Good Morning
I decided to switch up breakfast a little bit today. I mashed half of a sweet potato and mixed it with some coconut cinnamon apples. Topped with cinnamon puffins, a scoop of TJ’s almond butter and unsweetened coconut. YUM.
Breakfast:
For the coconut cinnamon apples I just cooked the apples on the stove top in 1 tbsp of coconut oil and then sprinkled them with cinnamon.
It was very satisfying.
After breakfast I headed to crossfit. Today was an “off” day but I took Tuesday off so I made up the workout.
I did it in 11:05
After Crossfit I was pretty hungry since I didn’t have my protein shake. I hurried home to make lunch.
Lunch:
I made cheesy (cheddar + mozzarella) scrambled eggs with 1 egg and 2 egg whites, plus turkey sausage and 1/2 of an avocado.
With a side of mango and blackberries.
I did manage to get in a snack,( my favorite time of day) while doing my daily “chores” of vacuuming, cleaning up after the dogs, and doing laundry.
Snack:
In the Mix:
Cinnamon Puffins (again,) high fiber O’s, blueberries, almond milk and protein PB2 sauce.
Protein PB2 Sauce:
2 tbsp PB2
1 tbsp almond milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
1-2 tbsp vanilla protein powder
Water- to mix until desired consistency
Let’s talk about those “chores” shall we.
Back to the dogs, they are like kids, would you agree?? The other day we got a few inches of snow and now it is melting, so the back yard is like one big mud pit, awesome!
So every time the dogs go out, they come in muddy! I swear I spend half of my day cleaning up after the dogs- and the other boys in my house 😉
And why is Lily always up my butt? I mean I love her, but she never leaves my side. See….
Dinner:
While cooking I ate a blueberry Greek Yogurt.
Turkey Taco Casserole
(Recipe adapted from Eat Live Run)
This recipe is very easy. Its like having tacos without all the mess and clean up. You start by browning the ground turkey, adding in spices, and diced fire roasted tomatoes. I used Organic Wildtree taco seasoning which has chili powder, cumin, sea salt, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder in it. My step son hates tomatoes and anything “chunky” and he ate his entire meal without questioning! You know it was a good meal then 🙂
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and spray a square dish (I think mine was 8X8) with non stick cooking spray. Start by adding a thin layer of meat to the baking dish. Top with a sprinkle of cheese a then add a layer of the tortilla strips. Continue this process until all the meat is gone. Add the salsa to the final layer and then top with another sprinkle of cheese!
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained of extra “juice”
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp Wildtree Taco Seasoning
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 whole wheat or low carb tortillas cut into 1″ strips
1/2 cup salsa, plus more for serving
1 1/2 cups reduced fat Mexican blend cheese {or cheddar cheese}
sour cream for serving
sliced avocado for serving
** I left out the refried beans and green chili’s but feel free to add them if you want.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool before cutting. Enjoy!
Dessert:
So after dinner I had 2 small pieces of dark chocolate while I packed my lunch. This brought me to something I heard on Dr. Oz while I was working on my computer/blogging.
“Dr. Oz was talking about how hormone imbalance can affect weight gain. Dr. Oz tells viewers that one of the jobs of hormones is to determine whether your body needs to hold onto fat by storing it or to let fat go by metabolizing it. But, the hormones rely on being balanced with each other, and when just one hormone becomes imbalanced it escalates an imbalance in other hormones that then leads to weight gain.”
Dr. Oz talks about 7 Rules to obey to correct hormone imbalance through diet. I do agree with MOST of these, but I want to know what you guys think!?!?!
1. Eat within 30 minutes to 1 hour of rising from bed in the morning.
2. Eat every 3-4 hours at the same time every day. If you wait too long between meals or skip a meal, then that will increase the stress hormones in your body. Furthermore, by eating at the same time, insulin levels will remain low resulting in less fat storage.
3. Never eat within 3 hours of going to bed at night. Dr. Turner explains that when you eat before going to bed, that your body temp increases slightly and prevents the release of hormones that burn fat when your body should be relatively cooler during sleep.
4. Get 35% of your calories per day from protein. As protein is being digested, hormones in the small intestine sends signals via the vagus nerve to the brain telling it that the body is full and thereby promotes a feeling of satiety within the brain. Dr. Turner advises viewers to eat protein at every meal and that the potion size should be about the size and thickness of your palm. However, make your protein choice low-fat—two whole eggs or 4 egg whites in the morning will keep you feeling full throughout the day.
5. Eat fat burning friend foods. Dr. Turner promotes eating 2-3 teaspoons of hemp seeds due to their GLA content that helps burn belly fat, and due to its fiber content makes you feel fuller. She also advises adding 1/2 to 1 teaspoons of cinnamon to your coffee because it stabilizes insulin levels in the body.
6. Sleep naked. Sleeping naked lowers your body temperature and promotes the release of fat-burning hormones.
7. Banish your fat-loss foes. Avoid taking artificial sweeteners because they actually increase your cravings for sugar and raise your insulin levels explains Dr. Turner. More surprisingly, however, Dr. Turner points out that even what are considered to be good carb sources can still raise the insulin and blood sugar levels of some people who are carbohydrate sensitive. She suggests that if you are doing all of the above and still finding your hormones are imbalanced and you are not losing weight, that you should remove your carb sources one at time separately to see which is causing you a problem. She recommends switching over to sweet potatoes, brown rice, Ezekiel rye and squash for people who are carbohydrate sensitive.
So since I had chocolate at 8:30 and I went to bed around 10:00 I did not follow rule #3, but then this leads me to the fact that I usually NEVER follow rule #3. But they say dark chocolate can lower your stress level, so I say go for it!
According to Livestrong.com, “While avoiding night-time eating may hold benefits for some, it is not necessarily helpful to everyone. ” This is what I like to hear! I try to go for fruit or some type of protein for a late night snack if I feel like I really need one.
I think overeating during ANY TIME of the day can lead to weight gain.
I have heard so many different things on this same issue so I question what is really true, and wonder if it affects people differently? I have never heard that eating within 3 hours of bedtime raises your body temperature slightly, weird?
What do you guys think about eating within 3 hours of going to bed?
Do you have a sweet tooth like I do? Check out these Hungry Girl Guilt Free Chocolate Goodies Including:
Freezy Whoopie Pies
Dreamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Raspberry Kiss Crunchettes
Have a good Friday!
Fitcupcaker 