a few random tips!!!

By the time you read this post I will be doped up on drugs & not really writing this blog post! I was paroosing though my photos and realized I hadn't shared a few of these tips with you all!

 

1. The rubber banded apple.

 

I was a little skeptical about this one. I don't like brown apples. And while it was a tad brown it was totally edible! On this morning I was heading to an early gym session and needed by breakfast to be ready to go! 

 

2. Cooler bag for grocery shopping.

 

My grocery store, New Seasons, is right across the street from barre3 {nifty - right}! Depending on what time classes are and who is teaching I sometimes go shopping before barre3 but I don't want my food to spoil! Solution --- bring a cooler bag with 2 ice packs into the grocery store. This way my meat, dairy, or freezer items won't go bad!!

3. Week long salad prep!

I know I've shared this one here before but it's so simple I want to keep reminding you all of it! I cut up lots of veggies and place them into 4 containers for salads for lunch during the week! Here the array was: edamame, purple cabbage, feta, tomatoes, green onions.

4. Double batch of soups...

 

When I make soup I almost always make a double batch. One batch will last us for about 2 dinners for 2 and a lunch or so. A double batch will give us a few more lunches AND many servings for the freezer!! This is perfect for those nights you don't want to cook...surgery....or to give to people who might need a meal because of an extenuating circumstance.

I hope that you might try one of these tips this month! Let me know if you do!!

{30 thoughts} PCOS & dairy

Over a year ago my PCOS specialist told me to eliminate dairy. Yeah right...I thought. I think I might have even said it. Then, one month last fall, I tried it. And I didn't get a zit all month. I HAD to have been a coincidence I thought. So I started consuming dairy again and BAM! zits galore! What's even crazier is that depending on what type of dairy I eat as to where my acne pops up. Milk = head/hair. Cheese = chin/cheeks. I don't eat yogurt so I don't really know about that one!

Now, I still do have cheese, just now it is only a few times a week and my body kind of seems to be able to process is it without going into overdrive! I am not a doctor so I don't quite understand how this all works but I have read some good articles on it...


{SOURCE}

Will Eliminating Dairy Improve My PCOS Skin Concerns?

It has been proven in clinical studies that dairy contributes to PCOS acne. Put your World perspective lenses back on and look at how acne, a common PCOS symptom, affects the rest of the world. You will find that in less modern and wealthy countries with diets either low or dairy free, acne is non existent.
Dairy consumption spikes male sex hormones, androgens and testosterone, which are responsible for the hormonal production of acne. These anabolic hormones in addition to IGF-1 (remember that ugly hormone from earlier?) literally stimulate your skin to produce skin blemishes. In studies (6) it has been proven that dairy is associated with acne because of the presence of hormones.
BOTTOM LINE: Dairy is a major factor in eliminating PCOS skin issues. Ridding dairy from your diet will reduce the anabolic male sex hormones that are responsible for the hormonal production of acne. 


I am definitely a bit saddened by this outcome but I am willing to accept it most of the time because it just makes life easier! When I do eat cheese you can be certain that it is going to be the best!! I don't order it on salads and I use Feta sparingly on my salads. Barre3 nutrition director Jennifer Currtis said it best when she said "Use it like a spice". I will forever remember that!

I've seen others, specifically my friend Chelsea, in the PCOS community had success with eliminating or cutting back on dairy so it definitely works for some of us Cysters!! Looking back I ate macaroni & cheese at least two times per week...no wonder I always had acne!

**11/6/13**
I found THIS website that really explains it in easy to understand terms why cheese is so addictive and so not good for some people.

I truly hope this helps some of you out there who might have PCOS and be struggling with acne!

Fingers crossed {I don't go cheese crazy once we open the Cougar Gold}...

{30 thoughts} it takes time {food prep edition}...

Being healthy takes time, and lots of it!

I spend almost every Sunday going to barre3, going grocery shopping, and then coming home and spending the afternoon in the kitchen! Today I snuck in a facial too for a reward for keeping this lifestyle up for 2 years but that's another story for another day!

On Friday or Saturday I usually plan my meals a day or two before by paroosing Pinterest, looking at the barre3 blog, or going through some of my cookbooks.

messy kitchen's are okay when whole food is being prepped!

 

Sometimes I go shopping before class and when I do I make sure to being along my cooler! It keeps everything super cold until I've returned home. Jason got this as a gift for being in his friend Adam's wedding and I can say, without a doubt, that this is the MOST re-used bridesmaid/groomsman gift we've ever received!

 

 

Once I have my recipes all printed I take care to notice similarities in the recipes. For instance, today all my recipes called for onions so I chopped 3 onions at once and then divided them up! I cooked two of the meals today and packaged up the other 1/3 for use later in the week!

Here is my fridge this week {and really, what it looks like most weeks}. I try to keep it very organized but I have a roommate {aka my hubby}!

full and happy fridge!

 

Top left: condiment type things. sour cream, Yumm sauce, nut butters, veg broth.

Top right: eggs, salad fixings, chopped veggies

Middle left: WAY too much cheese {yet to be delivered to the people}, salad containers where I prep 4 salad topping combinations for the week.

Middle right: Chopped snack veggies, salad, leftovers.

Left middle drawer: cheese and random things {currently pepperoni and ginger reside there}

Right bottom: Veggies that won't fit in the veggie drawer.

Left bottom drawer: Raw meant only. Ever.

Right bottom drawer: Veggies

 

While it does take a considerable amount of time every weekend to do this it is so worth it for us. If I am not prepared then by the time I get home from work, working out, and whatever else I am exhausted and I don't want to spend an hour cooking dinner! Today I made a cauliflower soup, hard boiled eggs, zucchini bread, 4 salad containers, snack veggies, and other things I feel that I am forgetting ;-)

 

Fingers crossed {that someday my husband joins me in the food prep fun}!!!

 

PS. Random but....

 

my apron is a little big!

 

there's always time for a little celebration!!

Last night my hubby and I dressed up, went down into Portland, and had a nice & fancy dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Harborside at the Marina! We had some celebrating to do {and some gift certificates to use}!

Jason & I :) Love him!!!

 



At first I went into this dinner and I was in a "I'll have whatever I want (likely something I shouldn't have) mood" but then once I sat down my conscious really got the better of me. Maybe conscious isn't the right word. My thought pattern went like this...

- I want the blackened chicken pasta with alfredo linguine.
- But, I had cheese a few days ago so I don't know if I need that much dairy today.
- Plus, I might have dessert which might have dairy in it.
- I still want chicken though. What about the Parmesan chicken? It's still dairy but not as much as the alfredo sauce.
- Order glass of Riesling.
- Talk to waiter. Tell him I do want the chicken pasta but I don't want the alfredo. Waiter suggests that we do a veggie medley on top of noodles that have olive oil instead.
- BINGO!

I forgot to take a picture of my dinner but it was delicious. It was the Parmesan crusted chicken breasts with linguine and tomatoes & fresh basil. It was fresh, it was light, and it was perfect & just for me.

I've said it many times on here and many, many more times in my life - YOU have to be an advocate for yourself. Whether it is going to the doctors or eating as best you can at a restaurant you are the only one who is truly looking out for you!!

it wouldn't be an Annie post if there wasn't a comparison picture!

left ~ April 2012

right ~ May 2013

Because I made the decision to change my meal I felt better about myself, I am proud of myself, and I ordered {almost} exactly what I wanted for dessert. If I had had my choice {and I did, I just chose something else} I would have loved to have had the cheesecake with berries and next time that is available I just might. This time, though, I decided to share the MOST delicious apple pie upside down pie with vanilla ice cream with my husband. There's something fun and intimate about sharing a dessert...and my husband always lets me have the last bite! He's sweet like that.

Have any of you made any good choices recently at a restaurant? Salad instead of fries? Sharing dessert? I'd love to hear how everyone out there handles eating out!!

Fingers crossed {that next time I go out I can make good choices}...

multiple dinners...

...from one "take out box".

Do you have a New Seasons in your town? It's like a Whole Foods, basically.

There is one close to my beloved barre3 that I've been going to for about a year or so. At first I went crazy and bought everything there and that proved to be very expensive! Now, I buy meat and produce and sometimes one or two small things if I don't need to make the trek to WinCo.

One of the best things about New Seasons is their deli. They have made to order sandwiches that are SO.MUCH.BETTER than a Quiznos or Subway. But our favorite thing...the WOK bar!!! For $9 we can get a HEAPING bowl of fresh wok! I should have taken a picture of my compiled bowl before cooking. My husband is amazed every time at how much I can get in that bowl!

Portioning out the rice, noodles & veggies.

This last Sunday after my trip to barre3 I stopped by NS so I could get a portion of the wok for lunch that day and have some left over for the week! I ended up getting 4 portions from my one meal!! For you math geniuses out there that is about $2.25 per meal.

Four portions from one meal!

When eating it for lunch at work I usually pair it with veggies & hummus and a sweet treat at the end. The rice and the noodles really fill me up! It is a great way to get multiple meals for a decent price from a very delicious place.

We have out NS wok like this...

Extra chicken. Shanghai Sauce. Organic Brown Rice.

 

If you have a New Seasons I would definitely suggest getting a make-your-own wok sometime! If you don't...make your own! Someone once told me they actually sell their sauces there. I need to check that out sometime. When they make our wok I ask them to only but 4 TBSP on sauce on our wok. That helps to cut the "calories" for lack of a better word!

getting ready for the week...

This year I've been bringing my lunch every day...well, I've always brought my lunch but now I'm bringing healthier foods in them! This sure does involved a lot of prepping!! Here is how I go about prepping my food!!

It really starts with menu planning, which I'm getting better at. But I have finally found one weekly menu/list that I like! I'm on week 3 of using it - which is a definite plus! I like this plan type because I can write what I need for specific meals, as well as what I need for the rest of the house. My little orange sticky note is things that over the week, I realized that we needed. I just added them to this week's list! It's simple, clean, and has enough space to write!

meal plan from life in yellow

 

After menu planning, comes the shopping. I used to not mind grocery shopping when all I was picking out was the same old boxed foods every week. It's now a little more work! The last few months I've been stocking up at WinCo with any canned/dry goods like pasta, rice, beans, butter. Basically anything that isn't a fruit, veggie, or meat. I buy those things at New Seasons. Our grocery budget has increased because we are buying GREAT food but our waistlines are shrinking...so I suppose in the end it is worth it :) I need to be better about going to two stores {for the savings} but sometimes I just don't want to!

 

After I get home from shopping is when my old ways need to take heed to my new/not yet implemented ways. Now that I have planning & shopping managed {for the most part} I want to focus on my pantry and my fridge. That's going to be my goal for the month of January. Organize it!!! My husband works 3/4 of the weekends in January...maybe I should tell him of my plans!

 

Though tonight...I started some of my prepping for the newest round of the barre3 28 to great challenge! A big proponent of the challenge food portion is salads and veggies! Last time I did the barre3 challenges I just wasn't prepared. I was just learning about food, whole food, I was so overwhelmed. This time, I planned out how I wanted the food prep to look. It took about an hour to clean, cut, and store all the veggies but it will be worth it this week when all I have to do is reach into the fridge and get whatever toppings I want for my salad! This week and next weekend my goal is to tackle finding more veggies recipes!

 

veggies for salads and snacks!

 

croutons {for the hubs}, hard boiled eggs, Roma tomatoes, black olives, avocado, grape tomatoes, sweet peppers, green onions, salsa crock pot chicken, craisins {for the hubs}, pecans, celery, red onion, carrots, cauliflower. Added later -artichoke hearts.

 

Here's our fridge...very full!!!

 

Top. Condiments, liquids.

Middle. Salad supplies, lunch for tomorrow, barre3 bars, yogurt for hubs, eggs.

Middle Drawer. Cheeses for hubs.

Bottom shelf. Lettuces.

Left bottom drawer. Raw meats.

Right bottom drawer. Extra veggies.

 

Super pumped to start this challenge with so many other people doing it too! It really helps me considering I am SUCH a "village" person. I'm hoping this will really instill good eating habits, shopping habits, and prepping habits.

 

Fingers crossed {that this first week goes amazing}...

labeling & portioning!

Part of my success has really been watching how much food I put in my mouth {aka portion control}. Seems simple, right?!? Well, not for me. That's why I got to where I was. My husband is the same way and I am proud of how far we have come!

One simple thing I recently started doing is labeling and portioning the leftovers for lunch. Sometimes my husband {who leaves for work before I do} would accidentally take the smaller portion. While I was sometimes secretly happy that I got more food for lunch, I knew that wasn't what I needed {but don't let yourself be fooled, I still ate the bigger portion}!

To aide in this I've started to label the portions, that way my husband can't grab the wrong meal when he leaves at 5am!

My method is simple. Small square post-it notes and a pen. It isn't anything special but it is working to help us control our portions! And I'm proud of myself for not color coding the tupperware like the freak organizer in me really wanted to...

J = Jason and A = Annie. Trust me - this method is husband proof!!!

1 = 1 portion
1.5 = 1 and a half portions

My husband generally gets 1.5 portions because he is just overall a bigger eater and guy {and gets WAY more WW points than I do}. It took me until about, oh, last week to realize this. We were talking about a picnic lunch we'd been on a few months ago and how I'd packed him the same portions as me and it wasn't near enough for him. He said that sometimes he needs more than I do to function and it really got me thinking how true that statement was. I DON'T need a portion of a man because I am a woman. *insert lightbulb moment here*

For the last almost 9 years I've been serving up equal portions when I make food because I thought it wouldn't be "fair" if he got more food. All the while I was probably over-feeding both of us, myself in particular.

Fair isn't always equal - especially when it comes to portions between a husband and wife.

Fingers crossed {that I can keep up the portion control good thoughts}!

a little zip{loc}...

We don't have very much processed food around here anymore {I bought these for a party} but when we do, this is what happens. We've been portioning out our foods into Ziploc snack sized baggies. This helps us to not just continuously munch and to be very aware of what, and how much, we are putting in our mouths.

Use snack size Ziploc baggies to portion out processed foods.

Then put the portioned food back into the original container.

It's the simple things that have been helping us on our food journey. I hope this little tip helps you too!!

Fingers crossed {that maybe this is the last processed chip in our house in a long time}...