Darbie Dear

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Archives for September 2017

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Dietitians, Weight loss, and Pedometers

Dietitians, Pedometers, Weight loss

I met with my dietitian for my 4-week checkup, which was more like an 8+ week checkup since I had to reschedule due to having been ill. However, one part of me was gleeful that I had to reschedule. I was hoping it bought more time to make my weight loss and healthful eating goal more impressive. I guess it’s kind of like when you have a test and then your teacher gives you an extra day to study.

Since my illness had bought me more time, I had hoped to be down a few more pounds by the time I saw Carrie, my dietitian. The day before my appointment arrived and I still weighed 133.8, about the same weight as I was at my last appointment! Ugh! I was racking my brain. I was eating like I should, charting everything, exercising when I could fit it in, walking more….. So frustrating! Then I had an epiphany. Maybe I wasn’t moving as much as I did a year ago, and maybe I wasn’t moving as much as I thought I was. Does that make sense? I grabbed my son’s pedometer, which we had bought for him to use to monitor his heart rate when he runs, and decided to test out my theory.

I turned on my I phone pedometer, downloaded the app that goes along with ToHayie pedometer ,that I borrowed from my son, and started moving. The day before my appointment my device showed that I moved less than 5,000 steps that day, the low goal is 8,000 steps per day! Wow.

I took that knowledge and started to look over some of the ways I had stopped moving as much over the past year. Sitting more while I study, check. My dogs now have a run line, so I no longer walk them for them to use the bathroom. I haven’t been walking to some of the places I use to, because I am short on time, I drive to them instead.

The next day at my appointment Carrie hooked me up to the body composition monitor. It actually had good news for me this time! Even though my weight had not changed, my body fat was 28.5% as opposed to 30% at the previous visit! Down 1.5 %! My hydration was good. My inflammation was down. Carrie even added that the reason the scale wasn’t moving much was that the muscle I was gaining was replacing the fat weight. Hey, I will take it! It felt so good to finally see some results from all the hard work!

The goals for the upcoming month are:

  • Keep working toward 8,000 steps a day
  • Continue to work on getting my inflammation down through diet, exercise, and drinking the turmeric filled Haldi Doodh, also know a Golden Milk.
  • Keeping my stress levels down
  • Drinking 72 oz of water a day
  • Eating gluten free
  • Carrie would like me to not only chart my food but caloric intake this month. She would like to see me eating no more or less than 1350-1450 calories a day.

Current Progress

As I write this, I have been wearing my pedometer and using my phone for about 1 week now. I seem to be averaging under 6,000 steps a day. Yesterday I was able to get in 7,769 steps! Woohoo! I think getting in more and more steps every day is the key to turning this weight loss plateau around. 10-minute mini work outs count, grocery shopping, running the laundry upstairs, they all count. I say this not just for myself but to encourage you too, dear friend. I know I’m not the only one struggling with the frustration of health issues and wanting my pants to fit.

If you are finding yourself baffled at how your weight or health got where it is, I encourage you to chart your food, your exercise, your movements, and anything else that you think might be an influence on your health. It should help you to see some red flags in your behaviors. I know I usually think I am better at eating well or exercising than I really am. Notating my behaviors taught me that.

I know so many of you are super busy too. So, I thought I would share a 10-minute standing abs video from POPSUGAR. I love their fitness section. They have so many mini workouts to choose from! For me, I can often sneak in several mini workouts a day, as opposed to one longer workout. Heck, if you have the time for a longer workout, POPSUGAR has something for you too.

Wishing you all the best!

 

 

 

 

 

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Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins That Taste Normal!

I LOVE banana chocolate chip muffins! Since I have started my journey toward living without breads made with traditional flour, I thought I might have to give up this delicious treat. Thank goodness for King Arthur Flour! With their Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour, I can make gluten free muffins that taste “normal”!

Banana chocolate chip muffins made with the King Arthur Gluten Free flour taste and feel like traditional muffins! They have a nice spring to them. The muffins are moist and flavorful. It took me about a week to eat through my dozen muffins. Kept in an air tight container, the muffins had good texture and moisture until they were all gone.

For me the real test was how would my kids like them.

My children are notoriously picky. They loved the texture, flavor, and moisture of the gluten free banana chocolate chip muffins. They said the muffins seemed normal to them. I even caught one of them sneaking a muffin! I should add they had their own traditional banana chocolate chip muffins, but my youngest thought the gluten free muffins were totally worth sneaking. I can’t blame him. I had to limit myself to two a day. What can I say? There is chocolate in this breakfast food!

King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour

This is the first recipe that I have used the King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour. The bag touted that you can “bake in any of your favorite recipes “. Since the muffins turned out so well, I look forward to attempting gluten free cookies, scones, and host of others!

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Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins that taste like regular muffins! 

Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1 3/4 Cup King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour
  • 1 Tbsp Chia seeds If avaliable
  • 2 Tbsp Flax, ground If avaliable
  • 1/2 Cup Melted Butter
  • 2/3 Cup Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Honey
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cups Mashed Ripe Bananas 3 med bananas
  • 1/2 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. 

    Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with papers and grease the papers. 

  2. Whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, chia seeds, ground flax, and flour. Set aside.

  3. Beat together the soft butter, sugar, and honey.

  4. Beat the eggs into the butter mixture, one egg at a time.

  5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the bowl in three parts, alternately with the mashed bananas, beating well between additions and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl one or two times during this process.

  6. After everything is added,  beat at medium high speed for 30 seconds making sure the sides of the bowl have been scraped well before hand.

  7. Fold in the 1/2 Cup of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips. 

  8. Add the batter to the muffin tins, making sure each cup is full.

  9. Bake the muffins in the middle rack for 22 to 25 minutes, until the middle springs back when lightly touched or a tooth pick emerges free from batter when the muffin is tested. 

  10. Let rest 5 minutes before taking out of the tin.

  11. Enjoy warm or cool, aka the best part.

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My Favorite, Easy, Delicious Salsa Recipe

 

With Labor Day weekend upon us, I thought I would share my favorite, easy, delicious salsa recipe. This salsa is so easy to make! It will make your friends think you are a salsa goddess. Grab some scoop tortilla chips and prepare to amaze your friends at your picnic this weekend!

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My Favorite, Easy, Delicious Salsa

This salsa is easy to make. Since this recipe uses canned tomatoes, this salsa can be made all year round!

Author Holly

Ingredients

  • 1 can 14.5 oz Diced Canned Tomatoes
  • 1 can 14.5 oz Diced Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes This adds a light smokey flavor
  • 1 can 14.5 oz Diced Tomates with Green Chilies
  • 1 Bunch Cilantro
  • 2 Cloves garlic , med size cloves

Instructions

  1. Our ingredients will be layered into our blender. If you have a food processor, feel free to use that, regardless of the appliance layering the ingredients is key.

  2. In the blender place 2 cloves of garlic in the bottom. Next the cilantro, followed by the cans of tomatoes.

  3. Next pulse the blender or food processor. This helps to break up the garlic and cilantro.  Once that is done, blend at your preferred speed.

  4. Once it is blended well, taste the mixture. It may need a little more cilantro or it might be perfect.

  5. Pulse the mixture one last time before serving. It helps to bring the heavier bits up from the bottom allowing for a more even flavor when serving.

Recipe Notes

This salsa is easy and delicious! Due to the tomatoes being canned, it makes it easy to serve all year round. Do to special requests, I make it all year round!

I recommend using medium garlic cloves. I have used larger cloves once before. It was a little too much garlic for even my garlic loving friends. Bigger is not always better when it comes to garlic!

Also, a thing about cilantro. I have found that organic cilantro comes in smaller bundles. That smaller bundle, in my opinion, is just perfect for this recipe. When using larger cilantro bundles, consider feeding the cilantro into the blender 1/2 at a time. Add half, blend, taste. You can always add more cilantro it is impossible to add less. I've tried. It wasn't pretty!

One thing I love about this recipe, is that it can be made organically very easily and economically.

Final note, scoop tortilla chips are the perfect pairing for this salsa. The scoops hold the salsa instead of allowing it to run. More delicious salsa in your mouth and less on the plate!