3 Ingredient Breakfast in 7 minutes (including cleanup)

No one seems to have time to cook in the morning. The food industry is well aware of this issue and the market is full of quick breakfast items (bars, cereal, yogurt etc) but the thing is- I don’t love them.  I like warm, filling, substantial food to start my day. Oh and I want it to be healthy. Did I mention I don’t have time to cook, or shop for multiple ingredients?
This has led to new obsession- making an EGG BAGEL for breakfast.  3 ingredients- and can be made in 7 minutes INCLUDING clean up. Einstein has one- but you’re looking at 490 calories… read on to learn how to have your bagel & eat it too  for only 210 calories! 
Three ingredients:
Bagel: Ok fine- it’s a bagel thin :). Let me just start by saying- I’d pretty accepted that bagels and I didn't have much of a future (unless it involved shopping in the plus size section).  They’ve forever been one of my favorite foods, but I just “ couldn't go there” except for rare special occasions –I totally ate one the morning of my wedding. At that point the dress was either going to fit, or it wasn't!  Anyway- bagels had been a no no, until the introduction of my new morning staple- bagel thins! Weighing in at 110 calories, only 19 grams of carbs- they give me that bagel taste I love without the guilt. My recommendation- choose the “everything” version even though the wheat one is probably better for you. Totally worth it.
Egg:  The classic egg, not popular in the low fat days of the 90’s, but making a comeback. With 70 calories and packed full of protein, I've found that eating a full egg, rather than just whites keeps me full longer.
Cheese: Laughing cow light spreadable cheese wedge is my go-to.  35 calories, tons of new flavors (queso is a favorite!) Like spice? Add tapatio or other hot sauce to the cheese for an added kick. 

7 Minutes: So here’s the recipe- pop the bagel in the toaster (tip- turn down the toaster! Bagel thins toast/burn quicker than their thicker counterparts), while it’s toasting fry the egg (I like to break the yolk- personal preference) and then spread the Laughing Cow cheese on the bagel, pop the egg on top, cut in half and enjoy an egg bagel sandwich. Easy peasy. And, only 210 calories and it keeps me full till lunch!

Happy Breakfasting!

XOXO

Chel

PS: Key to quick clean up? Put soap and water in the pan right after taking it off the stove- it’ll sizzle and steam, scrub it around a bit, rinse and then you’re done. 
PPS: Interested in cleansing? Starting next Friday, I'm try a 3 day juice cleanse to jumpstart me back to healthy eating. This is my first one- so I'm excited to blog and share how it goes! www.coolercleanse.com

BluePrint Cleanse... On Sale Tomorrow!

So I've been talking about wanting to do a cleanse for a while- and I think I found The One. The BluePrint cleanse is a 3 day juice based cleanse that is EASY- they ship you 3 coolers of juice, one per day and each day you have 6 different juices to drink (they are labeled 1-6 to keep you on track).  With my recent lack of healthy eating motivation, I think this is just what I need to jumpstart me back on track. 
What brought this on was an email from one of my favorite shopping websites, Gilt Group, which features daily sales on designer clothing, jewlery & accessories. Today's email previewed their Wedding Weekend Sale starting tomorrow and the BluePrint Cleanse is part of it as a bridal detox.
Brooke actually emailed me a few months back about this cleanse, the company based in NYC and she met them for a business meeting and came out pretty sold on the product.  Downside is, it's not cheap.  It's usually $255 for the 3 day cleanse (although you can do 1 & 2 day versions as well). I'm not sure how much it will be when it goes on sale tomorrow, but hopefully it's a good price.
I spent time today researching and reading reviews of the cleanse (Sarah Jessica Parker is a fan) and most of the feedback was really positive. (Yelp had about 40 reviews with an overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars) People say it works best if you follow their directions for the days prior to the cleanse, which include things like cutting out alcohol and red meat 3 days before, limiting dairy etc.  The cleanse is described as energizing and motivating and people tend to lose between 3-5 pounds and keep it off.

To access any Gilt Group sales you have to be a member- so click here to sign up (It'll also give me a $25 credit if you buy anything! Full disclosure :): http://www.gilt.com/invite/chelseamarie84s
Check out the BluePrint Website here for more info: http://www.blueprintcleanse.com/
Sale starts at 9am Pacific Time tomorrow, and don't be late, they run out! Or you can let me be the guinea pig- obviously I'll provide a detailed review of my own experience!
XO
Chel

I Have A Confession To Make

I'm a fiber addict. I have been holding out on you all with a VERY important factor in my personal weight loss & overall health because I was too embarrassed to blog about it! I've attempted to write about it a few times but always get stuck when I type "Colon Cleanse".  I figure, you don't really want to hear about my bathroom habits & I really don't want to share them on this public forum. BUT- I believe that fiber has been playing a large role in my ability to maintain my current weight- so it would be wrong of me not to fill you in.
Why Fiber?

Many diets (Weight Watchers for example) rely heavily on fiber as part of the calculation of how much you can eat.  Why is that? Fiber is the indigestibile part of plant based foods.  Because our bodies can't digest it, it passes through us without providing nutrition or calories. There are three main weight loss & fiber intake are linked.

1. Fiber helps move fat & other foods through our bodies more quickly, so that less of it is absorbed.
2. Fiber makes us feel full sooner and stays in our stomach longer than other substances we eat, slowing down our rate of digestion and keeping us feeling full longer.
3. Fiber helps keep your bowel healthy & free of toxins. = Easier processing of nutrients.

Various studies have found that the average woman should eat between 20-27 grams of fiber per day.  The average American woman is only eating 15 per day.  How many are you eating?
My Life with Fiber:
My fiber kick (addiction) started when Chris came home from work with a bottle of this Original Colon Cleanse.  A co-worker of his had strongly recommended it to him as a great weight loss supplement. Obviously I'm game for any of those so I tried it. I'm not going to go into detail (if you want to read reviews, there are some pretty graphic ones out there- google it) but let's just say it definitely got things moving :) This particular Cleanse is made of psyllium husk is known to pull over 10 times it's weight in toxins from your colon. Each serving (tablespoon) has 6 grams of fiber, and you mix it with water and drink it 30 minutes prior to meals, up to 3x per day.  Currently I only take it in the morning but when you first start, it's good to do at least 2x a day.
As you know I'm also taking a Greens Supplement daily, and that also has 6 grams of fiber. (Read more about my daily supplements here: Supplements Everyone Should Take) So by 8am, I've had 12 grams of fiber. And those Zen Bakery Blueberry or Apple Cranberry Fiber Cakes I'm always raving about from TJs? 13 GRAMS of FIBER in an 80 calorie muffin. So- if I have one of those for my mid morning snack, I'm up to 25 grams before lunch.
See... I told you I'm obsessed.
How to Eat More Fiber:
Obviously you can take supplements to add fiber to your diet but it's also great to eat food that is naturally high fiber (it's all healthy stuff as well!) Below are some examples.  Keep in mind that meat & dairy have ZERO fiber, so if you are trying to eat low carb, it's even more important to make sure you are getting enough fiber daily.

• Legumes (lentils, dry beans and peas)
• Vegetables
• Brown rice
• Whole grains (wheat, oats, barley)
• Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries (1 cup provides up to 1/3 of your goal of at least 25 grams of fiber per day)
• High-fiber crackers (just 2 Ak Mak® crackers contain 3.5 grams fiber)
• Fiber One®, All Bran®, or Kashi® Cereals (Go Lean Crunch®)
• 100-percent whole-wheat bread (at least 3 grams of fiber per serving)
• Thomas' Multi-Grain Lite English Muffins® (only 100 calories and 8 grams of fiber with 5 grams of protein ... a nutrition bargain!)

Just to be clear, Fiber alone will not make you lose weight. Adding fiber either through supplements or food–only seems to assist weight control when it leads to an overall intake of less calories.

I hope you will come to love fiber as much as I do! Check for it on nutritional labels, try a supplement and make sure you are eating at least 20 grams a day. 
XO
Chel
P.S. I hope you all got a lot out of that, becuase I literally cringed every time I wrote colon (bowel is even worse) Maybe I'm 12 but still.. MEHR.

Cleanse Update & Bar Method (no that doesn't refer to a pub crawl :)

Thought I'd give an update since I was supposed to be cleansing... I'm not! A few friends had mentioned that they didn't think cleansing was healthy etc, etc, so I was going to write a blog on the benefits of a liver cleanse. So- I googled it to find out and what I learned scared me! Nothing too terrible- but things like if you didn't space the timing right or get all the gallstones out (and the pictures of some of the things coming out were scary!) it could actually be really bad for your health. So- if I do decide to do a cleanse I will probably do one more like the 7 day cleanse which my trainer recommended, that I blogged about a few days ago.

But I did try something new today- a Bar Method class which my sister raves about. What is it? According to their website: The Bar Method™workout creates a uniquely lean, firm, sculpted body by combining the muscle-shaping principles of isometrics, the body-elongating practice of dance conditioning, the science of physical therapy and the intense pace of interval training into a powerful exercise format that quickly and safely reshapes and elongates muscles.

I want a uniquely lean sculped body! My sister is a former dancer, so I was a little nervous to try the class with no dance background, but it was great! It was VERY different than my bootcamp- because there is no cardio- it's mostly strenght training and different poses. It was crazy hard, but in a good way. You do use a ballet "bar" which is where it gets its name. My body was SHAKING as the teacher led us through some of the exercises. Like literally uncontrollably shaking. But the nice part was that afterwords I felt great and energized, whereas after bootcamp I usually feel accomplished but exhausted. I think combined with a few days a week of running or some cardio this would be a GREAT way to get fit. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow. The teacher's arms were AMAZING. :)

Check it out: http://www.barmethod.com/

Now I am sitting on the couch watching the Chargers game (hopefully a WIN) drinking a glass of wine and pop chips (100 calories a good sized serving- best flavor is BBQ) and enjoying my Sunday!

XO

Chel

PS. Best dessert ever. My friend Jen came over Friday night and made this perfect holiday dessert which I just have to share! No Pudge Brownies (a box mix sold at Trader Joes, Vons, etc you just add yogurt instead of eggs/oil) with low fat Peppermint ice cream on top! I think we figured out each desert was about 250 calories which is great, & they taste AMAZING. Yum. Thanks Jen!

What Are You Doing Saturday Night?

I've got a date with my toilet. I can't believe I just wrote that. BUT- what is the point of this blog if it's not 100% honest? Although I suppose this post could probably fall into the category of oversharing... Oh well- that's your warning!
Chris ended up having to go out of town for work this weekend which cancelled our camping trip; honestly it's about 50 degrees outside and drizzling... I'm ok with it. Last night I realized I really had no commitments whatsoever for the weekend and decided it would be a perfect opportunity to do a cleanse! Not the week long one I blogged about a few days ago, but a Liver Cleanse that a co-worker had been "prescribed"by her acupuncturist. It's a day & a half long, & the only warning I was given was to stay by a toilet at all times. Bring on the cleansing!
Check it out:
2 days prior to the cleanse take (2) 800 mg tablets of malic acid in the morning and evening.
1. Mix 24oz of water (3 cups) with 4 tbs Epsom Salts until dissolved.
2. Saturday afternoon stop eating at 2pm. (they actually reccomend starting this on a Friday- but I'm having people over for dinner tonight- and I'd probably be kind of a downer drinking my salt water and running to the bathroom- so I start tomorrow)
3. At 6pm drink 3/4 cup epsom salt mixture
4. At 8pm drink 3/4 cup epsom salt mixture
5. At 10pm mix 3/4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and combine with 1/2 cup olive oil. (ewwww). Shake until solution is watery & then drink and lay down, on your back or on your right side with your head elevated for at least 20 min. Try to sleep. (It scares me that it says "try" to sleep)
6. Sunday at 6am drink 3/4 cup epsom salt mixture
7. 8am drink last 3/4 cup epsom salt mixture
8. 10am have a little grapefruit juice
9. 10:30am eat some fruit
10. 11:30- noon- eat a light meal, toast, sandwich
11. Begin eating as soon as you feel like it.
So- I'll be done cleansing by noon on Sunday and should probably be a normal person by the time Chris gets home on Monday. I can't wait to tell you all about it on Monday! Wish me luck!
Chel
PS. For all San Diegans- I have been dying to share the best thing ever- Roadrunner sports in Mira Mesa area is AMAZING. Chris and I went about a week ago to get new running shoes. I ended up getting a really good pair- about $125. They help you select the perfect shoe for you- they even video tape you while you run on a treadmill. They also have a great return policy where if you run in the shoes, even multiple times and don't like them you can bring them back. But even better than that- next to the regular store is their OUTLET (you know I love deals). After we both found shoes at the regular store we went over to the outlet just to check it out. And I found my EXACT shoes I had just bought in the twice worn section (a customer had returned them) and they were marked down to $30!! So needless to say I returned the first pair and purchased those. You can't return them when you buy them from the outlet- but what a great deal! Chris & I also got a TON of running and workout clothes for practically nothing! I got a pair of pants I had seen for $70- marked down to $27 then $20 additional off as part of some deal (we may have just had a very kind cashier). Anyway- favorite place ever- check it out! www.roadrunnersports.com

And the Results Are In...

So- I had my big weigh in this morning! I'm pleased to say that the damage was not as bad as I had imagined. I have gained 2 pounds since my last weigh in 7 weeks ago at the end of my first bootcamp. The BAD part is- I was supposed to have dropped 7 pounds in that time period, so technically I'm 9 pounds from where I should be. Make sense? Relief that I hadn't gained 20 pounds was probably my biggest emotion but I also felt a sense of disapointment that I'm not where I had hoped to be.
BUT I'm going to use this check in as a "reality check". Now I know where I'm at weight wise and I know what I need to do to reach my goals. I feel like I have all the knowledge & tools to loose weight- I just need to put them to work.
My trainer Jessica and I discussed some of my struggles- and I think the number one thing for me is going back to food journaling. I had gotten really lax about this, I would usually journal Monday thru Wednesday and then once Thursday hit, I knew I was being bad with eating and drinking so I'd stop writing it down. Or I'd write down my food till lunch and then leave my journal at work & never finish the day. So- I'm going back to being really good about the journal, including EVERYTHING I eat (even just a bite), keeping it with me all the time, setting daily calorie goals and overall just being accountable for all the food I'm putting in my body.
I also talked to Jessica about doing a cleanse to jumpstart my body back to healthy eating. She warned me away from anything intense like the Master Cleanse (for any of you who remember when I did that a few years ago- I lasted 5 days & was an EMOTIONAL wreck- people need food!). But she did reccomend the following week long cleanse:
Day 1: Cut out all Sugar, Dairy & Caffeine. A little bit of whole grains is good but eat mostly veggies, fruit and some lean protein (either wild salmon or organic free range chicken). Eat NOTHING processed or fake. Drink lots of water & herbal or green tea.
Day 2: Today cut the meat. Eat veggies, fruit & whole grain. Continue with water & tea.
Day 3. JUICE DAY! Eat, or rather drink, all of your calories today. If you have a juicer, make your own juice from veggies including beets, carrots, collard greens, kale & apples. You can also purchase freshly squeezed veggie juices from a juice shop, just make sure they don't have anything added to them. Farmers Market in San Diego has a guy that sells a "Greens" juice which would be perfect for this.
Day 4: Continue with the juice & add in fruit. NO other food groups.
Day 5: Continue with the juice & fruit & add in veggies. Steam them or eat raw- you don't want to put oils or fats into your system.
Day 6: Bring back whole grains. Have a piece or two of a sprouted grain bread (like Ezekial brand) or some sweet potatoes.
Day 7: Add back small portions of meat or protein.
That completes the cleanse- and of course after that you should continue to eat well to maintain your results & good health.
I really want to try it, just trying to find a spot on the calendar when I have a week free of "eating commitments". Jessica recommended scheduling the juice day on a "rest" day from working out- otherwise you can feel free to continue exercise.
And the one bright spot in my appointment this morning is that I have lost more body fat- I'm down from 21.9% to 20% which makes me happy- I think I'm almost to the ATHLETE range. Wow, never thought I'd say that. It was funny actually, last night a girl came up to me at bootcamp and said "Have you always been a runner? You're really good." I wished my high school P.E. Teacher Ms Reynolds could have been there- I was always the one at the back of the pack WALKING the last lap of the mile :) Believe me, if I can be a "runner" I'm pretty sure anyone can!
XO
Chel
PS. Happy almost Friday. Looking forward to Julia's annual Christmas festivites tonight!