Healthy Lifestyle Update- Power on with Protein Balls

I'm happy to share with you that I went to the Wharton Clinic over the weekend and was down 3lbs and 2 inches since last month! This is a total loss of 72 lbs since I started my journey/blog!

It's definitively progress.... but slower than I would like. My goal is to lose about  1.5lbs a week... so I ran through the past month to see what some of the issues that may have slowed my progress down a bit:

• Stress (makes you hold on to fat for some reason)
• Less sweat inducing exercise this month. For various reasons, I missed about half of my 1 hour zumba/aerobics classes this month.
• Eating close to 1700 calories, rather than the 1600 calorie range I like to stick to
• Eating more simple carbs and less protein than I would like

Thanks to myfitnesspal.com,, I was able to analyze that the quality of my food choices, on a nutrient, clean eating scale value, was not where I wanted to be. The amazing BR I met with at the clinic suggested ensuring that I meet my protein goals at every meal and snack to help me achieve my weight loss goals and suggested making these Protein Balls for quick energy snacking after working out.

Here's the breakdown she suggested:

• 10-15g protein for breakfast
• minimum of 20g of protein with lunch and dinner
• always have protein with every snack

So, I went on a search for a good recipe for these illusive protein balls and found this really easy to make recipe.

The recipe suggests that it makes 20-24 balls, but I ended making 28 smaller balls, at about 70 calories and 4g of protein per ball.


Protein Energy Balls 
(adapted from http://www.thehealthymaven.com/2015/08/no-bake-oatmeal-protein-energy-balls.html)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup vanilla whey protein powder (about 2 scoops)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter (or any nut butter)*
• 3 T natural honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup raisins, chocolate chips, craisins or preferred add-in
• 2-4 T liquid (almond milk, milk, water etc...)

Instructions

Add oats, protein powder, cinnamon and chia seeds to a large bowl.

Add in peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

Add in raisins (or preferred add-in). Mixture should be slightly sticky but still crumbly.

Slowly add in liquid 1 tablespoon at a time and using hands (get dirty!) combine until it comes together in a sticky ball that holds together. If mixture is too dry, add in more liquid but not so much that it won't hold shape.

Roll into balls using hands.

Place in a container to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Store in fridge until ready to eat.

Time for Tex Mex Burgers

Well BBQ time is upon us in full force! With the thermometer rising, it’s a perfect time for me to share my take on a ‘healthified’ Tex Mex Burger.

Here’s what I do. Take some lean ground beef, add in some Tex Mex  seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and form patties, cut some colourful peppers into strips now you are ready for the grill.

Now get your BBQ Chef (Brent) to grill the burgers and peppers while you prepare the sides- homemade oven fries and a fresh vegetable salad and there you have it! A wonderfully yummy, colourful and nutritious meal. We added salsa to our burgers to go with our Mexican theme and they were delicious!  You could add some guacamole and jalapeno- which the BBQ Chef did!

Curvy Expo- The Embodiment of the Body Positivity Movement

I wanted to share with you a wonderful event I attended over the weekend.  The first ever Canadian Curvy Expo (http://curvyexpo.com/). I brought my beautiful curvy daughter who was so excited to participate in this incredible body positive event.

I am SO pleased to live in a decade where this body positive movement is now part of the vocabulary, where super models like Ashley Graham grace the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and People’s most beautiful women. Where actresses like Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson are so busy making movie after movie and in such high demand. We need more of this!!!!

This is so different from the way I grew up in the 80's. I used to hide the stores my clothes came from for fear of being embarrassed and shy away from any body discussions with friends or family.  As I was mentioning to Meghan Bradley, the show director and former model (pictured below), in my day there was nothing like this. No celebration of who we were but just body shame really. I mentioned that I was so happy that my little girl could be part of this amazingly positive shift in our society – the body positive movement- and I how I was so grateful for this show, this venue and the community of support that is around us curvy girls because of people like her.

The energy was positively electric! It was a sisterhood of love and support for the curvy woman.

Seminars and an amazing fashion show kept us interested all day. Curvy Bloggers everywhere, from my daughter meeting some amazing younger bloggers who totally reflect the cool, urban vibe in their shirt designs, Flaws of Couture (http://focapparel.storenvy.com/), to me meeting my own curvy fashion superstar, Assa Cisse of My Curves and Curls, (http://www.mycurvesandcurls.com/).

How awesome is it that my daughter feels so confident in celebrating her curves?  Just look at her shirt….  Thanks Addition Elle for your cool fashion-forward clothes. #iamsizesexy , she got so many great compliments about it all day. Perfect shirt to reflect the perfection of this event!

The entire tone of the event was just so supportive and celebratory. From the seminars on loving yourself inside and out, body positivity, fashion and makeup tips from curvy TV personalities. Oh and not to mention…. the great coupons and free bras. Thanks Penningtons!

The loving your curves and body positivity movement does not mean I'm giving up on my healthy living focus. It is in fact loving who you are now, with your curves, with your amazing heart, mind and soul. A remarkable ‘a-ha’ moment for me was when one of the seminar leaders,  Liis  Windischmann (http://www.liisonlife.com/)  mentioned that we need to focus on LOVE, and I know that… I just forgot about it for a while… If you negative body thoughts in your mind like – I hate my flabby arms (sounds like me), you need to refocus that hate into love. Instead, think of a way to love your arms. Instead, say to yourself, 'I love my arms because they allow me to hug the ones I love and make delicious meals for my family'… now THAT’S LOVE!  

Liis was displaying a page from an online adult colouring book (so popular these days), it really caught my attention as I saw a plus size woman on the front of the cover running. I later went home and checked out this totally mind-shifting, body loving website.

Bold Strokes, a colouring book for plus size athletes can be found at the Born to Reign Atheltics website (http://www.borntoreignathletics.com/)  
I immediately logged on and subscribed to receive the link to the printable pages.  Krista Henderson, the website’s creator, is a plus size athlete in triathlon who “…started to train like an athlete in response to her commitment of living an active and healthy lifestyle’. This part is amazing and resonates so much with me- “…she constantly felt the need to ‘fix’ herself by solely focusing on losing weight”. “…the foundation of the athletic lifestyle is rooted in properly fueling your body, working out with a purpose and getting plenty of rest”. Ok sign me up!

So you ask me, am I giving up on my journey….Oh no, I am still a healthy living warrior, in fact, it's completely motivated me to be a super athlete, a super fashionista and continue being a delicious food creator and blogger. I just now see that I need to love myself and my curves every step of the way.

I can’t wait to go back next year and get even more involved in the Curvy Expo! Thank you to Meghan Bradley and all the amazing curvy women who helped make this day so memorable.

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scone -it's time to celebrate!

Celebrate what, you say? 

Well it's been a great few weeks of triumph and discovery. First off, I went to the Wharton Clinic to check on my progress and I have lost another 6 lbs and I measured myself and lost another 4 1/2 inches. 

Awesome, I'd say!  It's a slow steady pace, but this is what is needed when you plan to live like this for LIFE.  Changing the way I eat, plan and prepare meals and live with activity. This is the way I live now, it's never about a diet. I hate that word- 'starting a diet' implies that you will 'end a diet'. Well guess what? This is not something I will ever 'end', I will continue to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, I will continue to strive to get activity every day.... for the rest of my life!

For the rest of my life I will also constantly re-evaluate what I am doing, where I want to be in my career. After some soul-searching moments, I have decided to take a post-graduate course in Human Resource Management through McMaster University. Yep, I'm going back to school! Online of course, so I can continue working and living my healthy life!

So part of being a successful, healthy living being is to prepare some food in advance for the week. Most of my recipes include whole grains and healthy fats, but sometimes..... I just need to enjoy a little spark of something homemade, fresh and delicious. I head to Pinterest and search... I needed to use some part-skim ricotta cheese and below is the final product.

Taste testers living and visiting my home over the weekend mentioned it was the best scone they have ever tasted. I would say it was the moistness of the ricotta, but also I doubled the lemon rind and lemon juice required and barely used any sugar for the glaze- mostly all lemon juice

Here's the recipe. I used skim milk ricotta and milk and it was still divine!

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scones (adapted from http://bakerbynature.com/blueberry-ricotta-scones/)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, VERY cold and cut into tiny pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup (Whole Milk) Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons Whole Milk
8 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (If using frozen, do not thaw first)

For the egg wash:
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon milk or water
2 tablespoons sugar, for sprinkling

For the (optional) lemon glaze:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°(F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and lemon zest.
3. Cut the butter into small cubes then quickly work it into the mixture (using your fingers) until lit resembles a coarse meal.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, ricotta cheese, and milk, then add to flour and butter mixture. Use a fork to stir everything together until just moistened.
5. Add in the blueberries and gently fold them into dough with a spatula - don’t worry if some of the berries break up a bit.
6. Pour the shaggy dough out onto a clean, floured work surface and shape the dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and carefully transfer to the prepared sheet.
7. Lightly brush each scones with the egg wash, then sprinkle the top of each scone with sugar.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
9. Cool for about 10 minutes, then make your glaze.
10. For the glaze:
11. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and confectioners sugar. Drizzle over warm scones and serve at once.