I have a new video for you on the blog today. Many times when people decide to be healthier they focus on all the food in their fridge and forget the freezer. So today I offer some tips on how to use your freezer to create healthier meals.
Now go stock up your freezer and have a great day everyone!
Like many people, I spend a good amount of time on the internet. One of my favorite sites is Pinterest. I like scrolling through all the recipes, memes, workouts, and numerous other things that people pin. The other day I ran across this written on a pin under the Health and Fitness section: “Honey and cinnamon cleanse every morning, on an empty stomach, half an hour before breakfast, and again at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup water. If taken regularly it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also drinking of this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body, even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.”
Yeah, right.
Just not true
Most people who read that would probably disregard this “helpful” hint and move on to other things. But there are others out there who are looking for any way to lose weight and might cling to this bit of advice as a magic bullet. Everyday I see one thing or another out there in internet land that is just plain wrong, but sounds just good enough to maybe work. There are lists of negative calorie foods (these do NOT exist people!), exercises that will burn 500 calories (maybe if a person is a certain weight/height/body type), and numerous cleanses that promise everything from weight loss to higher test scores (did you know that your body does a fairly good job of cleansing itself every day?).
All good foods, but they do NOT have negative calories
I’m not going to sit here and debunk every single crazy bit of advice that is out there because that would take way too long and you would get bored. I just want to caution you to take any health advice you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Even things that I write aren’t meant to be taken as the hard and fast truth. I am not an expert, I just relate my experiences with you in hopes to help you find your own way. I want you to be careful because I know what it’s like to be desperate when it comes to my weight and body.
I like eating way too much to drink these things for my meals
I was once the impressionable consumer who saw numerous commercials promising that I could lose weight quickly with just one pill! It was like a miracle. All I had to do was take a pill and all my weight problems would be solved. I would finally be happy and look amazing. I bought into the lie. Thankfully my mom found my hidden stash of weight loss pills, essentially just caffeine in pill form, before I seriously hurt myself.
I think I’ll do this instead of that other workout…
Don’t let your desperation cloud your good judgement. I knew deep down that one pill a day wasn’t going to make me lose weight, but I wanted to believe it badly enough to try it. I know better now and I always do my research with any health advice I read or hear. Ultimately you have to do what is best for you and your body. If you’re confused or something sounds too good to be true, dig deeper. Talk with medical and health professionals and make sure that you are helping instead of hurting yourself.
The internet can be a great thing, I mean where else can you spend all day looking at cat photos? But make sure that it isn’t your one and only source for health information. Take any advice you get from the internet with a grain of salt. And a funny meme.
Try not to laugh at this
Have a great Monday everyone!
Everyone is looking for a quick and easy meal. Rachael Ray got her start with 30 minute meals and googling quick meals will give you thousands of recipes. Today’s video is my favorite quick and healthy meal and it uses just one pan. I make this at least once a week and it is always a big hit, plus it never gets boring because you can always change things up just a little bit to keep it interesting. So let’s get to it!
Hopefully this video will give you some ideas on how to make your own one skillet meal, just make sure that you are using cooked grains/legumes and meat. Other than that go crazy with your version of this delicious and healthy meal!
Ok, so Monday isn’t really all that fun but maybe if we say it enough it will be true. Probably not, but let’s pretend.
Last weekend my husband, Adam, came down with a cold/cough/sore throat and was out of the game for a few days. We took him to the doctor, got him some meds, and he is on the mend. I thought I had escaped whatever bug he had but Friday morning I woke up with a tickle in my throat and by Saturday my nose was running like a faucet. Yesterday my head was all congested and I just wanted to be able to breathe through my nose. Luckily I didn’t get hit as hard as Adam, but still, it’s no fun to have a cold.
My feeble attempt to try and breathe through my congestion. Also I look HOT
So I spent this past weekend trying to take it easy. Keyword here: trying. I know that I need to rest to get better faster, but I am really bad at just sitting around. I like to be accomplishing something at all times, it’s something I’m working on.
In my “resting” state, I spent some time in the kitchen on Saturday coming up with a few new recipes for the blog. I have a few that need some tweaking, but I did manage to come up with a new soup and it really hit the spot for someone with a cold.
When I did finally manage to sit on the couch, Adam and I binged on House of Cards. If you have not watched this series, run to your TV/computer and watch all of them now. The Underwoods are deliciously ruthless and evil and I love them. It’s one of those situations where you know it’s wrong to cheer for them but you can’t help but hope for them to come out on top. This season so far (we’re about 6 episodes in) has been pretty good and I can’t wait to see where it ends up. Also, is it wrong for me to want to be as badass as Claire Underwood? I mean in one episode the woman threatens a country with war on the toilet in the women’s bathroom at the UN. That’s ballsy right there.
In between the awesomeness of House of Cards, I also watched a few episodes of Chopped. Obviously I love watching cooking shows and Chopped is one of my favorites. While I was watching I realized as much as I love to cook and create dishes I would never make it past the appetizer round. I would get so stressed and would probably just throw up my hands and cry in the corner. I like to take my time in the kitchen and there is no way I could come up with something edible and creative in 20 minutes. Oh well, I’m sure someday Food Network would come up with a show where I would have unlimited time, unlimited ingredients, no judges, and I get to make whatever I want, right?
Hopefully this cold goes away soon and I can get back to my normal routine. But let’s end this post on a high note with a picture of my adorable cats, because who doesn’t love pictures of cats? Crazy people, that’s who. Have a happy Monday everyone!
Olaf chilling to the max and Dot allowing him to be near her.
How did you spend your weekend? What’s your favorite show of the moment?
At first glance all those flavors don’t seem to go together, but trust me on this one. A few weeks ago I gave you a recipe for Chickpea Tofu and since then I have been working on other ways to prepare it. After just baking it and covering it with a sauce, I decided I wanted to try it marinated and sauteed. All it took was a few attempts to perfect the marinade and I had a really yummy and simple weeknight meal!
Make sure that you do plan ahead just a little bit so you have enough time for your tofu to set before you start cooking. Otherwise this is a really easy meal to throw together fairly quickly!
Chili & PB Marinated Chickpea Tofu
1. Make your chickpea tofu and while it’s setting preheat your oven to 400 and mix together all the marinade ingredients.
2. Once your tofu is ready, cut into bite size pieces and place into a large bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil and toss to coat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and bake the tofu for 20 minutes.
3. Remove tofu from the oven and place back into the large bowl. Pour the marinade in and stir to make sure everything is coated. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
4. Heat a large pan over medium high heat and add in all the tofu and sauce. Saute for a few minutes until the sauce has started to crisp up. Serve the tofu on it’s own or over rice or vegetables.
I am really liking how chickpea tofu acts a lot like regular tofu in most recipes. I am still working on other ways to prepare it so that you can have a variety of ways to use this tasty ingredient!
Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!
Life Healthfully Lived 