As I have not been using this blog, I have not tracked my successes and failures in keeping healthy. Please note I call it healthy rather than ‘slim’, ‘trim’, or ‘skinny’ as these words do not describe my idea of healthy.  Don’t get me wrong, I know it is unhealthy to carry too much fat on one’s body, and I do like to fit into my clothes without feeling like the buttons are going to pop, but healthy is more than just measurements and appearance.  

However….I am SHOCKED by my big fail over the past year.  I have been mindful of eating well (family dinners have been regular and always organic, healthy foods).  I have enjoyed many fun games with the kids..a great way to exercise and bond at the same time.  The fail happened recently….over the summer vacation when my common sense just seems to fly out the window.  You see, we love to do day trips and spur of the moment adventures’ which I am totally useless and planning for in terms of food.  We end up eating out all the time and my love of pasta and rich sauces seems perfectly reasonable when I am paying for it and someone else is cooking it…not to mention  the accompanying drink that seems just part of the package!   

In addition, I have not danced in months.  My schedule was the initial block, followed by the dance studio closing for the summer.  I did not realize just how much that exercise helped me stay fit!  

Here are the stats from last August:

Weight: – 144lbs

Height:  - 5’6″

Waist: – 33.5″

Chest: – 37.5″

Hips: – 40″

Thigh: – 22.5″

Now take a look at today’s stats….eek!

Weight: – 152 lbs

Height:  - 5’6″

Waist: – 35″

Chest: – 39″

Hips: – 40″

Thigh: – 23″

What on earth????  So reality hits home and I am disappointed in myself because I had done so well with my plan from February.  Blast those wonderful summer days of over-indulgence and zero self-discipline.  Mental note to self – be mindful of summer temptations and be stricter about packed lunches.  (Yes, I know I wanted to get away from the grind of making packed lunches every day which we need for school…but I can’t let myself go like this again!)

I will be posting my efforts to get my curvy but not quite so uncomfortable body back.  I will also share the daunting  but very worthwhile attempt and joining Team in Training for a half-marathon.  Yep…I am going to try  More on that soon..I just have to get up the nerve to send in the application forms…can anyone say procrastination?

Today is the last day of summer vacation for the boys.  We are about to head off on a family day out….not sure where..we like to just go and see where we end up    To set us up for the adventure,  I made a delicious breakfast for the family.

My boys are beginning to appreciate stacking and building food, burger-style.  Peanut tends to add more variety than does Button, but adapting the presentation of the food, a la family style, helps encourage them to experiment.  Scouring the fridge for ingredients my boys might eat, I pulled together the following hearty and protein-packed breakfast.

Ingredients:

4 multigrain sandwich thins

drizzle of olive oil (about 3-4 tsp)

Blob of coconut oil (about 1/2 tsp)

fresh rosemary (I could have used dried also) – about 1/2 tsp

4 eggs

1 large tomato cut into 8 slices

2 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup feta cheese

pinch of sea salt

pinch of pepper (freshly ground)

My Concoction:

1. Open up sandwich thins and lightly coat sides with olive oil. Toast in oven or toaster for about 5 mins.

2. At the same time, heat up rosemary  and coconut oil in a skillet, then break eggs and gently cook until they are over-easy. I let mine cook for about one minute and then flipped them.  An alternative would be to scramble eggs which Button prefers.

3. On four serving plates place the lower half of the toasted sandwich thins.  Now add the spinach, tomato slices, the egg and a tbsp of feta cheese.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, top with the other half of the sandwich thin and eat.

I served each ingredient family style so my boys could help themselves to what they wanted and ‘build’ their own creation.  Word of warning: this may backfire as they gobble up favorites and you are left with no eggs to add to your own sandwich!  I was very impressed, however, that the boys did try everything.  Peanut already eats spinach (believing it is just lettuce) and Button will force a leaf or two down him if pushed.  I notice that he will eat then more easily if they wrap another food, so he wrapped the eggs!!!

You see, I have been fighting fatigue for some time now. My doctor gave me the all clear, reminding me that I have been more than stressed for the past three years as my son battled leukemia. I feel now, however, that I should have recovered more from that than my body actually has. I will never ‘relax’ and forget about it all, but I don’t have the immediate stress of the illness anymore. So what is going on?

I have found that I wake up feeling like I have not been to sleep at all. For months I have been sleeping like a baby and feeling exhausted upon waking. Recently, I have not been able to get to sleep at night, despite being bone tired, so I think my new-found passion for coffee is screwing me up some!

I know I have been given a clean bill of health but I am a little suspicious of my adrenal glands. Having such high stress levels for so long will have filled my body with the stress hormone cortisol. That wreaks havoc with your adrenals. So I have been looking for natural ways to try to regulate this. I know I need a good eating plan:

•Avoid gluten — a protein that many women with adrenal imbalance may be sensitive to.
•Eat adequate protein at every meal — important for energy and stamina.
•Eat within an hour of waking — helps restore healthy blood sugar levels.
•Eat healthy fats.
•Eliminate all “white” food – refined sugar, flour, and grains, at least temporarily. (This is easy as I already do this for the most part)

In addition to eating well, I also need to follow a gentle and regular exercise routine. Here is where it gets a little tricky. You see I am about to sign up to run a half-marathon – more on that in another post, so I am going to have to train. This means balancing my exercise program to meet the needs of both my adrenal fatigue and my goal of running a crazy amount of miles when I can’t even make it to the end of our street without keeling over!

I also have to take into consideration my herniated disk at the base of my neck. This is an old injury which threatens to pop from time to time, always at the most inconvenient moment, and is a constant nagging companion whenever I decide to be awake!!! I have learned that exercise is the best thing for it; strengthening the muscles around my neck keeps the disc in place. I just have to be careful!

So this is where I am at. School is going to start soon so I need to get my butt back on that crazy schedule. My kids are going to the local school (instead of schlepping down to the school I teach at miles away), so we have a new way of doing things to figure out. I am working on kicking my adrenals into shape along with my ‘within normal weight‘ body with the ‘not going to run anywhere fast‘ physique. Big boobs and butt are sexy to some, but my expanding middle (also a sign of adrenal fatigue) is not! It is also one of the unhealthiest places to gain weight. This healthy working mom wants to reevaluate and get her game on again!

Yankee Stadium on July 1, 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love the summer when we pack up the boys and three generations head off to watch the Yankees play. We sometimes have good seats, sometimes not so great, but it is always the buzz that keeps us happy. Nana and Poppa, Nana Haze, Uncle Ricky, my hubby and my boys…all my favorite people in one place watching my favorite team.

I don’t eat hotdogs, but they are delicious when they cost more than any sane human being would generally be willing to pay for them.  I am not a big beer drinker; but I love the flat, easy to spill water with some bubbles and a color reminiscent of pee…and generally chug a few while I cheer for the Yankees (even more if they are losing).

I often sit and soak up the enormity of the stadium.  Yes, it is large, but I really mean the history behind it (with the old stadium), and the possibilities for the memories that will be created for generations to come in the new stadium.  I know my boys will be sitting in those seats with their own children, eating hotdogs (goodness only know what they will cost then…but they will be REALLY delicious), and there is the possibility that I will be included as the grandmother, in keeping with the three generations that visit and cheer together today.

I do like the game, but there is so much more to the experience.  Soaking it all in with the eyes of a child, marvelling at the architecture so obviously paying homage to the old stadium, but infusing a new hope in its design.  I imagine myself at the old games, I mean really old games..watching the greats of yesteryear making history.  Strangely, I usually view these montages in black and white, even on the sunniest of days.

I love Yankee stadium, spending special time with my family and cheering on between mouthfuls of junk and watery bubble pee.  It is magical in a special way…I never went as a child, so I am a child when I go now…I just have to remember to keep an eye on the kids from time to time!

Here is a FaceBook find from https://www.facebook.com/matthewmcdevitt65 Thought it might motivate me to switch from my obsession with coffee to Green Tea – the latter burns fat!!

My shining glory this morning was a recipe inspired by recent posts on other blogs to do with Kale. I am not a lover of this green, leafy vegetable, but I do know how wonderful it is nutritionally. Naturally, I have never managed to get my kids to eat it, as I don’t cook it much.

My smoothie started out with me ripping apart (who needs to chop?) two large handfuls of kale. Where I was going from there, I was not sure. Then I hunted around my kitchen and threw this gem together:

•Two large handfuls of ripped-up Kale
•Two bananas
•One red apple chopped
•About half a small carton of raspberries
•1 cup (about) organic Banilla yoghurt
•2 cups (about) vanilla soy milk
•One scoop of Chia

A true miracle happened. My very fussy kids immediately turned their noses up at the smoothie because it was green! Peanut decided to give it a try, however, and viola! He loved it! I was over the moon…kale and chia all in one! He even asked for more which produced a big beaming smile all over my face.

To try to persuade Button to give it a go, I have put some of the mixture into the freezer to make an ice-pop. Hopefully that will entice him to at least try.

I wanted to add protein powder to the smoothie, but discovered that the last of it was used on the smoothie we enjoyed a couple of days ago. This one had more precise measurements and was delicious but not my all time favorite. I did like using green tea, however, as it is thought to fight off cancer and heart disease. The recipe called for regular honey but I am a raw honey nut and love the flavor and the general idea that it is a healthier version. I have no scientific evidence to back up that statement but mind over matter goes a long way I’m sure

1 scoop protein powder
3 cups frozen white grapes
2 packed cups baby spinach
1 1/2 cups green tea, cooled
1 medium ripe avocado
2 teaspoons raw honey

So now I am all set for the day. We are cleaning…yay! Then a trip to the pool to relax. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Having read the New York Times article on the lack of ‘organic’ in our organic food, I am very disturbed by the latest revelations. It seems that we cannot buy real food anymore. We can buy almost real food, but there is always something added or modified. I, like so many others, felt okay buying the overpriced organic options, after all, they had been certified and followed the rules of untarnished, un-poisioned (my own word) food right? Apparently not!

Eden Foods seems to be in the small minority of companies that actually care about providing truly organic products in non-toxic cans and packaging. I strongly suggest all those who can afford it, buy many shares in that company now!

But what of us Joe Shmo’s who just want to feed our children healthy food without going bankrupt? When big companies buy up smaller organic companies, the prices might can come down a little. Of course now I know why. And what about meat? I eat meat, but cannot afford the cost of organic meat too often…which can be a good thing as I’m forced to eat more veggies However, it makes finding restaurants that serve organic meats very hard to come by!

So, super-companies are reducing our ability to buy real organic food…they have the majority share of the food industry and are manipulating the way food is deemed to be considered organic. What can we do about this?

Many people are shouting out that we should skip the stores altogether and buy locally grown produce from our Farmer’s Markets. Others suggest being careful but not overly dramatic about the issue. I am sure that there are also many who have just thrown in the towel, as time and money are just too limited to cook from scratch everyday or buy the more expensive goods.

Personally, I’d like to focus more on asking why this is allowed in the first place. This has become public and a major paper has written about it. We all need to shout out and be heard…write to our member of congress, respond to the article, petition stores, boycott products.

How should we, as a nation of consumers, win back our rights to real food?

Inspirational quotes are nice to pin also. They often catch my attention and I go back to them when I feel the need. While thinking about peace of mind. I enjoy the beauty of some of the pictures or photographs I’ve pinned along the way. Some are calming, others remind me of happy memories. Some are just too nice to pass up!.

I pin music too….not literally, but images associated with the music I like. I’m a little Pearl Jam heavy right now as I am a crazy fan and their tour of Europe has me gnashing my teeth to get over there. It’s not gonna happen, but a girl can dream!

Many of you know, I love to craft. I pin great crafting ideas so I can try them out later. I now have a full years worth of crafting projects to do either by myself or with the boys. I know I won’t get to them all, but one day….

I am sure many of you are more expert at pinning than me, so I won’t go on extolling the virtues of this social network. I am just going to share my top 5 pins this week. They may not be the most popular, but they are pins I really like. I’m hoping it becomes a regular feature. It is actually nice to share pins instead of pinning them…makes me feel like I am actually doing more with them

And I know I said top 5 but I had to include Pearl Jam as they have had such an amazing tour…

What I wouldn’t give to be at the front of that crowd!!!

One of my most re-pinned pins is this:

It is exactly how I’d like my mantle to look but I still haven’t got around to doing it yet.

Here is my work in progress (please note this photo was taken just before a party so chairs are placed in front of the fireplace..but it gives you the general disarray of my fireplace).

To achieve my desired look I need to grow the flowers…another item on my ‘to do‘ list, and I also need to find me a birds nest…hmmm, not sure I’ve even been looking for one of those, given that it wold be ultra disturbing to rob a bird and her family of their home! I do have pretty jars and stones or shells to add, so that is a check!

What amazes me most is the sheer simplicity of this arrangement and how many people it has drawn in. Original credit goes to a Flickr account here.

My Pinterest boards have many other wonderful mantle displays, yet nothing has drawn traffic like this one. I am glad the simplicity and freshness of this design has been so popular. I will not recreate it totally…but I will be working on my own little piece of tranquility atop my mantle this summer.

What ideas do you have for an interesting mantle? Join the Linky party with your mantle decorating ideas below. Just follow the rules:
1. Link directly to your post on mantle ideas not just your blog
2. Please link back to others and share thoughts and comments.
3. Pinning is welcome but please give credit to the original poster
4. Have fun

This morning has been quite fun. I had my tush kicked in a game of Stratego with Button who definitely had the upper hand being that it was my first time. I thought I had laid out all my players in a strategic order and hidden my flag well. Nope! Button scooted around every bomb I’d placed, managed to scoop up my spy, and take all my high numbered men within about five minutes. Luckily, I’m a quick learner and now have my own set of plans for the next game! I did not miss the irony that my American kid beat his English mommy on this historic day

Yesterday the Fourth of July festivities began. We had the first party and Peanut’s first Friendship League game. Naturally both occurred at the same time so we decided to divide and conquer: Daddy and Peanut went to game first them party; Nana, Button, and myself went to the party from the beginning.

Today we were invited to two parties and decided which one to attend based on the fact we had just spent a lot of time with one group of friends and felt we should see the other group. Thankfully, all my friends are very easy going and there are no hard feelings. (We are also going camping with the group we are not seeing so we have plenty together time soon.)

Naturally I needed to prepare dishes for the parties. The weather is hot and I really didn’t feel like my usual heavy sides of Stilton and creme fraise mashed potatoes, or roasted carrots and parsnips. Instead I opted for lighter faire.

My first dish was Greek Spinach-Pasta Salad with Feta and Beans. For this I used the following:

Baby spinach
I can of great Northern Beans
Feta Cheese
Dried tomatoes (I like Sundried)
Green onions
Garlic
Lemon for lemon peel and lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh oregano
Fresh lemon thyme or thyme
Kosher salt or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Dried farfalle pasta (I used the gluten free organic type but not my usual whole grain as I was not sure many people would go for it…my kids remarked at how pale the pasta was and turned their noses up at it!!!)
Shaved Parmesan cheese

In a large serving bowl I combined 5-6 ounces of spinach, 15 ounces beans, 4 ounces of the Feta cheese, 1/4 cup of the dried tomatoes (not oil packed), 2 chopped green onions, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tsp of finely shredded lemon peel, 2 tbsp of the lemon juice and oil, 1 tbsp of oregano or thyme, followed by a pinch of salt and pepper. Once all ingredients were added and stirred in, they were covered and left to stand for just over two hours at room temperature.

Once it was almost time to leave for the party, I cooked the pasta until it was al dente (about 7 minutes), then drained reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. I then tossed the cooked pasta and pasta water with spinach salad mixture. Shaved Parmesan cheese topped the dish and the results were delicious.

For the second party, later today, I will make a delicious Three Bean Salad

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
1 15-ounce can chickpeas
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
2 celery stalks
1/2 red onion
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

After draining and rinsing the beans, I will combine them all in a large bowel and add the chopped celery, onion, parsley, and rosemary. I like to make these really finely chopped as my kids prefer the texture.

I will then whisk together the lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowel. I’ll drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss. This dish is best served at room temperature.

Such easy dishee which taste delicious. The kids can help too. Happy Fourth of July everyone!