Fitness is Practice not Protocol

Hey there the first month of 2013 is almost gone; can you believe it? Me neither! It was four years ago I stumbled upon Tosca Reno on the February 2009 Oxygen Cover. I bought it immediately. She was the inspiration I was looking for. Super fit, toned, and healthy.

Source

                                                      
I never would have guessed that magazine four years ago would have brought me to where I am today. Eating whole foods, working out consistently, and enjoying life more fully. If A+B=C this magazine  was a catalyst to this very blog. 

 I would be delusional to say it is all roses and sunshine. I will be the first to raise my hand and say I am my own worst critic. I cringe during this time of the year. Goal setting and carryout is not my forte. It is one of my biggest struggles. It is much easier to exist day to day and go about life fulfilling daily obligations. I am driving down this highway called life. My eyes shut tightly my foot glued to the accelerator of the vehicle called my fitness journey. I didn't just eat that or skip this workout; did I?!

Breakfast Frittata

Have you seen the movie, Morning Glory, starring Harrison Ford? No?! It is a cute chick flick movie for a rainy Saturday afternoon. I was making frittatas long before I watched this movie. My mind often wanders back to this seen when I make this for breakfast.

The beauty of the frittata is it has no rules. You can use any combo of veggies, lean proteins,  and spices with your eggs. Lately I have been tossing avocado to garnish and finish off this great dish. The ingredients in this recipe are my favorite to use.

Homemade Vanilla Extract & Clean Eating for 2013 Free Kindle Book

I  first heard of making your own vanilla extract when Rich and I were vacationing in in Port Republic, Maryland this past summer on the bay. We had a stopped to visit this local historic tourist attraction and the gift shop had a vanilla extract kit for sale. I thought the idea rather clever at the time and tucked the idea back in my mind for a rainy day.

I had to split the beans in half length wise to expose the seeds

See the tiny vanilla bean seeds on my finger?

A few weeks ago while shopping at my Meca Home Goods store I found the same extract kit for half the price! Yes it landed in my shopping cart.


If you don't want to go out and buy a kit you can always make your own extract at home.
I also scoured the web to find other ways to make homemade vanilla extract.
I found a recipe for alcohol-free vanilla extract from Simply Sugar & Gluten Free.

 This is another extract recipe is from The Traveler's Lunchbox that uses alcohol.

Clean Eating for 2013

I found this free kindle book by Daisy Williams, Clean Eating for 2013. I downloaded it and will be reading it between now and the new year. It is fairly short. Click on the icon below to get your free copy.

                                                                           

Stay strong and carry on,

Brooklynn

Girl Unsatisfied: How I tackle Eating

                                                                                  ource: mymodernmet.com  on Pinterest

It was my weekend to work at the pharmacy. I came home from work tired; too tired to cook. The husband hadn't prepared dinner either. I didn't have the steam to make a traditional dinner. I gave into exhaustion and I made some protein pancakes and lean turkey bacon. I ate and finished my meal. I was totally unsatisfied. I rarely feel this way anymore. Usually after a meal I am full and content. I wasn't  hungry after dinner, but I had this empty annoying feeling in my gut.

Food and mealtime have always been a big part of my day. I love to cook and bake, but what I really love is to eat. I try to take time to enjoy eating what I have prepared, bought, or ordered. I do my best to focus on the meal and the company.

The one reason why I don't meal plan consistently is that I have a spontaneous appetite. If I get a craving or an  idea for a meal I have to make it.  On rare occasions like this particular evening where I  toss in the towel; I prepare something nourishing and eat just for the sake of feeding myself. I do my best to limit these experiences. These instances are rare and I have a few tricks I use to keep my mealtimes enjoyable and satisfying.

Here are my top tips for enjoying meals and feeling satisfied:

1. Understand  hunger signals and being satisfied cues.

2. Practice mindful eating

3. Eating food I enjoy

4. Eating consistently every 3-4 hours or about 5-6 small meals a day

I hope this gave you some food for thought.

Stay strong and carry on,

Brooklynn

"I'm not perfect & neither is my diet." My truth about Finding Balance.

Source: rabbitfoodformybunnyteeth.com via Phoebe on Pinterest

After being dubbed "Bodyrocker babe of the day" last week by BodyRock.tv. I had a huge influx of visitors to my blog. Welcome to you all! I also started tweeting more with some of my new found readers. One gal asked me "@LeanGourmet do you "cheat" once in a while or have you completely lost the desire for non-clean foods?"

This is how I eat

Source: yes-butno.tumblr.com via Brooklynn  on Pinterest

I once read Tyra Bank's Beauty Inside and Out book. She wrote in one of her chapters "I eat to live, not live to eat." I was fourteen. That impacted me so much so I still remember it to this day fourteen years later. However, it was years before I started to unpack the meaning of that phrase. 

Food is cultural. Food is necessary. Food is sadness, happiness, and some where in between. Think about it. We eat when we are happy and because of special celebrations like reunions or parties. We eat when we are sad and depressed. Food is necessary for you to function. Some people make money marketing food and some don't have enough money to buy food. You might even have a complex relationship with food. Most people do or have at one time.

 I love this fitspiration quote picture above. I am often asked "What diet are you following?" My response  is always "I don't diet anymore; I eat clean. " Some where along the way I found Oxygen Magazine with Tosca Reno on the cover over Christmas break in the Pittsburgh International Airport. I read her books about clean eating. I changed how I ate and stopped counting calories. I began seeing changes in my health and fitness. Now I too can say "I eat to live, not live to eat;" well most of the time.

Lean Pork & Beans

One of my favorite food magazines to read is Clean Eating. The July 2012 issue had a recipe for Slow-Cooker Pork'n'Beans. I used that recipe as a guide and created my own Lean Pork and Beans crock-pot recipe. Which was perfect for today because Rich and I both had early long days at work. This recipe is a piggy-back ( no pun intended) recipe which is a recipe that builds upon another. In this case it was the Mango BBQ sauce from a previous post.

Lean Pork & Beans

1/2 lb dry pinto beans that have been soaked and cooked
1 lb pork tenderloin with fat removed and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 cup of my Mango BBQ sauce
1 Green bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cups of water
24 oz of strained tomatoes ( I use Flora Fine Foods or Pomi Italian Strained Tomatoes)
1 tsp of sea salt
pepper to taste


You will need to prepare the beans a day or two in advance. Soak beans fully covered in water plus a couple of inches over night in a large bowl. Drain and rinse. Crock pot beans in crock pot on low 6-8 hours or until soft. Drain. Now they're ready to use. I usually make a large batch and freeze my beans in portions for recipes to use later. I do this with all my beans and it is cheaper, there is less sodium than canned and no BPA to worry about.


Add all ingredients to crock-pot and give it a good stir to combine. You want enough liquid to make it stew like, but not soupy! Crock on low for 8 hours until pork is fully cooked. Top with dried cilantro and your favorite cheese if desired.

Today's Workout Blip:

If you've been reading along the last few weeks you know I've been talking about my workout plan the Get in Shape Girl Bikini Plan. You also know that I've been avoiding choosing not to do my stepmill workout. If the truth must be told ( and it must!) I am afraid of heights and have a horrible fear that I will trip, fall off, or otherwise cause bodily harm to myself on this monster machine. So oddly enough as I laced up my trainers today the theme song for the 2001 Space Odyssey started playing in my head all the way to the gym and I had an epiphany. I would  conquer this workout. So I did. All 30 sweaty miserable minutes of it!

And incase you don't know what that theme song is here it is.

Let's Connect!

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Until next time stay strong and carry on!

Brooklynn