So I am that blogger...

who only posts at the beginning of each year (right around new year resolution time).  While I'm not one for resolutions, it always seems that I get inspired by thinking "new year....new me."  Well, I'm singing that same tune again, and working towards a healthier me.  I did so well in 2013...that is until a certain vacation in Florida in August, starting a new job, my husband taking a lead part in a musical causing him to be gone most of September, October, and November, and oh yea---cold weather in Rochester that makes me want to stay warm and cozy inside and begin my hibernation process by eating as unhealthy as possible.

Not our car...but you get the picture.

Between 2012 and 2013 I lost a total of 25lbs!

Lilac 5k May 2013

Between the months of August 2013-December 2013 I have probably gained about 10lbs back.  How does that happen?  Why is it so much easier to gain weight than it is to lose it?  Ughh.  Oh well, instead of complaining I'm getting back on the saddle--I mean, treadmill.  Daniel and I are "those" people who join gyms at the beginning of the year.  "Those" people who make regular gym attenders flustered.  Luckily we found a cheap gym 4 minutes from our house, Spunk Fitness.  We started today...did I forget to mention...I haven't really worked out since August.  Death.  I feel like death.

Well, losing weight won't come with exercise alone (though I wish it did....because I love food).  I not only love food, I love unhealthy food: fries, fried chicken, chips, any kind of pasta, cheese wontons, cheese...cheese...and more cheese.  Oh, and after a certain wine tour in August--I now love sopressata (Italian salami).  Also--my desired portion sizes could feed 2 adults.  I am one person.  Hurrrmpph.

Focus on mantra--new year...new me.  So, I made our first "healthy-er" dinner last night. Tilapia, coconut rice, and avocado chunks.  It was quite delicious.  I also only allowed myself one scoop of rice, instead of 2 or 3.  I love how tilapia only takes about 4-5 minutes to cook.  With the right spices (for me--basil and cayenne pepper) it's great!  The avocado lightened up the dish.

Yum!

 Well--hopefully I'll get around to blogging more consistently.  At least through April (ha).  If there are any of you, like me, who are 'new year healthier me' junkies--I hope you can relate to my journey.  Feel free to steal recipes, and leave comments with recipe ideas.  I am no cook--so please help!  

Spaghetti Squash

During the first week of the fast, all I could think about was FOOD and mostly PASTA!  I come from an Italian home, and my father makes probably the best pasta sauce in Upstate NY!  Well, we all know that pasta packs in a lot of calories.  Now that I'm on a low calorie diet (1,033 calories to be exact) I have to find healthy, low calorie alternatives.  Thanks to pinterest, I got inspired to make spaghetti squash.  I know and have heard that it does not taste like pasta (bummer) but it's delicious in its own way.  So, tonight I made a little meat-free pasta sauce.  This video was extremely helpful when it came to preparing/cooking the squash--------> How To Cook Spaghetti Squash

After following the video to a T...here is my end product:

Put a fork in me, I'm done!

It looks like mac-n-cheese

Faux-Spaghetti

It was quite delicious!  It's very crunchy, which throws you off a bit because it looks like pasta.  Flavor wise, I couldn't really taste the squash.  The sauce was the shining star.  There was no dairy, meat, or oil added to this meal.  Sauce consisted of a can of diced tomatoes, half of a red pepper and onion, and spinach.  Spices: oregano and hot sauce.  I did not saute the veggies, I just let them simmer in the diced tomatoes for about 40 minutes. 

Well, I'm sold!  This meal was only around 170 calories (for my big portion) whereas the typical pasta dish is 400 +

Hope all you Italians (and non-Italians) give this a try.  Your stomach will thank you!

10 Day Fruit/Veggie Fast

What inspired us to go on this fast was the documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."  If you have not seen it, rent it!  Or-if you have netflix, it's on there.  In a nutshell, this guy is overweight and has an auto-immune disease that causes him to take several doses of prednisone each day.  To get on the road to healing, he goes on a 60 day juice fast.

OUR BIG BOSS JUICER

So, after the 60 days, he is down something like 70lbs and is completely off his medication.  He had more energy than ever before.  After Christmas break, Daniel and I finally decided we wanted all of those things: weight loss, energy, etc.  I have pretty bad IBS, and I'm constantly getting sick after each meal.  Daniel is allergic to essentially everything.  So, what the heck.  Let's do this fast.  It's a new year, and we want to be new people!

I kept a journal during this whole experience.  Sounds kind of cheesy, but I've never been on a drastic diet like this, and I knew I was going to blog about it, so I didn't want to forget the different details.  Below, I will summarize our fruit/veggie fast.

JUICE CONTENTS

Days 1-2:  Headache galore!  I'm not someone who gets a lot of headaches, but I literally experienced migraines on the first two days of this fast.  I'm not sure if it was the lack of calories, which my body was not accustomed to, or the coffee withdrawal.  Either way, it was nasty.  I also experienced a skin flare up.  I have an unknown skin condition on my face.  The dermatologist thinks it might be rosacea, but it has not been healed with the four different medications she's put me on, and most people don't realize I even have it.  It actually acts as a nice blush ;-)  But man did it burn during these first two days!

Days 3-4: Felt human again!  We were quite hungry though, and fruits/veggies just weren't cutting it.  All of our favorite cravings (chinese, pizza, KFC) were rolling around in our minds.  But, we stuck it out.  We allowed ourselves to have five organic-raw-unsalted cashews for protein. Both Daniel and I are hypoglycemic and are bodies were telling us we needed protein.

OUR STOCKED FRIDGE

Day 5: I almost passed out!  Have you ever experienced tunnel vision before? Yea, that's what happened.  It was luckily a Saturday, and I was home with Daniel.  I was worried I was no longer going to be able to continue the fast, but Daniel researched and found that perhaps a multi-vitamin would help give my body the supplement balance that it needed, and wasn't getting from just fruits and veggies.  Luckily, it made me feel better, and I didn't experience that again the rest of the fast.

Day 6: This was the first time that we woke up super alert and cheerful.  We went to church, and finally saw our friends. When you do a fast, it takes you a while to get rid of being miserable, at least for Daniel and I it did.  We did not want to subject our friends to our attitudes, so we hadn't seen them in about a week.  It was kind of nice to get the compliment "your face looks great...like it's glowing!"  One of the perks of this diet = better complexion!

Days 7-10: No real drastic changes.  We've become used to our daily meals.  Eating fruits and veggies only everyday can become a little monotonous though.  On day 7-10, we started incorporating organic vegetable broth (low sodium) into our diet.  I cannot tell you how amazing having hot soup was!!  I don't think I've ever appreciated something so simple in my life!  All of our meals up to that point were either cold smoothies, or cold juice.  Mid-winter, you want warm meals.

GREEN SMOOTHIE

PRETTY JUICE

Let's get down to weight loss.  Both Daniel and I lost 12 lbs in 10 days!!  That is the biggest weight loss I've ever gone through in my life!  It has now been 12 days since we started the fast.  On day 11 we attempted to wean ourselves back onto 'real' food.  I made salmon and broccoli.

The taste was out of this world.  Unfortunately,  my body was not ready for it.  Daniel transitioned very well.  I got really sick.  So, I went back to the fruits and veggies only for now.  I'm going to try and get back into food a little slower.

What we learned from this:  We now crave fresh produce!  We are going to try and incorporate veggies & fruits into each dinner.  We knew this going in, but man are healthy foods expensive!  But-totally worth it.  No more tortilla chips!  That is our weakness.  We have instead turned to butter/salt free popcorn.  Tasty little snack that will do for our T.V. snack.  After losing 12lbs, we want to keep it gone!  Diet and exercise are obvious keys to this (Jillian Michael's 30 day shred)!  Oh-and we now know we LOVE avocados!

Avocado chunks, lime juice, and a little salt.  YUM!!!

If anyone has any questions about going on a fruit/veggies fast, or about juicing, please let us know.  We'd be willing to share our recipes, and insight!  Here's to a happy and healthy 2013!!

Crafty Part 1

Since joining pinterest, I have become much craftier.  I now own a hot glue gun, an array of ribbons, buttons, card stock paper, glitter, stickers, and scrapbook paper.  I even put together my own cleaning solution using white vinegar and dawn dish soap. (works like a charm by the way!)  Pinterest makes all of my DIY dreams come true with the help of their endless ideas and blogs. 

Back in May, I threw my friend Megan a shower for her little girl Ava (see previous post for cute pictures).  The theme was "onesies" which had DIY crafts written all over it.  For the invitations, I made them into the shape of an actual onesie.  Below I will show some pictures, and write out some directions.

Sorry for the poor quality of picture.  As you can see-I chose different paper for each invitation, to keep it exciting!

Using a onesie template (which I found on google images after typing "onesie template") Trace  and cut template from 2 identical pieces of scrapbook paper.  Make the design show on the front and back.  Hole punch on each shoulder (through both sheets).  Using a color coordinated ribbon, make little bows, slipping them through the holes (essentially securing the sheets of paper together).  Hot glue 2 buttons on the top.  Insert message inside.  And....taaa-daa!  You officially have the cutest baby shower invitations EVER!   

Summer Smoothies

This whole getting healthy thing can be fun!  Don't get me wrong, it's tough and I fall off the band wagon from time to time, but summer really helps me focus on getting outside and being active.  What better way to cool off from the hot summer sun then to throw back a tasty-HEALTHY- smoothie.

I've never been a vegetable girl.  I wish I were, and when I see others eating salads I get jealous.  I've tried to like vegetables, but they just don't mesh well with my taste-buds.  This smoothie will blow your mind with how good it is...and how good for you it is!  It's sneaky, because you don't even taste the vegetables!

What you will need:
-simply orange with mango juice.  Seriously...it's fabulous!
-lemonade (the perfect summer drink)
-baby spinach
-baby carrots
-blueberries
-strawberries
-water (to make the smoothie less thick)

Okay, pour about half a cup of orange juice and a splash of lemonade into the bottom of blender.  Add a heaping handful of baby spinach (rinsed of course).  Add half a cup of baby carrots, blueberries, and then another heaping handful of strawberries.  The measurements can vary according to YOUR taste-buds.  I really like strawberries, so I use a lot!  Now blend away!!  As you're blending, add water to make it less thick...or if you like thick smoothies, keep it as is!

                                                                  Finished Product!
                                 The blueberries and strawberries turn it a nice shade of purple!

Birthday and Babies...oh my!

May has been quite the eventful month!  Daniel's musical closed with a bang!  SOTA did Hairspray, and it was phenomenal!  Many people congratulated him on such superb performances (8 performances to be exact).  The Resig's were here for 5 days.  It seemed more like 2-it went by super fast!  I hosted a baby shower for Megan and baby Resig.  It was great catching up with friends, and spoiling the soon-to-be here Ava!  I will post some pictures of the event.  Seems like yesterday that I was attending and planning bridal showers/bachelorette parties.  Now, it's "babies everywhere!"

Daniel's birthday was on May 10th.  He worked until 10pm that night.  He had a senior showcase where he accompanied many of his students.  I nonetheless wanted to make sure he got to celebrate his special day.  I made him a gluten free/dairy free/egg free cake.  Below I will post the recipe.  It was fluffy and delicious!  This recipe will definitely be repeated for future events.

Daniel's expression makes me laugh every time I look at this pic!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup dairy free/soy free butter
• 2 egg (use energy egg replacements)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup goat/coconut milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and non-dairy butter . Beat in the egg replacement, then stir in the vanilla. Combine GF flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the non-dairy milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.  

Some pictures of Megan's baby shower:

 

Making up for my lack of postings this month

I cannot believe it's been over a month since I avidly posted on my blog.  April has been a crazy month.  Daniel's musical season erupted these past 3 weeks, which has kept him at school until 9pm most nights.  I got promoted to Front Office Supervisor at Hochstein, we are two front office assistants short, and it's our busiest season (registration time).  Every day, both of us come home like zombies.  Our eating habits have been on kind of a roller coaster ride.  For the most part we have been good, but the month of April was the first time that we intentionally broke our diets.  Afterwards, we felt horrible, which is a great sign that this diet is for the best.

Fortunately, I have still been going down in weight (hallelujah!).  I am now 15 lbs down, and really starting to feel the benefits of weight loss.  I am stronger, and able to sustain longer workouts.  My digestion has been better as well.  My friend, Brittany, got me to buy a groupon for Bounce Aerobics.  Here is their website.  So far, I have tried zumba and turbo kick.  I'm really in love with turbo kick, as it is a crazy aerobic exercise that will have every muscle in your body hurting the next day.  The instructors are fun and energetic, and the atmosphere is very city chic.