Over Indulgence...

Oh my goodness.  Trying to keep my weight down and treats around the holidays simply aren't mixing well this year.  Some years I feel like a ROCK STAR and abstain from over eating.  And usually being gluten free and dairy free helps me to say NO to most foods.  But considering the fact that I have learned how to make delicious gluten free, dairy free foods...I'm in trouble.  Big trouble!

Party mix is something we keep in the house from Thanksgiving all the way through until New Year's Eve.  And last week I just HAD to make sugar cookies.  Oh my!  What is wrong with me!! And Cassie and I ate most of them ourselves.  I should have shared a LOT more.  So, Friday, we had brownies for the church Christmas party...yumm-O!  I ate too many...BUT they're SO good! Do you see my dilemma???

I have a friend who is on a Paleo diet...among other allergies...and I decided I wanted to make a treat she could eat too.  Of COURSE I had to taste test those cookies.  My self-control must have disappeared. Flew right out that big open window! And then on Sunday we celebrated our 3rd son's 14th birthday....with chocolate cake and peanut butter frosting.  My stomach is not quite right tonight.  It could possibly be the two large pieces of cake I ate...

Today I had sugar cookies with icing. Notice that's plural.  I didn't stop at just one, but I should have. I just had my kids finish them off.  Sigh!! Then I made them polish off the cake.  Phew!  THAT is way too much temptation.  It's just SO delicious!! After all that...I still ate a brownie after supper. Blah!!  The kids will have to eat those too.  Ugh.  And I made party mix today...which I snacked on this afternoon.  I wasn't really hungry at supper...but I ate a plate anyway...yikes.  Wise choices...where are thou?

I know better than this, and yet there are times where I find myself unable to restrain my hand from grabbing those treats. The best way for me to combat this is to get rid of all treats.  Sad face....

Every week day I exercise...I purposely KICK MY BUM...yes some days I actually do butt kickers...and then I follow my workout with a healthy breakfast.  Fruits, veggies, protein...

But for some reason when I hit late afternoon and supper time I lose my will power.  I need to regain my desire to be healthy.  I need to remind myself that I'm worth it.  I FEEL better when I keep the weight off. I feel better when I eat right.

I think I know what my New Year's resolution is going to be this year....

What's your New Year's resolution going to be?  

#newyearsresolution
#weightloss
#dietingishard
#eatinghealthy
#healthyfoods
#fitandhealthy
#ilovetoworkout
#ilovetoexercise

In a land of healthy foods

I've been thinking a lot about food lately.  Good foods.  Bad foods. And the differing opinions on what is and is not healthy. While one person might say that Goldfish crackers are a great healthy snack for your child, another might say that they are high in carbs and therefore will create a high and then a low in your child.  A better snack would be a fresh fruit or veggie.

Don't get me wrong.  Long long ago, in a land far away, I was the mom who gave my children hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fries, and mac and cheese for lunches.  They ate plenty of yummy fruit snacks, goldfish crackers, ritz crackers and pretzels.  Packaged items who aplenty in my home.  And then the fairy tale crumbled. I began learning about Autism.  A good friend, who had been dropping hints for years about healthy eating, began educating me on foods that can cause a negative effect on human beings.  I learned about high fructose corn syrup, msg, hydrogenated oils, etc.  I began recreating our world and the foods we consume.

Now, don't think that it happened in a snap....with sparks of light and twinkling my cabinets were filled with healthy foods.  NOT! That would have been amazing!  But it took time.  Lots of time.  Loads of time.  And hours and hours of research.  My computer became my friend.  And "junk" in food became my enemy.

We still have General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios in the house because we are not perfect and we eat starches and carbs still.  But we have reduced them significantly.  Please note that I have looked at generic honey nut cheerios and they are NOT the same.  The ingredients are SO much better in the General Mills brand.  It's not perfect, but MUCH better!

Ingredients:Whole grain oats, sugar, oat bran, modified corn starch, honey, brown sugar syrup, salt, tripotassium phosphate, canola and/or rice bran oil, natural almond flavor and vitamin E (to preserve freshness).

A few things that I still cringe about...sugar is the second ingredient.  NOT the best way to start your day...especially if you have ADHD or Autism.  But there is no BHT.  They use vitamin E to preserve freshness.  That is a nice little fact.  Modified corn starch...well if it says modified that means they did something to it, so it sends off warning bells in my head.

Use good judgement.  Decide what ingredients you want to consume.  At first we only removed certain items from our approved food list and gradually the list got a whole heck of a lot longer.  We try to stay away from prepacked foods most often.  It's not 100% of the time or I would go insane.  But it is happening most of the time.

We started having eggs with ham, cheese and fruit for breakfast. Each child chose to do it a little differently.  Some liked scrambled eggs with cheese in them that were rolled up inside the ham.  Others wanted them all separately.  Whichever way you choose to serve it, make it fun.  It's not a death sentence to eat healthy. It's a lifestyle change that can extend your life.

A couple of my children are always fighting me on eating healthy.  They don't like it.  I hope that eventually they will see the good in eating healthy...not the "healthy" that the school and outside world tells them but the REAL healthy way...and choose to live that way on their own.

Let's get back to basics!

Back to basics.  What does that mean for the food we eat? I love to over-think things sometimes and for the longest time just couldn't wrap my head around anything besides casseroles, spaghetti, fried/baked chicken, etc.  And while those dishes are delicious and yummy and simple, I have learned that there are easier ways to nourish your body.

It's really this simple:
fruit
veggies
meat
nuts
beans

There ya have it! It can get boring at times to eat just those items, so you have to get creative with it.  Why not take a large zucchini, slice it in half, spread some olive oil and seasonings and either bake it or grill it.  YUM!  Have some seasoned chicken on the side, or a handful of nuts.

Be aware that when buying nuts, especially when you are trying to eat healthy and use only natural ingredients, make sure the nuts you buy are only salted or plain.  I buy salted peanuts and plain almonds.  Both can be purchased at Walmart and Sam's Club...among other places.  Don't be confused...dry roasted, honey roasted and other kinds of nuts usually have unwanted ingredients in them.  Stay away from them.

When buying canned fruits be sure that it only contains fruit, sugar and water or...if you can be so luck to find it...fruit and water.  Put down the cans that use high fructose corn syrup and grab the healthier choice.

Veggies are similar...make sure the canned version has a veggie, salt and water or just veggies and water. When fresh is not available or too expensive, it's perfectly fine to consume canned goods.

I don't use beans very often, especially not those that are still hard and in a bag.  Haha! I am lost when it comes to what to do with them.  It's probably easy to soak and cook them but I just never get around to doing it.  I enjoy baked beans but have to read the label very carefully.  So, it might just be better for me to buy a bag...darn it.  We also enjoy black beans in our Mexican dishes.

Tacos are fun and can be very healthy too.  Make sure your taco seasoning does not have any form of MSG.  Good luck on that one!  Haha!  I had a hard time finding one so now I make it from scratch.  Here is the recipe I use:

Taco Seasoning

¼ cup chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. oregano crushed

2 tsp. paprika

2 tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. sea salt (optional)

1 tsp. black pepper

Place all ingredients into an airtight container.  Seal and shake.  Use about 3 tbsp. per one pound of meat.   

Also, try using corn tortillas for a change.  You can bake/cook them if you like.  They usually have less "GUNK" in them.  AND they are Gluten Free.  You can also make these from scratch.  Here is another recipe. And yet another one. Simply search for corn tortilla recipes. 

In my search for a healthier lifestyle I have read and heard MANY many times that a lot people are gluten intolerant and don't even know it.  I have wondered about it for myself several times but still have not done anything about it.  Yet...I'm starting to think I probably should.

Here is a link that is a quick read but has helpful information.

Happy and healthy eating!