Grocery Store Staples and Avoidances

            I know I was supposed to post this on Friday, but it has been a fairly hectic couple of days and today will be no exception.  I did state that I was going to discuss my grocery store staples and the things that I avoid like the plague.  I will not do a plain list, but discuss things as I go along.

Vegetables: I love going crazy with produce.  Vegetables are wonderful sides and with a little creativity, can be the main part of a meal (will post my veggie stir-fry soon).  I try to get a rainbow of colors and since everyone in my family loves vegetables I get a lot of them.  Every color of bell pepper, eggplant, kale, spinach, asparagus, green beans, tomatoes (yes I know it is a fruit), cucumbers, beets, avocados, broccoli, and the list goes on.  There are so many things you could do with vegetables from stir-fry to roasting.  Steaming is always a wonderfully healthy way to prepare vegetables.  This is a section of the grocery store that you need to take your time exploring because vegetables are our friends and packed full of vitamins.

Fruit: I adore fruit and this is another thing I get a lot of and does not last long in my house.  I try to get a variety of fruits for myself and the kids and we go through bunches of bananas, apples, and oranges like they are a rare commodity. The vitamins and antioxidants found it fruit just cannot be beat.  I love making fruit salads for the kids and they make a wonderful snack on their own.  I do buy unsweetened frozen fruits for smoothies which is a great way to start the day (be sure to throw in a bit of protein powder if it is simply a meal).  Berries go wonderful in salads, plain yogurt, and even on top of ice cream whenever you feel like a little (key word: LITTLE) indulgence. 

Grains and Starches: I am just putting these two together for the sake of minimizing my categories.  I could never go without my grains.  I love pasta entirely too much to omit them from my diet.  I do, however only get whole grains.  Brown rice, whole grain pasta, and whole grain/multigrain breads are always found in my pantry.  I get whole grain cereals for the children and when I am short on time I throw in a few Kashi whole grain blueberry waffles in the toaster and eat them plain with fruit and yogurt on the side.  For starches I will only eat a small baked potato seasoned with a bit of pepper and garlic powder occasionally.  I love sweet potatoes and make fries for the kids with them as well as just eating them plain for myself.  Oatmeal/rolled oats are a must for me.  Throw in fresh fruit and it is a fantastic start to the day.

Meat: We have minimized beef in our diet.  We do eat beef and love every savory bite, but do not keep it as a major staple to our diets.  Lean cuts are always the way to go when you do buy them though.  We eat a lot of chicken and fish at our house.  We indulge in some shrimp as well since we are both big seafood lovers.  We very rarely eat pork but if it is offered to us we will not turn it down.  I am going to put eggs in this category.  We love eggs and use it for a protein kick at breakfast time and throughout the day.  When I prepare eggs I tend to leave out yolks or just have one in scrambled eggs or omelets.  We try to keep hard boiled eggs in the house for a grab and go snack or for salads.

Dairy and Substitute Dairy: My children love cheese so I buy it for them.  It is a weakness of mine but I do try and avoid it.  We get fat free milk for coffee, cereal, the kids, smoothies and even a glass or two for us.  Milk is not evil in moderation.  I do get plain yogurt (and plain Greek yogurt) to eat with fruit or for smoothies.   I get flavored for the kids but always read the nutrition information to try and find one with the least amount of sugars.  I love almond milk (and my three year old adores it), and I drink a bit each day or throw unsweetened almond milk into my smoothies.  Butter is also a not used very often in cooking.  I love to bake (I give them to my husband’s wonderful co-workers) so I use it for baking and the kids use a little bit on their toast or waffles.  I do keep fat free feta as a salad topper or an addition to my eggs or whole grain pasta.  It has a taste that replaces salt in things that I cook.

Extras: There are not a lot of extras.  We cut back on coffee but will drink it from time to time with no sugar and only a little bit of fat free milk.  I love green tea and will drink it daily (sometimes three or four times in a day).  Of course water is a major plus, but we do not buy it at the grocery store and use a filter and water bottles.  For the kids I do get whole grain goldfish for a treat or all natural fruit snacks to give them (in moderation).  The kids do get turkey hot dogs from time to time as well as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I am currently trying to transition them to all natural peanut butter.  I also keep orange juice and apple juice in my house for the kids.  Nuts are a must and I forgot to add them above.  If I get salted nuts they are lightly salted with sea salt.  A handful makes a great snack that can be surprisingly filling.

Never in my House: I try to limit processed foods in my house.  If you were to look into my pantry is not stocked full of canned foods or boxed foods.  There are a few (I do use whole grain Chef Boyardee in a pinch) that I keep for the kids but try and avoid them.  I do carry some juice boxes for the kids for on the go situations.  I have sugar, but it is used for baking.  I will not buy any tv dinner of any kind.  I try to avoid the healthier ones due to sodium levels and the standard ones are not good for you at all.  I choose to avoid a great deal of things that are prepackaged.  I like knowing exactly how much of something is in my food.  I’d rather take the time to make some soup from scratch than buy it in the can.  Mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and any of those thick and fatty condiments are not kept in my house either. 

            I know there are several things I am leaving off of my list.  There are so many things that we avoid and love which makes it somewhat difficult to keep track.  It has become second nature to us and since our initial transition to healthy eating began slowly, there are a few things we have not purchased in years.  Our diet is fairly clean and free of the not so great things.  I need to be able to pronounce and know each ingredient in anything that is in a box or container.  The ingredients portion of my brown rice is simply brown rice.  For my oatmeal it is simply 100% rolled oats.  Pure and simple leaving no eyebrow raised in confusion. 

            Tomorrow marks Joe (and myselef) really bunkering down and eliminating all of our cheat days and larger portions which we started to indulge in as of late.  We have been far from perfect the past two months and have really felt it in a negative way.  Though we have not been terrible, we both have goals we would like to reach.  I hope you all found my “grocery list” useful.  Try to remember, just take a little bit of extra time to think about what exactly you are putting into your body.  What small change can you make in your diet to help you reach your goal or set a healthy example for your kids and family?

What Drives You?

            What drives you to eat?  There are many reasons why someone reaches for food and begins to eat that goes beyond just being hungry.  Some eat when they are lonely, bored, depressed, or because they are in a social setting and there is food all around them.  There is an endless list of reasons that one decides to stick their head in the refrigerator or pantry in hopes of finding a way to drown something out or simply out of habit.  I have heard people say that food does not judge and is always there when they need comfort.  How comforting can something be if you are now consumed with guilt and regret over eating an entire pan of brownies or carton of ice cream?  While the immediate gratification is nice, is it worth it to add another emotion that is anything but positive and lasts much longer than the pleasure? 

            It can be difficult to figure out the reasoning behind why we eat, but it can be a very important aspect of staying healthy.  Many of us can sit back and eat healthy for a short period of time but if an underlying issue as to why one overeats is not addressed then they may be destined to slip back into an unhealthy state of mind.  Sometimes the most rewarding things in life are those that you work hard for.  If everyone was the same and everyone was living healthy I do not think there would really be a point for my blog.  But we are not all healthy eaters and live a healthier life.  Here is something to think about.  Living unhealthy impacts more than just you, it impacts those around you as well.  For mothers is it something that we pass on to our children whether intentional or not.  For those with a significant other it impacts them when they are holding your hand because you had a health problem that could have been avoided if you simple treated yourself better.  And of course it does impact you in many different ways.  Not just mentally, but physically as well.

            In a perfect world you could eat whatever you wanted and not have to worry about health or fitness.  This is anything but a perfect world and we cannot dilute ourselves into thinking that next week/month/year will be the time to start.  Why not today?  And to view it as a “diet” will only imply that it is temporary.  Fad diets are fads that come and go like a spring collection in a fashion magazine.  Does anyone want to replace two meals a day with a dinky shake for the rest of their lives? 

            Either later on today or tomorrow (pending homework and how much I can get done) I will be mapping out a strict meal plan for my husband.  Not a great deal will change in the groceries that I buy, but he is a creature of habit and routine just like many others out there and it helps to add motivation.   Developing meal plans does help with staying on track as well as the grocery bill.  It helps to prevent unnecessary additions in the grocery cart each week which can be nice on the budget.  He is my handsome guinea pig for his particular body type and seeing the best way to place him in the healthiest position he could possibly be in.  I just wish I started this blog when he began his transformation back in February.  There was such a change in that time period that I will only be able to reflect on now. 

            As I end my glorious ramblings of the day, I hope you are able to think about why you may not be where you want to be.  Is it emotional eating?  Perhaps it is your own view on eating healthy and just using the term “diet” instead of embracing it as a lifestyle change.  Tomorrow I will write about my grocery store staples.  My staples may not work for everyone, but it is a useful tool to help others figure out what may work the best for them.  I will include a list of things that I absolutely avoid like the plague and never have in my house. 

Please feel free to e-mail me and help spread the word!  I appreciate all of the wonderful feedback I have been getting from my wonderful friends on Facebook.  The support and kind words mean a great deal to me.  Thank you all!

Everyone is Unique

            Everyone is built in their own unique way.  No two bodies or minds are built in the exact same way.  Even identical twins have slight differences in their appearance and personality.  With that being said, not every individual can lose weight the exact same way.  I do not try to preach that the lifestyle changes I make will work for absolutely everyone.  For most that are trying to find that healthy range they need to be in, it will work at a steady and healthy rate.  For some it may be a path that is faced with a little bit more difficulty.  I am familiar with most types who have issues and will put it out there that you are more than welcome to e-mail me and I can give you added assistance.  My one rule is that you need to be honest with yourself and in turn, me.  If you are in denial it will be difficult for you to make a change and especially hard for me to help since I am not there in person.

            I will brag about my husband for a second and mention that he lost a great deal of weight recently.  He is close to where he wants to be but he is somewhat slowed down because he has been taking it a bit easy this summer, but in August we are about to kick it into high gear.  I am going to work on definition for myself and also working on my husband.  We could not be any different in regard to body type.  The only similarity we have is that we are both tall.  I try to keep my focus on moms since I am one, but will also post the progress of my husband since he is so very different from me.  I thought it would be a nice little addition to my blog.  I cannot promise that he will let me post pictures, but we will see.  I am extremely excited to assist my husband on the nutrition front while he works on the exercise aspect of it (he is an infantry man and does not need me to help him with exercise). 

            I am happy to report that after my completion of my degree in psychology I will be working on my masters in the science of nutrition.  We do lose sight of the impact of our mentality and state of mind and how it impacts our physical appearance.  I could not even begin to express my absolute excitement over this impending chapter in my life and how fulfilling it will be for me to help others on the inside and out.  I do not intend on abandoning this blog for quite some time so you may hear updates from time to time in regard to my progress. 

            To deviate from the personal aspects and give a bit of “food for thought” I will insert a few motivating words of wisdom.  Our bodies are finely tuned machines and it is our responsibility to fuel our bodies well.  You would not attempt to put unleaded gas in a diesel truck, would you?  So why consistently put unhealthy things into your body or not fuel it properly?  We will not run the way we were intended to.  Unlike a car, we cannot trade in our bodies for a new one once we ran this one down to the ground.  We get one body to treat the right way.  It is never an impossible feat to accomplish.  It does take dedication and in the beginning it does take motivation and will, but it is worth it to feel great physically and mentally. 

            To add a little bit of personal information to show that this is not coming from someone who has always been and always will be a size 2 (I am NOT a size 2 by the way).  By making changes I slowly lost 25lbs from where I was after graduating high school to where I am now.  I will admit that I did have an abnormally high metabolism while pregnant, but I have not been pregnant for the past decade and it did fade back to a normal state shortly after I had my children.  It did not happen overnight and I did have a few extended periods of time where I simply chose not to care.  I have zero desire to go back.  Being a mother to four beautiful children I quickly realized that if I am going to try and tell my children to eat healthy the best way of doing it is to lead by example.  And it feels fantastic to hear that my 10 year-old was bragging about how her mom is in great shape. 

            I hope this post left you with something to take with you.  We are all unique individuals, but are all able to lead a healthy lifestyle.  It is also important for us to remember that we owe it to ourselves to fuel our bodies properly.  All of this is not coming from someone who does not know the struggles of losing weight or digging for the motivation.  I have been there and found myself going up and down since high school.  My state of mind and my reasoning behind wanting to be healthier is what ultimately caused me to make a permanent change.  When doing something for the right reasons the well-deserved feelings of pride are phenomenal.      

A Key to Success

            I am a firm believer that your self-perception is key in helping you succeed.  How you feel both physically and mentally are huge factors in whether or not you will reach a goal that you have set for yourself or falter and wonder why you are not where you want to be.  As I had mentioned previously, once you are in a healthy weight range for your height and build the best thing to do is to ditch the scale and focus on the reflection in the mirror.  Ask yourself a question.  What makes you feel better in the long run?  I know that I personally feel a bit guilty after I over indulge and physically feel lethargic and even a little bit sick.  The mental aspect of it is even worse than the physical.  We are our own worst critics and for many we allow other opinions influence our own.  Allowing someone else to dictate how I feel is something I no longer wish to do. 

            I promised a real mom’s guide to a skinnier waistline.  In the end that title for my blog was picked because I thought it sounded catchy.  Over all it is about being in a healthier state of mind and body to ensure you treat yourself the way it deserves.  Exercise and healthy eating can lead to a higher self-esteem and better mood.  I know this from experience.  A factor in my self-perception continually growing is how I treat myself.  I only get one body; I may as well treat it right!  I am pretty sure I won’t be allotted another one if this one ends up turning into something I am not content with.  A great deal of things in our life is a choice.  A wonderful woman recently told me that and it helped me gain a better understanding of how I can make my goals possible. 

            Some people reach a point in their life where they are not content with what they see in the mirror.  If one makes the conscious decision to do something about it and chooses to commit to what they have to do, goals can be reached.  The feeling of success and not giving up on the goals I set for myself feels so much better than an Angus burger from McDonald’s.  Teaching my children great habits they will take with them for the rest of their lives is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment I cannot get from any drive-thru or pint of Ben and Jerry’s.  There is a lot more to working out and setting healthier goals than the physical aspect.  How we feel about ourselves and our own self-concept are key factors that I feel are often overlooked. 

            I will end with reiterating the fact that virtually all aspects of our lives are a choice we make.  We choose to feed into criticism just as much as we make the conscious choice to reach for that burger and fries.  For those who are unhappy about the shape they are in, it is something you can change.  Even for the individuals who may read my blog and feel as though they tried everything they could to no avail, you are able to do it with the right amount of effort and guidance.  I have begun to shorten the time of regret over eating something that was less than healthy and just accepted it and just moved forward with the mindset that I do not want to feel that way again.

            I choose not to simply leave this blog as a list of recipes and physical ways to improve your health.  For a great deal of individuals it is about so much more than just the outside that they need to evaluate in order to continue on a healthy path, but the inside as well.  If you can smile at who you see in the mirror and be proud of what you see and who you are then you truly are healthy.

Shrimp Pasta

This is a recipe that all six members of my family enjoy.  I will admit, my oldest daughter is not a fan of tomatoes so she tends to pick them out.  One day I will get that girl to eat a tomato (and know she is eating one) and like it!  This is my shrimp pasta.  I am a busy mommy so I do cheat a bit and I get frozen shrimp.  If you have time you can get raw shrimp and just throw them into the mix earlier than I put in the precooked shrimp. 

This is a fairly simple meal to cook with basic ingredients that are both good for you and are delicious. 

Ingredients:

One bag of frozen, precooked shrimp (I get large and tail off)

One box of whole grain spaghetti of linguini noodles

One cup of grape tomatoes cut in halves

One bushel (usually about ½ - ¾ lb) fresh asparagus

3 cloves finely chopped garlic

¼ cup of white wine

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 pinches of sea salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

Instructions:

            Place a pot of water on a burner until water boils and toss in the noodles to cook. Thaw out the shrimp per directions on the bag.  While the water is reaching a boil, cut the ends off of the asparagus and cut them into thirds.  Heat olive oil on medium heat and toss in garlic and let it simmer for a minute.  Toss in asparagus and sauté until you have reached your desired crispness.  I do so for about 5 minutes.  Toss in the shrimp, grape tomatoes, white wine, sea salt, and pepper. Sauté with the asparagus for two minutes (enough time to heat them through but not cook them further).  Drain your noodles and place them into the pan of shrimp and veggies.  Toss and serve!  This will comfortably serve my family, but it is one of our favorites so leftovers are rare!

            You will have to excuse my directions.  I make up recipes as I go and do not measure things out.  I will work on this and document my recipes as I go along so I can write out instructions better.  Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions in regard to anything I write in my blog, including the recipes!  My kids like to add a little bit of parmesan cheese to their plates, but that is optional and the amount is up to the person who is eating it. J  The picture is also a shot from my iphone.  It looks much better in person!

Bouncing Back

For most of us, we succumb to a moment of weakness and let a goal take the back burner to our wants.  I have been MIA because of a small family vacation and then trying to finish up a class that was anything but fun.  I was excited to write about trying to stay fit and healthy during a vacation where temptations are all around.  Instead I find myself beginning to write about how temptation won for 4 days and only 30 minutes of cardio managed to be accomplished.  I was disappointed that I did not do so well and fairly annoyed with myself for not having some more self-control.  I am going to turn this into a positive and discuss the joys of bouncing back after a major slip. 

            I know that in the past I have slipped and it was only the beginning of a downward spiral that was quickly negating all of the progress I had made at that point.  I let my motivation slide and disappoint rule.  This time around I let the guilt and disappointment fuel my motivation and drive me toward not having to feel like that next time.  I accepted the fact that I ate like a glorious piggy and then got back to reality when I got home.  I had my fun, I gave myself an upset stomach, and now it is time to feel better again.  With my husband on leave I thought I would have plenty of time to jump back into my routine, but the truth is that it made things even harder.  I resolved to at least get my diet back on track and my morning workout will start tomorrow (not today because Monday was a rest day before).

            One thing we cannot do is beat ourselves up.  It does not do anything positive to your psyche and a few days are not going to completely derail noticeable progress to the point of no return.  As disappointed as I was, I did not fall too far behind.  It is not impossible to get yourself back on track.  It is not about being on a diet, it is about a lifestyle change.  It is not a temporary fad that I attempt to talk about; it is about being a healthier individual for the rest of your life.  It is not fun feeling guilty about what you eat so you should not do that to yourself.  Self-improvement is a mental mindset.  If you do not want it you will not attain it or manage to hold on to the progress.  It is never about the smallest size you can get yourself down to, but your own self-perception and how you feel both inside and out. 

            Life is far too short to beat yourself up over past events that you cannot change.  Everything is a learning experience and a choice you make.  Being in better shape makes me feel better about myself.  It is something I do for myself and the results so far are something I am proud of and helping to aid in my next goal.  Gluttony was not long term and is now a lesson learned.  I will be sure to post a recipe the next time I post to show how it is still easy to jump back on track by eating something delicious and healthy for you and your family.