How to cheat the Zone without Cheating it

Here are a few ideas that I have found. Sometimes I just get that irristible craving for something. Or the rest of the family is enjoying local handmade ice cream like Olsons. So I found some ways to be able to "Eat my cake and have it too"

So if I really want ice cream  I can team it up with some protein to balance it out:
½ cup ice cream plus 1 cup cottage cheese or 4 ounces sliced turkey (4 protein blocks)


MAJOR craving! If I find that frozen snicker bar from last week and I start to salivate. I eat the snickers bar and follow it up with 2/3 cup cottage cheese or 3 ounces sliced turkey.

Steel Cut Oats

Yum! Easy! It is recommended in the Zone to try Steel Cut Oats. (Irish Oats) Part of the Zone philosophy is to avoid foods that spike your insulin levels-so foods that are low glycemic. Spikes in my insulin could be a cause of the mood changes as well as energy levels. Whenever I do cheat and eat a cookie or something I think...Oh this is going to go straight to my blood stream!
Steel cut oats have a lower glycemic level compared to instant oatmeal. It has a nutty flavor and chewier texture. It does take longer to cook-but I found a great recipe in which you can cook it overnight. http://www.thebittenword.com/thebittenword/2009/01/overnight-oatmeal-quick-cook-steelcut-oats-in-10-minutes.html This makes a bigger batch-you can put it in the fridge and have it for breakfast for several more days. You could also put it in a crockpot and cook it on LOW all night. See recipe below.

Charlie LOVED it! For him I added some milk, cinnamon and some brown sugar. For me I added Stevia-and I would not recommend it. Stevia is a natural sweetener and is 100 to 300 times sweeter than sugar. It is ideal for a low-carb diet like the Zone. It doesn't affect insulin levels like regular sugar does. I put 3 drops into my oats. I couldn't really taste anything else. It was a somewhat bitter taste-so next time I will try without. Here is a picture of my breakfast.

I have to try this recipe next.

Blueberry Maple Nut Oatmeal (4-4 block meals)

1 cup plus 2 tbls. Steel-cut oats
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 1/4 cups of cold water
4 one ounce scoops vanilla egg white protein or whey protein (about 1 cup)
2 tsp. pure maple extract (or I will just add some real maple syrup)
2 cups blueberries
48 pecan halves, lightly toasted and crumbled

1. Before going to bed, combine the oats, spice, and water in a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours.

2. In the morning, turn off heat. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes; the steam will condense and lift the stuck cereal off the bottom of the cooker for ease of clean-up.

3. Add protein powder and maple syrup. Stir to dissolve all lumps. Stir in warm water a tablespoon at a time if too stiff. Divide among 4 serving bowls. Top with berries and nuts.

Favorite Snack

This is my favorite snack of the week! Charlie LOVES it too!!!

Zone Waldorf Salad Snack (1 block)
1 cup celery, diced
1/4 apple, chopped
1 tsp. mayo (I use Mayo with Canola Oil)
1 pecan, crushed
1 oz. cheese

Mommy in The Zone

I was in the mood for changing something. About myself. I felt that my mood swings were getting out of control. I have heard from others that a change in your diet could help with mood swings. I also felt like I should have more energy throughout the day. There were times when I felt out of control with eating! If there was a bag of chips I would eat and eat. If there was some chocolate or candy I would keep eating it! I just felt out of control. I don't llike to be out of control.

My brother just so happens to be my inspiration to make some change. Some might think this may be a little bit scary...an older brother inspiring?? Alex is inspiring to me in a lot of ways. He was talking a lot about The Zone way of eating. So I picked up a book or two and set to it. A lot of what Alex was eating he would explain to me and I would try it all out. He sent me a link from Crossfit that had some easy recipies on it. I like many of them. So Easy! What could be easier to snack on then some cottage cheese, pinnapple, and 6 peanuts? Here is the article. http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/cfjissue21_May04.pdf

I have had A LOT of questions about all of this. So as I blog I will answer these questions. I am trying all sorts of new things in the kitchen. My thought for now is a little bit of change at time is all that matters!

Some foods we are trying and avoiding:
Less bread-open faced sandwiches
No cereal (occasionally for me, and everyone else gets to eat what they want)
More protein-deli meat, steak, bacon, ham, lots of chicken, hamburger, salmon, tuna, and fish
Oatmeal and steel-cut oats
More avocodo (for fats)
Favorite lunch today: tortilla with avacodo, chesse melted, and salsa!
Smoothies with protein powder

So basically its a good balance between protein, carbs, and fats.  As I try new things I will be sure to share!

Weeds of Life

Blog Post Verse 1
He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. ~Matthew 13:37-39 (NIV)


The other day I was sharing with Jeff some news about a few my mom friends. He asked "Is there ever any good news that happens to your mom friends? It seems that there is always bad stuff happening." I told him Yes of course! Why do I naturally share bad news first rather than the good stuff? I feel like if I tell Jeff bad news, I will get more of a response from him. "oh wow, so sorry to hear that" or "that is terrible". If I tell him good news will he react the same way is a positive manner? "Oh that is wonderful!" "Oh I am so glad to hear that".  I was sowing weeds!

I was pulling weeds this afternoon. These weeds surrounded the beautiful spring flowers like tulips and daffodils. I wasn't paying any attention to the flowers, just the weeds. Pulling and plucking, digging and discarding. I was on my knees when there was a tulip right under my nose. I could not avoid the scent from the flower. I looked down and there was such a beautiful contrast between the inner black and the outer red. So beautiful, God's creation. It was like God was saying...here you go my sweet daughter-I give you beauty amoungst the weeds. Sweet child, don't focus on the weeds, focus on the beauty that is in front of you. Wow! Thank you God for this moment.

Isn't this true with life? It seems like sometimes there are so many "weeds" growing around us that we fail to see the beauty that is right under our noses. So now it's time for me to focus on God and all the beauty and blessings that surround us. Focus on the good seeds! Instead of telling news about bad things happening, tell the good news! The praises! The Blessings! The beauty of God, the kingdom of heaven!


Blog Post Verse 2
Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. ~Matthew 13: 24-26 (NLT)

This picture is from last summer. Charlie enjoying God's beauty!

Thank you God for beautiful life.

Blog Post Verse:

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. ~Isaiah 58:11

Last fall I was pretty confident in how our compost would turn out. I packed the can in the ground a foot or two and buffered it from the cold winter to come. This spring, I opened the compost can and there it was. So beautiful. Perfect compost dirt! Whenever you smell fresh dirt, do you ever start to salivate a little bit? I did! I don't know what it is that causes that!

As I emptied it out into a wheelbarrow I found out that the lower I got, the stinker it was. I also found a few things there weren't decomposed. The top of a pinneapple, some newspaper, and the stinkiest thing on the bottom were some corn husks. This year I will avoid adding these things. I will also remember to pick up the can and roll it around to get some air in the bottom of it.

In our garden area I hoe'd and raked out all the weeds (isn't it amazing that weeds are one of the first things that grow in the spring?) to get it ready for the compost. It was about 1.5 wheelbarrows full that I mixed into the garden area. I will be planting some tomatoes and basil. We also trimmed out quite a bit from the bottom of the pine tree, so there will be a tad bit more area and more sun.

Our tulips and daffadils have started blooming! All different colors in many areas of our yard.

We have been blessed with a beautiful Spring with plenty of sunshine and rain!

Thank you God for such a beautiful creation.

All of life.

Easter and Spring

We have had an amazing Spring so far! The weather has been beautiful. Joey and Charlie have been outside loving up all the sunshine! Joey has a so many adorable freckles on his face, I just LOVE IT! A rainy day can bring some fun too. For Easter Joey and I made ressurection bisquits...something he learned in school. They were delicious! We had so much fun decorating eggs and searching for some too. The boys got some tennis raquets in the thier Easter baskets and it has been so fun!Here are a bunch of pictures of our adventures!

Charlie found some bugs on the tennis courts! Joey is quite the tennis player!