Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!

Last night I had a discussion with some friends about food.  We are all careful about what we eat, so the discussion was our tricks of the healthy food trade.  We try to get a healthy balance of protein and calories and sometimes that can be a challenge, especially when you want to change things up.  One of my favorite things to do is have tuna fish and cottage cheese.  The idea was met with several grossed out faces until I explained that the idea started with a tuna fish sandwich and cottage cheese on the side.  I was in a hurry one day, so i popped open the can of tuna and mixed it with half a cup of fat free cottage cheese.  The reason I like this is because it gives me a lot of protein without a ton of calories.  Protein is the key to losing weight and shrinking inches.

Here is the challenge:  What is your favorite protein packed healthy meal? 

Leave me a recipe, (either comment or email me at cheffiejo@gmail.com), and I'll go through, try them, and pick my favorite.  Whomever wins will get a special prize....  :)

The Race Is On!

I reached a great milestone last week.  Well, okay, so it really was a couple great milestones.

1. I am down 18 lbs and just as many inches!
2. the 'love' handles are gone!

The current goal is the ever so elusive six pack. I told my Wellness Coach that I will race him to a six pack.  I refuse to believe he is winning.  So, in an effort to win this race, I need a workout that:

1. won't chain me to the gym
2. won't put me in so much pain I can hardly move
3. will get me there FAST!

Here's where I'm at.  I'm a size 4 and 117 pounds.  I eat very healthy and take all my supplements.  I'm looking for a healthy relationship with exercise that will give me the six pack.  Does anyone out there have something like that?  I'm not looking for anything extreme, so no P90X or 30 Day Shred.  I have Dance Off the Inches: Hip Hop Party and I'm sure it works; I just feel like the biggest dork...

So... leave me a message, cause I need ideas!

Sugar, Sugar Everywhere...

Sugar is Public Enemy #1.  Why?  Because of all the awful things it does to our bodies!  Let me explain.  There are different kinds of sugar. There is natural sugar ,(that is found in fruits and vegetables), and processed sugar, (found in pretty much everything else).  Natural sugar is not the problem.  It's all the highly processed crap we eat.  Did you know things like salad dressing, potato chips, salsa, and mustard have sugar in them?  Hard to believe, but it's true.  The biggest question is why manufacturers would put sugar in everything.  There are two main reasons:

• Processed sugar is cheap, (especially high fructose corn syrup)
• Sugar is addictive, so if it's in your food, you'll purchase more

High fructose corn syrup is one of the worst!  The spot in your brain that registers high fructose corn syrup is the same spot in your brain that is affected if you shoot heroin.  Did everyone catch that?  Eating foods with high fructose corn syrup in them gives you the same high as heroin!!  SCARY!



Throughout the next few weeks, I'll be talking more about foods, both good and bad.  There are a couple documentaries that I absolutely love:  Food, Inc and Super Size Me.  They both put quite the reality check on the food industry.  As a whole, people are more educated about food than they have ever been.  We, as consumers, have the power to drive the market towards fresh, wholesome foods!  Use that knowledge!  One great guide to take shopping with you is the Eat This, Not That Supermarket Survival Guide.  The entire series is absolutely awesome!  It pays to shop smarter.  Your body and health will thank you!

Lack Thinking

Energy has really been on my mind as of late.  I know I have already blogged about it.  On a daily basis I am reminded that attitude is everything.  People are nice to you when you're nice to them.  It just makes sense.  you also find the things you're looking for in life when you're attitude is right.  I often listen to the Prosperity Series by Randy Gage.  He talks a lot about what he calls 'lack thinking'.  Lack thinking is that 'broke' mentality.  You are what you say you are.  If you say you go from paycheck to paycheck, guess what?  You'll go from paycheck to paycheck.  Amazing, isn't it?  So, why not lose the lack thinking.  Still confused on how to do that?  Write yourself a mission statement.  Here is part of mine:

I Am:

Professional

Competent

Captivating

Wealthy

Healthy

Self-Sufficient

Focused & Consistent

Coachable

Like I said, this is only part of mine.  I am very clear that I have all of this inside me, bursting out!  I am positive and moving forward.  I am on purpose.

Dear, Man: I Quit!

I know many, many people that are looking for jobs right now.  I remember those days from not too long ago.  When I went to Culinary school, I applied for over 300 jobs before I finally found one.  It was extremely stressful.  Once I did find a job, I worked full time and went to school.  Talk about busy!  The really tough part was that I have a great resume!  I was told that by professional HR people while I was in school.  I have worked since I was 13 and I have worked hard.  Before Culinary school, I already had nearly 10 years of professional Culinary experience.

If my resume wasn't the problem, what was?  Blame it on whatever you want:  the economy, the bank industry, people's choices, etc.  I personally think the media had a lot to do with what the United States is going through right now.  If the media had never told us we were in a recession, would be really be in a recession?  I honestly can't say for sure, but my guess is that finances would hurt less if we had never heard about the current 'recession'.

So, here is what I propose:  Stick it to the man!  Who wants to be tied to a job they hate that pays crappy, anyway?  Certainly not me!  The solution:  Work for yourself.  Work with an international company that pays you what you're worth.  Work with an international company that lets you set your own hours.  Work with an international company that has had double digit growth over the last five years, (and doubled their sales volume in the last five years).  Work with an international company that is changing lives all over the world. 

Interested in hearing more?  Go here and click on Business Opportunity.  Then send me a message @ cheffiejo@gmail.com to get started.

Enjoy the Sunshine!

What's with all the negativity in the air?  Anybody else feel it?  There is a phrase that comes to mind right now:  Save the drama for your mama!  But then I realized, your mama doesn't want the drama either!  That said, what do you do with those in your life that always complain?  Don't put up with it.  It really is that simple.  If you make a stand that you will not put up with negativity, you'll be amazed at how quickly the negative people fall out of your life and how you start to attract only positive people.  I know this because I've done it.  I've taken that stand and it is absolutely amazing to see that people have stopped walking all over me.  I've also found that I complain less, too.

Someone I look up to taught me a while ago that if you need to vent and get something off your chest, always come to the table with a solution.  Without the solution, who wants to listen?  If you have a solution, whomever you talk to will be more willing to talk through things with you because you are looking towards the positive outcome.  You get out of life what you put into it.  Simply put, negativity breeds negativity.  The opposite is also true: positivity breeds positivity.

Here is the challenge:  Focus only on the positive things in your life and see what happens.  Life is fantastic and every day just gets better and better!!  Enjoy the sunshine!

Healthier Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Last night my mom and I decided we wanted a little treat, so we made chocolate covered strawberries.  Who doesn't love chocolate covered strawberries?  (Unless you're one of  my sisters and the chocolate gives you migraines...  sorry E & S!)  Since we're both watching how much sugar we consume, we decided to make the chocolate a little healthier.  We used 85% dark chocolate and sugar free chocolate chips.  I melted the chocolate down over a double boiler (of sorts.  In this case it was a small stainless steel pan and a small metal bowl).  The best way I have found is to use a high temperature spatula to stir the chocolate.  A high temp spatula can handle the heat and won't melt.  Once the chocolate was melted, we pulled the chocolate off the heat and dipped our strawberries.  I wasn't sure how the chocolate was going to taste, but I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised!  The strawberries were a tasty little treat!