1 mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup gluten free oats
1/2 cup almond flour
2 egg whites
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs melted coconut oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
Dash of salt
Mix all ingredients and place on baking sheet like cookies. Bake at 325F for 12-15 minutes. Let cool then remove from pan. If you like your Mookies really sweet replace the applesauce with 1/4 cup honey and increase the coconut oil to 2 tbs.
So far I've noticed an overall feeling of happiness and well being. Also, I haven't had any bout of diarrhea or cramping. No spotting or abnormal "hormonal" issues as of yet (these include acne, cramping, backaches, headaches, bloating, etc). It's only been one week so here's to hoping its the Maca doing the trick and I start seeing the benefits of having hormone harmony!
Onto other news, I made what I call Fertility Breakfast Bars. Very tasty and full of delicious "superfoods" for overall health and wellness, not to mention easy to make as well.
In a large bowl mix the following:
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup Organic Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup Organic Maple Syrup
1 tbs Chia Seeds
2 tbs Coconut Oil
Press mixture into 5x5 inch pan. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours (overnight is best) and then cut into bars.
1 cup almond flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I like Bob's again on this)
1/4 cup warmed honey (easier to mix when warmed)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
Place the coconut oil and honey in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Not too long or it'll boil over. In a large bowl, mix the ingredients. Roll mixture into golf sized balls and place in the fridge until set. Then eat them!
For the last three months I've had a whirlwind of health issues of which cannot be explained exactly. As I stated in my previous blog, back in August I started having symptoms that resembled pregnancy. Approximately 3 weeks after I began these symptoms (extreme fatigue, nausea, food aversions, and sensitive boobies), I had three days of spotting. I thought this was my period but it never really picked up to what my period looks like usually. A week after this spotting I took a pregnancy test and also had a blood test, both came back negative. For 3 more weeks I just had a overall feeling of exhaustion even though I started eating more and exercising less. The other symptoms started disappearing, but the fatigue always remained. Then my period came again at 21 days.
As I stated in the last couple posts, we have decided to start trying for another child. About 2 weeks after my period finally came I started having EXTREME bowel and digestive issues. I was having diarrhea up to 6 times a days accompanied with horrible gas. These symptoms lasted 3 weeks. I was so confused because I eat incredibly healthy and I wasn't eating anything out of the norm. During this time I met with my Ob/Gyn who did my annual exam and answered questions about what I had been experiencing. Her opinion what that my hormones were unbalanced and that is what was causing both my erratic period, fatigue and other bothersome symptoms. She then attributed my diarrhea and gass to irritable bowel syndrome.
So at the 5 week mark after my last period I had more weird spotting that lasted 2 days accompanied by horrible cramping. I also would have dizzy spells throughout the day. A few of the dizzy spells where so bad that I blacked out for a moment. Totally scary for me. At 6 weeks I had a "real" period. This one was weird too, it lasted 7 days, was extremely painful, I had severe exhaustion for a couple days, and more diarrhea. Then to make matters even worse I developed a candida infection.
My doctor doesn't seem worried as she thinks my issues are all because of a hormonal imbalance which she attributes to my history of Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). She wants to wait a year before placing me on any medication in hopes of my body resolving the issues on its own. I agree with her to a point. I'd rather not take any medications as in the past they have only caused the issues to worsen, not resolve. I'm currently on my own plan of herbal supplements to hopefully speed the process along faster. This is including taking a raw prenatal vitamin, vitamin D, ingesting peppermint oil, taking a raw probiotic, and using Solace (a blend of essential oils known to promote hormonal balance). I also decided to stop drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages as well as eating a diet that doesn't contribute to digestive irritation.
At this point I'm extremely confused, upset and angry because I don't understand why my body is fighting me. I exercise, eat healthfully, sleep and have plenty of rest, I don't smoke or drink alcohol. Why is this happening!? I have a couple of hypothesis on why this could possibly be going on. One is that my PCOS is acting up (this was the doctors opinion also). My other hypothesis is that I had a chemical pregnancy in August and threw off my hormones. Either way, I'm hoping it won't take too long for my body to rebalance.
Today, 4 days after finishing this last horrible period from hell, I feel really good. I had tons of energy at the gym and felt like my old self. Is this the beginning of the "reset"? I guess we will see what happens tomorrow.
I found a delicious looking dessert on Pinterest yesterday and figured with a couple swaps it could be more healthy. I tried it today and it was delicious and super easy. All you need to do is layer reduced fat graham crackers and fat free vanilla Greek yogurt (start and end with graham layers, 4 graham sheets). Melt dark chocolate in the microwave and pour over the top. Refrigerate for 6 hours then serve.
The reason I'm going over all this is because I really believe in practicing what I preach. For the past 6 weeks I've been absolutely exhausted, have had heartburn and nausea, not to mention diarrhea a couple times a week. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. I couldn't understand why a healthy person like me was having these digestive issues. After visiting with my doctor she stated she believes I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She suggested I try taking a probiotic for 6 weeks to see if it clears up and if it didn't she was going to refer me to a Gastroentologist.
So I'll keep you all informed as to if these probiotics do the trick. I'll also be following a IBS friendly diet and increase my "bulking" foods. I already eat tons of fiber and stay away from dairy so the IBS diets aren't too different than what I normally eat. I've also been doing some reading and IBS can flare up because of stress which is my only guess as to why I'm having digestive issues. Confusing for me because I've never really had too many issues in the past. Hopefully I just need some of the healthy gut flora provided by these probiotics to clear up the issue.
So like I said, this might have been TMI for some of you but this is none the less important information for your health. Start looking in your toilets people and ask your doc if anything is bothersome.
With all this free time I started a couple projects that I've been putting off. First one finished: refurbished cellphone cover. I got the idea from Kandee Johnson whose blogs I follow. She's such a sweetheart and she is very artistic and creative. Check out the before and after photos along with a picture of my little helper.
Maybe in a future post I will explain my decision. Or for those of you who are already mommies out there you'll already understand. ;)
This morning I woke up to what are the signs that I'm ovulating. I was surprised to see it but in the same thought I took it as a sign that it's time to try for our latest addition for our Finney Family.
About 2 hours later I was at Golds Gym working my arms and calves. I'm a regular there and everyone already knows Kellen and I even though we've only been going there for a 3 weeks. Since I frequent this gym almost daily I recognize if anything is different. Well today something was different at Golds. They added a huge poster for the upcoming Bodybuilding/Figure Competition on November 3. It wasn't there yesterday... Another sign, am I supposed to compete? Now I'm really confused. Needless to say, these signs aren't helping and I'm in the exact same predicament that I was on Tuesday. I'm taking the weekend off of training and I'll start it off tonight with a delicious burger from Bachi Burger which my brother informed me I had to eat since we moved to Vegas.
If you're not familiar with almond cheese it's a non dairy alternative to cheddar. I found it at Whole Foods a month back for Kellen (who is currently on a dairy free diet) but I immediately was addicted. Hummus is also a delicious healthy spread/dip option that originates from the middle east. It's made from chick peas (garbanzo beans), garlic and olive oil but I've seen many different versions. And as for Jicama, it comes from Mexico, I used to eat it often when I lived in Tucson and San Diego. Yum yum yum.
not sure what's for dinner but I've been in moods lately where chicken sounds so boring. So maybe we have some chili adobo steak? Baked zucchini? And then some Coconut Crack for dessert?
Actually, multiple "symptoms" where happening. You see, I would hit a brick wall around 1pm. My energy was zapped and if I laid my head down I was bound to fall asleep. I was having crazy vivid dreams at night. I also had mild abdominal cramping. Then my period was late. I waited a week but Aunt Flo never showed up. So then I thought, "what if I'm pregnant?" So I bought a 2-pack preggo test. The first one said negative. Then I waited a couple more days and took the second one, which was completely blank (that means the stupid thing is defective). I immediately called my nearby medical clinic to schedule a blood test. I took the test on Friday and the Nurse Practitioner said I'd have to wait 2 business days before getting back the results. Well guess what, this was Labor Day weekend so my wait was 4 friggen days.
This whole weekend I started thinking, "well if I'm pregnant than I obviously can't compete on November 3. Am I ok with that? Of course I am! I love my son and my husband, I'd be more than elated to add another to our family." I began daydreaming about my baby, wondering what he/she would look like. Then I started thinking of names, and baby clothes, and maternity clothes, and nursery ideas. And well, you get the picture. The competition completely left my mind and I was immersed in thoughts of babies! Then Tuesday came, and I got a call, and the blood test said I was not pregnant. I thanked the woman for calling and immediately went on to my lunch.
As the afternoon started unfolding I realized I was actually quite upset. I wanted to be pregnant. I texted my husband to inform him of the "negative" news and he said he was really bummed. By 5pm, I was depressed. Mike came home from work and suggested we go out and get sushi. Even though I'm currently dieting for the competition, and it's not a scheduled cheat meal, I decided we needed to enjoy dinner together and talk about how we were feeling. We had a nice conversation about our future family plans and what we both want. Because of my feelings on both the upcoming competition I've been training for AND my feelings on expanding our family I've come to the realization that... I better make a decision of which is more important to me right now! This Friday I'll make my final decision, move forward with competition which is in 8 weeks or move forward with our expanding the family plan.
See the thing is you can't have both. Not as a female figure competitor at least. As you bring your bodyfat down to get that lean stage ready look, a lot of females lose their menstrual cycle. This has happened to me before and on more than one occasion. And I'm actually thinking that my bodyfat level right now is why my period disappeared. The question I now ask myself, "Right now what is more important to you? The competition or having another child?"
1 8-ounce package of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
5 egg whites
5 packets stevia (or sweetener of choice)
4 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 cup frozen blueberries
Directions: Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Mix cream cheese, eggs, stevia and protein powder. Add in one cup frozen blueberries. In a Pam sprayed 9x9 inch pan, spread the mixture evenly. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes or until set. Let cool completely before cutting. Serves 8.
Nutrition:150 calories, 4 carbohydrates, 7 protein, 7 fat
Live by these rules on the road and you won't break your diet:
1) Pretend you have food allergies. Most of the time the extra calories are what's going to kill your calories for the day. Cream sauces, cheeses, butter, etc are all very high in bad fats and if you say from the start you have milk allergies the restaurant will omit these items and therefore omit hundreds of unhealthy calories. And while you're at it, pretend you have celiac as well and leave off those croutons and crispy tortilla chips!
2) All calories are not created equal. When you're looking at a menu makes sure the dish is primarily made of vegetables, then a lean protein source, and finally slow digesting carbs (preferably non processed such as potatoes, beans, corn etc). If all else fails order side salad and pay for them to add grilled chicken.
3) Download a food diary app for your phone. While looking over the menu you can quickly look up a foods caloric nutrition as well as the macro nutrients. If you don't have a fancy smancy phone ask the restaurant to provide you with their nutrition information. Try to keep meals below 400 calories.
4) No drinks here, just a nice tall glass of water (or coffee or plain tea).
5) If the dish is too large in portion, immediately ask for a to-go container so you can put away what shouldn't be eaten at this meal time. If it sits on your plate, you'll be likely to pick at it even after you're full.
6) Think paleo. As in paleolithic time period. If you chose dishes that could have been made by a caveman then most likely you'll be ok. So think chicken, lean cuts of beef, lean cuts of pork, avocado, nuts, vegetables etc.
7) Skip dessert (unless dessert is fresh fruit).
I've also decided to include some of the dishes I ordered so you can't get a feel for what you should order.
Baja Fresh: Chicken Ensalada with no cheese, no tortilla, extra salsa.
Chipotle: Chicken Salad Bowl, chicken, black beans, lettuce and salsa only.
Sweet Tomatoes (Soupplantation if you live in Cali): Salad bar was a free for all. One bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup (I fish out the chicken so I get more chicken than noodle). And some grapes for dessert.
Chilis: Light Salmon, plain no butter or oil. Broccoli steamed only, no cheese.
Promenade Cafe (kinda like Jim's Family Restaurant : Vegetable omelette, no cheese. Sourdough bread served dry.
For 4 days Mike worked a 12 hour shift, that left me with Kellen in the hotel all day long. I couldn't make it down to the "dream gym" on the second floor so I knew I'd have to exercise within our hotel room. I decided the best way to go about my fitness plan for these 4 days was to do bodyweight exercises using the Tabata method. If you're not familiar with Tabata, it's a very intense but short in time duration type of training. It incorporates a brief 20 second period of intense exercise followed by an even more brief 10 second period of rest done for 8 total repetitions. The entire set lasts only 4 minutes but by the time you're done that four minutes should have gotten your heart rate more than just elevated and the target muscle properly fatigued. I downloaded a free interval timer onto my iPad and set the work sets to 20 seconds, rest time to 10 seconds, with a total of 8 rounds. My first exercise? Burpees! I don't like them but I know they're a great full body exercise. After my first Tabata I rested 2 minutes then did two additional Tabatas, first was push ups, second was jump squats. I then performed some planks and crunches followed by stretching. My entire workout required no equipment and lasted only 20 minutes from my warm up all the way through my cool down. I did this high intensity interval training 3 of the 4 days in my hotel room. The other day Kellen and I went down to the pool and frolicked! As for my diet I've made myself a rule, eat like a lizard! Lol, yep, I've been eating salads like its no ones business but mine! It's been working for me in a sense that I can control my calories, I know I'm getting all my servings of veggies, I'm well hydrated and... I keep regular. And by regular I mean no constipation here! My family, friends and clients always complain about getting "backed up" while on vacation. Most of the time this is contributed to a high fat, low vegetable and low hydration issue. So if you eat a salad for lunch and dinner this resolves that issue. I know some of you are thinking, "I really don't want to eat salads on my vacation!" but let me tell you I've had some of the most delicious salads ever these last two weeks! My favorite place by far is Sweet Tomatoes because I make my own salad. My favorite toppings are beets, carrots, corn, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. So yum diddly um. Kellen likes Sweet Tomatoes too, he prefers the plain rotini pasta, olives and cucumbers. Then he always chooses the grapes over the chocolate brownies. Is that weird my kid chooses fruit over the processed food?! I'm a proud momma!
I think I'm officially addicted to Baja Fresh. Today, the third time I've ate there in the last four days, I walked in and both the manager and cashier said welcome back. Kellen and I are becoming regulars. I ate the Skinny Chicken Bowl but substituted the rice for lettuce. Kellen ate half a veggie burrito. In the gym today I did a 30 minute circuit style workout including uphill sprints in the sets to keep my heart rate up. The workout included dumbbell push ups, shoulder presses, lateral raises, tricep overhead extensions and 1 minute 15% incline sprints. That is one whole set. I completed this circuit 5 times and then did light stretching. Around 2ish I felt a migraine coming on so I took a nap in hopes I could deter it but I awoke an hour later and it was there, nausea, eye pain, sensitivity to light. It's no walk in the park taking care of a toddler with a migraine. The gift shop in the lobby didn't carry any Exedrine so I went back to the room and tried a more homeopathic way of relief with peppermint oil. Hopefully it will go away by tomorrow.
Like my hotel "kitchen" I was less then impressed with the fitness room in our hotel.
When I walked in and realized I didn't even have 1/8 of the amount of equipment I usually train with I knew I'd have to get inventive with my workouts. There was only 3 treadmills, 3 benches and a rack of free weights ranging from 15-55lbs. Eek!
I figure to get my heart rate up and properly fatigue the muscle group I'm targeting it'd be best to incorporate giant sets and circuit training. Since it was leg day I did 3 different giant sets targeting both quad, glutes and hamstrings. First: dumbbell squats, sumo squats, box jumps. Repeat 3 times then moved onto next giant set. Second: dumbbell pull through, straight leg deadlift, dumbbell swing. Repeat 3 times then moved onto third and final giant set: wall squat, frog squat, hip bridge. Took 45 minutes and I was a hot sweaty mess in the end. As for food, I ate some tasty Salty Oats for bkfast (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup egg whites, 2 tbs sunflower seeds in cup microwaved for 2 min). Lunch was a huge salad and bowl of chicken soup from Souplantation. And dinner, well I haven't gotten there yet but I'm thinking another salad... I'm trying to eat my weight in vegetation!
I get so many excuses as to why people can't stick to a healthy eating plan. They can't cook, there are no clean eating choice foods, healthy food doesn't taste good. Well I'm sorry to burst the bubble but there is no excuse. Over the next couple weeks we will be living in a hotel with my dream kitchen. Look at this beauty of a kitchen! I just returned from Vons with lots of clean eating goodies and stocked that gigantic fridge with as much healthy foods as it could possibly fit. Egg whites, coconut milk, grapes, sugar snap peas, and natural peanut butter. Then I shoved some foods in the clothing drawers here in our hotel room; rice cakes, sandwich thins, tuna packets, protein powder, pumpkin seeds, raisins and natural plain popcorn. Now, a woman can't live on these foods alone so I do plan on going out for meals once in awhile. Today's choice for breakfast? Starbucks: Pike roast black coffee, perfect oats with only nuts added. Lunch, Baja Fresh: ensalada Chicken without cheese and a glass of water.
And a bonus pic...
Take You Higher, Goodwill & Hook N Sling
Ghosts N Stuff, Deadmau5
Cry For You, September
Til Death (R3hab Remix), Wynter Gordon
We Run the Night, Havana Brown
I'm in Love, Alex Gaudino
Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, Skrillex
Levels, Avicii
Sexy and I Know It, LMFAO
This playlist has all my favorite songs for this summer and all the beats per minute of these songs are high so they keep my energy up and motivation high. If you're not familiar with the recent studies proving that music can help push you harder than ever in your workouts, I suggest you read Dr. Jim Stoppani's article here http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_7_26/ai_n28010838/
Even though both of these wonderful men have outstanding qualities, there is something they do lack (let's face it, no one is perfect). They are horrible eaters! Lucky they have me to teach them this. I've come to find out over the last 6 years that to get them to eat my food I can't tell them what's in it. LOL! I make sneaky substitutions that allow me to remove some "un-clean" ingredients and replace them with foods that are chock full of vitamins, minerals, and flavor. Here's a couple examples. In Mike's lasagna I replace; 1) the ricotta cheese with a mix of tofu and cottage cheese, 2) I top the lasagna with part-skim mozzarella, 3)the meat is lean ground turkey with lots of Italian spices, 3) the noodle is quinoa pasta and 4) I use organic low-sugar, low sodium tomato sauce.
At least with my husband he has grown to understand I cook this way and he knows his food is bound to contain ingredients from my healthy style of living. My Dad on the other hand is a different story. If its an ingredient he has never heard of or doesn't understand them he won't even give it a try! So I have to be extra sneaky with him. Example: I made him a tuna sandwich. I only switched out 1/2 of the mayo for some Greek yogurt. And I used the albacore tuna in water instead of oil. These simple substitutions keep the flavor but change the end product to a more "clean eating" choice.
Here is a small list of simple swaps that can help boost nutrition and/or cut the total calories and fat in your end recipe.
Fats:
Greek Yogurt instead of mayonnaise (I like Fage)
1% cottage cheese instead of Ricotta
Vegetable oil in baking replaced with applesauce
Peanut Butter replaced with PB2 (found at most health food store or on Amazon)
Carbohydrates:
Ezekiel Bread\Torillas over white bread/tortillas
Almond Flour instead of White Flour
Bananas in place of sugar and oil in baking recopes
Oats instead of bread crumbs
Protein:
Chia Seeds for Eggs in baking recipes
Switching out meats for leaner cuts on the animal (sirloin instead of chuck, or chicken breast instead of thigh).
The "glue":
2 tbs chia seeds
6 tbs coffee (or water)
Place chia in small bowl with liquid and soak for 15 till it become a jelly
Chocolate Coating:
4 tsp cocoa
4 tsp melted coconut oil
Stevia to taste (I used 2 packets but it's not very sweet)
Now put it all together! Crumble the cooled cake into a large bowl. Add the chia jelly and form the mixture into small golf size balls. Place a popsicle stick into a ball and coat the ball in the chocolate coating mixture. Place the cake pops in the fridge for at least one hour or until the coating hardens. Enjoy! Makes 20 pops.
Put all the ingredients for the cake in the food processor.
Cooling the cake.
Yep, those are nails. 'Cuz I'm hardcore like that!
The Nutrition Information
Calories:59 Carbohydrates:6.5 Fat:3 Protein:3
Ever get on one of those health kicks when you go to the health food store and buy all those "good for you" products like chia seeds, flax seeds, almond butter, coconut flour and such. Then they sit in your food pantry because you don't know what the heck to do with them? Well, here's a recipe that incorporates some of those health foods into a tasty cookie. Soon you'll be restocking those items because you actually know how to use them. I call these little yummers "The Good Earth Cookie".
1 tbs flax seeds
1 tbs chia seeds
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (I like Fage 0%)
1/2 large avocado
2 tbs coconut flour
2 tbs almond butter
1 whole egg
1/4 cup local honey (see below*)
2 tbs cocoa
1 scoop protein powder of choice
Directions: Mash avocado well. Mix in all ingredients. Bake at 375F for 10 minutes on Pam sprayed cookie sheet.
*I recently was educated on the benefits of using local honey in cooking. My Italian friends suggested I use local honey in Italy because it helps with allergies. They explained that the bees pollinate the plants that I'm allergic to and that when you consume the local honey it's like getting little allergy immunizations! Plus you get the added benefit of supporting local farmers!
1 scoop vanilla protein. 1 tbs cocoa. 1 egg white. 2 tbs "Better N Peanut Butter" (or almond butter). 1/4 tsp vanilla. Mix all together in a large mug or small bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. If you need it more sweet (like my Dad does), add 1 tbs honey. 
