Day 12: Spontaneity

Hi everyone!! I hope yall have been having a fabulous weekend.

Spontaneity is vital to an exciting and happy life! At least a little bit. Last night I went to Myrtle Beach with my roommate since she was going down there to run a half marathon. (I left with about 30min notice). Then, by 10pm that night, I had committed myself to walking the half marathon (13.1miles) with her mom and cousin. . . what.

We woke up at 5am and walked 1.1 miles to the start line. power walked 13.1 miles to the finish passing the beach, elephants, music, and lots of pancake houses. After we were finished we had to walk back the 1.1 miles to the hotel again. Got that a total of 15.3 miles of walking today on my little feet.

Although I am in a bit of pain right now it was totally worth it! I got a medal!  Also, it felt fantastic to know I burned about 1500 calories today/ and that my body is capable of that sort of distance. I'm insane basically.

I ran the last mile too! All in all it took between 3 hours and 30 to 40 minutes to complete the half marathon.

The moral of the story is that walking is a great way to start getting your heart healthy and the sane thing to do would be to start with a shorter distance such as 5k!
It is a great bonding experience and you wont regret it.

Have a great day!
Sara

Day 10 LOVE yourself!

Happy Valentines day!!!

My Fiance sent me roses all the way from England <3 What a sweetie!

Anyway,

I have been following the reducing stress and relaxation days for the past few and been studying hard for my exam tomorrow.

I will also be hitting the gym today to get my 75-150 minutes in the week. I am going on Sunday as well for an hour so I don't know if that counts for this week or next week... hmmm

Okay well the only way to a healthy heart is to LOVE YOURSELF. That means finding the confidence within to start a healthy heart program so you can live a better, healthier life!


Valentine's Day Menu for you and a loved one-- or best girl friends!

Appetizer:

Fruit Salsa

For tortilla crisps:
• 8 whole-wheat tortillas
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
For fruit salsa:
• 3 cups diced fresh fruit, such as apples, oranges, kiwi, strawberries, grapes or other fresh fruit
• 2 tablespoons sugar-free jam, any flavor
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut each tortilla into 10 wedges. Lay pieces on two baking sheets. Make sure they aren't overlapping. Spray the tortilla pieces with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the tortilla wedges. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the pieces are crisp. Place on a cooling rack and let cool.

Cut the fruit into cubes. Gently mix the fruit together in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together jam, honey and orange juice. Pour this over the diced fruit. Mix gently. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Serve as a dip or topping for the cinnamon tortilla chips.

Nutritional analysis per serving

Serving size: About 8 chips and 1/3 cup salsa
Calories	119	Sodium	90 mg
Total fat	3 g	Total carbohydrate	21 g
Saturated fat	trace	Dietary fiber	3 g
Trans fat	0	Sugars	3.5 g
Monounsaturated fat	trace	Protein	2 g
Cholesterol	0

Main:
Maple Glazed Salmon

Ingredients

1/4 cup maple syrup
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 pounds salmon, cut into 6 equal-sized fillets
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Fresh mint or parsley for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together the maple syrup, garlic and balsamic vinegar. Heat just until hot and remove from heat. Pour half of the mixture into a small bowl to use for basting, and reserve the rest for later.

Pat the salmon dry. Place skin-side down on the baking sheet. Brush the salmon with the maple syrup mixture. Bake about 10 minutes, brush again with maple syrup mixture, and bake for another five minutes. Continue to baste and bake until fish flakes easily, about 20 to 25 minutes total.

Transfer the salmon fillets to plates. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and top with reserved maple syrup mixture. Garnish with fresh mint or parsley and serve immediately.

Nutritional analysis per serving

Serving size: 1 fillet
Calories	314	Sodium	152 mg
Total fat	14 g	Total carbohydrate	21 g
Saturated fat	3 g	Dietary fiber	1 g
Monounsaturated fat	5 g	Protein	25 g
Cholesterol	69 mg

Dessert:
Red Wine, Dark Chocolate, and Strawberries.
Strawberries and Cream

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (reserve 6 whole for garnish)

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, brown sugar and liqueur.

In a large bowl, add the halved strawberries and sour cream mixture. Stir gently to mix. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.

Scoop the strawberries into 6 colorful bowls or chilled sherbet glasses. Garnish with whole strawberries and serve immediately.

Nutritional analysis per serving

Serving size: About 2/3 cup
Calories	134	Sodium	114 mg
Total fat	trace	Total carbohydrate	27 g
Saturated fat	trace	Dietary fiber	2 g
Monounsaturated fat	trace	Protein	3 g
Cholesterol	0 mg

Hope all of you have a great day :)
How have you spent your Valentine's day!?
Sara

Day 8: Realistic Goals

So I was watching the first episode of Hey Frase! Which stars a member of my favorite radio show back at home, the Kane Show! In this episode full of girly humor, Sarah Fraser talks about her struggle with weight and how she has struggled with body image. Being a person who has also struggled with body image (if not to the same extent has she has), I understand where she is coming from. But something that struck me is the advice given by all the women on the program: Be happy with yourself. 





This is something I was talking about with my roommate the other day. I always struggled with weight loss and diets because they are short term drastic unrealistic goals that only end up hurting your psyche and not helping in the long run. After a while, I found who I was and accepted my body type and am happy with myself. Unfortunately, this also does not bode well for losing weight, because I was happy with who I was, I was indifferent (since I am a healthy weight if not a few lbs over) because I was not at a weight that would directly effect my health. Great, so now I have thrown all hope of losing weight for the sake of losing weight out the window.

The purpose of this blog is to show people that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a more realistic way of making yourself a better, happy, healthier, (slimmer) person.


One thing I cannot be indifferent about is the health of my heart. My heart (while does very much depend on the weight of a person), is not something I could overlook because it is also influenced by genetics and other manageable variables in my life. I decided to write this blog to track small daily and weekly (and overall monthly) goals that will help lead me to a healthier lifestyle and keep my heart pumping a bit happier.

Once you are good to your heart, you can be good to your body.
It is difficult for me to explain, but if you make small daily goals to achieve for your heart health you will see the pounds fall off of you with out thinking that you are even trying. Watching a scale will only make you feel defeated. Instead, trust your body, skin, clothes and how you emotionally feel about yourself. Once you do that, I promise you will notice a difference in at least your mental and physical health.


Okay so as the title suggests today is a day for Realistic goals. The whole point of 30 day challenges is that they are easier to maintain then a "new year's resolution." Also, it takes 30 days to form a habit, so after those 30 days you may not want to stop performing those tasks.

Make short term goals that are a lot easier to accomplish.

Mine are
0.5miles of running added every week.
eat at least 1 salad every day.
do 1 thing every day that is good for my heart (and blog about it)


I weighed myself the other day after working out. But I will not weigh myself again until I complete this month's challenge.

Have a good day!
Sara

Day 6/7: Relaxation

Yesterday I did a bit of work (not enough to reduce stress) on my assignments. But my roommate and I went to the gym and did an hour workout. This may be a good work out to do if people are beginning to build up cardio.
Adjust  this to your own level!

Repeats:

1. We did 6-8 minutes of running
2. Dips- A kettlebell (10lbs) and did 10 dips on each side (Pictured)
3. Then we did a kettlebell swing. That is where you take the kettlebell and hold it in front of you with both hands and rotate your core to both sides (10 times each).
4. After we did another 8 min of running
5. Then we used a medicine ball to do full sit ups. 10. Then do 10 more but this time lift the ball above your head. Then do 10 more but hold the ball in front of you. Then do 10 alternating sides. (Pictured)
6. 8 more minutes of running. 
7. Crunches ladder. (15 each) Legs flat in front. Bent knees. Table top (holding your legs up but bent knees). Legs straight up. and back down. 
8. 8 more minuts of running. 
9. Your done! Stretch!

I did THREE miles of running and all that ab work. I was very sore the next day but it felt great while doing it. I also got in 120 minutes of vigorous exercise this week to satisfy the AHA recommendation. 

My Heart healthy goal of Sunday was RELAXATION. Pretty easy right?

My roommate and I had a very lazy day and felt super lethargic, so then took the dog on a 1-2 mile walk on the beach! It was so beautiful yesterday. Or more accurately the dog took us for a walk. 

Other ways to relax (similar to reducing stress), is going for a walk, having a hobby to revert to.
Also having an aquarium in your home has shown to reduce stress and promote relaxation. I mean come on look how beautiful that is. 

Other ways to relax:

• Yoga
• cooking
• shopping (retail therapy)
• sleeping
• tv
• reading a book
• flying a kite
• going for a swim. 
• Basically, anything fun!

I am gonna leave you today with that picture to stare at and relax.

<3
Sara

Day 5: Reduce stress

In addition to eating well and exercising a very important way to live heart healthy is reduce the amount of stress in your life. (In some ways exercising can do that for you!)

Heart.org Stress Tips!

• When dealing with work stress, being positive is the best way to move forward. You are never going to accomplish anything to the caliber you want if you approach the work negatively. 
• Breath/Think before you say something in an argument you may regret
• Take up a hobby you can revert to when things get stressful. 
• Don't procrastinate (too much). Get the work done you need to before it piles up on you!
• Listen to music while doing something potentially stressful. 

Those are just a few ways to make your day less stressful. 

Today I am going to be studying for my Physics exam. On a Saturday. Because if I wait till next week, I will be beyond stressed about it. I am getting most of the work out of the way so I won't worry about it the night before my exam. 

Stay stress free today!

Sara

Day Four: Curb that Sweet Tooth

Today I thought I would post this article:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/getting-into-your-exercise-groove/

It is about how music can help control your speed when you run. Also, keeping your mind active will make exercise a lot more endurable if it isn't your thing!

So today I ran about a mile (no treadmills so I am not sure how much I actually did today).
But I had greek yogurt with granola and some black berry jam in it for breakfast
Chicken and potato left overs (lunch)
And a quinoa burger and salad for dinner!

The Quinoa Burgers are SUPER yummy,
here is my roommates and my recipe. (it is super specific as you will see):

1 can black beans
1 - 2 cans of kidney beans
1 cup (dry) of quinoa
1/2-1cup of panko bread crumbs
1-2 eggs
1/2 cup Low fat cheese (shredded)
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Oregano/Basil

1) Cook quinoa until tender. in about 2-2 1/2 cups of water.
2) Mash all the beans together, stir in panko crumbs and cheese.
3) add cooked quinoa, one egg at a time (you might need two if it is too crumbly), and then add the shredded cheese.
4) season to taste
5) On a nonstick griddle spoon the mixture on the pan (medium to high heat) and flatten and shape into patties. Cook about 2-4 minutes on each side. Be careful about the patties crumbling. FLIP CAREFULLY!

Serve on whole wheat bread or buns with avocado, cheese, spinach, siracha, ketchup etc. They are super yummy.

Below are just more pictures, my salad and my delicious natural low sodium peanut butter. High in protein!

SO my tips to how to curb your sweet tooth-- as I searched my fridge for something yummy to eat:

1) Keep fruit around the house, berries, apples, oranges etc. That way you have something healthy and sweet.

2) If fresh fruit doesn't quite have the same ring to is as ice cream, then try fruit pops-- the natural kind not the artificial flavor kind. 

3) if fruit bars stilllll aren't sounding like the perfect treat on a summers day, try sorbet. It is dairy free, creamy like ice cream, and is normally good for you!

4) And if none of those work out for you, my friend Morgan says sweet tarts are the dessert of the future.

5)AND Finally if you feeling particularly indulgent, then a glass of red wine, with some strawberries and dark chocolate will be an antioxidant DREAM.

Soooo tomorrow will be different from the food and fitness aspect of heart health! So check in with me tomorrow!

Sara

Day Three: Keeping it up

Today won't be a very interesting blog post day.

I am going to combine my healthy eating and my exercise day. So after I stress myself out doing my thesis work, I am going to go to the gym and accomplish my 2 miles. MIND OVER MATTER!

The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week. This can be broken up in to daily, every other day short or long segments.
If you do not think you are sports inclined they recommend to START WALKING. That website has lots of tools to help you start a walking schedule. Of course please consult your doctor before you start any exercise program. (Friendly disclaimer). To tell if you are doing moderate or vigorous exercise do a talking test, if you are breaking a sweat but can still talk it is moderate, if you can only say a few words before needing a breath it is vigorous.

After my Father had his heart attack, he clearly wasn't in any fit form to start training for a marathon, but he needed to do something to keep his heart active, so he started walking around a track. It is simple, but it works.

Every mile you accomplish (on land) burns approximately 100 calories. As you can see, if you start living a more heart healthy lifestyle, you will most probably start to lose weight too!

If you don't think walking or running or general gym exercises are for you, then try joining a class, Zumba, pilates, spinning etc. Or join a club sport: Ultimate Frisbee, Horseback riding, swimming. Buy yourself lessons, Tennis, swimming etc. If you pay for lessons, you feel obligated to go! My favorite not gym exercise-- okay there are a couple- is swimming and riding.
Also, find a friend. If you find someone to work out with it makes it a lot more fun!

WebMD has a comprehensive list of information about exercises/types/amounts you should do/ etc. They also have a heart rate calculator.

Okay now for the fun part of this post!
Yesterday I had the Stuffed avocado recipe and I think I am going to have it again today for lunch! it was super yummy :). If you don't like salmon, tuna or crab meat would work just as well -- though salmon is healthier and more sustainable.
Last night for dinner I had, baked pineapple BBQ chicken with roasted rosemary and garlic purple potatoes. (which I have left overs so I will probably have that tonight as well).

A Heart Healthy Twist on Scones (who said you couldn't enjoy yourself and be healthy too!)

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup trans fat-free buttery spread
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Mix flours, baking powder and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Cut in buttery spread until crumbly. Add berries and chocolate chips. Mix gently. Mix yogurt and honey together in a small bowl. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture, mixing until just blended. Place ball of dough on countertop. Knead one or two times. Roll into a 1/2-inch-thick circle. Cut into 12 wedges. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl. Sprinkle over top of scones. Bake at 400 F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Nutritional analysis per serving

Serving size: 1 scone
Calories	152	Sodium	165 mg
Total fat	5 g	Total carbohydrate	23 g
Saturated fat	1.5 g	Dietary fiber	2 g
Monounsaturated fat	2.5 g	Protein	4 g
Cholesterol	trace

Happy Baking!
Sara