I Swore at the Airport.

Before I tell you all my airport story... three things:

1. I got a comment today from Quillaume202 telling me about this blog post he wrote about me. I love it so much, I'm bookmarking it.

2. Why is it every time we go on vacation, bed time is instantly three to four hours before our normal bed time? And I'm always still awake, 'cause... hello... I've only been up for twelve hours and I'm not tired yet? Am I impervious to jet lag?

3. I love my job. If I don't say it enough or make it clear, I love, love, love my job. I need to tell you all one day about my OLD job, and why therefore I love my current job so damn much.

Okay. Here's the meat and potatoes, and I don't know if I'm going to piss some of you off with this, but it's coming, so... I'm just gonna throw it out there.

Dan and I flew out to Denver today for our little vacation back home. Well, it's MY home. He's from Milwaukee, but he did live here in Denver with me for a little over three years.

Anyhoo. We were waiting in the security check line to strip down to our basics and get wanded, when we saw the "special" line open up next to us for the Airline Personnel. You know... the Pilot, Co-Pilot, Flight Attendant Steward-folk and such. No biggie, that's a normal thing. Of course they get to cut in line, 'cause they're manning the plane.

Then. Just as Dan was ducking to his right, being super cute, trying his best to avoid the nice, cool airflow from the giant fan in the corner, we saw the "special" line open up again. This time it was some very nice, smiley ladies who worked for the airport. There were two of them, each pushing a woman in a wheelchair. One of the women was an old lady. I mean, she had to have been in her 80's, and couldn't get out of the wheelchair at all, even to walk through the metal detector. The other woman being pushed in a wheelchair was a very large middle aged woman. The third person to walk through behind them was a middle-aged guy, also pushing a large middle-aged woman in a wheelchair.

I began to get angry. I was looking at these middle aged large women for any signs of illness that could really cause them to not be able to walk. You know... bandages, casts, slings, whatever. I wanted to see what injuries they had. Show me stitches or something. But no. They didn't show me stitches. They didn't have casts on or any other kind of visible injuries. What they had was fucked up knees or ankles, or whatever. These women were not older than my mother. They were just unhealthy and fat. You guys, I got seriously annoyed. I was so angry at these two women.

Now hold up. I wasn't angry because they were cutting in line. We had precisely three more folks ahead of us, and a bit of waiting after that before boarding. I could care less about the line situation... I'm a fairly patient gal.

I was angry because their lives had amounted to this. Being wheeled around in frickin' wheelchairs because they had let their health dwindle to crapinabag. And some of you might be thinking, or ready to comment "Wait, maybe they had surgery and you just couldn't see the stitches under their shirts" or "maybe blah blah blah." Okay. MAYBE. But, DOUBTFUL.

You've all seen the ladies and fellas wheelin' around the grocery store or the Wal*Mart (shudder) or wherever. You know that all the fat folks not walking from aisle to aisle are not surfing the motorized carts because they are post-op. These folks are doing it because they've let their joints melt down to mashed potatoes and gravy. Their health is shit. They have pain when they walk. Their muscles are disintegrating. Their lives have become seating room only.

I just stood there and watched these women get up, walk through the metal detector, then sit back down in the wheelchairs on the opposite side and go on about their "push me further, Betty" business.

I looked at Dan and said, "Honey. I swear to you. I will never be that. I swear to God, it's never going to happen."

And I swear, I swore true. There's no amount of macaroni and cheese or Ritz crackers in this world to let me miss out on being independent, capable and strong. It's not worth it. I want to be able to run and play with my children, to walk to the park with my grand kids, and foot it through the airport.

I hate going through security, but dammit, I'm glad I can do it on my own two feet.

~Jenn

Running Report

40 minutes
2.68 miles
490 calories
40% fat
Max heart rate = 174 90%
Avg heart rate = 151 78%

6 mins walking @L3.6
5 mins running @L5
6 mins walking @L3.4
3 mins running @L5
6 mins walking @L3.4
3 mins running @L5
6 mins walking @L3.2
2 mins running @L5
3 mins walking @L3.2

13 minutes running
27 minutes walking

Hellz yeah!

I can't believe I ran for 5 minutes straight right off the bat today. Makes me feel darn good. ;)~

~J

I've Lost My Damn Mind.

So, I mentioned earlier that I had a big announcement for the day. I have decided to do something I've never done before, and I'm a little nervous. If any of you guys have succeeded, tried, failed or otherwise done what I'm about to do, I would love to hear your experiences.

I'm doing a five-day Raw Food Cleanse.

Now, it's supposed to be seven days but I'm going with five the first go-round. I figure if I make the goal a teenie bit smaller, I'll be less disappointed in myself if I don't go for 7 days and only make it for 5. :)



So let me tell you a bit about it:

I got the information from perusing Fertile Healthy's blog and clicking on her mention of the Green Smoothie Blog. There, I read about the Raw Divas and went to their website.

Now, I know when you go to the Raw Divas website it LOOKS like a typical "diet sale" website and that they might be trying to hook you into paying a crapload of money for diet tips you don't need. But, this detox program information is TOTALLY FREE. I signed up for it, and started getting some e-mails right away. They send you preparation e-mails, and are with you every step of the way.

Being that it's a free program, I'm going to share some (not all) of the information here and encourage you to sign up if you think it's something you'd enjoy doing. I'm also going to document my progress with it through the next week here on my trusty ole blog.

All the tools they give you are so awesome. There's a forum where you can share your experience, ask questions and get tips. There's a comprehensive e-book with all the info on the detox. There is a food and fitness journal for the detox as well as a detox tracker you can put on your fridge.

Now, I guess I should back up for any of you who don't know what a "Raw" lifestyle is. Raw Eating is exactly that. Eating foods that are raw and straight from nature's garden. That includes fruits and veggies. No store bought juices, no bread, eggs, cheese, milk, meat, or processed foods of any kind. For me that also means no coffee or soda, which will be REALLY difficult. It should also mean no cigarettes but I don't have the strength to give up everything. I'd actually probably have a heart attack if I tried. :)

So! It begins with a 24-hour fast on Monday night at 6pm until 6pm Tuesday evening. Then, Tuesday evening I will break into my eating with a mono-fruit meal (one type of fruit, as much as I feel I need.) Then, will continue the next 4 days with just raw, delicious, crunchy fruits and veggies. It'll include fruit, veggies, salads, smoothies and raw soups. The salads can't have oil, vinegar, dressing or any of that. I can make dressings with fruits and veggies blended up, or do fresh fruit sliced on top of the lettuce and veggies.

SO. I'm nervous and really hoping I can do it. I think it would be awesome to really feel "clean" inside my body and refresh myself with a nice, crisp, crunchy, juicy, healthy few days of eating.

Oh, and lotsa water.

So! That's the big, (long winded) announcement. I'll keep you guys posted on what I'm eating. I also wanted to try out some fun "Rawcipies" to make it a little more fun and interesting.

Also... I'm not really thinking of doing a Raw Lifestyle after this (I'd probably get really bored) but THIS gives me reason to give it a second thought. (Click the link there for a bunch of before and afters of people who "Go Raw."

This is a before and after with Jo Thomas. Her story is on the link above, and you can visit her blog here.



Or this girl, Angela Stokes, who is my favorite raw foodist, who is beautiful and I think from New Zealand ('cause she's got my favorite accent, EVER, just like Missy Higgins...) She lost 105 lbs in her first year of being RAW.




Visit her blog/website here.


It's not the first time I've considered the Raw Lifestyle... I just don't know that I could do it full time.

The Sunny Raw Kitchen talked in a recent blog post about how much she and her husband typically go through in fresh produce a WEEK:


* 35 lbs apples
* 25 lbs oranges
* 15 lbs bananas
* 8 lbs lemons and limes
* 5 lbs of fruits (depending on what's available)
* 20 lbs carrots
* 4 lbs celery
* 2 or 3 lbs lettuce
* 3 lbs greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc.)
* 3 lbs tomatoes
* 3 lbs avocados
* 2 lbs beets

Plus all the other odds and ends, such as peppers, cucumbers, zucchinis, cauliflower, broccoli, green onions, fresh herbs, sprouts, etc...

WOW.

~Jenn

Bad News...

Caffeine, Cigarettes, Soy, Trans Fats, Fried Foods.

All of these things mess with hormonal balance and can inhibit a woman's ability to orgasm, orgasm quickly and frequently.

I'm a regular consumer of caffeine, cigarettes and soy. I'm in serious trouble.

Ooh, and speaking of sex:

Dr. Steven Bratman and Orthorexia Nervosa

I recently discovered that my favorite Doc in Colorado, Steven Bratman M.D., is an author and coined the term "Orthorexia Nervosa" to describe people overly obsessed with eating healthy food.

I wanted to share this video with you. It's a spot from 20/20 and features bits of an interview with Dr. Bratman.

I purchased his book, "Health Food Junkies" and will be reviewing it on my blog within the next few weeks. In the mean time you can watch this video. It's really interesting. Though I think I'll mention that Dr. Bratman says not to take this video too seriously. 20/20 has a tendency to cut and paste a lot of different things to make the story what they want it to be. On that note, he also told me that Johnny is definitely Anorexic as opposed to having Orthorexia. But, it's an intro for you at the least, and I found it to be intriguing.

If you want a jumpstart on the book, you can pick one up here at Amazon.com. Oh, and don't forget to visit Dr. Bratman's website here.




~Jenn

Self Sabotage and Other Oddities...

So, every time I go to the gym, it's packed. The gym I go to is very nice, and hugely popular. And every time I go, I see people drive in, and circle the parking lot several times trying to find the closest parking space to the gym.

... Why is that? Seriously. We're coming to the gym to work out, move around and get healthy. So what is a walk worth a dozen or two car widths to get through the front doors? I pull into the first open parking space within a reasonable distance (not the furthest from the front doors, but I don't do the rounds.) And... I just don't get why people make a close parking space such a big deal.

So, the other part of this post is about self sabotage. I know I've blogged previously about how a waitress sabotaged me with free carrot cake, but I'm talking about my willing and clear reach to Dan's bowl of starburst jelly beans when I know full damn well I should NOT be eating sugar. Why do I do that? I had a whole list a few weeks ago of things I "don't" eat. That included sugar and white flour. Yet, today, I had a big handful of pretzels. Yeah, those few snack bits in and of themselves aren't a huge deal. But I only crave sugar and white flour products when I eat them. When I cut them out, I don't WANT them all the time. And it's a mindless grabbing of a bite here, and a bite there, that make things worse for me in the long run. I'm not eating those things because I really want them. I'm not like, jonesing for a handful of banana chips. But after I eat them, a day or two passes, and I see them sitting there on the coffee table, and I'm like "ooh, yum! Banana chips!" And I eat a few more.

I need to quit that shit.

I have a small selection of "healthy" snacks in the house. I'm not inclined to make a quick salad instead of grabbing a handful of yogurt covered raisins or shoving my grubby fist down into a box of pops. But, I should be eating a yogurt or a kashi bar instead.

I'm a slave to my mindless noshing, and I need to break free.


~J

Corn Bread Taco Bake

Okay, so I was going to make lasagna for dinner tonight, but apparently I relied too heavily on the "shopping list" from the book, because it didn't include lasagna noodles, even though the recipe calls for them. I'm sure I should have been smart enough to remember "duh, I need noodles" but I was working from the list.

So, I'm making the ungodly Corn Bread Taco Bake for dinner. This is a recipe I got from Dan's sister Christina; ever since she made this for dinner one night when we were over, Dan's been begging me to make it. (How she stays soooo beautiful and thin while eating this kind of food, I'll never know and will be eternally jealous.) :)~

It's totally unhealthy. I calculated 514 calories per serving, and that's with substituting ground turkey for the ground beef and organic corn for regular.

So, here's the recipe and photos.

Corn Bread Taco Bake

Prep 20 minutes / Bake 25 minutes

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I used ground lean turkey)

1 can whole kernel corn, drained (I used organic canned corn)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chopped green pepper (omitted for my recipe)
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 package (8.5 oz) corn bread/muffin mix
1 can (2.8 oz) french-fried onions, divided
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in the corn, tomato sauce, water, green peppers and taco seasoning. Mix well. Spoon into a greased 2-quart baking dish.



Prepare corn bread mix according to package directions for corn bread. Stir in half of the onions. Spread over beef mixture.



Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining onions. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and a toothpick inserted into corn bread layer comes out clean. (Corn bread will be golden brown.)



Makes 6 servings.

Each serving = 514 calories (when prepared my way) :)~

My serving (These are the small sandwich sized plates, by the way):


Dan's serving (plus another plate):


Because this is a pretty darn unhealthy dish, I had a nice salad:


Here are the portions compared:


Did I mention Dan was REALLY happy to have this? He's asked for it for his birthday. :)~



~Jenn

Double Bubble Butt

Okay. This post will probably bring up some things that will piss people off, so I'm gonna get that statement out right away.

I must have been out of the waking world of news when this came out, but I recently discovered that the Canadian Supreme Court passed a law that airlines are required to provide two seats to obese passengers who need them for the price of one seat.

Now, I've never been so heavy as to not fit into an airline seat. I've been somewhat uncomfortable in the seat, I've been awkwardly elbowing the person next to me or fighting with myself to not use the arm rest because they might want it. But... seriously, if I was to ever get to the point where I needed two seats to fly... I would FULLY expect to PAY for both seats. I think if someone truly had a medical condition which caused their weight to be so high that they couldn't fit into a standard seat, and they had medical proof from a Doctor, that would be a different story. But eating yourself to 600 pounds does NOT qualify for me.

I go back to remembering the flight back from Denver where the plane was delayed from leaving on time because of weight restrictions for the aircraft. We sat there as they burned off roughly 200 pounds of fuel. I probably blushed or something because I knew they could have just kicked me (and my buddy pass stand by ticket) off of the plane and it would have been just fine.

Are we, as Americans, really at the point where we are all so fat that the airplanes we fly in can't even take off without burning fuel from the tank? We can't fly with a full tank because we're so chunky.

Gah.

So anyway, if it hasn't become clear, though I'm not morbidly obese, and am just "plain ol" obese... I do NOT think this law should pass here in America, if it ever gets to that point. I think it's ridiculous, and now open myself up for people to agree with me, hate me, or yell at me, or whatever.

~J

Flax on, Flax off

I decided to go to Trader Joes (for the first time ever) last night after doing some consults. (That was before the crazy night of italian food and loud music.) I bought some essentials, mixed baby greens, feta cheese, sprouted peas, organic vanilla yogurt, sunflower seeds, etc. And then I stumbled upon a bag of flax seed. I see a lot of you bloggers out there talking about flaxseed, showing photos of your oatmeal with flaxseed in it, talking about flaxseeding up your smoothies, etc. So - I figured there had to be some benefit to it, and I bought a bag of it.

Here's my yogurt today with a bit of trail mix peanuts, seeds and raisins and the flaxseed:




And here is why flax seed is good for you!

Flaxseeds are the richest commonly available seed source of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3's). Eating Whole Flaxseed rather than flaxseed oils because you get the whole package: the protein, fiber, minerals and phytochemicals along with the omega-3.

The nutrients inside each Flax Seed shell, fiber, lignans and Omega-3 fatty acids, are known to have health benefits including defence against cancer, reduced risk of heart disease, improved digestion, and relief of hormonal imbalances.

Benefits of Daily Consumption of Whole Flax Seeds:

* Contains essential EFA’s for maintaining good health by acting as building blocks in cell membranes
* Helps to regulate bowel movements
* Helps balance blood sugar and cholesterol levels
* Promotes anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal effects in the body
* Enhances the immune system
* Hormone-balancing effects on the body and aids in the production of hormone-like substances that are necessary for energy metabolism


Now, of course I put all the flaxseed on my yogurt before realizing that the whole flaxseeds should be ground before being consumed. So, getting out my mortar and pestle for future consumption. :)~

~J

Cliopatra, Changes, and McDonalds is Evil.

Hello everyone! I'm typing away again like a really cool blogger type person at a Panera Bread here off of 43 and Silver Spring in Glendale, WI. I was just thinking about McDonalds. But let me backtrack.

I got a comment (yesterday?) from Cliopatra, who helped me realize that "Meringue" was probably "merengue", as in the style of dance. I went over and visited her blog, and saw an entry called "Ch-ch-ch-Changes." She talked about things that she changed in her life that will make her 2009 better. At the end of the blog entry, she asks the question: What have you done to make your 2009 better so far?

I answered: I am going to attempt to NEVER eat at McDonalds again.

And then I realized... what? Did I really resolve that? Yes.

But if that's true, why am I resolving that? And also of equal importance, why haven't I blogged about it?

So I'm going to.

(Thanks, Clio :) )

So, McDonalds is evil. I know, I know, you guys are saying, "Jenn, you are in love with Big Macs, and McDonalds fries are your favorite." -- Well I can say that I've replaced my love for Mcdonalds fries with Chic Fil A fries (Come on, they're WAY better.) -- I also have realized a few things about McDonalds that make me never want to eat there again. Sometimes knowledge makes you change your ways (Just like I'll never shop at Wal*Mart again, but that's another story)--- so I'll share with you guys why exactly I'm swearing off my beloved Big Mac for good.

I suppose the seed was planted when I watched "Supersize Me" for the first time. I watched it (I think) with my friend Matt when it first came out on DVD. Though I hadn't eaten any fast food that day, I felt DISGUSTING after watching it. Now, Dan thinks that the documentary is ridiculous because it took a guy (Morgan Spurlock) who ate mostly vegan foods and put him in the position to eat nothing but McDonalds for 30 days. Yes, that's true, but if you think about how a human being should eat (being healthy, eating whole grains, sprouted foods, fruits and vegetables and lean meats) - the truth of BAD foods really shines through. And yes, though Morgan Spurlock's girlfriend (now wife) cooked vegan foods, he himself was not vegan, and did eat meats.

I digress.

I saw the documentary another one or two times in the few years thereafter, and each time felt so gross for eating fast food so often (several times a week) that I didn't go to a drive thru for a good week or so after seeing it. But, with my on again, off again Atkins dieting, nothing could really beat the cheapness of a few dollar burgers from Wendy's, Burger King, or McDonalds.

A few weeks ago I was hanging out with my friends Wes and Jesse in Denver, and Jesse told us he'd never seen Supersize Me. We put it on immediately. I watched it with new eyes, so to speak. I was just starting out with my healthier lifestyle, and the prospect of eating those foods really made me feel sick. I hadn't had McDonalds for a few weeks at that point; I wasn't knee deep into gluten free vegan wellness or anything (nor am I right now...) -- but I still watched and thought to myself, "Why would I do that to myself?"

I thought back to a few weeks prior when I was YouTube-ing McDonalds. I don't know why I was doing that, but for some reason it happened. I saw a short video done by Morgan Spurlock (this was not in the documentary) - about the shelf life of McDonalds foods. He took a bunch of jars and put various McDonalds foods in each jar. Big Mac in one jar, Fillet-O-Fish in another, Quarter Pounder in another, fries in another. He then took a "real" burger from a place down the street in one jar, and "real" potato-cut fries from the same place in another jar. His goal was to leave them out, and see how they decomposed. The "real" food from the restaurant decomposed very quickly... the fries and burger were green in a matter of two days or so. The McDonalds burgers decomposed much slower... and the most disgusting thing was that 6 weeks in, the fries looked exactly the same. Gross! It got me to thinking about when I would find a random fry that had fallen out of the bag on the floor of my car - and who knows how long that lone fry had been there, but it looked just like a regular ol' fry.

When thinking about how food breaks down, it's the bacteria in the air and around us that decomposes the food. So, healthier food will break down faster. Just like if you buy organic fruits and veggies, the food will go bad faster because it's free of preservatives and chemicals. The bad food... isn't even wanted by bacteria. So then I think about the bacteria in my digestive system. Just like healthy food will be digested easier and quicker... the bad food will be harder to digest in my system. What would those McDonalds fries do to my stomach?

Aside from all the more "obvious" food issues... there are also moral issues I take into question with McDonalds and how they operate. I won't even go into the blatant advertising done directly to children, or how long they went without offering clear and concise nutritional information to consumers, or how it took Morgan Spurlock's documentary to get them to change their ways (stop offering the "supersize" option, put healthier foods on the menu, etc) -- but something even worse.

The same night Jesse, Wes and I watched "Supersize Me", we also found a streaming video from Netflix called "McLibel." It was a documentary about these two roommates in London (I think) - who were handing out fliers to people on the street about McDonalds practices. McDonalds found out, and sued them for Libel. The whole process was terrible (I'm so glad I live in America) - but aside from the corporate representatives of McDonalds being extremely rude and awful to these people, the documentary also revealed a few things about McDonalds and how they operate.

To recap all of it would result in an even longer blog post, so I'll refrain from going into their effects on the environment, health issues, treatment of employees and all of that. Instead I will tell you about the thing that made me sickest to my stomach.

Baby bird killers. Yes. The chicken suppliers for McDonalds are filthy, disgusting bastards. They showed footage of the chicken farm (if you could call it that) - in which thousands of baby chickens were on a conveyor belt. The chicks are measured by hand, and any chicks that are found to be "unacceptable" (be it weight, neck to body ratio, etc) are "disposed of." -- They're squashed into this tiny feeder belt that goes to a scalding tank. The chicks are "disposed of." The three of us looked at each other with horror in thinking we had heard incorrectly. The chicks are "electrically stunned" - and experts have called into serious question the effectiveness of this "stunning" as a great deal of the chickens are left alive or conscious when they're put into the tanks.

Additionally, the beef suppliers have been called into serious question regarding the treatment of the cows. I've seen a few documentaries on this issue (not related to Mcdonalds) and it makes me cry. The animals are unable to move, crippled, sick, diseased, and kept in the most disgusting, terrible environments. (Chickens and Cows.)

So. With this, I don't want to eat at McDonalds anymore. Ever. But what makes me only narrow this down to "McDonalds is evil!"? -- Because the same beef they use is likely the same beef I can buy at the supermarket. I really want to expand my thinking on this subject to include all the foods that I eat. To buy more organically, to purchase foods from local growers and farmers. To buy free-range meats and eggs.

I know that I could never be vegan. I like tofu, but not that much. And I'm sure if I tried to make my own, it would be disgusting. I still crave meat sometimes when my body needs protein and I couldn't be satisfied with only eating peanut butter or seeds. But, I need to seriously re-think what my money goes to. I can't possibly support an organization that doesn't care about the treatment of animals. Though supermarkets and restaurants aren't directly torturing these animals... they play a big part in keeping those slaughterhouses open for business.

~J

Beanie Sprouts.

I had a really good workout at the gym today. 30 minutes on the elliptical = 300 calories burned. With that, I also did some bosu work, some crunches and a bit of weight training. :)

Oh, and I'm down almost six pounds - through the holidays, that makes me really happy.

I came from the gym and I was ravenous. I decided to make a salad. I bought a bunch of spinach (was on sale, and it's soooo good for you!) - Dan doesn't like spinach, so I made this salad with some cucumber, mushrooms, bean sprouts, some of the leftover fish from last night and a sprinkling of sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I use the BEST dressing - it's Newman's Own Light Walnut Raspberry dressing - it's delicious.

(266 calories - yum! Would have been less if I didn't use the seeds, and I actually think I'm overestimating the calories, but I'd rather be safe. I don't get into really measuring my food.)


I washed it down with a delicious Arizona Iced Tea (0 calories)


~J

Chicken Pockets and Garlic Basil Tomatoes

Okay, so today marks the first day of my blogging recipes that I take from the book Jesse got me for Christmas. This book is great, and gives you low calorie, healthy recipes and a shopping list for 20 weeks.

The book is "Quick & Healthy Recipes and Ideas" by Brenda J. Ponichtera, registered dietitian.

Garlic Basil Tomatoes
2 medium tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Mix ingredients and let set at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Serve plain or on a lettuce leaf.



Makes 4 servings (2 cups)
Each serving:
18 calories
4g carbohydrate
1g dietary fiber
2g sugar
1g protein


Chicken Pockets
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 package (8 oz) fat free cream cheese
4 green onions, chopped (omitted for my recipe)
1 can (7 oz) buttermilk biscuits (10 biscuits per can)

Sauce:
1/2 can (5 oz) low fat, condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water






Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the first three ingredients in a medium bowl.

Lay out half the biscuits on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly flatten the biscuits with the palm of your hand. Spoon part of the chicken mixture on five biscuits, reserving some filling for the sauce. Flatten remaining biscuits and place over biscuits topped with filling. Seal edges by pinching. Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.




Meanwhile, prepare sauce by mixing the soup, water, and reserved filling. Heat in a saucepan on the stove until thoroughly heated or cook in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes on high, stirring halfway through cooking time. Serve over each pocket.





Makes 5 servings (1 pocket plus sauce)
249 calories
4g fat
1g saturated fat
26g carbohydrate
2g dietary fiber
5g sugar
27g protein

Sickie McSickerson

So, my very good friends know that I get sick quite often when I travel. I managed to go the entire Christmas vacation without getting sick. I have one plane ride with fifteen snot nosed kids, and the morning after I get home, I'm coughing and all stuffed up.

Add to that, I'm cramping like crazy, and my CAR IS BROKEN, the dreams I had of going to the gym today have been crushed.

Something happened with the piston(s)? on my front left tire, and potentially there could be damage to the axel. The cost could be as high as 2K depending on what's broken. Guldarnit.

So, today I'm going to drink a crapton of water and cranberry juice and relax as best as possible. I just had some Healthy Choice chicken noodle soup.

I really want to be back to full capacity as soon as possible. :(

~J

A Few Changes.

I love the movie "The Mirror Has Two Faces." I don't know if any of you like Barbra Streisand movies, or if you've ever seen this one, but I find it to be particularly inspiring when it comes to working out, eating better and changing your body. There's a part when her husband (who married her because she was unattractive, because he didn't want sex to be a distraction or a factor in his relationships) comes home from a long business trip and she's lost a ton of weight, looks beautiful, got her hair done, is wearing makeup and a sexy dress. He is outraged and says "what did you do to yourself?!!!?" She says, "Do to myself? It's not like I had surgery. I just made a few changes."

That is really what it's all about. Making a few changes in the way you live your life. My Mom and I were talking about this over coffee today. It's the way I feel. Making a few changes: Eating more natural foods. Being more active.

I haven't worked out at the gym for three days. It's harder when I don't have a gym membership out here and my parents went to the gym early in the morning all three days. I'm a work out around 4-7pm type of person. But I've been walking a lot, and stretching a lot. I'm going to try to do some work on my Mom's Bosu Ball today. The good news is that I've been eating well and eating just at or under my recommended caloric intake for each day. Except yesterday I was about 100 calories over. No biggie.

I haven't weighed myself in two days... it's probably healthier to do that. I have an obsession with the scale and I could weigh myself several times a day if I let myself. I hope to get to the point that I weigh myself weekly instead of daily.

I went shopping with my Mom for our Christmas foods today, and we made a few small changes. Where we might previously have bought a bag of white flour rolls, we got these instead:



Where she usually buys a salad mix of iceberg lettuce (zero nutritional value), we bought this instead:



Those two things alone will provide us with healthier choices for our holiday meal.



I also wanted to share some of what I eat on a regular basis. I found a beautiful fruit salad with mango and kiwi... YUM! This is my after lunch snack:



I had Pho for lunch (Vietnamese beef noodle bowl) but I didn't get a photo of it... this is what pho looks like (image found at eatvancouver.net):




I love soy milk and all natural juice drinks and shakes:


Organic Yogurt:


Sprouted Grain Breads:


Kashi TLC crackers:


And affordable sushi from Costco... this was only 5 bucks!:


I love sushi. And, okay, I know that California rolls are NOT real sushi because it's imitation crab... and this contains white sushi rice. BUT... sushi is still a nice, light, healthy option and I feel great after I eat it. :)

Tonight I'm off to watch my friend and his band play a show, and then going out with some friends after that. Hurray for free time! :)~

~J

I love Sweet Tomatoes.

And I'm not talking about the food. I'm talking about the restaurant.

This place has a salad bar the length (practically) of the restaurant. The setup is perfect for portion control, which aside from the fact that this restaurant is environmentally friendly, using recycled paper products and such, makes them awesome. The bread/pasta/etc plates are tiny (think a teacup plate) and the plates for the salad are normal sized plates. You not convinced yet? Check out the size of their ice cream cones:




I love it. Additionally, if you're trying to record your caloric (or other) intake... the website has all the nutritional info for their foods. :)


So, went to the gym again today. 25 minutes on the elliptical trainer (Trying to do interval training now) -- it goes a lot faster in your brain because it's broken up into so many parts. My brother came with us and it was so fun to work out with him. We pushed each other, did plyometrics, work with the bosu, medicine balls and a few other tough moves he showed me (mountain climber with weights... ouch!)

Overall a great day.

I'm so sad that there aren't any Sweet Tomatoes restaurants by my house!

~J

A few things.

Today I worked out with my Dad again, did 21 minutes on the elliptical and some weight training... did the Bosu kicks again (12) and some lunges (got through 6 this time)... and did something to my left quad. It hurts. :(

And now those few things I was going to mention:

First, take a lookie at my delicious afternoon snack.

Organic vanilla yogurt with some sliced strawberries and cranberry granola



Second, take a lookie at my hot mom. This is why I'm so mad I didn't inherit her skinniness. You should see her legs.



Third, I have issues. I have serious food issues. I am very used to diet + no exercise, and doing this working out plus "eating healthy" thing is a huge challenge for me. I am used to a very specific, structured, rules oriented eating plan. Atkins was easy because it's simple: low carb. This "eating in moderation" and "eat healthy" thing is killing me. It's like... okay, so I just keep under a certain calorie count per day while trying to drink a lot of water and eat foods that are "better" for me in terms of high protein, whole grains, more natural, less processed. Okay. So... that's just really, really open ended for me.

We went to Woody's for dinner tonight and I did a huge salad and a cup of the beer cheese soup. I feel completely guilty for eating that freaking soup. Though I'm probably under my calories for the day (I haven't calculated yet) - if I'm on a diet and eating healthy, that shouldn't have gone in my mouth.

So what is acceptable for "cheating" as people call it? I don't even feel there SHOULD be cheating. I feel as though every bad thing I eat is a huge deterrent from my goal. That's why when I did Atkins, there was NO tasting of sugar, fruit, frosting, potatoes, fries, bread, nothing. The "one" taste will make me want the bad stuff more, and then it's over.

I have to look at everything and say "Will this help me achieve my goal?" No. The beer cheese soup will NOT help me achieve my goal.

I just don't get the flexibility thing.

So what eating style works best? Or, what works best for you?

Those with no food issues need not respond, thanks.

Drunky-Pants

Hi guys!

Sorry for the little update delay. I went out with Jesse and Wes last night and we went to the Compound here in Denver. We had a fabulous time, did some calorie burning dancing, and I got really drunk. Tee-hee! I definitely become the "I love everyone" person when I drink. I talked to a 59 year old man named Earl. He has a big white ZZ-Top style beard and I could tell he was there alone. He told me about his mining days and his stash of gold and diamonds he plans to cash in when he retires so he can move to Arkansas. I like to ocassionally talk to folks older than myself, usually those who are down and out or homeless... just because it really gives me a chance to hear a story, and it gives the person a few minutes to be able to talk to someone.

I know why drinking is supposed to be very minimal when you're eating healthy or "dieting"... it lowers your inhibitions, not only with other people, but also with the food you eat. I remember being on Atkins and being at parties at Jesse's house, and Wes would make his famous bean dip, and I would chow down on that without thinking twice.

We went to Mimi's Cafe for lunch/breakfast this morning and I had a delicious salmon/veggies combo with a salad to start, and a bit of the bread they bring out. Delicious! So I'm really glad, though I didn't eat anything crazy last night, that even in my hungoverness that I didn't spring for a hashbrownbaconeggathon at Denny's,. :)~

I dont' have photos of my yummy food yet because I can't figure out how to get them off of my phone, onto my computer. My cruddy cell phone doesn't e-mail the pictures I take, so I have to think of something else.

Oh! And we shopped for about 3.5 hours today, which happily equates to 811 calories burned, according to livestrong.com. I don't know if I buy it, though I felt totally exhausted when I got home. If that's the case, I should just shop all day and I'll be a size 8 in no time!!! ;)

~J

Hunky Dory

I love hunky, chunky, dense, fibrous, natural breads. I got this bread (similar to Ezekiel bread) that is preservative free, so you keep it in the fridge. I was ravenous this afternoon after shopping with my mom and had this for lunch:



Turkey, tomato, lettuce, light mayo, mustard on this bread, a handful of grapes and three strawberries. I was so full afterward. This bread is awesome. It's healthy, (only 80 calories per slice) and fills you up!

I showed my mom some of the ab exercises my trainer gave me and some lower back strengthening moves. She could barely do 5 of each one. That makes me feel a little better. ;) Considering how much she exercises and she's a size 6... she hasn't built up much ab or back strength. Even though I'm chubby she still asks me for advice on things like that, and it makes me feel good.

Tonight I'm off to the bars with Jesse and Wes to have a fun time. I'll be spending the night at Jesse's house and then we're all off to see "Milk" tomorrow... I can't wait!

Fleece and chicken grease,
~Jenn

First day in Denver!

Well lovelies... I'm home! It's really nice.

My parents picked me up and we went out for breakfast to Le Peep. They didn't exactly have a "healthy" section on the menu. I went with turkey/spinach/pepper crepes and substituted the potatoes for some fresh fruit. I also got a side salad to start and a small glass of orange juice.

My Mom and I did a bit of shopping and I introduced her to Whole Foods. That place has some serious sampling going on. Seriously. I am in Denver for 2 weeks, so I stocked up on some good food (fruit, sushi, avocado, yogurt, etc) for my stay here. I figure every other time I'll be eating out and I should be able to make healthy choices each time.

My Dad and I went to the gym. He works out at Bally's, which I hate, but it's better than running around the block in the cold. They don't have personal televisions on each cardio machine, which I find to be supremely helpful when I need to do cardio. Don't think I'm a snob... it's just because I have a much easier time doing 30 minutes of cardio when there's a show on, or a movie or something. It takes my mind off of the mundane-ness of the elliptical.

After my cardio I did 12 bosu ball kicks on each side and then was only able to do 5 lunges on each side. My legs are so weak! I did the bosu bicycle crunches (10 each side, ouchie!) and then did some weight training.

Let me tell you that my Dad is a MANIAC. He was busting out some crazy moves on the elliptical and was really good, he was on level 17 and doing 17+ for his strides. He then did walking lunges around the entire track.

So... reasons I don't like Bally's (aside from their terrible track record with customers and billing):

1. They don't provide towels
2. No screens on the cardio equipment
3. Poor housekeeping (the locker room stunk, and my parents say they laid off their cleaners)
4. Less miscellaneous tools (such as balls, bands, boards, mats, etc)

Maybe I'm spoiled at my current gym... but I know what I need to motivate me to go every day during the week... so it looks like I made a good choice. I just need to figure out how I'm going to keep it up for the rest of my vacation.

Oh, and a side note! The pants that were so tight were 14's. I found out that the pants I was wearing at work were 16's. I feel a lot better about that.

And here's a photo of the delicious salad I had for lunch. I'm telling you... Whole Foods salad bar = YUM!

After the gym...

This is me, all sweaty.



I did 6.08 miles on the bike to try to get some oxygen flowing through my body to un-sore-ify my legs. I also did abs and upper body and lots of stretching. I talked to my personal trainer and she said that it would definitely help. She told me that she's "pretty concerned" that I was so sore after what we did on Monday... seriously, I did 10 bosu ball leg lifts to the side (per leg) and 10 lunges per leg. Add to that 15 reps on inner and outer thigh on the weight machines. And I'm this sore. So, it just comes down to the truth that I'm extremely out of shape. I've been sedentary for so long, I really need to get working.

I also talked to her about the "Biel Body" in 3-6 months theory, and she said that Dan has been watching too much "Biggest Loser." She said that if she was with me all day every day that 3-6 months could be possible, but that even for her to get to that body would require a great deal of work. That definitely makes me feel better, but also makes me realize I have a lot of work to do. I should be able to do 30 of those leg lift things, no problem.

On another note, I booked my 8th wedding! I've only been here in Milwaukee since November 1st, so I feel really good about the amount of work I've been getting.

After work-out lunch was the other half of my banana from breakfast and four Spelt Olive Oil Flat Breads with Italian Herbs with Red Pepper Hummus spread on top. YUM!





I also made a nice organic whole wheat Holyland pita with Nancy's Organic Cultured Cream Cheese, cucumber, avocado, lettuce and some smoked turkey. The pita didn't exactly hold together well, but it was still delicious.




Dinner tonight will be leftovers of the cod and rice I made last night, and a nice green salad.

Here's to another day, y'all.