Out with the old and in with the new.

Oh hi! I know, I know, I’ve totally been AWOL the last few weeks. Life gets busy when there are friends in town and gifts to be bought and kms to be run and oh yeah, a job to be done. So calm down, I’m here now right?

The past week, I was away on the east coast eating my face off visiting my family and friends for Christmas. I think one of the best visits I had was with my Grammy and my great aunt. It’s incredible to just sit back and hear the stories they have. I would never have guessed my great aunt was such a man eater back in her day but hey, I guess I come by it honestly? Haha. False. As previously mentioned, I have less game than a 6 year old boy. Fact. Anywayyyyyyy…. Christmas on the coast means two things: family, and food. Oh food, my how I love you. My body was in such a war this Christmas though. I wanted to indulge a bit and my body, knowing that I have to be Thailand tight in about 3 weeks decided to let me get a cold which pretty well zapped my appetite. Thanks…. Although I suppose I should be sort of happy because this is the first Christmas, first vacation really, in a long time where I didn’t gain weight! So I figure I’m in pret-ty good shape for those bathing suits in my suitcase. Yeah, I’m already packed for my trip in three weeks, what of it?

And right now, I’m sort of feeling like a total life ninja. Today was one of those days I just rocked at life. I found my passport (wasn’t really “lost”, just in a purse in my closet, which I knew), unpacked, did laundry, packed for my next trip, got groceries (80-20 paleo for the next few weeks), prepped a couple meals, had dinner, did dishes and more laundry, hit the gym, cleaned my bathroom and now am making a little post on my bloggity. Complete win, right?

It may be a bit early, but I have a couple of resolutions to share with you for the upcoming year of 2013.  They are as follows:

1) Use my foam roller every day to keep that IT band loose and happy.

2) With said happy ITB, do more road running.

3) Continue with my healthy habits and rocking at life.

 

Do youuuu have any 2013 resolutions for health? Get at me with them, let’s get ’em! Until then, I leave with Holiday greetings from Sasha-dog.

My thoughts on that article

All right. Did you all do your homework and read the article I posted from Chatelaine? If not, go read it now and come back right away for the discussion…

http://www.chatelaine.com/en/article/39647

Okay.. so… not really sure where to start in on this one  so I guess maybe I’ll start with the writer’s idea of beauty because I completely agree with her. She says beauty should be about eating properly and working out and taking care of yourself. Except, she doesn’t and she admits to eating fast food (bad idea, in my opinion) and just totally over-indulging in general. In this case, going to Korea and living off beers and Korean BBQ has lead to her being unhealthy. Yes, you can totally be a size 12 and be healthy but if you’re eating Korean BBQ and beers a few times a week for dinner, you are not healthy. Straight up.

Sure, different cultures have their different ideals but that’s mainly because of their traditional diet. Before writing this post, I had a friend of mine read the article who could relate to the Asian ideals. Steph’s Japanese and was the first to point out that all meals traditionally have rice in them. RICE! As in the reason I avoid all-you-can-eat sushi! But, if you look at Japanese people, they’re little. Well, aside from the sumos but let’s focus on the norm, shall we?

So, rice and fish and miso soup were the staples that Steph gave me. And tea, obviously. But what *aren’t* they eating? Fatty cheeses and dairy and bread, etc etc. Here’s a bit of a history lesson…. before big ocean faring boats and airplanes opened up import and export routes, people subsisted off what they could eat locally. In Japan, and a lot of Asian countries, that was rice and fish and tea and whatever else they could grow and cultivate. And forget about fashions making the rounds globally like they do now. People in Japan had totally different style ideas than the people living off of bangers, mash, and stodge in England. While we’re talking about England, the average woman is a size 14-16 and is considered the fattest in Europe. But in general, you can see different lifestyle trends when you look at different areas of the world. Our Western culture is very polarized between healthy eating and exercise (Biggest Loser!) and extremely unhealthy lifestyles (Honey Boo Boo). Some of it’s probably/likely/gotta be genetics but most of it is learned behaviour. If you eat McD’s 5 times a week and you pop out a kid, you’re probably not going to hit up a grocery store to make sure that baby is eating the recommended intake of vitamins and produce serving. I just had a terrible vision of salty breast milk. Gross.

The author of the article is 5ft4 and weighs 138 pounds. Her measurements are 38-28-38. I’m 5ft8 and weigh 176 pounds. My measurements are 42-33-39. I do not have a pot belly and I’m pretty sure the only thing I get “the look” from my mom about is when I drop the f-bomb in casual conversation. I do not eat Korean BBQ or any other kind of fast food. I would not be considered pretty in Korea. They might think I’m fat. Let them. My whole thing is that I’m healthy and I am. I am the first person to say that “healthy” is prettier than “skinny” but I also don’t think you can be healthy when you develop the “apple” shape on a body type that is usally very slight and petite. I’m not about to say that the author is fat because if you put my measurements and weight into most charts, I’m fat. But from what I’ve read and the small window she’s opened for the public to see into her life, I will say that she could be healthier. BUT! Her personal trainer probably won’t involve her nutrition and will just run her on the treadmill till she passes out. So I sure hope she goes back to the basics and cuts down on the indulgences. Fibre, protein, and produce for the win! 🙂

What is THIS?!!

OM NOM NOM. That is all.

Well. I’ll tell ya one thing, it’s freakin’ delicious. Yesterday, I picked up some spelt flour in an attempt to bake something that would make a nice little treat without making me feel like I’d gained about 15 pounds by the time I finished it. So, keep it simple right? I had a few bananas chillin’ out in my freezer so I thought, why not make banana bread? I figured it’d be interesting to see what a couple little substitutions could do for me. The last time I made this recipe, I made it with whole wheat flour and Splenda. I thought I might die. Tonight, I used spelt flour and real sugar, threw in a 1/4 cup of ground flax seed and some cranberries. I’ve had a couple of pieces and I feel great!

Adapted as above.. straight substitute the spelt for normal flour. It’s delicious but this one is a bit crumbly so maybe next time I’ll put an extra banana in or maybe use the flaxseed instead of 1/4 cup spelt flour. It’s a culinary work in progress. 🙂

Banana Bread Recipe (http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/)

Prep time: 5 minutes

• Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe.  Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).  With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.  Add the flour last, mix.  Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour.  Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

My new best friend

He’s gonna make my tummy look/feel OOOOOOO-TAAAAYYYYYYY!!

An open letter to wheat

Dear Wheat,

We’ve had some good times. Really, we have. The quick bagels on the way to class in the morning. The sandwiches at lunch (with soup, or salad). The pasta at dinner. The late night, post bar pizza… Oh my gosh, you used to make me feel so SO good. I loved you once, I really did. But I know you’ve noticed I turn to you less and less as I try to be the best me I can be. Don’t lie, you know it’s true. I go for my Green Monster smoothies in the morning, my salad and protein for lunch and dinner, my healthy snacks instead of the cookies and other tempting goodies you have to offer.

I’ve tested the waters with you lately, trying to see if we could make things work. To see if I could have you in my life…. but I can’t. I’m not sorry. It’s not me, it’s you. You used to leave me feeling satisfied and happy. Now, you just leave me feeling sick and uncomfortable and bad about myself. Why you gotta be like that? I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think I need you out of my life for good. I’ve worked too hard  and come too far to keep having you around, like a dirty secret option when I need a quick fix. So that’s that. This is over. I’m tired of how you make me feel and the bloating that comes after. But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have a series of really filling relationships with university girls for years. You go really well with a drunken night. I mean, I won’t call you a drunken mistake because that would be mean and we both know, I’m not like that…

And don’t say I’ll be back or that I can’t find anything better. I won’t be and I have. You might know a few of them, I think you’re sort of related… buckwheat, spelt, millet… yeah. They’re much better of a match with me than you are. I know this hurts, but you’ll manage. Here’s a pic of us in happier times.

All my love,

Erin

Family Food Fest 2012

Well, hello again friends!

This past weekend was a doozy! I took Friday off because my Momma flew in Thursday night for a family reunion down in Wine Country. Dad flew in from the Land of the Elephant, too, but he stayed in Whitby.

To say that the weekend was full of food would be an understatement. At the pre-goodbyes lunch on Sunday, one of my cousins told me it was a total food fest and to be honest, I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The hard part was the complete lack of exercise! Well, I did walk all over the small town we were in with my mom but I’m pretty sure that my walks didn’t come close to burning off the delicious cheese and tasty treats I ate all weekend.. including the amazing tiramisu on Sunday. Om. Nom. Nom.

Fortunately, the gym is open again and I can get my run/weights/ab routine back in the swing of things. And really, bless my mother for not saying I was getting fat and MASSIVE kudos to her for dropping like 20 pounds. Someone get the woman a belt! …Kidding Mom, kidding. I’ll be seeing my parents again in about a month and I have no doubt that my stomach will be feeling as firm as it should be by then… and not from a food baby this time. I’m not ashamed hahah

I was super surprised to see that Starbucks was on the main street of this quaint little town but I did admittedly love it.

It blew my mind to see some of my “little” cousins and how much they’d grown. I’m a pretty tall gal but standing around my 19 and 20 year old cousins who are all 6 ft 2 and up was a bit humbling! All in all, a great weekend where I was once again reminded that life isn’t all about fuelling this bod and pushing it to its limits. Sometimes it’s about a glass of wine, a plate of cheese, and some hugs and laughs with family and friends. And I guess it helps when they boost the ego too. 😉

Balance, kids. Balance.

 

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Summerlicious 2012!

Well hello again, friends! First off, sorry for being a bit AWOL, sometimes life gets a bit hectic but nothing this broad can’t handle.. any way, back to my big adventures with the food/fitness/life balance!

For people trying to lose weight/maintain weight loss, sometimes dining out can be sort of scary. I’m definitely one of those people, mainly because I plan out my meals and I can know what I’m eating and what I’m getting from it and all that stuff. Now, that’s not to say that I might grab an oat fudge once in a while when I’m having coffee with a friend. I’m not bound to plans, you’ve gotta keep it flexible. So that being said, last Sunday was Summerlicious 2012 day!! A girlfriend and I headed up to Yorkville for some delicious prix fixe action. Here’s what I had because I know you’re all wondering..

Appetizer – grilled calamari

Main – thin crust pizza with bacon, mushrooms, artichoke, and a bit too much cheese for my liking

Dessert – tiramisu

Delicious! The pizza was better the next day when I had it for my lunch haha

I know a lot of people get a little nervous when they can’t know exactly how many calories they’re eating but sometimes I find that the food groups I’m eating can be more important than the calories in them. I think it’s a pretty individual thing but I know that I’m more carb sensitive than some of my friends and family, so I steer clear from most of the refined carbs like breads and pasta (hence the thin crust!).

It was a great afternoon with a great friend and an awesome storm on the way home to end it all off so I was definitely not complaining!! 🙂

So I’m a planner….

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can‘t, you‘re right. ” – Henry Ford

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a bit of a planner. I’m that girl with a calender and an agenda who makes plans and PENS them in. I totally think that planning is a key to any success so it should come as no surprise that I spend time on planning my meals and my gym schedule. My whole thing is balance so I like being able to get every thing done with out feeling overwhelmed.

Meal planning typically goes down on Sunday, before my grocery trip. Yesterday, I was feeling like making an amazing spinach and watermelon salad but I couldn’t find any recipes using them the way I wanted to (red onion, green pepper, blue cheese dressing. so good) so I decided to ask my friend and fellow gym/fitness enthusiast Cliff about his thoughts. He basically told me that salads are the easiest thing ever. “Find ingredients. Mix. Eat.” Thanks, Cliff 😉

The best part about this salad is that it’s delicious but you can prep it for a couple different meals. I’d probably keep the watermelon cut up in a seperate container until you’re ready to throw it together in the morning before work but that’s just me. For dinner, I paired it with a grilled chicken breast and for lunch I had it with some chick peas thrown in for protein but you could also add more nuts to it. It’s a great, refreshing summer salad and I think the first time I’ve ever made  salad with fruits and veggies in it. Props all around! Here’s the finished product before I added the blue cheese dressing.

Mariner Salad!