Shawnathesweet1

Shawnathesweet1

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Home made Pumpkin PIE recipe

Fall is here and I'm really into the whole Holiday baking but this year I have decided to find healthy alternatives to all my favorite recipes. Experimenting can get costly though so I try to use more ingredients I already have and I tweak my recipes a little at a time till I find what works. Last night my co-worker & country neighbor gave me about 12 sugar pumpkins to experiment with! So I decided to start with a homemade pumpkin pie. I took the easy route on the crust cause I was scared to mess with two recipes at once cause I wouldn't know which one worked & which one didn't. Also for this recipe I boiled my pumpkin. I baked one the same night and I'm not sure what the benefits are but boiling was done 30 minutes faster than baking.  So here is my recipe.



Ingredients:
1/2 of a small sugar pumpkin (6-8inches tall)
approx 1-2 cups almond milk
2 eggs  
1/4 cup stevia
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice


Directions:
(preheat oven to 425 degrees)
1. cut pumpkin in half and cut into 10-12 chunks
2. put in a large pot of water & boil on high for 30 min
3. drain all water from pan & let cool for 2 minutes
4. put pumpkin in blender and add cinnamon, nutmeg, & pumpkin pie spice
5. add 1 cup almond milk and blend (if to thick keep adding almond milk slowly)
6. put in a large bowl and fold in eggs and stevia
7. pour into you favorite ready pie crust
8. place in oven and bake at 425 degrees for 15 min
9. lower heat temperature to 350 degrees & bake for 45min or until golden & firm
I used a pre-made graham cracker crust just for this testing process but now I am going to work on a healthy pie crust recipe...I will post when I perfect it too.




Homeade Vegetable Soup

We had our first rain here last week and I decided I needed to find a good healthy recipe for soup. I decided to see what I already had in my refrigerator so I could make it with TONITUP approved ingredients. It came out so good that I had to share the recipe.

Homemade Vegetable Soup



Ingredients:
2 zucchini squash sliced
2 Roma tomatoes cut into chunks
2 1/2 cups green cabbage cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups baby carrots quartered
1 1/2 cups fresh whole green beans cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 small yellow onion quartered & separated
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped (add more if you like)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
pepper just a dash on top
1 large can of tomato sauce

Directions:
1. Put all veggies into a large pot and cover with hot water.
2. add tomato sauce and spices
3. bring to a full boil then lower heat to med (slow boil)
4. cook for 30-45 min or until all veggies are tender
5. if needed add any extra salt & pepper to your taste
6. serve it up & enjoy


LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
  

Monday, September 5, 2011

My low-cal caramel Starbucks frappuccino

So during summer I am addicted to the Starbucks caramel frappuccino except they can be over 400 calories. So I played around at home until I found the perfect recipe using low cal alternatives. And my at home recipe makes it cheaper too :) since u can make 10 drinks for the price of 1

Here Is my recipe:

Caramel frappuccino (under 90 calories)

1/2 a pack of Starbucks via iced Caramel
Add 2 packets of Truvia/Stevia powder
Dissolve the powder in 6oz water
Pour into blender
Add 1 1/2 cups of ice
And add about 1/2 cup almond milk( add just to ice line & add more if it's to thick)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Ansle Adams wilderness backpacking trip

On august 26-28 2011 we went on another backpacking trip on the mono trail. The approx mileage there was 2 1/2 down and another 2 1/2 up. We went off trail there and really hiked down some rough areas. The distance wasn't that far but the terrain & grade was more difficult and made up for it. On this hike I felt strong again and never doubted my ability to handle it. I'm so happy with the choices I have made in my life to eat heathier and workout. TONEITUP is a life changing plan & I'm so glad I found them.

Just a update of Dinkey lakes trip

So I looked it up and read all the trails and decided the trail was approx. 9.5 miles and we added a hike to 3 lakes that was 1mile each. The Dinkey lakes wilderness trail was easy/moderate. The hikes that went of the trail to the upper lakes were a little more intense. After we followed the trail to 2nd Dinkey we dropped our packs and set up camp. Then we hiked up to island lake, rock lake and little lake. I did awesome up there! I felt great and accomplished a huge goal in my life.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

First backpacking trip

Wow how far have I come on my journey...right now I'm on my way to the mountains to take my first backpacking trip. I have been hiking before but never have strapped a huge pack on my back and had to hike up 5-7 miles just to reach a upper lake to camp at. I am so excited and plan to take tons of pics of my journey. I have made it so far with TONEITUP! I wouldn't of even considered going before cause I didn't think I would make it. Now I feel I STRONG and I am going to power through the mountains. I'm heading up to Dinkey lakes trailhead and stopping at a few of the upper lakes on our hike. I will check back in when I get back after I have all the details on the level of difficulty and total miles we traveled. I am so excited! Wish me luck...

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Quick cilantro crusted chicken recipe

I just wanted to share a recipe that I came up with one night experimenting in my kitchen with items I already had in my home. Its a simple and easy no mistake recipe. I don't eat much meat so when I make one chicken breast it feeds 2-3. I served mine with a side of spinach to keep it lean&green (but I made my family a side of rice).


CILANTRO CRUSTED CHICKEN BREAST

what you need:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 2 inch pieces
1 whole bundle of cilantro with stems removed (it really breaks down during cooking)
1 clove minced garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper Mrs. Dash
pinch of sea salt
pinch of pepper
1tbs olive oil

how to prepare:
1. place chicken, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, Mrs. Dash, sea salt & pepper in a bowl and mix
2. put olive oil in small non-stick pan and put on med-high heat
3. add all ingredients from the bowl slowly into oil
4. use spatula to flip chicken every 2-3 minutes
5. cook 10-12 minutes or until chicken is browned (cilantro will start to blacken, be slightly crispy, and stick to chicken)


I tried to zoom in on my picture but it ended up a little blurry. I tend to only eat 4 pieces of chicken with lunch and dinner and alot of veggies. Please let me know if you try it.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

A little info on on how I started TONEITUP

I only started my journey in February when my bf cousin Letty told me about the TONEITUP bikini challenge. I know many of you have heard me say it 1,000 times but I was only going to use the incentive of the prizes to lose a few pounds. Little did I know I would become addicted to the changes I was seeing in my body!

The plans and tips that TONEITUP give online was enough to get me started. My first thought was I can eat tons of veggies(cause I love them) but I would never try to eat protein powder, wheat, quinoa, or any of the health nut junk ...but I had tried every other diet to lose weight so I just went for it. I started slow with just the TONEITUP workouts on youtube and eating more veggies. I was starting to feel the better when I ate better and real heavy when I ate bad. So I was wanting the veggies and not the burgers.

I wanted to start it incorporating it in my own cooking so I started trading out one ingredient in my pantry at a time. Stevia for sugar, Olive oil for oil, wheat  instead of white flour, I tried them all accepted change and gave them a real chance to be used before saying nope it taste different. I had a real plan for trying the new ingredients like whole wheat flour, I would buy it but I would make sure I used all the white flour I had in my house before trying it. After it was gone I start using the wheat and I forced myself to play with it since I didn't have a backup bag of flour in the house. Ya some of it was different but I started thinking I didn't like coffee the first time I tried it either, I had to play with it a little too.

Alot of time just by asking my TONEITUPTEAM and I found out I was just cooking/making it wrong. I tried different recipes on the web and found out it was easier than I thought.
I only liked smooth textures and hated any nuts touching my food! I didn't like change and had a huge list of stuff I don't like. I thought health nuts were just crazy! I was making it complicated when it didn't have to be. So as you can tell I had to ease into it. Now I get excited when I see something more healthy or organic at a restaurant I can try.

I really had alot to lose so I did still try to keep my calories under 1200 a day. And in the beginning I just walked. I got hurt every time I tried running so I waited for my body to strengthen up and be ready. I was carrying around all that extra weight and that was enough. I basically did some crunches in the morning and walked as far as I could in the evening and tried some more crunches at night. I started trying the TONEITUP workout in place of crunches a few times a week.

Since April I felt my body was ready for more so I got the TONEITUP nutrition plan. I was ready to commit further. I was already up to jogging 5miles a day and doing 1 TONEITUP workout a day. I dove fully into the plan and recipes. I have fully enjoyed the benefits of my hard work. I had already lost 27lbs.

In June I had another setback, my piraformis muscle had swollen and was pinching my sciatic nerve. When it got at its worst I finally went to the doctor and took the break my body needed. After the pain started feeling like it was finally going away I started only doing sciatica stretches for my workouts. After a while I felt ready and went back to walking. I am still healing so I'm taking easy and listening to my body. I tried to go bike riding in the mountains and realized my leg had lost a ton of strength and was to weak. So I had to start out by restrengthening my leg. I am finally back to doing some of the TONEITUP workouts again.

 The best part is even though I got injured I kept eating lean&clean, and I kept losing. So I didn't get to discouraged. I just remained excited to get back to working out. As of last week I had lost 47lbs total. Taking pictures along the way and looking back really motivates me. My trainers Katrina & Karena really have put a creative spin on fitness. They have a amazing way of keeping me excited about fitness. I believe in the science of the TONEITUP diet plan and don't have to think about the nonsenses of a reg diet. The TONEITUP challenges are fun and the team supports each other. I see the results and I know my hard work is paying off. my journey isn't over I still have 30-40lbs to lose and alot of toning to do!

Friday, July 29, 2011

My body is actually changing

 Im so happy I am seeing results of all my work! SAY GOODBYE TO BACK FAT! It really makes me feel good to know all my hard work is paying off!


My workout logs


I'm trying to stay more organized now so I'm going to try to post my workout log every week. I was on twitter and @everyweatherrun showed me a awesome log to keep track of my workouts. I simplified it a little and adapted it to my day. It has worked out as a perfect way to keep track of all my workouts.  Here are my logs dating back to June 27th 2011.




What are my goals?

 My goal was to lose weight and tone up. Now it is to get into my BIKINI, eat healthy and change my families way of eating too. My boyfriend grew up on heavy mexican food drenched in manteca and butter. When we moved  I said new house new rules...and I'm not buying that and bringing it here. I want a healthy happy house to set a good example for my kids. I lost 47 lbs and want to lose 30-40 more. On the TIU I realized I'm doing it the right way..TONING AS I LOSE.  
            
      My plan Is to stick with the TONEITUP plan and only bring healthy foods into my house. I understand since I am trying to lose weight that somethings I will still continue to get for my family. But there are a few major things I will not even bring into my house anymore
1. Shortening, manteca, grease, reg oil
2. Sugar
3. syrup
4. white pastas
5. candy
6. junk food
That's just a few changes. If me or my family is really craving something I will research a recipe for a healthy alternative!

I will workout 2-3 times a day and try not to take more than one day off a week. I will rotate my workouts to give my muscles time to rest. and I'm going to try to post my workout logs to stay accountable.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Here a few pics of my journey so far!


38 lbs down
31 lbs down
27 lbs down
26 lbs down
24 lbs down
my before picture

Why I am blogging...

Ok so I decided I'm going to give this whole blogging thing a chance. Especially since I found a app i can update my blog with! Let me start with a lil piece of my history on why I am doing this and what changed my life.
Well I found TONEITUP in februrary and wanted to do the bikini challenge cause the incentive of the prizes were to good to pass up. I never really thought I could make it down to a bikini really. Well I got extremely addicted to working out and all of the fun workouts that TONEITUP posted. I started printing the workouts and working out like a mad-women. I had already lost 27 pounds when I got the plan in April and I was hooked. Now I have lost 47 pounds total. I am so pumped that I can actually see my goals within reach.
I never seen myself as fat, I just thought I was a little chunky. I was actually surprised and started crying when I looked back at my old pics. I was in denial about how much weight I had gained. I have lost 47lbs and I am so proud of myself and the way I have changed my life. I have been taking bikini pics along the way just to watch my progress (but I wont reveal those till I am happy with my bikini body). I started out exploding out of the bikini but now im at the point where I just look like Im rockin a beer gut. I need alot more work and I will reach on my goals.
My blog is going to be about how I am improving my life and reaching goals I have challenged myself to!

My first Video its side ways oops

So I tried to record a video for my toneitup team on twitter, but then realized the app wouldn't let me upload it ughh.The video is sideways and I moved a little to fast but I learned my lesson for next time LOL. This is on the side of the river behind my house. You cant see the river from right here cause I'm beside all the trees. Sorry I'm so sweaty it was hot 107degrees. My daughter made me stop to take a break. I tried to show her but I moved to fast again! She rides her bike while I run with my dog. 

Well here it is, I hope you like it..