In today's society there are many different diet plans available and lots of opinions on what is healthy and what is not. I will give my opinion (I do have lots of them), but I am not here to advocate for one or the other. I am here to say, figure out what works for you.
There are some things that just about everybody agrees on. First, everybody should be eating more vegetables. I know that some people are picky and will say that they don't like vegetables, but I say you can always find a way to increase your intake. My husband is particular about his vegetables. He will only eat raw veggies with ranch dressing (with one exception). Now, I grimace a little about the ranch dressing, but at least he will eat the veggies. His exception is Brussels sprouts. We like them sauteed with onion, bacon, and butter. The other thing that I have done is to put some boiled veggies in the blender and use the resulting mush in the place of tomato sauce in things like chili. There is some debate about the nutritional value of boiled veggies, but if you are using the water that you boiled them in you should be getting what you need.
Second, reduce your intake of refined sugar. I have never heard anybody say that white table sugar is perfectly healthy for you and you can include it in you health plan. Some plans, like "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf, allow natural sweeteners like honey, agave, etc. Some plans will tell you that the artificial sweeteners are okay. The point is that nobody has anything good to say about straight up sugar.
Third, drink more water. I have trouble with this one. I prefer tea (I drink it straight unsweetened) and orange juice. I have noticed however that if I do drink more water I tend to do better, even on the days that I have cheated on my diet.
So, beyond these three things, how do you know whose advice to take? I know people who will only do the three things listed above and have great success. I will just say, you people frustrate me. I wish that was all that I had to do. I have found, however, that grain is not my friend. I personally try to follow The Paleo Solution, with some modifications. For instance, the strict plan doesn't allow dairy, but I still eat cheese and drink milk. I am obese, with a pre-diabetic condition and major pain issues. The elimination of grain and processed food from my diet lessened the pain, severely inhibited the amount of sugar and carbohydrates I was eating, and actually helped me lose weight. This particular plan was recommended to me by a doctor who follows it himself. I highly suggest that you check it out.
This is the really the only plan that I actually have any sort of knowledge about. There is another popular book out there called "The Skinny Rules" by Bob Harper. I have some family members who are having some success with this. The thing is, that I don't believe that there is one thing out there that works for everybody. God made us all unique. It might take some trial and error, but figuring out what works for your health needs is step one to living life to its fullest.
P.S. The recipes that I post will be geared toward The Paleo Diet, but hopefully will work on any diet plan with very little adjustment.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Invest in Your Health
So this is the part where I tell you that you really do have to spend money to be healthy. Admit it, you knew it was too good to be true. Well, hang in there with me. Hopefully, by the end of this post you will see that you really can be healthy while not spending a lot. You will also see, however, that there are some things that I really think are worth the money and have made the journey a little easier.
First of all, your health is important. Isn't it worth your full attention and effort? I have heard it said that in order to see what a person's priorities are, just look at what they spend money on. So I say, surely there are things that you might be able to tighten up on or do without in order to have more money to spend being healthy.
Okay, enough of the lecture. Now to the fun stuff.
1. A stand mixer.
Last November my husband got a bonus and worked some overtime and bought me a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for Christmas. It has been a great help to me in my efforts to change my eating habits. I have a recipe for stuff called "cloud bread". It calls for whipping egg whites until they are stiff. It helped me get over my craving for real bread and I probably would never have tried it if I didn't have my stand mixer.
2. Alternative flours.
In my local grocery store they have almost an entire aisle of alternative flours. They come in 1 pound bags, and there is everything from tapioca starch to potato flour, almond flour to flax seed meal. If you are comparing price per pound they really are very expensive. However, most of the recipes I am using only call for a tablespoon or two. So, I started with the flax seed meal. It was in the $3-$4 range and was an ingredient in the cloud bread. When I was looking at dessert recipes I bought almond flour at about $10 which makes a really good pie crust (as long as you are not baking to long or too high a temp). When I was thinking about Thanksgiving and wanting to have gravy, I bought the tapioca starch. None of these are things that I use a lot of, so the price is not out of reach of the budget that I have to work with.
3. Individualized containers
One of my things is that whatever I do has to be convenient. I don't do anything if it doesn't make my life easier. I found a bowl made by Ziploc that holds just under 2 cups. Whenever I make a recipe that I can make lots of at a time, I split it into the bowls and freeze them. Then when I am leaving for work, I just grab a bowl from the freezer and go. These bowls come 5 to a pack, so whenever I went to Wal-Mart I picked up another pack until I had about 40. They don't stand up to freezer, microwave, dishwasher use forever so they have to be replaced after a while, but they have made it lots easier to stick to an eating plan.
4. Deep Freezer.
This was a big investment, but I was really glad I did it. I have made two or three big pots of stew and chili in one day. The freezer attached to my refrigerator wouldn't hold even the bowls from one pot. So I was able to stock up for almost a month and I would not have been able to do it if I didn't have the deep freeze. Now it did take a little creativity to come up with this. I ended up splitting the cost of the freezer with my neighbor. We live in an apartment and share common patio space so it works for us.
This is my list. It doesn't necessarily have to be your list. I do think that you have to evaluate what is important to you. If your health is really important, you find a way to make the necessary changes.
First of all, your health is important. Isn't it worth your full attention and effort? I have heard it said that in order to see what a person's priorities are, just look at what they spend money on. So I say, surely there are things that you might be able to tighten up on or do without in order to have more money to spend being healthy.
Okay, enough of the lecture. Now to the fun stuff.
1. A stand mixer.
Last November my husband got a bonus and worked some overtime and bought me a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for Christmas. It has been a great help to me in my efforts to change my eating habits. I have a recipe for stuff called "cloud bread". It calls for whipping egg whites until they are stiff. It helped me get over my craving for real bread and I probably would never have tried it if I didn't have my stand mixer.
2. Alternative flours.
In my local grocery store they have almost an entire aisle of alternative flours. They come in 1 pound bags, and there is everything from tapioca starch to potato flour, almond flour to flax seed meal. If you are comparing price per pound they really are very expensive. However, most of the recipes I am using only call for a tablespoon or two. So, I started with the flax seed meal. It was in the $3-$4 range and was an ingredient in the cloud bread. When I was looking at dessert recipes I bought almond flour at about $10 which makes a really good pie crust (as long as you are not baking to long or too high a temp). When I was thinking about Thanksgiving and wanting to have gravy, I bought the tapioca starch. None of these are things that I use a lot of, so the price is not out of reach of the budget that I have to work with.
3. Individualized containers
One of my things is that whatever I do has to be convenient. I don't do anything if it doesn't make my life easier. I found a bowl made by Ziploc that holds just under 2 cups. Whenever I make a recipe that I can make lots of at a time, I split it into the bowls and freeze them. Then when I am leaving for work, I just grab a bowl from the freezer and go. These bowls come 5 to a pack, so whenever I went to Wal-Mart I picked up another pack until I had about 40. They don't stand up to freezer, microwave, dishwasher use forever so they have to be replaced after a while, but they have made it lots easier to stick to an eating plan.
4. Deep Freezer.
This was a big investment, but I was really glad I did it. I have made two or three big pots of stew and chili in one day. The freezer attached to my refrigerator wouldn't hold even the bowls from one pot. So I was able to stock up for almost a month and I would not have been able to do it if I didn't have the deep freeze. Now it did take a little creativity to come up with this. I ended up splitting the cost of the freezer with my neighbor. We live in an apartment and share common patio space so it works for us.
This is my list. It doesn't necessarily have to be your list. I do think that you have to evaluate what is important to you. If your health is really important, you find a way to make the necessary changes.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Recipe - Chili From Scratch
Let me first start by saying that the recipes I will post are not intended to fit any particular diet plan. They are intended to give people a starting point to making better choices that will fit into whatever life they live.
This is actually at two part recipe.
Part 1: Taco Seasoning
Mix together equal parts of the following:
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Cumin
You can add to taste: (it might take some experimenting to find out exactly what you like)
Black Pepper
Red Pepper
Salt
This is important because it allows you to control what is actually going into your dish, rather than relying on a seasoning packet which is very high in sodium, not to mention other preservatives that I just don't want to eat anymore.
I usually buy these seasonings in the same brand in the same size if I can. Then when I get home I just dump them all into a plastic baggie, seal and shake. I also usually leave the "add to taste" items until I am actually making my dish. You can always add more, but you can't take it back out.
Part 2: Chili
1 pound ground beef
12 oz can of tomato paste (Great Value brand has nothing in it except tomatoes)
12 oz water (using the tomato paste can to measure)
2 tbsp Taco Seasoning
2 tbsp extra Chili Powder
Optional:
Onions
Bell Peppers
Green Chilies
Brown ground beef and optional ingredients (using some extra taco seasoning if desired). Drain and set aside. Over medium heat mix tomato paste and water until thoroughly combined. Add beef back in. Add seasonings. Simmer until completely warmed through stirring consistently. The tomato paste will thicken and burn if not watched carefully.
Notes:
This is a base recipe. It is to the consistency and flavor that I like. You can adjust the liquid and seasonings to suit your preferences. I have also substituted vegetables for the meat. In that regard I have used carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, and whatever else I might have had on hand. I have also combined the meat and vegetables for more of a stew than chili. If you are using vegetables, just use the water you boil the veggies in and don't add extra when you add the tomato paste.
This is a great recipe for quick and easy on a busy night. It also multiplies for freezing really well. I have used a really big stock pot. Then I split it into individual containers and freeze them for "grab and go" lunches.
If you have any thoughts or questions, I would love to have your input!!
This is actually at two part recipe.
Part 1: Taco Seasoning
Mix together equal parts of the following:
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Cumin
You can add to taste: (it might take some experimenting to find out exactly what you like)
Black Pepper
Red Pepper
Salt
This is important because it allows you to control what is actually going into your dish, rather than relying on a seasoning packet which is very high in sodium, not to mention other preservatives that I just don't want to eat anymore.
I usually buy these seasonings in the same brand in the same size if I can. Then when I get home I just dump them all into a plastic baggie, seal and shake. I also usually leave the "add to taste" items until I am actually making my dish. You can always add more, but you can't take it back out.
Part 2: Chili
1 pound ground beef
12 oz can of tomato paste (Great Value brand has nothing in it except tomatoes)
12 oz water (using the tomato paste can to measure)
2 tbsp Taco Seasoning
2 tbsp extra Chili Powder
Optional:
Onions
Bell Peppers
Green Chilies
Brown ground beef and optional ingredients (using some extra taco seasoning if desired). Drain and set aside. Over medium heat mix tomato paste and water until thoroughly combined. Add beef back in. Add seasonings. Simmer until completely warmed through stirring consistently. The tomato paste will thicken and burn if not watched carefully.
Notes:
This is a base recipe. It is to the consistency and flavor that I like. You can adjust the liquid and seasonings to suit your preferences. I have also substituted vegetables for the meat. In that regard I have used carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, and whatever else I might have had on hand. I have also combined the meat and vegetables for more of a stew than chili. If you are using vegetables, just use the water you boil the veggies in and don't add extra when you add the tomato paste.
This is a great recipe for quick and easy on a busy night. It also multiplies for freezing really well. I have used a really big stock pot. Then I split it into individual containers and freeze them for "grab and go" lunches.
If you have any thoughts or questions, I would love to have your input!!
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