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Hey Everybody!

Registration opens today for all of the March "Leah Says" workshops...

Ok, I will admit, I am the first to enjoy a toast on New Year's Eve or a cocktail when I'm with friends socializing.  But every celebration doesn't HAVE to include alcohol.  Besides, usually after two or so drinks, I start to eat things I wouldn't normally eat...so starts the proverbially "slippery slope", Right?
I was reading the Inquirer food section today and this no-alcohol Sangria recipe caught my eye.  I thought it was particularly alluring because it included some really healthy and refreshing ingredients.  One of them was Pomegranate tea bags.  I recently had some hot Pomegranate tea and it was really, really flavorful so I could imagine that this recipe would not come with a dull result.
I am beginning a very regimented exercise and "eating" program on Jan 2nd so technically, I could get hammered on New Year's Eve :) but I am kind of making my official start date Jan 1st.  It just seems too strange not to start preparing for the five weeks to follow on the traditional resolution date.
I cannot take credit for the recipe...it is one of Rocco DiSpirito's.  Gotta love Rocco ;)  (If I happened to bump into Rocco on New Year's Eve, I think I'd have go with something with alcohol in it!)
In the article, he recommends just using the fruit for flavoring the Sangria if you are looking to cut out additional carbs (it also reduces the per serving calorie count to 22 calories).
I'm going to go out tomorrow and get all of the ingredients...I'll let you know my review!

New Year's Resolution Sangria
Makes 4 servings
1 cup water
3 bags pomegranate tea
3 bags hibiscus and rose-hip tea
6 packets stevia sweetener powder
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon aromatic bitters (such as Angostura)
11/2 cups fresh cut-up fruit (such as citrus, grapes, apples, berries, melon)
5 sprigs fresh mint
2 cups seltzer water
1. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a simmer. Remove from heat and add all 6 tea bags. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags, pressing them to extract as much liquid as possible. Stir in the stevia, agave, and bitters. Add the fruit and 1 sprig of mint. Cover and chill 4 to 24 hours.
2. When you're ready to serve, fill 4 tumblers a third of the way with ice, then divide the chilled tea and fruit among the glasses. Add 1/2 cup of seltzer water and 1 mint sprig to each glass.
Per serving : 43 calories; no fat; no cholesterol; 10 grams carbohydrate; no protein; 1 gram fiber; 2 milligrams sodium.

For those of you that came to the Meet and Greet the Trainers Open House today at Cornerstone, thank you!  Here is the recipe for the "sweet" Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins that all of you seemed to enjoy.  The nice thing about these muffins is that there is no white flour, no white sugar, no butter and, of course, no artificial sweeteners or preservatives.  Completely made from scratch, from the heart, and by my own little hands.  Enjoy!  Look for the "savory" Parmesan Sun-dried Tomato muffin recipe shortly!

HEALTHY PUMPKIN QUINOA MUFFINS
(no white flour, no butter, no white sugar)

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup agave
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
(or sub 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice for 2 previous ingredients)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup quinoa, cooked
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375*F
Coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line muffins cups.
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl; blend well.
Pour batter evenly into muffin tins.
Bake for approx 25-30 minutes until muffins are cooked through. Be careful to not overcook.
They should be moist to slightly "wet" in the center.
Allow to cool before enjoying.
Makes 24 full size muffins or 48 mini muffins

I will NEVER be a male, marine biologist living in the North Pole.

I’ve chosen this for the title of my first “story” because I can be sure that I will never be those things…combined anyway.  There are not too many things you can be sure of in life.

I pretty much, positively know that I will never be a marine biologist.  I like laying on the sand near the ocean relaxing and people watching in the summer.  I like to hear its waves crashing at night through the open windows of a rented beach house.  I like fish and shells but not so much that I would want to make my life’s work collecting samples and studying water and “muck”.  I so strongly believe you must have a passion for what you do and for me being a marine biologist is not one of my many passions.  (Although, I am extremely thankful and grateful to the people who do have that passion.)

I pretty much, positively know that I will never live in the North Pole.  Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like being cold.  I like to see those first few snowy days from inside my warm home each winter and I like the change of seasons, but I don’t like feeling all tense and having my shoulders near my ears because any one part or all parts of my body is cold.

I positively know that I will never be a man.  I believe in that saying “Never say never”.  But I can say I will never be a man.  I don’t have anything against men and I know many, many nice ones…but I won’t ever be one.   And we all know very well, thankfully, that we can be anything we want these days.

So, therefore, I will NEVER be a male, marine biologist living in the North Pole.

This concept of being “one thing or another” has been swirling around in my mind over and over for a long time.  It mainly started over 10 years ago with friends and other gym members inviting me to go running with them or to sign up for running events…5k’s, 10k’s, marathons.  My response was always “Sorry, can’t do that.  I am NOT a runner”.  I truly felt that.  By the time I was 35, I had never run more than 6.2 miles in my life and that was when I was about 23 or 24.  I hated it so much I pretty much convinced myself that I was NOT a runner.  Besides, I didn’t have the build for it, my chest got all tight and wheezy when I did it and I was very, very slow when I did try it. 

Since then, I have run countless, 5k’s, 10k’s, 10 milers and a marathon…most of which have been on extremely dangerous, technical trails.  Apparently, I’m not that slow either.  I’ve have placed first, second, and third in my age group more than once.  I was wrong.  I am a runner.

This morning, I was talking to a few friends at the gym and I was invited and encouraged by my friend Carla to train for a triathlon.  She is an amazing athlete and “survivor” who is an inspiration to me on a daily basis.  I don’t think she says “I am NOT an anything”.  Having said this, my first response was.  “I’m just NOT a swimmer.”  I CAN swim and I swam a lot for fun as a kid, but I just know how hard it is to swim any kind of distance as an adult who has never done it before.  And remember, I don’t like being cold!  I think you are kind of getting the point of my “story”.  I am learning that if I am to be honest with myself, there are not many things that I am “NOT” if I want to put the effort and time in to TRY to be them.

Boy, that concept could cover almost all aspects of life, couldn’t it?  I don’t think I am strong enough emotionally to go that broad right now (all aspects of life) so I am going to share with you my most recent, “surface” thoughts on this concept or philosophy.

Often times, I feel like I would like to share my thoughts and experiences on paper through articles submitted to a newspaper or, more recently, on my blog within my website. 

My job as a trainer affords me the great opportunity to meet and work with so many amazing people with inspiring, interesting lives.  Sometimes their “stories” are funny and, sometimes, excruciatingly sad.  Sometimes I feel so drawn to them and want to become more like them.  Sometimes I learn how I don’t want to be…which is also a gift I get by getting to know people!  It's a gift they give me...none-the-less.

The lives and experiences of family members, friends, clients, co-workers and even acquaintances can sometimes change the course of my life and I feel compelled to share the thoughts that I have as a result of those stories.  Who knows, maybe someone else will be affected in the same positive way that I was.  If I don’t share, it might be an opportunity of a lifetime lost.  Well, it might be.

But I keep saying to myself “I am NOT a writer”.  I don’t have the greatest grammar or punctuation.  It would take up so much time.  Or, why would anyone want to hear what I have to say?  But just as recently as this morning, I chose to stop telling myself not to do it.  I was just making up excuses why I couldn’t. 

For now, I will allow myself to say “I am NOT a writer”.  But anyone can share a “story”, right?  Everyone that reads it doesn't have to like it or be inspired by it. 

I have a client that just told me the other day that he would read the last group email that I sent out when he has a few days off from work.  Haha.  I know I can be long winded and that I have a phobia that people won’t understand me if I don’t explain everything until it’s dead, but I figure it’s a free country and this could be the last “story” of mine you ever "choose" to read.

No hard feelings…I mean at all, at all.  I really mean it…no hard feelings. 

After all, I am NOT a writer so I wouldn't blame you.

(Look for my next “story” in a few days about my very inspirational, crazy, funny, motivated friend and client Anne Trinkle.  Anne ran her first 5K in October to celebrate 5 years of being cancer free. )

I PROMISE YOU WILL ALSO STILL CONTINUE TO GET FOOD AND FITNESS ADVICE AND IDEAS AS WELL!  BUT PART OF GOOD HEALTH AND WELLNESS IS EMOTIONAL WELL BEING.  WE PROBABLY GET THAT MOST FROM POSITIVE THOUGHT, LAUGHTER AND LESSONS FROM OTHER PEOPLE.

After watching the video, follow Dwayne on Facebook or at Dwaynedunlevy.com to see where he is performing next!

I wanted to share a recipe that I have been preparing for the last few years.  I am staking claim on being one of the first within my contemporaries to embrace and integrate quinoa into my life!
I'm not sure where that rates for bragging rights, but it shows even a little more about my world.  Not sure if that is good or bad?  Ha!
A few years ago, I became very conscious of trying to combine healthy proteins, carbs and fats within each meal and/or snack that I prepared.  For example...if I ate an apple, I would combine it with a little bit of peanut butter or a small piece of really nice sharp cheese.  If I were going to eat rice or pasta, I'd eat a small portion combined with some lean turkey sausage.  I think you get the idea.
It seemed to make me feel more satisfied and less lethargic.  
In practical terms, the reasoning behind this is that having all three components ingested at the same time can help with digestion and promote optimal metabolism.  Kind of like using the premium gasoline for your car to make it run more smoothly and not have as many knocks and "pings".
I'm mentioning these thoughts within this post because quinoa is characterized as a complete protein containing all of the amino acids necessary for the construction of proteins used by humans.  One cup of cooked quinoa has about 9 grams of protein.
Now while 9 grams of protein per cup is not going to set the world on fire, I feel much less compelled to add a meat source to a quinoa dish to reach my protein, carb and fat combo goal.
Just some concepts that you might find interesting and may want to experiment with while fueling your own bodies.
I will continue to post other Quinoa recipes over the next few months which include less savory items like Quinoa cookies and muffins.  Don't turn your noses up 'til you try them!
Ok, here is the Quinoa Salad Recipe.  This is a great go-to in between meal snack...not just a side dish.

Ingredients: 
1 box uncooked white quinoa (Giant sells this)
3/4 canned or jarred mandarin oranges
1/2 cup juices from mandarin oranges
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
1 cup sliced frozen snow peas thawed

Instructions:
Cooked quinoa as package directs.
Before quinoa is completely cooled, add honey.  This seems to help in getting all of the quinoa covered with the honey.  Once, fully mixed, add mandarin orange juice.  Mix well.  Then add oranges, almonds and snow peas.  Mix everything well.  Chill for a few hours before eating.  Lasts in fridge for a few days.

Yesterday, we had a great workout with a really great group of people during one of my "Leah Says..." outdoor classes on the NJ canal.  If you haven't had an opportunity to join me for one my outdoor classes, you still have two chances left this summer; Wednesday evening, August 10th at 7:00 pm, as well as, Sunday morning, August 14th at 7:30 am.  If you are not signed up for the "Leah Says..." workshop this summer, you can still join us by paying a drop in fee of $25 for any of the remaining classes.
I know that my filming skills are literally a little shaky and my commentary pretty unbearable (you can always hit the mute button), but I wanted to give you a feel for what the workouts are like and what type of camaraderie can occur...Work Hard. Play Hard!