My food treasures from Trader Joes

I went to Tradder Joes today. I enjoy that store so much, I could spend hours scouring the isles, reading labels, looking at all the yummy good for you foods. I came home with a couple bags full of treasures. Here are some pics of my finds.....



Ezekiel Bread! If you all have not tried this bread, you've got to try it. It is so delicious. Made from 100% sprouted whole grains. No flour what-so-ever! Low low glycemic index! Yum! I got a loaf of the Ezekiel 4:9 and also a loaf of the 4:9 cinnamon raisin (which I haven't tried yet, but will tomorrow morning with my egg whites..can't wait!)


Ezekiel also has tortilla wraps....so I had to get a package!



Got a couple tubs of Trader Joe brand Greek Yogurt. Can't wait to try this brand and see how it compares to Fage brand. It was about 1/2 the price so I'm anxious to see how I like it.



Mmmm, Mediterranean Hummus. This stuff is "to die for" absolutely amazing! Spread this baby on the Ezekiel sprouted tortilla wrap, top with sliced grilled marinated chicken, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, baby spinach...roll up and voila...nutritious, and amazing tasting!



Jar of Trader Joes Raw, Crunchy, Unsalted Almond Butter. I've only tried the creamy so I thought I'd see how the crunchy tickles my tastebuds!



I've been reading about Puffin cereal goodness all around the foodie blogs, so when I saw that TJ's had them, I had to grab me a box of the cinnamon. High fiber, low fat, wheat free. I think this will make a great mix in for the greek yogurt or some non fat Cottage cheese, or with unsweetened vanilla Almond milk...you think?



I have only tried the Amber Agave nectar so far (and I love it), so thought I'd give the blue agave a try. Also grabbed a couple cans of organic garbanzo and black beans.



I picked up a bag of Unsweetened, unsulfured dried Lychees while there, um, not so sure about these guys, maybe they will grow on me? LOL!



Last item in my food treasure finds is Trader Joe brand 72% Dark chocolate bars. Yummy! I will only allow myself to have a few squares on my laxed days.

So, that is what was in my two goodie bags from today's shopping expedition. Hope you see something that tickles your fancy and you want to try.

Until next time...

Keep it clean,
~Linda

My Clean Eat Meals

Hi there!

Wow, can't believe week two is half over already. I've been good. Eats are clean and I've not missed a workout since starting 6/15/09. I wanted to post a sample of my daily meals to give you an idea of what I have been eating.

I work out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach very soon after rising and after downing 16 oz of water

If it is a cardio day, I wait from 1/2 to 1 hour after working out before taking in my first meal of the day. If it is a weight lifting day, I have meal 1 as soon as I finish the workout.

So here is a sample of what I have eaten for week 1

**NOTE**
Before meal 1, 3, and 5..... I take a shot of Organic ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) and freshly squeezed LJ (Lemon Juice) with about 1/2 tsp of the zest. The ACV must include the "Mother" and be unpasturized and unfiltered, or it's garbage. Also, use juice and zest from fresh organic lemons only....no bottled lemon juice. I'll post some of the benefits of taking acv and lj shots in a different blog. I have my own lemon tree in my backyard, so no pesticides or sprays are ever used. Oh yea, and make sure to rinse your mouth out really well after downing these shots, to protect your teeth enamel.

Meal 1: Protein shake.... 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup ice, 1 scoop of whey protein powder, 1 TBl ground golden flax seeds, 1/2 cup of fruit of choice. This counts as a complete meal with 1 serving of protein and 1 serving of complex carbs in the form of the fruit. After drinking the shake, I start drinking my water. I aim to get in between 100 oz to 1 gallon of pure fresh water each day.

Meal 2: Oatmeal...1/4 cup of cooked steel cut oats and 1/4 cup of cooked old fashioned oats both cooked with water then combined and then topped with 1 tsp of fresh Bee Pollen granules, 1 TBL wheat germ, and 1/2 cup of blueberries. Eggs... 4 egg whites. I usually just have hard boiled egg whites (throwing the yolks away) cause it's so much easier. But sometimes, I'll make an egg white omelet using the yolk from one of the eggs and add in sweet onions and green and red bell peppers. Again, this is a complete balanced meal containing complex carbs from the oats and fruit and lean protein from the egg whites.

Meal 3: 4 oz Grilled marinated skinless boneless chicken breast, 1/2 cup steamed brown rice with tomatoes, and a baby spinach, red onion, red and green bell peppers with homeade dressing of balsamic vinegar, 2 TBL extra virgin olive oil and sweetened with a touch of agave nectar.

Meal 4: Sweet potato/cottage cheese bowl.... Take 1/2 cup Non fat cottage cheese and put in bowl making a well in the middle. Take 1/2 of a cold baked sweet potato and place in center of cottage cheese. Top with about 1 TBL of unsweetened raisins and drizzle a little agave nectar over top. This is amazing!! Yummola!! Completely clean balanced meal here.....sweet potato and raisins are complex carbs and cottage cheese is a lean protein.

Here is this yummilicious meal....

Meal 5: 4 oz Ground Turkey burger ( ground white turkey breast, 1/8 cup smooshed black beans, grated onion and green bell pepper, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper) on 1 Ezekiel bun topped with slice of tomato, red onion and cucumber pickles, 1 cup of steamed culiflower and broccoli and a tsp of raw sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.

I usually have a cup of hot herbal tea after meal 5 to relax me and it also helps fight those after dinner sweet cravings that I usually get about this time of the day.

Meal 6: 1/2 cup of Non fat plain yogurt or greek yogurt topped with 1/2 cup fresh berries

Until next time...

Keep it clean!

~Linda

No rest for the weary!

Ok, I didn't end up working today, so I'll get my last workout in for the week in just a few minutes. Today, it's Burn it off...a 30+ minute cardio workout. Still intense and very challenging, but much easier then Burn intervals. Some of that may be due to it being about 15 minutes shorter....that just could have a tad bit to do with it...lol Then after Burn it off there is a stretching and yoga type workout called Recharge that is to be done after Burn it off.

I'm off to PP (push play)!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

TGIF!

Hey there! How are you all doing? I'm doing great. Been a great first week on my journey to get fit!

Wow, this week just flew by...where does time go so fast to? Here is a little update on how this week is going. I know I said I'd be back Monday..sorry bout that...oops!

SR loves these workouts. I think she is surprised at just how intense a home DVD workout series can be. She is excited to see her results after the 90 days!

Eating has been super clean all week. I'm eating 5-6 meals per day, each consisting of a complex carb and a lean protein. I am making sure to include a fresh veggie with 2 of my meals each day and also a couple fruits as part of my carb counts. Also making sure to include some healthy fats in my diet every day. I am really enjoying my meals. I've give a little list on what my meals have consisted of this first week in another blog.

Monday Day 1 of 90! We started the 4 week long Burn Phase in the Chalean Extreme program. In each Weight lifting session in the burn series, you do combination moves...working both the upper and lower body at the same time. Wow, talk about extreme! You need to lift heavy so that you can fail the muscle by the time you get to the 10-12th rep.

Monday my friend SR was here bright and early and we did burn circuit one (BC1)....the first workout in Chalene's burn series. Working on lunges, squats, for the lower body and at the same time, working posterior delts, and chest for the upper body. I was really feeling the burn by the time I went to bed that evening. So was SR.

Tuesday, is a scheduled rest day from exercise for Chalean's program, but I went ahead and did a 20 minute HIIT cardio session on my recumbent bike first thing in the morning on an empty stomach...waited one hour after working out then ate clean meal 1. I love working out first thing in the morning. It just sets my mood on high for the day. It really is a mood enhancer big time.

Wednesday SR and I did our workout later in the afternoon cause she has to work super early on Wednesdays and since I wasn't working that day, I waited for her so that we could do it together. It really is so much fun having a workout partner. We high five each other after each completed set and really push each other to do our best and dig down for just a little more.
Anyways, Wednesday was Burn circuit 2 (BC2) the second weight training session in the burn series. Very tough one for sure. But we got through it and felt great afterward. This circuit works the lower body and also the biceps, triceps, and back for the upper body. Wow, this one was tougher then BC1 in my opinion.

I always have a whey protein shake as soon as I finish weight training. This day I had a yummy one. I took 1 scoop (24gms Protein) banana nut bread protein powder, 1 cup ice, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 banana, a handful of blueberries, 1 TBL of ground golden flax seed......delish! It's like I can just feel my muscles thanking me and absorbing all that protein. Plus it is so cool and refreshing on these hot days.

So, Thursday was the first two cardio sessions we will do this week. The workout is called Burn intervals. It is filled with 45 minutes of intense intervals to really get and keep your heart rate nice and high..burning a ton of calories during and after the workout. It's all I could do to finish it. Funny thing happened that day. Well, not actually funny...but it wasn't funny at the time, I felt like a dingbat..lol, but it is now that I think about it. Ok, I live in Arizona, and it is getting to be very warm now that we are well into June. I live in a two story house and my home gym is on the second floor and it can get a little warm upstairs during the afternoon when the sun is on the back side of the house. Anyways, when we walked into the room, it felt a little on the warm side so I went to the thermostat to turn up the air a bit so that the room would cool down a bit. Away we went....working our pattooties off. Sweating bullets and actually having to push pause to re-group and cool down just a tad before continuing. I was so hot and sweaty that I became dizzy a bit and felt a little nauseated. So, we finished BARELY..lol, and did the ab interval that follows that cardio session. So, later that day, my hubby PT got home from work and went upstairs to shower and change. Well, when he finished he came downstairs and first thing he asked me was if I was needing to borrow his glasses! LOL! He said that I had the heat just blasting upstairs! I about died! No wonder we were just dying....we thought it was cause we were working so hard..hahahahaha! I felt so silly. Don't ask me how that happened. But each day since, I have been going back and doing a double check after I lower the air conditioner before our workouts...sheesh! I felf like a total ditz!

Today..Friday was the last in the weight training Burn series. Called Burn circuit 3 or BC3. My favorite in the burn series. Working quads, hammies, calves, and shoulders. We both are so ready for a rest day. All my muscles are sore and tired. Looking forward to a total rest day.

If I don't end up working tomorrow, we'll do the second cardio session called Burn it off and then do a stretching Yoga type workout afterward called Recharge. If I do work, I'll call tomorrow my rest day and do the workout on Sunday morning. So, we'll see which it ends up being.

So, that is pretty much what will be repeated for the workouts the first 4 weeks. Then comes 4 weeks in the push phase.

Keep it clean!

~Linda

Tomorrow is a new day

Hey all. Well, It's been a great weekend. Today, my friend SR and I went out and did some fun shopping. She is the one that is starting Chalean Extreme tomorrow. We have a date in my home gym with some iron tomorrow morning at 7am sharp...lol It's gonna be so cool to have a workout partner doing the same plan as I am doing. So cool!

First we went to a really neat health food store called The Good Apple. This place sells everything you could imagine. I could spend hours in that place. I bought some things that I was either out of or running low on. Short grain brown rice, Steel cut oats, Flax seed, Fresh Bee pollen, Wheat germ, Unsweetened Almond milk, Coconut water, Coconut oil, Ezekiel bread (will be the first I've tried this...can't wait!), and Raw almonds.

I saw that they had Chia seeds....I've been hearing about these little miracle seeds. I need to do some research on the different health benefits of chia seeds compared to flax seeds. The price difference is pretty big. Chia seeds are quite a bit more costly. So, need to find out if that cost difference will be worth it. They also have all different grinders with the different nuts to make your own fresh nut butters. I didn't have time today to grind some up, they were getting ready to close, but will go back this week and make up some almond butter.

Then we went to a couple different fitness supply stores for SR to get her some different sizes of free weights. She found a good deal for some adjustable weighted ones. I have what I need for now...I will be needing 25 lb and 30 lbs (for lower body work) withing the coming month I predict. Your strength increases fast doing Chalene's program.

Went to the farmers market to stock up on fresh fruits, veggies, and lots of different greens. Have fresh chicken to grill, ground white turkey breast for turkey burgers, and lots of hard boiled egg to have as my main lean protein choices this week. Brown rice, sweet potatoes, brown rice cakes, fresh fruits and veggies will serve as my complex carb choices. I need to make up a couple batches of Protein fruit bars to have as my afternoon snack. A Protein shake will make up another of my 5-6 meals I'll be eating each day. So, I'm all set with clean eats...just have to do some cooking and baking tomorrow then I'll be completely set for the coming week.

One of my goals this week is to get no less then 7 hours of uninterupted sleep each night. I've been really reading up on the effects that lack of sleep has on weight loss....it's a biggy....so that's gonna be priority.

I'll be back tomorrow to write about how SR likes the chalean workouts......I know she is gonna love them!

Keep it clean!

~Linda

Finding my path to fitness

Hey there!

Finding my way to fitness....that's what i'm doing. I'ts been my goal for way too long. I think it's about time I get there. Yea, long overdue.

I was never overweight as a child or teenager...or as a young adult for that matter. After I had my second child, and life got cozy, things slowed down and little by little, year by year, the weight crept on.

For the past 10 years, I've tried every weight loss program (well, not EVERY weight loss program, but a lot of them!), every weight loss gadget, exercise doo-dad out there. Yea, I lost weight with some of them. But none of them was something I could do long term, and make it my life long regime. I Just haven't been able to find my "click". Haven't been able to find something that I could embrace as my new lifestyle.

Until now.

I picked up Tosca Reno's eat-clean diet book, read it, and instantly loved it. This is the type of eating that I can live with. Not a fad, not something that's radical or not healthy enough to do long term. Not something that was going to be impossible for me to want to do long term. But something that made total sense to me. Just pure, healthy clean eating. Yes!

Now, to find the perfect workout program.

I ordered the P90X program by Tony Horton....got it home, looked it over, pre-viewed a couple of the DVD's, and decided that it wasn't what I was looking for at this time. Not yet anyways.

I went on the Beach body website and scoured through the many programs they had available. I started seeing people talking about Chalene Johnson's new program called Chalean Extreme and what an amazing program it was and what fabulous results people were getting. So, of course I ordered it.

I started it June 1st and have been doing it for 12 days and I love it. It is the perfect combination of weight training and cardio. I can already tell I'm getting stronger just from what I've done so far. My good friend and neighbor Susan ordered the program when she saw how excited I was over it. So, I will start over with day 1 this coming Monday June 15th so that we will be on the same workout schedules and can do our workouts together. It's way more fun with a workout buddy don't you think?

Oh, and I've been eating clean for those 12 days too...except for a cheat day and a screw up day and half. Can't be doing that. But I love the way my body feels when I feed it clean foods. I love the energy level I am having. Makes me want to keep it up. Afterall, this is a lifetime change I'm making.

I'm trying not to think of this as a weight loss journey but a journey to health....weight loss will be an added side effect benefit. I read that somewhere..forget where...but I thought yea, that sounds good.

Ok, untill next time. I'm gonna get PT (my hubby) to watch a movie with me. But I'll be back to post some of my clean eats.

Keep it clean!

~Linda