Roni's Blog

Health

Real Eating in 2016

Oh, it’s the first of the year? Must be that time of year again where I promise to do all these magical things, hype myself up to get better, fitter, and healthier, and then motivate myself for a few months before something throws me off course.

OK, I don’t have to put myself down before I get started. In truth, 2015 was probably one of the best years of my life: I got a new job that I couldn’t be happier about, Andy and I have officially kicked off our company My Country Story which has been thriving, and things around the house have been so good that only positive things can come for it all.

The one thing that is lacking is motivation to workout, eat healthier, and stay on track to fit back into the piles of clothes that have been waiting for me. There’s something disheartening when you look at your scale app (yes, I have a crazy scale that keeps track of my weight), and the scale says you’ve gained 25 pounds in the last year. Seriously, can that be correct??!?!

So… I’m making a promise to get healthy. Drop the weight, go back to the gym, back to running, eat healthier, and start Real Eating. The last part is due to Andy. He really wanted to give Whole30 another go, but I panicked. I can let go of the bread and beans if I have to. And as much as it sucks, I really did feel a whole lot better when we were eating healthy, not drinking, and staying away from ice cream and sweets. But we talked about it and came up with another plan: don’t eat any processed foods.

It seemed simple until I started breaking a lot of things down. Yes, we could have rice, but we couldn’t have pasta (unless we made it ourselves). Yes to milk, but not cheese or butter (again, only if we made it ourselves). That also means no candy, alcohol, or take-out. No crackers, no chips, no Dunkin Donut frozen drinks, no mayo.

Yes, that does mean that we can still have the following if we make it ourselves, from SCRATCH: bread, pasta, salsa, cookies, cake, frosting, muffins… The list goes on. The thing is, most of the time, by the time I’d make what I want, I no longer want it. So the bonus is the time to make something will buffer any snacking time.

I’m actually very excited about this, because I won’t want to spend the time making cupcakes, cookies, or hot cocoa. And it’s very unlikely that I would be stuffing recipes with extra sugar.

I’ve poured through some of my favorite cookbooks, recipe boxes, blogs, and I’m asking that if you want to make a change, do so. Do it now. Don’t wait. Even small changes can make the difference of a lifetime.

January 2, 2016 by Roni

Fitness

Planning for 2016: Picking a Planner

One of my goals for 2016 is to be much more organized, keep track of my schedule, and put in writing all of my fitness and health goals. I want to track 2016 to the point that if I slack off, I have a list of reasons why I need to kick my butt back into gear.

So I spent a really long time considering the best way for me to stay on track. A few years ago, I used a wall calendar to keep myself on task. I logged my weight, my workout goals, and plans on a wall calendar. But that was when I was single and had a lot less to keep track of. Sure, I could use my phone, but there is something about physically writing down information that helps keep me on task.

Picking a 2016 planner really seemed like the best bet. Find a really nice planner that I would want to write in, one that I could keep up on what my weight is, when I should be hitting the gym, what events are coming up, and what tasks I needed to do.

I found a few planners that I really fell in love with: the light blue Rifle Paper, Co. toile planner that was just too beautiful to pass up, the Kate Spade polka dot tiny planner that would fit in my purse, even an out there brightly colored Lily Pulitzer planner that would keep me motivated by it’s positive cover. But that one that really drew me in was one by Blogilates. There was something about the addition of health tips, recipes, and space to write my goals that said to me, “Roni, this is the planner for you this year.” Plus, it’s super pretty with its watercolored pages.

I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing about whether or not I should spend almost $40 on a book. When you’re on a budget, does it really make sense to spend money on pretty paper? But I talked to myself about it. My health is worth it. It’s worth it to keep me on track. When I made my goal to run 365 miles that one year, and I tracked it every day, I was in the best condition of my life. So why not make myself a promise again. Track it, make it worth it, make a promise to myself to stay healthy and get fit in 2016.

So I did it, I bit the bullet and purchased the planner. And I’m encouraging all of you to do the same. You don’t have to get the same planner as I purchased (I’ve shared a few of my favorite below), but I do think keeping track of your goals is a great place to start to get fit. So who’s joining me this year?

December 30, 2015 by Roni

Life In General

First Snow of the Season

Seems like the first snow of the season always brings out the scaredy cat in people, me included. Today was the first snow of the season. It came in fast and hard, and it made sure that the roads were a terrible mess. My little Chevy Cobalt is really no match for the snow, especially when in all reality, someone with my yellow belly should be driving some sort of SUV.

So like most of New Hampshire right now, I’m sitting at home, looking out the window and thinking, “how was I not prepared for this?” Last week we had short sleeve weather and now we’re getting buried in snow and our roads are super slippery.

Even yesterday, Andy and I just bought a shovel. Yes, JUST. We realized with all the weather reports that we were going to probably need one. Our plow guy only comes at night so in the mornings, we’re on our own. I also forgot to purchase warmer winter gloves and then had to dive headfirst into my storage closet to find my winter boots that had been hidden for the last 9 months. Seriously, I am very unprepared for this season.

December 29, 2015 by Roni

Food

Cupboard Clean Out Casserole

Sometimes the best meals are the accidental ones. Like this one. Andy had wanted something hearty for dinner and I hadn’t gone to the grocery store and really didn’t feel like dealing with people, waiting in lines, or figuring out what I should make. So I started pulling things from our cabinets and just throwing them together into a pan. What came out was actually pretty magical, so much so that I’ve made this dish a few times with planning.

Cupboard Clean Out Casserole

1 lb of ground pork sausage
5 medium sized potatoes
1 small can of corn, drained
1 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
black pepper
salt
rosemary
garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Microwave potatoes for 8-12 minutes or until they are fork tender. Cut into 1/4 to 1/2 pieces and place in a bowl.

In a medium skillet, cook ground sausage until browned, making sure to break it up into small pieces. Set ground pork sausage aside (into potato bowl), leaving any remaining fat in the pan. Add onions and peppers to pan and cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat until onions and peppers are slightly browned. Add to bowl with sausage and potatoes. Add about 1/2 tsp of each black pepper, salt, rosemary, and garlic powder. Toss to combine.

Pour mixture into a roasting pan. Top dish with shredded cheddar cheese, then put pan into preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese has melted and browned.

Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes, serve and enjoy.

December 11, 2015 by Roni

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