MomChef
Healthy Delicious Food For Busy Moms And Their Families
Labels
- Articles (6)
- Meal Plans (1)
- Recipes (27)
Friday, March 25, 2011
The concept of 'Periodization'
It was posted by a member named Carolyn1213 who has lost 107 lbs, gained muscle and went from a size 22 to a size 8, all by eating clean and exercising! She wrote about a concept called "Periodization" used by athletes. It was the first I had heard of it and thought it would be worth passing it along.
"I want to spend just a moment talking about a concept known as periodization. This is something I have used for myself and for my clients and I find it to be very effective. Athletes use periodization. It is the idea of eating and training for the 'season' you are in. Professional athletes have on off season, pre-season, in season and post season. During these times, their focus and training are different for each phase to meet the goal of that phase. Runners, who strictly run and run year round tend to stay injured and have more difficulty with recovery and progress.
Likewise, those who are trying to lose weight, drop body fat and increase muscle, need to look at the year in quarters. Think of a large slab of marble. The tools that you would use to chunk off the larger outward sections is totally different than the tools you would need to use to chisel out the finer details. So, in weight loss, you have the beginning phase that is focused more on cardio and larger muscle groups and making the dietary changes along the way. Your plan has to ebb and flow. There has to be times that your purposely cause yourself to relax, pause, reassess your goals and the road ahead of you. This may shock you, but I have purposely put myself on maintenance to give my body (my skin and musculature) time to catch up with the changed that were taking place. Maintenance phase for me usually lasts 3 mths. then I start working on the next goal. During weight maintenance I focus on muscle gain, not fat burning. I want muscle to fill out the space that fat has left so that my skin has minimal sag."
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Grilled Salmon with Pineapple Salsa over Whole Wheat Cous Cous and Garlicy Spinach
Directions
Directions
Directions
Directions
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Protein-packed Shamrock Salad
Use every excuse available!
Monday, March 14, 2011
4 Ways to do Oatmeal
2/3 c. water
Sweet & Spicy Tofu with Vegetables
Source: Oxygen Magazine
ANTONIO RATING: 4 OUT OF 5 STARS (before I told him it has tofu in it!)
I know I got this recipe a long time ago from Oxygen magazine, long before MomChef. Unfortunately I didn't note the Issue #. But it is one of the first recipes I have found for tofu that I really enjoy. And, it's Super-Quick to make! Red bell peppers are better but you can use green if you have a situation like me where your kids ate all the red peppers for lunch (in which case I count my blessings and throw in green).
This is a quintessential Clean Eating recipe - mushrooms, cabbage and peppers are all high-water vegetables which means they deliver a lot fiber and nutrients without a lot of calories.
Ingredients
2 tsp. olive oil
12 oz. firm tofu, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell peppers (red or green)
2 c. chopped nappa cabbage
1 c. sliced shitake mushrooms
1/4 c. chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 c. cooked brown rice
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add the tofu and cook 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, onion, peppers, cabbage and mushrooms. Cook 7 minutes.
3. Combine stock, vinegar, soy sauce, honey and cornstarch in a small bowl.
4. Add the sauce to the vegetables. Simmer 3-4 minutes.
To Serve
Place 1/2 c. cooked rice on a plate, top with 1/4 of the recipe.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Emma's Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight
After the birth of my second I found myself quite overweight and unhappy. I decided to make a change. I used Clean Eating techniques (the ‘What’) and Weight Watchers (the ‘How’) to lose 35 lbs. and I learned a lot along the way. At first I was angry; the weight wasn’t coming off like I wanted it to. I realized I was being very lackadaisical in my approach. I had to have a very firm talk with myself. I was no longer in my 20’s. I had had two kids. My body was not the same anymore and I had to take this seriously if I wanted to change.
I wish to humbly offer up my top 5 tips that I really took to heart and incorporated into my life, my body and my brain to help me.
1 - Focus on eating right and let the weight-loss be a happy side-effect. For the longest time I didn’t get this, I made weight-loss my primary focus that eating right was a necessity for. When I switched my thinking around everything fell into place. Every time you think about doing something crazy, like cutting out all carbs except lettuce and tomatoes, ask yourself one question “Is this something I can do for the rest of my life?” If the answer is No, then FIND ANOTHER WAY. IF YOUR EFFORTS ARE TEMPORARY YOUR WEIGHT-LOSS WILL BE TEMPORARY TOO!
2 - Do away with any goal with a number in it. Get it in your head – This Is For Life. Not just until you lose 20 lbs, or until the next Big Event. Release yourself from dates and deadlines. If you have a time-based goal and you only make it part-way there you are more likely to throw in the towel. But it’s a life-long journey so if you lose your way temporarily, just steer yourself back onto the right path; you have your whole life to get it right! Try this – instead of weighing yourself once a week, try on a goal outfit once a week. Be happy as you slowly find it easier and easier to do up the buttons. Once you can fit in it and feel awesome who cares what the scale says?
3 - Strive to eat 5-7 servings of vegetables a day. I have little boxes on my journal that I ticked off with every serving – when I reach that 5 mark everything gets better – My meals double in size, I become more regular ;), and I can feel all the vitamins and minerals coursing through my body.
4 - Eat something you love every day – that way you always have something to look forward to and never have to feel like you’re just holding out to your next ‘treat day’. It also prevents “deprivation over-compensation” caused by not eating cookies, not eating cookies, not eating cookies … then, I HAVE TO EAT THE WHOLE BAG! If you love something, eat a little bit of it everyday, or find an equally-satisfying alternative. Ice cream is a nice treat – when I found Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches I could eat one and not do the damage a full-fat version would do, but it was just as good.
5 - Take pictures the whole way along. Even though it was really hard in the beginning, I tell you, I stare at those pictures for hours! I flip back and forth between Before, After, Before, After!