Apple Butter!!!

It's almost fall!  That means my husband takes over the TV to watch football (even if he doesn't like either team playing), leaves are changing colors, the weather is getting cooler... Wait, I live in Florida so forget the last two things.  It's still 90 degrees here.  So I am trying to make my house as fall-ish as I can by surrounding myself with Autumn decor, pumpkin everything and and sometimes I turn the A/C down to 70 so it gets a little chilly in my house.  Is that weird?

The past few weeks I've received so many apples through the organic co-op that I use (Link to Annie's).  My family just doesn't eat apples fast enough to consume the mountain of apples that have been sitting in my fridge.  I'd hate to see them go to waste, so I decided to make my first ever batch of Apple Butter.

This recipe does include a lot of sugar, but it makes a large batch and as long as you don't eat a whole jar of the butter it is still healthy.

Ingredients (try to use organic ingredients whenever possible!)
3-4lbs of Organic Apples, peeled and cut into quarters
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
2c white sugar (you can substitute 1c raw local honey - I am going to try it next time)
1c brown sugar
1tsp cinnamin
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp cloves
Dash of salt
Mason Jars (my batch of apple butter filled five small mason jars)

Directions
1.) Peel, core and cut the apples into quarters.

 2.)  Put the apples into a crock pot.

3.)  Pour apple cider vinegar over the apples.
4.)  Add spices and sugar.
5.)  Stir everything together.
6.)  Cook on high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
7.)  Cook on low for 5 hours, stirring occasionally.  You will notice a lot of juice.
8.)  Blend some of the apples in a blender with some juice from the crock pot.  Put into a bowl and repeat until you've blended all of the apples and juice.
9.)  Put the mixture back into the crock pot and cook on low for one hour.
10.)  Boil a large pot of water.
11.)  Place jars without the lids into the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
12.)  Remove the jars from the water - be careful because they will be VERY hot.  Place the jars onto a towel to cool a bit.
13.)  Pour apple butter into the jars.  Place the lids on the jars.
14.)  Allow the jars to cool a bit.
 15.)  Refrigerate (you can store your apple butter in the refrigerator for up to six months)

Delicious Apple Butter!

I enjoy my Apple Butter with Cottage Cheese.

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Cauliflower and Leek Soup

A few months ago I joined a local organic co-op.  Every week I pick up my share of different organic fruits, veggies and eggs.  What I love about it is that I get to try different foods that I probably wouldn't have tried if I just simply bought my produce at the local grocery store.  So far I've tried a watermelon radish, pluots and broccolini.  I'm happy to say that even my picky Charlie liked the pluots!

Last week's share included leeks.  I honestly had no idea what to make with leeks.  I can't recall if I ever ate a leek before, and for some reason whenever I hear the word "leek" I confuse it with "leech."  Ew.  So I decided to look up some recipes, but most of them include potato leek soup.  I wanted something low calorie/low carb and I was thrilled when I found cauliflower and leek soup because cauliflower just happened to be included in my produce for the week also.

I altered the recipe a bit, but I will include a link to the original recipe at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients:
2tbsp organic olive oil
3tbsp organic butter
2 organic leeks, chopped
1 large head of organic cauliflower, chopped
3 cloves of organic garlic (I use a garlic press)
8c of organic vegetable borth
salt and pepper to taste
1c coconut milk

Here are my leeks.

The recipe called for three leeks.  I am so glad I found a youtube video that showed me how to cut the leeks and which part of the leeks to use.  I was going to cut up three of the green leaves, but that's not right!

First, chop off the green parts.  You can save them and use them in a stock if you'd like, but I didn't.

DO NOT CUT OFF THE STEM!  Cut the leeks length wise into fours (does that make sense?).  Then rinse them very good to get rid of any dirt inside.

Chop up your leeks.  (Now you can get rid of the stem!)  Put it into a large pot.

Chop up your cauliflower and put it in the pot with the leeks.

Add the garlic, olive oil and butter.  Sautee over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add 8 cups of vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Blend with a hand mixer until smooth.

I substituted heavy cream for coconut milk.  Add 1 cup of coconut milk and blend until smooth.

 Enjoy!!

For the original recipe, please visit thttp://allrecipes.com/recipe/low-carb-cauliflower-leek-soup/his link:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/low-carb-cauliflower-leek-soup/

For more information on the local organic co-op that I use, please visit:  https://www.anniesbuyingclub.com/buying_club.cfm

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Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes

I've officially graduated to Month Two of PiYo. 

I lost 8.5lbs my first two weeks of starting Shakeology and PiYo.  The weight was just dropping off.  Then it stopped after week two.  As a matter of fact, my weight was fluctuating between 151.4 and 153.  I was feeling discouraged because I was following the meal plan and exercises and doing everything right.  Then around week three I measured myself and found out that I had lost 14 inches!  Today (week four, day three) I weighed and measured myself and I was 150.4 and down 15.5 inches!  In ONE month!

My favorite PiYo workouts are Core and Strength Intervals.  I found out in Core that there are so many different exercises to work your abs.  You don't have to just do boring sit ups.  In fact, you probably won't get the best results if you are only doing sit ups.  You can work your abs by standing, doing planks, squats, the list goes on!  It took me a few days, but I can finally do an unmodified side plank.

I was pleasantly surprised when I did Strength Intervals for the first time.  It was only 21 minutes long, and I thought it would be a piece of cake.  At first I was upset that I had to wear sneakers (most of PiYo can be done barefoot on a yoga mat).  Strength Intervals was an intense 21 minutes full of squats, lunges, cardio and these things called "beast" something that made me fall over.

I'm so excited to see my results that come out of Month Two!

If you think that you'll be starving on the meal plan that comes with PiYo, you're wrong.  In fact, I sometimes have a hard time eating all of the food.  I've been having fun coming up with different recipes that go with the plan.  Here is one that a friend shared with me.

Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes
(for the full recipes, please visit http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/ricotta-basil-stuffed-tomatoes/ )

 Being a vegetarian with a carnivore husband poses complicated meal situations.  If I have to cook chicken for my husband, I will (but I use gloves so I don't have to touch the meat... and sometimes I tell the chicken that I'm sorry my husband is going to eat it... is that weird?).  I try to come up with tasty vegetarian meals that my husband and son will like.

These Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes were a big hit with my husband (Charlie just looked at them and walked away).

All you'll need is 8 Beefsteak Tomatoes, 1 cup of Low Fat Ricotta Cheese, Parmesan cheese, Onion (I used a sweet onion even though the recipe calls for a red onion), Zucchini, Corn (I used one ear of fresh corn), and one glove of garlic.  The recipes calls for you to mix half of the tomato pulp into your stuffing, but I only used 1/4.

Bake it in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, let cool and enjoy!

Would you believe these tomatoes are only 116 calories per serving?!  Try them and post your review below!

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Spaghetti Squash with Kale, Onion, Sweet Peppers and Feta Cheese

Most nights I convince myself that I will wake up at 6:00am and go for a run before Charlie wakes up.  It sounds refreshing to start my day with a run as the sun rises.  However, every morning I wake up to the alarm and hit snooze ten times until I'm forced out of bed by the dogs barking or Charlie asking me to play with Dusty Crophopper with him.

Today was no different.  My alarm went off at 6:00am, I laughed at the alarm, moved from the bedroom to the sofa where I wouldn't have a four-year-old's foot shoved in my back, and went back to sleep.  I "slept in" until 7:30am when I woke up in a panic because we were going to be late for soccer.  Soccer practice turned out to be a big waste of time.  When Charlie wasn't jumping over the field markers or standing inside the goal, he was laying on the blanket and eating Belvita crackers.  He refused to participate in anything that involved kicking a ball.



Mastering his PiYo!

During my rush out the door this morning I forgot to eat breakfast.  So Charlie, Marcia (my mother-in-law) and I decided to have brunch at First Watch.  After First Watch, we went to the local farmer's market.  I've never been to this farmer's market before, but I LOVE IT!  There were so many fresh, organic veggies at AFFORDABLE prices.  There were lots of dogs, which gave me a brilliant idea to bring my two dogs next time I go... scratch that, my dogs are crazy and would probably eat everything and terrorize the other dogs.

After I finished at the farmer's market it was time to go home and do PiYo!  I doubled up my workout today and did Lower AND Upper Body Focus.  They are both roughly 20 minutes each, and I will use tomorrow as my day to run.  Charlie thought that Mommy needed to work harder, so he sat on my back during planks and downdogs.  My back is going to hate me tomorrow.


Downward Dog Pro!

After PiYo, Charlie, Marcia and I went to church (can't forget to thank God for all he's blessed me with), and I couldn't wait to make dinner with some of the veggies I found at the farmer's market today.

Here's what I made:
Spaghetti Squash with Kale, Onion, Sweet Peppers and Feta Cheese.
Italian Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Side of Ricotta Cheese

All for under 257 calories!

Spaghetti Squash Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 Spaghetti Squash (I found my organic spaghetti squash at the farmer's market for only $1!)
1c Kale
1/2c diced onions
3 Pero Sweet Peppers
1/4c Feta Cheese
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp Basil (or a handful of fresh basil, if you prefer)
Salt and Pepper to taste

This is a Spaghetti Squash!

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise.
Scoop out the seeds and throw them away (or roast them like pumpkin seeds).
Brush roughly 1tbsp of olive oil over each half of the squash.
Season each half of the squash with salt and pepper.
Place each half of the squash face down on a baking sheet.
Bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the squash).
When the squash is finished baking and has cooled a bit, begin scraping out the insides of the squash with a fork.  The squash will start to come apart in strings and resemble spaghetti (hence the name).
As you scrape out the squash, put it into a bowl.

While the squash was cooking, sautee the kale, onions and sweet peppers in olive oil.

Did you know that kale is low in calories, high in fiber, iron, vitamin K and antioxidants?

Mix the veggies with the spaghetti squash.

Add feta and basil, mix.

Enjoy!

Serves 4.
Calories per serving:  167
Carbs per serving:  16
Fat per serving:  13
Protein per serving:  9



Italian Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, sliced or diced
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced or diced
1/2c red onion, diced
1/2c green pepper, diced
1 packet of Good Seasons Italian Mix (prepare according to the package, but I only used 1tbsp of olive oil)
Feta Cheese

Mix everything together.

Enjoy!

Serves 6.
Calories per serving:  71
Carbs per serving:  4
Fat per serving:  5
Protein per serving:  2

Delicious!

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6lbs in One Week!

It's always exciting to start a new workout routine.  Every time I started a new diet I was convinced it was the one that I finally get me back to my pre-baby weight.  However, every time I started I found an excuse to stop.  Before my surgery I was running more than I had ever ran in my life, but I had to stop to have my surgery (decent excuse).  I attempted to diet and exercise on and off for a year and a half after my surgery, but life kept happening.  In January I attempted to do a 3-day cleanse that consisted of only drinking nasty shakes and literally not eating a single thing.  Halfway through Day Two I acquired a terrible migraine that wouldn't go away.  In March I started running again, and I was faithfully logging all of my calories into the My Fitness Pal app that I downloaded.  Then my allergies started bugging me so I just stopped.  Grilled Cheese and french fries were the comfort food for my allergies.

So what makes this new diet and workout routine different from the others?  When I decided to become a Beachbody Coach I made a commitment to myself that I would stick this through.  I would make it work.  I've seen the amazing results that Shakeology and Beachbody products produce, and I know that I can get those results as well.  My first Shakeology package came last week.  I've been drinking my Vegan Chocolate Shakeology daily, either as a meal replacement or a snack.  I started Piyo on Monday and I love it!  My Challenge Group is full of wonderful people who are on a similar journey as me.  The group offers accountability and support along the way.

The first day of Piyo was very basic.  "ALIGN:  The Fundamentals" consisted of learned the basic yoga and pilates moves.  I've been doing yoga for years (on and off), so this workout was a breeze for me.  It was almost too easy, so it's a good thing you only have to do this workout once.

Day Two of Piyo was "DEFINE:  LOWER BODY."  The workout was only 25 minutes long, and again I breezed through it.  The downward dogs and warrior poses felt great.  I was a bit disappointed when it ended so soon, but thirty minutes later I was feeling the burn!

Day Three of Piyo was "DEFINE:  UPPER BODY."  This workout was only 20 minutes long, but it was harder for me than the lower body workout.  I haven't done many arm exercises since my mastectomy, so I'm pretty weak in my arms.  I could barely do half a pushup on my knees!

If you've just started your Piyo routines and find them "too easy," don't give up.  Tomorrow's workout is called "SWEAT", and from what I hear it will definitely live up to it's name!

So what are my results after one week of Shakeology and three days of Piyo?  One week ago I weighed 159.9lbs.  Today I weighed in at 153.5lbs.  Yes, I lost SIX POUNDS IN ONE WEEK!

For more information on Piyo and Shakeology, please visit my Beachbody page:  http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/TerriComeau

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Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

Before my prophylactic mastectomy, I ran 3 to 4 times a week.  I was running 5k's and slowly losing my baby weight.  I was a slow runner (my fastest time for a 5k was 37 minutes), but I was making progress.  I wasn't very active after my mastectomy, and I gained twenty pounds.

A few weeks ago I started to run again.  I downloaded the 10k for Pink app (it's free and very similar to Couch to 5k), and started running again.  I thought I could start with Week 4 Day 1, which is running for 3 minutes, walk 90 seconds, run for 5 minutes, walk 2 minutes and repeat.  I barely made it down the block!  The next day I ran Week 2 Day 1(alternate running 90 seconds and walking 90 seconds six times), and I did much better!  I'm two stubborn to start at Week 1 Day 1.

This morning I decided to give Week 4 Day 1 a try again.  I took Charlie to the trail and went for a jog.  When I bought my jogging stroller two years ago I thought it would make running easier because I would have something to lean on.  I was actually surprised at how difficult running with a jogging stroller was.  It was a total body workout.  My arms were more sore than my legs.  So I must have been crazy to give it a try again today.

The trail I run on has one bridge with a very steep incline.  It never fails that I always have a running interval when I reach the bridge.  Today, with the 90 degree Florida heat and humidity making every step a struggle, I pushed my way to the top of the bridge.  I really did not think I would make it, but when strangers were passing me on bikes and telling me that I was doing a good job it made me feel proud.  Not only did I make it to the top of the bridge, but I kept going.  I ran 2 miles today.  I averaged 14 minutes miles, but it's better than the 18 minutes miles I averaged earlier in the week.  I felt so accomplished.  Then I realized that I needed to turn around to get back to my car.  So I did it all over again!

My post-workout breakfast consisted of two of my favorite things... coffee and Shakeology.  Oh was it so delicious!

1c. Coffee
1 Scoop Vegan Chocolate Shakeology Mix
A Splash of Organic Soy Milk
A Dash of Cinnamon
Ice

(For more Shakeology recipes visit www.beachbodycoach.com/TerriComeau)

Later in the afternoon, I decided to test out a new recipe, a quinoa breakfast bowl.  This delicious meal is full of protein (12g) and only 162 calories per serving.

Ingredients:
1/4c Quinoa
1/5c Water
1c Kale
1/4c Onion (diced or sliced)
3 mini Pero Sweet Peppers, sliced
4 Egg Whites
Tumeric
Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring Quinoa and 1/2c of water to a boil.  Simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam kale, onion, peppers and a dash of tumeric for approximately 10 minutes.

Scramble egg whites, salt and pepper until cooked.

Once finished, mixed everything together and add Parmesan Cheese.

Serves 2 people.

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Taking Back Control!

One thing that I've learned from my BRCA journey is that life is too precious to let it go to waste.  I had my six month check up at Moffitt in early June.  The doctors did their usual screening with blood work to test my CA125 levels, ultrasound and office visit.  I've been through this routine at least five times in the past two years, so it should be a piece of cake, right?  Not so much.  The days leading up to my appointment were filled with worry and anxiety.  I thought that my worry and anxiety would disappear after my mastectomy, but it was just hiding in the shadows.  Sure, I don't have to worry about getting breast cancer, but there is a new fear of ovarian cancer looming over me.  For the record, there have been no instances of ovarian cancer in my family.

All of my tests came back clear.  My doctor assured me that I have nothing to worry about right now.  As the cycle always goes, I will forget about my appointment for the next six month until one week before my December visit.  Then the fear will come back, and I will be sick to my stomach and obsessing over the what-if's.  But why am I continuing to do that to myself?  I'm taking every precaution that I can to either prevent cancer or catch it early.  Moffitt is a highly reputable cancer hospital, and I am in the best hands.  What good will worry do? We are only given this one life, so why not make the best of it?  I must learn to let go of my fears, put my faith in God, and trust that everything will be OK.

Tonight as I was putting Charlie to sleep, he asked me to sing him a song.  I sang him a song that my Mom-mom used to sing to me. 

"Hush little baby don't say a word Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird.  If that mocking bird don't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.  If that diamond ring don't shine, Mama's gonna buy you a bottle of wine.  If that bottle of wine gets broke, Mama's gonna buy you a nanny goat.  If that nanny goat don't run, Mama's gonna buy you a BB gun.  If that BB gun don't shoot, Mama's gonna buy you a pair of boots.  If those pair of boots don't fit, Mama's gonna buy you a pile of..." 

Ok I didn't finish the song, and looking back I will admit it is a strange song to sing to a child, but it put him to sleep!  It's moments like that when I remember just how blessed I am.  In a sense, I was given a second chance to be here for my son.  I'm going to take full advantage of that.

I've decided to take back control of my health.  The past year and a half took such a toll on me.  Before my surgery, I was running 5k's and in great shape.  I wasn't at my pre-pregnancy weight, but I was feeling amazing.

My current goals are to:
1.  Lose 30lbs by October.
2.  Run a half marathon in November.

I will continue to blog about breast/ovarian cancer awareness, but I also want to focus on living a healthy lifestyle.  So please continue to follow me along my journey to take back control of my destiny!