Almost done?

The challenge is almost complete, though I plan on still eating four servings of veggies and fruit each day. Might as well keep good habits going.

This challenge has helped me realize that I wasn't not eating nearly as much veggies and fruits as I should each day. In fact, my fondness for veggies is returning. My fiber intake has increased because of it. Mayo Clinic has a list of high-fiber foods that are good to eat. Raspberries are a good source of fiber and the raspberries in the garden are beginning to ripen.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582

If you ever go picking with Eli, most likely you won't be bringing too much fruit in. He loves to pick the fruit and eat it.

We might start making our own protein bars for Jenna again. I debating on it or not. I need to find the recipe again, because I can't remember all of the ingredients. I think the bars will be more healthy for Jenna as well as to have some other snack for Jenna to munch on.

By the way, the kitchen looks GREAT! I cooked dinner tonight, and this is a kitchen that you want to always keep clean. I cleaned up while cooking because, the kitchen is so, so clean and new.

Get (Cottage) Cheesy!

Are we really almost done? Is it too late for someone to sabotage Josh? 

This week I discovered the wonders of cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is great! And it's useful for surprising things.

For example, I have a friend who absolutely swears by cottage cheese in health shakes and smoothies. She says it gives a thick, fluffy, "ice-creamy" texture and adds a ton of protein. Turns out she's right! You'll probably have to add some kind of sweetener (go for something like Truvia if you don't want to add sugar) because it has such a savory flavor, but you can use it in pretty much everything. Here's a recipe I pinned the other day, because I particularly like it:

You can also make it chocolate flavored by adding cocoa powder and about 2 tbsp of Truvia/sugar

Today I also made an awesome pancake recipe that I found online. High-protein, high-fiber pancakes that are still delicious? Yes, please! Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup egg whites (~3 egg whites)

1 tsp baking powder

dash of cinnamon

dash of vanilla extract 

dash of milk or water

Blend. Mix in baking powder. Blend. Pour on hot pan.

Nutrition breakdown according to the person I got it from (it was some internet forum...sorry, recipe originator!) - Kcals: 298.5 Protein: 34g/45.5% Carbs: 32g/42.8% Fat: 3.5g/10.5%

I need to adjust how much milk and baking powder I put in it, I think (how much is a "dash," anyway?), because mine came out kind of gooey. As a warning, I'm guessing these will always be pretty flat no matter what you do. So if you prefer big, fluffy pancakes, you might want to look into just using some healthier kind of flour or something.

I'm looking forward to more cottage cheese recipes, though I do want to mention that it also tastes great on its own, of course!

I'm really trying to get my "in training" diet down so I can successfully run this Half Marathon in September...reeeeally worried that I won't be ready for it. But like I was telling Dad, he and I will be starting at the same time that morning (I'll just be starting at a spot that's about 13 miles farther down the trail) - is it so bad if we finish at the same time, too?

Oh right! Fitness!

So I've been terrible the last two weeks as far as posting here goes (also I think I had a pop challenge that I forgot...can I still do that?), but I've been doing well on exercise. Specifically last weekend, I was exercising in this place:

And that place was Lake Tahoe. I also managed to find a reasonably acceptable swimsuit (not pictured) literally the night before I left. Whew! My old one was a size 16, and I'm back down to like an 8/10, so that was not happening.

Also last weekend a bunch of my friends ran the Tahoe Relay. It's like the relays Dad does, but it's just in one day (70 miles) and instead of multiple legs everybody on the team does one 10-mile leg. It was really inspiring, and reminded me to get back into training!

I don't think I'll be able to make the Turkey Trot this year after all, because it's only a few weeks before the camping trip and I can't afford to go back and forth to Oregon that many times in one summer (summer's also pretty busy in my department). But if you guys still want to do it, then here's the link to the information: Turkey Trot! It's on July 13th.

But I did just formally commit (via credit card payment) to run in the Oregon Half Marathon. That'll be in September. It's the same event at which Dad is running a full marathon. I sincerely doubt that I'll be ready for it by September (I run about 2-3 miles at a time right now, which is a far cry from 13!), but Dad says walking most of it is no big deal. Plus I get a tee shirt for participating. So I guess that's worth it. I'll let you know how it goes!

Is everybody feeling fit yet?

planting a garden

This year it has finally happened the garden is now all boxed up. In other words the plants will be growing in boxes. It made more sense to do that since the tractor still needs fixing and that there are a lot of weeds there. So, Eli got to help Bobby a little bit. Bobby did most of the work. Eli did choose some good plants to go in it. Here are some

Watermelon: This website helps with what is in watermelon and how it could help us.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31.

Broccoli: I mentioned before (well I think I did), broccoli is a superfood.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=9

cucumber: Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42

Zucchini:One of my favorite breads (above banana bread) is zucchini bread. When we were at Nikki's, she made THE BEST zucchini bread I have eaten.

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/8-health-benefits-of-zucchini.html

Eli didn't want to plant the vegetables he chose, but he is excited about the garden. He has loves that he can go out and pick fruit like strawberries and eat them. We are all almost there only a couple more weeks. I am glad Brett still has a week off in July. Good thing for planning in advance and getting the tickets already!

Funny Stuff!!!

I couldn't think of anything clever this week, so I'm going to direct you to some clever stuff :-).

So, everyone at Amazon loves this video, because seriously, it's totally Amazon, though not made by us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA_gwzx39LQ

And when you are done with that, you need to click on "whites only laundry," which should have come up next to it as you know one of the similar or whatever movies next to it, awful but hilarious.

Oh this one has to do with healthy food kind of, just watch it :-):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh0NLQJfAYU

Okay that's all for now! have a happy week!!!

Pop Challenge again

I was going to do Saturday but Nikki got it and I don't want Saturday to be the only day, so if you ate 3 servings of fruit on Friday, you get another 2 more points!

pop challenge!

If you got at least one exercise point on Saturday give yourself 2 bonus points.

Prison.

So I think I'm getting into the habit of this fitness thing, I don't even really notice writing down everything I eat anymore and I'm definitely exercising more. I still however slip on the weekends... in the case of this last week it was in the form of a large pepperoni pizza...

In less happy news, Army TRADOC (basically the brass in charge of anybody still in the training system/ without a real duty station) has decided to crack down on the liberties they allow us here at DLI and in an instant this afternoon a healthy portion of my freedoms were stripped away from me... we now have nightly bed checks (after whihc there is no leaving the barracks) and no overnight privileges and I can't stay out past nine on weekend nights. Plus battle buddies basically anytime you leave the barracks. Plus as of now the only permissible leave is Christmas. So, life just got a lot more difficult here. Our command thinks it's ridiculous and are doing everything they can to appeal for more freedom for us. The most fervent of these they are fighting for is our ability to return home during class break, so it's possible I wont make it home in July......******!!! (<-- if you are swearing family member place a fervent one here, otherwise a general frustrated noise will do just fine)

on the up, so long as I have a friend with me I can keep going surfing on the weekends and this will probably lead to more studying.

Grilling!!!

We are back and the kitchen is almost done. Today a light bulb went off in my head (doesn't happen much) about using the BBQ. Jenna also downloaded an ebook on healthy grilling. Since we don't have a stove and Mom is in Montana, I figured I will be grilling more veggies. Today I grilled green peppers and it tasted good. I figured I will look in the ebook and see what veggie recipes they have.

Side note: there is a gray kitten that we are pretty sure is a boy that has adopted the place. Now, he follows Frankie wherever he goes. When he can't find Frankie, than he will meow until he sees him again. That is why, we want him to go to someone else, because the meowing is more of an annoying loud meow. He is shy to people and is still learning to trust us. He is slowly doing it. Anyway, today, I saw Frankie with the gray following him and the orange cat following him (the orange cat won't let us get near it, but stays around the barn, so probably catching a lot of mice). At least they don't mind each other. The fat calico cat doesn't like the gray cat being around. The good thing is that she is staying off the porch more often because of the gray cat.

Back to BBQ. While Mom is gone, I will be grilling it all up. I have a recipe that I keep forgetting to do, so I will be doing it this week. Anyway, so far, Brian has been a fan of whatever I have grilled, so I consider that a good start.

Turkey Trot sound like Fun

So Julie's idea of running the Turkey Trot sounds like fun.  Will everyone be around for that?   I was all geared up to run a 5k in April, but it didn't happen due to a scheduling conflict.  I've never ever ran in a real race before.  I'm up to running 1.5 miles without stopping.  So I'm halfway there.

Anyone else want to run the Turkey Trot? 

what to say and what to do

Today I have been cleaning the beach house and doing homework. I have been watching Survivorman because I am now used to having noise around me. When Eli and Jenna are not here, I need noise to feel at home. Seems weird, but anyway. I am glad we don't have to do what he has to do. I am sure he gets his exercise points, but probably wouldn't do too well with eating fruits and vegetables. I think Ben would do a good job as Survivorman as well.

Also, you haven't heard, I have been accepted into the OSU MBA Accounting program. Sorry Brett, we will be Beaver fans now, since I will be going to school there. We will cheer for the Ducks, except against OSU. I still will be going to my Portland State interview.

Here are some links for top ten reasons for eating fruits and veggies, and leafy greens.

http://www.extension.org/pages/19884/top-10-reasons-to-eat-more-fruits-and-vegetables

http://www.leafy-greens.org/top10.html

Elijah would do good in this challenge. He loves fruits and veggies and would always get his sleep, and 4 points of exercise everyday. Though his posts may not make much sense.

Does Nobody Post on Sundays Now

Memorial Day gave me a four-day weekend and military discounts left and right. We got to go to the Great America's theme park for free, which was pretty fun until lines for the roller coasters became hours long. The down side to a long weekend is eating out/ not eating healthy. However bonus exercise points are equaling that out a little. For example: I got the full 8 on Saturday when I spent two and half hours surfing for the first time in forever! I had a great weekend and a much needed break from the language. Hope you all and great Memorial days! (and that they were a little healthier mine -- I think there was three days straight of pizza for dinner...)