Being Present in the Moment

Being present in the moment. What does the really mean? Even at this moment I am sitting at Starbucks, drinking a Christmas Blend coffee with cinnamon and writing this blog post. How present am I in this moment? Why is this so important that I have to write about it?

Beimg present in the moment is The Key to being healthy and happy.

I read the other day that, "being present simply means being mindful".  Giving the current situation 100% of my attention. This made me wonder. How many unhealthy choices would I make if I gave every decision my undivided attention? Would I still choose a bagel? A cheese burger? Probably not!

During my journey I am learning that it's important to live and act intentionally. Yes, that's right. DO IT ON PURPOSE! Intentionally choose healthier foods. Intentionally exercise instead of watching tv. Intentionally turn off the electronics and have a healthy meal with your family. Imagine the freedom I would feel if I could turn every decision from a diet requirement ;-( into an intentional choice :-). Something I want to do as opposed to something I have to do. I feel free'er just thinking about it. When I was heavier I never worried about food. Causing every meal to be stress-free. Now that I am conscious of the food I take in, I am self conscious, anxious and sometimg down right unhappy during meal times. Is this because the food I eat doesn't taste good? No! It's because of my mindset. I feel that I am restricted to certain foods and if I don't eat them, I feel guilt  and self resentment.  I can't be the only one who feels this way. Right??

The key to changing this mindset is being present in the moment and choosing intentionally. Enjoying every bite, savoring every flavor and remind myself of all the benefits I could gain by making healthier choices.

Today's intentional choice:

10 minute H.I.I.T routine

• 1 minute high knees, 1 minute rest
• 1 minute walkout, 1 minute rest
• 1 minute plank toe touch, 1 minute rest
• 1 minute squat with a calf raise, 1 minute rest
• 1 minute Irish jig, 1 minute rest

No music, no tv. Just me and my intention choice.

What intentional choice will you make today?

150 Days of Freedom- Week 1

Today not only marks the end of our weekend but marks the end of the first 7 days of the150 days of freedom challenge. We celebrated this milestone by taking a seven mile walk through our town. The weather was cool and crisp, perfect for a family walk.

I can't belive how I feel after just 7 days! Below are a few things I have noticed:

• My sugar craving is nearly gone
• I stopped craving soda on day 5
• All digestive issues are gone
• I am sleeping better
• I feel less bloated, I actually feel lighter
• More energy

Amazing, right! I am also learning to read labels very, very closely. Wheat is in everything I enjoy eating. I  have decided to make everything we eat so that I can make sure there is no wheat in our food. Speaking of wheat, I am still struggling with not eating bread. I miss sandwiches! Lol. So, this morning, we had paleo breakfast sandwiches.

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup cashew flour, can also use almond flour
   
2. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1 tablespoon coconut flour
4. 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
5. 1 egg
6. 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
7. 2 tablespoon water 

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a small bowl
2. Add wet ingredients and mix till blended
3. Grease a small round bowl
4. Add mixture to the bowl
5. Microwave for 2 min
6. Remove and slice in half
7. Toast until brown lightly brown

For the omelet, add any veggies you wish and cook. I chose mushrooms, spinach and green bell peppers.  This recipes serves one person. Just to give you heads up, these english muffins do not taste like store bought muffins. They are delicious and a great homemade alternative to bread.

Overall, I consider week 1 a success and I am looking forward to the next 7 days. I hope you guys had a successful beginning as well!

The food plan for next week is Muesli (I Love, love this stuff!), salads and chicken soup. Jalapeño poppers and celery with peanut butter for snacks.

My exercise plan: 10 minutes of Cross Fit, 1 mile walk/jog 3 days

My journey to truth continues with freedom from cravings.

The Challenge- Days 1-3

Breakfast has been good, and filling. I had cereal which was 3/4 cup homemade muesli, roasted butternut squash, apples and cranberries and almond milk. YUM!! 

At 11:15 am on day 2, I realized that I forgot my snacks. Oh no!! By noon, my tummy was growling and our office snacks were looking awfully inviting. 

At 12:30 pm on day 3, I experienced my first sugar withdrawal. Normally, I would grab a soda but not today. It's only 7 days to a habit, right? I am halfway through day 3 and I am standing strong, so far.

Lunch today was delicious. It was surprisingly filling and healthy. I chose salad for lunch today because it's pack full of veggies, nuts and protein.

Veggie Salad 

• Spinach
• Romain Lettuce
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Micro greens
• Sunflower seeds
• Black Beans
• Red Beans
• Celery
• Corn (today only)
• Cottage Cheese
• Avocado Salsa Verde

Daily Exercise was a 10 min HIIT routine:

1 min squat jump outs, 1 min rest

1 min plank alternative leg raises, 1 min rest

1 min squats, 1 min rest 

1 min tricep dips, 1 min rest

1 min calf raises, 1 min rest

Dinner was celery with peanut butter and 2 soft boiled eggs. Dinner was lite because my salad was filling. My evening treat was a cup of salted Carmel tea. All the taste of desert without any nasty side effects. 

To summarize, days 1-3 went well. I made good choices and I am ending today feeling accomplished. I also learned that preparation is important. My mid-morning and mid-afternoon On day 2 would have been a whole lot easier had I been prepared and brought my snacks. 

I hope everyone had a successful day. Please feel free to leave a comment on how your day went.

The Challenge

At times, my life feels monotonous and boring. I eat the same things for breakfast, lunch and dinner day in and day out. Sometimes I need a break. An opportunity to change things, mix them up and more importantly; challenge myself. 

The Challenge is 150 days of freedom. Freedom from most processed foods, wheat, sodas and sugar. 

I know what your thinking:

1. "Wow!" Thats a lot of stuff to give up"
2. "Sarah, don't you already eat clean?"

Yes...I do, mostly. But like everyone I have weaknesses. Like soda, for example. 

So, how is this Challenge going to break the monotony or break my soda habit? 

Hmmm...

I read on the Internet that it takes 7 days to create a habit. Good or bad. So, I am thinking, if I follow the Challenge for 7 days, the rest of the 143 days will feel less like a challenge and more like a life habit. Right? Right. So, I plan to start with the 7 days and build from there. 

My 7 day plan:

Day 1- Monday

Breakfast- Muesli, almond milk and half a banana 

Lunch- Salad. Made with beans, veggies, spinach and avocado salsa

Dinner- Fish, brown rice and veggies

Snacks- celery and peanut butter, carrots and hummus

Since no challenge is complete without competition, I would like to challenge you to join The Challenge with me. Join me in the freedom to choose healthier habits. And if we lose a few pounds on the way, even better :-) 

What do you say? Are you with me?

Perspective

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today is my first day back from a two day business trip. Boy, did I have fun but I learned a lot about myself too.

I have struggled my whole adult life with eating out. As a kid, I associated eating out with someone's status in society. As a teenager, fast food was a great way to eat in my car without someone judging my every bite. Today, I feel that my status in my life should allow me to treat my family and myself to the occasional restaurant meal. The truth is eating out is so BAD for us. Right?

Obviously, fast food, donuts and 400+ calories of Lattes are terrible choices when choosing to dine out. But being on a business trip and miles from my home, I was faced with this battle every meal. I had a great plan, though. Whole Foods was around the corner from my hotel so I went there first. I bought, whole wheat bread, apple gate turkey, cheddar cheese, greek yogurt and berries. Awesome! I was on it! I had dinner in the hotel room and watched some Netflix.

The next day, I met my work associate over donuts. I refrained. WIN. Then the business lunch came. My associate decided to treat me to lunch at The Lazy Dog. Who am I to say no? That would be rude, right? :-)

Since I started eating healthier and cleaner, restaurant dining comes with a dose of anxiety, guilt and then, a session of self loathing. Disappointment that I "gave up". Daily, I watch beautifully, thin girls eat terrible and the never seem to regret it or gain weight. Yet here I am, enjoying a restaurant meal knowing the days that follow will come with weight gain and swelling from the salt in-take. It's not fair!

So what's the solution? Quit eating out? Accept the self loathing as just a burden to bare? No, Definitely not! I have adopted the 80-20 rule. Eat healthy, homemade meals 80% of the time and splurge on dinning out 20% of the time. Does that mean fast food, pizzas and waffle cones? Be smart about it! Choose dishes high in vegetables. Choose meats that are seasoned with spices and lemon. 

At Lazy Dog I choose the Lavash vegetable sandwich with a side of watermelon. Below are the ingredients for 1 serving.

1/2 Lavash Bread

1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Hummus

4 slices Turkey Lunch Meat, I suggest Applegate

1 slice Gouda Cheese

2 slices Roma tomatoes

1/4 Avocado

Handful Romain Lettuce, Spinach Mix

Few slices of red onion

Notice no mayo, dressings or salt. This sandwich was delicious, healthy and since it was served in a restaurant, pretty. No guilt, regret or added pounds included. There's one catch. In the restaurant, this sandwich ran $13.99, drink not included. At home, I made four sandwiches served with Zevia for $12.49. That's $3.12 per meal. 

I don't choose to give up restaurant dining because my status in society can't support it. I choose to give up restaurant dining because it is economically smarter for me to eat at home. The difference is...it's MY choice!

Old Fathful #1

One of the challenges i face trying to maintain a real food lifestyle is TIME. Life gets busy, weekends fly by and I find myself with a refridgerator full of food with no plan and no meals for the week. What now? Panic? McDonalds? Not an option!

Instead I rely on my list of old faithful meals until I can prepare my weekly meal plan. What do I mean by old faithful meals? Great question! I am referring to a list of healthy, nutrient packed power meals that are easy to make, that the whole family enjoys. Over the course of this blogging experience, I will provide my list of old faithful meals. Today, we will cover one of my favorites. Steel Cut Oatmeal.

Why are Steel Cut Oats  my favorite? Well, It is versatile. With it I can make:

• Overnight Oats
• Refrigerator Oats
• Crockpot Oatmeal
• Stovetop Oatmeal
• Breakfast Bars
• Breakfast Bakes
• Granola

And let's face it, oats are plan so you can add almost anything to it and you have a complete meal. It is easy and convenient to make in large amounts, as well. I purchase mine in the bulk section of Winco for $.62 a pound...awesome and cheap! YAY!!

Old Faithful Recipe #1: Steel Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 5 cups HOT water
• 1.5 cups Steel cut oats
• 1 cup milk, I prefer almond
• 1tablespoon butter

Pot stir-in options

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 Granny Smith Apples (my favorite), 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 bananas sliced, 2 tablespoons nut butter, 1teaspoon cinnamon
• 1cup pumpkin, 1teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and 3tablespoon pure maple syrup
• For a hearty option, place an egg over easy on top of plain oats and add 2 tablespoons of green salsa...yum!

Directions:

Over medium high heat melt butter and toast oats, this gives them a nutty flavor. Add 5 cups of hot water, carefully. Stir, and turn the temp to medium low. Set timer to 25 minutes and stir occasionally. 

Complete 20 minutes of HIIT or Crossfit program ;-)

After 25 minutes, stir in 1cup of milk and continue to cook on low for 5 minutes. Add your desired stir-ins and enjoy. Each bowl gets a 1cup serving of the oats.

"Do Not Engage"

When this phrase was uttered to me last week, I thought, "Is this lady crazy? Does she not know who I am?" But after some time I wondered if it was possible for me to not engage people or situations. 

Then the test came...

On Friday, I asked Miss Traditionalist to get her shoes on so that we could go on a jog. She stood up and declared, "ugh!! Mom!!! I hate jogging!" Then proceeded to get her shoes on vocalizing her dismay the whole time. Being the awesomely, great mom that I am :-) I would have normally responded with sarcasm and mocking lol. This time however, I chose "not to engage" and after a couple of minutes Miss Traditionalist calmed down and came to me. She explained that she doesn't like running and wishes it could be like it use to be when we bonded over pizza and a movie.

I am learning that it's important that my kids see me living my life, being healthy and enjoying it. Do I love running? Definitely not!! Do I love spending time with my family? Yes, very much! So, to help me enjoy running and encourage the kids to do the same, they join me. They hate it until I begin racing them. I never win but I enjoy the challenge and they enjoy "playing" with me. On the weekend they especially love jogging once they figure out our destination is Jamba Juice. 

Exercise does not have to be those dreaded minutes we spend sweating and getting no where fast. Wake up and decide today to jog to the mailbox and back. Then, jog to the corner store and back. Challenge your kids, husband, boyfriend, brother or sister to a race. My favorite are 3-legged races :-)

Miss Traditionalist eventually ran with me. I knew she would. But the restraint I demonstrated by not engaging and the respect I showed her by my lack of sarcasm spoke volumes.

Our journey continues....

"Exercise"

That word makes the control freak inside me cringe. What is "exercise"? How many minutes is enough to make someone fit? 30? 45? Are minutes even enough? When i was young 45 min to an hour of doing grapevines with Jane Fonda was enough. Then it was 20 minutes of Buns of Steel. Today, there's yoga, pilates, cross fit, treadmills, ellipticals, P90X, Insanity and Zumba...Whew! Did i cover all of them? Ha! Not even close lol. 

So, what's the perfect combination of exercise and time? BEATS ME!

What i do know is that you have to do whatever routine you find that realistically fits into your life. It should be an added bonus to your lifestyle, not a hinderance. During my journey I have found that exercise is not as important as movement is. Find what you like to do and do it. Always try new things. Remember you never know what you can do until you try to do it.

This weeks workout routine is simple and my loved ones can do it with me if they wish.

• Monday- 12 minute crossfit, 20 min walk
• Tuesday- 30 minute jog
• Wednesday- 12 minute crossfit, 20 min walk
• Thursday- rest day
• Friday- 12 minute crossfit, 20 min walk
• Saturday- 1 hour walk(today to the library) or 3 mile jog
• Sunday- 15 min walk, 10 min jump rope interval 

Crossfit Routine I follow is a 90 day challenge found at www.bikinibodymommy.com

Our journey continues with truth in exercise.

"Mom, why can't we just have cereal?!"

Sitting at breakfast this morning, Mr. Free Spirit says, "Mom, why can't we just have cereal?"

In my house I get asked this question more often than not. I could endure the eye rolls and head nods as I re-state the many reasons cereal is "bad" for us.

1. Preservatives (BHT)
2. Additives (Food Dyes)
3. Refined Sugars
4. Simple Carbs

But why focus on the "bad" when the "good" is so much better, right?

Our home does not "just have cereal" because I know our bodies and brains need pure fuel to function. Fuel is provided by proteins, vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats found in whole foods. 

After years of conditioning we have forced our brains and bodies to use refined sugar, simple carbs and additives as fuel. In doing so, whole foods can "taste different or weird" and in some cases, leave a void. I suspect our addiction to refined sugar is to blame. But that is a topic for another day. So, how do I get the Free Spirit and Traditionalist in my home to enjoy whole food? Well, I become a food ninja and we have desert for breakfast. Yes, you read that right. We have desert! And Fall is the perfect time of year to do this. A favorite in our home is pumpkin cereal.

Pumpkin Cereal Recipe for 4 

Ingredients

1/2 Cinderella pumpkin, cut into 1/2-1inchsquares 

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 tablespoons of honey, depending on your sweet tooth 

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

1 cup almond milk, divided

4 tablespoons sliced almonds, divided

4 tablespoons shredded unsweetened raw coconut, divided

4 tablespoons dried orange flavored cranberries

Directions:

Cook the cut pumpkin on the stove with coconut oil, cinnamon and honey for 20-30 min on medium, low heat. I like to prepare lunches, do my cross fit or fix my hair until the pumpkin is tender but not mushy. Once the pumpkin is done, divide into 4 bowls. Add the evenly divided milk, almonds, coconut and cranberries and enjoy.

A Journey to Truth

Hello. My name is Sarah and this is my journey to truth. What truth you ask, well that will be determined as time goes on. My journey begins the same as everyone else's...with the alarm clock.

Just like everyone, my agenda for the day includes waking up, exercising, showering, food, school, work and bed. Sounds pretty cut and dry right? 

Like any story, there's always a twist...

My household is comprised of, a control freak, a free spirit, an optimist and a traditionalist. We eat mostly"clean", "whole" foods, exercise and live on a budget. 

Our journey begins with truth in food.