clean food for my messy life
It’s true. I give my baby sugar. I know it’s frowned upon, and I also have never been one to do things the way I am “supposed to.” But before you shake your finger at me, you need to understand a few things. It’s not simple. And at the same time, it totally is. The reasons why I give my baby sugar are endless, but I’ll take time to share just a few….
This could possibly be the most real thing I ever write. I know, I know, I write some pretty raw and authentic things about marriage and parenting. But this… This is a part of my story that most of you don’t know. This is a piece of the puzzle of me that most of my current friends, acquaintances, readers, and followers would never imagine. And what makes this the most real thing I may ever write is that it is just that- it is real. It isn’t an idea or a concept about how to deal with the current or future issues in my life. It’s my story. It’s written into the book of my life. And no matter what shame or guilt or embarrassment surrounds your story, you cannot erase the truths of your life and your past. You can only change the present and the future. And that’s my story- one of change. And from that place of change, I want to share with you the ugly truth about being overweight….
Let’s talk about the whole “mom body” thing for a bit. It’s such a common thing these days to hear someone say “just embrace your mom bod.” I want to talk about what that really means to embrace my mom body, but first, I want to give you a little back story.
If you know me personally, you know that I have struggled a great deal with body image. I have done the diets, I have swung from one end of the spectrum to the other, and I have hated myself and my appearance no matter what end of the spectrum I was on. My journey towards true health and self love has been a long and sometimes complicated one, and I have had my fair share of “rebound” phases. In the diet world, those phases are the times in which I give up on one fad diet and go drastically searching for another. I did that so many times in the beginning of my journey, and it never brought any satisfaction. What I realized over time is that really becoming healthy takes a lifelong commitment, and it also requires adjusting not only my physical choices and food consumption, but also adjusting my thought processes and shifting my paradigm….
I talk about clean eating a lot. Almost all of my closest friends know that it is something I am passionate about, and most of them are willing to humor me and talk about it from time to time. When I am talking to my friends, I am not quick to tell them they need to eat clean or discreetly suggest ways they could eat cleaner. I have a “you do you” policy. I will never tell people how they should or shouldn’t eat.
But when people ask me, whether it be my friends or my readers, I am happy to give a little direction.
In last few weeks I have been asked the same question seven times. “How do you eat so clean?”
Well, the truth is, it’s just a decision and a commitment. Eating clean is not a fad diet, it is a lifestyle change. When I choose to eat clean, I am choosing to fuel my body in a way that only works and makes a difference when I do it consistently.
“But how?” That’s the next question that six out of seven of those people asked….
This is my first ever Worry Free Wednesday and I could NOT be more excited! The products and tips and tricks I’ll be sharing on here vary so much, but the one thing they all have in common is that they reduce stress in my life!
Obviously we all have different needs, different standards, and different stress triggers, but hopefully from time to time, I’ll share something that helps you!
So first up for Worry Free Wednesday is……….
My news feed (on practically every social media platform) has been loaded with health claims lately.
I mean, I get it… Everyone has a product they are trying to sell. Or if it’s not a product, it’s an agenda. I do it in my own way with food and fitness. I share my insights, my knowledge, my opinions, and my tips and tricks. So I guess you could say I am selling an idea. I also sell actual products with Beautycounter.
For the most part, however, I make sure that my opinions and my products are well researched before I share them. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely share opinions that are strictly from my personal experience, but those are never opinions that could harm someone if they buy in….
The average American has done it… We get stuck in a rut, feel unhappy with our bodies, and we want a solution. I’d be willing to guess that in a room with 100 people, at least 50 of us have researched ways to lose weight fast.
The other 50 have probably at least thought about it.
It’s a crazy thing, but it is so common. It’s an innate desire most of have to get results very quickly. The problem with getting results quickly, as it concerns weight loss, is that a fast track plan doesn’t have the backbones and support to be maintained.
The most common two ways I see people trying to lose weight quickly are with fad diets (such as the Whole30), and with diet pills and weight loss drinks or supplements….
I have heard a lot of people talk about eating sugar free lately, and I find it to be entirely intriguing.
There are a lot of misconceptions about sugar and what it really means to eat sugar or to eliminate it from your diet.
Let me just first say I LOVE SUGAR. No shame, no regrets. I love sweets. Cake, cookies, muffins- they are so good. But I am smart enough to know that they aren’t good for me. That doesn’t mean that I don’t ever eat them, but I certainly don’t eat them all the time. When I do enjoy them, I try to enjoy them with the best ingredients and least amount of processing possible. I try to enjoy them still sweet, but with whole and clean sweeteners.
Perhaps one of the most popular terms people are using currently is refined sugar free.…
Have y’all ever had the broccoli cheddar soup from Panera?
If so, you’ll understand the urgency behind coming up with this recipe. My bank account can’t keep up with my desire for that soup, and my body is uncertain of it’s real nutritional value. I simply could not take it anymore. I had to come up with one at home.
The thing about a broccoli cheddar soup is that, well, anything that is loaded full of cheese is not going to be the healthiest thing out there. But I did want to do my part to lighten it up. I tried to keep this soup as clean as I possibly could.
The first thing I did was obviously make sure the entire soup was gluten free… Because I didn’t want to die over a bowl of soup….
There used to be a time when I say there was no way I would give up the foods I love, and that I would just exercise more to make up the difference and burn the extra calories.
But that didn’t really get me anywhere other than back to the ice cream shop.
I think this is a pretty big debate in the health world- which is more important, exercise or diet?…
