Saturday, December 31, 2011

Are YOU Exercising??

Ladies in Las Cruces,

Looking to get back in shape or get into a good exercising routine? Come join us at Veterans' Park on Roadrunner Mondays and Fridays at 4:00 pm for an hour long workout in the park. Bring your kids in their strollers, a water bottle, and be ready to workout hard. It is $3 per class per person.

On Monday the focus is on upper body and abs and Fridays are lower body. I am strength and conditioning certified through ISSA. We've been meeting for almost two months now and are ready to hit it even harder into 2012! Contact me if you have any questions. Feel free to invite anyone. Look forward to seeing you there.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Apple Cider Vinegar

Yesterday I talked about the health benefits of just drinking a glass of lemon water every morning. Today I'm going to tell you about one more health booster you should add to your morning routine.


The health benefits of apple cider vinegar (ACV) are huge!

1. It is great for keeping you healthy. It helps fight germs, viruses, and bacteria naturally.

2. Helps clean out arterial plaque, regulates calcium metabolism and
keeps blood at the right consistency.

3. ACV also helps balance your body's ph levels and improve digestion.

4. Clears out toxins, germs, and even mold in your body making it the perfect solution to a sore throat or laryngitis.

5. Protects against food poisoning but also is an instant relief if you do get it.

6. Helps sinus, asthma, and flu sufferers breathe easier.

7. Helps control and normalize weight.

8. Since it removed toxins in the body, like in joints and tissues, it helps fight arthritis.

9. Great for clear scalp, skin, hair, and nails. Clears up acne, dandruff, and even soothes a sunburn.

10. ACV contains acetin acid which slows down your glucose levels after a meal (especially one high in starches) so it doesn't make your blood sugar rise rapidly which leads to weight gain. ACV also is great in breaking up the fats in your food.

The best kind of ACV to look for is a raw unprocessed one that still has "the mother of vinegar" floating around. This kind of ACV has the health benefits I mentioned above. The other kinds may still have a couple of these healing properties, but they also have been processed a lot. Don't be afraid of "the mother" in your bottle. It is the part that has the most nutrients and it is actually made up of living nutrients and good bacteria.

It is recommended to take 1 tablespoon a day. I just put it in a shot glass with maybe a teaspoon or two of water and quickly gulp it down. You could add it with 4oz of water. I personally just find it harder to slowly drink it and prefer to drink it as fast as possible. You also could make that drink I mentioned in this post
. ACV is an incredibly beneficial drink and something I would highly recommend you add to your day.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

LEMONS

Every morning I wake up and have a glass of lemon water. I'll admit, the first couple times it tastes really sour. But you get used to it and now I actually like the taste.

So why should you drink fresh squeezed lemon water first thing every day?



1. Although lemon tastes acidic, it actually is one of the more alkaline foods you can eat. It reduces the acidity level in your body and balances your ph level.

2. Lemons also make a great antibacterial AND antiviral drink. It's good for preventing disease since it also will build your immune system. But also drink lots of it if you are sick! They also are one of the highest fruits in vitamin C. Yup, even more than oranges.

3. It's great for the digestive system. It destroys harmful intestinal worms, and cleans your digestive track.

4. Because of the high vitamin C content, it helps your body absorb calcium better which leads to strong bones and teeth.

5. Lemons are high in potassium- even more than apples or grapes- which leads to a stronger, healthier heart.

6. Lemon water is a good weight loss drink as it detoxes and cleanses not only your digestive track, but also your liver and kidneys. Keeping everything working properly helps your body quickly digest the food you eat and not let it sit around and turn into fat.

7. Helps give you clearer, better, healthier skin. It is known to clear up acne with its antibacterial effects. For me, since drinking lemon water, I've noticed my skin is more moisturized and I don't have problems with dry or flakey skin.

8. Drinking lemon juice will also take away canker sores.

9. Lemons also give you energy. Long distance walkers or runners claim lemon juice got them through the last tough half. One of the first men to climb Mt. Everest said that lemons were his secret to making it to the top. This is another good reason to have this drink first thing every morning as it helps wake you up and start your day.

10. You can also drink lemon water all throughout the day if you have problems with indigestion or constipation as it will relieve both in just a few minutes. The warmer the water for treating both of these, the better!

So only 10 min of your time each morning and you get all of these benefits!

Always juice one lemon and add at least 8oz of water too it. Drinking straight lemon juice isn't good for the enamel on your teeth. I dilute it even more so it isn't as sour. I add about 10- 12oz of room temperature water to it.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Get your Workout Time In

I love short, intense, effective workouts. Something easy to do to boost your metabolism and burn some extra calories while the kids are napping or something short and practical to do on your lunch break. This workout is only 10 minutes long and one exercise...the killer burpee!


The one thing this picture doesn't show that I'd like to add is that after you jump your feet back, do one pushup. Then jump your feet back to your hands and jump up. Set your timer for 10 minutes and go! My best time is doing 56 burpees in those 10 minutes. Let me know how you do!

Zach and I have started this new thing where we wake up just 15 minutes earlier every morning and do as many pull ups as we can, straight into as many pushups as we can, and right into as many sit ups as we can. Then we take a short break, no more than a minute or 2, and do that 2 more times. It's an easy thing to add to your morning before starting your day. It takes us 15 minutes or less to do those three sets. I reallyyy need to work on my pull ups!

Don't wait until the New Year for making fitness goals. Now is as good any time as any!!!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Sweets and Sugar

This time of year is especially hard to completely avoid processed sugars. It's the season of baking and desserts! It's also, sadly, the time many people "throw in the towel" and wait until the New Year to watch what they eat. Don't do it!!!

It's also the season where everyone seems to always be sick. It probably has something to do with the fact that within 15 minutes of eating refined sugar, the immune system drops 90% of functioning. The average person gains anywhere from 5-10lbs just over the holidays and a lot of that has to do with the high calorie and hidden fats desserts.

But you don't have to give up everything...that just isn't realistic for a lot of people. Take little steps. For example, you can replace white flour with wheat flour in almost everything. I've tried it with all cookies and things like banana bread and no one notices. You can sweeten things with honey instead of white, refined sugar. (Just make sure to add a little more honey than what the recipe says for sugar). Have a no free sweets rule. Meaning if there is a plate of chocolate chips sitting out, don't eat it. It's easy to go to the plate to eat one, and leave having had four or five. If you really can't stand it, then go BUY one cookie somewhere. And realisticially, it'll help you not give into every craving because driving all the way to get one cookie isn't going to happen much. ;)

Enjoy only social sweets. Eating that piece of pie or bowl of ice cream tastes better in a group than solo. It also helps with portion control because most people will not eat as much as if they were eating it by themselves.

What about when you are at home and are craving that sweet something after a meal? Start a tea tradition. This helped me so much. There are so many dessert teas out there. Drink a cup after every meal. I love the chocolate spice teas. My current favorite is the Good Earth brand cinnamon tea. Mmmmm. I'm still wanting to try ones like mint chocolate chip, pumpkin pie, and apple cobbler.

Incorporating these few tips will help you to still enjoy the festive holiday season while not pigging out on the sweets and packing on the pounds.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love sitting around the big table with family and loved ones and sharing probably the biggest meal of the year. haha. I love getting to bake all morning and try out some new recipes. I love sitting around and playing games and laughing, laughing, laughing. :)


Of course, Thanksgiving is a time to think about and remember what you are thankful for. I have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful for my salvation, for Jesus coming to this Earth to die for ME and making me blameless in His site. Without him, I am nothing and would have nothing to live for. And because of that, I am thankful for all He has blessed me with. A wonderful, loving, handsome, fun husband. A happy, adorable son. A great place to live. An amazing church. My incredible friends and church family. Being able to stay home and be a wife and mom and my hardworking husband having a good job that supports us. My list could go on and on. God is so good!

I am also thankful for a yummy, relaxing and very enjoyable Thanksgiving we had in Tucson with my grandparents. My family was also able to drive over and spend a few days there. A good time was had by all!

My Thanksgiving menu included:


Of course lots of turkey!

Roasted Green Beans


Simply cut up green beans and place on baking sheet. Cook at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Topped with grass fed, organic butter.
 

Mashed "potatoes"


Cook cauliflower instead of potatoes. Use a hand mixer or food processor to mash them. I added some goat's milk, grass fed, organic butter, sea salt, pepper and a bit of parsley. 


Sweet Potato Casserole (I'm so bummed I completely forgot to get a picture!)

8 sweet potatoes, cooked
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil (I used my butter)
dash of salt

Mix everything together and put into a 9x13 baking dish.

Ok, this topping is amazingggg. Everyone- whether they were watching what they were eating or not (LOL)- loved this. Its surprisingly how much it really did taste like marshmallows. I didn't believe it at first when I read the recipe either. But you have to see for yourself!

5 egg whites
2/3 cup honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash of vanilla extract

Using a double broiler (or the recipe did say you could use a small pan with water and a glass bowl on top) whip the egg whites until fluffy. Add honey, cinnamon and vanilla and turn on the heat. Whisk for awhile (took about 20 minutes with Rachel and I trading off) until it is thick and the consistency is like melted marshmallows.

Spread over sweet potatoes. Put in the oven under broil for a minute or two until it's browned. YUM!

And finally, Pumpkin Pie


Crust:

1/2 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
4 tblsp melted grass fed, organic butter
dash of salt

Put everything into food processor. Press into pie pan and shape the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

While that is baking, mix the pie filling:

1 can of pumpkin puree (only ingredient should be "pumpkin")
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix together and pour into crust. Bake for about 40 more minutes.

Now we're home and finally unpacked. I think it's time to break out the Christmas decorations this weekend!!!