Let's talk about lentils

I love lentils. They're easy to cook, nutritious, filling, versatile and cheap. Oh yeah, and they're delicious. What more could you want?

Lentils are a staple in our rotation, and each time I make them a different way. A few weeks ago, I followed a recipe in one of my many cookbooks that yielded a sweet version of lentils with dried apricots. This week, I went a simple route using ingredients I happened to have on hand: onion, garlic, paprika, fresh thyme, red bell pepper and kale. I used French lentils, which I buy in bulk and always have in my pantry. They're more flavorful than most lentils, and they hold their shape better than other types that turn mushy more quickly.

I topped the lentils with a bit of nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with some saffron. I also love eating the lentils with a poached egg -- which always feels so luxurious -- on top. Add a piece of crusty bread, and that's a tasty healthy meal.

Changes...

My apologies for my lack of posting this week.

But in my defense, some major things happened.

1. Le Boyfriend was in town, and that always throws off my schedule

2. Le Boyfriend proposed to me, therefore becoming Le Fiancé

cue the happy dance

What better motivation do you need to get into shape than to fit into a wedding gown??

So I have been transitioning from getting fit to meet someone to get fit to keep the someone to get fit to marry the someone. 

This is exhausting. But a good exhausting. The kind that makes you want to accomplish your goal.

In preparation for this, my schedule for working out looks like this:

Monday- Run

Tuesday- Run

Wednesday- Run or Crossfit

Thursday- Zumba

Friday- Run

Saturday- Zumba or Crossfit

Here are some additional links for those of you who are looking to get into shape before walking down the aisle.

Buff Brides

Get Fit Moves

Workout for Brides

Motivational tools

Above is a photo of my breakfast today. It was just so good that I had to share. In that bowl is oatmeal made with almond milk and topped with ground flax seeds, fat-free Greek yogurt, chopped almonds, blueberries and raspberries. Over all of that I drizzled a good amount of honey. Delicious, filling, and super healthy.

On to the topic of the day: motivational tools. While training for that Miami-to-Key West relay, my friends and I discovered DailyMile, a fantastic and simple motivational tool for all sorts of athletes. The site, which features a Twitter-style feed, was originally created by and for runners, but it soon expanded to include all sorts of athletic activities: swimming, cycling, rowing, yoga, weight training, and walking to name a few.

Whenever you do a workout, you log it, and it shows up in both your feed and those of your friends. Not only is it great for accountability, but it's also a fantastic place to get positive encouragement on those days when motivation is low. Friends can comment on your activities, so when you have a great workout they'll congratulate you, and when you've had a crummy day, they'll remind you that you're doing great and it'll get better tomorrow.

In addition to the motivational benefits, it's also an easy way to keep track of your workouts, which is important to be able to look back and see what kinds of workouts helped you get that PR and what might have, say, caused an injury.

So if you're having trouble staying on track with your exercise plan, I'd definitely recommend joining DailyMile with a few friends. With a little accountability and mutual encouragement, you'll be sure to reach your exercise goals.

Love...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I heard on the radio yesterday that men felt a lot of pressure to make this day a "perfect" day for their girlfriend/wife/lover. That they felt this need to get the most wonderful gift or plan the most amazing date...and that they felt this every year. Its not like they get a break from one year to the next. Every year.

But instead of giving you gift ideas, or a recipe to keep you on track that is still romantic enough to celebrate this day, I propose that we throw all of that out of the window and celebrate ourselves.

I don't care if you are single, married, divorced, or in the "its complicated" stage...

You are wonderful. 

Do something today that makes you happy because you are worth it!

Go ahead. Eat those cookies.

I've been on a bit of a sweets tear lately. I have, for the most part, kicked the regular ice cream habit, but I just moved on to chocolate truffles (which, in my defense, were leftovers from a birthday gift I made — I couldn't let them go to waste!) and now cookies.

My go-to cookie for satisfying a craving is a banana chocolate chip cookie recipe that is actually pretty healthy, as far as cookies go, and is also really delicious. I've had this recipe for a while and have tweaked it over the years until I think I've got just the right proportions. It's a great one to have in your repertoire, because it's egg-free (which came in handy when my godson had an egg allergy) and can be made dairy-free if necessary.

In fact, I made the cookies last week with butter and tried coconut oil this week. I was hoping it would give the cookies a bit of a coconut flavor, but it didn't — the cookies tasted pretty much exactly the same.

OK, so these cookies aren't exactly low in fat or sugar. The recipe calls for either a stick of butter or half a cup of coconut oil, both of which are pretty high in saturated fats and calories. And there's a whole cup of brown sugar in the batch.

But check out all of the good things: whole wheat flour, wheat germ, bananas and walnuts! And I would certainly throw dark chocolate into that category too. It is good for you, right?

I'll be honest — these are not as satisfying as a really delicious, gooey chocolate chip cookie. But they are delicious in their own right and are definitely worth a try.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c toasted wheat germ
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 rounded tsp sea salt
1/2 c unsalted butter or coconut oil
1 c brown sugar
2 bananas, mashed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
walnuts
dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder and salt).

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter or coconut oil until light and fluffy, and then beat in the sugar. Add the banana and vegetable oil and mix together thoroughly. Add the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and beat well. Finally, mix in as many walnuts and chocolate chips as you like.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Some inspiration for us all...

I'd like to post this video featuring my grandmother. She has been faithfully attending a wellness center that caters to her needs as an 87 year old woman. This past summer, when we were visiting her, she made it a point to take me down to her center and show me what she's been working on. She LOVES it there! You should have seen her throw a weighted ball against a trampoline and catch it over and over again! The people at the center have been so impressed with her, they decided to use her in a promotional video.

Anyways, the moral of the story is...forget about "getting skinny", the most important thing is being healthy and maintaining good health for a lifetime. My grandmother tells me all the time she is so grateful that she is still able to do the things she needs and wants to do (garden, take care of her home, travel, etc.), but she has really worked hard to remain so fit.

I hope you enjoy and feel inspired! Of course, I'm a little biased, but I think she's a perfect example of how exercise and being healthy improves quality of life at any age.

Crossfit: The latest thing?

Have you heard of Crossfit?

According to the official website,  "CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide."

Some of us here at So Maybe Mom Was Right have started training with Crossfit. We will keep you updated as to how it goes. But in the meantime, here is a video showing you what it is...



Can you handle it?

Stats

On my other blog, I have this Thirty before 30 list...things I want to accomplish before I turn 30 (which is happening in November. Yes, I am fine, no, I am not talking about it). 

One of the items on the list is to reach my goal weight before I turn 30. As mentioned in a previous post, I managed to do really well during the summer, but in September started dancing around with the same 5 lbs, doing really well one week, only to crash the next. 

With some encouragement from my mom, last week I joined Weight Watchers again, only this time I am doing the online program, because sometimes going to meetings is just not possible. 

Here are my stats-

Weight loss for last week: 5.8 lbs

Total weight loss (including summer loss): 32.8 lbs

Pounds to go: 29

But I would like to alter my goal so that I lose those 29 pounds by the summer. Summer officially begins June 20th, but I would like to be at my goal by June 1st.  That gives me 115 days days, or 16 weeks to achieve this. 

Care to join me on my journey?

 

This is it.

Summer of Hot Bod is on!

Lessons from a centenarian runner

Meet Fauja Singh, a 100-year-old marathoner profiled in the latest issue of Runner's World. As the oldest person to ever run a marathon, he offered a few pearls of wisdom for those of us mere mortals. My favorite is his take on preventing injuries: "I look where I am going."

Words to live by.

"23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?"

Hello! I guess I'm back! I was enjoying a lovely vacation in Argentina for the past two weeks. But now, back to reality :).

I found this video via a friend on facebook a while back. It's a tad long, but super informative and delivered in a creative way (at least I think so). Definitely worth a view..and then share it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo&feature=share

I'm extremely impressed with the endeavors of our other bloggers! But, to those of you who are at different levels of physical activity (or motivation, in my case :)), just remember that it really doesn't take much. The most important thing to do is just MOVE!

Preparing for the Super Bowl!

Super Bowl parties are amazing! I just got invited to one where the invitation read:

Pizza. Wings. Guacamole. Chips. Dip. Kelly Clarkson. Madonna. Commercials. Football. America.

Just reading the first five words on that invitation made me gain five lbs.

Here is a video from Brett Blumenthal on how to survive your Super Bowl Party