Not Your Grandma's Slaw

Last week I had my laparoscopy surgery for my Endometriosis and I was smart enough to have a SPUD.ca order delivered the next day so I would have fresh food without having to go to the grocery store. I though it would be important to have healthy and nutritious foods afterwards for healing. 

Anyways, for lunch I was just cravings something a bit sweet and tangy and crunchy so I threw together this amazing slaw, that I think get's tastier as leftovers too!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a red cabbage
• 1/2 an apple
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
•  1 tsp lemon juice

1. Cut all the veggies into strip pieces about the same width.
2. Mix all the wet ingredients together. 
3. Mix everything and enjoy,
4. I find this taste a bit better after its been sitting for a bit too, so you can totally make it ahead of time!

Get $20 off your SPUD.ca order of $50 or more using the code : CREDM-NEIJEA

Digestive Smoothie

It's said that the mix of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and coriander are a powerful digestion stimulator. Although I kept the corainder out of the smoothie (that I think would be too weird...) this smoothie has antioxidants, digestive aids and healthy fats great for hormone function. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup kale (I used frozen chopped kale)
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger
• teaspoon cardamom
• teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 scoop vanilla protein
• Water to desired consistency. (I like this one a little more on the watery side)

Love, 

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife.

Quinoa Kale Cakes

Quinoa Kale Cakes, say that three times fast! Growing up my best friend was Polish. Her mom was thick accent, moved from the motherland only a few yeas ago Polish. She was a stern but wonderful woman that was always trying to feed me. Always. She made these delicious morsels called potato pancakes I adore. She made them for me sometimes when I wasn't getting her daughter into trouble. Hehe. I have never been able to perfect the potato pancake quite like her, but I like to think these quinoa cakes are a healthier version that do hers a tiny bit of justice. 

These cakes are not very stable or hold together until they are cooking ( a lot like potato pancakes), but once the cheese crisps up and the eggs cook they firm up a bit. So do not fret!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked quinoa (I like to precook more then this and additional quinoa can be used in salads for lunch throughout the week.)
• 1 cup egg whites OR 3 large eggs. 
• 1 cup fine chopped kale. Removing the hard stem first.
• 1.5 cups cheese. I used Mozzarella, but I've also used Parmesan or Cheddar.  
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Remove the hard stems from the kale. 

How to:

1. Preheat eh pan to a medium high heat.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl really well. 
3. Scoop up about 2 tbsp of mixture and place in the pan, spreading it out a bit. 
4. Flip when the edges start to brown a bit.
5. Press down to cook the other side flattening and remove from heat when done. 
6. Enjoy alone or I like Thai chili sauce or any condiment to you hearts desire!

Serve as a side dish or eat on their own!

Uncomplicating Fitness, Health & Nutrition

We live in a world of information at our every turn. Need an answer?, within seconds and a few taps we have an answer. This is amazing, but at the same time overwhelming.

My goal with this blog, with everything I do in regards to health, fitness, yoga and nutrition is with the goal in mind to make it simple and approachable. 

I was having a conversation with someone about fitness and they said to me "I wish I was one of these people into working out and fitness". You know what I said? "I said that exact same thing 6 years ago." I tried many different things, running, weights, yoga, bikini competing, home DVD's, macro counting, gym group classes and so on. My love of fitness just sort of developed as I tried new things. 

We all start somewhere and I think so of us "fitness people" forget that a little. There is always new research coming out for better ways to work out and nutrition tips and so on. I think that is the most overwhelming part. We don't want to start working out, put time and effort in to find out we could do it an easier and better way? Burn fat faster or build muscle more efficiently right?

But I believe that's part of the fitness journey.  Trying things, finding out they don't work and trying something else. As I said in my Love Your Fitness blog post, try a bunch of things, find what you love and go with it. Who cares if it really burns fat the fastest if you hate doing it. What is there is a more efficient way at building muscle, but it draws everything out of you mentally to do it. Is it really that much more effective? Just MOVE YOUR BODY!

Experiment with eating styles even. In a world of paleo, macro counting, clean eating, gluten free, vegan and so on, there is more then one way to get to whatever your goal is. Try something new. 

Health tips are another one. I remember years ago eating pomegranates was a huge craze, stores couldn't keep them in stock. It was the new superfood. Kale, almonds, arugula, turmeric, lemon water etc. Try some new stuff and what you like/what works for you is what you need.

The only thing I will say, is give it some time. With each thing you try, give it some time without giving up so quickly. But if you like what you are doing and it feels good, it's likely not going to be that hard! If you like it you are more likely to stick with it, so tell nay sayers of your workout or eating choices to shove it!

Love, 

Jen

Restart, Do Over, Just Try Again!

Tomorrow is February 1st. A time to reflect on our year so far. Many of us set resolutions or intentions for the month, year etc and now it's time to check in. 

According to Static Brain only 8% of people complete their new years resolutions. This makes me wonder why? In our world of immediate access to information and usually access to the tools we need to do almost anything we want in life, why do we set goals for ourselves and then forget them?

I imagine there is many reasons, that are very personal to each and every one of us. And that is okay. You are trying your best.

That said, let's take February 1st as our "restart", January was our trial run and we can try again. Let's take it past that though. After February 1st you will likely fall off track from whatever your goal or resolution may be. That important thing is you try and try again. 

Seldom do things go the way we plan they will. When we hit traffic on our way to work, or a meeting doesn't go how we thought it would, do we turn our cars around and drive back home? Do we walk out half way through the meeting? Not usually. So why do we do this with goals? Why do we say "Crap, I fumbled on my diet plan" or "I didn't put away the money I planned to the past two weeks" and believe we just weren't meant for success? 

Get back on the horse, ride through the rough patches and the gentle strolls and reflect on maybe this is what your success looks like. Perfectionism isn't real. Think about anything you've accomplished in your life. Did it go perfectly? Would it have been as fun or as much of a learning experience if it did?

Good luck to you, in whatever your goals are. Just keep trying again. 

Love, 

Jen

PMS Smoothie

Aunt Flow likes to visit every month, and while she is a natural process in life, most of us aren't fans. Check out this smoothie recipe for some relief before she packs her bags and leaves

The base is Raspberry Leaf Tea that’s been brewed and chilled. Some moms might know this from being pregnant to try and induce labor. It has antispasmodic properties (supresses muscle spasm) that helps with cramping.

The flaxseed has essential fatty acid that also helps relieves symptoms and aid in proper grandular function (hormome balance).

The kiwi and spinach are high in calcium for backache, cramping and nervousness. The higher magnesium contents in these foods, also helps you absorb the calcium.  Banana’s potassium and B6 help with water retention, not to mention have the right sweetness to kill the sugar craving.

Recipe:

• 1 Cup of cooled Raspberry Leaf Tea (less or more depending on how thick you like your smoothies)
• 1 tablespoon flaxseeds
• 2 kiwis peeled
• 1 cup frozen mango
• half a banana
• 1 cup spinach
• handful of ice cubes

Blend smooth and enjoy!

Love, 

Jen

Helping Healthy Friends

Welcome to 2016! Happy New Year! With New Years, as usual comes New Year’s resolutions. And with these also comes New Year’s resolutions posts. Fitness and health blogs all around the world writing endlessly with tips and tricks you should do to help you achieve your goals this year. My post is a bit different. 

I recently had a friend speak to me about helping change a friend. She has concerns for her health and well-being. Physically, mentally, emotionally. Knowing that many of the emotional and mental well-being has to do with the physical. Health, not just body image. I’ve had many friends ask me for advice on nutrition, exercise, weight loss, stress, etc, and to be honest I tell them what I think they “should” do.

During my yoga teacher training, my teachers said something that really stuck with me. “Stop shoulding all over people”. Funny? Yes. True? Even more yes.

I’ve spent hours giving advice to friends, solicited or not (guilty), about diet and exercise. And after thinking on my own experiences and to be a little bit of a hypocrite the advice I gave my friend for her friend was this:

You can’t force her to change her life. It has to be on her own accord. She has to seek it out. She has been given advice and suggestions and they’ve never stuck. My guess; likely because she didn’t feel it to be her own solution, or supported the way she needs. She needs to Find Her Own Village.

Next time she complains of her weight or health issues, maybe we need to stop “shoulding” on our friends and family and start asking them how we can help. What would you like to change? How can I help you make that change? How can I support you in your journey?

I believe we hear/see everything we “should” or should not do. We know we SHOULDN’T eat junk food. We know we SHOULD exercise. We know we SHOULD eat leafy greens. We know this already. 

Listen to our friends and family when they start wanting change. Listen to ourselves when we wish to change. How can you help yourself? How can you find the support you seek? Maybe that’s really what we crave. Or what really makes the difference? 

I wish you love, happiness, peace and laughter in the New Year.

Love,

Jen