Food Orgasm

Do I have your attention?  Over the past year I have been having a love affair (with healthy food).  Let me explain.  I have been on a journey to change, improve and create a healthy lifestyle for myself.  I wanted to do this and still enjoy life, as everyone puts it.

I was recently eating a delicious meal in a restaurant, when this came to me.  Food orgasm.  What is a food orgasm you ask?  It’s when you take the first bite; the taste sends shivers through your body and just explodes in your mouth.  The flavours are so amazing you can’t imagine you have ever tasted anything like this before.  Who wouldn’t want to create meals like that?

On a more serious note, I want to discuss the importance of learning to have a healthy relationship with food.  This has become a necessity for me.  Taste and presentation are a must.  What I have learned in the past year about food has been very valuable to me.  Use real food, be creative, use proper portion size, take time to prepare and enjoy your meals, and use what’s in season (when possible).  Your body needs and will crave nutritious foods to fuel your body.

When cooking I always look for ways to add flavor to my meals.  I use fresh herbs, lemon or lime juice, healthy oils, nuts and seeds to many of my meals.  How many ways can you change a spinach salad?  Since this is my favourite, I have found many different ways.  This is one of the salads I created the other night.  The flavours were fantastic.

Ingredients

Spinach, red peppers, red onion, blue cheese, pumpkin seeds, sliced pear, blueberries, avocado, salad dressing (red balsamic vinegar, pumpkin seed oil, sea salt and pepper)

spinach salad with chicken

spinach salad with chicken

I talk about food often and love to share what I make for meals as I hope it will inspire others to make healthy changes and think outside the box.  As many people have seen my transition to a healthier and a more fit woman, I often get asked, how did you do this?  How did you lose weight and make these changes?  My answer is determination, dedication, and motivation, through working out and clean eating.  I train five days a week, three with my trainer Jorg from Three60 Fitness and two on my own.  My passion for this lifestyle has strengthened over the year.  So to all the people struggling with how create a healthy lifestyle, you can do it with eating clean and working out consistently.  If I can, anyone can.  I am not perfect, far from it.  As always, I am work in progress and will continue to improve all areas of my life through this journey.

P.S.  If you have a favourite spinach salad recipe, share it with me!

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

 

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The Journey – One Year

August 9, 2013

Current Weight:  128lbs

Waist:  Lost 9 inches

Body Fat:  Down to 18%

It’s been one year, that’s 365 days that I have been on this amazing journey.  I can’t believe how fast the time has gone.  I feel so energized and can’t wait to workout everyday, whether it is at Three60 Fitness Studio, my home or outside.

My current workout schedule is 5-6 hours per week with a combination of weights and cardio.  Eating clean is the way I choose to eat.  It is not a diet it’s treating your body with respect.  The better you feed it the better your body responds.  Feeding the interior by eating clean helps the exterior.  Working out gives me mental clarity, strength, health, and wellness.

Three words I use to describe myself:  dedicated, determined, and motivated.  Find one hour everyday (there are 24 hours in a day) and make time for yourself, you are worth it.  This is the lifestyle I live.  I am healthy, strong and have never felt better.

I have so much appreciation and respect for Jorg (my trainer) and what he does everyday.  He continues to challenge, encourage and support me.  I could not have done this without him.  The knowledge he has taught me has given me inner and outer strength.  Thank you for a great year Jorg.

Thank you to my wonderful husband for his love and support.  For always trying one of my concoctions in the kitchen, putting up with my unlimited energy and non-stop talk about my workouts.

I am work in progress and will continue to find ways to educate and challenge myself.  I look forward to this year’s challenges and amazing opportunities.

March 2013

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

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Get Your Greens In

I am always trying to get more greens into my day.   Last nights side dish was all from my garden.  Ingredients:   swiss chard, spinach, kale and garlic scape.  First heat up the pan with a little olive oil, add the garlic scape, cook for 3 minutes, then add the swiss chard, spinach, kale, and water, put the lid on.  Continue to add water to the pan as needed, takes about 10 to 15 minutes to cook.  Plate the greens and add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  Enjoy.

Swiss Chard, Spinach, Kale

Swiss Chard, Spinach, Kale

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

 

 

 

 

 

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Quinoa Salad

Hi everyone, thought I would share my quinoa salad I made for dinner last night.  I picked the spinach, garlic scape, and thyme from my garden.  It was so delicious and satisfying.  The ingredients used in my salad:  spinach, quinoa, cranberries, pecans, feta cheese, red onion, served with an orange dressing.  Cook the quinoa in a chicken broth and add a garlic scape to the water.  Once the quinoa is cooked, set aside in a bowl to cool to room temperature.  The orange dressing is really basic, add  6 1/2 tbsp orange juice, 2 tsp orange zest, 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp thyme leaves, salt and pepper to taste.  The measurements for the dressing are approximate depending on how large the salad is.  Lay the spinach on the plate, combine all other ingredients together and toss with the orange dressing.  Hope you enjoy.

Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad

It’s  Just My View – Georgie Girl Talks

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My Meal Plan

I have been on this journey for 9 ½ months and have had a lot of people asking me what I eat.  Eating clean has been successful for me and I hope the meal plan below gives you a few ideas to try.

Monday thru Friday

Greens

1 ½ cups water, 1 tsp greens concentrate, 1 ½ tsp of chia seeds, ½ scoop protein powder, and ice

Steel cut oats

¾ cup cook steel-cut oats, 1 tsp nut or seed butter (or a few nuts or seeds), and 1 tsp sugar-free jam or apple butter

Vegetable juice

Carrots, Celery, Beet, Cucumber, Orange, and Ginger

Protein smoothie

1 ½ tsp of coconut oil or flax oil, 1 cup skim milk, ¾ cup frozen fruit, and 1 scoop protein powder

My snacks, lunch, and dinner change everyday, but the above is usually the same Monday thru Friday.  I drink lots of water have herbal tea and coffee.  Every Saturday for breakfast I have eggs and whole grain or rice toast and every Sunday I have either waffles or pancakes.  I take a multi vitamin everyday.

Breakfast (choose one)

-steel-cut oats with 1 tsp nut or seed butter and 1 tsp sugar-free jam or apple butter

-yogurt and cottage cheese with fruit

-egg/egg whites (prepared different ways) with whole grain or rice bread, fruit

-protein smoothie

-healthy waffles or pancakes

Lunch (choose one)

-salad or vegetables and lean protein

-2 hard-boiled eggs or lean protein in a small whole grain wrap with hummus

-1/2 sandwich (with lean protein) whole grain or rice bread, salad or vegetables

-protein smoothie

-leftovers from dinner the night before

Dinner (choose one)

-salad and/or vegetables, lean protein, ½ yam or ¾ cup brown rice or ¾ cup quinoa, or 1 cup brown rice pasta

-soup and salad

-large salad with lean protein

-turkey burger (no bun), yams fries (oven baked), salad or vegetables

I like to create different salads all the time and change-up what I add with them.  Here are a few ideas of what I like to add:  ½ avocado, hard-boiled egg whites, black beans, chick peas, lean protein, nuts or seeds, goat cheese or blue cheese.  Salad dressing is olive, pumpkin, or avocado oil and balsamic vinegar or lemon/lime juice.

Snacks

-2 hard-boiled eggs

-fresh fruit with nuts or seeds

-dried fruit with nuts or seeds

-hummus with raw vegetables

-nut or seed butter with a banana, apple, or brown rice cakes

-yogurt

-cottage cheese

-protein smoothie

-lara bars

-francines finest bars

There are many more options this is just a general list.  You need to pay attention to portion sizes.  I am always searching for new recipes and food ideas.  The Eat Clean Diet book series has lots of recipes and meal plans to choose from.  I am passionate about my lifestyle and love to prepare nutritious meals for my family.  You can email me if you want a recipe or idea for a specific food or have any questions at georgiegirltalks@gmail.com.

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

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The Journal of My Weight Loss Journey – Part 3

By Jodi Vieira

A few weeks go by and I started to feel energized.  I couldn’t believe the amount of extra energy I had during the daytime.  This alone kept me wanting to go back for more.  In one month I was down 11 lbs.  Could this be possible?  Yes it was.  I had been very focused on my nutrition and consistent in my workouts with Jorg and on my own.

Jorgs’ workouts had been challenging me and I was never bored because he was always changing it up.  He used metabolic routines and every workout consisted of different weight-bearing exercises using the whole body as well as cardio.  I could only do push ups on my knees when we first started and now could do regular push ups.  I started with 5 and 8 pound weights and was now using 10 and 12 pound weights.  When we first started squats and lunges my legs were not very strong, but as the weeks went by everything in my core and lower body was getting stronger.  I  performed more reps each week and added weights to the squats and lunges.

Week by week I continued on my quest.  Most days were great, but some were not.  My legs and arms were sore, and some days I felt sore from head to toe.  Having sore muscles was something I expected, but some days I really needed to dig deep to work through the discomfort.  Managing my clean eating was getting easier each week because I was craving healthier food and making good choices.

There were days when I had to remind myself why I was doing this.  It was for the continued energy, mental health, and strength I felt everyday.  My clothes were loose, my skin was healthy, and I was gaining strength and balance.  I loved the change in myself.

Sept 2012

Sept 2012

Sept 2012

Sept 2012

Stay tuned for the next post, part 4 in my journey.

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

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My First Unassisted Pull-up

Hi everyone, thought I would share a picture of me doing my first unassisted pull-up .  It has taken me a long time to achieve this.  All my hard work is helping me achieve my goals.  I am so excited.

Pull-up

Pull-up

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

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Weekend Breakfast

Every Sunday I like to make waffles or pancakes for breakfast.  The mix I use is Bob Mills seven grain.  Follow the directions on the back of the package.  I like to add extras to mine like hemp or chia seed,  coconut oil, walnuts, and blueberries.  I top my waffle with pure maple syrup or coconut syrup and nut butter.  This is a very satisfying meal and remember presentation makes it taste that much better.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Sunday Morning Breakfast

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

 

 

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Get More Vegetables

Hi everyone,

I make vegetable juice 5 days a week.  It’s healthy, energizing, refreshing, and tastes great!

Below is the first video of me juicing.

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

Vegetable Juice

Vegetable Juice

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Say Something Nice

Why do so many people say such negative and mean things to themselves?  You know that saying “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.  The same thing goes for the way you treat yourself.

Don’t sabotage your efforts by bullying or criticizing yourself.  Some things I have heard people say are:  I’m not worth it, I’m fat, I can’t commit myself to exercise, I ate a piece of cake today and have blown my diet, so I might as well continue to eat crappy for the rest of the day.  We can be our own worst enemy.  Focus on the positive and be kind to yourself.  Say things like:  I look really good in this green top I’m wearing today, I ate an apple everyday for a week; I walked for 30 minutes four times this week.  Be proud of yourself.

Treat your body and mind with respect by preparing healthy meals, moving your body everyday, and having a positive outlook.  When you wake up first thing in the morning, take a moment, look in the mirror and say something NICE.  Let yourself know that you are worth the effort.  This is a great way to start your day.

It’s just my view – Georgie Girl Talks

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