No cuts, no butts, no......

COCONUTS!

So I've become fascinated with coconuts lately.  I found a bag of 'coconut chips' at Trader Joes that are amazing but it got me thinking....can I make these myself and limit the amount of salt and sugar?  Well...that was my weekend project.  I have realized about 12 things I'd do differently after I finished the process but I must say it was a very interesting project indeed.

I started by going to Growers Direct and the nice man at the store actually machete'd the top of the coconuts for me (thank goodness).  It took him about 10 minutes to do this and all I heard was the sounds of a sword chopping at what seemed to be concrete.  When he came out from the depths of the backstage area he told me that all I had to do was go home, pierce the top, drain the water and throw the coconuts on the ground.  Naturally I was a bit weary; so - I used a hammer instead.

I think before hammering into the coconuts that next time I will read a recipe.  The internet says to bake the coconuts at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.  This makes it easier to remove the hard shell as it softens the meat inside.  This time around I was far too eager and ended up hammering them BEFORE baking them, making it pretty difficult to work with them.  The first batch I used a peeler but when I realized how much easier the hard shell was to remove if they were baked first the second batch turned out much better.  I shaved them down, cooked the meaty pieces I gathered in a bit of coconut oil and toasted them in the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes.  They're not as much of a 'chip' consistency but they're still damn tasty.  I sprinkled one batch with a tad of sea salt and one batch with sea salt and sugar.  They are an amazing treat and pretty good for you!  I love weekend projects and although this one was a 'once in awhile' occurrence I will definitely do this again.  Raw coconut is fun and interesting and toasted coconut is oh-so-good!

The best bottle of wine to open while making homemade coconut chips (pan.de.mo.ni.um)

My natural coconut water

After hammering the crap out of the coconuts...

First batch - shaved

Second batch sliced...

FINALLY I took some of the pieces and dipped them in melted dark chocolate!  

YEAR TWO...

So I've changed up my food tracking a bit to get a little bit more serious.  Since heading on recent excursions I've found that my diet has been hard to track (naturally) and because of this I came dangerously close to being hard on myself - which would be new to me.  Instead of having this mentality - Tray snapped me out of it and helped me get back on track (not to mention he gave me two additional days on my weigh in and I don't have to step on the scale until Friday ... PHEW).  My new food tracking for year two is including not only water intake (which generally isn't an issue because I down two bottles of SMART WATER a day) but this also includes a work out section and a "feeling" section where I can fill in my feeling for the day - i.e. low energy, skinny, tired, stressed, emotional....etc.  This will hopefully help me understand if high sugar, high alcohol content, low vegetable days are affecting my moods and thoughts.  It's all good and no bad to have analytical data on yourself.  I look forward to delving in more and being more organized in year two!  This red book will be my best friend for the next 365 days...

Spiralizin'

Soooo...even Siri doesn't know what a 'spiralizer' is... which makes me feel really cool because, you know - Siri knows everything right?  Well she's missing the mark BIG TIME because the spiralizer is one of the coolest new things I've found in a long time!

I had no idea these things existed until someone in this group I am a part of on Facebook for recipes and health tips posted this contraption with a photo of their dinner they made the night before.  I was so excited about it.  I took to Amazon.com right away, PRIME'D this baby to my office and got to spiralizin'!

Here is a link to the spiralizer I purchased: SPIRALIZERRR!

"Mock" raw alfredo sauce:

1/4 cup soaked cashews
1 whole avocado
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup of water (or more for thinner texture)
a bit of thyme
fresh basil
salt
pepper

Blend everything in a food processor or blender and set aside.

Put your spiralized zucchini 'noodles' in a large pan with a bit of coconut oil to heat the pan.  Get them a bit warmed up (maybe 5-7 minutes of sauteing).  Add your sauce and mix until warm.

Other suggestions: Add fresh cut tomatoes for the acidity?  Bell peppers for a kick?  Instead of the mock Alfredo some lemon, olive oil and pepper would do just fine for a spruce'd up veggie side dish...

Other suggestions for the spiralizer:

Cucumber Radish Salad:

Beet Apple Noodles:

Sweet Potato Noodles - SO excited to get back to 'low carb' to try this one!

Cucumber Noodles:

Roasted Onion Noodles:

ONE WHOLE YEAR!

If someone were to ask me if I'd ever commit to something for more than a year (other than my previous relationships, paying rent or being a quality human being) I would have called them CRAZY.  Really?  Write down EVERYTHING I eat in a composition book every single day?  Hell....even keep a composition book and not LOSE it for a year?  Now that is a feat in and of itself.  BUT....

I did it.  July 16th, 2012 I started food tracking.  Although I went into Tray's gym about a week earlier to have the 'assessment' done on my lower back, I feel as though I got real and got serious when I picked up this book and decided to start writing in it to track everything I've eaten.  This is when my true transformation began.  In one year I am 46 lbs down and healthier and happier than ever.  I wondered countless times if I would make it to this point.  I remember leaving the gym last December wondering "when does this all end?" until I realized....it doesn't.  This is life and the way my life will be from here on out and I'm oddly ok with that.  It's hard...don't get me wrong.  Don't let ANYONE tell you it's easy because it's not - and if they say that, they're lying to themselves.  This sucks - I mean who doesn't want all the good things life has to offer?  What the real key to this lifestyle has become to me is a BALANCE.  I've learned the hard way when it comes to being imbalanced by my recent jaunts to New Orleans and San Francisco for an eating / drinking excursion that balance is necessary.  No one says you can't enjoy some cake for your co-workers birthday; however it's best to not have dessert that night while at dinner and snack all day long.  If you do have the cake, try to make it to the gym and walk a bit that evening. Balance is key....in everything you do.  People lose sight of what is important all the time and for me - I was a work-a-holic.  I worked all the time, ate what I wanted at my desk, didn't get up and move around, drank a ton of beer and couldn't have told you what bikram yoga was if it was my final Jeopardy question....

Now - a year later, I sit on a ball chair, I am up by 5:15 every morning, I work out (at times multiple times a day), I eat very healthy, I rarely eat past 8:00 at night, I write down everything, I lose track and fall off the wagon because I'm human, I track my steps daily and aim for 1,500 more than the 'norm' and I VACATION because I have a ton of energy....it really is a good life these days.  In addition I've found a wonderful way of never beating myself up.  People make mistakes, you falter, you miss the gym, you eat shitty food and you make bad decisions.  I've learned to never beat myself up for anything - this is extremely important when it comes to looking for a long term life change. 

2013 stats...so far:

work outs completed (1/1 - 7/16): 265 (consisting of runs, walks, bikram yoga, stretch class, weight training, spin, swimming, sauna, paddle boarding and barre classes)
days off total during this time: 22
weight dropped: 9 lbs


Next goal = 30th birthday (November 29th, 2013)

 Me and Tray this morning on my 'health birthday'

 Left = 7/16/2012 and right = one year later!

 

  Left = 6/23/2012, right = 6/16/2013

See my photo album from the past year....some of my favorites:

Stephina Photography 'one year shoot' -  May 28th, 2013

Grand Cayman Islands - April 2013

 

Being bad ass - ALL YEAR LONG

And more to come!!

Cleanse time - 5 days instead of 3!!!

Just started my juice cleanse for my "post-vacation I've almost been working out 1 year with my trainer' cleanse present to myself.  This time I opted for the 5 day cleanse and I am even thinking of extending it 2 more days (well... let's see how I feel on Monday).  I am excited to clean my system out.  I have been vacationing and non-dieting for awhile now and it's time to get back in the swing of things....why?  Well because I just feel better overall!!  I was the most toned, high energy individual the day I left for New Orleans....granted I had a great time in NOLA and in SF twice with my friends in the last four weekends but again, it's time to get my shit together and this juice cleanse is the jump off point. 

Looking to get back to this (my August 1st goal):