With A Lime Twist

So, I've been playing around with my chickpea salad- although before my husband came home I was eating paleo so there weren't any chickpeas in my diet! EEEEEK I have been so bad since he's been home. And my Rachy has hooked me on ... beer. I have to take control of my life again!

This is the same chickpea salad- but with a lime twist (and I HATE LIME! but this is DELICIOUS).

You will need
1 can chickpeas drained & rinsed
1 english cucumber, peeled and diced
1 tomato, diced
cracked pepper
sea salt
6 key limes or 2 regular limes (juiced)
fresh cilantro to taste (I like a LOT)
1 tbsp olive oil

combine everything, and serve chilled or at room temp!

My PALEO version:
1 english cucumber, diced
1 tomato, diced
6 key limes, or 2 regular limes (juiced)
a lot of fresh cilantro
cracked pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

This is a new family favorite!

Day 1 {Project Shut Up & Eat}

Today is the first day of our project, and I am so excited! My dad started today off (Fathers' Day!) with a healthy breakfast... & hit the road for a bike ride with my mom (& a nectarine in his saddle bag for a mid-morning snack).

I am so excited to tell you guys today.. I am going back to school this fall! I plan to major in nutrition and find a job after graduation as a dietician. I also plan to become a certified personal trainer, and spend the rest of my life teaching others to be healthy! I have complete support from my family and close friends, and I am so thankful to have such caring people in my life.

My dad's menu for today:

Breakfast: 1 egg & 3 egg whites, scrambled with sautéed bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes with 1/4 grapefruit.

Mid morning snack: nectarine

Lunch: tuna salad in a whole wheat pita, cucumber slices

Afternoon snack: banana, raw almonds

Dinner: baked chicken, chickpea salad 

After I made my dad his breakfast this morning, he said... "What, I don't get any salt with this?" hahaha. This is going to be such a huge adjustment for him. I am proud that he is doing it! :)

Happy fathers day!

Dirty Deets {project shut up & eat}

The deal on my dad: I'd say a typical day in the life of dad goes about like this.

• wake up, guzzle coffee
• fill thermos, kiss my  mom goodbye
• work work work
• whats that? lunch time? gotta grab a little debbie cake. maybe. if there's one in the seat of the dump truck/whatever vehicle he's driving for work that day
• work work work 
• go home.... work around the house, help my brothers do whatever, help babysit phoenix, work some more
• kiss my mom hello when she gets home
• work some more
• come in, drink a glass of sweet tea, munch on some ruffles chips while he tells mom he's starving
• eats whatever mom whips up (she's going to eat cereal).. grilled cheese, BLT, rotel, creamy tacos (barf)
• eat some roasted almonds or cashews, some more chips, watch tv, play a card game on his phone
• fall asleep in the recliner... before or after eating 7 or 8 mini candy bars
• get up, drink a glass of milk
• go to bed
• wake up, repeat

My dad is a pack-a-day smoker. Marlboro lights. Do you see why I want to make over his diet? As far as exercise goes, I will say that aside from walking to/from the house to the shop, and lifting/working on cars/trucks... my dad is pretty sedentary. He's a naturally thin man, always has been. I can't say he's never lightly active, but I guarantee you he's never just taking a walk for leisurely purposes. 

I am so PUMPED to start this project! :)

Tina!!

Ok.. So I meant tUna! Haha :)

Here's my recipe for the best ever tuna salad.

•single serving packet of white tuna in water
•little orange tomatoes (smaller than cherry tomatoes, I can't remember what they're called. Really, any tomato will work, but these are my fave!)
•pickles (about 5 dill chips, spicy is better!)
•raw (or roasted unsalted) sunflower seeds
•yellow mustard

Chop tomatoes & pickles. Mix everything up. Stuff into a whole wheat pita and chow down! Or, use a huge lettuce leaf (or collard leaf) instead!

Yum! Today I paired mine with my favorite- steamed French beans with garlic & cholula.

Shut Up & Eat

As children, we would be told to "Shut up and eat!" fairly often around the dinner table. My dad had little patience with the four of us yammering and bickering loudly while he was trying to eat what was generally his first meal of the day. So eventually, we just abandoned the dinner table all together. It was easier to eat in our various rooms, coffee tables, recliners... as long as we were quiet. This is now a huge joke in my family... we are all constantly always telling each other to shut up and eat!

My dad & me @ a summer BBQ in like 2009.

Why am I telling you this? You might have noticed that I mentioned dinner being (sometimes) my dad's first meal of the day. Crazy, right? My dad has always been a very hard worker. When I was growing up we didn't have the most money... sometimes we didn't even have any money. I remember my dad spending days at work, working hard around the house when he came home, and always being the last person to eat dinner. My dad would always make sure we had enough food on our plates, and our mom, before he would even think about making his. He's still this way... and now my parents have plenty, there is always plenty to eat.

Senior Picture... 1982 I think.

My dad's hard working lifestyle has led him to some awful eating habits. I made pizza (not the healthiest, but hey, its both our favorite!) for dinner the other night. While we were eating, my dad told me all he'd had all day before that was a Little Debbie cake. This is typical. My dad doesn't drink much (sometimes a beer with dinner, or on a hot day... and on family BBQ days), but he does smoke. I'm not sure how much he smokes anymore, but as a kid I'd say he went through a pack a day, maybe. I don't even really know if thats a lot or a little for a normal smoker. Anyway, after we were finished eating, I was kind of joking with my dad about his eating habits... and I said, "Let me plan and prepare your meals for an entire week! You'll feel so much better by the end of the week, I promise!"

My dad is often tired (he works a lot and hard and has his entire life), but I think that much of that could be alleviated by a better diet. After a little joking around (he pretty much thinks my quest to be healthy and fit is a waste of time and/or lame... in a really loving way haha), he agreed. My mom doesn't really eat very well, either... but she hates anything that isn't cereal so this experiment was a no-go with her. While its not something she wants to participate in, she was super encouraging about my dad letting me have control over his nutrition for a week.

I thought and thought about names for this project. "Project Prolonging Dad" was something I really almost chose. I am so terrified of the day my dad isn't with me anymore. We were not always very close while I was growing up. That may or may not be typical of fathers and daughters. In my adult life I have come to realize exactly everything I missed out on, and I think my dad does, too. We both make more of an effort at our relationship now, and I value his opinion on things more than he probably knows. Maybe he shouldn't know, my dad is kind of cocky (this might be an inherited trait) and I hate hearing "I told you so." That is why this project is so important to me... maybe it will show him that real food can taste good, and it can be easy to prepare. I hope that this will prolong my dad's time on earth with me, my mom, my siblings, and my children. We'll see.

Olivia & Gramps go for a ride... summer 2010

This week of complete nutritional will occur June 17-24. Between now and then I will develop a meal plan for my dad and share it, share recipes, and a few other details. During the week I'll post updates, recipes, photos, and share with you my dad's reactions to the different foods he will be trying. I have 10 planned posts, and I am sure I'll be inspired along the way!

If you could take control of your loved ones' nutrition for a week, what do you think you would do? How would you react? How do you think your family would react? I am so excited and I can't wait to embark on this crazy journey with my dad, and my readers. Even if he hates everything (he won't!), it will be something fun for us to look back on.

Gramps & Sophie Christmas 2011

day 3...

Oh, day three. You started off as *such* a great day.

And then.. it happened.

Tagalongs.
:(

I have to say, they tasted so good. And I felt soooooo guilty with every bite. But I couldn't stop! I don't know why. It was as though I was filling myself as quickly as I could with these little chocolate peanut buttery cookies.. because once they're gone, they're gone, until next year.

AND NEXT YEAR I WON'T BE BUYING ANY. So there.
I am the troop mom for my daughter. I have had 20+ cases of cookies go through my house and car in the last week. I bought one box of each when we were pre-ordering to help support O, and my plan was to mail them to my husband in Iraq. Only the regulations changed and he can't receive anything over a certain weight, ie, paper mail only.. pretty much.

I hate cookies. I love eating healthy. I LOVE putting good fuel into my body. I know (and I probably should not say this as a girl scout AND troop mom) that girl scout cookies are complete CRAP. WHY would anyone want to put what is in a girl scout cookie (or oreo, chips ahoy, any mass-produced cookie!) into their body? Three reasons: 1.) They're uninformed. I like to think the best of people and assume this is why people freak over GS cookies (or any processed junk!). 2.) They're like me and not quite able to control the bingeing that happens from time to time.. old habits die hard. 3.) They KNOW and they are just lazy and don't care. I have a hard time sympathizing with all of these reasons. Here's why.

Reason number one: being uninformed. We live in the most technologically advanced time ever! Google knows *everything* (believe me, EVERYTHING), and if you want to know about food and the benefits of fueling your body properly, the information IS out there. The sad part is that most people don't even realize that they are eating total crap. No one has ever told them about it, they might not even know there is a different way of life. I mean, lets face it, the media isn't exactly trying to push the complete facts and no matter how many big companies are "fighting obesity" or "adding a healthy twist to the kids' meal & dollar menu"... its all still garbage. Think of all the people out there thinking they're doing something awesome by ordering oatmeal instead of a breakfast burrito meal at McDonald's in the mornings. Or the people that are buying "98% fat free" everything and slowly poisoning themselves and the family they feed! Bottom line: if it has an ingredient list, don't eat it. Real food doesn't HAVE ingredients. It comes from the earth.

Reason number two: Me. Making an excuse. Lack of self control. Loathing of something in their personal life. Being educated on the matter of food, chemicals, and proper self-care... but that one little emotional trigger sets you back. I don't think I have ever fully disclosed my story on this blog, but I suffered from an eating disorder and severe self-image problems from 18 years old (I weighed in the 150s when I graduated high school in May of 2002.. closer to 160. The real problems started after I moved to Virginia that August.. and by the end of Sept/early Nov I was below 110) .. until I found out I was pregnant with my daughter O. I had her 2 weeks before I turned 20 (at 162lbs- June 12 2004) and I was right back on the wagon.. chomping phentermine and only eating once every 2-3 days (back to 110ish by mid July). Before I got pregnant with her it was the worst- eating rarely (once every 2-4 days, drinking TONS of diet coke and coffee to keep "energized"), doubling phentermine doses, being proud of all my clothes being way too big and fitting into a size 1 or 3. I didn't even know I was pregnant until I got the flu and had to go to the doctor because I hadn't had a period in so long due to not eating. Anyway. Thats super personal and not any part of my life that I'm proud of. I grew up so worried about body image- my mom had her own body image problems and I always just thought that struggle was normal. Thats why the junk food gets to me. Because in a way, bingeing is comfortable. And it also makes me feel full. And after all these years.. and those 2-3 years of being hungry and taking "prescription by mail" diet drugs... feeling full feels safe. I hate it. And that is why eating healthy has become so important to me. Because I have two amazing, brilliant daughters and I always want them to feel like know that they are wonderful.

Reason number three: People know the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, but continue to eat crap anyway because they are L A Z Y. Some have the "I'll start tomorrow" attitude and some have the "I'll be naturally skinny forever because I have a high metabolism" attitude... and some think "I'm already a whale why try to change?"

Maybe some have health issues (thyroid?) but I know they can be treated and the issues overcome with the proper medical attention (Just look at Beth! She is down 80+lbs and I am so proud of her!). I sometimes hear people conversing in public about dieting (usually fad diets!) and I want to sit down with them and explain to them how they can be healthy. How they can change AND enjoy it. And then I am sure they would look at me like I was a freak and ask me, the intruding stranger, to leave their table. :) So, I don't but-in to their convos. But I want to.

I am not in any way the perfect eater (didn't I just confess to a Girl Scout cookie binge, right here, for everyone to see?!), and I am no where near being in perfect shape. But I am working on it. Every single day, I am working. I might not always make it to the gym (Hey, what *practically* single mom of two controls her whole world? If you find her, introduce us!), and I might not always make the 100% best food choices... but I do try. And holy cow, do I try harder when I DON'T make the right choices. The guilt is overwhelming sometimes. But there is no success without failure, and I WILL BE a SUCCESS. I know you can, too.

Starting the week right.

I would be lying to your face if I told you I had a good week last week. That's so negative, right? I know!

The new week started today, and I am so excited about it. I went out last night and had an AMAZING time with a few friends. I think I needed that desperately. I feel re-charged (even if I did only get 5 hours of sleep!).

I splurged quite a lot last night. I did NOT eat that entire dessert. There is a brownie hidden somewhere under all that ice cream & whipped topping.. I had a few bites. And it was AMAZING. Then I passed it on to someone else to have a few bites. Each of us girls bought either a bottle of champagne or an appetizer, and we had a grand time. Don't worry, after another bar we went to a dance club and I feel like I worked off most of what I consumed. :) 

Today was awesome. Well, yesterday I bought Olivia a new bike.

She was pretty excited. Then today I bought myself a new bike.

It's a "hybrid"... a cross between a cruiser bike and a 10 speed (this one has 7 speeds). I also bought one of those little cage things that you strap babies in to and pull behind your bike. I don't have it completely assembled yet, but hopefully while Sophia naps tomorrow I'll get it finished.

I taught Olivia to ride without training wheels today! This is a VERY PROUD mommy moment.

^^ Doesn't it look so bleak up there? Because it is. The weather man said it would be sunny and 60 today... It was overcast and the coldest 50 I've ever felt. I won't complain (much) I suppose, because at least there is no snow!

Tonight is the super bowl. Or maybe its going on right now. I don't really care for professional football. I think its a bit ridic those guys get paid so much... when they don't even *do* anything. They should distribute the NFL, celebrity, and politician salaries to educators and the military. Thats my opinion. Anyway, I just don't like NFL. I love college football, it makes more sense to me- pride in your school and representing where you're making a life and obtaining an education. Having said that, I hope the Patriots win tonight because my favorite Razorback QB Ryan Mallett is a bench warmer for the Pats now. Anyway, instead of watching that, or even the commercials, I'll be doing laundry. :) And planning meals out for this week so I can get back to clean eating. A rough emotional week makes me not even care. And I can feel the negative changes in my body, I hate it. I'm back, and I'm ready to be better than ever. NOTHING CAN STOP ME- only me! I will succeed.

How are you planning to make it a healthy week? What are your exercise plans? How are you keeping your Super Bowl party healthy, but fun? :) Please share!

Meet Amy!

starting weight: 163.6

We Aren't Scared Of Sugar: Tell us your favorite motivational quote.

Amy:  "There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." -Nelson Mandela

WASOS: What is your favorite healthy recipe?

Amy: I don’t really have any healthy recipes (just really started cooking not that long ago…everything I “cooked” would come from a box) 

Here is a recipe I found from Pillsbury and have adjusted some things in it. Pillsbury Grands Easy Taco Melts: 

Ingredients:

1lb. ground turkey, cooked and drained1

 ½ cups picante sauce (the recipe calls for chunky salsa but I don’t like the chunky stuff)

1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury Grands refrigerated biscuits (they have a low fat one)

½ cup Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese, shredded

Directions:In 10-inch skillet mix cooked beef and ½ cup of the salsa (I just a whole cup). Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until hot. Press each biscuit into a 6-inch round. Spoon 1/3 cup meat mixture and 1 tbsp. cheese into the center of each round. Fold dough in half over filling; press edges to seal.Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 9-14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with remaining salsa. 

WASOS: What is your ultimate fitness goal?

Amy: To be healthy and happy for myself and no one else. Once I do that then it will trickle down to my boys and husband, but I’ve realized that if I’m not happy with myself then I can’t be the best mom and wife I know I can be!

You can follow Amy on twitter by clicking HERE.

And if you haven't already, you should go like the We Aren't Scared of Sugar facebook page by clicking HERE. 

Finding my "umph"

Gahhhhh This has been the longest week ever. But not even the week- I started feeling sick LAST week. I took 2 days off. I went back to the gym, back to running. Felt worse, took a few more days off. Taking time off to be sick means... cheese. Yeah. Everyone has their own comfort food, right? Well, in my family... we put cheese on EVERYTHING growing up. So, cheese and crackers (always reminds me of my late great grandma Poole) is my number one comfort food, especially if I'm sick. So, I didn't eat my weight in cheese or anything, but, I definitely ate more than I normally would.

I got back in the gym today and it felt great. My throat is still scratchy and raw, and I'm still coughing a little... I couldn't wait any longer. You know.. in the movie Tommy Boy where Richard tells Tommy "I can hear you getting fatter!" .. That is how I have felt with every passing day that I didn't get in the gym. I ran a 2 mile HIIT (treadmill, not elliptical! Ouch to my shins, but what a feeling of accomplishment!), and did arms/shoulders/chest.

Then I came home, and conducted girl scouts. After my scouts left, I prepared Olivia's & my favorite dinner! Chicken stir-fry over quinoa. Its so easy and fast, and by far one of the heartiest dinners (to me).

Easy peasy lemon squeezy..

• sautee organic boneless skinless chicken in some pam and a dash of olive oil until they're white on each side. Remove from pan, dice (you can probably chop them up completely raw but.. I'll gag. So I have to cook them a little first!) Put back in pan.
• add a dash of low sodium soy sauce. cook until chicken is almost finished.
• add in 1/2 bag of frozen stir fry veggies (plain, no sauces/butter added! I use great value brand since its cheap, simple, and walmart is the local grocery store). 
• add another dash of low sodium soy sauce, 1/8c water, bring to boil. Cover, reduce to simmer.
• Meanwhile, you should have had your quinoa cooking. haha.
• Scoop finished quinoa onto your plate (measure your serving, of course! PORTION control!), top with stir-fry goodness, & sprinkle with sesame seeds.

enjoy! 

Meet Aubrey!

This is the gorgeous Aubrey. :) She is my wing man for the challenges I host. I say that because she helps motivate ME a lot. Annnnd she does all the math for me. I am so, so very terrible at math. Even with a calculator. So, having her to back up my numbers (she charts EVERYTHING- so I have something to compare my math with! SAVING GRACE, haha!) against makes my life a lot easier.

Aubrey has been a part of all 3 of my challenges, starting the first one in July '11 weighing in at 175 and finishing at 168. She started the second challenge at 163 and ended at 156. 

Starting weight for the SBBC: 158.8

We Aren't Scared Of Sugar: Tell us your favorite motivational quote.

Aubrey: "No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch."

WASOS: Share your favorite healthy recipe.

Aubrey:  I like to keep it simple.....grilled chicken with grilled squash and zucchini, with some Tony Chachere seasoning

WASOS: What is your ultimate fitness goal?

Aubrey: I want to feel comfortable going for a run in booty shorts and a sports bra

^^ Me too, Aubrey, me too. We will get there! :) 

If you would like to follow Aubrey's journey to an amazing beach bod, you can view her blog HERE. You can also follow her on twitter HERE. You can also add her as a friend on my fitness pal by searching for Aubarnold.

If you haven't already, go ahead and "like" the We Aren't Scared of Sugar facebook page by clicking HERE!