Meal Ideas

As I've mentioned in previous posts, with spring break and summer vacations creeping closely towards us there is no better time to change our diets for the better! Thus I thought i'd share a few healthy, easy and surprisingly tasty meal ideas for you to try.

Each of these can be interchanged for lunch or dinner:

Ground Turkey with chopped red onion & Parsley.
Cook on skillet 6-7 minutes per side. 

Whole wheat tortilla, re-fried beans, goat cheese, spinach leaves, red pepper and tomato. 

Baked Chicken Brest with Parmesan Couscous

Salmon filet on spinach leaves with green olives, pepperoncinis, tomato, red onion and feta. 

Our polish picks for January

Well, it’s January, quite possibly one of the most boring months of the year.  Time to remove the holiday colors and embrace the dead of winter with our best cold-weather friendly polish picks.

                            

I Don't Give a Rotterdam by OPI - This greyish blue is reminiscent of the January sky, but a little sparkle brings something special to this fun shade.

Marshmallow by Essie - Nothing says,  '2013 here I come', like a prim and proper French mani using Essie's Marshmallow, a creamy white with a touch of class.

Sand Tropez by Essie - A soft beige perfect for anyone dreaming of idyllic sandy beaches.

Storm Bird by NARS - January is a gloomy month, it's hard not to feel depressed.  This blueish-grey polish is dark and stormy to match your mood.

Suzi and the Lifeguard by OPI - This light pearlescent pink is a subtle shade perfect for those winter days when you're feeling girly. Not at all bright, this one adds just a little bit of color.

Healthy Eats

Good Morning Chicago! Boy, is it a cold one out there today!

Something about winter makes me crave a giant bowl of macaroni and cheese. Remember back in college? The dorms would have those giant buffets with all you can eat chicken tenders and mashed potatoes covered in cheese? Nom. Unfortunately, much like our sex lives, our metabolisms have really slowed since then. Thus, I thought what better way to start a Wednesday than to give some healthy meal ideas.

I've never been much of a breakfast eater myself, but if I ever want to fit into the size 28 Joe's that I bought this time last year, I'm going to have to start. Try swapping your typical Everything Bagel with Cream cheese and coffee for an Oatmeal with berries (blueberries, strawberries, grapes,etc) with green tea. (Oh and its a LOT cheaper too).  100 calories, warm and gives you energy!

In between meals I like to have a Greek yogurt. My favorite? Fage 0% Greek Yogurt (comes with fruit on the side). If the taste isn't much for you, the benefits should be. Having one Greek yogurt a day can help prevent anything from UTI's, yeast infections, bloating and overall it helps to boost your immune system.

Turkey Burger with feta cheese
crumbles and pico de gallo, no bun.

Whiting Fish with yellow peppers,
lemon, pico de gallo, chardonnay,
parmesan cheese and garlic.

For lunch and dinner I like to stick with lean protein, like fish, chicken, or turkey.

Get creative, add any vegetables you like and watch your waist get smaller and your wallet get fatter. 

Turn a Setback into a Comeback

It seems that no matter what we do, or how hard we work-the universe is not working in our favor.

There are constantly road blocks being thrown down our paths. Either we're too qualified, or not qualified enough-we have experience, but just not the 'right' experience-we're not white enough, or man enough, or in some cases just not the 'right fit'. But none of this actually has anything to do with how much we might want a job, or how many qualities we have that would make us great at it-its all about fate handing you 'your' opportunity. Just unfortunately, most of the time---for most of us, this isn't 'our' time.

All of this thought got me thinking about the things we can control, the things we do have a say in-and it started to drive me nuts that the one thing I really could change, that I really want to change--is my health. My body. For me, since a very young age, it always seemed that if I could just lose weight, my whole life would fall into place. All of those road blocks would suddenly be lifted off and a clear path would be in view. So why, if this is the case--have I never been able to follow through?

Why couldn't I just stop eating McDonald's and start running? What was SO hard about that?

There have many times where I've made strong waves of accomplishment, for months I'll diet and exercise--and lose a decent amount of weight-but eventually, the losing would come to stand-still, and I'd start to hear Beef N' Cheddar's calling my name-and the next thing you know I'm back to square one.

So this time, I decided to wait until after most peoples New Years Resolutions fell off. I didn't want to be one of those. Not to mention the fact that ditching my weekly Pizza Box tradition was a lot harder than I had expected--and I didn't get in to the gym until 2 weeks after my diet started which is really pretty pathetic considering all that i have to do to get there...is walk downstairs.

So what do you do when you run out of excuses? Get running, literally.

First and foremost: Make a list of your weekly work out intention for the month. Be realistic about it. Don't pick Friday, when you know, that no matter what, you will find an excuse not to work out that day. Make Friday your rest day, and you won't wind up feeling guilty for not working out.

When you make this schedule, plan what type of exercise you'll do on which days.

As an Example:

Sunday: 45 Minutes Cardio
Monday: Weight Lift, choose either upper/lower body
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: If you have a gym membership, check out their group fitness classes. My pick, Boot Camp
Thursday: 45 Minutes Cardio
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Weight Lift, switch from Monday

If you are anything like me, you'll wait until late April to get into shape for the summer and realize that its not going to happen. So lets do ourselves both a favor, and get started now. North Avenue Beach here we come!