My Favorite Super-Food: Chia Seeds (plus pumpkin spice chia seed pudding)

When most people think of chia seeds the usually think of the “cha-cha-cha-chia” commercials on tv but not everyone  thinks of them as a superfood.  Here’s why they’re thought of as a super-food:

1. They contain more omega-3 fatty acids then flax seeds and even salmon.
2. They contain more antioxidants then blueberries.
3. They can be stored for long periods of time without going bad due to their high antioxidant levels.
4. They don’t need to be ground to be digested like flax seeds do.
5. They’re higher in calcium then 2% milk.
6. Just 1 tbsp contains 3g of protein.
7. They’re higher in fibre then bran flakes.
8. They help lower cholesterol.
9. They help reduce cravings.

After discovering these things I thought I would I try making chia seed pudding.  The first bowl I made turned out terrible.  I couldn’t understand why so many people liked it but thought there had to be a reason so I decided to give it one more try.  I actually gave it a few more tries, testing out different recipes I found on-line.  Most of the recipes I tried made a firm pudding, a slimy,almost solid pudding, which I thought was rather nasty.  I finally came up with my own recipe for chia seed pudding.  It has a smoother consistency, more like real pudding, but so much healthier.  I think you’ll all like it.

Pumpkin Spice Chia Seed Pudding

Ingredients:

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 1/2 tbsp canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 cup almond milk (or other milk)

1-2 tsp agave or maple syrup

a pinch of all-spice (about 1/8 tsp)

a pinch of ground cloves (about 1/8 tsp)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

a pinch of salt

Directions:

Mix together the pumpkin, milk, syrup, salt and spices.  Next add chia seeds to the liquid mixture and whisk.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes before eating.  Serve cold.  Makes one serving.

Healthy Challenge #2

I started my first healthy challenge on May 12 which was to cut out peanut butter or dried fruit from my diet.  Since I’m doing well with my first challenge I think it’s time to add in a second one.  For my second healthy challenge I’m going to focus on diet and exercise.

One of my bad habits that I’ve tried to quite for years is eating just before bed.  I’ve heard some people say that eating before bed can contribute to weight gain and I’ve heard others say that it won’t make a difference as long as you’re still within your calorie allowance.  I’ve also heard that eating right before bed can make it difficult to sleep.  I’ve never had a problem sleeping, regardless of how much I ate before going to bed and I’ve never found enough info to back up either weight gain arguments.   What finally made sense to me was when I read that it it’s good to stop eating about three hours before bed so that your body can focus on repairing itself rather then digesting food.  This made perfect sense to me so I decided it was time to stop snacking after dinner and start eating dinner earlier.

So the first half of my second challenge will be to have my last meal before 7:30pm and no snacks or dessert afterwards.

The second half of my challenge will be to increase my workouts. I’m just not exercising enough to reach my goals. From now on I have to exercise five days a week and at each workout I have to burn a minimum of 300 calories while doing cardio and include weight lifting afterwards.

Challenge summary:

Nothing to eat after 7:30 pm and exercise five days a week, burning a minimum of 300cal with cardio and adding in weighlifting after after my cardio sessions.

Healthy Challenge #1

I have quite a few unhealthy habits that are keeping me from loosing weight and reaching my goal of living a healthier life.   I’ve decided to start giving myself healthy challenges  to help me get rid of my bad habits and adopt new healthy ones.

For my first health challenge I’m going to cut back on my peanut butter and dried fruit consumption.   I LOVE those two things but I eat way too much of them.   The fat from the peanut butter and the sugar from the dried fruit are pushing me further and further from my goals.  Starting Friday, peanut butter and dried fruit will be saved for once a week treats.

No more raisins and walnuts or peanut butter and bananas.  Good bye yummy treats good bye fat ass!

No More Sugar, No More Addiction (plus roasted tomato vinaigrette)

In chapter 3 of Crazy Sexy Diet, Kris Carr talks a bit about sugar.  She explains that sugar makes us feel good because it releases dopamine in our brains.   I did a little research of my own to learn that dopamine is a neurotransmitter which provides feelings of enjoyment and plays a major role in addiction.  Since sugar releases dopamine it makes us feel good so we crave more of it which can then lead to addiction.  In Crazy Sexy Diet I read “…the cravings, withdrawal and relapse symptoms of sugar addicts are similar to those of cocaine and heroin abusers. ” I’ve always known sugar was bad for me but I had no idea it was that bad.  When I thought about the negative side affects of sugar, I thought about cavities and weight gain, not addiction.  I knew I had to cut sugar out of my diet quick!

Now I’m not saying I’ll never have any sugar ever again but I needed to cut myself off from it long enough to get past the withdrawal phase.   I decided the best way to do this was to follow the 21 day cleanse found at the end Crazy Sexy Diet.  Because I don’t have a juicer and my free time is limited I couldn’t follow the cleanse 100% but I did my best; tweaking it here and there as I went along.   The first two things I did to start off my cleanse was to cut out coffee and sugar from my diet.  I switched my morning and afternoon cups of coffee with green tea and fresh and dried fruit for my sweet treats.  The first 4 or 5 days I had a slight headaches by late afternoon, but nothing severe.  The no sugar thing was easy until day 5 while I was at work.  Thank goodness I was there and not at home when the craving hit otherwise I would probably have gone rummaging through my cupboards to find something sweet.  By the second week I was getting a little out of control eating dried fruit, which is loaded with sugar, so I finally cut that out as well.  No more raisins or dried mango for me.

The next step in my cleanse was to start eating mostly raw foods.  If I had to guess, I would say my diet is now about 70-80% raw.  The other 20-30% is mostly cooked beans, quinoa, hemp and Vega protein powder, sweet potatoes, etc.  I’ve fallen in love with salads and making fresh, healthy salad dressings.  Today I made a roasted tomato vinaigrette from Crazy Sexy Diet to go with my giant salad for lunch.  Here’s the recipe (one of my new favorites):

Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

4 Roma tomatoes, halved (I used 5)

1 1/4 cups plus t tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (I only used 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp)

1/2 tsp sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced (I only used 1)

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I ran out and only had about 1 tbsp so I added a bit of dried basil and a sprinkle of dried oregano)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the tomatoes with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, along with the salt and pepper.  Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut-side down, and roast for 20-25 mins, until the skin blisters.  Set aside to cool.

Transfer the tomatoes, remaining 1 1/4 cups (1/2 cup) olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes, garlic and cilantro (and basil and oregano) in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Taset and adjust seasonings.  The vinaigrette will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

For my salad I used:

Organic mixed baby greens

chopped cucumber

chopped celery

grated carrot

alfalfa sprouts

raw pumpkin seeds

raw sunflower seeds

nutritional yeast (sprinkled on top)

Dressing: roasted tomato vinaigrette

Crazy Sexy Diet

I now have my computer back from the computer doctor.  It took a lot longer then expected; apparently it had some pretty nasty bugs.  Not having my computer around left me with some free time that would normally be spent surging the web.  I decided to use that time to do some reading.

I went to the library and  borrowed Crazy Sexy Diet.  I took it our because I thought it would have some good information on a raw food diet.  Although it’s titled Crazy Sexy Diet, it’s so much more then a diet book.  As Kris Car,  puts it, “The Crazy Sexy Diet and lifestyle give you the tools to navigate your journey with clarity and balance.”  Kris Car, the author, is a cancer survivor who shares with you her knowledge from years of research done after discovering she had cancer.

The author, Kris Carr

I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in years!  I’ll be buying my own copy so that I can read it over and over and over again.  If you’re looking to improve your health, life, or like me, you’re looking to find balance, you’re tired of taking prescription medications or you have a serious illness such as rheumatoid arthritis,  diabetes, Crohn’s disease, etc. then I highly recommend this book to you.

For more about this book and the author, Kris Carr, check out her blog Crazy Sexy Life.

My Review of Asics Gel-Pulse 2 Running Shoes

I recently bought a pair of new asics running shoes.  Since I’m not a very experienced runner I wasn’t quite sure what to look for in a shoe.  I made the mistake of shopping at Sport Chek rather then a store that specializes in running equipment like Running Room or Frontrunners.   The young salesman that helped me did his best and was very nice but he wasn’t trained to know the specifics of running and how to match someone with the right shoe.

I ended up buying a pair of Asics Gel-Pulse 2.  They felt great in the store but when I got them home and tried them out on our treadmill it was a completely different story.  They kept slipping off my heals, no matter how tight I tied them and when I took them off after only 10 minutes of light running, my feet ached.  The one thing these shoes did have going for them was the cushioning.  It was great, I barely felt the impact in my shins like I usually do when I run.  These shoes might be great for someone else but I think I’ll need a shoe with more stability but still some cushioning.  I guess it’s a good thing I kept the receipt.  Next time I’ll be visiting a proper running store and hopefully I’ll luck out on my next pair.

Vega Chocolate Smoothy – Weight Loss Starts Now

Two days ago I weighed myself and discovered I had gained a little more then I thought.  Currently I weigh 120lbs and am at 23% body fat (BF).  This means since last year I’ve gained about 10lbs and 4% BF.   I know I need to clean up my diet and keep it clean (no more snacking right before bed) and up my workouts.  This morning I spun on my road bike for 30min with 15 min of weight training.  I finished it off with my favourite protein shake: Vega Chocolate Smoothy.  This is one of the easiest smoothies to make and it tastes way too good to be s0 healthy.  Vega Shake & Go Chocolate Smoothy mix tastes great even with plain water.

Vega Chocolate Smoothy

 

Ingredients

1 medium banana

2 tsp cocoa powder

6 or 7 ice cubes

1/2 cup almond milk

2 heaping tbsp Vega Shake & Go Smoothie mix, chocolate flavour.

 

Directions:

Blend in a blender until smooth.

Enjoy!

Ingredients needed.

 

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