Senin, 17 Oktober 2011

Falling in-love with fall: A recipe + a 21 day challenge update.

This weekend, fall took my breath away.
The leaves on our street have all turned gold and red. For me, heaven was: sitting on the porch, in the perfect weather, and soaking in the beauty of fall.

But then I realized cookies would make that moment even more perfect.
So, I made these:
Oatmeal Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
:
What you need:
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 6 tbsp canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet organic chocolate chips
What you're gonna do:
  • Preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with organic cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice and cinnamon.
  • In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed.
  • Add the egg to the butter and sugar mixture, followed by the pumpkin and vanilla extract.
  • Working by hand, stir in the dry mix until just combined and no streaks of flour remain; stir in the pecans, and chocolate chips.
  • Drop 1 tablespoon of the dough at a time onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies become light brown at the edges.
  • Cool on baking sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Makes 32 cookies, 1 tbsp each.
They're the perfect fall cookie. Hearty, crunchy, chewy, chocolaty and of course, pumpkiny.*Note: I made these cookies on a night that I was having some girls from church over, so that they would eat the majority of them ;) I only had two of these delicious cookies.

***

21 Day Challenge Update:
I was supposed to start my 21 day challenge last week. But, I ended up being sick all week. At first I was going to keep going with the challenge, even though I was sick. My eating was great (It helped that my apatite was completely gone;), but then I remembered that working out everyday was apart of the challenge. I definitely had not been doing that while I was sick. So, I decided to start it after I had gotten better.

My first official day of the 21 day challenge was last Wednesday the 12th.So far I have 5 little hearts!
What's your little piece of fall heaven?

Kamis, 06 Oktober 2011

Love is my new fuel.

I came across this story on facebook:

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption read: "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:
"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness. They entertain like crazy with dolphins, and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia. They sing incredibly well, and sometimes are even on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defends and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.


But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because they suffer from split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children. Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad. Besides, what man wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.
At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, so it spreads all over our bodies. We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated. Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?! "

I love this. Being skinny doesn't equate to being beautiful; and being overweight absolutely does not equate to being ugly.

Even though I didn't know it, I was beautiful at 206 pounds (my husband even told me so).

I keep telling myself that I will be beautiful when I am at my goal weight, of 120 pounds. I've subconsciously told myself that until then, I do not deserve beauty. Nor do I deserve to love myself. I have to tell myself every. single. day. that I hate the way I look. I tell myself that I have to loath what I've done to my body, and that I'm not good enough at the weight I am. I use hating myself to motivate me to get to 120 pounds.

No wonder why it has been a struggle to get there.I cannot look after something that I hate.
And using hate to fuel my motivation to lose weight, makes no sense at all.

From now, through to the finish line, and beyond, I am going to love every stretch mark, and every fat dimple. I am going to love every single pound that shows up on that scale. All of these things made me wiser. They have made me who I am. They are apart of ME. I am going to love myself so freakin' much, that I want to take care of this beautiful body I have been given.

Love is my new fuel.

Senin, 03 Oktober 2011

My 21 day challange

This little quote got me to thinkin'I don't think I've had 21 straight days of good, healthy behavior since starting this weight loss journey over a year ago. It's always a good day, followed by an, 'Eh" day. Or a good week as far as eating goes, but the gym was nowhere insight.

Taking a month long vaca from my diet screwed me up a little more then I thought it would. My head is all out of whack. I've allowed lots of little cheats in my diet, thinking they won't add up. I've been telling myself I can eat 2 brownie squares and drink a can of soda, and still lose weight. And we all know that isn't true. You are what you eat, and if you keep eating the same things, you will always weigh the same. Plain and simple.

I need to whip my butt back into shape (quite literally). I need to get disciplined, focused, and stay consistent. I need to stop allowing myself little cheats in my diet, and do this.

So, I'm taking a 21 day challenge:
  • 21 days of eating healthy. No junk. Cut back on sugar. and NO LITTLE CHEATS.
  • 21 days of doing at least some form of exercise.
  • 21 days of drinking at least 64oz of water.
  • 21 days of tracking my food and meal planning.
21 days of discipline and 100% dedication = Life long healthy habits.
That sounds so refreshing to me right about now.

To help me get started on my 21 day challenge, I bought a (huge) calendar/planner for my fridge.Everyday I'm going to track my food/meal plan, and write down my goals for the day (going to the gym, drinking all my water, etc) on this calendar. At the end of each day, during the 21 days, I get a sticker if I've had a day full of healthy habits, and I've crossed everything off for the day.21 days to a new me!
Day 1 is tomorrow!


Are you up for the challenge?