Taking it to the next level!

As many of you know I’ve been trying to eat a lot healthier since Christmas. I’d gained a few pounds after last summer and kept on gaining as we went through Thanksgiving and the holidays. I let myself indulge in way too much candy, chocolate, chips, big meals etc, and I paid the price! I couldn’t get my jeans fastened and resorted to elastic waist pants all through the winter!

I’m happy to say since December I have dropped 10lbs :-) My jeans fit again and I’m still on track with healthy eating. BUT, I could do better! Despite the fact that I eat a lot of veggies and fruit I still find myself buying a lot of processed foods, quick frozen meals, tinned soups etc. and I want to change that.

Although my breakfast could be something healthy like this . . .

low fat whole grain waffle, Better ‘n’ Butter pb (85% less fat than regular pb), one egg and 1 eggwhite scrambled, and some fresh strawberries and grapes,

my lunch could be something ‘not so healthy’ (imo) like this. . . .

OK, so it says ‘lean’ on the packet and I know there’s only 7 ww pts in this meal, but is it really healthy? What is actually in it? Yes, it’s low in fat, only has 270 calories in it, but it has 750mg of sodium!!

Considering the recommended amount of sodium per day is between 1500mg and 2300mg, that is a LOT! To be honest I’ve never really checked labels for sodium, but it’s about time I did! Even soups I buy contain a lot – and why do I buy them when I can just as easily make my own? I love homemade soups and I want to start making an effort to prepare a lot more of our meals from scratch, rather than opening a tin or popping a frozen meal in the microwave!

Jason and I were talking this week also about the ‘meats’ we eat. He had watched a show on tv this week, I think it was called FoodInc. I haven’t seen it yet, but seriously when I think about what I eat, I am realizing that a lot of it is still total ‘junk food’! And not only that but I’m feeding it to my child as well! I really want to try and eat better… ‘cleaner’! Clean Eating is a great example of how to do this. I have the books, I’ve bought the magazines, but I’ve not been eating this way. It’s time to start, make a better effort.

Our veggie gardens will soon be finished, we are excited to try and grow our own produce again. I want to create my own ‘freezer meals’ so I know exactly what ingredients are in them. I want to make my own soups, dips, hummus etc. I want to . . . and I will :-)

Sorry if this got a bit long winded, but I’m sharing my heart today, and this is heavily laying on it. It’s never too late to start, as they say, and I’m sure along the way I’ll stumble, but the best thing I can do is try.

Now with all that said, let me quickly share with you what I made yesterday. . . my friend Cindy and I found a great bargain in Target after we’d had coffee together – All Natural whole chickens, ($3 off) for just $1.99 each! We each bought 4 of them!!!

I’ve shared this recipe before I think, a simple roast chicken with rosemary and lemon, and that’s all I did yesterday. I bought a big bag of lemons at Target, came home and cut some rosemary from the garden, stuffed the chicken with both and drizzled olive oil on top. Roasted it for 1 1/2 hours (it was a 3.5lb bird) and voila!

There is no need for me to buy a rotisserie chicken again, when I can make my own like this (especially at such a great price)!

And finally, this was our driveway yesterday!

The yard work is just about complete, crushed granite paths are in, we will be waiting for new soil and mulch to be delivered today or this weekend.

I’ll have finished photos to share on Monday (hopefully!).

Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading this unexpected long post!