Pinned

I spent all of Saturday, really, all of Saturday, pinning photos to Pinterest. I would have never thought it could be so addicting!

I've heard about and seen photos from Pinterest for a while now, but never really thought much about creating my own account. Recently, a couple people have mentioned maybe I should showcase my food photos on Pinterest. So, finally I done just that.

Funny thing is after I spent the entire day posting board after board and pinning photo after photo. I started actually browsing other folks Pinterest pages. After peeking around for a while I noticed that their pages looked nothing like mine. They had photos of lots of different stuff, from more than one category, and from lots of different people. I set my page up with ONLY my photos, my food photos.

After browsing I surmised  the concept of Pinterest was not to ONLY share my photos, but more about me finding other photos that I liked and repinning them. Ha. I laughed hysterically at myself and then left the page as is. Sure, I may now and then repin photos if I find them appealing, fun, or interesting. But, I kinda like my page the way it is. Besides, I've always been more of a leader than a follower. What can I say? I'm OUTSIDE of the Box in all aspects, including Pinterest.

I'm here, there, everywhere in the community sharing my love for good food with you and NOW on Pinterest too!

Interested in following me on social media? Here's a link to my accounts:

Pinterest
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn

Northwest Personal Training: Steps OUTSIDE of the Box

It's always a fun time when Northwest Personal Training (NWPT) hosts an event. Last night, was delicious fun and I just so happened to be the hostess. It was a great honor and pleasure to be invited to share my story, my love for good real food, and passion for health, fitness, and life with NWPT clients.

The cool thing about doing what I do, is no matter the audience I mostly always reach them with new information, inspiration, encouragement. The NWPT folks last night would prove no different. Sometimes it could be a tidbit:  Kale can be frozen. A new found kitchen gadget. Fresh lemon juice adds a bright flavor without any calories to a number of dishes.

The more events I host I realize my concept of being OUTSIDE of the Box is simply a reminder to folks. A reminder of how simple it is to prepare real food.  A reminder that Shopping, Cooking, Eating OUTSIDE of the Box allows us to not only take control of our health and our lives, but it gives us freedom. Somewhere along the way, somehow we got BOXED in, and lost our freedom and creativity.  It's darn cool to show folks how simple it is to step OUTSIDE of the Box.  It's even cooler to end the evening with a hug from a lady who you met only a couple of hours ago.

NWPT you are more than a training studio, and I'm proud to be a part of the NWPT family. An extra-special thanks to Kristin for organizing everything and Cindy for being my personal assistant. You two are AWESOME.

NWPT is officially OUTSIDE of the Box.

Hey, you! There's no food in your grocery cart

I cringe when I'm grocery shopping and I peek in someone's cart to find an assortment of packaged so-called food - CRAP. The sad part is I'm almost certain the person is not aware that they aren't buying food. Sometimes I have a suspicion based on the selection of crappy items in the cart the shopper feels as if they are buying healthy items (e.g. Yoplait yogurt, Nutri-Grain waffles, diet soda - really). This so-called food was produced in mass quantities in a production warehouse. It can't be healthy or good for you. Please just take a minute. Pause. Think about it.

Food companies makes lots of claims about their products being healthy, but here's the truth of the matter -- most are not. This is advertisement at it's finest folks.  If you are buying mostly items that are packaged in a box or container, and can be purchased with coupons than you are more than likely not eating food. Coupons are just another form of advertising. Ingenious advertising. Oh and warehouse giants such as: Costco. Shake my head. Pharmacies, gas station convenient stores.  Oh my goodness.

Sorry, to burst your bubble. But, real food: Fresh vegetables, fruit, grains, lean protein, nuts, and seeds - don't boast any claims to be healthy or fat-free. Real food speaks for itself. Besides, farmers of real food don't have the advertising dollar to make such claims. You won't find coupons in the Sunday paper for real food and there is no buy one get one (BOGO) free deals on Kale.

So much to say about this HUGE subject. I'm running out of time this morning though. I promise we'll revisit it soon, real soon.

Mark your calendars!
Saturday, April 21st, 1-4 p.m.
Cascade Park Community Library
FRESH The Movie
After viewing the film we will discuss our thoughts...It's time to really start thinking and caring about our food and the environment.

Sugar on top of sugar

I'm so disgusted. A donut topped with Froot Loops. Who comes up with these gross concoctions? They're probably sitting around in a big fancy board room wearing suits -- "Hmm...I know, let's top sugar with more sugar." "Oh, and let's add some fat to it." They probably even have contest to see who can come up with the wildest creations.

Not sure if I'm more disgusted by the actual donut or the folks creating and promoting this type of sugary crap. I mean, really. Obesity is an epidemic here in America. Is anyone paying attention?  Promoting unhealthy crap like this is really distasteful. Sure, people don't have to buy it -- and they should NOT buy it, but why even create such garbage? Oh yeah, to line their pockets. Not just their pockets, but in turn health insurance, hospitals, you get my drift. Disgusted by sugar on top of sugar.

Grocery Shopping No-Nos

eArrrrrrrrrrgh. This blog post has been in me for a while, but Saturday it all came to a head. I was at the grocery store restocking on produce -- low and behold I spotted some major shopping offenses. The cart was being pushed by a young boy about ten years old and was full of processed crap: Totino's pizza, Noodle-A-Roni, Bar-S sausage, ice cream, etc, etc. There was no sign of REAL food in the cart. You know food that has not been genetically engineered. The boy's father was gleefully catching up to him with a bag of Cheetos in his hand, (apparently he had forgotten them and HAD to go back). Heavy sigh. What's even more disheartening the two were not native to America. So I guess it's like when in Rome do what the Romans do? SMH. 


I shop at a variety of stores because certain stores have better bargains and some just have better quality. Sometimes I shop at Winco, but that's usually for things like bulk raw almonds, nuts, brown rice, whole grain pasta, broths, beans, and canned tomatoes. I NEVER buy meat there - not quite sure where it comes from - no thanks. Anyhoo, I frequent Fred Meyer's because they are very close and I like the one stop shopping. I also am regular at Chuck's Produce for local, organic, specialty goods, meat and fish. When I shop at Chuck's the level of shopping changes and so do the customers which I guess would make sense. This has nothing to do with race or ethnicity it's an economic issue. While in these stores you don't see grocery cart no-nos. Heck, they don't even carry Cheetos. Again, it has to do with socio-economics, class, education. It's expensive to shop at these stores -- let me tell you. Fortunately, I'm only feeding myself and my daughter otherwise I probably would have to make some adjustments to how and where I shop. 


It is not my intention to come off as some food snob or act like I've never touched processed food. No doubt  I use to fill my cart with no-nos too, but I've since found my way and I want to raise awareness about the issue of  processed food. For me returning to the basics of cooking fresh meals has been KEY to my success. I prepare 99 percent of my meals at home. Foods such as pastured, grass fed meats, eggs and poultry, fresh organic vegetables and fruit, wild caught seafood, tropical oils, clean, and raw diary products are better for your overall health. Sure, shopping at Chuck's and stores like that may be a little too rich for some people's blood but at least consider shopping for less processed food and more healthy raw food when shopping at the other stores. This is a pretty big topic and I haven't even touched the surface rather than continue on. I will do another post on this later. See the links below for more information and stay tuned for more...


The Benefits of Healthy Whole Foods
The World's Healthiest Foods
4 Most Harmful Ingredients in Packaged Foods
What are the problems with processed foods?
Wean Yourself Off Processed Foods in 7 steps

No gimmicks, no frills

I Apologize

Dear Body,

If only I would have cherished you long ago, but instead I abused you and took advantage of you. For years, I ate all the wrong food. Not once did I think of how the food I ate affected you and your ability to perform. It was very typical of me to eat enormous servings of fat laden foods and then wash it all down with sugary drinks. I avoided physical activity like the plague. I never stopped to think about the damage I was causing you by my lack of exercise.

Oh, precious body. I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you. Thank you for hanging in there with me despite all the abuse. I realize how fortunate I am to not have developed any major conditions or diseases due to my neglectful ways. It has taken me the better part of my life to figure out what a truly intricate, amazing, and beautiful machine you are. You deserve the highest of respect. I vow from this day forward to never forsake you again. I promise to eat healthy foods that nourish you and to exercise regularly to keep you strong.



Love always,



Chrisetta