The Iron Pirate: April 2013

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A Clean Recipe For You!

Hello, Blogger World!

I have a fabulously clean and healthy recipe for you: Tuna Cakes! Now, before you say "Yuk," please head over to my link below, and check out my entire recipe and suggestions on my "Cooking for Kids" site at BellaOnline.

You can substitute the tuna for cooked shredded chicken breasts if you'd like! These are a great source of protein and fiber, as well as omega 3. They can be eaten as a snack, or pair a couple up with a spinach salad. They are portable, can be packed in your children's school lunches or your office lunch, or eaten hot or cold.

Versatile, healthy, and not a single stitch of toxic "preservatives" are in this recipe! I was inspired to create this tuna cake recipe from a recent Oxygen Magazine in the May 2013 edition. I liked the recipe in the magazine, but I wanted more depth, more flavor, and more nutrients in the fish cakes. So I came up with this after only 2 tries! Lol! =)

I hope you enjoy them, here is a picture:

And here is the link to my recipe: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art64918.asp

As always,
Eat Clean & Train Mean!

~The Kaptain

Friday, April 19, 2013

Eating Clean is NOT Expensive!

As many of you know, I am an Ambassador for The Eat-Clean Diet. I take pride in planning, shopping, cooking/baking, eating, and living clean. I try my best to spread the word and make people realize how important it is to take care of their health and that of their families.

Yet, disappointingly, I keep hearing excuses like, "Eating Clean is too expensive," or, "Organic is priced too high, and do we really even need to eat organic?" Or my personal favorite: "Eating Clean is so time consuming!"

Here is a fact~ It may not be one that you like or want to hear, but it is the truth: If you don't take the time to clean up your health and feed your body the nutrients it needs and was designed to consume, you WILL experience health problems and disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, inflamation, arterial plaque, and other issues that most likely will result in heart attack or stroke, and possibly even an early death.

Now, tell me: Is it REALLY too "hard" or "expensive" to eat and live clean when you weigh the alternatives?

When you take the time to learn the concept of Eating Clean, you will begin to understand how toxic our everyday foods are. Take a look at the ingredients in pre-packaged snacks, cereals, chips, frozen meals, sodas, white products such as white bread, white flour, white rice, and all of the "sugar-free" products that are artificially sweetened. Can you pronounce the ingredients? Do you know how damaging these ingredients are to our organs, our memory, and our energy source? Did you know that artificial sweeteners are TOXIC POISON? Did you know that sugar is considered to be a "legal cocaine"?

Clean Eating isn't about depriving yourself of foods that you love. It's about becoming familiar with the ingredients that the men in suits are creating and selling to us, which are making us obese, tired, and depressed... slowly killing our children and ourselves. It's about getting back to the basics of food... becoming familiar with fresh grown foods, and lean meats, poultry, and sea foods. It's about learning how to turn your fatty, sugary recipes into clean, healthy meals and treats that your body will use for nutrients instead of turn into fat and harmful toxins.

Clean Eating will improve your health, improve your energy, improve your vision, improve your motivation, improve your skin, improve your hair and nails, improve your digestive system, and improve your zest for life. Clean Eating will detox your organs, help you to get better sleep at night, and it will help you get through your workdays without those afternoon slumps. Clean Eating will improve your children's health, education, and sleep/behavior patterns.

Clean Eating reverses obesity-related disease. Clean Eating will keep you alive for a long time. Clean Eating will change your life... Add some exercise to the equation, and you will live to be 100! Disease-free!

Let me please clear up the misconception that Clean Eating is expensive. If done properly, it is not. Let me give you some tips on getting started.

First, Get Tosca Reno's book, "The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged," and "The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook," to start with. Tosca's books explain the whole clean eating concept. You will love her books, as well as her cookbooks. If you can affort to get more then one cook book, I strongly urge you to. She has a Vegetarian cook book too... they are all phenominal books!

Second, clean out your pantry, your cabinets, your fridge, your freezer. Get rid of all pre-packaged foods, sodas, sweetened beverages, sugar, and white products such as white flour, bread, rice, etc. You can replace those products with whole grain versions, such as whole grain bread, whole wheat flour, coconut flour, oat flour, etc. Purchase some brown rice instead of the white starchy stuff. Also, get rid of the white pasta. You can easily replace this with whole grain or vegetable pastas that are inexpensive. If you feed your family stuff like chips, cookies, kool-aid or juice products, soda, cakes, pastries, donuts, candy, microwave popcorn, etc... GET RID OF IT!!!!

Third, re-stock your pantry with things like quinoa, whole oatmeal, a variety of seeds and nuts, natural nut butters, 70% or greater Cacao chips (to replace chocolate chips for baking), raw honey, pure organic maple syrup, seasonings and spices that do not contain salt or sugars, NO MSG either! You'll also want to stock up on Garbanzo beans, black beans, white beans, pinto beans, frozen veggies of all varieties, fresh fruits and veggies, motzarella cheese sticks (low skim), unflavored Greek yogurt, frozen and fresh berries: blueberries, black berries, strawberries, boysenberries, raspberries; mangos are great with berries and greek yogurt with a drizzle of raw honey and some nuts on top.

I love to season my foods with lemon, limes, oranges, and even grapefruits. Sea salt replaces regular table salt, and I love fresh cracked black pepper, as well as red chili pepper flakes. I always have fresh garlic bulbs, yams, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms on hand so I can roast up some quick veggies if needed.

The more you plan, the more money you will save. The initial pantry clean out and restocking will be a little pricey. If you cannot afford to do it all at once, then do it one step at a time.

Fourth, you will need to plan! Plan ahead weekly by reserving a couple of hours once per week to look through healthy recipes and make a weekly meal plan. Try using ingredients that you already have in your freezer, fridge, and pantry... for instance, if you have a whole chicken in your freezer, do not go purchase boneless skinless chicken breasts that cost $5 per pound! Roast up that whole chicken, and remove the meat off of it... you can use it for several meals that same week!

Fifth, you will need a list: once you've created your meal plan, you'll need to go through your kitchen and make a grocery list of what you will need to pick up. Watch for grocery store circulars and mail adds throughout the week so you can watch for sales. I usually do my meat, poultry, and sea food shopping in a sepparate trip then the rest of my groceries. I also purchase my produce fresh, at least once or twice per week. If I find seasonal fruits or veggies at a great price, I will often buy in bulk, and freeze for later use. Bananas, berries, mango, cherries, grapes, peaches all freeze nicely... fruits such as watermellon, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, and many others freeze very well for smoothies... I like to make individual baggies of mixed fruits especially for smoothies. They are handy, and inexpensive, if you purchase them in bulk at seasonal prices.

Sixth, It's time to execute your meal planning and shopping finds into meal creations! Take the time to visit us at The Eat-Clean Diet website to meet the community members (you'll want to go to the ECD Webpage, and find The Kitchen Table, which is where we all blog with each other) and find recipes, suggestions, plans, and great advice... along with great support and encouragement.

Once you realize HOW to shop for your produce and clean food items, you will no longer waste money. Just think how much you'll be saving by getting rid of the pre-packaged foods, and replacing them with fresh produce and lean meats! For instance, a bag of Doritos now costs about $5. Take a look at what $5.55 got for me today at our beach Farmer's Market: 2 large bunches fresh green baby spinach, 1 pound of fresh beautiful strawberries, 1 large ripe mango, 5 serving-size mini avocados, 1 bunch green onions, 5 delicious kiwi fruits, 4 limes, and a large jicama.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Re-claim Your Grocery Cart!

Having trouble getting back on track with good eating habits after a long winter? I offer some great suggestions here: http://www.eatcleandiet.com/the_kitchen_table/story/post.aspx?id=28850

Let's get back on track, get re-organized, get back to planning, and execute clean shopping, cooking, and living today! Follow my link for my suggestions and a chance to win a great prize! Come on, what are you waiting for? TAKE YOUR LIFE BACK THIS SPRING once and for all!

Eat Clean & Train Mean!
~The Kaptain

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Out Of My Comfort Zone!

My Coach, the beautiful and intelligent Sj Nieusma, has ordered me to get out of my workout "comfort zone" effective immediately! Aside from my normal weight training routine, she has thrown me some new cardio workouts that, quite frankly, I wasn't sure I would be able to get through.

The first of my new workouts is called HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and is a no-joke cardio workout. Here is the actual text message from my trainer (to the right)... I was ordered to "Kill it", period! Lol!

One set consists of the following: 5 Burpees, 5 push ups, 10 Burpees, 10 pushups, 5 vertical jumps, 5 full sit-ups, 10 vertical jumps, 10 sit-ups, 5 tuck jumps, 5 laying leg lifts, 20 Burpees. Multiply that set by 3, and you have a full cardio workout.

Now, I have to say, the first round went fairly well. However, the next two rounds I would really have to push myself through. It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be.

My 2nd newest workout comes via Sj, in the form of Tabata. Tabata is no joke. I had only done it a couple of times before Sj sent me my new Tabata workout. I was slightly more worried about getting through this one! But I know for a fact, due to past experience, that I can make it through a tough Tabata workout!

Yesterday, I was not able to perform my Coach-ordered Tabata due to an unforseen migraine. Today, I had what we migraine sufferers call "migraine hangover." It wasn't as bad as it usually is the day after a bad migraine, so I decided to do what my trainer has been teaching me... I decided to just work with what I have where I'm at.

That being said, I put on my workout clothes and Nikes, and walked down to the beach. We have a lovely Farmer's Market down there, so I decided since I could not do any strenuous cardio, that I was feeling up to taking a low impact walk. I shopped, carried home my mostly organic produce, and it felt great to be outside for a bit. My arms were even a little sore after I got home!

Tomorrow I will try my new Tabata workout, providing my headache has fully disapated. To make up for yesterdays missed workout, I will not utilize this Sunday as my "rest" day. I think I rested enough yesterday and today!

Slowly but surely, I am getting this weight off. It is deffinately not happening as quickly as I would have liked, but that is okay. I'm Warrioring through the illnesses that I have created myself, by adding 100+ pounds of extra weight on my body over the years. It took me time to put it all on, and it will take time to work it all off.

But I will get there. One layer at a time. One pound at a time. One clean meal at a time. One workout at a time. One day at a time. XOXOXO Please come follow me over at BellaOnline at my 'Cooking for Kids' forum for awesome healthy recipes for kids and busy moms with busy families: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art65002.asp

~The Kap (Continue scrolling down for my success pictures to date)

My progress, above, from Jan 2012 to March 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Slow Progress Is Still PROGRESS!

April 2nd, 2013

Wow. What a difference a year makes. I don't look like I "imagined" myself to look after busting my butt for an entire year, but I did make significant progress! It was not without many bumps in the road, however.

There was a time not too long ago when I was ashamed of my body. But that all changed on January 1st, 2012, when I decided to post an extremely embarrassing picture on The Eat Clean Diet website, exposing my body (and the damage I had done to it) to the entire world. I'd like to share a message with you, below, from Joyce Meyer today (See attached picture above, dated Jan 1, 2012... that is the exact picture that you will find of me over at the ECD); it is this very message from Joyce last year that changed my life from living in shame, to living with self-love. Here goes:

"God Can Set You Free from Your Shame

Do you ever wonder what life was like for Adam and Eve before they sinned?

Genesis 2:25 tells us that though Adam and Eve were naked in the Garden of Eden, they were not ashamed. I believe that in addition to indicating they were without clothes, this Scripture also implies they were totally open and honest with each other, not hiding behind any masks, not playing any games. They were free to be themselves because they had no sense of shame. Once they had sinned, however, they hid themselves (see Genesis 3:6-8).

If not for the work Jesus did on the cross, all of us would have to live with the overwhelming shame of sin. But because of His sacrifice, mankind has the opportunity to enjoy perfect freedom with one another and with God.

Unfortunately, most of us still live with the burden of shame, even though the Word of God promises us and assures us that we can be free of it (see Isaiah 61:7).

God can deliver you from shame. Pray and ask Him to set you free from the shame that tries to build up within you.

Prayer Starter: Lord, I receive the freedom from shame that You purchased for me on the cross. No more hiding, no more feeling worthless. You have erased my sin and now I want to live free and open before You.

~ Joyce Joyce Meyer Ministries"

I made the decision to post my "before" picture to The Eat-Clean Diet website on Jan 1st, 2012, because I had just entered their 4th Annual Eat-Clean Diet Makeover Challenge. I knew that I had a large amount of weight to lose, but I believed that I could lose it. But I still had "hang-ups" about my body. I decided to give my "hang-ups" to God, and place them in His loving hands the moment I took this picture. When I did, everything changed.

The moment I attached my picture to my ECD profile and hit "Enter" that day, my world changed. It was as if hitting that "Enter" button on my keyboard opened up a new world of freedom for my body and I. I was no longer afraid for people to see me. I no longer felt the need to cover myself up with ridiculous clothing in the summer time. I no longer wanted to hide behind baggy clothes and long T-shirts. I was exposed, in more ways then just the physical nature, the moment I posted that picture.

I assessed my picture and all of the physical ugliness of it. I learned to accept what I had done to myself since losing my daughter in 2002, and I learned to love myself right where I was... 100+ pounds overweight, but still beautiful. Beautiful inside and out. God gave me this body. It's mine to honor Him with, and mine to keep healthy. My body and I have been on a long yet amazing journey over the past year. Although I started eating clean and participated in Overeaters Anonymous over 3 years ago, this past year has been by far the most eye opening and successful.

Soon after I posted my "before" picture on The ECD website last January, I went out and purchased all new clothes! Tops without sleeves were the first items I picked! Then I picked out shorts, skirts, and even a few dresses that were form fitting, instead of baggy. Why I should I punish myself and be uncomfortably hot all of the time, just because I felt the need to cover up my body so no one could see what I looked like underneath? Good bye, baggy T-shirts. So-long, sweat pants and leggings. Hello to a fab new closet full of comfortable, pretty clothes!

Last night, I took the picture posted above on the right (at the very top of this page), which was one of those "Ah-Ha" moments for me! It seems like I've been waiting for almost 3 years to feel and see a difference in my size and my weight. I have learned that, for me personally, my journey has been about so much more then just a number on the scale. It's not even about how quickly I can get my fat to "roll" off of my body. I think that God is taking me through such a long journey because in order for me to consider this as, what Tosca Reno calls a "Lifestyle instead of a diet," I have much to learn about my self, my body, and the foods that I have put into it in the past. There is so much to learn and understand.

It's not just about telling your self not to eat that donut... it's about understanding what is IN the donut that is toxic, and will kill you over time. It's not just about lifting weights and becoming fit; It's about how weight training affects your body and prevents disease such as arthritis, depression, obesity, osteoporosis, and so much more. It's not about being encouraged by others, it's about giving back to others and encouraging them. It's not about me, it's about changing the world and making it a healthier place. It's not about what I go through, it's about what I overcome. It's about realizing the cocoon is just a temporary growing place, where wings and freedom are created!

I have been through tragedy: the loss of a child. I've been through severe depression: Gaining well over 100 pounds because I stopped living my life after my daughter went home to be with The Lord. I've been through anxiety so bad, I stopped associating with people that I love and care about. I stopped leaving my house to socialize or do any thing other then purchase fast food to live on. I became so cold and stone-like, that I had no emotion left in my body, mind, or soul. I have tortured my body with toxic foods for so long, that I have damaged my immune system so badly, I am always sick. I am so brittle, that I always have re-occuring injuries. I have experienced stress, depression, illness, injury, anxiety, and self-destruction more then anyone that I have ever known in my life.

But I can honestly say that, since finding Tosca and The Eat-Clean Diet along with Overeaters Anonymous, I have NEVER GIVEN UP MY FIGHT. Not one time. I may be down a lot, but I will never quit. Tosca has shared so much with us over the years. She has been my inspiration to keep going. She lost her husband, Robert "Bob" Kennedy last May to terminal cancer. Yet she kept going. I have many friends that I consider to be family over on the ECD Website, as well as my FB page. People who are so inspirational, they will not allow me to fail! I love them all... and they know who they are! =)

Without my support system, I would have given up a long, long time ago. My progress may be slow, but I am making progress. I finally see light in the middle of the tunnel. Sure, I have goals, and I set new ones to acheive each and every time I accomplish them. But I no longer put a time frame on my weight loss. My body has not shed much in the way of numbers on the scale, but I am finally out of the 200's !!! I have not seen 191 in over 6 years. It took me 10 years to get where I am today... I no longer expect it to fall off over night.

I'm not certain the exact number of pounds that I gained since 2002~ I always say "I've gained 100+" because I do not have an exact number. But on July 4th, a few years back, I did weight in at over 260 pounds (That's me, above, in the red shirt and blue hat, on the 4th of July). That is the heaviest I had ever been. I did get a little heavier after that, and went up another clothing size, but I joined Weight Watchers and shed about 30+ pounds or so over the course of that year. That was the year that I found the ECD. Weight Watchers did help a little, but being an un-diagnosed food addict at the time, it was not a good program for me to be on. It gave me too much freedom in my food choices.

It's not about the weight. It's about the drive. It's about the push. It's about moving forward, one step and one goal at a time. It's about continuing to do the right thing, even when you don't feel like it. It's about seeking out motivation when you feel like you just can't go another day. It's about your personal journey, and no one else's expectations of you. It's about having integrity, desire, and drive. It's about being centered, staying focused, and asking for help and support when you need it. It's about getting back up when you fall. It's not about how many time's you've fallen, but the Warrior in you who fights back.

It's about loving yourself enough to accept where you are now, and loving yourself enough to fight for what you deserve. It's all about YOU. God intended for all of us to be the best that we can be. For each new day that He gives me, I promise to always do my best in that day, whether it means I have to take tiny steps, or I'm able to leap giant strides.

I will stay focused on the prize. Thank you for that, Bob Kennedy (Read Bob's book 'Bull's Eye' for tips and motivation to achieve all of your goals and dreams)... I will remain FOCUSED.

Always~

The Kaptain