Recipe Thursday: beef and broccoli stir fry

This. Was. Yummy. I've never really officially made stir fry but when your guy asks for it, you figure it out. I have to give him credit for finding this recipe - he picked it! 

http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-easy-beef-and-broccoli-stir-fry-99476

It didn't take long - although I did forget to get the onion... Oops - and we made it with brown rice. You could swap out tempeh, chicken, or even pork for the beef, I think, but we were in a steak mood! I got the steak at the butcher counter and asked the butcher to slice it for me. No extra charge and it made prep a WHOLE lot easier. I also got frozen broccoli florets to eliminate that prep step too! Oh - and on my mission to minimize the amount of soy I eat, we used Bragg's liquid aminos instead of soy sauce (he didn't mention any difference in taste so I'll consider that a safe swap!!). 

This would be a great recipe for date night out or avoiding the question marks and extra calories that normally come with ordering take out! Plus there was more than enough for the two of us and he seemed to enjoy the leftovers just as much as the original meal. Next time, I'll make a double batch so I have lunches prepped for the week too!! 

What else would YOU add to your stir fry?

Body Beast 2014 - Week 3

Another week and more progress! This week wasn't easy in terms of motivation though... So what's a girl to do?

That's where having the right support system and goals in place really really matters. Yes, we all have off days. We all have days we don't want to workout. Even the fittest people I know tell me about days they don't want to workout. So then what?

Make the workout a rewarding experience. Celebrate getting through it! One of the things I love about having Curt as my accountability partner is I know that unless I'm really sick or fighting a severe migraine, he doesn't give me an easy out. Even better than that though, he gives me a GREAT response when I tell him I've finished a workout that I wasn't in the mood to do. Even a simple "Great job!! I'm proud of you" can be enough to make even the most dreaded workout worth it! 

That's all well and good... But I hear ya. How do you get yourself to START the workout? A congratulatory text at the end is fine but that can seem a looooooooong ways away at the beginning of the workout. My secret? Friends. Nope, not the incredible ones I have on my life. The TV show. I've done these Body Beast workouts a few times and I know the moves, I track my workout with worksheets, and I know about how long each workout takes. Don't get me wrong. The DVDs are invaluable and way more often than not, I use the workout DVDs... But sometimes a girl needs a break from hearing the same cheesy, awkward lines. So I pop Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey, and Ross in the DVD player, remind myself how far I should be in my workout by the end of each episode, and then I go for it. Unconventional? Sure. Effective? I get the workout done, don't I? The key is to keep myself moving and on track timewise but once I figured out how to do that, it worked out really well!

All else fails, workout in person with someone.. I always push harder and challenge myself a little more when my workout partner is watching me!!

So what am I saying? Sometimes, all that matters is that you do the workout. Find music you love, an accountability partner who "gets it" and will celebrate it with you, set a special challenge for that day, etc. As Sagi Kalev (the Beast himself) says, "Whatever it takes". Then spend the rest of the day reminding yourself the incredible gift you just gave your body, mind, and soul. That you did something so few others will do. Be positive about the experience and resolve to be more excited about your sweat session tomorrow. 

Whatever it takes. It's worth it. YOU are worth it. I promise. 

Recipe Thursday: Whole Wheat "crepe" wraps

Alright... I have a confession to make... This past Sunday, I was super lazy. Not just "I watched a couple movies" lazy but one of the "I can stay in my pajamas all day, right??" kind of lazy. So to enable being in pjs all day, I didn't go grocery shopping. I checked the fridge and realized that I still had frozen leftovers, eggs, and almond milk. What more could a girl need?

Crepes. I was craving crepes. Grrrr. Quick... Check the eggs... I have the ingredients... I have some raspberry jam and ricotta... I could make a nice filling with that. Here we go... Making crepes... Which prompted this tweet... 

... And got me thinking. What if I used whole wheat flour, left out the sugar, and made them a bit thicker? 

So I did. I ended up with a stack of yummy, whole wheat, about 100 calorie wraps and the best part was I knew exactly what had gone into each one. No preservatives (I froze the ones I knew I wouldn't eat this week). No artificial crap. No soy. Nothing I didn't want. Yay!!! 

I cook in coconut oil now because veggie oil is soy and I try to avoid soy (we can talk about that another time). So. Let's start with the ingredients and go from there!

The brands don't really matter. This is what I used but find your favorite! Also, feel free to experiment with butter and egg substitutes although I would recommend sticking to natural substitutes, not processed, chemical, "diet" subs. 

1. Heat the pan on low with a little bit of the coconut oil (or use a good non stick pan!)

2. Melt the butter (NOT in the pan...separate!). 

3. Mix the wet ingredients. Whip it good!

4. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. You don't want lumps!

5. Turn up the heat and allow the pan to get warmer for about a minute. 

6. Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan and swirl the pan to get a nice, flat layer of batter smooth across the bottom. 

7. Allow it to cook for about a minute (the edges of your wrap should be curling up slightly), flip, and cook the other side for a minute. 

8. Take pride and enjoy!!

I used mine this week for egg wraps at breakfast, PB&J, and anything else where I would normally use bread or a wrap. 

The key take away here is to not ignore what you have already in your kitchen. You might be amazed what you could make!!! 

Body Beast 2014 schedule - week 2, day 2

You didn't think the lack of update meant this was true, did you??? Ok ok so neither my accountability partner or I "go to the gym" (except when I teach classes!) but that doesn't mean we don't workout! In fact, he put together a new schedule for us that started last Monday!! 

The first schedule was hard on me because it was about bulking... About putting on weight ON PURPOSE. Ugh. That's not easy on the mind... Especially when you worked so hard to lose the weight to begin with... But you keep reminding yourself "this isn't more fat, it's new muscle" and you power through! 

This schedule is different. Yes, muscle is still being built but there is more cardio and weight is already coming off (5 lbs gone! Woohoo!!) and I'm still loving the lifting part of all of this! 

How did you start your new year? Did you set a health resolution? Are you sticking to it? Can't wait to hear alllllll about it!!

Confidence is beauty... So what happens when the confidence is missing?

Real moment... Confidence is in fact beauty so when someone is struggling with their confidence, it's tough for them to be their most beautiful and real self. In the past couple years, I've become much more confident because of the control I've taken of my life and the improvements I've made to every facet of my life. That doesn't mean I'm perfect and consistent about it though and I am glad to be on an upswing - even though I was down for a bit. However, I know in that downtime, I wasn't really myself. My emotions were a little crazy, I was avoiding eating when I know I needed to eat, and all of that had me out of sorts. I am truly blessed and fortunate that those who are closest to me and who I love most know the real me and encouraged me, enabled me to get back on my better and usual track. 

Why do I share all of this?

To plead something of you. Next time someone - especially someone you don't know - acts in a way that you don't like or that makes you uncomfortable, don't assume that's the person they always are. Don't assume they're going out of their way to make you feel bad. Don't assume that it had anything to do with you - especially if you don't believe you've done anything to spur that kind of behavior. Why? Because 99 times out of 100, they're acting that way because of their own demons, their own issues, their own faults, and they're only going to be able to share all of that with those they trust most. 

Having been there, done that, and shown ugly colors of my personality before, I can honestly say I didn't do or say with an intent to hurt anyone and I've talked to others with these same feelings so I always try to keep that in mind when someone catches me off guard like that. I'm not saying that lack of self confidence is an excuse to act nasty and apologies are in order... But it's often easier in the moment for those on the receiving side to take a deep breath and acknowledge something else may be going on before making any negative or judgmental assumptions, to ask questions instead of making assumptive statements, or to pull away from the situation when nothing seems to be improving. If you know the person, I'm sure you'll find a good way later to bring it up and talk it through!