Curried Veggie-Veggie Mince

Inspired by the 'Jamaican Patty' post I did on Friday, the request from a friend and my continued but unintentional 'no chicken/beef' phase, tonight's dinner is one my vegetarian/meatless-monday friends should like. You'll use the 'filling' ingredients from the patty recipe, follow the same directions plus an additional step.

What You'll Need
Stock Pot ( or a pot big enough to boil 2-3 cups of water)
Mixing/Glass bowl

Ingredients
1 packet Grace Veggie Mince (unflavored)
2 tsp liquid/coconut aminos or light soy sauce (optional)
1/2tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp yellow onions, chopped
2 tbsp green onions (scallions), chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1-2 tsp curry powder (or more if its not 'curried' enough)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 cup celery, chopped (or veggies of choice)
1 cup zucchini, chopped (or veggies of choice)

Method
In stock pot, bring 2-3 cups of water to boil then add salt and aminos.
Empty mince into glass bowl with garlic powder and 1/2 thyme and cover completely with boiling amino water. Let stand for 5-8 minutes.
In a hot skillet, add oil, onions, thyme and sauté until onions are translucent.
Stir in mince, curry, cumin and celery until thoroughly combined. Cover and let cook for another 5-6 minutes. Add zucchini the last minute and turn heat to low.
Serve with your favourite side or use as filling for the patty recipe mentioned above.

Oven Baked Zucchini Chips

How simple it would be if you could just press a button and get a real healthy meal or snack, kinda like in a vending machine? I'm surprised there actually isn't a healthy snack vending machine, at least one that I know of, somewhere. Maybe I should look into its invention? hmmm, now there's a thought! What do you think? No, seriously, I really want to know. Don't just leave me hanging please.

So until you do, here's the real reason for this post. These bad boys here, 'Zucchini Chips'. I have been in search of the best way to make these things without them going soggy and wilting 2 mins after they go in the oven or deep frying them in a ton load of grease, with not much luck. So, I gave up and been going on my merry way, delving into other things, some of which have failed miserably while others have survived the picky-me test. But you know it's usually when you stop looking for something that you find it or it finds you right? So it was with this recipe. I was busy making some almond meal (recipe also here somewhere) for use later, and had the bigger chunks left in the sieve, and being lazy me, I was not interested in running them through the blender/sieve process again, so I chucked them in a separate container, saying i'll find use for them later, "now what's for breakfast?" I went for the zucchini to make a scrambled eggs & veggie medley and then it hit me. Zucchini + coarse almond meal + egg whites is bound to turn out something good. And Voila!


What you'll need:
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper

Ingredients
1/2 a medium zucchini (sliced into rounds or long strips)
1/4-1/3 cup coarse almond meal
1 egg, whisked

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or aluminium foil)
Place egg in a bowl and meal in another.
Dip rounds first into egg then into the almond meal making sure to cover both sides.
Arrange on baking sheet
Bake for 8-10 minutes to keep crunchy.
Remove and enjoy while hot, just don't burn yourself.

These are best enjoyed in short order and not likely to stor very well as they eventually lose the crunchy texture.

Loaded Sweet Potato

Now this may sound like the kind of stuffed potato you get at Wendy's or any other joint that serves this kind of food but trust me it isn't. Far from it in fact. 

This is not you ordinary kind of stuffed potato. Its the kind of thing you can have for breakfast, lunch or even post workout and be happy with it. I call it my dinner for breakfast and lunch kind of meal. Simple and something your whole family can enjoy even those picky eaters. How do I know? I don't. I'm just using myself as the benchmark and even though I will eat anything I make (great tasting or not) I can tell you that the only way to know is to try it. Simple.

Loaded Sweet Potato

What you'll need

1-2 small (4oz each) Sweet Potatoes (if you don't know me, please know that sweet potatoes are my go to, every day any time of day carb source)

4 egg whites + 1 whole egg (more if you are a beast and need more protein)

1-2 tbsp chopped yellow & green onions (aka scallion)

1/2 cup chopped green leafy veggie of your choice (I used spinach)

1-2 oz chopped cooked meat (chicken or pork or turkey)

1-2 tsp olive or coconut oil

Nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

For Potatoes:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, wrap potato in foil and bake for 35-45 mins until tender i.e. a fork can run through it easily. When done, remove from oven and let sit in foil on a cutting board or plate.

In a medium skillet, heat oil and sauté onions and cooked meat until onions become translucent. 

Pour in eggs, turn heat low, and keep stirring until eggs start to come together as a scramble.

Add veggies & nutritional yeast flakes, turn heat off, cover and let veggies warm through.

To assemble, remove potatoe from foil and place on a plate. Slice through the middle, stuff with scrambled eggs, sprinkle basil or parsley and more yeast flakes. 

Serve and Enjoy

21 Day Mission Done..or Maybe Not!

So guess what, 21 days have COME and GONE! Poof!! Just like that! Enter day 22 and I am looking beyond! 

With a total reset, sugar cravings have been diminished and if they pop up, its only because I either did not eat enough food or waited too long to eat, and I have regained complete control over how I feel and choose to react to foods, especially the ones I'd over indulge or misuse - yes believe it you can misuse food. What is important, even more so than the amazing meals I made over the past few days, are the lessons reiterated or learnt throughout this entire process.

1. My body responds negatively to the foods that aren't particularly good for it, and it only took a complete awareness of every single thing I put in my mouth, to realize this. Things like oranges I did not realize, triggered more than just a headache, they caused my sinuses to completely flare up.
2. Over the past 21 sugar less days, I have had the most deadpan and blissful sleep I've ever had. And even if I got less than the prescribed 8 hours, I still did not wake up as tired  and was able to go about my day as normal so long as I kept fully hydrated.
3. Talk about having chipper moods, and sustained high energy! Woody woodpecker or energizer bunny had nothing on me and I'm talking each and every day. And as a fitness instructor such a thing is like gold or better yet, winning the lotto!
4. It's not even summer yet and guess what, the abs have started to pop back up. I'm not talking abs of the washboard variety...yet, but their return has made me happy and will certainly be motivation to keep them there, if not make them 'pop'.
5. Somebody say acne flare up...gone? You betcha! Well, the acne is not gone gone but the pimple fest I had going on, which made my face spot like a dalmatian growing new spots, is no more. Following it up with cucumber laced water and a nightly cleansing routine, something I didn't take seriously till now, may also have something to do with that. Nonetheless, I am now fully aware that sugar, even those 'healthy treats' had a little too often may have been causing me some 'internal' grief. 
6. And what about weight loss? Well, that wasn't exactly my goal in the first place. But yes I did manage to shave off the 5-6lbs of water weight from all that holiday eating. And only through something like this do you realize just how much like a blocked drain one can feel from too many 'indulgences'. 

Ready for This Thing to be Over - Detox Day 15-18

Day 18! That means 3 days to go on this 21 Day Sugar Detox...Yes! Lest you think I intend to revert back to old habits, think again. I say yes because come Monday, I would have completed the challenge and THAT for me is something to celebrate. 21 Days of no junk and believe me it has not been because I was deprived of it. On the contrary, as soon as I cut the crap out of my life, there are a million and one ways, bad ways, and situations in which it shows up that would drive me right back to it. Murphy's law maybe? Who knows. All I can say is I will be finishing out the next 3 days as per usual and even more determined to see it through. I even think I'll be running it for the whole month, so that will be 30 days sans sugar. I am excited, so if you want to get as excited as I am about feeling good, if sugary foods and bad eatings habits are your vice, then maybe you should try it. 

This week was a test of wills actually and one I was determined to tough out. Starting with driving for 3 hours to my parents' home. It is customary to stock up on my plantain chips, sandwich biscuit and some other kind of crap food for the journey with most of it gone within 1 hour and me left feeling sick and craving even more. This time however, I stocked up on water, roasted almonds and 2 apples. And believe it or not only was it easy and mess-less snacking, it also did not leave me feeling crappy nor hungry. In fact I had one apple still untouched at the end of the journey. Yayy me!

Your Not as Badass as You think - Detox Day 14

No doubt you are expecting a real cuss out bad behaving kind of post right? Wrong! Couldn't be further from the truth. This really involves me thinking I've been such a badass, having kicked sugar for the last 2 weeks (now on Day 14) and bragging about feeling great and all that jazz, yet I almost died of disappointment from tasting the batter of a 'detox-approved' pumpkin streusel muffin recipe. Like seriously! lolol! There I am standing in the middle of my kitchen, with a bunch of dirty dishes in the sink needing to be washed but aren't clearly as important as this muffin batter, holding my breath to taste this deliciousness looking beauty. When I finally do, it was neither as 'sweet' as the picture portrait it nor as my senses expected it to be, and made me realize...ok, maybe I'm missing 'sweet' a little more than I thought I was and if that's really the case, am I a big sugar detox phony? Say it isn't so! 

I could of course blame it on the cup of freshly brewed black coffee I had first thing this morning, or more importantly on, not having my first meal of the day until 1pm, after doing cardio PLUS a workout! But I'm not going to, because I preach everyday about being prepared blah blah, blah blah, so I have no excuse and should know better. Yet there I was stuck in the gym for an extra 2hours with no food and refused to eat any of the crappy 'snacks' sold at the front desk. Shanique, what were you thinking right?!! 

In an effort to stay committed to the plan, as soon my noon client session ended I bolted for home. Low blood sugar levels are really not nice and you are easily reminded why eating every few hours is a good thing. It prevents you from 1) passing out and 2) eating the first edible thing you set your eyes on. Shit, if you are even as remotely hungry as I was, who says its got to even be edible, so long as it can save your life! Sheesh...don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about! Lol!  

When Things Get Rough, Laugh

Wait...its Jan 11...already? That means it is Day 11 of my 21 Day Sugar Detox. I am not going to say its been easy, heck no! On the contrary things have happened in the last five days that would throw any human being side ways let alone stay on track. Ok...so I exaggerated a little. Its really only one MAJOR thing but it was enough to throw a monkey wrench in my endorphin-laced good mood. Sure my week was off to a smashing start: new year's resolutioners in the gym = jam-packed classes, client roster back into a groove = busy days and great meals = great workouts. But nothing like an accident with a motorcycle rider who drives off leaving your recently repainted brand new looking car banged up to put you in a funk...a pissed off funk at that!

And there is nothing like a stressful situation to trigger cravings! Oh dear lord, I won't lie for about 1 minute on Tuesday (day of the accident) I forgot I was on a detox let alone that I was late and would likely miss my next client meeting. And it was in THAT very minute where I realized I had not eaten a thing all that morning, that the hunger, lightheadedness and thirst hit! Of course realizing that this accident happened in the EXACT same place as the 1st one last year didn't help. But rather than crying I found myself laughing especially when I watched the motorcyclist drive off in a hurry when asked for his documents so we could exchange info. Like seriously...who does that???

So what does one do when thrown off their happy trail? Eat chocolate! Ok, I'm only kidding but I did think about it. Instead I got back on my happy trail. That meant getting a big mornng meal, of what, I can't remember, but I know I posted it on instagram. Wait...that's where I post ALL my meals these days so I guess if I go and check I'll remember. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes...happy trail! Planned the rest of my week of classes and client sessions, got busy finishing proposals, made a few 21DSD friendly treats, all of which included pumpkin with which I have a teeny bitsy obsession much like nut butters and awaited the much anticipated return of my new guilty tv pleasure, ABC's Scandal. That show is hot!!!

On a serious note though, at Day 11 on this reset, a few things jump at me which I feel compelled to share, especially since its something I try to impart to clients/students when it comes to being consistent.

1. Being consistent means, getting into a rhythm, finding a groove ,where things move seamlessly or at the very least happen without adversely affecting your life. This will not happen immediately, it may take a few days, weeks or even months, but when you find it you will know.
2. Being consistent means being prepared for those things that can come unexpectedly. As a result you are either quick to find an alternative or you roll with the unexpected without letting it destroy or sabotage your program.
3. Being consistent means knowing that taking small steps are just as, if not even more, important than the big ones. So being patient and never giving up are paramount.
4.  Being consistent does NOT mean boring nor bland. Instead, it means being able to recognize when changes are needed and make the decisions that will improve, spice up and elicit new and exciting results. It means being aware of yourself (inside and out) and the environment in which you function (in places and around your friends, family etc) on a daily basis.
5. Being consistent means you relentlessly wanting to change something (in your life in particular) and being wiling to be uncomfortable, even for a short time, to achieve it. It means sometimes doing things you've never done before and stepping out of one's 'box of comforts' to get to where you've never gone before.
6. Being consistent means making NO excuses.

I imagine these can be applied to anything in life! But for those who have challenges with sticking to a fit program or eating healthy or spending more time with family, these pointers may be a good reference point. At least, I hope they are. It doesn't mean that there aren't other ways to consistency and what it means. After all, we all have different experiences. How do you define it and what has been your experience? Please share, I most definitely would love to hear!

21DSD Weekend Lessons

Friday - Day 4

Day 4 of the 21 Day Sugar Detox, turned out to be a bum kind of day and with my back seemingly more in knots, I decided not do a workout. Instead I opted for some cardio and 15 minutes in the sauna. Then it was back to spending some time on my couch.

There is a reason you are told to plan, then have a plan B AND a plan C when it comes to any kind of structured activity. It is to enable your success. If you don't plan, then you will succumb to pressures, either from being tired, lazy, frustrated, you name it. Pressures that will throw you of course, derail you and if you aren't strong enough sabotage your efforts to reach your dreams. The same can be said here for me and this way of eating. I can get lazy sometimes and cannot be bothered especially when I am tired. So on a day like this where I am freakishly STILL sore and in pain, I prefer to just lie down and do nothing. But a girl is likely to get hungry no? Yep, sure am! 

Stiff as a board on Detox Day 3

There is nothing more satisfying than having survived a workout that left you flat on the floor, you suffer the worst kind of muscle soreness the next day....NOT! Oh dear lord, let me step out of this body for a day, or until this soreness subsides cause it is downright awful! And as much as I am unable to sit down or get up without looking as stiff as a board, the feeling of having gotten through a tough workout from which I now bare the 'battle marks' fills me with total JOY! Sick puppy right? Maybe not. If you've ever done a workout or a long run and even though you felt like dying somewhere along, the moment you complete it or cross the finish line you feel elated for having DONE IT..then you know what I'm talking about!

Deadlifts on Detox Day 2 - Call Me Crazy!

Today is day 2 of my 21 day sugar detox and I am proud to say it has ended well. Cravings were manageable and while resisting the temptation to buy, snack on or taste something sweet felt difficult sometimes, the feeling of being strong and overcoming it was SWEETER! It also helped seeing the day's inspiration from Diane, so fitting! This plus getting through a smashing workout topped things off for me to end the day on a strong note.

Happy New Year - Bring on 2013

It is Jan 1, 2013, the very first day of the year and where did it catch me, in Church! Yes, you got that right...church! It's where I always ring my in the New Year. Why? Well it's my way of spiritually cleaning and washing off the ills and nastiness of the previous year while preparing myself for the greatness and blessings that I know will be in store for me in the year ahead. Where did you ring in 2013?