grain free

Dinner in 20!

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Do you have a weekly meal plan?

I cook about the same every week. I try my best to eat in season. I change up the vegetables and herbs depending on what was at the Farmer’s Market, or in the CSA box that week.

Having a plan makes shopping easy. I shop once a week at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I just go through the aisles and buy the same thing I also love Thrive Market. We eat what I buy so there is very little waste.

Here is a typical week of dinners.

  • Saturday: White rice, vegetables, cod  (Click here to read why I eat white rice instead of brown rice.)
  • Sunday: Banza chickpea pasta, chicken sausage, vegetables
  • Monday: Shrimp, sweet potatoes, vegetables
  • Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas(I marinate enough chicken thighs so I can have it on Thursday as well.) I serve with grain free Siete Chips.
  • Wednesday: Scallops, rice, vegetables
  • Thursday: Chicken Fajitas
  • Friday: Pizza Night! Amy’s cheese-less pizza, chicken sausage, vegetables

I cook in portion sizes. I cook for four. Full disclosure, sometimes the three of us eat the whole thing. Or I save one serving for Tom’s lunch the next day. The beauty of it all is cooking time is about 20 minutes.

Lately, I  have been buying a whole organic chicken, pasture raised when I can find it. I make pulled chicken for lunches, and save the bones to make bone broth. I love the efficiency and no waste in the process! During the week, I cook rice in the homemade bone broth. The broth is so good for you and it adds great flavor to the white rice.

I love having a plan and knowing what’s for dinner. My special needs son Tom will ask me what’s for dinner. If I don’t have an answer he will keep asking. He has made me organized! I now have less stress around dinner. I am also working on eating earlier. The plan is to eat at 6 pm. I need to start cooking at  5:40. I can usually get in on the table in 20 minutes or at least in 30!

I love having my IPAD on my kitchen windows so I can watch Garden Answers or Grace and Frankie for the third time! It makes kitchen time fun!

I hope this was helpful to you.  Do you have a meal plan?. Please post a comment. I love hearing about your everyday life.

Watermelon
        Eat in Season.

 

 

 

 

Cinnamon Butter Cookies

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Cinnamon Butter Cookies with Liz Finley!

Lizzie is a client of mine. She starting working with me in August. I am so impressed how Liz committed to the Fit and Fabulous Program and she has seen results!

Her goal was to lose weight and to feel her best. She has lost 13 pounds. She has eliminated the sugar and diet soda in her diet. Liz focuses on eating a balanced clean diet and she takes pharmaceutical grade supplements. She trains with me twice a week and walks the other days. She has increased her weights and is getting stronger while shedding the pounds!

She has been asking me for cookie recipes that she can enjoy during the Holidays. She doesn’t want the sugar. Today, after the workout we made Cinnamon Butter Cookies with only 5 ingredients!

I found the recipe online. Thank you Jenny Fitness!

* INGREDIENTS *

  • 2 cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract ( non alcohol )
  • ½ cup grassfed butter ( room temp )
  • 1 tsp liquid stevia

 

* INSTRUCTIONS *

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  • Mix everything in a bowl, forget the spatula and just use your hands.
  • Form into little bites ( about 24 ) and place on parchment paper on baking sheet.
  • Press lightly with fork.
  • Bake until golden brown ( about 20 minutes ).

 

* Makes approximately 24 cookies, 1 serving = 2 cookies
* Approx per serving: 180 calories, 17g fat, 4g protein, 4g carb, 2g fiber

I love that you can mix the batter with your hands. It is so simple and easy! They are cookies that are good for you!

Please give these a try and share the recipe with your friends. Let me know how you like them!

Love,

Mary

Fit and Fabulous Lovely Elaine!

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Elaine Milner, 79 came to my outdoor workouts about 3 months ago. She felt she was beginning to lose her balance and flexibility. Her daughter Jennifer encouraged Elaine to try my program. The first day I was concerned because her balance was off. Elaine kept at it and within 2 weeks she was so much better!

You don’t want to move like an old person. WORK ON YOUR BALANCE!

Here is LOVELY ELAINE…

She also joined my 7 Days…Feel Fabulous Program. I designed the program to help get your hormones in balance so you feel your best. You lose your sugar cravings, sleep through the night and you might just lose the nagging aches and pains.  “I felt so much better within a couple of days. The gas and bloat were gone. ”

It is time to Lighten up in so many ways. It is springtime. Fit and Fabulous Lovely Elaine shows that it is possible and FUN at any age! I am so grateful that she is part of my Program.

Love,

Mary

I am driving myself crazy!

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 (I was.)

I want to throw the scale out the window. Have you ever felt that way? I was becoming a crazy person, weighing myself everyday, bringing the phone into the bathroom with me incase I hit a good weight that day that I could post.

I have created a really good PROGRAM for the long haul. It is working BUT I know when I put too much pressure on myself it just doesn’t work. How can I sell my program if I am not perfect??? Truth is, it is not about perfection at all, it is about PROGRESS. I know the weight comes off when I give myself a break and I am not so stressed about it.

I have made progress, I can feel it. I have lost a few pounds, my stomach is flatter, I am eating less, drinking more water, sitting down and eating slower, and savoring my food. PROGRESS. I have been working with a chiropractor 2x a week with the Foundation training workouts. The exercises have been very helpful, CORE STRENGTH!!! (that will be another blog post).

Do you believe in signs? On Sunday at church, John the Pastor preached about letting go and letting the divine take the lead. Later that day, I opened Dr. Christiane Northrup’s Goddesses Never Age to “Happy Belly, Happy Body” . Page 258, that page alone is worth the price of the book!

“If you’re unhappy with the shape of your belly, know that cutting out the wheat will reduce it, but whatever your belly looks like you can make it happy. Balance your gut flora. Nourish yourself with good foods and clear out the junk, including the shame, perfectionism, and emotional stress that are affecting you.”

“Give up the goal of achieving what our culture calls a “perfect” or “ideal” body shape.”  Christiane Northrup,M.D.

THANK YOU, DR. NORTHRUP!!!

Thank you!

I feel so much better, how about you? Are you ready to join me on your journey to OPTIMAL HEALTH? Fit and Fabulous…Aging Optional?

“OK….the package arrived yesterday, I’m ready to go! Just LMK what I should be doing now, thanks. I’m ready to be fit and fabulous! “

 Are you ready? Here is the link to learn more and join the Fit and Fabulous.

Menopausal Belly Video?

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I weighed myself this morning.

WOW...

WOW…

 

 

 

 

 

I know I have put on a few pounds. My belly is expanding. I am Miss Fit and Fabulous so it is really hard for me to talk about this. I am being honest with myself and all of you. In the past, I would have done the 5 day Reset program which works really well if you have a sugar issue. The first time I did Reset I definitely had sugar issues and I lost 5 pounds in 5 days. It worked  great and I no longer have sugar issues. The last few times I did Reset I lost 2 pounds. I don’t want to Reset to lose the weight.

Yes, there is a chocolate shake in the box!

Yes, there is a chocolate shake in the box!

 

I do have a wonderful morning shake from my healthy gut program. Nutrimeal Free, strawberries, cucumber and Fibergy. I had a shake at 6:30 and wasn’t hunger for lunch until 1.

I have decided not to be hard on myself but to exercise a little more and eat a little less.  I take my Fit and Fabulous supplement, so important to nutrient your cells properly. The weight will come off easier.

I shot my own video, debated whether I should post it. It is my first one, they will get better, it is a bit shaky.

Please, I would love to hear from you. This was not an easy post. You will be my accountability partner!

Thank you.

Love,

Mary

Grain Free muffins in a minute.

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Have you read Laurel’s Kitchen By Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders and Brownwen Godfrey? It was first printed in 1976. My copy is yellow with age. When I was first married, I used this cookbook a lot. They talk about being the Keeper of the Keys.  “Traditionally the world over, the women in the house has been known as the keeper of the keys. To hold the keys to the household, to the storerooms, attics, chests and cupboards, was a position of great responsibility and therefore great honor.”  I loved the book at the time. I would bake round loaves of bread in coffee cans, sprout my own beans, and make yogurt from scratch. I was in charge of cooking and feeding the family. I still am. I no longer bake bread or sprout beans or make yogurt from scratch.

Now, I make grain free muffins in a minute. This is great for breakfast. Today, I had it after my workout with a delicious cup of organic french pressed coffee.

Delicious Post workout snack.

Delicious Post workout snack.

Muffin in a Cup!

– ¼ cup of ground flax
– 1 tsp of baking powder
– 2 tsp of cinnamon
– 1 egg
– 1 packet of Stevia or 1 squirt of liquid stevia

Optional: A Scoop of Collagen protein.

Place the ingredients into a mug (I use a Pyrex measuring cup) and put it in the microwave for 60 seconds. Allow to cool and then enjoy!

Muffin in a cup:)

Muffin in a cup:)

Easy peasy.The basic recipe is from Jorge Cruise. Of course, I add my own pet touches, chopped walnuts, raisins, shredded coconut. Get creative! Today I added fresh blueberries from my food co op.

I like to top it with Organic Greek yogurt and a some homemade unsweetened applesauce.

Organic Blueberry Muffin

Organic Blueberry Muffin

This is a wonderful treat for your kids. Thomas and I made them when he got home from camp the other day. Easy for him to make as well.

Thomas loves them too. He added grass fed butter to his muffin!

Thomas loves them too. He added grass fed butter to his muffin!

Try it out and let me know what your pet touches are! I love to hear from you.

Grain Free

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A month ago, I posted about menopausal belly.  (This was the most popular post.) I went almost completely grain free for two weeks. I did feel better and my belly  flatter.  For me, I think it works better if I am easy on myself. I have been eating smaller portions and eating slower . Yesterday morning, I had 2 organic eggs, half a piece of Niman Ranch bacon and a half of a gluten free waffle with grass fed butter. I split everything with my son Thomas. It was completely satisfying. I didn’t feel bad about eating the waffle.  It works better for me.

I do think it is great advise to cut back on grains, legumes, and obviously sugar. It all goes back to keeping your blood sugar balanced.

Today, I made flourless almond butter bread. “Paleo Sandwich Bread” Really great ingredients, but it is important not to over due it either.  This is what happens to me when I start baking.  I want a big thick slice with grass fed butter. I do have it on hand so I will choose the bread instead of gluten free waffles. A better choice.

Fancy paleo sandwich bread!

Fancy paleo sandwich bread!

I cleaned out my kitchen cabinets and threw out all of my bread pans. I did save my  tube pan and now I can make Fancy Paleo bread! I was surprised at how well it came out.

Try the recipe and let me know how you like it. I am sure I will come up with different versions. Stay tuned…

Love,

Mary