What's Eat'n You Cont...

In my quest to get my daily calories in and naturally address some issues experienced in my body, I have spent time researching foods that exacerbate those issues and address them. In 3 John verse 2 it reads "I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all my go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well" (NIV). Not only do we have to take care of our minds, will and emotions but also our bodies. I've come across enough information to confirm the dangers of things we consume mindlessly. So I've developed a diet that works for me as well as with me. This meant that I would have to substitute certain things and retrain my buds. I think the general apprehension is that we're so use to eating junk that we won't enjoy eating healthy. Or that a modified diet will cause you to sign your checks over to the grocery store. But I have found some good stuff! I usually cook meals that will last me almost a week. With the help of some websites I've frequented, I've learned a few economy friendly meals to cook that are filling, don't require a shopping cart full of ingredients and won't send me to the grave early.

What's been cooking in my kitchen:

Here's an easy dish I enjoy that will allow you to get your servings of legumes and veggies (fiber/protein/vitamins):
*Southwest Chili - dark kidney beans, black beans, mixed organic veggies, Hunts organic tomato paste, Hunts organic diced tomatoes, 1 1/2 packs of chili powder (no msg)...add a pound of turkey meat if you'd like. Stew and season to taste. I don't add salt because I usually eat my chili with oyster crackers! If you must, try sea salt as an alternative to iodized salt.

Healthy pasta dishes include whole wheat (grain) pasta with all natural tomato sauce (get your lycopene on!)
*Stuffed Pasta Shells - One box of shells, Prego ~all natural~ Tomato Sauce, Boca Meat (substitute), saute` diced white onions-garlic-basil, stuff boiled shells, cover with tomato sauce and place in the oven covered for 15 mins. Enjoy your shells with some Italian bread and a spinach salad for filling.

Get your Omega 3 in with a fish dinner! Skip the fryer and bake that suckah!
*Tilapia (or Salmon) with Wild Rice and Stir Fried Veggies - Two packs of 4 frozen fish fillets, one package of long grain rice, garlic powder, sea salt, pepper, lemon juice, a couple of zucchini and squash (two of each), broccoli, and baby corn. Marinate fish for more flavor and stir fry veggies to liking.

I enjoy sandwiches as well so recently I tried:
*Tofu Sandwich - skillet seared strips of tofu sprayed with amino acid, homemade guacamole (foreal!), lettuce and sliced tomatoes on flaxseed bread.

Snack Substitutes:
*Berry Medley - fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. This is for my sweet tooth-ers.
*Soy Ice Cream (Purely Decadent Organic Brand) - for all of my lactose intolerant friends (of which there are some still in the closet), who just want to reminisce on the good ol' days. You can't even tell the difference! My fav flavor is Turtle Trails.
*Pita Chips - whatever brand you buy, whatever! These are good and not bad for you! I get mine from Trader Joe's.

Swigs:
*IZZE Sparkling Drinks (all natural)- Great for pop lovers without the damaging sugars! I got turned on to these and every now and then, I will treat myself (is a little pricey). Sometimes on sale at CVS.
*Bolthouse Farms Smoothies - Also another pricey item that you can catch on sale. All natural, providing full servings of fruits and vegetables (depending on what kind you get). Strawberry Banana and Berry Boost are my choices.
*Juicy Juice - 100% all natural ingredients. Period. No high fructose corn syrup, no coloring, no crazy stuff. Berry and Apple.
* WATER! I know some folks have a hard time with water, but that's what sparkling water is for. It makes for an easier transition.

These were just a few things on my list. I am still trying out new recipes. Next week I will tackle a seafood couscous dish! Since I have to cook, I might as well make it interesting. Hopefully I gave you some brain food.

My go to's:
http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com
http://allrecipes.com

What's Eat'n You?

In The Beginning...

When I read the Old Testament, I'm always amazed at the number of years many lived. For example, a man named Jared lived to be 962 year old (Genesis 5:20). I can't even imagine what that looks like (nor do I want to)! So I like to pick brains...I asked a couple of people why we don't live to be that old anymore. No one comes even near those kind of ages. Some of the answers I got were spiritual and others, natural. Increasingly, I have been as equally concerned with the natural as I have spiritual. I think there is something to be considered, that is being overlooked (not that an answer will yield those kind of birthdays again).

Last summer I visited a pilates class at a popular gym and during our exercise, the instructor (whom was kinda hippie-ish) began talking about nutrition and the additives that are in our food. She goes on to say that a common additive in food is one of the properties used in embalming fluid [slowing down the healing and repair mechanisms of your body]. By this time, I was already in the process of revamping my diet, but this made me become more discriminatory of the food I cook and eat and more label conscious. I am by *NO MEANS* a nutritional guru...just a girl on a budget trying to do better. So from one budget-er to another, these are my findings.

Rocket Science...

I'm becoming more and more of a believer that aggressive and progressive illnesses in our bodies are not a mystery or phenom, but correlative to the manipulation/consumption of kryptonite foods. So I decided to fish around [no pun intended] to see what info I could back up my woman's intuition with. Although some of my sources are not from the horses mouth, they have done the research themselves, noting credible sources (why reinvent the wheel).

World Health Organization says, "70 percent of all cancers can be prevented with simple changes in diet and lifestyle."

"Cancer tumors develop, in part, by feeding on sugar in the bloodstream. If you eat lots of sugary snacks loaded with simple carbs, you're loading your bloodstream with the chemical energy
needed for cancer cells (and tumors) to proliferate." (http://www.naturalnews.com/021808.html)

Other articles to read at your leisure (asap) *Disclaimer - left to your own interpretation. Eat the hay and spit the sticks if you must:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39687039/ns/health-cancer
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/hurtful-food-avoid-these-10-cancercausing-foods.html
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/cat-food-safety.html
http://www.13.waisays.com/brain.htm

I'm not 100% organic and I do manage to get some "naughty by nature" ingredients into my diet but that has decreased tremendously. In my research of good vs. evil, I have run across what we ignore daily.

My SMALL list of buyer bewares:
high-fructose corn syrup
Sugar sucrose
Enriched bleached flour
White rice
White pastas
White breads and other "white" foods.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG - nasty villian!)
Food colorings
High concentrations of salt (sea salt a better alternative)
Anything that seems to be spelled with every letter in the alphabet.
Anything that explicitly says "Not a significant source of nutritional value"

I mean the list could go on! And on a lot of packages, it does. If you read the label and it seems like a lot is going on, it's because it is. If it reads like a novel, that's an indication. And don't be fooled by those packages that have you feeling good about your purchase on the front, but has ulterior motives on the back. Even those "healthy" snacks can sneak up on you. I feel a little differently about my granola bars now :-( Maybe they reduced the fat/calories but they didn't reduce the additives:


Look for brands that say "0 grams of trans fat, No MSG, No artificial colors or flavors, No preservatives, Non - GMO ingredients, Gluten free...". My feelings have been hurt over and over as I found out the foods that I thought were healthy, really violated me. To simplify my mornings, I would pop in a bagel and go! Hey, that's a step up from me not eating breakfast at all. Whole wheat bagels...but what's the trade off:



I will be the first to admit that eating healthier can put a dent in my purse but think of all the little ways you spend money that adds up big. Eating out several times, going to the movies during the weekend when you can pay less than half the price during the week, . That money could go towards some fresh fruits and veggies! Even for the vending machine addicts, every dollar counts! Where can YOU cut back? I always manage to find a good produce sale at Kroger (although Meijer seems to have fresher produce for a better price). Even with produce, be mindful. If you look at the carton of strawberries and say "hmmm...those are some big strawberries" put them down and walk away slowly. Buy 100% juice that is really 100% (Juicey Juice/Old Orchard...). Our bodies were made to process food but not process processed food. This isn't about being overly conscious and not enjoying yourself. This is dispelling the notion that ignorance is bliss.

Oh Soy!

For all my soy lovers...especially females...consume in moderation. It does something a little funky to our hormones. When soy is heavily processed, it no longer becomes a healthy alternative: http://www.suite101.com/content/soy-a27818

Crap Happens!

I was thinking of a BMW or Mercedes. Those kind of luxury vehicles don't manage well using Regular gas. You have to use Premium or Silver (the kind we are too cheap to put in our own vehicles ;-) to maintain the life of the engine. It's no different with our bodies. What we put in is what we get out. Crap goes in, crap comes out, and crap happens. Unfortunately, we live during a time where treatment is profitable, not awareness and prevention. That would cut the medical industries profits down tremendously. We can't have that can we?! The bottom line is being agents of our own prevention. Food is for the purpose of keeping our bodies alive, not killing them. God can have the intention of satisfying us with long life (like our biblical counterparts), but we have a part to play in that also. I will post sequel to this blog with healthy meals that play nice with your wallet!

Zombie Salmon

There's something about the creation altering the creation. It's never creative, but only destructive. I don't know about you but tampering with my food is a little creepy. It always has been (i.e our steroid and anti-biotic riddled meat and veggies). The FDA is in the process of approving genetically altered salmon as an answer to the recent Gulf oil spill. What's worse is there will be no regulations on packaging. What does that mean? It means packaging is not required to indicate that the fish you are buying is modified fish, taking away your right to choose.

Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/06/AR2010090602424.html?wprss=rss_nation

Blood Type: Toxic

Anybody who has a luxury vehicle will tell you that luxury vehicles require a certain type of treatment, such as quality gas. If you put any other type of gas or even cheaper gas in the tank, your car won't perform at it's best as it would with quality gas. The engine eventually would probably corrode and shut down. The same is with our bodies. We were designed to consume quality foods (organic fruits, veggies, meat etc.). These organic foods work for our benefit as does quality gas for any vehicle. They supply our bodies with specific nutrients that treat every part of our body, inside and out. But slowly but surely we have moved away from pure foods for the sake of quick production. We intake sugars that corrode our organs, processed meats that our bodies struggle to breakdown, and so on. I wonder why we don't perform to our potential? Or where diseases come from? Could it be a combo of deficiencies in our diet and stress? Stress? Yea, from keeping up with the Johnsons and the Joneses. Wow, just had an epiphany! We treat our luxury vehicles better than our own bodies! We are full of toxins from the environment and food. Toxins are sitting and shutting our systems down. It's usually a domino effect. When one part shuts down, another goes down hill, and then another.

I don't know exactly when the "quick" schemes first came on the scene. I'm assuming when the microwave was invented. Or maybe fast food restaurants started the madness. Whatever the case, we as Americans especially are all about the quick schemes. Get rich quick, lose weight quick, find a mate quick, prepare dinner quick, shed years of aging QUICK! Then "easy" was added at the tail end of quick. Every infomercial's tag line is "It's quick and easy". Meaning, not much work involved. But we are catering to laziness and perpetuating impatience. We are like water molecules when heated up. Going fast and eventually crashing. Crashing into others and crashing ourselves. It's always at the tail end of things that we hurry to reverse the inevitable. Our whole lives we eat fried food, salty food, junk food, smoke, drink etc. and then at the end suffering from all types of self inflicted diseases, we're concerned. All these years, we have been adding to the landfills things that take 100years and more to decompose, or planting more industrial buildings than trees, and BIG vehicles. Now we are seeing the effect it's having on the environment and everyone is scrambling to be "green". Green isn't a new concept. It's always been a choice that was rarely chosen. Green was a hindrance to QUICK production. The township that I live in doesn't participate in picking up recycling bins because it's an "eye sore". WOW!

I don't want too say "too little too late" and be a pessimist. Better late than never I guess. In the meantime, what we can make drastic changes about is our diet. We were designed with resilient bodies. Wouldn't it be cool if we really did live in a dome of bubble wrap? Reality is that we don't, so be good to yourself because the one's feeding you the quick schemes don't care about you. Be good to our dome of earth, because we don't get a new one.

Margin

This was an eventful week for me. I had two presentations, a huge test, rehearsals, and a behind the scenes role in the Easter play. I am sore and tired! BUT I'm relieved that the week is almost complete. When I was pondering on this past week, I realized that I felt a sense of accomplishment. Hard weeks will make you appreciate the easy ones!

I was on the brink of feeling down on myself because I have gotten in a bad habit of not creating enough margin for myself sometimes. A lot of my preparation for my two presentations were last-minute (happens when you have other group members), somewhere in between creating powerpoint slides I managed to get a little studying done for my test, and somewhere between all of that, I managed to get some food and sleep. Essentials, right?! My room, the kitchen and my quiet time have suffered in the last couple weeks. I travel a lot during the week going to school, being involved in church, and running errands, so I am ALWAYS on the run. It hit me on Thursday, when I showed up to an appointment late, took too long on my test and was driving recklessly to make it to rehearsal on time, that I wouldn't have to be going through all of this If i would only create margin for myself!

Margin: an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary. So think of margin in terms of time. Creating enough or beyond enough space of time needed. Too bad I had this epiphany about myself while I'm driving 80miles an hour on I-75 with a subway sandwich in one hand and my phone in the other! I have learned to drive with my knee...Preparing for what's ahead will save you time and sanity. Sounds simple enough, but you know you have your moments when you wait until the last possible minute because you have convinced yourself that "I have time". There is always some type of preparation that can be done therefore there should never be an idle moment. Whether its preparing for your day tomorrow, reading material that will be useful in the near future, prayer-kick'n it with Jesus, reading your Word, cooking, writing what's on your heart, washing clothes/dishes, or whatever pertains to you. There is a peace and serenity attached to creating margin for yourself. I finally see a break in the clouds!

Practice margin until it becomes a discipline. Give yourself more moments to breathe and enjoy the scenery of your life journey ;-)