What's that word again?

Sometimes I don't get out of bed until 9 or 10am.
It's not because I'm lazy.
I sometimes wish it was.
It's not because I don't want to.
It's because I can't.
Sometimes when I wake up,
My body decides that it has more control over me,
Than I do over it.

Sometimes I speak really fast.
It's not because I'm trying to get something over with,
or that I'm trying to be confusing.
It's because when I slow down,
When I let my brain think
I lose words
I lose thoughts.
They're not actually lost...
They just don't want to come out.

Sometimes I take the elevator.
Not to get some place quicker.
Not to avoid the stairs.
But because the pain in my legs is too much.
Two flights of stairs seems like 200.

Sometimes my mind is foggy
Words don't come out right
Numbers don't make sense
I can't think straight
I feel like all the knowledge
I've gained in the worlds
Has disappeared under a cloud of grey

Sometimes I type words incorrectly
Not because I'm not paying attention,
But because my fingers and brain,
Don't seem to be communicating.

Sometimes I remember who I used to be,
A person in the distant path,
That doesn't seem like me at all.

Sometimes I am absolutely terrified of the future.
Sometimes I'm not though.
I'm thankful for everything I have
I am grateful that I'm alive.
I am hopeful about the opportunities in life,
that I have been given.

Sometimes the hard things overwhelm me...
but most of the time I am happy with the life I have,
even though it means constantly changing and adapting.
I am stronger, I am more focused on happiness.
I live in the moment, because even if you're healthy,
you never know what life will bring.


Stay Healthy,
Elyse

Totally Different

As you can tell,  I suck at updating blogs.  I think it's because there's so much on my mind, especially with school, that I often don't allocate enough time to it.

I've been thinking about starting another blog, a general one... then I realized, I should just modify this one.

So this blog is now devoted to... everything I want to talk or rant about.

Ranting is healthy, it gets things off your chest, so the title is still appropriate :)


Stay Healthy!

Elyse

Crock Pot Chili

First up is Crock Pot Chili.

This recipe is a staple of mine, because it is super quick, and has practically no prep time.

You can substitute the canned for dried that has been soaked and rinsed.  As a usually broke students, I tend to stock up on canned beans when they go on sale for 99cents or less.

If getting canned try to get no salt added.

Ingredients:

1 Can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Can whole corn kernels, drained and rinsed
1 large(769ml) can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced/chopped finely
1-2 bell peppers, washed and cut (any colour, I like red and orange)
1 cup mushrooms washed and cut. 
chili seasoning

Sometimes I omit the peppers if peppers are really expensive, and it still tastes good.

Empty cans into crock pot,  add onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms.  Stir.

Add chili seasoning... I vary on how much I put in and don't really keep track, but I find it also depends on the brand.  I would start with 2-3 tablespoons, you can always add more later.  Stir again.

Turn crock pot on low, and cover.  Let cook overnight (6-8 hours, I've let it go up to 10 before).

It should yield 6 servings.   The general nutritional breakdown is:

                     Calories,  Carbs,  Fat,   Protein:

Only 1 Gram of fat per serving, and 8 grams of protein!

You can also serve it over rice, quinoa or baked potatoes. 

Stay Healthy,

Elyse 

Swanky Swank

Long time no talk.  

I kind of got busy and lost my motivation for blogging.  This past year has been... interesting.

I'm inspired again, and taking a slightly different approach to blogging (I'm sure there will be plenty of rants in the future)


I recently discovered the SWANK diet.   I was developed for patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

There is no medical evidence to show that this diet has any benefits, but there are a lot of people around who say that it has helped them feel better... and sometimes feeling better is better than medical evidence (as long as all nutritional requirements are being met).

The basis of the diet (taken from Wikipedia) is: 

1. Saturated fat should not exceed 15 grams per day
2. Unsaturated fat (oils) should be kept to 20-50 grams per day
3. No red meat for the first year; after that, a maximum of 3 oz. (85 grams) of red meat per week
4. Dairy products must contain 1% or less butterfat
5. No processed foods containing saturated fat
6. A good source of omega-3 (oily fish, cod liver oil, cod liver oil tablets, etc.) along with a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement are recommended daily
7. Wheat, gluten or dairy product quantities are not restricted. But foods which cause allergies or reactions to an MS sufferer should be avoided^[3]

My comments

1.  Very good rule,  Saturated fats should be minimized in general.

2. This is below the recommended intake of fat, however #6 will bump that up, so it should be okay.

3, I don't eat meat anyway, so that is easy.

4.  But... cheese... :(   0% fat yogourt I can do, 0% fat cheese should be interesting. 

5. I rarely eat processed foods anyway so this should be okay.

6.  Eating flax seeds and chia seeds are going to have to satisfy this.  Oil supplements and I do not get along. 

7.  I need to greatly restrict my wheat and gluten intake.  I feel better when I don't eat them, and I get migraines when I eat it often.  I've been gluten free before, it requires more effort and full time student + working full time makes life a little hectic.

I'm going to post recipes (I know, every blog posts recipes these days).  Of Vegetarian, Swank, Gluten Free, Processed Sugar Free recipes.   (Chocolate free too, I'm allergic)

Stay tuned!

If you want to learn more about the Swank Diet,  this is the link: Swank MS Diet

Stay Healthy!

Elyse

Deutsch Liebe- Food edition

It's the new year, time for an update. I'm actually planning to do 2 updates with regards to my trip to Germany and Austria. One being a bit of a foodie update where I talk about how amazing the food was and post tons of pictures,  and the other being a more health-conscious one.

Over the Christmas break I had lots of new experiences when it came to food.  I spent the holidays with my boyfriend's family in Bayern, Germany (Munich primarily) and in the Austrian Alps near Zell am Ziller, Austria.

I have to say,  German food is fantastic.   I could live on it and be completely content for the rest of my life... as long as I continued to walk everywhere.  We spent between 3 and 7hrs walking around every day, which definitely helped keep off the baked goods, the Spätzle, Semmelknödel with creamy mushroom sauce, and the most fantastic dairy products I've ever had in my life.... oh yeah, and beer that didn't make me want to throw up ;)

I'm also not a huge pizza person, but we had delicious pizza from an Italian place in Munich.

Tomatoes, Mozzarella and ARUGULA.  I'd never think to sautée arugula, let alone put it on pizza, but yum yum yum

Germany is a big meat place, but in southern Germany, I had no problem finding vegetarian food.  Every restaurant had at least 2 vegetarian options.  Some many more.  We went to a great place called Marc and Frankie's for my birthday dinner, where I had Vegetarian Schnitzel (Turnip based... I normall am not a fan of turnip, but felt being in Germany, and having a vegetarian schnitzel option, I was required to try it.   Extremely delicious.  Great seasoning, crispy exterior with a tender interior:

\

My Veggie Schnitzel

The boyfriend's Viennese Schnitzel

There were lots of delicious snacks to be had in the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Markets):

I forget what these are called,                     Gebrannte mandeln
the container says "Erdäpfel"                     Well... assorted nuts.
which means potato...

It's cooked like potato chips but 

still tender, and served with a delicious 

sauce. 

polenta, it's made with a bunch of veggies and spices, then it's fried and they serve it in a homemade bun with arugula and your choice of this herbed yogourt sauce or spicy red pepper sauce (I got yogourt) yum yum yum

Waffle with cherries           pretzel with camembert

                                                               gingerbread cookies

assortment of baguettes

Salzberger Nockerl 

Speciality of the Mozart Café in Salzberg, Austria

Meringue with a cranberry jam-type sauce.

Impressed with their meringue height... not impressed with the taste.

  It was just okay.

Vanilla and Strawberry ice cream with mangos, pineapple, the best grapes I've ever had and melon.

During the trip I was also on a mission to try German or Austrian Goat cheese.  Every Fromagerie I checked, and had no luck finding German or Austrian goat cheese.  I knew it existed, it's supposed to be some of the best goat cheese, and yet I was having no luck. 

The boyfriend's mom found it at the grocery store, and it was the best ever (and really cheap.  It's incredible how inexpensive dairy products are there compared to Canada!) 

I'm hoping to do a summer internship in 2014 in Germany (preferably Bayern) so I can get some research experience while exploring more. Here's hoping!

The last picture of food I ate will be the multi-cheese Spätzle I had my last night in Germany:

I couldn't finish it all, I was so stuffed. 

Now, I'm not a pop/soda drinker, but Apfelschorle which is sparkling apple juice is great.  Also, I wasn't a big fan of Glühwein which is the Christmas wine they serve at all the Christmas markets.  We had apfelglühwein which is like hot apple cider, but with pear or plum schnapps added to it. (German Schnapps is hard alcohol not liqueur)

You can also get: apple, apple-cherry, black currant, rhubarb, passion fruit, mango, cherry, elder-apple, bear, raspberry  mixed with sparkling water at some restaurants.  Sparkling passion fruit juice is addictive. 

For the meat eaters out there, here are a bunch of photos of meat dishes... and a roasting pig. 

                             

 stay healthy!

Tea for me!

I'm not a huge "weight loss" advocate.  I'm a "be healthy" advocate.   It isn't about pounds (or kilograms) it's about feeling good, and being able to do things you want to do.

I started University in September, and as exams are coming to a close, I'm looking back on the past few months.    A friend of mine and I were recently talking about "Freshman 15" and I commented that I've done the reverse- I've LOST weight my first semester in University.  I am overweight, so this is a good thing because it contributes to being healthy.  Now it may be easier for me because it's not my first time on my own, I live off campus so I'm not stuck with cafeteria food, and I'm in my late 20s.

Looking back on the semester I've noted a few things that have helped me in becoming healthier.   My school has some amazing aquafitness classes and I love anything that's in the water.   I've been going to Aquazumba at least twice a week (three times when I can) and I've recently discovered I really like another Aquafit class they do (deep pool) so I plan on going 5 times a week to an aquafit class of some sort.

Another huge thing that has helped, I'm sure, is my tea addiction that has come full force with University (and the opening of a Davids Tea near where I live).    I like water, I drink a lot of water, but I don't always like bland tasting things, or if my stomach is a bit upset, I can't deal with the taste of water.   I've started consuming a lot of tea though.  Out of the 15 kinds of tea I own, only one has sugar in it, and I rarely add any kind of sugar to the teas... occasionally a dash of agave, but that's pretty rare.   Not only am I drinking more water,  I can't remember the last time I had juice in my refrigerator (which is my go-to for flavoured beverages,  even though I'd only buy 100% juice, it's still a lot of calories and a lot of sugar).   I've inadvertently increased my water intake and decreased my sugar intake.   Awesome!

There's lots of different teas, from lots of different places.  I like the exotic kind of teas you can get in North America from places like David's Tea, Teavana or Steeped Tea.  I'm sure there's countless local tea places across the country as well, you should definitely look into it.   Not all tea I drink is caffeinated (tea only counts as water providing you're taking in less than 500mg of caffeine per day), there are tons of great herbal teas as well, I'm currently drinking a delicious one that I've iced called Pink Flamingo which is a grapefruit, tangerine flavour.

Plus, tea lattés are fantastic.  Instead of buying ones with tons of calories and sugar from coffee shops, I make my own thanks to a $16 milk frother I bought at Stokes (You can get them from $2 at Ikea up to super expensive ones).   Occasionally I'll use Goat Milk, but I've been using soy or almond milk a lot lately- and now, tis the season,   Almond "egg" nog.


You don't need to become a tea addict like me to be healthier, the point of this post are that sometimes it's the little things you do that make a huge change in the long run-  so maybe exercise an extra day a week, or swap out pop or juice for water sometimes.

I'm off to Germany and Austria for Christmas,  I am sure I will report back in January with all the fun, delicious (and probably decadent and fattening) things I've consumed over the holidays.... and will be back with New Years Resolutions :)

Have a great holiday season everyone, and Stay Healthy!

Fatty McFatterson

This post I'm going to talk about myself, and some personal experiences.   It was inspired by the following two things:

The Fat Nutritionist blog

and

She makes a good point- that the person doesn't know her.  Doesn't know anything about her.  I think there's a this idea, this stereotype that all skinny people are healthy, and all overweight people are unhealthy. Science has blasted through this myth but the average person doesn't seem to look to science for answers. Obesity does play some part in certain illnesses, but above all else- a person who eats well and is active is healthier and less at risk for diseases than someone who does not.

I'm fat.  I know I'm fat.  This isn't a shock.  I'm working to lose weight, but I love me regardless.  For years I felt guilty for opting to have dessert when I ate out, or for having having a fast food veggieburger.  For the most part, I eat healthy, but I don't deprive myself of everything that's not healthy.

The past 8 years have been a struggle weight wise.  In high school I was a bit overweight, when I was 17 I was in a car accident that destroyed the cartilage in my right knee.  I couldn't walk without it hurting for about 3 years well it rebuilt (I did 3 years of physio).  That put a damper in my physical activity level.   A few years after that I found out I had a neurological problem, and while everyone was telling me it was just in my head because I was a stressed student I was pretty much bedridden for about a year and a half.  Finally I got competent doctors and they figured it out.  All that lack of activity slowly added up pound upon pound though.  

I still have some neurological issues, one of which is Trigeminal Neuralgia which flares up every once in awhile (not in the past 2 years thankfully!).  TN is a horribly painful condition that I don't ever wish upon anyone.  It causes constant, intense pain in half of your face.  You can't sleep, you can't eat properly, painkillers do absolutely nothing and it makes sane people go crazy.  It has some of the highest rates of suicidal tendances of a medical condition, and I understand why.

I remember being in Cuba a few years ago, on the medication that they finally discovered works for me, I have to stay on it for about a month at a time.  It makes the pain stop, it makes me able to sleep, eat, and function normally. Honestly, it makes me not want to die in order to stop the pain.  Those thoughts terrified me at the time.  However it also causes rapid weight gain.  I was in Cuba about half way through my 2 week stay when 2 female tourists from Canada decided they would "talk to me about my weight".   I started by saying that I was aware I was overweight, that I was working out and eating well and trying to be healthy, but that currently I was on medication that also caused weight gain (The first time around I gained over 30lbs in a month).  One of them told me that I shouldn't be taking it then because I couldn't afford to gain more weight.

The audacity of that blew me away.  They didn't know me, they didn't know what I've gone through.  To suggest I stop taking a medication because THEY felt the side effects weren't worth it... was just deplorable in my mind.   To me, weight gain was an easy trade to get rid of the pain induced psychosis that TN caused me.  I got to feel like my normal self again.  I can't imagine anyone suggesting someone live a life of insane pain in order to not be fat.  A few years ago I talked to a girl who was also on the same medication (she had slightly less weight gain, but was on it long term so it was a constant struggle for her to balance it out.)  She said to me "It's worth it to constantly struggle with my weight, because the alternative if this drug didn't exist, is that I don't think I'd be alive to struggle with it".  There are many medications that you can try for TN, most of them anti-epileptic... many of them with some scary side effects like a high risk of Drug Induced Lupus, Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) feel free to google those to see how scary they are. 

The Fat Nutritionist talks a lot about different experiences and stereotypes.  I find it a really interesting blog.

For now I'm going to concentrate on school, workout (ps if you've never tried Aquazumba, do it.  It's amazing, I'm addicted) whenever I'm able to, and eat healthy, but eat happy too. 

Don't judge people by their appearances.  I know skinny girls who can't run up stairs, fat girls who can, fat girls who can't and skinny girls who can.   The world isn't about being fat or skinny.  It's about being you, trying to be healthy and being happy. 

A side note,  my boyfriend is supportive of me living a healthy lifestyle, but less enthusiastic about me losing weight. A direct quote: "If you lose weight... what about your boobs?"

Oh boob men.

Stay Healthy, Stay Happy!