Quick Chickpea Curry [Recipe]

I really realllllly love Indian food, but it is SOOOO not paleo/clean eating friendly at all. What, with the  heavy cream and the naan and the basmati rice. I want to, but I just...can't. As much as I crave it like always. If you have any paleo/clean eating Indian recipes PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send them my way. I will love you forever.

All that being said, I did come across (on Pinterest, of course) a clean eating recipe for curry. It's not perfect but it was spicy and savory and good enough for me even without the naan and basmati!

I adapted the recipe from Kitchen Demure and the pic that actually looks decent is courtesy of her! The other one is mine, taken straight from the iPhone. Photography is not my thing. Deal with it.

Quick Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpeas (I used Goya low sodium--currently looking for a sodium-less version)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tablespoons tomato pasta
• 2 cups water
• 1 couple of handfuls of baby spinach (I used spinach/arugula mix because that's what I had on hand)
• salt and pepper to taste (I only used pepper)

Directions

1. Heat medium pan to med/high and add oil and onions, sauté until slightly tender.
2. Add garlic and ginger and stir (you may want to add just a tablespoon or two of water at this point if you are using the ground ginger otherwise it will burn to the pan).
3. Add garam masala and stir until just combined.
4. Add chickpeas and water, stir and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add tomato paste and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
6. Add your baby spinach and let wilt.
7. Serve as is or over rice with naan (I'm jealous of you for even thinking about doing that without me). I ate it as is.

Makes one serving (about 1.5 cups).

Calories: 438

Total Fat: 15g

Saturated: 2g

Polyunsaturated: 2g

Monounsaturated: 2g

Sodium: 287mg

Potassium: 162mg

Total Carbs: 64g

Dietary Fiber: 17g

Sugars: 7g

Protein: 15g

Vitamin A: 54%

Vitamin C: 23%

Calcium: 13%

Iron: 29%

YUMMMMMYYYYY

Chickpea Avocado Puree [Recipe]

I made this awesomeness today after my run. It's nothing special, but I was starving and I had the ingredients on hand, and I figured I'd post it to give others a jumping off point. It's another one of those fully customizable recipes so feel free to change it up as much as it suits your needs!

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpeas (drained and rinsed, you can leave their skins on)
• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 clove minced garlic
• something to serve with or on
• Salt and pepper to taste (I only add pepper)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into the food processor and puree.
2. Serve it any way you want (with chips, veggies, etc.) I served it on one leaf of swiss chard, cut in half, and topped with red onions and tomatoes. I rolled each leaf up so it was like a wrap. Yummmmm!

This recipe makes 1 serving of about 1.5 cups.

Calories: 521

Total Fat: 28g

Saturated Fat: 3g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g

Monounsaturated Fat: 18g

Sodium: 146mg (I used Goya low sodium chickpeas because I had them stored in my pantry for months. I am looking to switch to a sodium-less brand in order to remain completely "clean")

Potassium: 930mg

Total Carbs: 63g

Dietary Fiber: 26g

Protein: 12g

Vitamin C: 36%

Calcium: 12%

Iron: 24%

There you have it, a nice healthy snack!

Back to Business

WELP! School started yesterday! And it is already in full swing....it's like I never left. Wait. I did leave? Really? When? I feel like I just started my break and then it was over. Granted, since I did fail that first anatomy exam I had to retake it 5 days after pretty much all the rest of my class had already started their break. So I got 2.5 weeks off. I know, that's nothing to sneeze at considering in the "real world" you don't actually get any winter breaks. yea, yea...I get it. But it was a nice to weeks nonetheless. I worked which was amazing, because I definitely miss working with actual patients sooooo much. You would think that there would be more patient interaction in PT school, but no, you pretty much work on each other 90% of the time. Anyway, I digress....

So, school has gone well the past two days. I've already got a study system down that incorporates both my computer and long-hand note taking which is so far working out well. I have my first quiz in Movement Science II bright and early tomorrow morning on "Normal Gait" and then I plan on spending the rest of my day at the outlet mall shopping for new school clothes. Assuming I don't need a nap by 12. I have spent the past two nights up until 1 am doing homework or cleaning. Hopefully I will get to bed at a decent hour tonight. I still have a few things to review.

Anyway, the stuff you really care about (no one reads this, but I guess I should sort of stick to the topic anyway):

Yesterday and today both went really well, food-wise and exercise-wise!

Wednesday:
B: 2 protein pancakes with strawberries and blackberries and real maple syrup
L: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger with balsamic vinegar, mustard, red onion, tomato, spinach/arugula mix and pickles, served with baby carrots
D: 10oz salmon filet (in the frying pan with just a tiny bit of EVOO, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper), spaghetti squash and puttanesca sauce
Sn: Banana
Tidbits: I will admit that I DID have a few bites of Bubs' mac 'n cheese, BECAUSE, I stopped by Kraft because of all of the crazy chemical names in the ingredients and bought Annie's instead and I wanted to see how it stacked up (it's good). Also, that peanut butter tree was still on my counter as of last night so I gave it to Bubs for dessert but not before I took a (smallish) bite out of it...what?! I had to make sure it wasn't rotten--God knows I've never let a Reese's last that long so I'm not sure how long they keep. ;)

Anyway, so totals:
Goal: 1250
Consumed: 1682
Exercise: 312 (I ran/walked about 2.68 miles around my neighborhood yesterday)
Net: 1370

Not too shabby!

Today:
B: 2 protein pancakes, strawberries (my blackberries were moldy after only 4 days...I'm mad), and real maple syrup
L: Chickpea and avocado puree with tomato and red onion wrapped in swiss chard
D: Chickpea curry
MSn: 1 banana
ASn: 1 protein pancake with almond butter and half a banana
Tidbits: I had 2 bites of Bubs' leftover mac 'n cheese to check if it was too hot (seriously!). I had one bite of Hubs' garlic bread that he had with his dinner. Is swear that was all today! Be proud, people!

Totals:
Goal: 1250
Consumed: 1733
Exercise: 393 (I ran/walked for 4 miles near my campus)
Net:  1340


So, I'm doing well! Added a few new recipes today (nothing too crazy) so check them out!

'Night!

Starting Off Right!

Today went really well, in my humble opinion:

B: 2 protein pancakes with blackberries/strawberries and real maple syrup
L: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger with spinach and arugula mix, red onion, tomato, pickles, mustard and balsamic vinegar with baby carrots
D: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger with avocado salsa and a bag of the Birdseye Steamfresh broccoli cuts (couldn't afford the florets this time...sigh)
Ds: large banana with honey and cinnamon

Totals: 1293
Goal: 1250

Not too shabby. I want to stay under 1300, so I set my calorie counter at 1250 just to give myself some wiggle room.

Alright, that's all. Tomorrow is the big day--starting semester #2 of PT school. Aaaaand of course I still have a few things to get done around here still and its 11pm....soooooo, goodnight! :)

New Year...New Perspective

Happy New Year!!!!

I am so excited to be starting this New Year off right! I didn't drink last night. We stayed in, actually. Did a little bit of shopping during the day, made dinner, watched a movie, watched the ball drop, went to bed. It was glorious!

And today we are doing our New Year's serious house clean and getting ready for school to start all over again tomorrow for both myself and Bubs.

I did want to take a second to reflect on all of the great things that happened to me this past year, whether they be triumphs of struggles, they were all worth it. I...

• started PT school
• passed my first semester of PT school
• lost 26lbs and learned how to eat right and exercise again
• started to really love me for me for the first time in a long time
• got closer to my husband
• watched my baby grow into her personality just a bit more
• made a huge move to a new state away from my family and friends
• made new friends (who are wonderful by the way)
• started to organize my life a little bit

That's at least some of them. And I listed some of my "resolutions" for 2013 in my last post. But let's recap:

• Get down to 150-160lbs (AND STAY THERE)
• Pass my second semester of PT school (with flying colors)
• Be more organized and on top of things this semester
• Don't let my stress over school derail my eating and exercising like it did last semester

The best part about my eating and exercising, is that I have a goal date this time! My mom (who is the most amazing person ever) is taking me, Hubs, Bubs, my sister and her boyfriend to Cabo in June during my break from classes. CRAZY, RIGHT?!?!? And the best part is that my super awesome Grandpa and his wife, Pam (also super awesome) are joining us! It is going to be the best vacation of my life. I am so unbelievably excited. And, I really want to be able to wear a bathing suit (bikini or otherwise) and feel confident in doing so. Actually, I want to be able to wear anything on this vacation and feel confident and not uncomfortable in any way. So! Here's to June 7th! Time to REALLY get my ass in gear. No excuses, play like a champion. Right?

Here's how I did yesterday:

B: 2 protein pancakes (I made them with greek yogurt this time because I looked at the labels on the cottage cheeses at Walmart and they are most definitely NOT clean), with blackberries/strawberries and two tablespoons of real maple syrup

L: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger topped with coarse ground mustard, tomatoes, red onion, arugula and spinach mix and 1/2 of an avocado; baby carrots

Sn: Bubs and I shared an unsalted, butter-free pretzel when we were shopping at Target

D: spaghetti squash, puttanesca, and grilled haddock

Ds: Hubs and I split the last of the pecan pie from Christmas

Totals: About 2000 calories give or take because I didn't measure the olive oil I mixed in with the spaghetti squash or cooked the haddock with. Shrug.

Anyway, I was satisfied all day for the most part. Except for when I was ravenous at Target and Bubs really wanted a snack. We had just one stop left and were going to be home within an hour but I couldn't deny the baby a snack considering she didn't want lunch and was going on like 4 hours of nothing. But when I got her that pretzel, OMG it smelled and looked so delicious I just had to have some. So I caved. I ate about 1/3 of it. And the pecan pie, well its been staring me in the face for the past several days and I just wanted it to go away before New Year's Day so I didn't ruin my "resolutions". So we ate it and its gone and I don't have to worry about it again until Thanksgiving. Thank God. Now the only thing left to stare me in the face is the Reese's Peanut Butter Christmas Tree sitting on my counter. But I'm giving it to Bubs for dessert tonight so I will no longer have to worry about THAT either. Frankly, I'm surprised it has lasted the 4 days it HAS been staring me in the face anyway. Will power. I'm working on it.

But I stepped on the scale today and its said 187.8lbs. I'm down 5.2lbs since Saturday. Probably water weight, or just me eating a little bit healthier and in moderation over the past few days so my body is just getting itself back down to equilibrium. I no longer feel as bloated as I did last week, so things are going well so far. I just need to make sure I eat every 4 hours so I don't start to get ravenous and eat a whole bunch of shit I don't need to.

Alright, well that's all for updates. Here's to a happy and HEALTHY (and maybe a little bit sexy) 2013!!! :)

Blog Revival

Well hello there....umm...no one. It has been a hot minute, I must say. September, right? Well, here I am. Alive and well(ish). I made it through my first semester of PT school...barely. My waist line on the other hand is hanging on for dear life. Remember back when I hit 179?!?!? Yea...those days are looooong gone. Ready?...

191.8lbs. That's what I saw when I stepped on my scale this morning. I gained back basically half of what I worked so hard to lose this past summer and I am really disappointed about it. PT school seriously did suck the life out of me and made me lose focus of everything else in my life not related to PT school. My family life suffered, all those healthy eating/fitness habits I had come to know and love suffered, and most importantly, my sanity suffered. I can't go back to that. I just...can't.

So. In honor of the impending New Year and the beginning of my second semester of PT school, I am getting back into the swing of things. Counting calories, eating healthy, working out...you know, the usual. I actually just  got back from the grocery store and am stocked up on wonderfully yummy and HEALTHY goodness for the next week. In addition, I am going to start my blog back up. I felt like it really helped to keep me grounded and focused on my weight loss goals and I need it back.

As far as my semester was concerned, I passed all of my classes, however I did end up failing my first anatomy exam so I had to retake it. It took me a while to get in to the swing of things, but once I did, I did pretty well. I don't think I was very efficient with my study habits as far as getting all of the reading done in a timely manner and whatnot. But those are things I really want to change, so that is another goal of mine for the New Year.

In total, I have a amassed a small but lofty list of things I would like to accomplish in 2013...some resolutions, if you will:

1. Lose 40lbs through clean eating and exercise
2. Pass all of my classes in my second semester of PT school
3. Be more organized and on top of my schoolwork going forward

Nothing too crazy, right? I can do all of this with just a little bit of discipline.

So let's talk about my meal plan for the week! I'm so excited to get back on this. I think that if I prepare my meals for the entire week on Sundays that it will be that much easier to maintain throughout the semester. I just need to take the few hours out of my weekend to cook everything and it will be fine!

This week is a short week because of New Years. I start school again on Wednesday, but I'm still going to get everything done for the week today and tomorrow just to practice doing it.

So here it is:

B: Protein pancakes (my favorite) with strawberries/blackberries and real maple syrup
M.Sn: Banana with raw honey and cinnamon
L: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burgers topped with spinach and arugula, red onion, tomato and mustard with a side of baby carrots
A.Sn: Hardboiled egg
D: Halibut or Salmon fillet with avocado salsa and broccoli OR with puttanesca and spaghetti squash

That's my week! Not too shabby, right? I'm working on staying below 1250 calories for the first month just to detox and get back into it. I'm not going to crazy with the workouts in the beginning either, but I'm setting a goal of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, 5 days per week and 2-3 days of light weights.

Also...notice anything different about my meal plan this time? Maybe not, but I'll tell you! :) I've decided to do a clean eating/Paleo mashup of sorts. No processed foods whatsoever. Only whole foods and not a lot of grains. I know that if I go completely carb free I will probably last until Thursday before I binge on pasta, so I'm trying to eat some complex carbs early in the day and finish off with just meat and veggies at night. No alocohol. Very little dairy--I'm limiting myself to just greek yogurt and kefir pretty much. Just water...2L per day.

B: oats and fruit
M.Sn: fruit
L: meat and veggies/fruit
A.Sn: meat/veggie
D: meat and veggies

So...here I am. Ready to get this ish started again and work my way down to that 150-160lb range that I've coveted for so long. I made it (barely) to the 170s from 206, so I know I can do it. Please join me (again) as I struggle and (hopefully) triumph.

Much love xoxoxox

PT School is Sucking the Life Out of Me

Sorry for the hiatus. PT school is killing me...and my waist line.

In the past two weeks I have had: taco bell, chick-fil-a, bojangles, chipotle, panera, and countless slices of pizza (and beers).

I haven't gained any weight--probably because I never sleep anymore because I'm always studying--however, I also have not had the opportunity to work out and it's honestly killing me. In our physiology class the other day we did skin-fold and waist/hip ratio tests and I am considered to be in the healthy-ish range which is awesome for me (and my confidence). But the longer I keep these horrible eating habits up, the more likely I'm going to be back in the 200s, which I never ever want to see again in my life.

I never see my husband or my daughter, I never sleep, I never workout and I eat like shit. It's safe to say that PT school is awful so far. I literally have never been more miserable in my life than I am now. I know that it will be worth it in the end and nothing worth doing is going to be easy, but seriously...I'm riding the struggle bus--no, I'm driving the struggle bus.

As I type this, I am chowing down on super bad, yet super good taco bell (the second time I've eaten it this week). What is wrong with me?!?!?!?

Positives: I'm making some great friends, I won season tickets for men's basketball (basketball is HUGE at this school), I am learning some pretty cool stuff.

I guess I need to focus on the positives.

Monday is my very first huge Anatomy exam and I've been studying for this entire past week. Hubs was so kind and to take Bubs back to the homeland for the weekend so I have the house all to myself to study/sleep. I must admit it's been nice, but I miss them terribly. It's quiet...too quiet.

Anyway, I'm hoping that I will overcome the initial insanity and get into a better rhythm where I actually see my family, get all my work done, and still have time to exercise and eat right. I don't know if I'm imagining some sort of fantasy world, but hopefully with time I'll get there. Some of the girls in my class have been going for short runs a few times each week, so I think I'll start joining them. I've never ran with anyone except for Mike, so I'm a bit nervous, but we have our annual 5K run in a few weeks and I don't want to die while doing that, so I should probably take some initiative and do it.

Anyway, that's my update. Back to studying....sigh....