A whole month without nada....

not one drop, tipple, pint, shot, shooter - nothing.  I have stayed booze less for the entire month of March.  I am sure my liver feels better.  I know my joints do.  His Lordship wanted to know if he should leave time in the schedule tomorrow so he can take me to a bar to get hammered!  But since I am still in the zone, I will have to pass on that.  A 4oz pour a red wine with 1 oz of cheese is all I am allowed unless I want to drink all my carbs - that does not sound to appealing to me!

Beets!

Recently I found myself in possession of a beautiful bunch of local Austin beets. I love that they were grown in a local garden with all the good local dirt.

Beets are a super detox food. It must be all that red "dye" they contain. But they also come in yellow varieties that aren't quite as heavy. And it's not just the bulb, but the leaves, too. In fact, native peoples started by eating the leaves not the bulbs. So you see the entire plant is just lovely. Dr. Mercola published a special post just on beets. Here's what he says:

1. Lower Your Blood Pressure

Drinking beet juice may help to lower blood pressure in a matter of hours. One study found that drinking one glass of beet juice lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 4-5 points.3

The benefit likely comes from the naturally occurring nitrates in beets, which are converted into nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide, in turn, helps to relax and dilate your blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.

2. Boost Your Stamina

If you need a boost to make it through your next workout, beet juice may again prove valuable. Those who drank beet juice prior to exercise were able to exercise for up to 16 percent longer.4 The benefit is thought to also be related to nitrates turning into nitric oxide, which may reduce the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise as well as enhance tolerance to high-intensity exercise.

3. Fight Inflammation

Beets are a unique source of betaine, a nutrient that helps protects cells, proteins, and enzymes from environmental stress. It's also known to help fight inflammation, protect internal organs, improve vascular risk factors, enhance performance, and likely help prevent numerous chronic diseases.5 As reported by the World's Healthiest Foods:6

"[Betaine's]… presence in our diet has been associated with lower levels of several inflammatory markers, including C reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. As a group, the anti-inflammatory molecules found in beets may eventually be shown to provide cardiovascular benefits in large-scale human studies, as well as anti-inflammatory benefits for other body systems."

4. Anti-Cancer Properties

The powerful phytonutrients that give beets their deep crimson color may help to ward off cancer. Research has shown that beetroot extract reduced multi-organ tumor formations in various animal models when administered in drinking water, for instance, while beetroot extract is also being studied for use in treating human pancreatic, breast, and prostate cancers.7

5. Rich in Valuable Nutrients and Fiber

Beets are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). Beets also contain the B vitamin folate, which helps reduce the risk of birth defects.

6. Detoxification Support

The betalin pigments in beets support your body's Phase 2 detoxification process, which is when broken down toxins are bound to other molecules so they can be excreted from your body. Traditionally, beets are valued for their support in detoxification and helping to purify your blood and your liver.

Read the entire article here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/25/beets-health-benefits.aspx

And the result is an easy beet salad. They're especially good with some feta cheese and lemon juice. If using greens do grate some fresh beets on the salad too!

xoxo

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Soup

This is a recipe I got out of cooking light magazine a few years ago.  It is a yummy light soup that is low in calories and huge in flavors.  Neale and I both love this with a salad.

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Soup

Ingredients

4 cups unsalted beef broth (I use my homemade broth but store brought works too).
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. sambal oelek (chili sauce)
1 teas. fish sauce
1 teas. soy sauce
2 cinnamon sticks
1 8oz clam juice
 1 tbsp. minced ginger
1 star anise
 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups fresh shitake mushrooms
 4 ounces noodles - we use buckwheat but you can use rice or soba - any oriental noodle
1/2 bean sprouts - I like fresh but had to settle for canned this time
1/2 cup diagonally cut green onions
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
12 small fresh basil leaves
The juice of 1 lime

Combine first 10 ingredients in a large saucepan (through the star anise). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add mushrooms and simmer another 5. 

Add noodles and boil in the soup until soft.  Add shrimp, green onion, and bean sprouts, cook about 30 seconds and turn off heat. Discard the anise and the cinnamon sticks.  Add the cilantro, basil, and lime juice.  Serve.

 So since I am in the zone and cannot eat the noodles, I opted to add bok choy and wakame sea vegetables for carbs.  I added the those when I added the noodles to his Lordships. Mine looked like this:

Good Monday Morning...

Hello - hope you had a good weekend! Are you still booze less? Well, if not, climb back on that wagon.  Don't let one tipple ruin a perfectly good month of no drinking.

I had a lovely meal with friends Sat. and came out of the zone.  It was worth it because there was homemade mushroom shallot ravioli involved.  Plus for dessert, there were chocolate soufflés'.
But, as Barry Sears, said, you are only as good as your last and next zone meal.  So Sunday morning it was right back on the zone with no ill effects.

Monday morning weigh in has me at 128 lbs. after 3 weeks in the zone.  That 6 1/2 pounds lighter and the muffin top is now a mini muffin top.  My reward at the end of March will be a new bathing suit so the hubby and I can go to the hot springs.  Still not confident enough in the body to go to the clothing optional hot springs though! That's a joke - I wouldn't go anyway.  Plus, his Lordship wouldn't be caught dead there.

So hope everything is going well.  Making some Jeanne inspired bone broth in the slow cooker for Thai shrimp soup Wednesday night.  Got to go do some Kripalu yoga.  Bye!

Hanging in the zone...

So I am pretty pumped about living in the zone and I wanted to share - plus Terri asked of a little more detail on how it works.  So here it is in a nutshell:

3 meals a day and 2 snacks a day
Each meal contains 21 grams of protein, 27 grams of carbs and 9 grams of fat
Each snack contains 7 grams of protein, 9 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fat

If you want large meals - you eat lean meat, low fat dairy and veggies with a limited amount of fruit.  If you want tiny meals, you can eat anything you want - you just won't get a lot of it.

I avoid grains, bread, rice, pasta etc. because with only 27 grams of carbs, you only get a tiny serving and it uses all your carbs so you can't have any veggies and fruits.

I am usually over on the fat about 3 to 6 grams as it is impossible to make most meals taste decent with less - stick however, with monosaturated fats that contain omega 3s - olive oil, avocado oil, nuts, seeds, avacados.

The two types of grain you can have, in limited quantities are barley and steel cut oats.

Here are some websites with more information:

http://www.drsears.com/
http://livehealthy.chron.com/food-block-list-zone-diet-9011.html
http://sourcesofinsight.com/the-top-100-zone-foods/


Why I am so pumped is that in two weeks, all the inflammation I have been living with for 2 years is gone. My elbows, knees and hips do not ache any more.  I climbed part of the Barr Trail today (3 1/2 miles up the mountain) and my knees felt great.  I must be doing some right. I am sleeping better and have tons of energy for exercise.  Plus, I fart less and am losing weight.  I don't know if I am ever coming out of the zone.

I got these out of the library - they will give you all you need to get into the zone

Thoughts on Thursday Morning

I went for run #3 last night after work but before dinner.  It hurt (of course) but felt better than run #1, so that's progress.  The best thing about this run was passing a work colleague, an older woman (maybe early 60's) also out running.  It's been a long time since our paths last crossed.  She looked so fit and energenic in her running togs.  She told me she started running when she was 56 and has finished 4 marathons and numerous shorter runs.  She told me to keep at it, it would get better and the benefits were numerous.  So with that additional inspiration, I went on my way. 

Anyway, got on the scale this morning.  No weight has been lost at all - in fact, it was higher (scale must be broken).  HOWEVER, clothes are looser, I have a lot more energy and am actually sleeping a bit.

I think a big part of this is getting out at lunch and walking the dog.  Andy has been working this week (yes, Lady M, you read that correctly) and the pup needs a walk at lunch.  So instead of sleeping at my desk, I run home and take him on a quick walk.  It's easy to get to 10,000 steps when this is part of the routine. 

So, back to my thoughts this morning.  My joints are achy these days, especially the knees.  But they hurt much worse when I don't workout at all.  In January (no workouts), it was hard to get out of bed in the morning, the joints were so stiff.  Bottom line - I think it hurts worse to rust out than to keep moving.  So I plan to keep moving.

Have a great day, Sistas!!

Monday morning weigh in.....

Drum roll please.....after one week in the zone, my weight is:

130 and 1/4! Yes - I can actually fit in my jeans!

Lamb Wraps

Here is a recipe for Jackie - oh so yummy and will keep you in the zone.
 
Ground Lamb Wraps
 
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped fine
4 clove of garlic pressed or minced
1 lb. ground lamb
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 diced cucumber
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon
Head of butter lettuce
Salt and Pepper
 
Tzatziki
Small container Greek yogurt
minced onion
minced cucumber
finely chopped mint
small clove garlic through a press
salt and pepper
 
Separate the Boston lettuce into leaves and wash and dry. Mix the Tzatziki together. Sauté the onion and lamb in a pan until the lamb no longer pink - discard the excess fat. Add peas, salt and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add cucumbers, all the herbs and lemon juice.  Cook another 2-3 minutes. 
 

Put some Tzatziki on a lettuce leaf, add a spoonful of lamb, roll up and eat.  We had this with a big salad on the side - with lots of yummy toppers. I allowed myself 3 of these (about 3 oz. of meat) but since you had that run this morning you might be able to have 4 oz.!

I just hope I can walk tomorrow....

The weather is decent this morning.  Finally time to stop procrastinating and get out on the road for a run.  Do I take the dog or no??  Decided not to, he can be very distracting and likes to stop short on you - could be dangerous.  So I laced up the shoes and off I went to the sound of Dan the Man barking madly from the house.

This goal of mine is inspired by Ms. Lynne Hahn.  We're friends on FB.  She is my age (ok, 6 months younger) but she looks 10 years younger.  She's a runner and recently bumped up her running.  She's doing an event each month this year - long events like half marathons and running relays.  She will sometimes post pictures and videos from her events online.  She's always got a big smile on her face and a great attitude.  It makes me want to get the hell out of my chair and join her - so here I go.

So the run - well, it hurt like hell.  My breathing was fine and the basement workouts are paying off.  But my old nemesis - the shins - returned immediately.  Let's not leave out the hips who made their displeasure felt at this new activity.  But the mindset was good - I CAN DO THIS.  And if the mind is determined, the body will usually follow.  I ran for a mile with only one stop at the half.  Pretty good for me.  The plan is to run one mile every other day for 2 weeks and then bump it up to 2, then 3 to be ready to go by April.

But I don't plan to stop there.  Disney Half Marathon in 2 years...who's going with me?  (Haha, bold words from a woman who seriously only has a 50/50 chance of being a able to walk tomorrow!)

My new favorite kitchen tool

We have a kitchen shop going out of business in Manitou.  As the bargain hunters we are, Neale and I stopped by to see if there was anything we needed.  I was thrilled to find one of these.  I have seen Peggy K. and Nirmala use these on their cooking shows and was hoping to get one.  It is an incredibly handy tool to pick up all those little bits that I chop on my cutting board.  It can also separate the bits.  It is much easier than pick them up with than with a knife or my fingers and I drop a whole lot less on the floor.

Who wants one as a gift???