Showing posts with label peppers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peppers. Show all posts

Health & Nutrition - Supplements

Posted by thomenda7xx on Tuesday, October 8, 2013

I did not start taking supplements the same time as I started working out and used to dread taking many pills and disliked the nagging Jason did when he told me I should start taking supplements few years ago. It was only in end 2011 that I started taking supplements, after a bout of fungal infections. The first supplement I took was of course protein shakes, and the first supplement tablets I started taking was probiotics. So today, I'll be going into details of what each supplement is essential for. It'll be a long post so hang in there! :)

As you can see, I have bought most of my supplements from vitacost.com (explains some of the house brands that I have), will be trying iherb.com for my next order! Please note that I'll be touching on the brief benefits of each supplement (why I chose to take them) as it'll have to go on in pages if I were to explain everything. Go on and google more about them if you are interested to get any of the supplements that I'm taking. 
  1. Folic acid - As some of you may know, folic acid is taken before and during pregnancy for women to prevent birth defects on the baby, so, yea that was the main reason why I started taking  them. HUR. However, it also keeps our hearts healthy and brains young!
  2. Probiotics - These are also known as 'good bacteria' that can be found in yogurt and this is the only supplement I cannot live without. It helps improve your immune system and brain function, helps lower cholesterol levels and improve stomach health, and it treats allergies.
  3. CoQ-10 - Improves heart health and acts as an anti-oxidant for your body.
  4. Milk Thistle - Helps protect my liver from liver diseases
  5. BCAA - Short for Branched Chain Amino Acids, to prevent muscle catabolism (muscle breakdown) especially important during my current Intermittent Fasting stint.
  6. Multi-vitamins - To get a little more vitamins, minerals and nutrients than what I get from my daily food intake.
  7. Calcium - Okay, the main reason why I'm forcing myself to eat these 3 calcium pills everyday is the fear of teeth and hair falling during and after pregnancy, since I don't drink milk everyday. On top of that, calcium better improves the absorbency of the other supplements that I take daily.
  8. Fish oil - Very important staple if you are working out and bodybuilding. Fish oil reduces signs of aging, improves fat-burning and MOST IMPORTANTLY, preserves lean muscles and improve bone health.
Now that you know what I'm taking, I guess you should also know what I'm lacking. HAHA. Feel free to comment, email me if you think I'm lacking anything, or am taking too much of something? I'm very open to suggestions as well! I hope this post helps in clarifying some of your doubts and questions on what kind of supplements you decide to take.

Some updates from last week and yesterday..
Sunday OOTD before mass
My current back with WIIINGS!
May 2013 V.S Week 7 of IF
Team Axis was at Elias Park Primary yesterday and today, for the HPB program me "Be Smart, Don't Start"!

We homecooked last night, was craving salmon!
Yellow and green peppers with white fish!

That's all for today and have a fantastic week ahead everyone! Till thennnn!
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Health & Nutrition - Taco-tomato beef minced

Posted by thomenda7xx on Monday, August 26, 2013

I would love to take this opportunity to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone for your support, I am extremely honoured to be an inspiration and I will try my best to share as much as I can too. These comments always make my day and keep me motivated, thank you guys!






As mentioned last week, I have one last recipe from the ingredients that I had bought to share. I would like to make the point across that eating-as-clean-as-you-can and calorie-counting do not mean that your food cannot be yummy and delicious. What you can do to make your food "cleaner" is to add or prepare your seasoning (which I will be attempting soon), use no salt no sugar, and little oil. Healthy/clean food, to me, is a form of indulgence too.

Have fun with your cooking and do share with me your favourite recipes! 

Here's how I prepared my Taco-tomato beef minced. 

Ingredients used:
Always note that everything must be consumed in moderation, no matter how nutritious that food is!
- Olive oil (as usual)
- 3 mini peppers
- 1 medium-sized tomato
- 100g of lean minced beef
- 60g of asparagus
- 3 fresh mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of taco sauce
- 1 teaspoon of homemade ground garlic
- 1 teaspoon of homemade ground onions

1. Chop the ingredients to your desired sizes - this time round I chopped the asparagus too, leaving the tips as they are.
2. Instead of cooking the beef first, I added the chopped tomatoes first and pan-fried them with the garlic and onions - I wanted the tomatoes to soften and become gravy-like. Then, I added the peppers for the same reason.
3. I added the mushrooms after.
4. Only after all the ingredients are slightly soft, I added the beef in to slowly let the flavour seep into the meat as they get cooked - not sure if this is the best way to let the beef absorb the flavours from the tomatoes and peppers though.
5. The only ingredient I like slightly crunchier, I added the asparagus last.
6. VOILA! Here you go, craving satisfied with the tomato-gravy and I cleared all the ingredients I bought.
Hope you guys like this version too. I welcome feedback so do leave a comment or email me if you wanna share anything. I'm in the midst of preparing my next post on body fat percentage and how weight is not the best indication of your fitness level. Do stay tuned!

Here's what I had been up to:
Never seen myself having so many veins
Under good lighting
Had fun taking photos of my ootd which happens every sunday :)

This smoothie is a mixture of 2 strawberries, 1 kiwi and a banana, very very yummy!
What I had last evening
In case you are not following me on IG, this was part of my legs workout yesterday
Do follow me on IG if you haven't okay? @limaranagustina

Have a great week ahead everyone! Remember to stay tuned for the next post! :)

 


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Health and Nutrition - Taco beef with peppers & asparagus

Posted by thomenda7xx on Thursday, August 22, 2013

Well, before I start sharing my recipe, please do take note that I CANNOT cook for a living. HAHA. I cook only because I want to be able to know how much of all the ingredients I put into my body. If you have a better suggestion on how I should cook this, PLEASE do let me know because I'm not sure if this is the best way to cook, but I know I took less than 15 minutes to prepare this quickie. So, enjoy!

What you will need:
- LITTLE bit of olive oil (I estimate. heh)
- 30g of asparagus
- 3 pieces of mini peppers
-100g of lean minced beef
- 1 tablespoon of hot taco sauce
- Garlic salt (can do without)
- All purpose seasoning (can do without)
Got everything from Cold Storage - Asparagus, lean minced beef, sweet mini peppers, Hot Taco sauce (because I was craving mexican), garlic salt and all purpose seasoning



So how did I get all the portions as mentioned above?
1. I portioned the beef into 3 segments since the net weight is 312g and expiring 23rd Aug 2013, so I have about 100g of lean minced beef per day for cooking. Then I portioned the sweet mini peppers into 3 days too. As for the asparagus, I divided what I bought into 6 portions of approx. 30g each. Okay, the reason why I have to do all these portioning is to know how much I eat (everything in moderation, no matter how beneficial something is), and it's much easier for me to key into my calorie counter app (My Fitness Pal). This is how it looks like.

2. Next, cut/chop (whatever you call it) the ingredients to as small or as big as you want, making sure you wash them before you starting the cutting/chopping. For those who know me well enough, I HATED eating veg and ermmm, I still am very picky about the types of veg I eat but I usually force them down and have the least favourite food first before the meat. But wait, I love peppers and asparagus now because of their benefits (will go to that later).

3. Heat up a frying pan till it's hot enough. Now, pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into a frying pan and spread the oil. Once the oil is hot, put in the minced beef and fry till about half-cooked. Put in your favourite seasoning (doesn't have to be taco) and then the peppers. The reason why I put in the peppers earlier is because I like to eat the peppers softer and I want my beef to absorb the fragrance from the peppers. Fry until the beef is fully cooked or when the peppers are soft.

4. Last step, take out the cooked beef and peppers and serve them on a plate, then put the asparagus in and fry till brown (you can choose to take them out earlier) or when they are soft.

TADAH! Easy peasy right? I used less than 15 minutes to prepare this fuss-free meal and gobbled everything up in 5 minutes. Tastes yummy and looks so colourful! Go ahead and try on your own, get your favourite seasoning, or do without.

Let me share with you why I chose peppers and asparagus (besides the fact that I am picky with veg so I chose only the ones I like).
Asparagus:
  • is a very good source of fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as chromium (a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells)
  • prevents cancer - a particularly rich source of glutathione, a detoxifying compound that helps break down carcinogens and other harmful compounds like free radicals
  • is filled with antioxidants!
  • helps in water retention - contains high levels of the amino acid asparagine, which serves as a natural diuretic, and increased urination not only releases fluid but helps rid the body of excess salts
  • is an anti-aging property!!
Sweet mini peppers:
  • is high in vitamin A, B-complex and C
  • is filled with iron, copper, zinc, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Selenium is an anti-oxidant micro-mineral that acts as a co-factor for enzyme, superoxide dismutase
Here's also what I have been up to in pictures, just in case you have not been following me on IG. Follow me on twitter and IG if you have not, @limaranagustina, I update regularly! :)
MIL cooked yummy and healthy food, loads to learn from! A portion of everything good, not too much, not too little. :)
I put chia seeds in my water to drink everyday and I try to drink at least 2 bottles of this 1.5litres (SO difficult I swear, keep hydrating your body because the more you drink, the more you drain!)
One of my morning feeds
Bendover row on Tuesday - new PR yippeee!
One of my evening (fasting hours) feeds
This morning's smoothie which tasted SOOOOO heavenly
Week 1 - abs are flatter but still gathering fats, keep getting at it!!
Today - still trying to get this 145lbs deadlift right and good, with an aggravated ankle (URGH!)
TGIF tomorrow so enjoy the weekend after! I hope you like my recipe and do follow me on IG if you haven't, for LIVE updates (if you are not afraid of the spamming). HURHUR. Hydrate and eat well everyone! :)



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