the whole family wants to eat healthy?...that's an adventure!!

Many times over the past seven years many have asked me if my whole family eats like me and sadly many times I have said..."No, not regularly." Over the years we have modified a lot...we have no cookies, chips, ice-cream, juice boxes, pudding cups, snacky-type things in the house for regular consumption. However, the guys still have lots of opportunities to eat stuff that I don't eat.

I eat a diet based primarily on fruits, veggies, beans and nuts with a few whole grains thrown in for good measure. Low sodium and no added oils too! I learned about this way of eating from Dr. Joel Fuhrman in his book Eat to Live. His most recent book Eat for Health is also very good and provides a more gradual approach to eating this way....more on that another day.

I have tried to share my knowledge with them over the years in a non-threatening way but I don't want to sugar-coat the facts. Well on Saturday night I told my son (mr. picky) that many kids his age (12) have the start of heart disease and he quickly exclaimed "I don't!" and when I said that chances are he does he was shocked.

When I advised the boys that daddy was considering eating better and that they would all have to no one seemed too bothered by the news. Folks...I'm trying not to get too excited...this has happened before.

So I quickly tried to figure out what to make on Sunday so that they'd start off the week enjoying the predominantly plant-based diet I had planned for them. What did I make? Here's what I made and what I had planned for it.

Ful Mesdames is a lovely fava bean dip/spread that goes well with pitas, served with veggie sticks or even in a tortilla wrap. I made a batch of this for lunches.

I made a carrot/chickpea salad for me - 4 big carrots grated or in thin match sticks, 1 can of chick peas (drained and rinsed) 1 tsp cumin, a few shakes of freshly ground pepper and juice of 1 1/2 lemons. I'll probably eat this with some of the fava beans on the side. I had some today with some left over coleslow too.

I threw together a soup with crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, mixed beans, celery, carrots, mushrooms, a pkg of frozen spinach....kind of like an ad hoc minestrone soup. This will be dinner on Wednesday and maybe Thursday along with a huge salad.

Black bean, corn and sweet potato burritos - Stir two cans of black beans, a can of corn and your favourite jar of salsa along with 1 to 2 tsp of chili powder. Set this aside. Steam and mash 3 large sweet pototoes. When they're done spread onto a whole wheat tortilla along with the bean mix. Roll it...Enclose it...or fold in half and put it under the broiler like a quessadila...everyone loved this for dinner after our 32 oz romaine lettuce salad.

Dinner for today and tomorrow for the guys was a Vegan Lasagne...it was shaped like one so I'm calling it that.

Isa's Vegan Lasagne

Saute - 1 onion, 1 stalk of celery, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 3 cloves of garlic chopped. When it's getting soft....

Add - 1 big zucchini chopped, 1 big carrot chopped, 4 or 5 mushrooms chopped (I love my Pampered Chef Chopper). Stir it around a bit then...

Add - 1 cup dried red lentils and 2 cups water.
Cook until the lentils are soft and mushy. The key here was to give the filling a kind of creamy texture that would give it some body rather than being just veggies.

When that's ready add a large can of your favourite spaghetti sauce or add a large can of crushed tomatoes along with one pkg of defrosted frozen, chopped spinach....or add it frozen...it's up to you.

Simmer this and add basil, oregano, rosemary, chili sauce or pepper depending on your preference. I added more garlic and some onion powder to make it tasty without added salt.

Cook a box of whole wheat lasagne noodles. I used 16 in total.

Then assemble like you would a regular lasagne with 3 layers of filling.

I baked it in the oven covered for about 20 mins then let it cool because we were planning on baking it a bit more today.

This was served with another huge salad and everyone was satisfied with one or two pieces...hence the leftovers will be for dinner tomorrow.

My dinner was just salad. I don't eat processed grains very often but I'm trying to make it as enjoyable as possible while increasing their veggie intake and decreasing their animal product intake.

If you're still with me...let me know what Eat to Live or Eat for Health type foods your family enjoys.

Soooo…how’s it going?

Can you believe January is almost done? Time certainly flew by.

What goals did you set for yourself this year? How are they coming along?

Have you forgotten what they were?

Here’s a little trick that will help you remember them AND follow through with them.

Create a calendar for each month and in each day add two little boxes. This is what you do each day…

1) Read your goals out loud and think of what three things you can do to get closer to achieving those goals. Put a check mark in the first box for the day.

2) Through-out the day take the three steps mentioned above.

3) At the end of the day review the goals and if you took the three steps put a check mark in the second box.

That’s it!

Would you believe it’s that simple?

Make sure to put the calendar in a spot that you see each morning and each night. For example, try a bathroom mirror, door or your bedroom door. The key is to have it visible.

Let me know how you’re doing and if you need help or more tricks I’d be happy to share.

Take care of yourself!

Happy New Year! Let's work together to make it a fantastic year!

Wow...the holidays flew by. I hope you had a wonderful holiday and that you're ready to hit the ground running.

Are you feeling a little bloated, disappointed and beating yourself up or are you ready to put the food indiscretions behind you and excited to get going on a new action plan to make this your healthiest, fittest and most fabulous year ever?

I'm not beating myself up...I had a great holiday and even though I planned some splurges I also had a few unplanned ones as well...hey...no one's perfect and I certainly am the first to admit it.

I am so excited about kicking things up a notch this year not only with myself but with you too. I know how great it feels to get everything lined up...eating, exercise and sleeping....let's work on this together so that we can really make it a fantastic year.

Check out the updated class and clinic schedule often and if a date or time doesn't work let me know and we can work something out.

Take care of yourself...if you don't who will?

It's never too late to start and exercise keeps you young!!!!

That's a good reason to celebrate if you regularly include exercise into your life.

Check out this blog entry if you need more proof.

T-Tapp is a smart way to exercise because you get your cardio, strength training and flexibility all in one neat package....more bang for your exercise time indeed!

It's also been touted as an anti-aging workout. This quote pretty much sums it up...

Our obsession with strenuous over-exercising produces free radicals that actually encourage the aging process. T-Tapp provides the perfect antidote. This program is quick, easy, efficient, places no stress on the joints and, most important, it is effective. The T-Tapp system is the ideal anti-aging workout. Highly recommended! -- Nicholas Perricone, M.D., New York Times best selling author of The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet.

Not bad eh? Get slim and trim and get younger too!

Let me help you plan your next steps for a fabulous new you. You deserve it.

The Holidaze is coming...Are you ready?

You know the feeling...parties, visits, special treats...awww who cares, I'll start a diet in the New Year. I'm sure lots of us have been there, done that. I sure did! Mondays were always good days to start a diet and so was January 1st.

It's easy to get caught up in the holiday treats and not to exercise because we're too busy. I'm guilty of this too if I lose track and get too busy and too tired. Hey...I never said I was perfect!

If you're planning on making a change...make it now instead of waiting. I used to go nuts eating everything I craved because I wasn't going to eat it for a long time and most likely if I didn't freak out like that I probably would have five pounds less to lose by January 1st.

What do I do differently now? I plan. I plan for a week or a weekend so I'm not caught off guard and so I have the option to try something I really want. It is the holiday season after all and since I no longer eat like every day is a holiday I do taste something here and there sometimes.

Notice I said TASTE. If its a nice looking dessert I'll take one bite, maybe two. When eating dessert the best tastes are the first and last so why bother with all those bites in between? Most times everything is too sweet and I couldn't handle a whole piece anyway.

I also might choose to have just salad or veggies for dinner rather than a huge meal at a party so I can compensate for some of the other things I might taste. I might actually bring my own dish to eat and share so I'm sure there is an option for me.

When it comes to exercise I'll look ahead and plan my workouts so I can fit regular exercise into my schedule.

The good thing about these tactics is that the holidays come and go and I'm not in a constant brain fog from all the extra rich goodies that seem to be everywhere and I don't feel gross by January 1st.

Let's not forget that the holidays are about spending time with others and if you're greatful for the work they've put into entertaining you and appreciate the time you spend with them then you'll still have fun and won't need new pants before January 1st.

Let me know if you're taking the bull by the horns and making changes now rather than waiting. What are some of the things you'll do to survive the holidays while still eating nutrient rich foods and exercising...share!!

Today I had a COOL Exercise Buddy

C. comes to visit me every once in a while and each time she asks me if I'm going to do "that exercise". I love doing T-Tapp and she loves to do it too! I taught her the basic workout and we have fun doing it together.

Sometimes A. joins us as well. He is her brother. I have a great time watching them do the moves and we sneak in a few giggles each time I say "bend it, tuck it, lift it". T-Tapp is a great bonus for our muscles and it makes us all feel good too. Everyone is really mellow after our workout.

Today we did something a little different. C and I did "Hit the Floor" and as I write this I think our legs and tummies are still feeling like jello. C's favourite part was organs in place and the tucks. She is a pro and it was her first time doing it. I'm glad we had enough space so we could follow along on the DVD and not kick each other in the head.

My favourite part is that C is 6 years old and she's learning all about exercise and how good it is for your body and muscles. I think she needs her own T-Tapp DVD and Tapp Core should be just right.

Tapp Core is a series of moves that can be done individually or you can pick and choose a few to do here and there when you have time.

Exercising is fun with a six year old buddy and I hope she comes to visit again soon so that we can do more T-Tapp together.

You need healthy fuel!

In order to lose weight you shouldn't starve yourself. You need to eat well and feed your body the right foods so you're strong, healthy and ready to take on the world.

As you incorporate more nutrient dense food you'll feel better and have more energy too!

Another thing I hear often is that it takes too much work to eat healthy. I have a bunch of fast and easy things that I put together for my meals and I've just come across another fast and easy recipe that I made in my crock pot.

Moroccan Lentil Soup

I made it exactly like the recipe except I used crushed tomatoes instead of diced, I used red lentils and near the end I added two packages of frozen chopped spinach to add more green to it.

This tasted good for lunch today over a bunch of steamed garlic...mmm mmm good for a cool fall day.

Give it a try!