Milk

I don't know about you, but I grew up thinking that when I drank a glass of milk I was doing a good thing. Calcium, strong bones! Now, I'm thinking not so much... My parents used to encourage me to drink the milk in my cereal, or the milk that I used to dunk my Oreos, but now they are vegan, and we don't even have milk in the house.

So what's so bad about milk? And how do we get around it?

1. Milk actually DEPLETES the calcium from your bones
2. Cow's milk is custom designed for cows
3. Milk INCREASES fracture risk
4. Today's milk is considered a processed food

This is specifically dairy milk, which I think we all know TASTES the best. But I don't know if it's really worth it. It's not natural milk.

I'm going to need you to be open-minded with me for a minute. I say this, because I was very opposed to what I am about to present. Growing up only drinking milk, I couldn't imagine what else I would put in my cereal. My parents urged me to try soy milk, but I was not having it. I tried it once plain, and it wasn't very great. In cereal, it's okay. But just okay. However, what I have really grown to love is almond milk. It still doesn't really make sense to me... How milk is made from almonds, but I've learned to put that behind me. I honestly think almond milk has a very similar taste to actual milk. I can't say the same for soy milk. The only real difference is the consistency. Nothing will ever be quite as refreshing as milk. But when it comes to cereal, and cooking, and little things like that, you won't even notice a difference. You do notice it with Oreos though.... Keep drinking milk with Oreos, but for everything else, almond milk all the way!

Why Organic is Better

We've talked about time, well more the lack of time. However, there is another critically important element that is associated with healthy eating. Finances... it is significantly more expensive to buy natural, organic products. Usually, the less ingredients it has, the more expensive it is, which is is kind of a crazy idea. So the question I have, "Is it worth it?" 

Is it really worth 56% more for a banana? Or 125% more for peanut butter? 

The answer is YES. 

It is better for YOU. 

Using pesticides kills some essential nutrients in the foods we are eating. Overall pesticide residue in organic foods is ten to one hundred times lower than non-organic. In my opinion, it also tastes better! There's nothing better than a case of organic apples from Costco. 

It is better for the ENVIRONMENT. 

"Organic and agroecological farming methods typically build healthier soils, produce less pollution, and protect ecosystems better than conventional cultivation methods." Organic farms use 70 percent less energy than industrial farms. Industrial farms are resource hogs often times using cheap, nonrenewable fossil fuels. 

It is better for the ANIMALS.

Unfortunately, organic doesn't ALWAYS mean humane treatment of animals, but more often than not, organic is more likely to use human treatment over non-organic. Another way to ensure humane treatment of the producers of your meat and dairy products is to look for "free range" and "graze."

Next time you go shopping, and see the difference in prices, think about the difference you can make in the world by supporting these smaller organic farms. It's worth it. 

Taco Pizza

So I've never been a huge tomato sauce person. I LOVE pizza, but only the pizza where the sauce isn't oozing out the side. I like very minimal sauce. If this is you, I have a new experiment for you to try. The first place I ever had this new creation was at Pizza Shack in Lamoni, Iowa. However, I'm super picky, so I picked off all the olives and tomatoes. This pizza could luck much more colorful and delicious, but it just has the things I like on it, so it's boring.

THIS, is taco pizza. Instead of the traditional tomato sauce on pizza, you use refried beans! I love beans! Which is great for me, and bad for my friends.... With refried beans being the base you can just add any ingredient that you would usually put on your taco. Mine has refried beans, black beans, green peppers, tortilla chips, and mild sauce, but the possibilities are endless! Yo could even add ground beef or chicken to enhance the flavor! Or if you're a economically challenged college student, you can forget the meat, and buy the cheaper ingredients. 

Cooking and preparation takes about 30 minutes total, which really isn't bad! My rule is that if it takes me more than 30 minutes, it's really not worth my time. UNLESS, it is delicious and can be eaten for multiple meals and still be delicious. AND cold taco pizza is just as delicious as cold pepperoni pizza. Top your pizza, heat the oven to 425 degrees, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and you're golden. Next time you can't decide between Mexican or Italian, go for taco pizza!

Added vs. Natural Sugar

Sugar is always one of those things that I look for on a label, because it's one of the main things I try to stay away from. Sugar turns to fat, and fat is something that I try to avoid. I also have another philosophy, where I feel like its okay to eat anything that grows naturally. However, fruit is loaded with sugar! Is there a difference between sugar in an apple vs. sugar in a doughnut? YES!

Apples have natural sugar while doughnuts have added sugar. There are only two kinds of natural sugars: those found in milk (lactose) and those found in fruit (fructose). Natural sugars also have nutrients, such as protein, fiber, Vitamin D, A, & C, Calcium... With nutrients such as fiber and protein it also takes longer to digest, which decreases the spike in blood sugar received from added sugars. This also causes you to be full LONGER! Added sugars are a pure source of carbohydrate with around 15 calories per teaspoon... yikes. Unlike natural sugars, added sugars lead to weight gain and poorly controlled blood sugar levels. 

Some things to look out for: 
1. Juice- You really have to be careful when looking at juice labels. There are some natural and organic juices out there, containing only natural sugars. However, many name brand juices are also loaded with added sugar as well. 

2. Canned fruit- Usually fruit that comes in cans is also loaded with added sugar, packed in a heavy syrup.

3. Apple Sauce- Apple sauce is one of my FAVORITE snacks. Unfortunately  apple sauce is also corrupted by added sugars! Apple sauce is already naturally sweet, there's no need for this! 

Check your labels carefully!
Food Label ConfusionOne of the biggest conundrums surrounding the sugar debate is deciphering where sugar is coming from on a food label. The total grams of sugar listed in the nutrition facts doesn’t differentiate whether the sugars are coming from added or natural sources. The only thing a savvy consumer can do is read the ingredient list. Since ingredients are listed in descending order, folks can determine where the majority of the sugar in that food is coming from.

Cereal

I love cereal. If I could eat cereal for every meal of every day I would. However, you have to be really careful about what kind of cereal you're eating. A majority of them are loaded with sugar, which is very upsetting. Some of my all time favorite cereals (Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Golden Grahams...) are the equivalent to eating a bowl of ice cream. 

Check out which our your favorites have the most sugar: 

I wasn't prepared to let my love for cereal die, when I decided to adopt a healthy (er) style of eating. Cereal is, and will probably always be one of my favorite things to eat. I've found some healthier cereals I can eat that still taste good!

1. Grape Nuts: I'm not going to lie. On their own, these taste terrible. However, with just a few additions, it has turned into one of my favorites! I just add a spoonful of brown sugar and a handful of blueberries, which is still significantly less sugar than any of the brands listed above. This cereal is also a great source of protein!

2. Kashi Honey Toasted Oat: Currently, this is my favorite cereal. Kashi is seriously the best.  You don't need to add anything, because it's already delicious. This is the kind of cereal you look forward to eating and it only has 5 grams of sugar per serving. Score.

3. Kashi Indigo Morning: Kashi has done it again. Have you ever had Pops? Another one of my favorites as a kid. This, in my opinion, is better than Pops. It's like Pops with berries, but healthy! It's really similar in taste and texture, but the berries just give it an extra kick. This cereal only has 6 grams of sugar per serving, which is extremely low compared to Pops, which has 14.85 grams of sugar per serving.



These are just a few of my new favorites to help me stay on track for living a healthier life! Healthy Eating! 

Stay Awake Naturally

I don't know where you are at in your life, but I am finishing up my senior year of my undergrad, which means I have a lot of late nights. Chances are, no matter what you're doing there are times where you need to stay up late to get something done. I don't usually drink energy drinks, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Last night I needed to stay awake. My body was fighting me, and winning, so I didn't know what defense to fight back with other than a peace rockstar energy drink... and a bag of ultimate cheddar munchies. As I was drinking it, I made the mistake of looking at the nutritional facts. It had 0 for almost everything. 0 Calories, 0 sugar, 0 carbs, 0 fat... what i was drinking was pretty much just chemicals. If I can't pronounce 90 percent of the ingredients, I probably shouldn't be drinking it. 

I'm writing this post, so that you don't have to put this poison into your body! I've done some research  on natural ways to keep yourself awake for those late nights. Here are some solutions from Web MD that I came across: 

1. Eat a Healthy Snack: Usually I crave doughnuts or ultimate cheddar munchies late at night, but snacks loaded with sugar only give you a short energy boost. Snacks like peanut butter on a whole wheat cracker, yogurt, nuts,  or fruit will give you more energy in the long run. 

2. Get up and move around: Sitting around makes you sleepy. Stand up and jump around, or go run a lap around the building you're in. 

3. Take a breather: LITERALLY. Deep breathing increases your oxygen levels, which lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, and improves your circulation leading to better mental performance and more energy. 
The idea of deep-breathing exercises is to inhale to the abdomen, not the chest. You can do them at your desk. Sitting up straight, try this exercise up to 10 times:With one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other on your chest, inhale deeply through your nose and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.Breathe out through lips pursed as if you were whistling. You can use the hand on your belly to help push air out.

4. Drink water: Sometimes sleepiness is caused from fatigue and dehydration. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water!

Can't "Shake" the Craving

So here's the deal. I've been having some real moments of weakness. I like eating healthy, because it makes me feel good. This isn't something that I want to give up, because I like feeling good. BUT, no matter how much or how long I avoid them, I can't stop craving things that are really terrible for me. Ultimate Cheddar Munchies are always on my mind... it's kind of sad really. The past two weeks, I've really just wanted a hamburger, french fries, and a milk shake. There just aren't healthy substitutes for things that are that good. I thought avoiding them would work, because now when I do eat these things they make me pretty sick, but no. It's always worth that 10 minutes of heaven for the 3-5 hours of stomach pains. 

This would usually be the part of the blog where I tell you my solution to this problem. Unfortunately, I haven't found one. This is just me being real with you. These past few days I've just been really off track, and today I hit one of those points where I said to myself, "It's time to get your life back together..." It sounds dramatic, but it's true. When I go off the wagon and eat whatever I want I'm happy for a short while, but I feel like crap as my belly expands, and my motivation decreases. 

There are 5 major moments of weakness that you need to look out for! Maybe if you're aware of the occasions where you're most likely to jump off the wagon, you can better prepare yourself. 

1. On Vacation

2. After a Break-Up

3. A Party With Great Food

4. Watching TV

5. At A Buffet, or Restaurant with Enormous Portions

For tips on overcoming these weaknesses checkout this page!

If you have any tips for overcoming your moments of weakness, please let me know! 

It's a constant struggle, but I have felt the benefits of a healthy life, and I am determined to overcome this craving of a hamburger, french fries, and milkshake. 

Here are some mantras for moments of willpower weakness! They haven't really worked for me, but they're worth a shot!

Potatoes: Good or Bad?

The TOP 3 Foods to cause yearly weight gain spikes were:

• Potato chips
• Potatoes (any type of serving)
• Sugar-sweetened beverages

Something I've been really conflicted about lately is potatoes. I used to think that if it came out of the ground it was safe to eat, but now I'm not so sure. I know there are different forms of potatoes... like french fries obviously are not "good" for me. But what I've been hearing lately is that I need to stay away from potatoes because they are full of starch! So what is starch and why is it so bad for me??

Starch is a complex carbohydrate. What puts into question whether potatoes are healthy is the breakdown to sugar. For example... something with 90 carbohydrates, such as a 2 cup serving of spaghetti is equivalent to 22 teaspoons of sugar in your blood! (We'll talk about natural sugars in future blogs...)

According to Diet and Fitness Expert Dr. Melina Jampolis, "Potatoes do have a higher glycemic index, which means that they raise blood sugar more quickly than other vegetables, but they are also an excellent source of potassium, which is important for maintaining healthy blood pressure, and the skin of a baked potato is a very good source of fiber. So as long as you skip the high-fat toppings such as butter, bacon bits and sour cream, including a baked potato in your diet on occasion is fine."

So in the grand scheme of things, potatoes are fine! Just don't eat them everyday.... and don't smother them in cheese, butter, and bacon. 

Green Tea: Decreased Appetite, Increased Happiness.

Part of my problem with food is that I always want it.... especially when I'm trying to eat healthy. I never feel like I'm full. That's why I made the last post on snacking. I feel like if I'm going to eat all the time it probably shouldn't be munchies. BUT, what if there was a way where you weren't hungry all the time. A way that didn't involve diet pills or shrinking your stomach. A very natural way to decrease your appetite.

 I have news my friends, this way exists. GREEN TEA.

There are two ways that green tea is a proven cause of weight loss: 

1. Green Tea suppresses appetite: 


Green tea appears to demonstrate the ability to suppress appetite, although a number of mechanisms may be at work. The major appetite suppressant factor lies behind its effect on norepinephrine and dopamine. These two peptide hormones, known as catecholamines, activate the sympathetic nervous system; one of the known effects includes a reduction in the desire for food. Researchers believe that ECGC, one of the most active compounds in green tea, mediates this effect by inhibiting the breakdown of an enzyme that would normally break down the catecholamines.

* I tried to put this in my own words, but I didn't understand most of it well enough to reword it. This is more for those interested in a scientific explanation for the suppression of appetite. I trust the experts. 

2. Green Tea increase fat burning

Beyond its effects on appetite, green tea demonstrates further effects on fat burning. The polyphenols contained within green tea, which include ECGC, increase thermogenesis, preferentially burning fat in preference to protein. Studies compared the rate of fat burning in a group that consumed green tea against another group that did not. They found that polyphenols contained within the brew performed well. While energy expenditure from fat in the control group only amounted to 31.6 percent of total energy use, this rose to 41.5 percent in the green tea group.

*Same story with this one.... :) 

If you think green tea is gross, that's okay! There is still hope for you. Water and Coffee also work in similar ways. If you don't like either of these.... find healthy snacks.

Snacking

Chips are something I crave a lot. I have a real weakness for Ultimate Cheddar Munchies. Unfortunately they don't really fit in to the healthy (er) lifestyle that I'm trying to live. If you don't have a Costco membership, this is something that I would highly recommend. They have some crazy chips that do not sound appealing, but turn out to be addictingly delicious! 

These are two of my go-to's: 

Snap Pea Crisps

Popped Edamame Chips

Here are some other Costco selections!


I can't lie and say they are as good as Ultimate Cheddar munchies, but if you're looking for something healthier that doesn't make you sad because it doesn't taste good, I highly recommend these!

Sweet Tooth

When I was younger, I didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but recently that's all I ever crave! Hot fudge Wednesday's in my University's cafeteria is always a struggle... I've been trying to think of ways to satisfy this craving without consuming ridiculous amounts of sugar. 

Here are a couple solutions that I have found!

Fruit is always a good option. It is naturally sweet, but sometimes JUST eating fruit doesn't quite cut it. This is something that I came across the other day. I usually put peanut butter on my banana, because peanut butter is delicious. However, this time I decided to use the peanut butter as glue to this new masterpiece! Banana's are good, but raspberries and blueberries are much more flavorful in my opinion. The combination of these three fruits, with the peanut butter was the icing on the cake!

If you don't have fruit, something good to keep around is dried fruit! It lasts much longer than fresh fruit, but is still a healthy (er) than many other sweet treats. 

Something I was obsessed with when I was a kid was ritz bits. This name brand treat has a little more sugar than I would like to consume, so I've started making my own version! I buy whole wheat crackers (these are my favorite) and natural ground peanut butter with no added sugar! 

Breakfast!

I have always had trouble with breakfast.... People always say it is the most important meal of the day, but I always value sleep more than waking up and making breakfast. I never thought that skipping a meal might actually make me GAIN weight?! It is proven that eating breakfast boosts your metabolism! It also helps in avoiding cravings before lunch.

Most of the time I'll just grab a granola bar, but why settle for a granola bar when you can have a delicious breakfast that can be prepared in under 12 minutes?? With these recipes, I've found a motivation to wake up and fit in breakfast, not only because I know it boosts my metabolism, but because it's delicious!

Here are some of my favorites!

1. Egg in a basket! (also known as frog in a hole...)
This one is super simple. Get a piece of Whole Grain bread and cut a hole in the center. Turn a frying pan on medium-high, crack the egg into the whole of the bread and let it cook. Once the egg is cooked through flip it, and you're done!  

2. Oatmeal!
Just add water microwave. Create the base for oatmeal is easy, and once you have the possibilities are endless! What you add to your oatmeal is the most important part. Eating it plain is kinda bland.... I always prefer putting in a little bit of brown sugar, but I also highly suggest apples and cinnamon! The heat of the oatmeal cooks the apples, and creates a warm and gooey treat. Check out some more ideas for your oatmeal!

3. Breakfast Pizza!
One of my favorite things as a kid was eating leftover cold pizza in the mornings... there's a healthy way to do that! If you make this before bed it'll be ready to go when you wake up! This way you don't have to choose between your metabolism and sleep. All you do is toast a piece of whole grain bread as your pizza crust, then add the toppings you prefer! You can also do this with whole wheat tortillas. You could make it a traditional pizza with sauce, cheese, peppers... OR you can make it more of a breakfast pizza and add ham or sausage. 

Check out this website with more fast, creative, breakfast ideas!

The Power of Walking

Walking is definitely something that we take for granted. Walking is a way to exercise without setting aside even more time in your day to do it. There are several ways you can incorporate walking into your daily activities! Walking a mile burns roughly 100 calories. If you take advantage of walking, it could really add up!

1. Take the stairs! The escalator or the elevator is always tempting, but the stairs are much better for you and your glutes!

2. Don't look for the best parting spot. There are always so many open spots in the back of the parking lot, yet we will drive around for 5 minutes looking for the spot that is closest to the front. Save some time and gas and park in the back. See it as an opportunity for more exercise!

3. Walk, don't drive. This depends on where you live, but if your destination is only a couple miles away take the time to walk! Especially if its nice outside. 


Check out these 6 great benefits of walking for your health!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow-xCwXQTLo

Tasty Bite!

These deliciously filling (all natural) packets are perfect if you are short on time, and low on money! Literally all you have to do is rip off the top, put it in the microwave, and warm it up for 1 MINUTE. It's almost TOO easy... 

And the best part, as always, is that it isn't terrible for you! As opposed to other microwavable lunches like hot pockets, or hungry man dinners, these are relatively low in calories and high in protein!

Though it looks like a small portion, it is deceivingly filling. However, to make it last longer, and provide a little more sustenance I suggest cooking some rice with it. Unfortunately rice is NOT the perfect dish if you are short on time, but it is sensitive to your wallet! 

But, wait! Tasty Bite thought about this too! They also have these ridiculously convenient packets for rice as well! (8 different kinds!) Unfortunately, it takes 1 minute and 30 seconds to cook the rice, but it's better than the 45 minutes it takes to steam cook rice. 

However, if you think you'll be eating a lot of rice throughout your week, it would be much cheaper to make a batch of rice at the beginning of the week and continue to re-heat it. A bag of rice costs under two $2, while Tasty Bite Rice (2 portions) costs about $2.50. There is a price for convenience!


Another benefit: So many choices! Tasty Bite offers over 30 products across 4 categories: entrées, rices, noodles and meal inspirations. 
From Bombay Potatoes to Tofu Corn Masala, Tasty Bite will more than likely have something to match your craving!

Travel Tips!

Spring is FINALLY here! If you're like me, then Spring Break is just around the corner! Unfortunately, I'm not traveling to a special destination, but this blog is for those of you who are. ESPECIALLY those of you anticipating a long road trip!

When you're traveling, it can often times get pretty boring in the car, depending on who you're traveling with. One thing I always do when I'm bored: EAT! As you stop at gas stations along the way to your vacation destination, here are some snacks to consider that won't leave you bloated and gassy!

1. Beverages: Try flavored water! Drinking plain water can be boring, and you're already bored in the car, so you don't want to do that... most other beverages are LOADED with sugar. You could also try out an unsweetened tea or coffee! 


2. Almonds! Who knew there were so many different flavors of almonds?? I've always loved just the original salted almonds, but recently I tried the mocha almonds and they're amazing! They also have all kinds of other crazy flavors! Seasoning on an almond is MUCH healthier than seasoning on a chip!

3. Trail Mix! There are also lots of different types of trail mix to cater to your cravings! There are pieces of chocolate in most of them, which isn't necessarily good for you, but it's spring break! You deserve a treat. You shouldn't deprive yourself of all the good things in life :)

4. Snap pea crisps! I still don't quite understand how they make these, but they're delicious, and kind of addicting. The only ingredients: Green Peas, Vegetable Oil (Canola, Sunflower and/or Safflower Oil), Rice, Salt, Calicum Carbonate And Vitamin C (Ascorbyl Palmitate). The only flavors I've had are the caesar and original. Caesar was interesting... but I highly recommend the original!




You can get creative with your snack choices along the way, these are just some of my favorites! Also, don't make yourself feel too guilty for eating poorly over the break. If you're going to indulge, INDULGE! Feeling guilty about it doesn't make it any healthier. 

Happy Spring Break!

An EGGcelent meal!

This is by far one of my FAVORITE things to eat, and one of the EASIEST things to make. And the best part: It's not terrible for you! Don't feel insulted that I'm about to tell you how to make an egg sandwich. There are some key elements to THIS egg sandwich that are important to note!

Ingredients:
2 pieces of bread: Whole grain bread!
3 eggs: (organic is best!) This part is flexible. I've found that 2 is not enough, and 4 is too many, but that's just my experience.
Sausage: Morning Star Original Sausage Patties

Preparation: 5-10 minutes!
1. Get out a medium sized frying pan, spray the pan, and turn stove on to medium high
2. Mix 3 eggs (give or take) into a small mixing bowl then pour into frying pan
3. Put two pieces of bread in the toaster (if you're toaster broke like mine you can warm up your bread and slightly toast it in the same pan you cook the eggs)
4. Place two morning star sausage patties on a plate and heat in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes. 
5. Put it all together!

Wallah! You're done.

If you're like I was you may be a little skeptical of the veggie sausage. I grew up eating meat until a couple years ago when my parents switched to a vegan diet for health reasons. I still eat meat, but much less often. For a lot of vegetarian meat imitations I just try to not think of them as meat, because usually they don't taste like what they're supposed to taste like. Especially veggie hot dogs... I do NOT recommend those. However, these veggie sausage patties have a very similar taste to sausage. I don't just tolerate them, I ENJOY them! The texture is a little bit different at first, but if you can get past that the health benefits are way worth it! 

Don't Sweat It

Part of the struggle to working out is that there's just not time to do it. It takes time to muster up the motivation to actually work out, it takes time to do the workout, and it takes time to clean yourself up after you get all gross and sweaty. So much time... 

But does it have to be such a time consuming activity?? What if there were simple workouts you could do during the day where you didn't have to shower after? 

I just tried doing these workouts today and it actually worked pretty well! These workouts are designed to give you quick boosts of energy, focus, and stress relief in a short amount of time!

Here is one example!

Timer set for 7 minutes, AMRAP (As many rounds as possible)
(If you aren't familiar with any of these exercises, click on the link to learn how to do them!)

• 5 pushups – 5 seconds up, then 5 seconds down
• 10 squats
• 3 burpees
• 20 second count on bridge

This only takes seven minutes and you barely break a sweat! It's a workout that you can do at any point in the day, or multiple times during the day. But if it's only seven minutes it causes you to wonder.... is it really doing anything?? Matt Ragland from The Simple Gym makes an excellent point: 
"Short workouts may seem unnecessary and unhelpful, but there’s a growing body of research that is showing the benefits. It’s easy to make the excuse of thinking “I don’t have time” or “A 5 minute workout isn’t worth it.” But when we take the time to consider the benefits of movement, the inverse almost seems silly in comparison. “I can get all the benefits of being happier, productive, and less-stressed, just by moving around a bit!?”"

Take the time to move! It does a lot more for you than you think. 
For more of these workouts check out:  http://thesimplegym.com/no-sweat-workouts/

Carrots and Peanut Butter

Celery and peanut butter is a pretty common snack, but I HATE celery... so growing up I always ate carrots and peanut butter. It seems like an interesting combination, but trust me, it tastes good! Peanut butter really does make most things taste better. If you like thai food you see spicy peanut sauce mixed in with vegetables (including carrots), so really it's not TOO crazy of an idea. 

Not only is this a tasty treat, but carrot's are a power-food with numerous health benefits! Just to list a few: 
1. Improves Vision
2. Helps Prevent Aging
3. Slows Down Cancer
4. Promotes Healthier Skin
5. Helps Prevent Infection

The peanut butter is where you have to be careful! There is a reason that peanut butter tastes so delicious. 

To the left is a jar of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter. Looking at the label on the back it says it only has 4 grams of sugar, which really doesn't seem too bad. However, that 4 grams of sugar is per serving with each serving only being two tablespoons. Processed peanut butters like Jif also contain many other ingredients to get to that rich and creamy state. There are many additives such as hydrogenated oils. These oils keep the peanut butter at the same consistency no matter what the temperature. The downfall: 16-20 percent MORE SATURATED FAT!

What I suggest is natural ground peanut butter. It's not as creamy, but I was always more of a crunch peanut butter fan anyways, and what can be crunchier than peanut butter with the only ingredient being peanuts?? With the only ingredient being peanuts you don't have to worry about the sugars of processed peanut butter. 




                      
                          Take Jim Gaffigan's advice! Don't be a coward. GO EXTREME!

Frozen Foods

One of the HARDEST parts about being healthy is eating healthy.... Is it just me or does it seem like everything that tastes really good is not good for you?? For the first time ever I am living in an apartment where I have been forced to cook for myself. As I'm grocery shopping, I walk down the frozen foods section and see things like pizza rolls, hot pockets, chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, frozen pizzas.... all things that are cheap, taste delicious, and are quick and easy to make! The only downfall.... they are terrible for you. There are a couple ways that I've been able to resist the temptation of these transfatty treats.

1) After eliminating these foods from your diet for an extended period of time, every time you DO eat them you feel terrible! Once your body gets used to healthier foods it will begin to reject processed crap.
(I haven’t actually found any evidence to support this, but I am speaking from experience. My freshman and sophomore year of college I used to order a corn-dog combo (french fries, soda and a corn-dog) at least twice a week, just as a late night snack. The past year I have adopted a healthier eating style avoiding fried foods and excess sugar. Now every time I eat anything fried or super sweet it tears me up inside! It's a blessing and a curse...)

2) Finding healthier alternatives that TASTE GOOD!

In our culture food is the center of almost everything. We eat it when we're happy, we eat it when we're sad, we eat it when we are celebrating, we eat it when we are grieving... It is just too important not to enjoy it. Stay tuned for my first healthy suggestion for eating well and being happy! (You CAN have both!)

There's still time!

Who actually ENJOYS working out? Eating healthy? Avoiding fatty (delicious) foods? It takes a lot of will power and motivation to pursue a healthy lifestyle. Something else it takes a lot of is time, which is something that most of us don't have a lot of. Time to physically work out, time to create a workout plan, time to prepare healthy meals, time to research what foods are actually healthy. It can be intimidating. It's so much easier to just not... It's tempting to go through the nearest fast food drive through and have your food ready in 5 minutes, or stay on the couch and watch a couple more episodes of your favorite t.v. show rather than dragging your butt to the gym. I'm here to suggest that healthy eating and exercise do not have to be extensive time commitments! There are ways to fit in fitness, and it is worth it! In this blog I will provide quick and easy meals that are nutritious, as well as a variety of workouts to fit your schedule. Don't let time be an excuse any longer!

DISCLAIMER: I am not a fitness expert, or a trained nutritionist. I am not proposing recipes for the HEALTHIEST lifestyle, but rather a HEALTHIER lifestyle. I don't want to eat like a rabbit, and my end goal isn't to look like a fitness model. Ultimately, I just want to feel good.