Fluctuation

Readers,

I Sincerely apologize for not keeping up with my posts in the past (almost) year. This just goes to show that sticking to anything is hard if you're not 100% committed. You see, I've never been a writer, blogger, journal keeper, etc. So, there are days I think 'well, that would be something good to write about in my blog' but I never follow through with it. I am here to tell you today that it is my goal to write/post more entries about my life, healthy foods, exercises, tips, etc.

I know how important it is for me to hear the truth in every one's health journey. For example, what was some one's real diet plan, how did they really lose/gain the weight, have they fallen taken a few steps down the latter instead of up, did they really exercise everyday THAT intensely????? The answer is we are all human. There is not one person in the world that has taken a few steps down rather than up, but what I've seen in people whom I've followed lately is that they pick right back up (Cliche, I know).

Ever since I was in Kindergarten, my weight has fluctuated. I crave things like baked goods and unnecessary carbs all the time. It is sincerely hard for me to eat clean EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. and that is the truth. It is a battle for everyone to have to say no to things that could eventually become of harm to your body. It is a battle to tell myself not to make my goal about 'getting a six back' or 'looking like a fitness model' it is about moderation and a health LIFESTYLE. It is okay to have a glass of wine a few times a week, have dessert on girls/date night, or have two cheat meals some weeks. The ultimate goal is that all of those things stated above aren't put together in a week every week. The goal is to wake up with a goal that you will eat healthy and get in your minimal 30 minutes of moderate-vigorous cardio 5x per week (Dr. Cooper recommended) to maintain a healthy balance.

I know this was a miscellaneous post today, but be ready for some posts on good health and fitness information! I will be posting about healthy nutrition and exercises for busy lifestyles and more!

Have a healthy & Happy Day!

Brooke

Green Smoothies!

Ingredients: 

2 cups frozen strawberries 

1/2 frozen banana 

2 tablespoons flaxseeds

 3 cups fresh organic baby spinach 

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Ingredients:

2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 banana

2 tablespoons of water (can put more)

1 packet of Truvia

Herbalife!

Try these amazing herbalife products to get the results you've always dreamed of!

Herbalife is for everyone with any goal! Man, woman, weight loss, weight gain, maintaining weight, skin care, etc.

The shakes taste like ice cream, so yummy!

 Email me today to start your nutrition lifestyle today!
bdowtin46@gmail.com

Pep Talk

Howdy

I just watched this video today in my youth development class and wanted to share it with you.

Hope y'all enjoy this "pep talk" from kid president! He is so cute and truly moving! He speaks the truth for sure.

Going with the FLOW

FLOW

We've all heard the phrase, "going with the flow", but has anyone ever sat and thought about what the word flow really means?

Yesterday, I took my first introduction to recreation and leisure exam (yes, I know my major is awesome--I take exams on how people like to enjoy themselves). The exam covered basic definitions and history as most first exams do. While studying for the exam, one definition caught my attention when reading the definitions of leisure, recreation, play and flow.

According to my textbook, flow means a state of being, fully engaged, and an optimal life experience. This interests me, because I am one of those people that can only be focused on something for a short period of time and then I have to move on to something else. While that's okay if you are a young child or you aren't doing anything that allows you to change, but if you are trying to stick with a well balanced nutrition (I don't like to use the word diet, because the ultimate goal of dieting is to develop a habit of eating healthy food) then we have to learn how to "flow". As I continued reading in my textbook, it stated that "flow results in feelings of energy, focus, and success that often turns out to be the optimal life experience for that individual."

My personal flow consists of herbalife (nutrition), running/lifting, working to finish my degree, my primary groups (family & friends) and my new puppy. Thus, not only does this topic work for health and fitness, but in all aspects of life.

With this lesson I would like you to think about what keeps you focused and motivated with your nutrition plan, exercising, and your personal enjoyments/goals in life. Find what your flow(s) are and commit whole heartily. Find something that you personally enjoy and set goals to get there---use your flow and you will get that optimal life experience!

GO WITH YOUR FLOW!

Found this workout on pinterest, Tabata workouts are the best!

(you can get the 'tabata' app on your phone for free)

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP)

use any excersises (pick 2-3) and set a time limit. (count how many rounds you do in that time limit) use exercises listed above or any of your favorites.

for example:

10minute AMRAP:

10 Wall balls

200 meter hill sprint

20 sit ups

(=1 round)

Cooking In Bulk-- Recipes

Howdy Y'all!

The key to a successful healthy diet is cooking in bulk. Cooking healthy foods over the weekend to have during the week really help maintain a healthy diet while having a busy lifestyle. Pick a day during the weekend to cook up some cood meals for the week. If you are always on the go like I am, this will make life so much easier.

Here are some recipes I have made and found on pinterest:

Baked Eggs 'n Turkey

Ingredients:

• 12 slices of turkey (free of preservatives)
• 12 eggs
• Salt, pepper, and paprika
• Line a muffin tin with slices of ham. Crack an egg into each muffin spot, and season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
• Bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes!

Sweet Potato Hash with fried eggs

(I make egg whites with mine for healthier meal)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs coconut oil, divided
• 1 medium sweet potato or yam, diced into 1/2" cubes
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 nitrite/nitrate free sausages, sliced
• 1 medium bell pepper, diced
• 4 eggs
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons coconut oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and sweet potatoes, and sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Add the sausages and continue to cook until sausages are browned and sweet potatoes are slightly softened.
4. Add bell peppers and 1 Tbs of water.
5. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are completely soft, stirring frequently.
6. Meanwhile, fried eggs in 1 teaspoon coconut oil.
7. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve over sweet potato hash.

Quinoa Con Pollo

Introduction

Delicious version of my favorite Colombian dish, arroz con pollo. The quinoa provides added protein & fiber, plus some fun mouth-texture, & with the veggies included this is basically a one-dish meal! Delicious version of my favorite Colombian dish, arroz con pollo. The quinoa provides added protein & fiber, plus some fun mouth-texture, & with the veggies included this is basically a one-dish meal!

Minutes to Prepare: 30

Minutes to Cook: 20

Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

Chicken Thigh, 6 thigh, bone and skin removed
Chicken broth, homemade, 2.5 cups
Shallots / green onions, 1/2 cup chopped
Carrots, raw, 2 large (7-1/4" to 8-1/2" long)
Peas, frozen, 0.75 cup
Roma tomato, 1 medium-large
Jalapeno peppers, 1.5 peppers, with or without seeds
Garlic, 2 cloves, minced
Salt, 1 tsp
Cumin seed, ground, 1 tbsp
Turmeric, ground, 2 tsp
Pepper, black, 0.25 tsp
Pepper, red or cayenne, 0.5 tsp
Quinoa, 1.5 cup

Directions

Cook thighs in 3 cups of water over medium-low heat, about 30 minutes. (Or cook in slow cooker, low heat, 6 hours.) Allow to cool. Cut chicken into 1-2 inch cubes (irregularity is fine). Put in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add 2.5 cups of the broth.

Chop shallots, carrots, and tomato in smallish (0.5-in) pieces; add to pot with peas. Mince jalapenos and add to pot along with as many seeds as you wish (or none if you can't handle hot spiciness). Mince garlic cloves and add along with spices and quinoa.

Cook over high heat until the mixture comes to a rolling boil. Then turn heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. If all liquid hasn't yet been absorbed, you may want to add 5 or 10 minutes after that.

This is especially yummy topped with a favorite salsa and sprinkled with chopped fresh cilantro.

************

It is fun to add other veggies to this mix; of course you can use different chicken pieces too.

Note that SparkRecipes doesn't include homemade broth in its ingredient database, so for nutrient calculation I used the option with the lowest sodium (Swanson's Natural) and subtracted its sodium from that of a teaspoon of salt. If you do use a commercial broth, you may want to dilute it with an equal amount of water.

Serving Size: Makes 6 1-cup servings.

Number of Servings: 6

 Minutes to Prepare: 10

Minutes to Cook: 30

Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa
3 cups cooked black beans (or two
15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed)
2 large sweet potatoes, shredded
1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 tbsp ground cumin
Liberal pinches salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 cup salsa

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

 
Nutritional Info
• Servings Per Recipe: 8
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 261.5
• Total Fat: 4.2 g
• Cholesterol: 63.1 mg
• Sodium: 315.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 41.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 10.1 g
• Protein: 15.7 g

Stepfanie's Quinoa-Black Bean Casserole
Submitted by: SP_STEPF


Introduction
An experiment with leftovers yield a delightful, filling vegetarian meal. An experiment with leftovers yield a delightful, filling vegetarian meal.

Minutes to Prepare: 10
Minutes to Cook: 30
Number of Servings: 8


Ingredients
1 cup cooked quinoa
3 cups cooked black beans (or two
15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed)
2 large sweet potatoes, shredded
1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 tbsp ground cumin
Liberal pinches salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 cup salsa
COUPONS

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Tips

I cooked up a batch of dried beans that I seasoned with onions, garlic, chilies and spices. If you use canned beans, you might need more spices.

Serve this with steamed broccoli or wilted spinach and a dollop of light sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare a 9” x 9”
casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, black
beans, sweet potato, 1⁄2 cup of the cheese, and
the cumin, salt, and pepper. In a small bowl,
mix together the eggs and the salsa. Pour the
salsa mixture over the vegetables, then pour
everything into the prepared casserole dish.
3. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top
and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Garnish
with the cilantro

My personal favorite,

Hope's:

Turkey Tri Bean Chili
Ingredients:
-1 pound turkey meat
-1 can black beans not drained
-1 can red kidney beans not drained
-1 can chickpeas not drained
-1 can green chopped chilies drained
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 can tomato sauce
-1 tsp of chili powder
-salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, paprika<---use all, season to taste.

Toppings:
-red onion
-cheddar cheese
-cilantro

1. cook turkey and well season, drain and add to separate pot
2. in separate pot throw in all ingredients.
3. cover and simmer 20-30 minutes
4. serve topped with red onion, cilantro, and cheddar cheese

3 Questions to Ask Yourself

Today, I just want to share with you all with some thoughts to think about when you are working out or tempted by tasty fatty food.

Every Day

This past week, I noticed something I say to myself during my workouts and when I'm tempted with foods I probably shouldn't eat. I'm not saying it always works, but if you want it bad enough you will repeat these three things to yourself every day:

'Do I want to lose this weight?'
'Do I want to just maintain this weight?'
or...
'Do I want to waste what I worked for?'

It's up to you to decide which one you choose, but if you are really striving for a goal, don't let the devil get into your head. Go that extra mile(literally), speed up in the last few minutes of your workout, say no to a bad food, or whatever it is--- do it!  When you fall, a good thing to remember is that you can get right back up again and keep moving forward! 

WE CAN DO IT!

It is only yourself that you are up against.