Changed my mind- Spring fever- lol

I am going to return to the Zone diet, which has portion control as a part of it. I did buy vitamins and I am taking them. I am improving about exercise, which is encouraging. I want to continue this forward momentum. I am going to hang a list of favorable carbs on the fridge to guide my meal making. I need to remember that this was the most successful way of eating for me ever. It is not about weight loss only, but a way of eating for ideal health.

April will soon be here!

March was good for my one personal care habit - neti pot and taking allergy meds. I am not doing well with the other two goals, improving dinner, and exercising 15 minutes a day. April is portion control, take a multi vitamin, and exercising twice a day for 10 minutes each.

I think my portion control will be to learn what a portion is of each of my typical foods. A good idea would be to limit myself to one serving of any foods that is not a fruit or vegetable. My goal for my health has to do with increasing my potassium, which is mainly found in fruits and vegetables.

I am doing TERRIBLE on my exercise. I need to focus completely on walking the dogs and stretching. More on this next week.

March allergies in full swing

I started the neti pot at just the right time. The trees are in full bloom! I am still struggling with the exercise and finding new recipes. At the end of the month, I will retake the real age test. Maybe I will have modest improvement. I don't drink soda anymore, floss regularly, and taking care of my allergies.

March madness begins

I am pleased with my small changes idea. I have had some failure and success. My failure so far has been regular exercise, and monitoring my BP. However, I was successful with flossing, no soda, and breakfast recipes. This month is regular use of my neti pot, 15 minutes of exercise, and dinner recipes that are healthy additions.

I was just thinking about my allergies this morning as I drove past all the blooming trees on the way to work. It is important for not to let the symptoms get the best of me. I must keep my sinuses clear so I can use my sleep apnea mask. I cannot function without my breathing machine at night.

I will push myself on the exercise. I need to walk the dogs anyway.

As for dinner, perhaps having a new goal will motivate me to shop. I did not shop this weekend due to report cards needing done. However, tonight is the night to plan for this weekend and next week.

I am excited about March. I know I am improving my health with my small but steady changes.

February week two

I am proud of not drinking any soda this week. I find that having enough fluids in my body affects my hunger level (less hungry). It makes me wonder if people that do not have a natural thirst are more likely to be over weight. Another perspective might be that some people misread thirst as hunger.

I did some research on natural sweeteners and will stick with agave nectar to sweeten my tea. It is low on the glycemic scale and has trace minerals. I will have to find a way to get myself to drink WATER. I just like to drink things with flavor, but flavor equals calories. I don't like to use artificial sweeteners due to all the controversy about whether they stimulate your appetite, and health issues. Perhaps I will plan other tasty (or tasteless) drink throughout the day.

As for exercise, I have not made any progress so far. However, I have an idea about the use of music. I think I will pick one song to develop a brief exercise routine for the morning and the evening. The morning will be movement with all 4 limbs combining aerobics and anaerobics. The evening song will be devoted to stretching.

I will print up my blood pressure charts this weekend and start charting.

February - heart month

This month's goals are very doable (for once I was not pie in the sky). My diet goal is replacement drinks for soda. My exercise goal is 10 minutes of exercise (2x5 min sessions). My health goal is to keep track of my blood pressure. I read some alarming research in the paper about high blood pressure linked to dementia and other brain issues. I am, if nothing, very cerebral and to lose any function of my brain scares me.

January's successes (and failures)-
I had 2 successful week's of trying new breakfast recipes. I planned the third week, but didn't try the recipes. The last week of January I actually skipped breakfast 3 days! What is that? I must say the oatmeal recipe was the biggest success. Another success was moving my veggie and fruit smoothie for my morning snack. My body seems to love this snack, and I know it is so good for me (how else would I get spinach, carrots, tomatoes, and fruits before lunch). I am satisfied with this month, and I am not going to beat myself up for being less than perfect (another issue I need to work on). I will focus on having breakfast daily!

As for exercise, I did not take 5 minutes of exercise that seriously. I do want to be more specific in my 10 goal.

I did EXCELLENT on flossing my teeth every night. This easy goal is important for my health on a number of levels and I am glad that I did well. I will continue this habit.

February ideas:
The goal this month is to focus on drinks other than soda. I can't think of any redeeming qualities of soda (other than caffiene). However, I love to have an afternoon caffiene pick up. It seems the obvious replacement would be tea, however if I add too much sugar than is it an improvement? I need to do some research on this to make a good decision. This week I will brew tea for the fridge and use agave nectar, but will try new ideas next week.

I need to firm up on the exercise goals. I want two different sessions (AM and PM) with specific goals. I am thinking one session that combines anaerobic (muscle building moves) with aerobics. I have some exercises in a cooking light, or prevention magazine that I will try. As for the other session, I want to stretch and work on flexibility. I will update next week with more specifics.

This behavioral goal of taking my blood pressure might be my most important goal this month. I do not need to create new charts as I have some already made. I just need to have data to share with my Dr. in April. If I need to go on medication (which I haven't so far due to dietary changes), I want good data to support this decision. I also want to start taking supplements again this month. Definitely fish oil, and other important nutrients I was taking before.

Well, month ready, goals set, let's go!

Week three recipes and progress report

Exercise: I stunk this week. There was something going on almost every night. I stayed up too late many nights. Yada Yada - excuses! I am going to push myself this week.

Self-care: My teeth are doing great! I do need to have some old fillings replaced and sadly they must be silver. The dentist would prefer crowns, but I HATE the one crown I have and will delay any others.

Diet: I am doing great on eating a good breakfast. The addition of the mid-morning fruit and veggie smoothie has truly boosted my nutrition. It has positively impacted the quality of my diet in many ways: increased potassium (necessary to keep my BP low), more fluids (half of the smoothie is ice), more vitamins (obvious), more calories in the morning (less hunger in the evening), and being a role model of self care to the others in my life. Toot! Toot! I need to toot my own horn once in awhile.

I must say both of the recipes were fabulous. Most enjoyed the vegetables and eggs. It seemed strange until the mozzarella cheese went on them everyone's eyes lit up.

I am going to try another egg recipe. This one is baked for 20 minutes. I believe I could prepare it the night before, stick it in the oven before I get dressed, and breakfast is ready in a flash. I can't omit all milk elements, but the baby can eat an egg made on the side. I might modify the vegetables used to suit what I have on hand. This looks like a recipe that I can make my own, although as I note I am not the creator of this recipe.

Zucchini Egg Bake
Submitted By: Kim Hafner
Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 35 Minutes
Servings: 6

"'This wonderfully moist brunch dish can be made a day early and stored in the refrigerator to save time,' reports Kim Hafner of East Walpole, Massachusetts. 'Loaded with zucchini, herbs and cheese, it goes well with croissants and fresh fruit.'"

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups peeled, chopped zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large skillet, saute the zucchini, onion and garlic in butter until tender; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, basil, marjoram and salt. Stir in zucchini mixture and Monterey Jack cheese.
2. Pour into a greased 1-qt. baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com
Printed from Allrecipes.com 1/15/2010

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=118743&origin=detail&servings=6

The second recipe I selected was a breakfast cookie. I will replace the granulated sugar and oil with my own creation of pureed banana, raisins, and apple (who knows what else). I do not like to eat or feed anyone white sugar if I have another option. Don't get me wrong, I eat white sugar, as pureed banana and raisins would taste awful in my morning coffee. I will also use two eggs instead of the substitute.

Cheerios Breakfast Cookies
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters)
• 1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats
• 3 oz. mini chocolate chips
• 3 cups Cheerios cereal

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat sugar, canola oil, peanut butter, water, vanilla and egg substitute together with an electric mixer until well-combined. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, oats and chocolate chips. Very gently, fold in the Cheerios. Drop the dough (it will be sticky) by rounded quarter-cupfuls onto an ungreased or silpat-lined cookie sheet. Flatten the dough gently with your fingertips.
Bake cookies in the preheated oven 13 to 15 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container or freeze in a sealed Ziploc bag for up to two months.

Makes 20 breakfast cookies.

Per cookie: 206 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 26 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein, 9% Vitamin A, 2% Vitamin C, 3% calcium, 21% iron

Read more at Suite101: Cheerios Breakfast Cookies: A delightful recipe using Cheerios in a healthy breakfast cookie.

http://healthycooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/cheerios_breakfast_cookies#ixzz0cl6cb4X2