5 steps

The 5 steps you need to start a “diet.” This is what I am doing and I want to share with you.
1. Buy some protein powder. Protein needs to be anywhere to 40 to 50 percent of your diet. But you also need to lose weight and therefore need to take in fewer calories. Supplementing a snack with a protein shake or having one after a workout will aid in recovery and helps to add protein without added calories.
2. Buy a journal. Write down everything you eat in a day. This journal will hold you accountable for what you take in your body. You will also think twice before what you eat if you have to write it down.
3. Get a scale. You have to weigh yourself to accept where you are in your progress. If the scale is not moving, your intensity needs to. Weigh yourself daily at the same time. Don’t weigh yourself after meals or after water intake.
4. Load up on fiber rich foods. Add a ton of apples, carrots, berries and celery. This will keep you full while not adding too many calories.
5. Throw away the starches. For the first few days of a diet, avoid starch. Yes we need carbs for energy. But try to get carbs from only fruits and vegetable. You will notice that avoid starches will increase your energy and filing up on fruits and veggies will make you feel fuller and less sluggish.

November 1st, a day late

November 1st, 2009 (all my posts will be a day late for I will writing late at night these days)
This is crunch time. Six weeks ago, a tragedy happened. While attempting to relive my youth whilst enjoying the musical styling of Lady gaga, I heard a large pop. At first, I thought the pop may have been the floor buckling from the heat of my thunderous pelvic gyrations. Or perhaps it was a thunderous clap of applause from my spectators. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The pop was my hamstring and for the last six weeks, not only have I been unable to disco, but I have been unable to do any sort of cardio. As a result, I have put on a few extra pounds. Nothing crucial, but it is enough that I am getting serious.
So here is what I am going to do. For the next month, I am on a stringent diet of cardio and exercise. Prior to the added 5 pounds, I did not count all my calories. However, for the next month, I am going to take those 5pounds off plus 3 more. We are going for 8 pounds this month. And I am going to blog about what I eat, what kind of cardio I am doing and what challenges I am facing to show you how you can do it, and to let you know that you are not alone in your battles.
Therefore, ill will report how today went tomorrow; In the meantime, enjoy a recipe while I enjoy another 30 minutes on the Stairmaster.

My famous Moroccan meatballs
Here is the best recipe I have, truly!
My Famous Meatballs 2 lbs ground turkey
2 pieces of stale bread (or not so stale)
1 oz milk
1 tbsp garlic powder,
2 tbsp ginger
1 sprig of clove
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp of fennel seed
1 tbsp minced onion (dried is great)
1tsp oregano　
Take bread and saturate in milk for a few minutes. Then ring it out. This makes really moist balls! Yes I said it. Place in mixing bowl. Combine last 7 ingredients in a coffee grinder and blend. Add to a mixing bowl with bread and turkey. Mix until even. Roll into quarter -sized balls. Place on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Sauce.
2 28oz cans of tomatoes
1 bunch cilantro
1 red pepper, roasted and peeled
1 bunch basil
1 tsp cinnamon
Juice of one lime
1 pinch red pepper flakes
½ with onion
1 tbsp of masala (Indian curry seasoning) You can find at whole foods
Take all ingredients and place in food processor until smooth, If it does not get smooth, add chicken stock or water. Place on stove and get to boil. Then lower the sauce temperature to simmer while place balls in the sauce. Cover and cook for an hour on low heat. Serve over polenta, couscous or nothing at all. Freeze and make meatballs sandwiches later in week,

Wed oct 28th

Fitness Tip of the day: Eat!
Have a mid-afternoon snack. What happens when you get home after work is you say hi to the dog, then immediately go to the pantry to see what you can stuff in your mouth. You are hungry and you need to eat. But this is when you make the worst choices. You probably end up snacking about 500 empty, processed calories just because you are too hungry to wait to eat to dinner. You have to eat an afternoon snack. I am not saying get a candy bar or hope that someone at the office is having a birthday so you can eat some cake. Some great snack ideas include: reduced-fat peanut butter on a multi-grain cracker, a couple of pieces of low-fat string cheese and an apple, or protein shake with some berries. Notice in each instance you want to eat carbs and protein. You can’t have one without the other. If you do, you are either eating empty carbs or eating protein that will not absorb and will just flush right thru you.
Food Tip of the Day: Poach it.
I have yet to talk about the wonders of poaching. Poaching is essentially the process of gently simmering food in liquid, generally water, stock or wine. Next time you make a protein like fish or chicken try poaching it. Here is what you need.
1. The poaching liquid. (get a good stock or a wine that you might drink…never use a wine you would not drink because you will have food you would not eat)
2. Fresh herbs: (the idea of poaching is lightly simmering aromatic spices into your food. Get some herbs and you will gently infuse the herbs without oil or poor seasoning)
3. Mirepoix: This is simply diced carrots, onions and celery. It is essential to making a good poaching liquid.
4. Get a pan, and get the liquid to about 170 degrees. That’s it. Best thing about poaching is that you can start to poach but can do something else because the process is slow and not cumbersome.

Tuesday Oct 27

Fitness Tip: Supplements
I get asked all the time, what kind of supplements do you use? Obviously, those guns of mine get people talking. But truthfully, I am not very keen to supplementation. Whenever possible, I think that it is important that one tries to eat and take in the supplemental vitamins that they can naturally. But I understand that it is difficult to do so. So here is how I access supplements by category.
Fat-burners: Stupid, don’t work and are a lazy way of “working” out. There are many ways to speed up your metabolism. Drink some green tea, eat whole grains and fruits. Or, I don’t know, run? A pill is not going to do anything except make you have explosive diarrhea and no one really wants that do they?
Fiber: This is a yes. Fiber supplementation is a good idea if you know you cannot get 6 servings of vegetables and fruit a day. Finer is not going to help you lose weight. But what fiber does it keeps your tummy fuller and lowers you glycemic index that make your metabolism quicker. So instead of just plain water, a spoonful of fiber supplements won’t kill you.
Creatine: Yes and no. If you are apt to burn out in your workouts quickly, take the creatine supplement. However, cycle creatine and do not take every time you workout. It will kill your liver akin to Nic Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. You can take in creatine naturally by upping the amount of lean, red meat in your diet. Go carnivore before you go careless.
Caffeine: Um yes. It does not aid in weight-loss, it just doesn’t so don’t think it does. It is a diuretic so make sure for every cup of coffee you supplement that with that much water. But as for caffeine, if I go without it would be like having to watch E! Reality shows all day long with Carrot Top. Torture!

Recipe: Quinoa salad
Serves 6
Quinoa has a ton of protein while being low in calories. It is a perfect starch to use instead of pasta.
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tblsp. Apple-cider vinegar
¼ cup fresh basil,torn
1 tblsp mustard seed
1 tblsp cilantro, dried

1 clove garlic, chopped
3 cups quinoa, cooked according to package directions, put use chicken stock instead of water for better flavor
1 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 red bell peppers, diced
2 cups of spinach, fresh, and torn into small pieces.
2 scallions chopped
Whisk olive oil, vinegar, basil, mustard seed, and cilantro and garlic in a large bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the quinoa, corn, and peppers and scallions to the bowl; lightly toss to combine. Add spinach last and fold lightly into bowl.

You have homework

Fitness Tip. Avoid barbells and machines
This request, I realize, is more difficult than any other fitness tip I can give you. I am sure that a lot of you go to the gym, use the machines, and do machines because that is what you know how to do. If that is the only way you can work out, do it. I am not going to stop you. Put if you are going to work out with free weights, use dumbbells over barbells. Here is why. Dumbbells use stabilizer muscles and core muscles, so it allows you a better-rounded workout. Barbells do not allow for the same amount of stabilizer muscles. Plus, if your favor your right side, while using the barbell, the right side will do all the work while the left side will be left out. Therefore, dumbbells are not so dumb after all.
Food tip: Think of a swap
Today I am starting a new thing on my blog. Think of a healthy swap of the day. I told you before, that the best way to get results is to think of healthy solutions to food that you like. So I decided to add something a tad more interactive on this post this week. Post a healthful swap that you do so that you can still have your favorite food but not sacrifice the flavor. I am going to give you three great ones. Hopefully, this will get your mind going so you can think of more. Post your responses on Facebook notes or on the blog itself.


1. Instead of mayonnaise, use an avocado. Same creaminess but better fat!
2. Instead of using oil in baked goods, use applesauce. It gives the same texture with less calories and saturated fat.
3. My favorite, instead of mashed potatoes, refer to my cannellini beans recipe. Yum!

40th post!~

By the way...I appreciate all of you who read my blog. I hope that I motivate you. If i just entertain you, well, I hope we can take that further!

Fitness Tip: Do your math!
Fitness and weight loss is a game of numbers. Here is the deal, and we talked about this before. In order to lose one pound of fat (NOT H2O weight), you must burn 3500 calories. We talked a bit about resting metabolism. Most people’s resting metabolism is between 1200-1800 calories. Therefore, if your resting metabolism is 1500, and you eat 1500 calories, you must burn 3500 calories to lose a pound of fat. If your resting metabolism is 1500, and you eat 2000 calories, you must burn 4000 calories to burn one pound of fat. Make sense? I thought so.
So here is where it gets tricky. When you read the label in back of your food and you look at the nutritional value and serving sizes you read one major disclaimer that no one talks about – this is based on a 2,000 calorie diet. No one is on a 2,000 calorie diet that I know, except maybe an athlete. This is where algebra comes in to play. I think that’s why mathematicians are skinny because they understand this crap. So let me break it down for you again (like Salt and Pepa). You need to think about the fraction of your meal plan and how it relates to a 2,000 calorie diet. If you are doing a 1600 calories diet, then the proportion of the recommended daily dosage based on 2,000 calories diet is 1600/2000 or 80%. Therefore, you need to account multiply 80% to every one of those nutrients to see what percentage of that nutrient is in your diet. Does that make sense? Reread cause this stuff is important!
And because of all this, I am not making a recipe today. Oh and because its leftover night.

Easy there Princess

Fitness Tip: Stop being a princess
Okay this is especially for the ladies, and the wannabe ladies. Put away the princess weights. You know the princess weights. These are the off color weights that are usually in pastel because they want to make it seem “appropriate” for girls. Well girls, suck it up and pick up a real weight. All too often, women think that if they lift weights, they will bulk up. Okay, I agree some of you put on muscle pretty easily. That does not mean that you should opt for light weights. I don’t want you to look like a shot-putter. But if your body takes on muscle, accept that you can be muscular, because quite frankly, I’d rather look like a shot-putter than Mrs. Potato Head.
So here is the plan. Do any exercise for 15 to 20reps. Pick a good size weight until you start to struggle. When you cannot lift the weight, (say when you are at 8 reps) finish the other 7 reps with a lighter weight. Not only will you be building some muscle, but you are also doing enough reps that the muscle will be tone and lean, not bulky. So stop being a princess and put the pastels away for Easter. If you are a guy going for the pastel weights, well quite frankly, I am done with you. And if you are a guy that knows what pastel means, well, Hello Mary!

Recipe of the Day: My new obsession, McCormick in the bag

So McCormick makes these in the bag beef stews, pot roasts etc. etc. Holy crap are they easy! There is about 5 minutes of prep work and absolutely no mess. You just cut veggies and meat, stick in a bag and eat. Sounds perfect! Well it almost is. It does have a ton of sodium. So here is what I do. Instead of using the whole seasoning pack, I use half of it. Then I add some a tsp of rosemary, thyme and basil into the bag, ground fresh by magic bullet or coffee grinder. I save the rest of the seasoning pack for the next time I make chill or something. The key is just because it is easy, does not mean it is bad for you. Learn how to read the labels and look for sodium count and you can modify easy meals into healthful ones.

monday 10. 19

Fitness Tip: Your warm-up sucks!
We all know how important it is to warm up. I mean think of warming up as foreplay for your exercise and your sweat as the climax of caloric burning. But warming up on the treadmill does not get it. I mean you are just using your legs, so why would you warm up on a treadmill if you are on your upper body day? So here is what you need to do. Warm up the whole body. Warm up prevents injury, moves fatty acids around so you can optimizes your burn (or caloric climax, ah cacophony). Therefore, instead of being lame on treadmill, do 30 seconds each of jumping jacks, arm circles, pushups, lunges, and body-weight squats. You will improve your workout and your overall body!

Recipe of the Day: Dumbass lasagna
Lasagne takes too long. But I love it. Here is my simply variation.

1 box polenta (and 4 cups of water that it requires)
1.5 pounds of turkey sausage (cut diagonally)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
¼ cup fresh basil
1 clove garlic, diced
1 jar (26oz ) of Prego or other spaghetti sauce
¼ cup non-fat mozzarella cheese

Prepare a square baking dish, 6 x 6, by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Cook polenta according to package. Place in baking dish, spread evenly and let sit. In pot, place a bit of olive oil and brown the sausage. Drain fat and add ¾ of the jar of sauce, red pepper, garlic and basil. Let simmer for twenty minutes. In mean time, when polenta is cool, remove from baking dish and slice in half (WIDTH- WISE) so there is a top and bottom. When sausage mixture is done, place in between layers of polenta along with cheese. Add remaining sauce on top, place in oven for ten minutes and enjoy.

Blog entry 10.15

Today I spent reading some of my past blogs. I wanted to make one very large disclaimer moving forward- I am no expert. I don’t have any formal cooking training. I am a personal trainer and I am guy who struggles with his weight on a daily basis. You see I love food. I find a ton of solace in what food. Not only does it provide my comfort, but food to me is my social outlet. It is also a place where, when I am preparing food, I feel a sense of control when I so often don’t. And yes, I love to eat and overeat. I could eat most of you under the table (although that’s unsanitary) any day. When a group of friends and I dine, I am that guy that stares at your plate wondering if you will be done with that soon so I can eat it before you box it up.
So I write this blog, not as a guy who has all the answers. I am writing this blog to share solutions to problems I have encountered and what has worked for me. As much as I like to write this blog and play expert, I am not. But I do know what has gotten me thru those times that I considered diving into a pool of pork fat and cheese dip.
Case in point, yesterday’s meal was a flop. Well, it was not when I served it, but it was an hour before hand. Here is how it went down. I was going to show my reader’s how to make pot roast. Sounds simple? Well after cooking the meat, it had the consistency of somewhere between shoe leather and bicycle tire. I had to salvage dinner because it became a challenge that I had to win. I drained the dripping s of the meat, saved it to the side, while I created a rue of flour and butter in a small pot. I added the dripping and made gravy. Yes, Mr. Health made gravy. So I poured it on top of the pot roast, cut into chunks and made make shift stroganoff. It worked. I mean it was hearty as hell and it was just gravy and root veggies. And my people were not grossed out, and in fact, told me they liked it.
Here is the point. Don’t be afraid to cook. Yes you can boil water, monkeys can boil water. Don’t be afraid to take risks. What happens when we stay in our comfort zone is that we get complacent. It is only when we take the plunge into unknown water is when we truly make progress. I would be no where if I still ate out three times a day like I used to. So I say this not as an expert, but as a guy who knows what is like to fear the unknown, just do it.

10.13.09

Fitness Tip: Gimme a Break
Ok, for all of those who remember Nell Carter, do not think that I am conjuring up her image while talking of fitness. I mean really. But if you want to burn more fat and calories when you walk, swim, or run? Then take a break. The rate at which your body burns fuel may be boosted even higher if you break up a long cardio session into two back-to-back 30-minute sessions with a 20-minute break in between. Here is why. It is pure science that in rest, blood levels of free fatty acids build up. That bump in fatty acids burns fat cause acid burns stuff. Circulating the level of fatty acids after they build up by hitting the aerobic a bit more cause the acids to spread and burn more fat. Yes, it sounds convoluted. But I can’t make this stuff up.

Food Tip: Eat more greens
I love the taste of greens. I love escarole, spinach and kale and if I get randy, some broccoli rabe. Yes I am daring. You should be too. Greens are a terrific way to get vegetables without little to any calories. Greens are also a good source of oil. Here is how. I cook my greens in a sauté pan with a tsp of olive oil. The greens absorb the oil and wilt a bit. Then I add some chicken or vegetable stock. The oil stays in the greens, and oil is needed in our diets for heart health. Finish the greens with a bit of garlic powder and a pinch of nutmeg. Nutmeg loves greens. They could get married but nutmeg refuse to commit.

10.12.09

Food and Fitness Tip: I should get a stipend from the American Dairy Council for this one. Drink more milk. Cow juice has several very important benefits. Consuming 1,800 milligrams of calcium a day could block the absorption of about 80 calories. So drinking milk can help you literally lose weight. Another thing, milk is good for bones, captain obvious. But here is the kicker- milk helps in recovery. If yo have ever done my boot camp, after the first day you will struggle sitting down on the toilet. In fact, I have had a number of girls tell me that their legs hurt them so badly they tried peeing standing up -unsuccessfully I might add. Therefore, I always day have a big glass of milk after you workout and you'll feel much better Here is why. Lactic acid is created hen you workout. That is the stuff that makes you not able to move. To get rid of an acid, one can need a base solution (CHEM 101). In this case, milk in the the form of lactose reacts with the acid to neutralize the acid, thus alleviating pain. So milk is nature's pain killer after a grueling day of squats, leapfrogs and lunges.

Recipe: Berry Smoothie
( I know, this isn't really cooking, but its the perfect post-workout shake. In fact always have a shake after a great day of training, especially within one hour after your workout. This will aid in muscle growth and recovery.)


Makes 1 Serving
1/2 cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup frozen unsweetened mixed berries or strawberries
(add protein powder to get more protein if need be)

Remember you should get 50% of your body weight in grams of protein a day if you are a girl, 75% of for boys.

Therefore, if you are a girl, and weigh 150lbs, you should eat 75grams of protein.
If you are a boy and weigh 200 lbs, you should get 150 grams of protein a day.

Put cottage cheese, skim milk, sugar, vanilla, and frozen berries in a blender.
Blend 1 minute or until smooth.
Serve immediately.
250 calories; 19 grams protein; 3 grams fiber

Are you pooped?

Fitness and Food Tip: Fiber Up
Are you pooped all the time? One reason why people feel like crap is because, well, they have to crap more. Plain and simple, fiber makes you go more and it cleans your digestive track. Finer makes you fuller so that you don’t eat less healthy foods. Also, fiber can aid in weight loss because it detoxifies your body. Fiber’s added benefit is that because it aids in cleaning you out (literally), it aids in prevention of diseases such as heart disease and ulcers. So how much fiber should you have a day? Look at getting at least 15 to 20 grams of fiber a day. Use this guide, borrowed from the National Fiber Council to see if you are hitting the mark.

http://www.nationalfibercouncil.org/food_chart.shtml




Recipe of the Day: Italian Sausage Soup
Okay so here is a soup that is high in fiber and in flavor! It’s really easy to do as well

1 pound turkey sausage, Italian style
1 clove garlic, minced
28oz of chicken stock
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
2 cups carrots
1 fennel bulb ( diced) remove prawns
1 cup garden peas
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
1 package frozen spinach
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Take a Dutch oven and add oil to pan. Take sausage and cut on diagonal and brown for about three minutes. Add stock. Start to boil. Add all ingredients except for spinach. Take spinach and place in microwave for one minute in the container. Open spinach and cut into cubes, (about 6). Drop in pot, and get to boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for an hour!

Blog entry 10.8.09

Fitness Tip: Join a team.
This time of the year, there are several fitness activities. Football is ever prevalent which could not make me happier. Softball and soccer leagues are actively seeking members. Heck, even bowling leagues are okay. What happens these days is we see the dark skies when we leave work and think we need to go home. The shorter days of this season tricks are bodies into thinking it is time to lay around. This is a tough time of the year. If you join a sport or a league, at least you leave the house! Besides, you may opt to find some people who are more fitness savvy and you can make a fitness buddy. But fitness is a very social activity if you want it to be. If you are co-dependent, play into that trait and use it to your advantage!

Food Tip: Demand what you want.
Here is the deal, when you go out to eat, you are buying a product. It is your right to alter that product if you deem it necessary to your health. Try to make sure that you ask for your food, grilled, baked poached or broiled. Avoid anything that comes from a pan, because it will be covered in salt and butter. I know that a lot of chef’s would hate to see this because they are worried about the integrity of the dish. As long as you do not send the food back or complain about it, they have nothing to argue with you. You are paying just as much as the next guy and you’ll live longer than they will. So don’t be afraid to demand what you need!

Blog Entry 10.6.09

Fitness Tip: Stretching
Guilty! I don’t stretch enough. I am terrible at making the time. Plus, I am not very flexible and we all gravitate toward things we are good at. I am good at lifting weights. But I do warm up for about five minutes before I work out. You should too. Even if you don’t know how to stretch, walking quickly will loosen your muscles so that you are injury proof. You don’t need to stretch during workouts, unless you feel like it. But the key is stretching after a workout. So here is an idea- when you are watching TV later, grab a couple of pillows and sit on floor. If you are sitting on floor you will want to stretch, mainly because it’s uncomfortable. I am not saying torture yourself like Dick Cheney would say. I am saying that if you sit on the floor for a few minutes you will think about stretching more than you would if you were comfy and curled up on your sofa. So make it a point to sit on floor and work out those muscles you worked out today. And if you didn’t work out, stretch anyway for tomorrow.

Food Tip: In my endless search to find low-card recipes, it occurred to me that my mother knew something. Okay, we never ate low-carb when I grew up. In fact, we made bread with our pasta dishes for dipping. But there is one recipe that is low-carb that Mom used to make. I never thought I’d but a dish from my youth on this blog. But I am sure glad that I can. And besides, this recipe is pretty easy and will suffice your need for starch.
Cabbage Rolls,
· 1 large head of cabbage
· 1 pound lean ground beef
· 1/2 cup instant brown rice or cooked rice
· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (fine is the key word)
· 1 teaspoon cinnamon,
· 1 can tomato soup
· 1 can tomatoes, diced (14oz)
Preparation:
Tear the leaves off the cabbage and cook in boiling water or steam until wilted enough to be flexible. Cool so that you can use. Mix ground beef, rice, egg, onion, and salt, pepper, and cinnamon together. Make little balls of the mixture and roll into cabbage leaf. Secure rolls with toothpicks cause they will open. Combine the soup and tomatoes in a Dutch oven or crock pot. Add cabbage and simmer for 2 hours if using Dutch oven or 4 hours if using crock pot on low.

Sausage fest

As always, try to find the food you like to indulge in and eat it in a healthier way. Then, you won’t crave ‘the indulgences and you won’t thin, “ I can’t diet because I don’t want to give up that forever”

Who does not love sausage? Here is healthy way of eating it
Sausage and Kale over Polenta Cake
2 lbs turkey sausage
1 tblsp olive oil
2 large heads of kale
1 can tomato paste
1 large can of diced tomatoes (28oz)
1cup raisins
1 cup chicken stock
1 red pepper sliced
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

In a large Dutch oven brown sausage for about 5 minutes a side. Add red pepper and reduce to low heat. Add chicken stock. Cook for the minutes. Remove sausage and peppers and leave liquid in pot. Add nutmeg, kale and cook til about wilted. Add remaining ingredients. Cook at low heat for twenty minutes. Add sausage and red peppers and cover. Heat for 5 minutes. Heat polenta according to box instructions in separate pot. Serve sausage and kale over polenta!

Something to eat all week

Food and Fitness Tip: Freeze and Eat
You make bad food choices because you do not have your meals made. I understand not wanting to cook when you get home. I barely want to talk to my other half because I am beat. So find something to cook that you can make on a Sunday, portion it up, freeze some, and have for rest of the week. If you have it in the house, you won’t put in the frozen pizza. Freeze some of the portions so they are in the house, but out of sight so you avoid over eating. So pick a good recipe that you can do this with…like the one below!



Beef Stew Makes 8 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil3 pounds beef stew meat, well trimmed1 large onion, chopped4 large garlic cloves, chopped2/3 cup dry red wine3 cups canned unsalted beef broth1 can tomatoes2 tsps thyme2 tsps rosemary2 cups carrots, chopped, peeeled2 medium potatoes chopped2 cups of peas or corn or half and half

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large pot, and brown beef. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in wine. Simmer until liquid is reduced to half. Add rest of ingredients. Simmer for 2 hours.

Comfort v. Comfort

Fitness Tip: Stop being comfortable

I had a great day as a trainer today. One of my clients decided to up her ante and do something different for her cardio. She went out of her comfort zone and tried something different. That is the key to real success in weight loss. You must step out of your comfort zone. You must up the ante. Why? Because that which has made you comfortable has made you miserable and is the reason why you do not like what you see in front of you. Comfort is not the desirable option, conquering fear is. Fear is the emotion that holds you back. Comfort is the feeling that is derived form avoiding fear. Comfort is manifests in just taking a walk, eating a bowl of ice cream, and staying bed. Fear is the best feeling because once you face it, it is over. So face it!

Food Tip: Comfort Food
Comfort food does not need to be bad for you. I love the feeling that comfort food gives me, I love a meat that makes me feel like I am back in the wound. Besides, if you know my mother, I refer to here as the butcher of Justice, Illinois. So here is comfort food that is not bad for you and will still give you that nice warm hug you are seeking.

Healthy Meat Loaf Recipe
Ingredients:
1lb ground beef, extra lean
4 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup green peppers, chopped
1 tsp mustard
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup bread crumbs, (toast a piece of whole grain bread, and run thru blender)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Place in 1-pound loaf pan and bake covered at 350 °F for 50 minutes. Use a pan with a drip rack and you will not have to deal with grease. Uncover pan and continue baking for 10 minutes. That’s it. Chopping veggies is the hardest work. Prep is less than ten minutes!

Blog Entry 9.29

Fitness Tip: Posture counts.
One of the greatest assets to working out is a sense of confidence. After I workout, I can usually say I walk with a sense of pride, a puffed-out chest and a feeling that I accomplished something. All of that gets wasted with bad posture. So check your posture out. And do it periodically through the day. Stand against a wall and rest the back of your head and the back of your feet against wall while keeping chin up. Slowly walk away from wall. If you remember that pose, you are in good posture. Keeping your abs tight will help you remember this position. Keeping a good sense of posture is paramount in noticing the results in the gym. It also will prevent looking hunched when you get older. No one wants to look like they should be ringing a bell at Norte Dame.

Beef of the Day: Eye of Round

Yes, it is beef week. So all of you haters get over it! Vegans, you will have your week next week, so keep your panties on.
I chose eye of round because it is an inexpensive piece of meat. Also, it is very low in fat. In fact, rarely are there specks of fat contained in the eye of round. This makes it very tricky to cook because it is very tough. Fat does tend to make things taste better doesn’t it? Eye of round is a nice alternative to roast. In fact, it can be very versatile. It is the meat used in Carpaccio. It can make great roast beef sandwiches and has enough flavor to stand alone.

Here is the way to cook it

Eye of round roast (about 3lbs)
¼ cup fresh rosemary
1 oz balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Poke holes in roast and place on baking sheet with rosemary on bottom. Cover with balsamic vinegar so that it pours into holes of roast. Preheat oven at 475. Leave uncovered and place roast in oven. Cook for 7 minutes a pound, so twenty-one minutes. Then, turn off oven and let sit in closed oven for 2 hours. DO NOT OPEN OVEN. This seems unusually but it works. Let rest 5 minutes and slice thin. I am telling you, this works!

This is what's for dinner

People crave things. Whether it be a salty pretzel after downing some draft beer. Or a chocolate morsel after a long day of hearing people’s problems. Or maybe a stuffed pizza when you are feeling completely inadequate and are questioning your placement on earth. I am not into those things. My craving is a tad more perverse. I think about it nightly. I sometimes find myself drifting into its spell. My drug of choice is of the animal kind. I crave beef.
Beef and its sanguine glory. It’s flesh that only a true man can understand. It is epitome of carnage. A vestige of veracity. It’s sublime savory sensation makes me salivate while I drown in anticipation of my next bite. The dripping juice is the liquid that sustains life. It is the pinnacle protein. And I cannot believe why people opt not to eat it.
In all seriousness, beef is a great option for dinner. It is high and protein. There are also very lean cuts of beef. Sirloins, filet and roasts are options to have beef without the fatty gristle that one might think when say you order a rib eye. Beef is not some less healthy option. It is not the evil meat. So skip the chicken one night and go hog wild. (no pun, obviously)
Another benefit of beef is that it is high in creatine. Creatine is necessary component in building muscle. So when you are trying to lose weight and gain muscle, beef is an easy way to make it happen. Not that I am against fish and chicken, but if you are looking for pure muscle growth, beef is the right animal (This time pun intended).
Lastly, beef can actually speed up your metabolism. Beef is a very dense protein and it takes time and effort for your body to process it. The amount of energy that your body expends in breaking down beef actually burns calories because it takes a longer endothermic process to break it down. The heightened endothermic process burns calories. Just like whole fruits and fibrous greens, beef speeds up your metabolism and can make you shed some extra pounds without much effort. It won’t help if you cover the beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. But if you eat steak with say an avocado, and a spinach salad, you are going to do some great things to beef up your metabolism.
So next time you say, “I try not to eat red meat”; think about this post and say, on second thought I’ll have the fillet. And welcome to beef week….Tuesday thru Friday are recipes dedicated to the bovine beauty.

Blog Entry 9.25

Fitness Tip: Don’t buy home equipment
Here is my thing- do not but exercise equipment at your house because you just won’t use it. People spend thousands of dollars to have elliptical machines, weight benches and ab rockets. Most of you use this equipment for a week and then it becomes a very expensive drying reach for your laundry And there is a reason. You must have a dedicated area to work out in. A gym requires you to dedicate your time to working out. If you go, you will work out. If you are home, you will be distracted. Someone will call you, you will see that your floor needs vacuuming or that I really like my comfy bed and would rather be on it. So skip the equipment. Pay your monthly membership in a gym. It is worth it in the long run.

Food Tip: Spicy before salt
It is a little known fact that adding some heat makes the craving salt a little less. It makes sense. Salt is a flavor enzyme and makes flavors more alive. Spice makes taste buds wake up So instead of adding salt, which cause water retention and bloating, add some chili flakes.

Recipe: Asparagus & Parmesan Frittata
　
8 large egg whites
¼ cup green onions
1 cup frozen asparagus, diced
1/2 cup Non-Fat Swiss cheese
¼ cup Parmesan
1 tsp flour
1 tblsp olive oil1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese
　
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl except for Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Heat olive oil in a thick 8 inch pan, making sure sides are well-coated at a medium heat. Add egg mixture and heat til settled completely. Place in oven with a broiler on. Sprinkle Parmesan and broil til golden. It is easy and it is a low-carb, crustless quiche!
　
　
　
　

sept 23rd

Fitness Tip: Use your noggin.
Whether you want to loose weight or gain strength, it is important to journal. Here is why. Writing it down and getting out your feelings will allow you to recognize the source of the problem. You are not merely barbecue you eat to much (who said that?). You are fat because something inside you makes you eat too much. Weight gain and stagnation is just self-sabotage. Why do we get there? I cannot answer it. It may be guilt, shame or depression. Chances are your depression is not the cause but a result of something deeper. Find it. And when you find it you will feel free. Writing it down will help you find your way.
　
Food Tip: Check out Your Box
Look at the label people. I cannot tell you how many times people don’t realize how many calories they are consuming because they don’t read the label. Just because a can of soup for instance, looks like one serving, does not mean that it is. Make sure that you do not just read the numbers on the back and count the calories accordingly. Look at the serving size. It can be deceptive. Sometimes there are two serving when you think there is only one. It’s a mass conspiracy. I swear.
　
　
Mid-East Chicken Soup
2 teaspoons olive oil1.5 pound on skinless chicken breastsfreshly ground black pepper1 cup chopped green onion2 cloves garlic 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp chili flakes
3 cups of chopped carrots
3 cups of celery1 cup chicken broth1 cup chopped cilantro
1 can of diced tomatoes
Here is the easy, breezy way of making this. Take the chicken and brown it a pan with oil. After it is in the pan for a minute, add carrots, celery. Let these sweat for a few minutes then dump the pan in a crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and let cook on low for four hours.

Tuesday Sept 22

Fitness Tip: Work on you!
Having a healthy self esteem is essential if we are to achieve your fitness goals. It is difficult to have a good sense of self esteem at gym when all you see are annoyingly in shape guys and girls. I know that very well. It is important for you to make some steps to making building your self esteem, It is just as important as building your biceps! Do not judge yourself based on other people. Some of these people that go to the gym have all of their life. Do not compare your successes to what come naturally for them.

Take baby steps. Plan a small challenge each day to build your confidence. Even if it is to put the incline higher than the last time your ran. That is enough. And reward yourself. Think of ways to reward yourself that does not include food, wine or dessert! Get a massage!
　
Food tip: Get a scale
You can’t really make that many fitness gains if you are constantly guessing what you are eating. Eyeballing only works for Rachael Ray. It is important to weigh your portions. This does not take long. It also provides you to be more consistent in creating recipes on your own. A scale is your best friend in the kitchen- even if it is a nemesis in the bathroom! Weight your portions so you know exactly what you are eating.
　
　
Vietnamese inspired Chicken Breast in Lettuce Cups
　
1 cup brown rice
1 pound chicken breasts, diced
1 tablespoon(s) reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon(s) fresh lime juice
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
3 clove(s) garlic
2 bunches of broccoli, de-stemmed and chopped
1 can bamboo shoots
1 cup carrots
1 tsp olive oil
2 teaspoon powder ginger
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 cup fresh mint leaves
12 Boston lettuce leaves
Directions
Prepare rice as label directs.
In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and spices. Then add chicken for 2 or 3 minutes until brown. Remove skillet from heat; stir in half of cilantro and mint.
Divide rice among lettuce leaves; with chicken and vegetables along with rest of the herbs, Fold over leaves and pop in your mouth!

Sunday, Sept 20

Food Tip: Eat Breakfast
This is being written because of a conversation I had with someone last week. It is really important to have breakfast when trying to lose weight. More importantly, your breakfast should be over 300 calories. Here is why. A full breakfast eliminates the need for those afternoon munchies. Let’s face it, it is the afternoon where we make the worst choices. Eating a big breakfast also speeds up your metabolism. Eating creates an endothermic reaction causes heat which makes metabolism burn and rev up. So eat and it will fire up your sagging metabolism.
　
Fitness Tip: Mix it up
Ever sit at a machine and wait for a minute so that your muscles recover to do another set? Well don’t. here is an idea, do some jumping jacks, some easy squats or run in place. This will fire up you metabolism so that you burn more calories. As long as you are resting the muscles that are required by the machine, you are still recovering. But might as well move around, I mean you are at a gym, not library.
　
General Food Tip: Apple Sauce
I baked yesterday. I do not bake - mainly because I am a trainer. If you look at the ingredients in a cake mix, it calls for more oil than a Greek barber shop. So instead of oil, I used applesauce. The cake was moist, delicious and worked well. So, try apple sauce as an alternative to antiquated vegetable oil (lol).

I am better, amen

I am sorry for not blogging. I had a bad cold and last night was the first night that I ate solid foods! Therefore, blogging about food did not make sense. But, I am back and all is well.
　
Fitness Tip: Negatives
To add some diversity to your workout, one way to mix it up is to do negatives. No, I don’t mean saying “No, I won’t work out, “ I suck” “ or “My arm hurts I can’t”. Negatives are when you do the exercises super-slowly, up and down. This creates an isometric exercise while moving, It makes you use sabilizer muscles that normally do not get targeted. Negatives fatigue your muscle quickly, but make you work harder and more effectively. Take about 60% of the weight you would normally use and perform counting three seconds in the pulling or pushing in, and three second pulling or pushing out. This will shake up your workout and your muscles!

Food Tip: Omega-3
You must eat oil. Oil is good for your skin and joints. Think Tin Man. It is important to have a good variety of fatty acids. Salmon and avocados are natural foods that contain fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are great for you heart. They also help in your mood. I mean it won’t replace a Prozac, but it could help you when you are feeling as moody as Kayne West. What is wrong with him anyway? So either take Omega-3 as a natural food source (salmon, almonds, olive oil, or avocado), or take as a supplement, such as fish oil or flax seed oil tablets.

Fitness Tip: Buy some cables
If I hear one more time that I am traveling so I can’t workout, Ill seriously crush my skull with a dumbbell. By no means do I think that working out on the road is easy - but it can happen.

Here are two ways.
1. Get a cable
Resistance cables are light, easy to pack and perfect way to add resistance. Plus, if you don’t know how to use them, most come with an instructional video. So use it, and the cost is usually less that twenty dollars. If you don’t know how to use them, again, hire me.
2. Body-weight exercises.
You can do a great deal of exercises with just your body weight. You can do squats, lunges, planks and push-ups. That’s all you really need. Your best piece of equipment is you! If you need to review, check out
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/basictraining.htm
　
Recipe Pesto for breakfast!
I loved green eggs in ham. In fact, I love Dr. Seuss. So here is my spin on green eggs and ham.
　
　Serves 4, or two of me


8 eggs
4 tsps reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 tomato, diced
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced green pepper
1 teaspoons prepared pesto sauce
4 slices turkey bacon
1 avocado chopped
4 10-inch flour tortilla

1. Fry bacon and drain according to directions. Set aside.
2. Combine eggs, onions, green peppers, and pesto and make a scramble.
3. Take eggs and bacon and even portion out into tortillas. You may want them warm so nuke them in microwave for about ten seconds. Then add avocado, cheese, tomato and sour cream. Wrap and enjoy.

Blog, Sept 15

　
　
Fitness Tips: Get inspired!
It is difficult to go to the gym without inspiration. A lot of people that are fit go to the gym because it is their drug. For me, the gym is a few minutes of clarity that I need. To drone out the voices in my head. Heck, vanity is also the driving force, I’ll admit it. But you need to find the voice that is inside of you. Why? Are you at the gym? Why is it a struggle? What will inspire you? Maybe you need a short-term goal. Maybe you need to avoid your spouse. Think of the gym as “you” time. Get an Ipod and jam out with your clam out! The feeling music and sweat can give you is better than that glass of wine or cigarette.

PS Biggest Loser starts tonight. If you need inspiration, this is an source of mine! It makes me want to be a better trainer and person!

Food Tip: Find ways to reduce carbs
Pasta, bad. Whole-wheat pasta, better. Potatoes, not so great. Polenta, pretty awesome. White rice, just stupid. Brown rice and quinoa, just smart. You get it?


Pizza (it is not the devil if you make it yourself)
Pesto pizza for the protein lover!
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 whole-wheat tortillas (12- inches in diameter) (only 90 calories!)
2 chicken breasts cubed and grilled
4 tbsp pesto from night before!
¼ cup fat-free mozzarella
½ cup spinach, pre-washed and torn
½ lemon sliced in thinly
Sprinkle Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
(for more veggies add some (1.2 cup) it tastes fantastic roasted
1 tomato sliced thin (drain the seeds or it will become watery)
　
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Put the tortillas onto a baking sheet and top each with pesto Arrange all other ingredients finishing with sliced lemon on top. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top of each pizza and bake for 10 minutes. Make sure all ingredients are reduced of water. These pizzas are thin so water can be a problem!

I am back, September 14th

　
Food Tip: Find something great you can use all week. I love to have a week that we have a theme. This week’s theme is pesto at our house! It can give you a lot of creativity. I love taking one ingredient and seeing how far I can go with it!

Fitness Tip: Avoid crunches.
You can do crunches all day, but if you have a tummy it does no good. All you end up doing is making your stomach stick out more. Save your time. Do some Pilates (and if you don’t know how, see me) Additionally, running and cardio can work your core if you concentrate on contracting and twisting those stomach muscles. Twisting is key to working those abs.

Presto It’s Pesto
This is the time of the year that basil comes out of my garden like weeds in the Sanford and Son house down the street. In fact, its like a Tuscan tundra out there. Pesto is a wonderful garnish on most dishes. Everyone needs oil for heart health and for joint lubrication. Oil is also a fatty acid which is the primary fuel in cardiovascular exercise. This week is devoted to pesto. Why? I love it ever so. Plus, I totally need to unload some. Today, I am going to teach you how to make the pesto. The rest of the week, I can going to show you how to use it. Pesto is wonderful because it freezes perfectly. Get an ice cube tray, freeze some pesto cubes, and you will have a perfect amount of pesto anytime! I am a genius, I know.
　
INGREDIENTS
¼ cup green pistachios
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1 sprig of thyme
1 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup parsley leaves
½ of a lemon (zested) you will not need the juice, so save juice for something else
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ part-skim parmesan cheese

Directions
Place pistachios, salt, peppers, garlic, thyme, basil, lemon zest, and parsley in to a blender or food processor. Turn the blender on, and add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Continue processing until a soft paste has formed. Do not dump in cheese, rather fold it into pesto. This is key, or else you will have Elmer’s glue!
　
　
　
　
　
　

9/9/9

Food Tip: Say no to TV
Are you kidding me? If it were not for reality television competition shows I would not have friends, nor a social life. I go out about as much as Anne Frank did. (lighten up!) I love to unwind in front of my TV. But it is so bad to eat in front of the TV. Studies (and not, we have WMD’s studies) have shown that people eat more when they are watching television. Therefore, eat at the dining room table. You will talk more and eat less. I mean really, it just makes sense.

Fitness Tip; Jump Rope
People ask me what the best cardio exercise is all of the time. The best one is jumping rope. It burns the most calories in the shortest amount of time. Additionally, it activates both fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers. Why do you think boxers are so ripped? it’s the jumping rope. Its probably all the hormones too….but stick with the rope.
Alcohol
I promised you some alcohol tips….

Here are a few

Beer: Skip the light stuff and drink the regular. I have an unproven but logical theory; if you drink the regular beer, you will be more satisfied and full. If you drink the light beer, you will drink more to satisfy you. Therefore, drink the regular stuff. let’s face it, it tastes better and it is more filling.

Booze: The alcohol is not where the calories are hidden. Calories are in the mixers with the alcohol. In fact, alcohol is processed by the liver and not the stomach. Therefore, weight gain based on alcohol is not the issue.- but the sugars are! Drink no-sugar mixers like soda water. Avoid juice, tonic, and regular sodas. If you are going to purge, drink a dry martini.

Wine: Skip it. It is sugar and its detrimental to your diet. Don’t even start with the antioxidant thing. One glass is ok. But do you ever have one glass of wine? I mean it goes bad. If you can’t save it properly, it is not worth opening.
　
　
　
　

Blog Entry Labor Day

Sorry for the delay, but its labor day and I have chosen not to labor!

Food Tip: Balance the meal
I know that a lot of the people that read this blog do not cook. I hope that at least you are thinking about cooking. Therefore, I want you to envision a good meal. Think of chinette paper plate with those little dividers. Think of a meal in three sections: protein, vegetable and starch. Now if you are trying to loose weight, the starch should include either rice, or another leafy green. A good rule of thumb is think of your protein first, then fill up with veggies and carbs. If you think of the carb as the basis for your meal, you are setting yourself up for failure!

Fitness Tip: Check your heart rate.
Knowing your heart rate is key in cardio exercise. If you don’t get your cardio to a level that is desired, you are just spinning your wheels (literally if you are on a bike). Therefore, check your heart rate in your exercise. A good website for more information is
http://www.heartmonitors.com/exercisetips/heart_rate_basics.htm

Recipe: Egg Muffinski’s (they are just like Egg McMuffins but for made by Polish people)
Serves 4
4 whole wheat English muffins (toasted)
6 eggs
½ ground turkey
1 tsp grape jelly
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1 apple diced
1 tbsp oatmeal
　
Toast the muffins and place on side. Scramble the eggs and divide into 4 servings using the top of the muffin as a guide of size and shape. In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Make into four patties using the top of the muffin as a guide for size and shape. Take patties and grill.(perfect for a George Foreman, if I had one) Drain grease and stack on muffins with eggs. Add cheese if desired. The apples give it the twist it needs!
　
　
　
　

Blog 9.5- Home Sweet Buttery Home

It is difficult to write about cooking when you have been kicked out your own kitchen. My mother is here. My father is too (but he does not cook-and if he did, he would be thrown out of the kitchen as quickly as Hitler would be kicked out of a Woody Allen movie).
I am forced into exile of the culinary kind, akin to that of Moses- but instead of the land of milk and honey, it’s the land of butter and cow intestine. If it is not cased within the stomach of another animal, it is not edible in my mother’s eyes. It not kosher. Sacrifice is not in my family’s vocabulary.
I know that my business alias is Will Power. I believe I have it in me to limit my consumption of these delectable goodies. We have pierogis, which are meat dumplings. We have sauerkraut, which is flavored by the drippings of meat. We have roasts, ribs, shoulders, blades, butts and every undesirable fatty part of an animal. What people pay me to alter, I see sitting in my refrigerator. It is not unlike a plastic surgeons office. And I salivate at the sight of a slow-cooked meat glistening in the juices of its rendering.
But this visit has shown me something as a trainer. I know what every client goes through. I understand when you say I can’t possibly lose weight this weekend or be good on my diet because I am going home. I understand what you are saying. But its simply not true. You can still be good and here is how.
First of all, limit yourself. Take a plate of the food and say that is it. Enjoy it, savor it, and say that is all. That’s the Will Power approach. (Get your superhero cape ready!)
Here is another way…avoid the starch. If you eat the meat, fill up on veggies and avoid the starch. You may not loose any weight but you certainly won’t gain as much. This sounds a lot like Atkin’s. Yeah I know. I am not embracing it as a lifestyle choice, but it does the pinch in a stressful home-invasion scenario.
Also, continue to exercise. So if you are visiting your parents or whomever, bring you running shoes. Walk it off! Run it off, Bring an exercise band! Do something when you wake up. If you burn the calories, then eat, you wont gain weight. You won’t lose, but not gaining is victory I and of itself.
But here is the best way. Intervene!
We all know that food is an expression of love. My mother cooks for me because that is her way to show she loves me. She does it in excess because its her way of saying, you are my son and I will always take care of you. I get it. So tell them you get it! Tell them that you do not need to tell me you love me based on food. Food is nutrition, not love. Tell them that showing you love me at this time in my life would be for me to make my own choices. I am telling you this…if you can do this , you will make the biggest breakthrough.
So I am off to enjoy so encased meat. I mean, who does not love the idea of a meat juices grease sliding down your face along with the inaugural games of football. I am in heaven, but I have it under control. You can too. So don’t give up.

Blog Entry 9.3

Food Tip: Make an omelet

Making an omelet takes no more time than making some scrambled eggs in the morning. I guarantee you that if you make an omelet you will not have the craving of starches like buttery bread, etc. Stick some veggies in an omelet and call it day. It is a better way to introduce carbs and protein in your meal.

Fitness Tip: Take a class

Seriously, this is great for people who do not workout. See if your gym has classes. If they have a class, it is a great way to bring diversity to your workout. Also, classes start and have an end time. Therefore, you are obligated to stay. This may force you to stay longer than usual - which let's face it, isn't that bad. I mean its not waterboarding- yo know when it will be over.


Recipe: Skillet Sensation

1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen broccoli
1/2 cup frozen cauliflower
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 box of Spanish rice mix
2 chicken breast, cubed or diced raw
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp garlic


This is my go to when I'm not feeling it!

Follow the directions on box of rice. When boiling water, add veggies and chicken. When skillte boils, add rice and if there is a seasoning packet, add it. Add my ingredients, bring to a boil and cover. it's so easy but sometimes, it's the best meal.

Here is the point, don't think the recipe on the box limits you! Take some chances and play with ingredients. It's just food. No one knows how good things can possibly get if you just follow the directions.

Blog Entry 9.2

Dear Followers.

I lost a very good friend today. Last night, I did not take the news very well. I felt that today I would give my pal the best tribute that I could.

My George Foreman Grilling Machine broke. It was on it's last leg - but I did not want to part. I always thought he would flourish once more. Alas, he is gone.

I must say he has been a good friend. I remember all of the chicken that he cooked so evenly. I loved how he made grilled cheese sandwhich without any added butter. And the quesadillas. Those were days. He made me find healthy alternatives to cooking. He practically started a revolution.

George, you never let me down. You never overcooked my meals. You never gave me something difficult to clean. I remember the days when I could just wipe you clean with a paper towel.

I weep thinking of you. I miss how you dripped the excess fat out of my burgers. I miss how your light would shut off when you said the food is done. Now your light is off for good.

Your timing could not be worse. My BBQ grill ran out of gas. But there is never a good time to loose a friend. the friend with whom I discovered the world of paninis.

You were a great pal. Mom and Dad, when you visit tomorrow,we must dispose of my dear friend - then go to Target to buy his cousin.

Blog entry 9.1

Food tip: Buy in season.
I think we all have our favorite foods. Sometimes we just have to adapt. When it comes to vegetables ,the best advice that I can give you is to buy in season. Not only will it taste better, but the prices are lower when in season. This may force you try something else. I remember when my other half hated Brussel sprouts. But now in the winter, he can’t get enough!

Fitness tip: Supersets
Ok, so sometimes we fatigue. Let’s face it, the gym can get boring. That is unless you have me as your trainer. Here is a bit of advice - the superset. Pick two opposing muscle groups, like biceps and triceps, and rotate one exercise from each muscle group back to back without break. This will cut the rest time significantly and keep you fresh from over-thinking in the gym. Plus it will get your heart-rate going too!

Recipe: My Famous Meatballs
2 lbs ground turkey
2 pieces of stale bread (or not so stale)
1 oz milk
1 tbsp garlic powder,
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp of fennel seed
1 tbsp minced onion (dried is great)
1tsp oregano
　
Take bread and saturate in milk for a few minutes. Then ring it out. This makes really moist balls! Yes I said it. Place in mixing bowl. Combine last 5 ingredients in a coffee grinder and blend. Add to a mixing bowl with bread and turkey. Mix until even. Roll into quarter -sized balls. Place on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Place in some store- bought marinara or whatever and enjoy pasta or some polenta!
　

Food Tip: No Sugar Please
Here is the tip….avoid sugar. If there is an alternative to sugar, please use it. Sugar is where a lot of the extra calories come from. So if given the option, take it. I know "but those artificial sweeteners are so bad for you. " So I may die, but at least ill be skinny in my coffin.

And this is something that is worth noting. Fat-free food alternatives use sugar to make their food taste better. Watch your labels because just because it isays it is fat-free does not mean it is good for you!

Fitness Tip: Know your resting metabolism.
To count calories, it is important to know your resting metabolic rate to see how many calories you burn when you sit on your butt and eat Ben & Jerry’s. With this information you can calculate how any calories you have burned on the treadmill and see how many calories you can consume throughout the day. If you want to loose a pound a week, you must burn 3500 calories a week. That means if you eat 1500 calories, and your resting metabolsim is 1500 calories, then you must burn 500 calories seven days a week to burn a pound. Here is a great website to help you know your resting metabolic rate so that you know how many calories you can consume a day at rest and not gain a pound. http://www.shapeup.org/interactive/rmr1.php

　
Recipe: Dessert…yes you can have it!
Banana Pudding! (this is great for 4 or 6 servings)
1 box sugar-free Jello instant banana cream pudding mix 1 1/2 cup fat-free milk I tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp pumpkin spice (or allspice)
1 tub sugar-free Cool Whip, thawed plain low-fat yogurt (about 1/2 cup) 1 box sugar-free vanilla wafers4 medium, ripe bananas, sliced
　
Mix the first six ingredients in a bowl.
Take a baking dish and layer half of vanilla wafers and bananas. Then spoon the pudding mixture over it. Make a second layer over mixture of bananas then cookies. Let sit in refrigerator for 3 hours.
　
　
　
　

Blog Entry 8.28

Blog Entry 8.28
　
Food Tip: Blanching
Ok, so this is gross but the older I get the gassier I become. Ok…uncomfortable?? I suggest not standing behind me!
I eat a lot of broccoli. A ton actually. So to avoid the gas, blanch!
If you place the broccoli in boiling water and wait until it gets green, then dump in cold, icy water……you can eat broccoli that is still fibrous and not mushy and have all of the flavor with none of the gas!

Fitness Tip: Stop the crunches
If you don’t have a flat stomach then stop doing crunches! If you have a belly, the only thing a crunch does is stick out your tummy. Its silly if you are packing a few around the middle. Do more cardio! Use your time wisely! Seriously!
　
Recipe: White Bean, Artichoke and Red Pepper Hummus
Why hummus? It is a good source of fiber….plus it can be used not only as a dip for carrots, but its an awesome condiment in replace of mayonnaise on sandwiches! So make it at home now, its way cheaper!
1 16 oz can of white kidney beans
1/4 cup liquid from can
1 16 oz can artichoke hearts
6 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
3 tablespoons tahini
(if you can find it, use an all-natural peanut butter or almond butter) BIG TIP!
2 cloves garlic, crushed (roasted is a nice touch)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 red pepper, roasted and peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
Take a red pepper and place on a grill for about 5 minutes a side. Put in cold water and remove the skin. Make a rough chop. Add rest of ingredients and place in blender or food processor until slightly smooth!

Blog entry 8.27

Fitness Tip: Mornings versus evenings

This is primordial struggle akin to such conflicts as good versus evil, man versus machine and possibly the Moors versus the Christians in the Crusades. Should I work out in the mornings or the evenings. Let’s face it, if you have to ask, you are not disciplined. Pure and simple. Here is my advice to you - get it done. If you work nine to five, too many things may come up if you are planning an evening workout. If you are working, you have eight hours to create an excuse to not workout. It can be exhausting thinking of ways to avoid the gym. But it does not burn calories. So here is my tip- wake up and get it done! That way you will go to the gym for sure. Also, starting with workouts in the morning are great ways in which to speed up a staggering metabolism.

Food Tip; Write it down

Your best friend in controlling your weight is not the treadmill or a dumbbell - it is pen and paper. Write down what you eat. If you do this, you will assume accountability. By making that step, you will be very conscience of what you put in your mouth (chuckle -as you should be!) I am telling you, it will work! It gives those of you with no Will Power (which is now my new business alias) a sense of control in this insane world.

Recipe: Lazy BBQ Chicken for the Crock Pot
Here is something that you can do before work and it will be done when you get home! Or perfect for a rainy day.
Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups tomato ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar (or honey)
1 tbsp soy sauce (or balsamic vinegar and pinch of salt)
2 tbsp garlic powder
1tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1.5 tsp ground red hot pepper flakes,
Combine all ingredients for the sauce in the slow cooker and stir. Add the chicken, coat with the sauce.
Cook on high 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. If you are making before work, set a lamp timer to start pot if you are not there! It’s a great trick!
Serve this over something equally easy to make like brown rice, polenta.
　
　
　
　

Blog Entry 8.25

Food tip: Product Endorsement: Barilla Plus Multigrain Pasta

So we all know that multigrain or wheat pasta is healthier than white (unless you live under a rock!). But often these healthy pastas taste like hair and regret. Not this one! Barilla Plus Pasta is awesome. It is in a gold box in the pasta section of most grocery stores. It is an excellent source of protein and good fiber, along with good oils. It is the perfect meal. And it tastes fantastic! So if you are craving a bowl of carbs on a sad day, eat this and you won’t have to live in regret. It has up 17 to 24 grams of protein a serving!

Fitness tip: Protein
Protein is key in building muscle. Protein eats fat! Literally! But do you know how much protein is in your meal. Well here are some tips.

Chicken breast 27grams
Ground beef ¼ lb 21 grams
Milk 8oz 8 grams
3 eggs 18 grams
Salmon 3oz 22 grams
Shrimp 3 oz 18 grams
Tuna one can 39 grams

Recipe: Greek pasta Salad
Makes 6 servings
This lunch for this week!
1 box Barilla Pasta Plus Farfalle
5 oz Feta Cheese
1 diced green pepper
6 oz Black Olives sliced
3 chicken breasts grilled and cubed
Place all of these ingredients in large mixing bowl or Tupperware.
Dressing
1/4 cup teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tsp honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
Make dressing and add to rest of ingredients. This is a great pre- or post workout meal!
　
　
　
　

Blog Entry 8.23 Chili

First of all, please sign up as a follower of mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now read.


Food Tip: Plan you meals.
So why do you order a pizza , eat eight hundred extra calories, and spend a week regretting your choices? Because you do not plan your meals! That’s why you stop and get a double-cheeseburger and think popcorn is a meal. So this is what works for me to alleviate those pressure decisions (bucket of chicken or taco bell).
I cook one day a week for four days. By doing this, I can just reheat a meal every day and it is already done for me. Okay, so it’s Sunday. The weather is nice and a Bloody Mary is in order. So, get a crock pot, open some cans, and let it sit in there. Then be off with your day. You can take ten minutes of prep work to make a meal for at least two to three days! If you plan your meals today by making some good reheatable meals, you will not make bad choices and will have no reason to feel guilty the rest of the week (unless you have grew up Catholic like me).
　
Fitness Tip: It’s Sunday, I’m not going to the gym.
Neither am I. Sundays are meant to recharge and refocus. So do it! So don’t work out. I mowed the lawn. I burnt some calories I feel good. Go walk your dog! Burn some calories that way. Or spend the day planning your workout schedule. This is a great day to schedule your workout, refocus and recommit!

THE CHILI RECIPE
I feel very good that I shall win again with this one. It was a good chili night. Plus, the crock pot is in order for this one. This pot of chili can make 8-10 servings. See meals for the week! I practice what I preach.
3 cans chili hot beans (or kidney) ( do not drain)
2 lbs browned ground turkey (drained)
1 16oz can of tomatoes diced
1 cup frozen corn
Dump all of these above items in crock pot

Spice Blend
3 cloves garlic
1 can diced green chiles
1 large onion (diced)
3 tbsp allspice
3 tbsp chili powder or cumin
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tbsp garlic salt
1/3 of one 5oz can of chipotle in adobo
6 black peppercorns
3 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1 cup chicken stock
Take all of these ingredients and blend in food processor, blender. This is important because it will make the spices very consistent.
Take the spice blend and combine crock pot with all other ingredients. Cook in crock pot at low heat for 8 to ten hours. It is a good heat. The Indian seasoning is awesome. Do not over use the chipotles! They can take over like a short dictator.
　
　
　
　

Food Tip: Aldi Rules
Ok, so If you don’t have an Aldi, I am sorry. I think you should call Angela Merkel personally and ask her to set up this wonder of grocery shopping. (it’s German you know) They have the best prices. Ok, so the produce is not great. But I am a penny saver, and I love to use frozen veggies because you can save a fortune. They also have a product line called Fit & Active. Fit & Active has an assortment of snacks, yogurts, dried fruit and meals that are really good for you and equally convenient. Aldi is definitely no Trader Joe’s, but you will be surprised on what you can get out of there! Bring a quarter. You will see why.

Fitness Tip: Sweat
So here is a good rule of thumb - break a sweat every day. If you get your body to sweat daily you are probably burning more calories than you will take in for a day (if you are watching what you eat). So it does not count if you sweat while having Margarita’s by the pool. But if you are active and you get to the point you maintain a sweat for ten to twenty minutes, you did enough to maybe not loose weight, but you should not be gaining any. This is what I do on my non-training days. I do just enough walking of the dog to break a sweat. And if you have a dog, walk him/her. They need it just as much as you.

Recipe:
I am the reigning Boulder Walk Chili Winner. No, I am not giving you the recipe because I never wrote it down. But I am making some today and we shall see how it goes so I can share. I love chili, In fact, I would eat a dog turd if it were covered in chili. So I ask you to submit to me any recipes I can try!
I am getting a ton of tomatoes! Therefore, I am going to share with you a recipe of tomatoes and fennel that will blow you away. Don’t be tired of tomato recipes by me. This is the season and you will be mad when you run out of tomatoes and you have to pay three dollars a pound at the grocery store. Okay, I know. When am I going to cook again? I did last night, and it rocked. I will share you that recipe tomorrow because its definitely more of a Sunday, slow-cooking find of meal.
Also if you are reading this blog, please sign up as a follower! I am going to attempt to post the blog on a food blogging website and I need your help! Plus, would it not be cool if I could make money cooking? Shameless self-promotion. I know…
　
Heirloom Tomato And Fennel Gazpacho with Lump Crab Meat
Serves 4 (but it
1 1/2 pounds heirloom tomatoes cut in wedges
2 cups of tomato juice (or V-8 because you’ll regret if you forget to have one)
1 small fennel bulb chopped
2 cups lump crab meat (cleaned thoroughly)
1 avocado, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vinegar (red wine or cider)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Directions
Slice the bulb of the fennel in cubes. Cut the tomatoes into wedges. Then cut the wedge once more in half, width-wise. Place tomatoes and fennel in large bowl with all of the other ingredients except avocado and crab. Give a light toss.
Serve into four bowls. Add lump crab equally among bowls. Finish with avocado disbursed equally and crack some black pepper on top.
　
　

Blog Entry 8.20

Food Tip: Put down the spoon!
It is still warm and after being in sun it is good to cool down. Don’t have a tub of ice cream. I mean do I have to say that? Don’t waste your time in the gym. I recommend buying a bunch of red seedless grapes and putting them in the freezer. When you need to cool down or when you have a sweet tooth, this really does the trick. I know it is not the same as a tub of ice cream, but instead of feeling like a sloth , you can feel sated.

Fitness Tip: Have a plan.
I know why people do not do strength-training. It is not because people do not like weights, it is because they have no clue where to start. Going to a gym without a plan is like starting a war with no exit strategy. It is important to know what you want to do. Hire a trainer for a few sessions to get a routine down for you. Get a book that reveals some sort of guidance. Or simply say, legs today, upper body tomorrow. It can be really intimidating not knowing where to start. If I didn’t have my trainer before, I would never have learned what I know now. Also, bring a pen and record what you did. I can’t remember what I ate yesterday, do you expect me to remember what weight I had the lat pull down machine last Wednesday?
　
I have two vegetarians that are following me. Don’t get used to meatless meals! Sometimes, I do feel the need to lay off the meat. This usually happens when I eat to much the night before. I polished off those steaks last night, and I could use something light. So here is what I am making for lunch.

Recipe: Tex-Mex Salad
Serves three, or two hungry carnivores.
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. whole-grain mustard
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 diced cucumber
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup diced celery
2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 scallion, cut thin
1 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese
　
Whisk together lemon juice , cumin, oil, and mustard in large bowl.. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese, and toss salad. (chuckle). Top with cheese and serve.

Blog Entry 8.19

Food Tip: Get Rid of Your Plates

You are overweight because you eat too much. Sounds harsh? But it’s true. So make all the justifications you want, you just eat too much. It’s not your fault. Your mother ( if she was a good mother and not Octomom) told you to finish your meals. It was inbred in you. So blame your mother. Its her fault.

Ok…I am kidding and love you Mom (she reads this you know). The problem is not Oedipal but it is in you portion size. Here is the trick. Get rid of your dinner plates. They are too big and you should never eat a meal on a dinner plate because there is just too much room on them. Keep them for holidays. For every day meals, switch to a stylish salad plate. This will hold the correct amount of food for one sitting. Plus it gives you a justification to go shopping.

Fitness Tip: Rest.
So here is a tip. Make sure you do not overtrain when it comes to strength-training. I cannot tell you how many people I see doing the same workout everyday. It pains me to no end. Plus, its boring watching you. I mean if I have to spend forty hours in a gym I need another channel to watch if you know what I mean.

So in fit expert terms, never work the same muscle group two days in a row. In fact, if you are working your upper body one day, work your lower body the next day. Rest is where muscle is built. Your body needs at least twenty-four hours to recover from strength-training. If you overtrain your muscles, your body will be in a constant state of recovery and will never repair and grow muscle (which is the key to loosing a few). Just because you know a routine does not mean it is good to repeat it. If you need some diversity, hire me.

Recipe: Moroccan-Inspired Flank Steak Over Smashed Cannellini Beans
(Btw my recipes serve three people because between my hubby and me, we will always have a friend come over….normally hungry and often, empty-handed)
Ok so If you want mashed potatoes but can’t justify the calories and starch, here is a high-fiber way to eat them!.
2 cans Cannellini Beans
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp rosemary dried
1 tsp chili flake
Add olive oil to pan on low heat. Add chili flake, garlic and rosemary. Get the garlic slightly brown and add one can cannellini beans drained and one can with liquid. Turn up the heat to medium and cook down for ten minutes or until beans are slightly mushy. Take a slotted spoon and mash the beans so they are slightly lumpy. It looks like masked potatoes, but its got good protein, high-fiber and they can certainly replace potatoes.

Steak:
Ah, here is the rub (to quote Hamlet‘s soliloquy)
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili flake
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
6 or so peppercorns
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
Place in coffee grinder, a food processor or a Magic Bullet is for are lucky like me. (Ok a blender will do, so will a bowl and some elbow grease.)
　
Take a two pound Flank Steak. Remove the excess fat (there should not be much!) Apply the rub and have sit in refrigerator for four hours or more. Off to the grill! Cook to your favorite temperature, Let rest for a few minutes to redistribute the juices, serve with side of beans!

Tuesday 8.18

Food tip: Frozen Chicken Breasts Don’t Have to Taste Crappy
Moan if you like, I use frozen chicken breasts in a great deal of my food. I know foodies are scowling in disapproval - I am used to that (hence the therapy). But why spend $5 a pound on fresh chicken breasts when you can buy 3lbs for $6? I love to shop at Whole Foods (or Whole Paycheck!), but I cannot afford to do so. So let me show you how you can make a frozen chicken breast taste just as good as a fresh one.

Brining:
The secret is to brine the chicken breasts. Brining is kind of like a marinade, but it changes the texture of the chicken by redistributing the juices. This is how to do it.
1. Take home a 3 lb bag of chicken breasts and put in a large Tupperware.
2. Add a cup of vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp salt, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp Herbs de Provence or Rosemary, I capful of lemon juice and 1 tsp Black Pepper.
3. Let the chicken defrost in the Tupperware for a day or two.
4. The chicken should become white and not pink. Brining takes the flavorless moisture of a chicken breast and replaces it with the yummy brine you made.
5. Drain the juice and rinse. All of the flavor is in the chicken so you cannot get rid of it now. Pat dry and add to your recipe
No one will know the difference. You could pay more but I can’t understand why if you use this method.

Fitness Tip: Balance!
I don’t mean standing on one leg, although that is a good idea and the thought makes me chuckle. But it is important that you balance both cardio and strength-training in relatively equal amounts in your routine. Strength-training works fast-twitch muscle fibers while you are working out. Cardiovascular work ,like running, works slow-twitch muscle fibers. To get a good balanced physique it is important to incorporate both of these aspects to training. If you do all cardio, you will end up with a good weight-loss, a build-up of slow-twitch muscle fibers, but a saggy physique. If you do only strength-training, your results will plateau because you have never maximized the muscle gains you could make. Furthermore, cardio helps vascular movement which can only help you in recovery times after strength exercises. Therefore, find a balance of both cardio and strength. If you don’t know how to do strength exercises, hire me.
　
Recipe: Pan-seared Chicken, with a Potato -Corn Hash
1 Lb Chicken Breast
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp flour
1/3 cup white wine
1 tbsp Rosemary
2 large Yukon Gold Potatoes (diced) - use them because they are quick to cook!
1/3 cup diced fennel (just use the bulb and dice it up)or red onion if you don’t like fennel.
½ cup frozen corn
1tsp thyme
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Take the chicken breast and place in a plastic bag. ( I reuse the grocery bags because they are good for this and picking up dog poop too.) Add the herbs and flour.
Get a skillet warm with olive oil, enough to cover pan
But chicken in until brown on one side, then flip.
Remove chicken and deglaze the pan with lemon juice and a few splashes of white wine. Deglaze means just put in the pan and stir. Get those flour flakes and all the goodness and mix with white.
Place sauce on chicken breasts and rest on side.
Add a few more tbsp of olive oil. Then place rest of ingredients to pan on a high heat. Stir so potatoes brown evenly. Add a splash of water or chicken stock and cover to steam the ingredients should take about ten minutes tops. The finer you dice, the quicker it will cook.
Then place chicken, sauce over potato-corn hash. Warm accordingly and serve. One pan, less cleanup. Very yummy.
　
　

Inspiration

I often hear people talk about inspiration. Musicians always claim that some esoteric legends inspired their work. Authors always conjure up well-respected literary giants as sources of inspiration that somehow influenced their works. Quite frankly, I think its a lot of it is crap.

I have spent the greater part of my life looking for a divine intervention- something or someone that was going to tell me what I was meant to do. I have spent times meditating, countless hours of therapy, and of course- schooling. What I owe in student loans adds up to the gross domestic product of many nations. No teacher, no book, nothing ever spoke to me.

On a ridiculously hot, sticky and gross Sunday I saw inspiration. Ok I wasn’t in church- although wouldn’t that be a kick in the nuts. Nor did the heat make me delusional and I had some epiphany akin to a Navajo Sweat lodge. I went to a movie about a girl who blogs about Julia Child.

Alright so I am no fool. I know I am not the only one blogging because they saw the movie Julie & Julia. But for the first time in my life I wanted to race home and start something. I didn’t want to do anything but to get on my computer and start a challenge. And during the movie my inspiration came. I had an idea to start something that for the first time, I think I can finish.

I came to realize that inspiration does not come to you; rather inspiration is a product of trying something someone else tried and putting your own spin on it. No, I am not going to redo the recipes of Julia Child. But I am going to make my own culinary challenge.

I love to cook. I am a personal trainer. It just seems like a good fit for me to share how I struggle on a daily basis to balance both things- which easily can contradict each other.

The kitchen is the one place where I feel a sense of control. But while I cook I loose myself. Most of my life I have just gotten by. I have always felt a sense of purpose in the kitchen. I have always found a sense of accomplishment every time I made a meal. I love the end result! And so do my friends because at least twice a week they come over, (empty-handed) to enjoy my culinary feats.

In the gym something similar happens. I workout and I feel a rush. I feel like I am doing something good for myself. During that time I have a sense of focus and direction. I want all of you to use the gym and think of it as time to get away from the real world- rather than watching other’s people’s scripted reality on television.

So here is what I am going to do. With every entryI blog I am going to give you some advice on how you can love food and not feel like you wasted your time in the gym. I am going to give you tips, recipes and above all a sense of hope. You see people think that when they try to loose weight or stay healthy you have to give something up. I was raised Catholic. I gave up enough stuff during Lent - I am good for awhile. I would rather you learn how to substitute things so that you can make the best of what you .

So next, I am going to do some research I can sink my teeth into. And yes, the cheesy pun was intentional. I promise I will use more puns because the groan that you made when you read it is just too funny.