Weight weight weight...go away!

Before I go on with this post, let me just say that this is one of those topics that are considered senstive. I don't mean to insult or embarass anyone. This post is solely based on my own personal experience. The activities I do or food I eat might not be suitable for your needs. So please read with caution...ha! ha!

These past several months, I have been approached by several people on numerous occasions about what my diet looks like and how I manage to stay this "thin." I know in their minds, they must think that I probably starve myself. But please before you say anything to judge me, I am not thin. I am just perfectly proportioned(and I definitely eat plenty and I can just easily do 10 pull ups, wink wink).  How would one define thin anyways? There is no way I am going there. Don't want to stir up trouble:-).
 

See, how chubby my cheeks were? lol. I can't believe this picture was taken about three years ago. At least, I was still looking fab. he! he! 


Even if you care or not, I am going to share with you what meal plan looks like (if you read my blog, you will see that majority of my food posts are pretty healthy). You are more than welcome to follow, ignore, or even consider this for yourself. And you can also tailor it according to your dietary needs. Let me just say that I am not, in any way, a dietician or nutritionist. I just like to educate myself with things that I care the most such as food. And I really really  really try to consciously choose food that are good and have long lasting health benefits. And I can guarantee you, if you feed your body with the right nutrients, your body will reward you. All that little problems (such as fatigue, sinus allergy, athritis, etc.) will slowly diminish. You just have to  be committed.

I'm sure, by now, you are wondering how did I get into this type of lifestyle. All I remember is that it started about two years ago around the time I was planning my wedding.  Ofcourse, what bride wants to look chunky? Certainly not me. HAHA! Joke! Joke! I have always been active ever since I was young. Played sports. Worked out. Hiked. Jogged. Name every activity out there and I probably did 75% of it. Sure, I was active, but there was one thing that I thought was not in sync.  I could not maintain my weight! I never was a healthy eater. Heck, I never liked vegetables growing up. I have to be spoonfed if I recall.


And if you know me, once I get obsessed with something, I won't stop researching about it over and over and over. And I know losing weight is not hard at all. It's all in the state of mind and having the motivation and dedication to do it. All I needed was something to motivate and push me harder. I guess it was my wedding and I really wanted to look GREAT! and super fit...so while I was at the gym, they introduced this new class called the Metabolic Effect, which is a high intensity rest based training that only last for 30 minutes, which is designed to increase ones metabolism at a higher rate, while burning fat and sugar.  

"The Science behind the Metabolic Effect (ME) incorporates the latest understanding in endocrinology, health, fitness, strength and conditioning research. ME is a science-based program focused on changing the fat-burning hormonal response to exercise and diet. By changing hormones, rather than simply eating less or exercising more, the body naturally regulates fat burning, appetite, and mood so that motivation for exercise is enhanced while cravings for food are reduced." -- taken from their blog

And ofcourse, being obsessed that I am, I got hooked and it lead me to purchase their Metabolic Effect book. It really changed my perspective towards diet and excercise. To make story short, engaging in high intensity training while taking short rests, eliminating carbs, increasing protein and vegetables in your diet is the way to go. Can you imagine once I started doing this religiously, I immediately dropped 10 lbs? I became stronger and started seeing muscle definition that I have only dreamed ofbefore. LOL! It was hard at first but once I started eating clean, my cravings for sweet and junk slowly went away and I have maintained it up to this day. I still have the occasional cheat meal once a week where I can eat whatever I want. Otherwise, my mind would just go insane. And it has now become the lifestyle that I have been accustomed to...

Here is my typical meal for the day:

breakfast - eggs, spinach, and grean tea

mid morning snack - raw almonds or blueberries

lunch - a big green salad with grilled chicken and balsamic dressing or fat free balsamic vinaigrette

mid afternoon snack - a small sugar free protein bar

dinner - baked salmon with a side of veggies and a little bit of sweet potatoe

How simple is that? If I can do it, you can too.....

Now here is a new and improved me..hahaha..some pics from my wedding.

I hope this motivates you to transition into a healthy lifestyle.

Happy Wednesday. Bisous, Contessa

Meatless Monday - Eggplant Lasagna and Braised Collard Greens

Did you know that Mealtess Monday is actually a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns Inc. in association with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future (source taken from Wikipedia).  Meatless Monday was  developed as part of the Healthy Monday Initiative, which encourages Americans to make a commitment in avoiding meat once a week in their diet. Now it is becoming a trend and even some restaurants have picked up on it.

I  know Oprah did. Leave it to Oprah for teaming up with food experts to bring awareness to her viewers the importance of making healthy decisions. I know anything Oprah says or do, it suddenly becomes a huge trend. In this episode as I remember,  Oprah also instituted Meatless Monday at her studio. She got her employees to take on Meatless Monday and it was received with mixed emotions. Some took it seriously (and have lost weight) and some could not wait for it to be over so they can eat meat. LOL!.

In paying homage to Meatless Monday, I share with you two recipes that are worth skipping the meat for once. Before I go on, let me just say that I am not encouraging you not to eat meat. I just want to bring awareness to this campaign as I am also an advocate of healthy eating. But I just can't give up meat yet. lol!

As much as possible, I want to incorporate vegetables in our diet regularly. Although, eating and prepping the same vegetables can get rather bland. I mean you can only eat so much steamed and boiled veggies, right? When I bought these eggplants and collard greens, I had the intention of cooking them differently. Since I haven't had pasta in a long time, I wanted to recreate something familiar (okay if I must have it, from time to time, I will give in). For me anything cooked with pasta and that gooey sauce are one of my comfort food and since I have given up eating anything pasta, I have to be creative and eat something similar. LOL! 

 

I came up with eggplant lasagna then after brainstorming (yes, I have to visualize and brainstorm what I need to make prior to buying groceries, hehe). A typical lasagna is usually loaded with carbs, fats, sugar, and all that bad stuff for you. In my mind, I wanted to recreate something familiar but with a healthy approach.  The only "fat" I could not eliminate was mozzarella. Mind you, I got the skim/light version though. HAHA!

Does that look like it was made of eggplants to you?

Contessa's Eggplant Lasagna

2 eggplants (organic preferred) sliced thinly crosswise. Probably about 1/4 inches thick.  

3 egg whites beat until frothy in a bowl (mix with a little water)
2 cups of Almond Flour (a healthier substitute for breadcrumbs)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh Basil Leaves
1 can of tomato paste (lower in sodium, but you can use any tomato sauce you have)
2 cups of part skim mozzarella
1 cup of grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Coat your baking sheet with pam nonstick spray. Combine almond flour, parmesan, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.  Dip your eggplant slices into the egg white mixture. Then coat with the almond flour  mixture. Arrange single slices in a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until crisp and golden. 

In a heated pan, combine chopped basil and tomato paste together until it simmers. You may add a little water to dillute the sauce a little. You may also mix in any pasta tomato sauce you have to create more sauce. Season to taste.

Pour some tomato sauce in the bottom of your baking dish, arrange half of the eggplant slices over the sauce, overlapping slightly. Pour a little bit of the sauce on top of the eggplants and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Add another layer repeating the process mentioned above. Bake, uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce bubbles and golden.

Okay, I lie. This collard green has a little bit of meat to it. LOL!. I used Canadian bacon, which is an uncured turkey bacon, leaner and less processed. You can also use Pancetta, bacon, sausage, or just leave the meat out completely.

Braised Collard Greens
A bunch of collard greens, chopped and discard the stem. Chopped garlic and onions. Chopped bacon turkey. apple cider. low sodium chicken broth.

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add the bacon and stir for a few minutes. Add your collard greens. Stir together until the greens have absorbed the oil. Slowly add half a cup of low sodium chicken broth and apple cider. Season to taste and let it simmer until the liquid has evaporated.

Please do try the recipes and let me know how you like them. I hope that I inspire you to become conscious of what you make and eat. 

Have a fabulous Monday mes amis! Bisous, Contessa