"Radical Self Love"

During my winter depression, my winter slump, I thought I would never blog again. But here I am, and I'm ready to get it done, like you've never seen it "get done" before. March 1st, a new month, a new day, and the sun is shining, and I feel fine. Over this winter I discovered a lot about my eating habits--they can be super healthy, or they can take me down to rock bottom (if the bottom were chocolate covered cherries and mozzarella cheese fries). Last night, Tori sent me to this article.  I read it, at first half-heartedly, and then I cried.  I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Someone, other than my sub-conscience was telling me: LOVE YOURSELF, don't watch yourself starve. I felt (and feel) awakened, recharged and ready to take on anything! I printed out the article and taped it to my wall where I used to have pictures of young women working out--for motivation. This article was the motivation I really needed. Yes, I still want to lose some of this weight, yes I still want to live my life as healthfully as possible, and yes, there will be days when I look in the mirror and don't love what I see. But those days, I promise myself & the people who love me most, will be less often, and eventually--not ever happen. 

I want to take this journey with you, e-mail me your private questions of weight loss, and self love. Ask me to make you specific recipes (I have one for a delicious chocolate cake--using prunes and sour cream--yes!), I am willing to be your confidant, this blog is not just my journey--it is yours as well. Tell me your tales, and I will tell you mine. I am going to set more realistic goals for myself, as Tori stated in her blog "so you can feel the fruits of your labor". And she couldn't be more right. I want to feel proud of myself, of my work ethic, of my body. I will still take an update picture on the 23rd of each month. But more than just a picture I will update on how I FEEL. This isn't all about looks--I need to remind myself of that sometimes.

To quote the wonderful Gala, "ready to take a little trip down TRULY radical self love lane? I am...take my hand. Let's do it."

I'm Still Here!

Hi blog-followers! Just wanted to update after a whole long MONTH of not updating. I feel ridiculous by I've gotten so caught up with school and working that I just haven't had the time.

The good news is: I haven't gained any weight! Bad news is, I've come to a plateau. No weight loss yet, but definitely soon because I'm starting to try new things: more exercise, eating at very specific times, NOT eating a very specific times. I feel so healthy and fabulous. Sure I can still pinch a bit of my stomach, but not to fear! 

I will be updating every week again and will take a weight loss picture on the 23 of November.

Look for more blog posts this week, definitely by Saturday! 

Love you ALL!!

Peace, Love & Good Food.

the moment of truth.

So, here I am, one month after I started this blog, one month after I vowed to get as healthy as I could, and 'get mine'. Ladies & gentleman, I certainly DID get mine. I stand her, before you, (slash before my MacBook) at 9.5 pounds minus Katie! 

Here are a couple of pics, I wish my MacBook had better quality, I also wish I could get it at a good enough angle.

I'll figure those details out next month when I update my weight loss again.

The first 2 pics I just got back from my run earlier today and thought they'd be funny.

I was listening to "Macho, macho, man-I've got to be, a macho man" (which I am).

And the rest are just of me. Those of you who know me pre-this blog, my face is much thinner.

I still got those chicken'nugget cheeks though.

I may not be where I want to be yet, and today, I have my period and I feel bloated and terrible about myself.

But I'm going to keep my head high, I did this blog for a reason, and I will NOT stop until I am 25-30 pounds minus Katie. You can bet your bottom dollar.

This weeks blog: more recipes and more excersize tips. Email me if you have a suggestion that you want me to blog about! Brandtk@student.wpunj.edu

I love you all-Happy eating, Happy living.

-Katie (minus 9.5 pounds of Katie)

hot frittata coming through.

So, for the seasons to come, we're gonna have some cold ass weather. Cold ass mornings, cold as evenings, and everything in between. I am going to show you a delicious, fast, easy frittata you can make that will take any breakfast, lunch, or dinner, to the NEXT LEVEL, dun dun dun...

What you will need:

Serves 8.

1	pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli (CHOPPED, not minced or diced)
1	small carrot, diced, this is optional, but it adds delicious flavor & crunch!
1/4	cup water
8	EGGS (yes, 8)
1/4	cup milk
2	tsp. prepared mustard
1	tsp. seasoned salt
1/8	tsp. pepper
3/4	cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 oz.)
1	Tbsp. chopped green onion Okay, now what you need to do: it really is very simple, preparation shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes and the total cook time for the frittata is about 20.  *Combine the broccoli, (unfrozen), the diced carrot, and 1/4 cup water into a nonstick skillet (if you have one, any pan with at least 1/2 inch depth will suffice, just add Pam or grease the bottom with Butter). *Cook broccoli and carrot over MEDIUM HEAT, low will take forever and high will bring the vegetables to a boil YOU DO NOT WANT THAT. Broccoli is very delicate, please play nicely. This'll take about 10 minutes, stir occassionally while you do the rest of the steps: *Beat your 8 eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in a large bowl, until all ingredients are blended, will have a milky-yellow color and a nice viscous consistency. *Then add your green onion, pepper and cheese. *Drain your carrot and broccoli and place back into the skillet, add the egg/milk/mustard/vegetable mixture into same skillet. Make sure to COAT the ENTIRE skillet. *Cook over a LOW heat, until eggs are set. Won't take you longer that 6 minutes. Eggs cook very quickly which is why we're doing this part of the process on a nice low heat. DO NOT COVER. *Then remove from the heat, the residual heat is going to keep this dish going for another 10 minutes, now you can COVER the frittata. Keep the frittata covered until there is no visible liquid, that will mean the eggs are fully cooked, the cheese fully melted and delicious heavenly goodness will come. Cut frittata into 8 triangles, take one for yourself at: only: 195 calories, full of protein, great fat from the cheese, delicious crisp vegetables. Serve this at breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner. Until next post, which will be my weight loss post(!!), HAPPY EATING! *Nutritional info thanks to incredibleegg.org*

my 'thank you' to fruits & vegetables.

Boys and girls, today is a great day. I hardly ever weigh myself. I don't think that it is always condusive to someone trying to drop the pounds. But, today I weighed myself and I lost a total of 5 pounds in the past week and a half! And I have only 2 things to thank: Fruits & Vegetables! If it weren't for those banana's that I would eat with my morning breakfast, or the apple I would finish the day off with instead of dessert, or the broccoli I steamed and made a frittata with (recipe to come), or those delicious cherry tomatoes that I snack on- I wouldn't be 5 pounds minus Katie. 

Even though this is a victory for fruits & vegetables, it's also a victory for casual exercise. I used to be obsessed with going to the gym (I still go, and still love it) but, that's not always the best way to work out, at least for me. When I would be at the gym I would just count down until and hour and a half was over so I could get out of there. It would exhaust me and make me cranky and hungry. But, lately, I've been walking around the Oval in town, walking and running intermittently. And that has boosted my energy tenfold. I feel fabulous. Thank you all for your support. A recipe will be posted this week, and next week, on Sept. 23rd I'll be posting a picture of myself and the weight I lost since August 23rd.

Happy eating, happy living, happy walking.

(Happy life, happy wife)

busy lifestyle? eat more vegetables!

It's no secret that vegetables are good for you, but did you know just HOW good they are for you? I doubt it. Let's just start with the basics: they help you become 'big and strong', they help your eyesight, boost your metabolism, keep you fuller longer, for the most part they are 0 calories and 0 fat, and they're just plain old delicious. 

I was inspired by vegetables this past week because I started my 2 new jobs and my classes at Willy P. Being on the run I lost 3 pounds this past week, completely unexpectedly and NOT the way I wanted to. I hadn't worked out in days, I just stand for approximately 31 hours a week at my jobs, and I wasn't making enough time for myself to eat healthful meals. But not this week! I have a plan, and that plan is: EAT MORE VEGETABLES. 

So I made a recipe that I can make tonight and have for the next couple of days for either lunch or dinner, whichever one I'm home for.

Fabulous Rice & Beans, Featuring: Red Beans, Black Beans, Celery & Onions.

First: choose the type of rice you want. For this recipe I have used either Yellow Spanish Rice or White Long Grain Rice, usually I'm all about the whole grains, but this dish has enough health in it, spring for the White Rice!

Start cooking the rice (directions on box) but basically you have to let the water boil before adding rice, make sure there's enough water in the pan before adding the rice. Rice soaks up a lot of liquid. Follow directions for how much water to add per cup of rice.

Then in a skillet open a can of red beans, I personally use Goya.

Then eye it to about 1/3 of the can and empty into the skillet.

(Skillet should be on low heat)

Make sure you add some of that bean-juice that's in the can, we need that liquid for this dish.

Then, with no hesitation, start opening the can of black beans (Goya, again).

Use about 1/2 of the can of black beans and make sure you get plenty of bean juice.

(Now, if you are more partial to red beans, by all means add more red beans than black,

I just personally think the dish is prettier with more of one type of bean, instead of equal amounts)

Then cover the skillet, leave on low heat.

Now for the Celery and the Onions.

Get 2 celery stalks: clean them thoroughly, and then place them on a cutting board.

You'll want to cut the celery horizontally  and then cut those little "half moons" of celery in half.

You're basically "cubing" the celery, the best one can cube celery.

Then for the onion, I am a fan of the red onion so that's what I use for this dish.

Peel the skin from the onion, cut it in half, and then from there take the half of the onion and slice it down the middle, vertically about 4 times across, and then take the knife (be careful if you are unexperienced in dicing onions) and slice the bottom of the onion off. Click HERE for a picture.

Once the onion is diced and your celery is cubed, take the lid off of the beans (they are going to be hot and spurting at you so be careful). Add all of the onion (1/2 onion) and all of the celery (2 stalks). Stir the beans and the other veggies together. Cover lid again, keep on low heat for another 10 minutes so the celery and the onion have time to flavor up those juicey beans.

By now the rice is probably going to be done, good rice never takes more than about 15-18 minutes to be cooked to perfection. I like my rice a little al dente, but cook it to however you like.

Put rice into a big bowl, add the bean/celery/ onion mixture and stir completely until the rice is blended with the veggies. The juicey almost meaty flavor of the beans will give this meal a substance that no chicken or cow has ever provided for me. And the crunchiness of the celery will give you that crunch that I know we all desire, it will satisfy you completely. This, if contained properly can be a lunch or dinner for up to 3 days (beans tend to taste a little vinegary after a while). I would suggest heating this up in a skillet, rather than the microwave (I'm not a fan of microwaves).

Until next Blog, Happy Eating.

control emotional eating.

Everyone has "those days" where things just didn't go your way. Some people, a lot of people, use "those days" as an excuse for over-eating, and not just over-eating but over indulging.

Now, I am not an emotional eater, in times of stress and in times of sadness I actually lose my appetite. But I am what I call a "reward eater", example: "Oh, I worked out today, can't wait to go home and eat 8 grilled cheeses." The 8 grilled cheeses is an exaggeration (but not by much).

A lot of people eat for a number of reasons, and surprisingly it's rarely ever because we're hungry. It's usually because we're: depressed, bored, lonely, frustrated, stressed, and anxious.

(Another fun fact: 80% of the time we feel hunger, we're actually THIRSTY! Always have a water bottle or even some tea with you, you are not hungry YOU ARE THIRSTY.)

(But 20% of the time-you're hungry).

A good way to curb emotional eating is not by starving oneself (that is never the answer), its by feeding those feelings, and satisfying them the healthiest way you can. First, some advice on what to do to help boost your emotional state of mind with exercise.

1. When you're feeling stressed or depressed, do what I do: Yoga!

I understand that not everyone is extremely flexible, and not everyone knows very much about yoga in general. Here are 2 simple moves you can do that not only will improve your physical health, but your mental health as well.

Downward facing dog:

*From a kneeling position, place your hands in front of you so they are perpendicular to the floor, palms facing down.

*Slowly start to extend your body forward, until your arms have reached their maximum stretch.

*Slowly walk your legs up until they are completely straight, (keep your hands on the floor).

Keep your head down, hold this position for as long as you'd like, no longer than 2 minutes though. Feel the stretch! Think of happy thoughts, and play some of your favorite music.

Shava Asana:

*Lay either a yoga mat or a blanket down on your floor (a good pose for outside as well).

*Lay ontop of yoga mat, your back on the mat and your front side facing the sky.

*Keep your legs about 2 inches apart and your arms at 2 inches away from your body.

*This is a relaxation pose, take several deep breaths and move your head from right side, to middle, to left side, and back again. Very slowly and fluidly.

Now, you can also control emotional eating by just accepting that you're not going to eat a salad, but you're going to eat what you want. I provided similar advice in the PMS blog I posted.

If you are hungry for pasta, have pasta, carbs are a great comfort food, and a big part of our daily diet! Just watch your portions. And instead of store bought sauce, that has hydrogenated oils in it and sometimes high fructose corn syrup (yes, it does, scary!), make your own! It'll be fun and it'll take up time and keep your mind off of things that are stressing you out or upsetting you.

Simple recipe:

Buy a can of peeled whole tomato's

Use any spices you like, I use:

Red pepper flakes (about 3 table spoons or 5 shakes)

Italian seasoning (3 tablespoons)

Olive oil (2 tablespoons)

Pour ingrediants into a bowl, now for the fun part!

Mash the whole tomato's with the ingredients, you can use your hands, or you can use a fork. (Using your hands is more fun).

Once the tomatos and other ingredients are all mashed together, add some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. It adds a nice bite to it.

Pour sauce over 1 serving of whole wheat pasta (about 1 cup), put on Sex & The City (the movie or the show), pour yourself a glass of red wine (0nly 160 calories a glass) and enjoy your night.