Tomales Point Hike

I have always maintained that getting exercise should be fun. Because if it’s not fun, you won’t want to do it, nor will you do it, again and again. Being physically active is a lifestyle choice, just as eating better is a lifestyle choice. 

In today’s post I offer up a very nice hike about an hour north of San Francisco. This is an easy out and back hike, under 10 miles round trip, with no significant elevation change. The Tomales Point trail starts at the Pierce Point Ranch and passes through the Tule Elk Preserve where you will see tons of elk!

Tule Elk Preserve

The trail, which is located in the Point Reyes National Seashore, follows an old path leading to the Lower Pierce Ranch with intermittent views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and Tomales Bay to the east. About three miles into the hike, the views of the ocean become spectacular and from here, it is just a short hike to the termination of the trail at the cliffs of Tomales Bluff overlooking Bird Cliff.

View of Pacific side near Tomales Bluff

This is a beautiful trail with lots of birds, butterflies, and caterpillars. When we hiked it last weekend, there were literally thousands of caterpillars dancing around the trails and in the bushes. While not an expert on the subject, this must be some type of breeding or nesting ground for these little critters. I highly recommend this hike for its beauty and spectacular wildlife!

~Lori Dotson, CPT, CPFT, PES, BA, MS
President, DotsoFit, LLC

Copyright © 2012

Motivation and great food

Hello everyone, how was your day? I had a few things on the go today, besides the general house goddess duties I also starting sorting through our cupboards and making some sort of organised space or where to go to when you're looking for something. I think I've made more of a mess, as it started in the kitchen and I ended up in laundry as well when putting on my 50 millionth load of washing today. Crikey!!!

All in all a smooth day and a good day.

Workout
Busted my chops again with the Fit Yummy Mummy program I follow. I'm loving the 50 seconds circuit sessions with 10 seconds rest period. Again the renegade row gets me every time and I finish off with the reverse crunch that I have a pool of sweat filling up my belly button. Do you want to see it? Yes I do have a photo for those that are interested ;-) ha ha
My cardio AKA interval training 60 sec squats with shoulder press on the way up and 30 sec marching on the spot, peeling a mandarin for my little Miss Mietta! etc....

For those that are wanting to get rid of that unwanted fat that just doesn't seem to want to go away! Click on the Fit Yummy Mummy link as I have an exclusive offer which allows you FREE access to Clubfym for 30 days and 50% off the ebook! It's the best fitness regime EVER and I have followed this  for the last 5 years! I no longer carry evidence of the excess (unnecessary) weight after having 4 children!

Pre and post workout meal/drink
Apple puree
Vanilla protein drink with water

Breakfast
Home made muesli

Morning snack
Yogurt with mandarins and nuts
latte

I found the below quote quite motivational when the layers were peeled away with questions asking:

"why are you doing this? why are you sharing your body/blog story with the world? why do you want that tight butt on the beach? why do you want a six pack? Don't we have enough of these women on the cover of magazines?"

Besides being a fit and healthy Mama, I really want to be a good example to my kids. Look and feel great for myself, my husband and others eg: be an inspiration to like minded women who come visit my blog.

If I can show people that anything is possible, as I am not a celebrity who has a chef, full time nanny or luxury of a personal trainer. I am someone real who has 4 kids under 6 years of age, I cook clean meals 80% of the time, I find time to exercise and don't make excuses. I motivate myself to get my workouts done, I have a household of 6 people to manage, projects on the go and sick elderly parents to manage etc...

So when these questions were asked I found this quote suited me to a "t". I hope you find it inspiring and motivational as well.....

Lunch
Chicken salad with avocado, feta, cucumber, tomato & spinach drizzle of olive oil & vinegar

We went to our local fish shop, as I know they get fresh fish delivered on Tuesdays and grabbed some beautiful swordfish. I posted a really lovely salmon basting recipe a while back but my friend Celeste said it sounded lovely and looked good but doesn't eat salmon. So I hope you know I thought long and hard about this fish and I must say, it was splendid!!!!

Afternoon snack
On the go with school pick up, nut mix & 1 apple
Rice crackers with our 3 home made dips with veggie sticks

Dinner
Macadamian encrusted swordfish with paprika wedges and asparagus

Sorry about the little burnt maca nuts, I had baby crawling in the kitchen with other 3 playing tiggy and injury central so I had to attend to those crying whilst it was my poor swordfish who copt a hiding on the griller!!!! :-( nevertheless it still was smashing!!!!! Man I brag about my food, don't I? I must have bias taste buds!!!

Method
1. Wash swordfish and pat dry
2. Season swordfish with salt and pepper
3. Place a handful of macadamia's, 1 tsp oregano & 1tsp lemon rind in mortal and pestle
4. Crush until breadcrumb forms
5. Sprinkle and press into fish so it sticks
6. Grill, BBQ or oven bake until cooked (spray olive oil)

As for my paprika wedges, I have my glorious SIL to thank for the super "quick"potato cooking process!!! All you do is cut the amount of potatoes or sweet potatoes you want, season it with S&P, place in a freezer bag and tie a knot, pierce with a fork for steam to escape and set the microwave for 3-4 minute intervals until its cooked!!! It's such a life save for me these days as I have so many saucepans or frypans on the go that one less pot on my stove top is heavenly!!! Thanks Ems :-)

Then quickly fry them for a crispy wedge factor, sprinkle paprika or whatever seasoning you like!

I hope you had a beautiful day and I look forward to catching up with you all again tomorrow. Oh yes here is our menu for the week!!! XxDani

Bioluminescent Kayaking

Continuing our California adventure, we paddled north out of Marshall, hugging the coastline of Tomales Bay, passing a series of summer homes and an Audubon preserve, before waiting a short time for the sun to set. Once blanketed in total darkness, we were able to release the fairy dust in the waters beneath by slightly agitating the water with our hands or paddles. Our guide “Bennie” with Blue Waters Kayaking explained that the phytoplankton store energy from the sun during the day, releasing it at night when agitated. Unfortunately, try as we may, we were never quite able to capture this phenomena on film as evidenced by the short clip below.

Paddling through darkness, we hurled balls of this "fairy dust" passed us on either side of our kayak. The miniature shining stars only disappeared when we approached lighted shores, but a quick escape into the blanket of darkness, away from homes and cars, released the stars once more.

It was an experience to remember and certainly something I would never encounter during my freshwater kayaking adventures in New Mexico. I would like to thank my friend and trusting guide, Denise, for a great summer adventure!

~Lori Dotson, CPT, CPFT, PES, BA, MS
President, DotsoFit, LLC

Copyright © 2012

Super quick cheat meals

So my lovely new cyber friend Shari at Your Family Survival Coach has started her first official day without sugar!!! Hooray! Good for you Shari, I am so glad you have made a decision to ban sugar, in your words you actually wrote:

"Big changes start for me round here tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration.


Tomorrow sugar gets the "a double s" again, white gets replaced by brown and the less processed it is, the better. Need to stop treating".


I am so happy when I get comments like that, even my MIL has quit sugar for a week so far. It's amazing how much better people start to feel.

My day today was a whirlwind, it flew so quickly that I am even looking at my watch now and making sure I post this before my show starts ~ Revenge.

So I'll make this relatively quick.

No workout ~ day of rest

Breakfast
Pear and strawberry porridge with cinnamon and pecan nuts

As previously stated, I make my porridge on the stove top and add a can of pears including the juices, milk, sprinkle of cinnamon and this time I had some very sweet strawberries which I chopped and added to the mix. Absolute bliss!

1. Add strawberries to pear porridge 2. Mix until fluffy
3. Put in fridge container 4. Sprinkle with cinnamon

I tend to make a couple of batches of breakfasts at the beginning of the week so it keeps it different for the kids. We try to avoid the commercial cereals, however we do have Vita Brits. I use a square shallow plastic tub for my porridge as it's easier for me to fit in our fridge's shelving system. It's also very yummy served cold with a dollop of yogurt.

Morning snack

Yogurt with frozen fruit & nuts h

Hard boiled egg

Veggie sticks with hummus dip

Lunch

2 poached eggs with steamed asparagus on x2 wholegrain bread

avocado dip with brown rice crackers

latte

I try and cheat any way I can when I cook, as I am so time poor especially with the young ones around me in the kitchen ALL THE TIME!!! I normally take care with my poached eggs however this is my rushed version.

1. Crack egg in a ladle 

2. Gently place in simmering water (cook until desired consistency)

3. Meanwhile steam asparagus 

4. serve and enjoy!

We went out after lunch and didn't get back home until really late, so cheated with my dinner steps tonight as well....

Afternoon snack

Sugar free cookies x 4

take away latte

handful of nuts and dried fruit

x 1 banana

Dinner

Chicken wrapped in proscuitto and feta served with Moroccan salad

This is for you Elise S ;-) as I am really bad at writing recipes.

Ingredients

Chicken tenderloins (seasoned with garlic, lemon and tarragon) 

Feta cheese

Proscuitto

(Moroccan salad)

Eggplant

Tomatoes

Spinach

Asparagus

Cumin

Lemon juice

Method

Gently pan fry chicken in olive oil (I kinda poach them with the lid ontop)

Prepare your asparagus, eggplant and proscuitto

Lay proscuitto on a plate, place chicken and feta ontop

Wrap prosocuitto and place under griller for a few minutes until feta melts

Super quick in 15 minutes rather than the traditional one I do in the oven with raw chicken, which takes around half an hour.  Yes, I know oven baked may be that little bit more healthier but I use olive oil and paper towels to drain any excess fat on the chicken, asparagus and eggplant.

Moroccan salad

While the chicken parcels were in the griller I quickly pan fried the asparagus and chopped egg plants, tossed them with spinach and tomatoes, squeezed some lemon and sprinkled some cumin. Super quick and very tasty! Got the Moroccan theme from the meatballs we had yesterday :-)

Well I do hope you all had a fabbo day and please go check out my dear friend Shari from Your Family Survival Coach as she has some amazing tips for us family peeps managing a household, budget, general tips, food and anything else she survives in her day.

Until we meet again. XxDani

Wassup?

No, not “Wassup?” but rather “What’s SUP?”

SUP is short for Stand Up Paddleboarding, which is becoming increasingly popular with naturalists and sports enthusiasts alike. The board looks like an oversized surfboard, but it’s wider and sturdier, allowing you to stand up on it with little fear of falling into the water. One of the advantages of SUP is its greater vantage point, offering awesome views of whatever creatures dwell in the waters beneath. On the day we paddled in Tomales Bay near the town of Inverness, about an hour north of San Francisco, we saw several jellyfish, a bat ray, and a silver blob that I think was a small shark.

It was overcast and rather chilly when we ventured out, and I was initially reluctant to leave the shore until I realized I wouldn’t get wet. Even with a bad knee, I felt rather stable on the board, stable enough to grab several self-portraits (that’s me on the right).

I highly recommend SUP for everyone of at least fair to moderate fitness level and suggest finding an outfitter where you can rent a board by the hour. We used Blue Waters Kayaking for our SUP experience and were very pleased with the experience. All it takes is a paddleboard, paddle, and of course, a PFD (personal flotation device).

~Lori Dotson, CPT, CPFT, PES, BA, MS
President, DotsoFit, LLC

Copyright © 2012

A cooking dream

Hello to all my wonderful people!!!!! What a lovely day we had. The morning kicked off with making our own muesli breakfast, kids gave this a thumbs up! Played tiggy and then some crafts while I did my quick workout. Followed by lunch, painting and a cooking workshop this afternoon!

Whoosh!! Can these days get any quicker, I don't know about you but I just have to blink and my day is over......

Breakfast
Home made Muesli with milk and kiwi fruit

Oats, puffed brown rice, coconut, apricots, cranberries, chia seeds, cinnamon, cocoa, 
organic corn flakes (sweetened with organic fruit juice) , sesame seeds and walnuts

Here are the kids giving the muesli making session a thumbs up! They even had 2 bowls of this, that's how much they loved it!

I find whenever I engage the children in my baking, cooking etc.... they tend to eat everything I cook as I typically make different meals each time which makes it interesting for them to try.

Exercise

I did both my resistance and interval training today, same as Fridays session however I did more of a leg workout with my intervals this time and combined it with a squat and shoulder press on the way up! I worked up a good sweat! Maximum 35min workout.

Post workout
Vanilla protein shake with water

Morning snack
Yogurt with frozen raspberries (kids had maple syrup, pictured below)
latte

Lunch
French (multi-grain) toast club sandwiches (spinach, smoked ham & parmesan)

This has been a tradition since I was a little girl. Maybe not the club sandwich style but my father absolutely loves french toast and when I make these for our kids, it always remind me of my Tata AKA Dad.

This is a very quick lunch especially when you want to get some protein into your children and they're not big fans of eggs!!! Simply crack eggs, add salt and pepper, give them a quick whisk and dip each side of the bread and pan fry in olive oil until golden. We either eat them plain, or drizzle maple syrup and add fruit or make into sandwiches.

Afternoon snack
Cheese platter
Bubbles and sparkling water

Dinner
Moroccan meatballs with cous cous and yogurt
Garlic herb pizza

1. Pizza base got mixed in this square tin and baked, so no other dishes involved 2. End product, yummy pizza!

Dessert
Chocolate brownie with cream

1. Same method as above, all ingredients in one pan 2. Chocolate brownie end product ~ de jour!!!!

I definitely had too much food, however this food workshop had to be demonstrated to show all these beautiful examples of how this cookware produces these quick and easy meals!!! One of my lovely Kinda Mums Janet is the Chefs Toolbox Senior co-ordinator, so check out her link for further info and recipes.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday as we did. Looking forward to another sensational week. It's my last week for the FYM 6 week challenge, where has the time gone????

My plan this week is to eat clean, post a video of me doing 2 push ups. I couldn't do them tonight, hence no vlog tonight. Besides, my belly is not feeling the greatest, in fact it is rumbling and churning as I type from my 3 days of sugar indulgences. You get that when you're body has been sugar free for over 2 weeks!!!!

Catch you tomorrow XxDani

Saturday running group

Well it happened again. Very frustrating. I have a few tips up my sleeve for next time though (thank you to those that have made their recommendations). I am determined to condition my body to running....and not stopping to hold my arm up and stretch out this stitch. Seriously! I gave birth to 4 children no problem, a stitch comes along and I buckle.

On a positive note, I have registered for the Ballarat Fun Run so anyone interested, let me know as I'd love to go running with you. Our running team will be going so it will be fabulous to have a support group and familiar faces there. Even if they run ahead of me, I don't mind as long as I don't stop and strike this stitch pose!!!!

Here's a snap shot of my morning;

1. Warm up with Rodney and Marita (taken by Celeste)
2. The stitch pose (arm up whilst running & taking a photo mind you!)
3. I had to stop due to the pain, the running group became small ants
4. I was determined to catch up with them and I did!!! YAY!!! Approx. 3km run

Pre run
Toast with honey

Post run
Vanilla protein shake (with water)

I came home and jumped in the shower while Adrian aka love of my life (LOMF) took our 3 children to soccer, Zali stayed at home with me sleeping, my sleeping beauty.

Breakfast
Choc banana porridge (oats, milk, banana, chia seeds, cocoa powder, walnuts & vanilla bean paste)

I had to blitz my breakfast this morning as once again my throat has flared up, so this went down nicely. Thanks to Teresa and her latest smoothie recipe which gave me the idea to blend my choc banana porridge.

Here's my sleeping beauty when she woke up from her sleep this morning. Nice and quiet at home while the others were at soccer. A bit of 1-on-1 Zali and Mama time!!!

Morning snack
Yogurt and kiwi fruit

My gang arrived home from soccer and Noah's "Mercedes" team won 7-0 (Noah scored 3 goals) pretty great effort! We all had lunch together before the love of my life headed down to our beach house in Lorne for further renovation work, with his Dad and bro. He's back tomorrow. I'll show pics of the before and afters very soon. 

Lunch
Plated bruschetta dish

I didn't have my main bruschetta ingredient basil, so I just used my other green leaves & herbs, tomatoes, capers, hot salami, boccocini, olive oil, S& P and later drizzled balsamic vinegar (forgot to take a picture of that version). Kids and Adrian had them in wholemeal bread sandwiches. As you know I struggled with my throat today, so didn't want anything toasted scraping down my already very inflamed throat!!! :( Hence the name "plated" bruschetta :-))))


Afternoon snack
Latte with sugar free choc chip cookies (compliments of Jayne)

My appetite hasn't been the greatest with this sore throat and this went down well, as I tend to dip things into my milky drinks. Gross I know. Bad habit of mine, since I was a kid. Our kids have been sooooo good so my girlfriend did say for them to have these once we finished our sugar free challenge. Very yummy and will buy them next time. For my local readers you can find these biscuits at Wilsons they are called Sugar Free Choc Chip Cookies by gullon. 

We had some fun activities this arvo with play dough and Back To The Future part I and II  was playing in the background. Kids love the hover skate board in part II!!! Little Miss Mietta even had a quick snooze.

Sleeping beauty Mietta 

Also popped in to see my SIL to wish her a happy birthday this afternoon. The kids had a great time. Especially eating all the cakes and sweets!!! Ahem!!! Yes me too okay, that's where my old habit kicks in. As I said, we have so many catch ups, birthdays, functions etc....I'd be eating this stuff 24x7. Hence me trying to kick this sugar habit and just plan for them once a week.

Which reminds me, our beautiful kids gave me the night off. They cooked dinner.


Dinner
Green salad, beetroot, avocado spread with fish fingers (featuring Skylanders!!!!)

I hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday, we had a ball!!!! See you all tomorrow XxDani

PS: push up UPDATE ****officially can do one**** just struggling to pull myself on the 2nd one. I'll try and vlog it tomorrow so you can see where I am coming from but please don't laugh!!!! :-)))))