Zion National Park

I am just going to redirect you to Cindy's (our hiking director) personal blog so you can see the love she has for hiking, and also for the beautiful National Park that is so close to us. Each week we plan to take our guests for a day in Zion. There is so much to see here, and we have guides that absolutely love to do this! Click Here to check out her blog.

My Fitness Diary

We are so excited to introduce James Keilman's new blog, click here to view. James is a partner at Desert Cliffs, and has been a part of the fitness world for 15 years. He is a valuable and important part of your success in achieving your weight loss goals. He has started a blog to teach you what he has learned. It is a personal fitness diary and may contain valuable information that will help you better understand the sometimes complex world of fitness.

Third Ravine

Tomorrow we will be hiking Third Ravine, wish you were joining us!

Distractions

I love this picture, because I think we all have experienced this, we sneak that chocolate bar when no one is watching. We think that if we hide from everyone it is ok, but we are forgetting we are hiding from the one person that should count the most....OURSELVES!!!
This is a gret picture, something we all face, the chocolate bar or the apple? Well, if the chocolate bar is NOT in my pantry, then I chose the apple. The trick has been to go to the store and pass the chocolate bars and pick up the apple instead.
I am confused by this picture, why are the parents so in love with the fact that their little girl has a bowl full of candy? I'm sure it was an advertisement of some sort, and she is an adorable little girl, but these are the distractions we are faced with every Day.

They are everywhere, they are distractions that keep us from reaching our goals. I think we each wake up each day with a goal in mind, and then we are faced with all of the distractions. If you walk into a grocery store, there are all types of candy, goodies, sweets, and then you walk by the bakery isle... it's just seems impossible to avoid all of these distractions, so what do we do?

I can only speak from experience, I have always loved sweets. These are the ways I try to avoid these distractions;
1. Drink lots of water
2. Do not go to the grocery store hungry
3. I try to keep sweets out of my pantry
4. Practice making better choices every day
5. Be accountable for the calories, read the labels, if sweets is a must, then only eat the serving size

I have always strived to be healthy like most people but have made mistake after mistake. Lately I have seen food in a different light. I think the distractions have become less of a distraction than they used to be. I have been able to distinguish the important things in life, or rather what something is worth. I have established a (healthy) anger against the things that have hurt me, and have been able to put myself 1st, my hppiness 1st, my future 1st. I walk into the store and have a different perspective, I look at the candy, and see it as empty calories that have hurt me in the past, and I am not going to let them hurt me again. Now this isn't to say that it still isn't hard, but I believe it is because of the education, and daily practice that has gotten me to this point. I am not going to let these useless calories win. They are not worth my time and energy.
Remember to ask yourself, "Is this worth it?"

Now I know the holidays are coming around the corner, and they are associated with in my opinion some of the best food of the year, family, friends, and SWEETS!!!! I plan to arm myself with the right gear, and I will not be one of the millions that gain 5 pounds because of the Holidays, but I will be one who enjoys the Holidays, sweets and all in a moderate and smart way. That will definitely be one of my blogs to come.

Healthy and low calorie Shepherd's Pie

I used a normal recipe and tried some different things to make it healthier, and it turned out delicious!!

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped
4 carrots chopped
4 potatoes boiled
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
can of chicken broth (low sodium)
a squirt or two of ketchup
fresh thyme chopped up (I used dried)

Brown your turkey, add thyme, and then add onions, pepper, celery, and carrots let cook for a while and then add your chicken broth, bring to a boil. Then add 2 TBS of flour, mix it in really well to help thicken, then add worchestershire sauce and 2 squirts of ketchup to taste. Let simmer while you mash your potatoes with a dash of dill, and two squirts of dijon mustard.

In a 9x13 dish add your turkey mixture, and then on top add the potatoes. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

My kids loved this. It was really tasty, and hard to not eat a lot, but fortunately, my family cleaned up the dish, so I really only got my fist full serving. Make sure you serve it up with a big green salad and portion yours on your plate, so you don't go back for seconds.

This is just a recipe I serve at home, I am not a chef, and I am not a dietician, but I want to share with you the ways I try to eat healthier with my family. Tonight my kids want me to make oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips (ugh!) But I will only use half of the chips, half the sugar, and I replace the oil with applesauce. You can also use an egg substitute if you like for the eggs.

Come visit our resort and receive many cooking lessons with our wonderful chef who makes the most amazing, low calorie, but filling meals and she will give us all cooking tips to help take home as we all try to continue on our lifestyle of healthy living!!!
Thanks a bunch,
Leanne Kemp

Post us a comment and share with us ways that you cook healthier at home.

Glass 1/2 Full

I always seem to have a way of setting high goals, and never really reaching all of them, but I've always been very optimistic, and have been able to not be too hard on myself when I don't quite reach it, and then I set another one just as high. This latest goal is to many, "very silly" but I want it, and it involves a yoga pose. I have always loved yoga, which is ironic, because I am so unFLExIbLe! Well the goal is set, and I am working every day (give or take a few:)) and I will try to reach this goal.....until I set a new one :). I'm just not sure if this yoga pose I am aspiring for is reachable with my flexibility, but there is nothing wrong with trying, and becoming stronger because I tried.

This last weekend I was able to attend a conference called, "Time Out for Women". This Conference really helped me gain some more confidence, to get through each day stronger. We all struggle with challenges, and many of us feel our challenges are too much to bear, but we are here together, all struggling with similar challenges, and it sure helps to hear from those that are reseting their goals also.

Optimism is a quality that I believe I have grown to achieve through my struggles throughout my life. I wasn't always optimistic, but now I believe it is the only way to go. One of the many things that struck me from this conference, Mary Ellen from TOFW talked about "David and Goliath" from the Bible, if you are familiar with the story, remember David was up against a Giant, and he defeated him because of his optimism. David did not let the size of Goliath scare him. Mary Ellen says, "A Pestamist looks at Goliath and says, 'He's so huge, I'll never be able to take him down'. The Optimist looks at Goliath and says, 'He's so huge, I can't miss!"

Let us continue daily to set goals, and reset goals, stay optimistic in all we do, and set that goal to reach the highest mountain, and never give up.
Leanne Kemp

This is not me, but it is my goal

Red Cliffs Hike

One of our favorite hikes to take guests on, it is just beautiful, and so much fun!!!