Kick Up Your Heels

Heels. Sure. You know them. The front and the end piece of the bread that no one ever wants to eat. At least in my house. Well, rather then throwing them out, composting them, or feeding them to wild life, I've been saving them in the freezer. Soon enough I had about 2 1/2 loaves of bread (all heels) and I needed to do something with them. So I made bread pudding.



Maple-Pecan Bread Pudding

I augmented a recipe I got from the "Everyday Food" Magazine
I used 18 slices of my bread (instead of a new baguette)
Did not butter the pan (used spray instead)
Doubled everything
Used about 1/2 of the maple syrup called for
And did not top the finished product with any extra maple syrup or whipped cream.

It turned out pretty well. It basically tasted like pancakes. I brought it to book club, and half the pan was gone by the end of the night. I will add more half & half next time, but it was fun to experiment.

Blend It. Blend It Good!

I've been eating fruit with yogurt (or cottage cheese) and a whole wheat English muffin (or Flax waffle or Trader Joe's Six Seed Almond bars) for breakfast pretty much every day for the past 8 months. As it turned to Winter, I started microwaving frozen fruit, but I could never get it quite right. So I decided I would try my hand at smoothies. And now, I am obsessed. They are a great way to use frozen fruit, are extremely portable, and let you be creative.

My dear friend Kristine, lent me her Super Smoothies book, and while I haven't done any of the recipes in it (I don't want to add fruit juice or sweeteners) it has given me food combination inspiration.

*WARNING* I don't like super sweet smoothies, so you may need to augment the recipes to your taste.

I put the blender on a food scale, and weigh each item one by one, so the ingredients are listed in grams. This saves time and clean-up.

My three favorite smoothies of the moment:


Pumpkin Smoothie

130g Canned Pumpkin Pie Mix (Measure it in to paper cups and freeze.)
113g Non-Fat Yogurt
101g Soy Milk
Splash of Ground Flax seed Oil
Heavy Dusting of Pumpkin Pie Spice
5 Ice Cubes

About 295 Calories, and 40 Carbohydrates (Check your ingredients for actual data.)

Strawberry Chocolate Smoothie

140g Frozen Strawberries
113g Non Fat Yogurt
202g Lite Chocolate Soy Milk
Splash of Ground Flax Seed Oil

About 260 Calories and 40 Carbohydrates (Check your ingredients for actual data.)

PB&J&B

140g Frozen Strawberries
16g Peanut Butter
101g Soy Milk
93g Banana

About 270 Calories and 35 Carbohydrates. (Check your ingredients for actual data.)

Enjoy, and please remember the first rule of Smoothie making: Always wash out the blender immediately after use!

Be The Example

I just read Dr. David Ludgwig's book, Ending the Food Fight, and it was excellent. Essentially it is a guide for parents on how to manage nutrition, exercise and sedentary habits. The book is chock full of information (including food lists and recipes), written in a non-judgmental way, and a fantastic resource.

He talks about lots of things, but what I found most important was this:

The best way to help your kids get fit and healthy is to commit to these things yourself.

All the children around us are watching and listening (whether they will admit to it or not). If you promote and model healthy behavior, everyone benefits.

Try It Sideways

Every time I go to the gym to exercise on the treadmill, I walk sideways. First one direction, then the other. And every time I do this, someone on another treadmill or elliptical will look up at me in surprise. I want to tell them why I am doing this, but I'm not about to shout. So, I'll do it here.

3 reasons You Should Walk Sideways (& Backwards) On The Treadmill:

1. It uses muscles that get neglected when you just walk forwards

2. It breaks up the monotony of exercising on a treadmill

3. It helps with balance

And as an extra super bonus point, my new physical therapist, Mike, says walking sideways on the treadmill is fantastic.

Just be prepared to smile at all the people that stare at you.

Learn more about walking sideways from Prevention Magazine or Livestrong.

Find the Hidden Gem

I'm always on the lookout for pro-girl, pro-individuality, books and magazines. Mostly to see if it would be interesting for my 14 year old niece, but some of it is also for me. I want to try and understand the complexity of being a 14 year old girl in the United States (yes, I was once one myself, but I'm not sure I even understood what was happening).

So when I came across Exactly As I Am, I was somewhat excited. That excitement dampened considerably when I saw that it was written by Shaun Robinson. No offense to Ms. Robinson, but her job, as co-host of Access Hollywood, doesn't exactly scream girl empowerment and self acceptance. She does get extra points for working regularly with the non-profit, Girls Inc.

But the book left much to desire. She essentially interviews various "famous" people (mostly celebrities) about the difficulties they had as girls and how that didn't stop them from being the fabulous women they are today. Yawn.

I was about to toss the book back in to the library book bag when I came across this gem:

Your Health

For you as teenagers, it's so important that you look for healthy and positive ways to manage and cope with stress. Exercising, sports, writing in your journal, listening to positive, uplifting music, and creating art-these are ways to chill, "veg out," and download your feelings... During times of confusion and intense feelings...the endorphins from exercise and the calmness that comes from working out can teach your body to manage these stress hormones, so that you can control how you feel to some degree.

I'd been struggling with how to explain the importance of exercise to my niece, in a way she could understand and maybe even agree. I didn't want to make it about looking a certain way, or about avoiding disease (fear doesn't really motivate people) but this is a perfect (& true) way to talk about it.

I exercise because it strengthens my body & mind so that I can excel in life.

Print It Out

Yesterday, I had my first appointment with a physical therapist for my six week LUMBAR SPINE REHABILITATION PROGRAM. I had prepared a sheet ahead of time with my current exercise program, with times and weights all nicely listed for his reading pleasure. He was giddy with joy when I gave it to him. Right there, on the paper, in black and white, was exactly what my body was currently capable of. He didn't have to drill me about what I had been doing, how much weight I could lift. None of that.

He was confused a little at first. "Wait, you are walking on a treadmill for an hour, three times a week?" he said. "Wow. That's awesome." He gave a huge thumbs up to my walking sideways and backwards on the treadmill, and my use of the incline.

I did some tests (mostly about how far back I could bend) and then we started on my new exercises. When we were done, he told me that he sees most people 3x a week, but that since I was could do everything at home, and since he knew I was super motivated (he had the proof of that in his hands), I would only have to come in once a week.

I'm planning on incorporating the new exercises in to my plan, have set up a way to track that I am in fact doing them everyday, and plan on giving him a full report next week.
And I am monumentally proud of myself.

Know That Slow Is The Way To Go

Happy New Year! I'm sure you are just bursting to the seams with resolutions: You're going to lose 40 lbs! Eat better! Exercise more! And you are going to do all of it full force, all at the same time. Yeah, well, good luck with that. I'd love to see you succeed, I really truly would, but making that many broad changes at once is not going to be sustainable.

So, let the foolish ones spout on about their fabulous (and detailed) new exercise programs, watch them shop to get new clothes, new shoes, new food gadgets (that will just gather dust after 2 months), while you smirk, and quietly think to yourself, "Go Fast and It Won't Last"

You need to do something 16-20 times in order to make it a habit. So just focus on these five things, until they become a habit, then add five more.

5 things you can do right now to improve your health:

"Beginners"

1. Eat sitting down, and focus on the smell and taste of everything.

2. Add an extra serving of fruit or vegetables to every meal.

3. Sit up straight when you find yourself slouching.

4. Take 15 minutes every day to decompress. (This could mean lying down in a dark room, thumbing through a magazine, kicking a soccer ball, etc. Do what works best for you.)

5. Know that you are the most important person in your world, and act accordingly.


5 things you can do right now to improve your health:

"Advanced"

1. Up the intensity of your workout by adding more time, more incline, or more weights.

2. Change up your meals: add new vegetables, try new spices and foods.

3. Encourage friends to get together to exercise, rather than just eat.

4. Try new brain boosting activities (Play games, learn a new sport, read a book you wouldn't normally read, learn a new language.)

5. Know that you are the most important person in your world, and act accordingly.

Happy 2010!

Adjust

So, it's only been a few days and I've already decided to change my workout schedule. I've decided to try and match it a little more closely to what my trainer had originally put in place.

M, W, F: 60 minutes treadmill (or walking hilly streets outside)
T, TH: My "I'm not allowed to jump" intervals

Intervals
2 sets of 10 bicep curls (13.5 lbs)
Walk up and down the stairs 4 x (there are 15 steps in my stairs)
2 sets of 10 hammer curls (13.5 lbs)
Walk up and down the stairs 4 x (there are 15 steps in my stairs)
2 sets of 10 concentration curls (13.5 lbs)
Walk up and down the stairs 4 x (there are 15 steps in my stairs)
2 sets of 10 shoulder shrugs (13.5 lbs)
Walk up and down the stairs 4 x (there are 15 steps in my stairs)
2 sets of 20 triceps dips

I am not allowed to do any other strength building exercises (crunches, lunges, etc.) so I will start with these and add more as my physical therapist assigns them. And each week I will either add more repetitions or more weight.

By doing the treadmill program and the interval program, I won't get bored quickly, I will continue to increase my upper body strength, and I will continually challenge my muscles.

(I may however wear out the rug on the stairs.)