Herbed Artichoke Chicken and Sweet Potato and Edamame Hash

These can be made together or separately! Both are equally delicious and make a lot of food.

Herbed Artichoke Chicken:

Below is the recipe from CrockPot- I actually have yet to be able to find quick cooking tapioca so I usually do the recipe without it. It turns out fine, though the broth isn't as thick. I also like to use different flavors of diced tomatoes. Garlic or basil is the best!

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can of drained, diced tomatoes

1 artichoke hearts (drained)

1 small chopped onion

1 cup of fat free reduced sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup kalamata olives (sliced and pitted)

1/4 dry white wine

3 tbs quick cooking tapioca

1 tbs chopped parsley

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp basil

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients into crock pot, stir to blend. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours until chicken is cooked through.

Calories- 219 per serving

Protein- 18g

Carb- 13g

Saturated Fat- 3g

Sweet Potato and Edamame Hash:

I think I got this recipe off of the cooking channel once. It's super delicious and can be served hot or cold!

1 8 oz. package of diced ham

1 onion finely chopped

1 tbs olive oil

2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 minced garlic clove

1 12 oz. package of frozen shelled soybeans

1 12 oz. package of whole kernel corn

1/4 cup chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

Here I used canned corned and drained it. Obviously you can use fresh corn as well- whichever is more convenient! I also used yams instead of sweet potatoes, because once again, I can't really tell the difference between the two! They taste very much the same, but I prefer the orange color of the yam =)

Saute ham and onion in oil over medium heat for 6-8 min, until ham is lightly browned. 

Stir in sweet potatoes and saute 5 min.. Add garlic and saute another minute.

Stir in soybeans and the rest of the ingredients. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 10 min while stirring occasionally.

The original recipe suggests serving this over a poached egg with arugula. I imagine that would also be very delicious!

And here is the end result: herbed artichoke chicken with sweet potato and edamame hash!

SkinnyMint Teatox Part 2!

I've officially completed the SkinnyMint 14 day Teatox!

I'm actually really going to miss this tea.

The night tea was my absolute favorite- I love ginger and I also feel like I got the most results. It does make you need to go to the bathroom (which is fantastic for me!) but its not the type of detox that keeps you on the toilet all day long. I feel much less bloated and more regular- after meals I feel full but not overly stuffed and full of water. Things are flowing so much better and I feel a lot cleaner.

I'm ready to try the 28 Day Teatox! My before picture was taken on a day after the gym when I actually wasn't super bloated (these are extremely rare days) but after the 14 day experiment my stomach is definitely flatter and feels a lot better. I highly recommend giving it a try!

Before teatox. On a great day when my stomach was actually no bloated (typically doesn't look like this!)

After teatox. A subtle change but this is how it stays for the most part- I don't bloat nearly as badly feel so much cleaner!

You can squeeze a lot of tea out of these little bags (two strong cups or three lighter ones) so use them up since it is a little more pricey. Also try to cut back on caffeine because the morning boost makes you feel pretty good- I took it too late in the day the first time and I was still wide awake by ten o' clock at night!

Beginning the Fitness Journey!

So I've always loved exercise. Riding horses, yoga, hiking, running, going to the gym etc. but I've never had a routine or a goal I was really striving for.

In Colorado we lived close to a trail so I started running (I've always been awful at it) and started progressively getting better at it. CSU also had a gym that I would go to once in a while but I would always just randomly use machines. When I first moved to Hawaii I was struggling with what to do with my time (having graduated and all) and was needing to blow off some steam and anxiety. I started going to our fitness center on base and have been progressively working towards goals since!

Learning to work out has been fun- and I still have a lot to learn. Pushing for goals is very insightful because you really get to understand how your body works. For example- it is really difficult for me to burn fat. I also compensate a lot of my weight lifting because I've been so used to protecting my bad knee. My digestion is awful and I'm always bloated. Among other things these have been my biggest realizations that I'm still working with! 

I started working out a couple times a week in February with goals to gain more upper body strength. I really want to be able to do unassisted pull ups some day (I was never even able to do the monkey bars when I was a kid because my arms were too weak and my joints are very loose and spongey!) I spent some time figuring out all of the different machines in the gym and what I liked or didn't like and my routine has definitely changed over a couple of months.

(The pictures on the left are when I started in February. The pictures on the right are the same swim suit now in May!) 














Pardon my awful shorts tan line haha.

 I'm happy to see a little bit of progress! Subtle changes are small win <3

It is important to keep a record of what you are lifting and how much so that you are always improving- other wise you go into a plateau and your body just kind of sits where it is at.  I have not been on the quest for weight loss at all, but I've been focusing on trying to tone and build muscle. 

I've also learned how important it is to take pictures of your progress because the scale can be extremely discouraging. I got one of those scales that measures muscle mass, water weight, and body fat and it makes me crazy because I fluctuate so much. 
Over this process I've actually gained about 4 lbs, which I would be fine with if my other numbers were where I wanted them as well. (Apparently my body fat has gone up and muscle mass has gone down!) but then I look at my pictures and I'm very happy with the progress that I see. 

As of right now I go lift weights every other day, run the days in between, and go to yoga once a week. I do assisted pull ups, curls, some core work, and I love squats (with the bar) I'm proud of my results at this point in time, but now I'm making these my new beginning mark so that in six months I hope to have made even more progress (part of my deployment goals is to be able to lift and run certain amounts!)

Here are the biggest keys that I've learned about fat loss:
1. Balance cardio and weight lifting. Too much cardio can actually give your muscles a softer appearance, while as too much weight lifting can make everything look bigger if you aren't losing fat at the same rate. You have to have muscle in order to be able to make it look more defined, however, if you aren't losing fat as quickly as you are building muscle you may just feel "bigger."
2. Diet is everything- as it always is. Eat several smaller meals a day to keep your metabolism boosted. Try to cut back on carbs and sugars and eat a lot of protein- protein is what will help you build muscle. Don't ever go hungry!
For example- I've made some changed such as brown rice instead of white rice, whole grain breads, low fat yogurts, etc. I try to pair and wheat carb that is slow burning paired with a protein. I'm trying to get more veggies in my diet and have fruits for snacks, and most importantly drink more water!
However, I don't short myself when it comes to certain things. Yes I make changes for a healthier lifestyle, but I am not as determined to be some of those people that never ever have sweets or carbs. (I'm at starbucks as we speak. Hah!) But I do try to keep things in moderation. I've definitely cut back on alcohol and almost never have soda if I can help it. I've replaced regular milk with almond milk- all these things make your body feel a lot better.
If you stop buying things like chips and sweets (which I love tremendously) then you can't eat them. If I do get ice cream I try to get a healthier option, such as Fro Yo, or as of recently I've been getting the flavored Yoplait Lights and adding a little granola. (Peanut butter granola and boston cream pie flavored yoplait is the bomb.)

Now I do all of these things, but I've actually gained a little weight and my body fat (according to the scale) has not budged, or goes up a little bit. The last thing I've learned is this:

3. Inflammation and survival mode
When your body is under constant stress from work outs your muscles undergo a lot of inflammation, which can cause your water weight to shift, and the body fat scale to read differently. Survival mode is when your body goes into stress and starts storing fat to "live off of" this is particularly the issues with women- our bodies are biologically made to store fat at all costs (go us. we can survive in the wild longer.) But it sucks when you are trying to lose it! The more we work out and diet, the more our body starts to panic and won't let go of that fat.

I'm thinking this is where I'm at because I work out almost every day and have a pretty decently healthy diet. I'm trying to incorporate a little more rest time, as well as cut down on carbs (I have a hard core carb craving in the evenings, which is a huge no no.) So I'm still working on all of this and figuring out- it makes you so much more aware of your body and how easy it is to not take care of it! 
So far we are week 1 into deployment. Let's see where I can get to in 6 months!

Dealing with Dog Aggression

A new dog training article! It's been a while since my last one.
 How to begin dealing with your dog's aggression.

http://www.examiner.com/article/dealing-with-dog-aggression

Most important things to remember:

1. do not get anxious or yell at your dog.
2. Break the stare and redirect their attention (and reward them when they do! Click and treat for looking away from the other dog)
3. Move away from the stimuli if needed.
4. Be safe and aware of your dog's behavior and surroundings.