This has been a good week for me.  I have really started taking the exercise portion of Living Simply seriously .
So, here's what this week's cardio looked like:

CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE FOR THE WEEK OF 5/20/2012 - 5/26/2012

EXERCISE MINUTES CALORIES BURNED Ski Machine 35 449 Elliptical Trainer 45 547 Walking: 2.5 mph (24 minutes per mile) 15 58 Elliptical Trainer 30 364 Elliptical Trainer 60 729 185 2147

AND I got in two strength training workouts as well on Tuesday and Today!  

For Friday, 5/25/2012 STRENGTH SETS REPS Squats on Leg Press Machine 2 12-15 Seated Chest Press Machine 2 12-15 Abdominal Crunch Machine 2 12-15 Seated Back Extension Machine 2 12-15 Seated Leg Extension Machine 2 12-15

I'm off to a pretty good start!  

Life is short!  Pray hard!

Wait patiently for the LORD, be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

t

Gimme 5 smoothie

Ingredients

1 T almonds
1 T agave nectar
1/2 T peanut butter
1 c mixed frozen berries
1/2 c greek yogurt 0% fat
1 medium banana, frozen
1 c spinach
water to blend

Directions

place in vitamix and blend. add water as needed to get the consistency you would like.

Nutrition Info

• Calories: 390.8
• Fat: 8.2g
• Carbohydrates: 69.0g
• Protein: 17.8g

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Vegan Chocolate Ganache

 

Ingredients

For the cake
4T Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread
1/4 Agave nectar
2T cocoa powder
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c unbleached cake flour ( King Arthur)
1 t baking powder
2 t vanilla

For the ganache
1T Earth Balance Natural Shortening
1T cocoa powder
1T agave nectar
1T chocolate rice milk

Directions

For the cake:
mix together the buttery spread and agave until smooth. add cocoa and mix. add applesauce and mix. then the flour, baking powder and vanilla. mix until blended.

pour into a 6" pan that has been sprayed with baking spray. ( non-stick spray with flour)

bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

For the ganache:
melt the shortening in a saucepan over medium heat.
add the cocoa and stir together until glossy.
add the agave and mix.
add the rice milk and whisk. it will thicken slightly.
pour the ganache over the cake.


Serving Size: makes 6 servings

Nutrition Info

• Calories: 160.8
• Fat: 7.8g
• Carbohydrates: 22.7g
• Protein: 1.4g

Life is short!  Pray hard!

But thou, O LORD, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.  Psalm 86:15, KJV

It pleases me that simple changes can make things more interesting or uniquely your own.


Take a boring meal like mixed vegetables and garlic bread.  Doesn't sound too fun, does it?  And, when you add in the fact that you're not using fat aka "bacon drippings" to flavor the veggies, it REALLY can sound ho-hum.  




But, add a unique bowl...

And it  becomes a fun lunch!

OR

How about tweaking a recipe to reflect what you have on hand?

I did two over the weekend.  And I like how they turned out.  So, here they are!

JERK RUB FOR CHICKEN

• 2 T ground coriander
• 2 T minced ginger 
• 4 T light brown sugar
• 1 T onion powder
• 1 T kosher salt
• 1 T cayenne powder
• 2 t coarse black pepper
• 2 t dry thyme
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t nutmeg
• 1 t ground cloves

Combine all spices in a small bowl .  Rub onto skin of chicken.  ( I used drumsticks)  and let rest for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place chicken on a wire cooling rack placed on top of a cookie sheet.  Bake until juices run clear.       ( You can grill the chicken if you'd like.  The original recipe was for the grill)

Twice during baking, baste the chicken with a mixture of

• 1/4 c agave
• 1 t Crystal Hot Sauce (more or less)
• 1/2 c water

The jerk rub creates a wonderful taste, and, if you bake it, your house smells FANTASTIC!

HOT "BACON" DRESSING

• 1 slice turkey bacon
• 2 T chopped red onion
• 1 T Bragg's apple cider vinegar
• 1 T white balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 c sugar
• 1 t stone ground mustard
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• dash of Crystal hot sauce

Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan.  Add onion to pan and saute until tender ( I sprayed the pan with olive oil before I put the onion in.  Turkey bacon doesn't render fat, just flavor) Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan , including the cooked bacon.  

In  a small bowl, combine

• 1 T cornstarch
• 2 T water

Add the mixture to the pan and stir until it boils.  Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve warm.

Life is short!  Pray hard!

Do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.  Hebrews 13:16 NKJV

I love this recipe ...and yes, it's mine!

and you don't have to be Vegan or Vegetarian to like it!

Vegan Veggie Cornbread

Nutrition Info

• Calories: 120.6
• Fat: 2.6g
• Carbohydrates: 21.9g
• Protein: 2.7g

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup Plain Light Soy Milk
2 T Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cup Self-Rising Cornmeal Mix
2/3 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup frozen pepper and onion blend
2 T diced jarred jalapeno peppers
1 T Olive Oil

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine Soy Milk and Lemon Juice. Let stand for 5 minutes. The mixture will become "buttermilk", adding flavor. Add the cornmeal, mixing well and let stand for another 15 minutes. Give the batter time to "rest". It will become thick and airy. That makes a lighter, moister cornbread.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees while the batter is resting. When the batter is ready, gently stir in the remaining ingredients.

Pour mixture into a greased pan or skillet.

Bake for 30 - 45 minutes, testing for doneness in the center. ( if you stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean, it's ready)

Serving Size: Serves 10

total cost $.10 a serving

Life is short!  Pray Hard!
If anyone is in CHRIST, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;behold, all things have become new.           2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV

Thursday's food bill - $2.46  I ate lunch out yesterday with my sweetie...but I got in my hour of cardio!




On to some fun stuff!






pantry salsa


This HAS to be the easiest thing EVER.  

1 can of Diced tomatoes with green chiles

4 tablespoons Diced Jalapeno Peppers

1 tablespoon Minced Garlic

2 teaspoons lime juice

Dump in all in a bowl and you've got pantry salsa!

here's the best part. using an $.89 can of tomatoes and adding the other ingredients, i'm estimating the cost to be $1.00!!!  that's for 18 ounces of salsa!  check the price of the jarred salsa in the chip isle and tell me you're not impressed!!!

I added it to my taco meat last night...YUMMY

End-Cap Bargains

I allot myself $20 a week for grocery bargains and/or basics like soy milk, eggs or seasonings I may run out of.  This morning I went in for eggs and found a jackpot!


Coconut Milk                 Regularly $2.59     I paid $1.50
Chocolate Rice Milk     Regularly $3.99     I paid $1.75
Pinto Beans                  Regularly $1.79      I paid $1.00




Again, I went to the Hispanic aisle for seasonings.  $1.79 for Chili Powder and over in the baking aisle in was $2.49 and $4.79 for the SAME SIZE


And... A BONUS...3 pair of socks for $1.00


I spent $18.79 and saved $16.31.  

Moral of the story???

Shop those  end-caps!!!

Happy Weekend!  Life is short!  Pray hard!

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the strength of my life;of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1, NKJV

WEDNESDAY...


Worked out better than I thought it would!  I...

• stayed within my target calorie range of 1200-1500 (1345)
• did my strength training
• walked 6,347 steps ( fell short on that one)
• and had three meals and two snacks and, of course, two cocktails for only $3.99!!

I did splurge on a Starbucks Grande Mocha Frapuccino Light, and realized, at the end of the day, that my COFFEE cost more than ALL THE FOOD I ate!!!

Life is short!  Pray hard!

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT

TUESDAY'S RESULTS -  3 MEALS 2 SNACKS 2 COCKTAILS - $5.29 TOTAL

This is pretty cool....

Now, for the bad news...at my mid-week weigh in, I had gained back the 2 pounds.  I've really got to take the weight loss portion of this experiment seriously.  It sounds easy, doesn't it??  Well, I'm here to tell you , it's not.  I'm a night nibbler...I'm lazy when it comes to exercise...I'm 50 and in full-fledged menopause... I've got bad feet and a bad back... I spent years on steroids because of my asthma...I suffer from depression, panic attacks and anxiety...yeah yeah, excuses....

So - what do I do?  I get serious.  I get committed.  I plan.  And, most importantly, I accept responsibility.  

I have decided to get help.  (No, no that kind.  My Psychologist released me two years ago).   I thought I had a good plan in place.  And, for some folks it probably could be. But I've decided to go with Spark People.  They have an app for my Droid and also a gadget for my home page.  It will be virtually (no pun intended) impossible to avoid tracking my food and exercise.  Those nice folks even designed a work out program for me!  Three days a week I Strength Train and 3 days a week I do Cardio for an hour.  Plus, I dug out the pedometer and I'll walk 10,000 steps a day.  

Now, about that responsibility thing...I'm going to enlist a few people to "encourage" me.             ( Translation: dog me to death about it)  Let's face it, I live alone in a new town, so I don't have   " a life"  yet.  It's easy to slip back into the very habits that got me here.  I'll be venturing out in the workforce soon, so that will help,  and I'm going to drag out the crochet needle and keep my hands busy at night.  I've got to stay on the exercise plan, and, the good thing about using a web site is I can increase the intensity of it as I move along.  And so, I venture forward...

The Compost Bin

I wanted my own indoor compost bin and didn't see the need in paying tons of money.  So I found a pin from DIYNatural.com.  They used an old mega coffee container, a glue gun, a drill and a charcoal filter.  

I had none of these at home ...so I made a trip to Wally World.  I needed some storage canisters for my dried beans, so I picked up a set for about $7.  I used the largest one for this project ( 1.3 gallons) and got three more for my pantry.  I also got to thinking about the filter.  I know it must be changed every couple of months, so instead of hot glue, why not those little Velcro dots ( $2.57 for a BUNCH)?  A quick trip to the pet aisle for a filter ($1) and I was all set!

Three components plus a hammer, a nail and a screwdriver

Hammer the nail into the top of the container

Pull it out and repeat several times

The holes are REALLY small so...

take a small screw driver and make them bigger!  Remember, the compost will need to ventilate!!  No stinkies under the cabinet!

Next, place the Velcro on the inside of the lid.  ( I ended up using three dots) Make sure to put both sides of the Velcro on the lid with one sticky side up.  It makes it easier to attach the filter.

Then press the filter firmly onto the Velcro
and

TA DA!!!  YOU HAVE A COMPOST BIN!!!

It fits perfectly under the kitchen sink!

FINE PRINT:  REMEMBER, NO GREASY FOODS SHOULD EVER BE PLACED IN A COMPOST BIN.  STICK TO VEGGIE PEELS, SCRAPS ETC.  

Life is short!  Pray hard!

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.  Psalm 41:1, KJV