Happy 2nd Anniversary to Juliann's Easy Eats

I can't believe it came and past without any posting from me. Sorry we have had a 4th Birthday Party, Father's Day, school's out for summer and planning for a few upcoming road trips so my mind has been elsewhere. My son also started swim classes at night and we have beach volleyball one night a week so my cooking has become something I no longer spend any time planning, or doing. I make something edible, quickly and hope everyone eats it...quickly.

But I have found some great recipes that I need to catch up on, so I am going to try to get those done as soon as possible...before I lose them.

I am really excited that the number of hits has grown to such amazing numbers. When I started this blog as a way to organize the great recipes I would find, instead of cluttering my kitchen as well as an easy way to share them with my friends when I rave about what I have been eating, I never expected anyone other then my friends and family to see it. I know I dont devote nearly enough time and energy to it, but I appreciate everyone stopping by and seeing what's cooking. I would love more comments.....more comments on the blog, not just over the phone, email, or FB :)

There have been so many changes in my life since I started. 2 years seems like a lifetime when you live with 2 small children. I got my groove back and started a lifelong journey of discovering what makes me feel better, gives me moe energy, and makes me healthier. Its been an amazing year and I really look forward to what is to come

So happy cooking and Happy Anniversary to me

Crazy Talk

Things such as life have just been so crazy! School is almost out and our schedule is going to change again and the stress of that is making me nuts. I need to figure out how to get it all done with 2 little ones wanting to play, and not be into grocery shopping and going to the gym as their priority. Thank goodness I have lots of willing babysitters!

Another thing that has been crazy is that I am now in a single digit pant size and I actually got to buy a size small shirt. I almost fell on the floor. I told the salesgirl helping me she was crazy but she insisted the outfit I had been trying on was too big. So she got me the size 8's and a small shirt and HOLY CRAP she was right. I got very teary in the dressing room, and she actually hugged me. I am not sure I can go into my local LOFT store again but it was such a huge moment for me. When I started this journey I was a size 14. I am shocked almost daily, at how different I feel and what a difference building muscle can make in the shape of someone's body. My whole shape is different. My problem areas are still "not so great" but they are a whole lot better then they were before. Any women who had 2 babies in 2 years will understand that that isnt something you can quickly bounce back from, if at all. So my middle is still a lot squishier then I would like and I do tons of sit ups and ab work but they are hiding waaaayyyy underneath there and I am not sure I will ever get them to be as toned as I would like but for now I am thrilled with the hard work I have done.

I think the most gratifying part of this has been that I did the hard work myself. I didnt take a pill, I didnt get surgery, I didnt buy some weird processed food.....I did the work. I re-learned more about nutrition & portion control, I learned how a women of my age needs to be working out to be healthy, and I put the time in and took no shortcuts. I am still setting goals for myself and I will achieve them one day. That 5K is something I still have as a goal to work towards and hope to complete in the Fall. After that who knows what's next. But I want to keep challenging myself and seeing what my body can do. I am stronger now then I was when I was a tiny size 2. I have a body that I am proud of, not because of a good metabolism and not enjoying food, but because I work hard for it. And I still EAT. I eat such great food, and nothing is off limits. I love food, cooking it, eating it, talking about it so to have to deprive myself would never have worked.

So my message is, stop the excuses, because that's what they are. I lived for too many years thinking it was harder then it was. I made too many excuses as to why I couldnt do it, but you truly can do anything you want to achieve if you set your mind to it, make a plan and be honest with yourself. Life is really too short and I want to make sure I am healthy enough to enjoy every day I have with my amazing family. THAT is the motivation that keeps me going

Do they have 12 step for Carbs?

Hello My Name is Juli and it has been 103 days since my last bagel……

I am a carb addict. I could eat carbs everyday all day long and be a happy girl. Especially bagels, they are one of my true loves in the food world. When I read Eat, Pray, Love I was most interested in the parts where she was eating pizza and pasta, to heck with spiritual enlightenment. Since cutting out a large chunk of carbs from my diet, I feel incredible. I also notice on the days that I really work hard at eating mostly protein, fruits and veggies, the next day I feel just great. Don't get me wrong, I still love carbs but the longer I maintain my new lifestyle, the clearer it becomes that the carbs and the sugar and making me fat and robbing me of the energy that I need to get it all done. Like today……I woke up, put my feet on the ground, and didnt stop, got the kids out the door, did a really strong, fast workout, and my body feels like it is humming along. Who is this girl? Whose body is this?

I realized today at the gym when I was having my great work out, that I really like this. I like feeling strong, and pushing myself and my body to see what it can do. I think I never appreciated it before, but at my advanced age of 37, I am feeling better and looking better then I have in well over a decade. I spent way to long making excuses for why I didn’t have time, why I was OK with how I looked, why if I could just sleep more I would have the energy that I need, why I had to put everyone else ahead of me, and my health.

Let me tell you a little secret I found out…..when you stop all the noise, and you stop all the excuses and you look at yourself in the mirror and tell the truth, you would be shocked at what you can do.

In 100 days I went down 2 clothing sizes, dropped 15 pounds and built some beautiful muscle were there used to be just flabby fat, and I am strong. 100 days…….it is crazy to me to think that I made excuses for so many years, and wasn’t in a place to do the work but holy cow, look what I was able to do in 100 days.

So now as a mom who is juggling lots of hats and tons of things, I urge you to selfishly give yourself 100 days……not years, but 100 days, less then 1/3 of the year. Find out what would make you happy, find a goal to work towards just for you, find something that is just yours. I gave myself this amazing gift and now I am anxious to see what the next 100 days holds.

Jeans that make you weep!

I bought a pair of jeans on a whim after they got a rave review from my friend Catherine. I was ambitious and bought down a size from the downsized size I am currently wearing from Old Navy (got that?). I tried them on with my lady bloat and they couldn't even come close to buttoning. They were sitting there last night mocking me, and something said, give it another shot before you return them. To my total and utter amazement they fit. They more then fit, they looked awesome.

If you aren't familiar with the trilogy of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" The actual "pants" are this magical pair of jeans that fit all the girls even though they have different body shapes and sizes and they all look fantastic in them. I believe I stumbled upon the Traveling Pants in my local Costco store.

I haven't been this particular size in probably close to 6 years now. I put those jeans on and buttoned them and actually got weepy. I was so giddy with joy that all my hard work is paying off and that the goals that I set myself are actual possible. It also reconfirmed that it is about more then the number on the scale. It makes me happy to see body parts getting leaner, tighter, and less giggly. And now I have these magical pants, I mean what more can a girl ask for????

On the downside, I do have some really nice clothes that look ridiculously huge on me now. Since my belly has been a major problem area I camouflage it with my clothes but now everything is much too flowy and big and is adding volume. I have watched enough episodes of "What Not to Wear" to know that isn't a good thing. I need a Stacey and Clinton closet intervention. I suppose there is not greater reason to go shopping then your clothes being SO big on you they might fall off.

Happy Hump Day

J

No new recipes today...

I am sorry to report I didnt cook anything new last night. I went out to dinner and the rest of the family had my famous chicken cutlets, green beans and steak fries. Nothing fancy about that.

I do have a few things I wanted to discuss......

Thank you so much for the positive feedback on the blog. It is nice to put some time and effort into it for myself and have other people be able to enjoy it as well. I really enjoy reading your comments too. So keep them coming. Also if you ever have any recipes you want me to try I am always up for a challenge.

Speaking of the dinner I had last night.....oh boy! My friend Keri is moving to Virginia soon so we got together for a girls night dinner last night. I ordered sangria which was a bold move from the start. I figured I would get my sugar rush early and out of the way. After I ordered it, I thought to look up the WW points value on my phone (which is pretty awesome btw). I was starving yesterday and after adding the giant pint glass of sangria, I had 2 points left for the day. Oh well, its all for a good cause right?! It was delightful! So if I was going to have a drink at least it was well worth the calories.

I was pretty well behaved (not sure if that is a correct word usage for what I did) so I ordered some sliced steak, whipped potatoes and green beans. Portion size was small, it was tasty and I left more then 3/4 of the potatoes on the plate.....luckily they werent very good. I didnt over due it, I didnt get stuffed---yay me!

AND THEN.......(insert the sinister music here)

I hesitated when she asked if we wanted any coffee or dessert. I dont drink coffee, but I like me some dessert. I know I shouldn't have, and I am only writing about this so down the road I can remind myself of the consequences to the small choices I make. SO I picked the most delicious looking chocolate mountain torte. I mean it has the word "mountain" in it. It was amazing. Chocolate, hazelnut goodness. It was so delicious I slowly ate the entire thing (sans a few shared bites) all by myself. Oops! I tried not to dwell on it, because it was so worth the calories. It was perfection on a dessert plate. Which is nice when you anticipate enjoying something and you actually find it worth it. Fast forward to this morning and the light of day. I had food guilt. Big time. My stomach was killing me, I felt so sick, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom, and as much as I didnt want too, I went to the gym. I was being punished by my stomach for doing something I knew I shouldnt and it was sending me the message LOUD and CLEAR! Thanks....got it, no need to make that mistake again

Which brings me to my next segment of this post. The gym....I started to train to run my 1st 5K. I was into week 3 and I was so into it. I felt great and was so motivated. Set the date for the 5K and everything. THEN....(sinister music again) my shin splints came back full force and I am now not able to run for awhile. Boo hoo, figures the first time I actually want to run, I cant. So I have to switch up my cardio and decided today I would tackle the giant stair master. I tried it for 5 minutes the other day and it was boring.....I mean really boring. They dont have TVs attached and my music didnt match and motivate me to stay on it. So today I brought my Kindle and I figured I could read while mindlessly walking up stairs. It worked like a charm. I walked up stairs for 65 minutes and got through 9 chapters of my book. I think this is the only way to "do" the stairmaster. It is so hard and truly mindless. I was trying to figure out how long it would take me to walk up the Statue of Liberty while on there. I Wikipedia-ed her and couldnt find the steps, but did you know her waist is 35 ft. and her mouth is 3 ft? That would be a BIG piece of cake to fit into a 3 foot mouth. Next time I am going to remember the # of steps and figure out which big buildings I am walking up.....yeah its dorky but come on, the stairmaster is hell....worse mindless hell and I need to get through it in my own special dorky way.

So those are my thoughts for the day. I kind of like mixing my journal in with my recipes. I am sure you are bored to tears with my stories but feel free to skip any posts you dont see food pictures in.....I wont be offended :)

oh and next time I will take a picture of the cake so you know you couldnt resist it either!