important so I can continue to be a good mom. And writing them down holds me accountable and adds variety into our days.
How do you "switch things up" with your routine? Does it help to write / chart things or do you enjoy last minute planning? I'd love to hear what works for you : )
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Breakfast Egg Muffins
In our last 6FIT seminar, Gina talked about the importance of breakfast. It is a meal that literally breaks the fast of not eating all night while you are sleeping. So eat like a king! A good breakfast includes some protein and a whole wheat if you desire it. Skip the sugary cereals, "breakfast bars" and bagels with cream cheese (although this is one of my favorite indulgences!) and try this delicious breakfast idea. The best part about this recipe is that you can make a big batch of them on the weekend, pop half of them in the fridge for the week and the other half in the freezer for the future! Just reheat in the morning and you can eat it on the go.
Breakfast Egg Muffins
(from the book 'Family Feasts for $75 a week' by Mary Ostyn
1/2 pound sliced bacon, minced (can be omitted for a vegetarian version)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup shredded raw veggies (carrot and / or zucchini work well. Finely chopped broccoli would be good here too)
6 large eggs
1/2 c milk
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tea minced fresh parsley (optional; I usually don't have this on hand so I omit and they still taste great!)
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin tin. Set aside.
2. Fry bacon over medium heat until crispy. Use a slotted spoon and remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Remove half of bacon grease and discard. Keep other half in the pan (or if making a vegetarian version, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a pan over medium heat) and add onion and veggies. Cook until the veggies are soft, 3 - 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl to cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk and cheese. Add flour, baking powder, salt, parsley, bacon and sauteed vegetables; stir together until just combined.
4. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake until edges are brown and tops spring back when pressed, 20 - 25 minutes.
This recipe also doubles terrifically!
Breakfast Egg Muffins
(from the book 'Family Feasts for $75 a week' by Mary Ostyn
1/2 pound sliced bacon, minced (can be omitted for a vegetarian version)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup shredded raw veggies (carrot and / or zucchini work well. Finely chopped broccoli would be good here too)
6 large eggs
1/2 c milk
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tea minced fresh parsley (optional; I usually don't have this on hand so I omit and they still taste great!)
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin tin. Set aside.
2. Fry bacon over medium heat until crispy. Use a slotted spoon and remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Remove half of bacon grease and discard. Keep other half in the pan (or if making a vegetarian version, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a pan over medium heat) and add onion and veggies. Cook until the veggies are soft, 3 - 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl to cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk and cheese. Add flour, baking powder, salt, parsley, bacon and sauteed vegetables; stir together until just combined.
4. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake until edges are brown and tops spring back when pressed, 20 - 25 minutes.
This recipe also doubles terrifically!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
More on artichokes!
How is the artichoke prepping / cooking / eating going?!
I also wanted to mention a few ideas for cooking with artichokes already prepared. If you can find canned artichokes packed in water, these are ideal for having on hand to quickly add to dishes. If you can only find canned artichokes that are marinated in oil, then please grab a package of frozen artichoke hearts instead. These are much more healthy!
Artichoke hearts are a great addition to pizza. Simply drain them (defrost first if using frozen), squeeze the extra moisture out of them by placing them inside a dish towel and squeezing the water out. Then give them a quick chop and add to the top of pizza. Complimentary toppings to this would be: roasted red peppers, sauteed onions (yellow or red), roasted garlic (see below for tutorial), and chicken.
One of our favorite household Friday night meal is pizza. I make my crust from scratch (see below for tutorial), then pile on the toppings and bake! My favorite combination lately is: a thin layer of pesto (instead of red sauce), mozzarella or monterey jack cheese or a combination of both topped with artichokes, cooked sliced or shredded chicken and roasted garlic. MMMMMMM! Give it a try this weekend; you'll save a few bucks and some calories by making it yourself and the options for pizza toppings are endless!
Roasted Garlic:
Cut a piece of foil large enough to create a little pouch that can fit 1 or 2 heads of garlic.
Take 1 or 2 garlic bulbs and slice the top off so the tops of most of the pieces are showing. Sit the bulbs on the foil, right in the middle. Slowly pour olive oil on top of each bulb, allowing it to drain into the garlic. Once it starts dripping down the sides you have enough. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper to the top of each bulb. Now wrap your foil around the bulbs, leaving some room at the top for air circulation. Fold in the sides as well. You want the garlic to be tight inside with no air escaping, but with some room inside for the garlic to roast. Place your packet inside of a preheated 400 degree oven, for about 30 - 45 minutes. The garlic is ready when it is nice and soft and you can "squeeze" it out of the skin.
Pizza Crust:
This is my favorite pizza crust recipe.
http://goodcheapeats.com/2009/07/basic-homemade-pizza/
It makes a lot of dough, so I usually make twice as much pizza as we will eat and then refrigerate the leftovers for lunches for the next few days. The dough also freezes well, if you pack it into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Put the plastic wrap covered dough into a freezer bag and seal tightly to prevent freezer burn. To use, simply defrost for about 24 hours in the fridge, then let it come to room temp (about 2 hours) before cooking.
I also follow that recipe for baking and my pizza always turns out fabulous. Good luck and let me know what fun pizza creations you come up with!
I also wanted to mention a few ideas for cooking with artichokes already prepared. If you can find canned artichokes packed in water, these are ideal for having on hand to quickly add to dishes. If you can only find canned artichokes that are marinated in oil, then please grab a package of frozen artichoke hearts instead. These are much more healthy!
Artichoke hearts are a great addition to pizza. Simply drain them (defrost first if using frozen), squeeze the extra moisture out of them by placing them inside a dish towel and squeezing the water out. Then give them a quick chop and add to the top of pizza. Complimentary toppings to this would be: roasted red peppers, sauteed onions (yellow or red), roasted garlic (see below for tutorial), and chicken.
One of our favorite household Friday night meal is pizza. I make my crust from scratch (see below for tutorial), then pile on the toppings and bake! My favorite combination lately is: a thin layer of pesto (instead of red sauce), mozzarella or monterey jack cheese or a combination of both topped with artichokes, cooked sliced or shredded chicken and roasted garlic. MMMMMMM! Give it a try this weekend; you'll save a few bucks and some calories by making it yourself and the options for pizza toppings are endless!
Roasted Garlic:
Cut a piece of foil large enough to create a little pouch that can fit 1 or 2 heads of garlic.
Take 1 or 2 garlic bulbs and slice the top off so the tops of most of the pieces are showing. Sit the bulbs on the foil, right in the middle. Slowly pour olive oil on top of each bulb, allowing it to drain into the garlic. Once it starts dripping down the sides you have enough. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper to the top of each bulb. Now wrap your foil around the bulbs, leaving some room at the top for air circulation. Fold in the sides as well. You want the garlic to be tight inside with no air escaping, but with some room inside for the garlic to roast. Place your packet inside of a preheated 400 degree oven, for about 30 - 45 minutes. The garlic is ready when it is nice and soft and you can "squeeze" it out of the skin.
Pizza Crust:
This is my favorite pizza crust recipe.
http://goodcheapeats.com/2009/07/basic-homemade-pizza/
It makes a lot of dough, so I usually make twice as much pizza as we will eat and then refrigerate the leftovers for lunches for the next few days. The dough also freezes well, if you pack it into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Put the plastic wrap covered dough into a freezer bag and seal tightly to prevent freezer burn. To use, simply defrost for about 24 hours in the fridge, then let it come to room temp (about 2 hours) before cooking.
I also follow that recipe for baking and my pizza always turns out fabulous. Good luck and let me know what fun pizza creations you come up with!
Monday, April 9, 2012
How to cook an artichoke
I live 45 minutes away from Watsonville, CA - the artichoke capital of the world!! And I LOVE them. At first glance, artichokes don't look edible with their tough outer skin and prickley points at the tip of each leaf. However, once cooked you can eat the base of each leaf and you can eat the meaty heart of the artichoke.
Let's get started.
First, get a large pot and put a few cups of water (you will be placing a steamer basket in the pot, so you want enough water to steam for 30 - 45 minutes) and a tablespoon or two of balsamic vineagar. I prefer this flavor combination as the balsamic brings a bit of sweetness to the artichoke. Alternately, you can add the juice of half a lemon and a few peeled garlic cloves to the water. They add nice flavor to the artichoke.
(photo from simplyrecipes.com)
Using scissors, cut off the end of each leaf so it looks like the picture above. This gets rid of the sharp point on each leaf. Also cut off the top to expose the interior of the artichoke. This helps it to cook all the way through. I usually also cut off the stem to make a flat base to put in the steamer. Some people steam the 'choke with the stem on, open it and eat it's inside as well but I am not familiar with that.
Place your artichoke in the steamer basket, either laying on its side (if you left the stem on) or standing upright (if you cut off the stem). Cover the pot with a lid, and let it steam with the water at a rolling boil for 30 - 45 minutes. You know that the artichoke is fully cooked when you can easily pull off one of the bottom leaves.
How to eat an artichoke:
(photos from simpyrecipes.com)
You only eat the bottom "meat" off of the leaf. Using your teeth to scrape it off, you'll see the edible part is a lighter green than the non-edible leaf. To test for doneness, you can try to scrape the meat off of the leaf. If it hard then the artichoke is not done cooking. If it is soft and easy to pull off with your teeth it is done.
Some people like to dip each piece of artichoke in sauce. Some ideas include: balsamic vineagrette, mayo mixed with a few teaspoons of balsamic vineager (to your liking), or melted butter.
Continue pulling off all the leaves until you get to this:
(photo from simplyrecipes.com)
The fuzze part you see here is NOT edible. Using a spoon, you will start scraping it off and notice more of the off white "meat" underneath.
(photo from simplyrecipes.com)
Once your artichoke heart looks like this, you can just cut it into pieces and eat it! And after all that work you will really enjoy the delicious deep flavor of the artichoke heart :)
Let me know how it goes! And please feel free to leave questions or clarifications in the comment section and I will respond as quickly as I can.
Let's get started.
First, get a large pot and put a few cups of water (you will be placing a steamer basket in the pot, so you want enough water to steam for 30 - 45 minutes) and a tablespoon or two of balsamic vineagar. I prefer this flavor combination as the balsamic brings a bit of sweetness to the artichoke. Alternately, you can add the juice of half a lemon and a few peeled garlic cloves to the water. They add nice flavor to the artichoke.
(photo from simplyrecipes.com)
Using scissors, cut off the end of each leaf so it looks like the picture above. This gets rid of the sharp point on each leaf. Also cut off the top to expose the interior of the artichoke. This helps it to cook all the way through. I usually also cut off the stem to make a flat base to put in the steamer. Some people steam the 'choke with the stem on, open it and eat it's inside as well but I am not familiar with that.
Place your artichoke in the steamer basket, either laying on its side (if you left the stem on) or standing upright (if you cut off the stem). Cover the pot with a lid, and let it steam with the water at a rolling boil for 30 - 45 minutes. You know that the artichoke is fully cooked when you can easily pull off one of the bottom leaves.
How to eat an artichoke:
(photos from simpyrecipes.com)
You only eat the bottom "meat" off of the leaf. Using your teeth to scrape it off, you'll see the edible part is a lighter green than the non-edible leaf. To test for doneness, you can try to scrape the meat off of the leaf. If it hard then the artichoke is not done cooking. If it is soft and easy to pull off with your teeth it is done.
Some people like to dip each piece of artichoke in sauce. Some ideas include: balsamic vineagrette, mayo mixed with a few teaspoons of balsamic vineager (to your liking), or melted butter.
Continue pulling off all the leaves until you get to this:
(photo from simplyrecipes.com)
The fuzze part you see here is NOT edible. Using a spoon, you will start scraping it off and notice more of the off white "meat" underneath.
(photo from simplyrecipes.com)
Once your artichoke heart looks like this, you can just cut it into pieces and eat it! And after all that work you will really enjoy the delicious deep flavor of the artichoke heart :)
Let me know how it goes! And please feel free to leave questions or clarifications in the comment section and I will respond as quickly as I can.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
New Challenges
Well fellow, past and future 6FITTERS - I've not been able to stick to my goals or healthy habits this last week. I'm out of town and staying with family and have had 2 holiday celebrations in the 5 days I've been here! During the last round of 6FIT, I took the same trip for the same amount of time but it was just Connor and I. I was able to fit all my workouts in, manage what I ate more and feel better about the choices I made. This time around has been more like a "vacation" in the sense that Ned is here with us, we camped with the whole family the first night we were here, we celebrated my brother in law's birthday yesterday and then celebrated Easter today. As a guest at all of these meals I'm having a hard time saying "no" to non hunt.gather.grow foods. And I do realize that we are all eating extra special foods as part of the celebrations, which reminds me that this is one of those 20% of the times that we break the rules to enjoy life. The first few days I agonized over which parts of the meal I would try to avoid and how I would say "no thanks" when offered certain foods. This is NOT how I want to live! These are not patterns I want to create, as they conjure emotions of guilt and frustration.
Last night all of this sort of came to a head as I decided to take my SECOND immunity day. In two weeks, I've already used up both my immunity days! I felt really bad actually, like I was letting myself and my team down. During the hardest (in my opinion) challenge of the program I took 2 days of immunity. As I sort of talked my way through this, I decided I could: a) continue to feel bad, guilty, whatever or b) revise my goals, revamp my attitude and get on with it! I chose to do the latter, and made 2 new goals for today (sugar free Sunday, also Easter). 1: I would not eat coffee cake from my favorite bakery that was offered during brunch. SUCCESS! 2. I would not eat ANY Easter candy. SUCCESS! And then after a quiet family dinner my father in law surprised us with gelato, and I enjoyed some with everyone else. Because to me, it was a good choice to skip the coffee cake in the brunch buffet and instead load up on deliciously ripe, fresh fruits and it was a good choice to keep my hands out of the kids Easter candy. But to pass on dessert during an intimate family dinner with fun conversation going would have made my father in law feel bad because he surprised us with our favorite treat. Those are the decisions that are going to be different for each and every person. It's not fair for me to think that because someone on my team can eat vegan throughout an entire week that at the drop of a hat I should be able to do that, too. Or that because someone else who has a baby can workout every morning before the child wakes up that I should too. That works for them, but not necessarily for me. And that is O.K.
Sometimes I am too critical of myself in being part of a team. Sometimes I make goals that are too far fetched. I need to work on this. I need to be realistic with myself, my goals and my lifestyle. Since this is my third round of 6FIT, I need to think about my personal goals some more and figure out how best to achieve them. In previous rounds, my goal was to lose weight and gain muscle. I was successful with this and now I am working on maintaining my body and making permanent healthy choices. This is much, much harder than I imagined! Before if I indulged in ice cream, I would add 30 min of cardio to the next day's workout to work off the calories. And while I can still do that today, it gets a little frantic as I am taking on more responsibilities in other areas of my life (groups, church, friendships, etc). I am seeking a better routine which involves taking / teaching my classes each week and eating healthy. It sounds so simple and it just baffles me that I struggle so much with changing my old habits! I just need to make smaller changes so that I can build on the little successes and move on to bigger changes.
If you've made it to the end, thank you for reading through my thoughts : ) I'm sure it is a little discombobulated at times, but it's the truth. It's been a hard week in ways I haven't experienced before, so it's back to the drawing board of goals for me! Tomorrow I will make a personal goal for myself for the next week, and I won't make it a challenging one. I need a little success to boost esteem as we head to the half way mark!
I'll leave you with one of my favorite thoughts: "It's not always about what happens, but more about how you handle it and move forward from it".
Happy Sunday everyone :)
Last night all of this sort of came to a head as I decided to take my SECOND immunity day. In two weeks, I've already used up both my immunity days! I felt really bad actually, like I was letting myself and my team down. During the hardest (in my opinion) challenge of the program I took 2 days of immunity. As I sort of talked my way through this, I decided I could: a) continue to feel bad, guilty, whatever or b) revise my goals, revamp my attitude and get on with it! I chose to do the latter, and made 2 new goals for today (sugar free Sunday, also Easter). 1: I would not eat coffee cake from my favorite bakery that was offered during brunch. SUCCESS! 2. I would not eat ANY Easter candy. SUCCESS! And then after a quiet family dinner my father in law surprised us with gelato, and I enjoyed some with everyone else. Because to me, it was a good choice to skip the coffee cake in the brunch buffet and instead load up on deliciously ripe, fresh fruits and it was a good choice to keep my hands out of the kids Easter candy. But to pass on dessert during an intimate family dinner with fun conversation going would have made my father in law feel bad because he surprised us with our favorite treat. Those are the decisions that are going to be different for each and every person. It's not fair for me to think that because someone on my team can eat vegan throughout an entire week that at the drop of a hat I should be able to do that, too. Or that because someone else who has a baby can workout every morning before the child wakes up that I should too. That works for them, but not necessarily for me. And that is O.K.
Sometimes I am too critical of myself in being part of a team. Sometimes I make goals that are too far fetched. I need to work on this. I need to be realistic with myself, my goals and my lifestyle. Since this is my third round of 6FIT, I need to think about my personal goals some more and figure out how best to achieve them. In previous rounds, my goal was to lose weight and gain muscle. I was successful with this and now I am working on maintaining my body and making permanent healthy choices. This is much, much harder than I imagined! Before if I indulged in ice cream, I would add 30 min of cardio to the next day's workout to work off the calories. And while I can still do that today, it gets a little frantic as I am taking on more responsibilities in other areas of my life (groups, church, friendships, etc). I am seeking a better routine which involves taking / teaching my classes each week and eating healthy. It sounds so simple and it just baffles me that I struggle so much with changing my old habits! I just need to make smaller changes so that I can build on the little successes and move on to bigger changes.
If you've made it to the end, thank you for reading through my thoughts : ) I'm sure it is a little discombobulated at times, but it's the truth. It's been a hard week in ways I haven't experienced before, so it's back to the drawing board of goals for me! Tomorrow I will make a personal goal for myself for the next week, and I won't make it a challenging one. I need a little success to boost esteem as we head to the half way mark!
I'll leave you with one of my favorite thoughts: "It's not always about what happens, but more about how you handle it and move forward from it".
Happy Sunday everyone :)
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