Turkey Meatballs

One of my favorite snacks to eat from time to time is turkey meatballs.  They're super easy to make, low in fat, and don't have much by the way of calories.  One thing I should note is that I don't use breadcrumbs or wheat when making my meatballs.  I'm trying to stay away from breads and flour in general, and opting for alternatives when making dishes that call for these ingredients.  Believe it or not, one ingredient that I found has worked as a breadcrumb alternative is large flake oats, ground in a food processor.  One of my girlfriends introduced me to this method about a year ago and you know what, you can barely taste the difference.  


On another note, for those of you who can't live without a sauce or dip of some sort for your meatballs, try Apple Butter.  Apple butter, in my opinion, is quite similar to plum sauce, but waaaay healthier for you.  A serving is 15 grams or 1 Tablespoon and there's about 4 grams of natural sugar in total-just under the recommended sugar intake of 5 grams/meal.  You can find Apple Butter at a health food store or at Superstore (much cheaper there).


Turkey Meatball Recipe
1 package of lean ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 onion (chopped)
3 Tablespoons of large flake oats
1Tablespoon of ground flaxseed (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
dash of paprika
dash of thyme
1-2 tsp of oregano
Dash of garlic powder


Start off by lining a baking sheet with foil and coating with a tiny bit of oil.  Place turkey in a bowl, add spices and mix together.  After mixing, add your oats, onions, then egg and mix until all ingredients are combined.  Using your hands, form a nice size ball and place into baking sheet.   Once mixture has been used up, place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Food Labels and What They Mean

One of the advantages of having been a calorie counter was learning how to read food labels.  Reading the nutrition facts for particular foods not only helped me control the amount of food I consumed in a sitting, but the amount of fat, salt, sugar and carbs I was taking in as well.  I don't count calories anymore because I found it too time consuming, however I still read food labels in order to know how many servings of foods I should be taking in at each meal. 


According to Canada's Food Guide, one can use food labels to "compare products more easily; determine the nutritional value of foods; and help you choose a product with more or less of a particular nutrient".  They usually have 13 nutrients listed as these are what "consumers, health professionals and scientists consider important to the health of Canadians".


For the healthy minded individual food labels provide an opportunity to focus ones attention on healthy eating by comparing products more easily and determine the nutritional value of foods to help one manage their weight.


Before you go off and start getting label crazy, it is important to know how much of the various nutrients you should be taking in.  For example, based on the USDA Food Pyramid, when it comes to sodium the daily recommended serving for individuals aged 9-50 is 1500 mg/day; for sugar, the rule of thumb is less than 22 grams/day (6tsp's/day) and for fat the value is approximately 53 grams/day.


For more information on food labels, check out this great article by Laura Bofinger from sparkpeople.com:


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=145

Image from Canada's Food Guide

"The first step to change is taking the first step"

Robin Sharma

Weight Loss Struggles

A conversation I had with a friend earlier today really inspired me to get on my blog and write about the challenges often associated with losing weight and staying focused on your goals.  First and foremost, I wanted to congratulate my friend for getting serious about losing weight and taking the steps necessary to reach her goals.    I know it hasn't been easy for her to lose the weight but I commend her for taking charge and taking control of her health.


This is the first time I've had an intimate conversation with this friend over weight-her struggles, her frustrations, her successes, not to mention her disappointments.  In the 5 years that I've known her, I've seen her try to lose weight on numerous occasions and couldn't quite figure out why she never succeeded with her attempts.  Time and time again, she'd declare to finally get the weight off, go on a plan, get motivated, start to lose weight and then before you know it she'd be right back to where she was before she started on her weight loss journey.  I totally feel her pain, because I too have struggled with my own weight over the years, however, the difference between me then vs now is the fact that when I made a conscious decision, this time around, to embark on my weight loss journey, I started slowly.  Meaning, I took each day one step at a time by having a clear vision in my mind of why I wanted to lose the weight and by setting small measurable and achievable goals for myself in the process.


Some of the goals I set when I first started on my path were to:


1.  Incorporate vegetables with two of my main meals (lunch and dinner).
2.  Drink 6-8 glasses of water each day.
3.  Exercise 5x/week (3 days of cardio + 2 days of strength)
4.  Stop eating 3 hours before bed


Another crucial factor that has really helped me in my weight loss journey is having a strong support network.  I've been blessed in that my hubby, friends, and loved ones have really encouraged me to stay focused  on my goals and keep my eyes on the prize.  Each time I fell off the wagon, they were always right there to pick me up and get me right back on track.  


And finally, feeling, believing and embracing a healthier, vibrant, and slimmer me has provided all the motivation I need to keep going.  The last trainer I had, used to constantly preach about "owning and embracing a new you" and you know what?  He was right.  If you don't believe that you are worthy enough to look and feel your best, it won't happen.  


For those of you who are really struggling out there to lose weight, I feel your pain.  It's not easy and I know that, but it's important for you to take small baby steps, have a clear vision in your mind of where you want to get to, and believe that it will happen.  We can do this together! Stay strong and don't give up!!!

4 Week Challenge!

I'm so excited about the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers and their Superfeature 4 Week Bikini-Ready Program. I'll be honest in saying that I've been slacking in the fitness department and haven't been hitting the gym as hard I've been used to in the last few weeks. I've had so much going on in terms of work, family and other commitments that I just haven't had the time to go to the gym (I can hear my previous Trainer's voice in my head saying that my excuses are not valid excuses and how he's had clients with severe health issues still make it out to the gym- ha, ha).


Anyway, I decided, starting tomorrow, to commit myself to the MFH Bikini-Ready program in order to re-commit myself to my fitness goals.


Without going into to much detail, the Bikini-Ready Program is a 4 week program with a combination of 4 resistance workouts a week with circuits (two upper-body days and two-lower body days); and cardio 3x/week. I'll pretty much be working out 7 days a week for the duration of the program.


The program also provides a sample daily meal-plan which you can follow to the letter or alter to suit your needs. I know for sure I'll be altering a few things on the plan and will update my readers on what exactly I'll be eating once I play around with a few meal ideas.


Well tomorrow's a new day and I can't wait to get started on the new program!

I'm Juicing!

After 3 years of sitting in the basement untouched, I decided to pull out my juicer for the first time and give juicing a try. I know some of you may be wondering why I waited so long to start juicing and the only logical reason I can give is that it just wasn't the right timing. 3 years ago, I was in a completely different frame of mind when it came to health than I am now. For me, I was solely concerned about losing weight and didn't concern myself too much with the benefits of choosing to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

As a part of living a healthy and balanced lifestyle, I have turned to juicing to aid me on my journey towards health. Juicing has so many benefits to one health including healing, digestion, cleansing, and protection from disease. Not only that, juicing provides you with all sorts of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to help the body regenerate itself.

As mentioned in my previous post, I've adopted many of Gillian McKeith's tips and guidelines in "You Are What You Wat" as a part of my own and have been implementing a few juicing suggestions as a part of my diet.

My favorite recipe out of her book is her "Grapes Galore". It calls for 20 green grapes, 10 Strawberries, 1 apples, and 2 sprigs of fresh mint (not a big fan of fresh mint so I opted not to use it). Talk about a smooth, tasty and refreshing drink!

For more information on juicing check out the detox section of Gillian McKeith's, You Are What You Eat" or this article on energiseforlife.com:

http://www.energiseforlife.com/juicing.php

Must Read: You Are What You Eat

The latest book I've been reading is Gillian McKeith's, "You Are What You Eat"; yes I know, I'm still on that Gillian McKeith kick (smiles).

Now I've read a lot, and I mean a lot of diet and nutrition books over the years, but no book has covered the full spectrum of diet, general nutrition and health as Gillian has in her latest book.

For those of you who aren't familiar with "You Are What You Eat", this book takes a holistic approach to nutrition and offers a step by step guideline on what you should eat and why. In comparison to Canada's own, Tosca Reno and her "Eat Clean Diet" there's really not much difference between the two approaches, however, Gillian differ's in that she focuses on the anatomical affects of not eating a healthy and balanced diet; everything from poor sleeping habits, brittle nails, moodiness, digestive issues, right down to a stall in weight loss. What really got me with this book is the stool section; who would have thought that your stools can tell you a lot about your general state of health?

Diet wise, Gillian takes a realistic approach to nutrition by incorporating what she calls her Abundant Food List. By eating this way, you can pretty much eat a wide array of foods, plus more, as long as you eat the right foods. By the right foods, Gillian means natural, wholesome foods that have not been packaged, refined or processed. Sounds like a pretty reasonable message in my opinion.

I've been incorporating the "You Are What You Eat" approach to my lifestyle and have seen a major difference in how generally feel. I've been experimenting with all sorts of herbs (not the herbs you think) and remedies I've never ever heard of and my body is in a much better state because of it.

I give this book a two-thumbs up!

Healthy Spicy Sushi Rolls

I was in a creative spirit this afternoon and decided to experiment in the kitchen by trying something new. Being that I've been craving sushi for quite sometime now, I figured that rather than spending money and purchasing it through a restaurant, I'd make my own. For a first-timer, I must say that I did a pretty good job and believe it or not, I could actually see myself trying this recipe again (smiles).

Either way, here's the recipe to what I call my mock version of sushi.

Healthy Spicy Sushi Rolls

Ingredients:

2 Nori Seaweed sheets

1/4 of a cucumber thinly sliced

1 cup of cooked Shrimp

1 tbsp of Light Mayonnaise

Garlic Chilli sauce

Alfafa Sprouts

1/4 tsp of Sesame Oil

1tsp of Olive Oil

In a frying pan add olive oil and lightly saute shrimp (add a little bit of sea-salt and pepper for seasoning). Cook for about 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and shred shrimp in food processor (blender should do just fine). Once shredded, add mayonnaise, sesame oil and garlic sauce and mix.

Tear seaweed sheet in half and lay-out on hard-surface (cutting board, counter etc). Starting from one end right up till a little past the middle of the sheet, smooth out shrimp mixture, add cucumber and alfalfa sprouts then roll from one end to the other. There should be enough mixture for 4 sheets of sushi (2 large sheets torn in half).

Enjoy!

Oprah Winfrey Show: Jessica Simpson

Be sure to catch Oprah this Wednesday on "Beauty Around the World". Jessica Simpson will be featured on the show and will be talking about her weight battles and her new VH1 series, "The Price of Beauty".

Backlash From Fans on Mo'Nique's Recent Weight Loss

I was watching a recent episode of "The Mo'Nique Show" and happened to catch her in the middle of addressing her fans on her recent 40 Ibs weight loss. Apparentely, her much larger fan base is not happy about her weight loss and feels that the woman who once proclaimed the "fat and fabulous" motto has let them now. According to Mo'Nique, she understands the frustration of her fans, but the weight she was carrying around was way too much, not to mention unhealthy. It was causing too many health complications and if she wanted to be around for a long time she needed to shed some pounds. She even encouraged her fans to follow her example by getting healthy themselves.

Personally, I think Mo'Nique did the right thing by addressing her fans the way she did about their health. We are facing a major health crisis in our country with soaring obesity rates and it's high time North American's (Canadians/Americans) start getting serious about their health. With Mon'Nique being the role model that she is, it's even more important for her to set an example for the millions of women and men alike that look up to her.

For more on Mo'Nique's recent weight loss, check out the Insider:

http://www.theinsider.com/news/2244469_Mo_Nique_Lost_40_lbs