Post 14 / Day 86 ~ We Only Live Once!

In my last few posts what have been about portion control, as well as what types of foods are good for us.

Well that's all fine and dandy... however, what is more important to remember is that we only live once!

Why am I bringing this up?  Fact of the matter IS that we only live once...and with that said, I have chosen to do things my way from here on out!  (LOL)  Oh I'm not a type A personality, now am I?  wink, wink.

What I mean is that all my life I have been a slave to diets.  (Exercise included.)  I have counted calories, avoided carbs, and have eaten more than my share of salads.  To mention a few.  Sure, all these tactics have given me immediate results, but what they lacked was a long lasting effect.  

I have now gotten to a point in my life (I am two years away from the BIG 5-0) that all I want out of life is happiness.  Although I do want to look good and be healthy, I also have come to terms with the fact that I will never be a skinny-minny... and I am ok with all of this.  After all, I have taken care of myself enough to be no more than 20 or 25 pounds from my perfect weight.

SO (as I stand with a wide stance and place my fists on my waist) ... I am going to do this my way now.

I only have one life, and I will live what's left of it how I want to.  My way.  

I will not deprive myself of anything that I love to eat and will do so in a healthy manner.  I know about portions... I know what foods are good for me... I know to exercise and make healthy physical choices (ie. taking the stairs instead of the escalator at the mall)... I also know that if I keep a good pace and eat slow, I will get full quicker... I also know that water is a definite must, and plenty of it...  I also know moderation... I know that my stomach is about the size of my fist.. and I also know that I should not eat more than the size of my fist at one sitting.

I may not be able to have my crème brûlée every night... oh but when that lovely dinner comes around where I finally get my dessert... I will savor each bite and work it off the next day and then some.  Tomorrow's dessert...?  hmmm... 

Sounds like I am contradicting my self, coming across as if I am depriving myself from my favorite dessert... however... I have more than one favorite dessert, as well as favorite foods.. Yes, that was plural... F O O D S  and I can not very well eat them all at one sitting... 

Therefore I alternate all my favorite foods, using what I know above and then some...Bottom line I am not depriving myself of anything!  quite the contrary  Big Smile!

Bon Appetit!

Here's to another glass of water!

Stay healthy and Think Positive!

Blessings to you and yours. 

Images courtesy of google images.

Post 13 / Day 79 ~ Are Your Portions Off?

Proper food portions?  You mean I can't eat all that I want, as much as I want? 

Not if you want to live a healthy life.

 I last spoke of healthy foods to eat, and dabbled a little about nutritional labels.  

Those darn nutrition labels!!  I wish they were a little more straight forward to help the consumer, and not so sugar coated to help out the food manufacturer.  

Huh?

The funny thing about all of this is that as the food manufacturer starts putting their numbers together, they start seeing how unhealthy their product may be.  What will we do?  I know!  Lets make the serving size five chips!  The numbers will go down then!!

OK!  Who eats just five chips?!  I don't know about you, but you can not just eat five.  Even if you are "waist" conscious, you will still eat more than five chips!  

I personally know that I do not want to eat a piece of steak larger than my palm, did you?  To make life simpler for some of us, I have come across some images that may help you when you're putting your meal together.  

And no... you will not need to carry measuring cups, measuring spoons or a food scale with you!

First off... when serving meals for my family... I do not use my dinner [size] plates!  I use salad [size] plates for us, sometimes even pulling out the desert [size] plate for Calley!  You trick your mind into thinking that you are eating more.

For when we are our family's home, I use the following [mental] pictures to assist me in serving for my husband and daughter.  For us visual people, I  have collected a few different pictures for you to help you with portions.  Then there's a couple for those of you that are less visual.

Finally, some creative nutritionists have put some plates together as to what our plates should look like...

Sure hope this helps put proportions into perspective for you.  It did me!

Here's to another glass of water!

Stay healthy and Think Positive!

Blessings to you and yours. 

Images courtesy of google images.

Post 12 / Day 72 ~ Shopping The '99' List

Well, that was easy!

I was starting to break out in hives at the thought of changing out products I normally.  I don't know why I did that to myself... all that needless worry.  

I have been eating healthy for years, and feeding my family the same way.  Years I tell you.  I started getting health conscience back in the late eighties right after the birth of my first son.  After all, I was not about to feed anything unhealthy to my baby.

I adjusted how I cooked, which was not all that difficult being that I had not been cooking long.  When I was single, there really wasn't a need to cook - I spent my time with my family and ate with them or I went out.  So needless to say I had not developed many bad habits.

I stopped making fried chicken, fried anything for that matter, which was not a difficult task.  After all frying foods somehow ended up being messy with all the splatter, and a hassle afterwards with the clean-up.  So... that was a welcomed adjustment.

Since my early twenties was at the height of the workout frenzy with Jane Fonda showing up everywhere in her workout clothes and leggings to match, being health conscience was almost done for you.   Living in Los Angeles was an added bonus... the skinny capital of the world... being healthy and being weight conscious became second nature.  

Twenty-five years later my cooking has not only gotten better and healthier, but with the help of television networks such like the Food Network and the Cooking Channel (which I have been watching since they came on,) cooking has become an all time love of mine, as well as  my five year old little girl (or rather my Sous Chef as Calley likes to be referred to.)

When it came to shopping this weekend, granted I had "the list" with me, it wasn't all that difficult.  I even ended up putting the list down... I was reassured that I was already shopping healthy.

I use shopping as an opportunity to teach my daughter.  I have taught my daughter to not only compare prices, but to compare nutritional values.  Looking for things like the "white check mark" on General Mills cereals,  white checks = whole grains, or looking for the "Zero Trans Fat" label, to mention a couple.  And of course, we have had lessons in picking produce and checking expiration dates as well.

As I mentioned in the past, I do not buy tv dinners or processed foods.  I will, however buy frozen organic fruits and vegetables, they end up being less expensive and stay fresh longer.  I must add that the freezer is beginning to get a bit crowded... guess we need to start looking for a stand alone freezer.    Wink, Wink.

Don't forget that when you are reading nutritional labels on foods, look at the portion amounts.  Remember the labels are misleading.  In order for the numbers to look good, manufacturers list the per portion values, as opposed to the whole container.  Not only that, but what we may think a portion is to us, more times than not, it is not what the manufacturer has in mind.  They want to sell their product as being healthy and listing "per portion" nutritional values helps their products sell, as well as making their nutritional numbers appear healthier.

In conclusion, while the list of 99 healthy foods that Dr. Oz provided was a great help, it proved to me that I was already doing the right thing for myself and my family.  I will continue to read labels, include plenty of fruits and vegetables and stick to whole grains in my family diet..  

Here's to another glass of water!

Stay healthy and Think Positive!

Blessings to you and yours. 

Images courtesy of google images.

Post 11 / Day 65 - 99 Foods That Help You Loose Weight

99 Foods I can buy to help me be healthy, and loose weight!?!?!  

You're kidding me, right?

Nope!  No I am not!

In my perusing this past week I came across a list put together by Dr. Oz (I'm sure it was his staff  wink, wink) of 99 foods I can purchase at the grocery store that will help me loose weight.

This is a must for a healthier you.

Well, guess what?  I am going to put this list to a test.  I will be shopping next weekend (I'm giving myself a week to clean out the fridge) and will be exchanging some items that I normally purchase.

First off, some of the food on this list are frozen prepared foods.  Homie doesn't do tv dinners. I do not like preservatives... I run from them!  That, and Dino, my hubby, can be picky.  Sooo... I will do the best I can to stick to this list, and substitute on other items.

Secondly, I agree that Dr. Oz (and his staff) has suggested quite a few named brands out of convenience.  However, as stated in Dr. Oz's disclaimer, I too do not endorse any of the named products listed.  I will be comparing the products' listed nutritional value and ingredients to other brands, making the best decision for my family.

However... I am faced with a challenge.  I live in El Paso.  There is one health food grocery store in town, and it is nothing like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods!  The best part about living in Los Angeles was the number of health food stores!  Big or small, you can find them there.  Challenge or not... I will prevail!  wink, wink.

For Dr. Oz' healthy grocery list you can either click here to print it, or go to Dr. Oz's website for it there. 

Here's to another glass of water!

Stay healthy and Think Positive!

Blessings. 

Images courtesy of google images.