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Health Starts Here: Week 4 Re-cap {Adobo}

Good Morning friends!

I don’t have much time before I need to get ready and head off to work.  This week has already been super busy & tight for me, but I love this little break to come and blog!

Our week 4 session doesn’t cover much material because we had a cooking demonstration from a local Restaurant owner/chef, Chef Luis Bruno who owns Adobo in Jackson, MS.  He was such a sport when Mary Lindsey told him what our stipulations were for the challenge and he accommodated everything to fit within our restrictions!  He was hilarious and fun to spend the evening with!  I can’t wait to try Adobo for myself and if you’re in the Jackson, MS area, you should too! 

A little about the Chef: Chef Luis is Puerto Rican, but has been in the Jackson area for 20 years now.  He grew up in the Bronx and his life was far from easy.  He dealt with a lot of health issues throughout life including fluctuating weight, club feet, diabetes, and multiple family deaths.  He decided to attend culinary school in Florida and gained even more weight there.  He ended up in Mississippi at the Governor’s Mansion, but eventually opened up his own restaurant.  He did the liquid diet through the Baptist Hospital where he lost a lot of weight and began cooking healthier.  His restaurant now uses very little oil to cook and does not fry a single thing on the menu.  If he adds cheese or other flavorings, it’s in moderation and it acts as another substitute (ex: He adds feta cheese to his Roasted Corn Salsa, he didn’t in our demonstration, but he says the cheese was his salt.  It was not the main part of the dish, but it added that little seasoning flare).

On the Menu:

Black Bean Burgers

Asparagus Salad with Roasted Red Peppers & Capers

Spicy Basil Guacamole

Roasted Corn Salsa

 

chef-luis

roasted-corn-demonstration

adobo-chef

health-starts-here-plate

asparagus-mushroom-sample

black-bean-burger-sample

Chef Luis did an excellent job and delivered dishes that were easy to make and flavorful!  He also has a cookbook with all of these recipes in there!  If you’re ever in the Jackson area, be sure to check out Adobo!  Thank you Chef Luis for a wonderful evening with the Health Starts Here Challenge!

My week 4 went really well.  I was strict throughout the week and did a lot of prep before hand with chili & veggie rice.  I also stuck to it on the weekend and my parents decided to eat lunch with me on Saturday at Whole Foods.  That was the first time all month that I’d eaten out with my parents because I opted not to go the other times when they went out to eat.  Again, I cannot express how much I enjoyed this challenge!  I’ll be re-capping our graduation as well as some topics we discussed that I believe will help me maintain a diet similar to the one I was challenged to for the past 28 days!  Can’t wait to share my overall thoughts more in depth!

Have a wonderful Tuesday y’all!  I’ll be back shortly to share about Graduation night!

Veggie Chili & Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins

Hey y’all!

How has your Tuesday been?  Mine was good.  I woke up and watched Big Brother while I ate breakfast.  I was extremely pleased with how it ended and I’m excited about tomorrow night’s episode!  I went to work and had a fairly productive, but nicely paced day.  I got about 2 hours of Series 6 studying in, so that was exciting!  After work, I went to my favorite class, HIIT!  We had a sub, but I’ve taken Cheryl’s classes before and absolutely love her!  Today was no different and I had a great time.  I decided to stick around for Abs afterwards and I’m fairly certain my abs are thanking me because they got a killer workout!

I’m on my last week of my 28 day challenge and I decided to make Quick & Easy Veggie Chili with some of my all-time favorite Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins!  This will be my first time trying the chili, but as it’s simmering it looks pretty dang good!  I’ve had the cornbread muffins before and they’re wonderful!  I can eat 3-4 at a time and I can eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus snacks in between!

Here is the final product of my dinner:

veggie-chilli-cornbread

I don’t think the weather is fitting for chili, but for some reason I decided to make it this week.  I think between the simplicity and the leftovers, it become an easy choice.  I could eat chili year round though!

Now, completely off topic… seriously, I have no good transition.

I’ve been having a hard time finding my work/fitness/health/blogging balance.  I know I’m not the only one.  I have a long list of goals and although I’m doing great at work right now and I’m about to get a new certification, I feel like work consumes all of my day because I’m there from 7:30-4:30 without taking many lunches during the week (which is entirely my own fault, I’m not forced to not take a lunch).  With my new healthy eating (thanks to the 28 day challenge) I know my mind is clearer than every before and I could tackle a lot more in a day if I learn how to do so.  As I continue to stick to this healthy eating (at least most of the time) then my desire is to start working on this long list of goals that I have for my life outside of my normal work day.

GOAL 1: Blog 2 times a day.

I started blogging with the idea that blogging once a day was awesome, and seriously… it still is!  The best advice I’ve heard though is to take notes from the blogger you want to be.  That doesn’t mean that you copy someone else or you become a person that you truly are not, but you see what works for the bloggers that you enjoy reading day in and day out.  For me, I absolutely love Julie from Peanut Butter Fingers.  I would love for my blog to reach the level that hers is at.  She blogs about 2 times a day, so to find my success, I want to follow in her footsteps.  I also want meaningful content that matters to ME!  I feel that blogging twice a day will help get me in the habit and allow me to improve my writing.

GOAL 2: Create a blogger event for Mississippi.

I’m not sure what this is going to be yet.  I’d love to do a conference or a quarterly meet-up.  I want to get brands & local business involved with our blogging community.  I have a whole list of goals that fall under this one umbrella.

GOAL 3: Be active daily.

I don’t need a strict workout daily, but I want to live an active lifestyle.  If I don’t have a workout planned for the day, I want to go on a walk, go a leisurely bike ride, take my dog out to the park.  I want to be active!  I do want 5-6 days a week for serious workouts at the gym.  Heck, I’m paying for the membership, so I want to get my money’s worth!  I’m not a strict gym-goer though.  If it’s beautiful outside, I’m definitely going to be outside!

GOAL 4: Eat Healthy.

Thanks to Whole Foods and their 28 day challenge, I’m learning new ways to incorporate eating healthy into my every day life.  It can be time consuming though which is why I feel it’s another goal I need to improve upon and balance in my life.  It’s getting easier, but I still have a ways to go.  I don’t want to cut out everything that I am in the 28 day challenge though, I just want to eat it in moderation.  I will probably cut back heavily on my dairy because I think the benefits are amazing for me personally.  I have a serious sweet-tooth, so I’ll continue baking & enjoying sweet treats, but again… in moderation and I’ll be more selective about what I choose to make!

I’m looking forward to what the rest of the year holds and all the things I’m able to accomplish by then!  My mind feels sharp, I’m motivated, and I have my goals!  I’ve been talking about these for a while now, but I finally feel like I’m at a place where I can work towards them!

  • What goals do you have for a work/health/blog balance?
  • What blogger do you most look up to?

Health Starts Here: Week 3 Recap!

Wow, I haven’t been here in a week!  That was completely unexpected, but I have a lot of good stuff coming and I’m excited to share my re-cap from Week 3 of my Health Starts Here Challenge.

In case you missed it:

DINNER

Let me go ahead and share my dinner from tonight because it was delicious and perfectly hit the spot!

whole-foods-hot-bar

Brown Rice w/ Fiesta Brocolli, Roasted Corn, Asparagus w/ carrots, cabbage, strawberries, & cantaloupe!  It was refreshing, it was flavorful, it was everything I wanted out of my dinner tonight!  I was already at Whole Foods for our Week 4 Meet-up and it was so much fun!  I look forward to sharing that with you next week.  I can’t believe we’re almost done, we have one week to go and next Monday night will be Graduation from the Challenge!

WEEK 3 MEET-UP

Week 3 started off with an amazing speaker, Terry Sullivan, from  liveRIGHTnow in Jackson, MS!  I was so encouraged by listening to someone who sees the need & importance of bringing fitness to Mississippi, but who also believes there is hope for our state to improve! His website provides information on a lot of fitness events throughout central Mississippi and I’m especially looking forward to their Java Run on Wednesday mornings.  With my work schedule, I’m not sure how I’ll pull it off yet, but I’m determined to make it to at least one morning jog with free coffee & community!

Now, lets dive in to what Terry taught us!

The first question he asked was “What does it mean to be fit?”  He broke the answer into 4 categories: How you measure up (BMI, Bodyfat %, HR, Cholesterol), How you feel physically (energy, strength), How you feel mentally (stress, sleep, happiness), and How sustainable your fit lifestyle is (short term vs. long term).  Every one of these answers gives YOU and everyone around you a reason to live a healthy lifestyle!

Sadly, Mississippi ranks 50th in overall health, heart related death, & high cholesterol.  Mississippi ranks 49th in cancer deaths, obesity, and diabetes.  These numbers motivate me to a healthier lifestyle and they motivate me to share my love & desire for health with others!  All of these statistics can be changed and that provides me with hope that one day Mississippi will not be last!   I love what he said, “We can be victims or we can be part of the solution” and I seriously want to be part of the solution!

He encouraged us to workout a minimum of 3 hours per week and gave us countless options to do it!  Another favorite quote, “Options = not excuses.”

Throughout his session, we didn’t necessarily learn the ins and outs of fitness and the proper moves & techniques, but it was a huge motivator to incorporate exercise into the diet we’re already doing!  He said that 80% of your healthy lifestyle should be what you put in your body, the other 20% should be exercise.

I’m so excited to join some of the group runs & events they have going on at liveRIGHTnow!

MY WEEK AT A GLANCE

Again, my work week went smooth!  I made a mistake once mid-week, but other than that, it was great!  My weekend was one to be ashamed of though and I’m sad to say it.  I was in Starkville with Nick for the weekend and we ate out a good bit.  As I mentioned in my last post, I’m determined to get one full week (including a weekend) where I firmly stick to the challenge and I believe this coming week is it!  I’ll be home, Nick’s staying in Starkville, and I’m going to make all of my meals at home.

This week on the menu:

Those are the only “meals” I’m making, but I just picked up some cereal & ezekial english muffins for breakfast.  I also bought some salad & veggies to munch on throughout the week.

I’ve already decided to stick similarly to this diet once the challenge is over.  Reducing the amount of dairy I’m having is making major strides in my daily life!  Although I’ve had cheated on the weekends, I’ve still felt great so I think sticking to this plan moving forward will work great for my lifestyle as long as I don’t overdo it too much on the weekends.

Mary Lindsey has been so great about bringing us recipes at each meet-up and I have so many awesome ones to try!  Can’t wait to share how they turn out!

BLISS LINK-UP

I’m really looking forward to the Bliss link-up this month because I’ll be sharing all of my favorite items from the Health Starts Here Challenge!  Hopefully you’ll try out some of the products I share and swap some basic items with a healthier version!  The link up is NEXT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27TH!

Hope y’all have a great week!

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The views and statements expressed on No Bologna are my own. You are reading No Bologna at your own risk and I am not providing any type of professional advice. Unless otherwise noted, all material on No Bologna may not be used, reprinted, or published without my consent. I do occasionally have affiliated links on my blog - this does not raise the price of the product, I simply get a very small commission from the regular retail price if something is purchased using an affiliated link on my site. I appreciate any support by you in regards to affiliated links.