Thursday, July 22

July 22, 2010 - Skinny Songs

Hello All,

I have been in a very prolonged funk. Because of this my exercise and eating plans have not been followed that well or is it that because I did not follow my exercise and eating plan that I got in the funk?  Chicken or egg?  LOL

Whenever I get like this I eventually start to care again and try to find something to help perk me up. I have just the thing...SkinnySongs.

Skinny Songs is a compilation of original songs to help with weight loss motivation. For the complete story checkout the web site at http://www.skinnysongs.com   The following are the tracks...

 My favorite song currently is; "Use it to Lose It".  Just checkout some of the lyrics.

"You say you don’t want no gut (no gut)
Don’t want to have no big butt (uh huh)                                   
Well then get up outta your rut
Come on y’all, let’s make that cut (hey!)         

That’s it now, get off your duff
No more fat, we have had enough             
Gotta do a little huff and puff
so that you can strut your stuff"

LOL LOL LOL LOL

These are the PERFECT songs for a workout!

Now if someone would only write the following songs for me.

Blues:   Don't Be Blue, Eat Your Salmon
Love Song: Ode to Spinach
Reggae:   Exercise is Normal
Old School Rap:   Go to Bed Early, So You are not So Surly
Pop:  Vitamin D For Me
Ska:  Walk, Walk, Stretch, Walk, Walk, Stretch
Bluegrass:   Brewin' the Green Tea
Country:   My Water Jug is Half Empty, Will You Make it Full?

Til Next Week,
Kristi
Published to http://kristiasher.blogspot.com

Tuesday, July 13

July 14, 2010 - Quinoa

Hello All,

Look!  I posted on the exact day I plan on every week!

Well, I am still using the BodyMedia fit to great success. I am going to give it a thorough review next week, but this week I must share my thoughts on quinoa.  You see, in the past week three people asked me about how I fix quinoa.  It is important to note that I am just an average cook. Basically, I can keep from burning things.  Now, that is in comparison to my sister who is an excellent cook. 

The first time I had quinoa was in a restaurant.  I also heard more about it on the "You Are What You Eat."    On a whim, I bought (for five dollars) a package of organic quinoa at the local grocery store.  I must admit it can be hard to find. Most times you can find it in the health food section or with the rice.

Although it looks and tastes like a grain, quinoa is actually an herb from the beet family. However, you will find it tastes similarly to brown rice.  The best thing about quinoa is that it is high in fiber and high in protein.  One time, I told the doctor that I was binging on quinoa, he stated that a quinoa binge is exponentially better than stuffing myself with donuts.  LOL

After tracking down quinoa make sure that you follow the actually instructions for cooking on the package. DO NOT follow the instructions in a recipe. All quinoa is not the same. Quinoa is not difficult to make, but you need to make it according to the specific instructions.

The most important part of making quinoa is to RINSE IT.   I recommend cheese cloth or a strainer with VERY small openings.  I tried rinsing it through paper towel one time.  Obviously, my common sense was turned off that day.  The experiment ended BADLY!  It was a huge mess, but it did provide me with some amusement at my own expense. 

Once you rinse quinoa, you just need to mix it up with something.  I have a couple of ways that I make it.  While I do not have exact measurements of anything, I believe you can do this to taste.   Also, you might want to add salt. When I turned about 8 years old my mom had to quit salting food, due to my dad's health.  Therefore, I normally do not add additional salt to food.

Pesto Style
quinoa
olive oil (you can use half olive oil and half low-sodium chicken broth to cut calories or extend higher quality oil)
minced garlic
feta or goat cheese
tons of basil
pepper
halved cherry tomatoes
lemon juice

Parsley Browned Butter Version (not a low-fat version)
quinoa
browned butter
minced garlic
tons of parsley
zuchinni
diced tomatoes (with juice)

Corn and Black Bean
quinoa
corn
black beans
cilantro
garlic
diced jalpenos
chunks of a white cheese
chili powder
a smidge of sugar
cocoa powder
canola oil (cut with low-sodium chicken broth)
cinnamon

I recommend that you can use it in place of any grain.  For some really good recipes, check out Eating Well.

Til Next Week,
Kristi

Published to http://kristiasher.blogspot.com

Saturday, July 10

July 10, 2010 - My New Toy

It's been 10 days already?  Sheesh....

Well, I have to tell you what I bought.  It is a BodyMedia Fit. It tells me how many calories I am burning, how well I am sleeping, and how many steps I am taking.  It knows all sorta of voodoo.  I LOVE IT!!!!

When I upload the information online I can read all of the data and then subtract the calories eaten to understand my deficit for the day. So far, it has been right on!  My deficit is equating to the exact amount of weight lost.

So now, I can have several goals such as burn 3000 calories, take 10,000 steps and get 8 hours of sleep all tracked via my new toy.

Cool huh?

I will let you know how this works out!