Suzie Homemaker Alert!!

This crazy thing has been happening this past weekend.  I've been spending more time in the kitchen (insert sexist joke here).  I've decided that I want to save WAY more money, so that I can possibly move away from Omaha after I get my degree.  I noticed I tend to spend the most amount of wasted money on food from Panera or Blue Planet Natural Grill (a local restaurant that only makes food from fresh ingredients and doesn't fry anything!).  

They are both AMAZE-BALLS, but let's face it..they're not saving me anything.  I started searching on Pinterest and the internet for healthy, easy-to-make meals for myself.  Here's what I've come up with so far:

Grain Free Tortillas and Tacos
 

Makes 1 large tortilla or 2 small

Tortilla:

2 tbsp almond flour

1/2 tbsp water

1 egg

Mix together and cook on med heat skillet.  Flip when golden brown (about 3min). Cook for another 2-3min

Top with choice of meat, veggies, and other taco toppers.  In this picture I have ground turkey, lettuce, and organic salsa

Naked Turkey Burgers (from Muscle and Fitness Hers)

Makes 7 small turkey burgers

1lb ground turkey
1egg white
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 garlic powder
1/4 poultry seasoning
2tsp Dijon mustard
(I also added 1/4 cup bread crumbs)

Combine all ingredients and divide into patties
Cook on skillet or grill! (It was too cold to fire up the grill so I opted for the skillet)

Sweet Potato Chips

1 sweet potato
1tsp olive oil

Cut thin with mandolin (I LOVE MY MANDOLIN!)
Toss with olive oil and spread on cooking sheet (make sure they don't overlap)
Cook at 400 for 25-30min

Also, I made the turkey burgers and sweet potato chips on the same day, so I decided to top the burgers with some chips.  My only remark--WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THIS BEFORE?!?

Avocado, Egg, and Bacon Bake (from Pinterest- not sure who made it)

It's pretty simple:
Cut avocado, take out pit and about 3/4 of the insides and save for meals
Put in cooking pan WITH LIPS!! (this is so the avocado doesn't roll over and dump out the egg). 
CAREFULLY pour egg in each side of the avocado.
Sprinkle on top UNCOOKED bacon
Bake at 425 for at least 15min (more if you like your egg cooked well- like me)

...Oh and for anyone that thinks eating little to nothing is the way to go..well here's my answer..

YEAH..I eat a lot of food!!

"Cheat" and Off Days..and some more

So I have learned from my trainer that everyone needs a day off or a so-called "cheat" day.  Where you ignore your diet and your workouts for one day a week.  It allows your body, mind, and muscles to totally recoup from the weeks workouts and get ready for the upcoming week.  It also allows your to "cheat" on your diet, so that you don't go completely crazy from being so strict with yourself.

Of course, I have been making myself participate in these days and most the time I embrace them, but there are some days (like today) when I feel guilty about not working out or sticking to my diet.  Am I the only one with these thoughts??  Which is why I try and remind myself that these days are not making me weaker, but making me stronger.  I know it is because this thursday when I was at training we took measurements and I have put on 4 lbs, but lost inches everywhere.  Which means I'm losing fat and putting on more muscle- which I'm TOTALLY okay with.

This putting on muscle reminds me of a few blogs/facebook pages I have found and am completely inspired by.  One is "Strong is the New Skinny" and "Girls Gone Strong".  I love these because they are all about promoting women's strength as beautiful and sexy.  They aren't showing pictures of anorexic looking, 90lb, 6ft models.  They're applauding women throwing up weights with the guys, completing marathons, and living life to be healthy and happy.  I'm so glad that these are becoming a more common sight because I grew up short and stalky because of my genetics and never thought anything was wrong, but everyone in all the magazines and other places said you had to be extremely tall and skinny to be pretty.  I noticed very young how it affected young girls because I was in dance class growing up and girls when I was 10, 11, and 14 were talking about how they needed to lose weight and were too fat...REALLY???  We didn't even have boobs yet and girls wanted to go on diets?  That's why people like the ones running the blogs/facebook pages from above inspire me because I don't want little girls to ever think like that or if I ever have a daughter I never want that to run through her mind either.  These two pictures (from the mentioned pages) really explain the need for us to praise the strong, healthy women over stage models, not just for us, but for girls still to come.

Well enough with that rant...my last subject: expanding my name and contacts with the fitness/ nutrition industry.  Like, I had mentioned in a previous post I want to start spreading my name out in the fitness community, so first off I am going to be a spin instructor starting next month (CAN'T WAIT) and until I can actually start personal training once I get my certification I have started this blog and now have a twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/HardbodyMaureen...so please "follow" it and share this with people you think might like it!

Til next time!

Mo