Thursday, May 2, 2013

ASPARAGUS IS UPON US!!

Woot!  Woot!  It's almost time for fresh asparagus season.  Oh and I can't wait.

As you may or may not know, I'm a nutrition nerd.  I love to know what's in the food I eat and how it's doing my body good.  Call me crazy but I like to get as many nutrients and vitamins into my body as is possible each and every day.  I don't eat Frankenstein food, I just choose the freshest stuff Mother Nature can throw at me.  And I love it best in season.

Soooo.... spring is synonymous with asparagus and here's the low down on this lovely vegetable.  It contains Vitamin A, a tiny bit of Niacin, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, bit of Magnesium and Potassium.  I got that information from The Nutribase Nutrion Facts Desk Reference Second Edition.

How come my pee smells funny after I eat asparagus?  I don't know.  Some people notice their urine has a sulfuric stink while others take no notice at all.  I'm no scientist and really, I don't much care.  I just love to eat it...the asparagus.

Low Carb Asparagus Omelet
So, here is my latest low carb omelet recipe featuring fresh asparagus and Jarlsberg cheese.

Simple to make in one pan and it feeds two people!

Set the table outside for two on a warm spring morning.  Use a pretty tablecloth, what the heck! Pour some sparkling water in wine goblets and some freshly brewed coffee in pretty mugs.

Enjoy this hearty, Induction-friendly recipe and have yourself an awesome rest of the day!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

THE WALK


I’m finally doing it.  Going for a walk every day.  It sounds so simple and yet I have always talked myself out of doing it.  Or made excuses for why I couldn’t do it.  I even tried scheduling it into my appointment book. 


Like many people, my days are filled with running a business, meeting with clients, appointments, commitments as a volunteer, daily chores and much more.  All these things seem to get in the way or seem more important than going for a walk.

I needed a different way to hold myself accountable.

Even though I’m a life and creativity coach myself, I work with a coach every week to help me move past things that block or prevent me from moving where I want to be.  It helps me personally and with each session I also become a better coach.

So I mentioned to my coach that I was stuck and I was finding it hard to motivate myself to go for a simple walk every day.  Together we examined my Big Goal, which is to reach a certain weight or size clothing.  Another goal is to go back to Martial Arts being fit enough to not get myself injured.

We looked at what it will feel like a year from now if I simply go for a daily walk.  And I could imagine that my legs and derriere would be stronger and firmer.  I’d be fitter.  I could go back to my karate dojo and start hitting and kicking people again!   A great way to exercise let me tell you!

It also caused me to think of what it will be like a year from now if I DON’T go for a walk every day.  I’d be sitting here, a year older, my muscles would be weaker, my metabolism would keep slowing down and I’d likely be no closer to my big goal.

Time to make a plan.  I have the big goal in front of me and that’s to lose body fat, get fitter and go back to karate.  What is the minimum that I can do to start moving toward my goal?  Well, I could go for a walk every day.  What else could I do besides going for a walk?  I could add weight lifting sessions during the week every other day.

I’ve decided that the first step is going to be to book time in my day that is strictly for going for a walk and then go for a daily walk.  I’ll measure my progress by how much further I can go everyday or how much easier it is to walk without running out of breath.  Is this achievable right here and now with everything else going on in my life?  Yes it is.  I can achieve this.  How reasonable is it that I will go for a walk every day?  Well, 6-7 days a week is more realistic.  So I won’t beat myself up if I miss a day.  And I’ve committed to walking for a minimum half hour.

And I will be accountable to my coach every day by sending her an e-mail saying that I have gone for a walk as I committed to doing.  And I will also e-mail if I did not go for a walk.  Somehow, being accountable to myself AND to my coach is keeping me moving forward and I really like how that feels!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

A YUMMY HUMMUS RECIPE

As many of you know, I'm a foodie.  I love to cook.  And I love to entertain.  So when I decided to ditch wheat, grains, potatoes, rice and pasta, my friends were shocked!!!  I don't know if they had concerns for my health or if they were more concerned about their bellies!  "Who's going to make that amazing garlic bread?!?!?"

Black Soybean Hummus
Over time family and friends have come to realize that just because I don't DO pasta and bread, it doesn't mean I don't have a repertoire of delicious low carb dishes ready to share with everyone!  I'm always experimenting!

The other night my husband and I had friends come for dinner.  And for an appetizer I modified an existing hummus recipe.  Yes, you read it right!  I made a delicious low carb hummus.  Check it out! 

It's so easy to make that there's really no reason to buy it already made.  Some of the ingredients listed on product labels for prepared convenience foods are positively scary!!!  Anyway, I  was happy the next day to have some leftovers to enjoy as a mid-day pick me up snack with a few ribs of celery.  Homemade hummus can't be beat!