I made that chocolate.
Funny story. My intention was to make a bunch and to cut it in little squares, put it in little boxes, and give it out to friends and family, including shipping it all over the country - New England, Florida, Northern California.
I had put together the prototype - wrapped the chocolate squares in plastic wrap, and placed them on colored tissue paper in the box, put the lid on, and left it on the kitchen table. I realized I wanted to get some of those mini cupcake liners to put the chocolate in, and stopped to get that the next day.
I got home and went to re-do the chocolate squares I had already boxed up. What I found was a mess of melted chocolate, luckily wrapped in plastic. Oops!
I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to ship it across the country, and came up with a plan B.
Since it is still before the Holidays, I'm not going to write about my new solution yet, as some of the recipients may be reading this.
Suffice it to say that plan B seems to work just fine and all shipments have gone out, and should be arriving by Friday or Saturday at their various locations.
In the meantime, we had a whole tray full of this most delicious chocolate.... You notice I said HAD, didn't you? Both Avery and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff! I like it better than regular chocolate, and the added benefit is that it's HEALTHY!
I have discovered, however, that "healthy" doesn't mean it's okay to eat a ton of it. It's loaded with fat - even if it is good fat. A small piece or two a day is plenty.
I'll probably make another tray of it later this week.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Avoiding Sugar During the Holidays
OK, I must admit that not eating carbs has made me feel better. It really does. And yes, I miss it, but I don't miss feeling yucky. My energy is up, my blood sugar is lower. These are GOOD things!
I learned recently that grains ALWAYS turn to sugar in the body. Because of that, I will be MUCH more selective of what I eat, even if I DO eat carbs again. I'll choose a small potato over a piece of bread, or a nut cracker over a wheat cracker. Of course, at present, I'm not eating ANY of that, so it's irrelevant.
But get this - holiday season is upon us, and that often means libations! I love red wine, but I haven't been drinking it except VERY occasionally, because it's made from grapes and grapes are sugar. So, the wine will have to wait. But even other alcoholic beverages are made from grain. If I even have a shot of scotch, I notice a blood sugar spike. The only alcoholic beverage I have these days is organic vodka with lime juice and seltzer water, and after what I learned about grains, I am going to look for vodka made from potatoes, if I drink at all.
I also have a great recipe for healthy chocolate that should assist me in making it through all of the cookies and pies and other sweets that the holidays bring. Here it is:
Recipe for anyone who is interested in healthy chocolate:
1 16 oz jar coconut oil
1 16 oz jar almond butter
1 cup egg protein powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder or carob powder
1 tsp white stevia extract powder
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or roasted almonds
1 tsp Celtic mineral salt
Melt the oil in a pan on very low heat and add the nut butter. Turn off heat and stir with a wire whisk. Add rest of ingredients and continue stirring until all mixed together. Pour into 8X8 or 9X9 glass pan and place in fridge to cool. Cut when firm. Can also use organic peanut butter instead of some or all of the almond butter. Keeps in fridge for several weeks.
Enjoy your food, but eat to live! Don't live to eat.
I learned recently that grains ALWAYS turn to sugar in the body. Because of that, I will be MUCH more selective of what I eat, even if I DO eat carbs again. I'll choose a small potato over a piece of bread, or a nut cracker over a wheat cracker. Of course, at present, I'm not eating ANY of that, so it's irrelevant.
But get this - holiday season is upon us, and that often means libations! I love red wine, but I haven't been drinking it except VERY occasionally, because it's made from grapes and grapes are sugar. So, the wine will have to wait. But even other alcoholic beverages are made from grain. If I even have a shot of scotch, I notice a blood sugar spike. The only alcoholic beverage I have these days is organic vodka with lime juice and seltzer water, and after what I learned about grains, I am going to look for vodka made from potatoes, if I drink at all.
I also have a great recipe for healthy chocolate that should assist me in making it through all of the cookies and pies and other sweets that the holidays bring. Here it is:
Recipe for anyone who is interested in healthy chocolate:
1 16 oz jar coconut oil
1 16 oz jar almond butter
1 cup egg protein powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder or carob powder
1 tsp white stevia extract powder
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or roasted almonds
1 tsp Celtic mineral salt
Melt the oil in a pan on very low heat and add the nut butter. Turn off heat and stir with a wire whisk. Add rest of ingredients and continue stirring until all mixed together. Pour into 8X8 or 9X9 glass pan and place in fridge to cool. Cut when firm. Can also use organic peanut butter instead of some or all of the almond butter. Keeps in fridge for several weeks.
Enjoy your food, but eat to live! Don't live to eat.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Doing what it takes
Urgh. Debbie asked me to stop eating carbs again. She thinks that my raising blood sugar and lack of weight loss has to do with the carbs. Could be. I don't know. It's frustrating. I really haven't lost weight since BEFORE she let me have carbs again, so I don't really think it's that.
To say I am happy about this would be a lie. I am not. I don't eat many, and I only eat healthy carbs. But obviously SOMETHING isn't working right in my body. After eating so healthily for just about a year now, I should be weighing a lot less, rather than plateauing since last May. That's 6 months where I have bounced up and down with the same three to four pounds.
This has happened before. When I was on Weight Watchers, I lost 35 pounds within the first 5 months and then nothing for a year. I finally did some sort of drastic fad diet to reach my goal weight (which had been modified by my doctor, who said that my meds kept me from losing more).
My intention is to finish out this week with carbs, so I can use up what is in the house. That basically means eating the leftover spaghetti squash and having a piece of toast each day, and maybe a potato or two. Then I'm cut off again.
Not sure if I can go the full two weeks, because the end of next week is Core Strength Experience and they feed us. A lot harder to eat NO carbs there, but I'll definitely be conscious and do my best to bring my own food.
A part of me hopes that it doesn't make a difference whether I eat carbs or not. But honestly, I do want my body to get well and if this is what it takes, so be it.
To say I am happy about this would be a lie. I am not. I don't eat many, and I only eat healthy carbs. But obviously SOMETHING isn't working right in my body. After eating so healthily for just about a year now, I should be weighing a lot less, rather than plateauing since last May. That's 6 months where I have bounced up and down with the same three to four pounds.
This has happened before. When I was on Weight Watchers, I lost 35 pounds within the first 5 months and then nothing for a year. I finally did some sort of drastic fad diet to reach my goal weight (which had been modified by my doctor, who said that my meds kept me from losing more).
My intention is to finish out this week with carbs, so I can use up what is in the house. That basically means eating the leftover spaghetti squash and having a piece of toast each day, and maybe a potato or two. Then I'm cut off again.
Not sure if I can go the full two weeks, because the end of next week is Core Strength Experience and they feed us. A lot harder to eat NO carbs there, but I'll definitely be conscious and do my best to bring my own food.
A part of me hopes that it doesn't make a difference whether I eat carbs or not. But honestly, I do want my body to get well and if this is what it takes, so be it.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Eat to Live!
Yesterday I was at a conference all day, and it turned out all evening too. I knew I would have a bit of a challenge with protein snacks between meals, so I made sure I had my raw almonds with me. And I am so thankful I had them! There were no breaks for me to go to a cafe or store to get anything else.
I had had my usual protein shake in the morning, and that did me well for a few hours. Halfway through the morning, my companions were munching on some snacks that I wouldn't touch - they were complete carbs, sugar, and chemicals. It's been a long time since I would even thinking of indulging in something like that. So, as they munched, I nibbled on a couple of almonds. That got me to lunch. Lesson number One: Be prepared!
The event served us box lunches. I HADN'T prepared a lunch because the event was a Kangen Water conference, and the hotel was a high-end hotel, so I figured anything they served would be decent. Oops. Lesson number Two: Don't assume!
Although they served the wonderful, alkaline, micro-clustered water that I have come to love so much myself, the box lunches were not as healthy. They tried. The roast beef was served on whole wheat rolls, and the chicken caesar was in a multi-grain wrap. I ate about half the wrap, and the salad and chicken inside. So, that wasn't too bad. The lunch came with baked potato chips - another item I have not had in a long time! I confess, I did eat the chips, and I was grateful for the treat, even though I knew they weren't the best, and I was wishing I had brought a small baggie of organic blue corn tortilla chips. They also served little containers of macaroni salad. I ate out all of the vegetables and barely touched the macaroni, and put it back on the box to bring home, along with the cookie they also gave me, as I knew my partner would appreciate both.
The day went on. There was a big gap between lunch and the 6:00 close time. Around 3:00, I was hungry again, and took out a few more almonds and had a few bites of the macaroni salad. At least I was balancing the carbs with protein, I reasoned. That actually appeased me until supper. Lesson number Three: Make the best of the situation!
I was unexpectedly invited to stay for the grand sit-down dinner that was offered, and realized that I would have to go another hour or more without eating. I had the last of the almonds I had brought with me, and one alcoholic drink - a shot of vodka with seltzer water and lime. I sipped on that until dinner was served.
When the salads came, I was disappointed to see only iceberg lettuce, but, I made the best of it. I avidly ate the salad with a trickle of the balsamic vinaigrette dressing that they served. Dinner was chicken breast in some sort of really tasty sauce, on top of root vegetables and mashed potatoes. By then I was really hungry, so I ate the vegetables and the chicken, and had a few bites of the potato.
Then they brought the dessert. I looked at that mass of white sugar and white flour with a little sweetened raspberry syrup over it and thought, "all I can eat on that are those two little raspberries," and so I did. I confess. I had a bite of the cake. I am glad I don't eat cake anymore. Even that one bite, I could feel that crap (for lack of a better descriptor) flowing through my body. Lesson number Four: Nourish yourself!
I had a cup of coffee after the meal, and luckily, I carry stevia with me, so I enjoyed that, and soon after that, we left. When I got home, I could still feel the sugar in me, so I drank a few glasses of water and had a bit of protein (lamb) to counteract it.
All in all, I think I did pretty well, considering all of the factors. I even got in some good walking because the hotel is on a hill, and I got to walk around quite a bit, including some incline walking.
In the future, I would bring some sort of healthy trail mix or other healthy protein-laden snack, probably fix my own lunch, and stay away from the sugar!
This morning, my blood sugar was only up a few points from usual, and I again committed to myself that I eat to live, not live to eat.... my food is my nourishment, and keeps me healthy. Better to eat well to live well than to give in to the foods that prevent that.
I had had my usual protein shake in the morning, and that did me well for a few hours. Halfway through the morning, my companions were munching on some snacks that I wouldn't touch - they were complete carbs, sugar, and chemicals. It's been a long time since I would even thinking of indulging in something like that. So, as they munched, I nibbled on a couple of almonds. That got me to lunch. Lesson number One: Be prepared!
The event served us box lunches. I HADN'T prepared a lunch because the event was a Kangen Water conference, and the hotel was a high-end hotel, so I figured anything they served would be decent. Oops. Lesson number Two: Don't assume!
Although they served the wonderful, alkaline, micro-clustered water that I have come to love so much myself, the box lunches were not as healthy. They tried. The roast beef was served on whole wheat rolls, and the chicken caesar was in a multi-grain wrap. I ate about half the wrap, and the salad and chicken inside. So, that wasn't too bad. The lunch came with baked potato chips - another item I have not had in a long time! I confess, I did eat the chips, and I was grateful for the treat, even though I knew they weren't the best, and I was wishing I had brought a small baggie of organic blue corn tortilla chips. They also served little containers of macaroni salad. I ate out all of the vegetables and barely touched the macaroni, and put it back on the box to bring home, along with the cookie they also gave me, as I knew my partner would appreciate both.
The day went on. There was a big gap between lunch and the 6:00 close time. Around 3:00, I was hungry again, and took out a few more almonds and had a few bites of the macaroni salad. At least I was balancing the carbs with protein, I reasoned. That actually appeased me until supper. Lesson number Three: Make the best of the situation!
I was unexpectedly invited to stay for the grand sit-down dinner that was offered, and realized that I would have to go another hour or more without eating. I had the last of the almonds I had brought with me, and one alcoholic drink - a shot of vodka with seltzer water and lime. I sipped on that until dinner was served.
When the salads came, I was disappointed to see only iceberg lettuce, but, I made the best of it. I avidly ate the salad with a trickle of the balsamic vinaigrette dressing that they served. Dinner was chicken breast in some sort of really tasty sauce, on top of root vegetables and mashed potatoes. By then I was really hungry, so I ate the vegetables and the chicken, and had a few bites of the potato.
Then they brought the dessert. I looked at that mass of white sugar and white flour with a little sweetened raspberry syrup over it and thought, "all I can eat on that are those two little raspberries," and so I did. I confess. I had a bite of the cake. I am glad I don't eat cake anymore. Even that one bite, I could feel that crap (for lack of a better descriptor) flowing through my body. Lesson number Four: Nourish yourself!
I had a cup of coffee after the meal, and luckily, I carry stevia with me, so I enjoyed that, and soon after that, we left. When I got home, I could still feel the sugar in me, so I drank a few glasses of water and had a bit of protein (lamb) to counteract it.
All in all, I think I did pretty well, considering all of the factors. I even got in some good walking because the hotel is on a hill, and I got to walk around quite a bit, including some incline walking.
In the future, I would bring some sort of healthy trail mix or other healthy protein-laden snack, probably fix my own lunch, and stay away from the sugar!
This morning, my blood sugar was only up a few points from usual, and I again committed to myself that I eat to live, not live to eat.... my food is my nourishment, and keeps me healthy. Better to eat well to live well than to give in to the foods that prevent that.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Stress and Exercise
It's been a month since the last post. I have noticed that when my stress level is up, my blood sugar also goes up, no matter how true I am to the nutritional plan. Do you know what that means? It means I need to do more to decrease my stress levels.
I am currently working through The Living Well Plan: 30 Days to Health, Wealth, and Happiness (http://livingwellplan.com), and there is a whole module on Stress that I am finding QUITE helpful. Just in the past four or five days, I have been able to lower my fasting blood sugar almost 40 points just by using some of these techniques.
It's true that I haven't been exercising as vigilantly either, since it's gotten a bit too cold to swim in the pool any more this year. I could swim at the gym, but I really don't like all of the chlorine they use, even though I understand that it is necessary.
Through the Living Well Plan, Debbie included an article on some great exercises I can do at home with relative ease, so I am going to start carving out time to do them. I know that exercise helps so much in keeping me healthy. I also know that regular exercise will help with stress levels, so it's a win/win!
I am currently working through The Living Well Plan: 30 Days to Health, Wealth, and Happiness (http://livingwellplan.com), and there is a whole module on Stress that I am finding QUITE helpful. Just in the past four or five days, I have been able to lower my fasting blood sugar almost 40 points just by using some of these techniques.
It's true that I haven't been exercising as vigilantly either, since it's gotten a bit too cold to swim in the pool any more this year. I could swim at the gym, but I really don't like all of the chlorine they use, even though I understand that it is necessary.
Through the Living Well Plan, Debbie included an article on some great exercises I can do at home with relative ease, so I am going to start carving out time to do them. I know that exercise helps so much in keeping me healthy. I also know that regular exercise will help with stress levels, so it's a win/win!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Undoing Stress
Lately I have been inundated with stress.
Are you at all aware of how much damage stress does to the body? Well, I can say that I know first hand!
Since this bout of stress in my life - and it's all kinds of stress, from financial to time management, to stuff that wasn't taken care of when it should have been, etc. etc. On top of that, we have recently done some traveling.
In any case, I am noticing that, not only do I have more little aches and pains, but my blood sugar readings have been getting higher. I actually temporarily raised my medication up a bit to compensate.
Another thing that has happened is that I gained 3 pounds! This is without changing my diet!
Stress is not your friend.
As a result, I have started to do breathing exercises. I also started doing a meditation I recently learned that has to do with remembering a time when I felt peaceful and relaxed, and allowing that to permeate my body. This seems to have a profound effect pretty quickly.
Let's see if it makes a difference in my numbers.
Are you at all aware of how much damage stress does to the body? Well, I can say that I know first hand!
Since this bout of stress in my life - and it's all kinds of stress, from financial to time management, to stuff that wasn't taken care of when it should have been, etc. etc. On top of that, we have recently done some traveling.
In any case, I am noticing that, not only do I have more little aches and pains, but my blood sugar readings have been getting higher. I actually temporarily raised my medication up a bit to compensate.
Another thing that has happened is that I gained 3 pounds! This is without changing my diet!
Stress is not your friend.
As a result, I have started to do breathing exercises. I also started doing a meditation I recently learned that has to do with remembering a time when I felt peaceful and relaxed, and allowing that to permeate my body. This seems to have a profound effect pretty quickly.
Let's see if it makes a difference in my numbers.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Collaboration
Debbie and I, and three other women, have decided to get together and collaborate on an amazing project! We are calling it the Living Well Plan, and we are, collectively, the Living Well Group. We have put together 30 Days to Health, Wealth, and Happiness.
It's been a dynamic process, which all started with a conversation I was having with Debbie. After that, it took on a life of its own. The five of us are all coaches of one sort or another, and we all have our own practices. We have come together because we realize that we each hold a key to a vital part of every person's life, and that together we can really shift someone into a better, more fulfilling life.
Transformation will come within the program as people go through the steps. All of them will be easy and achievable.
We have just launched the first version of our website so that we can capture emails and keep people informed of when we start collecting payments and when the actual program will launch. You can check it out here:
http://livingwellplan.wordpress.com
Who knew that working with Debbie and getting myself to live a healthier life would lead to this?
It's been a dynamic process, which all started with a conversation I was having with Debbie. After that, it took on a life of its own. The five of us are all coaches of one sort or another, and we all have our own practices. We have come together because we realize that we each hold a key to a vital part of every person's life, and that together we can really shift someone into a better, more fulfilling life.
Transformation will come within the program as people go through the steps. All of them will be easy and achievable.
We have just launched the first version of our website so that we can capture emails and keep people informed of when we start collecting payments and when the actual program will launch. You can check it out here:
http://livingwellplan.wordpress.com
Who knew that working with Debbie and getting myself to live a healthier life would lead to this?
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