12:01 AM
Monday, March 28, 2011
travel the world by cooking: destination; Thailand
as I mentioned before; I love to cook. And I love to experiment with different flavours and techniques that really challenge me, and it almost always tastes good. for the past while on my facebook, I would post on Sundays (or Wednesdays, whenever I cooked for the week), "I'm going to Mexico! (or China. or wherever)." depending on the nature/style of the food, would be where I would go.
it was so much fun. :)
I tend to go to Thailand. A lot. Tons of stir-fries, and ginger and spice. I think after Thailand, India is the place that I "go" to with my frying pans and pots. (boy - I once made lentil burgers and it smelled like India in my apartment for weeks after that!).
This weeks culinary adventure is mostly Thailand-themed. I made
Thai-Inspired Salad: this was a virtual cookery school recipe. I beefed it up by nixing the beef, adding pan-fried mushrooms (with olive oil spray - a mix of potabellos, and cremini), and adding mint, argulua, cucumbers and a lime-white vinegar dressing. Can we have a yumm-o?
(Crowd says yummo).
I also had poached eggs in a tomato coulis (my heck that was good). (That was Mexico). The breakfast this week is lentils, almonds and kale in a soy-dressing.
I also made a broccoli stir-fry with a salmon burger (today). and marinated tofu for the rest of the week. (Thailand/Chinese inspired. Chinese because I used Chinese 5 Spice seasoning :D).
I'm starting to incorporate more snacking (healthy snacks!) into my diet because I am burning up what I eat really quickly. I really hit it out of the park with this recipe.
Hempy Sunflower Boats
2 Celery sticks (washed and trimmed)
2 tsps (level) Sunflower Seed Butter (I really recommend Nuts to You Nut Butter.)
4 tsps (level) Hemp Seeds
wash your celery hearts clean.
spread the sunflower seed butter into the nook. (crook)?
sprinkle carefully the hemp seeds onto the sunflower seed butter.
Nom, nom, nom.
This is jammed packed with protein. I had this after my killer workout today. I'm going to try to work it out to have this as my snack all the time. (also might try it with Chia-seeds as well). I had orginally purchased the hemp seeds to make milk - but we'll just stick with the Hempy Sunflower Boats instead. :)
Workout Today: 45 minutes: Kettlebell Butts & Guts; Revisited, 45 minutes Jillian Michaels, Banish Fat; Boost Metabolism. (it was a great workout - but i ended up with a exercise induced headache).
Labels: cooking
8:51 AM
Friday, March 25, 2011
week at a glance: March 20th-March 26th 2011
"When you feel like you don't want to do it, that's when you should be going it. So get up and do it." - Brook Benten.
At the end of each week, I'll be posting what I did for my workouts, my eating and what not, so you can keep me honest and see how I'm doing. Before anyone says anything - yes. I really do work out as long as some of these say. I like doing long workouts and pushing myself, using common sense and safety.
Workouts:
Wednesday: Cardio Kettlebell (Kettlebody by Brook workout) 30 min and Classical Stretch Upper Body Workout pm (30 min)
Thursday: YogaBurn (30min) am workout, Tonique 2.1 & Tonique Mat (2 hours) pm
Friday: Classical Stretch Upper Body Workout 30 min. am. (if I come home in time
Saturday: Rest Day! (boy do I ever need it!)
Water Intake:
I did drink a lot of tea. *grin* Citron and Vanilla Oolong from Davids.
Actually- I don't think I drank one ounce of water this week at all. Maybe a sip here or there from a glass (which actually means I must have had some ounces),but I've not consumed any actual water.
Bad. Bad.
I am developing a hydro-therapy plan (well that's what I'm calling it anyway). I'll provide more info in a later post.
Eating
Well, my fridge is stocked up with the healthy food (to be fair, it is stocked up always with healthy food). Last week I couldn't be bothered to cook anything so I did have some processed crap, and incidently I felt like processed crap. Next week's menu is already selected (and will be shown Saturday). Everything is from my cooking course at Stonesoup Virtural Cookery School
Overall
Other than a case of delayed onset of muscle soreness, I'm feeling really good. I'm starting to wake up early to get in half an hour workout in the morning. (This is part of the "Spring into Bikini Season" Challenge provided by Tone It Up. (I am NO where ready to be in a bikini after this session). but it is a great way to just get into my mindset of my "Summer Sweat Bootcamp" that I'm creating and doing with a friend.
Alternatively you can shop here at my favourite fitness store run by a true star, Mary which is found See you next week (for my logs)
The fitness links above is to support the instructor. However, another great place to buy fitness things (especially if you are Canadian), is to shop here, which is run by a great lady named Mary. I try to support the instructor as much as I can, but when I can't - Mary is the best place to go. Classical Stretch however is only available by Classical Stretch.
[I do not receive any compensation from these instructors or Mary. I just use the products, and the services and pick their brains sometimes. And I like them. So I share my resources. That's all :)]
Labels: logs
7:07 PM
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
fitness discovery: tone it up with tone it up!
nope! didn't stutter.
I really love finding new things to try out, especially when it fits into what I do, or what I am planning to do (if it's exercise or eating/dieting, or life style changes, or all three). Enter: Tone It Up!
Tone it Up is run by Katrina and Karena Dawn (who are two exercise and nutrition experts) who look like they are just a ball of fun to hang out with. I've yet to see them in a situation where they are like, "Hi..so, this is a quick update." in this sad, morose way or, like. you know when you simply don't feel like having the energy. They are just two bundles of fun and energy. They have a bunch of free resources (that's right. furreeeee) that you can find here at Tone It Up TV. They aren't full workout clips, but it is enough to get you started. They also have three workout videos, that I don't have (because we don't have Target in Canada. Yet. Oh, the day it finally arrives, I shall be a happy goose).
They also have a diet plan that they've recently developed.
This is where I normally would have stopped and kept on going. I don't want to diet. I want a lifestyle change, I want something I can commit to for my life. (or for at least a long period of time, but not in a diet sense, in a "wow, I can still eat whatever I want and not feel like I've got to kill someone... remind me to tell you about my flirtation with Atkins one time).
This is why I kept reading.
A: they have a vegetarian plan. (This is becoming common place, having a vegetarian option). but they also have a vegan plan. Not everyone remembers the vegan. (One of these days I'll be a honey eating vegan. You'll see).
B: They have gluten free recipes. (For normal eaters and vegetarians).
C: They mention (in their cute little video on the page), that yes, you can eat fruit (fruit is surely getting a bag rap these days) and have healthy carbohydrates.
C-squared: They actually did their own diet. (One of the "before/afters" is Katrina). I think feel like that means something - that she could be like yeah, I'm healthy, but I can be healthier. (and she really does). And I like how she's like, yeah, I lost 26 lbs, yay! (or sometimes 23. It goes up and down). (Karena Dawn also did this too, and you can see her difference as well).
So I signed up on their blog, their community (which is fureeee too!), and their "Spring into Bikini Season" sweepstakes. (even though I am no where near ready to spring into any kind of bikini. ^_~).
I did not not (as of this post) get their diet plan. My poor, poor student wallet couldn't afford the sign up fee. (It's a lot of money - however, it sounds like you do get a lot of things, and it is a life time membership with tons of updates and the like, so it pays for itself, and had I the cash....).
I totally give this a good "check-it-out" consideration and see what it is all about!
Labels: fitness
12:56 AM
my love affair with cooking...
I love to cook.
I don't know where this love came from, at all. I remember when my aunt was teaching me how to make rice in Montreal, and I was so, earthly bored. [Her recipe was some chicken stock, some onions, and boil, then simmer rice. easy peasy]. Cooking was Momma's job. (Which was funny because she hates to cook). She cooked, I came and ate. That was life.
I did like to bake though. Best childhood memory (and chortle): making Momma chocolate chip cookies from that Neiman Marcus chainletter - and mistaking 1/2tsp salt for 1/2 cup of salt. Then making the batch three times!. Needless to say Momma didn't get any cookies that year.
I didn't really learn how to cook until I lived on my own, second year of university. And even then, it wasn't so much cooking, then it was reheating. I could make a mean pot of pasta, lasagna... quiche. But basically, I lived off smoothies, and instant meals. (Low fat instant meals, remember, I was trying to lose weight!).
The actually cooking took place in Korea. It was learn how to cook, or starve to death. Really. We had an option to get meals cooked for us and take it out of our stipend. I couldn't stomach Korean food. I couldn't even stomach Korean baked bread. I was living off chicken and eggs, and eggs and chicken, and dried cereal for meals.
Then, I discovered: Better Homes and Garden, 12th edition. Paperback. I flipped through it, and I saw an easy recipe for Tomato soup. And it was love at first simmer. I was so geeked out that I actually made something from scratch. And it tasted much, much better than Campbells. This became a staple in my cooking rotation to this day (not the same recipe, mind you).
The next thing I learned how to make was zucchini bread. (and I won't even lie - I am like famous for this bread. I make this for my mom all the time, and she shares this with her friends, and they're all like - 'What the heck?' and I have to make tons).. And it was delicious. But then the first "experiment" came to pass, when I decided to add apples and raisins and carrots along with the zucchini. [Don't ask me where this came from].
It's good stuff. It actually tastes like carrot cake. Yummo.
And then it it just grew. Whatever my mind came up with, I would do it. Sometimes it flopped. (Peach-Banana Yoghurt muffins, never rose, and soggy in the middle). Sometimes they rocked - and sometimes I made such amazing recipes, off the top of my head... and then I totally forget what I did to make them The Best Meal Ever!
I honestly think that anyone can learn how to cook. It might not be as simple as picking up a cookbook and BAM! (in best Emril voice), you can cook. I think sometimes you need someone teaching you. (I still can't make a good roux, no matter how much I try. And still epically trying to make a delicious looking mushroom soup). I am lazy, so I don't julliene, dice, chop, whatever - I just make things bite sized. But there is magic in the kitchen, and if you just trust your senses, and your imagination, you can go wild. The kitchen is one of my safe, happy spots. [I am one of those people though who uses every single pot and pan, so my kitchen is never clean, because they are all soaking and being used, and there are spitters and spatters all over the place]. I know half the reason why my Momma can't wait for me to graduate is because she wants some good cooking! (Seriously. as much as I love the cooking, she hates it. It's now reversed. I cook, she comes and eats!).
How does this apply to my weight-loss journey? 75% of the time - my goal is to not eat anything I don't cook myself. I have a little sign in my kitchen that basically says "If I don't Cook it, I don't Eat it." I cook enough for the entire week, and then left-over it. I am also going to stock up on tupperware and make some instant-microwaveable meals and pack up the freezer, so when the time comes when I just don't feel like cooking (usually around this time - exams and stuff), it's already there. When you have a kitchen minus instant foods - you really have to stop being lazy.
Why this strict approach? A: I can control what goes into my mouth - and I know it's whole, natural, and delicious. if I want pie - I'll make myself some pie. If I want cookies... well. I won't lie - this is where I go to Safeway and get those oatmeal cranberry raisin cookies. (So. freaking good. I have to develop a recipe for those). But - basically if I want something sweet - I'll make myself something healthy sweet. If I want a hamburger, I'll make myself a hamburger with sauce and all. (Well. a vegetarian option to the hamburger). When you cook yourself, you control the over all calories - and when once you "portion size" it it's all manageable.
So get yourself a good cookbook, and start practicing - trust me it will be worth every delicious bite in the end. =)Labels: cooking
10:43 PM
Saturday, March 19, 2011
au natural
for about... hm. maybe going on six years now I've been having my hair "natural". This means I don't any chemicals (or try not to) in my hair. No more perming, relaxants or whatever. I don't want to put "fake" stuff in my hair, I don't think it is very necessary, though I will admit, I miss having straight hair.
The funny thing is - that used to be only thing "natural" about me. I didn't give a lot of thought to anything else, and it didn't matter to me. Oh - the things I used to say. My favourite was "Chemicals are my friends"
Heh.
When I moved to Calgary, I discovered a 100% natural soap store called Rocky Mountain Soap. Everything is made in Alberta and they're only located in Alberta (and I think they have a store in British Columbia. This makes my very Ontario-ian heart very sad). Anyway - when I discovered them in October, I was very skeptical about it. I mean - there was nothing wrong with buying soap from wherever I could get it for the least amount of money. I was a huge fan of Dove and the bottle and the nice lather it made.
The lovely sales lady (who is really nice), explained to me that these soaps were natural, and that it would really be benefical to my skin to use these, especially if I was prone to dry skin. That really perked my attention because not only do I have dry skin, but ever since moving out west, my skin has looked drier than the hind side of an alligator. Especially my feet. They are horrible.
[Who knew I'd miss humidity?]
So she (SalesLady) seduced me into trying the pumpkin patch soap. And for just stopping by, I got a bar of Chocolate Mint Soap as well. (Yes. That's right. Chocolate Mint soap. That's just two of my favourite things right there).
Let me tell you, this stuff is amazing. (both soaps). I find that using the chocolate mint is really good for the morning shower, especially after I work out. I feel really refresh after using it. The Pumpkin Patch soap - equally amazing, and SalesLady was quite right. It really did help my dry skin, and I am a fan for life.
The only body soap I use really now is Rocky Mountain. (I use Pumpkin Patch, Oatmeal and Honey, and Fir-Bar for my feet - this one actually has pine needles and pumpice pieces mixed in so it's really good). I also use their body butter (lotion) a lot and it locks in moisture. (I also have their foot butter for, duh - the foot). The only lament I have about using natural soap is that they kind of well... melt. A good chunk lasts about a month if used daily (and trust me, I use daily).
But I do feel a difference. My skin doesn't feel "scummy" after a shower. It's not as dry, and I'm not having a lot of breakouts which is really good. So it's worth replacing. (Thank goodness it is almost April because I'm running low).
I also recently moved on to using natural body deodorant. This took a lot of convincing from (another) Sales Lady (we will call her SalesLady II), that this stuff would actually work. I had no issues with the store bought stuff - and it was inexpensive compared to a tiny bottle of liquid... whatever for nearly 10.00. SalesLadyII said however unlike Secret, this stuff actually lets you sweat. (I did my best Spock Eyebrow here), and that is a good thing because you don't want to block the sweat. This will let you sweat, but it won't stink, and you keep fresh, and it lasts for months.
She had me on the months. I'm sorry, I'm a student, and I'm cheap. Not having to buy anything for "months" is a great thing. So I bought it. And I loved it.
The next thing that I have to find and buy is natural shampoo and conditioner. (and hair product. I think I'm kind of screwed on the hair product thing). They do sell shampoo but it is very expensive (for a little amount of product). So I'll have to see if it really balances out. Hopefully with diet tweaking and finding a good non-lathering shampoo, it will help my poor, pathetic hair.
So go ahead. Take it all off and go au natural.
Labels: rambling
7:39 PM
Friday, March 18, 2011
this is a story of a girl... who cried a river and drowned the whole world - Nine Days
Once upon a time there was a very beautiful baby girl. And she was awesome, if I do say so myself. And she grew up and she never realised that she was bigger than everyone else, when people teased her about her weight, she didn't care - because she truly didn't know. Being bigger didn't mean that she still couldn't play baseball, or volleyball, or curl (yes, curl. She's Canadian, and it's harder than it looks).
It never mattered to her when people called her the iceberg who sunk the Titanic and people in China would really like it if she stopped playing double dutch because they were tired of the earthquakes because she just knew they were jealous because she knew all the answers in class. And besides, who needed them when she had great friends who said she was just fine the way she was?
Then she got to high school and people were a bit meaner about it - but hey - she still fit in one chair without her butt hanging over the ends, she could fit in one seat on the bus, and sit next to someone without touching them. She was wearing 1x clothes but she always did like her clothes a bit baggy. All her friends said, "You're perfect the way you are." So she went with it.
Then she went to University. And then she gained weight. The Freshmen 15 - is not the Freshman 15. It's more like 20. or 30. But it left right away when she moved off campus and lived in her very first apartment and managed to cook for herself. Instant foods, but with a bit more walking did the trick. Bye bye Freshman Fifteen. (or Twenty or Thirty). Hello, "Skinny Jeans" from B.U.M. Equipment.
Then the weight came back again. Who knew that eating two cheeseburgers every Tuesday at McDonalds was a bad thing. They were the tiny little ones. And she never ate the apple pie all the time. And she split her fries with her best friend. They only had McFlurries once in a while. So she ditched the McDonalds and went to Subway - hey it worked for Jared right?
The weight gain was a bit more obvious this time because all her clothes were tight. She was stressed out because of graduation. What the heck was she going to do with her life? She bought new clothes and ignored the fact that they had a couple of more X's by the number. She then graduated and promptly spent the first few months as a university graduate watching Dr: Quinn Medicine Woman and Xena: Warrior Princess because they clearly knew what they wanted to do. (save lives, and kick major ass butt).
She decided to work in Korea for a year, and when she got her physical, she got the biggest shock of her life: She was fat. There simply wasn't hiding the fact anymore. It wasn't just the numbers (275 by the way), but it was everything. She barely did any sports, she couldn't fit in one seat on the bus.... it was just enough that she didn't need an extender for the airplane ride to Korea.
Before she left she bought her very first workout video: Leslie Sansone: Walk Away The Pounds Deluxe Edition and because she heard she needed strength training Denise Austin's Personal Trainer. (Well honestly. she had these since her university days but never really did them).
Korea was an eye opener. First of all - Korean food is either - you can stomach it, or you can't. She couldn't. Second of all - you walk everywhere. She had to - a mile home and a mile back several times a day (and when she moved to a place that didn't have an elevator, toss in 3 flights of stairs at her school, 3 flights of stairs at her apartment). Plus the working out. The weight flew off and she discovered really great friends at support websites like SparkPeople (even though it made her very neurotic). And she Weight-Watchers-ed herself.
She also discovered she really, really loved to cook. Not instant cooking. (Though she missed Quaker Oats Instant Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal). But real coking. From Better Homes and Gardens. And she was good at it. (Who knew?)
When she came home she was at 207 pounds and she thought she was done. She never really knew fat people before (it was just her), and all her friends never worked out. Fat people worked out. She wasn't fat anymore - so why bother? The re-introduction to the Standard (North) American Diet plus all the moving that she had to do, plus the working out.... the weight started to creep back.
It didn't help that she was sick all the time. There was an impacted wisdom tooth that required three rounds of steroids and antibotics, and then four months of bedrest where she ate a lot of Smartfood. (hoping it would make her smart) and JuniorMints and watched Xena beat up people. And then after a year of that - followed a year of simply being unable to find a job. (Because who would want to hire someone who hadn't worked for a year).
She was lost, she was miserable, she had debt to her eyeballs, and she simply wanted to hide under the blankets and sleep her life away. (not in a suicide way. a world, please stop sucking, and wake me up when it's all shiny and new, kind of way. and by the way - pass the JuniorMints).
She decided to go back to school and study to get a career. And then she decided to weigh herself because she was apparently stupid. She nearly had a heart attack. Three Hundred and Eight Pounds. She weighed more than professional football players. She was a Biggest Loser Contestant Weight. She was a blobby, blobber person and she just couldn't handle it. (but strangely enough she didn't cry. I think she was just too shocked to cry). After support from dear friends, she decided it was simply just a number (a big freaking number, but a number), and it wasn't going to control her life.
So she went away to school and she was armed and ready to go. (by this time she discovered a great - and dangerous place called VideoFitness where she learned about a lot of different workouts and styles of workouts and she had plenty of workouts to help her lose weight. And she struggled. But kept going. And even though she stopped and started - she kept going....
And is going. And will keep on going.
She was Me. That was my story. One thing I always hear is like "you know, If I could change something about myself, I'd change the fact that I was....." and you know, out of a lot of things I would change, I don't think I would have changed my weight. I think I would have worked on it a bit faster, eaten healthier sooner - but I don't regret being overweight.
It showed me who my friends truly were, and how I should relate to other people. I wouldn't be me if I had been thin and beautiful and gorgeous my entire life. I wouldn't like the things I would have liked, or do the things that I do - if not for the weight. But - it's time for us to part.
Labels: rambling
12:59 AM
Thursday, February 10, 2011
this is like groundhog day. but like with writing!
No seriously. this must be my.... third blog attempt. And I think I realised what the issue was. A: I get bored. A lot. B: I am the kind of person who loves to have people letting me know that you are - you know - reading my stuff. If i get no motivation, why am I writing things down? I mean - yes I could talk to myself - and I often do [no - not in a scary, I hear voices in my head kind of way, but in a I need to make plans and I like hearing how it sounds out loud kind of way], but that's no fun.
And also - it was just focused on my weight. Don't get me wrong - this will be somewhat of a weight-loss blog and all that fun stuff - but just focusing on that too was rather boring. There is so much more to me than "Oh, guess what I want to lose weight. Still." I am going to write about a lot of stuff. Tons of stuff. That's the plan anyway.
So - it's back to writing a blog. About me. Fun, yeah? To sum up the last two blogs and the last year (and two months) here it goes:
1: I was fat.
2: I am fat, but I am working on it
3: I went back to school.
4: I realised - I'm smart. (with the learning and stuff)
5: I don't have an oven. (this is my biggest lament. Or like my top 5 at least)
6: I am a heck of a lot stronger than I ever gave myself credit for.
7: I have an awesome hero. Her name is My Momma. [Not in a "Your Momma!" kind of way. but MY Momma. Mommy. Ma.]
8: I am slowly losing inches.
9: I am slowly regaining my shine. Or discovering it.
10: I am a heck of a lot stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. [this is not a stutter. it bears repeating].
I don't mind re-entering the breach. I think it would be fun. And I hope I give you inspiration, or at least a good laugh or a good "food for thought." Now. it's time to do something productive, I'm dead sleepy. And just realised I have no food....hm. That could be a problem.
