YOU LOOK DAMN GOOD!

I saw this today...


I just wanted to take a moment to address a story about my recent weight loss that began circulating today. This story led people to believe that I shed 25 lbs (pounds) by not eating, which is completely ridiculous. “I am a mother of three young children, two of whom are girls and I’m trying to raise them with a healthy body image. It’s taken me almost a year to lose close to 25 lbs and I did it through healthy diet and exercise. So yes, I’m a bit smaller, but still curvy and 100% healthy and proud of my body and the time it has taken me to undergo this personal journey for myself. “I’m not one of those ‘superstar moms’ who lost all their baby weight in a week. So, yes, I’m upset about the innuendo because I just can’t win. In the past year there have been numerous rumors about my weight – first I was attacked for being a size 10, now I’m anorexic? “I’m a real woman and I represent real women. I believe that people are beautiful at any size, color or weight. The way this article was promoted is unfortunate – what a silly way to sensationalize a story, especially when you know young people will be reading it. There must be more accountability in reporting, especially considering the far reaching impact on girls and young women who are exposed to this kind of misleading information on a daily basis. What kind of example is that setting for them?”  Kimora Lee Simmons




OK... let's be real. Celebrities, on average have about 10% body fat (according to a celebrity trainer I saw on TV :) ). Healthy body fat percentage for women is in 20-33% range. So these already under fat women are then photoshopped, dressed in the most flattering clothes money can buy and for some reason, we real life women, who don't make any money off looking good, compare ourselves to them. I have to ask... what the hell is wrong with us?! 


When did it become sexier to be scary skinny than healthy? Why do we hurt ourselves by either over or under eating because we don't look a certain way? 


When I started getting healthier, my friend asked me what my goals were. My number one goal was to be healthy to set an example for my daughter. I never, ever want her to look at herself and hate what she sees. I never, ever want her to be defined by the size of her jeans or the number on the scale. I wanted my daughter to see me being healthy and have that just be what we do in this house. And I truly believe having that as my goal, not wanting to be skinny, or sexy, or look like Jennifer Aniston, has been what has kept me focused. 


I hate that it seems like hardly any woman I know can look at herself, no matter what size she is and say "I look DAMN good!" Because we are all so beautiful! We are mothers who give 110% of ourselves ALL the time! We are wives who build our husbands up and carry their burdens on our shoulders! We are sisters that love each other through cancer, and raising children, and the deaths of siblings, and substance abuse and pain and yet we KEEP ON GOING. We keep on LOVING. And ladies, no matter what you look like, no matter how much cellulite or juggly mama belly you have, I gotta tell you... YOU LOOK DAMN GOOD! 


Give your children, nieces and friends the legacy of health. Set an example of loving yourself. Eat right, excercise, and don't compare yourself to celebrities. If you ever feel unpretty, think about what your best friend or sister would say about you. I bet the last thing that would ever come out of her mouth would be "fat" or "ugly", right? Love yourself the way your best friend loves you. She sees the beauty in you, inside and out. And if your in doubt, shoot, give that girl a call, tell her to come over for a cocktail and a pep talk! And give her one in return!

God bless you today and be kind to yourself!

no such thing as free

I want to briefly talk about "free" food... as in Fat Free, Sugar Free and any other Free you can think of. 


Food companies aren't stupid. They also aren't, shall we say... moral. They know we want to keep eating yummy stuff, but want to do it without the guilt. So they slap a label on the bottle or box saying "FREE" and know we are gullible enough to take the bait. 


Here's what they don't tell you: when you take something out, like fat or sugar, you have to put something back in to make it taste the same. This comes in the form of chemicals or sodium. If it says "sugar free" it is probably has aspertane or splenda as a replacement, both of which have been tested to cause cancer and tumors. Really really gross. 


I've said it before, I'll say it again. DON'T  buy processed diet foods. They are so bad for you!! It makes so much more sense to indulge in a good quality, short-list ingredient ice cream occasionally than to eat an ice cream full of poison every night! 


Trust me, I love sweets as much as anybody. Here are a few ideas for a sweet treat: 

mix together a little honey and unsweetened cocoa powder. Use it to dip strawberries or frozen bananas in it. 

mix together honey and a little almond butter and dip frozen bananas in it. 

buy a good quality chocolate bar and have 1 square of it with a small glass of sparkling wine 

place a grapefruit under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Top with a little honey. 

If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them!!


Now I want to talk about the world's most delicious food: PIZZA! Oh, Lord I hadn't found a way to make pizza healthy I wouldn't have been able to stay on track. My family actually prefers this pizza to take out now. I hope you will too!


All items purchased at... TRADER JOE'S
preheat oven to 425 degrees


whole wheat pizza crust
1/3 of a bottle of pizza sauce
kalmata olives
feta cheese 
salame
1/2 a red pepper, diced
4 sliced mushrooms




cut the pizza crust into 4 equal parts immediately after taking it out of the package. let rest for 20 minutes, then spread out with your hands. place each piece on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil cooking spray. Top with sauce and all toppings ( I don't put the salame on mine, but the rest of the family loves it. Just put about 4 slices on each piece, you don't want to overdo it as it has a lot of fat). Put in oven for about 15 minutes. Serve with a green salad. YUM!!!



Be Kind To Yourself!! 

Fritatta Recipe

Hello all,
Hope you are enjoying this lovely Sunday! I am bringing you my new favorite recipe, frittatta. I LOVE it because it fits all my criteria: fast, easy, healthy. Not only that but you can make it about a zillion different ways.  It's great to use at the end of the week when you have all those odds and ends left in the fridge. Throw in mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini and mozzarella cheese for an Italian frittata. Or some black beans, corn, jalapeno and cheddar for a Mexican frittatta. 


This recipe used what I had on hand this week and it was so yummy!


A bowlful of frozen spinach
1/2 a red bell pepper
about 6 crimini mushrooms
frozen hash browns (a generous hand full)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
4 eggs
splash of milk
sprinkle of feta cheese


You are going to want to use a well seasoned cast iron skillet. If you don't have one, you can use a non-coated (a non stick pan won't work, for example) skillet, just wrap some foil around the handle for when it goes in the oven.


Set your oven to broil and place the oven rack about 4 inches below the flame. 


On your stove top, heat the oil in the cast iron skillet. Add hash browns and heat until cooked through. Meanwhile, heat the spinach in the microwave with a splash of water for about 2 minutes, or until heated through. Drain spinach well by placing the leaves on a few layers of paper towels and squeezing out the liquid. 


Once hash browns are cooked, add onion and red pepper. Cook a few minutes, until onions are softened. Add mushrooms, and once they are soft, add spinach.


Whisk together eggs and splash of milk. If you like, add in some garlic powder and black pepper. Pour evenly over veggies in skillet. Add the feta on top (just a sprinkle, the cheese is the only thing that is fattening in this dish so go easy!). Cook over medium heat until the eggs start to lift away from the pan on the edges. 


Place pan in oven and cook under the broiler for about 4 minutes, until the top looks puffy and golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve!


Be Kind to yourself!