How Yoga Got Me

Prior to ever having attended my first yoga class, my perception of the discipline was limited. I equated it with relaxation and unorthodox practice.  The former impression was a result of pop culture equating it with meditation, accomplishing the principle of Zen. The latter was a notion I understood as a result of my father’s tone. Our household was devoutly Catholic and the spiritual teachings of yoga deviated from this. Despite my dad’s cautionary innuendo, I remained curious. Being in the point in my life described in Low-Fat can Make You Fat, I was ever-focused on calorie consumption and burn. And for the time being, the only physical activities I did were focused on said burn.

Early Spring 2002, I found myself with shin splints and the cardio I had relied on so heavily to curb my weight gain was no longer an option. Not wanting to merely lift weights (the counterpart to my cardio), I decided to finally allow my body to relax and went to yoga.

This regimen was not what I was expecting AT ALL. Every muscle in my body shook as I struggled to balance, hold still, and maintain the proposed positions. My heart pounded through my chest, sweat dripped down my nose onto my towel (I didn’t yoga mats existed) as it felt like my every weakness came to the forefront. As intimidated as I was, still shaking after class, I resolved to go back, to get stronger and somehow conquer this defencelessness I felt.

Little did I know that particular Monday night in March 2002 marked the beginning of a lifelong yogic process.  There would never be a general feeling of doneness. I soon began to understand yoga as being analogous to life. The asanas (postures) of yoga would instil me with feelings ranging from challenge to solace, from accomplishment and strength to momentary defeat. Moreover, what I had pushed aside or thought no longer mattered, whether it be physical injury or emotional distress, would invariably surface as I attempted to attain greater depth in a given posture. My mat would act as a place where I could work through these sensations and become more resilient.

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Stay tuned for more entries on Yoga. I will touch on the physiological and mental benefits, research, and some more personal experiences as well!

Moist, Whole Wheat Banana Bread

With the days getting shorter, colder, and more blustery, the prospect of filling my home with warm fresh baking is just too great to pass up. Knowing Christmas with my very pampering mother in-law is just around the corner, I decided to forego baking Holiday goodies and go for something heartier.

Moist, Whole Wheat Banana Bread

¾ cup organic raw sugar

¾ flaxseed meal

5 very ripe bananas

¼ cup skim milk

¼ cup organic plain yogurt

2 tsp egg whites

2 cups no additive whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. With extra virgin olive-oil spray, grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

In a bowl, mix sugar, flaxseed meal, bananas, milk, yogurt and egg whites until blended. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, until moistened. Spoon into loaf pan.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes (until  the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick can be inserted into the thickest part of the loaf and comes out clean).

Original recipe was found at http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/whole-grain-healthy-banana-bread/Detail.aspx

Healthy Spin on German Comfort Food

This already-dug-into-unbelievably-delicious plate was one of the calorie-laden meals previously discussed. I so very much enjoyed this meal over and over again. However, it did very much contribute to my clothes being tighter and the scale being so unkind. Because I enjoyed this food SO very much, I set out to come up with lower fat, lower-calorie recipes that would still hit the spot!

Cucumber Dill Salad

Serves 4

2 Long English cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

½ tsp. sea salt

½ tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

1-2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

Peel cucumbers and thinly slice widthwise. Combine cucumbers and sea salt in an airtight container and refrigerate for one hour. Empty container of cucumbers into colander and rinse well. In a salad boll, toss in white wine vinegar and dill to taste and serve.

Crispy No Fry “Schnitzel”

By definition, Schnitzel (oh glorious golden crispy tasty Schnitzel) is flattened, breaded, deep-fried meat. My spin on this Viennese/ German favourite, substitutes frying for baking. Though it isn’t a bang on version of the original, it certainly quenches cravings for the deep fried variety.

Serves 2

2 x 8 oz. chicken breasts/ steaks/ pork, sliced diagonally and thinned

½ cup whole wheat no additive flour

1 tbs. garlic powder

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup whole wheat Panko breading

2 tbs. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 425°F and spray cookie sheet with olive oil.  Slice meat in half diagonally and hammer meat until thinned. Season meat with salt and pepper. Set out three shallow bowls. In one, combine garlic powder and flour. In another, beat eggs until frothy. In third, combine Panko and cheese. Take meat and coat first in flour mixture, then egg, and then breading. Place on greased cookie sheet and baked until golden brown (approximately 20 minutes, flipping ½ way through).

Stay tuned for Spätzle recipe (it's still in the works)...

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The Pitfalls and Potholes of Travel

Despite my success finding healthy options in the airport and on the road, there were plenty of tasty and calorie-laden dishes served to me throughout our travels. Unabashed, I ate and drank whatever was offered to me because frankly, the meals were amazing! I ate the best lasagne and schnitzel of my life, and drank these amazing Weiss Biers day in and day out. To make matters worse for my waistband, the vast majority of our time was spent sitting and visiting or sitting driving from province to province. Near the end of our trip, my clothes seemed a bit tighter and I was feeling a bit worse for the wear.


Our trip was nearing its end. And as the sun was just starting to slink behind the rolling hills of inland New Brunswick one night, I mustered up the courage to sneak away from the group and step on a scale I had seen in one of my in-law’s bathrooms. It flashed 154. When I was weighed at my first doctor’s appointment, three months prior, I weighed in at 153 lbs. My heart and stomach sank. Clearly there must be some sort of mistake! I quickly jumped of the scale, and racked my brain. The scale flashed zero. It seemed to be working properly. What had I worn at the doctor’s? Could what I was wearing now somehow account for the lack of weight loss?!?! Nope. I knew I was looking for excuses. That brutal number was the same when I stepped on the scale again and really only made sense. In truth, working out had been intermittent leading up to the trip, and my typically healthy, rounded diet was a far cry from the norm.

Deflated, I resolved to get back at ‘er. No, I wasn’t going to forsake all treats on so much as a daily basis. But, I was certainly going to follow my own exercise and dietary advice in an attempt to right my wrongs! The next day I set out and until now, really haven't looked back. 
This weekend, on a trip to the interior of British Columbia, I found myself in front of a scale for the first time since my devastating encounter. Fortunately this time around, I knew my regimen has greatly improved. To make stepping on a scale less scary, I had just purchased jeans with a 28 size waist and am comfortably fitting into a dress size 8 (check out this post for my last measurements). This time around, the scale read 144. Doubting myself a bit, I had to see it read zero and stand on it again to ensure the number was actually real. Yet again, it was!
 Now, I can finally say, I’m well on my way! 

Quick and Flavourful Balsamic Vinaigrette

The better part of our vacation last month was spent visiting family. We were lucky enough to visit Ottawa, Montréal, Sussex (NB), and Halifax and have all sorts of wonderful home cooked meals. To make matters even tastier, my husband's family owns a Bavarian Restaurant just outside of Sussex, New Brunswick.  The restaurant is German comfort food at its ABSOLUTE best. Since home, I have either practiced recipes taught to me. Or, I have tried almost tirelessly to figure out, first, how they made it and, then, how to make the best tasting healthiest version possible. The past few nights, much to my husband's dismay (I cook, he does the dishes), the kitchen has been olive oil, batter and flour splattered. But I am determined to get a few items on lock down! Of the recipes I acquired, this one is the easiest... more to come :)

Quick and Flavourful Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Sprinkle of raw sugar

Pinch of sea salt

2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs. balsamic vinegar

3 raw garlic cloves crushed or diced

Juice of 1 squeezed lime wedge

I use a head of leaf (red or green) or butter lettuce, a quarter of sliced cucumber, a couple of vine ripened tomatoes, ½ a yellow or red pepper cut into cubes, ½ a grated carrot and some times I throw in pecans to give it a little extra somethin’!

Instructions

Once salad is made, sprinkle with a small amount of raw sugar. Lightly cover salad with a pinch of salt. Whisk the last four ingredients together, toss salad in dressing and serve!!

Make it a Meal!

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup Quinoa

1 cup water

20 jumbo prawns

Cajun Spice (to taste)

1/4 lime wedge

pinch sea salt

3 cloves garlic crushed or diced

1 tsp. non-hydrogentated margarine

Bring Quinoa in 1 cup of water to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 mins. (Prep salad and dressing while quinoa is cooking). After 15 mins, set aside. Toss raw prawns in Cajun Spice, lime juice, pinch of sea salt and garlic. On medium heat (or slightly lower) melt margarine. Sauté prawns until pink. Toss salad with dressing, top with 1/2 quinoa, and prawns.

If you try this, please let me know what you think! 

How to Cope with the Convenience Food Conundrum

Sorry for the long sabbatical. My family and I went on a month long trip through Eastern Canada. In prepping for, going on, and organizing since the trip, there has been little room for blogging. 

Fortunately, our travels allowed me to practice some dietary and exercise principles; and I also was able to learn from some pitfalls and other experience. Here is the first of a few I will share!

About to leave on our trip, I found myself in a very common “food situation”: there was nothing to eat. In an effort to avoid waste, we essentially stopped grocery shopping days in advance and tried to eat our way through our perishable food. The morning we were leaving for the airport, there was nothing left to eat that wouldn’t take a certain amount of imagination and a lot of cooking time. In an attempt to get our home clean, bills paid in advance, packing done, baby supplies organized, I forgot to buy healthy on-the-go snacks like I typically do. So, I arrived at the airport unfed, famished, and knowing I would need a good amount of food to hold me over until we landed six hours later. Worst of all, I was faced with convenience store and fast food as my only options. Once we landed, we were on the road quite a bit and I was faced with similar options.

Here is what I Found and Where…

Starbucks: Tall Non-Fat Latte, Venti Water, Perfect Oatmeal (threw out: the sugar)

Convenience Store: Danone Activia Raspberry Yogurt, sliced veggies (threw out: the dip), freeze dried apple crisps, and unsalted almonds

Booster Juice: Veggie Panini on Whole Grain Flatbread

 

McDonald's: Cashew Teriyaki Salad (asked for it without: processed chicken or Teriyaki). Comes with edamame (lean source of protein, high in plant fiber), carrots, mixed greens, onions, and cashews.

Sobeys/ Whole Foods: Rebar Energy Bar, it doesn't taste fabulous, but it contains apple, carrot, spinach, alfalfa, cabbage, broccoli, kale, celery, rosehip, parsley, cauliflower, cucumber, beets, bell pepper, collards, watercress, bok choy, tomato, garlic and natural flavours. Need I say more? :)

In order to make healthful choices without resorting to dieting, it is crucial to follow

Guidelines to Help Make the Healthiest Decision:

Go All Natural – typically convenience food is far from holistic, but when you can, choose whole foods (i.e. nuts, fruit, veggies). When choosing manufactured foods, read the labels to see if it is all natural. All-natural... foods are more likely to contain whole food sources of beneficial nutrients such as fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals (Hall, 2011, Livestrong.com). In order to avoid dieting, it is crucial to follow certain

Choose Whole Grains – processed and refined carbohydrates cause your insulin to surge and crash, leaving you hungry fast. Whole grains keep you fuller, longer.

Go Low Sodium or No Sodium – We don’t need extra salt.

Drink PLENTY of Water

Fill up on Fruits and Vegetables - I could write an essay on why we should get 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies each and every day. This article covers does an amazing job of covering why. Fruits & Vegetables: Get Plenty Every Day. 

NB – These options were the best I could find, but should not be consumed regularly. Starbucks Oatmeal, McDonald's salad dressing and the Activia Yogurt are not all natural. And, the veggie Panini had cream cheese (likely not natural either). These were just the best options I could get my hands on!

More to come soon! 

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Spice it up! Quick & Easy Cajun Rub Recipe

When cutting back on bad foods, it is so pertinent to maintain TASTE. Some staples in my kitchen to help ensure this include: chili flakes, organic garlic, extra virgin olive oil, citrus fruit, sea salt, pepper corns, and a Tupperware containing this recipe:

Cajun Rub Recipe:

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

3 tsps pepper (I used a white and black blend)

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsps dried thyme

Method:

Mix together in an airtight container. Shake well before each use.

NB - there is no salt in this recipe. I recommend using an extra virgin olive oil spray on meat, seafood or vegetables, lightly season food with sea salt and then lightly cover with Cajun rub. To round out the spice, I recommend using a bit of limejuice and/or zest.

I have used this on fillet mignon, prawns (with a tsp of margarine, lime zest and juice of a quarter lime wedge), salmon and chicken.

References

Hobbs, R. (2012). A400t_cajun_salmon_main.jpg (2012). From,

http://uk.russellhobbs.com/recipes/cuisines/cajun-salmon/

Salt-Free Cajun Seasoning (2004). From, http://www.food.com/recipe/salt-free-

cajun-seasoning-81383

When the Best Laid Workout Plans Often go Awry

As outlined in The (Almost) Naked Truth, my weekly workout plan was:

Mondays: Mom & Baby Yoga

Wednesdays: Mom & Baby Bootcamp

Thursdays: Yoga on the Beach

supplemented with P90x, walking, running, etc.

But as Steinbeck essentially said: even the most organized of goals may not happen...

The first Wednesday following the above mentioned post, I had contacted the owner of the bootcamp and also emailed the woman running the classes; I found out what I needed to bring and the name of the location I needed to go. Yup, I knew the name of the place, not the address. In the age of SmartPhones and Google Maps, why on earth would I need more?! 

The first Wednesday, I packed my car full of baby gear and was off. At the end of my iPhone app directions, I found myself at a park with signage that matched the name of where I was told to go. I drove around its perimeter looking for strollers, bootcampers, or babies. Nada. 

Once parked, I went back to my phone checked the website and the emails, but found no guidance. So, I fired off an email explaining my predicament, drove to a near by path and went for a jog. The following Wednesday with an actual address in hand, I found myself faced with a sweet little baby in need of a longer morning nap. I let my daughter sleep, and worked out to P90x DVD for the remainder of her nap.

The moral of the story: When life throws a wrench in your workout plans, make it into an opportunity to do something different! If there is one thing Mom & Baby Yoga has taught me, it is that with some adaptation and a couple of breaks for feeds/ diaper changes throughout, most workouts are still possible. Moreover, working out can be a great opportunity to engage your infant for an extended period of time. Lay down a blanket near your mat, have toys on hand, sing to your baby and make adjustments to involve them! It may sound like I'm suggesting you create your own at home version of a three ring circus. But, you'd be surprised how exciting this can be for baby!

Supplemental, Cost-Effective Work-outs:

Walking briskly: This may not sound all that exciting, or revolutionary for that matter, but doing so for an hour can burn a few hundred calories. Choose a scenic route (whether its through the touristy areas of your city, by the water or through the mountains). And use a pedometer to track your pace, distance, and calories burned; for my iPhone, I have the free "GPS Watch" App which works quite well!

Running: If you hate running, but have good cardiovascular endurance, the 10 and 1 technique, wherein you run 10 minutes and walk 1, works very well; you may find you're able to run longer and are happier doing so! I also highly recommend, getting off the road and onto a trail. The beauty of the great outdoors acts as a marvellous distraction. For those of you who are easing back into workout life, after say chid birth or a cesarean, a program such a this Learn to Run may seem monotonous, but will get you happily running, injury free before you know it!

My brother's results without changing his diet

P90x: The reason I love this so much because it's incredibly hard, but oh so fun! The creator of the program, Tony Horton touts "muscle confusion" as the reason for its success. Because the plan outlines different work-outs for each day, your body doesn't habituate the same way it would completing the same workout. And as a result, there are no plateaus. Admittedly, I have not read any research on this principle. What I do know, this plan gets AMAZING!!!!! results. Having used the DVDs over the course of several months, I was running faster than ever (I knocked almost 5 mins off of my 10km race time from the year before); I was undoubtedly in the best shape of my life. Of the DVDs, the ones requiring the least amount of equipment are Cardio X, Kenpo X, Plyo X, Ab Ripper X, and Yoga X.

NB - before starting any exercise program, consult your doctor. Before starting P90x, there is a fitness test that needs to be completed (comes in the DVD package).

Don't be ashamed if you need to ease into running, or need to hit the pause button on your workout DVD. What is important is to be consistently active and enjoy what you do!!!

The Best Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, EVER!

As mentioned in Dieting can Make you Fat, I don't diet because I do feel it is too restrictive and can lead to feelings of failure. Instead, I strive to make healthy decisions throughout the day, every day; I modify my foods at restaurants, read labels in super markets, make a lot of foods from scratch, and alter recipes. The two most important objectives when I am making food are to make the healthiest, best tasting version of whatever I want to eat. It just so happens, I have a very substantial sweet tooth. Here is my version of a recipe I found to make

The BEST Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

Preheat oven to 325°F      Grease cookie sheets with vegetable oil

Mix above ingredients together and set aside:

2 cups No Additive Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tsp salt (I use slightly less than 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

In a separate bowl, cream together:

3/4 cup Trans-Fat Free Margarine* or unsalted butter, melted

1 cup Organic Fair-Trade Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Organic Fair-Trade White Sugar

Beat together:

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

5 tbs egg whites + a splash more or 1 egg and 1 egg white

Slowly whisk in dry ingredients that were previously set aside.

Combine:

1/4 cup crushed pecans or nuts of your choice **

1 cup Organic Fair Trade Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Chips will likely fall to the bottom a bit and will need to be pressed into cookies when putting them on cookie sheet. If the batter needs more moisture, add an additional splash of egg whites.

Baked cookies at 325°F for 15-17 minutes. Let cookies rest on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

* Check your margarine labels to ensure there are no  hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils

** Because I have taken out a lot of the fat from the original recipe, I want to add in healthy Omega-3 fats instead. The fat and protein from the nuts will help you feel satiated and less likely to go back for several more cookies. The nuts as well as the whole wheat flour will also diminish a sugar surge and crash.

NB - these are still cookies. Though sugar from the original recipe (Best Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies) has been cut back, the fiber increased, and the saturated fat largely substituted out, these still are treats and should be treated as such!

Nutritional Information

Based on the batch divided into 18 cookies - brackets compare to the original recipe
Calories 288 

Total Fat 11g (2.9g less fat)

            Saturated Fat: 2g

Sodium 206mg

Total Carbohydrates 28g  (12.1g less carbohydrates)

            Sugar: 19g

Dietary Fiber 16g    (14.5g more fiber)

Protein 3g