stuffed zucchini

INGREDIENTS

3 zucchinis

1/2 large onion, chopped fine

1 T butter

5 - 6 slices MorningStar Farms bacon, chopped

1 T sour cream

1/4 to 1/2 t salt

1/4 t curry powder

1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped

1 t fresh thyme leaves

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh cracked black pepper

(you can also make these vegetarian and take the bacon out or use a meat sub. or replace with some olives or any other veggie)

DIRECTIONS

Give the zucchini a quick wash for good measure. Slice in half lengthwise. Leave the ends on to keep the filling in. Scoop out the flesh with a melon baller or a spoon. Leave a ledge of zucchini around the edges. For the life of me, I couldn't make straight lines. That's okay. They were still delicious. Arrange the zucchini boats in a baking dish. Chop the zucchini flesh as small as you like.

Finely chop half a sweet onion. Chop up some good smokey bacon. You could leave this out for a vegetarian side dish (maybe add some chopped mushrooms?)... but my family goes through quite a lot bacon, so it's going in! Add the curry powder... cook until desired doneness of onions and remove from heat. To the zucchini flesh, add sour cream. (How can this be bad?). Rough chop some fresh thyme leaves. Mix onion and bacon mixture with other ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Stir in the tomatoes. Seed them or else there may be too much moisture in the filling. You don't really want the filling to be all runny when you cut into it. Refill the zucchini shells with the filling mixture.

Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top and sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Of course you know me. I'm gonna grate even more cheese on them again... Smokiness from the bacon. Salty from the Parmesan cheese. Soft and buttery zucchini.

july...injury recovery...it sucks...but fighting on

A couple of weeks ago I pulled the muscle in my lower back. As it seems the right side is taking the longest to heal. Strangely so, I took a week off, and then went back to the gym. The plus side is that I am not hanging back and spending months to recover the loss gains. The negative is that it will likely take up to a full two months before I notice no discomfort.

I am not one to run to the doctor every time I pull a muscle. I am not one to rest and reside on the comforts of a doctor. As a matter of fact I do not have much respect for the medical professionals who waste your time pushing muscle relaxers and PT, then reject me from more than a week or two of PT, and leave me to fill in that pain gap with OTC medications. Therefore, I shall heal myself.

Sure. If after a month I still feel the same discomfort with no apparent healing, then I will go to the doctor for x-rays to rule out major injury. Otherwise, I am good on my own.

You do not need a doctor’s comforting words to cure you, unless you are needy and require that kind of attention. I do not.

Pressure makes a diamond.

2-year pescatarian-versary

It is official. Exactly two years ago this week I made the conscious decision to cleanse my body of meat proteins through a juice fast. Before the end of the week, I had set the plan in motion to become a pescatarian.

The first year was pretty much a transition that surprisingly went very smooth. This year is even better. I am still amazed that I can look at people eat these proteins and think “How can I make that vegetarian-like?”

The first year I was scrambling seeking out every food item of a vegetarian-meat-like variety. Last year I moved towards preparing my own foods, and cooking more from scratch. Not only does the food taste better, but I am convinced that it is large part of my why my body recovers at a faster rate from muscle strains and sprains.

This year, I am moving more towards healthy snacks, in hopes to quench my desire for ice cream. I will occasionally indulge in Healthy Choice Greek Yogurt. That vanilla bean is amazing. If it is ever on sale, which very often it is, I will definitely purchase. Part of the reason I am departing from 'cream' is because I believe my intolerance for dairy has returned.

In the effort to move towards healthier snacking, I opened a subscription to Nature Box. A few YT gurus subscribe to it and recently I discovered a link to receive 50% off the first month’s subscription. Raisins and nuts are a regular snacking staple in my house. They keep me satiated for a good three hours. I am therefore expecting Nature Box to provide me the same or better nutrition.

Let’s go!

make your own oat flour

Oat flour is quite heart healthy nutritious, but it’s so expensive to buy. Here’s a solution! Purchase a canister or package of oats then pulverize them in your coffee grinder or blender. I have in the past used a blender and found it up to the task of making flour. If you want better, make an investment in a coffee grinder. I have never ground any beans in my grinder. I mostly use it for oats and flax seeds.

From oat flour I have made: Belgian waffles, dry coatings for fish and tofu, along with bulking up meal shakes.

Try it and enjoy!

the making of a man of steel

It's very hard work to transform your body in a year.

According to Hollywood Hunk and Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill, "It's a very, very long and involved process. Five months before shooting there was varying stuff which ended up being mass building and then leaning down. Throughout the shoot it was just waking up and making sure I got an hour in [of exercise] before I went to work. [He went through] a horrible eating phase … where we really, really leaned down. It was exhausting. They didn't force me to give anything up. They just cut my calories right down to 2,500 [a day]. And keep in mind, only a few months ago I'd been up to 5,000. So it was a big drop… It was hard but it paid off."

This is not the first time Mr. Cavill put himself through the grueling task of carving an Adonis figure for a movie role. We hear that stars do this all of the time. Some lose weight, some gain weight. Much respect to those who not only must commit to eating a very distinct diet, but must work out to build an incredible physique.

Henry's workout plan was akin to the workout used to train soldiers in the National Guard.

"Soldier of Steel"

Although Henry is quite candid about his days of adolescence where he was dubbed 'fat Cavill' still his pre-Superman body was nothing to laugh at.

Cudos to the grind, the sexy, and the cuts!

Henry is one hellacious hunk and we thank everyone who helped build this machine and put it into a skin suit!

it’s my Juneversary!

Singing: It’s my party and I do what I want to!

By the end of the first week of June, it will be my 3^rd year anniversary of the new, lifestyle living me!

By the end of the month, it will be my 2^nd year anniversary of a pescatarian lifestyle.

The two milestones are two things I am most proud of and I continue to share the benefits of these changes with anyone who asks.

I tell people all of the time that I may eat squarely four times a day (most days in equal hours between), I do not have perfect nutrition.

To celebrate this month of mileage, I will be reducing my workouts. Yep! It’s a maintenance month where I will work the bare minimum of days: Two (Cardio + Cardio/Resistance) on then one day off. 

This schedule became a reality when I realized that it was a month of celebration. There is no better way than to celebrate my journey by showing the best, with more focus on nutrition.

I feel so blessed to be sharing this post. I am proud of the work I have put forth, and I’m thrilled that I not only learned from this journey, but that I can celebrate both the failures and the gains.

If there is anything that you want to do, surround yourself by the people that can motivate you to accomplish your goals. If you cannot find a single person to lean on, lean on your own energy. Sometimes the best influence is self. I know that the best thing that ever happened to me was my God given independence. I was blessed to be able to do the work I need to do to achieve my goals.

challenge for May...

Run every day!

Yes. That's right! We're half-way through this month and this challenge should have been posted at the beginning of the month. The only cardio machine allowed in this month's exercise program is the treadmill. I am increasing the speed of my runs and shortening the distance. This is the usual. Only in the fall/winter do I stretch out that speed over distance. With that said, on the three days that I am doing resistance training each week, I will fire the engine with a one mile run on a higher incline than the running days.

In addition to running six of six days, which do include a 30 minute yoga stretch, I have returned to the beast of yoga, Lewis. I attend his class on Sundays at LAFIT. I have returned to eating my pre-workout snack, although some days I feel that it's causing me to drag on start, but flourish mid stream and go on forever. This is setting me up for some new ideas for the June and July programs.

Next month I will hit my 3rd year anniversary of living well and the 2nd anniversary of being a pescatarian. Both journey's have taught me so much about my body and how it uses food for fuel. Keep it moving!