Snacks

One of the hardest parts of the belly fat cure for me is snacking.  I will say a lot of the time I don't need a snack but when I do I feel I only have a few options.

1. nuts
2. cheese
3. beef jerky (low sugar of course)
4. cheez-its (if I haven't had too many carbs earlier in the day)

I kind of get tired of the same things over and over.  Today I was craving a snack and wanting something a little different.  I took a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese and put it into the oven at 450 degrees.  I baked it for about 15 minutes and let it cool for 5. Crispy, cheesey, goodness.  I can't think of many things that are greater than melted cheese.

Anyone else have good ideas for other snacks?

Veggies

Hello Again,

Been a little lazy the past few days.  I haven't run in 3 days...lame!  I've been eating okay though. 

One of the hardest parts for me in eating healthy is getting in more vegetables.  I don't like vegetables.  Never have.  As a kid the only vegetable I would eat was raw cauliflower with ranch dressing.  This probably last through most of high school. I even ordered my tacos meat & cheese only.  The thought of lettuce on my taco was unbearable.  I would say I slowly started to added a few raw vegetables to my repertoire but still couldn't stomach a cooked vegetable.  I am such a picky eater! I'm very weird about texture and smells of foods.  As many of my close friends know that includes an aversion to oranges, bubble gum, pudding, custard, mushrooms, corn....and the list goes on and on and on. As picky as I am I will say that I will pretty much try anything once.  Some of these things include sweet breads, oysters, chicken tikka masala, wine, artichokes, crawfish, sushi, hearts of palm, and broccoli. I have found that I really like some of these things and I really gag at the thought of others!

A few months back when I became pretty obsessed with pinterest I found a recipe titled "the best broccoli of your life." Being as skeptical as I am about cooked vegetables I was intrigued and pinned the recipe.  When I started following the Belly Fat Cure I knew I needed to start incorporating more vegetables into my life.  I decided to give the broccoli recipe a try.  I bought all the ingredients at Whole Foods.  I will say I was hoping for the best but not expecting much.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I loved it.  LOVED!  The texture is so different from boiled or steamed broccoli.  It's crispy, salty, and delicious!  I pretty much followed the recipe from the blog.  A few lessons I have learned: 1. I like to cook it about 30 min. so that it's extra crispy (almost burnt). 2. organic broccoli makes a difference in taste 3. I like to make sure the stems are not very long at all...the best part are the crowns!  I cut up the stems into bite size pieces for my dogs and they love them!

As Rachel Ray would say "YUM-O"

Mixed with minced garlic, salt, and pepper



Roasted to Perfection



Finished with lemon juice and parmesan cheese
(and yes my plate is pink)

Have you tried the best broccoli of your life???  Let me know what you think.

Fundraising

As you know I am training to run a marathon in October.  I have a goal to raise $3,200 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Every dollar counts! If you can give anything it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much!

Doing Better

Yesterday I was able to get out of my funk.  Thanks for the encouraging words! Chris and I went to a new church yesterday with his friend and I connected right away with the church.  Our beloved pastor left our church family in September and the connection there hasn't been the same since he left.  I just knew right away last night that we found our new church home.  It was a great feeling. 

After church Chris went on a run with me.  I did much better! I ran the whole 2.7 miles without stopping but it was still a struggle! Baby steps.

Tonight we went to a meeting to meet the team in training folks.  I am very encouraged after talking with past runners.  Also I got the training schedule for May and it's all 2 and 3 mile runs so I know I have a month to really build my base.  That was a huge relief!

I went over my carbs today because we went to pizza tonight.  I only ate 2 pieces but I know it was probably more then 40 grams.

On another note a few of my family members are going through some medical issues right now so if you're the praying kind please keep them in your prayers.

Another side note...I'm watching Fantasy Factory right now...so funny!!!!!

Ho Hum

I'm feeling a little down today.  I have a bit of a lingering headache from last night, I'm bored, tired, frustrated and I know there's a lot I should be getting done.  I'm about to make a pita pizza so hopefully eating will help with the headache.

Yesterday I went for my first run in a while.  Man I'm out of shape.  I only went about 2.5 miles and I had to stop and walk some.  The marathon is less than 6 months away. Which seems like a lot of time but I know it's not. I have A LOT of work to do.  Also, last night we went out to dinner and instead of getting the salad for my side I ended up getting fries and eating more of them then I should have. 

Moving on from that. Today's a new day! I'm going to get out of this funk.  I think I'll go watch The Office or Felicity (two of my favorite shows).

Unfortunately when I got home from my run Chris and his friend, Adam, had just got back from the gym.  Adam thought it was funny to see my so wiped out and snapped this lovely picture for facebook.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza with a Cauliflower Crust

One of my favorite recipes that I have discovered on the BFC is cauliflower pizza.  I have read about the cauliflower crust on many blogs (such as Purple Rosy and Me & Jorge)

Here is my version:

First put a head of cauliflower through a food processor.  If you don't have a food processor I've heard you can user a grater to shred it.  Make sure to use the stems as well (not the leaves).

CRUST
1 cup of shredded cauliflower
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese -I use the thicker shreds now but I've tried both and the thin sheds work too
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 450
2. Heat the cauliflower in the microwave for about 1 min. 30 seconds
3. Fold a dish towel in thirds and pour the cauliflower onto the dish towel then fold the towel over the cauliflower and squeeze out as much moisture from the cauliflower as possible.
4. Mix the cauliflower in a bowl with the mozzarella and egg.
5. Spread the mixture onto parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Using a fork spread the mixture as thin as possible without any holes into the shape of a pizza crust (rectangular or circular)
6. Bake for about 15 in the over

TOPPINGS
Options:
Buffalo Chicken
Pepperoni
Sausage
Pesto
Tomato Sauce (low sugar)
Goat Cheese
Shredded Cheese
Spinach
Artichokes
Tomatoes
Whatever Makes You Happy (that's low sugar and low carb)

1. Add your favorite toppings then bake for another 10 minutes.

For my pizza I added a little pesto sauce (from Sam's Club), chicken that I pre-cooked in Frank's Buffalo Sauce,and more mozzarella cheese on top. 

This was soooo delicious!!!  It's also very filling so sometimes I only eat half and save the other half for later.

The only complaints are that my boyfriend thinks the house smells terrible from steaming the cauliflower in the microwave. Oh well!

To blog or not to blog...

I really debated whether I should try to take up blogging again.  I've tried several blogs in the past but they only lasted a few weeks at the most.  I always lost my motivation.  I found them to be too time consuming.  Plus I wouldn't consider myself a writer and I always felt the best blogs were by people who are "writers"  Never the less as you can see I decided to give blogging another go.  If I never get more than 10 readers who cares. 

All I am looking for is a place to get my thoughts out and a place to feel accountable.  I am making changes in my life and I feel if I blog about them it will help me to be more successful along the way.  I am currently trying to lose about 25 pounds.  I plan to do this by following Jorge Cruise's Belly Fat Cure AND by training for a marathon.  That's right a marathon. Not only am I not a writer but I'm not a runner.  I am trying out all kinds of new things.  I might be in over my head but I am am going to give it my all.  Yesterday I signed up for the Nike Women's Marathon in SF with Team in Training.  I think training with a group will help motivate me and make me get up and go.  I plan to write about my training, my nutrition, recipes, and anything else interesting going on in my life.  Since I'm new to blogging I don't know the "rules" or if there even are any.   Feedback is welcomed.  Thanks for reading!

Sample Sale

Check out my Stella & Dot sample sale

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. 

Today I got my wisdom tooth pulled.  I am on some pain medication that is making me feel sick and tired.  I will get this blog in full swing in a day or two.