Thoughts......Stayin the course!

I named my blog 'Retrain Your Diet'.  In my mind it would be a journey of all things that lead to a healthy lifestyle.  Those of us with deep rooted issues with food can't just turn off the (in my case) sugar switch without ill effects.  I work to find foods that I enjoy, but that won't take me to never care what I'm eating land.  I'm impressed with myself that I didn't go off the deep end this holiday weekend with making something super fattening and out of plan.

I do have to come to the realization that I just can't have certain things in the home.  For example, my mom likes to have potato chips so I bought a bunch while they were on sale and thought that I had her snack covered.  Umm....I ended up eating much of it.  I even had a bag of bbq flavored which I don't care for, but ate that in a stupid girl moment.  She mainly comes on the weekends and is here now.  She didn't mention not having potato chips....imagine that!

I must admit that I don't get the eating less mindset.  Eating less of what?  Do you know how much is being eaten in the first place?  You can eat a fried chicken wing, but that little wing has a lot of calories.  Baked macaroni and cheese is very caloric where even a half of a measly cup could be considered less than what you would normally eat.  However, its still not a healthy choice.

In gaining a healthier perspective, I give greater thought to the types, quality and quantity.  For me, that is moving forward in my journey.

Recipe Experiment-Shrimp Salsa

On the menu this weekend was shrimp salsa from skinnytaste.com .  The recipe called for chopped tomato and I swore I had some in the fridge.  However, they were past their prime so I had to improvise.  I used canned, but canned has an off taste to me.  I used more shrimp than tomato and added seasoning.  This dip is yet another keeper from skinnytaste.com.  I love that site!

Doesn't this look yummy!  Shrimp salsa on the left, cucumber slices, whole petite carrots and buffalo chicken dip on the right along with a small bowl of watermelon.  I felt pampered eating this...like I was at a fine restaurant...lol

Easy Meal-Berry Yogurt Blend

I realized that I've been eating this every morning for about two weeks now.  It's filling, simple, fresh and makes me feel like I've done something good for my digestion track.

To bump up the protein I use a berry protein powder.  I only use 1/2 of a scoop because I can't stand for it to taste like protein powder.  Here's a pic of the ingredients.
1/2 scoop berry whey powder + 1/2 tbs flax seed + 1.5 tbs chopped walnuts

I don't cherish the flavor of yogurt, but I have found one I can tolerate.  Chobani Champion is made for kids.  I buy the mixed berry which gives me some flavor from the fruit already in the yogurt.  Mixing in the berry protein whey you can see below that it mixes perfectly with this yogurt.  The first bowl below has the whey, flax and walnuts mixed in.  The finished product is topped with a variety of berries...chopped strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.  Nutrition info below

 

Taste Test-Truwhip

If you've been reading you know how I LOVE my sweets.  Even though I try to curb my desires, I try to find healthier options.  Sometimes I overeat those too, but it still makes me feel better that I have a lesser evil product.

I learned about Truwhip from Leansecrets on youtube

I found it at Whole Foods.  Although not entirely healthy, it omits high fructose corn syrup which I am trying to avoid.  It tastes more like cream than cool whip which is a nice feature to have.  It is set like cool whip so you use it the same way.  I made strawberry shortcake using individual angel food cake I found at the supermarket.  Sorry, no pic for that.  My brother did take a pic of it, so if I can get it from him I will post it.

New Equipment-Reebok Deck Bench-UPDATE!

I found the deck on ebay!!  I generally don't shop there, but this deck is mainly only available overseas.  It was only available used and I sincerely pray that its in good condition.  It was $80 less than paying for new so I really can't complain.  The seller did have pics so I feel good about the purchase.  Woohoo!  I'm excited.  This is the bench.  Mine is light blue with white letters....like I care!  As long as I have one....lol.

Recipe Experiment-Slow Cooked Black Eyed Peas

In keeping with my slow cooker theme, I tried my hand at making black eyed peas.  I've never made them from scratch, but the recipe sounded interesting and I wanted a hearty fiber rich dish.

From Skinnytaste.com I found Slow Cooked Black Eyed Peas.  I adjusted the ingredients for what I had on hand.  I did not have a ham bone so I just used some left over chicken broth.  In reading the comments on skinnytaste someone wrote that they used rotel tomato with chile and I thought that was a good idea.  So my adjustments were:

• 8 oz smoked lean ham steak, diced (or a ham bone would be perfect)-->I used chicken broth and water
• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and soaked overnight
• 2 bay leaves-->oops didn't have any
• 1 tsp olive oil-->used to saute the onion/red pepper which I did not do
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced-->I used diced in a jar
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced  -->used a small can of rotel tomato with chile
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (I used chipotle)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin-->omitted (not sure I like this spice)
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

 The recipe calls for sauteing the onion and red pepper, but I just added it to the peas and let it cook for another hour or so.  Pic below

 

Recipe Experiment-Pork Roast

I've been hanging out on Skinnytaste.com which is a fabulous website filled with all kinds of recipes that are on the lighter side.  It's geared for weight watchers I think, but much of the focus is lower fat, calories and get in the kitchen and cook it yourself kind of meals.  In trying to eat a bit healthier, this format fits my needs.  So, I thought of finally putting my crock pot to use and try out some of these yummy dishes.

 I like this crockpot because it has 3 different sized removable ceramic inserts with a universal lid.  The buttons on the bottom you select the crock size that you are using and the dial you select the temperature.  I have not cooked anything while away from home because I fear something going wrong.  I've prepared the following while asleep which brings its own challenges while trying to get ready for work.  I watched Alton Brown on the foodnetwork and he suggested using a timer that you plug into a lamp to cut on and off while you are away from home.  I thought this was a good idea so I will have to look for this device.

I've made several things off of this website and a couple I've posted on my blog.  Today I ventured to make Skinny Slow Cooked Pernil which is  Puerto Rican dish.  It is citrus based with cumin.  I'm not sure how I feel about cumin.  Smelling it from the container it doesn't float my boat.  Like it doesn't give me that mmmm, that's yummy feeling.  The pork is to be shredded after it's cooked.  The instructions was to save a cup of the broth and pour it over the shredded pork.  When I tasted it shredded it was lacking flavor to me.  I did not discard the broth.  Instead I strained it, put it in a saucepan and let it reduce.  I let it reduce a bit too much and it ended up being super concentrated.  I thinned it out with chicken broth.  This made the pork more flavorful, but I wonder if I cooked the pork too long cause some pieces taste dry to me.  Or it could just be because the pork itself was very lean.  Here's a pic of the cooked roast.

Snack Review-Protein Squared Cashew Caramel Crunch

I had this bar in my fridge for months.  I totally forgot about it and found it under the cheese in the lunchmeat drawer.  It was an impulse buy when I went to GNC a while ago.

I am online now looking for the cheapest price.  This bar was awesome!  Protein bars either have too much of those soy crunchy things or lacking taste.  This was a nice size square bar with chocolate, caramel, nougat and a lil bit of cashew pieces.  Of course the chocolate in these types of bars will never be Godiva quality, but it had a good flavor.  The nougat was chocolate and quite yummy.  This was so good it makes me want to investigate the other flavors.

This totally sufficed as a snack with nutritional value of 200 calories, 19 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein.  It won't be an everyday thing, but it will satisfy my urge for a candy bar.  This one has the added benefit of protein to offset the carbs.

New Equipment-Reebok Deck Bench

I found this fab video blogger on a youtube channel called myomyTV.com .  In her exercise space she had this cool looking bench so I went on an internet hunt to find it.  It's called Reebok Deck Bench and has been on the market for some time.  It's not available thru reebok.com.  It seems they are only focused on footwear and clothing.  I did find it on ebay which I will probably go for because it was under $200.

Why do I want it?  As an at home exerciser it would be a super valuable resource to do weight work in more comfortable positions.  I can fashion my original step, but its not the most comfortable position.  Besides it would also make changing stations better because I can preset stations and fly through my program.  You can also use cables with it which you really can do with the club step.  Hmm...I'm salivating now for sure.  Maybe I can sell my Transfirmer by The Firm and use those funds to lessen the load of my new toy!

Here it is!

My Workout-Les Mills Body Pump Week 1

I am rounding out the first week of Les Mills Body Pump by Beachbody.  I have a love hate relationship with beachbody products.  They are effective and give a rounded at home fitness program.  Well, the hate part is more of my issue.  I never completed any program that I start.  Why?  Because I get bored.   My all time favorite is Slim Series, but it was much too intense and caused body issues.  Meaning my knees couldn't handle all the lunges/squats.  How ironic I pick another program that works your legs like no other.

I started last week as a way to get used to using the barbell and focus on my form.  This week is the official start of  my 90 day body pump rotation.  I don't go to a gym so I've never taken a body pump class.  Of course I viewed the workout on youtube and it seemed more of my speed.  I LOVE lifting which was probably why Slim Series is my favorite.  My last program was Jillian Michaels Body Revolution which uses weights too, but the crazy body positions didn't feel comfortable to me.

Back to Les Mills...
I joined a couple of facebook groups which has helped keep my focus.  One group just started, but the other has lots of members that are at different points in the program.  Some are on their second or third go at the program.  I can see how this program will get me to the physical point that I want to be.  The difference I feel so far is my legs are firming up nicely.  I feel less bloated and very aware of the body parts that are responding. Meaning I was walking today and thought..."hmm, my butt feels very firm"...lol.

Nutrition is on the forefront.  I do still eat my sweets because hello...sugarholic here.  However, it has been curved a lot.  As much as I dreamed, I can't have the body I want by eating mounds of chocolate, cakes, cookies, etc.  But, I do still have a varying degree of them in a lighter form.  A big hindrance to watching your diet is having nutritious meals available.  You really must prep and be prepared no matter how much you may not like to cook.  You really want to make your own stuff because you will know what's in it.  There are things that make it easier like the McCormick's Recipe packets I wrote about before.  Research and find alternatives to your favorites.  For instance, I'm going to try tofu noodles and zucchini noodles this week.  Of course I will write about those later.  For snack ideas take a look at my other posts and come up with your own new favorites.