End of Week 1

Warning:  This post is loaded with a bunch of random bits of things.  

Due to issues beyond Ken and I's control we will no longer be going to the chiropractor.  I'm personally going to miss my massage therapist dearly.  I have been seeing the same therapist and chiropractor since 2010.  Since the day Mantha started Kindergarten.  So, if you're in the Flagler County area and need a massage therapist or chiropractor give Carlisi a call.  Click HERE to be taken to their website.

I thought my body would miss them more than I personally would but, that was before I took a yoga class at the gym.  Friday was supposed to be a dance-based stretching class but, there was a sub and she taught Yin yoga instead of the class that is typically taught.  I felt really good after class.  Better than I normally do after my massages.  

Saturday I went back for Hot Yoga.  It's also called Bikram Yoga.  WOW!  This class was ridiculous.  I was drenched with sweat at the end pof class and according to a calorie calculator I burned over 400 calories for the hour I was there.  But, my body felt so good.  I would highly recommend yoga.  

What is Yin Yoga?  
According to PrincetonYoga.com "The Yin parts of our body are the parts that lie closest to our core, specifically the bones and connective tissue... Remaining muscularly passive for periods of time gently stretches dense connective tissue of the lower back, hips and spine... There is a focus on the breath, being present in the moment, relieving tension and letting go. The Yin practice includes powerful mental and emotional benefits as its practitioner becomes quiet, still and mindful of the present."

and according to Wahanda.com "Yin yoga targets the connective tissues, joints, bones and ligaments. It reaches deep muscles rather than just focussing on superficial ones, allowing for a strong and lasting connection between body and mind."

What is Hot/Bikram Yoga?
According to Wahanda.com "Bikram is a system of 26 postures (called asanas) and two breathing exercises (called pranayama) designed to work the entire body. Though exercising in an atmosphere of at 40.5°C (105°F) heat and around 40% humidity might feel a bit odd at first, it's thought to increase flexibility, and getting a bit sweaty will help purge your body of toxins too."


Dinner tonite was a modge podge of cultures.  I started out wanting to make shrimp egg foo young.  I decided I didn't want to stand in front of the stove and make 4 of them so, I did it frittata style. I lovingly call this dish "frittata foo young." I made it in a small baking sheet.  Then, I made popovers to go with it. 

Popovers

{I made 8 and mine didn't "pop".  I think I should have made fewer and put more batter into each one}
Calories (for 8 popovers):  71
Fat:  .2g
Carbs:  13.5
Protein:
Ingredients

2 egg whites or equivilant of 2 eggs worth of egg substitute

1 cup skim milk, warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave (should be lukewarm to warm)
1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a muffin tin with pan spray.  When the oven heats up put muffin tin in and heat that for about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk together flour, milk and eggs.  Make sure there are no lumps.
3. Divide the batter between 6 muffin cups.
4. Bake for 40 minutes until brown and crispy

Frittata Foo Young
Serves 4
Calories:  265
Fat: 2.2g
Carbs:  16.8g
Protein:  42.4g

Ingredients
1 lb shrimp, chopped
1.5 cups egg substitute
.5 cup skim milk
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups peas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Whisk together egg substitute and milk 
3. Stir in chopped shrimp, onion and peas
4. Line a small jelly roll pan (baking sheet) with parchement paper and spray with pan spray
5.  Pour egg mixture into jelly roll pan
6. Bake for 25 minutes.  Turn on broiler.  Place pan on the top rack and cook for 10 minutes until the top is set and slightly browned.

And onto my report of week 1.
Week 1 Wrap-Up
This week wasn't as rough as I expected.  I really didn't cheat that much.  Might have overdone it a bit with the grapes and I DEFINITELY ate too much popcorn on Wednesday but, I didn't dip into anything that would substantially expand my waistline.  I even made 65 calorie frozen yogurt!  {Recipe will be up soon}

I'm trying to cut out soda and I'm very slowly doing that.  I'm going through 10 times as much Mio than I have been but, I only drink 1 soda a day.

Meals

I post all my meals to Instagram.  To follow me on Instagram click here.My username is K8ERaymond.

Workouts for Week 1

Sunday:  Some swimming with the girls

Monday - Wednesday:  Weight training, a little swimming + walking

Thursday:  Rest day

Friday: Yoga + swimming

Saturday: Hot Yoga

I'm not weighing in this week.  I am only doing measurements every 2 weeks.  11 weeks till photo time!

Raising an Olympian -- Take 2 -- Gymnastics

After 7 long months and hearing the question, "When are you going to sign me up?" Mantha has finally started gymnastics.

I think it's interesting how the mind of an 8 1/2 year old and her mother differ.  She starts looking for Olympic gold, I start looking at colleges.

Please don't call me crazy.  I just want to find out where the top ranked collegiate gymnastics tearms are and which ones have her degree. Currently she wants to be a veretinarian or a meteorologist.  Plus, I need 10 years to wrap my head around the fact that she could be going to college in Michigan or Oklahoma.  Ranked 7th and 2nd respectively.  {Too see all the rankings click HERE}  

But. this post isn't about my obsession with planning things really early.  Thiis is a post about nutrition.  

The 2 main nutrients that gymnasts need are carbohydrates and protein.  Carbs are important because they are the main source of energy for the muscles.  
Good sources of carbohydrates include:  Whole grain bread, whole wheat pastas, cereal, beans, and nuts

As I said before protein is another important thing that a gymnast's body needs.  It helps repair muscles and tissues, as well as aiding in muscle growth. 
Good protein sources include:  Meat, fish, chicken, quinoa (1 cup has about 18 grams), beans, tofu/soy, eggs/dairy products, spinach, and broccoli.

The days when she has practice and the day after are the most important days to make sure she gets all the necessary nutrients.   

This meal that I fixed for Mantha before her practice was rich in all of the important nutrients.  (This recipe can easily be made vegan by switching out the cheese and getting vegan tortillas)

Please pardon the horrible photo.  My sandwich wasn't wrapped well.  I overstuffed it.  :(

Black Bean and Mushroom Wrap
Adapted from: Live Better America's Black Bean Veggie Wrap
Serves 5
Calories: 325
Fat: 1 g
Carbs: 47.2 g
Protein: 31.1 g

Ingredients

5 fat-free flour tortillas (for a healthier option substitute whole wheat)

16 oz sliced fresh mushrooms

2 medium onion, sliced thin

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed

16 oz  fresh spinach leaves

10 oz shredded fat free Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Saute mushrooms and onions
2. Add 3/4 of the spinach and saute until it wilts
3. Heat tortillas
4. Lay out tortillas, sprinkle a fifth of the cheese on each of the tortillas, add some of the raw spinach, then top with the mushroom mixture and  roll.
5. Enjoy!

I'll be posting the nutrional needs of another Olympic sport soon.  Kaylee decided to switch sports this season.  Can you guess what she decided to do??

Resources
USA Gymnastics article on weight and nutrients

Road to Photoshoot

I've decided to do a fitness photo shoot.  Did I tell y'all that already?  I'm planning it for the week of October 13th. 

Here are my "before" photos

And my starting measurements:

My only real goal is to tone everything.  I want to lose some fat and gain muscle.  I'm going to try and post my meals for the prior week (and admit to my cheats) starting next week.  I also plan on being in the gym Monday through Thursday, possibly Friday also.  The weekends will be spent getting exercise with the kids.

I will be eating as many whole foods as I can.  I will also be cutting out as many processed foods as I can.  I even made my own chocolate syrup as a treat for myself.  {Gotta have one treat, right?}

 

I'm super excited to start on this journey.  

Jillian Michael's Slim For Life Book Review

As I've mentioned before, I enjoy reading diet and weight-loss books.  While on vacation I finished Slim For Life by Jillian Michaels. 

This book is set up in a (in my opinion) unique way.  Each tip is assigned a point value, either 3, 2, or 1.  3 pointers are the most important, the ones you should definitely do.  1 pointers are important but not really imperative to your weightloss. 


At the end of each chapter you add up your points then, when you add up all your chapter totals at the end of the book she ytells you what your score means.


Here are a few tips from the book that I thought were interesting.

• People who eat appetizers with hot sauce eat 200 fewer calories tyhen people who don't.
• Laughing reduces cortisol and epinephrine levels (fattening hormones) and increases endorphins and neurotransmitters (stress-busting hormones)
• Sex burns approximately 200 calories per 30 minutes
• Standing burns 1.5x more calories than sitting
• A person who fidgets burns 250 more calories a day
• Bloat busting foods:  Coconut water, bananas, papaya, yogurt, lima beans, cataloupe, and beets

I would highly reccommend this book.  Even if you don't need to lose weight there's some helpful hints for keeping the weight off.

So you can either order this book from Amazon (the link is listed below) or check it out from your local library.




Buy it on Amazon:  Slim for Life by Jillian Michaels

My First Recipe Revisted -- Egg Boats

Every now and then I enjoy going back and looking at the first posts I did.  I'm always amazed at how rudimentary they were.  

Saturday I decided to remake my very first recipe, egg boats.  This recipe is simple, takes under 30 minutes, and has stuff in it that the whole family enjoys.  Sunny actually ate 90% of hers!  That's says that it's a recipe I can make again. 

Egg Boats

Original recipe from Spoon Fork Bacon HERE
My post about it:  HERE

Ingredients

4 demi  baguettes

5 eggs (or equivilent of egg substitute)

1/3 cup skim milk

3 ounces grated cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cut a V into the top of the roll and rip some of the inner bread out. Place rolls on a baking sheet
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and cheese
4. Pour equal amounts of the egg mixture into rolls
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until they are set in the center
6. Let cool for a couple minutes before eating

I did mine a bit differently.  I couldn't find the same rolls I used before so, I decided to make a personal strata for myself.  I figured it was the same concept just a different way of putting it all together.

Personal Strata

Calories: 233
Fat: 0.1 g
Carbs: 35.9 g
Protein: 24.9 g

Ingredients
2 slices reduced calorie wheat bread (I used the heels to give it a crispier texture)
.5 cup egg substitute
2 T skim milk
.25 cup diced onion
.25 cup diced mushrooms

Directions

1. Saute onions and mushrooms until soft and let cool
2. Grease a 6 inch ramekin
3. Tear bread into cubes and place in ramekin
4. In a separate bowl whisk together egg substitute and milk
5. Mix in onions and mushrooms
6. Pour egg mixture over bread and place in fridge for 15-45 minutes (so that the bread soaks up the eggs)
7. Preheat oven to 350
8. Bake 15-30 minutes until set and slightly brown
9. Let cool for 5 minutes before eating

Do you look back at your old recipes and see how you can make them better or different?

Recipe Redux -- Have Snacks Will Travel

Recipe Redux time!!  This month's theme?  Travel snacks!  I love that it was set for after I got back from vacation.  I made 3 different travel snacks.  Granola bars, apple chips and squash chips.  All three were delicious.  I have a cavity I found out about right before the trip so, eating them was a bit painful at times but, it honestly didn't stop me.  

I rarely make apple chips anymore because I can eat 3 or 4 apples worth of chips in 1 day!  I'm addicted to them.  

Granola bars before they were cut

Granola Bar
Makes 8 or 16
Calories: 127 / 63
Fat: 0.8 / 0.4
Carbs: 29.8 / 14.9
Protein: 3.8 / 1.9

2 1/2 cup Quaker multigrain cereal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 + 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup dried mixed fruit
1 cup mashed banana
1 cup pumpkin puree {NOT PIE FILLING}

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees and spray an 8 x 8, or 9 x 9 pain with pan spray (choose which size depending on how thick you want them)
2. Stir together the cinnamon, syrup, vanilla., banana, pumpkin.
3. In a separate bowl combine the fruit and oatmeal.
4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and stir together until the cereal is completely coated
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the are slightly dry on top
6. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes then put them on a wire rack to finish cooling.  Cool completely, then cut. 

Apple Chips

For some reason I didn't get an AFTER shot of my apple chips
Ingredients
Apples

Directions

1. Core and slice apples.  {I used my mandolin}
2. Toss the apples in some lemon juice. {to keep them from browning}
3. Dehydrate for 12-18 hours
4. Cool before storing

Acorn Squash Chips

Before

After

These were a pain in the butt to slice!  So I only did a quarter of the squash and roasted the rest for my dinner the next nite.  They took about 4.5 hours in the dehydrator. They tasted kind of nutty.  Needed a bit of salt.  So, if you want to add a bit of flavor (and don't mind a bit of fat) I'd toss them with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt.


What kind of snacks do you enjoy when you travel?  Do you take store bought or home made?


   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

My Birthday Recap (with a new recipe)

Yesterday was my birthday.  It was the best birthday I've had in a while.  I went to the gym in the morning, Ken went down the street and picked up my new stove (got a free microwave as an added bonus), we went to see Monsters University (a REALLY cute movie), came home and Ken and Kaylee cooked dinner for me.  Kaylee is using my birthday dinner as her next Kooking with Kaylee.  

I'm always depressed by how my fat free cakes turn out.  But, I decided to try it one last time.  This cake was a home run!  I was so excited.  I got the recipe from The Fat Free Vegan Blog.  Click HERE for the recipe.  I actually didn't change anything except I used regular whole wheat flour, sugar free maple syrup and used cornstarch instead of chia.  I also added a Cool Whip frosting (1 cup milk, 1 box sugar free fat free pudding mix and an 8 oz container Cool Whip Free mixed together) to the top.  {Birthday cake needs frosting in my opinion}

This is a one layer cake and I'm a complete frosting addict.  My trick?  Use a sharp knife and hollow out some cake from the top.  You can fill the hole with frosting and you'll get more.  I crumbled the cake I removed and used it on top for garnish.  

My gifts.  Popsicle molds and a misto from Ken, a new watch, the Fitness RX magazine and the necklaces from Kaylee, Mantha gave me the watch and the Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine, and Sunny gave me the ring and keychain.  Everything I wanted.  I was so happy!!

A Fat Free Vacation 2013

I just got back from vacation yesterday.  We had fun.  Nothing went right but, I would do it again.  I would have posted a ton of photos for y'all but, we had no cell service at the cabin.  Here's the daily recaps of what we did.

Travel Day

We left the house at 8:30.  I packed some fun stuff for the girls to do in the car.  A US map to track the license plates with, a game of Bingo and some questions for them to ask the family.  The best answer we got from the questions?

Question:  If you won the lottery what would you buy with the money?
Sunny’s Answer:  “A beach towel, A RAINBOW, jewelry and Monster High clothes.

They also had books, coloring books and crayons, a notebook, and their MP3 players to keep them occupied. 

I packed sandwiches and a ton of snacks for the car ride.  We ate at a rest stop somewhere in Georgia.

We arrived at about 4:45.  The drive was supposed to take 7 hours and 45 minutes.  We made it in 8 hours and 15 minutes.  {30 minutes to stop and pee a few time and eat lunch, not too bad!}  The last quarter of our drive was on and off rain.  We decided to ditch the tent camping idea and rent a cabin.  I had a bad experience camping with the Girl Scouts in the rain when I was younger so I didn’t want our stuff to get soaked.

The cabins we stayed in were called The Happy Valley Cabins.  I highly recommend this place!  The owners were Walter and Rhonda.  Super nice people.  They treated us like family.  We met their 2 dogs, Roger and Angel.  CLICK HERE to be taken to their website.  
There is no Internet or cell phone service at this place so you are completely cut off from communication with the outside world.  {For all you Candy Crush addicts, it still works without phone service!}

The name of our cabin was the RoadRunner.  It was 2 levels.  It had 2 queen sized beds, one upstairs and one down.  Electricity, running water, a full kitchen and a bathroom.  Oh!  And it had a hot tub!  It was $80 + tax a nite.  Not too bad. 

They have a catch and release stocked pond, a pool and a couple little hiking trails.  The cabins are only 15 minutes from Tallulah Gorge State Park. 

After we unpacked our stuff we went to the local grocery store, Ingles.  OMG.  Ken and I contemplated moving here just because of this grocery store.  It’s Georgia’s version of Harris Teeter.  HUGE produce department, and some harder to find things.  {I found my fat free cheese and Smart Squeeze, a fat free butter}  We spent a little over $100 for 3 days worth of food.  Not too bad!  It would have been lower but, we got a couple extra things since we had a full kitchen. 

Dinner was made in the oven since we were starving and it was getting late.  Veggie burgers for me, beef burgers for the rest of the family, mixed veggies, salad and OF COURSE s’mores!


Day 2

My alarm went off at 5:30 in the morning.  {Yes, even on vacation I set an alarm}  Sunrise was at about 6:30.  I really wish I could have seen it rise over  the mountains.  The girls woke up around 7.  Breakfast was cereal for them and a PB2 sandwich with a  banana for me.  I woke Ken up at around 8 and we left for Tallulah Gorge to hike.  We hiked the North Rim Trail.  I have no clue how far we went but, we hiked for atleast an hour.  Sunny actually kept up the whole time. 

After we finished our hike we went and checked out the “beach area” for lunch.  I packed sandwiches, granola bars, and dried fruit.  We planned on going back to the beach so the kids could swim but, due to weather we never made it back.    We got back to our cabin at about 1:45 and went for a little hike through the property after we got back.  At 2 it started to rain so we went inside and let the girls watch some TV.  After dinner {veggie burger and a veggie dog, ½ a sweet potato and sugar snap peas}, we made s’mores and hopped in the hot tub for a few minutes. 

Oh and did I mention before AND after our hike we spent an hour on the phone with our bank because they froze my credit and debit cards due to our traveling?  Yeah, that was FUN  a pain in the butt.  Word to the wise, always call your bank when you are going to travel.

Day 3
I woke up at about 5:00 this morning.  The weather was not too great.  It was on and off rain.  I woke up this morning wanting to leave.  I seriously wanted to pack up and head to Atlanta.  We made the best of the day though.  The kids woke up between 6:15 and 8:15 and I woke Ken up at 9 after we had all eaten breakfast.

Even though it was rainy we made the best of the day and went to Goats on the Roof.  This attraction is about 10 minutes from Tallulah Gorge and 15 minutes from the cabins.  It's a total tourist trap but it's alot of fun.  The girls got to pan for gems.  You buy a bag of dirt from the local mine and take it out back to a trough and sift through the dirt for the gems.  1 bag costs $6 and 3 bags costs $15.  We got 1 and split it between the girls. 

When we got back to the cabins we took a hike to find the "river" that Kaylee and Mo had heard while they were exploring the woods behind the cabin.  We hike up the road and found a dirt path.  We hiked until we heard some people practicing their shooting.  When we got home Ken found a tick on his leg.  We did a tick check on the rest of the family and found that Sunny had one on her foot.  She was a trooper though.  She let him remove it without much of a fight.

Day 4
This morning I woke up at 4 with an upset stomach.  Luckily I fell back asleep around 4:30 and woke up with my alarm at 5:30.  After Ken woke up we packed the final bags into the car {we packed most of our stuff the night before}  We checked out at 9:15 and made it to Atlanta at around 12:30.  The trip was really easy. 

On the way we stopped at 2 little roadside attractions.  We saw a 20 foot rabbit in Rabbittown {an area of Clarkstown, GA} and we saw a random large rocking chair in a field in Lula, GA.  

We hit up the Super H Mart {a Korean store} to stock up on some things we can't get easily in Florida.  Ken was in heaven.  There was so much stuff to choose from.  I picked up a golden kiwi, golden plum, a Korean squash and Korean melon to try.  We are definitely making another trip back just for food.  We couldn't get as many things as we wanted because the car was already packed full.  

We grabbed lunch and headed to the hotel.  In downtown Atlanta we hit almost dead stopped traffic.  Traffic like that reminds me why I don't want to move back to the big city.  The hotel was AMAZING.  It was gorgeous.  The only downside was the fact that they charge for parking and Internet.  {$16 a day for parking and $15 a day for Internet}

We ate dinner at the restaurant downstairs.  I got the fish of the day.  On Friday it was Tile fish and it was DELICIOUS.  The best part about it?  It didn't cause me pain!!  It's a major score in my book.  They were very accommodating to my dietary needs.  They steamed the veggies and the rice was done plain.  The fish was seasoned and cooked without oil or butter.  If the prices hadn't been so high I'd go back again just for dinner.  

Day 5
The hotel had a breakfast buffet.  A variety or breads and muffins, fresh fruit, eggs, various breakfast meats, potatoes, biscuits, oatmeal, grits and an omelet station.  I got 2 big plates of fruit, a bit of oatmeal and an omelet.  They used pan spray for my omelet but, I think that's what caused my stomach pains after my meal.  

The trip home was rainy.  But, Atlanta is only 6 hours from the house.  I was so happy to be home.  Until we actually got home and I found out that we had no electricity because of the storms.  {How ironic is that?  Camping with electricity and when we get home we have none?}  But, by the time we got the car unpacked the electricity was back on so I could make dinner.  


Even though nothing that I had planned went properly (I had also planned on stopping at the Bell Plantation place to get some PB2 but didn't because of the rain),and I was ready to leave the cabin a day early,  I had a great time with my family.  The kids were great, there were only a couple fights during the 5 days and Sunny had a blast.  But, to use Ken's words "we are beach people."  So we have already decided our destination for next year, Apalachicola {where the best oysters come from....Ken LOVES oysters.}

How do you feel about camping?  Where are you going for vacation?

Our Cabin

Ingles

Mushrooms!

The Gorge

Nature

The Interpretive Center at the Gorge

The beautiful scenery

Panning for gems at Goats on the Roof

Goats on the Roof

20 foot Rabbit

Rocking Chair

Super H Mart

Atlanta

Breakfast

Dinner
Top Left --Fruit plate
Top Right -- My Tile Fish, steamed veggies and rice
Bottom Left -- Kaylee's Pork Chop, mashed potatoes and veggies
Bottom Middle -- Ken's Steak, mashed potatoes and veggies
Bottom Right -- Mo's Hot Wings

Sign Off

Hey everybody!  I'm so excited!

Right now I am on the road to Georgia!

I know that telling y'all this doesn't mean much since I haven't been posting alot lately. 

I'll be back next week with new posts and a TON of pictures.  

If I have cell phone service I will be posting pictures to Facebook and Instagram throughout the trip.  If you haven't liked my Facebook you can do it now HERE.  Follow me on Instagram by clicking HERE.  (Just so you know, I post to Instagram more than Facebook)

Have a great week!  I know I will!!!

A preview of what you can expect when I get back...

The First Day of July

Where has this year gone??!!??  It's already July 1st!  I'm really excited for this month.  My anniversary, the family vacation, and my birthday are all in July.  And they're all within the first half of the month.

There's so much left to do to get ready.  Grocery shopping, supply shopping and packing.  

Most people go out to dinner for their anniversaries.  Ken and I?  We perfer to cook a nice meal at home.  There are 2 reasons for this A) I'm cheap {spend $30 or $130??}  and B) Independence Day is meant to be spent grilling!

This year we are going to do something a bit easier than normal/.  We are going to get Publix to steam our shirmp so we don't have to do it.  This is our way of being "fancy" for our special day.  

Here's the rest of our menu:

Fruit Salad (fresh berries, apples, bananas, nectarines and grapes)
Sauteed Zucchini
Corn on the cob
Watermelon (you can't celebrate the day without it!)
Potato Salad
Chocolate cheesecake with a strawberry swirl

For the cheesecake I reversed THIS RECIPE and used strawberries instead of raspberries.

The following picture is one I posted to my personal Facebook page.  I am amazed that I looked decent in this "one-size-fits-all" dress.  It was actually a quite emotional thing for me.  It was a major mental win for my self-esteem.  This is the first time in my life I've been a "one-size-fits-all" girl.  I never plan on going back! 

"Today I bought this dress. Why is that amazing? Because this dress would not have fit me 4 years ago. I would have looked like a stuffed walrus in this dress. I honestly never full realized how far I've come until today. I actually have the body to wear a dress like this. Who knew that the girl who got called fat for 90% of her school years would look like this?? So this dress has finally made me realize I can say F**K YOU to all those people who ever said nasty things about me, guys that turned me down because I wasn't a size 2 and everyone who laughed at me (both behind my back and to my face.)

This might just look like a dress to everybody else but, this dress is mental freedom, this dress is empowerment, this dress is happiness."


Happy July everybody!!