So, you finish a killer workout and run out the door, right?! Wrong, or at least, when time allows, there is always room for improvement in the recovery from exercise and in your ability to bounce back the next day.

The cool thing is that ******maybe****** cross your fingers, I’ve got it figured out. Number 1, I get calories in my stomach as soon as possible- like within 15 minutes.

#1 I have been using 2 scoops of Opticen in 20 ounces of water! For the last month, my muscle soreness has been significantly better.

#2 5 Essential Yoga Poses: Pidgeon, DownDog, Standing Forward Bend, Handstand, and Legs up the Wall Pose

#3 FOOD…..Check out images below. Egg White (ish) {Couple yokes fell in}Frittata with Onions, Zucchini, Broccoli, and Spinach topped with one measly ounce of Pecorino Cheese! This is two meals for me!


Smothered with avocado and a side dish of cherry tomatoes…

Finally, water, water, water….and a little iced coffee from the best coffee in my town!

How do you recover from exercise?!

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These recipes look delicious!

Image Credit: Marks Daily Apple
Recipe here.

Hummus en Fuego Recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

Simple Cauliflower Recipe

Garlicky Greens

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

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Check out the Honest Food Guide here.
There is some stuff listed here that I don’t even know what they are- sprouted grains, sea vegetables or spirulina, black strap molasses and chlorella!?! However, the main point is quite clear- if you ditch the bad foods, you will be healthier and possibly free of disease!

Now, the next question is organic or non-organic? The “dirty dozen” list of the worst offenders in pesticides include apples, bell peppers, carrots, celery, cherries, grapes, kale, lettuce, nectarines, pears, peaches and strawberries. How many of you always buy organic? Admittedly, I don’t always buy organic. Prices can be significantly more and this family is on a budget.



However, one way I have managed to avoid buying certain fruits was to plant my own trees. In one very large hole, we planted three different trees that will all become ripe at different months of the year. We have peaches, plums, and pluots. Basically, I have six trees in two holes, they cross pollinate each other and are HEAVY duty producers! In fact, I am beginning to have anxiety about the number of peaches on my kitchen floor and still more left to pick!

Peach Smoothies here I come! Good thing the kids love them, too!

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Yes, it’s guess the protein dinner! Ha, is it chicken, shrimp, tofu or sausage???

Recipe is a Rachel Classic- saute all vegetables in the house with olive oil (1-2 teaspoons), salt, pepper and garlic add protein and serve. The greener the better! This dinner came complete with a side dish of more vegetables…

What have you all been cooking lately?

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Powerful.

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12 Days from now I will be competing in my first EVER Cross Fit Invitational as an intermediate female. Thankfully, with the help of my trainers, I am feeling strong in the areas of lifting- not all that confident in the Olympic lifts such as the Hang Clean or Snatch- but I at least have the strength to be competing as an intermediate female.

However, food is the problem. Yes, I am on the ZONE diet. But, coming off a huge weekend of “special events” has lead me to believe that my diet needs to be CLEANED up massively before I can feel strong, confident and prepared.

I have pink post – it notes all over my house with the words “50 Double Unders” {A jump rope skill that requires two turns of the rope for every one jump}. But, now I need to add one note to the other one…”Make every meal REAL”. Must come from real sources, have an ingredient of one- protein, veggies, fruits and or nuts. That’s it. 12 Days and Counting down to more REAL food in my diet- less chocolate, less dairy (can I give up dairy???), no alcohol and eat strictly real food…

Encouraging words are welcomed.

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Health food and me have not always gotten along.  I’ve tended to steer clear of anything that did not resemble real food.  However, recently, I’ve tried LOTS of new things- whether it’s really heavy weight or new foods that I normally would NEVER try.  And, I have been pleasantly surprised!

CHIA GOODNESS

Apparently, chia seeds have more Omega-3 than salmon or flax seeds!  I have been sampling this Chia Goodness cereal for a week now.  I love it!  Only 2 tablespoons mixed with hot water yields 10 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fat, and 5 grams of protein.  The fact that it’s only two tablespoons is really a small amount, but, when I combine it with other proteins at breakfast, I am satisfied.

One bag costs $7.50 and can be obtained at your local health food store or online.

Fake Chicken patties?! Gardein Protein Products.

Remember this post about Tal Ronnen’s Conscious Cookbook?  At the time, I thought the cookbook was very complicated for me, but, I was intrigued by those Gardein products.  I’ve since found them at my local health food store and thanks to a very nice PR rep, have been able to sample all the flavors of the Gardein products!

These are low in fat, high in protein and very low in carbohydrates.  They are fairly tasty- when sauteed in olive oil or baked and are incredibly convenient!  This is one of the main reasons why I like it.  If I’m in a rush, I can grab one “chicken” patty and 2 cooked egg whites and my protein in ready to go!  Protein on the go is sometimes hard to have ready, so, this I am very happy with these products.  Also, the price is reasonable for 3-4 servings – $5 or less (I think).

Finally, I have Coromega Omega-3 supplements.

2.5 grams of Omega-3 in one packet.  Tasty, quick and fairly inexpensive for an Omega-3 supplement.  My children and I have been very happy with all of the Omega-3 samples we received.  They especially liked the Coromega for Kids orange and lime flavors as well as the Healthy Heart COQ-10/Omega 3 packets.

What products do you love from the health food store?

PS.  I received all of the above products as samples for purposes of review and I have since repurchased all of them.  I am not a nutritionist, but, so I don’t know how to evaluate the quality of the Omega-3 products, but this seems like a good one!

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In a recent article in Instyle Magazine, Heidi Klum and David Kirsch are featured with that lovely article title: “How to lose your muffin top in three weeks”.  With Heidi being the beautiful Victoria’s Secret’s model and David being the coach, they seem to have an effective program.  He offers a huge list of No No’s and a list of cardiovascular/body weight workouts and BAM- you could look as beautiful as her.

David’s list of No- No’s includes no alcohol, soda or coffee, no breads or starchy carbs, no dairy unless it’s skim milk or non-fat greek yogurt, no extra sweets and no excessive fats or fruits.

Phew! That’s a long list of don’t’s in my opinion!

Here’s my take on the whole weight loss/fat loss thing:

It’s taken me a LONG time to finally lose most of my body fat- and I’m not there yet.  And, a LOT  of hard work.  I do not do any “endurance cardio” ever!  Our workouts are massively structured and always have a anaerobic capacity to them- but almost never will I be doing “long, slow distance” as my coach from high school called it.   Weight loss does not happen over night.  It doesn’t happen in three weeks.  Although, I’ve heard it happening- most people want to make small changes over a long period of time, right?  Yes, you could lose tons of weight on the David Kirsch method, but, would you be able to stick to it over the long haul?   Me, I don’t think so.  I like cheese.  And, from reading it,the diet seems unreasonably restrictive and lacking in carbs and fats- even good fats like avocado’s and olive oil.

Remember, I am not a nutritionist, just a girl on a journey, really.  The things I’ve learned and have applied are very little breads/cereals/ white flour foods {And, seriously, my tummy gets ANGRY when I eat that stuff!!}.  I splurge on good dark chocolate.  I eat egg whites with hummus or an apple + 3 macademia nuts for a snack.  I eat fruit- like in my greek yogurt or cottage cheese.  I am following the ZONE diet but I cheat.  Losing unwanted body fat takes time.  It’s taken me years to develop these habits, I’m not going to dump them all over night.  One of these days, I might.  However, in the meantime, I am still going to enjoy iced americano’s with cream (no sugar), chocolate and sometimes wine.

Who’s with me on this?  Anyone believe that you can achieve what the magazines say you can?  Why are the diets and/or articles always based on speed?  This type of writing – is just plain lying, isn’t it?  We are not going to get “great abs in three moves” or 15 minutes a day, etc…it’s going to take dedication to a fairly clean diet and sweat!

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Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to share my excitement with you….I have my first BIG article published on Read Breathe today!  It was meant to be an in print article- but got cut for space- but it’s online and I’m happy about it!

What I learned Cooking With My Kids

Also, live is Part 2 of “Get Those Abs Ready for Swim Suit Season” on A Mom in Red High Heels.

Celebrate with me!

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Hi Everyone,

Today’s post on “5 Ways to Get Swim Suit Ready Abs by Spring Break” has been posted on A Mom in Red High Heels!

Also, the winners of the Subway Cards are numbers  #174 and #224.  I will contact you for addresses to mail your prizes! Thanks to all of you for entering.  Stay tuned for more contests in the near future!

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