The most important meal

I know we have all heard it, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Well it is true. I never used to eat breakfast. I would go until almost 1 or 2 in the afternoon most days without eating or drinking anything. Then I would binge on everything around me, and eat and drink crappy, unhealthy foods until bedtime. Then I did not have any energy, and not want to do anything the rest of the day. That is probably why I got up to almost 270 pounds.

I have never, ever been a breakfast eater. My mom said even as I child I did not really like breakfast. I just could not eat when I first woke up. I never really correlated it to my weight gain and unhealthy lifestyle. I never really though it was that important. I had always heard I should eat it, but just ignored it. Until I sat down with Torey, my trainer, he asked me if I ate breakfast I said no never. He explained it to me like this. He asked would you drive your car for 3 hours with your kids in it with your gas light on? Obviously I said no of course not. He said well that is what you are doing to your body everyday. You are "driving" it with no gas in it, and expecting it to work. I had never really had it explained to me like that before. Something clicked after that, and I have not missed a breakfast since that talk in March. I have felt so much better, and had more success ever since I have started eating breakfast. Now I know that all the things combined are what has led to my success, but each day I am able to do what I need to because I eat a healthy, nutritious breakfast.

You should eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up. Breakfast is exactly what it sounds like you are breaking your fast. You have slept all night, and now you need to refuel your body. So start it off the right way early. You will feel better the rest of the day if you do.

Breakfast provides you with the energy and nutrients that lead to increased concentration.

Studies show that breakfast can be important in maintaining a healthy body weight.

Hunger sets in long before it's time for lunch, but because it's not convenient to eat properly, many people who have not eaten breakfast snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar.

People who skip breakfast are unlikely to make up their daily requirement for some vitamins and minerals that a simple breakfast would have provided.

Breakfast provides energy for the activities during the morning and helps to prevent that mid-morning slump.

I always try to get a protein and a complex carb in with my breakfast. I with either get a vegetable or fruit in with breakfast, sometimes both. Then I typically try to eat about 3-3 1/2 hours after that again. Also drink at least 1 glass of water before consuming your breakfast, and at least 1 glass of water afterwards. I find that actually helps me feel full longer.

 

 

I know in the mornings when I first wake up most of the time the last thing I want to do is cook a big breakfast. So I try to go for things that are easy to make most mornings. Some of my favorites are kashi cereals, they have protein and carbs in them and are a good clean eating cereal, with either coconut or almond milk and some fruit, egg whites with veggies, and avocado on a whole grain tortilla or toast, oatmeal with fruits and greek yogurt (a good source of protein), quinoa (a good source of protein and complex carb) with fruits. I eat other things for breakfasts as well, but these are my four easy go to breakfasts. Protein pancakes, protein smoothies, oatmeal smoothies, and protein muffins are also good easy breakfasts. Comment with some of your favorite healthy breakfasts.

 

 

 

 

 

Some good places for recipes are:

 

http://housewife2hostess.blogspot.com/

 



http://savegreenbeinggreen.blogspot.com/2012/09/7-ideas-for-clean-eating-breakfast.html?m=1

Tasty Tuesday

I don't know about you, but breakfast has always been the meal I have struggled with. I am not a morning person, and as much as I like to cook I really do not want to do it when I wake up first thing in the morning. So some easy healthy breakfasts sounds like music to my ears. One really easy nutritious breakfast is overnight refrigerator oats.


Overnight Refrigerator Oats

1/4c oats (old fashioned or steel cut)
1/2c milk (your choice I usually use coconut or almond, but you can use fat free milk)
1/3c plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I usually use Fage)
1/2 tbsp. chia seeds

Mix all ingredients together in a mason jar and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. You can add a little more milk and warm up some if you like warm oatmeal better. I usually just eat it straight out of the refrigerator. Add whatever toppings you like. I have done almond butter and banana, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, honey, agave, etc...The possibilities are endless. I like the almond butter or organic peanut butter because it gives me a little more protein in the morning. That's it. Simple yummy breakfast.

Scrumptious Saturday

I made this dish the other day. It is very yummy. I had always heard about quinoa for a long time, but was always scared to try it. Now I eat it a lot. It is good with breakfast, on salads, just as a plain side, in casseroles etc...This recipe is very filling you really do not need to eat anything else with it. I did have some extra protein with it, however. Quinoa does have 8g of protein in it. Which makes it very good for vegetarians or vegans. I froze some of this in 1 cup bags so I can just pull out a serving when I want something quick for lunch.


Quinoa veggie bake


1c quinoa
2c water
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
1c sliced portabella mushrooms
1/2 c purple onion
1c organic cherry tomatoes
1 eggplant
2c asparagus
1/2 c spinach
1/2 c kale
2 tbsp. organic coconut oil
2 tbsp. ground flax seed
salt and pepper to taste




Preheat the oven to 375. Cook the quinoa in the 2 cups of water. While that is cooking chop up all the vegetables. Put the 2 tbsp. coconut oil in the baking dish. Put all the vegetables in there and mix in flax seed and quinoa. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Bake 45 minutes.


That is it. Super easy and super yummy. It would be good with some avocado, hummus or fresh salsa mixed in. I have eaten it by itself and also with chicken. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

My favorite green fruit

AVOCADO!!!!

Yes I said fruit and not vegetable. I always thought this wonderful food was a vegetable, but I was wrong. Either way whether fruit or vegetable it is a SUPERFOOD. Avocados have gotten a bad wrap because they are very high in calories, 322 calories, but it is a very healthy fat. We all need healthy fats in our diets every day. Avocado is called "the alphabet fruit" because just one avocado provides your body with vitamins A, C, E, K, B6 and many more, almost all alphabet letters! Avocados have 54% of your recommended daily value of fiber, which gives this fruit much of its fat burning abilities.

I cut them out of my diet for awhile because of the high calories, but I have returned to my love of avocado and eat at least a half every day. My son Collin and daughter Callie love it as well. They eat some everyday. That was actually miss Callie's first food, and she has been in love ever since. My husband tried it once and did not like it, and Riley refuses to even try it. Hopefully I can get them to come to the dark side :) 

Perhaps the biggest health benefit of avocados is that by adding avocado to certain foods, you can improve your absorption of nutrients. This means that when you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%! Avocados can also reduce the signs of aging, regulate blood sugar and improve eye health. The fat content of an avocado provides protection against heart diseases. Studies have shown that oleic acid improves cardiovascular health. Oleic acid is the primary fatty acid in avocadoes. Avocadoes are rich in omega-3, delivering 160 milligrams per cup of alpha-linolenic acid. Avocadoes provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein. Unlike the protein in steak, which is difficult for most people to digest, avocado protein is readily absorbed by the body because avocadoes also contain fiber. Here a couple of choice items to chew over. Once an avocado is picked, it takes between 7 and 10 days to ripen. Keeping it in the refrigerator will slow down the ripening process, while putting it in a paper bag with a ripe apple will speed up the process. Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit. I could go on all day about how wonderful this fruit is, but you should just go try it for yourself.

 

 

 

You can eat the avocado by itself which is yummy and delicious, but there are also about a million other things you can do with it. I put it in smoothies, on sandwiches, mixed with pasta, with egg whites, use in desserts such as avocado pudding and popsicles, I bet Collin and Callie would love these. It really is one of the most versatile foods.

 

 



http://thefoodexplorer.com/dessert/39-healthy-and-delicious-avocado-recipes/

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/07/50-scrumptious-avocado-recipes/

http://www.damyhealth.com/2013/06/11-sneaky-avocado-recipes/

http://sunshineandsippycups.com/2011/12/cookin-with-kids-avocado-recipes-and-mini-chef-contest/

It's not a diet...

Since starting my journey I have tried to surround myself with positive motivating people. I sometimes do encounter unsupportive people. I hear how's your diet going, why are you eating like that, oh it's ok if you have some, why do you need to workout, women should do cardio to lose weight not strength training etc... I am not on a diet. It is a LIFESTYLE!!!! This is how I plan to live the rest of my life. I am not living a life of depriving myself, but I also never, ever want to fall back to what I was doing before. These are my choices. I am not pushing them on anyone. If you feel guilty for what you are eating don't bring me down because of the choices I am making. I support your decision to eat and do what you want, and I would appreciate you doing the same for me. I workout to be healthy and strong. I lift weights to become healthy. Strength training is what has set me up for success!!