Eat. Live. Be. REBOOT

Regular readers may remember an Eat. Live. Be. movement that me and Sarah came up with and ran last year.  At the time, it was perfect because it partnered nicely with my whole Cate Version 2.0 movement.  You know, the one wherein I got addicted to Zumba, clean eating, and a weight loss of over sixty pounds.  But then, I sprained my ankle in May, and that put the brakes on a lot of what I was doing.  I haven’t been back to Zumba since, and you have know idea how much that pains me.  The good news is that while I haven’t been going as full force as I was before, I have managed to maintain my weight loss.

But that isn’t enough.

Or wasn’t for me.

I missed the mental zone that all that dedication afforded me.  When people prattle on about the endorphin rush you get from exercising, it’s not just meaningless drivel.  It’s the truth.  And when I say that your body responds differently to how and what you feed it, again, it’s the truth.

And when you’re treating your body right, everything else just magically falls into place.

You’re able to handle stress better.

Relationships.

Work.

Kids.

You have more energy.

And you want to do better.

It’s not just lip service.

So the fact that I wasn’t in the exact same spot as I was in the spring?  Killed me.  Like, seriously.  Thought about it day in and out.

And in the grand scheme of things, there wasn’t much I could do about it.

Which, of course, frustrated me even more.

Zumba and clean eating is what started me back on the straight and narrow.

And I couldn’t Zumba.  In fact, I still can’t.  And because that’s what got me going (and what worked) before, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.  My ankle, believe it or not, is still swollen and just can’t hold up to a Zumba class quite yet.  Apparently recovery from sprains is a long road.

But I needed to get out of my head and back on my program.

So Sunday, I walked.  And walked.  And walked.  To the tune of four miles.

And I felt amazing.  I felt proud.  And that feeling that I had missed these past 8 months?  Back.  Not full force, but that will come in time.  I had to take the first steps, both literally and figuratively, to get back on track.

And so it was perfect timing for a reboot of Eat. Live. Be.

This time, we’re going to do it slightly different … but we do hope that you will join in on the fun.  It’s a good online support group, and certainly the more the merrier.

1.  We’ll be publishing our Eat. Live. Be. posts on Wednesdays.

2.  Because we all have different goals, Eat. Live. Be. means different things to different people.  It could mean losing twenty pounds (me and Joanne).  Maybe it’s the support you need to kick that sugar habit?  Or just get out and get your jog on.  It’s just a day to focus on what you want, whatever that may be, and go after it.

3.  Sarah, Patsy, and Joanne will all be posting on Eat. Live. Be. on Wednesdays as well, and we encourage you to join our facebook group, and comment on our posts and let us know how you’re doing too.  And, of course, what your goals are.

4.  Instead of us all talking about a specific, predetermined topic every week, we’re going to change it up a bit and make it much more broad.  We will rotate using various mediums (magazine, online, print {cookbook, journal, etc.}, and television, in that rotating order) as our writing prompt, and then interpret it (and elaborate on it) based on our specific goals and objectives.

5.  And because I am a sucker for a good inspirational quote, we’ll each share one that is speaking to us at that particular moment.

So today is about sharing our goals, as our kick-off, and then I’ll give you my bit of magazine inspiration.

My initial goal is to get back, completely, to where I was pre-sprained ankle.  The consistent working out.  And clean eating.  Since I can’t do Zumba, I plan on continuing the walking, and the four mile walk Sunday was a great start.  My mini goal is walking three days a week.  And as my ankle gets stronger, I add more.  And then, cleaning eating all the way again.  The odd non-clean eating food and/or recipe will, of course, still be a part of our kitchen, but I hold fast to my mantra, all things in moderation.

I won’t go all crunchy granola on you, but the Eat. Live. Be. posts will be peppered amongst the other topics you like here as well.  The kids.  Mystic.  Our adventures.  Crafting.  Parenting.  Photography.  Food.  Anything and everything goes, as always.  But for now, Wednesdays belong to Eat. Live. Be.  Sometimes fitness.  Motivation.  Recipes.  Exercises.  Not all single-minded focus.  For your health is about your mental and emotional well-being too.  It’s a-l-l connected.  We hope you’ll join in the fun, and spread the word.

So this week’s prompt was to come from a magazine, and I found mine courtesy of a recent issue of Redbook.  They had a section on all-star Thanksgiving recipes, and when I saw the one from Food Network’s Guy Fieri, it was perfect for this week’s contribution.  Clean eating.  Easy.  Perfect for a quick little snack or a light lunch or dinner.  No guilt, but full-on flavor.  Black-Eyed Basmati Salad.  My mom is always searching for the next best recipe for our obligatory New Year’s Day black-eyed peas dish (for good luck, don’t you know?), and this is an excellent contender (although last year’s with the avocado is still my favorite).  This salad took just 15 minutes to make, and I had everything on hand except for the peas.  It’s totally worth making and stashing in the fridge for when the munchies hit.  Anything to keep you away from the fudge brownies and candy canes, right?  But don’t worry, a fudge brownie recipe is coming here in the next few days as well.

And lastly, my quote.  Ever since high school, I have had notebooks upon notebooks of favorite quotes (and now, even a Pinterest board dedicated to favorite quotes).  Things that were perfect to hear right then.  Words that made me completely rethink a situation.

From chasingkristina.tumblr.com

Ain’t that the truth? Whether it’s a thinner waistline, a better jump shot, or a way with words, if you don’t work for it, it isn’t going to happen.

December 7, 2011 – Bonus Photos

In a dessert-before-dinner moment, we met friends for frozen yogurt tonight.

And a bit of Santa letter writing.

This was a longer than normal post today, but we had a lot of stuff to get through.  Kudos if you stuck through ’till the end! xoxo

Black-Eyed Basmati Salad
Recipe courtesy of Guy Fieri via Redbook magazine

“I like to get something lighter into Thanksgiving, and the bright acids of this salad wake up the palate. I’m used to cooking for my mom, dad, and sister, who was a vegetarian [she passed away in February], so I want to make something everyone can enjoy.” — Guy, HOST OF DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES ON FOOD NETWORK

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

½ cup basmati rice
1 cup water
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp each honey, minced shallot, and chopped cilantro
1 (15½-oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained
½ cup diced red bell pepper
? cup pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives, sliced
¼ cup diced red onion
1 tsp ground black pepper

1. In a small saucepan, combine rice, water, and garlic. Bring to a boil, cover pan, and simmer on low for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is just tender. Let cool. Fluff with a fork.

2. In a large bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, oil, honey, shallot, and cilantro until combined. Add rice and remaining ingredients, and toss until evenly dressed. Salad can be refrigerated up to 2 hours before serving.

Makes 8 servings.