Stay Hydrated

The old wives tale is that you need to have 8 glasses of water per day.....FALSE!

You need 64 ounces of water per day....but you receive water in other forms than liquid!

Some veggies/fruits are nearly all water......

Melons

Citrus

Lettuce

Others

And some other drinks count toward your daily intake of H2O

Teas

Coffees

Sodas (Diet I hope)

Enhanced Waters

Others

The 64 ounce thing is also a misnomer...it depends on your activity level.....a 180 pound man running 3 miles needs more than a 110 receptionist... Hydrate according to what you are doing.

I dont drink enough, and I know it...every morning I have a glass of water and some type of juice...usually have a Monster for Lunch...then one or two glasses of water before I go to bed....My goal this week is to add another glass of water while I am at work....Baby Steps

My tip....Before I leave in the morning, I will put my water in a travel containor (no plastic bottles for me) but I will use mostly ice, that way when I am ready for it...it will still be cold and I am not inconvenienced to walk across the building to the fridge to get my water....

New Diet!!!! yay....

Okay, you caught me, not really a new diet, I started this diet at the first of December 2010. It started with a 10 day herbal cleanse, ...lost 7 pounds....then it was a pill and shake program....up until today I have lost a total of 13 pounds and have not changed anything except having a shake every other day for either breakfast or lunch.

Starting today I am adding a little something different, I saw the book, 400 calorie meals. I bought it yesterday and have been reading it all day...I am going to add this to my plan and see if I can speed up the results...Spring and Summer are just around the corner and I want to look nice for it.

Here is an example of one of the meals that I am making for dinner tomorrow.

Spinach and Potato Salad

1 1/2 cups baby spinach
3 fingerling potatoes
3 cherry tomatoes
2 raspberries
1 tsp whole grain mustard
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Boil the potatoes in water just until fork tender, let cool.

Dressing, in blender (I used a coffee grinder due to the small amount) add the raspberries, mustard, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar, blend until smooth. Mix everything together and enjoy...!



My meal plan for tomorrow looks like this.

Breakfast.. 7AM..meal replacement smoothie with 3 strawberries and 1/2 banana blended in.
Brunch...11AM...Spinach and Potato Salad
Late lunch ....2PM...Black Bean Burrito
Dinner...6PM...Bacon and Spinach Salad
Dessert...7PM...1 scoop chocolate fat free frozen yogurt.

Mexican Food Videos

I am uploading 2 videos on youtube today

One is on how to make Refried Beans and one on how I make Beef Enchiladas.

http://www.youtube.com/user/cokkadudledue

*TIP* on the beef enchiladas I added a little flax seed and Wheat germ to the beef to make it a tiny bit healthier, I also used leftover steak as the beef, I just processed it in a food processor!

Turkey Salad

I made this the Day after Thanksgiving and took it to work...

2 cups chopped turkey (chicken)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green olives
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup Miracle Whip
1/3 cup Helmans Mayo
S&P
Cayenne to taste

Mix everything in bowl and serve with crackers

My turkey was a honey brined turkey, so it had a sweet note to it that played well with the almonds.

Eating Great on Business Trips

Last Saturday and Sunday I traveled to San Antonio to visit some friends, we decided to eat at some of the places where "Man vs Food" showcased. Here is a link...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7Y0rT9lo0


We ate at Chunky's were my friends Boyfriend attempted to eat the Four Horseman Burger, he failed! But it was hilarious. In the video they talk about the Island burger, that is what I had, it had pineapple on it. It was Great!

Sunday morning for Breakfast we had to go try the Cinnamon roll. Here is a pic of ours.

The cinnamon roll was AMAZING!

I got back into town late Sunday night and had to leave for a business trip monday morning to Odessa, Tx. We ate and drank at many different places. One of my rules is to eat at places that are not back home.

We ate at a hibachi grill, I had the Calamari Steaks, they were scrumptious, they gave us so much food that we could not eat it all. Here is a pic of the chef preparing our food.

We also ate at a hole in the wall mexican food place the last day that we were there, and it was by FAR the best place, we asked a few locals where to eat at. The place was called Mamasitas.

So, when you are traveling, ask locals where to eat, use the internet to see reviews and most of all, Have Fun!

Pumpkin Soup

I was tired of always trying different Butternut Squash soup or Pumpkin soup and it tasting like a wet pumpkin pie...This is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

Small Pumpkin

1/2 Onion

3 Baby Carrots

1 Tbsp Sour Cream

1 1/2 C Chicken Stock

Olive Oil

S&P

Directions:

Clean your pumpkin and quarter it (leave the skin on). Place the Pumpkin, Onion, and Carrots on a roasting pan, coat with Olive Oil and S&P. Roast at 310 degrees for about 30 minutes. Take from oven and let cool.

Once cool, scrape the meat of the pumpkin into a blender, add all of the other ingredients. Blend until smooth and serve.

I serve mine with Saltines and a few homemade croutons and Sour Cream on top.

Ain't Nuthin' but a Chikin Wing.

Apricot Honey Chicken Wings!

I was wanting something different than a regular ole chicken wing with BBQ sauce or Buffalo Sauce... Here is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

24 Wings (just bake them off in the oven)

1/2 cup onion chopped finely

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup Apricot Preserves

1/3 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

S&P to taste

*optional* Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp Butter

Directions:

In a large pan add the butter and onions, cook until the onions are soft... Add everything else except the wings and saute until the mixture is nice and thick (about 4 minutes) add the wings in and coat them well...serve..

*I know the pic is bad, I took it with my phone...I used Pineapple leaves as the garnish (Use what you have!)