Author Archives: Katie Robles

14

Oct. ’14

The Daniel Fast Made Delicious

daniel fastHere’s something new to the blog: a book review! Yes, I got the book for free. Jealous? I would be too. Here we go:

I picked up The Daniel Fast Made Delicious not because I was fasting, but because I wanted some new veggie recipes. It’s essentially a vegan cookbook with some unique flavor combinations and a good variety of veggies and seasonings. There are even recipes for veggies that I’ve seen in the store, but never bought because I had no idea what to do with them. Now I do. One other thing I like is that most foods they refer to are ones I’ve heard of; I have seen these veggies in the store, which means I don’t have to hunt all over town for them. I’ve only tried a few of the recipes so far, but the ones I tried were really good.

If you are fasting (bless your heart, I haven’t had the guts yet. I have severe hungerphobia. I’m making progress, though: since I began living healthier and losing weight, I’ve learned that if I leave the house for a few hours and don’t take a snack with me, I will not die. Logic is not involved here, folks, just an unhealthy dislike of that empty sensation.) Let me start again…if you are fasting, (bless your heart) then this would make a good companion guide to The Daniel Fast. The Bible study at the end is basically just meditating on one verse per day for three weeks, which at first struck me as way too short, but then I wondered when I last meditated on one verse for longer than ten seconds. One verse is enough.

In short, this is a good, not-too-weird-and-“out there” vegan cookbook with some encouragement to get the most out of fasting. Or some fresh ideas for veggie-ful entrees. Along with tons of veggies, many recipes call for dairy or egg substitutes, but I plan on making them with good ol’ animal products. I’m making Pumpkin Lasagna this week. See what I mean about unique flavor combinations?

Have any of you ever tried the Daniel Fast?

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07

Oct. ’14

Sex and Sleep: Start With S

2013 Summer 603With the busyness of the school year upon me, I find myself needing to get back to the basics, and I’m starting with the S in Sex: sleep.

Research shows that people who consistently get a full night’s sleep lose more body fat on a diet than those who don’t. (Fat is what I want to lose! Not my hard-earned muscle.) Science has also confirmed that when we’re tired, we not only eat more, but we crave high calorie foods. We all know the equation Tired = Want Sugar² to be true, but it’s nice when scientists agree with us. The emotional food craving part of our brain actually takes charge and the logical decision making part of our brain takes a back seat.

If you don’t trust the experts, do your own research.  Ready?  Get eight hours of sleep two nights in a row.  Does a salad sound appetizing?  Do you have the energy to make one?  Good.  Okay, now get six hours of sleep two nights in a row.  What are the chances you’ll exercise today?  Are fat and sugar your new best friends?  Bingo.

2013 Summer 600So how do we get more sleep? For many of us, we simply haven’t made sleep a priority. Have you ever noticed how early you go to bed when the power is out or you’re camping? (i.e. When it’s dark, you’re bored.) Screens, be they television, ivision, or webvision, have a way of making us feel more awake than we are or should be. If you turn them off, you will increase your chances of going to bed on time by 200%. That was a scientific study done by yours truly. I aced 9th grade Biology, so you know my results are accurate.

The more I research the affects of sleep on the body, the more convinced I’m becoming that few things are more important for your health. Now, some of you reading this work the night shift, or have newborns, or other situations in life that interrupt your sleep and are beyond your control. I know you’re sleeping the best you can and you have my sympathy and a pillow if you ever stop by to visit. I’m talking to myself and all of the other idiots out there who don’t know how lucky we are that if we choose to, we can be well rested.

2013 Summer 598Ladies, maybe you don’t have the will power to turn off the TV and get yourself into bed at a decent hour. But you have at your disposal one of the most powerful forces in nature: your husband’s desire for intimacy.  Here’s how you tap into that power.  Pick a night (or several nights) of the week and say this: “Husband, I want you to seduce me at nine o’clock tonight.  I will say yes.  I need to be asleep by ten.”  Your husband will remember.  He might be incredulous (after all, it sounds too good to be true) but he will remember.  Nine o’clock rolls around and badda-bing, badda-boom – a good night’s sleep! (And exercise to boot! What a deal!)

Psalm 127:2 says that God “grants sleep to those he loves”.  Sleep is a blessing!  A gift!  Not a necessary evil.

 

Science stuff pulled from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/how-sleep-loss-adds-to-weight-gain/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Posted by . Categories: SEX: Sleep and Exercise. Tags: , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

01

Oct. ’14

New Recipe: Multi-Bean Soup

2014 Sept mid 023Ever stare at a bag of dry “mixed bean soup” in the grocery store and wonder if that pound of edible marbles can really be made into delicious soup? By you of all people? Well, you can and it’s surprisingly easy.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb bag of assorted dried beans and lentils

1 Tb butter of olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 leek, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 bell pepper, any color, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1/2 Tb salt

1 tsp pepper

1 packet (or cube) chicken bullion

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup ham, chopped into small pieces

 

2014 Sept mid 0221. Soak the beans. You have two choices: soak them overnight in cold water OR boil them in water for 2 minutes, turn off the heat, and let them sit for an hour (called the “quick soak” method).

2. Drain the beans. Discard the soaking water. A lot of the stuff that gives you gas comes out in the soaking water. Dirt too. I repeat, drain the beans and discard the soaking water.

3. In a large stock pot, melt the butter or heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, leek, celery, bell pepper, and garlic until tender (5-10 minutes).

4. If you’re continuing the process in said stock pot, add the ham, pre-soaked beans, cilantro, salt, pepper, bullion and 6-8 cups of water (depending on how thick you like your soup). Simmer on medium low for an hour or until the largest beans are tender. (To test tenderness, pull a bean out with a spoon, let it cool, and eat it.)

If you’d rather use a crock pot, add your beans, sauteed veggies, 6-8 cups water, and remaining ingredients to the crock pot and cook on high 3-4 hours.

When I serve it, I add a bit of American cheese to mine because I’m a cheesaholic.

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25

Sep. ’14

Falling Off the Wagon: What to Do After a Diet Fail

I don’t remember which weight loss blog I read this on, but I’ll never forget the quote: “When you get a flat tire, you change it and keep driving; you don’t pop the other three tires”. Fabulous, right?

We all have times when we fall off the health wagon. Why did I eat that? Why did I eat ALL of that? Why did I stay up so late? Lifting sofa cushions to find the remote counts as exercise, right?

UntitledThere are weeks when my butt is firmly seated in the health wagon and I’m buckled up and facing front. There are also weeks when I’m more like a little kid who’s hanging over the side trying to hit the wheel with a stick. I’m still in the wagon, but I’m being stupid. I reach a little too far and suddenly I’m eating dirt. (Low in calories, but not recommended. It tastes awful, even covered in chocolate… I mean broccoli.)

What do you do when you fall off the health wagon? You get back on. Make better choices starting now, but don’t beat yourself up about the ones you already made. If beating yourself up counted as exercise, I’d say “Knock yourself out!” But it’s not, and that was a great pun, wouldn’t you agree?

picking-yourself-upIn ten years it won’t matter that you fell, it’ll matter that you didn’t stay down in the dirt. Is falling off the wagon frustrating? You bet. Painful? Sometimes. Embarrassing? Sure. But you still have three good tires. Each day is a new day and each morning you wake up on the wagon. And next time that little kid won’t lean out quite so far to hit the wheel with a stick. Perfection is not realistic, so we’re not aiming for perfect here, we’re aiming for not-stupid.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

How have you handled a fall from the health wagon? What helps you get back on or stay on?

 

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20

Sep. ’14

Pet Perfection: Backyard Chickens

Our family has taken the next step toward organic free range eggs and becoming an unofficial petting zoo. Let me introduce you to the ladies; a family album of sorts.

10551460_10152978189095828_4966502958445231008_oHere they are newly arrived in July and super cute. Like their human counterparts, they spent their days eating, sleeping, and pooping. We even had family come visit from out of town to hold a handful of fluff.

P1050447Next came the awkward teen weeks with the loud music, testing of boundaries, and punk hairstyles. When they started eating the ants in the garden, I told them I loved them.

2014 September 210Fully plumed and adjusted to the fenced backyard, these five ladies now  have full time jobs scratching and fertilizing the yard and gardens.

2014 September 214If you need some inspiration for your workout, try the We’ve-already-eaten-the-bottom-leaves Bean Jump!

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for…an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13

 

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04

Sep. ’14

I Didn’t Buy The Cookies (Poem)

P1010686I didn’t buy the cookies.
I didn’t buy the cake.
I didn’t buy the donuts,
And that was my mistake.

Junk is calling, I’ve got the munchies!
Body’s craving salt, sweet, crunchy.

I didn’t buy potato chips,
I didn’t buy a candy bar.
I want to eat a snack food, but
I don’t want to get in the car.

Junk is calling, I’ve got the munchies!
Body’s craving salt, sweet, crunchy.

If I want a brownie,
I’m going to have to make it.
Heat the oven, measure flour,
Mix, wait, dishes, I can’t take it!

Junk is calling, I’ve got the munchies!
Body’s craving salt, sweet, crunchy.

P1020877My cabinet holds some oatmeal.
My fridge is full of carrots.
I’ll settle for some hummus
And plants with all their merits.

Eat what’s easy, I’ve got the munchies.
Oats and carrots, sweet and crunchy.

I didn’t buy the cookies.
I didn’t buy the cake.
I only bought the vegetables,
And that was no mistake.

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29

Aug. ’14

Easy Tomato Salad

P1050112One of my favorite ways to eat a ripe summer tomato is the equivalent of a breadless cold pizza. Normally I make it as bite-sized hors d’oeuvres type deals, but one day I found a tomato heavyweight champion in the garden and prepared it as an Easy Tomato Salad for lunch. That sucker was huge! And so good. If you had told me two years ago, before I started getting healthy, that someday I would equate a tomato with Lunch, I would have laughed. Cheese? Yes. But tomato?  That’s just silly. And shows how much can change in two short years.

I’ve included the recipe below, but you can also find it on the Recipes page. If you use a medium sized tomato and one ounce of mozzarella, you’re looking at 105 calories. The heavyweight pictured above is more like a medium tomato on steroids and that’s not one ounce of cheese.  But it still made for a low-cal lunch.

Tomato season is in full swing, so get ’em while they’re cold!

 

P1010199Ingredients:

tomato

mozzarella

balsamic vinegar

basil leaves

salt

1. Slice tomato (can make them bite sized). Add piece of basil leaf, chunk of mozzarella. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and salt to taste.

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21

Aug. ’14

Beverage Math

2014 Aug transformers 044You’ve probably seen Beverage Math on just about every weight loss episode of any talk show for the past ten years. An overweight guest stares hopefully at the host as s/he pulls up a power point slide showing that if the overweight guest stops drinking soda (or “pop” or “Coke” if you’re not a nor’easter), s/he will lose ten pounds in a year. I’ve always been envious of those guests and their Soda Math. Stop drinking soda and lose ten pounds?! That would be so easy! Easy for me because I only drink soda a few times a year.

My envy ended when it occurred to me that while I may not have a Soda Math situation going on, I do have Coffee Math: I take my coffee on par with melted coffee ice cream. Whether I add half and half, milk, creamer, sugar, or a combination of them all, each mug for me averages 100 calories apiece. And I drink it like that twice a day. Ready for the Coffee Math?

2014 Aug transformers 043One pounds = 3,500 calories. So 200 calories of coffee per day x 365 days per year = 20.8 pounds. Twenty pounds in one year simply by switching to black coffee. That would be so easy!

But I love creamy coffee. I don’t want to drink it black.

But twenty pounds? I want to lose twenty pounds.

What if I drank creamatose coffee once a day and black coffee once a day? That’s ten pounds in one year and twenty pounds in two. And I can still start my morning with creamy sweet caffeine.

When we drink our calories, we tend to savor them less than the calories we chew. I’m not saying that we should only ever drink water and water-calorie equivalents (black coffee, unsweetened tea, etc); I’m just saying that we should do our own personal Beverage Math. We all have that one drink we’d rather not give up. So don’t give it up. Cut it in half if you need to, but savor every drop.

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”” John 4:13-14

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13

Aug. ’14

Meat My Zucchini

2013 Summer 600The four zucchini plants in my garden can produce five or six tender summer squash in 48 hours. I try to pick them smallish, but there’s always a Monster Zucchini who hides under a leaf until it outweighs my firstborn. I love zucchini, but you can only stack it so high on the back deck until your squash pyramid falls over. I tried to give some away, but whenever I ask someone “Do you like zucchini?” they respond “Why? Do you want some? I’d love to give you some!”

We made zucchini stir fry, check. Zucchini bread, including a dozen loaves in the freezer already, check. Zucchini raw dipped in Ranch dressing, check. Only 35 pounds of green goodness left waiting for me on the deck and more are growing as I type!

P1050153My family had to figure out new ways to eat it all. We asked around and we got creative. Our new favorite way to eat zucchini is on the grill. I realize that only one million, three hundred ten thousand, one hundred and forty five point two people have discovered this before me, but I’m hooked. A little olive oil, a little sea salt, slap it down right next to the steak, and it comes off the grill meat-flavored! I’m never cleaning my grill again. Sure, I’ll give it a quick scrub to rid it of the occasional bird bomb, but I don’t want that meat grease to cease. Five of us shared one T-bone steak and two huge squash. Talk about heart healthy!

fried zucchini

My neighbor introduced me to fried zucchini. She slices it in half inch rounds, dips it in egg and seasoned breadcrumbs, and fries it in oil. It’s not exactly the healthiest way to eat zucchini, but if you’re looking for a low calorie meal that satisfies your fried cravings, this is it. That’s right, I said meal. They’re so good, don’t bother cooking anything else.

2014 Aug angry birds 016This week we tried Zucchini Spaghetti and it was a hit with most of the family. Anyone who tasted it, loved it; it was only the anti-green preschool contingency that held out. I grated the green beasts (1 large zucchini made about 2 cups of “noodles”) and stir fried the “noodles” in a little olive oil until they were tender. Then we mixed the zucchini with regular noodles and topped it all with sauce and meatballs. I plan to increase the veggie noodles regularly until the kids think “Spaghetti” is Italian for Zucchini.

This is a great time of year to get creative with your veggies because they’re so fresh and abundant. And remember, if your neighbor with a garden is stacking summer squash in pyramids on the back porch or their skin and teeth have taken on a greenish hue, it’s probably okay to go ask them if you can have some.

“The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. “ Genesis 1:12

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08

Aug. ’14

Mouth Health and Orange Smiles

2014 Aug 2 026The Flexie Foodie recently came out with a post called Eating For Oral Health. I’m going to hit the highlights for you. Bare your teeth, stick out your tongue, and read on!

Her first point is that saliva cleans your mouth. I recommend ringing a little bell before each meal and wearing a bib for the extra drool. (#Pavlov joke…too easy, I know. I’ll try harder!)

Crunchy foods cause you to produce more saliva, so if you end your meal with raw apple, celery, carrots, or nuts, you can say you brushed your teeth. If anyone doubts you based on the bits of orange and brown clinging to your gum line, simply pull out your celery toothbrush and show them how it’s done.

2014 Aug 2 027Raisins are a good snack for two reasons. 1. Raisins have phytochemicals which discourage the growth of bad bacteria in the mouth. That’s right, teen readers, you should be carrying snack boxes of raisins with you to Make Out Point, not Altoids. 2. Raisins help curb hunger by sticking to your teeth. When you feel the munchies coming on, grab a toothpick and collect your leftovers. Mmm-mm.

Foods with Vitamin C help with the growth of collagen, connective tissues, blood vessels…all of the parts that work together to hold your teeth firmly in your mouth. We’re going for the opposite of Scurvy here. “Arrr, ye scurvy blogs!” Scurvy is caused by a lack of Vitamin C and one of the symptoms is loose or lost teeth. Not that any of us are in danger of getting scurvy, but history just made a little more sense to me. When you think of pirates, grab an orange.

2014 Aug 2 028Speaking of oranges, rubbing citrus peels on your teeth helps to remove stains and orange peels are the most gentle on enamel. Our teeth don’t stain as we age because of wear and tear over the years, but because we’re less likely to make orange peel smiles.

The Flexie Foodie’s post really hit home because yesterday we took my four year old to the dentist and he has more cavities than birthdays. From now on, snack time at our house will start with a ringing bell, include raisins and orange peels, and end with a celery brush. If I let my boys wear pirate eye patches during snack, they just might go for this.

Gentlemen, if you’re looking to compliment your lady, look no further than the Bible: “Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is missing.” Song of Songs 6:6

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