Hello Blogging Family,
Happy Sunday! I hope you all are enjoying the weekend. Today is a big day for me fitness wise. My birthday is coming up and I wanted to give myself the gift of wellness. My manuscript is really coming along and I finally found the perfect pitch for my novel (its essential when querying agents). That being said, it will be a waiting game no doubt with a lot of rejection. So I knew I had to be at my healthiest. Previously working with the World Health Organization had its advantages. I worked on projects preventing non-communicable diseases (mainly heart disease and diabetes in villages throughout Fiji) I have an idea of what to do health wise to prevent myself from NCDs. After getting the okay from my doctor, I gave myself 90 days starting this Monday to loose 20 lbs. This would bring me back to the weight I was at 19 and a very healthy BMI. I had to promise to take my multivitamin with iron and B12 supplement, and check in with her religiously 🙂 She’s the best!
Getting Started
By sticking to the Mediterranean diet and incorporating what we know about Blue Zones where people live the longest in the world, I hope to document how this helped me loose weight and achieve happiness. As you may know, the Mediterranean diet consist of a proportionally high consumption of unprocessed grains, legumes, olive oil, fruits, and vegetables. And although the identified Blue Zones lack extensive scientific study, it made sense to me. Those that lived longest were close to family and friends, practiced mindfulness whether that was through meditation or therapeutic acts of gardening, walking (a lot!), eating primarily a plant-based diet, and getting plenty of rest.
My 90 Day Goals
Yesterday I had a trial run on my daily goals. On average, without hiking or going on a long walk, I walk about 5,500 steps. That means I need to take the stairs instead of the elevator (6 flights!) and go on about a 60 min brisk walk to meet my initial wellness goals. For gardening, I decided that my new hobby of houseplants would suffice. After all, houseplants have been proven to reduce stress, boost mood, and help purify air. Not to mention my little Archie loves being around nature and misses the outdoors. Speaking of Archie, I’ve been trying to talk to him on his level more – pet goals. Yesterday, I headed to Trader Joe’s to get another little plant to add to my new apartment. This leads me to food, my favorite part of my 90 Day challenge. I was with a friend yesterday so my plant-based meals had to be American food friendly 🙂 – protein packed plant-based smoothies, tacos, and pizza! Spending the day with someone I loved…check! I can already see how this 90 Day Challenge will be amazing. I just have to work on my sleep. My doctor recommended no caffeine after 2 😦 and a melatonin supplement. So there you have it. I’m off for a walk before it gets dark. Read more for yesterday’s recipes.
Protein Packed Berry-Banana Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 scoops Orgain Organic Protein Powder (Vanilla Bean Flavored)
1 cup of your favorite alt. unsweetened milk (I used Silk Organic Unsweetened Milk to boost protein)
2 large frozen strawberries
2 large frozen mango chunks
5-6 small frozen raspberries
1/2 banana
Directions:
1. Blend together and enjoy!
Plant-Based Ground Be’f Tacos & Salad
Ingredients:
2 cups of Gardin ground be’f (Found in frozen food meatless section)*
1 packet of reduced sodium taco seasoning
Street taco tortillas
1 cup plant based cheddar shreds (I used Violife)
2 cups or more of chopped romaine lettuce
2 roma tomatoes chopped
2 tbsp red onion
3 tbsp sliced black olives
1 avocado (I didn’t have one but it would make it extra yummy)
2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
Caesar dressing of choice (I used Trader Joe’s Vegan Caesar)
1 lime
roasted pepita seeds
croutons
Directions:
1. For the ground be’f, cook in a little olive oil over medium-high heat until defrosted. Stir in taco seasoning and water according to the directions.
2. Serve on top of tortillas with cheddar shreds and veggies of choice.
3. For the salad dressing, mix a vegan Caesar dressing with lime juice and chopped cilantro. Drizzle over remaining veggies, croutons, pepita seeds and enjoy!
*I know there’s other plant-based “beef” grounds in the market. This was the only brand I could find at my store.
Caprese English Muffin Pizzas
Ingredients:
3 english muffins, halved
extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic
your choice of pizza sauce or pesto
2 roma tomatoes, sliced
Miyoko’s Creamery Fresh Vegan Mozzarella, sliced
balsamic vinegar
6 leaves of basil, chopped
*sliced red onion and olives optional
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to broil. Spray or baste olive oil on english muffin halfs. Place english muffins face side up on a baking tray and broil until slightly golden. Watch the oven! I have burned bread so many times doing this.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425. Rub 1 clove of raw garlic on toasted bread. Add the pizza sauce or pesto, a slice of mozzarella, slice of tomato, and second slice of mozzarella on the english muffins. Bake 7-10 minutes.
3. Once out of the oven, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh basil, and add freshly cracked pepper and a little sea salt if desired.
Hope you enjoyed these super easy recipes!
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