Crafty Mama!

I found this great idea the other day for peanut butter playdough and made it for the girls, HUGE success!!! To be honest Reese mostly ate it but Cally loved playing with it and it is SO easy to make
1c peanut butter
1/2c honey (I used agave nectar)
2c powerdered sugar

Just mix together, I put it in the refrig for 1 hour to make it a little firmer but it isn't necessary and it is super sweet and yummy, you know in case you get caught playing with the kiddos :)

A few of my favorite things

First of all update on the green smoothies. I have been drinking up to 1/2 quart a day, which to me still seems like a lot, today however, just a glassful, my homemade veggie soup just was calling my name with it snowing outside, so my smoothie became my beverage instead of my meal :) Oh well!!! I found a wonderful combo too, I add 1/2 c of pomegrante juice and a bananna, scurmptious!! Ok on to my post

1) Greek yogurt, yeah I know I try to be as vegan as possible but this stuff is just SO good and such a versitile ingredient!!! This morning I had it for breakfast with a chopped 1/2 bananna some chopped dates, flax seed, and sprinkled coconut on top! Best breakfast ever! I also use this yogurt in baking, salad dressing, and in baking, but mostly is all by itself!!!

2) Peanut butter, couldn't live without this stuff! I fav brand is Smuckers but to be honest I mostly use Trader Joe's because that is where I do the majority of my shopping and with too little ones, hey you compromise!!! I found a new variety though at Whole Foods the other day and just tried it, oh my god wish I hadn't because I litterally could eat the whole thing, it is Peanut Butter and Co. they have several flavors but I chose the chocolate peanut butter!!! It is great and all natural!!!

4) Fiber Cereal- I opt for the Trader Joes brand, great as breakfast or as croutons on a salad, yes I know I am weird but don't mock it til you try it, Nick doesn't even notice, shh don't tell!!!

5)Flax seeds- Make sure that you get the ground variety or grind them yourself otherwise they pass right through your digestive tract, but I add them to just about everything they are packed with fiber and essential Omega-3's

6) Sparkling water- usually buy the Poland spring brand because you can get it at Trader Joes for 89cents/liter! WOW, I don't wish to admit how much I drink but a great way to still get your water without omitting taste and carbonation!

7) Last but not least one that I wish I didn't love, Betty Crocker's low fat brownie mix. I know I know nothing natural about it, but come you have to splurge every once in awhile, right?? They are just SO good and make with apple sauce and egg white, couldn't be more indulgent and still low fat!

So, there you have it, mostly healthy things but some ideas to add to your grocery list, what are some of your favorite things????

Green Smoothies

So, I finally indulged an bought a couple of raw diet books because I have been fascinated by this concept lately. One was more of a book all about eating raw and the other had some recipes. As I began reading the author continued to discuss the concept of "green smoothies" and how this is the solution to all of our nutritional problems. She claims that greens are the ultimate nutrional powerhouse and that we as humans simply don't consume enough and therefore she concocted a "green smoothie" which consists of some greens, fruit, and water. Nick and I decided to give it a try, it cant hurt anything right? So this morning we drank one which consisted of cherries, strawberries, blueberries, kale, water, and some flax seed (I was feeling wild!!) and it wasnt that bad! I have to admit it filled me up all 150 calories apprximately, it cant be too much more there is nothing to it!!! She advices drinking one quart a day which seems like alot to us right now so we are starting with 1/2 of that and see if we can increase from there. The testimonals in this book claimed everything from clearer skin to curing pancreatic cancer, so we will see what we experience we will keep you updated but for now happy drinking!! (Green smoothies that is!!!)

Carbs or No Carbs?

I have been researching a lot about atheletes diets and what we should be eating for optimal nutrition and boy is the evidence conflicting. One website that I found a TON of info on was http://www.marksdailyapple.com/. At this website Mark advocates for a high fat, high protein, low carb diet. He gives plenty of arguements supporting his point of view and claims that this way of life as led him to get the body of his dreams and that he feels the best he has ever felt. He goes so far to say that you should be eating 1g of protein for every pound of lean muscle mass daily and eating around 50-100 grams of carbs daily, that is it! But eat all the fat that you want, good fats that is, interesting. He claims this is the way we were supposed to eat he calls it the primal diet.
Another point of view is from a trainer from the Biggest Loser, Jillian Michels. She claims that there are three different types of body make ups and according to which body type you are that depends on what kind of diet is best for you. There is one type who does best on high carb low fat, another that is best on Zone type diet, and then another who is best on an Atkins type diet! She claims that you should eat all organic, all natural and only things that are grown in the earth or that have a mother!
Then there is another website http://www.organicathlete.org/vegan-athletes which advocates or athelets to not only be vegan but to be raw vegans! Many of their postings claim that the majority of your calories should come from fruit, the rest from veggies and to limit your fat intake, you obviously not much in the nut category. They also have plenty of evidence to back up their claims and have tons of testimonials from people, even elite athletes claiming going raw vegan was the best thing that they ever did!!!
Another point of view was from a book that I just read called the Kind Diet. In this book Alicia Silverstone who is the author promotes a vegan diet but goes further in saying the majority of your calories up to 65% should come from whole grains, mostly rice, quinoa,oats, etc. She says that bread is OK as long as it is whole grain but it is still considered processed and therefore not ideal. She also makes a point that we should eat regionally and seasonally; we should eat what would naturally be at the local farmers market on Sat morning, for instance I should not be eating pineapple while curled up by my fireplace when it is snowing outside, it is not the type of food my body is meant to be digesting that time of the year and therefore my body has to work harder to digest it! Again she gives many reasons and arguements as to why eating a high carb vegan diet is the best diet for optimum health!!!
http://blog.firstendurance.com/2009/06/anti-inflammatory-foods/ Then this article and this article http://www.velonews.com/article/91925 claim that eating gluten free is the key to success for endurance atheletes siting that gluten leads to inflammation and other noted ailments therefore inhibiting proper muscle recover and optimum performance!!!
I don't know about you but I am so confused!!! I know that for my own body personally if I eat a lot of bread or pasta (whole grain of course!) I do fell bloated afterwards! However I also swear by my concoction of peanut butter, oatmeal, and chopped dates daily for breakfast, I really do beleive that is the breakfast of champions! I don't know if I could live without that. I know that I have heard that alot of doctors recommend the raw diet to cancer patients and I personally know people that the raw diet has helped. But I also don't know with the amount of food that I eat I am not sure I would be satisified on a raw vegan diet, I mean seriously!!! What are your opinions??? I would love to hear what others think about this subject, should we ban carbs or make them our friends???

Hello!!!

I started this blog in an attempt to start discussions regarding health related issues primarily regarding exercise and diet because those are my two passions, besides being a mommy and wife of course!!! I have just begun training for my first ironman triathalon and in doing so have been doing a lot of research on diet and exercise and hope to share that information with all of you as well as I hope to learn something for you all in the process. I hope that you share in my journey and we can all learn more together!
I would like to start by saying that I have been a vegetarian for about 6 months now and have noticed a huge difference in myself and my energy level! I have tried to be as vegan as possible but love my cheese and baked goods, trying my darnest to snap out of that habit! I really can say that I notice a difference when I am eating vegan but those devilish baked goods just call my name!
I also have stopped drinking as much diet soda and have banned artificial sweetners which I used to use obsessively! I still treat my self to a diet coke here and there but drink MUCH less than before and also feel much better for it!
I am trying to limit my bread intake but am finding so much conflicting evidence regarding consumption of grains and whether or not there are health benefits, much more on this to come!!!
Anyways the first blog that I would like to bring to your attention is VO2 maxed http://vo2maxxed.blogspot.com/ this blog has been a plethera of knowledge for me, they don't eat vegtarian but do have alot of great recipes and ideas, and also have been great links that have I have found fascinating! Check it out, let me know what you think!