Clam Chowder

3 (6 1/2 oz.) cans minced Clams
6 medium Red Potatoes, diced
3/4 cup Celery, chopped
3/4 cup Onion, chopped
4 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Celery Salt
3/4 cup Butter
3/4 cup Flour
4 cups Milk

Drain juices from clams into a saucepan. Set clams aside.

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, salt, pepper, and celery salt in pan with clam juice. Add water if needed to reach half the depth of the veggies. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Melt butter in large pan. Add flour; cook and stir with a wisk until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick.

Pour the milk mixture into the veggie mixture.  Add the clams. Heat through, but do not boil.

Italian Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
1 stick Butter, sliced into chunks
2 package Italian Dressing Mix
1 (8 oz.) packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup with roasted garlic
1 lbs spaghetti cooked
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Put chicken in crock pot.  Arrange slices of butter around the chicken and sprinkle with Italian dressing mix. Cook on high for 2 hours and low for 3 hours. Mix cream cheese and soup in a bowl. Shred chicken in a separate bowl. Mix soup mixture into butter in crock pot.  Mix chicken mixture with soup mixture in crock pot. Serve over spaghetti, and sprinkle with cheese.

Lime Salmon with Angel Hair Pasta

16 oz. Angel Hair pasta
1/4 cup Olive Oil, divided
1/4 cup butter, divided
1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
4-6 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Salmon Fillets, skinless
2 Limes, juiced
Kosher Salt
Pepper
1 jar Alfredo Sauce
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water to keep from cooking longer and set aside.

In medium cast iron pan caramelize onion and garlic in 2 T oil and 2 T butter.  I like to cook the onions till they are almost blackened.  Set aside in a bowl or use a different cast iron pan for salmon.

Cook salmon fillets in 2 T oil and 2 T butter over medium high heat.  Squeeze lime juice from 1 lime over salmon and sprinkle salt and pepper over filets.  Cook for 4-6 minutes on each side.  After you filp the filets squeeze 1/2 of the second lime over the salmon and sprinkle with more salt and pepper.  After 2 minutes squeeze the rest of the lime over the filets.

Cut fillets into chunks inside pan with spatula.  Add Alfredo sauce, cream, and parmesan cheese to pan with the salmon and combine while on medium low heat.  Add pasta and caramelized onions and  combine well.

If you have left overs squeeze fresh lime juice over pasta before eating.

Goals - kids

Yesterday as I was driving my kids to Taekwondo I was thinking about how I was accomplishing my first goal of attending Taekwondo 3x a week.  Then I got to thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if other people posted their habits that they were trying to cultivate and we could help motivate each other throughout the week?"  Then I looked in my rearview mirror at my three boys and thought, "Wow!  I have been really self centered lately  thinking about how I don't like the way I look, and how can I fix myself."  These children of mine need to develope some pretty important habits before they leave my home in a few short years.  I bet we can help each other out.

Last night I sat down at the dinner table and decided that instead of reading the scriptures as a family we would do a Family Home Evening (FHE) about cultivating healthy habits!  We discussed what the main answers kids give in church are: Pray, read your scriptures, go to church, etc...  That if a question is asked of you and you say that, you probably got it right!  However, is it important to know the answers when called on in church or to live the answers?  They all agreed that actually praying is better than just answering a question that the answer is prayer!

The kids agreed with me that it is easy to sit on the couch and watch TV instead of doing what you know you should be doing.  There are so many things that we should be doing that sometimes it is overwhelming and we give up completely.  Cultivating habits helps with this.  You make a habit of brushing your teeth and you will not have to think about it anymore or try to remember, you will just start to brush your teeth, or feel like something isn't right until you have done your routine of brushing your teeth.

For our FHE I asked the kids what they thought they needed to work on to develop into a habit.  I love my husband so much.  With every crazy idea I have he jumps on board 100% and gets behind me.  Case in point - MBA!  He caught on pretty quick what I was doing and jumped right on in with the lesson.  So here is a list of habits that my kids know they should be doing but don't.

1. Put toys away

2. Brush your teeth

3. shower

4. flush the toilet

5. put laundry in basket

6. make your bed

7. put your shoes away

8. put your backpack away

9. put legos away

10. put the recliner down

11. do your homework

12. work on scouts/personal progress

13. do your personal scripture study

14. say personal prayers

15. wash hands with soap and water

16. go to bed early

17. do your personal chores

18. bring your dirty dishes to the sink

19. respect personal property

20. stop interrupting

21. don't have accidents in underware - wipe better

22. what you take into the car you take out of the car

23.  Put folded clothes away.

I thought they did a fantastic job of coming up with things they knew they should be doing but have not made into a habit.

Week 1

I will weigh myself every Sunday night just to see, remember, this is not about weight lose but healthy habits. I decided to do this at night so that I would have worst case scenerios.  So Sunday night September 28, 2014 I weighed in and took my measurements.

BAD

Weight 150.4 lbs.  

Bust 39 in

Waist 33.5 in (tummy under waist is 40 in)

Hips 43 in.

Goal for the week will be:

1. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You can only eat out if you are traveling.  Make your own meals.

and

11. Go to Taekwondo 3x a week typically M, W, & F.  

KIDS

2. Brush teek

Goals

currently I am:

Weight 150 lbs.
Bust 39 in
Waist 33.5 in (tummy under waist is 40 in)
Hips 43 in.

Mind you I have had 4 children.  I will always have rolls and it is really hard to accept that with age my tummy may never be flat again.  Even when I lay down it does not sink in past my hip bones.  My skin just got too stretched out with bringing four people into the world.  The first pregnancy I gained 40 lbs.  Then the next two I gain 50 lbs. each time.  And the last I gained 60 lbs.  I was always able to loose it within 3 months of delivery but now it is catching up with me.

My goal is to start with one eating habit (1-10) and one exercise habit (11-16) and work on it for at least a week before moving on to adopting another habit.

1. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can only eat out if you are traveling.  Make your own meals.

2. Only snack on raw fruits and veggies throughout the day with no dipping sauce

3. Eat smaller portions and never seconds

4. Do not eat after 9 pm

5. Only eat desert if it comes before 9 pm

6. Only drink water

7. Drink 8 oz of water every two hours starting at 6 am till 8 pm.  This will abide by the 8x8 rule

8. Go to bed by 10 pm and I mean lights out asleep

9. Wake up 5:35 am.

10. Nap for either 20 min, 45 min, or no longer than 90 min.

according to Jennifer Ackerman from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/27/napping-guide-health-wellbeing

"Getting even the briefest nap is better than nothing...Naps make you brainier, healthier, safer...A short afternoon catnap of 20 minutes yields mostly Stage 2 sleep, which enhances alertness and concentration, elevates mood, and sharpens motor skills...Naps of up to 45 minutes may also include rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which enhances creative thinking and boosts sensory processing...at least 90 minutes, will limit sleep inertia by allowing you to wake from REM sleep."

(Exercise routine can change to keep interesting or progressing differently than thought you would.)

11. Go to Taekwondo 3x a week, typically M,W, & F.

12.  Go to Hapkido 3x a week typically M,W, & F.

13. run starting for 5 minutes 3x a week.  Increase by 1 minutes each week up to 20 minutes.  Okay if you split running up in 2 sessions in one day after you have reached 10 min goal.

14.  Do 25 sit ups 3x a week.  Increase by 5 each week.  Okay to do 2 seesions after you have reached 50 goal.

15. Do 10 push up 3x a week.  Increase by 2 each week.  Okay to do 2 sessions after you have reached 20 push up goal.

16.  Lift weights 2x a week typically T & Th.  Start from lowest weight and do up to 15 reps before you move on to heavier weight.  


With this all said it is imporant that you know that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon.  Therefore it goes without saying that in my healthy habits that I have already developed are:

1. No smoking

2. No drinking alcohol 

3. No tea or coffee

4. No drugs

5. No rated R movies (healthy minds)

6. No caffeine.  This is a misconception of Mormons that we do not drink caffeine.  There is nothing in our scriptures that says, No caffeine.  It states in the Doctrine and Covenants 89:9, "And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly."  We take that to be Tea and Coffee not caffeine.  However, in our family we believe in not partaking in adictive substances and caffeine is one.  
If you would like to see more on our church's Word of Wisdom you can visit https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng

Truth be told!

The truth is that over the last 2 years I have stopped exercising as much as I use to, I have eaten out more than I care to admit, and finally, I have sat on my rump almost all day everyday.  I used to be very fit and active.  I would run 4 miles a day, do 200 sit ups, and 120 push ups.  I tried to go to my Taekwondo facility as often as I could, meaning everyday, sometimes even multiple times a day.

Then I got the big idea to get my MBA.  My husband was super supportive and even did the MBA with me.  However, because I am not that smart, it took me all day to get through my studies.  Which meant I had to stop exercising, sit on my rump, and not have time to make dinner.  I feel that I had a good excuse.  Well, that good excuse cost me 15 unwanted lbs and a lot of inches around the waist.  Remember muscle weighs more than fat!

I have gotten lazy and out of shape.  I really want to nip this gaining weight thing in the butt before it gets out of hand.  I always told myself that I would get back into shape right after the MBA was over.  Well it has been over 3 months and I am still sitting round on the couch dreading doing any exercise.  Hopefully this blog will keep me honest, fit, and healthy.

I believe that everyone really knows what they need to be doing to be healthy and fit.  I am not trying to go on any speical diet or starve myself.  I did that a few years ago and I think it messed with my head a little.  I wound up doing and thinking things that I would never have done or thought if I was not starving myself.  I would skip breakfast, eat a small salad for lunch, then only eat a small dinner.  Keep in mind I was running 4 miles, doing 200 sit ups, and 120 push ups, and exercising at the Taekwondo facility as often as I could while eating so little.  Not good for cultivating healthy habits.

I actually think that doing the MBA was a blessing in disguise.  It got me to break those awful habits and now I am free to cultivate new healthy habits.  I get to start from scratch!  I am not in anyway saying that my way is going to be the best.  I am not a nutritionist or a fitness instructor.  I just believe that if you do what you know you should be doing then you will not only feel better but look better too!

Before I started school I was 135 lbs.  I do not know what my waist was but I was fitting into size small clothing which felt amazing.  Now I am at 150.4 lbs and fit into a size large clothing.  Yes, only 15 lbs of weight gain but a Large for clothing!  I feel fat, I look large in photos, and I am not exercising as much as I should.

I do believe though that one of the best things that I learned in my MBA came from reading

Anshel, M. H. (2007). Conceptualizing Applied Exercise Psychology. The Journal of the American Board of Sport Psychology, 1(2), 1-44. Retrieved from http://www.americanboardofsportpsychology.org/Portals/24/ABSP-JournalANSHEL1.pdf

From Anshel I learned the following:

1. health behavior change is among the most difficult outcomes to achieve 

2. established mental and physical health benefits of exercise are minimal unless a person engages in aerobic exercise..performed at least three times per week for a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes.

3. Most individuals struggle with making the time and effort to exercise regularly.  Thus, a person who is surrounded by one or more friends or family members who habitually exercise is more likely to exercise regularly 

4. perceived behavioral control, that is, an individual’s perception that he or she has the resources (i.e., skill and ability) and the opportunity to perform the behavior or to attain the goal. 

5. exercisers who do not experience rapid success, that is, meet goals quickly, will presume that the task is of

insurmountable difficulty and quit exercising

6. vigorous exercise requires effort and some degree of physical discomfort in order to obtain the well-known benefits.

7. Overweight and obese individuals who are active and fit have lower rates of disease and death than overweight and obese individuals who are inactive and unfit

8. Overweight or obese individuals who are active and fit are less likely to develop obesity-related chronic diseases and have early death than normal weight persons who lead sedentary lives

9. Inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness are as important predictors of mortality as being overweight or obese

10. researchers found that a person’s decision to exercise should not be associated with weight loss.

This is because exercise itself, even if not accompanied by a loss in weight or body fat, results in very similar physiological benefits as for persons who are not overweight or obese. Thus, engaging in aerobic forms of exercise, then, is the most important factor to good health and lower rate of disease rather than being consumed with weight control, especially through dieting but not exercising. 

11.  walking at least three miles an hour for at least 20 consecutive minutes can improve cardiovascular fitness

12.  having exercisers keep records is central to promoting intrinsic motivation through the perception of competence. 

With this all said number 10 bums me out.  I want to loose weight!  But I want to feel good about myself and not be tired all the time.  So I will set my goals and I will not have weight be an issue.  I remember when I started Taekwondo 5 years ago I was 135 lbs.  I never lost any weight doing all the exercise and dieting that I did back then but I lost inches and gained muscle.   So I will resign to the fact that I am now a 150 lb woman but I will look good and feel good!!!