Tuesday, February 10, 2015
My Issue with the "50 Shades of Grey" Phenomenon
If you haven't heard of of book "50 Shades of Grey," or the highly anticipated Valentine's Day premiere of the movie, you may live under a rock. It has completely taken over, selling over 100 million copies. Some argue that it's "really well written," but I doubt that's the only reason for its success. We know that sex sells. You can't go to the mall or watch tv or look at a magazine without being bombarded by highly sexualized advertising. We have turned sex into something that is almost somewhat of a game. I can guarantee that when God designed sex, this isn't what he had in mind for it to turn into. Now before I go any further and give specific details as to why this whole "50 Shades" thing bothers me so much, let's clear something up. It's not because I hate sex, or think that we should all just have terrible, boring sex lives. In fact, I actually really enjoy sex (yep, I'm getting personal but it's to prove a point). I think sex should be great, fun, hot, passionate, etc, and I also believe it should be all of these things within the confines of marriage. I'm not going to sit here and say that I waited until I was married to have sex, because I didn't, but I have also learned in my five years of marriage why it's so important to keep sex as the holy act that it is. Sex was designed, by God, to be in marriage for a reason. He created marriage to serve as a model of his love for his church. We should be treating our spouses with the same love that God has for us. When we choose to say "I do," we are committing to that person, just as Christ has committed to us. He will never leave us, even if we decide to do something against him. His love is unconditional. I think that's why God created sex to be in marriage. If we strived for our marriages to model Christ, instead of striving for them to make us happy, what better picture than sex to represent how Christ wants his relationship with us to be. He wants us to be completely committed, completely vulnerable, he wants us to have the highest level of intimacy with him, and he doesn't want us to be self-seeking. It is so sad what our society has turned sex into. Something that is supposed to be beautiful and pure has been turned into something so absolutely disgusting and dirty. Here's my big issue with "50 Shades." It has taken this holy act and turned it into something that is the exact OPPOSITE of holy. It's actually glorifying it, and people are buying into it. In this book and soon to be movie, sex is simply a game. What can I physically get out if it? How can I make myself feel good? It is completely about "self." In 1 Corinthians, some of the ways that love is described are, "patient, kind, not self seeking, never gives up, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Absolutely NONE of these things are what the relationship in "50 Shades" stand for. As women, aren't these the kinds of things we want when it comes to a relationship and sex? I know I do. I want someone who is kind, patient, not selfish, and will never give up on me. What message are we sending men when we support and even glorify the relationship we see in this specific book and movie? Whether we know it or not, we are sending the message that this is a way that we would like to be treated, that we want to be treated like an object for their sexual pleasure. After all, we are spending our time and money to read and watch it, aren't we? How many women, who are reading this book and watching this movie would feel good about themselves if their husbands were watching porn? The storyline of this book seems much less like a romantic endeavor and much more like mainstream porn. Rem and I went to the movies a few weeks ago and the preview for "50 Shades" came on and if I hadn't known what it was, I would have honestly thought that they were playing porn on the big screen. When did this become okay? Porn is absolutely destroying marriages around the world and here we are, paying our hard earned money to read and watch it. Women, whom I'm sure oppose their husbands watching porn, are going to go out with their girlfriends and watch porn. I don't care if it isn't labeled as "porn," but I don't know what else to call it, because that's exactly what it sounds/looks like to me. Why are we sending the message that this is okay? I don't know any mother out there who would want her daughter to be treated like a mans sexual object, yet there are millions of people (mothers included. Why do you think it's been dubbed "mommy porn") buying this book (and eventually watching the movie.) Whether you like it or not, you are supporting the idea that it's okay for a man to treat a woman like this. You are supporting the idea that this is what sex should be like. You are supporting the idea that sex is purely a physical act meant for ones own pleasure. I don't know about you, but I want nothing to do with supporting that. I want to support sex for what God made it to be. Why are we sitting idly or even worse, buying into the idea that "it isn't hurting anything to read/watch this," because it is. It is ruining what sex could be, SHOULD be, and I'm sick of it! We are trading in something that is meant to bring joy and be an amazingly bonding experience for a cheap, dirty version of itself. I'm not sure about you, but if my husband were to give me a five carat diamond ring from Tiffany's and then take it away and try to convince me that the fake diamond ring from the dollar store was just as good because it is "still a ring," I would feel a little cheated. This is how I feel about what society has done to sex. They have tried to convince us that the fake diamond ring (pre-marital, only about the physical, sex) is just as good, if not better than, the real diamond ring (holy, God ordained sex), and for some crazy reason, we believe them. If someone gave you a fake diamond ring and tried to convince you it was just as good as the real thing, you would throw it back in their face and tell them how wrong they are, so why aren't we doing this when it comes to sex? We are settling for the cheap version and convincing ourselves that it is the greatest thing on earth. I can tell you from experience that having sex for the reasons the world says is nothing compared to having sex according to Gods will. So I'm begging you, if you have read this book and are planning on seeing this movie, PLEASE don't support the worlds view of what sex should be. Realize that ,yes, sex is awesome and amazing and hot and passionate but it's not awesome and amazing and hot and passionate in this context. If you aren't married, don't fool yourself into thinking that the worlds view of sex is the right view. If you are married, don't fool yourself into thinking that there is no harm in watching this. There IS harm, because you are helping fuel the fire that says "married sex, the way God ordained, doesn't matter." I wish more women would stand up and say, "I won't support the objectifying of women by reading/watching this book/movie." I'm just so sick of seeing sex turned into something it was never meant to be and the cheapening of something that can be so amazing. There's my rant. I'm sure I offended some people but oh well, I'm sick of so many women buying into the "50 Shades of Grey," phenomenon.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
What Food Makes the Cut?
My grocery list is probably the most boring grocery list in the history of grocery lists. It changes very little from week to week. When you are eating mostly fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains, there really is no need to have a completely different list every single week. It really does make shopping a whole lot less complicated when I just have to fill in ingredients for what we need to make supper throughout the week. If I took a picture of my shopping cart every week, you would probably find that it looks pretty much the same every single week, and I'm okay with that! It may not sound like much variety, but it really is! I always have MANY choices of fruits and vegetables so we aren't just eating apples and carrots throughout the week and getting really tired of them. I find it really helps us to eat well if we have a variety of food stocked in our house, not to mention, saves us money since we aren't running to the store every other day to pick up more food. I know I covered this in previous posts but I honestly can't stress the importance of meal planning enough. If you want to eat healthy, you MUST have a plan and have those foods right in your own home or you WILL opt for something that is usually a lot less healthy, like fast food or a frozen dinner. Here's what my "plan" usually looks like (foods that always (or almost always) make it into my grocery cart some time during the month, many on a weekly basis).
-Apples (green and red)
-Bananas
-Grapefruit/Clementines
-Kiwi
-Fresh Pineapple
-Pears
-Any type of fresh berry that 's on sale (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
(Winter is hard for fruit, I love the variety that summer brings)
-Frozen peaches, strawberries, blueberries, or pineapple (for smoothies)
-Carrots
-Celery
-Sweet Potatoes
-Fresh/frozen broccoli
-Red, yellow, & orange peppers
-Asparagus
-Fresh/frozen green beans
-Frozen peas
-Boxes of organic spinach, kale, or mixed greens (spinach, kale, and chard) (use for smoothies & salads)
- Lettuce (rotate between romaine, butter, spring mix, iceberg)
-Avocados
-Onions
-Lemons and limes
-Salsa
-Hummus (red pepper or roasted pine nut are our favorites)
-Whole milk (hormone free)
-Almond milk (unsweetened, original)
-Greek Yogurt (plain)
-Block cheese
-Butter (unsalted)(NO butter substitute, REAL butter)
-Olive oil
-Coconut oil (I buy this in bulk at Sams)
-Steel cut oats
-Old fashioned oats
-Natural peanut butter
-Almond butter
-Granola
-Quinoa (buy in bulk at Sams)
-Honey (I love raw or local honey, but sometimes I have to buy it at the store because we go through a lot of it, just make sure it doesn't have any added ingredients)
-100% pure maple syrup (buy in bulk at Sams)
-Chia seeds (buy in bulk at Sams)
-Flax seeds (order online)
-Whole chicken (use meat throughout the week and make chicken stock from bones)
-Wild caught salmon
-Ground beef from our local locker
-Whole wheat flour
-Organic marinara sauce (I choose organic because it has the least amount of added sugar)
-Dry black beans and pinto beans (I cook them in my crockpot to use them)
-Canned organic beans (garbanzo, black, pinto)(at Aldi, I can get organic for the same price as conventional at Walmart and they have less added junk)
-Unsweetened applesauce (great for baking)
-There are other things that I add depending on what my meals look like for the week but these are things we eat on a very regular basis.
Things that do NOT make it into my cart (mostly because of added sugar/sodium or fake ingredients/tons of preservatives, or being overly prosessed)
-Any pre-packaged snacks (little debbie snacks, fruit gummy snacks, pudding cups, etc.)
-Margarine, or anything that tries to impersonate butter (NEVER NEVER NEVER)
-Pancake "syrup"- Mrs. Butterworths etc. (if it has more ingredients than 100% maple syrup, don't buy it)
-Pre-packaged oatmeal
-Flavored yogurt
-Soda, gatoraide, capri sun, juice boxes
-Most salad dressings (I either make my own or there is one brand at Aldi that is all natural and doesn't have a bunch of weird junk it them: Specially Selected House/Raspberry vinaigrette)
-American cheese slices (like kraft)
-White bread
-Any frozen meal (chicken nuggets, corn dogs, frozen pizza, etc.)
-Pre-packaged granola bars (some have as much sugar as a candy bar, yikes!)
-Seasoning mixes (ranch, chili, taco, etc. I just make my own)
-Most fruit juice (too much sugar and all the beneficial fiber removed. My kids are fine with water.)
-Hot dogs/Processed lunch meat
-Canned soups
-Sugary cereals (this is not to say we don't have this in the house. HA! I just won't buy it. Rem loves the stuff so I make him buy it. I'm a terribly mean wife, I know!)
-Low fat ANYTHING
-White rice/boxed rice mixes (rice a roni etc)
-Any boxed meal (mac & cheese, hamburger helper, etc)
-Any artificial sugar or any product made with artificial sugar (you MUST read labels)
-Anything with MSG added to it
-I'm a big label reader. If it has tons of added sugar or weird ingredients (even if it claims to be healthy), I don't buy it. The biggest thing you can do to help you work toward a cleaner diet is simply read the label! I end up making a LOT of things myself, instead of buying them because we still enjoy eating some of those things, but we don't enjoy all the added junk that corporate food companies choose to add to their products.
YOU are the person responsible for what you bring home from the store and what you and your family put in your mouth. You don't NEED soda to survive. You don't NEED Oreos to survive. Yes, I know it tastes good but what are you getting out of it? A whole lot of calories and a few minutes of enjoyment while you are eating it. I'm not going to sit here and say that I NEVER drink soda because I did share one with Rem when we went to see a movie last week, but it is something that I choose not to keep in my house. It's SO much easier to avoid certain things if you don't keep them around you. I know some people will think I'm a complete control freak but Gavin is almost four and has never had a soda (besides a few sips of ours at a restaurant). It's not a habit I want my kids to grow up with and I just can't justify giving them straight sugar with absolutely no nutritional value. When they get older, they can decide for themselves what they want to eat or drink but for now, I am trying to instill good eating habits that they will hopefully continue throughout their lives. It's much harder to say no to something once it has become a habit. Why not try to start a habit of good eating while they are still young so it's not so hard to make good food choices as they grow up. My kids don't know any different. They don't think they are missing out because mommy won't buy junk food for them. They have no idea that there is another way of eating besides what they are eating right now. The other night, Rem was talking about McDonalds and how the boys have never even had a happy meal and Gav was asking what a happy meal was. I asked him what he thought would be in a happy meal and this was his response, "Chicken, blueberries, carrots, and bananas." To him, this would be a "happy" meal. I have had people say to me, "You are just setting your kids up to want all kinds of junk food because you never let them eat it." Here's my response: They do get plenty of treats. We go to birthday parties, I make cookies, we go for treats at the Dairy Queen every once in a while, they get treats at Nana and Papa's and Grandma and Grandpa's. It's not like junk food has never touched their lips, because it has. We just choose to not let this be an everyday occurrence. We want the majority of what they are eating to be highly nutritious to give their little bodies the fuel they need to grow. We want them to learn to make responsible food choices. There is no denying that kids learn habits from their parents and we just want to be a good example of making healthy food choices. If kids are used to eating chicken nuggets and french fries or boxed macaroni and cheese for supper often, then that's what they will become accustomed to and it will be very hard to change their tastes for more healthy foods. When they are used to overly salted, overly sugared, highly processed tasting food, plain veggies are going to taste absolutely disgusting to them. I didn't grow up eating a ton of processed foods but definitely more than I do now and when we first started to eat clean, some things were super hard for me to eat, I would almost have to choke them down. My kids on the other hand, have always eaten very clean and they love eating plain vegetables (Gav loves carrots and celery and Owen loves sweet peppers.) Their palates haven't become accustomed to tons of sugar, salt or artificial flavors and they can really appreciate the flavors of the fresh food they are eating. So no, I won't go out and buy my kids a happy meal or let them drink soda on a regular basis because other people make me feel like they are "missing out." I feel like kids who are used to eating like that are really the ones missing out. Their bodies are missing out on the vital nutrients they need to build strong immune systems, strong muscles and bones, and strong brains. So my kids are missing out on a whole lot of sugar and added junk......I'll take it. I'm sure a lot of people think I act like I'm the best wife/mom out there because of the food I choose for my family but I don't want to come across like that. I don't want people to think I judge the mom's who pull through the drive through or buy hamburger helper to feed their families. I just want to share what I have learned about healthy eating and the benefits I have seen in my own family. It's clear that the way that most American's are eating isn't doing much for their health. We have astronomical numbers of people with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, ect. and many of these issues could be fixed simply by making smarter food choices. It's almost like people think it's too much work to start eating a clean diet and exercising and would rather choose to be on pharmaceutical drugs for the rest of their lives (which carry MANY risks as opposed to the low to no risk of changing what they are eating.) Instead of focusing on what you CAN'T eat, why not focus on what you are GAINING by NOT eating a bunch of processed junk. When you go to the store this week, buy a new healthy food you have never tried before. Replace the pre-packaged things you are buying with a healthy, homemade version. Instead of buying that box of sugary cereal, buy some steel cut oats and make homemade oatmeal. Buy veggies and hummus for a snack instead of pudding packs. There are so many options that don't take a lot of effort, you just have to try them. There really is nothing to lose by choosing healthier options. We all have to start somewhere, so why not make it now!?
-Apples (green and red)
-Bananas
-Grapefruit/Clementines
-Kiwi
-Fresh Pineapple
-Pears
-Any type of fresh berry that 's on sale (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
(Winter is hard for fruit, I love the variety that summer brings)
-Frozen peaches, strawberries, blueberries, or pineapple (for smoothies)
-Carrots
-Celery
-Sweet Potatoes
-Fresh/frozen broccoli
-Red, yellow, & orange peppers
-Asparagus
-Fresh/frozen green beans
-Frozen peas
-Boxes of organic spinach, kale, or mixed greens (spinach, kale, and chard) (use for smoothies & salads)
- Lettuce (rotate between romaine, butter, spring mix, iceberg)
-Avocados
-Onions
-Lemons and limes
-Salsa
-Hummus (red pepper or roasted pine nut are our favorites)
-Whole milk (hormone free)
-Almond milk (unsweetened, original)
-Greek Yogurt (plain)
-Block cheese
-Butter (unsalted)(NO butter substitute, REAL butter)
-Olive oil
-Coconut oil (I buy this in bulk at Sams)
-Steel cut oats
-Old fashioned oats
-Natural peanut butter
-Almond butter
-Granola
-Quinoa (buy in bulk at Sams)
-Honey (I love raw or local honey, but sometimes I have to buy it at the store because we go through a lot of it, just make sure it doesn't have any added ingredients)
-100% pure maple syrup (buy in bulk at Sams)
-Chia seeds (buy in bulk at Sams)
-Flax seeds (order online)
-Whole chicken (use meat throughout the week and make chicken stock from bones)
-Wild caught salmon
-Ground beef from our local locker
-Whole wheat flour
-Organic marinara sauce (I choose organic because it has the least amount of added sugar)
-Dry black beans and pinto beans (I cook them in my crockpot to use them)
-Canned organic beans (garbanzo, black, pinto)(at Aldi, I can get organic for the same price as conventional at Walmart and they have less added junk)
-Unsweetened applesauce (great for baking)
-There are other things that I add depending on what my meals look like for the week but these are things we eat on a very regular basis.
Things that do NOT make it into my cart (mostly because of added sugar/sodium or fake ingredients/tons of preservatives, or being overly prosessed)
-Any pre-packaged snacks (little debbie snacks, fruit gummy snacks, pudding cups, etc.)
-Margarine, or anything that tries to impersonate butter (NEVER NEVER NEVER)
-Pancake "syrup"- Mrs. Butterworths etc. (if it has more ingredients than 100% maple syrup, don't buy it)
-Pre-packaged oatmeal
-Flavored yogurt
-Soda, gatoraide, capri sun, juice boxes
-Most salad dressings (I either make my own or there is one brand at Aldi that is all natural and doesn't have a bunch of weird junk it them: Specially Selected House/Raspberry vinaigrette)
-American cheese slices (like kraft)
-White bread
-Any frozen meal (chicken nuggets, corn dogs, frozen pizza, etc.)
-Pre-packaged granola bars (some have as much sugar as a candy bar, yikes!)
-Seasoning mixes (ranch, chili, taco, etc. I just make my own)
-Most fruit juice (too much sugar and all the beneficial fiber removed. My kids are fine with water.)
-Hot dogs/Processed lunch meat
-Canned soups
-Sugary cereals (this is not to say we don't have this in the house. HA! I just won't buy it. Rem loves the stuff so I make him buy it. I'm a terribly mean wife, I know!)
-Low fat ANYTHING
-White rice/boxed rice mixes (rice a roni etc)
-Any boxed meal (mac & cheese, hamburger helper, etc)
-Any artificial sugar or any product made with artificial sugar (you MUST read labels)
-Anything with MSG added to it
-I'm a big label reader. If it has tons of added sugar or weird ingredients (even if it claims to be healthy), I don't buy it. The biggest thing you can do to help you work toward a cleaner diet is simply read the label! I end up making a LOT of things myself, instead of buying them because we still enjoy eating some of those things, but we don't enjoy all the added junk that corporate food companies choose to add to their products.
YOU are the person responsible for what you bring home from the store and what you and your family put in your mouth. You don't NEED soda to survive. You don't NEED Oreos to survive. Yes, I know it tastes good but what are you getting out of it? A whole lot of calories and a few minutes of enjoyment while you are eating it. I'm not going to sit here and say that I NEVER drink soda because I did share one with Rem when we went to see a movie last week, but it is something that I choose not to keep in my house. It's SO much easier to avoid certain things if you don't keep them around you. I know some people will think I'm a complete control freak but Gavin is almost four and has never had a soda (besides a few sips of ours at a restaurant). It's not a habit I want my kids to grow up with and I just can't justify giving them straight sugar with absolutely no nutritional value. When they get older, they can decide for themselves what they want to eat or drink but for now, I am trying to instill good eating habits that they will hopefully continue throughout their lives. It's much harder to say no to something once it has become a habit. Why not try to start a habit of good eating while they are still young so it's not so hard to make good food choices as they grow up. My kids don't know any different. They don't think they are missing out because mommy won't buy junk food for them. They have no idea that there is another way of eating besides what they are eating right now. The other night, Rem was talking about McDonalds and how the boys have never even had a happy meal and Gav was asking what a happy meal was. I asked him what he thought would be in a happy meal and this was his response, "Chicken, blueberries, carrots, and bananas." To him, this would be a "happy" meal. I have had people say to me, "You are just setting your kids up to want all kinds of junk food because you never let them eat it." Here's my response: They do get plenty of treats. We go to birthday parties, I make cookies, we go for treats at the Dairy Queen every once in a while, they get treats at Nana and Papa's and Grandma and Grandpa's. It's not like junk food has never touched their lips, because it has. We just choose to not let this be an everyday occurrence. We want the majority of what they are eating to be highly nutritious to give their little bodies the fuel they need to grow. We want them to learn to make responsible food choices. There is no denying that kids learn habits from their parents and we just want to be a good example of making healthy food choices. If kids are used to eating chicken nuggets and french fries or boxed macaroni and cheese for supper often, then that's what they will become accustomed to and it will be very hard to change their tastes for more healthy foods. When they are used to overly salted, overly sugared, highly processed tasting food, plain veggies are going to taste absolutely disgusting to them. I didn't grow up eating a ton of processed foods but definitely more than I do now and when we first started to eat clean, some things were super hard for me to eat, I would almost have to choke them down. My kids on the other hand, have always eaten very clean and they love eating plain vegetables (Gav loves carrots and celery and Owen loves sweet peppers.) Their palates haven't become accustomed to tons of sugar, salt or artificial flavors and they can really appreciate the flavors of the fresh food they are eating. So no, I won't go out and buy my kids a happy meal or let them drink soda on a regular basis because other people make me feel like they are "missing out." I feel like kids who are used to eating like that are really the ones missing out. Their bodies are missing out on the vital nutrients they need to build strong immune systems, strong muscles and bones, and strong brains. So my kids are missing out on a whole lot of sugar and added junk......I'll take it. I'm sure a lot of people think I act like I'm the best wife/mom out there because of the food I choose for my family but I don't want to come across like that. I don't want people to think I judge the mom's who pull through the drive through or buy hamburger helper to feed their families. I just want to share what I have learned about healthy eating and the benefits I have seen in my own family. It's clear that the way that most American's are eating isn't doing much for their health. We have astronomical numbers of people with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, ect. and many of these issues could be fixed simply by making smarter food choices. It's almost like people think it's too much work to start eating a clean diet and exercising and would rather choose to be on pharmaceutical drugs for the rest of their lives (which carry MANY risks as opposed to the low to no risk of changing what they are eating.) Instead of focusing on what you CAN'T eat, why not focus on what you are GAINING by NOT eating a bunch of processed junk. When you go to the store this week, buy a new healthy food you have never tried before. Replace the pre-packaged things you are buying with a healthy, homemade version. Instead of buying that box of sugary cereal, buy some steel cut oats and make homemade oatmeal. Buy veggies and hummus for a snack instead of pudding packs. There are so many options that don't take a lot of effort, you just have to try them. There really is nothing to lose by choosing healthier options. We all have to start somewhere, so why not make it now!?
Saturday, January 24, 2015
The Cost of Eating Clean
In my last blog post, I talked about what clean eating was, why my family eats this way, and how to get started. Today, I want to talk about the cost of eating clean. I know a lot of the excuses for not eating healthy stem from the cost of healthy food. I get it, I'm a stay at home mom so we are working with one income. I can't go out and spend a ridiculous amount of money each month to feed my family so I have learned how to stick to the budget I have and still feed my family really well. The budget I try very hard to stick to is $125/week. This may be really high for some families and really low for others so here's a little something to compare it to. The average family of four on SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Plan) in America gets $443/month (If they received FULL SNAP benefits, it averages out to $649/month.) So, I am spending $57 more per month ($500/mo) to feed my family (three meals a day and two snacks), than I would be if we were receiving SNAP benefits (and $149 LESS than if we were receiving full SNAP benefits.) I have heard so many times that it is IMPOSSIBLE to eat healthy on SNAP, but my family is able to eat very healthfully for around the same amount as the people who receive SNAP. I'm not saying that the budget we have will work for every family but I also don't think it's completely outrageous since people on full SNAP benefits get $149 more than what I am usually spending per month. I would guess it's within $25 dollars each way of an average grocery budget for most families.
I would say most people would equate the word "fast food" with "cheap," and "healthy food" with "expensive." I have kind of always thought the same thing until I did some math. I found out that I can feed my family of four a healthy home cooked meal for less than we could eat off the McDonalds dollar menu. Sounds ridiculous, right? Here's the math. If I spend $125/wk, that averages out to $17.86/day, and $3.57/meal (three meals and two snacks), which is around $0.89 per person/per meal. Can anyone tell me where I can get a meal for an average of 89 cents? The closest I can think of is a hamburger off the dollar menu (which has zero nutrients.) I think spending 89 cents to feed your family a healthy meal is WELL worth it.
Still think that $125/week is way too much to be spending on one trip to the store? Take a look at how many "extras" you are buying when you go to the store and how much you are eating out. I think it would amaze some people how much they spend buying soda, "treats" (ice cream), fast food, family dinners out, etc. We don't eat out often as a family because it's hard for me to think of spending a quarter of my weekly grocery budget on one meal at a restaurant that has way less nutrients than something that I could prepare at home. Now, I'm not totally crazy. Rem and I still go out to eat maybe once a month (maybe less) by ourselves, but by not having a weekly dining out meal as a family, we save a lot of money! Even if you eliminate one night out a week you can save $120-$160 a month (average of $30-$40/meal for family of 4, which is about what it costs when we eat out with all four of us, depending on the restaurant.) Can you imagine how much good food you could get for $120-$160!! That's a whole weeks worth of food for our family, folks! I also don't buy many "extras." No pudding cups, ice cream (sometimes for special treats and I have wiggle room in my budget), soda, chips, snack cakes, or any other "snack" item most people buy. I have a list of groceries that will make my meals (including snacks) and I try very very hard to stick with that list! Usually my list takes my whole budget so I don't really get the option of buying lots of extras anyway but if you are trying to reduce your grocery budget to be able to afford healthy foods, see if you are guilty of buying lots of extra stuff you don't really need to make meals.
One thing that really helps me to save money on groceries is meal planning and only having one shopping trip per week (I take my calculator on my shopping trip to make sure I stay on budget. Yes, I am serious about this! Don't make fun!). On Sunday afternoon, I sit down and plan out our meals for the week (yes, I include breakfast and all snacks), and I go shopping on Monday. That is my only shopping trip for the week (unless we are desperate for something, like today when we had to run and get bananas). I don't coupon because I find that the coupons are mostly for pre-packaged junk anyway and the prices at Aldi (my grocery store) ROCK! I know it is so much harder to save money on groceries when you live in a very rural area, but making a trip to the city to stock up every two weeks may be worth it. I realize we are VERY lucky to have an Aldi so close to us and have all the foods we love to eat available and at a very reasonable price. Aldi has seriously been my clean eating savior! They have really begun to stock tons of great clean eating items over the past couple of years and I can find almost everything I need there (I still go to Wal-Mart/ Sams for a few things.) Ok, I got off track taking about my love for Aldi so back to menu planning. Here's my theory when it comes to menu planning, "failure to plan is planning to fail." If I didn't have clean meals planned and the groceries in my house to make those meals, it would be SO much easier to order a pizza or pop some corn dogs in the oven (well not the corn dogs, I would still have to go to the store to buy those since we don't keep them in the house, but you get the picture.) It is much easier and less stressful for me if I know exactly what we are eating at each meal. I am able to give the boys a much more nutritious snack if I plan ahead and have everything I need (homemade peanut butter greek yogurt dip and apples for example) rather than opening up a box of cheeze-its.
Another thing to think about when it comes to the cost of food is to really look at what you are paying for. Are you paying for a bag of empty nutrients and high calories? A can full of chemicals? Personally, I would rather pay a little more for something that I know is giving my body what it needs to thrive. My theory when it comes to food is that you get what you pay for. Yes, that box of cereal seems cheap compared to the ingredients to make a green smoothie but what are you getting out of it? A tummy full of sugar, artificial color/flavor, and some man made vitamins that they had to add because there is absolutely NO nutrition otherwise. Why waste your money on that? Really think about what you are getting out of what you are eating, not just how much it costs. If the benefits are high, it might be worth a little extra money!
Another way eating clean saves you money is on doctor bills. When you are eating a diet full of pre-packaged, high sugar, high sodium, low nutrient food, your body can't work to it's optimum potential. It has a hard time regulating itself when it comes to weight, blood pressure, and fighting off illness. If you are constantly having health issues because of your diet, you are spending more money on doctor bills than if you would just buy the healthy food in the first place. We have literally taken our boys to the doctor once in the past year for illness (and they got over their sickness a few days after we took them, no antibiotics needed.) I am thoroughly convinced that if you are feeding your child (or self) a diet that is severely lacking in nutrients, your body won't be able to fight off illness and you will find yourself in the doctors office a lot more than you would like!
I know eating clean healthy foods seems like it costs an arm and a leg but when you look at all the factors, and do a little math, it doesn't seem completely outrageous, right? We do it on one income. Maybe there are some things that are non essentials in your life that you could eliminate to give you a little more wiggle room in your grocery budget. Is cable a necessity? Is your weekly eating out a necessity? Is getting a monthly pedicure a necessity? Is buying new clothes often a necessity? Maybe some of these things are to you, but I'm sure everyone has something somewhere in their lives that they are spending money on that they could eliminate and put toward healthy foods and investing in their health!
I would say most people would equate the word "fast food" with "cheap," and "healthy food" with "expensive." I have kind of always thought the same thing until I did some math. I found out that I can feed my family of four a healthy home cooked meal for less than we could eat off the McDonalds dollar menu. Sounds ridiculous, right? Here's the math. If I spend $125/wk, that averages out to $17.86/day, and $3.57/meal (three meals and two snacks), which is around $0.89 per person/per meal. Can anyone tell me where I can get a meal for an average of 89 cents? The closest I can think of is a hamburger off the dollar menu (which has zero nutrients.) I think spending 89 cents to feed your family a healthy meal is WELL worth it.
Still think that $125/week is way too much to be spending on one trip to the store? Take a look at how many "extras" you are buying when you go to the store and how much you are eating out. I think it would amaze some people how much they spend buying soda, "treats" (ice cream), fast food, family dinners out, etc. We don't eat out often as a family because it's hard for me to think of spending a quarter of my weekly grocery budget on one meal at a restaurant that has way less nutrients than something that I could prepare at home. Now, I'm not totally crazy. Rem and I still go out to eat maybe once a month (maybe less) by ourselves, but by not having a weekly dining out meal as a family, we save a lot of money! Even if you eliminate one night out a week you can save $120-$160 a month (average of $30-$40/meal for family of 4, which is about what it costs when we eat out with all four of us, depending on the restaurant.) Can you imagine how much good food you could get for $120-$160!! That's a whole weeks worth of food for our family, folks! I also don't buy many "extras." No pudding cups, ice cream (sometimes for special treats and I have wiggle room in my budget), soda, chips, snack cakes, or any other "snack" item most people buy. I have a list of groceries that will make my meals (including snacks) and I try very very hard to stick with that list! Usually my list takes my whole budget so I don't really get the option of buying lots of extras anyway but if you are trying to reduce your grocery budget to be able to afford healthy foods, see if you are guilty of buying lots of extra stuff you don't really need to make meals.
One thing that really helps me to save money on groceries is meal planning and only having one shopping trip per week (I take my calculator on my shopping trip to make sure I stay on budget. Yes, I am serious about this! Don't make fun!). On Sunday afternoon, I sit down and plan out our meals for the week (yes, I include breakfast and all snacks), and I go shopping on Monday. That is my only shopping trip for the week (unless we are desperate for something, like today when we had to run and get bananas). I don't coupon because I find that the coupons are mostly for pre-packaged junk anyway and the prices at Aldi (my grocery store) ROCK! I know it is so much harder to save money on groceries when you live in a very rural area, but making a trip to the city to stock up every two weeks may be worth it. I realize we are VERY lucky to have an Aldi so close to us and have all the foods we love to eat available and at a very reasonable price. Aldi has seriously been my clean eating savior! They have really begun to stock tons of great clean eating items over the past couple of years and I can find almost everything I need there (I still go to Wal-Mart/ Sams for a few things.) Ok, I got off track taking about my love for Aldi so back to menu planning. Here's my theory when it comes to menu planning, "failure to plan is planning to fail." If I didn't have clean meals planned and the groceries in my house to make those meals, it would be SO much easier to order a pizza or pop some corn dogs in the oven (well not the corn dogs, I would still have to go to the store to buy those since we don't keep them in the house, but you get the picture.) It is much easier and less stressful for me if I know exactly what we are eating at each meal. I am able to give the boys a much more nutritious snack if I plan ahead and have everything I need (homemade peanut butter greek yogurt dip and apples for example) rather than opening up a box of cheeze-its.
Another thing to think about when it comes to the cost of food is to really look at what you are paying for. Are you paying for a bag of empty nutrients and high calories? A can full of chemicals? Personally, I would rather pay a little more for something that I know is giving my body what it needs to thrive. My theory when it comes to food is that you get what you pay for. Yes, that box of cereal seems cheap compared to the ingredients to make a green smoothie but what are you getting out of it? A tummy full of sugar, artificial color/flavor, and some man made vitamins that they had to add because there is absolutely NO nutrition otherwise. Why waste your money on that? Really think about what you are getting out of what you are eating, not just how much it costs. If the benefits are high, it might be worth a little extra money!
Another way eating clean saves you money is on doctor bills. When you are eating a diet full of pre-packaged, high sugar, high sodium, low nutrient food, your body can't work to it's optimum potential. It has a hard time regulating itself when it comes to weight, blood pressure, and fighting off illness. If you are constantly having health issues because of your diet, you are spending more money on doctor bills than if you would just buy the healthy food in the first place. We have literally taken our boys to the doctor once in the past year for illness (and they got over their sickness a few days after we took them, no antibiotics needed.) I am thoroughly convinced that if you are feeding your child (or self) a diet that is severely lacking in nutrients, your body won't be able to fight off illness and you will find yourself in the doctors office a lot more than you would like!
I know eating clean healthy foods seems like it costs an arm and a leg but when you look at all the factors, and do a little math, it doesn't seem completely outrageous, right? We do it on one income. Maybe there are some things that are non essentials in your life that you could eliminate to give you a little more wiggle room in your grocery budget. Is cable a necessity? Is your weekly eating out a necessity? Is getting a monthly pedicure a necessity? Is buying new clothes often a necessity? Maybe some of these things are to you, but I'm sure everyone has something somewhere in their lives that they are spending money on that they could eliminate and put toward healthy foods and investing in their health!
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Clean Eating: What Is It? Why Do We Eat This Way? How Do I Begin?
Clean eating was never a decision that Rem and I sat around and pondered. We didn't wake up one day and decide we would drastically change our eating style. In fact, when we first got married five years ago, I was still using a lot of canned/ boxed mixes in my cooking. I was cooking what I thought were "homemade" meals, after all, I wasn't pulling a pizza out of the freezer, so I thought we were eating healthy. A normal meal would likely consist of a casserole made with Campbell's condensed soup, some Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls, and canned green beans. We ate cereal pretty much every morning for breakfast and would eat leftovers for lunch. It never really crossed my mind that there was a different way of fueling our bodies. It all began to change once I got pregnant with Gavin. During my pregnancy, I knew that I wanted to have a natural water birth (here's where my "hippy" self came in to existence) and reduce the amount of man made medication/ intervention as much as I possibly could. It wasn't just my body any more that I had to worry about, but my sweet Gavin's. I researched as much as I could about natural birth and was AMAZED at how the chemicals that modern doctors use in labor affect the birth process. Our bodies know what they need to do and when we start injecting them with crazy man made things, it begins to go haywire (not trying to start a mommy war here, just sharing my PERSONAL conviction.) Another personal conviction I had was that I wanted to breastfeed for as long as possible. I again couldn't get over the benefits it had when it came to Gavin's health. My body could make a super food that was perfectly tailored to his nutrition needs- nothing added, nothing taken away. I was getting more and more into "natural" parenting but I hadn't quite taken it all the way with changing how Rem and I were eating. Once Gavin started solids, I did what every parent is told to do- I fed him white rice cereal. It didn't even occur to me that rice cereal really isn't very nutritional at all, I was just doing what my doctor told me to do. I hadn't done my own research and was just going with the flow. Around the time that he started eating table food well (maybe 15 months), a few of my friends were changing up their diets, for health reasons (going gluten free, etc.) Pinterest also became VERY popular around this time and I was seeing more and more information about clean eating. I was interested of course, because I wanted to give Gav the most nutritious food possible. I had nursed him until he was about 13 months and was very confident that whatever nutrition he was lacking in table food, he was getting from breast milk. Once he began eating all table food, my view of what was "healthy" changed drastically. It definitely took time and research (I'm still learning) to find out what were the best foods that I could feed my growing family. It wasn't an over night change, trust me. We made small changes over the course of about a year and by the time Owen was born, we were in major clean eating mode. I was eating foods I had never heard of- kale, chia, flax, quinoa, greek yogurt, almond milk, and green smoothies to name a few. The cleaner our diet got, the better I felt. We haven't gone paleo or vegan or anything and still eat dairy and meats in moderation but I would say the majority of our diet is made up of plant based foods. We still eat junk food on occasion- birthday's, date nights, holiday's, etc., but about 90% of the time, we are eating at home and eating clean.
If you have never heard the term "eating clean" or have no idea what it even means, here's a quick overview. Eating clean isn't a super specific diet like the Atkins diet or the Paleo diet. There are things that should be avoided when eating clean and some people take it as far as eliminating all dairy, grains, and meat, and eat ONLY plant based food. Some things that are definitely "guidelines" to eating clean are:
1: No highly processed foods: canned condensed soups, refrigerated dough (cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, biscuits), sugary cereals, most bottled salad dressings, any boxed meal (hamburger helper, suddenly salad, etc.), flavored yogurt (yoplait), vegetable/canola oil, white rice, white bread/pasta, frozen meals (hungry man, etc.). I could literally write a twenty page paper of foods that are highly processed but I won't bore you any longer. Read the label, if it has an ingredient list a mile long and you can only pronounce two ingredients, it's highly processed.
2. No artificial flavor/color: If it says "artificial," do you really want that in your body?
3. Avoid/Highly limit white sugar/ flour: We all know added sugar is unhealthy and white flour has been processed so much that any nutrition it did have has now been stripped from it.
4. Get the highest quality produce/meats/dairy that you can afford: Farm fresh eggs are much higher in nutrients than eggs that have come from the grocery store (factory farmed), same with meats- get the highest quality you can afford. We can't afford organic meat so I just make sure it comes from our local locker where I know how it is being processed, etc. I don't always buy organic produce because it is so expensive but if you can afford it, opt for it!
5. Highly limit alcohol: A glass of wine every now and then is fine but don't be drinking a six pack a day!
6. Avoid all foods labeled "sugar/fat free","diet,"or "lite/light": They are tricking you! They are just adding junk/unhealthy fillers to make up for the fact that it has no sugar/ fat.
7. Avoid ALL artificial sugar: Here we go again with the word "artificial." It was made in a lab, I don't want it in my body. Artificial sugar is linked to irregular heart beat, headaches, seizures, digestive issues and tons more! None of those things sound very fun to me!
8. Avoid any "food" that is trying to "be" another food: Examples: Margarine/Butter Spreads (they AREN'T butter), Equal/Sweet N Low (they AREN'T sugar), Any syrup that isn't labeled as 100% pure maple syrup (if it isn't 100% pure maple syrup, its a concoction of chemicals/artificial flavors.) These are all things I definitely don't want hanging out in my stomach.
9.Drink LOTS of water (and avoid soda): Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces a day (ex-If you weigh 130 lbs, drink 65 ounces of water daily.)
*I think the most important thing to remember is, if it comes from nature, eat it! If it doesn't, avoid it!
Alright, now that you have an idea of what clean eating is, I'll tell you why we have chosen this lifestyle (I say "lifestyle" instead of "diet" because it truly is an entire life change. To me, a diet lasts a few months and then you get over it. Clean eating is a way of life for us.) Here are some reasons why we eat the way we do.
1. The biggest reason we have chosen this way of eating is because we don't like burdening our bodies/digestive systems with artificial things that God never intended for food.
2. We feel so much better when our diets are free from artificial/highly processed/fried foods. We have more energy and just all around feel better. When we eat too much sugar or other junk food, Rem and I both feel bloated and fight headaches. I also have a harder time just feeling happy when my diet is suffering. After the holidays, I could definitely tell that I had strayed from my clean eating routine. I always felt bloated, had many headaches, had no energy, and was just more irritable. This month has been spent cleaning up our diet from the holidays and I feel SO much better already!
3. We don't have huge weight fluctuations. It's pretty easy to maintain a healthy weight when you are eating clean. Most of the foods we consume aren't super high calorie foods, so it helps keep our weight in check. Mind you- I have never been one for counting calories, but it is nice to know that you aren't ingesting a thousand calories in one setting.
4. We enjoy the fact that the food we put in our bodies helps boost our immune systems. You can't expect your cells to do what they are supposed to do when you aren't giving them the fuel they need to get their job done. It's kind of like putting diesel fuel in a car. Yes, diesel is fuel, but not the kind that the car needs to run properly. If you are constantly depriving your body of the fuel it needs, you are starving your cells. Your belly may be full but your cells are starving for nutrition.
It all seems very overwhelming in the beginning. It's a lot of information and you might be asking yourself (like I did, in the beginning), "Wow, there's a lot that I can't eat. What CAN I eat?" The biggest thing that has helped me find new, exciting, and tasteful clean recipes has been Pinterest. It's super accessible and easy to find recipes that suit your personal tastes/ needs. You also don't have to pay for recipe ideas like you would with a clean eating cookbook (or 6). If you are interested in finding clean eating recipes, you can just type "clean eating" into the Pinterest search bar and TONS of ideas will pop up for you! Can't get much easier! I have learned over the past three years or so that there are, in fact, tons of super yummy clean eating recipes and you WILL NOT be stuck eating salad at every meal. It just takes some time to research and find recipes that look appealing and a little courage to try them out. If you would have told me five years ago that I would drink smoothies with kale in them, I would have called you crazy. I now CRAVE them! Goes to show that you never know how something tastes until you give it a try. I don't always hit a home run on new recipes but for the most part, they usually turn out really well!
I want to give some practical ways that you can begin cleaning up your diet. Like I said, it's not an overnight change. You don't wake up one day and completely change your eating habits. For most people, your eating habits are something that have been engrained in you since childhood (not something that is easily changed,) but I'm here to tell you, it can be done. I will admit, it took a few tries of certain foods for me to get a taste for them, but now I eat them right up! Sometimes, it's just the way that I have prepared it that doesn't taste great to me, so it's a little bit of trial and error to find a way to cook it to suit my tastes. Here are some easy swaps you can begin making to work your way to a cleaner diet! It may take a few tries (or many) to gain a taste for these new foods if you aren't used to them but one day, you won't even remember what your old food tasted like!
1. Swap pre-sweetened/flavored yogurt for plain greek yogurt sweetened with honey, berries, and granola (I honestly can't even eat pre sweetened/flavored yogurt anymore because it tastes soooo sweet and fake to me now.)
2. Swap canned cream of chicken/mushroom for a homemade version. It's super simple (only about 4 ingredients) and tastes WAY better than the canned. You can still enjoy those creamy casseroles, just without all the preservatives!
3. Swap your pancake "syrup" for 100% pure maple syrup. Yes, I know, it's more expensive, but I can't even begin to tell you how much better it tastes and how much better it is for you.
4. Swap white bread/pasta for a whole wheat version/Ezekiel bread. I know sprouted breads(ex-Ezekiel brand) are better for you, but if you are used to white bread only, a whole wheat version is better than its white counterpart.
5. Try a green smoothie. They really aren't as scary as they look! Actually, my family thinks they are pretty darn delicious!
6. Swap white rice for quinoa. I use quinoa in TONS of recipes. It works as a filler just as rice would but packs a huge nutritional punch, unlike white rice.
7. Make your own condiments/seasoning mixes. I make our bbq sauce, ranch dressing, salad dressings, taco seasoning, and lots more! It is, a lot of times, much cheaper and WAY healthier. It almost frightens me to read the mile long ingredient list on bbq sauce and ranch dressing (to name a couple.)
8. Swap pre-packaged oatmeal for a homemade version in the crockpot. It is just as easy to throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and let it cook overnight as it is to open a packet and microwave it. In fact, it is EASIER in the mornings. You just scoop it out and eat it! You can control the sugar level and there are no weird preservatives.
9. Swap french fries for homemade sweet potato fries. These are our favorite!
10. Use your slow cooker. A big reason people don't put forth the effort to eat clean is because they think it will take too much time to prepare a meal from scratch. There are many recipes that I just throw in the crockpot in the morning and we have a nutritious meal ready for supper (or I put oatmeal in at night, and we wake up to an awesome breakfast!)
There are many more "swaps" that you could make, but it's best to try a few and get used to them, rather than trying to change everything overnight. Yes, sometimes it does take a little longer to prepare a meal when eating clean but there are PLENTY of quick, healthy recipes out there! I have also found that it makes grocery shopping much easier. We generally eat the same things (in different combinations, or with slight variations) each month, so it's easy for me to make a list. I know the things we like as snacks and breakfasts so I just alternate them throughout the week and choose different suppers to make (we eat leftovers for lunch a lot.)
My hope is that someone will read this and realize that they may benefit from a clean eating diet. It honestly makes me sad when I am in the store and I see people's carts loaded up with pre-packaged frozen meals, soda, boxed meals, potato chips, cookies, etc. I want them to reap the benefits of eating well (and FEELING well because of what they eat.) I understand that not everyone has the time to put in to making elaborate meals and may feel that the time they are using to prepare clean meals would be better used elsewhere but I would argue that your health is WELL worth the time you put into making healthy meals for yourself and your family. I really want to inspire others to see that their health is worth it! It's worth taking an extra five minutes to make something from scratch rather than opening a can/box and putting that into your body. You will be amazed at how much better you feel when you fuel your body with the right foods!
There are many other topics relating to clean eating that I would love to talk about like cost, easy recipes, pantry items to keep on hand, etc. I'm hoping to make a few more blog posts in the coming weeks to help those people who are interested! Disclaimer- I know I sound like a crazy person most of the time (my family/friends make fun of me a lot for my crazy ways,) but I am just very passionate about healthy eating and how it can transform your health! I'm sure some people are like "just shut up already," but I'm hoping reading this sparks the interest of at least one person and they can begin their new lifestyle soon!
If you have never heard the term "eating clean" or have no idea what it even means, here's a quick overview. Eating clean isn't a super specific diet like the Atkins diet or the Paleo diet. There are things that should be avoided when eating clean and some people take it as far as eliminating all dairy, grains, and meat, and eat ONLY plant based food. Some things that are definitely "guidelines" to eating clean are:
1: No highly processed foods: canned condensed soups, refrigerated dough (cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, biscuits), sugary cereals, most bottled salad dressings, any boxed meal (hamburger helper, suddenly salad, etc.), flavored yogurt (yoplait), vegetable/canola oil, white rice, white bread/pasta, frozen meals (hungry man, etc.). I could literally write a twenty page paper of foods that are highly processed but I won't bore you any longer. Read the label, if it has an ingredient list a mile long and you can only pronounce two ingredients, it's highly processed.
2. No artificial flavor/color: If it says "artificial," do you really want that in your body?
3. Avoid/Highly limit white sugar/ flour: We all know added sugar is unhealthy and white flour has been processed so much that any nutrition it did have has now been stripped from it.
4. Get the highest quality produce/meats/dairy that you can afford: Farm fresh eggs are much higher in nutrients than eggs that have come from the grocery store (factory farmed), same with meats- get the highest quality you can afford. We can't afford organic meat so I just make sure it comes from our local locker where I know how it is being processed, etc. I don't always buy organic produce because it is so expensive but if you can afford it, opt for it!
5. Highly limit alcohol: A glass of wine every now and then is fine but don't be drinking a six pack a day!
6. Avoid all foods labeled "sugar/fat free","diet,"or "lite/light": They are tricking you! They are just adding junk/unhealthy fillers to make up for the fact that it has no sugar/ fat.
7. Avoid ALL artificial sugar: Here we go again with the word "artificial." It was made in a lab, I don't want it in my body. Artificial sugar is linked to irregular heart beat, headaches, seizures, digestive issues and tons more! None of those things sound very fun to me!
8. Avoid any "food" that is trying to "be" another food: Examples: Margarine/Butter Spreads (they AREN'T butter), Equal/Sweet N Low (they AREN'T sugar), Any syrup that isn't labeled as 100% pure maple syrup (if it isn't 100% pure maple syrup, its a concoction of chemicals/artificial flavors.) These are all things I definitely don't want hanging out in my stomach.
9.Drink LOTS of water (and avoid soda): Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces a day (ex-If you weigh 130 lbs, drink 65 ounces of water daily.)
*I think the most important thing to remember is, if it comes from nature, eat it! If it doesn't, avoid it!
Alright, now that you have an idea of what clean eating is, I'll tell you why we have chosen this lifestyle (I say "lifestyle" instead of "diet" because it truly is an entire life change. To me, a diet lasts a few months and then you get over it. Clean eating is a way of life for us.) Here are some reasons why we eat the way we do.
1. The biggest reason we have chosen this way of eating is because we don't like burdening our bodies/digestive systems with artificial things that God never intended for food.
2. We feel so much better when our diets are free from artificial/highly processed/fried foods. We have more energy and just all around feel better. When we eat too much sugar or other junk food, Rem and I both feel bloated and fight headaches. I also have a harder time just feeling happy when my diet is suffering. After the holidays, I could definitely tell that I had strayed from my clean eating routine. I always felt bloated, had many headaches, had no energy, and was just more irritable. This month has been spent cleaning up our diet from the holidays and I feel SO much better already!
3. We don't have huge weight fluctuations. It's pretty easy to maintain a healthy weight when you are eating clean. Most of the foods we consume aren't super high calorie foods, so it helps keep our weight in check. Mind you- I have never been one for counting calories, but it is nice to know that you aren't ingesting a thousand calories in one setting.
4. We enjoy the fact that the food we put in our bodies helps boost our immune systems. You can't expect your cells to do what they are supposed to do when you aren't giving them the fuel they need to get their job done. It's kind of like putting diesel fuel in a car. Yes, diesel is fuel, but not the kind that the car needs to run properly. If you are constantly depriving your body of the fuel it needs, you are starving your cells. Your belly may be full but your cells are starving for nutrition.
It all seems very overwhelming in the beginning. It's a lot of information and you might be asking yourself (like I did, in the beginning), "Wow, there's a lot that I can't eat. What CAN I eat?" The biggest thing that has helped me find new, exciting, and tasteful clean recipes has been Pinterest. It's super accessible and easy to find recipes that suit your personal tastes/ needs. You also don't have to pay for recipe ideas like you would with a clean eating cookbook (or 6). If you are interested in finding clean eating recipes, you can just type "clean eating" into the Pinterest search bar and TONS of ideas will pop up for you! Can't get much easier! I have learned over the past three years or so that there are, in fact, tons of super yummy clean eating recipes and you WILL NOT be stuck eating salad at every meal. It just takes some time to research and find recipes that look appealing and a little courage to try them out. If you would have told me five years ago that I would drink smoothies with kale in them, I would have called you crazy. I now CRAVE them! Goes to show that you never know how something tastes until you give it a try. I don't always hit a home run on new recipes but for the most part, they usually turn out really well!
I want to give some practical ways that you can begin cleaning up your diet. Like I said, it's not an overnight change. You don't wake up one day and completely change your eating habits. For most people, your eating habits are something that have been engrained in you since childhood (not something that is easily changed,) but I'm here to tell you, it can be done. I will admit, it took a few tries of certain foods for me to get a taste for them, but now I eat them right up! Sometimes, it's just the way that I have prepared it that doesn't taste great to me, so it's a little bit of trial and error to find a way to cook it to suit my tastes. Here are some easy swaps you can begin making to work your way to a cleaner diet! It may take a few tries (or many) to gain a taste for these new foods if you aren't used to them but one day, you won't even remember what your old food tasted like!
1. Swap pre-sweetened/flavored yogurt for plain greek yogurt sweetened with honey, berries, and granola (I honestly can't even eat pre sweetened/flavored yogurt anymore because it tastes soooo sweet and fake to me now.)
2. Swap canned cream of chicken/mushroom for a homemade version. It's super simple (only about 4 ingredients) and tastes WAY better than the canned. You can still enjoy those creamy casseroles, just without all the preservatives!
3. Swap your pancake "syrup" for 100% pure maple syrup. Yes, I know, it's more expensive, but I can't even begin to tell you how much better it tastes and how much better it is for you.
4. Swap white bread/pasta for a whole wheat version/Ezekiel bread. I know sprouted breads(ex-Ezekiel brand) are better for you, but if you are used to white bread only, a whole wheat version is better than its white counterpart.
5. Try a green smoothie. They really aren't as scary as they look! Actually, my family thinks they are pretty darn delicious!
6. Swap white rice for quinoa. I use quinoa in TONS of recipes. It works as a filler just as rice would but packs a huge nutritional punch, unlike white rice.
7. Make your own condiments/seasoning mixes. I make our bbq sauce, ranch dressing, salad dressings, taco seasoning, and lots more! It is, a lot of times, much cheaper and WAY healthier. It almost frightens me to read the mile long ingredient list on bbq sauce and ranch dressing (to name a couple.)
8. Swap pre-packaged oatmeal for a homemade version in the crockpot. It is just as easy to throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and let it cook overnight as it is to open a packet and microwave it. In fact, it is EASIER in the mornings. You just scoop it out and eat it! You can control the sugar level and there are no weird preservatives.
9. Swap french fries for homemade sweet potato fries. These are our favorite!
10. Use your slow cooker. A big reason people don't put forth the effort to eat clean is because they think it will take too much time to prepare a meal from scratch. There are many recipes that I just throw in the crockpot in the morning and we have a nutritious meal ready for supper (or I put oatmeal in at night, and we wake up to an awesome breakfast!)
There are many more "swaps" that you could make, but it's best to try a few and get used to them, rather than trying to change everything overnight. Yes, sometimes it does take a little longer to prepare a meal when eating clean but there are PLENTY of quick, healthy recipes out there! I have also found that it makes grocery shopping much easier. We generally eat the same things (in different combinations, or with slight variations) each month, so it's easy for me to make a list. I know the things we like as snacks and breakfasts so I just alternate them throughout the week and choose different suppers to make (we eat leftovers for lunch a lot.)
My hope is that someone will read this and realize that they may benefit from a clean eating diet. It honestly makes me sad when I am in the store and I see people's carts loaded up with pre-packaged frozen meals, soda, boxed meals, potato chips, cookies, etc. I want them to reap the benefits of eating well (and FEELING well because of what they eat.) I understand that not everyone has the time to put in to making elaborate meals and may feel that the time they are using to prepare clean meals would be better used elsewhere but I would argue that your health is WELL worth the time you put into making healthy meals for yourself and your family. I really want to inspire others to see that their health is worth it! It's worth taking an extra five minutes to make something from scratch rather than opening a can/box and putting that into your body. You will be amazed at how much better you feel when you fuel your body with the right foods!
There are many other topics relating to clean eating that I would love to talk about like cost, easy recipes, pantry items to keep on hand, etc. I'm hoping to make a few more blog posts in the coming weeks to help those people who are interested! Disclaimer- I know I sound like a crazy person most of the time (my family/friends make fun of me a lot for my crazy ways,) but I am just very passionate about healthy eating and how it can transform your health! I'm sure some people are like "just shut up already," but I'm hoping reading this sparks the interest of at least one person and they can begin their new lifestyle soon!
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Halloween Festivities
We started out our Halloween this year by getting new haircuts (the little boys anyway). I have been saying for a few weeks that I need to give Owen a haircut and yesterday at breakfast was the breaking point. I figured I might as well trim Gav up too while I had all my haircutting stuff out so both boys have fresh, cute cuts! We ran a few errands uptown after we did haircuts and had CJ and Steph over for lunch since they are in the process of moving (daddy helped them all day yesterday move stuff to their new house). As of yesterday, they are also temporarily living with us while they work on renovating their new home so the boys get some extra play time with cousin Addie! For lunch, Gav decided he wanted to eat outside (even though it was cold!) so I bundled them up and out they went. I seriously don't know what we are going to do once it gets too cold to go outside. Poor Gavin might go insane! Yesterday afternoon, I also got my new stash of cloth diapers I ordered the day before (Thanks Cotton Babies in St. Louis). I was not expecting them to arrive so soon (24 hours soon!) since the website said 5-10 days for delivery, but I'm thinking since they came from St. Louis and only had to travel an hour is why they were here so soon. I was pretty excited and spent the afternoon getting them washed and ready (well about 10 minutes of actually opening them, putting them in the washer, and hanging them to dry. I let my washer do most of the work!). He got his first cloth diaper put on before we went out to the Halloween party and I must say, he looks ADORABLE with his fluffy butt! Two things that I was nervous about with cloth diapering were diapering overnight and dealing with the *cough* poop. Well I'm happy to say that we have dealt with both experiences and have had favorable outcomes! Yay! Owie went all night without any leaks and dealing with the poopy diaper was a lot less of a hassle then I had imagined. Alright, Enough about cloth diapers (I'm sure I'll do a whole other post on that sometime after I get into the CD routine), lets get back to our Halloween fun! After we ate supper, we headed up to CJ and Steph's church for their Fall Harvest Party. Gav had fun jumping in the bounce house and eating all kinds of treats he doesn't get on a normal basis. We also went to the Calvary Baptist Church "trunk-or-treat" and trick-or-treated at some friends houses. It was pretty chilly out so we didn't do a whole lot of outdoor trick-or-treating but Gavin really had a blast and when we were coming in to the house for the night he said "Mom, that was SO fun!" This morning he's even asking "Is today trick-or-treating?" What a disappointment that it only comes around once a year!
Before his haircut
After. Such a handsome boy!
Enjoying lunch on the deck
He doesn't get a whole lot of eating done when we're outside
Owie the puppy!
Sweetest pirate I've ever seen!
Addie the chicken
Daddy and his boys enjoying the party
Yummy treat!
Gav with his buddy Judah
Gav and Addie with friend Chloe
Gav and Addie trick-or-treating at our friends Kim and Kenny's
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Saturday, October 11, 2014
My GORGEOUS Sister-in-Law Katie
Rem's parents and little sister came to town this weekend. Katie had asked me earlier in the week if I would shoot some photos of her and I was absolutely flattered and really excited because it gave me a chance to practice my photography skills. This evening, we took the chance to go outside of town to capture some photos in the beautiful fall foliage. I have known Katie since she was about Gavin's age and have watched her change and grow into a BEAUTIFUL young woman, inside AND out! In five days, she will begin her teenage years and I absolutely can't believe that's even possible. Steph and I were joking this evening that if you looked back on our photos when we were thirteen, you would probably laugh your head off. This girl is absolutely stunning! She definitely skipped over those awkward years that most kids go through! If you don't want to take my word for it, see for yourself!
My FAVORITE!!!
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