And the results are in....

Good morning! This week has certainly been interesting. I managed to eat mostly raw foods atleast 85% of the week. It was so interesting to see how easy and flavorful raw meals can be. I definitely felt 'cleaner' and lighter througout this week. I also noticed I was eating as we should all be eating, in the sense, do not stuff yourself silly. Instead, take your time and enjoy your food and take pleasure on how such simple flavors can be put together to make such a fresh delicious meal. It is not my goal what so ever to do completely raw. I still love my meat, and the great flavors you get out of veggies when you roast them, but I have to say, I will make more of an effort to eat more raw foods. Maybe it was the raw foods, or the fact that I've been keeping up with my running but I am down another two pounds this week!!!!! I am happy and of course excited. I'm also a bit worried though, will going back to my regular eating habits result in weight gain? I guess we will find out next week. Right now, yes, I am really happy about the 2 pound weight loss! How are you guys doing?

Week Two...Tryin Somethin New...

Good Morning Everyone, We are now into week 2 of the New Year. This week I've decided to try something different, something that I've been wanting to do for a while, and that is a raw foods diet. At work, I found Ani Phyo's book: Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I LOVE this book because number one, most of the recipes are very simple, number two the fancy schmancy equipment that other raw foods recipes ask for, are optional in this book! Surprisingly, being on the raw foods diet has worked out well in conjuntion to weight watchers. Although there are a lot of nuts and EVOO used in recipes, with proper portion control I stay within my points. So, what have I noticed thus far being on a raw foods diet? Well, I do have more energy. I've also realized that a raw food diet does not mean eating bland fruits and veggies. When the right foods are combined, this is really delicious! You can make everything from burgers to wraps, to decadent desserts!! Ani is amazing when it comes to this!! Last night I made a whole 3 course raw food meal which consisted of: Lemon Fennel EVOO soup Cabbage slaw with thyme and apple cider vinegar Delicious Dolmas stuffed with dill, raisins, pine nuts and sun dried tomatos!!! Yum..all this was around 9 points!!! So good and delicious!!! Go ahead and try something new and healthy this week!!! How have you guys been doing this week?

Week One of the New Year...

Hello Everyone! So, week one of the new year is coming to a close. Were you able to keep up with your healthy lifestyle this week? This week has been a good week for me. My breakfasts have been almond butter with agave nectar on an Arnold's Whole Wheat thins, except for one day where I made myself non fat greek yogurt with a teaspoon of slivered almonds and a weak drizzle of agave nectar...mmm..delicious :-) Lunch this week has consistenly been lean proteins with veggies. I even had KFC, GRILLED chicken (a drumstick and thigh), I did not eat the skin and it was so juicy and delicious and definitely a light option! My snacks have been 1/4 avocados, almonds and grapefruits...not bad. Lastly, dinner has been seafood or chicken with a veggie of some sort. Now, I've also had the occasional sweet tooth and I've been calming this by having a MINI chocolate, not more than 2 a day. My exercise has also been good this week. I've managed to log in about 13 miles of running!!! Not bad!!! All in all, a very good week and down 2 pounds...now to just get through the weekend :-p How did you guys do?

Recipe: Lemon Ginger Scallops

Good Morning Everyone, I am fortunate enough to be able to write a weekly column for TheAjnabee.com. This week I wrote a recipe for Lemon Ginger Scallops. The full recipe and article can be found on www.theajnabee.com. Here are the deets: Ingredients: 1lb. sea scallops 1TB. of canola oil 2 c. of fresh lemon juice Zest of one lemon 2 inch piece of ginger, grated 1 tsp. of honey Salt/pepper PREPARATION: In a large bowl combine one cup of the lemon juice and all ingredients except for oil and scallops. Once thoroughly combined, add the scallops and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Add the canola oil to a sauté pan and turn stove on to medium heat. Once the oil is hot place the scallops and allow to cook and sizzle, browning each side approximately one minute on each side. Once you place the scallops in the pan, do not move them, to properly brown. When scallops have browned on both sides take out of pan, and use the remainder one cup of lemon juice to deglaze the pan and make a thick pan sauce. Drizzle this sauce on top of the scallops. Enjoy!!

Healthy Ways to Bulk Up Your Food...

Sometimes when you are trying to watch out for portion distortion, you'll realize that actual portion sizes are pretty small! We do eat with our eyes as well, and if we see such a small amount of food, we think..how will this ever fill me up?!? Have no fear because there are healthy ways to bulk up your portion sizes without adding many points..and I mean hardly any! Next time you're cooking, try these suggestions out:

• Anytime you have a meat dish using ground beef, chicken, turkey, or even chunks of meat such as chicken salad or even tuna salad, you can increase the bulk of your meals by adding finely diced mushrooms! When diced, mushrooms can be very meaty and you’ll hardly know they are mushrooms because they will absorb the flavor of whatever youre cooking.
• Making a creamy dip? Substitute half of the 'creamy' part with non fat Greek Yogurt. This is awesome because Greek Yogurt is not tart, and is thick and rich. Best of all, it's fat free!
• When baking, you can save a ton of fat and calories by substituting 3/4 of the oil for apple sauce!
• Love mashed potatos but cannot take all the carbs....no problem, boil up a head of cauliflower and mash this into the potatos! You'll get twice as many 'mashed potatos'!
• Double up your guacamole by adding mashed peas...seriously, people will not even know the difference!

These are just a few tips and tricks I have. As I find more out, Ill post them. Do you guys have tips?

Some Helpful Links...

Good Morning Everyone!! How is everyone doing with their diet and excersise goals? Lately for breakfast I've been having a tablespoon of almond butter with a teaspoon of agave nectar on an Arnold's Whole Wheat Thins. What have you guys been having for breakfast? To keep you all on track I've decided to post up a few healthy links that will help you keep track of your weight loss:

• www.weightwatchers.com - TONS of info here, along with a points tracker and points calculator.
• www.Loseit.com
• www.Livestrong.com - a great site with tools and calculators to help you lose weight
• www.Calorieking.com - this site will give you the nutritional on stats on anything you can eat, even restaurant food (type in the name of the restaurant.
• www.fitday.com - this is a great free tool to help you keep track of your food, workouts, and weight.
• http://www.indiacurry.com/nutrition/rotidosaidli.htm - Calorie count on some indian foods
• http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/ - this is an awesome site for finding nutrition stats when eating out!

Are you guys keeping on track with the new year?

New Year, new day, new you....

Good Morning Everyone, Today is the first Monday of the new year! Usually I am against setting a specific date to start a healthy lifestyle, but since this is a new year to start off fresh and coincedentally also a Monday (the day most people decide to start their healthy lifestyle), why not take advantage of this if it works for people? Yes peoples, this is a new year to start off fresh! Forget about the past and work on the present so you can have a future! You are well equipped to take control of your life now. You have the knowledge to make healthy decisions, and if not, I will always be here to help out and give advice!! Here are a few steps to help you get started: 1. Restock your pantry with fruits, veggies, heart healthy nuts, lean protein. 2. Look through the ingredients of all your breads, pastas and rice. If this starts with enriched flour, switch over to 100% Whole Wheat or Whole grains! 3. Buy healthy on the go snacks such as part skim string cheese, apples, low fat yogurt and granola bars. 4. Invest in a 32oz. stainless steel water bottle. You can bring this anywhere and remember to keep yourself hydrated! 5. Plan out atleast 30 minutes a day of physical activity! This seems to be the hardest for people, but serious, even if its a walk during your lunch, every bit helps! 6. On a weekend day, plan your meals out for the week. Your breakfast, your lunches and dinners. This will make your trip to the grocery store easier and quicker. You will also be in control of what you feed your body! 7. Out of sight, out of mind. Throw away any trigger foods. Cakes, cookies, chips. If these are not with in reach, you cannot have them! I hope you all take these tips and work on bettering your eating habits! Feel free to share any tips you may have!! We are in this together!