20 Ways To Eat Chia Seeds Without Even Noticing

For some odd reason, chia seeds elicit a negative response in people who have never tried them. It's somewhere on a scale of, "You mean 'ch-ch-ch-Chia?!" and a mashed up face of disgust. Don't ask me why this is the knee-jerk response to these little miracle seeds of which have zero taste and a satisfying crunch. So I'm going to make it easy for you if your initial reaction to the thought of trying chia seeds is fear and/or disgust. Here is a list of 20 things you can put chia seeds into and not even notice you're eating them.

1. Chili
2. Oatmeal (yummy recipe here!)
3. Smoothies (some smoothie ideas here)
4. Green Salads
5. Other Salads (tuna, chicken, egg, potato)
6. Mac and cheese
7. On Top of Pizza
8. Guacamole (add a couple tablespoons to this recipe!)
9. PB&Js (your kiddos will never know)
10. Omelets
11. Salsas and Dips (Add it to hummus to go to a new level of healthy!)
12. Casseroles
13. Yogurt Parfaits (if you're really daring, add them to this quinoa parfait!)
14. Jambalaya
15. Coleslaw
16. Marinades (Salmon, anyone?)
17. Soups
18. Apple sauce
19. Rice Dishes
20. Tacos

I promise, you will love chia seeds. They give you a noticeable amount of energy and cleanse your digestive tract. Give em' a chance! 

Protein Packed Breakfast Bowl

Mmmm. Breakfast. My favorite meal. Breakfast for breakfast is amazing enough, but breakfast for lunch or dinner... Unbeatable. While I really enjoy a good waffle or fat-laden omelet from time to time, during the week, I try to come up with food combinations that will keep me fueled all day and help repair my muscles from working out (not to mention the muscle pains that come from chasing and lifting a very healthy-sized two year old boy).

I recently stumbled upon this snack on Pinterest and it inspired me to turn it into a breakfast bowl by adding an egg and omitting a couple of other ingredients. I had it for breakfast this morning and (I promise) I have been filled with energy all day and have not had any potato chip/Oreo/peanut butter out of the jar cravings. Not to mention, this healthy, delicious, filling breakfast takes less than 10 minutes to put together.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 C low fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 C chopped tomatoes
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste (optional. I personally like almost every food to be spicy)

Directions

1. Scramble egg to desired consistency, adding pepper and cayenne pepper if desired.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. 
3. Sprinkle on more black pepper, if desired.

Chocolate Mousse Smoothie

A few weeks ago, we had some friends over for dinner and so our two-year old kids could run around and wear each other down. I made my new favorite, spaghetti squash pad Thai and our friends brought dessert. A chocolate mousse made with avocados. It was amazing. Since then, I've been eating a similar smoothie version of this decadent, good-for-you dessert!

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado 
• 1/2-1 banana 
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 C plain almond milk
• 2-3 ice cubes
• 1 T creamy peanut butter
• 1 T raw honey

Directions

1. Combine in a blender and blend until smooth. Obviously. (Sometimes I feel like an idiot when I blog. Example: Of course readers know that you're going to blend in a blender. And of course they know to blend until smooth since it's called a smoothie. Jeesh, Chels).

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

As you might have noticed, I have been obsessed with squash this season. To be honest, I've been obsessed with squash for...? Since I can remember. I'm a big fan of just cooking them with butter and brown sugar and letting the squash do the rest (because honestly, that's all you need to do to make them extraordinary). But I'm learning that there's a billion other ways to make really satisfying, tasty, and beautiful meals out of squash. I've also been sharing my squash cooking adventures on my blog! Spaghetti squash pad Thai! Butternut squash stuffed with breakfast sausage! And tonight, acorn squash stuffed with quinoa.

Ingredients

• 2 acorn squash, cut in half
• 1 C quinoa 
• 1 C water
• 1 C vegetable stock (or chicken broth)
• 1/2 minced white onion
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/4 C chopped walnuts
• 1/4 C raisins
• 1/4 C dried cranberries (or just another 1/4 C of raisins because no one usually has dried cranberries just lying around)
• 3 T Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 C grated cheddar cheese
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T red wine vinegar (more or less to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375º and place acorn squash cut side down in a cookie sheet or casserole dish with some water (about a cup, roughly). 
2. When oven is heated, put squash into oven for 30-45 minutes, until soft.
3. Meanwhile, cook quinoa. Because I'm lazy, I use my rice cooker for this. One cup quinoa to two cups liquid, in this case one cup of vegetable stock, one cup of water. Whole Foods' website has good instructions on how to cook quinoa the right way.
4. Saute onion on medium heat in a pan for about 5 minutes, until clear. Add in garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes. 
5. Add onions and garlic to the quinoa mixture along with walnuts, raisins, cranberries, and Parmesan cheese and mix thoroughly. 
6. Next add the olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper. I recommend adding no more than two tablespoons of olive oil and then adding the vinegar, salt, and pepper to your taste.
7. When the squash is done, remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Flip squash over and spoon in heaping amounts of the quinoa mixture.
8. Finally, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of each squash half and place back in oven for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I wrote a post a little over a year ago about the health benefits of chia seeds. In short, the have tons of fiber, calcium, and protein and they give you energy. I try to incorporate them into my lunch as often as possible so I can avoid the feeling of exhaustion that comes along with the 2pm hour. And in case you're wondering, it always helps with my energy in the afternoon.

The other day, I was reading a post on Mind Body Green (love this site!) and it mentioned that eating chia seeds before bed can lead to lucid dreaming! Which translates to REM sleep, which means you're going to wake up feeling amazing the next day. And the older I get, the more I believe that a good night's sleep can make everything else fall into place. The website also mentioned making a chia seed pudding and replacing your evening snack with it.

Ingredients

• 1/4 C dry chia seeds
• 1 C vanilla almond milk
• 1-2 T brown sugar (you can omit brown sugar entirely if you don't have much of a sweet tooth)
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1-2 T honey

Directions

1. Mix together chia seeds, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.
2. Mix in almond milk and make sure to mix thoroughly, so all ingredients are well blended.
3. Put mixture into fridge and stir every now and then to make sure seeds absorb the moisture.
4. Leave in fridge for at least two hours (or overnight to eat for breakfast!) and before serving, drizzle with honey to taste.
5. Enjoy!

Vegan Tofu Pad Thai

Ingredients

• 3-4 C cooked spaghetti squash (or 1 large squash, 2 small squash)
• 1 container extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 1 T teriyaki sauce
• 2 T rice vinegar
• 1/4 C vegetable broth
• 2 T peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, either works great!)
• 2 T canola oil (or olive oil or peanut oil or coconut oil, they all will do)
• 1 T Sriracha 
• 1 T garlic chili sauce (omit if you don't like too much heat and replace with 1/2 more T Sriracha)
• Juice from one lime
• 4-8 cloves garlic, minced, depending on how garlicky you like things
• 1/2  container silken tofu
• 1 C shredded carrots
• 2-4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 C fresh cilantro
• Slices of lime
• 1/4 C chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Cook your spaghetti squash (you can do this hours or even a couple days in advance). If you haven't ever cooked spaghetti squash, here are some really great instructions from Whole Foods!
2. Combine half of minced garlic, juice from lime, 1 T soy sauce, and 1 T teriyaki sauce in a plastic bag to make marinade. 15-30 minutes (NO LONGER! I've learned that marinading tofu isn't at all like marinading meat) before you're ready to prepare your meal, put the extra firm tofu into the bag with the marinade.
3. Mix together 1 T rice vinegar, vegetable broth, peanut butter, Sriracha, and garlic chili sauce and set aside.
4. Put canola oil into a large frying pan or wok on medium heat. Add carrots and garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. 
5. Remove extra firm tofu from marinade and put into pan. Cook until at least heated through.
6. Turn up heat to medium high and make an empty spot in the middle of the pan. Add silken tofu and scramble for 4-6 minutes.
7. Add cilantro and green onions (save some to use as garnish), spaghetti squash, and peanut butter mixture. Cook until simmering. 
8. Serve and garnish with peanuts, green onions, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.
9. Drink with a nice fruity white wine!

Decadent 200 Calorie Snack

Let's eat a snack that has it all today. Let's eat something that is decadent, filling, gives you energy, doesn't take forever to put together, and is low in calories!

Here's what you do. Get some crackers (go with some Kashi Original 7 Grain crackers, because you'll get more caloric bang for your buck. Five crackers will only cost you 24 calories). Cut an avocado in half (use one half and wrap the other half with the pit in saran wrap to keep for 24 hours) and spread a thin layer of avocado on top of the crackers. Then (this is gonna sound weird, but trust me), drizzle a little rice vinegar on top. Just a smidgen will do! Finally, put some roasted sesame seeds or chia seeds on top.

This snack is the perfect snack to curb cravings before lunch or to give you a boost during the "mid-afternoon-can't-keep-my-eyes-open-why-do-I-always-crash-at-2pm?" part of your day! And the good news?  210 calories. Enjoy!

Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe (vegan!)

We planted a garden last summer. It yielded more than we would have imagined. Especially the squash, which is good, because I live in a family that is addicted to squash. We still have oodles of squash in our basement from months ago. Spaghetti squash, acorn squash, butternut squash, and a few Turk's turbans. So I decided I'd cook some for dinner tonight.

Here's one of the many amazing things about squash. When you cook it, it makes your house reek of summer. A few other amazing things about it? It's loaded with beta carotene, vitamin C, and fiber. Plus, it's cheap when you buy it and it's so freaking delicious.

So anyway, I made my house reek of summer tonight, I fried up some vegan breakfast sausage, and I put together what has become one of my favorite (vegan) winter comfort foods! Here's the recipe!

Ingredients

• 2 Butternut squash, cut in half and seeds removed
• 1 C water
• 2 T coconut oil (olive oil will work as well)
• 1 package Gimme Lean Breakfast Sausage
• A few pieces of cut up, stale bread or some croutons
• 2 T Maple syrup
• 1 T dried oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place flesh side down in 9x13 casserole dishes (you'll likely need two of them). Add 1/2 C water to each baking dish.
3. Cook squash for one hour. You may need to cook it for longer. Check the squash by poking it with a fork. If it's soft and easily punctured, it's done.
4. Meanwhile, heat coconut (or olive) oil in a pan. When oil is hot, cook the Gimme Lean sausage according to package directions, making sure to crumble it as it cooks. (You can also use regular breakfast sausage here, if you'd like!)
5. Remove squash from oven and flip (BE CAREFUL, IT IS HOT!). Layer sausage and bread into the "cup" parts of the squash until they are heaping. 
6. Drizzle the syrup over each squash half equally, followed by oregano, salt, and pepper. If you like spice, throw in some crushed red pepper! We did and it was awesome!
7. Put squash back into the oven, still heated at 375º, and cook for another 10 minutes. 
8. Remove from oven and let cool for at least ten minutes. Serve in skin and enjoy with a nice white wine!

Yoga Just Keeps Making Things Better...

Good morning! After days of sub-zero temperatures, we woke up today to a sweltering 7º! It's gonna be a great day.

I just wanted to share something extraordinary that has happened to me recently. It happened and I didn't even notice.

For the last three (roughly) years, I've woken up, put my feet on the floor and my right ankle immediately started hurting. Almost as if I'd rolled it the day before. I would limp around the house, get my coffee and water and try to work the pain out of it for a few minutes until I would always give up and just put a pair of my lots-of-support running shoes on. And then it would gradually get better throughout the day and the ache wouldn't return until the next morning.

I haven't told a lot of people about this. I knew what I'd hear (because I've heard it with so many other fitness-related things before). I'd hear, "Running/circuit training/whatever I'm doing a lot of this week is ruining your ankle," or "You should rest for a week or two," or (for lack of a better phrase), "I told you so." I've mentioned this before. People like to be naysayers in regards to other peoples' fitness. It's strange, it's probably most of the time not malicious, and it's really hard to hear.

But I digress, as nay saying is not what this post is about.

Here's what I'm getting to. About a month ago, my husband and I ordered Gymbox on our Roku player. They have all of these different classes (spin bike and pilates and yoga and weights and the list goes on!) taught by different instructors a couple of times a week!  And almost every single day for over a month now, I've done yoga. I kept doing it every morning because I realized it was a lot like my morning coffee. It doesn't give me the same coffee jolt or anything, but I do need it to be my most centered, calm self.

I've noticed all of these lovely intangible things since I've started practicing yoga again. I woke up the other morning, got my water (lemon water is a really great way to start your day, by the way) and coffee, did some other things around the kitchen and that's when it hit me. My ankle has no pain anymore. Not even a tightness. It's gone entirely. And the only change I've really made is yoga. 

Yoga will remain a part of my (almost) daily regimen. I used to dismiss it as a kind of hippy-dippy activity, the breathing and the eye-closing... I was wrong. Nothing has made me more organized, more calm in traffic, more willing to follow through, and nothing has fixed that damn ankle. Here's to yoga!

Stats!

Happy Sunday morning, my friends! If you read my blog with any regularity, you won't be surprised to hear that I'm procrastinating again... I could have been done with my workout, showered, will my hair and makeup done to near perfection by now if I would have just woken up, had a quick cup of coffee, and worked out. But I've sat here in leisure, looking through Pinterest and enjoying my coffee. That's no problem, it's the weekend, right?

Well, anyway, I wasn't going to write a post today. I was looking for an old post to put up on my blog's Facebook page and I couldn't find the one I was looking for. BUT I did find one (click here to read it) that offered up some much-needed personal statistics for me. Last July, I was plateauing. Not for the first time in my getting healthy journey, definitely not the last time. In fact, it's happening again. And I want to tell you all something, in case you hadn't noticed (which I'm sure most of you have). When you work out really hard and eat really healthful things, it somehow doesn't mean that you're going to see a change on the scale from week to week. Sometimes even month to month. It sometimes doesn't mean that you're going to go down in jeans sizes or have to use a different hole on your belt.

Basically, the only thing you can do is just keep doing the right thing. Even if the results take longer than the amount of time you think you deserve to see results in, just keep going.

So here's these stats. Since my "plateau" in July 2012 (just over a year ago. Really, it hasn't been that long). I have lost 17 more pounds. That's pretty much a pound a month. The weight isn't just dripping off of me, but looking back on a year, 17 pounds is a big deal! In total, I've lost 35 pounds in almost two years. I surpassed my previous goal weight and am one pound away from my new goal weight. I actually run when I'm out for a run. I don't walk fast and convince myself that it's jogging. I go on 10-20 mile bike rides multiple times weekly. I work out with heavier weights more often during the week. AND. Here's something. I don't ever eat fast food anymore. Not because it isn't delicious, not because I don't have a craving every now and then. Mostly because my mind has retained memories of how awful I feel after I eat junk.

I wish I would have taken "before" pictures when I started all of this, but I didn't. Thankfully, I've been documenting a good chunk of what's happened in this blog. It makes it easier to just keep going.

Chickens Have My Heart

I have a chicken story to tell about today, but first, I have to share some history.

When I was a little kid, from about age 3 until I was about 11 or 12, my parents raised chickens. Yes. For meat. The first flock, my dad butchered himself. He's a man that is so full of love and kindness that he couldn't bear doing it again, so for the next several years, we loaded up the chickens and took them to a place called Golly's Locker to have them butchered by someone else. Eventually, because of lots of government red tape and bureaucracy in regards to slaughtering small flocks of birds, a lot of the lockers that butchered chickens in our area closed. So we stopped raising flocks. Because, well, no one in my family could step up and handle it.

I myself have never butchered a chicken. Or any animal. I ran over a squirrel yesterday morning and actually cried. I've been counting and it's the third animal I've (knowingly) run over in my life. I've spent the last day torturing myself over this. I also have had many vegetarian blocks in my life. Probably adding up to a total of two years, maybe a little more. My point: I love animals. I don't just think they have souls and personalities and intricate lives like humans... I KNOW they do. So loading up the chickens and taking them to the butcher has always proven to be one of the most awful events of my year.

That brings us to more recent history. My son was born in late 2011 and I started thinking, "Ummm... I don't want to feed this kid chicken that is raised commercially." And I know a lot of people consider this to be persnickety and pious. I dare you to check out some articles on commercially raised poultry. DARE YOU. If you're really adventurous, check out some YouTube videos on how egg layers in factory farms are treated. It's AWFUL. And there's so little regulation about the hormones and antibiotics pumped into these chickens, that even if they were raised in better situations without stress hormones coursing through their blood, they would be so ridden with chemicals... I mean. Why? Because of all of these factors (and because the price of so-called "free range" chicken meat and eggs is so high) we decided that we would attempt to raise flocks again every year. And then I also decided to get a small flock of laying hens and keep them in our back yard and treat them like the beautiful queens that they are. It's safe to say that my beautiful laying hen queens are going to live out their days in luxury and die of natural causes.

Now. Today. This morning was the morning. The morning where we load up the meat flock and they go to the butcher. We all have our place in the process of this. I wrangle the birds (not because I want to, because I'm good at it unfortunately), my mom puts them in the crates, my husband and dad take them to the butcher and deal with it from there. I spend every moment while I'm "wrangling" the chickens sobbing. I thank them, my mom thanks them. We settle them and pet them and cry some more. I can't help thinking about how we've raised these beautiful birds from chicks, we've cared for them, fed them table scraps and excess from our garden, made them trust us. And then, we chase them down, put them in the truck, and then, well. You know. I can't help but constantly think about how I abandoned that trust that we worked so hard to gain from them.

It's heart-crushing.

The emotion comes naturally and I feel that I deserve to be heart broken over it.

I don't want to get on a soap box here, I really don't. I do want to encourage you to get to know what you eat. I don't necessarily mean go out and buy a flock of laying hens or have a back yard garden or butcher your own cow (like I've heard the celebrities are doing now). Start small. Get a basil plant and nurture it. Or if you're constantly buying pre-cut melon, for example, buy a whole melon and cut it yourself. Buy a block of cheese and grate it instead of buying shredded cheese. Do some research on where your other food is coming from. Earlier, I dared you to look into commercial chicken farms. While you're at it, if you can stomach it, Google the article about how chicken nuggets are made. Start to understand the process and start to learn. And then continue learning.

(P.S. If you're wondering, I get closer and closer to a vegetarian diet every day. That doesn't mean we won't still raise meat flocks in the future because I don't see my husband straying from meat completely ever. I whole-heartedly believe that this the most humane way for us to eat chicken. Giving the animals a wonderful life. Giving them a clean, warm place to sleep at night, grass, tomatoes, peppers, etc. to munch on during the day, space to run, fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink... The way I see it is this. While I still eat meat, if I eat the chickens we've raised who have been given good lives, it's that fewer chickens in factory farms, living tortured lives. Okay, I'm rambling here and I'm crying again. Bye. Have a good weekend, all.)

Sore Muscle Mender Smoothie Recipe!

My husband and I have been a smoothie kick lately. Usually, once a day (most often for breakfast or lunch), we make ourselves a smoothie as a meal. We fill it with fruits, veggies, proteins (found in tofu and yogurt and almond milk), and antioxidants.

A few days ago, I was feeling particularly sore after a new, particularly tough workout the day before. I did a little research before lunch and decided to try to make a "sore muscle fixer smoothie". I sipped on it for nearly 30 minutes (some of the ingredients were frozen so admittedly, it was a bit too thick to begin with...) and maybe it was a placebo effect, I don't know, but it actually seemed to ease the soreness.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C blueberries (frozen or fresh) -- Full of antioxidants. (P.S. Coffee and red wine have a good share of antioxidants, too!)
• 1 medium banana (frozen or fresh) -- Bananas=go-to for potassium. We've all heard the old wives tale, encouraging us to eat a banana when we have a leg cramp or a charley horse. It's actually logic and fact-driven. Potassium helps muscles.
• 1 T chia seeds -- I've been going crazy for chia seeds for awhile now. Basically, they give you "Energy. Protein. Omega 3 fatty acids. Fiber. Iron. Calcium." as written in my blog from a few months ago. Read it here.
• 1/4 C silken tofu or Greek yogurt -- Here's where you get some more protein. We don't use Greek yogurt, we use Mountain High and it's amazing. If you can find it at your grocery store, pick some up. You won't be disappointed.
• 1 C almond milk -- More potassium, calcium, and iron and low in calories. Plus it puts a bit more sweetness in your smoothie!
• 2-4 Cubes of ice (optional)
• 1 C fresh spinach -- Think Popeye. We all know that this stuff is full of vitamins and minerals and antioxidants.

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Drink it up and feel all kinds of great!

Here's another exciting thing about this super-food smoothie. It's low in calories. Between 275 and 295 (depending on whether you use tofu or yogurt. The tofu is less, in case you're wondering). If you add five of the Kashi 7 Grain Sea Salt Crackers and some neufchatel cheese (1 oz., which sounds like not a lot, but it's 1/8th of a package) you are still way under 500 calories and I promise you, you will not have hunger pangs for hours. Plus, it's scrumptious. All of it.

Sources:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=43
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09355.html
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-healthier-choice-almond-milk-vs-milk.html
and, as always, http://caloriecount.about.com/

No Apologies

I've had a number of friends who work out regularly apologize recently for posting about working out.

You will not ever get an apology from me. Never.

• I am not trying to make anyone feel like they're not doing enough.
• I am not trying to one-up anyone.
• I am not trying to rub it in peoples' faces that I exercise frequently.
• I am not trying to compete with anyone other than myself.
• I am not trying to show off.
• I am not trying to guilt anyone into drastically altering their lifestyle.
• I am not trying to hurt anyone inadvertently.
• I am not trying to earn any badges by checking in to any exercise facilities.

What am I trying to do?

• I AM trying to connect with like-minded friends about something that I'm always trying to learn more about.
• I AM hoping someone will see one of my posts and think, "Hell, if Chelsea can do it, I can do it." Because that's the truth.
• I AM doing it because I'm proud of my accomplishments.
• I AM chronicling it because it's a big deal to me.
• I AM enjoying looking back on my "I used to not be athletic but now I kind of am" journey.
• I DO try to like or comment on others who go to the gym/on a bike ride/on a run because encouraging others to better themselves is about as "win-win" as you can get.
• I DO feel that by making posts and starting conversations about fitness and health, I keep myself motivated and accountable.
• I WILL, without apology, continue posting, blogging, commenting, liking, and talking about this.

I'm so sad when I see a meme that says something like, "Oh, thank you for the exercise post... SAID NO ONE EVER," because 1. it's unoriginal, 2. it's unkind to someone who is working really hard on positively changing themselves and 3. it's (in my opinion) in poor form to attack someone (or someones) with a vague, been-done meme.

So once again, can we just try to be supportive of each other from time to time?

Pause and Unpause.

Nearly two years ago, I started my health and fitness journey. I've told many of you all about in in previous posts, and many of you about it in real life. I've had these stages that I've gone through. Stage one, for example, was hating it, not understanding it, but pushing through anyway because I knew that no matter what, I would see a positive result in the not-so-distant future. There was another step (much further along) where I realized that I liked the "burn" that exercise gives you (previous to this, I'd often thought people who claimed to like the "burn" were crazy liars... I guess I'm just one of those crazy liars myself, now).

That all brings me to now. The step where sometimes life gets in the way. And I don't mean the everyday rat race of kids and work and commitments and delicious, high-calorie food dangling in front of you at every possible juncture. I mean when huge things happen and just stop you in your tracks. I wrote about my husband and I being in a car accident a little over a month ago. I was lucky enough to come out with some bumps and bruises and my husband broke his back and had surgery. He's making a full recovery, by the way! But my point is that life sometimes blindsides you and every moment you spent doing "normal daily things" before gets shifted for a little while.

I spent the week that my husband was in the hospital pacing. Pacing his room, pacing the halls, pacing hospital stairs, pacing the parking lot... Just pacing. It was 50% intentional and 50% unintentional. I knew I had to move during the day. I'd spent the last year and a half losing 35 pounds and becoming healthier than I ever remember and I was absolutely not going to sacrifice that. The half of the pacing that was unintentional was due to the fact that I was on the phone CONSTANTLY with friends, family, insurance companies, etc. and well, I'm one of those people who paces like crazy when I'm on the phone. Nervous habit I guess.

The week Dan got home, I went for a couple of walks with my friend Mollie. Real, actual, strenuous walks. It felt SO GOOD to actually sweat again. Towards the end of the following week, I started doing various crossfit DVDs and walking almost daily. And then last week and this week... WHEW! I started jogging again (what a stress-buster!), I've done an early morning workout almost every morning, and I managed to squeeze in a decent bike ride yesterday afternoon, even though the temperature was 100º... Maybe not my brightest idea ever, but hey, it feels great to move again. And I'm so glad I didn't allow the "I'm not going to work out because there's too much on my plate" thing go any further than it did. Because as I or any other avid exerciser will tell you, the longer you wait to jump back into it, the harder it gets to jump back into it.

Now. If you're wondering about Dan. My husband, my amazing husband... He is five weeks out from breaking his back and having it put back together with rods and screws. And he is walking a mile and a half every day. With our dog. Who pulls like it's her job. He's not using a walker, a cane, or any other assistance (aside from the required back brace, obviously). He had his brother fashion a pair of higher-than-usual handlebars for our stationary bike and he has been going for 10-20 minute rides on that frequently. And last night he got on my actual bicycle and rode it to the end of the block.

Here's my point. BIG THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE. GOOD AND BAD. HUGE THINGS ARE GOING TO MAKE YOU WANT TO STOP. DON'T. JUST DON'T. YOU SHOULD PAUSE, BUT REMEMBER TO UNPAUSE EVENTUALLY AND PUSH FORWARD. LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH THE INTENTION OF BETTERING YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES. QUITTING WON'T HELP ANYONE.

And on a separate note: we have have made and canned so much salsa and jelly and jam in the past few days... We're making lemon out of lemonade, my friends! Or... Salsa out of tomatoes... Or jam out of ditch grapes... Or... You get it. We're making lots of yummy shtuff.

Peach salsa and black bean/sweet corn salsa. YUM.

 

Banana Watermelon Smoothie

We've been eating a lot of smoothies lately. Simply put, they are easy, healthy, and filling. To me, that adds up to a perfect lunch option.

Today, I made myself a pumpkin spice smoothie (I'm pretending, since it's September, that fall weather is upon us. It's not. It's super hot outside...) and my husband came up with a really refreshing concoction... Banana and watermelon! It's so yummy and since we often have watermelon to spare, it was the perfect excuse to use some of it up.

Watermelon is rich in so many good things. It's packed full of vitamin C and lycopene. Which means it not only protects your immune system, but it strengthens your bones as well. It's also a good diuretic. Meaning it helps you pee (let's just call a spade a spade) BUT it isn't as rough on your kidneys as alcohol or coffee (which are, I suppose, by comparison, bad diuretics. I hate admitting that since coffee is one of my great loves...). And, of course, watermelon tastes great. It's a great fix for a sweet tooth and filled with water (obviously), keeping you hydrated. Oh. And as usual, I threw some chia seeds in there to give me a little energy boost.

Ingredients

• 1 C watermelon
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 C silken tofu
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1/2 almond milk

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Serve over ice (or you can blend it up with some ice too!)

Not pictured is the silken tofu. Because we used
it all.

(Source: Live Love Fruit)

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Good morning! I got to bed late last night (10:45) and woke up early (5:26). I've managed to pick up the house, drink some coffee, chat with the husband, squeeze in an hour-long workout (after four days of absolute SLACKING), and make a new kind of smoothie to add to my list of favorite foods!

For those of you who are looking forward to fall because everything pumpkin spice will be available, well, you're in luck. This smoothie is DECADENT. And of course, it's totally healthy. Has anyone heard how amazing pumpkins are for your health? They're packed with fiber, beta-carotene, and one cup has more potassium than a banana. So... let's tally up what that will do for you. It will help your skin, your eyes, your hair, your digestive system, and your muscles, just to mention a few things. And the list goes on way beyond what I have listed here.

Another good thing? It's a smoothie so it only takes five minutes to throw together.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C pumpkin puree (From a can. YES. The stuff you use for pumpkin pie is just plain ol' pumpkin. No sugar, salt, etc. Just mashed up pumpkin.)
• 3/4 C vanilla almond milk
• 1 T honey
• 4-6 ice cubes
• 1 t pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. Put ingredients into blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Drink up and feel like a million bucks.

Recipe makes roughly 1 1/2 cups and has only 178 calories. YES!

(Sources: As usual, About.com's Calorie Counter and Huffington Post.)

A Dozen of My FAVE healthy(ish) foods!

1. Sliced hard boiled eggs with Cholula hot sauce drizzled on the slices.
2. English muffins with creamy peanut butter.
3. Avocados.
4. Coffee with light cream.
5. Iced coffee with light cream.
6. Curried veggies wrapped in lettuce leaves.
7. Grapefruit with a little brown sugar sprinkled on top.
8. GOAT CHEESE.
9. ANY CHEESE.
10. Vanilla almond milk blended with cocoa powder and chia seeds.
11. Cashews.
12. Blueberries.

That's it. Maybe I'll sit down and actually write later, but for now, just a tribute to things I could eat every day and never get bored.

SO. FREAKING. TASTY.

What Works for YOU?

I went to the library yesterday afternoon. I left my husband home with my napping child and I went and had a leisurely stroll through the library. I never knew before I was a parent how rewarding going to Target or the library or even just the drive through ATM would be without your child in tow. I'm not complaining, my child is actually a saint in public-no I'm not being sarcastic. That's one of his strong qualities. He loves being in carts, he loves people (mostly women who he loves to flirt with), he's a delightful child in public. So that helps.

So anyway, the library. I decided, during my uninterrupted browsing, that I'd bring home season one of Homeland (there goes, oh, roughly 10 hours of my life this week), a few random books... And a different Jillian Michaels DVD. Oh, WHY!?! Why do I keep doing this to myself? Well, Chels, because you've lost 32 pounds by following mostly what good ol' Jillian has to say. And if you look, almost every review of her videos and books on Amazon has five stars. Her stuff works. Whether you want to watch it or not, whether she makes you as angry as she makes me some days, you have to admit, what she does works.

My point: I have a lot of friends who've gotten more involved in fitness/eating right in the last year or so. I have a few that do the boot camps (and they all look incredible), I have some who've started going to the gym regularly and running or biking on the side (also, they look fantastic). I have others who do what I do and pop in a video (our dear friends and neighbors completed the ENTIRE Insanity DVD set. Ummm... Persistence doesn't even begin to describe a regimen like that. Oh. And the video-watchers have seen huge, positive changes in their physiques as well.) Again. My point? Find what works for you. Find what you enjoy and do it as much as you can.

People sometimes want to criticize others who haven't taken the same path as they have. Do what works for you. If you're scared of gyms (like me), go to Target or the library and pick up a DVD or two. If being held accountable every day is what you need, join a boot camp. Whatever you choose, stay on your path. Find like-minded friends who you can talk to about fitness. That will undoubtedly keep you motivated. Because here's a sad secret: PEOPLE WHO AREN'T WORKING OUT DO NOT WANT TO SPEND MUCH TIME TALKING TO YOU ABOUT YOUR WORKOUTS. Sorry. It's the absolute truth of it. Mention it, move on. Otherwise, you'll bore them and they'll end up somehow making you feel foolish. And totally unintentionally, but if you've tried talking to someone who could care less about you and your workout routine, you know exactly what I mean. And it kind of drains the energy out of you, somehow.

I don't want to end my post on a "people can be so mean!" note... So ummm.. GO FORTH! SEIZE THE DAY! KICK MONDAY'S ASS! WOOOO!!

I'm scared to start this...

RUN TO THE HILLS!

I'm getting ready to go for a run. I vowed to my dog that we'd go this morning. Today is the perfect wake-up-and-go-for-a-run kind of day. It's 67º outside, I have some spectacular coffee from our local co-op (is there supposed to be a hyphen in there? I never know.), and I've discovered the blueberry crisp variety of Clif Bars. Which happens to go really well with this coffee.

Just for the record, I never thought I'd look forward to running so much. I'm glad I finally do.

My dog keeps walking into the room and looking at me, then walking out again. I should probably go make good on my promise to her.

(P.S. Did anyone notice my Iron Maiden-themed title?)

I've probably posted this before, but it's pretty bomb, so I'm posting it again.

Relatable Meme Time!

I'm in a place where workouts make me feel amazing, no exercise makes me feel eh, and eating poorly makes me feel like I'm sick.

The longer I spend on the "work out and eat clean things" lifestyle, the more I believe THIS:

 

Happy freakin' Friday, everyone!