Your Salad: Shaken or Stirred?

Salads, YAY!  Smoothies, YAY!  Healthier eating, YIPPEE, YAY, YAY! 

Starting with the basics!
  I, personally, am going to concentrate on green salads for this Salad-A-Day challenge in order to combat jaw muscle atrophy.

I recently issued a challenge to my facebook friends because I was appalled at how my consumption of fresh produce has declined lately.  I was staring at the big ol’ bag of baby spinach and the fresh strawberries in the fridge and fondly recalled the days when those staples were not doomed to be thrown into the trash due to neglect.  In fact, in the not-so-distant past, such super foods often needed to be replenished between weekly shopping trips because they were appropriately and promptly devoured. 



I still plan on remaining very friendly with my smoothie "salads".
This one is unsweetened almond milk,protein powder, fresh spinach, frozen blueberries and strawberries.  Shut UP!

Well, when it took me a mere 5 or so minutes to whip up a delectable salad, I realized I missed being the salad-eating fool I used to be!

Was it more effort than I wanted to put forth?  Frankly, yes.  I am just that lazy.

Was it worth the effort that I grudgingly put forth?  More than yes!

The salad was delicious, refreshing, surprisingly satisfying and I felt so proud of myself for fueling my body properly.  I realized that it is incredibly empowering to have the means and ability to decide how I nourish my body.  Thankfully, I am currently disease-free with no food intolerances/allergies.  Even though I live in a harsh, barren desert, in this modern, free(ish) country I have access to an amazing amount of healthy foods.  I would be grossly remiss if I squandered this prime time of my life by indulging in habits that would only likely shorten my window of opportunity to suck the juice (organic and all-natural, of course) out of this earthly journey!

I am so ready for the week!

So I did what all sensible people do when faced with a personal angst issue:  I promptly revealed it on facebook and I’m truly glad I did!  So many of my friends immediately responded and are stepping up to this challenge with me.  I’m already feeling much more motivated and accountable.  Honestly, I doubt that I will perfectly achieve eating a salad every single day until July 4^th.  But… what if I do?  What if I screw it up by having a crappy week down the line but get back on the bandwagon ASAP and finish the challenge with a 90% success rate?  Or 80%?  Or, heck, even 50%?  Will I have benefitted by seeing it through and not giving up?  Heck to the yes!

Doesn't this just look so much yummier than a burger and fries, or double fudge brownies, or a fresh donut right out of the cooking oil, still warm with the glaze melting into a glossy sheen that is so light and fluffy that it kinda just disintegrates in your mouth like a perfect manifestation of a sinful confection.
Oh... uh... what was I saying?  Yeah, green salads... yummiest things on earth.  Yumm-o!

If you are a green smoothie king/queen, change it up by tossing in a fresh salad here and there. If the thought of grazing on one more grass clipping makes you want to stab a fork in your eye, throw a combo of produce into the blender and slurp away!

So - shaken, tossed, chopped or blended – just get some more fresh produce down that gullet of yours every single day that you can until the day you die… or until July 4.  Whichever comes last. 

 

Post-Workout Recovery Snack... Lazy Trainer Style!

What in the world is that?! you may ask.

That, my friends, is the Lazy Personal Trainer's version of some all-important post-workout recovery grub.  After finishing 30 minutes of an intense cardio circuit I made sure to nourish my body with some right proper nutrition. 

Unless you've been living under a rock, you should know that you're supposed to refuel within 15 to 45 minutes after you exercise in order for your body to lose more fat and build more muscle.

And you should further be aware that it's recommended that that post-recovery snack or meal should consist of a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein after a strength workout and a 4:1 ratio after endurance exercise.

So, do you think  a 1/2 cup of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream fits the bill? 

Well, check this out... I sprinkled a tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal to make it come a little closer!  Hmmm, curiously the fat component is not mentioned in the aforementioned nutrient ratio guidelines.

Hey, I'm trying to overcome Lazy, folks!  I have been known to polish off an entire pint of that stuff in order to refuel my exertion from clicking the remote with my thumb.  So this can be considered an improvement!

Next time.... TWO tablespoons of flaxseed!  I wonder if the peanut butter cup flavor has more protein in it....

Healthified Mac N Cheese

Mac N Cheese. My girls love it. It's easy to make. It's cheap. But I feel guilty every time I serve it to them because it's not a nutritional all-star.

But, I've found ways to adapt it so I don't feel nearly as guilty when I cave in and fix it for them.

First, while the noodles are cooking, I will throw in some frozen veggies. Usually peas because it's always fun to say to them (EVERY SINGLE TIME), "eat your mac n cheese n peas.... please." Then, when I make the sauce, instead of butter or margarine, I use Brummel and Brown spread. It has 50% less fat and calories than butter and tastes great! For the milk, I will often just use our skim milk but I will usually use Almond Breeze (or Silk) unsweetened almond milk when we have it on hand. It has way less calories and sugar than milk and, again, tastes great!

Well, we certainly know her version
ain't exactly healthy!

Lately, I've made another addition because it always bothers me that the pasta is not whole grain. So I tried sprinkling in some ground flaxseed into the sauce. This boosts the fiber and protein plus gives you the bonus of those healthy Omega-3s. I started off with just a tablespoon to make sure the girls would be OK with it and they didn't say a word! Gobbled it up like usual, so I've bumped up the amount to about 2 tablespoons.

With these changes, I'm convinced that this is a pretty well-balanced, decently healthy meal. And the modifications are so simple, it's still super quick and easy!

Healthy convenience. Love it!

How I Overcame Lazy This Week: I’m Trying To Eat Like A 5-Year-Old

We just had my daughter’s favorite dinner tonight:  salmon.  Wait, did I just write those words?  Could this possibly be true?

Tell me if I’m wrong, but it’s gotta be every parents’ dream to hear their 5-year-old child declare salmon as her favorite thing to eat.  Well, I’m livin’ the dream, then, because R has proclaimed just that.  I tend to believe her, too, because not only did she gasp with delight when I announced we’re having salmon for dinner but after she gobbled up her own portion, she demanded about half of mine!  My 3-year-old loves it too.

Trust me, my girls have VERY normal nutritional preferences on a day-to-day basis.  They would marry chicken nuggets and fries if they could, they go bonkers over “fruit” snacks and can magically find room in their tummies for large amounts of sweets just moments after they’ve declared themselves “stuffed” from picking over their dinner.

But there are enough aberrations from their typical kiddie predilections that I feel like I’m getting somewhere with their nutritional inclinations!

Another recent example:

The green guy is Rody.

He (although R calls him, “she”) is a bouncy horse toy inflated with air that one can sit upon and hop with… or dress up in a tutu and crown and use to give rides to Rapunzel Barbie…

Anyway, R told me one morning that she’d had a dream that Rody was broken open and brownies came falling out!  (She must’ve heard me talking in my sleep!)  So a few nights later as we cuddled at bedtime, I started the game of: what else could Rody be stuffed with?  Going off the brownie theme from her dream, I started listing off things like candy corn, Junior Mints, ice cream, etc.

She was giggling, enjoying the game, but quickly stopped me by saying that Rody should really be stuffed with healthy things first so we wouldn’t get a tummy ache!  Well, she certainly put me in my place!

So we switched gears and took turns listing healthier fare that could come tumbling out of a Rody piñata:  carrots, broccoli, pistachios, yogurt, bananas… and, yes, salmon.



In a perfect world, this would be the aftermath
of a pinata...

...not this.



Yep, it’s my 5-year-old that has helped me stay on track nutritionally more than once!  Now if I could just get her to figure out shoe-tying life would be sa-weet!

A Lazy Personal Trainer Recipe: Power Granola

Okay, so you know I’m inherently lazy. 

Some of you may also know that I’m not much of a cook. So if I bother passing on a recipe, you know it’s gonna be easy!  If it does, in fact, involve much effort, then you know it’s going to be absolutely worth it.  When I run across an easy, healthy AND  delicious recipe, I feel I’ve achieved a sort of Lazy Personal Trainer nirvana.



Freshly made granola.  Yum!
This is a double batch... we go through it quickly!



This one has a moderate (by my lazy standards) amount of effort required but is still easy and it’s so delicious, it is indeed worth it. 

Power Granola*

3 cups regular oats

2/3 cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup slivered almonds

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup orange juice (I use Trop 50 or Minute Maid Lite)

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl.

Combine orange juice, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat just until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat; stir in oil and vanilla.

Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat.  Spread mixture in a thin layer onto a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes; stir well.  Bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Spoon granola into a bowl; stir in dried cranberries.  Cool completely.

*Original source is Cooking Light.  I modified the amounts on the dry ingredients to give it an even better nutritional profile!

On the cookies sheets - ready to go into the oven.

This is so good, it’s insane.  My favorite way to eat it is with Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I've rhapsodized about this wonder beverage before).  I also often add a serving of Fiber One original to my cereal bowl to bulk it up even more for fewer calories.  Granola calories - even this lower fat/sugar version – can add up fast!



After cooling it completely,
I store in an airtight container.
It doesn't even stay around long enough to get stale, tho!



How I Overcame Lazy This Week: I Officially Declare My Independence (From Laziness)



It’s finally the 4^th of July holiday weekend!  And we’ve got a beach vacation on the agenda.

Great new novel to read?  Check

Little nest egg I’ve been saving for shopping spree?  Check

Birthday cake fixins to celebrate two birthdays?  Check

(Neither my brother nor I was born on the 4^th of July, but close!)



Ummm, I think he's declared his
independence from laziness...
but not hunkiness!!!



Oh, and tennis racquets, and bicycles and hiking boots and wet suits (did I mention it’s the Oregon coast?  Brrrrrr!) Check, check, check and check!

Yes, while there will be plenty of relaxation and indulgence, this will not be a vacation from our active and adventurous ways.

Nope.  In fact, in the true spirit of Independence Day, this week I’m declaring my family’s independence from Lazy!  Like our forefathers 235 years before us, we feel Lazy has been unfairly taxing us.  Most certainly, Lazy has been brutally taxing ON us in many ways by constantly threatening to authoritatively rule our thoughts and actions to make us virtual pawns in its imperialistic fast hold.

Well, not the “T” family.  We are declaring war on Lazy!

Here’s our official Declaration of Independence From Lazy:

(Don’t worry:  it’s waaaaaay shorter than the original… and possibly a little less dry).

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to hoist their lazy posteriors off the couch and to wrest the Cheetos bag from their steely grip and to assume among the power of human nature, the magnificent potential yet imperfect qualities with which we are all bestowed from Nature’s God, that a decent respect to their well-being requires that they should declare the intentions which impel them to pursue an improved, un-lazy lifestyle.

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created with flaws, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unenviable Characteristics, that among these are slothfulness, gluttony and the pursuit of Laziness.  That to overcome these tendencies, Exercises and Nutrition Programs are instituted among Men and Women, deriving their degree of effectiveness from the dedication of the participants.  That whenever any Form of Laziness threatens to overtake our lifestyle, it is the Right and Duty of the People to  alter or abolish it… and kick its arse* to the curb!!!**

This is war, Lazy!  We’re sick of you trying to dominate our lives.  We’re knocking you off your high and mighty throne and wiping that smug, confident smirk off your face!  You’ve ruled our thoughts and actions long enough.  You are our dictator no longer!  We’re the new Superpower in town now and just wait till you see what we become in 235 years….or more like, 5, since we’ll be dead in 235 years!

WE SHALL OVERCOME!

We’re already winning some of the battles, however something tells me this is gonna be a looooong war.  But - like our founding fathers discovered – it’s well worth the fight!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, EVERYONE!!!

*When I use naughty words I tend to use a cockney accent.

**Also, I try not to use massive amounts of run-on sentences (not that I haven’t!) like our friend Tommy Jefferson but I wanted to remain true to the style of this historic document.