Don't Eat Crap

Nov 27 2012

Random, Tips

6 Little Things That Make Me Feel Unbelievably Healthy (What’s On Your List?)

This No Sugar Added this has proved to be difficult. The first week was terrible. I was OK with the cashew butter instead of peanut butter, but the NSA ketchup did NOT compare to regular. So I cut out ketchup for a couple weeks. I will admit, I cheated a bit the day before Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving on sweets. It was too hard to be tempted with sweets, so I had a little dessert. But I’ve gotten right back on it for the rest of the week. No Sugar Added – I feel better not taking in as much sugar as I was. Or think I was. I have a jar full of candy next to me at work and have not had a piece! Go me! I love dessert, and I’ll never be one of those people who never ever has it, but I need to look at it like a treat.

I’ve gained a few lb’s (not sure how?) but I’d like to try a new workout plan that incorporates Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer into the mix. How was your Thanksgiving? I made Sweet Potato Potato Salad and Bacon Sweet Potato Cheesecake.

I have a list of things that I can do on any day, that automatically make me feel better and healthier. And when you feel healthy and proud of your choices, your more likely to continue to make healthy choices, right? Here’s my list…

6 Little Things That Make Me Feel Unbelievably Healthy (What’s On Your List?)

1. Drinking multiple glasses of water at work. Drinking water makes me feel like I am fueling my metabolism and purifying my body. Geesh I sounds like a dork. There are many many benefits to drinking H20.

2. Stretching/yoga – Stretching feels so good on those sore muscles that just need to be relaxed.

3. A hot Epsom salt bath – A hot salt bad sucks the toxins out of the body after a rough week of work and exercising.

4. taking my multivitamin and omega-3

5. the 5 minutes after a workout at the gym when you’re walking out, catching your breath, and proud of yourself that you just went and did that thing and are going home after a long day.

6. getting 8 hours of sleep

What makes you feel healthy?

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Tagged food, healthy, no sugar added, recipe, sugar, sugatr, thanksgiving

Nov 04 2012

7 Comments

Random, Serious Stuff, Tips

No Sugar Added

According to an American Heart Association survey, they found that the average American consumes around 22.2 teaspoons of added sugar every day. According to the new guidelines, we should really be eating a fraction of that amount. The recommended sugar intake for adult women is 5 teaspoons (20 grams) of sugar per day, for adult men, it’s 9 teaspoons (36 grams) daily, and for children, it’s 3 teaspoons (12 grams) a day.

I just spent an hour at the grocery store, scouring the shelves for anything No Sugar Added. I decided on Friday that I’m slacking a little in the category of sweets and am caving in and giving into the cravings more than I would like. So I did some research, specifically by Google-ing “cutting out sugar” and reading up on the topic.

Here is the guidelines I am going to (try to) follow for the next 30 days starting Monday, November, 5.

No foods that have added sugar of any kind. Basically, if it has added sugar of any kind (natural or otherwise) I am going to try not to eat it for the next 30 days. When I say no sugar, I mean no added sugar. There will be naturally occurring sugars in milk and yogurt as well as in fruit. That’s okay. The idea is to give up ADDED sugars. So when you read a nutrition label, look at the actual list of ingredients. NOT the % of sugar per serving.

So I was at the grocery store and I couldn’t find any NSA ketchup – so it looks like I’ll be skipping that for 30 days. I picked up cashew butter, plain Greek yogurt and strawberries to eat together, and a cereal that has 0 g. of sugar which I am pretty sure will taste like cardboard but I am determined to try this out. I am going to skip my piece of dark chocolate candy at lunch, obviously no sweets or baked goods with sugar.

Exceptions:

I am going to continue to eat whole grain bread in the morning with does have a small amount of sugar which is necessary for the yeast to ferment in the process. I can’t skip carbs in the morning — I may try sugar-free oatmeal.

Do you know how many items have sugar in them? Ketchup, canned sauces, dressings, canned and dried fruit, its endless! And when you read the label you can’t just look for sugar. There are a ton of other words that all mean the same thing = sugar.

Agave nectar
Agave syrup
Barley malt
Beet sugar
Brown rice syrup
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
Cane sugar
Cane juice
Cane juice crystals
Carob syrup
Confectioner’s sugar
Corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup
Corn sugar
Corn sweetener

Corn syrup solids
Crystalized fructose
Date sugar
Dextran
Dextrose
Diatase
Diastatic malt
Evaporated cane juice
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
Glucose solids
Golden sugar
Golden syrup
Grape sugar

Grape juice concentrate
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Malt
Maltodextrain
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Raw sugar
Refiner’s syrup
Sorghum syrup
Sucanat
Sucrose
Sugar
Turbinado sugar
Yellow sugar

This doesn’t seem like its going to be that hard. But we will just wait and see. I am going to cut out diet soda and booze. I’ve already purchased some flavored waters to substitute in. My end goal is that I have less cravings for sugar and get a grasp on my cravings, and I’m always looking for a challenge

Does anyone else want to join me? 30 days of No Sugar Added. Remember, I’m OK with eating natural sugars in fruits. Don’t let that confused you with added natural sugars (honey, agave or stevia). I will not be adding natural sugars to anything.

Remember, I am no dietician. I’m just me, trying to do the best I can for me and my health. So I might do some things wrong, or read some labels wrong, but I’ll do my very best and that’s all I can do.

Other resources if you decide to join me:

Tagged calorie, diet, food, healthy, lose weight, nutrition, sugar

Nov 01 2012

8 Comments

Recipes

Chicken Tikka Masala

Have you ever wondered how much weight is “impressive” or “average” when it comes to weight training? I found a great resource on Facebook that finally answered my questions and I wanted to share.

Tonight we had our first homemade Indian dish. We were happy with it! I found this recipe in a Food Network magazine.

Chicken Tikka Masala from Food Network Magazine

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For Chicken

1 c. plain yogurt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
4 skinless chicken breasts

For sauce:

2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprkia
1 tsp salt
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. heavy cream (next time I will substitute milk cooked with cornstarch to cut out some of the calories)

Whisk the first 7 ingredients together and dump in a gallon plastic bag. Add in chicken breast and marinate for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, cook garlic in butter for two minutes. Add in cumin, paprika and salt. Cook one minute. Add tomato sauce and heavy cream.

Discard chicken marinade and broil chicken until done. Stir into sauce.

Serve with rice and Naan for a real Indian experience. I even found wheat Naan at the grocery store. SCORE!

Tagged chicken, ethnic, food, healthy, Indian, recipe, Tikka Masala

Oct 22 2012

World’s Best Scalloped Potatoes

Well that’s what I am calling them at my house anyways. We’ve been getting a bag of potatoes from our CSA every week for the past three weeks and I just can’t keep up. Today, was an attempt to rid my counter of potatoes and find something amazing — my prayer was answered! This is one of the best dishes I’ve ever concocted.

Chipotle Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 Tbs chipotle in adobo sauce (I buy a big can, blend it all together, use what I need, and freeze the rest in cubes for easy use in recipes.)
1 Tbs butter
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
2.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 green onions, sliced
1.5 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a dutch oven on the stove top, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, and cook, stirring until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring gently until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add in adobo sauce and top with cheese and green onions. Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown and sides are crispy. Let stand 10 minutes to cool before serving.

We had ours with Salmon – delicious! Such great layers of flavor for a dish with no cream or much butter really. I have plenty of left overs and I can’t wait to tackle those.

Tagged Brianna Ludwig, food, healthy, potato, recipe, scalloped, Yukon

Oct 21 2012

4 Comments

Dinner, Resteraunt Reviews, Tips, Video Video

My first Vlog

Be gentle, here is my first attempt at a video blog (vlog) entry! I need to smile more – that is for sure.

I hope you are all having a great Sunday. I’ll be meal planning, grocery shopping, going to Fit Club, and watching a movie or two.

Tagged blog, food, healthy, Ruby Tuesday, video

Oct 19 2012

3 Comments

Uncategorized

Wonton Soup

It’s Friday! I had some left over wonton wrappers from an attempt at baked crab rangoons (they weren’t good) so I decided to make my first batch of wonton soup.

Wonton Soup (serves 6-8)

Ingredients

1 16 oz. Medium Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage (I would have used HOT but G doesn’t like spicy foods)
24 wonton wrappers
4 c. chicken stock
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 Tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger

In a large bowl, combine pork, sugar, rice wine, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon chopped green onion and ginger. Blend well.

Place about one teaspoon of the filling at the center of each wonton skin. Moisten all 4 edges of wonton wrapper with water, then pull the top corner down to the bottom, folding the wrapper over the filling to make a triangle. Press edges firmly to make a seal. Bring left and right corners together above the filling. Overlap the tips of these corners, moisten with water and press together. Continue until all wrappers are used.

FOR SOUP: Bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil. Drop wontons in, and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onion, and serve.

Delicious on a cool day! Don’t skimp on the green onions, they are the perfect addition to your soup bowl.

Tonight we are eating like kings. I’ll be attempting to cook scallops for the first time, and we’ll be having baked potatoes, squash, and multi-grain bread. I have some serious veggies to eat up. Tonight we are staying in, carving pumpkins, drinking apple cider, and watching the Avengers. What a fun night at home. I plan on making another Apple Crisp Pizza with the apples dad brought on Sunday and the other pie crust in the fridge. I hate having things in the fridge and no plan in mind for them (i.e. wonton wrappers and pie crust). But I don’t think G will be too upset about the Apple Crisp Pizza. I am still looking for carving ideas. Any suggestions?
Have a great weekend friends!

Oct 17 2012

6 Comments

Dessert, Fitness, Recipes, Snacks

Apple Crisp Pizza

My parents came to visit a couple weeks ago and brought a whole bag of tart apples from my grandpa’s tree. I was in the mood to bake so I decided to try Apple Crisp Pizza. I altered the recipe a bit to fit our taste and cut back on the sugar.

I’ve also finished the New Rules of Lifting for Women. It was OK – would I recommend it, ummm it depends. It depends if you need a “to do” list at the gym to get motivated to go. It’s really nice having your workout planned for you. Lately, I’ve been just lifting on my own and doing 3 total body workouts a week.

Last week I ran in a Breast Cancer Awareness 8K around our nearby golf course. Here is a photo of the fit clubbers and I after the race. Here we are! I found this awesome turtle neck long sleeve cold wear Under Armour at TJ Maxx last week. SCORE! $25 for this piece. The young worker told me that Under Armour is coming out with a new fabric and Scheels isn’t going to be carrying a selection of it anymore – just a very small variety. So for all you Under Armour lovers, Scheels is currently selling Under Armour at discount. This was an impromptu race. It was unique because it started at 7 PM and the pathway was lit with candles. Afterwards we all went out for a drink.

I am thinking about doing a vlog (video log) post. What topics would you like to hear me talk about? Please let me know! I’ll work on my first video when my hair is done and not wrapped up in a towel like it is right now.

Apple Crisp Pizza (inspired by Taste of Home recipe)

Ingredients:

Pastry for a single-crust pie
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 medium baking apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

TOPPING:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used Brown & Brummel Yogurt Butter)
1/4 to 1/2 cup Fat Free caramel ice cream topping
Vanilla frozen yogurt, optional

Roll pastry to fit a 12-in. pizza pan; fold under or flute the edges. Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a gallon sized baggie. Add apples and toss. Arrange the apples in a single layer in a circular pattern to completely cover pastry. Combine the first five topping ingredients; sprinkle over apples.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle with caramel topping or dip. Serve warm with ice cream or frozen yogurt if desired.

Monday and Tuesday I spoke at the Women’s Business Summit here in Bismarck. On Monday I talked about Healthy Meal Planning and brought my Slow Cooker Jambalaya. On Tuesday I talked about Healthy Snacks. It was such fun to visit with these women about food and cooking! LOVE IT!

Tagged Apple, breast cancer, Crisp, dessert, Fitness, food, healthy, North Dakota, race, recipe, run, Sanford

Oct 07 2012

11 Comments

Random, Snacks

Top 5 Late Night Snacks Under 150 Calories

Happy Sunday friends! This week marked an important week for us, one year of our new lifestyle. I guess it’s not really new anymore, is it? I had the pleasure of speaking to the Bismarck Professional Women’s group a week ago about Don’t Eat Crap and healthy living. I was honored to be asked to talk about the blog and my food to a great group of women.

Oct. 15-16 I’ll be visiting with more women at the Women’s Business Summit here in Bismarck. If you live in North Dakota, you should seriously check this out. Registration ends on Tuesday so hurry! They’ve got some wonderful speakers lined up – including ME!

I had a revelation sitting around the table at Jack’s Steakhouse visiting with these women. As they were all ordering their salads, hamburgers, steaks, french fries, etc. I wanted to make them more comfortable with their meal choices, knowing I was there to talk about healthy food could make them feel uncomfortable with what they wanted to eat. I simply made the statement, “I will not judge you for what you are eating – but please don’t judge me.” I ordered a house salad with fat free dressing — they had no idea that this was just to hold me over and that I was going to go home and have a healthier dinner with G. And I have no right to judge them for what they are eating, I don’t know their story, what they did that day, or what their health needs are. It’s something that I need to get better at but it also goes for everyone else out there who spends time with health conscious people. Please don’t judge me for what I do (or don’t) eat. Please don’t ask me why I’m not eating the brownies, you know why I’m not eating them. And I won’t judge you for choosing to eat them. It goes both ways — and that hit home with me during this speaking engagement in the middle of a steakhouse.

There is a Zumbathon at the YMCA today that I wanted to go to but I didn’t want to go alone and couldn’t find anyone to go with – oh well. I plan on lifting weights today and going to Fit Club. If you live in Bismarck, you should check out Fit Club. I hope you all had a great week.

I am meal planning as we speak with a cup of coffee in hand, and waiting for Wal-Mart to open. North Dakota stores can’t open until noon on Sundays. We’re old school like that, and it makes us stay home, drink more coffee, and cuddle with our Puggles in our PJ’s on Sundays.

When late night cravings hit – they hit hard, am I right? Here are my top of late night “go to snacks” that won’t break the calorie bank.

1. Air popped popcorn with different flavorings (cheddar cheese, cinnamon sugar, garlic Parmesan) – 100 calories per cup

2. Potato in the NuWave, or frozen fries – 100-150 calories per serving)

3. Greek yogurt – 120 to 150 calories

4. Wheat thins (120 calories) and a laughing cow cheese wedge (30-35 calories) – 155 calories

5. Baked tortilla Scoops and salsa (150 calories for one serving of chips and 1/4 c. salsa)

What do you eat for a late night snack?

Tagged Brianna Ludwig, Fitness, food, healthy, late night, low-calorie, North Dakota, recipes, run, snacks

Oct 01 2012

7 Comments

Recipes

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

I don’t like tomatoes - I am not a fan. But the combination of tomatoes and basil, for lack of a better term, rock my world. I love the combination of tomato, eggplant, pesto, and basil. I love pizza with basil sliced on top. Last week at the CSA I took lots of basil, and I decided I was going to make a tomato soup. Between co-workers, Garrett’s mom, and the CSA – we had tomatoes.

I’ve never been a fan of tomato soup, but with the addition of onions and basil, oh and it NOT coming from a can, I was willing to try it.

I think I ate most of the batch! I followed Ina Garten’s recipe.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

(with my changes below)

Ingredients:

3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice – I used more fresh tomatoes and no canned
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 quart chicken stock or water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Pass through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade. (I used a blender). Taste for seasonings. Serve hot or cold.

I ate plenty of bowls with grilled cheeses . DAH! You have to have a grilled cheese with tomato soup, even I know that. This soup was delicious and I think it was because of two things: 1) the roasting of tomatoes and 2) BASIL! I added plenty of ground black pepper to each of my bowls.

Tagged basil, food, healthy, recipe, soup, tomato

Sep 30 2012

6 Comments

Fashion, Fitness

Fitness Fashion

I want to dedicate this post to fashion – FITNESS FASHION! (this is when the in-studio crowd applause’s.)

Seriously though, workout clothes are expensive. And the cutest stuff is even more expensive, i.e. Lululemon and Nike women’s gear. I love to splurge every once in a blue moon, mainly before a race to reward myself, but it gets spendy. So I thought I’d explain my style, where I shop and maybe it will be helpful to you.

My running style and gym style are completely different. I like to wear running shorts only when I am running. I don’t like how I look in them and only wear them because they are so comfortable to run in. I purchase my running shorts always on clearance for $20 bucks or so from Scheels. I keep it to about 5 pairs (I like a small wardrobe – yah laugh it up Garrett).

I roll them up to store them. All my fitness clothes fit in one drawer in my dresser – yup, that’s right ladies. I purge from my closets every other month and make a nice donation to the Salvation Army.

So like I said, I have about 5 pairs of running shorts in various girly colors and patterns. For lifting weights I like tight, spandex-y nylon-y leggings. I find them comfortable and easy to move in. I purchase all of these are TJ Maxx. TJ Maxx is my second fitness shopping store. They sell brand name fitness clothes at great prices.

When it comes to tops, I prefer racerback tank tops for lifting weights and fitness classes, and I keep a few short sleeve t-shirts for running outside. I think all of my tops are from Target. I’ve heard girls dissing Target workout clothes at the gym, how they don’t fit right, but I like them. I just purchased 3 tank tops from them in different colors. I recommend going to the store to try them on, then ordering online. They never have my sizes in store and they have all sorts of styles and colors. I am a huge fan of the stretch, duo dry, moisture wicking tops. I have gotten overheated too many times in Old Navy tank tops to continue wearing them. Right now they have a sale going on on tops, so check it out.

I purchase my sock from Target as well. I LOVE my running socks found here. Target has great options.

The one area I do splurge, is in shoes. I started with Asics and have now moved on to Muzino Wave Runners. I love these shoes. They are super light, supportive, and I love how I discovered them. After a survey of my friends and family on Facebook I checked out the Muzino website. They have this awesome step-by-step survey where you have to do all these exercises then put in your info and it tells you exactly what shoe is best for you. I was sold, I love customization.

I also purchase all my sports bras from Target. (I should buy stock). I don’t worry about this category as much as other big chested women probably do. I know for a fact if I was more top heavy I’d be investing as much money as it took to get them comfortable and supported for a long run. But I don’t have that problem so I stick with the cute sports bras from target eiither the razor back or the thin strapped ones.

I have invested money in cold weather Under Armour for running when it gets cold outside. The weather in North Dakota gets incredibly cold and they were on sale the day after Thanksgiving – so I kinda splurged. But if you live in North Dakota I don’t have to tell you it gets cold. And I hate running on treadmills so I told myself I deserved them. I also purchased a long sleeve turtle neck Under Armour wet wicking shirt the day before the Fargo 10K in 2011 because I was afraid of it being cold. I purchased that at full price, ouch. Speaking of cold, I received a very unique piece of clothing from Urban Running Girl. A long sleeve cover-up that easily slips over a tank-top for those chilly mornings when you want to stay warm without so many layers. And I love the hand covers. Perfect for North Dakota weather. I admit, Garrett did give me a bit of a odd look when I showed it to him, but its a helpful piece. Easy to take off and tie around your tank top or bra without extra weight – and the fabric is moisture-wicking.

I have 1 wet wicking long-sleeve from Target. The rest of my long sleeves are “freebies” from races, high school stuff, and college sports stuff.

But workout clothes are expensive! YES there are adorable shorts, tank tops, and bras at Scheels. But I can’t afford to spend $300 on workout clothes I’m going to sweat in every day. Where do you do your fitness shopping?

Tagged clothes, fashion, Fitness, healthy, Running, shopping, shorts