Diet Friendly Turkey Spinach Tomato Panini and Onion Soup

Lately the weather here in Cali has been far less than sunny. It has been sooo dreary and gloomy. I don't know about you, but gloomy days always make me want something warm to eat. So I thought what better thing than soup! So I headed to the kitchen to make soup and sandwich for lunch. My taste buds are still dancing thinking about it.

(Btw, check out my plants in their pots in the picture, I had no idea I had a green thumb :o )

Recipe (s) of the day:

Turkey, Spinach and Tomato Panini

Ingredients:

• Deli Style Turkey breast
• Whole wheat bread
• Fresh Spinach
• Thinly Sliced Tomato 
• Swiss Cheese (or whatever on hand) OR Avocado (I didn't have any on hand today :'( )
• A drop of olive oil or butter

Instructions: Assemble ingredients on bread. Add oil or butter to panini press or skillet on medium heat and place sandwich. If using skillet use spatula to press down on it. Panini should be ready in 3-4 mins in panini press or 5-6 minutes on skillet, browning both sides.

Onion Soup (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 chopped onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• 16 ounces of chicken stock
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 tbs flour
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp thyme (fresh if on hand)
• Pepper to taste
• Swiss Cheese

Instructions: Heat oil and butter in pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and allow to cook until soft ( about 10-15 minutes) stirring occasionally. Allow onion to caramelize (about 5 more minutes). Add wine to reduce. Once liquid is evaporated ( 1-2 mins), add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add chicken stock, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to boil and let it simmer on medium to low heat for 5 minutes. Season with pepper, top with Swiss cheese  and serve. 

Delish!

Half sandwich and 1 1/2 cup bowl of soup

Nutritional Info:

• 355 calories
• 14 g protein
• 21 g carbs
• 6 g fat

....100 g delicious flavor, hehe :)

I know bread has been demonized in the media as being "bad". But I am here to assure you there is no such thing as "good" and "bad" foods. There are foods that offer less nutrition and are calorie laden, and foods that contain more nutrition for less calories. But when all is said and done, it's a balancing act. It's very similar to balancing your financial budget. 

Say you spent a lot of money on expensive jeans ( I'm sure they are gorgeous and look amazing btw ;) ). Since you spent so much money on jeans, you are likely to spend less money on a blouse, right? (At least I hope so... but we all have those days... I know I do o:) ) ... Unfortunately, when you go over your caloric budget that means fat stored.... Which is a surefire way to not look so great in those expensive jeans :( 

However, we are all human, and there will be days that you go over your caloric budget-that's okay! Say it's a special anniversary dinner, your birthday or whatever it may be. It's okay. Because there will be days that you come in way under caloric budget. Returning to our shopping metaphor- say the day you got things on clearance and also had a 30% off coupon :o ( You excellent shopper, you! ).  You will likely undereat some days or exercise extra hard and burn extra calories. As long as you maintain a healthy balance, it's okay. That's life. Enjoy life, and enjoy food. 

Anyway, let me know how the recipe goes. Let me know how balancing your nutrition works. Try to make the panini with half cheese and half avocado. Which tastes better? Let me know! Keep me in the loop. I love hearing from you guys. Drop me a line. 

XO

-Carmen

Bargains, bargains!

My Saturday began very unassuming. I woke up, caffeinated up and decided I'd go to the gym. Well as luck would have it... I ended up at an Estate Sale. But don't worry I did workout! And it wasn't just my wallet :P

I browsed around. Not seeing too much. Actually, I'll back up and tell you, to be perfectly honest I drove past the Estate Sale and thought to myself, "just junk", and kept driving. Shortly after writing it off as "just junk", I remembered, I love someone who pretty much just, well loves junk! So I drove back to check it out... Oh my life as the junk collectors girlfriend.

Once there I looked around, nick-knacks, old out dated furniture, incomplete pot and pan sets. It wasn't until I was about to leave that I found this.

 (Pause for you to oohh and ahhhh them :)  )

So cute right??? My recently acquired ice cream cups! Adorable and there are exactly 4! One for me, one for the master junk collector, one for the junk collector's even MORE junk collecting furry son, and one for my perfect angel Cammy.

You know, I never really thought I had the Martha Stewart happy homemaker gene. I figured it had some how skipped me, or maybe mine had mutated and was just faulty. But no. Not the case. I just hadn't met the person I wanted to have a Martha Stewart-like lifestyle with. And as outdated as this may sound, and I know some very independent, modern women may scoff at this when I say, I can't wait to serve my master junk collecting, love of my life ice cream in these.

Oh and btw, I got all 4 for $1... yes be jealous hehe...

I suppose to further nail in my recently discovered Martha Stewart-like tendencies. I found a cookbook! But not any cookbook, this cookbook was owned by someone who very obviously who loved to cook. Someone that loved her family and enjoyed sharing her love for them through cooking. The book was complete with old handwritten recipes, cut outs from magazines, cardboards from products that had recipes listed on them. If for nothing else, I wanted to get it because it was someones life's cooking work. Their cooking legacy. And from one cook to the next, I had to appreciate it.

 I was able to talk them down to one dollar. A very reasonable price. So I packed it up in my car and drove off. After I had made the purchase I chatted with the woman who did the sale with me, and she had confessed to me that the book and items for sale belonged to her late mother who had recently passed. She thanked me for so genuinely wanting to cherish her cookbook. I asked her what her mothers name was. She told me it was Janet.

So in Janet's honor. I will be cooking some of her surefire recipes. I will share them with you and we can try them together. Janet's daughter told me her mother was a fantastic cook and everyone came to visit her for her cooking. So I am exited to try these out.

Journey with me to cook through some of Janet's book. Let's celebrate her through her cooking. When I'm gone I know I would love it if one wide-eyed, wife in training tried these out. I would laugh from above, as she undoubtedly burnt a few of the breads, forgot the salt in the salt malted caramels and probably would also absent mindedly forgot to turn over the pineapple upside down cake.

I'm exited for this. Are you?

I will post a recipe sometime this week and we can make it. Let's cook up a storm.

Peace, love, and yummy cooking,

-Carmen

Btw Check out my Radio Shack Deals!

All that (minus the cookbook) for $34 :o    SCORE!

Chicken Tikka Masala a.k.a Chicken DELISHA Masala

MmMmm... So what could be better than exotic Indian cuisine? But it takes so long to make, right? Fear no more! With this quick crock pot recipe your taste buds will be shuttled straight to new Delhi in no time.

This easy, quick, delicious, and above all DIET FRIENDLY recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala will satisfy even your biggest Indian food craving. The good thing about this recipe is that at 155 calories per serving, no fat pants needed here!

This recipe can be made in your crock pot and prepped in about 10 minutes. Faster than you can say Svādiṣṭa bhāratīya khādya... Delicious Indian Food :)

Ingredients:

• 3 Chicken breast
• 3 tomatoes or 1 can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup of tomato sauce
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch of ginger root
• 2 tbs of garam masala
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp pepper (freshly ground if possible)
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1/3 cup 2% milk

Directions:  Chop up onion, garlic, and tomatoes (if using fresh) and add to crock pot. 

Since I was using fresh tomatoes, I crushed them in the pot with a masher. Then I added the tomato sauce, garam masala, salt and pepper and mixed them up in the pot. 

( Salt and pepper addition not pictured)

Then I added the chicken breasts to the pot. 

Then I put it on high (because I was getting hungry!) and let it be for 4 hours. At three hours you can open it up and shred the chicken with two forks. Add a little more sauce if you'd like and more pepper or salt to taste if you'd like.

Once it was done it looked like this. 

I then cooked it up on the pan to cook to then in turn eat it quicker. I added some milk and let it heat on the pan for about 4-5 minutes until it thickened a little.

Then it was ready to eat! I served it with some veggies :)

 It was deeeeeelicious!! Definitely Chicken Delisha masala. 

Nutritional Info:

Serving: 3/4 cup

155 calories

21 g protein

6 g carbs

4 g fats

Delicious and Nutritious!

Try this recipe out. Let me know how it does.

X's and O's straight from my kitchen,

-Carmen

Weeknight Skinny Enchiladas

Who say's dieting can't be delicious? I used to falsely believe that dieting could only happen by eating chicken and broccoli at all meals of the day. Boy was a I wrong! I have since learned that that is completely false. You really can have your cake, and eat it too (reduced fat and in moderation of course). 

I wanted to share with you my recipe for skinny enchiladas. These delicious bites of heaven are only 200 calories, 8g fat, 21 g carbs, and 18 g protein each. Perfect! I'll eat 4 !  Just Kidding!

Ingredients you will need:

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3/4 of a can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp consume (optional)
• 1 tsp cummin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• Corn tortillas
• Enchilada Sauce (canned or homemade)
• Reduced Fat cheese- or if you are not picky regular cheese. Cheddar and Monterrey work well.
• Also about a 1 tsp of olive oil

First butterfly you chicken breasts. This will make the cooking faster, and subsequently the eating faster :).

You can either bake or boil them. I opted for boiling them. A little quicker and kept my chicken pretty moist, but sometime makes the chicken lose flavor in the water. I cooked them for about 15 minutes. I added a tsp of chicken consume for extra flavor. 

While that is cooking away dice the onion and garlic. Tip for getting the peel off the garlic- hit it with the back of the knife. Seriously. The peel will fall right off. Easy! And a great frustration reducing technique ;o

By now your chicken should be ready so take it out of the pot and let it cool until you can handle it and shred it. Set it aside.

Next cook the onion and garlic on the skillet with a little olive oil. About 2 minutes. Next add the sauce, chicken broth, chicken, and spices. Combine on the skillet so that its all good and mixed and the same color.  (Picture below was just after I added the spices and before I combined it all). 

Let the flavors marry for about 4 minutes.

Next warm up the tortillas so that they are soft. I put them in a cloth and warm them in the microwave until they are soft. About 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on how many I'm warming. For 10 tortillas which I used, it was about 1 minute, but check them when they are done. The tortillas should be soft, and not break when you bend them.

Now comes the hard part! Scoop about 1 tbs of the chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it up, like a fruit roll up :o oh memory lane...

Anyway. Spray glass dish with some non-stick spray and arrange in pan.

When arranged, add the enchilada sauce. Make sure the tortillas are well covered with lots of sauce, the torillas will soak up that sauce goodness. Next shred some cheese over them. I used monterey.  

Cover them with foil and pop them into the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. The cheese should be warm and gooey and melted. Mmmm.

And voila, dinner is served!

. 

Last step. Get a plate, and a fork, and dig in! Make sure to have a side salad to balance your meal :P.

Who says dieting is really DIEting. No need for that. Dieting can be delicious. 

Check back for some more skinny recipes. 

Did you make the recipe and like it? Did you maybe make it and have suggestions to add? Comment below. I'd love to hear.

Stay healthy, and keep staying fit and pretty. 

Sending all my love,

-Carmen

Celebrating the Small Wins: My Trip to the Flea Market

Okay so I have a confession. I recently become addicted to Flea Market Flip on HGTV- thanks Netflix ! In case you aren't familiar with the show, the show showcases two teams who are given $500 to spend at the flea market on three challenge items and then are asked to restore/reinvent the pieces and flip them at the flea market. The team with the most profit wins.

So this morning I was feeling very fliptastic, so I went to the flea market to try my luck. I walked from booth to booth, checking out their possible hidden treasures. I saw a lot of cool things. For example this great Chinese Bar. Adorable, but no place in my home for it. Plus, I think a certain someone (cough, my minimalist, and rustic decor - to say the least -_- opting partner) might not be so keen to it.

I continued foraging through stuff. Some treasures, some diamond's in the rough and of course some just plain, good 'ol fashioned junk! It wasn't until I found this kitchen piece, that I knew I had just found my flea market find.

I admired it for a good 10 minutes until I asked the price, $3. Not a lot of money, but did I really need it? Would it work in my kitchen? This is something I do, I think about things a lot before making a decision, I'm chronically indecisive ( a curse and blessing at the same time) . I actually didn't get it. I kept walking. Well, after I had completed my flea marketing day and checked out all the booths, I went back. I knew I couldn't leave without my flea market find.

I offered up $1.50 for the sign ( I happened to have two quarters that I wanted to get rid of, am I the only person who doesn't like change?). She said no, I then offered $2. Nothing, nada. Hmmmm...

I thought about it for another five minutes and pictured it in the kitchen. Imagined me leaving my partner notes on it for her to see when  she went to get her  keys before leaving to work. Hmmmmm, $3 wasn't a bad price. So I went to pay. But when I got up there, I decided I would try on last ditch effort at haggling. I offered up my final grand offer, $2.50. And guess what? SHE SAID YES! I was elated!

 I gladly handed her my $2.50 and floated out of there on cloud nine; admiring my key holder every step of the way to my car. Haggling the price down $0.50 cents really made my day. It brought the experience together. I proudly left feeling like I had just graduated to champion flea-marketer from novice. I fast tracked my career :) I'm still so proud of my deal as I sit here and share with you my find- all while on the elliptical ( gotta get that exercise in :) )

I know I only haggled $0.50 cents off the price. I know $0.50 cents; enough to buy exactly two $0.25 cent rings out of a grocery store dispensing machine that kids love or enough to buy one $0.50 cent sticker of my favorite animated super hero character. But for me it was awesome. It was thrilling. It was amazing! Small step for man, one  big step for CarMAN lol hehe, although my name is spelled Carmen lol.

Maybe if we applied the theory of small wins in our lives, our big goals wouldn't seems so daunting or hard to reach. If we celebrated milestones and saw value in the small wins or positive changes made in our lives- like switching to low fat cheese vs regular when dieting or just saying no to doughnuts at the office- we'd be more successful in reaching our health goals.  Just (healthy!) food for thought....

Anyway, I should get back to working out. Who needs a pre-workout when you just haggled $0.50 cents.... I'm on cloud 9. I'm going on an exercise storm. Unleashing the beast.

Check out your local flea market when u can, you might be surprised what you find. Remember, staying active in all you can do is great. So briskly walk around the flea market.

I also encourage you to celebrate your small wins in life. Revel in the small positive changes that you are making towards reaching your goals. In everything we do, we can find something positive.

I'm headed back next Tuesday to the flea market. This expert level flea marketer is going with a mission. I'm going to restore a home furnishing piece.

Any suggestions of what I should do? Tips? Thoughts? I'd love to hear from you.

Sending my love straight from cloud 9,

-Carmen

P.S. I also found this cool wine bottle holder for the antioxidant lover in you... Because I know that the only reason why you drink wine... for the health benefits of antioxidants ;P

Just Move: All Exercise is Good Exercise

Sunday's are notorious for being most peoples lounging day. Getting up at 6 am to workout really just doesn't sound too appealing- as the case for me yesterday.

Workouts do not have to be conducted at the gym or even doing traditional weight exercises. A lasting fitness routine conforms to your lifestyle, works for you, and involves any type of movement that gets your heart rate up. For me yesterday that was walking my dogs. We did a three mile walk around the park. It was so nice to get out in the fresh air and just move.

So what are you waiting for? Just get out there. Every little bit counts and you will never regret a workout.

Be safe and be healthy,

-Carmen

P.S. If your headed outside for a workout, bring a jacket.... Baby it's cold outside (eee the Christmas music lives on!! :D  )

New Year, new YOU!

Happy New Year

The ball has dropped, midnight kisses have been had, and Christmas decorations are no more. The holidays are over; and with that comes the start of a new year- complete with a new set of New Year's resolutions. If you are like 99% of the population, you have included losing weight and getting fit to your list. I know that I am definitely a part of that figure.


With that in mind,  I wanted to add a few tips to keep you on track with your weight loss/fitness goals:

1) Realize change will not happen in one day. You may not start seeing the changes in your body immediately, but you need to remember, that weight was not put on in one day. It was likely many (especially now over the holidays--I know I'm guilty of that).  Take it slow, enjoy the process. Slow and steady wins the race. Stay persistent.

2) You may plateau quickly. You're working out and eating healthy and seeing results, and then suddenly the results stop. What gives? If you haven't changed up your routine, this could be likely to happen. The body is great at wanting to maintain a constant level. So to prevent that, be sure to change up your routine. Make sure to incorporate cardio, weights, and interval training into your routine. That is a sure fire way to keep seeing results and avoiding plateaus.

3)  Do something you love. There is no quicker way to throw in the towel on your fitness goals quicker than not doing something that you love. So find an exercise routine that you like. Maybe you don't like working out indoors-the gym just isn't for you. That's okay. Take your workout outdoors by either running, biking, doing body weight exercises outdoors, or sign up for an outdoor fitness class. Find a way to make working out enjoyable. Why do you think you don't miss an episode of your favorite TV show? Because you enjoy it. Make fitness something you enjoy.

4) Get an activity tracker. Download a fitness tracker on your phone so that you can log your progress (either diet, workouts or even better both).  Get a fitness tracking monitor and log your food intake. Track your progress. That's the best way to see your improvements and monitor how you are doing. You are less likely to cheat on your diet if you have logged it. And you are more likely to workout if you have something tracking it.

By using these tips, you can avoid falling off track. So that come Valentine's day you are well on your way to reaching your goals.  Try them out, and let me know how they go. Please share with me any other tips that you have and have been using to keep you on track.

This year we will reach all our goals.

I raise my glass (of water that is). Cheers.

-Carmen

The Journey that is Life

Life is full of ups and downs. We stumble. We fall. The trick is getting back up. Luckily I have a great support group that will not allow me to stay down to long. My family, friends, and yes, partner, all make sure that no matter what, I am not defeated.

I went through a difficult time this past year. It was painful, it was bitter, it was a whole lot of NOT fit and pretty-mentally or physically. But you know what? For all the pain, and for all the sadness, I discovered a lot about myself. I am a strong person. I can stand on my own. I am perseverant person. I will not let road blocks stand in my way. Lastly, and this is possibly my most important lessoned, I learned a lot about who I am, what I want, and who I want to be. Through this journey I have even picked up a few yummy hobbies (i.e cooking) which I will fill you in, in lengthy, delicious detail :)

I am sorry I have been away, but I promise it has all been for good. I can't give you fit and pretty advice or support, if I myself am not living life Fit and Pretty.

I still have not arrived at the end of my journey, myself and my heart are still healing, but I am in a much better place in my life. I grow happier and improve my daily being every day. I thank you my readers, for not forgetting about me, and wanting to continue on this journey with me. I am here for you guys, you all honor me and through befitandpretty, bring me so much joy, I am honored- so thank you for that.

Love, peace, health, and happiness. We will talk soon.

XO-

Carmen

Forgiveness: For yourself

I would like to share with you that I am really struggling through something. I'm dealing with a situation that has led me to feel inadequate, foolish, hurt.... so much hurt......, sadness, resentment, fear... a lot of feelings that aren't so "fit and pretty".

My heart feels broken, tarnished, damaged, like there is a huge gaping hole in it that I can't fix. I go through such a roller coaster of emotions. Happiness, contentment, hope, love, numbness, and then my whole gamut of bad emotions. 

I am introspective enough to realize that these feelings are a) not productive and b) some that I will have to let go of. In this journey there are people that I have to forgive, but right now I need to start by forgiving the most important one of all: MYSELF.

I largely feel like I have let myself down. How could I let this situation happen to me. Wasn't I good enough? Didn't I do my best? Was that not sufficient? That's a big thought/ feeling I struggle with daily. Tears and heartache really have become my closest friends as of late- but I know that is a friendship I will have to give up.

Today I would like to begin to move forward and start my healing processes. Forgiveness to myself. 

I am enough.

I did try my best-and my best was good enough; regardless as to whether or not someone else agreed on that.

I am beautiful, smart, and have a great future ahead. 

I am loving, caring, amazing.

The situation that happened is in no part my fault.

I am a great human being to which of whom anyone would be so lucky to have me; because I am more than enough. 

Have any of you been struggling though a similar situation? Are you hurting? Please start by forgiving yourself. Know that sometimes situations are unfair, and bad things happen- but that doesn't mean that they are your fault. 

Forgive yourself today. 

Make a list and remind yourself of why you are enough. Why things were not your fault. Why you are a catch. Remind yourself how fit and pretty you are. 

I would love to say that the healing process is easy and that the above will fix everything. I wish that was the case. There will be good days, and there will be bad days- some worse than others. But if you can remind yourself that you are amazing and keep that forgiveness for yourself in place then you are on the right track. Forgive yourself even if you never got an apology, closure, etc.  

Forgiving those that have faltered you is also important and it is a logical step that will come, but only when you are ready.

Start with forgiving yourself so you can forgive others. Shower yourself with love. You are enough. You are amazing. Beautiful, smart, funny, fit, caring, loving, and above all more than enough.  Don't let others take that from you or make you believe otherwise. You need to be your own cheerleader in life because in all honestly there are only few people you can really count on. Even those that you once believed blindly would always be there, might not be. So love yourself and relentlessly believe in yourself.

You are more than enough.

Forgive yourself today for the most important person in your life. YOU.

Sending all my love,

-Carmen

Life: 99, Me: 0- Keeping score in Life

Growing up from a young age, we are taught to keep score. Scores of tests, sporting games, the list goes on. But this morning I had a thought- in life should we keep score? Should we keep note of every time someone wrongs us, hurts us, or lies to us? Should we tally each time life gets one on us, or should in turn forgive, move on, and continue?

I happen to know someone who keeps score on life. I will make an assertion and  say he is not happy. His health isn't well, his personal relationships are strained, and within him you can feel so much hate. On the contrast, I know someone who does not keep score with life. He is happy soul. He takes life one day at a time; and will turn 86 this year with no real health problems. Just there you can see the stark difference- you will be surprised to hear that the (soon to be) 86 year old man is the score counters father.

We have all been wronged in one way or another. We have encountered unfair situations, we have been hurt, we have been let down. There have been times that you have been so hurt, you have even questioned whether or not you should continue believing in others. But despite that should we keep score? Have you been keeping a tally?


I have learned that life isn't about keeping score. It isn't about how many times you have been wronged. It isn't about how many unfair situations you have been in. It isn't about who hurt you and didn't say sorry and it isn't about how many times you have been cut off in traffic.

Life is about who you love. It is about how you feel about yourself. It is about trust, happiness, compassion, and forgiveness. It's about standing by the ones you love.  It is about replacing inner hate with love. It is about loving those that love you; and having compassion for those that don't. Life is about avoiding jealousy, overcoming ignorance, and building confidence. Most of all, life is about using your life to touch someone else's life in a way that could never be achieved otherwise.  That is what life is about.

So I would like to ask you, are you a score keeper? How would you feel about letting go, and stopping the count? Perhaps you  might even feel a little better. Living healthfully well into your 80's doesn't sound half bad either :)

What are your thoughts on keeping score on life? What is your scoreboard at? Leave your thoughts below.

Keep living, loving, and forgiving.

Talk soon,

-Carmen

The Shape of your Heart

I sat yesterday and pondered, can you die of a broken heart? I began to grapple with the idea yesterday. I work in a level 3 ER that has a STEMI lab- so we see the absolute worst heart patients. A few weeks ago we saw a young woman in the ER- her symptoms: chest pain x 2 days, squeezing pain, no radiation, with shortness of breath. Based off of these symptoms a true heart attack was unlikely (but not improbable). However a full work up was done on her.  As we continued to monitor her I had a chat with her; she told me that she had been going through a rough time- her relationship was rocky at best. She said that they had recently had a huge fight 2 days ago (the onset of her chest pain) and hurtful things were said.

I continued on with my day not thinking much of my conversation when it dawned on me- she had Broken Heart Syndrome (BHS).

The heart is such an amazing organ. It pumps and oxygenates blood, allowing us to live. When your heart ceases beating; life ceases. But how does an organ that seems to have nothing to do with our feelings, sense our emotions? Shouldn't it be our head? The organ that is quintessentially regarded as our feeling organ? 

I once heard a story of a woman whose husband had recently passed. They had been married for 40 years. They had 5 kids and 14 grandchildren. Her and her husband had made a beautiful life together. They were eachothers best friend. Partners in life. Soulmates. The woman plagued with sadness began to experience health problems shortly after his passing. To no surprise shortly after his passing, she joined him. Everyone said she died of a broken heart. I could not believe that story at the time. It felt so improbable to blame death on a broken heart. Perhaps she had something else wrong with her- given her age and other risk factors. But as time progresses, I have began to change my mind on the subject, perhaps you can in fact die of a broken heart.

Stress Cardiomyopathy is what we colloquially call Broken Heart Syndrome and it does feel like a heart attack. Periods of high stress can cause the Sympathetic Nervous System to go into "fight or flight" mode, which releases high levels of Adrenaline. The high levels can stun the heart by the flood entering it and cause it to not pump properly. That is the heart "squeezing" we feel. 

Takotsubo is what it is called in Japan. Researchers there concluded that the left ventricle takes on an unusual shape during periods of BHS. It looks like a fishing pot! They also concluded that if the heart is not able to pump blood out properly due to this, the patient can experience heart failure (i.e. dying of a broken heart). 

But does this mean that everyone with BHS dies? No. Absolutely not. If that were the case we'd likely be extinct by now. The heart (and body) is a fantastic machine that heals. Someone can be critically ill with BHS on Monday and by the end of the week on their road to recovery. The heart is miraculous and recovers fairly easily.

So I would like to ask you all, what shape is your heart today? No matter what shape it is today,  I can assure you that time heals all. Take care of your body, exercise, eat well, live, keep loving, laugh. All things will pass, and happiness will come. If you are hurting, heal your heart with me. I know what you are going through. There is no reason to be alone. If you need someone to talk to, feel free to drop me a line. I'm a great listener.

All the best,

Carmen

Healthy Pesto Chicken and Rice Recipe

I'm baaaackkk!!! I'm so sorry I have been gone :( I have missed writing so much, but I have been so busy with studying for the MCAT ( a test from Hell- I WISH I WAS JOKING! But I think that the devil literally FEDEX'd it up to the living world, ughhhhh).  I am taking my test on the 21st of the month, and despite studying, I feel unprepared :( Hopefully I will feel prepared come test day.  The MCAT is the medical school admissions test, which is required you take prior to applying to medical school. It goes over things I learned in school : Biology, organic chemistry, general chemistry, physics, and reading comprehension. It's a hard dense test, which guards the gates of med school. Wish me luck. I'm less than 2 weeks away. I honestly can't wait to be a doctor. I'm so fortunate to have a supportive family and partner that have been more than accommodating to my study schedule. It can't be easy to deal with someone who is constantly stressed out and busy studying, but they understand... I'm so lucky...

To celebrate my return, I wanted to share with you all a delicious recipe that I made today. Super easy, and super clean. This will surely fuel your fat burning diet, and help you look hot in your bikini this summer: This recipe is delicious and under 300 calories!! :o

Pesto Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe... YUM!

You will need:

• 3 ounces of cooked chicken
• 2 tsp of Pesto
• 1/4 cup cooked Brown Rice
• 1 cup steamed chopped Broccoli

Cut chicken up into bite size pieces. Combine with rice and chopped broccoli.  Add pesto, and mix.

Enjoy!!! 

XoXo

-Carmen

Love Your Body TODAY

All too often we get caught up in the mind set that we can't enjoy life until x, y, z is complete. Have you ever found yourself saying, "I will start enjoying life- going to the beach in a bikini, buying the clothes that I want, or just going out to the trendy places, once I have lost 20 pounds" ? Or once I have achieved (fill in your goal).  Often we create excuses. We think that once we have achieved our goals, then we can start living. Until then we shouldn't. I am here to tell you that is down right wrong.

I used to feel that way. I would tell myself that I couldn't wear a two piece bikini until I lost 15 pounds. So I never wore a bikini for the greater part of my teenage to early adult life. Was this good thinking on my part? Absolutely not. By saying that, I was telling myself that right now, at present, you are not good enough. I would always be so jealous of girls with less than perfect bodies strutting their stuff in bikinis, while I sat there covered up. I was jealous of their confidence, and positive body image.

I want to tell you that no more will we do that! No more until (fill in the blank). Start now. Live your life. Life it how you want to live it. Do what you want to do (as long as it's legal and your aren't breaking any laws- I can't condone that lol ).

I encourage you to go and live your life. Live it to the fullest. You are enough. Right now. Go! What are you waiting for. Don't let life pass you by, because life goes by in the blink of an eye. Don't realize that when its too late.

Have you always wanted to be a dancing queen? Well get your dancing shoes on and go. Have you wanted to participate in a race? Well lace up your running shoes and hit the pavement. What about walk around in a bikini? Do it! Who cares! Love your body for what it is- a wonderful beautiful machine who keeps you alive, who allows you to exercise, who is a more high tech computer than we could ever create. Love the body you were given TODAY, now and without conditions.

I realize this more and more everyday. My body is great. It runs marathons, it lifts heavy weights, it processes specialized information in the blink of an eye. How dare I undermine it, and talk down to it?

Get out there and love your body today! No longer will we live by the until then mind set. No, until NOW.

Comment below and tell me what you did for your gorgeous body today?

You are Fit and Pretty- don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.

XOXO,

Carmen