Roasted Lemon Chicken

I am blogging a lot today because I am taking tomorrow (Sunday) off. It’s family day so I won’t be in front of a computer J I won’t be blogging this much most days so please don’t get annoyed with me if you are a follower J I did want to leave you today with a good Sunday dinner option. It may well be what we are having for Sunday dinner too. This is how I make my lemon chicken. Because most folks don’t like to eat the skin, this recipe calls for placing a whole lot of flavor under the skin so it’s still there on your meat when you remove the skin. I’ve gotten a few compliments on this recipe, so I really hope you enjoy it too. I usually serve it up with some steamed veggies, sweet potatoes, or other clean options. A bird this size usually feeds my family of four plus leftovers. One of my favorite things to do is pick the bird clean of all its meat after dinner and save it to make a soup later in the week. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Ingredients:

7      to 8 lb roasting chicken

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

1      lemon (cut into quarters)

2      tablespoons diced onions

1 onion (cut in half)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: First: preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, diced onion, rosemary, and thyme.

Second: place bird breast side up in baking dish (I use a 15x10 Pyrex baking dish and coat the dish with a little olive oil so birdie won’t stick). Using a spoon, gently lift the skin from the breast and pour half of the mixture in between skin and breast on each side (sometimes standing the chicken on its neck and using gravity helps get the juice in). Place the lemon and onion in the bird’s cavity. Rub the outside of the bird with salt and pepper to taste.

Third: Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for about 2 more hours. Chicken is done when thermometer reads 160 degrees F in thickest part of the thigh, and juices should run clear. Allow chicken to rest about 15 minutes before carving.

Cheat Proof your Metabolism

Never in history have we, as a species, had access to so much convenient food. Most people in North America live within a few miles of a grocery store or market, and endless supplies of takeout chains.

          Our primitive ancestors did not have readily accessible food. They might only have one big meal a day. Sometimes it would be days between big hunting scores and days between meals. I’m sure they were so hungry between meals that by the time they ate, their bodies insisted on a much food as they could eat! The primitive man’s body was very good at making sure nutrients were saved for those in between times. It was, and still is, stored as fat. You see, your body learns. It learns how to best provide for you based on your habits. Over the centuries and millennium, our bodies have been trained as very efficient fat storage machines…and this may be why you can’t lose weight.

          I’ve been there too… found myself wondering why I only ate two or three meals a day and still couldn’t lose weight and was hungry in between too. I used to think the hunger pains in my stomach were a good thing because it meant my body was now going to eat all my fat and make me skinny. It turns out that wasn’t true. When I didn’t give myself enough food often enough my body was actually storing what I did give it away for the next time I starved it. I also found out that our bodies prefer to snack on our muscle before it will snack on our fat reserves.

          You can train your metabolism J   Ever hear someone say that there is nothing they can do about their weight because their metabolism makes it impossible? There are a lot of heavy people in my family so I erroneously thought it was just in my genes. For some, that might be true, but for the overwhelming majority of us the issue is that our metabolisms are not trained to do what we want them to do.

          So how do you do it? How do you make your body burn calories more efficiently and not store fat. You may have already guessed it. EAT MORE OFTEN. When your body knows its next meal isn’t that far away it will quickly use what you give it and not store it as fat. It learns to trust you to provide the nutrients it needs to keep you running all day long. I eat 4-5 small meals a day…one about every three hours. I bet right now you are envisioning me chained to a stove all day preparing food. I am not, I assure you (not with two kids 6 and under... lol). Some meals are bigger than others but in each meal I balance a carb, a protein, and a fat (yup you can have carbs…you body needs carbs). An example of a day of meals might look like this:

              

Breakfast- 2 eggs and a cup of oatmeal

Mid-Morning Snack- one small apple sliced with organic “no sugar added” peanut butter

Lunch- spinach salad with sliced almonds, dried cranberries, ½ cup of grilled chicken                 breast, with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Mid-Afternoon Snack- Non-fat Greek yogurt (I love Chobani)

Dinner- A clean eating recipe (perhaps Southwestern Meatballs as posted a few days ago on this blog)

So why is it important that your 4 to 5 meals consist of real food (non-processed, “clean”)? It is because your body doesn’t recognize foods made in a laboratory by chemists… it recognizes food made in nature by farmers. Processed foods are lacking a lot of nutrients. When your body doesn’t recognize the food it’s eating as actual food and is lacking in nutrients, your body doesn’t give you credit and is still looking for more nutrients…so you store fat. By the way, did you know that most processed foods are actually corn, soy, and wheat, and a whole bunch of additives combined to look like your favorite foods with artificial flavors and dyes? That processed turkey meat you put on your sandwich probably isn’t turkey at all, or very little turkey…it’s probably the ingredients above made to look and taste like it. It’s no wonder our bodies are confused. To judge how “clean” your foods are, read the list of ingredients. If there are more than a few ingredients in your food, it’s probably not clean. If there is an ingredient in your food you don’t recognize from nature, it’s probably not clean.

There are many reasons why this way of eating works for weight loss and weight management. One is that you are never hungry. In fact, if you are hungry you should eat. Trust that when your body tells you it needs food, it does. Just make healthy choices and control your portions.When you are not hungry, you make better choices (isn’t that why they say don’t grocery shop on an empty stomach?). Another reason it works is because it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. You can eat this way your entire life and be happy. The scientific reasons why this works are many and it involves your hormones, insulin, thyroid, and the list goes on and on. You’ve probably figured out in my last few blogs that I like to do my homework and pass along what I feel were the best sources of information for me. There are many others out there and I welcome you to do your own research. I think we should all educate ourselves about our bodies. They do come with owner’s manuals, they just didn’t hand them out at birth J I am not a nutritionist, doctor, or anything of the sort. Just like most of you, I have to figure stuff out on my own. For understanding metabolism and how you can affect it, I recommend “Master your Metabolism”, by Jillian Michaels with Mariska Van Aalst.

So, back to my posting title…”Cheat Proof your Metabolism”. How does that work? It’s simple… if you eat this way most of the time, occasional cheats don’t have as profound an effect on weight gain. When your metabolism is working efficiently it will take your occasional bowl of ice cream, process it, and move on. Your body gets in the habit of using food and not storing it as fat. I recommend cheating from time to time. I cheat about once a week with a bowl of ice cream or a couple glasses of wine. It’s important to treat yourself sometimes J The important thing is to return to your clean eating style of life the next day.

I’m not perfect…I’m just trying to figure out this whole health thing just like you. Thanks letting me share my experiences with you J   

Please consult your doctor before beginning or changing your diet and exercise regimen.

Your Health Might Just be Your Most Rewarding Hobby

Looking for a hobby? Hobbies are great. Most people pick hobbies that make them happy when they do them, or that help them relax. Some people look forward to their time off all week long so they can enjoy their hobbies or enjoy the fruit of their hobbies. People who like to sail might enjoy weekends out on the water and knitters might look forward to peace and quiet at the end of a busy day to relax with their needles. People who enjoy crafting look forward to showing off their wares at an upcoming fair and gardeners love watching their plantings grow and bloom.

What if I told you that you could have a hobby that you could bring with you everywhere? What if you didn’t have to wait until you were home from a busy day at work to enjoy it? What if I told you that there was a hobby that wasn’t seasonal leaving you missing it on the off season? What if you could show off the fruits of your hobby anytime and get the positive feedback you were hoping for? What if your hobby made you feel good all the time, not just when you had time to do it? What if your health was your hobby?

          I have had all sorts of hobbies…puzzles, playing music; I even did some nice bead work for a while. I still do these things from time to time, and I enjoy them. But when I’m done doing a puzzle, playing music, or beadwork, what am I gaining from my hobbies? If I wasn’t playing music for someone or displaying my beadwork, how was I feeling? I felt like the rest of my time was of lower quality than my hobby time.

          I still have many hobbies and my health and the health of my family (and now your health) is one of my most rewarding hobbies. I spend time finding and trying healthy recipes, reading up on current health issues and look forward to engaging others on health topics. I work out regularly and love finding more efficient and fun ways of exercising. I engage in activities that get me outdoors and moving (burn calories and develop muscle tone) like hiking, biking, tennis, and golf (ok golf barely qualifies because I really love driving the little cart!). When you take care of your health you feel the results all day long. You feel healthy and energetic. You feel confident and comfortable in your own skin. You look good too! It makes doing other things so much more enjoyable too, like clothes shopping (because things fit). Beading never made my clothes fit lol…The results are there for everyone to see all the time and people really do notice. Don’t you deserve to make yourself your hobby? Yes you do!

I’m not perfect…I’m just trying to figure out this whole health thing just like you. Thanks letting me share my experiences with you J

A Healthy Granola- a great snack in a pinch!

If you are feeling a little hungry between meals (and you should have 5 small healthy meals a day) try a handful of this "easy
to make at home" and inexpensive granola. Everyone likes different balances between the sweet and nutty so I refrained from giving measures. You know what you like the most so put in as much or as little of the ingredients as your taste allows.


I use steal cut oats (or regular oats depending on preference), add cinnamon (to taste), dried cranberries (to taste), chopped almonds (too taste), and use just enough honey (raw honey if you can) to bind it together and stir until it is all bound together. My kids love the stuff and it's not so sugary that I have to peel them off the ceiling after :)   Enjoy!!!

How did I get here?

I

can’t believe that for decades I thought the only way to lose weight and keep it off was to do cardio three times a week for no less than 30 minutes each session and of course don’t pig out too much. I knew there were two trains of thought on weight loss and weight maintenance, diet or exercise. People seemed to pick one or the other. I knew from watching others and from my own experiences that diets didn’t work. As soon as the diet was over and a goal was attained the dieter always put the weight back on. I didn’t know anyone who went on a diet and kept it off. Working out seemed to make so much more sense. Burn off the calories (make room for more). For many years it worked, a little. Despite eating not so well I never really blew up to an unmanageable weight. There were times I was a size eight and other times I would spike to a size twelve, sizes I considered pretty good…and still do. I rode this rollercoaster of gaining and losing the same 15-20 pounds over and over again because my weight was directly tied to how often I could work out and there were many times when life was just too busy to get to the gym at all. Maybe you can relate to the fact that I had two sets of clothes, my larger clothes and my smaller clothes. I never got rid of my larger clothes when I would slide back to be smaller sizes because I always knew eventually I’d need my bigger clothes again. I kept them side by side in the same closet, waiting for my weight pendulum to swing the other way. So I continued this way for a long time. Still eating all the foods the average person eats and doing my cardio…some weight training too. I kept riding the roller-coaster.

          Cardio is great for you- it’s vital that you exercise your heart and burning calories is a good thing too (especially when you take in too many) but I learned the hard way that it is only a tool in your health and fitness tool belt. I use the term “tool in your tool belt” a lot because it’s this approach to health and fitness that works. Just like in order to keep your car in good running order, you need many different types of tools, fuels, fluids, and maintenance programs; your body needs the same kind of attention to run efficiently and for a long time. I was doing great with cardio and I think my heart really liked all the attention it was getting. I recall being hooked up to a heart monitor just before I went into the procedure room where I was to have a colonoscopy. I recall the nurse marveling at my resting heart rate. She told me I had the resting heart rate of a marathon runner. She was perplexed that I was there, a 34 year old, with the resting heart rate of a marathon runner, having a colonoscopy. I was perplexed as well. I couldn’t figure out why my digestive system was so messed up. I had my Gall Bladder removed just a few years prior and now I was having problems with my colon. I knew I was heavy. I had managed to put on a lot of weight after my son was born and even with intense cardio couldn’t get below 170 lbs, at 5 foot 3. This was eye opening for me. My heart showed signs of being happy with me but my digestive system, in my doctor’s words, was “pissed off at me” (gotta love a doctor that tells it like it is). My body was actually pissed at me and taking its revenge. At 34 years old I had developed diverticula in my colon. My doctor told me that diverticula were small pockets that formed in the colon and that most people eventually get them…when they are elderly. The causes were not clearly understood although he believed diet played a big role in the formation of the diverticula in me. These diverticula don’t go away and because waste gets stuck in them fairly easily, you end up with a lot of bad infections in your colon, like I did. The GI doctor told me that if I’m not careful a severe infection could lead to the removal of part of my colon. Careful meant changing what I eat, avoiding fatty, processed foods, nuts and seeds. I wish he had expounded on that or sent me to a nutritionist because it took me a long time to figure out what he meant. I didn’t eat a lot of fatty foods. I actually thought my diet was better than most people I know. I got the “being careful of nuts and seeds” part, but I think I glossed over the processed food warning because I really didn’t know what he meant by that. It wasn’t until I came across an article about “clean eating”, just by chance, that I started to get it. As I read, I realized “Clean eating” is exactly what the doctor was talking about. “Clean Eating” is all about eating food in it’s most natural state. Clean eaters eat real unprocessed or very minimally processed foods. It’s a simple concept. In fact, simple is what it’s all about. Some examples of this would be, clean eaters eat real chicken breast (natural) instead of chicken patties (processed), real whole wheat bread (I say real because there are a lot of imposters) instead of white bread, drink water and tea instead of unnatural sodas and sports drinks. I read everything I could on this topic and embraced it. What happened next was so cool. As soon as I started eating this way the pounds started to drop off of me slowly and steadily. The best part was that even though I had made adjustments to what I was eating, I never felt like I was on a diet. I was almost never hungry. I actually ate more and exercised less. It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. It felt natural and it should because my body was designed to eat food this way. Before I knew it I was stunned to find myself in a size 6!!! I had never been a 6 ever in my life. As it turns out diet AND exercise were the key to health and fitness and diet ended up being the biggest part. But it isn’t the weight loss program kinda diet that you need. It’s the types of food that you eat diet that works.

Am I a perfect clean eater, NOPE. I cheat and completely advocate occasionally giving in to an indulgence. If you don’t allow yourself a treat from time to time, you’ll suffer, and when you suffer, you give up. The key is to start over new and get back on track the next day. The funny part is that when I do cheat now I don’t feel so good the next day. My body likes the clean food so much it gives me grief when I put garbage in me. It’s nice that my body and I are talking, and finally understanding, each other now.

It’s been three years… the weight is still off and most importantly no more serious digestive issues. I encourage everyone to try clean eating themselves. Try it for a month and see what happens. My guess is that you will start feeling great and will experience the only side effect of this lifestyle… great health and the body you always wanted.

I'm not perfect but I'm trying! Thanks for letting me share this experience with you :) 

I Am Like You!

I am like you. You probably don't believe this. I think that if I read a statement like that on any blog I would refute it immediately. How can anyone say they are anything like me without knowing who I am and what my experiences are? Well, for starters if you are reading this blog, the chances are quite good that you have an interest in being healthy, like me. I'm also quite confident in my statement because I have yet to find anyone who doesn't have the same challenge I do and that is becoming or staying healthy in a world that doesn't seem to want us to. This world keeps us so impossibly busy and then tells us that in order to be healthy you have to work out for hours a week (that you don't have) and eat like a rabbit (and who wants to do that?). The world provides us with far more unhealthy choices than healthy ones. Someone is always selling the next fad solution to our fitness and weight loss problems, and most of the time they don't work. It's hard to know who you can trust and what information to believe.  The world makes being healthy and feeling good feel inconvenient and unattainable. The world also makes us feel like its normal to be unhealthy and pills will make everything all better. Well, it’s no wonder people give up before they start. My most important point in telling you we are alike is to let you know I am a real person, no impressive credentials, and I'm not trying to sell you anything. I want to share information that if I had it thirty years ago, I may not have lost my Gall Bladder at 32 years old. I may not have developed Diverticulitis in my colon at 34 (an affliction usually experienced by 80 year olds). I might not be one or two bad flare-ups away from potentially having part of my colon removed. I’m going to tell you how I lost and kept off nearly 50 pounds, not by dieting, but by changing my lifestyle. I will share with you the information I found and the insights I’ve gained along the way of my continuing journey, my quest to figure out how to live healthy in an unhealthy world. The information found here will not be the “end all, be all”. It will hopefully be a tool in your health and fitness tool belt. Maybe you’ll come here for a tip or a little motivation. I hope you will draw from my experiences (successes and setbacks) and I hope you’ll share some of yours with me too. I promise not to be too preachy but I am going to be honest and tell it like it is…. So here goes!!!