Gluten Free, Dairy Free Quinoa Pizza Bites!

Makes 10 Delightful Pizza Bites!  Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie's Blog!

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, bring to boil and simmer on low for 18-20 minutes)
• 1 cup canned white beans
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tsp dry basil
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp xylitol/stevia
• Daiya (in the middle)

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease 2 muffin tins then set aside.  I used Olive Oil Spray.

In a medium bowl, mash the beans completely or use your magic bullet. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Drop a big spoonful into each muffin holder, then add a couple pinches of cheese—and add another spoonful of mixture.  Fill 10-12 muffin cups.  Cook 25 minutes then for a crispy outer shell, broil 5 minutes at the end.

About 40 calories each.  I ate 2.  My guy ate 4.  We had them with dinner, but you could easily eat some for dinner/snack/lunch/whatever your heart desires.

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2014/01/27/quinoa-pizza-bites/

Tribute to Dad.

The weather is blah.  Thank God I have my Dad.  He is my motivation for getting to the gym in the early morning.  We meet 3 times a week at 7AM to warm-up on the treadmill, row machine or bike and then play 30 or so minutes of racquetball...

yes, racquetball.  The old man sport that proves my Dad is a real athlete.  The man has skills.  Mathematical whiz.  He knows where the ball is going to end up based on the way his racquet is positioned...Unfair advantage? I think so.  He's also in his sixties and murders me on the court.  He reminds me how old he is after every win as he's grinning.  "Old age and treachery, " is his favorite comment whenever he adds a little spin to his serve.  It's like nails on a chalkboard.

What started out as a personal project last year to help Dad lose some weight evolved into something much greater.  Now, he makes it to the gym 5 TIMES A WEEK!!!  With or without me, he's there.  Clocks in a minimum of 2 miles and goes on with the rest of his day.  He just needed a little nudge.  In addition, he started the 24 Day Challenge right after I completed my first one and stayed on Spark, Meal Replacement Shakes, Catalyst and ThermoPlus.

Since May of last year, he's lost 16 pounds and kept it off!!  The doctor took him off a medication and reduced others, which Dad should be really proud of because it was his hard work.  I want him (and of course my Mom) to be around until I have grandchildren.  Yep.  I said, grandchildren.  So they might be in their 100's, but a woman turned 117 yesterday, so it could happen.

Stop the Jealousy!

You can hear it in someone's tone or the way a picture is critiqued on Facebook.  Thoughts turn negative in your head and start to spin into a sarcastic tornado.  You start comparing yourself to what you see.  You either don't measure up or you laugh at their expense, out of jealousy.  Either way, comparing only leaves you feeling empty.  All of a sudden, you aren't good enough and nothing you've done amounts to anything.  All your hard work and what's to show?

I felt myself falling deep into this rabbit hole of self-destruction.  But this time, I stopped midway, gave myself a little love slap and forged onward.  The mind is a powerful tool, your choice, truly, whether to use it for good or bad.

I trained my mind in that instant to stop comparing and start celebrating.  There are things I was graced with and things I wasn't.  I have the gift of empathy and understanding.  I know this.  And I know how unique and special it is.  What I don't have is laser beam focus.  There is not ONE thing that I can devote all my time and energy to because I am interested in everything!  And I celebrate people who rise to the top because of their tunnel vision.  I admire these people and try to learn from them.

Last night, I got to hang with the girls.  And for 3 hours, we did nothing but eat snacks, drink a little wine and talk about our latest rendezvous.  It was heaven.  As I listened, I glanced around the room and noticed how different our lives were, but how we were the same.  Despite our daily activities and our job titles, we are women, just trying to do our best to live rich, full lives.

One, a Qi Gong Instructor & CFO of Uplift Yourself.  Another, a Senior Donor Relations of the MS Society.  The other two were involved with social media, analytics and marketing, they spoke in a foreign language...search engines and secretly disguised advertising lingo.  I loved it.  I soaked in the difference and thought, what a great group of girls.  I sat there as a Yoga Teacher, Health Coach and small business owner and listened to all the qualities bouncing around the room.  These women were real, honest and open.  We didn't take a picture and post it to Facebook or Instagram.  We just lived.  We talked.  We laughed.  We commiserated.  We left.  And I woke up today feeling inspired.  A change is a comin' and the change starts with a loud BANG!  It's my internal drum, starting to celebrate.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Brownies!!

I adapted these...

GLUTEN FREE

DAIRY FREE

HIGH PROTEIN

NO ADDED SUGAR

BROWNIES!

from Gina Aliotti’s Black Bean Brownies Recipe

Ingredients

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 eggs
1 egg white
3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar substitute (xylitol)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (whole foods, sweetened with Stevia, yellow and black package)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8X8 square baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Combine the black beans, eggs, apple sauce, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and xylitol in a blender— blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. If you are using chocolate chips, fold them into the brownie mixture.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until it comes out clean when punctured with a toothpick (about 35-40 minutes).

Serving size: 8
Calories: 100
Fat: 3.25 g
Sat fat: 1.5 g
Carbs: 13 g
Net carbs: 8 g
Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 6 g
Sugar: <1 gram

*Chocolate chips add additional calories and fat

Schedule Life into Your Life

What does your calendar look like?  Are there any blank spaces in between lunch, work, dinner, workout, grocery shop, pick up this and that?  There should be.  You know why?  Because we were not meant to be rats on a wheel.  Humans, animals, whatever else is out there, are meant to connect, to socialize, to think, to reflect.

Balance is key to living a successful, meaningful, worthwhile life.  Here are 5 tips to help you bring more balance...

1. Stop scheduling into your blank space.  Leave time to let the leaves fall where they may.
2. Learn to say no.  Learn to just say no, without rescheduling or thinking ahead.  Instead, take a break and breathe.  Give yourself time to get back to what you were doing and when the time is right, you will know.
3. Learn to say yes.  What? Contradictions!  I know.  But, it's good to see both sides of the coin, right?  Say yes to things you're scared of, things you thought you'd never do, life is so much fun with a little excitement.
4. Ask yourself little questions throughout the day.  Does this make me happy?  Why am I doing this?  Where is this going? Who am I helping?  I get stuck in going with the flow, until a couple weeks down the road I'm stuck wondering, how did this happen?  It's okay to go with the flow, but make sure it's flowing in the right direction.
5. Pay attention to the feeling in your gut.  Many times I've accepted jobs knowing I didn't really want the position, but thought it'd be good experience/a resume builder.  Had I listened to my gut, I wouldn't have wasted so much time.

Live A Life in Balance.

I am a Health Coach, specializing in living a balanced life.

Contact me for your own Life Balance Appointment:

jmaussyoga@gmail.com

425.241.8977

How I Lost 22 Pounds & Kept it Off!

First, we have to evaluate how I got to my highest weight.  148 pounds, I am only 5'4".  Yes I am curvy, but 148 pounds meant that I could barely get my pants over my butt.  It meant that my legs rubbed together and gave me rashes.  It meant that wearing tank tops made me feel like I was a linebacker.  148 pounds was too much for my frame.

For 10 years I struggled with food.  10 YEARS!  That's a whole other topic, but after getting over that part of my life, I stopped caring about being so strict and started eating, a lot.  I really went after it and didn't realize how much weight I had gained until I saw pictures of myself in the summertime and thought, "who the hell is that?"  I don't know her.

I hired a health coach who helped me drop 10 pounds in 4 months, down to 138.  Slow, but the perfect pace for me.  Than I was 134 and that is where I stayed. For days.  Weeks.  Months.  I increased my exercise to daily hour long power yoga sessions and 6 mile walks.  I stopped eating after 6PM.  I ate a ton of veggies & protein.  Nothing.  No budge on the scale and I think from all the chair poses in yoga, my butt got bigger.  Not the direction I wanted to go.

Feeling helpless, I looked on Facebook at a girlfriends 24 Day Challenge results and thought, "GOOD GOD SHE LOOKS SUPER TONED!!"  This was a girl who already looked great before but even better after!  So I decided to give it a shot.

March, 2013 I started the challenge at 134.  After the 24 Day Challenge, I was at 129.  I stayed on products and a month later I was 126.  Almost a year later, I am 126. I never thought I'd be one of those girls who actually weighed 125.  It was always my goal weight.  I had been there before, but that was basically through killing myself to get there.  It's crazy how easy it is to maintain because of what I've been taught.

The 80/20 Rule.  And enjoying what I eat.  I do not eat crappy food.  I LOVE avocados, fish tacos, protein pancakes, making homemade chocolate, chocolate shakes, Spark, eggs & bacon, etc.  I love food, I love how it makes me feel.  I love how I can use it for energy.  I love having a healthy relationship.

I eat, boy do I eat.  More than I ever have and I don't kill myself in the gym anymore.  I've developed a laid back approach to, well, basically everything.  I used to think in ultimatums.  "If I do this, than this...."  Now, if I want chips & salsa, I will eat them.  If I want a huge handful of spinach with eggs and bacon, I will eat it.

I love knowing that if I don't step on the scale for a week, my weight doesn't change!  Maybe by a pound, but so what!?  Once the obsession with food stops, the real work begins.

10 Tips for TwentySomethings

Know that we are in this together...

1. Things are finally coming together.  You might be living with your significant other, engaged, have a baby on the way or living it up on your own.  Embrace YOUR path.  Stop looking around.
2. We still remember what life was like before texting.  Remember when friends called your house and your Mom answered?  Sometimes she'd even said, "Sorry ___ can't come to the phone right now."
3. Pre & Post Facebook.  Pre: do things and get away with them.  Post: do things and get caught.
4. The early years are showing up on our face.  Did you party a lot?  Drink more water.  Did you stay up late?  Sleep more.  Yo-Yo diet?  Try to find something that works. Now.
5. Getting together with friends is harder.  Life is packed with company to-do's, family hangouts and personal projects.  Be sure to make time for quality time with girlfriends& the bro's.
6. Be kind to your body.  Seriously, those injuries we had in our younger years are creeping back.  You'll notice a couple more cracks and pops as you walk, don't go too long with chronic pain.
7. Breathe.  We don't have it all together.  We're still figuring it out.  Some have lost/quit jobs, broken up or got back from traveling.  It's OKAY! Repeat the mantra. "IT IS OKAY!"
8. We are nearly 30, that's it.  Forgive yourself for not making the "right" decision every time.  Hate to break it to you, but we are human. WHAT?! I know. It's true. 
9. You still have time to do what you were meant to do.  Do not give up.  Start the company you've always dreamed of, take the dance class, enter the competition, but never say, "I am too old."  You're not aloud to say that until you are 100.
10. Joke around.  Life is meant to make you smile, for the majority of the time at least.  Take the intense walking face down a couple notches.  Say hi to people in the elevator.
11.