South Beach-ify Your Life!

Morning Lovely Readers!!! Y'all know I love to cook...and you know I'm not very keen on extra calories, fat, and sugar when it's totally unnecessary! My husband and I try really hard to set healthy habits (and examples) for our son, so we follow our own version of the South Beach Diet...

You see, I have all these amazing cookbooks that my mama (a wonderful cook) gave me, or I received as bridal shower gifts, or what-have-you, and I can't bear to not use them... So I South Beach-ify them! I substitute fat free half-and-half for heavy cream, brown grains for white, reduced fat cheeses, etc. I also have the South Beach Diet 30-Minute cookbook (pictured here), which really is amazing! I started out using just the SBD cookbook, until I got the hang of what ingredients were "allowed" and which should be avoided. I broke the rules about different phases of the diet and jumped around to whatever recipes look tasty. I didn't suffer through two weeks of no carbs, sugars (to include natural sugars in fruit), and only the leanest proteins. I tried that once. It ended with a huge plate of nachos and a pint of Ben and Jerry's!

The SBD cookbook I have is awesome. In fact, it's so awesome I recently ordered three more SBD books from Amazon (SBD Taste of Summer, SBD Super Quick, and SBD Parties & Holidays).  There are recipes for party-style dips, quesadillas, and even macaroni and cheese (that is one of my favorite recipes).  Really, by following a few simple rules and making a few subtle substitutions, you can vastly improve your eating habits.  Honestly, I prefer the taste of the heartier whole wheat grains to the processed white versions now!  And my son?  He's never tasted white bread...and let me tell you, he loves his peanut butter and jelly!


Good luck...and if you have any questions about the South Beach Diet, drop me a comment and I'll be happy to tell you more about my experience!

Cleanse & Detox Day 3

Well folks, I made it!  Today is Day 3 of my 72-Hour Cleanse!  The friend who inspired this Detox warned me, because she couldn't finish all three days, so the fact that I've made it this far is an accomplishment!

To recap the rest of yesterday, here's the basics.  I skipped my run.  I had a ton going on and just didn't get to it.  I'll make up for it on Saturday, since I normally only run five days per week.  Although I was finished with all eight glasses of juice by noon, I wasn't hungry in the afternoon!  Granted, I was busy running errands, but I didn't get the hunger pangs until about 5:00 when I was feeding my son.  I might have stolen another fish stick!  I also kept up the water consumption throughout the day.  And the taste?  Really not bad at all!  For dinner, my husband and I ate Baked Salmon with Red Currant Glaze, Lemon Roasted Asparagus, and Caesar Salad.  Lean proteins, more diuretics (which work well with a cleanse!), and no carbs, save a few in the glaze and some in the salad's croutons.

And that brings us to Day 3, the Super Colon Cleanse, which I'm currently half-way through!!!

Day 3: Fresh 9 Super Colon Detox

Blend 3 beets, 3 carrots, 3 pieces celery, 3 cucumbers, juice of 1 1/2 lemons, 1/2 a bunch of parsley, 1/2 20-ounce bag of romaine lettuce, 1 large piece of ginger, and 2 heaping handfuls (about 1 bunch, tough stems removed) kale together.

As with the other juices, I am diluting each glass slightly with cold water.  Not only does this thin out the drink a bit, but it helps to go down more quickly.  As far as taste, I'd say that Day 2 was the best tasting, Day 1 was the worst, and today's is somewhere in the middle.  The root vegetables really give the drinks a dirt-y taste and the earthiness is definitely present in your mouth.

I'll post a full recap tomorrow to let you know how I did and what after-effects I experience! 

Cleanse and Detox Day 2

Last night I was famished by 3:00pm. My last glass of "juice" was at 1:00 and I didn't think I could make it until 6:00, when I was allowed to have some lean protein and veggies. I started prepping my son's dinner around 4:30 (he eats at 5:00) and I did steal a bite or two of his fish sticks. I figured they still counted as lean protein and it was enough to tide me over until dinner. (I might also add that I still went for a 3-mile run yesterday, late morning).

I was so hungry though that I planned to cheat just a little and serve our dinner between 5:30 and 5:45, just a little before the 6:00 rule.

As luck would have it, however, our chicken took a bit longer to cook, and came out of the oven at 6:00 sharp. My husband took his time getting to the dinner table, getting a glass of water, a fish oil pill, going to the bathroom, washing up, bringing our son in to join us. I was about to throttle him he was taking so long when I was so hungry!

After we'd finally said the blessing I devoured my dinner. It was so nice to chew rather than just gulp! Since there were no carbs with dinner, my husband snacked on whole wheat pita chips and hummus for a little bit after the meal. I tasted one chip with hummus, since it was a new flavor. After all, the hummus has a ton of protein, and one little whole wheat pita chip can't hurt, right? Let's hope not.

I drank more water throughout the evening.

And that brings me to Detox Day 2: the day of the green monster shake!

I'm not going to lie, I was worried about this one the most. The ingredients are more like a salad than a drink, and wasn't looking forward to that at all. But when I mixed everything up last night, it smelled nice and fresh and, well, green.

Day 2: Fresh 6 Green Drink

Blend 3 apples, 3 pieces celery, 3 cucumbers, 1/2 a bunch of parsley, 1 20-ounce bag of baby spinach, 1 large piece of ginger.

I had my first glass of juice at 5:30 this morning. I immediately diluted it with a bit of cold water, to avoid the issues I had with gagging yesterday morning. Honestly, this drink wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday's. The ginger really helped with the taste, and the whole thing just tasted very fresh and spring-like, rather than having a quality of dirt in my mouth, like those beets yesterday!

I'll keep you posted with how the rest of the day goes!

Cleanse & Detox Day 1

Sometime last week a friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was doing a three-day cleanse. Intrigued, I checked out the blog where she got the information and recipes. I looked over the ingredients, method, results, and benefits, shrugged my shoulders and thought, what the heck?!

And then I mentioned the cleanse to my husband who was all for it. He suggested I try the cleanse myself and perhaps he'll jump on board sometime in the near future. Thankful that I had a cheerleader (really, I wasn't surprised, because Hubs and I are both very health-conscious) I decided that I'd start the three-day detox on a Monday, and wrap it up on a Wednesday, just in time for the weekend. Further, I decided that I'd do this over a long weekend, since that would mean he'd would be home for the first day to cheer me on right at the beginning!

On Saturday, I made my list and we hit up the grocery together. My husband helped me pile my cart high with all the fresh produce I'd need, and we were able to get everything for $25. Not bad considering that accounts for six meals, making this cleanse cheaper than McDonald's....and needless to say, much healthier!

And when I woke up this morning, my husband was quick to remind me that I needed to get started! The quick and dirty is that you drink your special juices for three consecutive days. Each day has it's own recipe, and a specific system to cleanse. You drink eight ounces of the juice every hour for eight hours each day (total of 64 ounces) along withat least 64 ounces of water. After 6:00pm you are allowed lean protein and veggies for dinner.

Each day of this cleanse I'll post on how things are going, what recipes I'm using, and what effect all this is having on me. Follow along if you'd like, or make plans for your own cleanse sometime soon!

Day 1: Fresh 7 Liver & Kidney Detox

Blend 3 apples, 3 beets, 3 tomatoes, 3 large carrots, 3 pieces of celery, 3 cucumber, juices from 1 1/2 lemons together. 

I peeled everything (cored the apples) and ran through my food processor the night before. The next day I gave it all a second whirl in my blender. The taste is very earthy, and I can't lie; the first 8 ounces made me gag with every gulp. Then I started chasing each sip with really cold water, which made the "juice" go down more quickly. By glass #5, I was just diluting the 8 ounces of juice with cold water, which made it even more juice-like and got the process over with much more quickly.

I peed every five minutes. 

I didn't even pee that often when I was pregnant.

When Hubs reheated his Pho from last night's dinner, I was really jealous. But this cleanse is a good thing, and I am going to see it through.

But I can't wait for dinner tonight when I get to eat solid food! I'm making Besto Pesto Baked Chicken and Caesar Salads.

Fabulous Flax

Have you ever used flax in your cooking?  Have you ever even heard of flax?  Hubs and I are, according to some ahem...Mama health nuts.  After college, when I was on Active Duty Navy and not taking the best care of my body, I started loosely following the South Beach Diet.  I learned how to substitute certain ingredients (whole wheat grains and pastas, cheeses made with 2& or skim milk, no-sugar added products, and more).

When Hubs and I got married, we got even more regimented, helping to keep each other in check, reducing our alcohol and dessert intake, and making gym dates a regular occurrence.  Hubs discovered flax seed, and we've been using it for a few years now!

So...what is flax seed?  Well, it's a phytoestrogen, or a plant estrogen.  It's a magic little food with a nutty taste that boasts a plethora of health benefits.  Here are just a few things that "Flax fights":

• LDL ("bad" cholesterol)
• diabetes
• cancer
• constipation
• inflammation
• menopause
• heart disease
• depression

Flax is full of omega-3 fatty acids (those essential fatty acids - EFAs - we're always trying to incorporate into our daily diet).  It's those EFAs that help with inflammation, and therefore rheumatoid arthritis.  Since flax is a natural estrogen, it helps reduce menopausal symptoms like night sweats, irritability, and hot flashes.  Yes, that means you might not need hormone replacement therapy!  Flax has dozens of other health benefits as well; it boosts the immune system and is thought to reduce the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.  Read all about flax seed here.

OK.  Great.  I get that flax is an awesome super food.  So how do I get it and what do I do with it?  Well, I buy milled (ground) flax seed in either the health aisle or the baking aisle (near the flour, etc).  I sprinkle up to half a cup in pancakes, muffins or cookies, meatloaf, chicken pot pie, spaghetti sauce, and more.  As I said, it has a nutty flavor, so it's more easily disguised in hearty dishes or baked goods, rather than lighter dishes like seafood and pesto-style sauces.  We've even found a fabulous bread that is fortified with flax!

As with any health advise, talk to your doctor or a registered dietician before starting something new.  But do start the conversation about incorporating flax into your diet with your healthcare provider!  I promise it's a super easy way to be just a little bit more healthy...something we could all use!