It's FRIDAY again!

It's Friday again... SO SOON!

This week I wanted to get in touch with the fitness side of Food and Fitness Friday. Tomorrow I am doing a Survivor Mud Run! Some people think I am crazy, but I love the challenge of an obstacle course! It's not boring! That is the biggest thing for me, it's FUN! I am competitive (if you know me you are so laughing right now and saying "psht that is putting it lightly") with others but mostly against myself. I strive to be better and live up to my standards. Switchfoot has a line in a song "This is your life, are you who you wanna be?" and that song speaks to me. AM I who I want to be? Are YOU who you want to be? If the answer in no then you need to find out what that person is for you. Once you find out what that person is (all aspects) you can start working on getting there.

Tomorrow I am going to face the race with the challenge of the obstacles one at a time! I will commit to doing my best on each obstacle and continue to give it my all on each obstacle. I have done a few of these and I always feel awesome after! I have come so far in my journey of health and to actually complete a 5k obstacle is rewarding! I try to not stop running even if that means I run super slow, the point is to not quit! Remember I am challenging myself, competing with myself. When I do that, I always do better and more. The whole mindset around it gets and keeps you going. Negative thoughts have no room when I am challenging myself!

So you think I am crazy for doing this, but I plan on doing the "Wipe Out" run called ROC (Ridiculous Obstacle Course) in September! I really don't like running that much, even though I am not bad at it so these obstacle courses are great because I get so much workout with cardio! This is also a test of my body strength; for all the past months I have been working out and lifting weights! I can't wait to see how I do!

This Friday I really want to encourage you to ask yourself if you are who you want to be physically and mentally. I want you to make a plan and list all the fitness activities you want to try and find what motivates you and what challenges you to challenge yourself. What do you want to be AWESOME at? Now go make it happen and stop putting it off because 3 months from now you will still be the same or worse if you don't start at all.

(I am the one on the left at last years Rugged Maniac)

Philippians 4:13

English Standard Version (ESV)

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

The "Gross"-ery Store

Hello All,

I am back from my vacation visiting my best friend in Omaha, NE, which is why last Friday you also saw no post. While there I discovered a few things I hadn't thought of too much while living here in California. Now, if you know me you know I am not a fan of California for the most part but it has been brought to my attention that it has at least one positive thing going for it and that is the availability of fresh produce and other food items, and lots of health food stores and farmers markets that last most of the year. I wanted to touch on that today, as I know many of my readers live in Wyoming and other states that get cold winters and have small towns. Your grocery stores... you know the chain grocery stores by Kroger and such suck... flat out. I went shopping in two different stores in Omaha and was mortified! I had forgotten just how bad regular grocery stores are. I went to a Bakers and Fareway and I couldn't find hardly anything that was healthy, non-gmo, or pesticide free. They both had the smallest organic sections I had ever seen and I spent a fortune on the measly stuff I did find that was actually food! I asked the meat department if they had any cage free or vegetarian fed chicken, and with almost a laugh the man working said "um, no". I felt gross just shopping there! Seriously I thought about the millions and millions of people in the United States eating food like products, and not food. I looked around at the people shopping there and it occurred to me that almost all of them were overweight and I see why! I don't mean to judge people because if you want to buy that stuff then you have every right to do so, but I am truly ashamed at our lack of knowledge and responsibility in this country!

So what can you do? Well my friend had no idea what a health food store was or where one was so of course I hopped on the computer and found farmers markets (that didn't open until May or June because it's Nebraska and cold so farming things has a season) and a Natural Grocers Store the had organic produce! Not just a tiny selection of half rotting fruits or veggies! The spices were according to my friend amazing and she fell in love with this store and guess what!?! It probably cost less because they didn't have the waste factor, because people actually buy it! There is a difference between a health food store and a grocery store so google "Health food stores in________" and fill in the blank with your city or town.

There are also things called bountiful baskets and other programs for people that don't have as much selection as other states. http://www.bountifulbaskets.org click and see if it's in your neighborhood. Another place to look is http://www.localharvest.org, that site gives you food co-ops, csa's, farmers markets, stores and other helpful links to healthy food in your area. Check out amazon, and other online sites that will mail or deliver you healthier options and stop caving to the grocery stores and big industry selling you hardly food items that harm you, cost them very little to make and give them big gains (which I would have no problem with if they didn't spend tons of time and marketing to lie to us about the "food" we consume).
www.znaturalfoods.com

www.livesuperfoods.com

www.mynaturalmarket.com

www.longevitywarehouse.com

www.sacredchocolate.com

I have learned to LOVE grocery shopping, but not at the chain grocery stores. Learn to love shopping, save money on the good stuff and don't end up paying for cheap food now and having prescriptions and hospital bills out the wazoo later. Feed your body don't deprive it with junk "food".

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2). 

Stoup!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I missed last Friday I was on a retreat and was under the impression I would be staying at a hotel with Wifi so I could post Friday night, but that was not so. I was actually in a cabin with little to no phone signal and only Wifi in the main building where we had our speaker and activities, that is what I get for not reading where we were actually going. Since I wasn't driving I didn't really pay attention.

ANYWAY lets get to it this Friday!

Today for lunch I had a friend who came over and we threw together a combination of healthy foods and we made this AMAZING stoup as she calls it because it's like stew and soup (and she has made this before so we will also call it stoup)! It's still cold and/or raining in some places (like it is here today) so this is the perfect recipe for your left over veggies or an amazing warm meal! As much as we like to plan our meals out that occasional time comes where we don't really know what to do and sometimes something amazing comes out of it. Well this might just be what you need to make!

So basically you could add any number of things to make a variation of this but here is what we used:

1 carton of organic vegetable broth

2 boneless skinless free range veggie fed chicken thighs (cubed)

3 organic carrots (chopped into chunky slices)

1 head of organic broccoli (chopped to desired bite size pieces)

5-6 cloves of garlic minced

1 stalk green onion (chopped/sliced thinly)

1 handful of spinach

Few shakes mediterranean seasoning 

Few shakes smoked paprika

Few shakes cumin

Few shakes italian seasoning

Few shakes smoked palm island sea salt 

Tad bit of cayenne 

Olive oil

Approx. 1 cup Quinoa Pasta Veggie Curls (yes they are tasty, you should know by now I won't steer you wrong)

And here is how you do it:

Get out 1 pot with a little olive oil over medium heat. 

Get out 1 pan that can hold a few cups of liquid then heat over medium high with a little olive oil.

1. Toss the chicken in the pan with a little olive oil that has been warmed in the pan, then put a few shakes of Mediterranean Seasoning on it and stir. Cook until done but try not to get it crispy (or browning on parts) I suggest letting this cook while you cut the veggies.
2. Place broccoli in pot that has been warmed with a little olive oil
3. Place carrots in pot with broccoli
4. Throw the minced garlic into the pot after the veggies have cooked for 1-2 minutes
5. After about a minute pour in the vegetable broth and shakes of seasoning.
6. The chicken will probably be ready by this time so place chicken into the pot. Wash out the pan and fill with some water and get it boiling in preparation for the pasta.
7. Toss the spinach and green onion to the pot and get the spinach almost wilted in combination with the next step.
8. After water is boiling toss in the Quinoa Pasta noodles and let cook to just before they are done.
9. Drain noodles and add them to pot.
10. Let the pot cook for a few minutes bringing all the flavors together
11. Serve and prepare yourself for an amazing stoup experience!

I have to say I am not a huge soup fan, as in when I think of things to make this is at the bottom of my list, but this has completely changed my mind and I can't wait to make it again! It was hearty, filling and my taste buds were delighted! So go try it!

I also wanted to tell you about classes you may find at gyms and such called TRX. TRX is my new favorite workout that uses straps attached to a high rack that is attached to a wall or may stand on it's own bolted to the ground depending on where you go.

I am going to warn you this class is intense but you are getting an awesome workout using your own body weight. You are able to work out the entire body and in every move you also are working your core. I highly suggest trying this out a few times if this is something available to you!

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11 ESV).