Mopey Monday

Nothing is worse than a Monday morning after a long holiday weekend.  I delayed going to bed last night because "that made it real". I went to the gorgeous Palace Theater in Playhouse Square last night to catch Book of Mormon with friends. Step 1: hilarious. Step 2: wish it were longer since I could have sat there laughing all night. Step 3: I want to be a chorus singer/dancer in Broadway shows. I'd settle for quirky (!) off Broadway productions. Heck, maybe I'll just start dancing and singing in the street wherever I go and cross my fingers that a bunch of people join in, knowing the words and steps.  That is how it works in ALL my favorite movies.

At least back to work means back to a routine. I ate myself silly this weekend. Homemade popcorn balls, anything grilled, anything carb-related. Nom noms. What started the eating frenzy? Homemade zucchini bread. I had about five medium zucchini from my CSA program and figured turning them into two spicy cinnamon loaves of awesome was my best bet. I ate both loaves within four days. Oops. No joke - I froze a loaf only to thaw it within 36 hours.  Make your own binge worthy bread by following the recipe below.

Katy's Spicy Zucchini Bread

5 medium zucchini - grate or shred in a food processor.  Roll up in baking towers and squeeze out as much water as you can.  Set aside

1.5 AP flour

1.5 wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp baking powder

3 tsp Saigon cinnamon

Whisk above ingredients together and set aside.

3 large eggs

.75 cup white sugar

.75 cup brown sugar

3 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together fervently (or put in a mixer with whisk attachment) and beat until pale yellow and fluffy.

1 c. whole milk – whisk into egg mixture.

Gradually stir in dry ingredients into wet until just combined.  Don’t over mix! 

Stir in zucchini and divide between two buttered and floured loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for about 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

My only other recommendation? Plan to give one away!

Healthy Living is a Relative Concept

My Breville Juice Fountain.  I'm going to upgrade soon

to a low RPM two stage juicer with a separate press soon.

I have debated about making this post; however, it impacts my daily life so it is hard not to talk about the ways I incorporate healthy living into my routine. I am an intermittent faster and an occasional juicer.

The minute I hit fifteen years old, my sinewy frame that previously thrived on pizza rolls, Keebler cookies and Kraft macaroni and cheese was no longer easily maintained. When I discovered beer years later? Forget about it. I was always an athlete so I maintained my health by practically obsessing about minutes logged on the trail or in the gym. I counted calories daily for years on various apps/websites. I weighed myself weekly. I felt guilty for occasionally falling off the "healthy train". I was exhausted.

Some typical green juice ingredients.

Enter my career as a public auditor, bringing with it hours of sitting in front of a computer and, during busy season, extra hours and takeout. My workouts dropped and I was absolutely miserable. It took the entire off season to get back on track, which meant constantly thinking about what I was and wasn't doing right. Again, it was exhausting.

My second busy season, I declared I wouldn't let myself slip again. I call this the "try any trend" period of my life. I attempted a paleo diet, the four hour body diet, excessive cardio, excessive weight training, excessive yoga, no bread, no flour... On and on and on. All that I accomplished was driving myself insane and "maintaining" during the winter months. For all the work it took, maintaining seemed extremely anticlimactic.

Brad Pilon's E-Book

Then I discovered Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat (eatstopeat.com) e-book as well as a few documentaries on Netflix about how the juicing of vegetables can aid the American "nutritionally starved" diet.  I had found my golden ticket. I won't go into the details of either, because I'm petrified of sounding preachy (I figure I will put my favorite resources out there and people can take them or leave them!). Essentially, I abstain for one or two 24 hour periods (spread over two days, thus incorporating the hours spent sleeping) during a week and then return to normal eating patterns. It's very flexible with no set days and no hard coded rules. Sometimes, if I don't feel like fasting, I will just skip lunch a couple days a week. Also, I attempt to enjoy homemade green juices (kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, apples/oranges, lemons, etcetera). They energize me and make me feel fantastic.

Stella thinks my juicing thing is weird.

Over the past year, my weight has slowly been on a downward trend but I'm eating what I want and am able to use working out as a muscle building tool versus a punishment only 2-4 times a week. I don't count calories or log my food. I don't beat myself up about eating extravagant meals. I didn't stress over the holidays. I feel like I gave up a second job.

Will this work for everyone? Nope. Will some people think I'm crazy? You bet. This is why I titled the post what I did- healthy living is relative. Each individual needs to find what works for them. It's like the old saying goes: do what you love and never work a day in your life. Find the way of living that you love and never live in a diet frame of mind again.

What makes you feel fantastic?