Thing #1 ~ as thrilled as I am for the winner of Biggest L*ser, and I am, she’s managed a huge feat in a short time and she should be impressed with herself, I think it is highly inappropriate for her to be dispensing health, fitness, wellness or nutrition advice on her Twitter account. I know that a lot of us do the same thing on our blogs and when we get asked questions in person or on social media. I just think…..I would rather get my nutrition and fitness advice from someone who actually went through it legitimately and with real life and real troubles and in real time. How can you preach that “if I can do it anyone can do it” when you didn’t really DO it the way the rest of the world would have to. It just bugs me.
Thing #2 ~ I feel like I need to determine how many carbs I’m eating. I don’t know why I want to know this, it’s just been bugging me lately. I haven’t weighed myself nor do I plan to so it’s not like knowing this would help me plan different meals. In fact even knowing it I’m not so sure I would change how I eat/cook. I just want to know. I will try to find out this weekend, any tips on a good “counting” app?
Thing #3 ~ I need to go shopping. The weather is starting to improve and I am almost positive that none of my summer capris and work pants from last year will fit this year. Because…..I have muscular, monster thighs. They are lean and I can actually see where each muscle starts and stops….but that doesn’t make them fit into pants any better. I’m thinking it’s going to be a skirt year. Also, I need a haircut.
Thing #4 ~ Easter is coming and I have this feeling like if I don’t give myself just one more dark Lindt bunny I’m going to feel totally ripped off and deprived. I’ve only had one small bunny this year and I feel like there may be room in my life for one more.
Thing #5 (and #6) ~ I have found and made two very kickass recipes in the last couple of weeks! There are SO many recipes online that are paleo, primal or grain free friendly….and honestly……well……lots of them can’t really be considered “recipes” (cooked meat and a veggie side dish isn’t a recipe) and the rest of them are either kind of bland/dull or so insanely complicated/intense that I would never even contemplate them. The two that I found recently though? BIG HITS! They are both now in the regular rotation. They are both so good that instead of choosing one for lunch over the other….I brought them both!
Up first was a winner from Juli at PaleOMG (as if she would produce anything BUT a winner!). Artichoke Lemon Pesto Chicken Pasta
http://paleomg.com/artichoke-lemon-pesto-chicken-pasta/
Absolutely delicious, fairly simple to make (I made the pesto portion the day before and then roasted the spaghetti squash that morning so the prep at mealtime was quite short). My recommendation on this one is to use as much basil as you can lay your hands on!
The other recipe was a delicious sausage and sweet potato stew
I made a couple personal revisions while making this one; one was the use of a combo of chicken and veggie broth instead of water for the liquid..since I had open containers of both that needed using. Also I added a teeny bit of cayenne and a dump of paprika…to counterbalance the overly sweet flavor of the honey-garlic sausages from Coscto. The recipe was so good, hearty and wholesome! It makes quite a bit….and it’s all gone now. 😉
And now a couple of questions about recipe etiquette.
- If you find a recipe online, do you repost it on your blog? If you do, do you link back to wherever it is that you found it?
- If you find a recipe online and modify it, do you now consider it “yours” and post as an original creation?
And on a totally different note, what is your definition of healthy?
I’ll answer my own questions. First, if you’re going to post a recipe, LINK BACK to whomever you got it from, preferably the original source. I also think, even though you’re linking back, that copying and pasting the entire recipe is not OK. Oftentimes when people post an original recipe on their blog they write the ingredients and method with a big dose of their own personality. Anything outside of copying the just the ingredients and basic method is plagiarism! You can and should borrow someone’s recipe, that’s what they are there for. You should NOT steal their personality in the process.
Second, I think most people make minor revisions to a recipe. Providing that you maintained the bulk of the integrity of the recipe, the originating poster should be linked to. Even as I did above with the stew, adding some paprika and subbing broth for water, the basic recipe that she came up with is still hers. I still made what she created. Pretending that I ‘created’ anything just because of a couple minor subs that I made would be ludicrous and incredibly misleading.
As far as the term “Healthy”, I hear comments and see commercials and advertisements all the time touting things as “healthy”. As far as I’m concerned, much of the time I think that companies using that word are using it as a buzzword to increase sales and push people towards what they are selling. For me, “healthy” refers to anything that is either not processed at all (meat, veg, fruit) or is minimally processed (eg, olive oil, butter). If it doesn’t require an ingredient list and either grows or roams out in the world, it’s good in my book! “Healthy” is not a buzzword, it’s something we should all strive toward….and no package of cookies is going to get you there!
Happy Easter to all! Tomorrow is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL so Ray’s decided that we’re going to insure both motorcycles for the day and go riding. I’m nervous and excited all at the same time. Two summers ago I put 30,000km (18,750 miles) on my bike….last year 1,050km (635 miles) so I’m pretty sure I’ll be back to “beginner” starting out this season. I’ll agree to this motorcycling thing…..as long as it takes me past a chocolate bunny store! Not “healthy” but definitely required!
Fitty vs Fatty 
Thing #2 http://www.caloriecount..com
Great post, Shanny! What fun to read. Measuring my macronutrients was a major priority when I first declared myself Primal. Then of course I got a little obsessive about it… I use FitDay and Paleotrack.com – both free. It is fascinating to see exactly how many carbs are in things. Happy Easter!
Always, always, always link back to the original post/recipe. Always. It’s blog ettiquette and it’s important. Even if you modify or change the recipe you still ALWAYS need to link back.
As for what’s healthy… my view on this has definitely changed since the WW years. To me, if it’s whole and unprocessed or as you say minimally processed (meat, veg, nuts, clean fat) then it’s healthy. Period. And I’m healthy for eating it, no matter the body imperfections.