I'm Baaaaack!

I'm back!

Yes, I’ve been MIA the last couple of weeks – first to vacation, the second week to sickness.  2 ½ days off work and a whole weekend at home has left me with a touch of cabin fever, but I’m thankful to finally be on the mend.   It’s a quiet Saturday in my happy little home, I have the laundry in the washer, dishes all done, a big pot of soup on the stove and now it’s time to blog for a bit. … before I forget how!

Thursday morning I finally dragged myself to the doctor (actually, my dear husband drove me there…) and I got some antibiotics.  The diagnosis: Sinus infection, Ear infection, Upper respiratory infection.  No wonder I didn’t feel good.  I drank a hundred cups of tea, spent long hours watching old TV show reruns, and rarely left the couch.  I haven’t been that sick in several years, and I’m thankful to be well on the way to “normal” once again!

Vacation was AMAZING.  There was nothing about Maui that I didn’t fall in love with… it’s all I’ve been able to think about since coming back to the freezing Midwest. But the sun is shining through my window right now, so I’m trying to forget about the fact that it’s only 23 degrees out and just bask in the glow of the rays.  We have roughly 2000 pictures from our trip, so when we get everything organized I’ll do some posts about vacation – it was certainly something I’ll remember forever.    A big highlight for me:  getting to swim in the ocean.  It was a first for me and SO much fun!  The taste of the salt water definitely takes some getting used to, and my eyes never did quite adjust to it, but it was incredible.  I fell in love with so many things there.  More on all that in future posts!

Our health-food kick is in full swing now, and the past couple days have gone really well.  Green Monsters are going to become part of our regular diet (now that I’ve actually become brave enough to make them), as well as more natural and Organic foods.  Yesterday I made some lovely hummus, which is delicious on sandwiches or with veggies.  I’m getting the hang on disguising the taste of veggies and we’re eating many more of them, which I’m rather proud about.  We don’t mind eating them, we just aren’t big fans of tasting them!  We’re also drinking some V8 Fusion in the morning to get the extra servings that we need.  I am so excited about going to the Farmer’s Market in the summer to buy local produce and stock up on all the fresh goodness!

I need to catch up on my blog reading and get back to commenting.  Sorry about the delinquency!  A part of me has enjoyed the break from technology, but I’m starting to miss all my bloggy friends!  Hopefully posts will start coming more regularly again. 

Time to go fold some laundry and enjoy a bowl of soup. 

Cough, Sneeze, Wheeze....

Hubby & I have been sick the last few days, and still not feeling quite up-to-par. Although we’re being responsible and dragging ourselves into work, we’d much rather be home sleeping.

I haven’t been to the gym in over a week…and dare I admit this to all my bloggy friends…I actually miss it. Can you believe it? I miss my Pilates class and how good I feel afterwards (even though my balance isn’t very good and often times I end up feeling like a dork because I can’t keep my entire body properly balanced while elevating myself off the ground with my hands and my feet resting on nothing but a large ball that likes to move from side-to-side instead of staying anchored securely in place). *sigh* But I do love that class.

This week hubs & I went into this splendid health food store not far from our house…and fell in love…with the store of course (*ahem* we fell in love with each other long ago). Aisle after aisle of good-for-you-loveliness that I know won’t make me sick or give me a headache. Now if only our budgets were so wonderful and allowed us to shop in such places. ‘Tis a shame that such places are so expensive. My happiest find was a large box of honey-puffed-wheat for only $1.99. It is SOOO good with a handful of peanuts on top for breakfast!

As I was unloading our fabulously healthy food-finds at home and singing the praises of preservative-free foods, my husband exclaimed, "Pretty soon we're going to be wearing nothing but sandals and fig leaves!" That statement sent us into peals of laughter, which I might add, is a very common occurrence in our happy home. :)

My husband is also realizing the benefits of us succumbing to these Organic & Natural foods, and is just as delighted about it as I am. Well, maybe not quite as delighted, but pretty close. :)

Off to whip up some dinner for my man.

Tomorrow is Friday ya’ll! Anybody have plans for their weekend?

To Eat...Or Not to Eat

Bad ingredients are everywhere; they are inescapable.

Being raised in a family with a stay-at-home-mom, where everything was made from scratch, gave me an understanding of the preservatives and ingredients that I wanted to avoid when out cooking & shopping on my own.
Easier said than done.

I work 40 hours a week, cook, clean, workout, do laundry, and somewhere in there have to find time to worry about the ingredients on my ketchup label. Am I crazy? Paranoid? Or just trying to do the best I can for my little family.

 Here are the things I was taught (and have researched myself!) to avoid:
• Hydrogenated or Partially-Hydrogenated Oils (trans-fats)
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Excessive dyes/food coloring
• Aspartame

And if I haven’t board you already, keep reading and I will help explain why (with a condensed version).

Hydrogenated Oils –
Commonly Found in:
Pastries, ice cream, cookies, peanut butter, margarine or other butter substitutes, premade foods, microwave popcorn, doughnuts, candy, coffee creamers (yes, those ones in all the wonderful flavors), and many other things.

Hydrogenated oil is oil that has been processed into a substance that our body isn’t use to digesting, and over time can cause our arteries to become rigid or blocked. It has also been found to slow down your metabolism, thus helping you gain more wait. It aids is high cholesterol, blood clots, and other serious side effects.

http://www.naturalnews.com/024694_food_hydrogenated_oils_health.html

http://www.fitnessmantra.info/2006/05/22/hydrogenated-oils-the-hidden-killer/

MSG –
Commonly Found in:
Condensed soups (cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, etc), flavored chips, sausage, gravy, and salad dressings (especially Ranch)

 MSG tricks your mind into thinking it’s still hungry when it’s not, and makes you think that food tastes better than it really does. It has various side effects, including headaches and migraines, which myself and various members of my family have dealt with.

http://nikas-culinaria.com/2007/02/21/monosodium-glutamate-bad-for-your-brain-your-figure-and-your-health/

http://www.msgtruth.org/

Aspartame (and other artificial sweeteners) –
Commonly Found in:
Diet soda and other sugarless drinks, sugar free gum, diet foods, things listed as “calorie free”

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners have been found to cause heath issues such as memory loss, headaches, seizures, and obesity, and has almost 100 possible side effects including those that mimic more serious illnesses like Meniere’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, and many others.

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html
 
http://www.lovethetruth.com/truth_about_aspartame.htm

High Fructose Corn Syrup -
Commonly found in:
Ketchup, Soda, Jam, Juice, Bread, Cereals, Candy, and many everyday foods

The addition of High Fructose Corn Syrup in all our foods caused a rise diabetes and has also been found to release enzymes straight to the liver causing it to store fat. Newer research has shown that certain products containing HFCS also contain amounts of mercury, which come with its own set of problems.

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/06/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct

http://www.noweightgaincookbooks.com/worse_than_sugar.htm

http://smallnotebook.org/2009/02/03/mercury-in-high-fructose-corn-syrup-what-theyre-just-now-telling-us/

http://www.highfructosecornsyrup.org/

Food Coloring / Dyes -
Commonly Found in:
Jello, Kool-Aid, Candy

There has been scientifically proven to have negative effect particularly on children, and has been linked to the significant rise in ADD, ADHD, and autism. It has times been linked to thyroid tumors as well.

http://bodhimed.com/bodhimed/bodhiblog/crusade-against-food-coloring-unveiled.html

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/FSAadditives.php

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http://simplemom.net/watch-out-for-these-health-busters/
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There are plenty of articles available online for further research.

What does everybody think? 
Do you avoid it?
Don't think about it?
Make certain things from scratch because it's healthier?

Menu Plan Monday!

My hubby and I feel so much better eating home cooking rather than eating out. It’s really amazing. The more we eat healthy stuff, the less other stuff sounds good (with the exception of brownies, of course, which always sound good!). This past week I experimented with adding vegetables to my normal dishes, hoping to gain the vitamins and disguise the flavor – it worked! I snuck pureed squash into Oatmeal muffins, Macaroni & Cheese, Quesadillas, and Corn Chowder. You couldn’t even tell a difference, except that I think the food was actually more filling, but it didn’t alter the taste at all. My excitement to cook continued to be fueled when I stepped on the scale and had lost 1.5 lbs this week! Ok, so it’s not a lot, but every ounce helps! Does anybody else have any good way to disguise veggies in their food?

• Sunday: Potato Corn Chowder, **pumpkin bread
• Monday: Leftovers
• Tuesday: Creamed Crockpot Chicken, brown rice, sautéed green beans
• Wednesday: Tortilla soup
• Thursday: Veggie Lasagna, homemade applesauce
• Friday: Taco salad
• Saturday: Bacon Cheddar waffles

** The Pumpkin bread recipe was compliments of Heather at Mrs. Southern Bride This week also included a batch of Cheerio breakfast bars to cut up and take with us to work this week, an assortment of smoothies for hubby’s hour drive to work at 5:00 AM, and who knows what else will strike my fancy between now and Saturday! Happy cooking y’all!

Menu Plan Monday! ...errr Tuesday :)

• Monday: Baked Asian Chicken, Brown Rice & Zucchini casserole, homemade applesauce
• Tuesday: Taco Salad
• Wednesday: Chicken Parmesan, sautéed Asparagus
• Thursday: Veggie Lasagna (if I’m feeing ambitious)
• Friday: My hubby usually surprises me with bringing home pizza or some other such yumminess because he knows how much I don’t feel like cooking by the time I get home from work on Friday night!
• Saturday & Sunday: To be determined

My dearly-beloved & I are trying hard to eat healthier and be more aware of what goes into our mouths (…and stomachs). Portion control, better ingredients, lots of fruits & veggies, plenty of water, and exercise (when we can squeeze it in) all play a roll. But let me tell ya, it’s a lot of work! Making stuff from scratch instead of just pulling out Cream-of-Mushroom soup to dump over some chicken, or a container of Cool Whip for a dessert takes time, planning, and energy. But it’s SO worth it because we end up feeling better, have more energy, plus the satisfaction of knowing what actually went into our system was good for us. In addition to the above menu, I’ve been experimenting with healthy energy smoothies, easy-but-healthy breakfast foods (muffins, bars) to grab while we’re running out the door for work in the morning, and trying to make sure there are healthy alternatives to chocolate & chips in the house! So far so good. This has whole endeavor has been a work-in-progress for me over the past year but every once in awhile I get reenergized with inspiration and I set to work on it full-force again. What really surprises me is how good you can make healthy stuff taste! The Rice & Bean casserole I made last night was delicious and completely healthy! It had carrots, zucchini, beans, rice, and seasonings, and although it looked healthy, it was amazingly good! “Healthy” food has been stereotyped as being boring and either flavorless or icky. This doesn’t have to be the case! Don’t get me wrong, I love Ranch dressing, sour cream, cream cheese, brownies, ice cream and Doritos as much as the next person (maybe more so…LOL), but there are things that are more important and that I love more than those things. Like taking care of my husband, giving him the best start to his day that I can, and helping us both look better, feel better, and trying to care for what God has entrusted to us – each other. That does not mean that I never eat those foods I enjoy – quite the opposite actually. Did you see the Friday menu…that it often includes pizza? Yeah, I adore pizza, but I try to only have two slices. I might enjoy a brownie or cookie out, but I rarely make them myself so there isn’t a whole pan sitting around. Portion control is a big part and learning not to be controlled by the food. I am a work-in-progress, ever pressing forward on this road of life, striving each day to do it a little better, make improvements in the areas I fail, and trusting God for the strength in all things, for I can do nothing on my own. What do you do to avoid the temptation of “favorite” foods that you know you’ll end up eating more of than you should?