real food

My breakfast lately: Cherrio's, organic 2% milk, 1 sliced small apple, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. So REAL and so very good for you. It's also very delicious! Try it in place of the processed "flavored" stuff. You also get a lot more for you money buying original Cheerio's.

I think I posted a photo of Nachos on here before, but these are from tonight, a request for the season opener of the NFL season. The cheese sauce is made with organic milk and real cheeses. No processed rubbery crap. Have you seen the stuff after it's been melted and cooled enough to set up again. Awful!! You can use it as a rubber ball. I refuse to ingest it knowing how hard it would be to digest it. No thanks!

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

These muffins are semi guiltless. You can exchange the 1 egg for 2 egg whites if you prefer and not add the crumb topping for even more guilt free indulgence.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.

• 1/2 cup lemon yogurt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 cup raspberries

In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, egg whites, and lemon extract.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just blended. Gently stir in the raspberries. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups leaving room for topping.

Cumb Topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 5 Tbsp softened butter
• Mix all to form a crumbly mixture spoon onto unbaked muffins

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool muffins in the tin on a wire rack. Be careful not to over bake!

Busy = Convenience

Convenience = Bad for you foods!
We are opening a store. There is a lot of time involved in the process. It becomes too easy to jump at convenience foods. Especially when you get to the point of not caring & just needing to eat something now.
Stress is also a big factor in this equation and there is a lot of that around lately as well. Bottom line, I have fallen back into the same easy patterns again. I have no idea how to break that cycle, nor do I have the strength right now. It's sad.
Last night as we munched on Veggie Chow Mien, I mentioned that Biggest Loser was starting again soon. My son challenged my daughter and I to get back on track during this season to see how far we get by the finale. Hmmmm. We are thinking about it. I need keep in mind the fact, that those contestants are working out up to 8 hours a day. That could be a discouraging factor in our loses compared to theirs. Especially for my daughter.

What's on my plate...

Lately I've been making sure to eat those greens, luckily I love most of them and I'm learning to like the rest. I've been eating a lot of leafy spinach. I use it in place of lettuce on my tacos and with lettuce on my sandwiches. I also love Bell peppers and put them on sandwiches too along with cucumber and radishes.
This dish is Chicken tacos with orange tomatoes, spinach and chipotle salsa.
This dish a pasta smorgasbord including spinach and sun dried tomato pastas with Turkey meatballs. The rolls are my original recipe with garlic and rosemary added. That plate is a smaller salad plate and I did not finish it.
The next one is a monster! I think it was about 6 inches. It was loaded with veggies and so yummy. However, I love bacon and cheese 2 slices of each were on it too. :~P This time I ate the extra cucumber slices in place of chips. That bread... Oh man, shame on me. It was so good.
I also made Omelets filled with asparagus, portabellas, and mozzarella cheese. I don't think I took a picture of those. I will be making them again though because they were delicious!

This week has been enlightening. I've been taking the vitamins and drinking plenty of water. I've faltered for sure here and there. The shoes still sit on the pedestal, and I've nibbled on things that I shouldn't. I've been sick the past few days too and that always affects my desire to cook and triggers my cravings for comfort foods. The difference now is that I recognize all these things and pull back without depriving myself. To me, that is progress.

Support

I watch programming related to struggles with weight loss, one in particular stands out when it comes to support from loved ones and friends. Ruby. She is incredibly blessed with people that truly know how to give support. They've accepted her as a very large person and have willingly given up a tremendous amount of their personal time to support her on rough days and her memory issues. I realize she is being provided doctors, trainers and foods by the production company of the show, but regardless of that she has been extremely blessed.

I sent my husband the link to this journal and he read it this morning and was extremely supportive, encouraging and on board. I don't expect things to change over night, I know that is unrealistic, but I hope that we remain consistent this time. I'd love to be a foodie without being a foodaholic. Does that make sense?

Today, I ate small meals, but splurged on bakery bread that was already here. Only a small amount. I had my greens too, though not as much as I wanted. We need to do some shopping for good for you foods. We had left over nacho fixings so I made us a small salad sized plate with a lean turkey patty crumbled onto it, the "green" is a fresh jalapeno, I added a lot of orange tomatoes from my dads garden too. Those are yummy!
I took my vitamins after dinner, and drank extra water throughout the day.

Yes, I retrieved the shoes from the box in the closet. I placed them on a pedestal in my kitchen/nook area. Literally on a Pedestal. It's in a spot I pass by often and will see them there waiting for me to break them in. They are way cuter than I remembered. :~)

This is it

It's really now or never.
This year I turned 40. The age my mother was when she intentionally ended her life. She was ill, but above all, she was unhappy. I don't recall her ever being truly happy or satisfied with anything.
I can't even comprehend her thinking. I have to remind myself that she was sick and that's that. I'm nowhere near being finished with life. In fact, I am finally ready to embrace it. I need my health and my body to keep up with my mind. I started this journal to keep track of my journey to a better, healthier me.
First and foremost, I am a Foodie. I'm not a fan of sweets very often, but I love meat, potatoes, cheeses, breads... Sigh. Real food with taste and substance. Those are my loves.

I love to cook. I love cooking for others. I don't skimp on ingredients, and can't stand processed foods.
I eat too much and exercise, never. I was the girl in gym class that had an excuse not to participate as often as possible. I wish I hadn't been that girl. I wish I could say, "I like to exercise." but I can't. I can say, "I like how I feel after I exercise." But getting going is the hardest, lowest priority in my life. Why?
Why?
I bought shoes to walk in on Mothers day this year. They are still in the box in the closet. Out of sight out of mind, but not really... I feel guilty for buying them because they sit unused, wasted money that we don't have to waste.
Am I wasting time? Yes. I'm 40 now. Half of my life is over. I've spent that half self conscious, and uncomfortable, in clothes that I wouldn't have chose if I really could have made the choice.

I have a teen-aged daughter. She is stunningly beautiful. But she is a well proportioned, size large girl, with self conscious issues way more extreme than mine ever were. I constantly tell her she is beautiful, encourage her to love herself and point out all her qualities that far out shine her size.
It does no good. I'm just as guilty of her same worries. It shows.

I've been thinking of ways I could make myself accountable.
I've been able to make commitments to various projects this year without allowing anything else to deter me. Why not do the same thing for my health? I mentioned my idea of this journal to my husband yesterday and he was immediately on board.

Tonight was it. A last hurrah? HA! After an afternoon of baking great sweets for my family, I cooked an absolutely terrible dinner... horrible processed oily, hot dogs, mac&cheese, french fries, (fried in oil. ugh) and white corn. I felt guilty there was nothing green on our plates.

We both felt miserable after eating it. I feel even more guilty after seeing this in the pot when I went to clean up.

Why did we eat it? How did it get into our house? Seriously, we fed it to our kids!

I admit I love mac & cheese. It's the only really processed thing I will put in the grocery cart. Shame on me.

My husband does 95% of the grocery shopping. He loves to do it, he makes friends with the people that work in the store and likes to go there to unwind or get away from a rough day. In short, He emo shops. Comes home with bag after bag packed with soda, chips, sugary cereals, hot dogs, candy, processed, chemically loaded crap.... I get pissed and try to promptly bite my tongue. Usually he already knows what I'm thinking and how I feel and is ready to explain it all.
I just don't want any of it here. period.
We are very different grocery shoppers. I'm not a social shopper. I go with a list, and a plan and get in and out quickly. He strolls all the isles, and chit chats, and is tempted with sales and bogos... I suggested to him on several occasions that we only shop the perimeter of the store where almost all the good for you things are. All of the processed crap is in the center of the store we should hardly ever need to go there.
When we go together it's great, we have fun and plan good delicious meals.

I feel guilty for complaining, after all he does all the shopping.


I'm a foodie. I can cook up a storm. I've been told my recipes should be on restaurant menus.
My kids are foodies. My 4 year old told her grandpa her own recipe for peanut butter pizza... My 3 older kids have all expressed an interest in the culinary field. We watch the cooking shows and try new exciting recipes often.

How do you successfully balance a weight loss journey loving food so much? I've asked myself millions of times. All my past attempts were short lived because I felt restricted. The very moment I'm told (even to myself) "you can't have that" I want it and I give in and get it. Or because weight loss success was rewarded with, more food! WHAT? seriously.

I'm a fan of Biggest Loser, watching every season. Feeling inspired and up-lifted with hope each episode, yet still not doing anything to change my own life. I cannot eat while BL is on, nor does it feel right to eat an unhealthy meal on BL nights! I feel guilty!

I've had cancer. I might still have it.... That should be reason enough.
I no longer have a thyroid. My struggle increased.


Things I know I can do that will slowly make a difference are

1. cook smaller meals (this is my struggle - cooking for 6x 2 each plus friends....)
   
2. eat smaller portions on smaller plates
   
3. Live by myself proclaimed motto, "food for fuel, not full"
   
4. eat slower, chew longer
5. no skipping meals
   
6. no food after 8pm. (I'd like this to be 7)
7. take my vitamins every day
8. drink more water
9. eat something green at least once a day
   
10. wear those walking shoes for their purpose

Those will be my top 10 ways to improve my health this week. It's 1 am now... I'll dig the shoes out tomorrow. Maybe I'll try them on again...