What I've been eating..

I've been drinking fresh juice in the morning then eating a nice lunch out of Forks over knives book. To top it off I've juiced my dinner. It really does give you lots of energy and my body is feeling really great!

6 Kale Leaves
1 Cucumber
4 Celery Stalks
1' Ginger root
1/2 Lemon with rind
2 Green Apples
Put all in your juicer and  you are good to go! Use all organic produce when possible. ENJOY!

Mac and No Cheese Sauce with portobello mushroom

Knives over Forks has a great mac and cheese recipe but I found this one online that I love!

Vegan Mac n' Cheese! 

3 Carrots

1 Red Apple

1/2 Beet

1 Kale Leaf

Coconut Red-Lentil Curry

Today I made the most amazing Curry dish! I wanted to lick my plate.

yield: Makes 6 to 8 (main course) servings

active time: 30 min

total time: 45 min

Coconut milk adds a silky richness to this South Indian–style vegetarian meal.

ingredients

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger (I didn't have fresh ginger so I added 2tsp of powdered ginger)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (I didn't have coriander so I added 2tbs of curry powder)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (2 1/2-inch) fresh jalapeño or serrano chile, finely chopped, including seeds (I didn't have Jalapeno so I added 1tsp Chili powder)
• 2 cups water (instead of water I used chicken broth)
• 1 1/2 cups dried red lentils (10 oz)
• 1 (13- to 14-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 lb zucchini (2 medium), cut into 1/4-inch dice (I also used a giant portobello mushroom)
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs

• Accompaniment: white rice (I cooked 1/2 cup brown rice and 1/2 cup forbidden rice.)

Scary Monsanto Act Passed

I've been walking everyday for an hour at the park except for today but my man is coming home soon to show me his workout routine and I will follow along with him.
For dinner I'm going to make a Vegan Mac and Cheese from this cool site I found the other day: Detoxinista
When I made the Vegan Mack and Cheese the no cheese sauce didn't come out as thick as I thought it should be so I took some of the roasted broccoli and a few sauteed portobello mushrooms and blended it with the sauce I made. I added more Turmeric so it stayed yellow. I sauteed the portobellos with some garlic and a little bit of cooking wine. I think it really added a little extra flavor to this dish! LOVE this recipe.


I also spent a good part of the day looking for protests against the new Monsanto Protection Act that Obama just passed. Monsanto Protection Act

No protests in our area as of yet but I think that is because the word is still catching since our sneaky President passed this without press. Everyone should be concerned about this regardless if you are for Monsanto or not.

No SUGAR!

First thing is to stop the sugar consumption. Sugar turns to fat. Fruit is a healthy food and will not make you fat and is an important food item to add in your healthy food lifestyle change.

I'm not big on eating sugary items. I would rather have salty items like chips and fries, although I don't really crave those things as much since I've been eating extremely well. I have noticed however that when I do get a sweets craving it is always at night. So what to do? I've just been ignoring that craving but being poor certainly helps. I don't have the money to go out and just buy something and I don't keep those things in my home.
I don't eat processed foods. I don't consume toxic sugar substitutes. Sometimes juicing an orange or eating half a fruit item does help.
I can't stress enough on the importance of reading labels. Look at the sugar, salt/sodium content of that food you are eating especially if it is coming from a box. High levels of salt or sugar is not going to help you reach your goals.
My marital art instructor always said, "Be AWARE!" That can also be applied to food... Always know exactly what you are eating. You are responsible for what you eat... you and no one else.

So It Begins!

I'm fat. I'm not going to sugar coat my outward appearance. I'm 5'2 and 205lbs which is NOT HEALTHY. I've noticed that when I tell people i'm fat they simply tell me that I look fine. It isn't a question of looking fine it is a statement of fact. Fat is NOT healthy. You can't put Fat and healthy together because they are two different puzzle pieces. I'm going to be posting some great blogs I have found and things that I want to accomplish.  I found an exercise that I hope to be able to do someday and that is my ultimate goal. I'm staying away from the goal of losing fat or weight because when I start to think on those terms it seems impossible but if I focus my goal of conquering a specific exercise that is difficult for me right now not only will I be able to do the exercise but I will have lost fat in the process thus decreasing my weight by default.
Goal number 1: Ninja Jump

This is Zuzka Light my new hero. She has since left the BodyRock group but is now doing her own thing.
Zuzka Light Page Click HERE!

Be sure to check out her recipes page!
There have been some questions regarding eating before you workout. They say that if you workout on an empty stomach you will burn the fat you have stored already then eat after the workout since you are still burning calories after. If you eat before you workout you will be burning the food energy that you just ate. I imagine that if you are just maintaining it will be good for you to eat before you workout but if you are trying to lose weight why not try not eating before the workout and see if you lose more fat that way. I'm going to try it. I generally workout in the afternoon so before lunch I will workout then eat my lunch after. I'm sure that if you are starving (which you shouldn't let yourself become) you can eat a low calorie sank option before the workout so you aren't burning too many food calories.

If you do better with watching your weight there are some great trackers like on this site:
Weight Tracker LINK!

I've been using two apps on my phone to help me stay on track.
My Fitness Pal!
Sierra Club Trail APP!