An ode to my mom for her birthday!

My wonderful mama’s birthday was yesterday. She will smack me when she reads this, but she turned 61! AND LOOK AT WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE.

I should be so lucky when I’m her age…man oh man. I love to see people’s reactions when I tell them how old she is (love you ma) because she is such a BABE. Really, the cutest mama around. So happy birthday to you, Mamalu! I love you so much and you are an incredible person with the biggest heart. I love that I can be home now and see you every day! Muah!

We celebrated over the weekend with a special dinner at Nobu in Malibu. The restaurant overlooks the ocean and is just spectacular. The miso black cod is my favorite thing on the planet. I also had some octopus sashimi (dont h8) and a few pieces of their house special roll, which is, hands down, the best sushi roll ever created. Forgot to snap pictures. Oops.

Yesterday, on her actual birthday, we went to a local restaurant called Lure. More fish. No problem there. We shared oysters (I like oysters apparently!) and had a chopped salad with ahi tuna and a side of sweet potato fries. Shocking I know.

And as if that wasn’t enough fish, on Saturday night my mom, dad, and I went to Water Grill downtown before seeing the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. The show was fantastic, and as a former dancer, it was really nice to get to watch professional dancing. Definitely a treat. I ordered sea bream (never had it before, so delicious!) and roasted veggies on the side.

(Just want to point out how handsome my dad is, while I’m gushing over my parents)

As usual, I will end with miscellaneous eats from the last couple days. My attempt to eat lighter and healthier has actually been easier than expected. Just takes the right mindset. Still enjoying a treat every day, like the oatmeal raisin cookies (below) I made for a friend’s birthday (sorry Leeat, I stole a couple…). And I managed to do a Pilates Mat class this morning. It felt AMAZING. Didn’t have to be on my foot at all, so I will be doing that a couple times a week to keep my muscles happy.

Greens with leftover steamed veggies, tuna with vegan canola mayo, avocado, and champagne vinaigrette  Side of cantaloupe..a fruit I was never a huge fan of but now love.

Spaghetti squash. I undercooked it and was sad but ate it anyway.

My dessert lately has involved in one way or another almond butter and chocolate chips. This was more of a dessert disguised as an afternoon snack. So it goes.

Jimmy and I are killing it with brunch lately. We go to the farmer’s market and get fresh strawberries, eggs, and veggies, and make awesome scrambles. ALSO, the best discovery of recent memory: bits and pieces bacon from Trader Joes. Oh myyyyy.

Oatmeal raisin almond butta cookies. The regular almond butter cookie recipe but with raisins and extra cinnamon.

Not food, but check out them crutch critters! 

Fennel, arugula, and artichoke salad.

Adios! Do something good for yourself this weekend :]

When you use your crutches as crutches for errrrythang…

You know when sometimes it seems like it’s one thing after another? Or when you’re 21 and wake up feeling like a 90 year old? Well, folks, that has been my last year. One injury or illness after another left me feeling discouraged, fatigued, depressed, bored, and generally out of shape and unmotivated to keep other parts of my life healthy; ie. my mental health and wellbeing! I talk about this often on this here bloggy, but my my do I have quite a ways to still go.

My current predicament (gradual foot pain that I ignored for months until finally unable to walk on it leaving me on crutches for six weeks with the potential for surgery) is the final straw. Not the “Forget it, I quit!” straw, but the final straw in feeling sorry for myself and making excuses.  Yes, maybe I haven’t walked properly in two months since trying to remedy the situation (first a walking boot for three weeks, then false recovery for two, now no weight-bearing for what feels like forever), but that doesn’t mean I have to give up.

It does not mean that I have to cease adapting to whatever is going on and find a way to make it work. It does not mean that I have to stop eating healthy just because I have to mostly sit on my ass all day. It does not mean that I can’t still go to the gym or lay on my floor doing whatever form of physical activity I can. It does not mean that I get to check out mentally and stop challenging myself. It does not mean that I give up on my hobbies because perhaps I have to sit down while I make my cookies now ;]

So, that said I am, ONCE AGAIN, going to start from square one (or rather keep on keepin’ on!) and approach this newer new chapter of my life (oh how I greeted graduating which such enthusiasm!) with the same excitement I had in my last post. My life hasn’t stopped just because I have convinced myself that I am now “lazy” and “unproductive.” Could I be more critical of myself? Why not use this time to work on new things, take up a new hobby, continue growing current passions, and develop other ideas I have lingering. I tend to post when I have had some revelation (ha!), but really, I am trying to view this as an opportunity born out of what I initially saw as a burdening drawback in what should be an invigorating part of my life. Prepare to see more of me on here for the next few weeks, as there is still a ton to be stoked about, and I want to share that with you.

And if you’ve ever been in this position (who hasn’t?!), let’s chat about it. We all go through slumps and we all get out of them :] Pictures of yummy things tomorrow, I promise – I know the blog is looking a little sad and colorless lately.

Onto New Things…Just Not Sure What.

Since my last post I have finished college and moved back home to California. I miss Connecticut already and it was a bittersweet goodbye, but am happy to be with my family and lovely boyfriend again! No more long distance relationship for this girl! Not to mention the thought of never having another homework assignment is unreal. I am so relieved to be finished and move onto this next chapter. What is this next chapter, you ask? Not too sure. Right now I am just keeping my options open, spending a lot of time in the kitchen and nature, and trying to get into a new temporary routine until I find some semblance of a job.

The holidays were a much needed hiatus from everything, of course, but I can’t stay idle too long or I go nuts. Like my siblings and friends, I will consider this my last week of “winter break” and start getting my butt back into reality, including exercising consistently again…My last semester really set me off my game, though I have successfully managed to not let it bother me :] and am not really looking forward to building my endurance and stamina again. It’s crazy how little time it takes for me to go from strong and fast to gasping for breath on a short run! I think I need some sort of new fitness regime to get me back to where I was, so if any of you are looking to start something similar, let me know and we can plan it together!

Oh, and how is everyone feeling since the cleanse? I actually haven’t gone back to dairy and am shocked at how much it was originally affecting me without me realizing. My tummy has been giving me a big thumbs up. You’re welcome, tummy. I did indulge during the holidays, but am trying to stave off the sugar cravings again with another week of the cleanse. Really for me that just means staying away from sugar until it’s out of my system.

For now, enjoy some pictures from my recent romantic getaway to Yosemite, where Jimmy and I had quite the supernatural run-in with the former hotel owner, Charlotte. I won’t go into detail on here, but let’s just say she didn’t like me very much!  I also tossed in some pictures from the last month, including the best Christmas tree the Maranga Family has ever had the pleasure of having. Seriously, it was a Christmas explosion this year.

 

 

We Did It!!!

Or did we? How was the cleanse? Did you get through unscathed? Any new discoveries or developments? Was it awful the entire time? Did you cave at all? Let me hear your thoughts!

I will admit that I had a glass of champagne and a few bites of vanilla ice cream on Friday night to celebrate Marci’s birthday. It wasn’t temptation as much as me just deciding to eat it. No excuse or rationalization there :]

I am, however, going to continue these eating habits but a little less strict. A cookie here and there and, on Sunday, I am fully planning on having BBQ short ribs and stuffed poblano peppers for my last meal at Marci’s. But, given how great I’ve been feeling, and the fact that I don’t find dairy or sugar to be that difficult to avoid, I will see how well I can stick to it! Why not? Also, I ended up having a terrible headache from that single class of champagne, so I think easing back into the sugar is the best way to go! Just a tip for you all if you start to experience an adverse reaction after not having it for two weeks.

I am so proud of everyone who participated in this cleanse with me. Even if you managed to do it for just one day, that is awesome. If you want to begin to transform your eating habits, my best advice is to start slow, focus on small changes, and don’t consider yourself a failure if you aren’t 100% on top of it. Nobody is perfect, and as I have shared here, I fall back into old habits easily, too. The hardest part is feeling like I failed, but that’s silly! As long as you are doing your best to make healthy choices for yourself, you are never failing.

Think of it this way: You have been eating one way for your entire life, and it is going to take longer than a day to change that. Take the pressure off by telling yourself it’s a lifestyle change, not a diet. Don’t develop an extremist all or nothing attitude. That is counterproductive! Enjoy yourself and take pride in what you are doing and how it makes you feel!

It’s finals this week and then I am moving back to California on the 18th (graduating!), so the blog may be taking a little break until I am home. If you have any questions or want to know how you can take your first step to improving your health through diet and exercise, please feel free to contact me at j.maranga614@gmail.com. It’s different for everyone, but I can help you get your foot in the door. :]

Good luck if you have finals this week!

 

One Week Down, One To Go!!!

WEEK ONE IS OVER! We did it! I am definitely noticing a difference in the way I feel, my energy level, my tummy troubles, and my sleeping habits. It’s also getting much easier to see something “off limits” and not be phased by it. The only exception to this is fruit. I admit that I have been eating more fruit than I should be eating, so I am really going to focus on that for the final week. My water consumption is probably my most surprising strength. I have been going through water like…water? I’m talking a gallon a day without realizing.  So I’m pattin’ myself on the back for that one.

If your meals are seeming a little stale lately, here are some ideas to get you through the next week:

Creamy Pesto “Pasta” with Spring Vegetables from Against All Grain

Gluten Free Cauliflower Rice from Elana’s Pantry

 

Spice Rubbed Salmon from The Naptime Chef

Papillote of Sea Bass with Asparagus from Delicooks

Paleo Fish Tacos from Against All Grain

Greek Chicken Kebabs & Salad from Cookin’ Skinny (sans cheese)

Sweet Corn Salad Wraps from Cookie and Kate

Chicken Tortilla Soup from Yeah…Imma Eat That

Rosemary Roasted Squash & Sautéed Mushroom Salad from Deliciously Ella 

Quinoa Sushi Rolls from Wholesome Cook

 

Cauliflower, Carrot & Kale Grain Free Pizza Crust from Fresh4Five

Spicy “Spaghetti” & Meat Sauce from Ari’s Menu

Vegan Chili from The Vedge

 

Good luck with our last and final week!

 

Clean Snacks.

Day Four! How are we doing? I am definitely starting to feel way less disgusting now.  My stomach is no longer bloated and my jeans are fitting better.  I think the dairy has finally left my system.  It’s crazy how much stress it causes on my insides!  I think that’s my main culprit at the moment.  What about you guys?  Notice any differences?  More energy?  Less?  I wouldn’t be surprised with either.  If you are used to eating a lot of sugar, you could be experiencing somewhat of a withdrawal. Now that your blood sugar isn’t spiking as high and as often, it should start to level out and you will see your energy balance out too as that happens.

SNACKS!

I’ve had some people ask me how to snack on this cleanse.  I admit sometimes it’s hard to get creative on the healthy snacks, but my approach is to just keep it simple. For those of you, like myself, constantly on the go and in need of some munchies between meals, here are some ideas that have worked for me :]

-Nuts: Raw almonds and walnuts are my go-to

-Veggies & Hummus: There is this amazing organic hummus from Costo for like 5 bucks and it’s gigantic, just an FYI

-Celery & Almond Butter

-Rice Cake & Almond Butter

-Homemade Veggie Chips: Thinly slice (with a mandolin preferably) sweet potato, beets, and parsnips and…get this…stick it in the microwave for a minute on a piece of parchment paper. Flip and microwave for another 30sec-1min. Sprinkle with sea salt. Or put them in the oven, but that takes longer and I always burn them haha

-Kale Chips (sans maple syrup)

-Edamame 

-This Awesome Guacamole  & Veggies

- Hard Boiled Eggs: Simple, yet effective. Also awesome when mixed in with avocado, a little mustard, paprika, salt & pepper. A glorified egg salad.

-Pistachios: Yes, also nuts but don’t you agree they deserve a category of their own? They’re just soooo gooooood.

-Organic Popcorn: If you can find organic popcorn seed you can put a couple tablespoons them in a paper lunch bag and fold down the top a few times, stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes…popcorn. Or just buy the boxed kind but please, buy non-GMO corn! (And mind your grain servings ;] )

-Roasted Chickpeas: These are HIGHLY addicting. You’ve been warned.

 

Hopefully those will help some of you out :] You can make a lot of this stuff in advance and just keep it in containers ready to take on ze go.

Here’s some of what I’ve been eating the last few day (admittedly not as aesthetically pleasing as say, that drippy egg from the other day, but no less tasty!):

3 Ingredient Pancakes but with sweet potato instead of pumpkin

 

A semi-insane messy bowl: quinoa, onion, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, sun dried tomato, and tuna with a side of roasted sweet potatoes (unpictured). This made no sense but it tasted actually really solid. 

 

Another messy-bowl but with more mess: mushrooms, shallots, chard, peppers, radishes, salmon (unpictured), white beans, wild and brown rice, brussels, avocado, sun dried tomato. Thank goodness for leftovers tomorrow because that was a ton of food.

First Impressions?

Well? How did Day One go? Feeling cleansed yet? Yeah, me neither. I think all that pie is still sitting there. But stick with it, friends! The first day was pretty simple for me, but I did feel weird not having something sweet to end my day. I had a handful of freeze-dried peaches and it actually did the trick. So maybe a suggestion for you post-dinner sweet eaters like myself, save a fruit serving for afterwards! Once the sugar leaves your system, you will crave it much less. I promise.

I ate damn well today, not gonna lie. I realize I put much more thought into my food when I am eating clean. I want it to taste great, not plain or boring, which we can fall victim too quickly when we can’t stuff our food immediately between two slices of bread or cover something in honey…

I was not very hungry today as my stomach is still angry at me from the last few days… But here goes:

Kicked my day off with black coffee and water (Did you drink your 2 liters today? I got to almost 3!)

Poached egg over roasted root vegetables (the last of my Thanksgiving leftovers, sad), avocado and a bed of spinach with hot sauce, Himalayan pink salt and pepper.

Lunch was kind of silly. I tried to “panini press” my frozen beet/bean/rice veggie burger but it totally failed. So I ate my burger-mush with avocado and a side of red pepper and hummus. Still tasted just as good in mush-form, just a little on the ugly side haha ;]

For dinner, Marci made a lovely homemade soup that wafted throughout the house allllll day. I made us all a salad of lettuce, kale and arugula from the garden, radishes, avocado, tomato, cucumber, and as a special touch I roasted thinly sliced fennel with EVOO and salt and pepper. It was the greatest salad topping addition of all time.

Not too shabby for a cleanse!

What did you guys have? Any struggles? Easier than you thought? Harder?

What Will Be Your First Meal?

I am an egg gal, so I know I will be having a giant plate of eggs and veggies. Here are some great breakfast recipe ideas you can try that are Jenna-approved for the next two weeks! Now’s the time to get creative and start seeing what goes into your food! Best way to do that is to make it yourself ;]

Here are some simple recipes that are guaranteed  to keep you going strong all morning:

3 Ingredient Pumpkin Pancakes  from Katie Did

Paleo Pancakes from Detoxinista 

Zucchini Herb Omelet from Torview

Baked Eggs with Sausage & Sweet Potato Hash from Joy of Kosher

Breakfast Tostadas from Fueling Endurance Performance 

Brussels Sprouts Breakfast Hash from How Sweet It Is

Muffin Cup Baked Eggs from A Sweet Simple Life

Turkey Apple Breakfast Patties from Katrina Runs For Food

Good luck and make healthy choices! <3

Tomorrow We Cleanse!

Everyone ready for tomorrow?  I can’t even explain how ready I am.  My stomach is doing summersaults just thinking about it! …Or maybe that’s just from all the leftovers I ate yesterday.

I’ve had some people ask me questions regarding “the rules.”  Just to clarify whether or not you should be drinking alcohol, coffee, or diet sodas (and other artificially sweetened things).  My answer to alcohol and artificial sweeteners is NO.

Artificial sweeteners are chemicals that are more harmful than natural sweeteners–Splenda, Equal, Sweet n Low…you know the ones I’m talking about.  These sugar substitutes also have more scientific names that you may not recognize on your food labels: aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose, neotame, and acesulfame potassium.  Fancy, huh?

I rarely say this because I don’t really believe in “giving things up forever,” but give up diet sodas and diet foods..forever.  The whole “low fat,” “light” trend is referred to as a Health Halo.  It appears to be healthy because it’s less fattening or sugar free, and yes, maybe there are less calories, but as a general rule of thumb, if they’ve taken something out of it, they’ve replaced it with something else.  Namely, sodium and other preservatives.  Yuck.  Just eat real foods and you’ll never have to worry ;]

(But actually let’s not) Alcohol also has a ton of sugar and, well, this is a cleanse…we want to get rid of toxins not the other way around.  Post cleanse, however, a glass of red wine a couple times a week is actually very beneficial to your health!  For now let’s avoid it because of the sugar content.

Coffee.  This one is tough.  The reason I’m going to go ahead and say drink coffee is because I have given up coffee for months at a time in the past and have noticed a few things.  One is that you will have an incredible headache for four days, and I don’t want to be the one held responsible for that because it’s actually something you should ween off of rather than cut cold turkey.

Another is that unless I am addicted and drinking several cups a day (like needing to drink it to stay awake, which is how it used to be), giving up coffee hasn’t had that much of impact.  My suggestion is to limit yourself to one to two cups a day, black or with a little unsweetened almond or coconut milk.  This, in my opinion, has actually been more beneficial that calling it quits all together.  Coffee has very positive qualities when consumed in moderation.  It stimulates your metabolism, reduces risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, and depression, and even aids in post-workout muscle recovery. Fun coffee facts, for ya.

If you have any more questions, let me know. We commence tomorrow! I will post recipes later today for some breakfast ideas. Let’s get our cleanse on!

Post-Thanksgiving Clean Eating Cleanse.

Okay, folks.  Thanksgiving hasn’t even happened yet and I am already hopped up on sugar (or evaporated cane juice, agave nectar, and honey) and feelin’ a deep need for some clean eating cleansing.  Please join me (it’s so much easier when we do it together!) in a two week post-Thanksgiving cleanse.

Now, let’s make this clear from the get-go.  This is NOT a fast.  This is NOT a juice cleanse.  I mean, hell, drink your juice by all means.  But I find the best and most effective approach is one you can actually stick to.  This may be harder for some of you than others…in other words, this could be a complete overhaul for those who are not entirely mindful of what they put in their bodies (as I once was), but you never know until you learn, right?  Others, this could be similar to what you already do and maybe you’ve just lost your focus a bit…perhaps started eating an extra GF cookie here…with a giant scoop of organic soy ice cream there…ANYWAY.

Consider these the guidelines (there are only five!), but of course tailor to your needs:

THE DONT’S 

1. No sugar of any kind — That means no honey, agave, maple syrup, etc.  And that means looking on your ingredients list and seeing if there is any word with an “ose” at the end.  Common sugar names you will see: fructose, sucrose, dextrose, etc…as well as the syrups (corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup).  The only exception to this is 1-2 servings of fruit a day.  If it’s sweet and not a piece of fruit, put it down for two weeks.  An easy trick for this: stay away from packaged processed foods that use sugar as a preservative, which leads us to #2…

*My ONE recommendation is to not deviate from the no sugar.  This, as I have come to realize time and time again, makes a huge difference.  If you’re gonna cleanse your own way…let this be your focal point.

2. Put away the junk food — Self explanatory.  No Doritos for two weeks…if it comes in a package isn’t something you know in your heart is good for you, do yourself a favor.  I’m talking granola bars, sugary cereals (both have sugar anyway), potato chips, etc.  If you still want to eat cereal in the morning I recommend Nature’s Path, it’s organic and non GMO. Plus it’s delicious. Look for a variety that is unsweetened and eat with unsweetened almond milk or something.

3. No dairy  – Not even yogurt.  Watch your gas cease to exist<3

4. No wheat — This one will be tough for many you if you do not already follow a diet sans wheat or gluten.  I encourage all of you to give it a go.  Many people have a sensitivity to dairy or wheat without even realizing it.  If you find that when the two weeks are up any tummy, skin, head, or poopie (yes poopie) problems have gone away, I strongly recommend reintroducing these two items into your diet one week apart to see if either is the cause.  This is how I discovered my allergy to wheat and sensitivity to dairy.  I have been A BILLLLLLION times better since.

5.  Limit grains to 3-4 servings a day — Don’t ruin this cleanse by only eating brown rice pasta for two weeks and thinking you’re going strong.  And be mindful what a serving is…1/2 cup of cooked brown rice pasta, 1/2 cooked brown rice…Quinoa is a seed so have a ball ;]

This leads me to the do’s….

THE DO’S. 

1. 2 liters of water per day — Minimum.  Be ready to pee a lot, but also feel great.

2. Eat as many colorful vegetables as you want!  – This is a calorie counting thing.  Eat your veggies and eat them till you can’t eat them no mo’!

3. Include healthy fats into your diet — Nuts, nut butters, avocado, healthy oils, salmon, etc.

4.  Don’t forget your lean protein — I’m not saying don’t have any beef or bacon, but if you can, stick to lean proteins…your white meats (chicken, turkey, pork…), fish fish fish, eggs, etc.

Try to incorporate ALL of these into each meal! This is the best way to make sure you are full, satisfied, and getting as many nutrient dense items in your diet as possible. The cravings will take a few days to disappear.  For some, they may not let up.  If that’s you, try going at this for three weeks and see how you feel after.  I find that once the craving for sugar goes away, the clean eating is much easier to stick to.  Remember, the more sugar you eat, the more your body wants to eat sugar.  It’s a vicious cyle, which is why I emphasize the importance of no sugar on this cleanse.

OKAY.  Not toooo bad, right?  You all think you can manage two weeks of that? Because left-overs are important to me and to the world (we don’t wanna be wasteful, amirite?!), we start the cleanse Sunday November 25 and end on Sunday December 9.  Start it earlier and end later if you want, but I will be posting throughout those two weeks with recipes and information to keep you going strong.  If you have any questions at all, please email me at j.maranga614@gmail.com or comment below. I will do my best to help you with whatever you need!

Also, if you want a more specifically tailored plan to suit your needs and want to work privately with me, just shoot me an email and together we can come up with something like a meal plan for you.

**I am not a registered dietician, nutritionist, or doctor. My advice comes from my personal experience and research. Refer to a doctor for advice or approval if that would make you more comfortable.**