Veggie Gyros

This recipe came into existence by mistake. I was trying to make this recipe for Greek Feta Burgers and thought I could get away with just using bread crumbs instead of herb stuffing mix. Yeah, it didn’t work. The mixture did not form patties very well and on cooking it I ended up with pan full of cooked feta, spinach and crumbles. In attempt to salvage the mess I put it on a pita with tzatiki and fresh veggies. Instant success! It has quickly become a family favorite (even for our non-Vegetarian extended family), although I wasn’t sure what to call it. We usually refer to it as ‘the greek veggie burgers that didn’t work, put on a pita’. I eventually decided that ‘veggie gyros’ was a better name. (Although I’m aware that they aren’t exactly gyros, Greek veggie tacos sounded like an oxymoron)

Veggie Gyros

For the crumbles:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp herb seasoning
2 eggs, beaten
16oz fresh chopped spinach
2/3 cup feta, crumbled

tzatiki sauce (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 medium red onion,chopped
2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed
additional feta crumbles
pitas
1 Roma tomato, chopped (optional)
chopped cucumber (optional)

1. Mix crumble ingredients into a bowl. You want to make sure that all of the bread crumbs are moistened by the oil and the eggs and everything more or less evenly distributed. 2. Cook mixture in a large oiled skillet over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes, or crumbles are crispy and well-browned. 3. Serve on a pita with tzatiki, feta and fresh veggies as desired. (My fam is not big on tomatoes or cucumbers, so didn’t bother, but I am certain they would work well.) Crumbles reheat well, makes 6-8 servings.

Mini Spinach Quinoa Fritatas

Recently I decided that we eat enough spinach, that the one pound package from Costco is not enough spinach to last us a whole week. The 2.5 pound package is a stretch for us to get through before it goes bad. So this week we are eating LOTS of spinach and I thought I would share the recipes that are successful. My first new victory was mini spinach quinoa fritatas. It was a big success. Everyone in my family loved it, even my son who is the pickiest eater I have ever met. He didn't even mind that they were healthy.  VICTORY! These are great for breakfast or dinner and the leftovers are easy to reheat for later.

 Mini Spinach Quinoa Fritatas

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups chopped spinach
4 eggs
1 cup liquid egg white
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (whichever flavor you please)
1/2 cup mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan*. 2. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl with a spoon. 3. Spoon into muffin cups and bake for 45 minutes. Cool a few minutes before eating. Makes 18 mini fritatas

* I used silicone muffin cups, so I skipped this step, but if you're not using these you want to be sure to use cooking spray to avoid the eggs burning onto the muffin pan.

Report on the 21 Day Fix

Last week I finished the 21 Day Fix. My verdict, I'm sure that this workout and eating plan are very effective, but between work and the start of my hardest semester of school yet, I did not have enough energy to be totally committed. I missed several workouts. I ate too many carbs. (I discovered that when I am exhausted I crave carbs so hard!) I ate large quantities of chocolate because I was really stressed. I gave up my hopes of getting results in 21 days, and then I noticed that despite my half-hearted attempt I had still made progress. I continued to lose a little weight and get more toned, despite not being as dedicated as I expected myself to be. This was my first workout program that required weights and halfway through I had to buy a new set because it was too easy. Imagine how much progress I could make if I were more focused. I think I may give it another shot in the future.

The 21 Day Fix is a program with 7 different workouts (one for each day of the week) plus a 10 minute ab workout that you can throw in as you please. The workouts are designed to rotate and work different muscle groups so you are making progress without over-using any muscle groups. The program also comes with several colored containers to make weight-loss simple. (Green for veggies, purple for fruit, yellow for carbs, red for protein, orange for seeds and dressings, blue for cheese, nuts, avocados and hummus) How much you eat of each container depends on your personal caloric needs (The instruction book comes with a formula.) It takes some of the stress out of a meal plan, and if you do the workout and meal plan together, you will see changes in your body in 3 weeks.
There's a few problems with the plan. It is very heavy on the protein. I'm a vegetarian, and I track my protein so I know that I'm getting enough, but not according to the 21 Day Fix plan. I felt like it was a big change for me, and one that my stomach didn't always agree with. Another problem, food items I normally consider protein, like beans and quinoa are classified as carbs in the plan. I've seen charts like this one:

However, they just moved the high protein carbs to the protein category. This does not change the nature of those foods. If the plan classified those foods as carbohydrates, then counting them as proteins is going to be far less effective for toning muscles than eating cottage cheese, eggs and lean meat. And veggie patties are considered a protein? I find that highly suspect, depending on the patty, many of them are held together with bread crumbs. So if you're not a vegetarian, I'm sure this workout/plan would work better than for someone like me whose body (and natural flora) scream "We are not making enough enzymes to handle all of these animal-based proteins that you are throwing at us! This is not going to end well for you!!!" If you are the average meat-loving American doing this program in an effort to get a 6-pack, you'll probably be just fine. Yes, I realize their is tofu, but I really can handle only so much of that.  If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you will probably have to just do a little more planning and preparation to make this work. This plan also made me realize my normal diet is pretty carb heavy, even if they are healthy carbs. I eat lots of whole wheat tortillas (filled with veggies), sandwiches with high fiber bread, brown rice, various potatoes and LOTS of sweet potatoes. When you're only allowed 2 servings of carbs a day, it forces you to evaluate what you are eating. 

 I also have to say that I wasn't really in love with the workouts. Maybe because I didn't have a big motivator to drastically change my body in 3 weeks. No wedding, no high school reunion, no beach trip. And that is really the focus, put in a lot of effort for 3 weeks and you will change your body. I was just looking for a new workout to change things up. I do LOVE the 10 minute fix for abs. It's the perfect workout to do before a 12 hour shift at work. I feel like any workout with weights I have to be alert or I'm going to hurt myself. When I workout before work I am NOT alert. With the 10 minute ab fix I can lay on the floor half conscious, tired tears running down my face as I do 10 or so kinds of crunches and by the end I feel more awake and ready to hit the day. I also really enjoyed the pilates and yoga workouts on the active recovery days. Maybe I just don't like doing reps with weights because it's really repetitive. Ok, basically I enjoyed every workout except the 2 cardio workouts. I hated those. But you have to work if you want the results.

Here are a few of my Instagram collages of my  21 Day Fix workouts: (Another bonus is that my kids love to do these workouts with me too)

The Lower Fix

The Cardio Fix

The Dirty 30 Fix

The Upper Fix

The Yoga Fix

And here are my results at the end. It's not a huge change, but I lost another 2 pounds, and all of my clothes are looser, and my abs are definitely firmer. Progress, people. Progress

Reaching For a Better Version of Myself

This morning I popped in my 21 Day Fix workout dvd, and started arranging my equipment to work

out. My husband asked "So is your goal to look like that? (Gesturing to Autumn Calabrese) Is that the body that you're going for?" I thought for a second and said "No!" I am not interested in looking like Autumn Calabrese. (Not that she doesn't look amazing, because she does.) I know that I am never going to look like her. I have more booty and more hips than she does and I am perfectly fine with that. I'm not interested in changing my body so drasticly that I look like someone else. I exercise because I am reaching for a better version of myself. Because exercise makes me happy and gives me the energy to get done the things that I need to. Because I want to be around for my family for a long time. I exercise because I believe that inside me there is a powerful person who can make a difference in the world and exercising is going to help set her free. And if I get killer abs in the process I will not complain. :)

My Piyo Story- Or How I Recovered from a Hip Injury During Graduate School

Before I talk about how I got into great shape, I need to give the background of how I got out of shape. In Fall 2012, I was in descent shape. I ran the St. George marathon, as well as 7 half marathons that year. In the course of training for the marathon, most of my running buddies injured themselves. One just quit altogether. That left me and one friend who regularly walked and ran together, until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring of 2013. (She is now in remission and doing great.) Without a workout buddy, my running became less regular. In Fall 2013, I started graduate school as a non-degree seeking student. I ran and did yoga occasionally, but not like I had been.
My Hip Injury
I wish that I had some cool or dramatic story about how I injured my hip, but I don't. My husband and I went to Alaska to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in June 2014. After sitting in a small airplane or airplane terminal seat for the better part of 13 hours my left hip started aching. I injured my hip  by sitting for too long, pretty lame story.  I tried to take it easy and it got worse. I tried running on it, and it felt better as long as I kept it under 6 miles, then it would hurt. It wasn't extreme pain, it was just annoying. I tried doing yoga more often and visiting a massage therapist. It helped a small amount, but it was always temporary, and overall it was slowly getting worse.
 In Fall 2014 we moved to Colorado so I could go to graduate school, and I joined the university running club. I was excited to have someone to run with and meet new people. The problem is that everyone in the running club is 8-10 years younger than me and in much better shape. When I started pushing myself hard enough to keep up with them I really screwed up my hip. It was too the point that I was in severe pain all day everyday. It hurt to sit, it hurt to stand, it hurt to walk, it hurt to lay down, it hurt to run. My left hip hurt all the time. I was a mess. I was crippled and frustrated that I couldn't exercise and it effected how I felt overall. I went to see a chiropractor. The x-rays showed that my left hip had been rotated enough that my left leg was 2 inches shorter than my right. And the pain was coming from my muscles being twisted and stretched out of place around the joint. So I went in for regular treatments and adjustments. He told me that I needed to start exercising again to help it, but NO running. That made things hard. I don't like the gym, I like to run.
 Piyo

 Then an old friend messaged me and asked if I would like to join her fitness challenge group. I worked with Missy years ago, and she was one of the primary nurses who trained me to be a pediatric nurse. Working nights on pediatrics, you grow to love and trust your co-workers. And I was always impressed that even though she had small kids and worked full-time nights she would still run. At the time I felt to overwhelmed to exercise, but I was impressed that she did.
 While I debated about whether I would do the fitness challenge (because to honest forking out the money is what held me back), I joined one of her clean eating groups. I went the entire month of October without eating any sugar and I lost three pounds. (College life is often not conducive to healthy eating habits.) Then I started the fitness challenge and started doing Piyo workouts. Piyo is like a cross between Pilates and Yoga, with a few other exercises thrown in there. It's a low-impact (read-easy on your joints), full body workout and it was exactly what I needed. It doesn't require any weights or equipment other than a yoga mat. The dvd instruction is led by fitness guru Chalene Johnson. After doing it for a month, I felt so much better! My hip wasn't all the way better, but I could function without pain, and all of my clothes were fitting better. I could sit for hours during my lectures and it was ok! By the end of the month I could run a few miles, but not just that committing to a workout on a regular basis changed me. I had more energy. I found that even though I'm busy with school and three kids and all of the other things in my life, I feel so much better when I schedule time 6 days a weeks for exercise. Piyo really helped me to get in the habit of exercising regularly, without feeling exhausted (like when I trained for my marathon).
 Then I did the workout for another 30 days and I was so pleased with the results. I have never been in this good of shape. My hip is about 90% better (I'm still careful with it, and I do try to avoid sitting for hours at a time). I am stronger and more flexible. There are yoga moves I can do now that I was never able to do before. Doing my workouts gives me the energy and motivation to take on all of  the other things in my life that I need to do. My stomach has not been this flat since jr high. I CAN DO PUSH-UPS! I sleep better! I fit into clothes I never thought I would fit into again after having my kids. And I feel awesome. I loved it so much, I decided to start coaching, because I want to help other people improve their health too. As a nurse, that has always been a goal and motivation anyway, but in many ways as a nurse you can only help people for a short period of time.
 I worked hard, but I wasn't perfect. This was November, December and early January that I did this. (Finals and Holidays) I had a few holiday treats.We went to a few dinner and Christmas parties, and I still enjoyed yummy holidays foods. I still got a little candy in my stocking. Between kids, graduate school and winter illnesses, I missed one workout almost every week. So it doesn't take perfection to improve, but it does take progress and dedication.
 If you are looking to get in shape and want a workout that won't require a lot of equipment and will be easy on your joints. I highly, highly recommend it.
Results
Okay here's the part that I feel kind of nervous about. I'm putting pictures of myself in my sports bra on the internet, so you can see my white flabby mid-driff, stretch marks included.  But I'm sharing so you can compare my results and see that it really works.

Book Review: Yes, Please

The biggest reason I chose this book is am an Amy Poehler fan. I love that she is funny, a feminist and very outspoken that girls should have opportunities in science and other academic fields. And the audio book is fun because she has some fun actors helping her to narrate it like Patrick Stewart, Carol Burnett and Kathleen Turner. (Also I love audio books because they make catching up on laundry and dishes more fun.) As I started listening to it I thought it was awesome that Amy Poehler is a mom of small children who works full-time who is passionate about life and I think she has some good points for those who trying to juggle all the busy things that fill our lives. Although there is a whole lot of raunchiness, and I did not like the book nearly as much as I was hoping that I would. I don't know that I would recommend it. (I did LOVE the chapter when she talking about making Parks & Rec. I also loved the chapter where she talked about visiting Haiti.) Having said that, I do think there are several worthwhile pieces of advice. So without further ado, advice and inspiring thoughts from Amy Poehler's book, Yes, Please

• Discover what your 'currency' is. What aspect of life is really important to you? Let go of the things that aren't you.
• More women should adopt the motto "Great for her, not for me."
• As a woman, it takes years to find your voice and figure out who you really are.
• Any painful experience helps you see things differently
• Fighting aging is like the war on drugs. It's expensive, pointless and never ends.
• Getting older means you get super powers. :) You're wiser, people notice you less and you can laugh at younger people doing stupid things.
• Ignore what other people think, most people aren't paying attention to you anyway.
• Write. Create. Take risks.
• If you are afraid to look stupid you should probably go home.
• It is easier to be brave when you are not alone.
• Every mother needs a wife, someone to take care of you so you can take care of everyone and everything else. (Of course, that's easier said than done.)
• Doing something together is more fun than doing it alone.
• Other people are not medicine.
• Everyone wants to hear your most embarrassing moment. You don't have to share.
• There is a difference between talent and determination.
• Ambivalence is key to success. You need to not care what other people think of you. You have to not care how you look. 
• When someone is being rude or abusing their power, call them out on it.
• Too often women try to tackle problems that are not our own. 
• Take time to be in the moment.
• Hopefully you can get to the place you need to be.
• Drugs make folding your laundry bearable? (I'll take my audio books, thank you.)
• Going outside in your pajamas makes you feel like you are breaking out of jail.
• What truly heals is gratitude and tenderness.
• A person is more than the tragedies that they experience.
• You can change your story.

Balance Rewards- Earning Credit for Walgreens Purchases for Tracking Your Workouts

It's a fair assumption that all of us could use a little extra cash. Here is an easy way to earn some, just

by tracking the exercise that you are already doing through the Walk with Walgreens/Balance Rewards program. This isn't the kind of extra cash that will pay your bills, but it will help you cover your drugstore purchases like ibuprofen and cold medicine, or photo prints. Most of us are walking everyday anyway, so why not get some credit for it? Here's how it works:

1. You sign up for a free account at Walgreens.com
2. Track the miles that you walk, run, bike, hike, etc. Each mile logged gives you 20 points.
3. 5000 points = $5 to spend at Walgreens
4. You can also get points for recording other healthy habits, like tracking your blood pressure and blood sugar values, losing weight, making fitness goals or making steps to stop smoking.
5. If you have a fitness tracker like Fitbit, you can sync it to your account and then you don't even have to think about recording your miles. Fitbit can do it for you for you automatically.
6. You can also earn points by buying certain products at Walgreens, but those vary depending on what the weekly ad is.