Chasing dreams and reaching goals

It has been awhile since I posted anything on my blog!  Two months?  Well here I am again.  I took a little hiatus because I was finishing my masters degree in health psychology.  *whew*  I turned in my very last paper two days ago.  Hitting "send" on that one was such a mix of emotions: excitement, uncertainty, disbelief, relief, joy, fear and pure exhaustion!  Here I am two days later and I am basking in a feeling of accomplishment and strength.  The journey felt like it might kill me at times, but I feel all the more confident and able for having done it.

I have to preface the whole thing by saying that, as a single mom, I feel a great amount of gratitude for having the privilege to even pursue a masters degree.  My mom didn't even have the same kind of opportunities when she was a single mom and my sister and I were much older than my son was when I was first on my own with him.  Everything seems to take so much more effort when your kids are young...because it really does! My son was 2 when we started our life together as an "us"...him and I.  He was in diapers and I was finishing my bachelors degree at OSU while centering my life around nap time, bed time, playdates and potty training. He was almost 4 and sat in the stadium at Oregon State University with my family as I walked during graduation and received my diploma.  He doesn't remember that one, but I couldn't have been more proud to have my son there watching.  

A few years later, a few birthday parties and firsts....first day of school, first night at daddy's house, first visit from the tooth fairy, moving from an apartment into a house...lots of new beginnings all the time, I started my masters program.  Lots of blood, sweat and tears along the way.  I would drop Ashton off at school, leave for work, come pick him up at after school daycare and head to run errands or go to soccer or karate or swimming.  Home for dinner and chores and bedtime.  Then, once I was good and tired....I would start in on my work for the evening. This degree required all papers from me.  I love writing but not technical writing and NOT after a full day of work and being mom.  But write I did.  Research. Write. Research. Write. Repeat.  Sometimes I would hit a wall and just cry.  The next morning I would do it all over again, always mindful of the goal.

I feel that I have so many people to thank for encouragement and grace along the way.  I have always aimed to have a balanced life between work, school and Ashton.  But, I've definitely heard myself saying, "I can't, I have a paper due" A LOT over the past couple of years!!  For the people in my life who saw my goal even when I was having a hard time seeing straight at all....thank you!  Thank you for putting up with my grumpiness when I was tired and feeling so worn, thank you for delighting in the little accomplishments along the way ("yay I finished my paper 1 day early!"), thank you for cheering me on when I didn't realize how much I needed it.  Thank you for understanding I was spread too thin, but understanding why I was doing it too...  

This milestone in my life is MAJOR for me.  MAJOR.  I do not take it lightly in the slightest bit.  My deepest hope is that Ashton has an internal awareness of working hard for meaningful things in life.  If I accomplished just that from all my efforts I will be so happy.  

My other hope is that if there is anyone out there struggling to reach a goal, that I can somehow inspire some motivation.  No one can do it for you.  It won't be easy, I can promise that.  In fact, I can also promise that it will be damn hard.  But it will be worth it.  In fact, it will likely be more worth it than anything else that you do if it is something you believe in and have to sacrifice for.  If I can do it, you can do it!  You just have to commit.  

Clean eating breakfast cookie

Well...I tried a new clean eating recipe.  It really wasn't that far of a stretch for me...so, way more my speed!  

Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookies:

Yup, I know, they look much tastier in the cookbook!  Why is that the way it always works?  Ha!  So, although I usually say that I am not a breakfast eater, the truth is that I do eat it.  I just don't eat right when I get up.  Or even within the hour.  Normally I get showered, feed all the beings in my house furry and otherwise, get Ashton's lunch together, chug down some coffee and off we go.  It's in the car when my whirlwind has slowed down a bit that I realize, "Hey...I could use a bite of something".  Well, these "type" of cookies are a typical fare for my on-the-go breakfast.  I admit, my usual go-to recipe has butter and a "bit" more sugar... :) I do usually use whole wheat flour and flax though, so, points for that.  Anyhoo, here's the recipe from the Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook (pg 33):

Preheat oven to 350F

Ingredients
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. melted Olivina (recipe for this in the cookbook) or light oil
3 egg whites
1/4 c. finely chopped dried figs
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. bran flakes
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 c. slivered almonds

Combine sugar, oil and egg whites in large mixing bowl. Stir in chopped dried fruits and vanilla.

Lightly spoon all-purpose flour into measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine whole-wheat flour, bran, baking soda, flax seed and spices.  Stir with a whisk or fork.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in almonds.

Drop by tablespoon full onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat.  Bake for 12 minutes or until almost set.  Cool on pans and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutritional Info per cookie:
Calories 154
Protein 2g
Carbs 22g
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugar 12g
Fat 6g
Sodium 26mg

These are pretty tasty little things.  They are a good substitute for my typical "breakfast cookie" since they are very similar, just less sugar and oil instead of butter.  I tend to try to use what I have on hand, so I used craisins for all of the dried fruit instead of dates.  Also, I used kashi cereal as a substitute for the bran flakes because it also had slivered almonds in it!  Am I an improviser or what?!  The important thing is that they are super yummy.  You should try them.

UPDATE
The crock-pot porridge... it was decent.  I can think of plenty of people who would like it.  I'm sure if I was a steadfast breakfast eater that would become a regular recipe of mine.  It sure would be nice to wake up and there's some hot porridge waiting for you...if you were a big breakfast eater!  :)  I'm glad I tried it and I will for sure recommend it for those looking for something filling in the mornings, especially as we watch summer leave us and the colder mornings creep up.  One side note, just as with the greek salad: it makes A LOT of porridge!  So either downsize the recipe or if you have a family of 12 you're good to go.  :)

Have a blessed evening!

Clean eating recipes

Recipes from Tosca Reno's Eat-Clean diet cookbook that I have tried:

Greek Salad

YUM!

This took some chopping, but was really pretty easy.  The one thing I will say...it made A LOT!  So, since you can't very well freeze it (ew), I would either cut the recipe in half, even for, let's say a family of four.  Otherwise, save it for an event like a potluck or BBQ.  We ate LOTS of Greek Salad for a few days!  :)

The recipe is on page 234 of The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook.  What a great summer side!

Recipe number 2:

Eat-Clean Hummus 

This was a hit!  We already LOVE hummus at my house.  My fridge is never without hummus!  We love dipping pitta chips, tortilla chips, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms...you name it.  This was so easy to make and super cheap.  The most time consuming thing was squeezing the lemon juice from the lemons.  But, it really wasn't a big deal.  The only thing that I had an issue with was finding tahini.  The store we went to didn't have it.  I wanted hummus NOW (hehe) and did not have time to go to other stores.  So, we skipped the tahini and it did just fine!  Fabulous really!  I will make it again, though, and use tahini just to compare.

Now for recipe number three!

The very first recipe in the book is Crock-Pot Porridge.

So...I'm not a breakfast girl.  Breakfast is my favorite meal, I just don't eat it for breakfast!  However, in my crock-pot right now, getting ready for me in the morning, is...

Crock-Pot Porridge

This recipe was different for me.  I had to look for rye flakes (huh??) and steel-cut oats.  Okay confession time.  I didn't exactly see the "steel-cut" when I wrote down which ingredients I needed.  Therefore...I have oats.  Just oats.  No "steel-cut".  Also, I somehow missed putting "cracked wheat" on the list.  Oops.  But, in the crock-pot you will find oats, rye flakes, brown rice, wheat germ, water (you can use a milk of your choice) raisins, craisins, diced dried apricots, vanilla and nutmeg.

Again, all of these recipes are in The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno.  You can go to www.eatcleandiet.com to find out more.

As for the other thing I am changing:

2) My workouts are changing as of tomorrow.  I have been doing TurboFire and have really enjoyed this program!  Chalene Johnson is FUN, encouraging and so motivating!  She is hardcore but in a way that is very inviting.  I have very honestly looked forward to these workouts.  Now, it's time for me to challenge myself a little more with some weights and resistance.  I have been so married to cardio for years, that it is a bit of a leap of faith for me to switch gears.  Although I know ChaLEAN Xtreme includes cardio, from my understanding it will not be the amount that I am used to, at all.  Well, I am down for trying something different!  I have wanted to push myself in this direction for a long time.  Now is that time.  I am so curious to see how my body and my fitness level responds to a new exercise regime.

Here we go!!

Sittin' on my bum

Have you ever thought about how much of your day is actually spent sitting on your rear? Lets see, aside from the obvious time logged sleeping, there are all the hours during the week most of us spend in the car, the wind down time on the coach in front of the t.v., sitting in front of the computer after our long days at work...um...at a desk. Are you sensing a theme here??

You would think kids would at least be more up and around than us who are no longer in our "youth". *sigh* But, sadly, a large amount of our younger generations spend an unbelievable amount of time playing video games and watching t.v., using their kindle, iPod, iTouch, iPad, idon'twanttodoanythingthatresembleswork... You get the point.

Is it any wonder our nation just gets fatter and fatter even as more fitness tools and fads come out on the market? 

Here is something to think about: if I do my allotted 30-60 minutes of exercise a few times, or even five times per week, but sit on my tush for pretty much all of the rest of my 24 hour day...where does that get me? I don't mean to get all old school on you all, but...our bodies were not designed for all this sitting on our butts!! Just think of the Little House on the Prairie days! Seriously. We don't have to physically work for hardly anything anymore unless we purposely design our lives that way. Nowadays it is a novelty to have a garden, a sport to hunt and fish, rare to have the kind of fire place that requires us to chop real wood! We even have vacuum cleaners that run on their own for crying out loud! And we operate under the guise that we are "too busy". Are we? Or are our lives too cluttered with things that we would rather do. Are we over entertained? 

Ok. Before I get too far with my argument let me get back to the main point...our butts; and the fact that we are on them too much. I would recommend you read this NPR article:

www.npr.org/2011/04/25/135575490/sitting-all-day-worse-for-you-than-you-might-think

The article specifically addresses the issue of having a desk job. However, the information obviously applies regardless of your own particular reason for spending so much time being inactive. Give it a gander. It may seems silly to read about some of the little tips to add activity in your day, such as parking farther from your destination; but isn't your health worth those little efforts? Read it. You might agree. 

A transformation story

BEFORE

....36 pounds later!

Let me introduce you to Amy.  Amy and I met ohhhhhh just shy of 20 years ago in a class at our local community college.  She has been working with me (I own a residential cleaning biz) for the past couple of years.  Amy has always been one who did not put much thought into her weight.  She ate what she wanted and felt pretty content.  At times she would make small efforts toward creating healthy habits, such as new exercise programs, but it never stuck.

Turning point:
A few months back Amy started shrinking!  :)  She stepped on the scale finally and found she had lost 20 pounds!  She attributes the weight loss to the fact that business had dramatically picked up which meant not only was she far more active every day, but she was eating less just from being occupied with other things and not at home.  This sparked a new found motivation to be proactive in her own life and make goals!

Amy agreed to let me put her on a plan and away she went.  She joined a bible study I hosted that focused on health and nutrition and that added to her personal education on her own wellness.  Rather than buying food and eating based on what her taste buds were telling her, she started paying attention to the nutrition (or lack thereof) in her choices as well as calories.  I have stressed calories with Amy's plan and she has done wonderfully.  She's the best student!!!  She said she was shocked, once she started changing her habits, at how much she had been eating without even being aware of it.

Now what?
Now that Amy is close to her goal weight and she has gained tons of energy, she is ready to incorporate regular exercise into her routine in order to tone and take better care of her body in general.

Surprises?
Amy was surprised that just a change in her daily activity level (just being on her feet more) brought on such weight loss.

Amy also was happy to find that deprivation does not have to be part of the plan!  Her perspective has changed and she is focused on portions and enjoying her food and health more.

Another surprise was that she was passing foods up that she would normally eat basically out of habit.  She has become far more conscious of her choices and realized at times she would eat just because food was there rather than because she actually wanted it.

Health benefits:
A major part of Amy's journey has been the fact that she struggles with thyroid issues and has been able to lose weight despite this obstacle.  She has also noticed that the physical demands at work do not have the same effects they used to.  Even her joints don't ache like they used to after busier days.

A message from Amy:
Losing weight does not mean you have to change your whole lifestyle.  Start small and work from there.  Celebrate the little accomplishments!!