Monthly Archives: February 2015

Gimme My Gummies

I have a sweet tooth with roots so deep they touch my tongue. After every meal, I crave something sweet. Eating fruit is a great idea, but if I’m not hungry, just craving, I don’t want more than a bite or two, and unless I have five other people to share an apple with me, it becomes work to not be wasteful. Chewing gum is great too until my kids eat it all and I forget to buy more and turn to option three: one bite of chocolate or ice cream.

Ha ha! One bite? For me, that’s an “I need a drop of water; go ahead and open the floodgates” type of bad idea. My dilemma is this: how do I satisfy my craving for a taste of sweetness without adding 100 calories or more to my meal?

What’s that you say? Why don’t I ignore my craving? That’s the best idea yet! And it works for me when I’m out and about, but I’m a stay at home mom which means that 98% of my waking hours are spent within twenty feet of my kitchen. I try to ignore my sweet tooth, but I often lose. I lack the will power of the Green Lantern.

The solution that’s working for me is gummy vitamins. I’m talking about gummy vitamins for grownups, my kids’ Spiderman and gummy bears shaped vitamins, or Juice Plus which is a gummy version of fruit and vegetable juice.

I started taking gummy vitamins a few years ago during the first trimester of one of my pregnancies. Because of first trimester nausea, the prescribed vitamin horse-pills my doctor recommended were not going down without causing something to come back up. I started eating my sons’ gummy vitamins; better than nothing, right? And I never looked back.

Now when I crave sweets after a meal, I take my vitamins. They satisfy my craving without opening the floodgates of Sugar Dam, and each gummy is only about 7 calories. It’s a strange concept, gummy vitamins as dessert, but like I said, it works for me. Besides, I’ve never been so consistent about taking my vitamins in my life.

“A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul.” Proverbs 13:19a

Images courtesy of blog.scratchmenot.com (gummy bears), and me.

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Interesting Tidbits, TWO FISTED EATING: Portion Control and Enjoyment. Tags: Diet, gummy vitamins, healthy living, humor, low calorie dessert, Weight loss. Leave a comment

Feb. ’15

Put Your Back Into It: Posture and Weight Loss

God created the female form to be best displayed with good posture. Want to see what I mean?

Stand up and either go to a mirror or imagine yourself in front of a mirror. Slouch a little. Your boobs look smaller and your belly looks bigger. Now stand up straight and square your shoulders. Whoa, careful now, don’t over extend! If you push your shoulders back too far, your love handles (IF you have them) get handier. Okay, so we’re straight and square and relaxed.

Your silhouette looks great: breasts are front and center, belly looks slimmer, buttocks looks tighter. But more than that, how do you feel?

A little more confident? A little more in control? A bit more determined?

When I slouch, I develop a bit of the “poor me-s” and the “why bother-s”. Poor me, I blew it diet-wise and it’s only 10am. Poor me, I’m tired, I’m grumpy, and I haven’t accomplished what I thought I would today. Why bother exercising? Why bother putting ice cream in a little bowl instead of snarfing it straight from the carton? Why bother going to bed on time?

But if I stop and make myself sit up straight, stand up straight, it’s like my brain snaps to attention. My eyes are lifted up, my head is held high, and I feel more powerful. I blew it, but the battle is not lost. I have a fresh batch of choices facing me and I have a goal to reach. I’m sure my chiropractor would say that good posture allows my nervous system to operate uninhibited and what I feel is neurons communicating efficiently up and down my spine. Whatever, Dr. Leary. I’m going to call it “Queen Syndrome” because I feel like one.

How do you stand up straight without looking Victorian? Hang your arms at your side. Make a thumbs up sign with both thumbs, then turn your thumbs out away from your sides. You should feel your shoulders moving back, your vertebrae, collar bone, and the stars falling into alignment. You are a queen with a goal. Get to it.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

Images courtesy of tuningpp.com (standing woman), achesawaytoronto.ca (sitting woman)

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: Interesting Tidbits. Tags: Diet, God, healthy living, humor, posture, stand up straight, Weight loss. Leave a comment

Feb. ’15

Exercise Tip of the Week

Two days ago I slipped on my icy front step and hurt my back. Thankfully I didn’t break anything, didn’t hit my head, had my cell phone in my pocket to call my husband, had a neighbor home across the street to watch my kids while I went to the hospital for x-rays…I have plenty to be thankful for. I’m walking slowly with a cane and sitting ALL day because when I sit, nothing hurts.

So, your exercise tip of the week is: Don’t fall on ice. The only exercise left for you will be curling your toes!

“The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.” Psalm 37:31

Image courtesy of http://massrealestatelawblog.com/tag/massachusetts-snow-removal-law/

Posted by Katie Robles. Categories: SEX: Sleep and Exercise. Tags: fall on ice. 4 Comments

Feb. ’15

Recipe: Shrimp in Green Tea Curry Sauce

This recipe comes to us from Prevention.com. It caught my eye because it combines our final two cancer prevention foods: green tea and curcumin (curry). Like I said last week, the curcumin in curry isn’t plentiful enough to kill cancer tumors in one meal, but it sure is delicious.

One final note: when my husband and I first tried this recipe, we thought it was okay. Then my hubby squeezed some lemon juice over our plates and BAM! So delicious.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon green tea leaves (I cut open a tea bag)

8 ounces dried linguine (or whatever pasta you have in the pantry if, like me, you’re too lazy to make a special trip to the store; see photo)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rinsed (would also be good with chicken, I think)

1/4 cup finely chopped scallions, white and light green parts

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons hot or mild curry powder

2 tablespoons sake or dry white wine

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

chopped cilantro and sliced scallions (dark green parts)

fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Cook the linguine according to the package direction, subtracting 2 minutes of the cooking time. Drain and return to the cooking pot to keep warm.
In a heatproof container, combine the boiling water and tea. Cover and steep for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat. Add the shrimp, scallions, garlic, and curry powder. Cook, tossing, for 1 minute. Add the sake or wine. Cook for 30 seconds. Add the tea and half of the tea leaves. Cook for 1 minute, or until the shrimp are opaque. With a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and set aside.
Transfer the linguine to the skillet or wok. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, tossing, for about 3 minutes, or until the linguine is al dente and the sauce has thickened. Return the shrimp to the pan. Drizzle with the sesame oil. Toss to combine. Garnish with the cilantro and scallions.
Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and salt to taste.