Mindfulness

Posted on 10/27/2013 by Dawn Silva/InitiateWellness

Since yesterday I have made much better food choices due to the fact that I promised you that I’d post daily. It’s interesting that when we are being held accountable, we can stick closer with our intentions.

Last night for dinner I had only one serving and I made sure the portion was reasonable.

So far today I have done pretty well. I began with one egg scrambled with a full serving of sauteed spinach and about 1/3 of an avocado-it was plenty to get my day started.

For lunch I had a simple sandwich of turkey, I added another full serving of baby spinach instead of lettuce but I also added a slice of Swiss cheese. We’re all a work in progress though so I don’t feel too badly.

My next step for the day is to drink water…I haven’t had much at all today….ok, not any yet – I’ve been drinking warm coffee so far but I promise when I’m done here I will fill my jug with water and drink (coffee, another vice I need to eliminate or at least reduce)

9pm update- I drank water, not nearly enough though but I hesitate to continue much more at this hour-I don’t want to be up all night-

Dinner was healthy, I made a homemade chicken rice and veggie soup, but had a sandwich with it. Tomorrow less bread for me-well, that’s my goal. I’m done with food for the rest of the night though.

What are your vices and what kinds of things sabotage your intentions? How did you do today with your choices?

Start Today, Start Every Day!

Posted on 10/26/2013 by Dawn Silva/InitiateWellness

If you read ‘my story’ you have a pretty good idea of where I’m at in my life. Today is day one of my personal journey for weight loss and emotional growth. My goal is to lose at least 16 pounds. To some, 16 pounds doesn’t sounds like much of a journey but it doesn’t matter if you’re trying to lose 5 pounds or 500 pounds, it’s your personal journey and it matters to you.

Upon weighing myself this morning, my current weight is 156 and I’m 5’4″ tall. I’m 50 years old, a young fifty thank you I’m most comfortable with my weight being 135-140, at this point I’ll settle for 140, so my goal for now is 140 or 16 pounds. What’s my time limit? I don’t have one but if I had to choose I would say 4-6 months, either by my next birthday Feb 21st or just as Spring 2014 sets in.

My first steps are:

1- setting an intention – (check)

2- setting a goal – (check)

3- sharing it with you (check)

4- diet? no! Eat healthy? YES!

5- is there cheating? No such word on my journey…getting back on track daily is my rule and sharing honestly with you is my promise

6- I’m ready! Are you?

My intentions for today is to drink at least 50 ounces of water and to eat no less than 5 servings of vegetables and 1 fruit.

* Let me share with you that the foods I eat are whole foods, no boxed/processed/prepared foods. I don’t typically use frozen foods except perhaps frozen vegetables that have no seasonings or sauces, and I try to stick with organic as often as possible. I’m a label reader, it’s an important habit to adopt, I steer clear of MSG, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners and some natural sweeteners such as Stevia. Overall, my diet is healthy, my breakfast choices, portion sizes and lack of physical activity are often my ‘bad habits’. Being a health coach, I know what I should be doing, this is my inspiration to do it while helping you do it too!

My Kitchen Takeover & Pumpkin Cookies

Posted on 10/16/2013 by Dawn

My son, Ryan, spent 4 months on the west coast. He returned home Oct. 1st and he’s staying with me until he finds a place to relocate. He’s 26 and fun to have around so I’m enjoying it while it lasts. I think about how fun it would be to have my youngest here too, like old times; they grow far too fast!

Last week I found myself sharing my kitchen with him. We had run a few errands together and finished with one last stop at the farm stand in town; I’m so greatful that it’s still open! We picked up lots of fresh, local goodies including a 5 lb. pumpkin that he wanted to carve.

He began cleaning out the pumpkin and carving a lot of the inside flesh out so that the light would shine through the flesh of the engraving he planned on doing.

Being my son, he thought it a waste to throw the good squash away so he baked it in a casserole dish with a hint of salt for about an hour. After it was cooked through he pureed it in the blender until it was smooth, lined a colandar with paper towel, set it over a large measuring cup and added the puree and left it to drain. After about an hour or so he decided to make pumpkin cookies from a recipe he found on the internet.

The cookies were delicious and it was nice to see my kitchen being used by someone other than me.

I thought I’d share them with you, enjoy!

Here’s the link to the recipe Ryan used: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/32364/old-fashioned-soft-pumpkin-cookies/detail.aspx

Celery Juice for Better Sleep

Posted on 10/02/2013 by Dawn

I have something interesting and exciting to share! Anyone who really knows me, knows that I’m a pretty poor sleeper. I feel tired, I go to bed, I toss and turn for hours. I limit my caffeine intake to mostly mornings only but it doesn’t quite matter-although if I drink caffeine in the afternoon, I’m wide awake till the sunrises again!

So what’s my big deal? Last Friday I decided to juice 2-3 ribs of celery, knowing that celery is a natural sleep inducer but not quite believing it would help. It helped the first 2 nights but I thought I was just THAT tired, it’s coincidence. I continued each night with about 2 ribs of celery and have been sleeping surprisingly well, not drugs just food!! Wow!

Last night, it was late when I thought of it and I didn’t want to clean the juicer, which in fact is easy, but I decided to try my small magic bullet. I used 2 ribs of celery, cut it small enough to fit in the cup, added water to just cover the celery so it would actually move around, and blended it for a good 2-3 minutes. While it was smooth, it was a bit textured, not the best feeling but through a straw, it went down easily enough and again, I slept well!

You could always snack on 2-3 ribs before bed too, just chew it well! I prefer to extract the nutrients and drink it so that my body will absorb it quickly and easily. Give it a try; let us know how it works for you!

Browned Tempeh with Marinara Snack

Posted on 09/18/2013 by Dawn

It looks unhealthy but it’s not! :)

While I don’t normally make a habit of eating soy, once in awhile it’s okay as a treat.
Tempeh is low in fat, low in sodium, high in protein & potassium, has no cholesterol, has some calcium vitamin B6, magnesium, B12 and 25% iron per cup.

Slice 1 block of tempeh into 1/4″ slices, heat oil in pan and brown tempeh on both sides. Add your favorite healthy dipper into a cup. Use marinara sauce, peanut butter with a dash of tamari sauce and chili powder, or a lighter yogurt/cucumber dip.

Potato, Fresh Corn & Leek Chowder with Celeriac

Posted on 09/17/2013 by Dawn

In my attempt to eat less during dinner I’m trying to eat more vegetable based soups before the main course.

I decided to use fresh veggies that I recently picked up from the local farm stand. A few of the highlight veggies turned out to make one fabulous soup!

Here’s the recipe:
3 large potatoes

3-6 leeks, cleaned, green part trimmed off

2 celery roots, peeled and chopped

3 strips of bacon, I used all natural, no nitrates or nitrites (Omit if vegan dish is preferred)

4 cups water

2 cups almond milk

2 ears fresh corn, kernels removed

Salt and Pepper

Chop bacon into tiny bits and sautee in large pot until crisp-if not using bacon, heat 3 tablespoons of olive, grape seed or sunflower oil, add chopped celeriac (celery root), potatoes, leeks and water, add salt and simmer low for 30 minutes. Add corn and almond milk, heat through.

Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with pepper and enjoy!

Sautéed Squash and String Beans

Posted on 09/16/2013 by Dawn

It’s easy!

Grab a few handfuls of string beans,

1 zucchini

1 summer (yellow crookneck) squash

2 garlic cloves, peeled & minced or pressed

2-3 Tbs. Olive oil

2 Tbs. tamari or soy sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a medium-high heated pan and sautee for about 5 minutes until veggies are tender-crisp.

Sorghum

Posted on 09/05/2013 by Dawn

My new favorite gluten free grain

You can pop it like you would make popcorn, simmer it and use it in a wide variety of ways.
I made a curried sorghum salad from Bob’s Red Mill sorghum.

I did pop some too, it tasted good and looked like cute little popcorn!

Zucchini & Kale Soup

Posted on 08/19/2013 by Dawn

1 lg zucchini (or 4 small), chopped
8 lg leaves kale, cut into thin ribbons
1 lg sweet onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch fresh ginger peeled & chopped
2 tbsp olive or grapeseed oil
4 cups broth
1/4 tsp. Turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup coconut milk
Salt & black pepper to taste

Heat oil in large saucepan, add zucchini & onion, cook on medium until onions are soft. Add broth, garlic, ginger, half of the kale and spices. Simmer until zucchini is cooked, about 30 minutes; using a hand blender, puree until smooth. Add coconut milk, salt if needed and remaining kale- simmer 10 minutes, add freshly ground pepper and seeds ~ serve & enjoy!