Progress

Today was a day of progress for me.  So as this blog is about my journey, I thought I'd do some progress posts every once-in-awhile.  It's quite possible no one will ever read them and that's OK, since they'll probably be more embarrassing than not.  Nevertheless they'll be a point of accountability for me.

Today marks an important day for me in my journey to optimal health.  My journey started at 199 lbs (I would NOT let myself see the big 200!).  My original goal was simply to lose weight.  That goal has not only been attained BUT I learned that weight loss shouldn't be the primary goal.  Instead it should be a strong and healthy body (here's to optimal health!!).  So today I officially reached 40 lbs lost.  It took 8 months to get here.  I've been saying I lost 40 lbs for over a month now.  But really I was off by 1-3 lbs, depending on what time of day and whether I'd eaten ice cream or not!  I can't tell you how frustrating it has been to be 1 lb from your target for over 1 month and just not able to hit it.

On this journey I've spent a lot of time praying.  When I get stuck or frustrated, or just can't give up a certain type of food...I take it to the Lord.  It seems like every time I've laid it out before Him, He's been faithful to get me past and onto my next goal.  So this past week I again went to the Lord and shared my frustrations.  Through that time with Him I began to re-evaluate what I've been doing differently.  And I also came to realize I have been victorious this past month in maintaining one weight (depending on the time of day and...yep, the whole ice cream thing again!) and that when I eat 100% clean I will maintain a steady weight.  No more yo-yos!  That really was huge for me.

This past month I also lost my craving for ice cream.  (WHAT!)  I know - I'm pretty shocked myself.  My tastes continue to evolve and I find I'm no longer desiring things that I previously couldn't live without.  The "secret sugars" I was still inviting into my diet.  Those would include Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream (made with all whole foods) and Fresh & Easy vanilla Greek yogurt.

This week I officially:

• reached 40 lbs weight loss
• stopped eating ice cream (I'm sure I'll still enjoy on occasion)
• made the leap from Greek yogurt with sugar to Greek yogurt without sugar!!!
• began eating a lot more raw snacks AND find them satisfying!

I also evaluated the things that I had changed the past month and added these back in, resulting in finally reaching my target:

• drinking 66 oz of water a day (3 of my big Tervis tumblers!), one as soon as I wake up in the morning
• drinking 1 glass of 1/2 squeezed lemon and 1 tbsp maple syrup then filling the rest of the glass up with ice water, also first thing in the morning
• drinking 2 raw green smoothies a day, 22 oz each  (I had cut back to 1 and then was sharing that one with the kids.  It's amazing what a difference the smoothie makes!)
• at the gym I'd cut out all core exercises (not sure why...other than I have been sick the past two weeks and before that...laziness??).  So I added two main ones back into my daily routine.

The great thing about meeting a goal is getting to set a new one. I love new beginnings and fresh starts! So here's to the next 10 lbs and the lessons I'm going to learn in getting there!

Have you reached a health goal that you're dying to "shout out" to the world?  Go ahead and share and let us cheer you on!

Muffin Cookies (for Breakfast or ANY time of day!)

I have a brand-new recipe to share that I had originally called "Muffin Top" Cookies because these look a lot like tops of muffins (which we can all agree are the favorite part!).  However, when I mentioned it on FB someone thought they were cookies that would give you a "muffin top" belly!  So the name had to get changed.  These will definitely NOT give you a muffin top (belly) unless you eat the whole batch at once, which is a temptation.  Check out the super-foods in the ingredient line-up to see what I'm talking about!  No sugar or butter to be found!

So the history of these cookies...  A few weeks back a friend sent me a healthy recipe for breakfast cookies.  I was really excited until I looked over the recipe, and then I knew it wasn't clean at all.  "Healthy"...sort of.  But it had sugar and butter and sugar...and you get the picture.  (click here to view the original recipe)  I knew it could be altered to become clean, I just wasn't too sure how to do it so I called on a new friend/mentor, Tiffany, at The Gracious Pantry for help.  She sent me back her suggestions and then I made more changes and finally tried it out.  I LOVED the results!  In fact I loved them SO much I decided to share the recipe here!  I can (sort-of) call it my own :-)

                                                            Amy's Clean Muffin Cookies

Ingredients

1-1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (+ an extra shake if you like things saltier)
1 tbsp ground flax seed
2 tbsp. unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp. molasses
1/3 cup agave or honey
1 egg
1/4 cup  cooked pumpkin puree (or carrots as original recipe calls for)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes – (I finally found clean high-fiber flakes at Sprouts but they weren’t bran)
1/3 cup craisins
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans (I chop in a mini food processor/grinder)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, flax and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

3. Combine oil, molasses, applesauce and honey/agave in a separate bowl.  Microwave 15 sec and continue whisking until completely combined (may need to do an additional 15 sec in microwave).  Add egg, pumpkin puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds or until well combined.

4. Add flour mixture and beat until combined. Add oats, flakes, craisins and pecans and mix just until incorporated.  Dough will be sticky, more like a cake batter than cookie dough.

5. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place tablespoon sized scoops of batter on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.   They aren’t like traditional cookies…more like muffin tops!  Super moist yet solid and easy to eat on-the-go!

Enjoy!

*Note: they freeze very well and make for a great grab-and-go breakfast for on the way to school or for in kids' backpacks for lunch or snack.  Flavors intensify by day 2.  Try switching out the Craisins with dark chocolate chips or dried cherries for a variation!  (Craisins do contain sugar...as do most dried cranberries.)