The Price for Health

Good Monday morning to you all!  I am praying that you have had a great weekend, and will have an even greater week 🙂  This mornings post was suppose to be all about weekly meal prep, but I just need a moment……..

I would like to just rant a little bit this morning if you can bear with me.  Getting myself back on track is top priority for me, which means I spent some time this weekend grocery shopping and prepping for the week ahead.  So with my handy-dandy list in hand I hit the stores.  I will tell you that I prefer to do my shopping at Trader Joe’s/Fresh Market so I can get organic produce, but both stores are a 30 minute drive from me in opposite directions.  This weekend was super packed with events so I had to make do with our local Wal-Mart & our local produce market.  Which by the way I shop from very often because it is locally grown!

So this is what my shopping trip looked like.  I spent a total of 130$ on this!  I was appalled at how much it cost me to feed my family healthier foods (please excuse the pancake syrup & fruity pebbles, you can only take so much from children at one time) compared to what we could spend to eat from a box.  Just to give an example a box/frozen meal would cost me about two bucks……I pay at least three buckaroos for just one vegetable!  It makes me so sad when I look at this picture.  This is why so many of us are sick and/or have weight problems.  This pic doesn’t really contain meats that I am blessed to already have available.  It is strictly produce and staple items that we buy every week.  It is so much cheaper to eat crappy food, and many Americans can’t afford to pay this much for so little 😦 

side note:  yes I have always been aware that it is more expensive to eat healthy, but I have never really paid attention to it per say because I was raised on fresh foods so I have always had them.  Now that I am trying to budget my groceries more to incorporate organic meats/produce in our diet, I realize just how much it cost.  Most people do not have access to a family garden 😦

So today I am urging you to encourage people to buy produce.  Even if they can’t buy organic, regular produce is still better than none at all!  Oh and if you have access to fresh produce/meats/eggs via gardens and such…….I encourage you to share with someone who doesn’t have access to one.  I always share fresh produce/eggs that I get from my parents with my in laws & friends.  It may only be enough for one meal, but at least it is one meal that it a little healthier for them!

I also encourage you to buy frozen veggies if you can’t afford the fresh produce.  They are priced a little cheaper, especially if you buy your stores brand.  Most frozen veggies are frozen at the peak of ripeness so they are pretty tasty when steamed and a little seasoning sprinkled on top.

** Thanks for letting me rant a little this morning!  I will not continue with a super long post, and will save my meal prep post for tomorrow.  I was just really saddened by this reality and needed to get it off of my chest.  If you have advice or tips about this situation I would love for you to leave a comment.  You never know, your tip could be passed on by me to a friend that could really use it!**

1.  do you have to shop on a budget?

2.  what tips do you have for saving money on healthy foods?

3.  what item do you shell out big bucks for that you just can’t go without?  For me it is almond butter and chia seeds!

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A slight hiatus!

Well hello my friends.  It appears that it has been a while since I have decided to post on this lovely little blog of mine. 

It is safe to say that things in my life have been a little crazy for the past year.  I have not only fallen out of blog land, but unfortunately I have fallen out of clean eating, good consistent work outs, and structure in my life.

Now do not get me wrong.  I haven’t completely lost all of my good habits, but I have slipped back in to many old ones.  I still “try” to eat healthy, work out, and have a chill life……but I also eat what I want when I want (which means that hearty breakfast/lunch was killed my mounds of afternoon chocolate), have slacked off to maybe 3 30-45 minute workouts a week (sometimes less), and have had tons of stress in my life! 

Now while I know that healthy eating habits and exercise will not make all of the life stressors go away, it does help with the symptoms my body is having due to said stress.  I have fallen out of grace in many ways.  So what has changed here recently that has me wanting to turn over a new leaf?  Well lots.  I will not bore you with all of the details but tight clothing, health issues, and the such are giving me a good wake up call! 

I made a decision this past week (after much reading/research) that I want to stick with.  I know the only way to do that is to have others support me, hold me accountable, and just give me encouragement/advice.  Of course I thought of my blog friends (yes I still read your blogs) that have always been there for me in the past.  I decided to get back to blogging for connection, accountability, and support.  I will chronicle my journey here once again so I can get back to my best self.  So here is to me “re” turning over a new leaf.  It will be a journey but hopefully a fun one!

Two for Tuesday – cleaning

So why am I talking about cleaning today?  Well simple!  I need to “spring clean”.  I know this really doesn’t make sense to many people.  I mean how does this tie into two for Tuesday?

Well because this is my goal for April, you know my one personal goal that I want to achieve.  You see I usually always clean my house on my spring break.  I’m talking walls, base boards, cabinets, the whole dang thing.  I didn’t do it this year.  I was too busy having fun!  So I decided to break it up room by room and finish the task within the month 🙂

And since we all need a little motivation to do things that we do not like to do I figured finding something like this would do the trick!  Now if only I could figure out how to actually get a hot guy to scrub my floors, lol!

So here is to cleaning, happy spring!!

Monday Moments

Do you know what makes Monday’s worse than just being Monday?  Gloominess.  Rain, cold, clouds, lack of sleep, puffy eyes, allergies, and a to do list that seems to be a mile long!

Yep, that is how my Monday started.  We woke up to such nasty weather after such a beautiful weekend.  Of course the beautiful weekend is playing a number on me as well with my allergies.  Pollen.  Is.  Everywhere.

So naturally I am all stuffy, puffy, and scratchy 😦  Now the fact of crying for a solid hour last night while watching Army Wives didn’t help my eyes look any better, lol!  Then I sat up an extra hour just to watch The Client List…..I love my trashy girl t.v.!

This weeks menu:

• Monday – cube steak sandwich – AKA Marlboro Man Sandwich w/ sweet potato fries
• Tuesday – meatloaf meatballs, mashed potatoes, green peas
• Wednesday – eating out for a friends bday
• Thursday – gumbo, potato salad
• Friday – eating out with hubby
• Saturday – who knows what I get into…….

So have you noticed a theme here?  Yep lots of potatoes……they were on sale this past weekend, the only thing that looked decent in the store, and I just really need to cook them before they go bad.  Wednesday’s dinner will be at a Mexican restaurant so hopefully I can find something half way healthy to eat.  We are meeting at 7 to surprise my friend for her 30th so I plan to eat something before I go.  That way I am not starving when I get there, and I can order a few things off of the a la carte menu to avoid the abundance of junk that they put on your plate.  Normally I wouldn’t be so concerned since I do reserve one night a week for eating out with no reservations, but we have plans to eat at Olive Garden Friday night.  As for the weekends we usually grab what ever leftovers we have in the fridge, or we are usually invited to some event that has food served. 

With all of that planned out and put in writing now I must confess a no no.  I have totally lost track of my 80/20 model of eating 😦

You see we have very social lives.  Which is always involving some type of alcohol.  Which is always involving some type of food.  Now you take those two facts, and add to that a girl living in Louisiana – one of the best foodie places in the USA – I totally suck lately at following my plans.  Do I regret my choices to drink and eat socially…..no.  Does my body regret my choices to drink and eat socially…..yep!  Not only does it do a number on my figure over all (hello swim suit season around the corner), but it also does a number on my general health.  You all now I have talked about my digestive issues, sensitivities, etc on here before.  But the plain truth is – I DO NOT WANT TO GIVE UP MY LIFESTLYE – I just have to find some balance in it.  I use to be very good at balancing things.  You now back when the kiddos were younger and we didn’t get out as much.  I could follow a strict plan with no problems.  Now – pshh  not so easy anymore.  I love wine.  I love beer.  I love food.  I love chocolate. 

So I am back to food journaling.  AGAIN!  I do not know why I ever stop this in the first place.  I know I will return to it, I always do.  Only because my lifestyle gets in the way of my eating plans.  So I am taking it up again in an attempt to be more conscious of my choices.  This way I can make sure that I am getting all the healthy foods in that I need, and to control the eating out so much!  My wallet will surely thank me for this as well 🙂

So with that I am wishing you all a fabulous week!!

Oh one more laugh for you….

Diet water….what????

p.s.  got the hubster to join the gym with me this year…..maybe a friendly spousal challenge will help with shaping up for summer?…..hmmmm!

Two for Tuesday

I want to say thanks to those of you that contacted/commented to me on sites that have healthy recipes.  I have made a list to check them all out this week.  There are a few of them that I have visited in the past, but I haven’t been to the site in so long I basically forgot about it.  So thanks!!

This morning was a very hectic morning for me….as they usually are on mornings that the hubster is not home to help out!!  So much so that I found myself yelling and screaming all morning.  Which has just put me in the lousiest mood.  Which makes my day horrible.  So in an attempt to brighten my mood so it will be a good day I did a little searching this morning……..

I mean if a dancing cartoon elephant can’t make you laugh what else can right??

I use to have calmer mornings, even without the hubs. What happened?  Well you remember how I said I wanted to have monthly goals?  My goal for January was to read my morning devotional every morning.  I did this until about the middle of February, which would also be about the time the hubster started his new job.  So I feel that has had a lot to do with it, that and adjusting to the new schedule we have now. 

This leads me to my monthly goal plans.  I have yet to post about my goal for the month of March, or to comment on February’s!  Well last month was to complete the conscious cleanse.  Which I did do for about a week.  I had all intentions of doing both weeks, and I know I could have had I wanted to!  Unfortunately it is a bad time of year for that.  You see a girl can only eat so much cabbage and broccoli (daily).  So I made the conscious decision to stop after week one and put this off until spring when veggies are in abundance.  The cleanse is very veggie based so it was difficult to do when so few fresh ones are available; however, I still feel this goal was a success because the week made a huge difference.  That and I made the decision to stop after week one.

So on to March……what is it you wonder?  Simply to participate in a race.   A 5k to be more specific.  Now with the lack of race opportunities in my area right now this may mean I have to participate in a virtual race, but you better believe I will time myself, map out my route, etc. before doing this.  One of my annual goals is to run 4 races in the year (one for each quarter) so I am running out of time for the first quarter, lol!!  I am trying to find out if I can still sign up for a race the weekend of St. Patrick’s day before I decide what to do, but I have a friend holding a “virtual benefit” race for a child that is super sick.  She has even set up a pay pal account for the fees to be paid to so all proceeds go straight to the family.   So I will of course run this, but I would like to participate in one with other runners as well……so wish me luck on open entry!

Oh and by the way……………………………….

Two for Tuesday

I absolutely adore Dr. Seuss, hey I am in the education world after all, and this is one of my favs!!

Now get out there and do the damn thing!!

What I Feel Wednesday

I realize that today is suppose to be what I ate Wednesday, but honestly that is kinda boring!  You pretty much saw it last week.  As I stated on Monday, I started the Conscious Cleanse this week so food is pretty basic.  I will give you a run down of what I am eating, but more importantly I would like to talk about what I am feeling!

• Breakfast:  20 oz  warm lemon water & green smoothie (every morning)
• Morning snack:  piece of fruit or veggie w/ hummus
• Lunch:  big ol’ salad w/ either a grain or protein
• Afternoon snack:  fruit or veggie w/ hummus (opposite of morning)
• Dinner:  protein, veggie, and salad (last night was fish and broccoli)

So how has it been going so far?  Horrible in ways and great in others!  Monday I was so exhausted that I crashed super early so I was thinking maybe my lack of energy/headache was stemming from the fact that in a 60 hour period I had only slept 9 hours.  Now I am thinking that it was a combination of that as well as cleansing symptoms. 

If you know very much about cleansing then you know you have to eliminate all sugar, alcohol, and caffeine along with other foods.  Which means that I haven’t had a cup of coffee since Sunday!!  I have headaches daily, feel like I am in a fog, and just want to sleep most of the time.  I literally had to make myself go to the gym yesterday.  I kept the workout light so it wasn’t my best, but I am comforted by the fact that I did get at least a little activity in.

In other areas things are better.  My digestion is improving, and while I will not go into details with you I will say my tummy is happier!  I have been drinking a good bit of water, but can totally improve in that area.  I think I am drinking a little less than normal due to my exhaustion.  Also, I haven’t really had any huge craving for sweets until last night.  I did want something sweet after dinner so I opted for a date with cashew butter, which worked fine. 

I have also been more aware of my hunger signs now that I am not constantly popping something into my mouth to snack on.  I do not hold myslef to any specific time limits between meals, but I do wait until I am hungry before I eat again.  Please don’t mistake this for not eating enough.  I do not wait until I am starving and have belly grumbles, but I can tell that I need a little snack in my tummy before my next meal 🙂

So other than the negatives of daily headaches that will not go away (due to lack of caffeine) things are going good.  I am determined to make it through the two week cleanse without any slips, and believe me this is testing me big time!  I at times so want to give in to the coffee!!  However, I do know that my body really needs a good restart.  I do intend to enjoy my coffee after the cleanse, but the main thing is to not drink so much of it.  I was up to three cups a day!!  So I am pushing through this and hopefully will come out on the other side feeling 100% better 🙂

Two for Tuesday

So I have really enjoyed sharing a two for Tuesday with you guys lately.  Motivation is just awesome!  As a person that always looks for motivational things for health/fitness to share with my friends for motivation, I naturally want to share them with my online friends as well.  So in other words expect to see these weekly!!

So who can believe that January is half over?  I mean really??  I just took my tree down people!!

Time surely flies as an adult.  That is unless you are on the treadmill 🙂

It is still rainy and cold here so no outside runs for me.  I was hoping the rain would stop so I could go around campus as usual, that didn’t happen.  So I had to hit the treadmill for my 3 miles, and boy was it brutal!

I hate running on the treadmill!  I mentioned on my facebook page last night that I had to stop several times for a few seconds, then just force myself to do all 3 miles.  I have no idea why it seems so much harder/worse than my usual running?  I can go around the campus without stopping for a brief break with no problem!!

But of course it is worse and motivation is needed.  One of my favorite motivational pics is the one above.  How true is this?  I really hate it when my friends (w/o kiddos, husband, etc) always say they just do not have time to workout!!  I mean hello – I have a full time job, a PRN job, two kids, a husband, a house, a blog…….I MAKE TIME!!!!

I still have days of business when I say I am too busy, don’t get me wrong.  Sometimes life catches up with you, but it is not an excuse I use daily.  I rarely use it even weekly!  Yes there are days that the workouts take a backseat because so much is going on, but who can’t throw some squats in while heating dinner, see how many jumping jacks you can do while waiting for the microwave to beep,  or even do some lunges as you are walking to your bathroom?

 

Which leads me to this baby!  I found this last night and immediately feel in love with it!  This little chart (yes I am a dork that loves flow charts) will be hanging somewhere, put in my journal, and possibly even on my iPad screen – no excuses!!  Now if this can’t keep you on track then I am not sure what else to do for you 🙂

So get out there, no excuses, do not let business get in the way of your hopes/dreams/goals!!