Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Tuesday Recipe: Stuffed Apples

Several weeks back I came across a recipe for stuffed apples, but I waited to try it because we have an apple tree! I wanted to be able to use our apples in this recipe, boy am I supper happy I waited, so is Hublet. The apples from our tree were perfectly ripe. There is something extra yuumy about a perfectly ripe apple, well any fruit for that matter. The base of the recipe came from this web page I really like and follow: wellnessmama.com. She has some awesome stuff, so be sure to check her out.

Here is the base of the recipe. Of course, I made a few changes. 
1 shallot
3 cloves of garlic
A spicy Italian sausage 
I did not put in the honey or maple syrup, but was more than sweet enough for us.
For seasonings I used: pepper, sage, marjoram, tarragon, cayenne, red pepper flakes, Hymeneal sea salt rosemary, thyme and all spice, in amounts of descending order.
When Hublet and I carved out the apples, we carved out a good amount, so you still had a vessel but could stuff a decent amount of the mixture in the the apple. The apple we carved out, excluding of the seeds and core, I put into the meat mixture.
I also served mine with sweet potato squash instead of salad. 

This was very yummy. Hublet asked for it again before the apples are no more this year...
I hope you enjoy.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God's many blessing upon you this harvest season,
Jenn

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wednesday Doggy Day: 10 Things to Avoid

I thought this was some good info to help our pets stay clear of some pesky animals. The list gives general information where these critters are most likely to be encountered and some care tips. Hope it helps.


10 Creatures and Critters to Avoid

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tuesday Recipe: Hot Toddy with a Twist

How lucky are we, the cold and flue season is here in some places and getting started in others. But in our house, we all ready have our remedies. First, is taking care of our health. When you are healthy, it is less likely you will get sick. Second, I have cleaned our house very well. My Hublet bought us a Kirby vacuum about a week ago and I have been having fun cleaning. I know, I know crazy, but hey our house is clean and the carpet has not looked this good since we bought it! Third. It has cooled off here in Utah at night, so I am able to open the windows and air the house out. It is important to open windows and allow your house to air out. The air inside our homes can be worse than the air quality in the worst cities. Open your windows for at least 10 minutes every day. This will also help get ride of the sickness bugs that enter your home with your family in and out.
There is one last thing, a Hot Toddy if we do start to fall under the weather or are there. A hot toddy will work for about anything, colds, flue, UTIs, sinus infections, pneumonia, bacteria, viruses,  you name it and this will take care of it.

The basic recipe:
1oz or more of brandy, whiskey or rum
1 Tbsp of raw honey
Half a fresh lemon
Rest of the mug with hot water
My twist, a Tbsp of coconut oil

Drink this while it is nice and hot. Through a few extra blankets on and sweat it out. Works like a charm every time.

A few notes:
The reason I use raw honey and coconut oil is because they have natural anti-bacterial, viral and fungel properties to them. Just two more things to help your body fight off whatever it is fighting.
Be sure you are drinking enough water to help your body sweat out everything.

Hopefully you do not have to use this, but if you do, hope it helps.
Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God's many blessings,
Jenn

Monday, September 17, 2012

How Skinny is too Skinny?

Over the weekend my Hublet, myself and a friend went for a hike. It was great, being in the outdoors, the beginning of the changes of the leaves into their brilliant fall colors and just enjoying time together.
Anywho, we were going along and this woman ran by us, twice in fact. She was very lean. Probably a marathon runner or the like. The comment was made among us that she was very lean. Our friend, a guy, said, in fact she is too lean. My Hublet agreed with him. She did not look good to them because of how lean she was. She was wearing short running shorts and a crop top, so it was easy to tell she had very little to no visible body fat on her. Six pack on full display.
About a week ago, a female trainer I receive emails from, sent a picture of herself saying she needed to lose  three to five pounds to lean out even more than what she already is. She has recently done some photos for her product as well as other fitness photos. She is already very lean, but wants to go even lower.
Over the past several months in the paleo/primal world, there has been some back lash from readers of blogs about woman who follow this life style not being lean enough. Meaning, low body percent fat so you can visibly see their six packs and all muscle definition. The writers of these blogs have ripped them apart for this. It has been the best when it is a male blogger saying woman should not be this lean, they do not look good or healthy. It is about health and being this lean is NOT healthy for woman. Following this lifestyle is about finding lasting true health, not being very low body percent fat with a visible six pack.

All this has gotten me thinking. Thinking about how skinny is too skinny? We are continually bombarded as woman that we need to be leaner and skinnier, but do we? From the comments I have heard from guys, we do not. We need to have some fat on us, to be healthy and look good. I do not want my husband, or any of his friends, saying I am too lean and do not look good. Why do I put that kind of pressure on myself, to be leaner and leaner?

I am a certified personal trainer and a certified holistic nutrition/health coach, part of why I push to be very lean. Most would not look at me and say you are a personal trainer, because I am not sporting a very defined physic. Others like to tell me I am too skinny. My Hublet thinks I am perfect, not rock hard, but not a dough girl either.

My questions to myself is:
Do I as a personal trainer drop those last 5-10 pounds of fat so I "look" like what most people would think of a personal trainer. Or do I say, forget that. It is about being healthy, a role model for other woman that you can be healthy, good muscle, but do not have to be 10% body fat and have a six pack to look good? I think this is the one I am going with, it is about my long term health.

Picture from the hike.



Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God's many blessing upon you this harvest season.
Jenn

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Tuesday Recipe: Peaches!

Here in Northern Utah, it is peach season! I love peaches. A fresh, ripe, juicy peach is one of my favorite foods. Lucky for me, my Hublet got a peach tree for us! We have an early type of peach, meaning they are already gone, can you hear me crying? But, it is still peach season and I can buy peaches from local farmers. Obviously not as nice as going into the back yard and plucking a peach off my tree and eating it. I will take what I can get though.

With my delicious peaches, here are a few things I made with them, the ones I did not eat right away.

Peach Compote:
Peaches
Butter
Honey, to taste
Cinnamon, cloves, all spice, nutmeg, a combination or any on their own.

Method:
Slice peaches into bite size pieces and put into a small sauce pan. Add the honey, spices and butter. Allow to simmer on the stove for a few minutes or until peaches are cooked to your licking. Most of the time, I allowed my peaches to simmer until they were soft and falling apart. I served this over my protein pancakes. Yum!

Primal Peach Cobbler:
Peaches
Nuts, I used almonds, but whatever you like
Butter
Honey
Spices, like the compote
Chia seeds

Method:
Preheat oven to 350. Slice peaches and put into a baking pan. Allow to bake for 10 minutes. This will make the juices come out. You can either dump the juice are add some ground chia seeds, these will absorb the liquid. Start with a small amount because they are absorbent. Grind the nuts. I like to have some small pieces in my nuts, but grind them to the consistency you like. By hand, mix in the butter and spices. Drizzle some honey over the peaches and put the nut mixture on top. Put back into the oven and allow to back about another 15 minutes. Cool slightly and then serve. This is really good with fresh whip cream.

Peaches are amazing grilled! I quarter mine, if they are large, stick them on the grill for a few minutes on each side, until there is a nice grill mark and the outside of the peaches are crisp. Serve with hamburgers, as a desert with fresh whip cream, a salad or with pork of some type.

Or just be lazy, pick a peach off the tree and enjoy!
Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
Many blessings from God,
Jenn

Monday, September 3, 2012

Body Weight Training

There seems to be a lot of talk recently that to get into shape, the only way it can be done is with lifting heavy weights., especially for women. I have a very different opinion on this. When people want to say body weight training does not work, I tell them they have no clue how to do it. I am partial, I grew up as a competitive gymnast.

Speaking of gymnastic, did you watch the Summer Olympics, mainly the gymnastics? Most of their training, conditioning as we called it, is body weight. As a gymnast, you do not want a lot of big bulky muscle. You need strong, lean muscle. You have to have the flexibly to still do the graceful, elegant part of gymnastics as well. Having a large bulk muscle does not work well, it not very graceful either. You have to be strong, but light and graceful as a gymnast. To accomplish this, you do body weight exercises, pulling, pushing, squatting, jumping, holding, twisting, balancing, in every combination you can think of and them some.

If you want to look like a natural body builder, a fitness model, someone who has bulk muscle, then yes, you need to be in a gym lifting heavy weights and a lot of them. You have to train for what it is you want to accomplish and look like.

If you do not think body weight training is hard enough, what are some of the hardest exercises, the coveted ones? Push up, pull ups, single leg squats, Bulgarian split lunges, jumping onto a block that is at least hip height, these are all body weight and take significant amounts of muscle. These are exercises everyone should be able to do, remember from my training to survive post? If the only way you are working out is lifting big heavy weights, or really light weights, are you going to have the muscle to pull yourself out of somethings, jump up to get away, run half a mile to safety like your life depends on it? Body weight training will get you a physic that is envious by all, wanting to know what it is you do to have that amazing body, but will also help you in any circumstance. Your body can provide all of the resistance you need.

Another great thing about body weight training, you do not have to go to a gym and pay for an expensive gym membership, fight the crowd, wait for machines or just not go at all and waste money. Body weight training is free, you need no equipment but your body and it can be done anywhere anytime. No need to wait, just work. You can break it down into smaller workout sessions. Take five minutes of your break at work and do some squats, lunges, push, walk up and down some stairs, during a commercial work out, it does not all have to be done at once. Doing 5-10 minutes here and there, will add up fast. 5-10 blocks can be more manageable for some people as well. Make it work for you, one of the beauties of body weight training.

Next time you hear body weight training does not work, think of a competitive gymnast and their physic.
Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God's many blessing,
Jenn