WIAW #28 How Do You "Fall" Into Good Habits?

Well what do you know, we're cruisin' through September at ludicrous speed! Spaceballs...anyone? For you dorm dwellers, I'd recommend adding this movie to your collection; it provides comic relief to an intense study session, I promise.

Speaking of studying, how do or did you prepare for a long session? I don't have to study anymore, but I could never just sit down and get right to it.  I'd take a while to collect reading and writing material, snacks for snacking, a drink, and do any random thing I could find to delay actually sitting down to study.

Are you the same, or can you just jump right into studying?  For things like exercise and choosing healthier food, I can stop or start pretty fast.  No need for "baby steps" to cut a certain food that I know is bad from my diet.  If I see/hear it's bad, then it's not on my plate or in my cup from there on out.

When I get ready for a run or to lift weights, I don't waste time getting started like I would trying to study. Obviously, I know I must warm up before lifting, but for my runs, I just start going and warm up for the first mile or two. If I delay, the looming workout will get into my head and I'll over-think everything.  Not good...just get out and do it!

I was not as health-minded for most of my college days and would eat fast food, Cheez-Its, sugary cereal, and many other foods I simply turn my head at now. But my change was not gradual; I heard how bad trans fat was and immediately cut out anything with the stuff.  So basically, no more fast food or those addicting Cheez-Its.

They removed hydrogenated oils, but this list paragraph of ingredients looks worse than what's listed in dog or cat food.

I got over it fast as I noticed how much better I felt before, during, and after exercise and everyday life.  The people who whine saying "But it's just so hard to give X Food up." or "I don't know where to start." just tick me off.  Sorry if this is you, but if you know it's bad, why continue consuming it? If the vet said your most loved pet will get severely sick or even die if you keep feeding them their favorite treat, would you still give it to them?  I hope the answer is no.

So, as the title for today's post asks, how do you fall into good habits?  Is it a gradual change or can you change on a whim? I figured this is a perfect question to ask along with this month's What I Ate Wednesday theme of "Fall Into Good Habits." Thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayon's for putting on this fun event every Wednesday!

Speaking of WIAW, lets move on to my eats.  Time has been pretty scarce lately, so sorry for the lack of pictures this week. Hope you enjoy what I do post (some are recycled from the past), I plan on getting back on track by next month with more pics.

Breakfast

Just like last week, I enjoyed a bowl of steamed veggies with spaghetti squash and tuna. Of course there was coffee brewed with Navitas Naturals Cacao Powder to round it out; sooooo good!

Lunch

I froze the extra Coconut Salmon Cakes from last week and had them again for lunch; freezing extra food for later is the best! Usually. A dessert cup of Lucuma Powder sweetened quinoa pudding rounded out the meal perfectly.

Dinner

Giant salad with brussels, red pepper, cucumber, tuna, and homemade pureed lentil dressing thick enough to be a dip; protein smoothie with Navitas Naturals Cacao Powder and homemade Let's Do..Organic Coconut Granola; one.....okay, two, microwave overnight oatmeal muffins with unpictured peanut butter spread in the middle.

Happy WIAW, Thanks For Stopping By!!!

Just in case you missed them, I have two product reviews and giveaways I highly recommend you read and enter to win.

Let's Do...Organic Coconut Flour - Ends this Friday, 9/14

Navitas Naturals Cacao and Lucuma Powder - Ends next Friday, 9/21

Both companies do their part to be economically responsible and have deliciously healthy products I know you'll love.  Good Luck!

WIAW #27 Baked Coconut Salmon Cakes and Fall Goals

Hello again and welcome to another fabulous round of What I Ate Wednesday! Thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons, we can all enjoy seeing what each other ate on Wednesday (but realistically any other day but Wednesday since we post before the day starts!). Go check out her blog for some tasty recipes, life thoughts, and just to see what's up.

Today is my first day back to work after the Labor Day weekend and taking off on Tuesday.  Kelley and I planned on going kayaking at a nearby lake on our day off, but then she had to have a faulty root canal re-worked on, of course, the day we requested off from work.

She's a trooper though, she woke up and drove herself to have the work done and drove herself back.  She only had local anesthetic, if you were wondering, and I would've drove but I think it was one of those "too proud" things.  You know, I do the same thing too.  Anyway, they gave her pain pills and muscle relaxers to help get through the day. I'm writing this with the few hours we have on our day off and she's out from the relaxers.  She refuses to take pain pills; what a trooper of a wife.  That, among the plethora of other reasons, is why I love her so much.

I busted out the old digital 8mm tapes I have from when we first met (almost 10 years ago) and it's crazy to watch ourselves back then.  We just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary and I can't believe how the time has passed.  WTF!?

Being the health-obsessed foodie I am, it's crazy to see back to just ten years ago when I'd eat fast food, drink a lot of beer, and mindlessly choose packaged, processed food strictly because it "tastes good." Over the years I have gone from eating whatever tasted good with no regards to ingredients or calories, to avoiding any place you order food and obsessing over every detail of a packaged product before choosing to buy it or put it back.  For this reason, I cook a lot virtually all of my meals.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, the cooking and hours of food prep cuts into precious family time.  I constantly fear we will not have any food prepared and can always find something I "need" to make, but it's at the expense of time with Kelley.  So, as part of this month's "FALL into good habits" theme, I am making it a goal to find a better balance.

Cooking is a must, in my mind, but it doesn't always have to be pretty....just healthy.  So I'll be make a lot of double batch recipes and steamed frozen bean and veggie mixes that can cook be done in under 30 minutes. I've been trying this already, but I need to try harder, so I'll update you next week with how it's progressing.

Another good habit I'd like to FALL into is changing some food in my diet to hopefully rid my constant bloating and stomach cramps.  I posted last week about going gluten-free for a while and removing dairy from my diet too. Well, I seem to feel worse than before and, pardon my forwardness, more gasy.  Sorry, everyone around me.

I've decided to add cultured dairy (Yay! Welcome back, Chobani!) with the thought that my stomach needs the extra bacteria for digestion. Hopefully I'll have good news on this change (back) next week too.

In the meantime, gluten-free is staying with me through this month.  Let me add, this is not the paleo diet; I will not remove food groups in their entirety, just not my cup of tea I don't like it. Luckily, I have help using Let's Do Organic Coconut Flour to create healthy and delicious treats and meals. I posted this gluten-free coconut protein granola yesterday, and today I bring you something on the savory side; baked coconut salmon cakes!

The recipe, which you must try, is at the bottom of this post.  But first, let's have at my eats since that is the whole reason for today....

Breakfast

Navitas Naturals (review and giveaway in the future) Cocao French Press Coffee; steamed Spaghetti squash with tuna and steamed veggies

Snack

Baby carrots with Artisana Foods Walnut Butter

Lunch

Coconut Salmon Cakes on a bed of steamed veggies; no-bake quinoa almond protein bar

Dinner and Healthy Treat

Big salad with extra roasted cauliflower (by mistake), homemade garlic salsa (no kissing after this stuff!), more veggies, and tuna; green chocolate protein smoothie with homemade chocolate granola; more coconut protein granola

Let’s Do Organic Coconut Salmon Cakes





by RC Liley





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Ingredients (8 - 9 Muffin-sized Cakes)


2 (5oz) cans wild salmon in water, drained (canned tuna or crab works too)
1/2 cup Let’s Do Organic Coconut Flour; you might need another tablespoon or 2 if it’s too runny
1 tsp each of cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 T Dijon mustard
3 egg whites or 3 flax/chia eggs
4 T Of your favorite salsa
1 T each dried basil and dill
Pepper to taste







Instructions



Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees



Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well to incorporate. You can also mix everything in a food processor if desired. If mixture seems too runny, add oats or coconut flour 1 tablespoon at a time until thick enough to hold together.



Scoop the mix into a lightly oiled 12 cup muffin pan (I filled 9 of the 12 cups) and bake in pre-heated oven for 25 -30 minutes, depending how toasted you want the top. It should have a beautiful golden crust on top.



Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes.



Top each cake with your favorite mustard, salsa, or even a yogurt sauce like Tzatziki; I like them plain too.



Serve on a bed of steamed veggies, brown rice, quinoa, or just a plate!



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Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday and gets through the rest of the work/school/whatever week without issues!  Be sure to check out my giveaway for Let's Do Organic Coconut Flour and enter to win today.  Two people can each win a bag of their own, so tell your friends!