My Favorite 10-min Dinner: Taco Night at the Wood's

So it occurred to me the other day when the clock struck 7:45pm and we still had nothing planned for dinner, and were both ravenous (and therefore grumpy), that we may not be the only two people in the world who sometimes wait too long to figure out what to eat and need something FAST but still want it to be healthy and yummy and, did I mention, that we need it NOW!? In a situation like this, which seems to happen way more often than I'd like, we have a few key meals we often fall back on. One of which is: Taco Night. Taco Night is always fun (i am decidedly pro-finger/hand foods due to my irrational hatred of utensil washing- don't ask), flavorful, and can be as elaborate as you want. You can fill them with roast duck or grilled salmon (both suuuper yummy options), and top them with everything from black beans to grilled pineapple. They can be a casual quick bite on the go or a fun interactive meal for beloved guests. The sky is the limit on your options and they are easily customizable for guests with tricky diets (remember my dinner with the gluten-dairy-cashew-coconut-and pineapple free guest? bingo!).

For our purpose tonight I am going to show you the how-to for the FAST yummy tacos that I made last night (perhaps later we will get into the fancy pants versions).

You Will Need:

-sprouted corn tortillas

-butter (preferably pasture-raised)

-1 warm rotisserie chicken (I highly recommend Bumblebees for this, although whole foods does a decent one in a pinch)

Toppings:

-black beans

-sunflower sprouts

-cilantro

-rosted bell peppers (make your own or buy a jar full)

-arugula

-salsa

-organic sour cream

Directions:

1. In a small frying pan melt a little butter and fry your tortilla on both sides (omitting this step is not recommended- it is key to the yumminess factor of the end result. Unfried sprouted tortillas tend to taste like thin cardboard in my humble opinion).

2. Pile on as many toppings as you desire and eat.

Now wasn't that easy? And tasty? I think so. Try it and let me know your favorite topping combinations you come up with...

SUGAR: It's different than you think...

Now, I know a lot about sugar. Or, at least, I thought I did. This guy explains sugar (and it's connection to obesity) in a way that blew my socks off. It's a lot different than we all think. Think everything is just the law of thermodynamics (calories in vs. calories out= your body composition)? Or how about the commonly held belief that "if you eat it, you better burn it, or you'll store it"? Think fat is simply the result of 'gluttony' and 'sloth'?

Watch. And Learn.

Is Sugar Toxic? Fabulous article from the NY Times (refers to this video). Author Gary Taubes is also the author of "Good Calories. Bad Calories." and "Why We Get Fat" two books I highly recommend.

Lethal Sitting- why it's not just the big stuff that counts

Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?

By JAMES VLAHOS

Published: April 14, 2011

New York Times Magazine

"DR. LEVINE’S MAGIC UNDERWEAR resembled bicycle shorts, black and skintight, but with sensors mounted on the thighs and wires running to a fanny pack. The look was part Euro tourist, part cyborg. Twice a second, 24 hours a day, the magic underwear’s accelerometers and inclinometers would assess every movement I made, however small, and whether I was lying, walking, standing or sitting.

James Levine, a researcher at theMayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has an intense interest in how much people move — and how much they don’t. He is a leader of an emerging field that some call inactivity studies, which has challenged long-held beliefs about human health and obesity. To help me understand some of the key findings, he suggested that I become a mock research trial participant. First my body fat was measured inside a white, futuristic capsule called a Bod Pod.Next, one of Dr. Levine’s colleagues, Shelly McCrady-Spitzer, placed a hooded mask over my head to measure the content of my exhalations and gauge my body’s calorie-burning rate. After that, I donned the magic underwear, then went down the hall to the laboratory’s research kitchen for a breakfast whose calories were measured precisely.

A weakness of traditional activity and obesity research is that it relies on self-reporting — people’s flawed recollections of how much they ate or exercised. But the participants in a series of studies that Dr. Levine did beginning in 2005 were assessed and wired up the way I was; they consumed all of their food in the lab for two months and were told not to exercise. With nary a snack nor workout left to chance, Dr. Levine was able to plumb the mysteries of a closed metabolic universe in which every calorie, consumed as food or expended for energy, could be accounted for."

read the rest of the article here!

Dr. Levine is starting to explain what figiters have long known- it's not just your weekly workouts that count- it's the sum total of all the movements (small and large) you make throughout the day. Very interesting. Want to boost your fat-loss and extend the effects of your workouts? Do what this guy is doing and smash your chairs:

:)

Sat: 4/16 BINGE DAY!!!!

We started our day with BODPOD body fat testing out at the community college which required us not to eat or exercise for 2 hours prior so by the time we did we were STARVING! Went to my autie's house and had:

BF: 2 pieces organic bacon, 2 fried eggs, steamed chard, and gluten-free banana chocolate chip pancakes

Then we went to Tune Up and each had:

L: a turkey club with french fries

But we found we could only each eat half because our tummies had shrunk?...super lame...

In the afternoon I ate an apple and peanut butter and a few thin mint cookies from Whole Foods

while getting ready for our big BINGE DAY BBQ at which we had:

D: lamb and bison burgers (with buns!), greek salad, few bites of Connor's maple chicken, and home-made milk shakes for dessert. :)

All in all, I gotta say I was a little disappointed in myself. I had been hoping to really consume a serious amount of food but instead I found myself eat rather...moderately. COME ON Ranier! Next time I will plan it better and eat even more. :) After a few sips of milk shake I didn't feel that good so I stopped and we both went to bed bloated and 'ugh-'y feeling. Tim said this is a good thing (to make yourself a little sick on binge day) and it helps motivate you clean back up for the next week. Previous to BINGE DAY Will was down 6.4lbs and I was down 5 (and that's where Im staying! No more!) so gotta say, week one was pretty successful. Will is going to continue staying strict and I am going to loosen it up (I need more calories to breast feed than I was getting) but all in all I think it's very do-able. Especially for people who do well with extremes or have aggressive goals. I am/have neither so I will be adding in some fruit and occasional grains but I encourage all of you to try this, and when you do, send me your best recipes with BEANS!

GAAAaaame ON!

For your comedic enjoyment... Joey and Will get BODPOD-ed:

Friday: 4/15

Breakfast: 2 eggs, sprouted french lentils, bacon scramblies

Lunch: bison hot dog w/ salad

Snack: baby carrots and sunflower seeds (at Cosima's)

Dinner: whole foods salad bar and salmon (at Joey's)

Thursday 4/14

Breakfast: 2 eggs, sprouted french lentils, bacon scramblies

Lunch: indian buffet at Raaga (no rice etc.)

Snack: almonds

Dinner: Amanda's Fajitas (sans tortilla and sour cream)

Wednesday 4/13

Breakfast: 2 eggs, sprouted french lentils, and bacon scramblies*

Lunch: 1.5 bison hot dogs w/ salad

Snack: celery and peanut butter with a 6 raisins- (ok! I admit! I cheated! I had ants on my log...)

Dinner: Chicken and Veggie Soup with White Northern Beans in Bone Broth

TO MAKE:

You will need:

-1 leek

-1 shallot

-2 pieces organic bacon

-olive oil

-carrots

-celery

-chicken (I used thighs but any cut works)

-1 can White Northern Beans

-fresh cilantro

-fresh basil

-salt, pepper, soysauce, etc to taste

1. Make BONE BROTH** (best to start this a day ahead or have some already made in the freezer) and set aside.

2. Chop bacon into little pieces and begin to cook in the bottom of a large stock pot.

3. Throw in leek and shallot with a touch of olive oil and cook until starting to tender.

4. Chop up celery and carrot and add to onion/bacon

5. Once the veggies have started to get a little 'done' (but not fully) stir in the chicken diced into cubes

6. add a splash of soy sauce and cook till all veggies and chicken are fully cooked

7. Pour in bone broth

8. taste and season

9. At the last minute throw in a handful of both cilantro and basil and enjoy!

** Bone broth is simply the traditional way of making broth. In this case I took the leftover bones from my roast chicken the night before (plus some extras I had saved the night before), put them in a pot filled with water, added 1T vinegar (helps pull the minerals from the bones), a chopped onion and a few veggies. Let rest for 30 mins then bring to a boil. Once boiling take to a simmer and simmer for as long as you can (ideally 12-24hours). The end product is not only incredibly tasty but wonderfully nourishing as well! Here is a video of Sean Croxton (one of my fave wellness guys making beef bone broth:

Note: Beef bone broth is made a little differently than chicken but you get the idea...

*a term coined by my 4 year old niece

Tuesday 4/12

Breakfast: 2 eggs and 2 pieces of organic bacon

Lunch: 1.5 bison hot-dogs and arugula salad

Snack: walnuts and left-overs from last night (cod stir-fry)

Dinner: Ranier's Famous Roast Chicken with Root Veggies (bones reserved for bone broth for tomorrow!)

TO MAKE:

You will need:

-onion

-whole garlic cloves

-root vegetables:

-carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips etc.

-whole organic chicken (cut into 8 pieces)

-celery

-rosemary

-olive oil

-soy sauce

-few glugs of red wine

Chop all the veggies into big chunks, mix with ALL of the rest of the ingredients in a dutch oven. Cover and cook in a hot oven (around 400F) for about an hour. Finish un-covered till chicken is golden brown.

Shown with white sweet potato my neighbor brought over...

YUMMM!

Monday 4/11

Breakfast: 2eggs and sweat potatoes (made out of desperation- dont really recommend this one!)

Lunch: Big salad with rotisserie chicken, walnuts, black beans, fennel, carrots etc. (YUM!)

Snack: 2 hard boiled eggs with truffle salt and a few almonds

Dinner: Cod and Asperagus Stir-Fry with Northern White Beans (made it up- suuper yummy!) and The World's Greatest Acorn Squash Rings (not kidding here- yummiest thing in the world, almost.)

To Make the Squash rings:

1. Slice your acorn squash into thin (about 1/4-1/2" rings) and arrange one a baking sheet.

2. In a small sauce pan melt 2-3T pasture butter and throw in a few shakes of cinnamon, and a splash of high quality vanilla.

3. Brush the rings with the butter mixture on both sides then bake at 300F till golden/dark brown and thin edges are crispy...

ENJOY!

My Dream Gym

This place is absolutely incredible and these guys are my heroes. I think I'm in love...

Week1 of the 4-Hour Body Diet (and FAT BLAST CHALLENGE!)

Hey Guys!

Ok. So for those of you who are joining me for the Fat Blast Challenge Study I promised I would forge ahead for the first week and blog everything I ate (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks) to give you some inspiration. The Fat Blast Study is based in Tim Ferriss' Slow Carb Diet as outlined in his fabulous new book, "The 4-Hour Body".

Basic Tenants:

*Avoid all "white" carbohydrates (including those that can be white)- this includes white and brown rice, white potatoes, white and whole wheat flour (and all flour products- bread, pasta, cakes, muffins, breaded fried foods), oats (not really white but whatever), corn*, cereals, tortillas etc.

*Avoid Dairy- you can have about 2T of cream in your coffee if you must but otherwise, unless you're a infant- no milk for you!

*Eat the same few meals over and over again- don't kill yourself trying to be creative. Find a few good options that include: protein, legumes, and veggies and eat them every four hours or so every day. Note: the legume portion is especially important because it will help give you the energy and calories you will be missing from the 'regular' carbohydrates (this is one of the biggest differences between his program and normal low-carb diets).

*Don't Drink Calories- You will need to drink a TON of water with a diet this high in protein and fiber. You can also have up to two glasses of red wine a night and as much unsweetened tea or coffee (w/ no more than 2T cream) as you like. No soft drinks, or any other no or low calorie beverage (for more on this see the recent study by UMN correlating diet soda consumption with obesity and fat gain).

*Don't Eat Fruit- enough said.

*Take One Day Off Per Week- ...and on the 7th day: BINGE! Yeyy! Eat all the fruit, carbs, beer, twinkies etc. that your little heart desires. This calorie loading will no only help keep you honest the other six days but also helps prevent your metabolism from slowing down due to the decrease in calories! (Tip- keep a list as you crave things throughout the week so you can be sure to have them on your binge day). Crazy, no!? This is my favorite part. ;)

For more details and to learn a little more of the 'why' behind all this insanity I highly recommend buying the book. It has all sorts of other interesting information (including how to boost libido, train for an ultra-marathon, and get a great butt...) and it a blast to read.

Here is the book's video trailer to get you pumped:

*He doesn't actually specify about corn but since it's what they feed livestock to fatten them, I generally recommend it not be a huge part of your weight-loss program... :)

I will be trying this (as well as some of his other crazy protocols) all week with Will and will let you know how it goes! I'm not trying to lose weigh per se (gotta keep up with the milk supply) but I like to know what I'm putting you through myself before I make you do it. :) Idn't that nice?? If you have questions email me or leave them in the comments below!

GAAAMME OON!

Sunday Night: Lamb and Sweat Potato Stir Fry with Veggies

NIGHT 1 of the 4HB Diet. It was getting late and I was running out of ideas so I did what I often do in such situations and that is- throw everything I want to eat in a pot and see how it turns out. In this case- SUPER YUMMY. Will is already requesting that this become one of our 'regular' meals. Basically it went down like this:

Heat a few glugs of olive oil in a large frying pan or shallow dutch oven and add:

*half an onion chopped

*medium shallot sliced thin-ish

Cook until onions start to get translucent and then add the following:

*1 large sweat potato cubed in 1" squares

Cook until getting soft but not yet totally done and add:

*2 small zucchini sliced in 1/4" half rounds

*1 small summer squash sliced in 1/4" half rounds

* handful of green beans cut in 1" lengths

(plus any other veggies you might want)

and

*1Lb ground lamb

Cook it all up until everything's done (potatoes are soft etc.), covering and stirring occasionally. Drain the fat if desired and season with:

*soy sauce

*basil

*salt/pepper

And Enjoy! This can be made a million ways- let me know your flavor combinations that work best in the comments below.

Get Fit with a Towel and Some Laundry Detergent

Hey Guys!

Ok. So everyone wanted me to post a little somethin' to keep ya'll from going flabby while I go out of town... Good idea! I said. So here is a quick and dirty run down of a few of our favorites to keep you solid in my absence. It is using ABSOLUTELY NO fancy equipment (aside from environmentally friendly laundry detergent! ;) and can be done anytime, anywhere.

It's a good, basic, balanced workout that requires nothing more than a bit of motivation and a bit of floor space. Speaking of floor... I recommend using a mat or a towel for the floor exercises- mine was lost somewhere in the move and I can tell you- the hard wood floor is less comfortable than it looks!

Tip- pause the video after each exercise so that you can do a full set of repetitions before going on to the next. I didn't go very far in depth about each exercise since this is meant as a reminder/guide for those who already work with me... That said, if you have any questions or concerns just write me a little comment and I will see what I can do to address them! (...maybe even in video form! Wouldn't that be high tech and fabulous?)

Otherwise...

Here we go!

Yee-haw!

Here's the outline of what we are doing:

FOUNDATION:

-plank- 30-60sec.

-cobra- 30-60 sec.

- hip-bridge with alternating legs- 20repetitions

WORKIT: (do 3x through)

-Squat/One-Legged Squat/Lunge/Lunge-Kick- 25reps (basic squat), 15-20rep. (single leg versions)

-Push-Up- 15 reps of the hardest variation you can keep good form doing

-Bent-Over (laundry) Row- 25reps. (depending on weight of found object)

CORE:

- Froggie (knees out) forward curl- 20+reps

-Froggie with Hovering Feet- 10+reps

-Froggie Full Clamshell (feet and head)- 10+ reps

-Froggie Feet Only-10+ reps

-Toe Taps- (as long as you can hold form)

-Side Plank- 15 ea side

STRETCH!!!

-chest, hip flexors, quads, hammies, spine, calves etc. (or just go to yoga.)

Note: This was filmed (and originally posted) November 2009- ths the short hair and no furniture :)

TRX Suspension Training!! The best thing since we all stopped eating sliced bread...

These simple straps are the latest and greatest in core-intensive fitness. Try them out at one of my new TRX suspension bootcamps or try them yourselves! You will be amazed. The TRX builds strength in a whole different way than I have ever experienced before. It is very core intensive ("all core, all the time" as they say) and it builds strength on length- working the muscle in all three phases of movement. Many of the exercises are as good a stretch as they are a challenge.

Though they may look a tad intimidating, don't be scared. Since all the exercises use body weight and gravity you can tailor them to your desired degree of difficulty.

Check out the nifty door anchor for an instant home gym (this is how I trained while BODYfit was under construction) or the 'x-mount' if you are really dedicated and want it to be a more permanent part of your home.

To get your own: buy here

When you buy it through that link I get points so THANK YOU to all my lovely supportive fitness enthusiasts! (you can also type the following affiliate code when you check out: f81ba201)

Sleep Your Way Skinny!

A couple years ago my mama and I took a wonderful trip to Ireland. After a few harrowing days of driving on the left hand side of the road mama decided she had had enough and we booked into a hotel on a tiny island off the west coast that had a new hotel, a few classic irish cottages, and not much else. The hotel was solidly built, the island deeply quiet, and the whole place wild and restful in the way only remote nature can be.

It was fabulous. We ate four course meals at night, sipped whole-milk lattes while the storms rolled in in the afternoons, and went for light walks around the island when graced with sunshine. At night, we both slept a good solid 9-hours for the first time in years.

So... I gained like 40lbs, right? No gyms, no celery sticks? Instant weight gain, right?

Nope! I actually lost weight. EFFORTLESSLY. And not even intentionally, either. I was at a fine weight but by the end of the week had leaned up a few pounds... How about that?!

It was then that I realized I really should write a book. I would title it something along the lines of 'Sleep Your Way Skinny' or the 'Dream Diet' or something equally catching and tacky and it would have a tremendous impact on obesity in America. It was brilliant! I loved waking up skinny and I felt great. In the end, I favored the simple method of pestering my own clients about their sleep patterns over the complexities of publishing, but the importance of sleep has not lost it's weight in my mind (pun intended).

Which is why I was delighted when I saw the recent explosion of media on the subject! Glamour Magazine did a whole article on the subject and USAToday did a great summary of the latest research (here). If you are the type who likes to know all the details and the mechanics then check out the article but here are a few of the stats:

• Scientists have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone [ghrelin] and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full [leptin].
  
• Researchers found that people who sleep 2-4 hours a night are 73% more likely to be obese than those who get 7-9 hours.
  
• Those who get 5 hours of sleep are 50% more likely to be obese.
• Those who sleep 6 hours are 23% more likely to be obese [than normal sleepers].

Have you ever noticed how much more you crave sweets when you're tired? Lord, I do. As the article reports from a study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, "The sleep-deprived men who had the biggest hormonal changes... felt the most hungry and craved carbohydrate-rich foods, including cakes, candy, ice cream, pasta and bread." When you are tired your brain is constantly signaling the need for energy. How do we get our energy? Calories! And what is our brain's stand-by for quick-fix energy? Sugar! Makes sense doesn't it? The problem is, we are not tired from lack of 'energy' (read: calories) but rather but a basic deprivation of REM time. However, your body can't just shut down (you have THINGS TO DO!), so it compromises by telling you to eat.

Interesting, no? So. Moral of the story: GET SOME SLEEP! It is by far the easiest way of all to help your body healthy, strong, and lean. How much sleep? It depends on your body. A good rule of thumb is to sleep as much as you possibly can for at least three days in a row. This should even out any 'sleep debt' you may have accrued. On the fourth and fifth night note how long you naturally sleep and use this amount as a guide for what is 'normal' or required for your body. Sleep is essential for proper body functioning, and proper body functioning is the foundational to being JOYOUSLY FIT!

...sweet dreams!

photo thanks to mplex.org