Beach Vacation & Christmas = Interesting Combo

It's finally time!

Time to take off to Varadero, Cuba. I won the trip about a month ago and at times I think time slowed down and crawled backwards but at the same time, I can't believe it's the end of November already.

Doesn't look to shabby to me?! - img via

We are leaving early Saturday morning and have a quick layover in Calgary. We should be getting into Cuba around 9pm, just in time to grab a drink at the bar. I've got to be honest, I never considered going to Cuba as I had heard from so many people how bland the food was. I never even spent a minute to investigate it on my own. Well ever since we won the trip I've been googling and flipping through pictures of Varadero. People!! Why didn't you tell me they had gorgeous beaches?! Food, who cares about food when you have gorgeous white sand beach and crystal blue ocean waves sparkling at you. All I need is a drink in hand and I'm good. Jeeeez.

I'll definitely be reporting back on my opinion of Cuba compared to other Carribean destinations. I've heard that the people are quite charming and nice like in Dominican Republic. Sweet news to my ears.

We get back into Vancouver on December 2nd. It's going to be strange going from pretty much no Christmas activity in our town to boom, Christmas season galore. I'm excited to start decorating our place. It's our first year in our new condo and our first Christmas living together. Our place is far too tiny to have a fake or real tree so I've scanning the web and Pinterest (of course) trying to find some alternatives. Any ideas anyone?

A little Christmas tree this year - img via

I've been having a craving for pomegranate's this past couple weeks and gave in the other day and bought Scott and I a big one. I couldn't believe that it cost $5.00 just for one but I just had to get my fix. I haven't been having any sugar treats so this was going to be my splurge treat. I tried out the under water method of opening it up. It works so well! It was alot easier then tearing at it while all the pomegranate juice squirts on your hands, eyes and clothes. Come December I'm going to try creating a Pomegranate Martini. Any recipes you could suggest??

A simple pomegranate martini - know of any great recipes? - img via

Well folks, until December....
Have a great holiday Thanksgiving and talk to you soon. xo

-Michelle

The Soda Pop Ban Debate

What's your opinion of the ban on super sized sodas in New York City?

I think it's a good idea. People don't realize how many calories they are consuming and how much sugar is in them. People also don't take in account the amount chemicals they are consuming when they drink the diet and normal soda pop. Over time a large consumption of soda pop can catch up to your health and cause harm.

I understand that everyone has a right to choose what they eat or drink but we are still in the times of extreme marketing and advertising that hypnotise people and then have them addicted to the sugar.

Check out this infograph that presents some interesting facts:


Source: everyday HEALTH


-Michelle

Healthy Weight : Halloween Candy Comparison

Oh those little bars of sweet goodness. How can anyone resist? Before you reach into that bucket or bowl, let's go over the facts and maybe it will make you think twice.

#1 turn off: It's SUGAR and when we eat sugar it has us wanting more in mere minutes. The chocolate bars are also loaded with preservatives and chemicals that cause harm and discomfort in our bodies.

I've gathered a couple of my favourites from the past :

• Resse's Peanut Butter Cups : 80 calories - 4.5g fat - 7g of sugar
• Peanut M&M's : 93 calories - 4.7g fat - 9.1g of sugar
• Skittles : 80 calories - .8g fat - 15g of sugar
• Butterfinger : 100 calories - 4g fat - 11.5g of sugar

Why not opt for one of these 100 calorie snacks that will actually do your body good and provide proper energy.

100 calories =

• 3 cups of air popped popcorn
• 1 cup of baby carrots and table spoons of hummus
• 1/2 Larabar

and if you are craving more of a sweeter taste:

• 5 Hershey's Dark Chocolate kisses
• fruit is always great a better choice when you are needing something sweet

Although it's not that exciting to choose the healthy snack, it's important to remember that those calories add up quickly. If you choose to have 3 of those "small bite" chocolate bars in one day, you would have to do an hour of moderate exercise (fast paced walking) to burn off those 300 calories.
Why set yourself back?

When you have a craving for candy or treats how do you avoid the temptation?

-Michelle
Holistic Health Coach

Weekend Warm-Up : Food & Recipes

Can you tell I'm hungry this Friday?


Smoked Salmon Crostini's


 Food is on my brain and I'm itching to try out so many recipes this weekend. Okay, let's be honest here... I won't be doing the cooking but I'll suggest some ideas to the cook in the house, Scott (BF). We went out for dinner last night and by changing up my usual eating routine in the week it got my stomach wanting some new tastes. It doesn't help that Pinterest is amazing for some food photos. Now I just have to convince him to cook healthy food. He still loves his butter and fat, like every other meat & potato's man.

We have come a long way from the first days of dating though. I swear I gained 15lbs when I first started dating Scott. I couldn't refuse his home cooked meals. It was just such a sweet offering. After several plates loaded with dairy (cheese!) and covered with condiments, I just couldn't take it any more and had to start suggesting alternatives to the fat ridden ingredients. Slowly but surely we've come up with healthy versions of the classics. He also used to be a huge meat eater who loved his steak, ribs, and chicken. Scott has also started to incorporate more fish into his diet which makes it easier to plan meals together.

What are you eating this weekend? Are you splurging and having a "cheat day" or are you sticking to your healthy nutritious meals?

A few healthy recipes I've found this week from across the web:

• Pasta for lunch? Smoky Tomato Roasted Pepper and Arugula Pasta
• My friend Angie over at "Dishes Undressed" featured a Mid West Vegetarian Burger. I might have to try this one out this weekend.
• The clouds have been making an appearance around town. Time for some soup!
• Beautiful natural vibrant salad. I could eat this every day for lunch.
• Any one use Tofu on a regular basis? I'm not an average user but these Tofu Triangle Bites look good.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Don't drool too much over all the recipes ;)

-Michelle

Healthy Weight : Portion Sizes

I don't personally believe in counting calories or weighing food unless you are training for a fitness model competition. I believe all in moderation. Obsessing over food can become a bad habit and take you out of being in the moment.

Although, being aware of proper portion sizes is a key to eliminating over eating and weight gain. Or in some instances, being aware that you aren't eating enough. If you don't eat enough your body can go into "starvation mode" where it hangs on to every bit of food because it doesn't know when the next meal will be.

I'll be doing a series on proper portion sizes to give you a visual picture.
The first visual of the series is provided by FitSugar.

I was surprised by the following:

• how many strawberries you can consume for 100 calories
• one banana is 100 calories
• how easy it is to consume 25-30 grapes which are 100 calories.
• you realise that having a bowl of fruit on the counter which you take a couple pieces all day long can quickly add up and if you do keep track of calories, you might not even remember to track those calories.



via FitSugar



Do you keep track of calories or are you fairly good at knowing your portion sizes?
Join me on LiveLoudly Facebook Page to chat about it. Don't forget to LIKE it! please :)

-Michelle

Best Choices : How to Eat Healthy at Starbucks

Worst Choice Vs. Best Choice

I'm starting a new series on Best Choices to make when eating out. It will dive into: what is your best choices to eat at different restaurants, events or even when attending a friends BBQ. Sometimes you can be so hungry and overwhelmed with choices that you just give up/surrender and pick what your nagging candy gremlin in you wants (I've got one who loves to come out while I'm grabbing a water at 7-11!).

So the first place I wanted to touch on is a common daily favourite of many people. Starbucks!

Let me begin by making a comment most will want to debate with me about but this is my opinion and what I have found to be healthy choice for myself. I don't believe milk from a cow is healthy for you. There's alternatives to milk now and they ARE offered at Starbucks, we should all take advantage of this. I'll go into full detail regarding milk and dairy in another post.

Coffee
When ordering coffee try to stick to a water based coffee instead of a half dairy or half soy milk choice. This reduces the amount of calories obtained considerably. Stay away from the artificial sweeteners (you are adding chemicals to your coffee - sound appealing?). Instead use honey. If you have been used to sugar and sweeteners, it won't take you too long to get used to honey.

Americano (made with espresso & water) : 15 calories and 0g of fat
Caffe Latte (made with soy milk): 150 calories and 5g of fat
Mocha (made with soy milk) : 230 calories and 7g of fat

Smoothies :
should be used only when you are in need of a meal replacement and have no other choice. I do enjoy the chocolate banana one but it packs 300 calories and has 55g of carbohydrates in which 34 grams is sugar! It may be partially from fruit but that is still a lot of sugar.

Iced Coffee:
Always best to order a straight iced coffee (brewed or americano) and then add some soy milk and honey to taste. If you are in dire need of that blended drink, it's best to go with a light frapp.
Beware: even though it's only 140 calories it still contains 29 grams of sugar and sweeteners.


Food
If it looks like dessert - it is dessert! Those little treats staring at your soul while you stand in line are evil! lol
There's a reason the display case for the food is smack dab in your face, to make you stare at them while you wait and in the mean time you convince yourself "it won't be that bad". On average though, how many times do you really eat dessert during the day? Yes, maybe a birthday at work or special dining out at lunch but not just because you are having a coffee. To give you an example of what you may think is somewhat harmless:
Reduced Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake: 400 calories, 8 grams of fat and 50 grams of sugar!

Luckily, Starbucks does offer healthy food choices.

Here's a list of my GO-TO FOOD choices:

• Spinach, Feta & Egg White Wrap (use as a meal) - 290 calories and 10g of fat.
• KIND Bars - full of protein and low in calories
• Packages of dried fruit - natural source of calories
• Greek Yogurt - try to avoid the bottom part (extra sugar there)
• Fresh Fruit - easy option and natural (of course)
• Package of dried fruit & nuts - avoid the ones covered in a coating (sugar!)

Hope you enjoy this "Best Choices" series and if you would like suggest a subject for Best Choices, please contact me through email, Facebook or Twitter.

-Michelle

How Soda Pop Affects Your Health

I've always wondered how drinking a colored brown beverage was in any way benefiting my health.

Recently there has been lots of chatter about how Coca-Cola causes Cancer. So I went searching to see if pop had any benefit to our health. Guess what I found, pretty easy to guess... it has no benefit at all. So why do we drink it? Maybe because it's convenient, tastes good (I'll admit), and we just might be addicted to pop.

Regular pop contains loads of sugar and the diet-pop contains aspertame which makes you crave sugar. This leads to you wanting more pop, another sugar high. Pop also contains sodium (ie. salt) which leaves you thirsty, wanting more pop. They cycle continues on and on. A majority of people create a habit out of drinking pop which is hard to break. For instance: grabbing a pop when you walk in the door from work or grabbing a pop when you have dinner.

image via

So how do we break this habit?

I have 5 Tips to Break the Diet Pop or Regular Pop Habit:

1. Flavor your water with lemon. This is great in the summer time when you are looking for something tart and refreshing
2. Cut up a small amount of fruit and let is soak in a jug of water in the fridge. I like to use strawberries or oranges.
3. Freeze fruit into ice cubes. Then you drop the ice cubes into your water. I usually choose to muddle some kiwi to make fruit ice cubes.
4. Add a shot of fresh or low sugar juice into a glass of water. Make sure to avoid drinking juice by itself as it contains a large amount of sugar which can spike blood sugar levels (causing you to want to eat).
5. If your on the run and really need something totally different, I've found that the Vitamin Water ZERO drinks can quench my thirst without spiking sugar levels or leave me thirsty again.

Have you beat the Soda Pop cycle? Leave me a comment below or tweet me your healthy alternatives to pop.

-Michelle



Daily Healthy Eating Plan - Does timing matter?

Did you ever wonder if eating certain foods at certain times made a difference in your diet?


A Colourful Salad for Lunch or Dinner (no added fats)


From my personal experience - it actually makes quite the difference. I find you can control weight, food cravings and your digestive system.

3 Tips for Your Meal Schedule in the Morning:

1. A glass of warm water first thing in the morning before any other food or liquid helps your metabolism and digestive system get started.
2. Eat your whole Fruits seperate from any other food (ie. fats, protein, etc.).
3. Wait 2 hours after a fruit to eat any fats/protein

3 Tips for Your Meal Schedule in the Afternoon/Dinner:

1. Try not to have any fruit after 12 (noon) so you can avoid spiking your sugar levels.
2. Noon is a great time to have a whole grain carbohydrate. Try not to have carbs in the evening as it takes more for your body to burn them off.
3. Have your last meal 2 hours before you go to bed - this helps with digestion and let's you mind be at ease when you do go to sleep (no more dreams keeping you up).

Have you come across any food timing tips that seem to work for you and your healthy diet?

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : July 13th

Freaky Friday the 13th - nope not for me. It's my lucky day!

My mom and I have always believed that Friday the 13th wasn't a bad luck day but instead an awesome day (and lucky). So far so good with this idea. 

Past Family Trip to the Seattle Mariners Game

This weekend we are heading down to Seattle and going to watch a Seattle Mariners game. We are leaving early in the morning and it's supposed to reach 34 degrees while we are there. Yes! I love the sun and heat and can't wait to sit in the stands and enjoy a nice crisp drink.
It's funny how excited we get for the baseball food. I usually don't eat greasy food but when it's a special occasion (haha) like a baseball game.... I'm all for giving myself a little break and letting loose on the diet. I don't go overboard or I feel absolutely terrible after an hour. I usually go for the garlic fries - oh yum. There will definitely be an order of kettle corn popcorn too.



What is your favourite food at the baseball field to indulge in? Or any sports event, what food do you snatch up right away?

Here are some interesting links from the past week:

• Mala Beads - how to choose the right ones for you.

• A mexican twist on quinoa - a must try recipe for me next week.

• Sushi restaurant that doesn't serve fish ?! new in New York

• A perfect recipe to take along for a picnic on the beach or in the park

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
-Michelle

5 Tips on How to Avoid Weekend Weight Gain

I have to admit: I fall into an unhealthy eating blunder on the weekend more often than I would like. Weekend weight gain!


Appies & Brunch on the Weekend


This past weekend there were a bundle of events happening and I didn't want to fall into the trap of wasting all that hard work exercising and eating lean and green to go to waste. Sometimes we can get caught in the moment of having fun with friends and family and get carried away with our food choices. I've learnt how to make minor adjustments and plan ahead. I wanted to share with you how I'm making changes to avoid the weekend weight gain.

On Saturday evening we decided we were going to have an "appy night" so I knew I had to get in more exercise than normal to counter the calories I would be taking in later on. We went for an hour hike along the lake on Friday evening and woke up early Saturday morning to fit in some tennis before the sun was too hot to handle. Knowing how much work I had just done helped me be conscious of what appetisers I chose and how many I consumed. Your appetite may increase from doing more exercise so be careful not to eat more as you actually may not need that extra food and it may just be your body craving some protein or even water.

Stay Active - Get Outside

Sunday came around and that's always a hard day to push through for me. I had brunch planned with a girlfriend and I created a plan in my head before I left. Okay.. what am I going to eat? What is a healthy choice that I will find to be delicious? This let me look at the menu in a different way when I got to the restaurant. Instead of feeling limited, I now was excited to find exactly what I had planned on eating. No last minute decisions and no stomach winning over the brain. My girl friend and I decided to split a fresh veggie eggs benedict. It had just a touch of sauce on top and was placed on a whole wheat english muffin. To go along with the one egg, we split a crisp seared ahi tuna salad - more protein and vegetables = perfect.


Being honest here: I love to have a couple drinks on the weekend (really.. who doesn't?). Well I've noticed over the last few months that if I go over my "selected amount" of drinks, well.. I can see it in the mirror and it ain't pretty! There's the bloating, puffy face and the weight around the mid section that sneaks in. So I decided I needed to take control of this nasty habit. Not eliminate completely but just take control and give it some guidelines. I've set a limit for each day and I don't allow myself to exceed it or if I do... a big warning goes off in my head reading : "Muffin Top Growing". I've also found "Skinnygirl Cocktails" and love the Lime Margarita one over ice. Fits right into my "healthy liquid" plan for the weekend.

Here are 5 tips to help you avoid weight gain over the weekends:

• Set your day off right and rev up that metabolism by eating a healthy breakfast meal full of protein and fibre. This keeps you feeling full and prevents you from grabbing for those munchies

• If you're heading out to eat and being a good girl by eating a salad or veggies: avoid creamy dressing/sugar dressing and ask for a balsamic dressing. Calories saved instantly.

• When choosing an alcoholic drink: think simple. Less ingredients and fresher the ingredients the less it will stick to the body. Try a vodka soda with a lime. Avoid those sugar blended drinks. It's a meal in a drink!

• Water, water, water - you may think you are hungry but it may just be that your body is needing some water to keep up with you on the weekend. Try to have a glass of water between each special drink you have. Frappes included!

• Stay active - you may not want to hit the gym on your weekend but find another way to exercise. Maybe even take the dog out for an extra long walk in the morning. Just don't do nothing, find something fun.

Do you have any tips to staying on top of your healthy eating lifestyle over the weekend? I would love to hear about them in the comments below or you can find me on twitter @mishy_moe and tweet me your smart tip for keeping lean through the weekend.

-Michelle

Healthy Food Substitutes - Choices

Did you know we make an average of 35,000 choices a day ?!

Substitute Sugar Sauces with Fresh Salsa on Fish & Meat



With all that running through your head no wonder we it's difficult making healthy choices. Sometimes a simple decision though can have a tremendous affect your health. One decision that we should all strive to do everyday because it's so simple, is making simple food substitutions. The amount of calories, fat and sugar you can save from your body is incredible and with only one simple swap. I know it can be difficult sometimes when your in a rush, trying to figure out a meal but compared to having to an extra 30 minutes of cardio to burn off that unnecessary intake... hmm I'll go for stopping and thinking!

Here are a few of the simple food substitutions that I find easy to integrate into my daily diet:

• Instead of using rice as a side or in a recipe, I like to use Quinoa as my substitute. I find that quinoa takes on the same texture as rice and it also has the same type of flavor. It's easy to use just like rice. The Quinoa Queen has some great recipes on her blog. I'll be posting my quinoa "Fried Rice" dish soon.

• Salad dressings can be a killer to your diet. A healthy easy alternative to the store bought is Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, a touch of Dijon mustard and seasoning (try to avoid salt). I make a batch each week and store it in a recycled bottle in the fridge. This makes it easy just like the store bought salad dressings minus the unwanted additives.

• Greek yogurt is a great substitute. You can use it to substitute sour cream in recipes which has the same taste and texture. I like to substitute the store bought fruit yogurts with Greek yogurt. I just add some cut up fruit and if I'm craving something a little sweeter I will add a teaspoon of "no sugar added" jam to it. This way I am controlling what is in my yogurt.

• I'm not a huuuge fan of chips (more of a sweets girl) but instead of reaching for something processed and deep fried a great alternative is Kale Chips. Ok.. hear me out - they actually taste good! Surprising, I know but give them try. Michelle over at Find Your Balance has a great recipe for Chili Lime Kale Chips. I like to just bake them with olive oil sprinkled on top, a dash of sea salt and sesame seeds sprinkled over.

What food substitutes do you use/make? I always love hearing about different ones so please leave me a comment below if you've got one you would like to share.

-Michelle

Monday: Off On The Right Foot



Breakfast muffin at the cafe Divano - always a favourite!

 Intention for the week: Too feed my body and mind with bright and clean food.

This past weekend I let myself go on an all out bender on food which does not agree with me. Let's say there was some ice cream, more ice cream and maybe a couple pastries from the local cafe. I knew that this coming week I wanted to go very clean (eating wise). Almost like a spring clean up for myself so I let myself indulge in my favourite things. I don't always advise doing this but I had been craving some things that I knew would be still be haunting me while I eat clean. So cravings are gone and now my intention of the week is all that is running though my head.

What's your intention for this week and weekend?