Lean Mean Omega-3 Machine!

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe! Who loves fish? (My OT family knows who loves fish...) I'll make this short and sweet.

Steelhead 

A.K.A. Rainbow Trout

I think this is one of the most beautiful (and delicious) fish! 

A member of the salmon family, steelhead is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. It's recognizable by it's pink flesh and rich flavor. Aside from fresh, off-the-boat whitefish, this is my top choice when cooking with fish.

Go ahead and put that fillet on a baking sheet. Put foil down first if you're lazy like me and hate messy clean-up!

Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, broil on LOW! Oven rack should be close to the top, but not all the way up. Broiling on high will cook the fillet too fast, and it will appear cooked, but will be raw on the inside. Ick!

You know it's done when it flakes easily!

*distracted by cat...fish overcooked, but just barely!

I paired this fillet with some fresh-chopped roma tomato, broccoli, and cucumber marinated in Italian dressing. Perfect for this warm night - enjoy!

Michigan Has No Transitions

What is this spring you speak of? We went from solid winter to solid summer weather. Open up the pool and start the barbecue! 

The new semester is about to begin! I'm fearful of losing motivation in my path to better health. I'm notorious for using school and my mental exhaustion as an excuse. So this post is about maintaining that drive to keep going. 

I'm a Pinterest addict. Button on the side bar! Pinterest has a section called "Health & Fitness". 

It's mostly full of crazy exercise fads and phrases like "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. - Kate Moss"

Thankfully all is not lost. There are actually some pretty decent, and meaningful, things on "Health & Fitness" that I can connect and relate with. 

 

And as a student in occupational therapy, this video hits me the hardest:

Never give up!

If you're still cute at the end of your workout...you're doing it wrong.

Nothing sweeter than a cool breeze through the screen door after cardio.

Today: 2.5 miles in 32 minutes 

Not bad considering I've avoided running for awhile now!

Here's something I'd like to address: My appetite. Guess what? I like food. No, I LOVE food. I love shopping for it, I love cooking and trying new recipes, I absolutely adore the smell of my kitchen at dinnertime! Pinterest is the greatest thing since sliced bread - the possibilities are quite literally endless.

I've always had a fairly healthy diet, improving or lapsing here and there, but never out of control. My biggest problem was eating too much! I never realized how many portions I was eating in one sitting. Even the healthiest fresh prepared meal can be unhealthy if I'm eating enough for two or three people. I started trying all these different methods you hear about from Cosmo or your mother...

"Use a smaller plate, you'll eat less."

"Try eating with chopsticks, it slows you down."

"Chew slower."

1. I'm clumsy by nature. Smaller plate means higher chance of me dropping food off my fork anywhere BUT my plate. Also, my "small" plates are approximately the size of one piece of toast. Not happening. 

2. I tried chopsticks, but trust me when I say - you will look ridiculous eating majority of your food. Chopsticks are strictly reserved for that once in a blue moon guilty pleasure take-out you get from Thai Cuisine. (Go get the curry pad thai. You will thank me later. You're welcome.)

3. Chewing slower makes me feel like a cow. Trust me, I grew up next to this place: 

             

    (Go get the Tractor Trails ice cream. You will thank me later. You're welcome.) 

Though all of the above failed, I did find a few things that work. 

- Don't eat in front of the TV. You might not realize it, but with all your focus on the screen in front of the couch, you're eating far more than you need. This also counts during Netflix/Hulu time on the laptop. 

-Snacks are totally cool. No one ever got fat from too many fruits and vegetables. Throw an apple in your backpack. Carrot sticks? Go for it! My favorite? Plain air-pop popcorn. 

-Try to eat with other people! Conversation is going to slow you down, giving your brain time to realize that there is food in your stomach and small intestine being digested. Don't have anyone to converse with? Talk to your cat. 

He totally gets me.

When you eat alone and shovel food as fast as you can (Trust me - I get it. Woke up on more than one occasion late for class), those chemical signals that tell you how full you are don't have enough time to fire and register with your poor cerebrum. This science also applies to the reasoning behind not eating while watching TV. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself - tons of evidence based articles out there. 

Long story short, I'm not eating nearly as much as I was a year or two ago. One well-balance and proportioned plate fills me up, I don't need to go back for seconds, and I feel full and energized! 

Living true to my blog's name.

I'm not giving up.

School has been beyond overwhelming. As soon as it began last September, all I could do was think, eat, breathe, and sleep occupational therapy. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I completely plateaued in regards to my health and fitness. 

Though I was solid in not gaining any weight, I certainly didn't lose any. Though, you know what? I'm not too upset about that. I remember reading somewhere recently, not sure where (probably Reddit...addicted) that  weighing yourself on the scale only measures your body's impact against the force of gravity. It's not helpful in the very least. I'm not setting foot on that scale again. 

Instead, I'm forcing myself to make time for better life choices.

My diet is healthy. No where near a super-vegan, calorie-counting, crazy keep-track of each percentage of nutrition I put in my mouth everyday type diet, but more of a "I'm going to cook and eat my food fresh, drink a ton of water, and make good life choices when I eat out or snack". I give you example #1: This past semester we had to teach our classmates how to do something. It didn't matter what, as long as you were teaching. An amazing classmate of mine taught us how to cut a pineapple. Sure, I could have googled it, but for some reason watching her dice up an entire fresh pineapple has inspired me to buy one every week for about a month now. Yum! Why wasn't I doing this sooner? Love me some fresh fruit and natural sugar! 

My workout routines are becoming, for lack of a better work, routine. So many people have told me they get up early and get that workout done in the morning. Me? I'm nearly cheating on my boyfriend I love my pillow so much. I ride the struggle-bus getting up any earlier than 7, so that's out. Some of my classmates are super-motivated awesome people, and workout during our break between morning and afternoon classes. Me? I love to give myself cognitive detox time and munch on my apple and salad while staring off into nothingness until I have to turn my brain on again in a few hours.

The boyfriend has been on leave these last few weeks before he has to report to his next station. He is super-fit, super-motivated, and always moving. Seriously, he's pretty awesome. What wasn't so awesome what having him drag me to the gym everyday to lift while he was here, and it just so happened that dinner-time workouts totally fit into my schedule. 

It was painful, it sucked. I walked like I had just gotten off of a horse after "leg day"....for THREE DAYS. 

Guess what? I just went...by myself...and did LEGS! I feel GREAT! And I love the boyfriend to bits and pieces for getting me moving again. Sorry I got super-grumpy on "arm day" sweetie. Love you! 

I'm back, I'm motivated, and after a couple weeks of on/off lifting I really think I can do this. I have to do this. I won't be updating frequently, but I'm still here and busting my rear end. I promise!! ;) 

Long time no see!

I've had several friends ask me in the past few weeks if I've stopped blogging. Well, short term answer, yes! Long term? Dear god I hope not... My first reaction was, "People are actually reading this thing?!" 

Life has been chaotic lately. I've been accepted into a graduate program for occupational therapy, so the past month has been planning, packing, and relocating to a big new city! No one was joking when they say graduate studies are stressful. The semester hasn't even started and I've panicked a grand total of 4 times. Between immunizations, background checks, $600 worth of books, and innumerable expenses, it's fair to say I've isolated myself from this blog for quite some time. 

Keeping up with my healthy habits has been difficult, especially when I'm crunched for time and fast food sounds sooooo good. Sometimes it feels like there's no energy left for cooking or thinking healthy. But I stick  to what I know, which is FRESH not FAST. I've been able to maintain my weight without much hassle. 

My workouts have been sporadic. I supplemented running for yard-work when I was at my folks. Moving wheelbarrow loads of gravel are killer, but an amazing back and shoulder workout! My new apartment complex has a fitness room across the parking lot, so there's really no good excuse to not work out. My new addiction is the elliptical. It's very low impact but incredibly effective! Just don't think you're going to bounce like a gazelle at warp speed and actually reap some sort of benefit. Bump the difficult up at least halfway. You might be going slow, but give it a minute and you're sweating buckets. It's like trying to run your way up the Sleeping Bear Dunes in northern Michigan. 

Feel the burn...

My semester starts after Labor Day. I'd like to try and post at least once a week if I'm able...if not, I'll do my best with what I can. 

Weight: 151.2lb

Epic adventures, we be jammin'!

Sorry for the extended absence! I've been adventuring and enjoying life these past few weeks! I was able to take of a bit of time off from work and travel with Coastie! It was absolutely wonderful, being able to spend time with him, his family, and our friends. We spent our time up in northern Michigan, in places we've lived and loved before. It's always a welcome adventure, especially together.

I wanted to share a recipe that Coastie and I discovered after picking strawberries last week. We picked at Kiteley Farms in Charlevoix, MI. Definitely recommend them for berries. We picked there a few years back as well, and the strawberries were just as good as I remember. This past week, we ended up with darn near 10lb. of strawberries! 

 http://kiteleyfarms.com/

Today, my mother and I picked about 18lb. After strawberries with Coastie, I was ready for more! We were up near the crack of dawn and on our way to Middleton Berry Farm, a local place. It was our first time picking there, and holy cow...so good! 

http://www.middletonberryfarm.com/

Soul-wrenching-slack-jawed-dear-sweet-baby-Jesus-so-good Strawberry Freezer Jam (otherwise known as the recipe on the back of the Ball Freezer Jar Box...whoop whoop): 

2.5 c. crushed strawberries

1 c. sugar or sugar substitute

3 Tb. instant fruit pectin 

(recipe yields 3 half pints)

Start with fresh picked strawberries. Seriously folks, store bought 'berries' have NOTHING on fresh picked goodies. Don't even try! :

Go ahead and wash/core your berries. The farm my mother and I picked at did not use pesticides, but there is still dirt and invisible bug poop you'll want to be rid of. :

Next, crush a bowl of berries with a potato masher. Don't worry about crushing too many, leftovers can always be enjoyed...immediately. Go on and reward yourself for all that hard picking! :

In a separate bowl, mix your sugar and pectin together. :

Add 2.5 c. of crushed berries into your dry ingredient mix, and stir for 3 minutes. :

Pour, cap, and let your containers set for about half an hour to set. I ended up with 12 half pints out of 9lb. of berries. I made three of them with Splenda for my Gramps, who suffers from Diabetes. Should make for a sweet treat! It will stay good in the freezer for about a year. In the fridge? Well...I'll just guarantee you it will be gone before it even has the chance to go bad. Enjoy!

Cajun Shrimp!

Took another run today. 2.2 miles in approximately 30 minutes. I'm feeling great, but very tired. I'm also continuing to move as the night goes on. I don't want to cramp up like yesterday. No waddles, no thank you.

Thought I'd share my dinner recipe today. Holy cow was it good!

Cajun Grilled Shrimp 

All mixed in one bowl and marinated for one hour (two would be better, but I'm short on time and hungry!): 

• 1 lb. shrimp- peeled and de-veined 
• 1/3 c. olive oil 
• 3 cloves garlic
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning (your choice, no matter!) 
• 1 handful parsley - chopped fine
• dash of salt and pepper

On skewers after an hour: 

• Shrimp
• Sweet onion
• Red bell pepper
• Yellow bell pepper

Grill on top of aluminum foil on medium heat. Easy clean-up and fights fire that jumps up to burn your precious shrimp! Grill on each side for about 4 minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink. Nice and pink, but not rubbery and overdone, makes for perfect shrimp. Don't worry about the peppers and onion, I think they're better on the crispy side. Feel free to add any veggies you like to the skewers. Mushrooms would probably be good!

Enjoy!

Breakfast: 

1 c. Just Bunches

2 tb. chia seeds

1/2 c. milk

1 banana sliced over top

Lunch: 

1 grapefruit

1 lean cuisine: Chicken Carbonara 

Dinner: 

3 skewers cajun grilled shrimp w/ bell peppers and onion

Weigh-in: 148.8 lb