Monday, July 15, 2013

How to make homemade peanut butter

So here's how to make your very own PEANUT BUTTER for those nut butter NUTS like me. It's quite simple and (not-so) quick process.
All you need are :
-Peanuts (as much as you want)
- Food processor (I used Magic Bullet brand)
- Patience. Lots of it.
Steps :
1) Take a handful of  peanuts and put it in the food processor.
2) Blend the peanuts. After blending it for a few minutes, you'll see that the peanuts will become a flakey/grainy/powdery consistency. Continue blending it and after a few minutes the peanuts will form into clumps, that means the natural oil in the nuts are starting to release. After awhile you will see that the nuts are starting to stick by the wall of the processor, don't worry, just keep scooping the nuts in the middle every minute or to and continue to blend. Keep blending it until it reaches your preferable consistency.
3) Repeat step 1-2 until you've come to a jar of your own clean eats PEANUT BUTTER!
So here it is, TA-DAAA. Your very own homemade peanut butter, with no extra nonsensical ingredient that you cannot pronounce! So it's good for those who are starting to eat clean.
Note that this jar of peanut butter will be tasteless as it hasn't been added any salt or sugar, unless you've gotten the salted peanuts. If you want to add seasoning to it, then add it while you are blending it, but if you prefer tasteless, then this is good for you.
REMEMBER to stop and let your food processor rest after every 5-10 minutes to avoid the processor being burnt. The whole process take about 20-30 minutes or longer, depending how dry your peanuts are. The drier it is, the faster the oil of the nuts will be released. Here's when your 3rd ingredient PATIENCE is needed.
Hope you'll try it out and like what you get.

Friday, July 12, 2013

No-no to skipping meals

I love breakfast! And lunch. And dinner. And snacks in between. So far, I've never skipped any meals  unless it's necessary (e.g. If I've got no time) and most time when I do skip, or even late for my meals, I become this cranky old monster that just attack on everyone that ticks me off or even comes near me. It's ugly, and true.

I used to skip, when I was young, stupid, and naïve. I used to think that starving myself and doing cardio excessively can actually help weight loss and of course, I lost almost 1/5 of my weight(yeah, I calculate it) during the dumb period and guess what? I gained back all my lost weight and more. I restrained myself in such a stringent manner with my food and when I couldn't handle the starvation, here comes the monster that eats up your whole month of groceries. I feel so groggy, no energy, fatter and even more tired than before. Plus I got so sick of running every day and night(it's true I run every DAY AND NIGHT) that I just stopped working out at all.

Moral of the story? NEVER SKIP MEALS. Never mention skipping meals in front of me, because if you do, I will hate you.. but because I've been through it before and understand why some people would do it, I'll explain why it's never good starving yourself.

"Why is it easier to gain back all the weight when I'm starving myself?"
It is because when we skip meals, our metabolism slows down in order for us to avoid starvation. That is why many times, if you have ever experienced it, we get so hungry that we don't feel hungry anymore. You get it? No. It's not good. When your metabolism slows down, it means you're just going to get the opposite effect of it, or in other words, you're just sabotaging your "weight loss" result.

"Huh? What do you mean?"
It means our body doesn't digest and breakdown the food that we consume as easily or quickly as before anymore because our body doesn't want us to starve. Therefore, whenever we eat larger amount or stuffed ourselves with treats, our body stores those food as fats just in case it ever happens again. Hence, the massive weight gains.

"So you mean I have to eat more to weigh less?"
Yes and no. Moderation is the key. Eat more healthy food, less junk foods.Introduce weight lifting in your exercise routine with a mixture of cardio. Such as instead of just running or jogging, try cycling, swimming, or any form of exercise that can keep your heart rate up.

"Won't I get bulky if when I lift?"
If you are a girlm and most likely you are because I only heard this kind of question from them, so here's my answer. No. It's actually hard for us girls to bulk up because of the lack of testosterone hormone in our body. We are not men, so it's not easy to build big muscles for women therefore we have to workout extra hard for gains. Important FYI, muscles = better metabolism = better weight loss. So it's even more important for us to eat to feed our muscles.

"So does that mean I can eat more if I workout?"
Yes. But eating more does not mean one can eat whatever they like, for example McDonalds', Kentucky, or Carl's Jr or whatever. Eat healthier, proportionate food such that can meet your daily nutrients and macros. In other words, eat whole foods that consists of carbs, protein, fiber and etc, not processed foods that consists of weird, hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

So dear all, never skip meals. It will never bring any good but only madness, mood-swings, and fatigue. Ever since I started eating healthier and more, I feel happier, fuller, not afraid of gaining weight if I eat extra because I workout. Our body loves us, so why not we show some love back to it? Of course, I'm still a human, I still feel fat at times if I overeat or binged, but then, I've never skip meals in such a long time! And somehow, it feels like an achievement (:

Being healthier is definitely happier!

PS: I'm making peanut butter tonight so I might post it soon on the simple steps of homemade nut butter. YAYER!!