Consistency

Spinach Dip, Party Favourite: Guilt Free

How many parties do we attend and there is spinach dip as an appetizer? I know it's a family staple at a Galo family gathering. I love how it stares at you and telepathically says to you, "eat me!" I've found myself at times really resisting to bite into it because I need to attain some of my fitness goals and a small serving of that oh so good spinach dip, could undo a whole entire workout, I had to find an alternative. 

Have you noticed there is always that delicious but high in fat, high in cholesterol and high in everything spinach dip? How do you stay away from all the gooey, yummy mayonnaise and sour cream mixture with the Knorr's soup mix (which does contain MSG) and crunch of the water chestnuts?  So what do you do? You be a gracious guest and eat the spinach dip provided? Do you just not touch it? Or do you offer the host to bring the spinach dip this time and make it as a healthier alternative? 

Spinach Dip Recipe

1 bunch fresh spinach (Organic if you can) (stems off)

1/2 cup dried vegetables

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp sour cream (low fat is good but not necessary)

1 cube of organic vegetable bouillon- no MSG

4 bulbs of radish- peeled and minced (for texture)

Chop up fresh spinach roughly, set aside

Blanche chopped spinach and then set spinach in a bowl of water and ice (stops the cooking process) 

Squeeze out the extra water from the spinach

Peel and mince radish

In large mixing bowl mix Greek yogurt, olive oil, dried vegetables, sour cream and mix them thoroughly.

Add minced radish to the large bowl of ingredients and then the spinach. Mix thoroughly.

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It is not a bad way to enjoy such a lovely party treat without over-indulging in those awful calories. You could also replace the sourdough (although out of all regular breads, it's not the worst choice) with some gluten free crackers or make some flax seed flat bread. Here's a small recipe for a flax seed (vegan) alternative.

 

Flax Crackers/Bread

Ingredients:

    2 cups ground flaxseed (you can buy it pre-ground or grind whole seeds in a coffee grinder)

    1 cup water (start with 3/4 c. and add more as needed to make a workable dough)

    1/2 tsp sea salt

    1/2 tsp granulated garlic powder

Directions:

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until an even dough forms. Spread evenly onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet - about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Gently cut dough into squares on the baking sheet (you just need to score the dough so it snaps after it's baked - be careful not to cut up your silicone mat or cookie sheet!) Bake for 20-30 minutes until crisp and edges are browned but not burnt.

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In doing these simple changes, you can eat that amazing spinach dip with flax bread and gluten-free crackers only consuming just over a 1/3 of the calories. So next time you are attending the party, offer your services to make this spinach dip snack and bring something you can nibble at throughout the night, without worrying so much about the amount of calories you're ingesting with the heavy mayonnaise and the heavy sour cream. Think of yourself as a tailor, altering a dish to better suit you and a healthier lifestyle. 


Happy entertaining! 


Justine Galo 
twitter: @Aviewfromabroad

What to do When Your Clothes Outgrow You

As a little kid, I remember always wanting to get into a bigger size of clothing. It meant that I was growing, usually taller, and was getting closer to being a 'big kid'.  These days, I look forward to the day my dress size gets to the next smallest size. As I am shrinking in my body measurements, I am finding that I need to purge my closet of the bigger sized clothes and eventually make some room for my current dress size. So where do all those clothes end up?

Are they at the back of my closet? Put away in the attic or basement? Storage? No. The answer is, I am never going to wear those sizes again, so I got rid of them.  The theory of keeping your bigger clothing is that if you ever decide to 'fall off the fitness/nutrition wagon' you will have those clothes there ready for you so you don't have to spend money on a whole new wardrobe. But why? Why not, just get rid of them and work towards your goals and buy clothing that actually fits you. By keeping those clothes in your closet, storage, attic or wherever, you're giving yourself that excuse to fail. In ridding those clothes from your life, you are telling yourself, you have to keep going and work towards the next dress size down.

Some people have said, "I've spent so much money on those clothes, it's such a waste to give them away for nothing." That's not true at all. Are you throwing the clothes in the garbage? I should hope not if they are still useable clothing. There are several solutions to this particular closet purge.

1.   No such thing as a waste if you are donating those clothes to charity or to someone personally that could use them but can't afford to buy a new wardrobe. Look at it as your good deed to those in need. Recycling can also be applied to clothing. I don't know how many times I have gone into a second hand shop and found something I really liked that went with my other wardrobe or added to it. 
2. Consignment stores are a great option for you to sell your special pieces of clothing that you loved, can longer fit in but you just don't have the heart to give it away for free. With the money you can make with your clothing in consignment, put that towards a new "goal outfit" or a pair of jeans you are going to get into eventually. 
3. Have a yard sale. Pick an afternoon on a warm and dry weekend. Get some tags or masking tape with prices written on them and sell your clothes for cash right out of your own backyard. Again, if you are so inclined, you can use the money you made toward a "goal outfit" or just something really nice for yourself presently. Why not? You deserve it! 
4. Have a clothing swap with your friends. Grab some good snacks, a bottle of wine and have a little party amongst your friends. Ask them to bring things they want to purge and swap! Maybe a friend has a pair of shoes you wanted, and she/he fits into your clothes, you could have trade items you have for ones that you want. 
5. If you really want to keep a certain outfit, you can always see if it can be altered by a professional tailor/seamstress. There are some great pieces I know I will have altered to fit me right. 

As I am losing the inches off my body, I realize that having a few goal dresses and outfits here and there in my closet are pushing me to keep going. Maybe in the next couple of weeks or months, I am going to fit in those clothes I have placed in my closet. That feeling of trying on a size you didn't think you would be able to attain a few months ago, is an amazingly rewarding feeling. It's great to know it's just a notch or zip away when you're trying to get fit.

There are more than one option of throwing things in the garbage to get rid of clothes that are just too big for you and also rids you of an excuse to fall back and fit back into that bigger size.  These are just a few of things I've learned as I am going through my fitness journey. I hope that helps inspire some of you on your journey to keep at it and to progress, not regress.

Justine Galo
twitter: @Aviewfromabroad

Eating Out: How to keep it healthy?

It’s not always easy to eat at home for all your meals. Sometimes life just happens and you need to have a break from your kitchen and eat out. Maybe a friend or relative is in town and you want to take them to a restaurant instead of cooking at meal at home.  Birthday dinners and just a night out happens that you have to accommodate. It’s okay. It’s not the end of the world.

However, if you’re going to make that choice to eat out, you should make some good decisions with your food and stay close to your nutrition plan. We are pretty fortunate we live in an environment in the Lower Mainland where a good number people are active, are conscious about the food they are eating so our options are quite a bit better than other metropolitan areas in the country, and even the continent. 

Here are five ways to eat better food, when you are out:

·      Choose two smaller healthier appetizers instead of a big meal- In doing this act, you’re probably saving yourself some calories, sodium and all the other not so good stuff. For example: At the Cactus Club, you can grab yourself some edamame and tuna tataki, you will feel satiated, it tastes good and it’s two of the healthier options on their menu.

·      Half now, half later- kind of like payment plans of sorts. If you don’t want to opt for the aforementioned suggestion, you can always take half home and have it for lunch the next day. Breaking that amount of food down over a 24 hour period is better than trying to break it down in one sitting. 

·      Family Style Eats- I realize this could swing either way, but if you’re serious about keeping up with your nutrition plan, do a family style serving of your meal and only take a decent size portion on your plate and you can let everyone else worry about finishing up the dish.

·      Drink water- such a simplistic notion, but if you sip water or green tea intermittently during the course of your meal, you will fill the void that might have been around if you just woofed down the plate. I find we don’t enjoy our meals these day and if you enjoy your meal, company, the food is broken down easier when you don’t inhale it. Chew it thoroughly and give your stomach a break.

·      GPS-  which stands for greens, proteins and then starch. When you look for a meal with all three of those elements, it helps give you all the nutritional values you need. Also, I find it’s great to eat the food in that order as much as you can. The less of the carbohydrates you take in from that starch, the better it is for you in the end. Like we need our Garmin’s to navigate us through the streets, we could implement this as a road map to our food.

Just a few tricks I find myself using to help me stay on track with nutrition when I am eating out. It’s not as difficult to do, but you have to always be conscious to make sure you apply them to your restaurant meals, when you can’t eat  at home.

Justine Galo

twitter: @Aviewfromabroad

Keep it in The Closet, or Not

Ever feel, despite all your working out and eating right you’re not progressing with your fitness and nutrition goals?   No matter what the tape measure says or what the scale indicates, it’s still hard to fathom that you’re accomplishing anything? Even encouraging words from friends, family and acquaintances don’t seem to cut it? So how do you tell yourself that you’re doing all the right things and that you should keep going? Go to your closet, you might be in for a pleasant surprise.

I know I feel that way from time to time, the off and on again love affair with my body image. In fact, I was feeling that way this past week. I felt that even though I could feel my fitness level increasing, I felt that my measurements and my weight haven’t decreased. It has been a significant amount of time since I have gone down another dress size, so I feel there hasn’t been any real sort of progress, even though, in truth, there was. 

I decided to head to my closet and try on this wonderful and airy Ted Baker dress that I wore for a wedding reception last summer in Manitoba. A dress that I had to practically find creative ways to sneak my body into with the help of my spouse. I felt like I had been shoe-horned in before I made my way into the damn thing. If it weren’t for my spouse and my daughter slowly pulling on each side, carefully applying the butter on my ribcage (ok I’m exaggerating there) I wouldn’t have gotten into it. The whole ordeal of fitting into the dress took a good 15-20 minutes.

I wore that dress for the first time yesterday since the wedding reception, and it slipped on with ease. I was astonished and gleeful and prancing around singing, “Oh my God, the dress fits! The dress fits!”  I was like a kid in a candy store. However, that wasn’t the biggest surprise. My spouse decides to stick two fingers in on each side of dress at chest level. There was room to spare. I think I just about cried.

It’s not always the scale, it’s not always the inches. It’s not always about the BMI or your fat percentage, sometimes, it’s all about the dress. It's like Cinderella, but better.

Justine Galo

Twitter: @Aviewfromabroad

Parch March: Synopsis

So I did it. I went through most of March with the exceptions of three days of no alcohol. It was easier than I thought, but at times, I really wish I dove into the beer or the wine.  In doing this exercise of will power in my nutrition plan, I discovered a few things about myself...

1. I have good will power: I have been in a pub and party environment and I didn't have a sip. I ordered green teas, or other teas, water, and the occasional Diet Coke to join in the beverage fest. "Have a drink" "Yes please! Make mine a green tea!" 
2. Exercising more: I found myself wanting to hit the gym, yoga class, my personal training sessions more often and harder. I'm not sure if it's related to not drinking for the month, but I did find myself sometimes doing 'two a days' (two workouts in one day) to expend the energy. 
3. Eating better: Seems to go hand in hand with what you drink is what you eat and vice versa. As I tightened up my boozing, I also ended up tightening up my food intake. Not meaning I took in less calories, but I, more or less, chose wisely. 

So, it was a great experience overall. I did not regret not being able to have a few drinks at certain parties and of course just wanting a nice glass of red to myself at home. I also dropped a few pounds and more importantly a couple of dress sizes while I was doing my "Parch March" campaign. However, I don't attribute my dropping of two dress sizes to solely to "Parch March", I believe that was an accumulation of work since January on my fitness and nutrition, but it didn't hurt to be dry. 

Would I do it again? Sure! I'm planning to do some dry time in June. If anyone wants to join me in June as an alcohol free month (but you can have a couple of days to have a few) please feel free. You'll be amazed how good you feel not having a few and working towards your goals!

So until then, cheers, I'm pouring myself a glass of wine now, I deserve one, or two. *wink* 

Justine Galo
twitter: @Aviewfromabroad

Sweet Sixteen: Quality over Quantity

Yesterday,I had a session with my trainer, Simone Lovell, founder of Eat Play Love Fitness. As I arrived,I was expecting something of the usual fare: Three exercises, three sets, different time intervals. I have really grown to love our workout sessions together.  Our workout sessions together are always challenging but she decided we were going to workout a little differently that day. Instead of our 'usual fare', we were going to do what I eventually ended up calling my "Sweet 16", an efficient, intense and effective workout method for those of us in the modern world.

For starters, she and I warmed up to a jog outside up a hill on the street and walked down to our marker, being our water bottle. We did that for 15 minutes but even 5 minutes of a good cardio warm-up can get you going if you are even more pressed for time.

Once we got into the Eat Play Love Fitness gym, Simone demonstrated eight different body exercises for me to do. It included squats and shoulder press (yes, together), some abs and core work through crunches and other various ab exercises and of course using the TRX workout for my arms and core, which just happens to be my favourite piece of equipment ever!  (see below)

Love training on this equipment

Sounds pretty normal right? Well, it was far from what I see people doing in the gym and how I have seen people regularly exercise. Simone introduced the Gym Boss to me that day.  It's an interval stop watch that times each exercise (oh I bought one) and each rest time in between them for  x-number different exercises and we did two sets of them.  We did 45 second intervals of training with 15 seconds rest between the exercises totaling eight minutes and since it was done twice, I exercised for a total of 16 minutes, hence the nickname I donned on it, "Sweet 16".

Interval timers that beep to notify you to rest and start your exercise

I will be the first to tell you, it was not all that sweet to do. In fact, it was probably the most intense training I have done in a long time, and definitely my sessions with Simone. We had about a 3-5 minute break between the sets. The idea is to get your heart going as high as you can, and then rest it until it slows down to nearly your normal heart rate before you continue. Apparently, the results are far more effective from doing such a thing.

However, I did feel great later on that day. It really released a lot of stress I was carrying and my body felt that it worked harder than it has in the previous three weeks. Progress. I implemented it in my gym time today and will continue to do so, switching up the exercises, to accomplish my fitness goals.

So what did I take from the "Sweet 16" session? It was an intense workout in a short amount of time, working your entire body and burning more calories and getting you fitter, faster. I learned that the Gym Boss was the best $24 I spent on fitness related things in a long time and I no longer have an excuse to not give myself a fulfilling workout 5-6 days a week. 

I highly recommend implementing this type training into your regimen if you are someone who doesn't have a whole lot of time to dedicate to fitness due to your busy life, which is most of  us out there.  There is always a little time to exercise, even if it's just a short five to eight minute routine, at a high intensity, to give yourself a jolt. It's only a few minutes and really? What have you got to lose (besides inches, calories, pounds, fat percentage)?


Justine Galo
twitter: @Aviewfromabroad