Great App for Your Phone

And it's free! Check it out: Fooducate

This great little app has a scanner so you just scan your item and all kinds of info comes up on it, including WHY it's good or bad. You can also just search by product title.


My husband is having a great time with this. He's actually the one who showed it to me. He's been educating all the guys he works with on what a heart attack they're consuming every morning before even lunch, between their ho-ho's, dunkin' stix, lard roll, deep fried fat balls and drowned with 3 servings of the typical carbonated caffeinated death drink that includes 1/2 cup of sugar in total.... you get what I mean. He cracks me up, I just hope the guys are getting some eye opening awareness before they wind up orphaning a family. I forget how awful people can eat when they choose to just ignore it. I forget it's even out there because I choose to never look at it. But when you do, after you haven't... it's shocking, truly. I can't even believe some of this crap is legal.

Check out the app though. I was surprised to see that even some things I thought weren't so bad, are still in the grade of "C" range.

Monday Morning Blast - aka Cinnabun & Coffee Smoothie

Okay, stay with me, alright? This is going to sound a little unconventional, so just bear with me for a minute.

I always have leftover coffee in the morning that I want to drink, but microwaving it is NOT always my first choice. I think about making a blended iced coffee, but then I feel like I should be blending a smoothie instead. So I just recently found an awesome new secret weapon in my world of making veggie smoothies... an AWESOME whey protein that has nearly no carbs and tastes incredible! ...I think it's better than even the shakes at the health clubs. Today, Hyvee had 10% off the health food section so I bought a bunch of different flavors of NNW 100% Healthy Whey protein powder because I loved the samples I had tried.

(samples- $1.97)

The kids have been LOVING these too. I thought the Cinnamon Bun sounded really good, so I thought I'd experiment.

(medium bags- $12 something)

Here's what you need:


coffee (I'm not sure how much I added, but maybe 12 oz? Cold coffee would be best) (10 cal)
1/2 frozen banana (50 cal)
big handful of kale, maybe 3 leaves, no stems (36 cal)
heaping tsp of flax seed (17 cal)
quick pour of liquid sugar free vanilla creamer (30 cal)
2 Tbs of Cinnamon Bun protein powder (50 cal)
2 splendas
Ice as desired
(less than 200 cal, roughly)

First blend the coffee, powder and flax seeds to pulverize them, there's benefits to this which I'll talk about further, but there are also benefits to eating them whole, so if you don't mind drinking the seeds whole, that's really okay too.
Then add the other ingredients and 6 cubes of ice, then add more ice until it's to your desired thickness.

This tasted like a cinnamon roll flavored coffee frappucino, SO good.

But here's why I really liked it, especially for a Monday...
I really need a super boost on those mornings, so the coffee is a great addition to my smoothie (two birds with one stone) the kale and the flax is an awesome way to sort of detox after a weekend of kids' birthday cakes and eating out for social stuff, which usually makes me feel pretty horrible by Sunday night. The kale is fantastic for digestion and the flax seed is amazing for taking care of your lower system after a rough weekend. (I'm trying to put this gently : ) You know what I mean. I didn't add any fruit besides the banana so the carbs are good and low. I only use 1/2 the serving suggestion on the protein powder package just because I think 1/2 is enough and the stuff is a little pricey, so I want to make it stretch. I saved a bit for my husband and he even liked it. Really, give it a shot, it's good! and really good for you!

My Favorite Yogurt

Yogurt is a wonderfully healthy food. It's even better if you choose wisely the one you will eat. So let's say you are used to fried eggs, potatoes and bacon for breakfast or a big bowl of sugary cereal covered in whole milk... then those sugary yogurts you see in the store with all kinds of artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup is still probably better for you than what you've been eating. BUT if that's the yogurt you've been eating for breakfast, then I have a much healthier option for you, and here's why:

Yogurt promotes intestinal and vaginal health, improves lactose intolerance, builds stronger bones, enhances immunity, lowers blood pressure, and may even have anticancer and weight-loss effects. In a recent study in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers found that obese adults who ate three servings of fat-free yogurt a day as part of a reduced-calorie diet lost 22% more weight and 61% more body fat than those who just cut calories. A plus for Greek yogurt, in particular, is that it doesn’t give you the sugar overload of what you usually find in U.S. grocery stores. To save on fat and calories, reach for a low-fat version.

Specifically, I buy Fage 0%. It comes in a larger tub, or single serving size. I buy the larger tub for meals and the smaller serving sizes for popping in the freezer- then I cut those in half after letting them loosen a bit out of the freezer and toss one 1/2 into my smoothie and put the other half away for another day.

Greek yogurt does take a little getting used to. It's really thick and it's not sweetened with a ton of sugar like Dannon or Yoplait. But I'm telling you, it gives me a lot of energy and I don't have that sugar peak and valley that regular yogurt gives me. I'm sure that is due to the astronomical amount of protein per serving.

So here is what I do with it: I take strawberries and chop them up fine. You can also add blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, mango, or just drizzle with honey and sprinkle with a little almonds or walnuts. When you start out, you could use 1/2 packet of Splenda or Stevia or a drizzle of sugar free raspberry syrup or guava. Reduce this a little each time until you are only relying on the fruit juices and fruits for sweetness. Mix it all up and put just a sprinkle of crunch on top if you like. This could be smashed cereal like Fiber One or Kashi Crunch or sunflower seeds, walnuts, low fat granola, almonds, whatever.... but only a tablespoon or two.

Sonic has dropped their salads

My little ones will be pretty disappointed that our trips to Sonic are going to be even farther and fewer in between. Want to tell Sonic to bring them back like I just did?

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/business/contactUs.jsp

I realize that fast food restaurants are entitled to serve basically junk. But even the best of them that carry 98% complete trash, have one or two healthier options. Come on, which way are we moving, America? I actually thought most of these kinds of chains had been making some improvements.

So sad.

Door to Door Organics

How does a box of mostly local organically grown produce delivered to your door for $13 sound?? What if I said the box was actually worth $26?

I picked up this Groupon today http://gr.pn/qALwWW and this is probably the most excited I've been about a Groupon in a long while!

A little bit about Door to Door Organics from their website...

Door to Door Organics is a home, office and co-op delivery service of organic produce and select grocery items. We deliver year-round, bringing you the freshest organic produce directly to your door at competitive prices. We have close relationships with our farmer partners and we work around the clock to ensure that we bring you locally grown produce whenever it is available.

Door to Door Organics knows that supporting local organic farmers and local businesses is good for the planet. Keeping business as local as possible also keeps our economy strong. We support our customers by providing the freshest organic produce available. We offer the convenience of delivery and customization, and your satisfaction is always guaranteed. We care about what you eat because we eat it too! In judging the character of our food we support quality, organic, all natural, fresh, simple, delicious and safe. We advocate for food we love and back all our products with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

A Word About Forming a Co-op:

A co-op is formed when four or more orders are going to one location, such as a home, school or office. Each person still has individual control over their box, such as what size they want and what substitutions they want to make. Each person simply picks up their box at the same location as their co-op buddies -- instead of having it delivered to their home.

Door to Door Organics currently offers two types of co-ops:

• Community Co-ops are designed for groups of four or more friends, neighbors or co-workers that want to save money by having their orders delivered to one location. Each box is discounted by $3.00.

• Fundraising Co-ops are also available for schools, non-profit organizations and religious institutions. A fundraising co-op functions the same as a Community co-op. However, instead of individual discounts, Door to Door tracks all monthly sales and donates 10% of each box sale to the school or organization. Donation checks are mailed to the school or organization on a monthly basis for as long as the co-op is active.

We want to make organic produce as accessible and affordable as possible, so please contact us for more information about sharing the benefits of organic food co-ops with friends, family and neighbors, or visit our co-op page for more details.


There's only 2 days to grab this 1/2 price deal... here's the Groupon if you want to get a $26 box for $13:

http://gr.pn/qALwWW

I thought about waiting to post about Door to Door until after the delivery has been made, but then you'd miss out on this great special price. So stay tuned, I'll let you know how it turns out....

*** UPDATE: if you miss this promotion, use this one, I just found it also!
To receive $10 off your first order use promo code: dtdtb11

The Next Generation

I always wince when my son announces that he wants a "big lunch". That usually means I have an hour of work ahead of me, trying to fill him up. But today, after camp, he came home saying, "mom, today I want carrots, broccoli and cauliflower with ranch." I said, "raw?" to which he replied, "what's that?" I said, "not cooked." He said, "yes, with ranch." This from the boy who typically declines on the raw broccoli, but snarfs it if cooked. I love that my hard work is paying off in the dividends of their healthful choices. Proud mama. I realized later that I didn't have cauliflower on hand, I'd forgotten it was tinged a little brown at the store, so I'd passed on it and besides, we still had a bunch of it that was steamed and in the fridge. So I made cute little happy faces out piles of the broccoli for eyes, carrots for spiky hair, a few grape tomatoes for noses and low fat ranch for big white smiles. I wanted to take a picture to post, but the kids came and snatched the plates too fast. If you're curious what else they had to round out the meal.... I wrapped baby dills in a slice of ham and gave each of them a few, called it pickle burritos which they loved, and then they split a 1/4 of a watermelon. There's nothing like having your child ask you to serve healthy foods. It's awesome.

Favorite Sandwich Builders...

I've found this bread to be the healthiest of all the ones we've tried. My kids have always eaten wheat bread, and no, I have never cut off the crusts. Even when they were babies, I used a pizza cutter and just cut them very small. They love it, and have never complained, but then again, they have nothing to compare it to since it's all they've ever known. I believe you have to start them out in the way that you want them to grow. So if you want them to eat healthier wheat bread, don't start them on white. If you want them to eat all of the sandwich and crusts, don't cut them off. I think it's simply wasteful and they stay fuller longer if they eat the entire sandwich. That's just my take.

Good Option: We buy Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat (45 Calories and Delightful). You have to read the labels to see that bread REALLY does have whole wheat, and 100% at that. Check the labels! I prepare this bread for my family, but for me, if I'm going to make a sandwich, I typically use leaf lettuce for a wrap, or I'll use these tortillas occasionally...

Better Option: Ole Extreme Wellness tortillas. Walmart actually has the spinach type now, too. Look at that label! Love those low carbs, high protein and fiber. Awesome. And they taste really good, too. Best wheat tortilla on the market in my opinion. Try them!




Best Option: But the healthiest option is just to load up that sandwich in a big piece of leaf lettuce (or Romaine, but I prefer leaf, and green- the red kind I bought once seemed a lot thinner and more delicate) I'm not going to tell you it's pretty and clean. But you just saved another 80 calories and a load of carbs! Good job!
This is as close to what mine look like as I could find. I'll post an image of my own soon!

For the Love of Cashews!

Did you know that two handfuls of [raw] cashews a day gives one the therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of Prozac? (Andrew W. Saul Ph.D, Therapeutic Nutrition Specialist) I found this wickedly coincidental since I grab a handful or two anytime I'm in a pinch for time and can't make breakfast or lunch until later. No wonder I'm so happy even if I haven't had my regular meal yet! try it!

It's not a DIET, stupid!

Disclaimer: I'm NOT a doctor... obviously. I do have a lot of common sense however, and I know what has worked for me. You can use what you want and leave the rest, I'm just sharing what I know, read and see. You have to choose your own path.

You know you can't "diet", right? it doesn't work! Okay, well, maybe it works for a week, or a month, but whatever you lost with the last pill, shake, restrictive foods, skipping meals, whatever- it comes right back with a few extra pounds in tow, just to make you think twice next time! Even mentioning the phrase "I'm on a diet" in front of kids makes me cringe. It brings to mind food disorders and body dysmorphic disorder. Be conscious of your words around your children - it matters! they do listen, even when you think they're not paying any attention.

DIETS DO NOT WORK.

This is about your LIFESTYLE. This is about a choice, a responsibility, eating for your health, not just the scale. The weight comes off as a byproduct of eating healthy. It's not about counting "points" for yourself and letting your family eat whatever crap you can get in their mouth without them complaining. That's not to say that I don't alter my meal slightly from theirs just a tad. My husband can burn the carbs in whole wheat pasta, but with my sedentary occupation, those are converted to sugar and then right into fat. So I would choose spaghetti squash instead. But for the most part, we all eat the same thing when we sit down to a meal. Here is the basis for my overall nutrition and lifestyle and I think it makes the most sense for a healthy lifestyle. (NOTE: the vegetables say 1/2 cooked, 1/2 raw - that's because when you cook them, their nutrients break down and you are not getting the full benefit of the vegetable. Boiling the life out of them isn't going to give you the most important part of them. So balance this at another meal with a side of veggies that you can dip, or a salad with loads of raw veggies)
(click on the pyramid to see it larger)