Ruts and Stuff

Can I be honest?

Ruts suck. Big time.

They happen in all aspects of life. School, career, diet, foods, exercise.

Once you fall into a rut, it is SO challenging to dig yourself out of it. It requires a lot of determination, motivation, and plenty of hard work. For me, it can also mean growing a set o' man jewels and actually being brave enough to fix what needs fixing. 

I'm in a "winter rut" because I feel cooped up and just want to hand over my bus pass and walk and run everywhere like I do any other season of the year. If ever I want to go outside, if even only for a few minutes, it means taking a good 20 minutes first to bundle up the kids and ensure they're properly covered to handle the harsh cold weather. And then there's hearing them whine and moan throughout the time spent outside because it is too cold (okay. It's me whining and moaning.) Then there's the not having proper footwear for long walks (my boots are old and poopy).

Outside = smiles

My fix? I really need to stop letting winter be an excuse and just get out there - I'm so much happier when I'm outside, walking or running, even in the cold! GET OUTSIDE!

I'm in a "food rut" because the hubs and I haven't been trying new recipes like we always did. Our fresh produce isn't always affordable and we find ourselves eating a lot of the same things. Also, with school and work, we really have to make an effort to put in the time to make fresh, nutritious, homemade foods. I'm ashamed to admit that sometimes we are so wiped that we go with what is fast and easy, with health and nutrition being the last things in our minds. 

More of this, please!

My fix? I've decided to just give myself the kick in the ass - STOP being lazy and START fixing the diet. Nobody is going to do it for me. If I want it, I need to work at it. It's important to me and so crucial for my family's healthy growth and development! Keep meal planning and making time to prep it all is the best way to keep on top of it .. and not buying crap foods. If it isn't in the house, we won't eat it.

I'm in a "job rut" (which I've talked about before). I'm working a job I'm just not happy at anymore. I was when I first started it over five years ago, but now I just dread every shift and count down the minutes until the shift is over. I'm always taking vacation days and early leave to just get out of there. Yes, I'm in school and working towards a career that I will love, but until then, I just can't suffer through my current job anymore.

True story.

My fix? This is where I man up. I've never been a fan of change - I'm a huuuuuge security blanket kind of person. I dream of only working jobs I LOVE (which isn't a very practical dream for anyone, really) and I fear rejection and failure. My husband said it best - I won't find a job I'm happy at if I don't put myself out there and try new things. And while I'm working towards my dream career, I can try new jobs in the meantime. Maybe I will come across that job I could love, who knows? And if I don't get hired, it's not a rejection - that's just fate's way of telling me that the job isn't right for me :) 
(Side note: For those I work with - I am not putting down the job. It is a good job and a good company .. Just not for me anymore! If you are happy there, amazing! Keep smiling!)

Wish me luck in fixing my ruts .. Or not luck, wish me motivation to keep it going!! :)

Have you ever been stuck in a rut, or more than one? What did you do to help yourself out of it? Let me know, we can support each other!

First Run of 2013!

I RAN TODAY!!!

Okay. That's out of the way.

I'm not an indoorsy kind of runner. This is because I don't own a treadmill, nor do I have a gym membership (though I *might* invest in one in the future ..). I'm not convinced that if I had a treadmill or a gym membership that I would ever choose to run inside instead of outside (they are called the dreadmill for a reason!). I'm an outdoors runner at heart!

That being said - Canada, during the winter? Not ideal running conditions for this Mama. Mounds of ice and snow and slush make it super hard to run (and super easy to get injured!). My double stroller isn't of the jogging variety, thus making it impossible to push through the snow (and dangerous to run in the road!). Plus, my asthma does NOT behave in the icy air.

So, sadly, my running took a vacation during the winter. Too bad it wasn't in Florida! I admire the many of you who choose not to let winter stop you! Maybe that's something I'll ensure to work on next year, since I was so unhappy with being unable to run. Looking back, I wish I'd never let winter stop me .. But also knowing the struggles I'd have with my asthma, maybe it was best. Maybe I should have invested in a gym membership sooner.

Ah well. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. I choose to live and learn, not regret. Onward and upward!

I'm happy to say that I was able to get my first official run of 2013 in today!! My feet practically sang with glee as I slid them into my running shoes (which are in dire need of replacement!).

Since my normal running path looked like this:

I had to pick somewhere else with a path that I knew would be clear enough and safe enough to run with the stroller .. And so, I chose the streets of a nearby neighborhood.

I ran week one, day one of my Couch To 5K running app, which was SO hard the first time I used it back in June and so very simple this time around. I was almost giggling through it (1. Because it was so easy and 2. Because my bum jiggled a lot more than I remembered it doing on my last run .. Time to run that thing back into shape!). The intervals were one minute of running, 2 minutes of brisk walking, for a total of 20 minutes, starting and ending with a warmup walk and a cool down walk. It was so much fun, and the kids were happily cheering me along (good job Mama, almost there Mama!). It was great! Even though my favorite running pants were a little tighter than they were before winter ..

So that was my run. It was cool outside, but bearable, quite wet (I expected that - MELT, darned snow!!) and my asthma only bothered me a little.

Me with my favorite little cheerleaders! :)

I am running Ottawa Race Weekend's 5K this May (not the 10K as I initially wanted to do - I'm not quite there yet!) and really want to try for a PR, so I'm starting the running program from the beginning and picking up my pace. It's going to be such a fun springtime running challenge!

Can't wait for a snow-less, puddle-less run on my favorite path this summer! But until then .. The neighborhood road will do :)

Happy Springtime running, folks!

Homemade Granola Bites!

I've always been a huge fan of granola bars. They were often found packed in my school lunches while growing up, and were a favorite go-to snack when on the go. They're yummy, portable, and healthy .. Kinda ..

Sure, store-bought granola bars can have some nutritional goodness to them. We all know the health benefits of the oatmeal and whole grains they are made from. A huge downfall, however, is that they are absolutely loaded with processed sugars, which completely negates any of the health factors the granola bar presents. I mean, a handful of oatmeal isn't good for us when it's smothered in sugar, right? They're also full of fillers which aren't healthy or necessary.

And so .. I got to looking online for some at-home recipes to make myself. That way they are freshly made and I know what goes into them. Knowledge is power, right?!

A bunch of recipes I found either had too much sugar or required special ingredients that I didn't have in my pantry, so I had to mash together a few and tried it out - turns out my recipe was a winner!

Also, this recipe is quite small and doesn't make a big batch, so double (or triple) it if you'd like to have granola bars. Just one batch of this recipe made a delightful amount of granola bites, hence the name!

Recipe:

- 2 tbsp peanut butter (crunchy adds a nice texture!
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 C whole grain oats
- 1tsp ground (or whole) flax

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 350F.

- Melt together the peanut butter and honey (stovetop or microwave, but caution - it doesn't take long!). Mix in the vanilla, cinnamon, oats and flax, and mix well (caution - the mixture is sticky!).

- Spread out onto a cookie sheet (sprayed down with cooking spray first!) and bake for 9 minutes. Divide into bites while still warm (or else they'll just crumble apart if you wait until they've cooled!). Cool down until they're nice and crunchy (yet still chewy!).

These nutritional bites are so perfectly yummy, not too sweet and not too crunchy - just perfect. Be sure to seal them in an airtime container or a plastic bag to ensure they don't dry out on you.

Feel free to experiment with different ingredients. When I'm stocked up on crushed almonds and raisins, I plan to make a new (bigger) batch! I also have almond butter than I plan to experiment with.

No fillers, no refined sugars, no junk ingredients - just a pure and simple granola bar (although, it's more an oat bar, isn't it?!). These, I am happy to give to my kids! Now if only Boy Lego liked peanut butter ..

Vegan Lemon Crisp Cookies

*Please note: this recipe isn't one that I would consider "healthy" because of the amount of sugar it contains. I just wanted to share it with you all because it was the first time I ever made a vegan recipe!*

Do you love baking with lemon as much as I do?! The aroma, the taste .. *swoon*

I participated in a snack exchange this past weekend and had the pleasure of shopping for someone who was vegan. I bought her a few snacks from the store but also wanted to give her something homemade, and after googling vegan snack recipes, found one that didn't require speciality vegan ingredients, just stuff I had at home (although I was out of lemons so had to pick some up!). I made a couple of adjustments to the original recipe.

I absolutely LOVE anything lemony so making these cookies was pure bliss for me (freshly zested lemon?! Yuuuuuum. I could smell that stuff all day, every day!).

They turned out really well! I preferred them straight out of the oven, because they were more moist and chewy, but once they cooled they had a delightful crispy texture and were such a treat to eat. Sssssoooo lemony!! :)

Without further ado .. The recipe:

1.5 C flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1.5 C sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon zest
3/4 C canola oil
1/2 C + 1 tbsp lemon juice
2.5 tsp vanilla


Mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the wet ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Use a tablespoon to measure out each cookie, roll it into a ball, and place on a cookie sheet (I used a silicone baking sheet, but I'm sure greasing a cookie sheet would work the same!). Gently press down onto each ball with a fork. Be sure to leave plenty of space between each cookie - they spread out wide when they bake!

Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack. Store them in a sealed container.

Enjoy getting your lemon on!!

fresh from the oven!

The original recipe can be found here. I made a couple of small changes (like swapping the white-only flour for whole wheat) for some added nutrition .. and I added a touch more vanilla because I love the stuff :)

Captcha Warning!

Hey Guys!

Just letting you know that I'll be using a Captcha for comments for the next little while (those things that ask you for alphabet / number verification when a comment is posted) .. I know, they're a total drag, but I've been getting slammed with spam comments and really would like for it to stop before I end up pulling out my hair with annoyance!!

Just thought I'd give you all a heads-up! It won't be a permanent thing :)

Snack Exchange

Hey guys!

My friend (hi Mawi!!) organized a snack exchange for a bunch of her friends. It worked just like Foodie Pen Pals, only this way, we got together in person to exchange parcels instead of having to pay to ship them! Mawi threw a little get-together for us .. But since I wasn't able to attend, I dropped off my parcel for my buddy the day before.

I was paired to buy for someone who was vegan! It was such an interesting experience for me to shop vegan, since I'd never done it before. I didn't know where to begin.

Not having a ton of extra time in my schedule, I wasn't able to venture to many different stores to check out vegan options, but I knew my local Loblaws (smack in between home and work!) had a small vegan section, so that's where I went after work.

So I had a $20 limit and I knew I wanted to buy some snacks and also bake for her.

Normally, when I read the nutrition label of a product, I watch for sodium and sugar content, and I make sure there's no "garbage" ingredients. Now I was also watching for animal products like milk, eggs, butter, etc. It was a totally different experience buying vegan - everything had milk or eggs in it!! (It was also tough finding a recipe to bake that didn't require special ingredients, like almond milk!). Also troublesome was that many of the vegan options at Loblaws needed to be refrigerated, which wouldn't work for the snack exchange. So after (what felt like) hours of wandering through this tiny section, I was able to find a few things within my price limit to give my buddy.

Here's what I came up with:

I really hope she liked what I was able to put together!

- organic, individually-packaged raisins
- a bag of chips, made from sweet-potatoes and beets
- Fruit To Go bites
- a box of organic, whole-grain quinoa

And I made a batch of lemon crisp cookies to go with it all (they turned out really well! I'll share the recipe soon!). I also included a small note explaining what I got her and telling her how much fun it was shopping vegan for the first time.

Mawi was the one buying for me, and she got me SO many amazing things!!

Here's what I got to take home:

So many neat things!!

- Caesar-flavored Snapea Crisps. They're kind of like potato chips, but made with snap peas! I can't wait to try them! I love snap peas and adore Caesar, so they sound like a match made in heaven!

- Delissimo Organic Dark Chocolate Quinoa Pearls. They are absolutely amazing and just perfect for when I'm craving chocolate (which is a lot, apparently!). This bag won't last long!

- King Island Coconut Water. Mawi had heard about my not-so-stellar first experience with coconut water, and this is one she highly recommends!

- Almond Butter!!! I have been wanting to try some for the longest time but it just wasn't in the budget .. I can't tell you how excited I am to try it. My first taste MUST be on an apple!

- Zevia Cola and Ginger Ale. Mawi also knows I'm trying to cut artificial sweeteners from my diet and that I love my sodas .. These are flavored with stevia (an all-natural sweetener) so I don't have to worry about the evils of aspartame. I'm anxious to try them :)

Yeah, I got totally spoiled. My favorite thing in the bag was a hand-written letter :)

She also lent me a book to read, You Are What You Eat, by Dr. Gillian McKeith. While I don't agree with everything she talks about, she does raise a lot of good points and has opened my eyes to a lot!

It's an older book but still worth looking into. She has  a few good pointers for healthy eating!

So that was our snack exchange. Lots of fun!

Have you ever wanted to try something like this?

Little Changes Can = Big Changes!

So it's no secret that the majority of us go into hibernation over the winter and wind up finding a little weight. The average weight gain over the winter months can be anywhere between 7-15lbs.

Not gonna lie, I've found myself at the higher end of that scale these past few days. My pants are noticeably tighter.

While I'm still struggling to get myself 100% back in the healthy eating and active zone (winter blues + crazy schedule adjustment = overwhelmed mama!) I've made the commitment to myself to make small, beneficial adjustments every single day so that my weight doesn't get too out of control. And it's been working!

What kinds of things am I doing?

1. I eat smaller meals. Simple, right? I cut back my portion sizes to about half what I would have eaten if I wasn't watching my waistline.

2. Because I'm eating smaller meals, I'm having a small snack between them. I try to keep my snacks below 150 calories. I'll have things like carrots with hummus, bell peppers with all-natural Italian dressing, Balkan yogurt with extra fresh berries, or a banana with a few walnuts. The snacks keep me going until the next meal and I'm not SO hungry that I eat everything I made and leave nothing for Team Lego.

Snack time at work! Yogurt with walnuts!

Snack time at school! Mixed veggies with lots of hummus!

3. For every cup of coffee I drink (no more than two a day, except for no-sleep Thursdays, on which I allow myself 3!), I kick back a glass of water. And throughout the day, I drink nothing but water. No juice, no pop ..

4. Yeah, that's right. I've made the commitment to eliminate diet coke from my life. It is SO bad for me and my body!! I've come to be too addicted to it and it was sickening. The biggest eye-opener for me was the documentary Hungry For Change (seriously, go watch it. Now. It's on Netflix. I'll wait for you to get back!). Here is an article with a video from Hungry For Change: Diet Coke... And that's was only a small snippet from the movie. They offer a lot more information on artificial sweeteners in the movie. Scary stuff. (And please, for those who choose to ingest artificial sweeteners: I'm not putting you down for your decision nor do I want to make you feel like you have to defend your choice. This is just my opinion and my choice to keep it out of my belly!).

5. I try to squeeze in as much exercise in daily as I can. I'm an outdoor exerciser at heart, so I prefer to get outside to get my sweat on. With my schedule, I was having a hard time finding time to work exercise in .. So I MADE time (if it means something to you, you will find a way .. No excuses!!). I'll walk from my school to the mall for my bus home instead of busing all the way there (this is a good 30-minute walk uphill!). I will take the stairs instead of the elevator (work and school have me both on the fourth floor!). On my 15-minute breaks at school and work, I'm up and out of my seat, walking around. Once the weather is more bearable, I fully intend to start walking to work and RUNNING!!! (my asthma doesn't cooperate with the cold air!).

All bundled up for a long, cold walk!

I haven't found time for yoga in a while, which makes me sad .. Although I have an open window on my Mondays and Fridays off so methinks I'll make a date with my mat on those days! I need to start re-toning my body!

6. I'm keeping a positive mindset. I'm not putting myself down for having dietary slip-ups. I'm not calling myself "fatty" every time I look in the mirror. I don't punish myself for choosing KD and hotdogs instead of a salad for lunch. I just work to fix my mistakes as soon as I make them (healthy dinner choices after a "bad" lunch choice!).

7. I start every single day with a healthy breakfast. I have a protein, a fruit (possibly a veggie if the meal calls for it!) a small carbohydrate and my beloved coffee. If I start my day with a healthy, balanced breakfast, I feel great and making better food choices throughout the day is easier because I don't want to "ruin" the benefits of that breakfast!

Veggie omelette, unbuttered whole wheat toast, banana!

8. I try to get enough sleep. Even if there are shows I really want to catch up on waiting on my pvr, I take a hot bath to relax myself and hit the sack. Getting between 6-8 hours of sleep every night is key for me - if I'm exhausted, I know I won't make good decisions. If I didn't get enough sleep overnight (hello, 3am bouts of teething pain with Daughter Lego!), I'll nap during the day when the kids do. An hour catnap does me a world of good!

These small changes have made a HUGE difference in my every day. I still listen to my body over my scale, but when I weighed myself last, I was already down five of the pounds I gained!

I know that this winter has been a tough one on me. Do I wish I'd been better? Absolutely. But every day, I learn a little more about why my healthy lifestyle is SO important to me and my family. I feel like poop after eating boxed / processed / "quick fix" foods and feel aMaZiNg when I eat healthy, natural and homemade. I get jittery and a little nauseated if I eat too much sugar and get cranky if I don't eat enough proteins. I'm sluggish, energy-less and irritable when I don't eat well and exercise regularly .. So everyone benefits from a healthy Mama Lego!

Doesn't that look better than a store-bought, frozen meal!? Homemade for the win!

Do you make small adjustments to your day to keep yourself on track in the winter? If not, do you think you might try to make one healthier choice every day?

I look at this picture every.single.day. Keeps me in check!