Gratitude is trending upward. It makes me happy and even more grateful to see it more and more in my social media newsfeeds. If you're thinking "yeah, right!" then maybe you need to take a good, long look at the habits you are practicing and who you are BEING. Are YOU inviting the "Negative Nancy's" into your daily thoughts and actions? By simply allowing the things you see and hear to affect your moods, thoughts and actions, you are inviting negativity to rent space in your heart and mind. Cleansing the negativity from your life is not only good for the soul, it can be viewed as a biblical call to action.
Colossians 3:2 says "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." (KJV)
Philippians 4:11b-13 says "... for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 13 I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me." (HCSB)
There are many more passages found in The Bible that point us toward an attitude of gratitude. And please hear me...I am not telling you to go on a massive "unfriending" spree, or to start making a list of people who annoy you and cause you to go into negativity overload and delete them from your life. I'm saying it starts and ends with YOU. If you can remain steadfast in your love for people, no matter their ugliness or possible expressions of a foul, negative attitude, YOU are the one who benefits! Keep your focus on the things you are grateful for. Keep your emotions in check when you are tempted to put your feelings on social blast. I know firsthand that it is never worth it and it never actually makes you feel any better in the long run. Don't allow negativity to pass from your ears into your spirit.
More importantly, do not forget that kindness and grateful living are a contagious combination. Take your new habits one step further and let your gratitude be known. It is a BEAUTIFUL thing when this more positive and grateful way of thinking *clicks* with us and settles into our hearts and minds. So I challenge you, with a pure heart, don't just let it click for you. LIVE IT OUT. It will change your life and the lives all around you that are so downtrodden and hopelessly negative. You will reach people whose inner light is barely flickering or has been altogether snuffed out. If you've reclaimed your bright, inner light after a season of hardship, let others borrow it as a candle's flame can light another candle. Your story and your openness can speak straight into the darkness of a negative, ungrateful life.
Before you know it, you will be surrounded and filled with love and peace and light.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Monday, November 21, 2011
Inspired!
I love it when I stumble upon a recipe that sounds so easy and delicious and nutritious that I can't resist cooking it up that very same day! I'm having a pretty good day. I hope you are too;)
Anyway, I found this recipe that wasn't even in recipe form. Spaghetti squash bake. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the innards, drizzle cut sides (I sprayed with Pam) with EVOO, cut side down on a lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until tender...I was hungry so mine was less than tender, but not hard and still turned out delicious. So, while you're bakin' up that squash, if you WISH to add meat to your spaghetti sauce, cook it up now. However you'd normally make your spaghetti sauce (just not too watery), then once the squash is done baking, use a fork to rake out one half into your sprayed lasagna baking dish, layer on top the spaghetti sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Repeat with other half of your deliciously roasted squash, sauce, cheese...I baked mine at 350 for about 25 minutes.
Like I said before, I was HUNGRY...so I suggest baking it a little longer or until the stuff is bubbling and cheese looks tasty and brown on top. The way I rushed it, it was still SUPER. By the way, I made it tonight with ground beef. Organic 93/7. I didn't fuss with breaking the meat up into super small pieces so the sauce was a little more rustic and chunky. It was good. The actual spaghetti sauce was a Sunflower Farmer's Market store brand organic Spicy Diablo or something. Very satisfying. This was our first attempt at a Pasta-less pasta bake and we are all very full and very pleased. Even my sweet hubby who DESPISES anything "Italian" said he would definitely eat it again. Yeah, he's a real PEACH when I've just GOT to have some sketti. So I believe we've found a GEM of a recipe that will keep the peace on Lasagna Night.
Anyway, I found this recipe that wasn't even in recipe form. Spaghetti squash bake. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the innards, drizzle cut sides (I sprayed with Pam) with EVOO, cut side down on a lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until tender...I was hungry so mine was less than tender, but not hard and still turned out delicious. So, while you're bakin' up that squash, if you WISH to add meat to your spaghetti sauce, cook it up now. However you'd normally make your spaghetti sauce (just not too watery), then once the squash is done baking, use a fork to rake out one half into your sprayed lasagna baking dish, layer on top the spaghetti sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Repeat with other half of your deliciously roasted squash, sauce, cheese...I baked mine at 350 for about 25 minutes.
Like I said before, I was HUNGRY...so I suggest baking it a little longer or until the stuff is bubbling and cheese looks tasty and brown on top. The way I rushed it, it was still SUPER. By the way, I made it tonight with ground beef. Organic 93/7. I didn't fuss with breaking the meat up into super small pieces so the sauce was a little more rustic and chunky. It was good. The actual spaghetti sauce was a Sunflower Farmer's Market store brand organic Spicy Diablo or something. Very satisfying. This was our first attempt at a Pasta-less pasta bake and we are all very full and very pleased. Even my sweet hubby who DESPISES anything "Italian" said he would definitely eat it again. Yeah, he's a real PEACH when I've just GOT to have some sketti. So I believe we've found a GEM of a recipe that will keep the peace on Lasagna Night.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Bison Quinoa Dish
I have been using Bison a lot lately and I LOVE it. It's the ground version, easy to work with, takes on any spice well. It's not gamey or weird or wacky. Promise. And it's leaner than ground beef, so it's cleaner. Try this recipe if you like taco salads, burritos, tacos, green chili anything...it's Mexican style and this is REALLY basic, so throw in some corn, black beans, whatever you want!
1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1Tbl EVOO
1 lb Ground Bison
1 can of El Pato, the yellow can
1 small (or medium) can of chopped green chilies
Sea Salt
Black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1- 12oz box of pre-rinsed quinoa (I use Ancient Harvest)
Approx 4 Cups of water or Chicken broth
Cook the onion in the EVOO until it's soft, then add the Bison and garlic and brown but don't let the garlic burn. Season your meat to taste with the sea salt and black pepper (mindfully with the salt). Add in the ground cumin and let it heat up and become fragrant. Pour in your quinoa and stir it around with the bison. Add the El Pato and the cooking liquid (water or chicken broth). Stir up and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, with the lid on and leave it alone for about 20 minutes. Then eat.
*If you don't have the pre-rinsed quinoa, use about 2 cups and rinse very well using a fine mesh strainer!!
Quinoa cooks up like rice, using the same ratio of water to quinoa. 2:1. I go a little shy of double the liquid to quinoa to make it more fluffy...just like cooking rice! If you're scared...use a rice cooker. Just cook up your bison separately with the onions and garlic until it's nice and brown. Then add it into the rice cooker with all the other ingredients, turn on your cooker and let it do it's thing. Watch your amount of salt, being careful to add it to taste, but be mindful!! Add the black pepper to taste as well. The El Pato can be a little spicy, so if you'd prefer to leave it out, just season your meat accordingly. Use whatever you think will taste nice with the green chilies. Maybe a little chili powder? It's your call!
1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1Tbl EVOO
1 lb Ground Bison
1 can of El Pato, the yellow can
1 small (or medium) can of chopped green chilies
Sea Salt
Black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1- 12oz box of pre-rinsed quinoa (I use Ancient Harvest)
Approx 4 Cups of water or Chicken broth
Cook the onion in the EVOO until it's soft, then add the Bison and garlic and brown but don't let the garlic burn. Season your meat to taste with the sea salt and black pepper (mindfully with the salt). Add in the ground cumin and let it heat up and become fragrant. Pour in your quinoa and stir it around with the bison. Add the El Pato and the cooking liquid (water or chicken broth). Stir up and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, with the lid on and leave it alone for about 20 minutes. Then eat.
*If you don't have the pre-rinsed quinoa, use about 2 cups and rinse very well using a fine mesh strainer!!
Quinoa cooks up like rice, using the same ratio of water to quinoa. 2:1. I go a little shy of double the liquid to quinoa to make it more fluffy...just like cooking rice! If you're scared...use a rice cooker. Just cook up your bison separately with the onions and garlic until it's nice and brown. Then add it into the rice cooker with all the other ingredients, turn on your cooker and let it do it's thing. Watch your amount of salt, being careful to add it to taste, but be mindful!! Add the black pepper to taste as well. The El Pato can be a little spicy, so if you'd prefer to leave it out, just season your meat accordingly. Use whatever you think will taste nice with the green chilies. Maybe a little chili powder? It's your call!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Shake it Off!
One of my favorite things to say over these last few months is, "life happens." I have to hold tightly to that attitude so I don't LOSE it completely. I can hardly BELIEVE it has been nearly 5 months since I have written anything on this blog! I must say that just because I haven't shared anything lately doesn't mean I've been totally OFF clean eating, though I've been rather relaxed. TOO relaxed. Honestly, I've seen zero weight gain, possibly even loss, but this is not a report worth celebrating! No, unfortunately my lack of good, purposeful exercise has led to a serious and quite noticeable loss in muscle tone:( So much so that I feel sore and winded from a brisk walk or a few minutes of play with my kids. How could this be? How could I go so quickly from active woman to couch potato? Well, let me just say it...life happens.
But God is good my friends, and He has seen me through this HUGE mess over the last several months. Lots of heartbreak and sleepless nights. Lots of confusion and stress. If you know my family, you understand our hearts and our circumstance. You know that the very breath was knocked out of us recently and that we're OK, on the mend, but there are still lots of unresolved little bundles of years and years of built up garbage left to sort out. But I'll say it again, God is good. He is faithful and sovereign and true. Everything works out for His glory in the end.
Alright, alright. Back to food. Real food. Real, nutritious, delicious food. Wait, just so you know...I gave a brief explanation of my life as of late ONLY to show that there is a definite correlation between EATING and EMOTIONS. At least there is for me. A big one. My purpose for sharing this info is to just explain that you CAN still have success even after being derailed a long while. It's not the end of the world and it's definitely not the end of your success story if you happen to find yourself 3 months since your last completely clean week of eating, with your spoon in the jar of Jif!!! However, the end of your "success" story may be right around the corner if you don't choose NOW to put down that spoon and not only walk away from the PB jar, but THROW IT AWAY!! WHO BOUGHT THIS DARNED SUGARY PEANUT BUTTER, ANYWAY??
We're gonna mess up. I'm not talking about your occassional cheats. I'm talking about serious road rash from falling off the wagon. Like me, right now...totally STARTING OVER with my lifestyle. I need to re-gain my focus and tenacity for nutritious foods. I have a passion for this stuff that had to take a back seat for several reasons, such as not having my own home, serious depression that included feelings of needing to "punish" myself for some crazy reason. (CRAZY) Emotional eating is scary and can take over if you let it! The most important thing to remember is that YOU ARE WORTH INVESTING YOUR BEST. You get ONE body while on this planet. Treat it with respect and it will return the favor with better quality of life and longevity! Believe me, I don't know a whole lot about anything, but I DO know that I never felt better than while eating CLEAN. And now that I've had a few weeks to re-establish my lifestyle I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER! Just a little focus and dedication is all it takes to arm yourself with the knowledge you need to clean up your diet.
STOP what you're doing.
THINK about what you're doing.
GO on about your business or choose a different direction.
Who was it that said something like "doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is crazy...?" I used to hear my father-in-law say this all the time. I don't know where he got it, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Right?
So, it's up to you and me to use our own brains and figure this out. We all know when we've had enough of doing the same thing. Will you stop and think today?
Keep checking back here for new posts and I promise, for real, I'll keep up and even share some recipes once in a while. Feel free to comment or send me questions. While I don't have any letters behind my name, I do try to keep up with knowing what it means to eat clean, nutritious food. I'm passionate about real food and I love to help others spark their interest in it as well.
But God is good my friends, and He has seen me through this HUGE mess over the last several months. Lots of heartbreak and sleepless nights. Lots of confusion and stress. If you know my family, you understand our hearts and our circumstance. You know that the very breath was knocked out of us recently and that we're OK, on the mend, but there are still lots of unresolved little bundles of years and years of built up garbage left to sort out. But I'll say it again, God is good. He is faithful and sovereign and true. Everything works out for His glory in the end.
Alright, alright. Back to food. Real food. Real, nutritious, delicious food. Wait, just so you know...I gave a brief explanation of my life as of late ONLY to show that there is a definite correlation between EATING and EMOTIONS. At least there is for me. A big one. My purpose for sharing this info is to just explain that you CAN still have success even after being derailed a long while. It's not the end of the world and it's definitely not the end of your success story if you happen to find yourself 3 months since your last completely clean week of eating, with your spoon in the jar of Jif!!! However, the end of your "success" story may be right around the corner if you don't choose NOW to put down that spoon and not only walk away from the PB jar, but THROW IT AWAY!! WHO BOUGHT THIS DARNED SUGARY PEANUT BUTTER, ANYWAY??
We're gonna mess up. I'm not talking about your occassional cheats. I'm talking about serious road rash from falling off the wagon. Like me, right now...totally STARTING OVER with my lifestyle. I need to re-gain my focus and tenacity for nutritious foods. I have a passion for this stuff that had to take a back seat for several reasons, such as not having my own home, serious depression that included feelings of needing to "punish" myself for some crazy reason. (CRAZY) Emotional eating is scary and can take over if you let it! The most important thing to remember is that YOU ARE WORTH INVESTING YOUR BEST. You get ONE body while on this planet. Treat it with respect and it will return the favor with better quality of life and longevity! Believe me, I don't know a whole lot about anything, but I DO know that I never felt better than while eating CLEAN. And now that I've had a few weeks to re-establish my lifestyle I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER! Just a little focus and dedication is all it takes to arm yourself with the knowledge you need to clean up your diet.
STOP what you're doing.
THINK about what you're doing.
GO on about your business or choose a different direction.
Who was it that said something like "doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is crazy...?" I used to hear my father-in-law say this all the time. I don't know where he got it, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Right?
So, it's up to you and me to use our own brains and figure this out. We all know when we've had enough of doing the same thing. Will you stop and think today?
Keep checking back here for new posts and I promise, for real, I'll keep up and even share some recipes once in a while. Feel free to comment or send me questions. While I don't have any letters behind my name, I do try to keep up with knowing what it means to eat clean, nutritious food. I'm passionate about real food and I love to help others spark their interest in it as well.
Monday, November 29, 2010
On It
It's that time of year...
I find myself making lists, planning bigger projects, thinking about making changes. OH, by the way, that whole Clean Thanksgiving meal thing was completely DERAILED. Details are not important! What is important is that it was a wonderful day and we had FAMILY here to be thankful for and with:) And we ate really great food with dessert!
So back to the changes...I joined a site to keep track of my workouts and runs! It's called Dailymile. I had seen a friend on FB posting her runs and thought, hmmm...if I would actually get out and run...so I did and I joined the site! It's very cool. Keeps track of lots of different things. I like lists and keeping tabs so it's right up my alley. I'm thinking of joining in on a challenge to run 100km in December...except there's no way I'll actually run that much. That works out to 2 miles a day. Every day! It's December for goodness sake! That's the whole point of the challenge though. To keep focused on health and well-being through the chaos of the holiday season.
In my perfect world, everything I gave enough thought to actually write down would be accomplished. Like, just because the idea popped into my head, it would be done. I'd be on it! Done. Finished. My husband makes fun of me: "making another list?" As if to say "wasting more time making another list of things you're never going to accomplish?" Well, maybe he's not really thinking it, but that's how I take it. (Poor guy, he can't win!) So that's something else I'll be thinking about...how to actually accomplish some of these things I love to scratch out on paper over and over again.
A few nights ago I wrote out 4 different workouts in detail. I came up with a system of rotations and a schedule to actually accomplish the cycle. I was impressed with myself! Not only did I list in excruciating detail what the workouts would entail, I also sketched out my goals and a well thought-out schedule! If I get brave later, I'll post it and share it with you. It would be quite a bit of typing though, so don't hold your breath!
Yesterday was all about cooking. I roasted some onions, eggplant, zucchini, orange pepper...with just EVOO and S&P. I'm planning to pair those veggies with either quinoa or whole grain penne later in the week for dinner or for lunches. I fed the in-laws and the kids (gotta pick your battles) some DiGiorno pizzas and Jason and I ate lentil/chicken chili. It was really good and filling. Jas ate before we ran 2 miles, I waited and ate after because I KNEW I would puke since it had been 4 months since my last run. <-----THIS MAKES ME SICK.
I also whipped up a batch of salsa (kinda too spicy) and hummus with green chilies and cumin. I made myself a bedtime snack of baby mixed greens with cranberries, feta and pecans with some chopped apple added in. It was soo good! We've eaten a lot of stove-popped corn the last week or so and tonight I tried popping it in COCONUT OIL. Man, was it good! Very light and airy compared to using EVOO. Not to mention, it's just better for you.
Hmmm, what else did I cook? Oh, I found the thinnest asparagus yesterday and couldn't WAIT to roast it up, so I did for lunch today. That with a protein shake made with vanilla whey powder and strawberries and coconut milk. For dinner tonight we had Turkey taco salad...mixed baby greens, guac, refried beans, meat, a sprinkle of mexican cheese. They were good. I served the salad to the in-laws and the kids in those taco salad bowl things made of corn. Jas and I just had the salad without the corn bowl thingy. I got a little snacky after dinner and made popcorn...like I said earlier and now I'm very full. Drinking ice water and relaxing with my hubby. Nights like this are nice because I'm not making myself crazy wondering what I'm going to cook tomorrow...I've already planned ahead and have at least one full dinner made and waiting in the fridge. I need to remember this feeling of being prepared and organized!! It feels really nice.
I find myself making lists, planning bigger projects, thinking about making changes. OH, by the way, that whole Clean Thanksgiving meal thing was completely DERAILED. Details are not important! What is important is that it was a wonderful day and we had FAMILY here to be thankful for and with:) And we ate really great food with dessert!
So back to the changes...I joined a site to keep track of my workouts and runs! It's called Dailymile. I had seen a friend on FB posting her runs and thought, hmmm...if I would actually get out and run...so I did and I joined the site! It's very cool. Keeps track of lots of different things. I like lists and keeping tabs so it's right up my alley. I'm thinking of joining in on a challenge to run 100km in December...except there's no way I'll actually run that much. That works out to 2 miles a day. Every day! It's December for goodness sake! That's the whole point of the challenge though. To keep focused on health and well-being through the chaos of the holiday season.
In my perfect world, everything I gave enough thought to actually write down would be accomplished. Like, just because the idea popped into my head, it would be done. I'd be on it! Done. Finished. My husband makes fun of me: "making another list?" As if to say "wasting more time making another list of things you're never going to accomplish?" Well, maybe he's not really thinking it, but that's how I take it. (Poor guy, he can't win!) So that's something else I'll be thinking about...how to actually accomplish some of these things I love to scratch out on paper over and over again.
A few nights ago I wrote out 4 different workouts in detail. I came up with a system of rotations and a schedule to actually accomplish the cycle. I was impressed with myself! Not only did I list in excruciating detail what the workouts would entail, I also sketched out my goals and a well thought-out schedule! If I get brave later, I'll post it and share it with you. It would be quite a bit of typing though, so don't hold your breath!
Yesterday was all about cooking. I roasted some onions, eggplant, zucchini, orange pepper...with just EVOO and S&P. I'm planning to pair those veggies with either quinoa or whole grain penne later in the week for dinner or for lunches. I fed the in-laws and the kids (gotta pick your battles) some DiGiorno pizzas and Jason and I ate lentil/chicken chili. It was really good and filling. Jas ate before we ran 2 miles, I waited and ate after because I KNEW I would puke since it had been 4 months since my last run. <-----THIS MAKES ME SICK.
I also whipped up a batch of salsa (kinda too spicy) and hummus with green chilies and cumin. I made myself a bedtime snack of baby mixed greens with cranberries, feta and pecans with some chopped apple added in. It was soo good! We've eaten a lot of stove-popped corn the last week or so and tonight I tried popping it in COCONUT OIL. Man, was it good! Very light and airy compared to using EVOO. Not to mention, it's just better for you.
Hmmm, what else did I cook? Oh, I found the thinnest asparagus yesterday and couldn't WAIT to roast it up, so I did for lunch today. That with a protein shake made with vanilla whey powder and strawberries and coconut milk. For dinner tonight we had Turkey taco salad...mixed baby greens, guac, refried beans, meat, a sprinkle of mexican cheese. They were good. I served the salad to the in-laws and the kids in those taco salad bowl things made of corn. Jas and I just had the salad without the corn bowl thingy. I got a little snacky after dinner and made popcorn...like I said earlier and now I'm very full. Drinking ice water and relaxing with my hubby. Nights like this are nice because I'm not making myself crazy wondering what I'm going to cook tomorrow...I've already planned ahead and have at least one full dinner made and waiting in the fridge. I need to remember this feeling of being prepared and organized!! It feels really nice.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Clean Up For Thanksgiving
I know you don't want to hear this so you might as well stop reading right now. No, I mean it. You don't even want to THINK about not eating your traditional Thanksgiving meal, let alone eating a completely different menu!! Hear me out, you're going to eat a GIANT plate of food. You won't go away hungry, just try to think of ways to nourish your body instead of using this holiday as an excuse to dump HEAVY and HUGE amounts of garbage into your body. How would you feel if you were your body? Well, you are. So listen up! So if you're still with me, let's get to it-
Let's think this through...the STAR of the Thanksgiving table, the Turkey:
You can still have your turkey and eat it too! I won't even suggest taking off the skin. So let's look at this method of preparing your turkey. You're leaving out all of the unhealthy fat from the pound of butter you'd typically slather your bird with...but you're not sacrificing the flavor. In fact, it will probably be more flavorful with the herbs not getting lost in the heaviness of the butter...Not so bad-right? Yay! We're still having Turkey:)
What would be the next, most important part of your meal...I know the tutorial I linked to had a recipe for the stuffing they chose to use. What is your recipe for stuffing? In my family it's not called stuffing, it's called Dressin'. And we are SERIOUS about our dressin' baby! My Mammaw makes the WORLD'S GREATEST. You can't even argue this one, so don't even try. (Pretty sure we'll all fight each other over whose Mammaw makes the best anything:) Her recipe starts with cornbread. The veggies are sautee'd in butter, a few heaps of salt are thrown in...
Here's where we need to consider what we'll do to make sure we get the flavor of Mammaw's dressing in our cleaned-up version. We'll need to use the SAME veggies, the SAME herbs and also the cornbread...the things we can change are the way we use our fats and sodium here. Could we possibly use a healthier option? Say, coconut oil? Maybe we shy away from sauteeing our veggie mix in oil and use chicken broth to soften them? Maybe we could do half oil, half broth? I KNOW I can use A LOT less salt than Mammaw. Overall, I can use a CLEANER approach to the recipe of tradition and come out with a dish that is just as delicious that I can feel BETTER about eating (even an extra helping possibly).
Alright, if you're still with me, good for you. I know this is tough, but we can do it! So what's next? I guess from here, depending on your family's traditions and tastes, we would start thinking about side dishes...gravy, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls or biscuits, salads and sauces, teas and desserts and coffee. Desserts are going to be the REAL kicker I have a feeling-we'll get to that at the proper time.
I briefly want to address something I've observed: My family-the 4 of us living in this home-would have NO problem completely cleaning up our TG Day meal. Even TWEAKING tradition to match our healthy way of life for generations to come. We'd gladly throw some Kale chips into the mix, have a simple clean baked sweet potato with cinnamon and coconut butter, mix up a homemade pumpkin coconut espresso milkshake for dessert. Can you follow where I'm going? Your family should place a healthy spin on the same traditions. Because of course, there are some traditions that we'll have to keep intact, otherwise-we have no tradition at all! Just be thinking of ways to implement your family's unique, healthful take on a very important family holiday. Place more emphasis on the meaning of the tradition rather than all on the details of the feast itself. Fuss over each other and how thankful you are to have each other...OK- I said brief, so I'll stop.
Basically, devote some thought to cleaning up all your side dishes. Contemplate the dishes that are MOST important to you. Cut out the extra ones that you are likely to have pretty often anyway. For example: if your family eats corn 3 days a week, chances are you're not going to miss it if it's not on your TG Day table. Fuss and makeover the dishes that you don't have as often, that you're really looking forward to enjoying on TG Day. Spend some time planning how you'll prepare your mashed potatoes this year. Think of ways to make them just as delicious without all the unhealthy add-ins. Think about replacing the Mashed potatoes all together. Maybe you'll roast some red potatoes with olive oil and herbs...maybe you'll eat baked potatoes instead? You can do it, just leave out that butter and sour cream. Switch it up with plain Greek yogurt and chives...use some delicious alternatives.
Green beans don't have to be boiled beyond recognition. You can really enjoy some lightly steamed green beans...have you tried that? They're good! A little crispy..I love them just very simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and fresh cracked pepper with sea salt. I'm thinking of switching out our green beans this year for Roasted Asparagus spears. Mmmm.
At this point, I think our menu is planned. I don't want to feel overwhelmed with cooking on our special day. Oh, and about the gravy...I'm fortunate that no one in my family (besides me) likes gravy. I can easily get away with using the pan drippings for myself if I so choose. I'll probably slice up the breast and pour the juice over it on the serving platter to keep it moist.
Bored to tears yet? Got any suggestions? What can you tweak to ensure your family isn't eating loads of garbage this year and in the years to come? Give me some time to think up some healthy desserts and I'll be back. Happy Thanksgiving Day Planning!
Let's think this through...the STAR of the Thanksgiving table, the Turkey:
You can still have your turkey and eat it too! I won't even suggest taking off the skin. So let's look at this method of preparing your turkey. You're leaving out all of the unhealthy fat from the pound of butter you'd typically slather your bird with...but you're not sacrificing the flavor. In fact, it will probably be more flavorful with the herbs not getting lost in the heaviness of the butter...Not so bad-right? Yay! We're still having Turkey:)
What would be the next, most important part of your meal...I know the tutorial I linked to had a recipe for the stuffing they chose to use. What is your recipe for stuffing? In my family it's not called stuffing, it's called Dressin'. And we are SERIOUS about our dressin' baby! My Mammaw makes the WORLD'S GREATEST. You can't even argue this one, so don't even try. (Pretty sure we'll all fight each other over whose Mammaw makes the best anything:) Her recipe starts with cornbread. The veggies are sautee'd in butter, a few heaps of salt are thrown in...
Here's where we need to consider what we'll do to make sure we get the flavor of Mammaw's dressing in our cleaned-up version. We'll need to use the SAME veggies, the SAME herbs and also the cornbread...the things we can change are the way we use our fats and sodium here. Could we possibly use a healthier option? Say, coconut oil? Maybe we shy away from sauteeing our veggie mix in oil and use chicken broth to soften them? Maybe we could do half oil, half broth? I KNOW I can use A LOT less salt than Mammaw. Overall, I can use a CLEANER approach to the recipe of tradition and come out with a dish that is just as delicious that I can feel BETTER about eating (even an extra helping possibly).
Alright, if you're still with me, good for you. I know this is tough, but we can do it! So what's next? I guess from here, depending on your family's traditions and tastes, we would start thinking about side dishes...gravy, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls or biscuits, salads and sauces, teas and desserts and coffee. Desserts are going to be the REAL kicker I have a feeling-we'll get to that at the proper time.
I briefly want to address something I've observed: My family-the 4 of us living in this home-would have NO problem completely cleaning up our TG Day meal. Even TWEAKING tradition to match our healthy way of life for generations to come. We'd gladly throw some Kale chips into the mix, have a simple clean baked sweet potato with cinnamon and coconut butter, mix up a homemade pumpkin coconut espresso milkshake for dessert. Can you follow where I'm going? Your family should place a healthy spin on the same traditions. Because of course, there are some traditions that we'll have to keep intact, otherwise-we have no tradition at all! Just be thinking of ways to implement your family's unique, healthful take on a very important family holiday. Place more emphasis on the meaning of the tradition rather than all on the details of the feast itself. Fuss over each other and how thankful you are to have each other...OK- I said brief, so I'll stop.
Basically, devote some thought to cleaning up all your side dishes. Contemplate the dishes that are MOST important to you. Cut out the extra ones that you are likely to have pretty often anyway. For example: if your family eats corn 3 days a week, chances are you're not going to miss it if it's not on your TG Day table. Fuss and makeover the dishes that you don't have as often, that you're really looking forward to enjoying on TG Day. Spend some time planning how you'll prepare your mashed potatoes this year. Think of ways to make them just as delicious without all the unhealthy add-ins. Think about replacing the Mashed potatoes all together. Maybe you'll roast some red potatoes with olive oil and herbs...maybe you'll eat baked potatoes instead? You can do it, just leave out that butter and sour cream. Switch it up with plain Greek yogurt and chives...use some delicious alternatives.
Green beans don't have to be boiled beyond recognition. You can really enjoy some lightly steamed green beans...have you tried that? They're good! A little crispy..I love them just very simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and fresh cracked pepper with sea salt. I'm thinking of switching out our green beans this year for Roasted Asparagus spears. Mmmm.
At this point, I think our menu is planned. I don't want to feel overwhelmed with cooking on our special day. Oh, and about the gravy...I'm fortunate that no one in my family (besides me) likes gravy. I can easily get away with using the pan drippings for myself if I so choose. I'll probably slice up the breast and pour the juice over it on the serving platter to keep it moist.
Bored to tears yet? Got any suggestions? What can you tweak to ensure your family isn't eating loads of garbage this year and in the years to come? Give me some time to think up some healthy desserts and I'll be back. Happy Thanksgiving Day Planning!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Yay!
I'm down a few more pounds and feeling amazing these days about my body! It's not perfect, and never will be, but I'm finally to the point where I'm satisfied with what I see in the mirror! HUGE breakthrough. Now, I'll just be more and more diligent about proper nutrition. Optimal nutrition means OPTIMAL health. It's all about what you're choosing to fuel your body with. These days, we are bombarded with so many convenience foods that we can forget just how wonderful and satisfying and convenient an APPLE can be. Throw some natural, unsweetened peanut or almond butter into the mix and you've got yourself a DELISH and oh so satisfying snack.
My food life lately has taken on a different form. I'm looking for the simplest possible ways to feed my body. I want it to be fast, packed with nutrition, and of course I want it to taste great and fill me up (keeping in mind that I'm eating 6 times a day, so I don't want to get too full). Seeking out these perfect little power meals takes some practice and some patience. Eeek!! That means sometimes I have to prepare ahead of time-very hard for me to do. The thing that sounds the EASIEST is actually the most difficult thing for me to do. Be ready. If I know I'm going to be out of the house for a while, I should bring a snack with me. Like I mentioned before, simple is best. I don't mean a microwave meal or a quick stop by Subway (not healthy at all), I'm talking some good quality protein powder and a small piece of fruit...or a few hard boiled eggs and some fruit....apple with peanut butter. Small, satisfying and complete. My husband will eat handfuls of raw spinach and hard boiled eggs for every single meal...throw in a piece of Ezekiel bread from time to time and he's perfectly happy. I, on the other hand, can't seem to keep it THAT simple, but still simple compared to how I used to be. Thinking all day about what kind of super delicious meal I was going to have next. All that cooking and prepping....well, it's just plain exhausting. I LOVE to create healthy meals, but in real life-I'm only going to cook a few times a week and it's usually a simple one-pot soup or stew creation.
I lost my point. Again. Hmmm....ok. So I got this RAW Garden of Life Meal Replacer protein powder stuff today at Health Nut Nutrition. Talk about POWER-PACKED nutrition in a glass...this stuff delivers! I had a few scoops about an hour ago and it got right to my head...(JAWS-no? kidding) anyway-I'm really surprised at the lack of digestive involvement thus far, if you catch my drift ;) EVERYTHING hurts my sensitive tummy, especially protein powder. Not this stuff!! I didn't enjoy the taste of it though (very earthy/grassy/thick/gritty texture), so honestly-I have to defile it with some xylitol packets and add a few frozen blueberries and strawberries. Not perfect, but so much better for us than that wal-mart protein garbage we've been ingesting. I'll see if I can't find a link to the new stuff (Garden of Life® | Foundational Nutrition | RAW Meal), and you can see why I'll gladly doctor it a bit to make it more palatable and take all the nutrition it has to offer:) I think I'll test it out on the kids. They love "grass" (Naked juices) so I think they'll be able to handle this. I'll just put it in a smoothie with some greek yogurt and lots of berries. I get excited when I think about all the good this will do for my little growing eating machines. I can't keep them satisfied!
Almost forgot! My other deliciously healthy purchase was some Tulsi tea! I went for Chai flavor and it's just wonderful, doesn't need sweetener at all. Still has the caffeine that I need early in the day so this may be a good one to take over my morning coffee habit. We shall see...until next time-remember to keep things simple and develop a healthier habit!
My food life lately has taken on a different form. I'm looking for the simplest possible ways to feed my body. I want it to be fast, packed with nutrition, and of course I want it to taste great and fill me up (keeping in mind that I'm eating 6 times a day, so I don't want to get too full). Seeking out these perfect little power meals takes some practice and some patience. Eeek!! That means sometimes I have to prepare ahead of time-very hard for me to do. The thing that sounds the EASIEST is actually the most difficult thing for me to do. Be ready. If I know I'm going to be out of the house for a while, I should bring a snack with me. Like I mentioned before, simple is best. I don't mean a microwave meal or a quick stop by Subway (not healthy at all), I'm talking some good quality protein powder and a small piece of fruit...or a few hard boiled eggs and some fruit....apple with peanut butter. Small, satisfying and complete. My husband will eat handfuls of raw spinach and hard boiled eggs for every single meal...throw in a piece of Ezekiel bread from time to time and he's perfectly happy. I, on the other hand, can't seem to keep it THAT simple, but still simple compared to how I used to be. Thinking all day about what kind of super delicious meal I was going to have next. All that cooking and prepping....well, it's just plain exhausting. I LOVE to create healthy meals, but in real life-I'm only going to cook a few times a week and it's usually a simple one-pot soup or stew creation.
I lost my point. Again. Hmmm....ok. So I got this RAW Garden of Life Meal Replacer protein powder stuff today at Health Nut Nutrition. Talk about POWER-PACKED nutrition in a glass...this stuff delivers! I had a few scoops about an hour ago and it got right to my head...(JAWS-no? kidding) anyway-I'm really surprised at the lack of digestive involvement thus far, if you catch my drift ;) EVERYTHING hurts my sensitive tummy, especially protein powder. Not this stuff!! I didn't enjoy the taste of it though (very earthy/grassy/thick/gritty texture), so honestly-I have to defile it with some xylitol packets and add a few frozen blueberries and strawberries. Not perfect, but so much better for us than that wal-mart protein garbage we've been ingesting. I'll see if I can't find a link to the new stuff (Garden of Life® | Foundational Nutrition | RAW Meal), and you can see why I'll gladly doctor it a bit to make it more palatable and take all the nutrition it has to offer:) I think I'll test it out on the kids. They love "grass" (Naked juices) so I think they'll be able to handle this. I'll just put it in a smoothie with some greek yogurt and lots of berries. I get excited when I think about all the good this will do for my little growing eating machines. I can't keep them satisfied!
Almost forgot! My other deliciously healthy purchase was some Tulsi tea! I went for Chai flavor and it's just wonderful, doesn't need sweetener at all. Still has the caffeine that I need early in the day so this may be a good one to take over my morning coffee habit. We shall see...until next time-remember to keep things simple and develop a healthier habit!
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