"No offense, but..."

I cannot even begin to tell you how many times in my life I've felt like I'm not enough 'something'.  Not good enough, not spiritual enough, not skinny enough.  We all know that no one is perfect, but what happens when we extend an expectation of perfection onto others?  When we don't mean to offend but we say something offensive?  So many times we've all bit our tongues to a snarky remark or rude judgment and just let it float on.  How else are we supposed to handle stuff like that?

I truly have no answer to this, but I so wish I did.  There are often times that people close to us will say something incredibly offensive but not 'mean it that way.'  We've all passed judgment on others, including myself, and I rarely stop to think "I wonder if what I'm commenting on/thinking about might be a daily struggle for that person..." I understand honesty and truthfulness, but I think we all need to be more aware of others feelings and think before we speak to ensure we aren't offensive.  Even the smallest passing judgment can be seriously hurtful, especially when you don't stop to think about what battles people are fighting on their own.

We all have our own ideas of how things should be handled: how the kids should be raised; how the house should be kept; what fitness and eating well looks like, and rarely do two individuals agree 100% on these things, yet we almost all feel like our way is the right way and then feel the need to push that way on the other person.  I believe we should all be free to have our own opinions, but I also feel like there are situations in which our opinions are best kept to ourselves. Obviously, I could go on and on about this topic, it's such a predominant issue, but I won't.  I am going to make an honest attempt to make a serious change to be less judgmental and think more before I speak, and I hope others will do the same!

CrossFit's "Skinny Fat"

I happened upon this article on Pinterest and, normally when I find something like this I'll scan it for a minute or two and go back to aimlessly wasting time browsing for DIY projects I am likely to not ever DIY.  This article held my attention from beginning to end AND even reading back over certain sections.  A lot of it is information a lot of us are already aware of, but it really drives home the point that 'skinny' does not mean healthy and more importantly, the thing a lot of us ladies can be scared of, bulking up is almost impossible for women - we just aren't built to bulk up (you know, with muscle...with fat we can definitely be bulky...)

So...check it out, it really has some good advice.  http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/05/skinny-fat/

Just. Plain. Genius.

Zucchini Cakes

Image and recipe from lifesambrosia.com

Okay okay, chalk it up to laziness - or forgetfulness - I haven't charged the camera, hence all the meals I've made in the past week or so have gone un-photographed.  Including last night's Oven Fried Chicken and Zucchini Cakes.

The OFC was okay...but note that I did tweak the recipe and instead of using 1 cup of flour, I used 2 tbsp, which is a BIG difference but was the only way I could make it, and instead of dredging or shaking the chicken in the bag of flour mixture, I sifted the mix over the chicken and then baked.

The zucchini cakes (the recipe which I cannot take credit for, aside from my little tweak) on the other hand are the hubs new favorite and we always end up fighting over who gets more.  They are awesome with a little ranch or sour cream.  The tweak I make on this recipe is instead of using 1 cup of Panko, I only use 1/2 cup and they still are wonderful and stay together just fine (and I may very well use more than 1/2 cup of cheese).

Zucchini Cakes:

Ingredients (from lifesambrosia.com)

• 1 large zucchni grated, excess water removed (Note: To do this, after you grate the zucchini, put the grated zucchini into paper towels and squeeze to release the water)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (I use 1/2 cup instead...less carbs!)
• sprinkle of ground nutmeg, about 1/8 teaspoon (Note: If you add too much it can quickly take over the taste, less is more)
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients, except olive oil, in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Using a heaping tablespoon form the mixture into 8 patties.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once heated, add patties and cook until golden brown. About 3-4 minutes per side. Serve.

Sit tight, more recipes to come ;)