Perspective

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today is my first day back from a two day business trip. Boy, did I have fun but I learned a lot about myself too.

I have struggled my whole adult life with eating out. As a kid, I associated eating out with someone's status in society. As a teenager, fast food was a great way to eat in my car without someone judging my every bite. Today, I feel that my status in my life should allow me to treat my family and myself to the occasional restaurant meal. The truth is eating out is so BAD for us. Right?

Obviously, fast food, donuts and 400+ calories of Lattes are terrible choices when choosing to dine out. But being on a business trip and miles from my home, I was faced with this battle every meal. I had a great plan, though. Whole Foods was around the corner from my hotel so I went there first. I bought, whole wheat bread, apple gate turkey, cheddar cheese, greek yogurt and berries. Awesome! I was on it! I had dinner in the hotel room and watched some Netflix.

The next day, I met my work associate over donuts. I refrained. WIN. Then the business lunch came. My associate decided to treat me to lunch at The Lazy Dog. Who am I to say no? That would be rude, right? :-)

Since I started eating healthier and cleaner, restaurant dining comes with a dose of anxiety, guilt and then, a session of self loathing. Disappointment that I "gave up". Daily, I watch beautifully, thin girls eat terrible and the never seem to regret it or gain weight. Yet here I am, enjoying a restaurant meal knowing the days that follow will come with weight gain and swelling from the salt in-take. It's not fair!

So what's the solution? Quit eating out? Accept the self loathing as just a burden to bare? No, Definitely not! I have adopted the 80-20 rule. Eat healthy, homemade meals 80% of the time and splurge on dinning out 20% of the time. Does that mean fast food, pizzas and waffle cones? Be smart about it! Choose dishes high in vegetables. Choose meats that are seasoned with spices and lemon. 

At Lazy Dog I choose the Lavash vegetable sandwich with a side of watermelon. Below are the ingredients for 1 serving.

1/2 Lavash Bread

1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Hummus

4 slices Turkey Lunch Meat, I suggest Applegate

1 slice Gouda Cheese

2 slices Roma tomatoes

1/4 Avocado

Handful Romain Lettuce, Spinach Mix

Few slices of red onion

Notice no mayo, dressings or salt. This sandwich was delicious, healthy and since it was served in a restaurant, pretty. No guilt, regret or added pounds included. There's one catch. In the restaurant, this sandwich ran $13.99, drink not included. At home, I made four sandwiches served with Zevia for $12.49. That's $3.12 per meal. 

I don't choose to give up restaurant dining because my status in society can't support it. I choose to give up restaurant dining because it is economically smarter for me to eat at home. The difference is...it's MY choice!

Old Fathful #1

One of the challenges i face trying to maintain a real food lifestyle is TIME. Life gets busy, weekends fly by and I find myself with a refridgerator full of food with no plan and no meals for the week. What now? Panic? McDonalds? Not an option!

Instead I rely on my list of old faithful meals until I can prepare my weekly meal plan. What do I mean by old faithful meals? Great question! I am referring to a list of healthy, nutrient packed power meals that are easy to make, that the whole family enjoys. Over the course of this blogging experience, I will provide my list of old faithful meals. Today, we will cover one of my favorites. Steel Cut Oatmeal.

Why are Steel Cut Oats  my favorite? Well, It is versatile. With it I can make:

• Overnight Oats
• Refrigerator Oats
• Crockpot Oatmeal
• Stovetop Oatmeal
• Breakfast Bars
• Breakfast Bakes
• Granola

And let's face it, oats are plan so you can add almost anything to it and you have a complete meal. It is easy and convenient to make in large amounts, as well. I purchase mine in the bulk section of Winco for $.62 a pound...awesome and cheap! YAY!!

Old Faithful Recipe #1: Steel Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 5 cups HOT water
• 1.5 cups Steel cut oats
• 1 cup milk, I prefer almond
• 1tablespoon butter

Pot stir-in options

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 Granny Smith Apples (my favorite), 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 bananas sliced, 2 tablespoons nut butter, 1teaspoon cinnamon
• 1cup pumpkin, 1teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and 3tablespoon pure maple syrup
• For a hearty option, place an egg over easy on top of plain oats and add 2 tablespoons of green salsa...yum!

Directions:

Over medium high heat melt butter and toast oats, this gives them a nutty flavor. Add 5 cups of hot water, carefully. Stir, and turn the temp to medium low. Set timer to 25 minutes and stir occasionally. 

Complete 20 minutes of HIIT or Crossfit program ;-)

After 25 minutes, stir in 1cup of milk and continue to cook on low for 5 minutes. Add your desired stir-ins and enjoy. Each bowl gets a 1cup serving of the oats.

"Do Not Engage"

When this phrase was uttered to me last week, I thought, "Is this lady crazy? Does she not know who I am?" But after some time I wondered if it was possible for me to not engage people or situations. 

Then the test came...

On Friday, I asked Miss Traditionalist to get her shoes on so that we could go on a jog. She stood up and declared, "ugh!! Mom!!! I hate jogging!" Then proceeded to get her shoes on vocalizing her dismay the whole time. Being the awesomely, great mom that I am :-) I would have normally responded with sarcasm and mocking lol. This time however, I chose "not to engage" and after a couple of minutes Miss Traditionalist calmed down and came to me. She explained that she doesn't like running and wishes it could be like it use to be when we bonded over pizza and a movie.

I am learning that it's important that my kids see me living my life, being healthy and enjoying it. Do I love running? Definitely not!! Do I love spending time with my family? Yes, very much! So, to help me enjoy running and encourage the kids to do the same, they join me. They hate it until I begin racing them. I never win but I enjoy the challenge and they enjoy "playing" with me. On the weekend they especially love jogging once they figure out our destination is Jamba Juice. 

Exercise does not have to be those dreaded minutes we spend sweating and getting no where fast. Wake up and decide today to jog to the mailbox and back. Then, jog to the corner store and back. Challenge your kids, husband, boyfriend, brother or sister to a race. My favorite are 3-legged races :-)

Miss Traditionalist eventually ran with me. I knew she would. But the restraint I demonstrated by not engaging and the respect I showed her by my lack of sarcasm spoke volumes.

Our journey continues....

"Exercise"

That word makes the control freak inside me cringe. What is "exercise"? How many minutes is enough to make someone fit? 30? 45? Are minutes even enough? When i was young 45 min to an hour of doing grapevines with Jane Fonda was enough. Then it was 20 minutes of Buns of Steel. Today, there's yoga, pilates, cross fit, treadmills, ellipticals, P90X, Insanity and Zumba...Whew! Did i cover all of them? Ha! Not even close lol. 

So, what's the perfect combination of exercise and time? BEATS ME!

What i do know is that you have to do whatever routine you find that realistically fits into your life. It should be an added bonus to your lifestyle, not a hinderance. During my journey I have found that exercise is not as important as movement is. Find what you like to do and do it. Always try new things. Remember you never know what you can do until you try to do it.

This weeks workout routine is simple and my loved ones can do it with me if they wish.

• Monday- 12 minute crossfit, 20 min walk
• Tuesday- 30 minute jog
• Wednesday- 12 minute crossfit, 20 min walk
• Thursday- rest day
• Friday- 12 minute crossfit, 20 min walk
• Saturday- 1 hour walk(today to the library) or 3 mile jog
• Sunday- 15 min walk, 10 min jump rope interval 

Crossfit Routine I follow is a 90 day challenge found at www.bikinibodymommy.com

Our journey continues with truth in exercise.

"Mom, why can't we just have cereal?!"

Sitting at breakfast this morning, Mr. Free Spirit says, "Mom, why can't we just have cereal?"

In my house I get asked this question more often than not. I could endure the eye rolls and head nods as I re-state the many reasons cereal is "bad" for us.

1. Preservatives (BHT)
2. Additives (Food Dyes)
3. Refined Sugars
4. Simple Carbs

But why focus on the "bad" when the "good" is so much better, right?

Our home does not "just have cereal" because I know our bodies and brains need pure fuel to function. Fuel is provided by proteins, vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats found in whole foods. 

After years of conditioning we have forced our brains and bodies to use refined sugar, simple carbs and additives as fuel. In doing so, whole foods can "taste different or weird" and in some cases, leave a void. I suspect our addiction to refined sugar is to blame. But that is a topic for another day. So, how do I get the Free Spirit and Traditionalist in my home to enjoy whole food? Well, I become a food ninja and we have desert for breakfast. Yes, you read that right. We have desert! And Fall is the perfect time of year to do this. A favorite in our home is pumpkin cereal.

Pumpkin Cereal Recipe for 4 

Ingredients

1/2 Cinderella pumpkin, cut into 1/2-1inchsquares 

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 tablespoons of honey, depending on your sweet tooth 

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

1 cup almond milk, divided

4 tablespoons sliced almonds, divided

4 tablespoons shredded unsweetened raw coconut, divided

4 tablespoons dried orange flavored cranberries

Directions:

Cook the cut pumpkin on the stove with coconut oil, cinnamon and honey for 20-30 min on medium, low heat. I like to prepare lunches, do my cross fit or fix my hair until the pumpkin is tender but not mushy. Once the pumpkin is done, divide into 4 bowls. Add the evenly divided milk, almonds, coconut and cranberries and enjoy.

A Journey to Truth

Hello. My name is Sarah and this is my journey to truth. What truth you ask, well that will be determined as time goes on. My journey begins the same as everyone else's...with the alarm clock.

Just like everyone, my agenda for the day includes waking up, exercising, showering, food, school, work and bed. Sounds pretty cut and dry right? 

Like any story, there's always a twist...

My household is comprised of, a control freak, a free spirit, an optimist and a traditionalist. We eat mostly"clean", "whole" foods, exercise and live on a budget. 

Our journey begins with truth in food.