Tag Archives: Health

Salmon with wild rice

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Ingredients:

•2 salmon filets

•2 garlic cloves

•2 tsp grainy mustard

•4oz grape tomatoes

•1 tsp butter

•1/4 oz of parsley

•1/2 cup wild rice

•2 cups broccoli

Recipe:

Bring medium pot of wild rice with 1 1/2 cups of water to boil. Lower temp to simmer and cover. While rice cooks steam the broccoli.

Halve tomatoes. Mince garlic. Stem parsley. Pat salmon dry and season with salt and pepper.

Place a pan over medium heat. Add 1 tsp of olive oil. Cook salmon on each side for 4-6 minutes until browned. While salmon cooks, make the tomato topping. In a pan on medium heat add butter and let melt. Add 1 tsp of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and half the parsley. Stir occasionally till tomatoes blister. Add mustard and a pinch of salt.

Plate broccoli, rice, salmon and top the salmon with the tomato topping. Enjoy!

Counting Calories

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In order for my body to function; meaning my organs working, body moving, breathing, doing day to day tasks, etc; it uses roughly 1,300 calories of energy a day. This is excluding workout. I eat roughly 1,800-2,000 calories a day. If I have a heavy workout I actually eat more. This is to make sure my body has the energy it needs to burn (fuel itself).

If I consumed only 1,300 calories a day even on workout days, I would be burning more than I was taking in. There are some trainers that encourage this. I think they’re wrong. (Just my personal opinion). When you look at the biomechanics of the body you can actually do yourself harm by not consuming enough energy calories. If your body doesn’t have what it needs to fuel itself, it begins to break down muscle. People automatically assume fat is the first to go. This is wrong! Your body will store the fat as “safety.” Your body needs fat as insulation so it will store the fat to protect itself and breakdown muscle as fuel instead. Muscle is what helps your body burn fat! If you are breaking down muscle, you can’t expect your body to burn fat!

I recently downloaded the app My Fitness Pal at someone’s recommendation. I put in my information and it said I should eat about 1,200 calories a day. My body needs more than that on a non workout day! I’m not trying to become tiny and skinny. I like my size. I like having muscle. This app is clearly not for someone like me. The only way for me to successfully hit a 1,200 calorie goal would be to cut down my protein amount, limit my carbs and up my vegetable amount. The last time I did this (back in 2005) I passed out due to lack of complex carbs. My body needed heavier carbs like brown rice and sweet potato to fuel itself for the amount I was working out.

I have heard people say “don’t worry about calories” or “ calories aren’t important if you’re working out.” That’s not true! Your body needs energy calories to function. Should you focus solely on calories alone? Absolutely not! Eating 120 calories of candy is not equivalent to eating 120 calories of an avocado (about half an avocado). Your body will use the fat and calories from the avocado as energy. The candy is straight sugar and can only be used minimally as energy. The rest gets stored in your body as fat.

Don’t get me wrong. I am absolutely not telling you to count calories every day. I am encouraging people to be aware of what they eat and how much they eat. Get an idea of how many calories you need a day to fuel your body and build your meals around that. You’ll eventually get good enough where you can pick foods and portions that will fuel your body enough without having to “count” those calories. Understand what fuel calories are vs fat calories.

Fuel your body! Don’t starve it. You only get ONE body here on earth.

You have two homes…..

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I heard the best quote the other day. “You have two homes: Earth and your body. Take care of them.” I love this! When you think about it, often times we are careless with both. My biggest pet peeve is when people complain about how they constantly get sick or keep gaining weight. Are you taking care of your body? Are you eating vegetables, fruit, carbs, fat (good fat) and protein? Are you taking a multi vitamin? Are you limiting your alcohol intake and avoiding smoking? Do you workout at least 3 times a week? A lot of times the answers to this question are no. God only gave us one body. Take care of it! Fuel it properly and care for it so it will last!

The same goes with earth. I hate when I see someone throw trash out the window of their car. You couldn’t put it in your cup holder and throw it away when you got home? Was it radioactive and had to be thrown out of your car that minute? I live in Plano and I love how our city has trash cans on almost every corner. When I get in the turn lane to go left I know there will be a trash can I can pull up to and throw things away. Yes it’s something so minor and small but even the little things make a difference.

These are the only two homes we will have in our lifetime. Take care of them!

(Yes that’s me doing a handstand on the edge of a boat in the pic)

Running

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Every morning ryder and I go for a 2-3 mile walk. It’s our way of getting out of the house to get some fresh air while also letting me get a little light cardio in. I’ve had SO many people tell me I need to start running. They tell me how “freeing it is” and how I’ll love it. Let me tell you what’s NOT freeing to someone with a tear in each meniscus, a right side MCL tear and a previously fractured knee cap……RUNNING! Would I like to run? Maybe. I never was a huge fan. I always said I only run if someone is chasing me. Lol

I’m sure you’re wondering why I never got my knees fixed. Well, back when I was younger when the injuries happened, we didn’t exactly have a lot of money. Plus my brother was on his 4th meniscus tear and he needed surgery. I was at the end of my college cheerleading career and he was up for multiple wrestling scholarships coming out of high school so the obvious choice was for him to get his done. I built up enough scar tissue over the years that my knees are fine for every day use. However running isn’t exactly in the cards. Running is painful. My knees hurt for days after just ten minutes of light jogging. It honestly sucks because my husband is a runner and I always thought it would be fun to run together. Some days I get this “high” and think I can do it, and I’ll push through a short jog. But then the pain hits for a few days after and I think….that was stupid. Do I still have hope I’ll be able to jog without pain one day? Yes of course. But it’s a slow process to build that knee strength. Not to mention it’s frustrating having people tell me I need to start running. I need to start running like I need a hole in my head. 😂 It’s too much to explain to them why I don’t just up and run, so I just smile and say “maybe” every time. I’m going to keep trying and slowly pushing myself. But it will definitely take some time. Longer than the norm that’s for sure!

Always remember you know what’s best for your body. Listen to it! If something hurts, stop! I have seen so many people get injured trying to push through actual pain (not soreness or tiredness) to keep up with others. It’s your body not theirs, remember that.

Poblano pepper chicken

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Ingredients:

•2 Chicken Breast’s

•1/2 oz butter

•8 oz butternut squash cubed

•8 oz carrot chopped

•1 tsp chipotle powder

•2 garlic cloves

•1 poblano pepper

•1 oz shredded chihuahua cheese

•1 oz shredded cheddar

•1 cup brown rice

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in oven for 25 minutes. While chicken cooks, stem and cut poblano peppers. Mince garlic, and mix with poblano pepper. Sauté on a non stick skillet. Cook until lightly charred 1-2 minutes). Set aside.

Place carrot and butternut squash in pot and fill with water till covered. Boil until tender, 7-10 minutes. Drain water and mash with potato masher. Mix in butter and chipotle seasoning. Cover and set aside. While cooking mash, boil brown rice in 1 cup of water till tender. Drain and set aside.

Mix together poblano pepper mixture and cheeses. Remove chicken from oven and place mixture on top of chicken. Place back in oven and cook for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Place mash and rice on plate. Plate chicken on top of rice and serve!

What you eat

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I went to lunch with a friend recently and she told me she was wanting to lose weight. She asked me what I typically eat in a day so I explained. I start my mornings with a solid breakfast, then a snack, then lunch, then another snack, then a post workout protein shake, and finish with dinner. None of my meals are huge but they are a good size to where I’m not still hungry after.

When we went to order our lunch I ordered a a grilled chicken salad with no cheese and salsa instead of dressing. My friend ordered a fruit smoothie. This is where people get it all wrong. Food is not your enemy if consumed in the proper amounts! A fruit smoothie isn’t a meal. It’s a snack. Yes fruit is good for you but in small amounts. Your body processes fruit as a sugar. If you want to lose weight, fuel your body properly. Give it the nutrients it needs to burn fat….veggies, proteins, fats (avocado), etc. I wish people would stop being so scared of what they eat. Educate yourself on foods! If you don’t know where to start, then ask!

Importance of sleep

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We’ve been told since we were little how important sleep is but few people really listen. Sleep is imperative for your body in so many ways. As you sleep you body goes to work healing damaged cells, boosting your immune system, repairing your heart and cardio vascular system, and recovering from the days activities.

These are a few risks of lack of sleep:

•Weight gain

•Increased risk of heart disease •Increased risk of stroke

•Loss of concentration/focus

•Adverse affects on blood sugar •Depression

•Drop in immune function

•Increased inflammation

•Affects emotional state

Sleep is so important to your overall physical and mental health. For the average person 7-8 hours of sleep is a healthy amount of sleep each night. If you’re one who typically only sleeps 5-6 hours a night, try seeing if you can get to bed an hour earlier. That one hour of sleep will make a huge difference on your overall physical and mental health. You’ll actually feel less tired during the day and will have more physical energy. You’ll likely notice a difference in your emotional state as well.

I notice when I don’t get enough sleep my joints hurt, I’m tired all day and I’m moody. As the day goes on I get a little better but I’m never really myself. 7-8 hours a night is not always feasible when you have an infant but I try my best. I go to bed at 9 or 10 most nights in case he wakes up in the middle of the night or wakes up earlier than his normal 6:30am. I want to make sure my body is rested and ready for a full day of running around with him.