Operation Muscle Excavation
For the most part I eat healthy.
I workout at least 5 days a week, every week.
Where the heck are all of my muscles?
I am not looking to lose weight and I am not aiming to be the next female Arnold; however, I would like to see an ab or two and perhaps meet my tricep from time to time. Given how active and how nutrition conscious I am, this should not be an unreasonable request. Should it?!
If I am completely honest about my muscles’ whereabouts I am fairly certain I can pinpoint their location. They are hiding underneath a layer of Whole Food’s honey graham’s, dark chocolate covered almonds, tortilla chips, chronic cardio, and my inability to fully unplug. There is a part of me that is cool with letting my muscles stay hidden in lieu of how far I have come (I was 40+ heavier a decade ago), I feel really good and I have a healthy relationship with food, so why rock that boat to see more of sir tricep? Well… to put it simply I want to look better, I want to feel better and I want my relationship with food to be better, so I am challenging myself to operation muscle excavation (OME)
OME is going to entail:
- more diversity in my workouts, less routine. this inevitably=more strength training
- more protein, less crackers/ tortilla chips
- more meals, less snacks
- more books, less screen time
- more stretching, less late night cupboard grazing
- more getting ‘er done, less procrastination. procrastination = snacking
To get more tips on how to see more muscles, get on skinspot’s mailing list as I am sending out a newsletter on Tuesday elaborating on my tips. You also get 10 tips to glowing skin when you sign up, so if you are looking to achieve glowing skin and a toned physique than I suggest going here. Just Sayin’…
Happy Friday and have a superb weekend.
I will leave you with 
Hassle-Free, Healthy Eats
This post is for those people out there who think that eating healthy is only reserved for the few disciplined beings who make it in to the very secret, very elite club of healthy eaters. Or maybe this post is for people who already know the secret code and they could use a few simple eats to add to their repertoire. On any note, allow me to grant you access (whether you want it or not) into this exclusive club.
Allow me to start with my healthy eating manifesto:
1. Healthy eating does not equal punishment inducing food. I assure you there are oodles of healthy eats that taste real good. damn good.
2. Healthy eating does not equal hours slaving away in the kitchen and food preparation. I rarely create a meal that takes longer than 10 minutes. I realize this blog could lead you to believe otherwise, when I do spend a good amount of time in the kitchen I feel the need to document it and present it to the world, so it is very convenient that I have this blog.
3. Healthy eating does not equal a dogmatic set of rules in which there are no indulgences. In fact indulgences are a must.
Without Further adieu, here are list hassle-free healthy eats that I consume on a regular basis:
I always begin my day with lemon water:
I cheat and use pre squeezed lemon juice- it is way easier and a wee bit less expensive than buying 7 lemons. Keep in mind this pre-sqeezed lemon juice is not the same as concentrate. This lemon juice is the real deal.
Why start the day with lemon juice? Well… It is a tastier way to drink water and it offers a few health benefits like alkalizing the body and promoting digestion as well as boosting a good amount of vitamin C.
Breakfast:
I generally bounce between:
Perfect Foods Bar and Coffee w/ a dash of nut milk of choice.
or 1/2 Ezekiel tortilla w/ 1T nut butter, 1/2 banana and a wee bit of honey.
Both of these breakfasts take under 5 minutes to prepare and leave me full for a good 2-3 hours. Woot!
Lunch:
every lunch includes a green drink
My current green drink obsession: Super Easy. Super Tasty. Super Nutritious.
- 1/2c organic orange juice
- 1/2c coconut water
- 1 small hunk of fresh ginger
- 1/4 of a frozen banana
- 3-4c mixed kale & spinach combo
- 2t Douglas Laboratories Detox Powder (optional)
- 1/2t matcha (optional)
- dash of cinnamon
- 3-5 ice cubes
With my green drink I usually eat 2 Energy Giving, Hormone Balancing Protein balls. I usually make a batch of these once every 1.5 weeks. They take about 5 minutes to create.
or I eat a plant powered protein wrap
1/2 ezekiel wrap w/ a few beans, 1/4 of avocado, a few hemp seeds & topped with hot sauce, nutritional yeast and and garlic salt.
With either of these meals, I am in and out of the kitchen in under 15 minutes.
Snack:
Snacks are kinda all over the place, but I try to make them more protein based, so I am not famished for dinner. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t
Vanilla Siggi’s with 1T dark chocolate chips or 1T ground flaxseed
My other go to snack is the avocado & egg mash:
Avocado & egg salad = 1/4 medium avocado, 1 hard boiled egg, small scoop of honey mustard (approx 1t), dash of sea salt, fresh ground pepper, & curry powder.
Sometimes I have a few crackers on the side, or if I am really on top of my game I have a few pieces of roasted squash.
Dinner:
is almost always some version of a bowls of steamed greens
I usually take my pick from one these guys:
I then top with, nut or seeds, sometimes a little seaweed, raisins or cranberries, beans, canned salmon or a veggie burger, & hot sauce nutritional yeast, garlic salt and spicy vegan cashew sauce (I make batch of this stuff once a week)
Ta da:
one of many bowls. More often than not, my husband and moi get home late from work, so we need something that we can throw together fast and these bowls are fast, satisfying and nutritious. Who says you need to spend hours in the kitchen to create healthy eats?!
Dessert:
oh how I love dessert. Dessert is usually one (or more) of the fellas below followed by a glass of vino. yumsicles.
On a really good day:
During the week, I really do not set aside a lot of time for cooking, but I still want to eat well, enjoy the heck out of it and not dish out oodles of money to do so. I really believe you can eat healthy with out slaving away, going broke or compromising taste. I hope these ideas help you out in a pinch.
Loves,
Kelli
Where Does The Time Go?
I can’t believe that it has been a week since I have posted anything on Sir Blog. Things have been busy in my neck-o-the-woods, but, honestly, I think my lack of posts might be due to Instagram. I was bitten by the damn Instagram bug. I started following Tone It Up (yes, I am obsessed) on Instagram and doing their January challenge, so after I have checked in on old Insta and scroll through all of the food porn, I pretty much hit my social media threshold for the day. It is a fairly low threshold. Anyway, fear not, I still love Sir Blog I just need to make room for the other social media baby in my life. Because I am a little short on time, I will give you a photo dump of my eats and exercise for this past week. Prepare to be amazed…
I made this soup on Sunday night and it is still feeding us. It is delightful. I fully support making a batch.
I also made one helluva kale salad with Vegan Spicy Cashew Sauce.
Grocery store loot on Sunday.
I vowed to give up coffee on Sunday. This picture was taken at 9:00 on Monday morning. You do the math.
My favorite meal of the week = Brussels, broccoli, seaweed, quinoa, dried cherries, pistachios all smothered in Spicy Cashew Sauce. LOVE.
My favorite workout of the week= today’s TIU January Challenge workout. Quick & Dirty.
Side note: No, I am not wearing a dress/ skirt in the top pic. My shirt is just that long and I am just that short.
And with all of that excitement, I am out.
Have a superb week!!
5 Tips To Get Your New Year’s Resolution To Stick
So with oodles of New Year’s resolutions in full swing many people are already falling off their resolution bandwagon or getting close to faltering. Here are a few tips to get your resolutions to stick around for a little longer or dare I say forever…
1. Focus on how you will feel after completion. How will you feel after you eat that giant piece of cake? If you focus on the foggy, lethargic feeling you get after consuming a hunk of processed sugar your chances on indulging are far fewer than if you focus on the dance your tastebuds will be partaking in during the cake eating session. This same theory applies if you are dreading an event. I am able to keep up a 5-6 days a week workout routine not because I looooove the treadmill, but because I love the way the treadmill makes me feel. Honestly, at the end of the day a desire for skinny thighs will wane, but the feel good emotions you get from an amazing workout is the gift that lasts a lifetime.
2. Give yourself credit for the small things. Nothing puts out my motivation fire like a thick blanket of overwhelm. I literally freeze when I feel overwhelmed. My 6th grade Language Art’s teacher use to give one student a standing ovation everyday because he/she “got up got dressed and came to school today.” So give yourself a pat on the back for getting out of bed and brushing your teeth everyday. You may think I am full of crazy, but try this a few times. Congratulate yourself for drinking that one cup of water and see if your drive to continue on your quest for health strengthens. What do you have to lose? A little acknowledgement for surviving a day never hurt anybody. To boot: when you focus on the positive your energy rises when you focus on the negative your energy drains. We all seem to be in search of more energy, so why not tap into a free resource for it.
3. Get out of your head and get in motion. Take one step- no matter how small to completing said goal. Break it down in to small, manageable goals. This is idea is not revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination, many go-getters implement this step multiple times daily because it works. I do this a lot with cleaning. The idea of cleaning a whole house can seem down right horrific at times. Twenty minutes of cleaning seems far less torturous. More times than not, once I begin a daunting task under the guise of a minimal effort I get hooked and go past my deadline. I am just so sneaky… To elaborate: please remember that Rome was not built in a day, so any step no matter how small is progress. Mmmmkay?!
4. Switch gears. If you are stuck on something that is creating a bolder in your creativity- get up and do something you know you can accomplish. When I get stuck with my writing, I get up an vacuum for 20 minutes- this gets my blood moving, instead of staring at the computer screen for 20 minutes (which is a huge energy drain) I accomplished something and revved my energy engine right back up. Win all around!
5. Support. Get support around your goals. Set up an accountability partner/s. Connect with somebody or several people who will hold you accountable to your goals even when you will not- especially when you will not. Maybe you don’t need somebody to hold you accountable, but you need somebody to release to- somebody just to listen to your trials and tribulations, so you don’t need to carry that heavy weight around with you. Honestly, just saying it out loud is enough to offer miraculous change and your release partner need not offer advice, just an ear.
If you live in the Portland area and weight loss and developing a healthy relationship with all things health are among your New Year’s resos then we can help implement tip number 5 like you have never seen before.
Only 5 days left to sign up for Our Women’s Weight Loss group: How To Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind.
Go here for more details and an opportunity to reserve your spot. Get. After. It.
And with that, I am out.
Loves,
Kelli
Trader Joe’s love and Two Good Sources for Motivation
One of my goals this year is to stop spending so many dollars on groceries. In lieu of this goal we have been giving Trader Joe’s a fair shot and I have to say that I really am impressed with them. I use to think they were really only good for packaged goods and wine. However, their produce section is definitely improving and well their packaged goodies are pretty great. Two desserts that I have been consuming this week are their Dark Chocolate Honey Mints:
There are only three ingredients! Woot- a far cry from the hydrogenated cotton seed oil & corn syrup that other mints offer.
My other have is their Dark Chocolate Triple Ginger Cookies. Yum!
The ingredients on these gems are not as clean as the mints, but still loads better than oodles of cookies out there
The good news with both of these desserts is they are magical. For some reason I can have just two of either and be done with them. This is not normal behavior for moi.
I also tried Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snacks, which work well as a chip alternative with more minerals and less calories. Win all around.
On a completely unrelated note, if the you need a little help in keeping your resolve strong in attaining any New Year’s goals you might have set up, I invite you to check out two places I frequent everyday. Both of these sites are valuable resources for keeping my spiritual and fitness mojo running.
1. Tone It Up- I have talked about this site before, but lately I have been stopping by the tone it up community and blog daily to keep my fitness and health goals at the forefront of my noggin’. The Tone It Up ladies’ workouts and dietary tips are so effective and so practical that anybody can find a nugget of inspiration on this site.
2. The Daily Love- I think I have mentioned this site before too, but, again, I have really been soaking up the daily emails the site sends. Everyday you get a new motivational message delivered straight to your inbox. I always check my email first thing in the morning, so I get to start my day with their words of wisdom. I swear everyday it feels like the messages were written just for me. I am sure I am not alone in this sentiment. 
And with that, I am off. Happy Friday!!
Weekend plans
Fall has officially arrived in P town. With the cooler temps, I started sleuthing for fall inspired recipes and thus began my weekend agenda.
My weekend plans are lookin’ a little like this:
1. Cake Batter Blondies. I am obsessed with these. I think I just need to make these to get it out of my system. They scare and thrill me all in the same vein.
2. The hairs are getting chopped. I think. I hope. I made the appointment, so lets see if I can actually go through with it. I have an unnatural attachment to my mane and it is time to stop the madness. I am hoping for the haircut below- I wonder if the face comes with it?
3. I need a good pair of cords (who doesn’t?!) and I just so happen to have an anthro gift card burning hole in my pocket.
4. Chili will be made. I am thinking this fella will be a good place to start.
What are your thrilling weekend plans?
I saw this on pinterest this morning and I giggled.
I just laughed again.
And with that, I am off.
Happy Weekend!
What I ate Wednesday
It is time for another WIAW. Here it goes….
Breakfast:
Perfect foods bar (still going strong with these), coffee w/ 1/2c unsweetened, organic soy milk.
I was still hungry after this, so I dined on a few Nature’s Path Organic O’s
early afternoon eats:
6oz Fage 2% Greek yogurt, 2T PB2 flour, 1T ground flaxseeds, & a few banana slices.
The gluten-free pretzels started calling my name. I may have had a handful or two or three.
Post Workout eats:
1/2 cooked sweet potato. Not the prettiest of pictures. And a Green Smoothie
In this beast: 1scoop Ultra Clear, 1/2c unfiltered apple juice, 3-4c spinach, 1t detox powder, 1/2t matcha, a few frozen strawberries, dash of cinnamon and a few ice cubes. Love this fella.
Pre Dinner Snack:
hummus & cherry tomatoes
Dinner:
Another salad monster. In this one: kale & chard, shredded cabbage, seaweed, 1/4 sm avocado,1/2 med sweet potato, 1/2 can of wild salmon (BPA free), dressed with siracha, nutritional yeast, and healthified peanut sauce.
A kombucha was also consumed. This is my favorite flavor.
Dessert:
a few handfuls of peanut butter chocolate chips. Unfortunately, no picture. There simply was no time.
However, I did manage to snap a pic of these. The husband wanted brownies, so I took the easy way out…
I had a sliver (or two) of a brownie with a a few scoops of Greek yogurt. These brownies did not blow my socks off. I opted to make them without butter or oil, so maybe that is why they did not taste like the brownies I remember.
My next baking indulgence:
Cake Batter Blondies. I am obsessed with these.
And that concludes this week’s WIAW.
If you want to share your WAIW click on the link below to get the deets. Jen over at Peas and Crayons is the founder of this craze and I couldn’t love it more.
Happy Wednesday!
pinterest stuck its claws in me
The pin sucked me in this AM. It all started with an innocent search for hair inspiration and then I found myself in the throws of workouts, fashion, home decor, and pumpkin bread recipes. My head hurts; however, as much as I curse the pin I think it gave me the just the mane cut I am looking for. Here’s the thing, my current hairstyle has me about two steps away from looking like I should have sister wives. It is long. Too long. It always resides in a bun on the top of my head. It is time to stop the madness.
Mane inspiration:
or
and perhaps this color?
I tried to find a picture where my hair is down so I could show a comparison; however there are none to be found.
This is the best I could do. Good God this picture still kills me. What was I thinking’?
Moving on…
House inspiration:
Some day my office might look like this. Some day.
I am going to hunt down this rug. The man piece might resist this purchase. Oh well.
Must have this for our dining table. Must
If I could do this to a bedroom, I would. I just might.
Fashion inspiration:
I need to get me a nice curried colored sweater
I love this look. I know it has been done for years, but I have yet to execute it.
Workout Inspiration:
The poppy seeds in this salad spoke to me. Is it weird that a fairly flavor-less pellet spoke to me?
I would show a pumpkin bread recipe, but I didn’t find one that called to moi, so I will save that for another morning of procrastination.
On another note, I have a pug that is passing gas at my feet. He needs a walk and I need to start this day.
Happy Friday!
Almond Butter, Oat Bran Cookies
- 1/2C coconut oil
- 3/4 sucant
- 1 Egg
- 1/2C Almond butter
- 1/4C Maple Syrup
- 1t vanilla
- 3/4 c All Purpose GF Flour ( you could also use 1C GF or WW flour and omit the tapioca & millet flours below)
- 1T Tapioca Flour
- 1T Millet Flour
- 1.5C oat bran
- 3/4t baking powder
- 1/4t making soda
- 1/2c organic m&m’s or chocolate chips (optional)
What I Ate Wednesday
A few of the blogs I stop by have been doing this “What I ate Wednesday” thing and every time I come across one, I love them. I have a strange fascination with observing other peep’s eats. Probably why I have a food blog. Anyway, here is my What I Ate Wednesday, except technically it is what I ate on Tuesday.
Breakfast:
Perfect Food Bar. Still Obsessed with these.
Followed by Coffee with Whole Milk
Pre Workout Snack:
1/2 baked sweet potato topped with a wee bit of coco oil & cinnamon and 1 hard boiled egg
I wasn’t completely satisfied, so I decided I needed a few Unreal Unjunked Chocolate Candy Shell Peanuts. These guys are new to me and I am a little obsessed. These are healthified candy- If there is such a thing. To read more about them go here. The story behind them is pretty nifty. Honestly, I love them because I literally can have just a few and be satisfied. This is not my normal behavior.
I tried a new workout. I just found Brittany Tacy’s workout program on Body Building.com and I really like. I did Day 1 yesterday after 10 min on the elliptical and 20 min of a HIIT run on the treadmill. I actually wasn’t able to complete the whole workout because I ran out of time, but I got though the majority of it. My legs are sore today. Win!
Post Workout eats:
2.5 slices of Smoked Turkey:
and a Spinach Smoothie that included 2/3C Greek Yogurt, 1/2c Trader Joe’s unfiltered, Organic apple juice, 3C spinach, 1/4c frozen strawberries, 3 ice cubes, dash of cold water, 1t matcha & 2t Ultra Tox Detox Powder. All I wanted was a cold beverage after my workout, so this little gem was perfect.
About an hour later I returned home to feed the pug before leaving again and decided to feed myself a few more Unreal Chocolate Covered Peanuts.
I met a friend for happy hour at Sweet Hereafter where I got a glass of vino and munched on a few chips and salsa
We finished happy hour around 7:30 and I wasn’t terribly hungry, so I came home finished up some work the took the pug for a walk.
And I had a few dark chocolate covered almonds….
Around 8:30, I decided I was a little hungry and Keith was on his way home with a burro he picked up, so I decided to make a kale smoothie. This was not my finest creation. I think I went a little bonkers with the kale. It tasted like trees.
In this guy: 1 scoop of vanilla plant fusion protein powder, 2T PB2 powdered peanut butter, 1c unsweetened almond milk & 3c kale.
After drinking the forest, I decided I wanted something to chew on.
1 brown rice cake with 1T raw almond butter and 1T dark chic chips. Ummm this guy may become a staple in my life. Why have I never done this before? So good and so low in sugar. Who knew such a thing was possible.
And that concludes yesterday’s eats. Thrilling- I know.
In other thrilling news, I got new running shoes.
These bad boys tickle my fancy because they are the beginning of my journey to barefoot running. Well, not really barefoot, but a minimalist shoe. These guys have a 4mm heel, which is significantly less than traditional running shoes. The minimalist shoes that I am striving to get in is the Altra Zero Drop shoe. However, these things take time. If you go straight from a more traditional running shoe to a more minimalist shoe you risk injury. I have enough feet/ knee issues, so I do not need any more. I gave these guys a test run yesterday and my knees felt better than ever. The whole reason I am aiming to get in a more minimalist shoe is to preserve my knees, so I can run injury free and hopefully be able to run more The idea behind the minimalist shoe is it gets you to strike on the front of your foot, rather than your heel, which is exactly what I need given that I shattered my heels 7 years ago. The other benefit to these shoes is the wide toe box, so your toes have room to spread out and when your toes get to spread out, you run better and it helps to keep bunions at bay. Woot!
One more thing….
I got one thing crossed off my things-that-are-driving-me-nuts list:
The pictures were hung:
Why such a tiny task took me so long to complete we will never know.
And that about does it on the exciting things I have to report.
Happy Wednesday!!
