a "Step" in the right direction

Thank you for tuning in as I continue in search of happiness in all aspects of my life. Today I want to talk about making a step in the right direction to be healthy. You will find in the next series of blogs some steps and tips that I have learned these past two years about shopping & planning for healthy meals. Please note that I am not a professional or a dietitian. What I will be sharing with you are things I have learned and things that have changed my life. Here is a picture of me just before I began this journey back in September 2014 and the one of the right is who I am today.

If you are reading this blog, you are ready for a change in your life. It may be something small and simple or it may be a complete transformation. I hope these steps will be encouraging, uplifting, and today you will make a commitment to be renewed. Recently, I had a chance to participate in a stress management training and these are the three steps that were presented to me. I definitely think they align with health management as well as other aspects of life. I trust you will find these helpful as you continue on your journey.

The 3 C's
1 - Challenge
2 - Commitment
3 - Control

Challenge - Many of us have identified what the challenge is in our life. It may be healthy eating, it may be smoking, it may be stress. Is it something we can overcome? Yes we can if we have commitment.

Commitment - Are you motivated? Are you ready to solve the problem? Are you invested? If yes lets take control.

Control - This can only happen within ourselves. We control our own destinies. As a child of God I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and can accomplish all things within myself because I have Christ within me. Take this moment, hold on tight, you got this.. God is in control.

Now for the tips.   

Tip 1: Importance of Planning

I remember my first week of shopping prior to Whole 30. I was clueless and unprepared. I know you don't believe me since I am OCD, Type A, and a list maker, but it is true. I just thought I could go to the store and throw everything in my buggy that I like. I like Strawberries, Squash, Shrimp, Pumpkin Seeds.. Yum right. Well I realized mid week although I had all healthy choices none of them went together to complete a meal. So I remember starving that week and wasting alot of fresh food. So please make sure you have a list and plan for your first week. I would recommend you write out each day and list breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and beverage by each day. Then you can compile a list of things to buy at the store that goes along with each day. I also check in my freezer, fridge, or cabinets to see if there is something I can pair with a meal to help save cost.

Tip 2: How can I save on Healthy Eating?

This is probably one of my most asked questions I receive. How can you afford to eat healthy? Well think about it. How much are you spending eating out? How much do you spend on multi-vitamins, Dr visits, or prescriptions? When I figured out the totals of these I am spending the same as before. We still do eat out from time to time but now I am eating less and can actually share a meal with Jesse so the costs has went down. Stay tuned to a future blog on how to eat healthy at restaurants... Dr visits and medicine for me was eliminated because I was taking vitamins or probiotics for unhealthy eating and being overweight. 

I shop at Publix. Every Wednesday a new store ad is posted and I do my shopping on the weekend. So after the ad is posted I go through the app on my phone and see what is on sale. This helps me build my grocery list for the week. If they are having a BOGO sale on Chicken I go ahead and buy it in bulk and freeze the extras for another week. I do this for pork, chicken, and fish. Lately they have had their whole chickens on sale for 0.99 per lb. I go ahead and buy about 5 or 6 of them and freeze them. For us we can cook a whole chicken on Sunday and use it for multiple meals throughout the week. We also have a grilling day planned where we cook several of those BOGO chicken breasts all at the same time but with different flavors. So we may have BBQ chicken, Hot Sauce chicken, Lemon Pepper Chicken on the grill together. We spread these out as lunches or dinners for the week. All you have to do is cook the sides. So if you are working mom or dad this is a great tip for you.  

Tip 3: How can eating healthy food be exciting?

If you asked me two years ago what I thought of Beets, Brussel Sprouts, Eggplant, Kale, Radish... I would have said YUCK. Who eats those things, Rabbits? And yes many of you have said that jokingly with me. But here is the deal now. I love them and I would have never known that if I didn't try them. Pinterest has been a life saver for us. There are tons and tons of recipes out there. Jesse and I made a pack that we would try a new meal at least once a week. So we would continue on with our staple healthy favorites but at least one meal on the list would have to be something new. This has really changed our palate and opened us to try foods that we would have never ever tried otherwise. If you follow me on Pinterest you will notice that I have a board called Clean Recipes we have tried and will try again and one called recipes we did not enjoy. This has helped us stay on top of some of our favorites and not favorites.

Tip 4: Why should I label read and how do it do it?

This is something that I recommend you do your research on. There are so many different ways to read labels. You may be looking for an item that is low in sugar or calories. So I definitely want to encourage you to do your research for what fits best in your lifestyle. I personally focus on the list of ingredients when reading labels. You can see in this picture the list of ingredients. I know everything that is listed in this item so I know I can eat it. Now just because you know everything listed doesn't always mean it is healthy. This item does contain fruits and vegetables and even though they are all healthy and contain natural sugar it isn't an item that I eat every day. This is one that I eat in moderation due to the amount of sugar.

Below is a picture of another ingredient list. Do you know every item that is listed in this food? I don't. So at first glance this isn't an item that I want to put in my basket unless I do my research. Please don't be discouraged if you have these items in your cabinet. For many years Jesse and I kept holding on to things that we thought we loved. This item below is a common processed food that each of us have consumed. This item does have a healthy alternative you just have to read the labels to find the best option for your lifestyle.

Tip 5: Should I buy all organic foods?

Many times people ask if I only eat organic foods. No I don't just buy organically. There are alot of foods that you can buy that are natural but aren't in the organic section. I typically buy organic fruits and vegetables if I am going to eat its outside like apples, pears, squash, potatoes... There are also a few items that I love the flavor better so I may choose the organic version just for taste like bananas. When it comes to meat I try to buy organic but it can be pricey. So we have decided that we only eat organic beef and we only get it when it is on sale. That is just a preference we personally have based on flavor and shelf life in our fridge. This beef also freezes well. When it comes to chicken we make sure it read the labels because many times there are additives included in the packaging. Carrageenan is a common preservative used for thickening and stabilizing items. This can be found in many items and is not something that is digestible. This agent is even used in some organic foods. That is why I make sure I read my labels.

Many times people say I just can't do what you did and stop eating all of that at the same time and I can only do this or do that.. Well here is my advice, that is exactly what you need to do. I chose to give up all of these things cold turkey because that is what worked best for me. I want to encourage you today to start a plan on your own terms. You know the challenge... you know your commitment level.. You know who is in CONTROL..

Stay tuned for another blog with more tips as well as cooking with kids, how to go out to dinner, basic exercising... and diving into other aspects of becoming happy!