Tonight I’m going to a party—with my friends (girls only), and we do this same party every year with a different theme. This year…Lace (like I mentioned in my last post, it’s not like nightgown lace, but rather more like Madonna lace). I’m not sure if there will be pics, and even if so, I’m not sure I’ll post any (although aside from leggings and boots, I’ll be in 100% royal blue lace thanks to my mom for letting me borrow my sister’s prom dress from 1994).

The name of the party is the “Christmas Re-Gift,” and so we all wrap up the crappy presents we got, draw numbers and open presents (and eat and drink).The fun part is when someone actually brings something good to re-gift, and people steal it back and forth from each other (the rules say you can pick a gift to open or take one from someone else). In fact, we’ve been doing this for at least 6 years, and there are a few presents that recirculate every year (like a western themed wine holder…).

I always stress out over bringing a dish to pass. Usually I wait till the last minute and buy something. Or I plan ahead, but try and make something healthy, and then realize that no one will like it except me (and my friend Ali). This year, I copped out and bought spinach artichoke dip and pita chips from Wegmans (that’s what the Mediterranean bar is for, right?). I also made mini muffins…and I think I’m not going to take them. Because I don’t want to share. And I already ate 8 out of 24 of them. They totally work with my elimination diet, and they’re fabulous with coffee.

I’ll share the recipe though.

Spice Muffins made with Coconut Flour

Mix:

7 eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used finely shredded)
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup (I added this, I swear!)
1/2 cup erythritol (you could cut this and add another 1/4 cup syrup if you want to)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
I put this in the mixer and set it on high for a minute, and then reduced the speed to med-low.

Next, add:

1/2 cup melted coconut oil (I don’t own a microwave so I used a double boiler)

You’ll drizzle in the coconut oil as the mixer is on med-high. This ensures that it doesn’t harden and it is distributed throughout the batter evenly.

Grease your muffin tin, and fill each cup so it is 95% full–the batter should be almost exactly even with the top of the muffin pan (I think this helped them rise better than the lemon ones—based on a tip I saw on pinterest).

Bake on 350 degrees F, for 18 minutes.

Fluffy, pretty, spicy (in a good way) muffins! I was very surprised that these turned out as fluffy as they did!

I do think coconut flour makes baked goods taste a little differently, but as long as you account for the dryness by adding extra eggs, it works really well. I like that the spices in this muffin and the lemon in the previous ones actually do a good job of covering the coconut taste. I'm a little wary of trying a plain vanilla....

And here's the instagram pic I posted, for good measure.

Full disclosure: I made a glaze for these and dipped the the tops in it after I took the pics. I’m not ready to share that because (1) I don’t think the muffins really need a glaze and (2) it didn’t knock my socks off.

How many coconut flour muffin recipes do I have to post before you try one?!  I plan to do one with chia soon, and see if it works without eggs—not sure on that one (plus, that will be a lot of chia egg!).

The great thing about coconut flour is that it’s low in net carbs (it has tons of fiber!). The difficult thing is that it requires a lot of moisture—but eggs are cheap and healthy, so I’m ok with it!

Last night when I went to bed…I was starving (not really, but I had myself convinced I was). I ran out of ideas for things to eat (based on what was in my kitchen and my elimination diet rules), and I really was not in the mood for more veggies. My calorie intake yesterday was around 1600 (that’s an estimation), so I think I was just hungry for variety.

Joe suggested I make a list of things I can eat, and then just make sure to have them so I can avoid this happening (and me talking incessantly about it) again. His suggestion was shrimp salad (which sounded ok to me), and he told me I must put celery and onion in it or it would not be good.

Here’s what I did (and I think he would approve, but I ate it all so he can’t try it till tomorrow when I make more):

Mix together:

3 Tbsp mayo (any kind you like)
2 Tbsp dijon mustard (I like Westbrae brand)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp oregano
1 dash chipotle powder (or more if you like it spicy)
a few dashes of sea salt (I did three turns of the grinder)
a few dashes of black pepper
3 drops liquid stevia (or add a drizzle of honey or a 1/2 tsp or so of sugar)

Add:

1 stick of celery, diced
1/2 purple onion, diced
8oz crab meat
10 cooked chilled shrimp, chopped

Mix everything together until well coated, and serve on salad, in a sandwich, or all by itself!

shrimp + crab. No, you may not use imitation crab meat (please). Real crab is good for you---and you won't use the whole can, so it's cheaper than going out to eat!

Pretty and delicious---that's all I needed to not go to bed starving tonight

I ate half for lunch and saved half for dinner. It was awesome! I love crab and shrimp…so this had a good chance with me. I also love turmeric, but if you don’t, I’m sure you could adjust the spices used to your tastes.

Like I said, I’m going to make this again tomorrow. It’s low carb, high protein, a good source of healthy fat. In addition, you get all the wonderful benefits of turmeric!

If you try it, let me know!

Happy #WineFriday!

What’s your favorite seafood dish? I think this one is my favorite! …But I also like the stuffed haddock that Joe makes, and I had an awesome butter fish in Florida…

What are your weekend plans? I’m visiting friends, doing work, going to a Christmas re-gift party (theme: Dress in Lace—like Madonna lace, not nightgown lace), and then…well, the superbowl (which I do not give a darn about).

It’s no secret that I’m boycotting sugar. I have been semi-against it for a few years, but have essentially eliminated it since August. It concerns me that almost every client I work with wants to lose weight, and when we examine their food diaries, their carb intakes are through the roof.

I’m not proclaiming any particular “diet” as a best way to eat (i.e. vegan, paleo, raw food, etc.). I believe that different people have different nutritional needs, but I do think that among the foundational best food choices we all have in common, is that everyone needs to moderate their sugar intake. The reason I include discussion about carbs in general is because the US government guidelines for many years urged people to consume around 55% of their calories from carbs. This is a LOT. Having much of those calories come from sugar (which evolved based on technology and cheap convenience foods) causes short and long-term issues (whether you can feel/see them or not).

My standpoint: Sugar is toxic if you consume a lot of it regularly. 

The problem:

It is generally understood now that excessive sugar intake is largely responsible for obesity and other serious health issues. Yet, our sugar consumption in the US has tripled over the last half century.

This article describes an issue with sugar being labeled as “empty calories.” The truth is, these sugar calories are not empty—they are damaging and toxic, just like alcohol and tobacco. When I teach nutrition classes, I talk about how carbs (4 calories per gram), fat (9 calories per gram). and protein (4 calories per gram) are all nutrients, but alcohol (7 calories per gram) is a toxin.

I’d like to move sugar out of the nutrient category and into the toxin category. 

The article states: “Sugar, they argue, is far from just ‘empty calories’ that make people fat. At the levels consumed by most Americans, sugar changes metabolism, raises blood pressure, critically alters the signaling of hormones and causes significant damage to the liver – the least understood of sugar’s damages. These health hazards largely mirror the effects of drinking too much alcohol, which they point out in their commentary is the distillation of sugar.”

Do you think sugary products should be taxed like alcohol and tobacco?

How’s your sugar intake?

Maybe moderation is the best option for both alcohol and sugar. The problem is that right now, Americans (and probably other countries, but I don’t want to make assumptions) are not being moderate. And neither are their health care costs.

I was really lucky tonight…I went to see Matthew after school at my Dad’s house, and found out he was staying for dinner…so I got 3.5 hours with him instead of 1. We did homework, and then made a drag racer out of tinker toys. Then we played Connect 4 (the new version—but we used the old rules).

As a result, I’m not sure I have anything useful to say this evening, but I did have a great salad for lunch.

A few months ago, my friend Ali and I went to Florida for a long weekend, and in spite of our troubles in finding good coffee in the morning…we had two great dinners that involved a salad with champagne vinaigrette. I didn’t recreate the salad, just because I was too lazy and cold to go to the store for ingredients, but I did make the dressing. I found the champagne vinegar at TJMaxx a few weeks ago.

Champagne vinegar--reminder of vacation!

Simple---lettuce and onion. The devil is in the dressing.

The salad looked boring (and I was hungry)...so I added tuna. Let's pretend it was crab...

I found these in my cupboard and thought they'd be a good addition (they were!). Sacha Inchi seeds (not nuts!)---apparently nature's highest source of omega-3s. I'll be honest, I'm not totally sold because they are roasted and I know heating omega-3s can ruin them quickly.

This was a little concerning to me--was it supposed to be organic and they changed their minds? I don't know--not dwelling on it for one bag of seeds, but I'm pretty sure I won't buy this brand again.

So anyway, I dumped the seeds on my salad too, and it was the best darn salad I've had in a long time (aside from the brussels/kale salad from a few weeks ago).

Champagne Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp honey  (I subbed in several drops of stevia)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 – 1/2 tsp black pepper

Note: I used one head of chopped romaine + 1/2 red onion + 1 can of tuna + 1 handful of Savi Seeds….and half the dressing.

Cheese would have been nice

I don’t have much else going on—grading papers, discussing food, trying to resist my instinct to hibernate (not completely successfully, I will admit).

Elimination Diet Update: I feel really crave-y until mid-afternoon. Then I could take or leave food/drink for the rest of the day/evening. I have a headache, and body aches (especially my spine/neck/lower back), and I’m quite low on energy–but I don’t really feel that bad (I know that doesn’t make sense). My calorie intake is not low. In fact, sometimes I think I’m eating more than normal to fill my cravings (it doesn’t work—I’m trying to learn that lesson). I’ll try harder at documenting what I eat for a day or so.

The nicer weather in NY has reminded me of when I was doing my more traditional approach to physical activity—you know, back before it was frigid out and I could take a walk every couple hours. I felt so energized back then… So today, because I was feeling kind of blah, I chopped my workout up into pieces…every hour from 7am-2pm, I did 3 minutes of activity (like burpees with the Ugi Ball, push-ups, swing lunges, etc.). I just picked what I felt like doing at that moment–I like this method! I ended up with 24 minutes of activity, and I think I’m going to be a little sore.

Can you work out or be active at work? When I was doing corporate wellness coaching full-time, I set people up with exercises and stretchy bands to do in their cubicles. It’s true that most people did not do it, but there were several (women) who did it religiously and benefitted greatly. There was one lady whose arms were awesome after a few months (even though I had told her it would happen, I was still surprised at the results!).

Are you a vinaigrette fan? Did you know you should never use fat-free salad dressings? The fat in your dressing helps you to absorbs nutrients from the greens and veggies! Adding nuts, avocado, or other sources of fat will do the trick too.

See you tomorrow

I forgot to update the Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies post after Mom and Fred tasted them. The final verdict—everyone liked them. We all (Mom, Fred, Joe, and I) thought they would be better with fewer chocolate chips (I dumped the whole bag in and it only called for 3/4 cup. I did it because I knew if I didn’t use them, I would eat them. Lesson learned). We also speculated that they might be great with shredded coconut instead of chocolate chips. So I’ll try that next time!

My second coconut flour endeavor was to make muffins. And it was supposed to help me stop craving things I’m not eating right now due to the elimination diet. It helped!

I found the recipe here.

I made the following changes:

• I left out the cranberries because I didn’t have any
• I tripled the amount of lemon juice (it ended up being more than 1/4 cup but less than 1/3)
• I used erythritol and stevia to sweeten instead of maple syrup (maple syrup would probably be better, but I wanted them to be sugar free)
• I made them into mini muffins instead of big ones (because I found the mini muffin pan first)

They smelled good, and tasted awesome!

So...they're deliciously flat muffins. But, really, they taste good enough to not need a "top." Additionally, they appear a little lumpy--I believe this is because I did not fully melt my coconut oil so it was lumpy in the batter.

Very muffin-like texture. I think the only thing I would do differently next time is to make a glaze of some kind (probably coconut cream or cashew cream)

I just sent my mom home with a few, so hopefully I’ll get some feedback from them too.

My suggestion: Taste the batter so you can adjust the sweetener to the level of sweetness you like. Mine weren’t sweet—but I didn’t add extra sweetener to compensate for the extra lemon. (note: there are 7 eggs in this—you have to use tons of eggs if you bake with coconut flour otherwise it won’t work. I know, it’s a lot. But eggs are cheap and they fill your baked goods with important brain health promoters and protein!).

Today was such a great day–I spent ALL day talking to people about food and exercise, and it was just one of those days when everything was positive, people were motivated, and I felt like they were leaving with some great action steps to take this week. The path toward readiness can be long and is sometimes frustrating. But once it clicks for a person that the benefits of an improved lifestyle outweigh the costs, the path is pretty simple–strategy, determination, and effort. Being stuck in the “life’s not fair” or “this is gonna be hard” mentality…well, it doesn’t get anyone anywhere. Side note: if that’s where you are, focus on becoming ready…and not on the fact that you haven’t changed yet.

I’m hoping for a very productive morning tomorrow, so I can spend the after school hour with my favorite third grader and his homework…and then visit my other favorite kiddos too.

What does the rest of your week look like? Just work, or some play too?

Have you made baked goods with coconut flour? How’d they turn out?

How do get/stay empowered to make healthy choices? How much evidence does it take for you to value a healthy lifestyle as “worth the effort?” 

Lifestyle and health can be a touchy subject. Just as anything in wellness, we have a responsibility to find the balance between what is happening to us and what is happening in our lives because of things we do.

My entire philosophy regarding working with people on their wellness revolves around that principle. We, are not, in most cases, the victims we sometimes believe we are. We have our genetic weaknesses. We are blessed with opportunities that have been marked on our DNA by several generations of ancestors (our parents on up)—this is epigenetics.

Oftentimes, people feel cursed by the fate of their genes. “Blood pressure problems run in my family, so I’m just destined to end up on medication.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard a variation of that statement….

Well, hopefully I’d still care enough to be talking about this, but maybe I’d be doing it from my beach house….

Over the years, and through much research done by very passionate and intelligent people, we’ve come to a point where we know that genetics provide somewhere between 10-20% of the input into what our “fate” is in health and wellness.

That’s right—10-20%. That means the rest of it is up to us and the choices we make.

We have a depth of lifestyle choices. Epigenetics is the study of how our lifestyle choices impact how our genes are turned on and off (well, it’s a little bit more complicated than that…but what you really need to know is that if your Dad has heart disease, it doesn’t mean you have to as well). Your lifestyle will place markers on your DNA. YOU have control over your health outcomes—80-90% of them. Sometimes life is still not fair, and healthy-acting people still get diseases.

But.

Why not hedge your bets?

I’ve seen people do it in my corporate wellness coaching experiences.

I’ll tell you a story. A man, aged 40, had his cholesterol tested. It was high (270). The doctor wanted to put him on medication, but he wasn’t so sure about that (I’m not sure what his reasons were). He told me that his family ALL has high cholesterol—his parents, his siblings. They’re all on medication, and he’s not very happy about it but he believes it is his eventual fate.

My response is, “WAIT!”

{he thinks I’m crazy, but he listens}

I explain epigenetics, and tell him that maybe he can try to do it on his own for one year. I’ll help him–he can eat differently, and exercise more (he wasn’t exercising at all—he has a standing type of shop job, but he was not moving around very much).

He agreed, and we made a plan. He did a Couch to 5K plan. He added more healthy foods to his diet and took out the crap. He walks on his lunch break everyday. He ran a 5k, and then a 10k. He didn’t rush anything—just took it all day-by-day.

One year later (two weeks ago), his cholesterol was 170. He also lost 13lbs (he wasn’t overweight before, but he streamlined himself with all the running and not eating crap out of the vending machine).

In my everyday work, I interact with people regarding their health. I hear the pain and stress that health issues cause. I love helping people learn new information and gain a new perspective—one that empowers them to take control of their own health, rather than being a victim to it. I never promise that it will be easy—sometimes it’s simple in concept (i.e. eat better foods), but that doesn’t mean it will be easy to implement. I do promise people that if they put in the effort, they will yield benefits.

Readiness to change is another aspect of the story for another time…

Food, actions, and thought patterns determine 80-90% of your health. Go ahead and get mad at me, but it’s true

Then go read books by Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Junger, Kris Carr, Nina Planck, Catherine Shanahan and more… to figure out how to improve your life/health through your lifestyle.

p.s. I’d love to chat about it with you!

Every time I have something wrong with me or I don’t feel well, Joe laughs at me because my go-to assessment of the situation is, “I must be detoxing.”

I probably did think that a couple times, but now I just say it because he expects me to.

Side note: I feel awful right now. I have a horrible “hangover” feeling, but it’s not from drinking too much. I’m not going to speculate what is causing it—I’m just going to hope I sleep it off!

I don’t have a specific topic for this post, but just a few random things.

1. Thanks to the people who commented and/or emailed me about the fertility and food post. It was hard to keep it short and simple—I really had to stop myself from explaining everything in-depth—but that would have turned into a book! I also thought of some things to add (like coconut oil and chlorella), but maybe I’ll just do a Part 2 at some point.

2. My mom texted me earlier to ask if I wanted to hang out in bed with her. So I ran across the street with my air-dried hair to get in bed and talk (I really hope no one saw me–I wasn’t planning on leaving the house today). That’s my “place.” You know how Meredith is Christina’s “person” on Grey’s Anatomy? Well, my Mom is my person, and hanging out in bed with her is my place. It reminds me of when Matthew was tiny and he spent weekends with us (when I lived with my Mom)…we’d lay in bed for hours, and Matthew would play fishing and diving.

3. Elimination diet update: for two days straight (even though I have rot gut and a stabbing headache), I have really been crave-y. I’m just mouth hungry, not belly hungry—but damnit, I want to eat a piece of toast or something! Joe had bagel pizzas for dinner, and I just sat there next to him and smelled the pizzas. That actually kind of helped. I need to re-group and try some new recipes this week, so I can feel like I’m getting more variety. I’ve had several people ask me to post what it is I actually eat on an elimination diet, so I’ll do that in a couple days. I have high hopes for this research study I’m doing on myself, there will be no cheating no matter how crazy I feel!

I feel the need to reiterate this: I really hope dairy is not an issue for me. I don’t know if I can live (happily) without cheese.

This week is going to be great for me—I have a lot of work to do, but also a lot of time budgeted in to work on my other projects. I dislike winter, but there’s nothing much to do except be productive (or hibernate)!

How was your weekend? Any real hangovers going on?

Do you get Sunday night dread about starting a new week? I used to when I was stressed out about work…but now, I’m way too happy with my jobs to dread anything.

If you’re planning to try and get pregnant, nutrition is extremely important. In fact, research suggests that a baby’s health is more impacted by what a woman has consumed within the six months leading up to pregnancy than what she consumes throughout the pregnancy. Note: pregnancy nutrition is very important as well!

The following information is a summary of the foods and nutrients that will help you conceive. I’ve also included nutrients that are important for you to eat at the time of conception for the pregnancy to be sustained (avoid miscarriage) and lead to a healthy baby. Last, you’ll see a list of foods to cut out, that have been shown to reduce fertility. Over the past several years, the prevalence of fertility issues has increased (right along with the massive increase in eating processed foods made with technology).

Eat: Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, fruits, veggies

Sources: The Best—grass fed, free range, organic animal sources, organic plants, unpasteurized or organic milk/dairy (raw cheeses). The reason for being picky about the sources is not just for avoiding toxin exposure, it’s also because the nutrients from the grass/fields (including bugs) that animals eat translate into nutrition in the products you eat. Factory farmed foods are nutrient deficient (plants and animals).

Be an omnivore: for protein, B12, Omega-3s in the most usable form.

You can get all pregnancy nutrients (that are from animals) by eating eggs and/or drinking milk if you don’t want to eat meat. If you do this, you NEED to have eggs/milk from grass-fed animals in order to get the Omega-3 (DHA/EPA) oils in adequate amounts (I’d also take a cod liver oil supplement, fermented or Carlsons, to make sure you get enough).

Tips for how to eat/combine foods:

Absorption of nutrients and insulin stability tips: Eat combinations of foods, including fats with veggies, and fish with butter (helps nutrients be used). Important: eat your carbs with fats—it slows the absorption and spike in blood sugar, and thus decreases insulin spikes, which improves fertility.

Vitamin E

For: sperm production, prevents miscarriage

Eat: olive oil, nuts, avocados

B vitamins – folic acid, B12, choline, betaine

For: healthy weight babies, brain development

Eat: turkey, liver, tuna, chili peppers, lentils, bananas, avocados, oats, barley, salmon

Zinc

For: thyroid health, sperm, cell division

Eat: pumpkin seeds, beef, shrimp

Folic Acid

For: brain health

Eat: chicken, fish, leafy greens, fruit, nuts, lentils

Vitamin K2

For: sperm, future fetal growth

Eat: butter from grass-fed cows

Iron

For: DNA

Eat: liver, red meat, egg yolks, leafy greens, oysters, scallops, clams, beans, lentils

Seafood (fish liver and fish eggs)

Nutrients:  vitamin B12, A and D, omega 3 (DHA/EPA), iodine

For: brain and cell health

Note: If you don’t eat seafood, add unrefined sea salt and sea vegetables for iodine

Specific Foods:

Real Milk – grass-fed organic, ideally unpasteurized

nutrients: vitamin A and D, omega 3, iodine, fat, choline, cholesterol

for: brain health, cell health

Healthy Fat – butter, ghee, eggs, liver, crab (shellfish)

For: estrogen production/balance, ovulation, improved absorption of fat soluble nutrients (availability vs. quality, a topic for another time)

Iodine

For: thyroid and prevent miscarriage

Eat: seafood and seaweed (kelp, fish, roe, etc), butter, eggs, unrefined sea salt

Note: You need vitamin A to absorb it.

Fish oil

For: brain development, encourages implantation

Supplements:

Cod liver oil – take a fermented version (expensive) or take Carlsons (because it has the best Vitamin A to D ratio).

Folic acid – 700mcg a day or so

If your diet is not exceptional, consider:

Multi-vitamin – my favorite are the whole food vitamins, like Source of Life (there are others, just focus on not synthetic).

Eliminate or Significantly Restrict:

White sugar, white flour, vegetable oil, trans fat, soy

This is a pretty simple list—I wanted to keep it that way so it could serve as a less overwhelming resource than reading a whole book and having to try and understand the complicated relationships and effects of certain foods in the diet and why they affect fertility. Most of my information has been gathered over time from sources like the Weston A. Price Foundation, real food experts such as Nina Planck, and many research studies. I’m happy to discuss the “why” aspects of any of these recommendations! Also, I didn’t list every single food that would contribute to meeting the nutrient goals, just the basics. If you want more choices, search for the nutrient like this: “foods high in nutrient x.” Once you have found a list, look up whether the foods you’re considering to add may have a negative effect on fertility or pregnancy.

My Philosophy: KISS – Keep it simple, Sweetie!

Eat Real Food. Take out things from your diet that get in the way of fertility, and put things in that enhance fertility (and fetal development).

And let me know when you get pregnant, so we can talk about all the wonderful things you can eat and do then

Hello, My Friends!

Today, I decided I would make coconut flour chocolate chip cookies, so I googled it and kept finding the same recipe over and over. You can find it here.

I did, however, make some changes.

• I left out the coconut flakes—the idea of flakes in my chocolate chip cookies did not appeal to me!
• I added an extra egg, based on reading a comment that said they were kinda dry (note: other comments said otherwise).
• I did not use regular sugar. I substituted in 1/2 cup of Just Like Sugar (which is way over priced, and I don’t recommend buying it) but it did not make the dough very sweet, so I added 2/3 cup Erythritol and 1 dropper full of vanilla stevia.
• I did not use parchment paper.
• I baked one pan for 13 minutes, and one for 17 (because I was facebooking and I forgot about them).

The dough---not nearly as good as traditional chocolate chip cookie dough (I'm a dough connoisseur)

These are really very good. The texture is hard to explain---it's not gooey and chewy like regular chocolate chip cookies, but it is still a really nice texture. It's like a cookie w/ 5% muffin.

Here's the overcooked batch (with a piece of non-burned cookie for comparison). I won't lie, I loved the toasty taste of these even though the picture makes them look really ugly. I think my recommendation would be to bake them for about 15 minutes, just like the recipe says to!

Joe was home briefly before going to play basketball, and he ate one (he must have been starving—he never does that). I told him he probably wouldn’t like it, but he said he loved it. I was surprised—he’s really picky! I’ll update this later if I can get Mom and Fred to try them.

I love using coconut flour because it is super high in fiber, and it’s obviously grain-free. The thing about it is that you can’t sub it in for other flours without adjusting the number of eggs/moisture in the recipe. For example, this cookie recipe called for 4 eggs and I used 5! The other thing to note about these is that if you use a sugar substitute, you should probably start with 1/2 cup of your substitute and then add more to taste if you need to.

How is your weekend shaping up? I spent most of today (because I was totally caught up on work) working on my website (not this one, obviously). I’ve got the layout done, but no content (just some filler text to see what it will look like once there is actual information involved). If you’re so inclined, you can check out the design–I’m only showing it to friends at this point to try and get some feedback on ways I can improve the design/layout. It’s www.lisabeach.com.

 Happy #WineFriday!  What’s on tap for Happy Hour tonight?! I’ve got a local favorite of mine—Heron Hill Eclipse. Cheers to Us

Lately, I’ve had a few people ask me what I do for arm workouts. I don’t usually tell people too much about my own workouts because, well, I’m not super organized about it. I just make sure to do several minutes of strength training a few times a week. If I’m being dedicated, I work out on most days and try to include cardio if I’m doing regular strength training (as opposed to days when I’m doing interval timer training–I count that as cardio too). I got a nudge to work out more today when I saw this – pictures of a 74 year-old triathlete’s leg composition and a 74 year-old sedentary man’s leg composition. (Please click on it if you need motivation to exercise more often!)

My exercise mottos:

• Do something on most days of the week (consistency of the habit is key)
• Food choices determine how you look in clothes, workout choices determine how you look naked
• Work out smarter, not harder
• What you eat is more important for your health/weight in the moment, but what you do for workouts is more important for long-term metabolism

My workout today (with a friend at the gym):

• warm-up—walk the track and chat (10 min)
• free weight arm workout – 6 exercises, 3 sets, 12 reps (I always use free weights) (12 min)
• medicine ball arm/core work (3 min)
• push-ups (2 min)
• 5 minutes abs
• 20 min cardio

My workout yesterday: Interval timer workout: 60 sec (work) and 10 sec (rest) intervals

• Ugi Swing (like kettlebell swing, but with an Ugi Ball or medicine ball)
• Burpees with Ugi (overhead press at the top) for 2 work intervals
• Plank hold
• Plank w/ elbows on Ugi, alt knee thrusts to opposite elbow
• Swing Lunges (right)
• Swing Lunges (left)
• Squats/Overhead Press (with sandbag—tap floor, biceps curl, overhead press)
• Incline push-up w/ hands on sandbag, frog legs burpee up, stand up and press sandbag overhead
• Ugi Swing
• Push-Up w/ right hand on Ugi, walk hands across, Push-Up w/ left hand on Ugi

10 minutes (11.5 with the rests counted). I was sweaty. I made it up as I went along, but it was just as difficult and satisfying as when I spend time being strategic! (Note: when I work each day, I take into account what I did the day before so I can emphasize something different)

Next Topic: Cauliflower Rice

I’ve made this a few times, and it always works really well. It’s pretty easy–just grate raw cauliflower with a cheese grater (or food processor). Then steam it, or saute it with a little bit of water (1/2 head of cauli uses about 1/2 cup water). Make sure it’s cooked pretty thoroughly or it will be slightly crunchy. Once cooked, add whatever you’d add to rice—today I added coconut oil, purple onion, a little himalayan crystal salt, turmeric, and garlic.

Grated cauli, raw

Cooked "rice" with roasted broccoli/artichoke hearts and swiss chard/red oinion/portobello...that's a lot of veggies! I mixed everything together, and it really "felt like" I was eating rice.

Elimination Diet Update: It’s going very well. I attribute that to being prepared, and having a lot of veggies in my fridge (and no cheese or yogurt). I think the cauli rice helped too—it didn’t taste or feel like I was eating a vegetable. I’ve had two eggs with coconut oil for breakfast everyday, and a protein shake for a morning snack. Lunch has been veggies and seafood (just veggies today). I’ve had avocado pudding for a snack one day, and coconut cream pudding the next two (recipe coming soon–that stuff is awesome. It’s more of a fruit dip, but I’m eating it like pudding and staying full for hours and hours). Dinner has been the leftovers from lunch. I’m going to track my intake in Sparkpeople for a day or so and see what that tells me about macro- and micronutrients.

Do you ever make your workouts up as you go, or are you more strategic about it? 

Are you a fan of cauliflower? (the rice doesn’t taste cauli-like once you doctor it up!)

What’s on tap for the weekend (literally and figuratively—it is almost time to celebrate #WineFriday!!)?