Eat. Live. Be. for a Better 2011 – ELB 2011

My Update: Sadly, I missed a post last week.  I also missed the laundry, the weekly cleaning, and ironing.  But I didn’t miss those things quite that much.  Sure, we had to do our laundry Christmas Eve, but that’s ok.  It got done in the end and that’s what counts.

Christmas is over and that means goodbye tree, goodbye cookies and goodbye allowances.  I allowed myself small leeway this past weekend – I didn’t exercise on Saturday.  I ate a LOT of cookies and banana pudding yesterday but I cut pieces of pie in half and only ate a couple of slices of pizza.  I biked for an hour last night and loved my hubby for letting me do so even though it was Christmas night and we had an exhausting day with family.

It was a crazy weekend, but filled with tons of fun, great presents, good weather, yummy cookies, cups and cups of tea and a mountain of empty boxes.

This is what I felt like after the near dozen cookies I ate yesterday.

I’m glad it’s all over since it lets me get back on track, but I always miss the holidays when it’s all over.

Next week is the new year.

I can’t believe it.

It’s scary.

It’ll be my first year into my new life.  New job. New fitness goals. New outlook.

And I’m hoping to stay on track and be proud of myself when the next holiday season rolls around.

I loved being able to splurge this weekend without worrying about my health because I was confident that I’d be okay.  Sure, I still felt compelled to bike yesterday even though it was 10 pm at night, but it was a day of feeling confident in my skin.  I’m in love with this confidence and want to keep it around for the new year.

Homemade christmas cake was eaten by the platefuls until all gone. Alas. It was delicious!

iChallenge Week 52 Topic:  ELB 2011

I started this year with high hopes.  I wanted to change some pretty bad things in my life – my health, my outlook and my habits.

Things needed rejigging and in order to get myself together, I started iscribblings when I heard that a group of women whose blogs I loved to read were going to start a new group to inspire others to live healthily and happily.

This new group turned out to be Eat. Live. Be. and I was super excited to get in on the momentum.  This would be just what I needed to motivate me to keep up with my new choices and to stay dedicated.

• I planned to eat less dessert than my husband.  I give myself a B -/C+. Some days I was brilliant and gave hubby the larger slice or skipped pieces of chocolate.  Other days we shared equally sized portions.  I rarely ate more than  him, but I could have done better.  I should have turned down more than I did.  I should have stopped buying all of that cheap Halloween candy or the discounted donuts.  I should have had more restraint.  Still, it wasn’t quite that bad, so I think I pass.

• I vowed to buy grass-fed beef for my husband.  A+, baby!    Oh, yeah! We scored on this one every time and I’m even considering upping the humane meat purchases to other types of meat.

• I hoped to exercise every day.  You know, I think 6 out of 7 is a good score.  Perhaps an A-?  I definitely exercised 6 days of the week and my seventh day was always an intense day filled with grocery shopping, cleaning and a lot of movement.  I was even able to squeeze in yoga these off days, but lately I’ve been dropping the ball on the yoga and I’ve MISSED it like cheese on potatoes.

• I wanted to cook more greens and I give myself an A on this one.  I ate a green filled stir fry almost 3 times a week before my job started.  Once the job started I was able to eat my stir fry at least once a week, but it wasn’t quite as consistent as before.  Still, I take every opportunity to throw in greens or a salad when the chance presents itself, so I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances.

• I thought I’d cut down on the high fructose corn syrup, but I have to say that I haven’t been reading my labels quite like I used to.  Not that this is a bad thing, exactly.  My pantry is completely different than it used to be and most of the stuff I used to buy isn’t there anymore.  This means that label reading isn’t as important since most of my goods are good for me, but I need to get back to monitoring the stuff I buy.  So a B- it is.

• The last thing on my list would be the hardest and I knew that when I wrote it.  For the longest time, I struggled with body issues and when I dreamed of loving my body again, I wasn’t sure what this would mean.  I didn’t realize how much I would have to get through and how much more needs to be done.  I didn’t anticipate how losing weight through healthy choices would make me even more aware of my body than before.  I didn’t anticipate how others would view my choices or how embarrassed I’d feel for having lost weight and staying healthy.  I had to relearn who I was in this new body and accept what I had (or didn’t have).  I’m not sure where I really am in this goal, but there are more good days than bad lately, so perhaps I’m more of a C or C+.

Even though the ELB group fell apart mid-year and then reformed again earlier this month, the group helped me to get started on this journey and for that, I’m proud to be a member.  I’m glad I decided to stick with posting my weekly updates since it gave me a reason to share my ups and downs and goals with others.  I hope to continue on this journey next year, although I’ll be jumping off the ELB wagon and start my own sled ride towards a healthier, happier me.

So thank you ELB.  Thank you blog. And at the top of my thank you list: you, the reader.  Thank you for following me on this journey and I hope you stick around next year as I set my sights on new goals and building on the old.

Here’s to a better 2012!

Dense Chewy Granola Bars V. 3

The granola bar has risen to lunch stardom in our house.  We have a granola bar every day at work, and it’s the rock our lunch stands on.  Typically, I carry a ½ cup greek yogurt with ½ cup Kashi Go Lean, 1 chopped carrot and 2 tbsp hummus.  This is enough to get me through the 7 hour shift and home, whereupon I dive for the cereal when we walk through the door.

I toss in a granola bar into the pack as well, since it’s incredibly filling and delicious – it feels like you’re having a chewy cookie every day and nothing beats that!

When I first started making them, I followed this recipe very closely.  Over the last few months, I’ve broken from that recipe and really experimented with my granola bars (you can find the other variations here and here).

Well, here’s another one. 

It’s different from even the last incarnation since it doesn’t include the egg, and I’ve reduced and swapped the sugars.  Here’s the lowdown:

•  Replaced 1 egg with 1 tbsp flax seed meal + 3 tbsp water (let sit for 2 minutes before adding)

Result: Texture and taste were the same as the bars with the egg.  My mother added flax seed meal to the batter without letting it sit in the water and it came out really dry.  I didn’t want that to happen, so I made sure to follow the directions on the bag and was happy to have these bars still be moist and delicious.

•  Replaced 1 cup AP flour with rounded ½ cup whole wheat flour

Result:  I lowered the amount of ww flour compared to the ap since I know that ww flour can be more dense and “drying” than ap flour.  This turned out to be a great idea since the bars came out nicely moist and thick enough without drying out.  Now these bars have a higher fiber content but they are lower in carbs since I used less of the flour.  Win!

• Lowered the brown sugar splenda blend from ½ cup + 2 tbsp packed to ½ cup packed

Result:  No noticeable difference.  The sugars from the other ingredients compensated for the lower sugar and to be honest, I couldn’t tell that I had decreased it.  Definitely going with this from now on.

•  Changed the honey from ½ cup to ¼ cup honey + 1/8 cup maple syrup

Result: Again, no noticeable difference.  The bar is still sweet, moist and dense.  I think if I had paired these bars with the originals, we’d notice the differences more.  I think the slow transition has helped us to adjust to the new bars, but to be honest, these bars are still sweet and nice.

• Added a few generous dashes of ground ginger

Result: I’m still working on this one.  The last time I did this, I was very cautious since I wasn’t sure how noticeable it would be – turn out not very.  This time around I added even more and I still couldn’t really tell.  I think I will start measuring out quantities such as ¼ tsp or ½ tsp and see how that goes.  Either that or my ground ginger spice has gone off and it’s not potent any more.  That’s highly possible since I can’t even remember when I bought it!

• Mix-ins: I’ve gotten more creative here.  I’ve added chopped dried pineapple, white chocolate chips, raisins, dried cherries, almonds, dark, milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips, roasted chestnuts, mini chocolate chips, and coconut.  I really just look into my pantry and decide what sort of combination sounded good from what I had on hand.  I plan to try some dried blueberries in the future and even some ginger.

So, without further ado, I present to you “Even Healthier Than The Last Batch” Granola bars!  (I really need a catchy title)  Any suggestions

Ingredients

 2 cups oats (I use quick cook)

½ cup wheat bran

½ cup whole wheat flour, heaping

dash of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup packed splenda brown sugar blend

2 generous dashes of ginger (or more . . . see notes above)

1 tbsp flax seed meal + 3 tbsp water (let sit 2 minutes before adding)

¼ cup honey + 1/8 cup maple syrup

1 small container of no sugar added applesauce (1/2 cup or 4 oz equivalent)

¼ cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla

1-2 cups of mix-ins (see notes above)

 Directions

1.  Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix together oats, bran, flour, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and brown sugar.
3. Add flax seed meal with water, honey, maple syrup, applesauce, oil, vanilla and stir.
4. Stir in mix-ins.
5. Press the batter into the pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
6. Cool for 15 minutes, remove from pan, slice and let cool completely.

Eat. Live. Be. for a Better 2011 – What I learned this year part 2

My Update:  This week has been like a bag of pick ‘n mix.

It’s been a “quasi-binging toffee” here and a “double 3 mile run hot red” there.  I’ve had “highly motivated chocolate” days while others were more “bummed out butterscotch”.

I’m not quite sure why it’s all up and down this last week, but it’s chipping away at my motivation.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m still motivated to exercise and be healthy even while eating two donuts and a piece or three of delicious stollen.

What’s becoming affected is my will to exercise.  My enthusiasm is slowly leaking out of me like a melted Junior Mint.

I can bully myself into doing the routines and usually once I get started I find myself completing them just fine.  But I don’t want to have to kick myself into a routine in order to do it.  I want to leap into my exercise clothes and bounce around the house like I used to.  Now, all I can think about is how much more sleep I could be getting if I didn’t wake up so early and how I’d love to just sit there and veg in front of the computer checking blogs than lift weights.

Perhaps it’s the season.  Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve been doing this for a year and I’m starting to get worn down.  Perhaps it’s a fluke and I’ll be all up and at ‘em come New Year.  I just wish I felt more pep than I currently do so that my exercise times become my ME times again.  Fun times.

 iChallenge Week 50 Topic: What I learned this year part 2

Last week, I talked about how I learned to re-love old hates.  Things like natural peanut butter, 100% whole wheat bread and asparagus were put back on the menu after a very long banishment.  My tastes have been changing and I’m liking it. Rather than sink into predictability, my brain is rewiring itself to this new lifestyle – something I didn’t expect at all.

Something else I didn’t expect was how I would react to my new “me”.

Starting back in January, I never really thought of myself as “fat” per se.  I knew I wasn’t in the skinny range, but my dress size was about “normal” and I honestly thought that I would never be any size than I was.  I even told the doctor that I “watched what I ate” and that I couldn’t imagine why it was that I couldn’t lose weight (after she told me to drop a few pounds to help out my cholesterol).

Ha!  What a laugh.    Looking back on the old me, I can easily spot where I was going wrong.

• Too large portion sizes – I was eating a cup and a half of white rice with my stir fry and all of my fries at fast food restaurants.  Now I eat about a half cup of brown rice with a lot of veggies. And I cut my fries down when I know they exceed 300 cals a portion.

• Too many carbs – I still struggle with this, but I do limit my portions of pasta and other carbs that are unnecessary.  Place a sweet bun within eye sight, though, and you can kiss that bun goodbye (I REALLY need to work on this, but it’s so hard.    )

• Too little protein – I was eating all the time and large portions of it, too, but it was mostly empty calories.  While I was eating a lot of cheese (and still love my cheddar and mozzarella), I found that my protein levels weren’t sustaining me through the day.  Now I snack on peanut butter and Kashi Go Lean or greek yogurt.  I make sure that all of my meals have a source of protein as well.

• Still too much processed foods – Prior to my doctor’s appointment, I was making great strides in cutting out processed foods from our pantry and diet.  Even so, there were still things in there that just needed to go – like instant ramen and soups.  Over the year I’ve been able to cut them out of our diet and we’re eating a lot more whole/natural foods rather than processed foods.

These changes didn’t happen overnight.  I remember the first time I cut down on my carbs – I thought for sure that I couldn’t survive the night due to the hunger pangs.  So I learned my lesson and didn’t try to starve myself but adapt.  Little by little, I made small changes.  I didn’t strike everything out and go cold turkey.  We weaned ourselves  off bad habits and instituted new habits that left us feeling better and more satiated.

So, the biggest thing I’ve learned this year? To be honest with myself.  Not in the cruel sort of way that wears you down, but in the critical way that doesn’t hide the truth because you want to think you’re doing everything right.

Look at what’s actually happening in your life, evaluate and make changes.