Pescatarian Meal Prep Week

Eating at 30%+ protein while doing my best to eat mostly vegetarian can be tricky at times. Here is my meal prep / meal plan for the week that I put together one Sunday evening.

Meal 1: Egg White Burrito & Fruit
1/3rd cup egg whites, 1/4 cup low fat shredded cheese, high fiber tortilla or slice high fiber bread, sprinkle of cayenne. 8 strawberries.

Meal 2: 5 oz Coconut or Greek yogurt, 3 homemade protein bites

Meal 3: Salad: 2 cups mixed greens, 1 oz feta, 1/3rd cup edamame, 1/4 cup pecans, sprinkle of dried cranberries, 3 tbs balsamic vinaigrette. Side of 1/2 can chunk tuna in water with 1 tsp each mustard & relish.

Meal 4: 1/4 block tofu baked with teriyaki, sauteed spinach with garlic.

Meal 5: Grilled meatless sausage, 1 oz cheese, 2 tbs bruschetta, 8 flax seed crackers.

Room for dessert? 1 oz 80% cacao with 4 oz red wine.

  

Priorities

A couple of years ago an employee from another department was talking with me about his dilemma having enough time for work, school, and personal life. Fortunately he was still very young, recently started college, and didn't have as many bills or responsibilities as he would have in his thirties. I gave him some advice then, which turned out to be advice for myself that's I've tried to remember over the past couple of years: I told him to find out what his priority was, focus on that, and then whatever came behind that in order accordingly. I told him to feel good and confident in his decision, to not feel bad about having a priority, and to not apologize for it - not even to himself.

Last week I took a me-cation alone for a few days to clear my head and think of my priorities. With all the things I do and love to do, two things were at the forefront of my mind: health and education. My top two priorities are my health and my education, and I need to feel good in that assumption, and to not apologize to anyone, including myself, for making those my priorities.

For my health, this involves exercising consistently, minding my nutrition, getting sleep, and keeping myself in a positive mental state. For my education, this involves my college courses, independent research, teaching others, reading and observing topics of health and marketing. I am rediscovering my soul and passion this year for the arts, dancing, and entertainment events, which I can incorporate in my heath (dancing) and education (both at work and school).

Other things I love doing that I don't plan on giving up in my life, such as travelling and being a personal wellness consultant, need to come after these initial priorities. At first thought I don't even want to type those words, or think about what they mean, or feel I have to step back even a little bit of those things. Then I remember my advice and know I've made the right decision, and not apologize to even myself.

Running around trying to do everything all at once isn't going to get you anywhere. If you want to get ANYTHING done, and done well, you need to prioritize. In the end, I know I will be more productive and happier.

I already am this week. :)

Yours in health and happiness,

Samantha Marie

Reboot

It's been quite an amazing roller coaster year. Launched the SamTalia website, became a doTERRA Wellness Advocate, continued my education in marketing and nutrition, finally got a stamp on my passport, and began a new full time job at an arts & culture center in San Francisco.

I was in need of a vacation that would have ideally liked to have been a week long, but I settled for a few days and got out of it what I wanted - even though it took me about a day and a half just to be able to relax and begin to try to clear my mind for the fall semester that was coming around the corner. I have always had a bad habit of trying to do much all at once, and wanting to do it all 100%. Learning from my past life though, I did not want to repeat the same mistakes I had - which was doing several things just mediocre - not acceptable to me in this life.

Several things were being held back within myself, and in regards to this blog I was holding back too. There were things I thought I'd write about, but I wasn't sure if I'd have a full article, or maybe it wasn't the type of article I was sure I wanted on the blog, or whatever my excuses were for not writing so much (besides the obvious too busy to think about having the time for all these things). Thoughts and personal development are part of being healthy and happy, which is what this blog is mainly about. Fitness, nutrition, and beauty just support that. The main goal was always health and happiness, including mental health which I haven't really talked about but definitely should.

Today I start a new semester, and this blog is coming with me.

Yours in health and happiness,

Samantha Marie

Non-Meat Protein

Yes I could say "Vegetarian Protein", but for some unknown reason the V-word seems to turn some people off. Not sure why - it's not like they're in jeopardy of turning into hippy-mountain-men that wear flower headbands or something... No offense to hippy-mountain-men that wear flower headbands.

Whether we want to face reality or not, non-meat protein is not only good for our bodies, the fact is it is EXTREMELY good for our environment. Still can't get out of my head one of the six documentaries I watched last month on my weekend mini-binge, "Cowspiracy." I already don't eat that much meat, but since watching that film it really made me want to go back to more plant foods again. Even if you don't care much about your health, or animals, or regular things like those that normally people can regularly brush off, you can't consider yourself friendly to the earth if you eat meat on a regular basis. I like to conserve water, energy, and I've always wanted to save trees. If things like that are important to me, I have to face the facts.

Anyway, it's time to eat healthy delicious food with protein that can both help you feel full and conserve (or help grow) muscles during weight loss and strength training.

 

All this talk about complete proteins that vegetables don't have, when there's actually a lot. Here's a little article with easy recipes too from Greatist: http://greatist.com/health/complete-vegetarian-proteins

21 Meals With Lots of Protein & No Meat  

ZzzQuil Sleep Review

I've had sleep issues since I was 12, so for nearly 20 years getting to sleep has been an effort and chore for me almost every night.

I recieved a sample to try from Influenster's VoxBox program. I was pretty amused by the situation before I even got my box. 

Here's my very simple review:

The ingredient is the same exact ingredient that's in Benadryl and nearly every over the counter sleeping & allergy medication: diphenhydramine. 

It has 25mg in each capsule. It says to take only one, & that you should fall asleep in less than 20 minutes.

I didn't even try to hold back my laughter after reading that. Take 2 if needed or as directed by a doctor? How much are they selling this stuff for? 

I don't know, but I can tell you this: You can get 100 generic tabs with the exact same ingredient & dosage for about $5 listed under allergy or sleep aids. I'm guessing they probably sell around 10 tabs for $6.

Save your money. Don't buy this. 

And no, I did not fall asleep in 20 minutes. After 45 minutes went by I switched to the same sleepytime routine I've been doing for about 3 years, no overpriced brand names needed.

Vegetarian Taco Salad

I've been trying to look up new salads to make to bring to work since I've been rather bored of the ones I've been making for the past 3 years, that haven't varied too much.

I like Mexican food and have been trying to eat less meat (even though I don't eat much anyway) so for this week's meal prep I tried putting together something of a taco salad bowl, which came out delicious!

Chopped romaine lettuce, organic pinto beans, organic cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, pineapple salsa & Tapatio.

Previous I had thrown in ground turkey,  so if you're not vegetarian, there's another healthy option. 

Documentaries on Netflix to Watch This Weekend

I don't really watch TV, and my Netflix watching is usually limited to an hour in the background before I go to sleep. For the days I "get" to stay home and do "nothing", I like to catch up on some documentaries, usually to feed the nerdy-health-person in me:

PlantPure Nation - The first one I picked, since it had to do with whole and organic foods, and I hadn't seen it yet. If you liked Food Matters, Forks Over Knives, or Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, you'll probably like this one. If you've ever heard of The China Study (the biggest & most in-depth study of food in relation to health ever done) the guy that wrote that is a main guy in this.

The Human Experiment - The effect of chemicals on/ in our bodies and in our environment. It helps explain a lot of disorders and diseases which are now common in our modern time that weren't before, and still aren't in some under-developed nations. Lots of focus on things like cancer and reproductive issues in both men and women.

*Cowspiracy - My top pick out of this lot to watch if I had to suggest one to see. It doesn't matter if you're a meat eater or vegan, an environmentalist or not, it's full of so much eye-opening information that I was not aware of, especially to that extent, and I like to view myself as someone who is normally at a higher conscious level than most. My reason for suggesting this to people isn't to try and change your mind either way, but to give you the information you should have to make informed decisions for yourself.

Supersize Me - The one where the guy goes 30 days eating Mc Donalds and his health statistics are monitored by various doctors along the way. Bottom line: Fast food is gross, it will make you throw up, and you really could die from eating junk food.

Sugar Coated - Very interesting (and at times frustrating) look at the effect of sugar not just in our bodies, but in our legal and judicial systems. Really crazy history here of the sugar industry over the last 50 or so especially. Will open your eyes to understand how and why foods are in our normal every day lives that we have a hard time escaping, even when we try.

Prescription Thugs - This one was a little personal for me, given my past experience during the years I was sick on medications prescribed to me that made me worse and not better. Watching this may make you frustrated or sad if you or a loved one has gone through any issues of being prescribed medicine that wasn't helpful to you, or if you or someone you know has been addicted to prescription medication. Or... if you are just taking what you believe is a harmless prescription anyway.