1Corinthians10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
A good friend of ours gave us this yummy recipe. I have never used steel cut oats, but bought some today and plan to make it tomorrow. Can't wait!
Cranberry-Maple Slow Cooker Oatmeal
Ingredients
8 cup(s) Water
2 cup(s) Hodgson Mill Steel cut oats, or other brand (I bought this in bulk @ Sprouts)
¾ cup(s) Cranberries, dried, chopped
½ cup(s) Syrup, maple
1 tsp Cinnamon, ground
½ tsp Salt, table
3 Tbsp Almonds, slivered, toasted
Instructions
Combine all ingredients, except almonds, in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Cook on low power for 4 to 6 hours, depending on desired creaminess. Stir well to combine and then sprinkle with almonds. Yields about 3/4 cup oatmeal and 1 teaspoon almonds per serving.
Simply stir the ingredients together before bed time and wake up to a comforting bowl of creamy, filling oats.
Servings: 9 PointsPlus® Value: 6 Preparation Time: 8 min
Cooking Time: 4-6 hours Level of Difficulty: Easy
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Support...Do you have it?
Support, a word that can be used in many contexts...we support our families financially, we support our children to grow up to be good people, women need breast support (some of us more than others!), at work we have support teams, when our electronics break down we call tech support (usually someone from Indiana that mysteriously has an very strong Indian accent!).
But the support that has been looming in my mind lately is the support of friends and family. We all need to feel that the lifestyle changes we are making and accomplishing are good. We also want others to approve and support us in those endeavors. When we surround ourselves with people that support us and keep us on the right track of improving our lives, it can mean the difference between being successful and sticking with what we are trying to accomplish or failing miserably. On the other hand, if we surround ourselves with people who are "nay-sayers" and do anything but support you in the changes you are making in your life, it can cause you to fail, or at the very least, make you question the changes in your life and feel badly.
If you are making changes in your life, and "shaking up the dynamics" of whatever support system you have been a part of, there may be people who dislike the changes, sometimes seriously dislike the change. It is important to realize that those people who do not support you in your endeavors cannot pull you down. You may even get to a point where they cannot be an intricate part of your life as you make these important changes.
It is extremely important to be positive, surround yourself with others who will support you, keep you on track with the good changes you are making in your life, and cling to the people in your life, or find new people, who are supportive and embrace the lifestyle changes that make life better.
But the support that has been looming in my mind lately is the support of friends and family. We all need to feel that the lifestyle changes we are making and accomplishing are good. We also want others to approve and support us in those endeavors. When we surround ourselves with people that support us and keep us on the right track of improving our lives, it can mean the difference between being successful and sticking with what we are trying to accomplish or failing miserably. On the other hand, if we surround ourselves with people who are "nay-sayers" and do anything but support you in the changes you are making in your life, it can cause you to fail, or at the very least, make you question the changes in your life and feel badly.
If you are making changes in your life, and "shaking up the dynamics" of whatever support system you have been a part of, there may be people who dislike the changes, sometimes seriously dislike the change. It is important to realize that those people who do not support you in your endeavors cannot pull you down. You may even get to a point where they cannot be an intricate part of your life as you make these important changes.
It is extremely important to be positive, surround yourself with others who will support you, keep you on track with the good changes you are making in your life, and cling to the people in your life, or find new people, who are supportive and embrace the lifestyle changes that make life better.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Treat your feet right!
Last time we blogged, we wrote about getting active and some things to help get you started. One important component of working out, however, is taking care of your feet. After all, what takes a large lump of the punishment when we walk, run, dance, etc., our feet of course. And, if we don't take care of them correctly, they will let us know!
I had the pleasure of buying a new pair of running shoes today, yippee! We keep a log of how many miles we put on our shoes, and when we get to the maximum number, 350-500 miles, we get fit for a new pair. Get fit, you may ask? Well, our retail store of choice is Run On!, but there are other stores, such as Luke's Locker, that are trained in looking at how you walk, run, and squat to determine what type of support your little piggies need. For example, I have in the past, been an oversupponator, (turn my feet out when I run) but now my gait has leveled itself out and is neutral. If I had not gone in to Run On! and had them fit me, I would not have known this. On my own, I would have bought a shoe that was too supportive than what I actually need. That could have caused injuries down the road that could have been prevented. I am SUPER anxious to try my new shoes out now!
If you are planning to begin a workout routine, it is a good idea to visit Run On! or Luke's Locker to have them fit you in a shoe that will be the right amount of support and will be the fit that is best for you.
Another aspect of taking care of your feet that we have found is cotton free socks. Cotton can cause blisters when worn for long periods of time. You can buy super expensive socks at specialty stores, but we have found cotton free socks at Wal-Mart and Target. The trick is looking at the material list on the back of the packaging. Find socks that have NO cotton in the materials list.
And, of course, one very important aspect of taking care of your feet when working out, that the women will especially like, is getting regular pedicures! Besides making your feet look beautiful, having someone attend to your feet and toes, especially the toe nails, and massage sore feet and lower leg muscles, will make a huge difference in the way they feel during and after a workout.
Here's to 10 little happy piggies!
Ronna and Eristeo
I had the pleasure of buying a new pair of running shoes today, yippee! We keep a log of how many miles we put on our shoes, and when we get to the maximum number, 350-500 miles, we get fit for a new pair. Get fit, you may ask? Well, our retail store of choice is Run On!, but there are other stores, such as Luke's Locker, that are trained in looking at how you walk, run, and squat to determine what type of support your little piggies need. For example, I have in the past, been an oversupponator, (turn my feet out when I run) but now my gait has leveled itself out and is neutral. If I had not gone in to Run On! and had them fit me, I would not have known this. On my own, I would have bought a shoe that was too supportive than what I actually need. That could have caused injuries down the road that could have been prevented. I am SUPER anxious to try my new shoes out now!
If you are planning to begin a workout routine, it is a good idea to visit Run On! or Luke's Locker to have them fit you in a shoe that will be the right amount of support and will be the fit that is best for you.
Another aspect of taking care of your feet that we have found is cotton free socks. Cotton can cause blisters when worn for long periods of time. You can buy super expensive socks at specialty stores, but we have found cotton free socks at Wal-Mart and Target. The trick is looking at the material list on the back of the packaging. Find socks that have NO cotton in the materials list.
And, of course, one very important aspect of taking care of your feet when working out, that the women will especially like, is getting regular pedicures! Besides making your feet look beautiful, having someone attend to your feet and toes, especially the toe nails, and massage sore feet and lower leg muscles, will make a huge difference in the way they feel during and after a workout.
Here's to 10 little happy piggies!
Ronna and Eristeo
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Starting a workout plan...Steps to get started!
We've talked a lot about the right foods to eat, and the commitment to healthy living, but another key component to living a healthy lifestyle is getting active. Are you active, or do you need to move in that direction? It is amazing how much better you will feel and how much more energy you will have when you get your body moving! Our blog today contains tips to help you get started to begin living a more active lifestyle.
(Of course, you need to check with your doctor to make sure you can start an exercise program, but once you are clear, the following are great ways to get you started.)
When getting started, we suggest beginning a journal. In it, you can begin by writing down what your abilities are at your beginning point, ie. how far you can walk, how many push ups, sit ups, etc. you can do, body measurements, weight, etc. This is exciting to look back on as you make progress in your life changes!
Decide on your goals. Do you want to lose weight, run a 5K, 10K, or just build more strength and stamina? Whatever your goals, plan a routine. Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (For example, walking 20-30 minutes/4-5 days a week, to begin) — or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity — a week. They also need two or more days of strength training a week. Write down a plan for when, where, and what you will do in each workout. Make an appointment with yourself, that you keep, for each workout in your plan. Journal your appointments, and your successes during those workouts, so that you can see what you have done for yourself.
Plan to do activities that you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, you won't keep it up. Do you like dancing, walking, cycling, rowing, elliptical? Whatever you like, do it. To keep from getting bored, change it up on occasion, to keep your mind from getting bored, and help your body use different muscles.
Find a freind. If you have someone else to enjoy the activities with, the time goes by faster, you focus more on the conversation and less on the fact that you are working out. Plus, if you have someone else counting on you to be there, you are more likely to keep to your fitness goals!
Remember, as you start, don't begin too intense and burn out, or worse, injure youself. Listen to your body, and push yourself, but don't hurt yourself. Give yourself time to recover from your workouts. Muscles and joints need time to recover and build between your workouts, so rest is equally as important as the actual workout itself. Also, if you aren't feeling well, give yourself permission to take a day or two off. When the body if fighting off an illness, it doesn't have the strength to do much of anything else.
As you progress, be sure to keep track of your successes. It is also important to record any failures, or lessons you learn as you go through your fitness journey. These are always good to look back on and learn from. Getting in better physical shape is a journey, not a roller coaster ride. It is something, that if done right, will be a part of your life throughout the remainder of your life. It is something, that if done right, will change your life for the better and will better your life in more ways than you can even imagine.
(Of course, you need to check with your doctor to make sure you can start an exercise program, but once you are clear, the following are great ways to get you started.)
When getting started, we suggest beginning a journal. In it, you can begin by writing down what your abilities are at your beginning point, ie. how far you can walk, how many push ups, sit ups, etc. you can do, body measurements, weight, etc. This is exciting to look back on as you make progress in your life changes!
Decide on your goals. Do you want to lose weight, run a 5K, 10K, or just build more strength and stamina? Whatever your goals, plan a routine. Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (For example, walking 20-30 minutes/4-5 days a week, to begin) — or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity — a week. They also need two or more days of strength training a week. Write down a plan for when, where, and what you will do in each workout. Make an appointment with yourself, that you keep, for each workout in your plan. Journal your appointments, and your successes during those workouts, so that you can see what you have done for yourself.
Plan to do activities that you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, you won't keep it up. Do you like dancing, walking, cycling, rowing, elliptical? Whatever you like, do it. To keep from getting bored, change it up on occasion, to keep your mind from getting bored, and help your body use different muscles.
Find a freind. If you have someone else to enjoy the activities with, the time goes by faster, you focus more on the conversation and less on the fact that you are working out. Plus, if you have someone else counting on you to be there, you are more likely to keep to your fitness goals!
Remember, as you start, don't begin too intense and burn out, or worse, injure youself. Listen to your body, and push yourself, but don't hurt yourself. Give yourself time to recover from your workouts. Muscles and joints need time to recover and build between your workouts, so rest is equally as important as the actual workout itself. Also, if you aren't feeling well, give yourself permission to take a day or two off. When the body if fighting off an illness, it doesn't have the strength to do much of anything else.
As you progress, be sure to keep track of your successes. It is also important to record any failures, or lessons you learn as you go through your fitness journey. These are always good to look back on and learn from. Getting in better physical shape is a journey, not a roller coaster ride. It is something, that if done right, will be a part of your life throughout the remainder of your life. It is something, that if done right, will change your life for the better and will better your life in more ways than you can even imagine.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Beef with Broccoli-A Yummy, Easy Dinner w/out the take out calories!
Here is a great Beef with Broccoli recipe we found and tweeked a bit. We had it last week and LOVED it! Wanted to pass it on to you all. Hope you enjoy it! If you try it, let us know what you think.
Prep Time: 10 minutes + 1 hour for marinade Cook Time: 8 minutesFirst, marinate the meat:
2. In a large wok or saute pan, spray cooking spray heated over medium heat. Add broccoli and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer broccoli to a plate.
3. Spray the hot pan with more cooking spray. Add the marinated meat and half of the sauce mixture and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the broccoli and remaining sauce. Saute 1 minute more. Serve over brown rice or quinoa.
Divide into 8 portions: Per serving: 250 calories, 2g fat, 8g fiber, 6WW Points
(Rice or quinoa are not included in the nutritional facts.)
Prep Time: 10 minutes + 1 hour for marinade Cook Time: 8 minutesFirst, marinate the meat:
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs extra lean sirloin steak, sliced into thin strips
- 1/2 c low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp sherry (I didn't want to buy sherry for just 1tbsp, so I found out you can use regular wine, and, of course, I ALWAYS have wine on hand!)
- cooking spray
- 6 heads broccoli, crowns only (The original recipe called for only 2 heads, but it wasn't near enough broccoli, so we added a lot more! We like a lot of veggies with our meat!)
2. In a large wok or saute pan, spray cooking spray heated over medium heat. Add broccoli and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Transfer broccoli to a plate.
3. Spray the hot pan with more cooking spray. Add the marinated meat and half of the sauce mixture and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Stir in the broccoli and remaining sauce. Saute 1 minute more. Serve over brown rice or quinoa.
Divide into 8 portions: Per serving: 250 calories, 2g fat, 8g fiber, 6WW Points
(Rice or quinoa are not included in the nutritional facts.)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
White Rock Lake
This morning, as I made my way around White Rock Lake, I wondered how many of our friends know about what an awesome place this is to experience a wonderful walk/run on a beautiful weekend day.
We would consider it one of the best places in the Dallas area to run/walk. It is so pedestrian friendly, unlike many spots in the metroplex, and it is such a great place to do any number of miles you want for your workout. (Seeing all the different people and listening to other conversations is quite entertaining, too!) There are tons of places to park, and you can go out and back as far as you want, and since you are sticking with the trail, there is no fear of getting lost and not finding your car, you just turn around and head back the way you came! :0)
The website for White Rock Lake is http://www.whiterockdallas.org/. There you can click on a tab at the top that will give you a map of the area, as well as see a listing of upcoming runs, volunteer information, and things to do around the lake.
If you want to explore the lake and don't know where to start, let us know. We can give you some direction on where you may want to start your walk/run, based on how you want your workout to go.
If you are looking for just a relaxing, easy walk, enjoying a gorgeous day, or if you are looking for a rigorous, long distance run, this is the place to be on the weekend.
Eristeo and Ronna
We would consider it one of the best places in the Dallas area to run/walk. It is so pedestrian friendly, unlike many spots in the metroplex, and it is such a great place to do any number of miles you want for your workout. (Seeing all the different people and listening to other conversations is quite entertaining, too!) There are tons of places to park, and you can go out and back as far as you want, and since you are sticking with the trail, there is no fear of getting lost and not finding your car, you just turn around and head back the way you came! :0)
The website for White Rock Lake is http://www.whiterockdallas.org/. There you can click on a tab at the top that will give you a map of the area, as well as see a listing of upcoming runs, volunteer information, and things to do around the lake.
If you want to explore the lake and don't know where to start, let us know. We can give you some direction on where you may want to start your walk/run, based on how you want your workout to go.
If you are looking for just a relaxing, easy walk, enjoying a gorgeous day, or if you are looking for a rigorous, long distance run, this is the place to be on the weekend.
Eristeo and Ronna
Friday, January 13, 2012
Eating like a teenager? E's Story...
On December 12th, 2006, my best friend, Sam Cole, invited me to lunch, and again I had to hear the story of Weight Watcher's and what it did for him. With every sentence he spewed, I just nodded as I ate my heavily laden ranch dressing salad.
Suddenly he hit a nerve - I quote "why are you still eating like your a teenager, don't you want to see your grand kids one of these days?" Wow, I did still eat like teenager, but I no longer had the metabolism of one to help me melt away my bad decisions. So, now I'm paying attention! He had lost over 90 pounds and even ran a marathon. I asked, "What did you do again?" He told me he just paid attention to what he was eating and "logged his points". But Sam - I can't eat pre-package food (see I'm already looking for excuses), and he said - this isn't one of those programs - this let's you eat normal portion of normal foods. As he spoke, I felt a condeming spotlight on my heavily laden Ranch dressing salad and my other bad food decision.
Ok, enough of the commercial, but to the point - I ate horrible and I felt horrible. It was time for me to take control of food and not let food control me. I grew up (a little) and joined Weight Watchers. I was so happy and full of pride on the choice I had made to better myself and my future. I couldn't wait to tell Ronna about my discovery and revelation.
*POP* - that was my balloon being popped by the very sharp needle of a wife that would not have anything to do with my endeavor. If I wanted to pursue this, she told me, I would have to do it on my own. My heart was broken, I told her by no means was I going to continue to eat myself into a grave, and my eating habits had to change because I was wanting a future with her. I wanted to see our grandchildren grow up, and I didn't want to be burden to her and my family in the future - I was serious and she knew I was. She said I could do it by myself and she would help by selecting better foods for us, but she would have nothing to do with the program.
Of course, all I did was talk about the program and how many points/calories were in our favorite foods. After about a month of this, she proceeded to tell me she'd had enough of me always talking about Weight Watchers. I re-stated my plight - do you think I was joking about my health? She got my point from the sharp needle of a husband, and of course she joined the program the next day.
From that day forward, we teamed together and helped, loved, prayed, argued, encouraged, argued (yes - I said it twice on purpose), and inspired each other every step of the way. I can't speak for Ronna, but it was very easy to do once we got started, but the hardest part was taking that first step, the first step that eventually lead us to our Path of Purpose.
Suddenly he hit a nerve - I quote "why are you still eating like your a teenager, don't you want to see your grand kids one of these days?" Wow, I did still eat like teenager, but I no longer had the metabolism of one to help me melt away my bad decisions. So, now I'm paying attention! He had lost over 90 pounds and even ran a marathon. I asked, "What did you do again?" He told me he just paid attention to what he was eating and "logged his points". But Sam - I can't eat pre-package food (see I'm already looking for excuses), and he said - this isn't one of those programs - this let's you eat normal portion of normal foods. As he spoke, I felt a condeming spotlight on my heavily laden Ranch dressing salad and my other bad food decision.
Ok, enough of the commercial, but to the point - I ate horrible and I felt horrible. It was time for me to take control of food and not let food control me. I grew up (a little) and joined Weight Watchers. I was so happy and full of pride on the choice I had made to better myself and my future. I couldn't wait to tell Ronna about my discovery and revelation.
*POP* - that was my balloon being popped by the very sharp needle of a wife that would not have anything to do with my endeavor. If I wanted to pursue this, she told me, I would have to do it on my own. My heart was broken, I told her by no means was I going to continue to eat myself into a grave, and my eating habits had to change because I was wanting a future with her. I wanted to see our grandchildren grow up, and I didn't want to be burden to her and my family in the future - I was serious and she knew I was. She said I could do it by myself and she would help by selecting better foods for us, but she would have nothing to do with the program.
Of course, all I did was talk about the program and how many points/calories were in our favorite foods. After about a month of this, she proceeded to tell me she'd had enough of me always talking about Weight Watchers. I re-stated my plight - do you think I was joking about my health? She got my point from the sharp needle of a husband, and of course she joined the program the next day.
From that day forward, we teamed together and helped, loved, prayed, argued, encouraged, argued (yes - I said it twice on purpose), and inspired each other every step of the way. I can't speak for Ronna, but it was very easy to do once we got started, but the hardest part was taking that first step, the first step that eventually lead us to our Path of Purpose.
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