Month: June 2012

Regroup

It’s probably not super surprising to learn that I have not been feeling very motivated the past few weeks. Summertime is so fun and feels  carefree, and I’m very easily distracted. For a while I was on vacation and then I got back to the inevitable post-vacation blues (and the intense allergy attack that always greets my return to the Midwest). So I was lax in my dietary restrictions. I kept telling myself I wanted to get back to eating clean and avoiding foods that aren’t cleansing, and then I’d say, no, it’s okay, I’ll start tomorrow for sure. I don’t know if I was really bad compared to other people, but last week was certainly my least healthy week in months. This past weekend I was finally feeling like I was tired of not trying so hard, and I’m sure my less than great eating wasn’t helping my sinus situation. However, I had a lot of social obligations this weekend, which made it a really great weekend until Sunday morning came around and all the carbs, saturated fats and alcohol sugars really made themselves known. Honestly, I was worried my motivation was gone forever.

Today I woke up feeling the most congested I thus far. My voice was hoarse and my head was heavy. But, today instead of letting myself drown in comfort food and self-pity over not feeling good, I took some meds and decided to get it together.

First, I cleaned our whole house. I worked on areas that are nearly perpetually cluttered or grimy that we usually overlook. It helped so much. It’s hard for me to feel like keeping my body clean when the place where it spends 80% of the time is dirty. But now, the floors are shiny and the table tops are cleared and I finally feel that energy I’ve been missing the last three weeks or so. I was still so energized after the cleaning was done that I went to the gym, even though I hadn’t planned on it for today.

This new inspiration for clean living also meant eating well at every meal. For breakfast, I didn’t have enough fruit to make juice or a smoothie, so I ate half an avocado that was about to go bad. Maybe not the most conventional breakfast choice but it’s better than pancakes. For lunch I went to the market to pick up some things, and while I was there I grabbed a Greek wrap, which is literally a Greek salad wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. I supplemented it with some hummus for protein. For dinner, I decided to make an effort for the first time in probably a week. Dinner was roasted broccolini with garlic, quinoa and cherries.

Roasted Broccolini with Garlic Quinoa (and some cherries)

The quinoa was a recipe I made up on the spot. I’ve talked about quinoa before, but I’m always trying to find new ways to make it interesting.

Garlic Quinoa

Servings: 3-4

  • 1/2 cup Dry Quinoa
  • 1/2 cup Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (I use Trader Joe’s Organic)
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 2 TBL Onion, diced
  • 2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
Garlic quinoa, after the liquid evaporates

Add everything to a small saucepan. Set stove to high heat, bring liquid to a fast boil. Stir. Reduce heat to low-medium/simmer, cover the saucepan, let it simmer until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally (takes 15-20 minutes). I recommend watching it after 15 or 16 minutes because if it cooks too long some of the quinoa will stick to the bottom. I think stirring will also help with that.

The result is a sort of orange-ish color quinoa that is very fragrant (and delicious!). I’ll probably mess around with other spices in the future, maybe red pepper flakes or paprika.

Along with the quinoa, I roasted some broccolini and garlic in 1.5 tablespoons of oil. Set oven at 400, roast for 20 minutes, stirring once in the middle. I tried not to get it too well done because I wanted it to maintain all its nutrients.

I’ve only recently started considering broccolini. I grabbed it at the grocery last week because it looked good, so I decided to do some research. It turns out, there are a lot of rumors about our new friend, broccolini. It is for sure a hybrid. The child of broccoli. But I guess it is the soap opera star of the vegetable world because nobody seems to know for sure who his daddy is. One site I read said he was a mix of broccoli and kale, which excited me because I am always looking to increase my leafy green intake. Another site said it’s broccoli and asparagus. A third site then said it is a cross between regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli, which appears to be a different kale-like green leafy vegetable in the cabbage family. I’ve essentially decided it doesn’t really matter because either way, it is crazy healthy, and that’s the goal! My entire life is one big Cold War against iron deficiency, and broccolini is an awesome iron-rich weapon for my stockpile.  But this is off-topic!

So the entire day was a success, which I needed! Today was the kind of day I should be having every day, and as a result I feel the best I’ve felt in a week, if not longer. I realize eating so lightly every day might not be realistic, but hopefully my inspiration is back for good, and I can keep thinking of ways to make clean eating enjoyable, rather than seeming like a burden the way it has of late. So, hopefully this is a real turnaround moment, and this renewed positive attitude sticks around!

-lj

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Resistance Band Workouts

Ever since my horrible experience with the personal trainer, I have been looking into different ways to work on strengthening. Even though the trainer was awful, I like circuit training with the weight machines fine. Still, I thought I would “shop around”. In the past, when I have been in really great shape, it’s been largely due to group fitness. In college, I went to yoga classes four times a week, plus three or four cardio workouts (at different times). Sometimes I would also go to Pilates class, which I really loved. At the second generation of my strong physical fitness, I went to a class that was essentially a cardio core class, that combined strength-training into an aerobic workout. That class made a lot of use of rubber resistance bands. I really loved that class as well.

This time around, when I started out three months ago I was in (probably) the worst shape of my life, as I have written about before. I had to consider realistic possibilities for working out. I practiced yoga as a spiritual exercise as much as a physical one, and while that is important, I am not really in the same place right now–not to mention I seriously doubt the lunchtime yoga class at my big chain gym focuses on cleansing the spirit. As for Pilates, quite frankly I am insecure about my size and ability still and am not sure I am ready to surround myself with 40 girls with the dancer’s physique, which is how I imagine Pilates class will look…even if I also know it isn’t.

So when I was looking for alternative strength training, I asked a friend about it who used to make her living as a personal trainer. (I would have pulled her out of retirement but 200 miles and a serious hip injury make it futile.) Anyway, I asked her what she thought I should do and she suggested resistance bands, which reminded me of the third type of fitness class I really loved. So I did some web-searching, and furniture drawer-searching, and found a pretty thorough list of both new and old exercises to do with resistance bands.

The bands are great because they allow you to use your own muscles as resistance. This obviously objective website points out that with free weights a lot of the resistance is gravity, but with the bands, things are more fluid. You can move them in more directions and do more things with them.

I’ve been using the bands for several weeks now and I still think they are great. After my walk or cardio workout at the gym, I pick several of the exercises below and do three 15 rep sets of them, using as many different poses as will fill up a 43 minute episode of Law and Order on Netflix. Or sometimes I will just do all of the exercises listed below and skip the cardio. I should probably have more of a routine but currently I do whatever fits my mood (and guilt counts as a mood).

Here are the exercises I currently do, using this band:

Go Fit Brand Resistance Band (came in a set of three)
Standing
  1. Bicep curl: stand with middle of band under feet, hold end of band in each hand, curl arms up
  2. Tricep Extensions: put one end of band under left foot, hold other end in right hand, face arm toward ceiling (inner arm next to ear) extend arm up at elbow
  3. Shoulder raise: band under left foot (with ~8 inches out to the side bc i’m short) other end’s handle in left hand, put other foot out in front of you, bend upper body at 45 degree angle, keep back straight. Raise arm straight out until arm/shoulder are in straight line and parallel with floor
  4. Shoulder drop: band under left foot (with ~8 inches out to the side bc i’m short) other end’s handle in left hand, put other foot out in front of you, bend upper body at 45 degree angle, keep back straight. Hold arm out to side, parallel to floor. Lower arm.
  5. Cross-body Twist: one end of band under left foot, other end in right hand, start in semi-crouched position (knees bent) with core facing ~10 o’clock, rise and straighten, bringing arm across the torso and ending up over head.
  6. Standing Row: stand with middle of band under left foot. step right foot back a step. Bend upper body at 45 degree angle with back straight. Hold band w one handle in each hand, pull band up and back in rowing motion, squeezing shoulder blades together
  7. Squat: Two options: 1. Middle of band under feet, handles in hands, hold so hands are near clavicles, shoulder level, with elbows out, then squat. 2. Same start, but start standing with arms at sides, then pull in bicep curl up as squatting down.
  8. Butterfly Press: Hold arms at 90 degree angles at shoulder level, parallel to floor. Hold band at the middle, wrapping excess around wrists until the band is tight, move arms in until they touch, slowly move back to starting position
  9. Front Kick: Stand with feet hip-width apart, foot band around feet; open legs to point of tension. Step on one end of handled tube with left foot; grip other end behind back with both hands, palms up, elbows forward. Bend right knee and raise leg, thigh parallel to floor. Extend right leg slowly as you press arms overhead (as shown). Return to start.
  10. Back Kick: Stand with feet staggered, left foot in front of right, foot band around feet. Place center of handled tube under left foot and grasp handle in each hand, knuckles up. Lift right foot about 6 inches off floor behind you, knee slightly bent, toes down. Lean forward as you extend right leg straight back and curl arms toward chest
  11. Side Leg Lift: Tie resistance band into a circle and place it around both of your ankles before lifting one leg at a time out as far as you can against the band. Use the wall/the back of a chair/some other furniture piece for balance if necessary. 
  12. There should be some lunges listed here but they hurt my bad foot so much I cannot include them! 

Mat

  1. Pelvic Push: Lie flat on back, with band flush against hips, hands at sides holding either end. Keeping hands/band ends pressed into mat at sides, slowly raise hips toward ceiling. Slowly come back down.
  2. Leg Lower: Start with back on mat, legs facing ceiling at 90 degrees to body. Wrap band around feet, criss-cross ends in front, hold handles one in each hand at sides (near hips), slowly lower legs to ground (not quite resting heels on floor) raise back up.
  3. Tricep Push Up: Start in modified (girl-pose) push up position. Wrap band around back, with one end under each hand. Raise body with arms (do a push up), then lower back down.
  4. Chest Press: Lie on back with band under chest, one handle with each arm. Alternating between arms, raise arm up toward ceiling.
  5. Side Leg Lift: Lie on one side, legs one on top of other. Place top foot in band handle (or tie band around foot). Either place the other handle around the bottom foot or place the band under bottom heel (if you are short like me and using the whole band is not enough resistance). Lift leg as far as possible. Lower and repeat.
As I said I really enjoy the resistance band exercises. I’m probably to a point now where I could keep up with an hour of Pilates, but for the most part I enjoy the bands and will keep going with them. In fact, although I did want to give a much needed exercise update, I mostly wrote this entry so I could have an easy to access place for my band routine.
If anyone has any other exercises they like to do with resistance bands (or any other great strength training alternatives!) I’d love to hear them!

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My New Favorite Secret Ingredient

Spoiler: It’s non-fat plain Greek Yogurt!

The main struggle in my reformed lifestyle is a craving for the old indulgences. For a while, the excitement of drastic, quick change overwhelmed the reality that my food just doesn’t taste as good as it used to, when sugar and saturated fat were only vague, back-of-the-mind concerns. Now that those things are at the forefront of my meal planning process, I’ve been trying to find good substitutes, which I’ve talked about before. Spaghetti squash was a success I wrote about a couple of entries ago.

Similar to that one, I’ve been spending a lot of my time trying to find healthy alternatives to former favorites. But, the challenge is that when I say healthy, I actually mean it. I’ve learned that just because something is marketed as healthy doesn’t magically make it so. Fat free or sugar free a lot of times just mean more of something else you’re also not supposed to have, so that they can say it is “free” without actually making it healthier (which also means more expensive, most of the time). I don’t mean to sound jaded, but the more I learn about the food industry the more I know eating clean is the best way to stay healthy. So now the real challenge is making food that tastes as rich as something you can get prepared from a restaurant or the grocery store without all of the bad stuff in it.

My most recent endeavor in this goal was fish tacos. I love fish tacos. Generally speaking they are not unhealthy. But a lot of the time they will be covered in beer batter or mayonnaise or cheese and it sort of wipes out the healthiness. That’s where my newfound love non-fat Greek yogurt plays a part.

A lot of the time, I am weary of non-fat foods because I assume the fat that is supposed to be there is replaced with sugar or artificial sweeteners and chemicals. As a result, I am not too scared of foods with fat in them especially low-fat, but non-fat Greek yogurt is a proud, glorious exception.

I buy Stonyfield Farms’ Oikos line 0% Greek Yogurt (meaning 0% fat). Instead of trying to guess what is so great about Greek yogurt, please enjoy this quote from the Stonyfield Farms’ website: “Real Greek yogurt, like Oikos, gets its incredible creaminess not from added gums, thickeners or milk fat, but from an old-world straining method that removes the whey (liquid) from the yogurt. This straining process also gives Greek yogurt about twice the protein of regular yogurt, and less lactose.” In other words, it is perfect.

Side note: I am a huge fan of Stonyfield Farms’ these days because they are truly revolutionary in the organic movement. Some of the other “big name” so-called organic brands don’t really follow clean living, natural processes. But SF really does get its ingredients from little farms. I mean, maybe the yogurt is still blended up in a factory but at least I know the milk they’re using is healthy. But I am really getting off track!

The point is, Greek yogurt is an amazing substitute for fattier dairy cooking ingredients. It is also very low in calories. A serving size–one cup–has 80 calories, but that is a huge amount of yogurt if you’re using it for cooking. The two things I’ve been using it for the most are smoothies (when a dairy-free concoction’s consistency is just too weird) and salad dressing.

A friend sent me a recipe for a taco salad dressing that called for sour cream and mayo, which I didn’t want to use for obvious health-related reasons. Instead I tried out the Greek yogurt and I really doubt anyone could tell the difference. This particular dressing (which is below) has so many spices any tartness from the yogurt is completely masked.

  • So earlier this week when I was really craving fish tacos, but also really wanted to stay diet-friendly, I immediately thought of ways I could create them myself. I don’t mean to sound too cocky, but they were freaking awesome.

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Pineapple Slaw

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Pineapple Slaw–please excuse the poor photo quality!

Serves 8

  • 1 Pound Mahi Mahi
  • Marinade (below)
  • 8 Corn Tortillas
  • Pineapple Slaw (below)
  • 1/2 Avocado, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese (Optional)

Mahi Mahi Marinade

  • 3 TBLs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Lime Juice
  • 1 TBL Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Tsp Paprika
  • 1 Tsp Chili Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
  • 1/4-1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  • Cayenne Pepper to taste
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix EEOV, Vinegar and Lime Juice together in a baking dish (I used 9×13). Add the spices, mix again. Add fish and let marinate at least 45 minutes, covering dish and placing in fridge.

Pineapple Slaw

  • 1/4 Cup 0% Greek Yogurt (plain)
  • 1 TBL Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Tsp Cumin
  • 3/4 Tsp Chili Powder
Pineapple Slaw

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

  • 1/2 Tsp Salt
  • 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
  • Cayenne to taste
  • 1 Cup shredded green cabbage*
  • 1 Cup finely diced pineapple (and the juice)
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

* I cheated a little and bought Dole brand “Angel Hair Cole Slaw,” which is essentially a bag of shredded green cabbage.

Mix yogurt, vinegar, garlic and spices together in one bowl. Mix fruit and veggies together in another. Combine, stir until cabbage and everything else is thoroughly covered in dressing. You can add extra onion or pineapple on top, or add chopped cilantro.

After the fish is done marinating, you can prepare it however you prefer, I like grilling, so we put it on the charcoal grill. 12 minutes is plenty.  While the fish is cooking, prepare the slaw and slice the avocado. I also recommend warming the tortillas. Rub one drop (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) of EEOV on each one and bake them in the oven on 300 for 5 minutes. If you want to add cheese to the tacos, I recommend putting it on the tortilla before baking them, so it can melt a little.

When the fish is done, slice it into 2 ounce pieces, or even 16 1 ounce pieces.

Scoop 1 or 2 tablespoons of slaw onto the warm tortilla, top with 2 ounces of fish and 2 slices of avocado. Enjoy!

I was extremely pleased with how these turned out. They also kept very well so I had leftovers for lunch. Two tacos is plenty filling, even though the entire thing is very low cal and low fat (415 cals and 10g fat if you want specifics). Plus, all the ingredients were fresh and clean (well maybe the Dole bag of cabbage was only semi-clean but I am counting it!).

I am glad to find successes like this because as time passes I am finding it harder and harder to maintain that initial motivation. It’s been about three months now, which means I think soon I am going to rejuvenate my efforts with another cleanse. But for now I’ll take victories like falling in love with Greek yogurt and making a comparable, but healthy version of one of my favorite restaurant meals.

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