It's a Veggieful Life

Love is a Many-Blended Thing

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 9:34 am by Melissa

Yes, I know. A sad attempt at a play on words from the song and movie “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing” (which, until today, I believed to be “splendid” until looking up the exact title…). I like being witty. After all, my website’s name is a play on my favorite movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Anywho, back to my new love. I thought there could be no better appliance than my front-load washer. Then I got the LG bottom-freezer refrigerator with the french doors and ice maker on top. THEN I got the Blendtec blender last week. Nothing has brought me more pleasure than…well…let’s not go there. BUT suffice it to say that this blender is well worth its weight in gold. Literally. The sucker cost $399 (with free shipping from Amazon.com)!!

After reading many reviews, asking for suggestions (none of which I took of course), and watching numerous “Will It Blend?” videos, I decided to go for broke and get the Blendtec. Some of you may ask “Why the Blendtec over the Vitamix?” Well, there were a few reasons. The Blendtec is more “counter-friendly” taking up less room and fitting underneath low cupboards. The Blendtec has higher horsepower, amps, and watts. The Blendtec has a lifetime guarantee on the coupling and blade. The Blendtec has more buttons. The Blendtec comes in pretty colors (although I ended up getting “plain” white).

And the Blendtec has some awesome “Will It Blend?” videos. Truly, that was the main reason I went with Blendtec. I mean, have you seen the one where they blend that stoopid vuvuzela from World Cup 2010? I wish I’d seen this while the World Cup was still going on. And next year, I think ALL vuvuzelas should be put through the Blendtec!

What did I blend with the Blendtec? Well, it wasn’t the vuvuzela or my iPhone (there’s a video for that too). So far, I’ve done smoothies, soup, and whole fruit juice.

Up until now, I’ve been using a Cuisinart PowerBlend that just wasn’t cutting it. I thought the Cuisinart was expensive when I bought it over a year ago (while still living in Minnesota) and I hoped it would do miracles. My mistake. The jar is a PITA (pain in the ass) – as is the lid – to clean and things kept getting bogged down so that I’d have to stop it, stir things up or let things “melt” a bit before restarting it. The secret to great smoothies is frozen fruit and with the Cuisinart, smoothies were pretty good. But nothing compared to the smoothies made with the Blendtec. What a world of difference! It’s like having a real milkshake without even any ice cream. The “Smoothie” cycle speeds up and slows down automatically, and stops automatically (as does every cycle except “Pulse”) and the result is a five-star dessert. A healthy five-star dessert!

For lunch yesterday I tried making soup. I thought it was crazy to have soup come out of the blender hot and ready to eat. But it worked. I made a tomato & cheese soup from the ginormous 300+ recipe book that came with the Blendtec.

Tomato Cheese Soup

1 large tomato – quartered
¼ cup onion
¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese – shredded (I used 2%)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1½ tsp vegetable bouillon
1 cup hot water (my water was warm)
Salt & pepper to taste ( I also added a tsp of sugar)

Place ingredients into blender jar and secure the lid. Press “Soups/Syrups/Fondues” and watch the magic happen. If the soup isn’t hot enough after the first cycle, you can press the “Soups” button again.

I added a tsp of crumbled blue cheese on top. I toasted some sandwich rounds, cut them into triangles, and had a delicious, healthy lunch. The recipe made about 2½ cups of soup (I had 1 cup).

Later in the afternoon, after Nicholas came home from his first day of Second Grade, I made some juice.

Mega Fruit Mix

1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)
1 mango – peeled, cored & sliced (I used cubed frozen, defrosted)
½ banana
½ cup baby carrots
1 Tbsp sugar (I didn’t add the sugar)
½ cup ice

Place ingredients in jar in order as listed and secure the lid. Press the “Whole Juice” button. Voila!

I think I’ll use a little more ice next time to make it thinner.

The consistency was somewhere between a smoothie & juice, and it was really yummy. Nicholas loved it and demanded more!

I know spending $399 on a blender sounds crazy! But it really is amazing. It fits in perfectly with the healthy eating I’m trying to get the entire family to enjoy. I’m looking forward to making my own salsa later this week and maybe even some bread (yes, it mixes bread dough!)

Have you ever “splurged” on an item? Did you later regret your decision or were you ultimately happy? What’s your favorite blender/mixer recipe?

Tags: Blendtec, Product Review, Recipe

Posted in Products, Recipes | 1 Comment »

Do You Feel Beautiful?

Thursday, July 22, 2010 10:29 am by Melissa

There aren’t many places on the Internet nowadays whose sole purpose it is to create positive energy; however, Operation Beautiful does just that. Created by Caitlin Boyle, the movement began when Caitlin left a post-it note saying “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL” on a public restroom mirror. Soon thereafter, women were leaving uplifting notes all over the place: restaurants, gyms, grocery stores…and the rest, as they say, is history.

So, now we come to the fruition of all this positivity with the release of Caitlin’s book, “Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-it Note at a Time.” I don’t have a copy of the book yet, but I do have it pre-ordered (it comes out August 3rd) through Amazon and I can’t wait to get it!

From the Amazon website description:

Tired of watching women pick themselves apart in front of the mirror, blogger Caitlin Boyle scribbled a note on a Post-it: “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!” and slapped it on the mirror of a public bathroom. With one small act, she kick-started a movement. In a matter of days, women were undertaking their own feats of resistance, posting uplifting notes on gym lockers, diet shakes in supermarkets, weight-loss guides in bookstores, and anywhere else a nagging voice of self-criticism might lurk. Emboldening and contagious, the “operation” has attracted widespread attention from the media, including the New York Daily News and salon.com.

Operation Beautiful showcases the notes women have posted around the world and the stories behind them, along with interviews, interesting research findings, and tips for improving one’s outlook on life. Blending a confessional tone with gutsy observations about redefining beauty, the chapters address key issues for women of all ages, including Fighting Fat Talk, Family and Friends, Food, Fitness, Faith, and Going Forward.

While working at becoming more active and making healthier eating choices, it has been hard to keep positive at times. There are days when I look in the mirror and wonder why it’s so easy for some people. Why is she so thin when she eats junk all the time or hardly exercises? When will my abs finally show through all this flubber? How come I was skinny when I was in my 20′s and now that I’m 40 I can’t seem to get it together?!

All this negative talk gets me nowhere. I feel good when I’m working out, eating right, and having fun enjoying life to the fullest. It’s when I start comparing myself to others, and concentrating so hard on that damn number on the scale, that I start to doubt myself. That is why the bitch scale has been banished to the downstairs library closet (that’ll teach it to make me feel negative, darn it!)

I’ve wondered whether I’ll ever be beautiful no matter how hard I try. But then I remember something. I am beautiful. And it doesn’t matter if I have noticeable abs or a tight ass. Don’t get me wrong, though. I can still work toward a goal. I can strive to be “all that I can be” (isn’t that the Army?…oh well) and I can work at releasing my “inner athlete” because being healthy and active are good things. But simply being MYSELF is a great thing. After all, God made me and He doesn’t make mistakes, people. (At least none that He’s owned up to.)

No matter how thin, fit, healthy, or beautiful we actually are, we all have times in our lives when we feel less than. Less than thin. Less than fit. Less than healthy. Less than beautiful. We might actually compare ourselves to other people, wishing we had “her legs” or “her waist” or “her hair” or “her house with the in-ground pool, fully stocked bar, and whirlpool bathtub” (well, maybe that last one is just me…) Whatever the case may be, I think everyone needs to visit the Operation Beautiful site. And I think everyone needs to get their copy of “Operation Beautiful.” It will remind you that everyone is beautiful. Even YOU.

What negative self-talk do you find yourself saying? Do you compare yourself to others and usually feel inadequate? Do you know that you’re beautiful?

Tags: Caitlin Boyle, Operation Beautiful

Posted in Books, Reflections | 5 Comments »

When In Doubt, Try the Weasel Belt?

Thursday, July 15, 2010 3:59 pm by Melissa

A few weeks ago, my fitness coach Jenny told me about a blog called “Hyperbole and a Half” that is roll-on-the-floor-laugh-your-ass-off-HIGH-sterical. The writer is named Allie Brosh and she doesn’t write about anything in particular. Meaning, her blog isn’t all about “fitness” or “fashion” or “poetry.” She writes about whatever seems to enter her mind at the time. And her drawings that accompany her writing are just as hilarious. Believe me. Once you read Allie’s work, your life will be complete. Just as mine is now.

Allie’s latest post, simply entitled “Dog,” is about her attempts at figuring out whether her dog is “mentally challenged.” It’s the funniest thing I’ve read since…well, since her post before that called “This is Why I’ll Never Be an Adult.”

Allie not only writes her own blog, but she also writes posts for “the gloss” website. This is where I came across her endorsement of the Weasel Belt. At least, I believe it was an endorsement. But don’t take my word for it.

I highly recommend you read it in its entirety, but here’s a quick excerpt from her post about the Weasel Belt:

The weasels used in Weasel Belt are genetically engineered to have a deficiency in the appetite-regulating hormone leptin, so they’re always hungry! You can use Weasel Belt any time of the day or night…

…The level you choose is entirely dependent on your pain tolerance and how thin you want to be. Do you want to be just a spinal cord and a few vertebrae in the middle? No problem. You can literally be as thin as you want when you use Weasel Belt. You can be so thin that you don’t even have legs anymore because weasels ate your entire midsection and therefore there is nothing left to attach legs to your body! Look as hard as you want, but you won’t find any bullshit diet drug that can do that for you.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried some silly things in the past in order to lose weight. But I think I’ll pass on the Weasel Belt. If you decide to order one (or two or three) please be sure to let me know how it goes.

Do you have a funny website/blog that you’d like to share? Are you an avid reader of other blogs? Have you ordered your Weasel Belt yet?

Tags: Jenny

Posted in Just For Fun, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Stepping It Up

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 2:18 pm by Melissa

This week I’m meeting with Jenny, my fitness coach, every day in order to step up my workouts and blast some fat. True, I’ve been losing inches, I’ve seen a change in the way my clothes fit, and I’ve noticed that my “muffin top” (you know what I mean ladies) has shrunk quite noticeably. My sandals are even getting looser and are quite sloppy all of a sudden. Did you know your feet could lose inches? Apparently so. But the scale continues to be a bitch.

One thing I’m thankful for is that my boobs haven’t shrunk. A lot of women shrink in that area (not mentioning names here, but my sister knows what I’m talking about) but that hasn’t been my problem. I’ve had to go from the furthest notch on my bra to the tightest notch (woot!) but, as far as cup size, my girls are holding their own. Thank you God.

Last Thursday, I finished Week 4 of the Couch-to-5K Running Plan. Jogging 5 minutes at a time did get easier, but it still tested my endurance. Unfortunately, I didn’t start Week 5 on Sunday like I should have. So, it looks like that plan has been put on hold (again). BUT I’m hoping to do at least some jogging this week on top of the workouts with Jenny so that I can at least pick up with Week 5 when I’m ready to resume the program. On days when Nicholas isn’t with me and I have more time to do cardio after my hour-long session with Jenny, I hop on the Expresso bike and do a course or two plus chase some dragons. Playing games while exercising makes it seem like I’m not exercising…until the sweat starts running down my face and it feels like I’ve just gotten out of the pool…then I realize “oh, yeah, this IS exercise!” I’m still determined to get the Expresso company to give me a free bike. (A girl can dream, can’t she?)

Monday, my one-hour session went like this:

StairMaster; 4 minutes

Rope Pulldown; Level 3; 3 minutes
Medicine Ball (MB) Rotations; 15 lbs.; 20 reps
Alternate Hand Planks; 10 each arm

Repeat 1-3

Bike; Level 12; 2 minutes
1-arm dumb-bell press on swiss ball; 12 lbs.; 20 reps
Lunge w/MB twist; 20 lunges

Repeat 1-3

Arc Trainer; Level 45, 10 incline; 3 minutes
1-arm Row (or as I like to call them “one-arm ho”); 22.5 lbs.; 15 reps
Step-ups; 10 each leg

Repeat 1-3

Finish with another couple minutes on the StairMaster. THEN I did 30 minutes on the Expresso bike. Tuesday’s workout was similar, with different exercises, but separated into “mini-circuits” with cardio in between each circuit. I finished that day off with 15 minutes on the Expresso and another 15 minutes on the Arc Trainer.

One of the cardio machines Jenny loves is the StairMaster. Talk about “stepping it up”! This machine makes all other cardio machines look wimpy. As they say on their website “The workout your members love to hate.” The Arc Trainer or the Treadmill are workouts I “love to hate” but the StairMaster? I just hate it.

And today was a perfect day to share that hate with my husband Donald, because he joined me for a workout session! Woo-hoo! Jenny has been given the task of getting 10 people into the gym for a free one-hour coaching session. So, of course, I volunteered my husband. I’m all for getting him to experience the pain pleasure of an intense workout. He did pretty well, considering Jenny gave him a toned-down version of my workout, but he was embarrassed by the fact that he couldn’t do one push-up. Not even a “girlie” push-up. (Envision my grin, people.) Now my husband will really know what I’m talking about when I mention wall-sits, lunges, or the StairMaster.

I didn’t get a copy of the workout we did yet, so I can’t give you the exact run-down. But, from what I remember, we started off on the StairMaster, followed by lunges, push-ups; elliptical, planks, crunches; arc trainer, wall-sits, one-legged squats; elliptical, repeat entire circuit starting with lunges, etc.

After we were done working out and headed to our respective showers, I asked Donald if he had fun. He said, “Yes.” When I asked if he wanted to do it again tomorrow, he said “No, thank you.”

What’s your least favorite workout? Have you ever had your spouse/significant other join you while working out? Do you like working out by yourself or do you enjoy company?

Tags: Abs Diet, Cardio, Couch to 5K, Donald, Jenny

Posted in Abs Diet, Couch to 5K Running Plan, Workouts | 4 Comments »

Being Active!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 1:01 pm by Melissa

Wow, this being “active” thing has been keeping me so busy I haven’t had time to blog. I don’t understand how some bloggers have time to post entries several times a day. They must be very lax in their housekeeping, child-rearing, and just plain LIVING life.

I have enjoyed being active, cooking at home on the grill, and even taking time to sit on the front porch in this blazing hot heat (it’s been in the 90′s every day for a good two weeks straight now) to read a good book. Books that have nothing to do whatsoever with healthy eating or exercise – just good, old-fashioned smut entertaining books!

For the last two weeks, I’ve been meeting Jenny at the gym (like usual) three times a week for strength training and then taking long walks with my husband, son, and our two dogs in the evenings. Even at 8pm it’s still in the high 80′s. I’m looking forward to the cooler air moving in! On the other days (three days a week) I’ve been working on the Couch-to-5K Running Plan. Today will be W3D2 (week 3, day 2) of the running plan which includes a 5-minute warm up, followed by two reps each of 90 second jog followed by 90 seconds of walking, 3 minute jog followed by 3 minutes of walking. I did the first day on Sunday and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’m sure my 3-minute jogging was much slower than when I jog for 90 seconds; but it was jogging nonetheless!

Along with the jogging, I’m still following the Abs Diet and loving it! It is so easy, I’m never hungry, I hardly ever have cravings, and I’ve lost weight (2 lbs the first week, my next weigh-in is Thursday) which is something I haven’t done in months! I’m almost back into the 140′s and very motivated to keep up all this hard work. I turn 41 in October and I’m determined to finally post some “before” pics, but I have to have the “after” pics to go with them.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve cooked at home most nights. On the weekend, we eat out and I use that meal as my “cheat meal” per the Abs Diet program. If we do eat out during the week, it has been at one of my favorite restaurants here in town called The Tomato Head. They have amazing, organic, REAL food that is always out of the ordinary. Things like the “The Flying Lotus” Huevos Rancheros or “Black Moth Super Rainbow” Salad.

Here are some of my creations the last two weeks or so, some out of the “Abs Diet” book and some my own concoctions using foods from the Abs Diet “12 Powerfoods” list. Most evenings have ended with a snack of fat-free frozen yogurt with fruit or a low-fat brownie. Yummmm.

Bluecheese-stuffed lean beef burgers with spinach & tomato on whole wheat bun with a side of fruit

“Terry Ricotta” flatbread pizza from the Abs Diet book

Strawberry salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Lean steak salad with lettuce & spinach, carrots, peppers, and home-made bluecheese dressing

Grilled Mozzarella-stuffed tomatoes with zucchini and green pepper

(my grilled ‘maters fell apart….)

This morning for breakfast, I tried a little “yogurt apple pie” recipe a friend of mine gave me. I got the recipe from my friend Jan, who had gotten it from her daughter Sarah. Sarah’s recipe says to microwave half an apple for one minute, then chop up and add to Greek yogurt. Top with some cinnamon and chopped walnuts.

I changed it up a teeny bit. Instead of chopping up the apple and stirring it into the yogurt, I dolloped 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt onto the microwaved apple half, then topped with 2 tablespoons crumbled pecans I had “toasted” in a skillet with a sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar.