Mexican Macaroni

Mexican Macaroni

This recipe is great for high intensity athletes because it has a combination of lean protein, whole grains, and veggies. Feel free to change up the recipe to make if fit your liking as well. If you want a more mild flavor, add more pasta and less salsa. If you're looking for more of a kick, add spicy salsa. If you don't like turkey, substitute for chicken. Have fun with it. 

1 chopped yellow pepper

1 chopped red pepper

½ lb. Ground turkey meat (ground beef or chicken work too)

1 package taco seasoning

Macaroni noodles (whole grain noodles are best)

½ mild salsa, ½ pasta sauce combination

1. Brown meat in one pan and cook macaroni noodles in another

2. Add peppers to meat until partially cooked

3. Add taco seasoning to meat and mix

4. Add salsa/pasta sauce mixture to meat until you have the desired consistency.

5. Combine noodles and meat

For more recipes, click here to go to my website

Wishing you all health, hope, & happiness

Abby

Tis the Season... For Making Your Health a Priority

Tis the Season for Making Your Health a Priority

If your plan for avoiding holiday weight gain is to stay disciplined; it's not going to work. For the people that know this, (after years of failed attempts) they have the attitude of not caring. "If I'm going to gain the weight either way, I might as well go all out and enjoy myself." This isn't good either because then you have a lot of work cut out for yourself come January. I'm getting bombarded right now with tons of questions from people with both kinds of attitudes.

So, let me first straighten out a few myths.

1. Why do I lose all of my discipline at Christmas time?

You don't lose your discipline. You are just tempted beyond what you can bear. You're tempted everyday, all day for over a month straight. Even the strongest people wear down by the end. That's why fighting to stay disciplined doesn't work. You're fighting a losing battle

2. I'm never able to control myself during the holidays, so I might as well pig out and enjoy myself. I'll worry about the weight in January. 

This is a dangerous place to be. I heard a statistic last year that said, "For every two pounds you gain during the holidays, you will only lose one of those pounds by February" Whether you choose to believe this or not, I challenge you to look back on your history of weight gain and subsequent weight loss to see how true it is for you.


The Truths.

1. You absolutely can, and should, stay disciplined during Christmas.

But, here is the key: discipline is not enough by itself. You need accountability and support. We have already established that you are going to slip up at some point during the holidays. That's ok, because the key is to get right back on track the next day. Having someone there to pick you up and make sure that you're back where you want to be is key to success. It can be the difference between 2 pounds and 12 pounds. Which do you want to be?

2. Make your health a priority, even during the holidays! 

Yes, of course, I would have this be one of my truths! But it really is true. You can make your health a priority during the holidays. The real question is, "Are you ready to make your health a priority this holiday season?" All you need to do is shift your health goals slightly, in order to give yourself a little grace. This will help to get you through the holidays without beating yourself up and without gaining excessive amounts of unwanted weight.


Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for my 30 day program and receive your 30% discount!!
Do you want the support to help you stay disciplined? Are you ready to make your health a priority this holiday season? Sign up for my 30 day program where I will support you through all of the stresses and junk food during the holidays. Click here to get started, or visit my website for more information on this exclusive deal.

Wishing you all Health, Hope, & Happiness through this Christmas season!
Abby

Tis the Season... of Candy, Cookies, and Sugar.

Tis the Season!

On Thursday night, I got on yahoo.com and was mindlessly scrolling through the news articles. Amidst all of the black friday deals, there was an article about how to beat holiday weight gain. ON THANKSGIVING. How ironic that I'm reading this article as my Thanksgiving dinner is digesting right? This article was followed by two more similar articles on Friday, and one each day there after. The worst part was that all of these articles gave different advice. One said not to eat for three hours before going to a holiday party, and the other said to eat right before you go. Or, these articles gave completely unrealistic advice like, “make sure you’re still getting 8 hours of sleep each night.” Yeah right. I think we can all agree that getting 8 hours of sleep each night is not going to happen in the month of December.

It’s obvious why people pack on the pounds this time of year. The holidays bring with them cookies, candy, stress, lack of sleep, sugar, big dinners, over-eating, parties, alcohol, and lots of eating out. What isn’t obvious is the way to prevent weight gain around the holidays. If you’re confused, that’s ok! I am here to help:

Make sure you’re drinking water.

With lots of parties, comes lots of alcohol and lots of sugar. Lot's of alcohol leaves you dehydrated. Lots of sugar is hard on your digestive system. Water will help to counteract your alcohol consumption and aid your digestive system. Drinking water in the morning is great for flushing out all the crap that you ate from the day before.

Don’t try to make it through the holidays alone. 

If you are a person that has a hard time saying no, then Christmas probably isn’t your favorite time. If you want to be able to actually enjoy Christmas this year, you need support. If you have a weakness for sweets, find a friend that will help to keep you accountable, so that you don’t eat a dozen Christmas cookies at every meal. 

Plan ahead. 

Have a plan set in place for January. No matter how hard you try, your health will take a hit during the holidays. Instead of worrying about the stresses and goodies (that are unavoidable anyways) for the whole entire month of December, get a plan together for January. And get that plan together right now! Whether it’s a new diet, an exercise routine, or a health related goal. Have a plan that gets you back on track to a healthier lifestyle once the holidays are over.

If you're a person looking for extra support this holiday season, so that you can enjoy Christmas without worrying about gaining weight or feeling exhausted, sign up for my 30 day support program. I will help you navigate your diet through the holiday junk food, and I will support you with getting back on track come January. Sign up HERE! If you sign up between Nov 29th - Dec 2nd, you will receive 30% off of your program fee.

You can also visit my website for more information on this exclusive deal by clicking here.

Wishing you all health, hope, & happiness
Abby

Sautéed Harvest Veggies

Sautéed Harvest Veggies

I had to end my recipe week with a vegetable recipe, because veggies are almost always lacking at Thanksgiving. Let me warn you in advance, this recipe has brussels sprouts in it. I have to admit that I LOVE brussels sprouts. When I was younger, I would always ask my mom for brussels sprouts for dinner, but the only time I got them was on my birthday because everyone else in the family couldn't stand them. However, this recipe is great, because it really helps to tone down the flavor of the brussels sprouts. It's also a unique recipe that will get a lot of attention at your table. I promise this is a good one, so please give it a try!!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• Thyme and Savory (amount varies depending on preference) 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. If sprouts are very small, cut in half; otherwise cut into quarters. Cook the sprouts until barely tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until brown but not crisp, 3 to 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on a paper towel. Pour out all of the bacon fat from the pan.
3. Add oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until soft but not browned, reducing the heat if necessary, about 4 minutes. Stir in thyme (or savory), salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high, add the Brussels sprouts, and cook, tossing or stirring occasionally, until tender and warmed through, about 3 minutes. Add the bacon and lemon juice, and toss.

Let me know what you and your family think of this dish! I can't wait to hear back from those of you who tried it. Tweet me your thoughts @Abby_Shroka. If you're still wanting more side dish recipes,  there are many more healthy recipes on my website www.abbyshroka.com. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all health, hope, and happiness this Thanksgiving

Abby

Tassies Dessert

Tassies

Tassies are one of THE BEST desserts! They are not one of the easiest desserts to make. I swear it is totally worth your time to make them though!

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Pinch of salt

Filling

• 4 ounces pitted dried dates (about 3/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting or whipped cream for garnish

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 
2. To prepare crust: Pulse flour, brown sugar, walnuts, cornstarch, 2 tablespoons butter and salt in a food processor (a mini food processor works well) until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Divide the crust mixture among mini muffin cups (about 1 1/4 teaspoons per cup) and press evenly into the bottoms.
3. To prepare filling: Combine dates, water, brown sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has cooked away, 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then process the date mixture in a blender or food processor until processed into a paste. Add cream cheese and vanilla; blend or process to combine. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in pecans. Divide the date-nut filling among muffin cups (1 generous teaspoon each), gently pressing the filling down and smoothing the tops.
4. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is lightly cooked, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges of the crust with a small spatula or butter knife and transfer the tassies to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar or serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

I hope you're brave enough to try making tassies. If so, let me know how they turn out! Check back tomorrow for my last recipe before Thanksgiving. It's a veggie recipe, and it's a good one! For more side dishes, go to my website www.abbyshroka.com 

Wishing you all health, hope, & happiness this Thanksgiving

Abby

Roasted Pears with Brie Pistachios

Roasted Pears with Brie and Pistachios

It's officially Thanksgiving week! Can you believe it? Todays recipe is roasted pears with brie and pistachios. This is delicious as a first course or a side dish. Leave the stems on if you want a prettier presentation. (I'm all about pretty presentation at holidays, with fancy dishes, pretty tablecloths, and lots of amazing food).

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons honey mustard
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 ripe pears
• 2 ounces Brie cheese, cut into 4 slices
• 4 teaspoons chopped pistachios

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. Whisk mustard, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Cut pears in half lengthwise, hollow out the core and slice a small piece off the other side so they will lie flat when served. Brush all over with the mustard glaze and place cored-side down in the prepared pan.
4. Bake the pears for 30 minutes, basting halfway through with the glaze. Gently turn them over, baste again and place a piece of Brie in the hollow of each pear. Bake until the pears are tender and the Brie is slightly softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle each pear half with 1 teaspoon pistachios.
   
   

Send me pictures, or let me know how your roasted pear dishes turn out! For more thanksgiving recipes, visit my website www.abbyshroka.com. I will be posting one more dessert, and one more vegetable recipe, so check back on for those recipes in the coming days.

Wishing you all health, hope, & happiness this Thanksgiving holiday

Abby

Brown Carrots

Brown Carrots

We can't forget our veggies on Thanksgiving! This is a great recipe for Thanksgiving because it transforms a simple vegetable into a super easy yet elegant side dish.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds carrots. (this varies depending on how many people you're cooking for, so go with your instinct on this one)
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Peel carrots and cut off the tops. Cut or chop the carrots to your size preference.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and season with salt and pepper; stir to coat with oil. Let cook for 3 minutes, then add brown sugar and molasses; stir to coat. Cook until carrots are tender and sauce is thick, 5 to 8 minutes, adding 1/2 to 1 cup water as necessary to prevent sugar from burning.

3. Add butter and rosemary to skillet; cook until butter is melted. Remove rosemary and discard. Transfer carrots to a serving dish.

Tweet me @Abby_Shroka and let me know how your Brown Carrots turn out! They are one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes! For more recipes, keep checking back each day through Thanksgiving, or go to my website www.abbyshroka.com

Wishing you all health, hope, & happiness this Thanksgiving

Abby

Pumpkin Cake

Pumpkin Cake

My mom started making pumpkin cake as a healthier alternative to pumpkin pie. Keep in mind though, it is still a dessert, and let's be honest, "dessert" and "healthy" don't really belong in the same sentence. But, if they happen to work together, then great!

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 C sugar

1 Can Pumpkin

¾ C Margarine

2C Flour

2t Baking Soda

1/2t Salt

1/2t Cinnamon

Directions: 

1. Mix wet ingredients first then add dry ingredients (mix ingredients in order above)

2. Place in a deep cookie sheet

3. Bake 325°F for 30 minutes.

Check back each day through Thanksgiving for more recipes. Tomorrow I will be posting a vegetable recipe that is a great side dish for Thanksgiving. 

Wishing you all Health, Hope, & Happiness this Thanksgiving!

Abby

Holy Yoga Retreat

Where do I even start..? Well I flew into DC the day before hurricane Sandy was supposed to hit land. I was one of the last flights that actually made it to DC. When we landed, everyone on the plane started clapping, but I have to admit, I wasn't one of them that was clapping. I wasn't too thrilled to be in Sandy's path. I wanted to go to my Holy Yoga retreat, but not in the middle of a hurricane. I've never experienced a hurricane first hand, but I've seen enough footage of hurricanes on the weather channel to scare me away. Long story short, we were on the very bottom edge of the hurricane's path, so we really didn't experience anything besides a bad thunder storm. I didn't see any damage, but we did lose power for 3 days and 3 nights. It was dark, it was freezing cold, it was wet, and we couldn't shower.  And then there was light! We got the power back for the last four days and all was good.

What did I learn?
1. Holy Yoga is all about grace. If you want to come to class and sit in child's pose the whole time, awesome! If you want to sing along to all the songs, go for it. It isn't about doing the poses exactly right, and breathing correctly. While the poses and the breathing are important, they aren't the most important thing. At it's core, yoga is about having a deeper relationship with your body. It is about recognizing the warning signals your body is sending you before they get serious. This means that if you are in a pose, and you are doing the pose correctly, including the breathing, but you are feeling pain, then you need to honor that pain. Get out of the pose and go into child's pose. GRACE. I have been in classes before where they say to go to child's pose if you feel uncomfortable, but then if you do go into child's pose, they make a huge deal out of it because you aren't pushing yourself. This has caused me to ignore the signals that my body is sending me. In Holy Yoga, we truly honor this by giving grace to all of our students.

2. Holy Yoga is a time to praise God. I'm not a singer. By that, I mean that I cannot sing. At all. Unfortunately for me, singing is the main way that the christian community praises God. So, I've never really FELT the power of praising God until doing Holy Yoga. If there is one thing I can promise you about Holy Yoga, it is that you will leave every class feeling uplifted.

3. I actually developed an appreciation for restorative classes. I am a girl that likes to sweat when I'm working out. I want my heart to be racing, and I want to feel exhausted when I'm done exercising. When I first started attending yoga classes, I was bored. I thought I was wasting my time because I wasn't sweating and I wasn't tired enough when it was over. Eventually I found power yoga, and I fell in love with the intensity of that. At retreat, we did some restorative yoga and it totally transformed my views. Yoga serves many purposes. One of them is stress relief. Restorative yoga is all about stress relief, and when it is taught properly, it brings a sense of calm that I have rarely experienced. Stress relief is huge for your health! I hope you will give restorative classes a try, instead of avoiding them like I always did.

If you want to hear more about all the gritty details of retreat, or if you have more questions about what Holy Yoga actually is, please reach out to me abby.shroka@gmail.com I would LOVE to share my experiences and attempt to answer your questions!

For information on where and when I'll be teaching my classes, visit my website. All the info is under the "yoga" tab.

I'm also on twitter @Abby_Shroka Let me know if you're on twitter too, so I can follow you.

Wishing you Health, Hope, & Happiness
Abby

Flying Into the Eye of the Storm

I'm headed to DC in the early morning tomorrow. Hurricane Sandy is also headed straight for DC, so it is very appropriate to say that I am literally heading into the eye of the storm. Why am I going to DC? I have been in the process of getting certified to teach yoga, and in order to complete my registration, I have to attend a week long retreat in Virginia. If I make it to the actual destination of the retreat, I will be fine because it is inland and south of the hurricane, it is the actual act of flying into DC that is the major concern. Do I want to go at this point? Not really. Am I scared to go, scared of getting stranded in some random state for days, getting stuck in the middle of the hurricane with no food or power for days? Absolutely. So why am I going? First, I really believe in this yoga program and all that it entails. Second, I want to complete my certification after all the studying and preparation I have done.

I used to think that yoga was all about stretching, but there is so much more to it. I truly mean this when I say that ALL people can benefit from yoga. Yes, it does help with flexibility and agility, but it also helps you to recover faster from sore muscles and fatigue, it reduces stress, helps to lower high blood pressure, it helps you repair your body from injuries, and more.

The kind of yoga I am getting trained in is called Holy Yoga. It is considered a form of hatha yoga. The  difference between Holy Yoga and "regular yoga" is that in Holy Yoga, we meditate on God, and on his scripture. What better way to start your morning, or end your stressful work day than with Holy Yoga? If you have more questions about Holy Yoga, feel free to email me at abby.shroka@gmail.com I would love to talk with anyone about Holy Yoga in more depth.

When I get back from my retreat next week, I will write a blog all about the retreat, all of the things that I learned, and all about my crazy adventure with hurricane Sandy.  I will also be tweeting during my week at the retreat (as long as there is power so I can charge my phone). So, follow my on twitter, @Abby_Shroka to get a glimpse of all the knowledge I'll be learning next week.

Exercise For Your Life

I hope you all have had a great time meeting yourself where you are right now. Isn't it so great to experience life in the "precious present" instead of letting the past bog you down? If you missed my first blog about meeting yourself where you are today, you can read it here. I know I'm being a bit optimistic about letting the past go, because in reality, it's a lot harder than it seems. Below are three helpful hints to keep you on the right track to exercising for your LIFE. 

1. Experiment to find what works for you. I once had a person tell me that he joined a gym and tried every single class the gym offered, in order to find what type of exercising worked best for him. I'm not saying that all of you need to do this, but the man has a point. I can't use running as my sole form of exercise anymore because I have too many aches and pains from running in my youth. I still run, but I do it along with other things. I love kickboxing when I'm ticked off. Nothing blows off steam like kicking and punching for an hour. Yoga really helps to relieve stress and relax me, and P90X is a great way for me to still be competitive with myself. Experiment with different kinds of exercise to find what you enjoy, otherwise you won't be able to stick with it.

2. Work with what you have. If you only have 30 minutes to exercise in a day, that's ok, you just have to find a workout that is only 30 minutes. If you have little kids that won't leave you alone for one second, include them in your exercise. Park far away so that you have to walk across the parking lot instead of parking close, if that is all you can manage in a day, that is ok. If you hate working out in the frigid winter weather, find something you can do inside instead of forcing yourself to go outside anyways. Let's be honest, by February, you will have quit going outside, so you might as well find something to do inside. Whatever your obstacle is that is keeping you from working out, decide today to get ride of it. Instead, work with what you DO have.

3. Celebrate every victory.
It's so easy for us to look back on yesterday and beat ourselves up for all the things we didn't do. Instead, focus on what you did accomplish. If you want to lose 100 pounds, celebrate every single pound that comes off. Don't say, well I lost 5 pounds, but who cares because I'm still 95 pounds heavier than I want to be. Instead, say I am five pounds lighter than I was, and I'm five pounds closer to my goal. Every single time you exercise, take a moment when you finish to acknowledge it. Remind yourself that you are exercising for your life. Celebrate the fact that you are exercising for your life.

No matter where you are today, I hope that you start to focus on where you're going. Take advantage of what you do have, so that you can celebrate every victory along the way. For more information make sure to visit my website www.abbyshroka.com. For daily tips on healthy living and exercise, follow me on twitter @Abby_Shroka

Wishing you all health, hope, & happiness
Abby

Meet yourself where you are

A lot of ex-athletes struggle to exercise. Let's face it, the glory days are behind us, so why bother right? Well, the glory days may be behind you, but your LIFE is ahead of you and that is worth exercising for. Talk to someone that has been diagnosed with cancer, suffered a heart attack, or given themselves shots of insulin every day for the last year, and they will all tell you that it is SOO worth it to exercise for your life.

Still, ex-athletes struggle to exercise. You don't have the time you used to, you don't get the results you used to, and you don't have the body you used to. This leads to disappointment and frustration. Not to mention that you have a family, a mortgage, and a million commitments to keep up with. You stop exercising for a day, and it turns into a week and then a year. How can you fix this?

Meet Yourself Where You Are Today

There was a time in my life where I could cruise through mile after mile of running at 6:00 minute pace, with no pain. Yesterday, I went running and I was not cruising, I was trying hard, and I ran only 3 miles at 8:30 pace. There are two possible reactions I could have had to this. I could have been extremely frustrated that my pace was so much slower than what it used to be. I used to react like this, but all it did was cause me to hate running and exercising altogether. Instead, when I finished my run and saw that I ran 8:30 pace I was excited. I had run 3 miles with NO pain, which is huge for me. (I have a lot of aches and pains from my glory days). I was also excited because it was the fastest and farthest I had run since I started running again. On my next run, I hope to run 3 miles faster than 8:30 pace. Even if I run 8:29 pace I'll still celebrate that victory.

So, how did I get from the attitude of frustration over not being able to run like I used to, to the attitude of victory over running much slower? I wake up everyday and I meet myself where I am that day. You have to stop wasting your time looking back on how it used to be. The reason ex-athletes stop exercising and get very unhealthy is because they can't stop looking back at their prime. If you haven't exercised in a year, meet yourself there today. Acknowledge where you are NOW, and then work to improve it. Don't just jump in a expect to be where you were at your prime. Every five years my dad "erases" all of his exercising accolades and starts over from scratch. He told me he does this so that he can continue to compete with himself realistically. He can't expect his 40 year old body to still compete with his 35 year old body, and he can't expect his 50 year old body to compete with his 45 year old body. Instead, he meets himself where he is at that moment, and goes from there.

No matter where you are today, whether you're 100 pounds overweight, haven't exercised in 5 years, or have been diagnosed with diabetes, I hope that you will look in the mirror tonight and meet yourself where you are right now, so that you can start exercising again.

Part 2 of this blog will be up next Tuesday, so make sure to check back then. If you have more questions, please visit my website www.abbyshroka.com I also just got a twitter account @Abby_Shroka so follow me if you're interested in getting daily health tips.

Wishing you all health, hope, & happiness
Abby

Waffles Made Healthy

Brunch has to be the best meal of the day. We make a huge brunch every Saturday morning that is full of our favorite breakfast foods. My husband LOVES homemade waffles. He would eat them every day if they were available. Over time, I have worked to make them healthier for him.

The first substitute: wheat flour. Having waffles with white flour (or any other breakfast carbohydrate) is a great way to ruin your day. Seriously! Those white carbs turn into sugar when digested. This causes you to have a sugar rush, quickly followed by a sugar crash. This leaves you feeling tired and lethargic for a few hours until your body recovers. There is also close to zero nutritional value, but most of you already know this.

The second substitution: change your toppings. The easiest one to change is your syrup. Getting 100% pure maple syrup is one of the best things you can do. It has natural sugars in it that your body can use for energy, so it won't cause a sugar crash. It also is free from all the chemicals and junk in regular syrup. I think it tastes alot better too, but thats obviously not a fact.

You can also substitute the butter that you put on waffles with peanut butter. This will add healthy fat and protein (from the peanuts) to your meal. It will leave you feeling fuller longer, which will ward off over-eating throughout the rest of the day. For people who try to stay away from dairy, this is a good option.

The last substitution: add fruit. Ok, I know this is technically an addition, not a substitution, but just hear me out. Cut up your favorite fruits and add them to the waffles. Cut up fruits fit great in the waffles and the fruit/ syrup mix is an awesome combination. We like to put berries on our waffles.

Even though these substitutions are meant specifically for waffles, they are still a good rule of thumb to start with for any breakfast carbohydrate. Stick to wheat instead of white, use natural sweeteners, and add fruit. Substituting your breakfast in this way will help you to stay full, satisfied, and energized all morning long. Isn't that better than feeling sick and sluggish all morning?

Make sure to check out my website for more great recipes and substitution ideas.

Wishing you all health, hope, and happiness
Abby

I Survived the Wine Drought

Hi All! I survived my 30 day wine drought! The first week was awful. (you can read more about that in that blog here) I didn't know how I was possibly going to make it three more weeks after that first week. I have to admit though, it got so much easier. By the end of the month, I wasn't craving wine anymore and I didn't even miss it. (gasp!)

There was only one time in the second two weeks that I actually got a strong craving for wine. I made spaghetti with homemade pasta sauce, and the smell of the sauce was making me crave a glass of my favorite merlot. That italian food will get me every time!

I also noticed that I didn't get one headache after the first week. Before I started this wine challenge I was getting 3-4 headaches a week at night, after drinking wine. I still got headaches in the first week that I quit drinking wine. I now realize this was my body detoxing itself. I always tell my clients to listen to your body. This is clearly my body telling me that it doesn't like it when I drink wine every night with dinner. My body can't function as efficiently when I drink wine that often.

When October 1st hit, and I was able to drink wine again, I didn't even have a desire to drink it. I still did have a drink of course, but the desire wasn't there like I thought it would be. Since then, it has been 10 days, and I've only had wine twice. Not because I'm trying to cut back, but because I just don't have the craving for it anymore. I feel really good now that I'm not getting headaches and clearly my body is happy. If my body really NEEDED wine, it would be craving the wine for me.

I really want to encourage you all to take a break from drinking wine and see how you feel. It doesn't have to be 30 days like I did, but try more than seven. Ten days is a great place to start. That is enough to get through your body's detox period and really start to feel the positive changes. I would love to hear from you about any positive changes you feel after taking a break from wine!

Don't forget to check out my website for more info www.abbyshroka.com

Wishing you health, hope, & happiness
Abby

My Fall Bucketlist

Everyone needs a fall bucket list! I think alot of people agree with me that fall is the best time of the year, and there is so much to do! If I don't make a fall bucket list for myself, I end up missing out on all of these great things that I planned to do, but didn't. So, here is my list:

1. Go to a pumpkin patch. I grew up going to pumpkin patches every fall. There is no better way to get healthy, organic, farm grown, seasonal produce!! Besides, pumpkin patches are a great way to bring out the kid in you and enjoy the great weather. It's also a great weekend date :)

2. Make homemade applesauce with apples from the pumpkin patch! My mother in law makes homemade applesauce every year and it is sooo yummy! I'm going to try the recipe for the first time this year.

3. Carve pumpkins and remember to take pictures BEFORE they rot!! Last year, we carved awesome pumpkins together, but forgot to take pictures. When I finally remember, one of them was rotting :(

4. Go to starbucks and treat myself to a pumpkin spice latte. (I see a pumpkin theme starting here). I know coffee isn't the best for anyone, but we all have to indulge every once in awhile and this is such a wonderful way to treat myself

5. Go to the farmers market regularly. Every time I go to the farmers market, I always have such a wonderful time, and the whole way home I ask myself why I don't go more often. So, now it's on the bucket list

6. Go to a bonfire at the beach. Nothing says fall like bonfires, and this is a great way to take advantage of living in SoCal

7. Do a fall cleanse. A fall cleanse helps to rid your body of all the water, excess fat, and loose weight that you have been carrying all summer. It helps to prepare your body for the winter months. Cleanses feel amazing once you're done too! A basic cleanse is just an overload of fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

What is on your fall bucket list?

No More Wine... 7 days down, too many days left to go

Well I'm about a week in and so far I've been able to stay away from drinking wine. I miss my wine pretty much every night. I saw some friends in San Diego this weekend and, as usual, they popped open a bottle of wine and I had to politely (and a tad tearfully) say no thanks. This of course brings an onset of questions and looks that I know are leading to a possible pregnancy. This, of course, is untrue. If you want to read about the reasoning behind my wine boycott, read my previous blog titled "No More Wine - 30 day Challenge (eek!!).

One thing I have noticed this past week is the fact that wine is EVERYWHERE!! This makes it really hard to avoid it (duh). There is wine on tv shows, in movies, all over billboards, in commercials, it's everywhere. I never noticed how prevalent wine is until I am wanting it but can't have it. Every time I see a reference to wine, I get a longing and my mouth starts to water a little. Hopefully this reaction will fade throughout my 30 day trial. This also makes me wonder how much advertising and propaganda really do affect us?

There are two major differences I have noticed. The first is that I haven't been getting any headaches at night. In the past I would get headaches 3-4 times per week sometime after dinner (after drinking wine). I always wondered if this was related to wine, and now I have my answer. It's only been a week though, so I will have to see if I remain headache free. I also noticed that I eat dinner alot faster now. Wine really makes me slow down and enjoy my food. Probably because I love to sip and savor wine, and wine also brings out the flavor in food, so it encourages slow savory eating. I thought it would affect my sleeping and my energy levels, but it really hasn't at all. This is really good news to me because it means that wine doesn't effect me in these ways, or I don't drink enough wine on a daily basis to have it effect me in these ways.

How did I make the change to having NO wine? Most people tell me that they just can't do it because there is never a good time and they love wine too much. I'm there with you. The two things I have done these past seven days to prepare myself for no wine were:

1. Have alternative beverages ready. I knew this would be my biggest struggle. I am a big water drinker, and drink it pretty much all day long, so at night, I don't want water, I want wine. Something full of flavor. I knew if I was going to last 30+ days, I needed a substitute that was full of flavor. I started adding fruit to my water; lemons, raspberries, grapefruit, oranges, whatever I feel like (and whatever I have available in my fridge). This gives me that blast of flavor I am missing, and is super healthy!

2. Be prepared for the temptations. When I'm out to eat, with friends, celebrating, eating chocolate, etc. I want to drink wine. So, before any of these occasions, I simply remind myself that I'm not drinking wine right now so that I'm not caught up in the moment and find myself ordering my favorite Merlot before I remember that I'm going wine free for 30 days.

So far so good! I'm not dead yet, although my taste buds probably think they're dying. Check back in next week for my blog at the half way point of my 30 days wine free challenge.

The Secret to Getting Fruit on a Budget

The secret to getting fruits on a budget; smoothies! I know fruits and veggies can be expensive and often break the budget. Especially if you try to buy organic. One secret that I share with all of my clients is to buy fruit in bulk. People always think I'm joking when I say this because fruit is notorious for going bad quickly. The exception: freezing it.

When fruit is in season, it is cheaper because there is an abundance of it. Usually your grocery store will have deals during this time. My grocery store always has a 2 for the price of 1 deal whenever they have an over abundance of fruits. Whenever I see these sales I jump on it and really take advantage. Whether it's berries, apples, oranges, grapefruits, melons, or pineapple. All of these make great smoothies later on. 

When I get home from the grocery, I cut up the extra fruit, separate it, throw it into containers, and put them in the freezer. Later, I can take out a container, dump the contents directly into the blender, add some water, OJ, or yogurt (depending on your preference) and there you go! I love making smoothies at night, and saving them for breakfast that next morning. This is a great option when you know you have a busy morning the next day, so that you don't end up skipping breakfast all together.

Smoothies are great for a couple of reasons: 

1. When you freeze fresh fruit, you keep all the vitamins and nutrients frozen in the fruit. This means that the fruit is still jammed packed with great benefits months later when you have it in your smoothie. 

2. Frozen fruit that is packaged at the store, is often just as expensive, or more expensive than fresh fruit. It is so much cheaper to buy fruit in bulk and store it yourself.

3. Smoothies are a great way to mix up your normal routine. If apples aren't in season, but you're really craving them, pull some out of your freezer and make a smoothie!

For more information on buying food on a budget, or smoothie recipes visit my website www.abbyshroka.com or contact me directly at abby.shroka@gmail.com Please contact me with recipes of your own too! I love to hear how people are finding new ways to eat healthy!

No More Wine - 30 day Challenge (eek!!)

I LOVE red wine! In my opinion, it goes with everything. All food is better with a little red wine on the side. The way that it brings out the flavor in food... mm my mouth is watering just typing this. Don't even get me started on drinking wine while eating chocolate. There is nothing better with dark chocolate than a glass of red wine. I like to go wine tasting, I like to drink while I cook, I like to cook with wine; I'm not addicted I swear! I'm very strict with myself about sticking to one glass a day. (this is my personal justification of course, but still a good rule of thumb)

Alot of people ask me my opinion of alcohol, specifically red wine, when they hear that I am a health coach. I have no perfect answer that works for everyone, but I have some general information that is very interesting:

1. Italians drink far more red wine than Americans and Germans drink far more beer than Americans. Both countries have less heart disease, obesity, and diabetes compared to America. 

2. Alcohol is empty calories in the body. This means that you get NO energy, vitamins, minerals, or nutrients from alcohol. All it does is turn into fat.

3. Wine decreases your risk of heart disease, but increases your risk for breast cancer

Basically, these facts prove that alcohol effects everyone differently, and there are pros and cons to drinking it. Because we as humans love to justify our actions by focusing solely on the bonuses that alcohol gives, it led me to my 30 day challenge. 

I never ever give rules and restrictions when it comes to nutrition and diet plans. Let's face it, no diet ever works long term when you are forced to cut out all of your favorite foods and drink nothing but water. However, there is one exception. I do encourage everyone to set up rules when it comes to drinking. These should be your own rules that are based on how you feel when drinking alcohol. When you start to feel the negative effects of alcohol, that means it's time to stop. This includes headaches, stomach aches, dizziness etc. These signs are your body's way of telling you that the alcohol you're consuming is starting to negatively affect your health. (Nevermind the fact that you're also probably on the verge of doing or saying something stupid as well). These physical negative effects include dehydration, organs being overworked, blood sugar crashing etc. 

My rules for drinking include:

1. No more than one glass of wine a day. This means that if I am going to have chocolate dessert after dinner, I have to decide if I want my glass with dinner, dessert, or split it and have a little for both.

2. Don't drink more than 5 times per week. It's always good to give your organs a break. Even if you are drinking in moderation

3. Take a solid month off once a year to fully detox and recharge my body.

So, it is that time of the year where I'm going to take a month off to detox and recharge. I have vowed (as of yesterday) to not drink any wine until October 1st. (yes I know this is more than 30 days, just deal with it). There is one exception, I am going to a wedding in the middle of September, and I will be drinking there, because it's a special occasion. (again, we humans are great at justifying everything)

I will continue blogging about my month long hiatus to let you know how I'm doing! Hopefully I have encouraged others to make some "alcohol rules" as well.

Dad's Specialty

Whenever my mom was gone overnight, my dad would always make us french toast. Even though this is a breakfast meal, he would always make it for dinner. If mom was gone for multiple nights, we would start to complain on the third or fourth day because we were tired of french toast, so he would order pizza. At some point, I developed a hatred for french toast because my dad would make it so much. I recently tried french toast again, for the first time in almost 10 years and it was quite delicious (I haven't told my dad this of course, he still thinks I hate it) Below is the recipe. Feel free to try it, just don't feed it to your kids over and over again.

French Toast
-2 eggs, beat lightly in a bowl
-soak bread in eggs on both sides
-fry bread on stove on low heat

This breakfast is full of protein and carbs! Add some fruit, grapefruit, strawberries, watermelon, cantelope, and you have a heart healthy breakfast.

Heart Healthy Breakfast Recipe

I love eating a big breakfast. It is the best way to start out the day. Lucky for me, my mom always made breakfast a priority in my house. These days, I try to continue what my mom started by making time to eat a heart healthy breakfast everyday. Below is my favorite breakfast meal. Throughout the next week, I will post more of my favorite breakfast meals for you all. I hope that you will try some of these meals for yourself, and if you have some heart healthy meals of your own to share with me, email me at abby.shroka@gmail.com I love trying new breakfast meals!!

Eggs, Bacon, and a few Veggies
-3 eggs scrambled
-1/2 of a green pepper chopped
-mushrooms, sliced
-moderate amounts of onion (totally depends on your preference)
-spinach/kale, chopped (whichever you prefer)
-2 strips of bacon
-1/2 of a grapefruit

If you're a tomato lover (I am not) you can add some diced tomatoes in there as well. The key is to pick some veggies that you like. Eating veggies at breakfast is soo healthy, and a great way to start out your day! Whenever I have veggies for breakfast I have so much more energy throughout the day. I usually have this meal on Thursdays. Thursdays are hard days because I am always exhausted from the long week I've had so far, and yet the week is still not over!! Try this breakfast on Thursday this week. It will really help you.

Hint: Cut up the grapefruit (or fruit of choice, sometimes I have strawberries instead) and the veggies the night before, so that all you have to do is scramble the eggs and make the bacon the morning of. This will save you alot of time. (I have problems getting up in the morning as you can tell. Anything that helps me get a few extra minutes sleep is welcome) Stay tuned for more breakfast recipes!

Gold Old Vitamin D

I LOVE the sun. Most people who know me, know that this is true. Feeling the sun's rays on my face can instantly lift my spirit. I love being in the sun, or even looking at the sun. No, I don't mean directly staring up at the sun, but looking out at the bright sunny weather. So, I guess I should have said that I like natural light. Anyways, I usually lay out by our community pool on the weekends. It's one of those weekend indulgences that I try to reward myself with after a long week of work. This past weekend, I was laying out for my usual 40 minutes, 20 minutes on each side, and I just didn't want to go in once my 40 minutes were up. I've built up a pretty good tan, so I wasn't a bit worried about getting burnt, and I was really into the book I was reading and didn't want to put it down to go back inside. So I stayed out an additional 30 minutes. Of course you know what is coming next.

I got burnt, and not the burnt that turns into a tan the next day, but the burnt that I have to put lotion on myself twice a day for three days straight so that I can avoid peeling. Oops. I know better by now. Part of the reason I got burnt is because I haven't been wearing sunscreen for the past 6 months or so (I really hope no dermatologists read this). I do wear sunscreen on my face every single day to avoid wrinkles, but other than that I don't wear it.

The reason why I don't wear sunscreen is because you can't absorb vitamin D when you wear sunscreen, and vitamin D is so important. It helps your body absorb calcium, fight off diabetes, prevent depression, and much more. I think this is a pretty good justification. However, it is just that, a JUSTIFICATION. I probably will be singing a different tune if I get skin cancer someday right? We use justifications all the time when we don't want to do something, like exercise or eat our fruits and veggies. "I'm too tired to exercise," or "fruits and veggies are just so expensive," or "I'm too busy," or "I don't like it." Well, sorry everyone, but these justifications are just as bad as my justification about not wanting to wear sunscreen.

Face Your Wake Up Call

I had another sleepless night last night. I thought about getting out of bed to write this blog in the middle of the night, since I wasn't sleeping anyways.. oh the irony! As I've shared, sleepless nights have been haunting me lately, and I have tried all of the remedies that I know of to help me. I've stayed away from caffeine at night and started exercising more routinely, but it's not helping. I'm tired, I'm frustrated, and I need some sleep!! My health is going to suffer when I don't sleep, not just physically but mentally. For me, it is mentally exhausting to try and fight the yawning, and push the tired feeling out of my mind. I also get headaches when I don't sleep, which are draining mentally and physically as well. It is just great to have that constant reminder throbbing in my mind :(

I guess it is somewhat of a comfort to know that ALOT of other people have been there and that this is a very common problem, so I'm not alone. It is an even bigger comfort to know that this to shall pass. I have battled, and conquered, sleepless nights in the past.

So when the physical remedies don't work, that means that it is time for self reflection. This is where people get stuck, and the occasional sleepless nights turn into chronic sleepless nights. Isn't that crazy, that we would rather have insomnia than face our problems and do some self reflecting? Well not really, since self reflecting is scary, and often produces things that we have tried so hard to hide. So, I have to take my own advice and do some self reflection. For self reflection, ask yourself three questions, "what do I lay awake all night thinking about?" "What are my biggest fears right now" and "What are my biggest regrets right now?" Usually one of these three questions doesn't apply at the time, but if you are honest with yourself in answering them, you will figure out what is keeping you awake all night. Here goes...

What do I lay awake all night thinking about? For me it's my new business. I lay awake thinking about all of the things that I didn't get done that day. Nevermind the 2 million things I did get done, I choose to focus on the ten things I didn't get done. This is obviously a problem. I also lay awake scheming and strategizing different marketing tools that I haven't tried yet. I analyze in my head if it will work, how it will work, when it will work etc. This problem seems easy enough to fix at least. Schedule some time during the day to brainstorm new ideas. Time? What time? Ahh! Most often though, I lay awake at night thinking about all of the marketing strategies that I'm currently using to grow my business. Are they working? Are they working well enough? How can I tweak them so that they'll work better? How long should I try this strategy before moving on? You get the idea...

What are my biggest fears right now? Money obviously, since I quit my salaried job to start my own business. The second is that I will fail at this. I think every new business owner fears failure. I hear all this stuff about a bad economy and lack of security, tons of negative reinforcement is out there in the world. I know I have an extremely valuable service to offer, and I know this is going to work out in my heart of hearts, but I also know that these fears will be here for awhile. That is part of being a new business owner.

For me, it is clearly the first question that is keeping me up all night. I have to find time to brainstorm during the day. I also have to find peace with myself for the things I was able to accomplish in one day, and remind myself that there is always tomorrow to worry about that.

So now, I challenge all of you to do some self reflection of your own. Come on, if I can do it on a public (!) blog, then you can do it for yourself!

Fix Your Wake Up Call

For the past week, I've had some sleepless nights. The snooze button on my alarm has been my best friend until I get up, and then that best friend is replaced with the coffee pot. By now, I've learned that when I don't sleep, it is because I'm worrying. My fears and doubts are practically shouting at me from inside my head, and I can no longer escape them in order to fall into a blissful sleep.


Because I have battled with sleepless nights before, I know some tricks that help me get back to that peaceful sleep that I'm missing so much. 
1. Exercise! No, this doesn't mean that you should get out of bed in the middle of the night and do some jumping jacks. That will definitely NOT help you fall asleep. What I am saying is that you will sleep much better when you are on a scheduled exercise routine. Yes, I know, you have no time or energy to exercise amidst your busy schedule, but I promise promise promise that having a regular exercise routine will help you have a more regular sleep routine
2. Stay away from caffeine towards the end of your day. This one seems like a no brainer, but caffeine can affect all of us differently. For me, I need to eat a solid meal AFTER having caffeine in order to sleep well at night. This means no caffeine for me with dinner, or after dinner. This is something that each person must experiment with.
3. Pray. This one works really well when I'm laying awake worrying about things that I can't control. There is nothing more frustrating then laying awake worrying about something that I know I can't do anything about. Like worrying about an upcoming big move (say to Cali)! Giving this worry over to God is the only thing to do, and it really helps!


Sometimes, even these tricks don't work. I have been trying all of these tricks lately, and none of them have been working. When these tricks don't work, that means that my "3am sweats" aren't the cause of any physical problem. It means that it is time to face my wake up call. Stay tuned!

A Wake Up Call

Some people call it the 3:00am sweats, some call it a busy mind, other say it's insomnia. For me, it's a wake up call (no pun intended).

I'm talking about those sleepless nights that we all have from time to time. Those nights where you're wide awake, you can't seem to get comfortable, you're trying everything to get your mind to wind down, you're making sure to NOT look at the clock because you don't want to know how much sleep you've lost out on already. You all know what I'm talking about.

I have battled with these sleepless nights on and off my entire life. At one point, in college, these sleepless nights got so bad for me that I was forced to make some changes.

Insomnia can happen for a lot of reasons. However, most of the time, people can't sleep because they're in need of a wake up call. There is something going on in your life that you just can't shake. Maybe it's a failing relationship, a mound of debt that keeps piling, a big move to a new city, or an upcoming deadline. Whatever your "thing" is that is keeping you awake, it is a product of your doubts and fears, and it won't go away until you deal with it. This is much easier said than done, as sometimes you can't deal with it. More often, it's not that you can't deal with it, but that you won't deal with it. If you're facing sleepless nights, ask yourself, is this something that I'm refusing to deal with because it scares me, or is this something that is out of my control? Stay tuned for my next blog. I'll talk more about my personal battles with sleepless nights, and some ways that I have learned to beat these sleepless nights.

My First Days as a Full Time Health Coach

Wow! I can't believe that I've reached this point. I'm done with my corporate job and am health coaching full time. Yikes this is big, and scary! For now I have to stay positive, have faith in God, and focus on the new and good. I've decided to blog for two reasons. The first is because it will be a great way to evaluate myself and my business over the days, months, and years. The second reason is for my clients, both present and future. I want them to understand me, as their coach, and understand my business. What I stand for, what I believe in, and how I practice what I preach. I promise to be candid and straight forward about my peeks and pitfalls that I will face on this journey as a new business owner, and as a holistic health and nutrition coach. Making your health a priority can be an uphill battle everyday, so I hope this blog will help anyone who reads it.