Cauliflower Goulash Mashup

In my efforts to eat more whole foods, I am always looking for ways to still have the recipes I love without the refined carbs. I have found that vegetables can be used in replace of bread, rice and pasta in many dishes such as: spaghetti squash in replace of spaghetti noodles, zucchini sliced longways to substitute for lasagna noodles, zucchini sliced in half lengthwise and covered in sauce, cheese and toppings in replace of a french bread pizza, cauliflower riced and used in cabbage rolls, cauliflower mashed to replace potatoes and cauliflower "potato" salad.

So, when my husband asked for one of our favorite family recipes - Hungarian Goulash, I decided to try to find a way to replace the macaroni noodles.

Cauliflower - Goulash Mash up

• I began by making cooking up about 1 cup diced onion and 1 cup diced green peppers in a stock pot with some coconut oil. 
• Once the onions were translucent, I added in about 1-1/2 lbs ground turkey. 
• Once the turkey was cooked through, I drained the excess fat and then separate the mixture into two pots - one for the traditional recipe and one for my mashup. 
• I added to both pots a 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes and two 16 ounce cans of tomato sauce with about a 1/2 can of water. 
• I added into each pot salt and pepper (to taste)
• Next, I added about 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil and 1/4 cup Parmesan-Romano cheese to each pot.
• Meanwhile, I boiled two pots of water and added the macaroni noodles to one pot and chopped, fresh cauliflower in a steamer basket to the other. 
• When the noodles were soft, I added them to one pot.
• When the cauliflower was tender, I drained the basket and added it to the second pot.
• After letting each pot cook for 10 minutes on medium, dinner was served!

The verdict? 

A perfect mashup. I got all the yummy flavor of the goulash without the refined carbs.

What are your go to mash ups?

7 Tools to Help Keep Your Diet Resolution

We are at that point in the New year when 50 percent of people have, by now, ditched their resolution. 

How are you doing? 

Did you have a diet or exercise related resolution that you may need some help sticking too?

Well, if you have fallen off the wagon it really is not too late. Making an investment in your health is a lifelong journey. And for those who particularly struggle with maintaining a healthy weight, the journey is often one of two steps forward, three steps back. The key is getting back on the trail no matter how long  or how far the detour.

This year, my health related resolution is consistency. Consistency is my downfall. Having been on a diet of some sort or the other since I was NINE, I really do know what to eat and what not to eat. I know 80 percent of success is in nutrition. I know my specific health issues require me to eat a protein based diet and to stay away from sugar, soy, gluten and non-food ingredients like caramel color and HFCS. It really is just a matter of me consistently putting my knowledge in to practice.

I have fallen to the "all or nothing" trap so many times. I have gone deprivation or glutton and every step in between. All this yoyo dieting the past four years has resulted in my scale going up and down the same 20 pounds, with each cycle netting a softer, more squishy physique.  I am now dedicated to a sensible, primarily clean eating, protein-based, sugar-free lifestyle. I have a food formula that I know works. I will allow myself planned treats and not go off the deep end, throwing all my progress down the drain, when I have them. I know the 20 percent part of the equation is still important and am committing to consistent exercise with a HIIT program to help blast the fat and replace it with muscle. I will take daily, small positive steps toward change and keep my eye on my goal of losing 30-40lbs by summer. The number is variable because muscle weighs more than fat, and I am more interested in how my body looks and feels and my clothes fit than a certain number on the scale.

Below are 7 Tools to Help You Stick to a Diet Resolution:

The Why Bracelet

I wanted to have a visual reminder that will keep my reasons for getting to a healthy weight and shape in front of me at all times to help me resist temptation and get over the deprivation I feel sometimes when faced with foods I love but know are toxic for me. I decided to create my own bracelet using the popular snake chain and beads. I chose beads that had personal meaning to my health goals:

• a bead with the faces of children
• two beads that say family
• a red dress to remind me of the great clothes awaiting me in my closet when I trim down
• a bead that says "live, love, laugh" to know I will do that longer when healthy
• a red heart to remind me that I need to reduce my risk for heart disease
• a bathing suit to inspire me to feel better on Spring Break and at the pool
• "Best Mom" bead because I am a better mom when I am a healthy mom
• a sneaker to remember what it feels to be an athlete
• a heart that says "wife" because I want to be a sexy one

The bracelet costs me approximately $55.

Bikini Body Mommy 3.0 Challenge

Bikini Body Mommy is an online workout program developed by a mom who lost 100 pounds. She films her challenge workout videos in her home with her child beside her getting in the way just like mine and my dog do. She is relatable, open, and real and thousands are following her challenges. On Jan. 5, I joined her 3.0 Challenge. The workouts are about 20 minutes a day and I am committed to getting them in every day for 90-days. I joined a Facebook group of others going through the challenge and have an online accountability partner to stay encouraged.

Purpose and Pause Planner

The Purpose and Pause Planner is a planner I designed because I wanted one place to go to set my yearly, monthly and weekly goals, track progress, plan my month/week/day, journal and track my food. While I do use My Fitness Pal, I cannot always log it immediately on the phone app. I like to have a place to write it down first.

4 Key Apps

My favorite fitness apps are My Fitness Pal to track my overall goal (weight, nutrition, exercise, etc), Pacer to track my daily steps (and it syncs with My Fitness Pal), Move to remind me hourly to get up and move with suggested activity prompts and Workouts for a quick video-led workout I can do on the go with whatever time I have.

Sunday Prep Day

Fail to plan and plan to fail. Sunday is my day to plan the week's menu and prep food from breakfast and dinners to snacks. Consistently setting this prep time ensures I can make good choices when busy, tired and stressed during the work/school week.

What tools for success do you use to keep you on track? 

Superwoman turns 40 and Admits Defeat

Day 24: 31 Days Superwoman turns 40

I have now lived 40 years. One year longer than my oldest brother did. He passed away shortly before his fortieth birthday with a wicked cancer. God called him home and in many ways used his illness to witness to hundreds of people. 

I know God is just beginning in my life. I know that but truthfully, I'm a mess. I am not where I wanted to be by this date. I had a three-year plan to be in the best shape--physically, spiritually, financially, mentally, relationally-- by the time I turned 40. And I'm on my way in some areas, but at the total opposite side of the spectrum in others. And as a result, I feel shame, guilt, embarrassment, like I have failed.

My biggest area of discouragement and disappointment, and in truth, bondage is food addiction and dieting addiction. This began when I was nine years old. It is deep. Ingrained. It has affected every area of my life and every relationship. I'm tired. I want to be free. I'm overweight and unhealthy. I want to be fit, healthy and confident. I'm obsessed. I no longer want food to have such a hold of my life. I am desperate. I have tried so many diets, systems, solutions. I want lasting change. I want success. I want to triumph. I cannot. Only Jesus, the one who conquered the universe, can take me out of this bondage. This is a spiritual issue with physical symptoms.

Lord, Lord, I am crying out. I need you to take these chains and release me. Show me areas that I have not released to you. Help me find true health and develop a healthy relationship with food and my body. Teach me. Lead me. Save me. I am spent. I am yours. Amen. 

Detoxing

Day 22: 31 Day Writing Challenge

Making changes for a healthier lifestyle takes perseverance, discipline, a positive outlook. 

I have had many stops and starts and yet I press on so that I can fully participate in my kids lives.

I have been doing a lot of research into clean eating. I know sugar is a big issue for me and it seems dairy and gluten could be too. 

I know when I have been successful in the past, I had very little of either. I also had given up Diet Coke. So, since it is so important to get artificial sweeteners out of my diet, I'm giving up diet coke and all soft drinks as of Monday, Oct. 28. For good. I am also abstaining from drinking anything but water, coffee and tea until Thanksgiving week starting Nov. 1.

I am doing the Virgin Diet, which is really a 21 day detox versus an actual diet. The premise is that there are seven foods that have the highest levels of intolerance: sugar and artificial sweeteners, soy, corn, dairy, peanuts, grains/gluten and eggs. Ditch these for three weeks and then add one back per week (except for sugars and fake sweeteners) to see which cause symptoms. Many lose weight during these three weeks as well. In the meantime, you are eating fruits, vegetables, nuts (except peanuts), legumes, healthy fats, lean protein. It is a transition into whole, clean eating.

I hope this little pre-holiday detox will help me see what my food triggers are. I also hope to find new, clean eating recipes to share! I know I must find a new, meal plan I can follow for life, but this detox should help me see what items I may need to leave out of that menu. 

Wish me luck! 

Super Stress Reducers

Day 16: 31 Day Challenge: Super Stress Reducers

The past eight years have been what I call the stress years. We have seen many of the stressors that are said to lead to depression, divorce, etc. We have gone through lay-offs, new jobs, unemployment and financial loss, loss of my brother, loss of my husband's mom, loss of our dog of 12 years, two moves, a miscarriage and two births, a diagnosis of Down syndrome and other personal struggles.

We've managed to keep going for two reasons. Both my husband and I have a certain amount of sticktoativeness. When adrenaline hits, we seem to have more fight than flight. A roll up the sleeves, get 'er done attitude. 

The second reason is faith and God's grace. God provided time and time again, in found income, a caring friend, a new opportunity, a flexible workplace, a sense of hope, a fairy Godmother.

But as we seem to be entering a more stable period in our lives, I realize how much the stress has taken its toll. I believe all that stress is a big reason why the weight seems to cling to me. Cortisol, the stess hormone, has set up shop. Paired with insulin resistance and I'm really the underdog in this battle. 

Lately,  God has been speaking to me. I believe he is saying, "I've carried you through, now you need to rest in me."

Resting is something I don't do well. I'm a "doer" even my ideas for restful activities involve me doing something. 

Lately, in the verses I study, the books I read, the talks I listen too, I'm being encouraged to slow down, cut back, revive. If I want to harvest a memorable life for me and my family, I need to listen. When I am stressed out and overweight it is hard to live a memorable life. You live on the sidelines making comparisons, listing the "should haves," feeling less than, trying to measure up. I don't want that. 

So how do I rest, and reduce that Cortisol supply in my brain? Here are some of my stress reducers:

Play with the kids

Dance

Work in the yard

Workout

Yoga

Read

Journal

Self spa treatments

Photography

Scrapbook

Create

Cook

Prayer

Take a walk

Play a game

This weekend, I am going on my company retreat with my husband to a nice resort. We will have lots of free time. We plan to rest and do some of activities listed above. I have also promised not to add anything else on our calendar for the rest of the year (beyond what I already anticipate). I'll continue to work in more of the activities I've listed into my schedule and most importantly to listen to what God is trying to tell me and follow where he leads. 

He lets me rest in grassy meadows; he leads me to restful waters; (Psalms 23:2 CEB)

What are your super stress relievers? 

Super woman's Kryptonite

Day 15: 31 Days - Super woman's Kryptonite

Without a doubt my biggest struggle is my weight. A dieter since I was nine, I have tried just about every diet in the book healthy or not. I have always been one to look at food and gain five pounds. I hit puberty early and never got over feeling like the girl in that awkward stage.

In high school and college I was thin, athletic and a good weight (though I did not think so at the time). But I fought for it.  I was always tracking what I ate and exercising consistently. Controlling my weight was more difficult after I had my first child and darn near impossible after my last two. I gained sixty-five pounds during my third pregnancy (my second pregnancy ended up with a miscarriage) and am still trying to take off much of that. 

Along the way, I found out I have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that causes cysts to form on your ovaries, messes with your hormones and includes infertility issues (the reason it took 7 years to birth my second baby), hair growth, high testosterone, and insulin resistance, to name a few. It means my body relentlessly craves sugar, like an addict, but is incredibly resourceful at turning sugar to stubborn, hard to get rid of fat.

I told myself three years ago that I'd be in the best shape of my life by the time I'm forty. That milestone comes next week and I have failed. I feel like crap. I'm discouraged, deflated, desperate for an answer. Over the past three years, I have tried everything: trainer, nutritionist, endocrinologist, mayo clinic diet, HCG diet, Weight Watchers, skinny fiber pills, couch to 5 k program, no carb, lo carb, balanced carb. I just can't seem to get the needle even moving. I don't have the money to invest in any more schemes or fixes. Nevertheless, I have a chiropractic appointment and a recommendation for a homeopathic doctor coming up next.

All of this dieting, starting and stopping, yet another "last meal" before embarking on a strict diet plan only to stall out after I see no results has left me heavier and more out of shape than ever in my life. 

This weekend, I go on my company retreat to a nice resort with the promise of decadent food choices.  I'm so worried about the choices I'll have to make. I need strength to choose a healthier path. Last month, I had a business trip to Austin and came back with five more pounds on my 5'1" frame. I cannot afford to gain ANY more weight. So, I cannot go into this weekend blind. My plan is to exercise 1.5 to 2 hours each day, drink a ton of water and to get my husband to make my plate in buffet situations.

I pray God directs my steps. I have no idea which plan to choose or what path to take. I so much want to see results. I want to stop the insanity and live, but live free from this extra weight that is not healthy and causes other symptoms of PCOS. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. 

Finding time for fitness

Day 14: 31 Days - Finding time for fitness

So, I did it. I caved in and re-joined the health club in my office building. I have been a member twice before. It is pricey in my opinion, especially since I can only go three, sometimes four times per week (we have a company brown bag lunch learning time we are required to be at on most Wednesdays during lunch). However, trying to fit exercise in on a consistent basis is extremely difficult. The only times I can consistently exercise are 5:30 a.m. and during the lunch hour. My mind and body are usually not awake enough to put in a good workout that early in the morning.

Going at lunch helps me have a healthier lifestyle in several ways. First, it gets me away from my desk. I often eat both breakfast and lunch at my desk and plow through the day. This way I get up and move and get my heart pumping. It also will help me to have more focus for the latter part of the day. Next, it will pump up my metabolism. (I can use all the help I can get here). Finally, regular exercise will help me reduce stress. (I believe excess cortisol is a factor in the difficulty I have in losing weight).

Previously, I was able to be pretty consistent in my workouts. So I am hopeful that I can find my groove again. A balance between working out at the gym, walking/running, fitting in my favorite dance workouts at home and yoga should help get me where I want to go.

Nevertheless, exercise is only 20 percent of the solution. Diet is 80 percent and the part I struggle with most. I'll write about that another day.

Quote of the Day

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering you own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.”
-St. Francis de Sales…

How do you fit exercise in?

Getting real. Facing temptation.

Earlier this year I talked about reaching my goal of losing 40 pounds in 40 weeks. Last month, I discussed three goals for getting 30 minutes of sunlight a day, walking 10,000 steps and following the couch to 5K program. So, how am I doing?

Total. Fail.

I made these goals because I want a more healthy life, a longer life, and I want to look decent and not panic when I have to go on a business trip and have nothing appropriate that fits me. I want to be more like the fit girl of my youth who did aerobics, ran and played ultimate frisbee. And let's face it, I want to wear a skirt or dress and not have to wear a girdle so my thighs won't rub raw.

Reality check:

I now have 22 weeks until I am forty and the same 40 pounds to lose, despite many starts and stops on at least three different diet programs in 5 months. I don't get outside every day and if I don't step away from my desk, I surely have no chance of hitting 10,000 steps. I have made some progress. I have spent time outside more than I did before the challenge, but that probably has more to do with the weather. I have hit the 10,000+ step mark 2-3 times over the past month; and I did my couch-to-5k training app at least three times.

Lack of time, an abundance of temptation, weak will power and misguided faith has completely done me in.

Despite a loving family, devoted husband, three amazing kids and a fulfilling job, I just can't seem to triumph over my weigh issues. It is my Achilles heel. I get all geared up to follow the next diet fad with faith that this book, DVD, pill, eating plan or exercise craze will be the thing to finally solve my weight management issues and help me lose. But then, I have to travel for work or go to an event. I enter a busy season. Someone gets sick--you get the picture--and soon my well-laid plans are torn to pieces.

In recent years I finally discovered why I so easily gain weight and have to work like a dog for every 1/4lb weight loss. I have a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) which messes with my hormones (too much testosterone), causes insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, causes an insatiable appetite and a strong desire for sugar, and other unsavory side affects. As I gain weight, the severity of these symptoms increase making it even more difficult to lose weight. Vicious circle. However, if I don't gain control, I am at risk for diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

While somewhat comforted by the fact that there is a real physical issue for why I have such difficulty getting to and maintaining a healthy weight, I realize this is a battle I will forever have to fight. I will always have to watch my portions and eat the right foods and exercise. Every. Do Dah Day. Not only to feel better about my physical appearance, but most importantly for my health and for my family. Its a physical issue, its a mental issue and it certainly is a spiritual issue.

A new perspective:

I recently went to a clinic that specializes in PCOS and I am hopeful about the new plan of care they have prescribed. It will be a long, slow road and I have to commit bite-by-bite to making the right choices for my health. I have to gain control of my portions, eat a low glycemic index based diet and get a minimum of 30-45 minutes of exercise 3-5 days a week. Not "rebel" by eating when a well-meaning person who is close to me asks "Should you be eating that?" or "How's your diet going?" (which really means - you don't look like you are losing any weight).

In order to be successful, I must ignore the father of lies, who tempts me and taunts me just like he tempted Eve to, "Look at the shiny apple. Go ahead. Take a bite." The only way I can do that is to run into the arms of Jesus and trust that God will provide a way out. Temptation and time constraints will never cease. Every day, choice by choice I must learn to offer God those cravings, my hunger, my desire for sugar, my excuses not to exercise ( as noble as they may be), my frustration at well-meaning comments. He will help me learn to eat to live instead of living to eat.

After spending thousands of dollars on weight loss aids and exercise gimmicks, trying every diet on the bookshelves, losing and gaining again and again, I know that I am completely unable to conquer this on my own. That is so hard for me to admit. I am, as my 4 year old says, a "fixer." I find solutions. I solve problems. Something bad happens, I don't wallow in pity. I roll up my sleeves, make a plan and act. But I simply can't fix this. I have tried oh so, so many times.

Only God can give me the power to overcome. To be honest, I'm not sure how this works except to cover my days and my mealtimes in prayer and have faith. To ask him to open up time in my day to get exercise and to pray to make good food choices and resist the temptation I will face each day. To stop looking for some sort of satisfaction in a bowl of ice cream after a long day and lean on His promises. To stop trying to do this by my might and surrender it all to Him.

What are you trying to handle on your own? What shiny apple is Satan tempting you with? Call on Jesus, as he taught us to do and ask him to deliver you from the evil one and his temptations.

Sitting is the New Smoking and I'm Breaking the Habit

According to David Suzuki, an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster known for his ability to explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, understandable manner, the more we connect to nature, the smarter, healthier and happier we are. In fact, he claims getting outside even makes us nicer and more likely to clean up the planet. Unfortunately, most of us spend more than 90 per cent of our days indoors, away from nature.

I recently discovered just how inactive I was/am when I got a device called a FitBit. It tracks steps taken, stairs

climbed, miles walked, calories burned and sleep. Health guides tell us to aim for 10,000 steps a day and on an average day, I only take 4,000 - 5,000. In fact, in the three months I have had this device I have only hit the 10,000 step mark twice and both of those instances where when I took a walk outdoors. 

I spend pretty much all my life in doors. I wake up, get dressed, drive to my office building, work at a desk or sit around a conference table for 8 hours, walk to the parking garage, get in my car, drive home, sit at the dinner table, play on the family room floor or lounge on the couch and then lie down in bed. 

Acoording to the David Suzuki Foundation, SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING! 

I am not alone. On average, North Americans spend 9.3 hours a day sitting. Researchers conclude that this unprecedented level of inactivity is causing 5.3 million deaths per year – a similar level of mortality to smoking. Getting active outdoors is a simple but effective remedy. 

I don't breathe fresh air except for maybe 4 minutes a day. I am more sedentary than I have ever been. At a time when I am trying to lose 40 pounds. So I am joining two challenges and observing a self-motivated challenge to help me get exercise and get some fresh air. 

First, I am joining in the 30x30 challenge to get outside for 30 minutes a day every day for 30 days in May. This may be during the workday with two 15 minute brisk walks outside, before work taking my dog out in the early morning hours, or afterwork playing with my kids in our yard. 

Second, I am taking the couch-to-5K challenge. I started

yesterday with the training app which leads me in alternating running and walking, increasing the running portion incrementally each week. In 8 weeks, I shoudl be ready to run a 5K - an illusive goal of mine for a while.

Lastly, I am trying to hit 10,000 steps and 10 flight of stairs every day. My activities to meet the two challenges above will surely help me reach this goal. 

I want to be an example to my kids so that they will enjoy being outside and having fun. When I was little, I was always outside exploring. I need to provide a safe environment for them to do the same. So I resolve to get my family out of the cave and to embrace the sun! (or even the rain). How about you?

40 Weeks and 40 Pounds to Fabulous at 40

In 40 weeks, I turn 40. I told myself two years ago, after giving birth to my third and final baby (I have a fourth in heaven), that I would have my groove back and be in the best shape I have been since college by the time I turned 40.

Well, my deadline is 40 weeks away, and I have 40 lbs to lose! I figured, I'd better make this public.

I have put my faith in a few fad diets over the past two years, most recently losing and regaining 20lbs four times with the HCG diet (which has you taking drops of HCG while eating 500 calories a day.) The real restrictive diets don't work for me cause when I go off the diet, I go nuts in opposite direction.Hello ice cream!

I also know that I lose weight best when I eat mostly fruits, vegetables and lean dairy and protein and layoff carbs and sugars.(you know, the good stuff)

Taking all that into consideration--as well as my busy lifestyle, working full time, traveling some for work and raising three kids--I need a flexible food plan.

So, I decided to return to Weight Watchers. I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. I first joined when I was in the 7th grade and was a member throughout high school, college and into early adulthood. I haven't been to a meeting since 2006 and after seeing a colleague have success with the new 360 program, I decided to return to a sensible lifestyle based on real food with nothing that is off limits.

Everything is permitted but not everything is beneficial.

Being fabulous at 40 isn't only about losing 40 lbs (although it is a big part of it for me). It is about being my best self physically and spiritually. So in addition to the diet plan, I am planning on committing to an exercise regime that will help me tone up my almost 40 year-old, post three-baby body. This fitness plan will include a combination of the Insanity workout, Zumba, yoga and the treadmill. Finally, I am focusing on fashion. I want to identify a go to wardrobe for work and play that really defines my style (and does not say frumpy mom). I want a stylish hairdo, whiter teeth and a make up pallete that brightens my smile.

On the spiritual side of things, I'm reading my Bible daily, spending time in prayer each day alone and with my family and teaching the Word to my kids. I also have a solid list of Christian books to read this year from fiction to books about motherhood and everything in between.

I can't wait to see where God leads me this year as I embark on my journey to be fabulously me at forty!

Here's to the next 40 weeks!