Korean Beef

Posted on June 21, 2016November 23, 2021 by Jenna

I like to think of myself as someone that likes to cook and try new recipes.

In reality, I’m lazy.

I have a stack of recipe books, and keep buying more, all of which I have made one or two recipes from. I like quick and easy. I like things I can just throw together with stuff I have on hand. I like recipes I can easily remember and pull together in a short time after a long day at work.

One night I was looking for something quick, yet different to do with our ground beef. I was tired of tacos and hamburgers, which are pretty much our go tos. I love hamburgers and tacos but I was in the mood for something new. I googled and eventually stumbled upon a Korean beef bowl on Damn Delicious. I have since made this recipe several times and tweak it each time.

korean beef

We are a gluten free house thanks to my celiac disease which means no soy sauce. I substituted tamari for the soy sauce. We like our food to bite us back so I added more crushed red pepper flakes and more ginger. I also toasted sesame seeds and tossed in the sauce. I did not have garlic or onions on hand and used garlic and onion powder to flavor the meat. We also use avocado oil instead of olive and brown rice instead of rice. Lastly, I cooked some fresh broccoli and tossed it with the beef. I used only one cup but it wasn’t enough. I would recommend going to at least two cups broccoli.

Korean beef

My modified Korean beef:

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup tamari
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
1-1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 tsp garlic and onion powder
1 pound ground beef
2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
Cooked brown rice, for serving

In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger. Toast sesame seeds for approximately 5 minutes then add to sauce.

Boil water and add broccoli. Cook for about 5 minutes, just until tender. Drain. Set aside.

Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and season with garlic and onion powder. Cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Mix in broccoli. Stir in sauce mixture until combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Serve over brown rice or quinoa. I’ve also used ramen or rice noodles. If you are grain-free I am sure cauliflower rice would work just as well.

What is one of your easy go-to recipes? Leave it in the comments.

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Earn those booty shorts

Posted on June 16, 2016November 23, 2021 by Jenna

I have a problem.

I can’t stop buying workout clothes, gadgets, shoes, and gear. My dresser is exploding with compression shorts, tech t’s, and sports bras. My gear box is spilling out visors, headphones, and sunglasses. I am always going to want new gear so I needed to find a way to reign in my spending. I also thought it might be motivating to know I have to earn booty shorts and can’t just grab a cute pair when I’m at the Under Armour outlet.

I also thought this might be a good solution to get and keep me motivated to work out. I go through stages when I do really well, work out every day, and then I fall off the horse and completely stop working out.

I am trying to find some consistency.

At the beginning of this year, I started a reward program for myself. I decided for each yoga session and weight lifting session I would receive $1. For every mile I run I earn $1. For the first quarter, I gave myself $1 for each pound I lost but that became complicated if I lost .4 one week, gained .2 the next, then lost .6 the next. I dropped that when I started the second quarter.

I also was taking away $1 for every missed workout but decided not to do that for the month of June. It wasn’t really a deterrent for me. I still skipped my workout and justified it as “if I’m not working out I don’t need new clothes”. For June, I have just paid myself accordingly for each workout. I think it is best to just keep it as simple as possible.

I track it on a Google doc sheets. I have a tab for each quarter and track three months on each sheet. I have four columns for each month. The first is the day of the week, the next column is the date, then the amount, and finally a column for notes. In the notes, I indicate which workout I did or if it was a scheduled rest day. If I didn’t work out I may fill in the reason. Most recently I noted the days with high temperatures and high pollution advisory.

Here are screenshots of the spreadsheet I put together. It is not advanced or fancy but it does the job. I have them separated into weeks but now that I am not using my weight I could take the row out. I weigh myself on Sundays and left a gap to enter my weight. As you can see, I have spent some of the money. After I made the screenshots I moved the quarter 1 balance to quarter 2 and then subtracted the new headphones I bought.

I need to get in a few more workouts, my balance is down to $29!

Do you reward yourself for working out? How do you stay motivated?

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Oahu

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Jenna

Oahu has a lot to offer.

Oahu was our first stop on our very first trip to Hawaii. Although it is my least favorite of the Hawaiian islands I definitely think it is worth visiting. If I were to go again I would stay on the north shore over Waikiki. I felt Waikiki was just a little too crowded. Although, I would recommend Duke’s for dinner and mai tais.

The top two places I would recommend as “can’t miss” on Oahu would be the Polynesian Cultural Center and Pearl Harbor. The Polynesian Cultural Center is an amazing experience. We were there most of the day. It started with a water parade with boats for each Polynesian culture. After the parade we went and saw additional cultural demonstrations and ended the day with a luau.

Plan to spend your entire day at Pearl Harbor. There is much to see and learn there. There are displays plus the USS Arizona, USS Blowfin, USS Missouri, and the Pacific Aviation Museum. We did it all. If you can, get on the first ferry to the USS Arizona. At dawn, everything is still calm and peaceful.

I will probably go back to Oahu at some point. We didn’t see everything, of course, and I want to do the unofficial Lost tour. We were nearby and saw the beach where the plane crashed. Yes, I am a Lost geek.

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Pushing through to keep a routine

Posted on June 14, 2016May 6, 2017 by Jenna

How many of you struggle with finding the motivation to find a routine?

I know I do. I struggle each day, week, month, year to establish a workout routine. To find a grove. To keep going. I have no problem with other routines. I have my morning routine down to a science. I know exactly how long it takes me and how long I have to do each task. Yet when it comes to working out I struggle.

I know I need to and should work out. I know I feel better physically and mentally when I work out, so why can’t I easily get into a routine?

I start off each week with good intentions. This will be it. This will be my week! But, as I’m sure you know, stuff happens. Work stresses me out. I don’t sleep well. Soon, I am just too tired to do a workout.

What works for me in these slumps?

Pushing through.

Just get up. Put on your running shoes. Go.

There are three ways I think of as pushing through:

Tell yourself you only have to go for 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes you want to give up? Ok because you tried. You made the attempt. More than likely you will just keep going and finish your workout because once you start it’s easier to keep going. You realize what you were dreading, or too tired to do, is actually energizing you.
Don’t allow yourself more than one day off in a row. My biggest momentum killer is two or more days off. It is like a downward spiral you will get caught in almost every time. Need a rest day or too busy? Take a break but be sure to get back at it the next day or it gets too easy to keep pushing off.
Have a backup plan. You usually do yoga on Wednesdays but class is canceled? What are you going to do? Nothing? Find another class? Find workouts you can do when something comes up with your regular routine. Maybe you have a 10-minute Tabata workout you can do on busy days. Maybe you have a gym membership for the hot summers (or cold winters?).

I struggle with this. I had wanted June to be the month I got back to my routine. I started off great… for the first 4ish days. What happened? 118 degree days with high pollution advisories. I couldn’t run outside. I didn’t have a backup plan. So I took a break. And then another. And then I didn’t do my weights. And downward spiral commenced.

A few more thoughts on the topic:

How to Establish Gym Routine Tips for Beginners

How to Make a Workout Plan

Starting & sticking with an exercise habit

Make a workout plan & stick to it

How do you stick to your routines? How do you get yourself back into the habit?

Do you follow me on Instagram? If you want to see if I am sticking to my routine be sure to do so!

Gluten free challenge

Posted on June 9, 2016November 23, 2021 by Jenna

Eating gluten-free is hard.

gluten free donut — In order to have donuts, I need to make them. Or drive 30-40 miles.

I am not talking about a gluten-free diet, where you avoid gluten. I am talking about eating 100% gluten free. No, “it’s ok, I can have this bread just this one time”. No, “even though the fries are cooked in the same oil as the flour coated chicken I can still have them”. I mean truly no gluten.

People have told me gluten-free is easy, but they are looking at it from the diet point of view, where it is ok if you slip up or cheat or if you don’t realize that salad dressing contains some form of gluten. If I slip up or cheat my insides feel like they are on fire. I want to rip out my digestive system. I want to throw up my insides to stop the pain. If I slip up, there’s bloating, migraines and fatigue.

I want to issue a seven-day gluten-free challenge. Seven days, that’s it. I have to do this for life and am only asking you for seven days. One week. But it has to be truly gluten-free, no slip-ups and no cheating. You will have to read labels. If you eat out, better do some research or ask some questions.

It may be hard and it will probably be more expensive unless you stick to naturally gluten-free foods. Fruits, vegetables, most dairy products (watch those flavored yogurts and cheap cheeses) and most meats (be careful with sausages and processed meats) should be gluten-free.

Baked goods, fast foods, and a lot of packaged foods will be off limits. Want to bring bagels to the office? Good luck finding some on a moments notice and be ready to spend a pretty penny! I have to order my bagels or travel 30-40 miles out of my way to get them.

Maybe a challenge like this will make you think next time you bring food to the office or a party. Maybe there is someone in your office or at the party that would love to feel included but can’t because of celiac, or a peanut allergy, or any number of other allergies. We want to feel a part of the office or the party and our society revolves around food. Not being able to eat can make one feel left out.

Try a gluten free challenge next week. It may just open your eyes.

Here are some guidelines:
Read labels – gluten hides in a lot of things you wouldn’t expect.

Here are some links:
7 day meal plan from Celiac Disease Foundation
Dining out guide from Celiac Disease Foundation
Eating at restaurants from Gluten Free Living
Meal plans & shopping List from $5 Dinners

Feel free to ask me questions in the comments or on twitter and facebook.

Try the challenge and then come back and let me know in the comments how you did. Did you make it all seven days? What was easiest for you? What was most difficult?

Start Small

Posted on May 10, 2016May 7, 2016 by Jenna

Start small… go back to the basics.

I’ve been struggling to get back into the habit/routine of working out. I haven’t been fully committed to my workouts, especially running, over the past several months. The problem is I want to be at the level I was when I fell off the wagon. I’ve said it before… I know what I’m capable and it is frustrating to feel so far from my best.

When you haven’t been consistent you need to go back to the beginning. But it is so hard!

I want to just be great at eating healthy and making good diet choices. I wish I could go out and run 10:30 miles. But I can’t. I have to take it slow and steady. I have to start small and build on the healthy habits.

I am lucky I don’t have to start at the bottom, but I am close. Instead of just running six miles I am run/walking. I do get frustrated but I know I will be better off in the long run.

My diet has been off the rails. I’ve been eating a lot of sugar for energy and to make myself feel better. I know sugar fixes these things temporarily. I am not quitting sugar cold turkey. I am cutting back. Instead of the entire box of Milk Duds, I am having a handful. Instead of getting a Snickers and Reese’s peanut butter cup from the vending machine I get one or the other. I am making sure I am getting my fruits and vegetables. I am working hard to eat all the protein!

Start small.

If you want to start eating better or working out pick one thing and focus on it until it becomes second nature.

Looking to improve your diet? Start small and make sure you are drinking enough water. Once you have water intake as a habit add something else. Want to eat more fruit and vegetables? Add one serving to each meal. Eat too much chocolate? Cut one serving from each day.

Want to start working out? Look at where you are now and add something. Do you sit at a desk all day? Get up and take a 15-minute walk break twice a day (once in the morning and once in the afternoon). Stretch each night after dinner. Once these feel like second nature add another walk after work. Or at lunch.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t need to be difficult. It just needs to be something you can do. You just add more as you get comfortable with the last step.

Just start.

And keep at it. You will stumble. You will fall but what matters is how you react. Do you get back up, dust yourself off, and start again? Or do you give up and start surfing the couch?

How do you start small when you get off track? Leave your ideas in the comments.

Celiac Awareness Month

Posted on May 3, 2016November 23, 2021 by Jenna

Celiac Awareness Month is May.

Officially a year has passed since I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I am not going to sugarcoat it, the past year has been rough. I struggled to adjust to a new diet. Giving up gluten is hard. Gluten is in more than you can even imagine. Things you wouldn’t even think of. I had to spend more time reading every single label in the grocery store. Grocery shopping, a chore I hate, suddenly took twice as long. I had to give up all my favorite fast foods. No more McDonalds. No more french fries almost anywhere. I started stuffing my face with dark chocolate and Talenti. I couldn’t stop shoveling in the sugar trying to appease my loss.

2015-08-06 12.47.00 — Gluten free grilled cheese & fries from Jewel’s, a local all gf place.

I gained weight. I saw the scale go up nine pounds by August. Nine pounds in four months. I knew weight gain was probable but I wasn’t mentally prepared to gain so much in such a short time.

I fell into a depression. Eventually, I stopped working out. It all seemed too much. I didn’t want to run. I just wanted to sink into the couch and never leave. I was wallowing in self-pity. I knew I needed to pull myself out but I couldn’t.

Of course, I was thankful to have finally gotten a diagnosis. I felt better almost instantly. The bloating and brain fog were gone. I stopped getting migraines. I hadn’t felt “right” for many years. I had almost forgotten what it felt like. It was amazing. I didn’t know I could physically feel this good. I just had to get back to feeling mentally “right”.

I went through all the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Not necessarily in that order but they all came around. I still get angry now and then but not like I was in the first few months. I have *mostly* accepted it. I have accepted the diagnosis and not having gluten for the rest of my life but I haven’t fully accepted that others don’t have to make gluten free options. I still want McDonalds to be gluten free. I still want places to put the burger on the bun for me. I am slowly accepting that places don’t get celiac and gluten but I am hopeful.

I hope that my voice can bring about change. That restaurants and servers will understand this isn’t an allergy and proper prep is important. Cross contamination is a big deal. You may not see it but I will be affected. Celiac disease is an invisible illness. I won’t go into anaphylactic shock like a peanut allergy. You may never know that your carelessness made me so bloated I had to unbutton my pants at a baseball game. That I woke up the next day with a migraine. That I struggled to stay awake for the rest of the weekend. That I couldn’t get anything done for a few days. Celiac disease does not have a visible reaction. I suffer in silence.

I will speak for those who struggle to speak for themselves. I want to be the voice of celiac disease because it is important for people and places to know it isn’t an allergy. It isn’t being a hipster. It isn’t about a diet. Or trying to lose weight. It is about my health. My life.

May is celiac awareness month and I hope that my blog has made you aware of an often misunderstood auto-immune disease. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. I try to be as open as possible about my diagnosis and struggle.

Helpful Links:
What is celiac disease?
Symptoms Checklist
7 Diseases Doctors Miss

I included the last link because for 10+ I thought I had IBS. I was given that diagnosis while I was in college but never had any testing. I finally had enough of the symptoms and wanted to know if it was something more or if I should adjust my diet. My symptoms started long before that but I just thought it was normal. I had no clue about celiac disease or even what gluten was!

USS Missouri

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jenna

Have you ever been inside a battleship?

USS Missouri was my first time in one and it was quite the experience!

It was basically a floating mini-city. Although, I am not sure I could ever live on one. We toured the USS Missouri while at Pearl Harbor a few years ago.

I know what you are thinking… it doesn’t look that big but trust me, it is huge. I was blown away by the size of everything. It was all huge, except the sleeping quarters. Those were pack as many people in one room as possible!

If you ever find yourself on Oahu I encourage you to visit Pearl Harbor. You can do a package to see the USS Arizona Memorial, the USS Missouri, the Pacific Aviation Museum, and the USS Blowfin. All of them were fascinating in their own unique way.

Maui Sunrise

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Jenna

There is magic in every sunrise.

A Maui sunrise is just more magical than the rest.

This photo was taken from our balcony at the Sheraton on Maui. I woke up to the sounds and smell of the ocean coming through the lanai doors. I looked out and could not believe my eyes. The sky was painted in purples and pinks, reflecting onto the water. I knew I had to capture this moment.

I jumped out of bed and grabbed my camera. I went out onto the lanai and snapped away. Once I captured my image I just stood there. Absorbing the smell, the sounds, the moment.

A Maui sunrise has a way to make you slow down, to take in the moment. I love sunrises to begin with and Arizona creates some amazing ones but nothing compares to the way the sun and clouds paint the sky in Hawaii.

Looking at this photograph reminds me I need to slow down more often. I need to line in the moment, worry less about what might happen and focus on the present. I know I can be a bit type A and a bit of a perfectionist. I am trying to let these behaviors go. I never want to forget that moment of waking up to the ocean and being awed by what nature shows us.

I am learning to let go and live in the moment more. It’s hard but worth it. If I ever forget why I just look at this photograph and become transported.

Do you have a photograph or moment that you look at or think about when the going gets tough? Share it in the comments.

Struggles & Moving Forward

Posted on April 25, 2016November 23, 2021 by Jenna

I make no secret that I have put on weight over the past year, approximately 15 pounds. I gained the first nine in the first months after my celiac diagnosis. The other six have been a more recent occurrence, due to my ongoing stress from my job and not having the energy to work out.

I am not happy with the extra pounds. I am not happy being stressed out. And I am most certainly not happy not working out.

I am making a commitment to myself. I will shake off the stress of the day and run or lift weights. I will put work behind me when I get home. I have to or I will keep digging myself deeper into this hole.

I am trying to forget being perfect and just try a little each day. I don’t have to run a 10:30-minute mile for an hour each day but if I can get out and run/walk for 30 minutes I am doing better than I was yesterday.

I haven’t really kept up with my healthy eating or workouts over the past year. I feel as if I am starting over. And it’s hard. I know where I was a year ago and am not even close to being as fast. Or able to run as far. Starting over feels harder than starting something for the first time. I know what I am capable of but it seems so far away.

2016-04-23 08.47.25

I ran five miles on Saturday and averaged 12:30 per mile, almost two minutes slower than a year ago. I had to take walk breaks every mile. But I did it. That is what counts.

I have done better with my strength training the last few months. I still have a weak upper body but I am seeing some progression. I have never had much upper body strength but I love the feeling of improvement.

I was miserable this past year. I’ve been depressed over my diagnosis and my job but I’ve had enough. I want to happy and healthy again. I want to run a marathon in January. I know where I’ve been and I know I can get there again. I need to commit to myself. I need to find a routine and stick to it.

I have put my workouts for the week on my calendar. I will make sure to do them because if I don’t I know I will feel worse.

How do you make sure you fit in healthy eating and workouts when you’re stressed and have limited time for everything?