Trust and Foodie Penpal Reveal Day

September 30, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Today you get a double post! Aren’t you just the luckiest! Since it is the end of the month, that means that it is Foodie Penpal reveal day. Foodie Penpal was started by Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean and is a fun way to try new and delicious things with others across the country. If you would like to participate or just want some more info, you can head over to Lindsay’s blog and check out all the official guidelines. This month my pen pal was Lauren and she did a fabulous job with my box! Included was:

1. Spicy Moroccan Sauce- GREAT in soups and stews, which I am now making more of with the cooler weather

2. Rosemary and Black Pepper almonds- My husband really enjoys these as a tasty snack

3. Four Fruit Spread- I haven’t had a chance to try this yet but I am sure it will be fantastic

4. Almond Butter- I love any and all nut butters, so this of course was a favorite

5. Gluten-free Cinnamon Raisin Bread- This was made and devoured immediately!

6. Various spices- I love my herbs and spices and these new ones have been fun to try out!

Thanks again Lauren, this was a great box!

On one of my daily blog readings, I came across a piece of advice that struck me. I don’t remember which blog it was or even the main point of that particular post (I read a LOT of blogs). The author stated, “Trust your body, it knows exactly what it needs and it will let you know too”. When I first read it, I really didn’t pay much attention. I have heard this advice many times before. In fact, I often tell you to listen to your own body and to pay attention to the signals it sends you. But as the day went on, I really started thinking about that advice and the word that really got me was trust. Trust your body. I realized that I don’t know if I fully trust my own body, at least not yet.

Let me explain. It is one thing to listen to your body, your stomach growls, you know you’re hungry, you put food into your body. That is fairly simple. But do you trust your body to choose the right food? Do you trust your body to eat the right amount of food? Do you ultimately trust that your own body is telling you that it needs? I have had a very tug-of-war like relationship with my own body and food over the years. Many times I would just eat anything at anytime because I was bored or just wanted the taste of food. This whole cycle of overindulging and eating food that wasn’t good for me created a very strained relationship between me and my body. When I decided to finally start eating better and improve my health, I honestly did not trust myself or my body to make smart decisions food wise. I literally had to throw out all the processed junk food in my pantry and refrigerator because I knew that I would not be able to trust myself around those things.

It has gotten easier over time to say no to the food that does nothing to keep me healthy. I avoid certain aisles in the grocery store, I don’t make certain foods, and if I go out to eat, I don’t even look at certain parts of the menu. Sure, that sounds like I trust my body, but in reality, I’m still a little nervous that I will go back to my unhealthy days if I fully trusted in my body to tell me what it needed. What if I misinterpret the signals? What if I think my body is telling me it needs something that I don’t want to eat? This may sound confusing and silly, but because of my past, I have a hard time with these things. But I’m also starting to realize that my body is smarter than I give it credit for. Because I have been feeding it the best possible food and treating it as healthfully as possible, my body knows that it doesn’t need nor want any of the food that I used to crave in the past. I’ve also learned so much these past few years when it comes to nutrition and health, which also contributes to continuing to eat well and live healthfully.

I’m learning more and more to really trust in my body to tell me what it needs. Some days are better/easier than others, but it is all a part of the process. Being healthy isn’t a sprint to the finish, it is a longer and slower journey, one that you have to make mistakes and learn from them. Will I ever be perfect? No! Obviously that is impossible and not expected of anyone. But I will get better and continue to be as healthy as possible. If you’re going through the same trust issue I am, just remember: be patient with yourself, give yourself time, and don’t be too hard on yourself. You will get there, I promise!

Have a fantastic Monday and a great rest of the week!

My cousin got married this weekend. The family cleans up pretty well!

Buchanan cousins and the new Mrs. Wills!

Not Really a Lifestyle Choice: Meal Delivery/Replacement

September 23, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

I’ve been going over popular health/lifestyle choices these past few weeks, and I thought I would end up this little series with something a bit different. I know there are a million different diets that I didn’t get to, but if I were to go through every single one it would take forever and you would get really bored. Hopefully with this series you have been exposed to a lifestyle that you found interesting as well as learned how to objectively look at a diet and see if it is the right one for you.

Today I am taking a look at meal delivery/replacement services. As you can see from the title, I don’t really view this as a lifestyle choice and I will get into that a little bit later. There are numerous meal delivery services out there, including Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Freshology, and many other brands. Just a quick Google search pulled up a ton I had never even heard of. The basic premise of these programs is that they take care of all food prep for you. They send you all the meals you will eat for the day/week and all you have to do is either heat them up or some other minimal form of prep work. Many of these services also allow you to customize your program for food allergies or intolerances, such as gluten free or dairy free. These programs do all work of figuring out portion sizes and calorie counts so you don’t have to.

I’ll start with the good, which quite frankly isn’t much. I’m not a huge fan of counting calories, but that is a personal preference and I know that for some keeping tabs on how many calories you eat is the best way to stay healthy. These programs make it very easy to keep a close eye on your daily calorie intake since everything is figured out for you. They also help with portion control, which is a big problem lately. We have gotten used to gigantic portion sizes, that we have no idea how much we should actually be eating. With meal delivery programs, they have already portioned out the right amount of food. All you have to do is make sure you only eat the allotted food for each meal.

That is pretty much all I have for the good stuff. In case you couldn’t tell, I am not a huge fan of meal delivery services. My biggest concern is that the food you are receiving is not actual food, but processed food-type things. You all know how I feel about processed “food”. Many of these meals are laden with chemicals and preservatives, both things that are not beneficial to your health whether you lose weight on these systems or not. I know with some of these programs you can supplement with real food, but for the bulk of them you are eating whatever they send you. One other problem with these programs is that you aren’t really learning how to eat better or healthier. You are fully relying on whatever they “cook” or make you, and not gathering the skills to sustain a healthier eating lifestyle. Most of the time you are just giving your microwave a workout. Meal delivery systems aren’t really a sustainable lifestyle choice. Which leads me to my last dislike, these programs are NOT cheap. You are relying on one service or company to provide your food as opposed to being able to shop locally and at various different stores where you can find the best price for your food. Eating well does not have to be an expensive endeavor. I feed my husband and I on usually no more than $50/week and I know others who eat delicious, healthy meals on even less than that. I could be totally wrong, but I don’t think people join Jenny Craig thinking that they will eat their food forever, and when they do decide that they have reached their goal weight, what have they really learned? They haven’t learned how to cook better meals for themselves! They might have learned what a portion looks like, but they probably don’t know how to measure it out on their own. That’s the important part of choosing a certain lifestyle, being able to learn how to make the healthiest choices on your own and be able to sustain the lifestyle for the rest of your life.

I mentioned meal replacements in the beginning, and I just wanted to briefly touch on them. I dislike these even more than meal delivery services. Slimfast, Special K, and any other type of company that makes you swap out a full meal with what pretty much counts as a candy bar or milkshake is not the way to go to be healthier. Sure, you will lose weight. That’s what happens when you don’t eat a real meal. These “programs” are usually used for quick weight loss results (like getting ready for a wedding or wearing a bikini) and aren’t meant to be sustained indefinitely. You’re better off steering clear of these products, as you’re doing your body and your health a huge favor. Trust me.

I know that there are a ton of other lifestyles/diets that I did not cover. But I hope that these have given you some insights into different ways of eating and living and will help steer you in the right direction for your health. When you decide that you want to be healthier, make sure you do a lot of research, ask questions, talk to health professionals, and experiment until you find the best way for you and your life. That is the most important thing! I hope that you all had a fantastic weekend. Adam and I celebrated the beginning of fall by going apple picking and enjoying the fabulous weather! Have a great Monday!

Apple picking fun!

Taco Casserole

September 19, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 3 Comments

This recipe is a winner. Ask my husband, he is crazy about this one. I have to admit it is one of my new favorites too, it is creamy and a little spicy and fulfils that need for Mexican food without making you feel gross afterwards. Now, because I don’t eat dairy or buy processed products, I made my own nacho “cheese” sauce. It looks and sounds like it will taste really gross, but I promise you it tastes phenomenal. If you don’t want to use the sauce I used you can use store bought nacho cheese sauce, but I don’t recommend it. Also, give yourself some time to make this recipe, this is a really good weekend meal. Ok enough talking, let’s get to it!

Taco Casserole

For the Nacho “Cheese” Sauce

1/4 cup cashews
2 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
1 cup nutritional yeast (do NOT use baking yeast, you will be very unhappy with the results)
1 tsp chipotle chili spice (more if you want a spicer cheese sauce)
2 tbsp tapioca starch (cornstarch or arrowroot powder would also work)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

For the filling

8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 cup corn kernels
1 jar salsa (I make my own, but there are plenty of good store bought brands that work)
6-8 tortillas (I use corn, but flour works too)

1. About an hour or so before you want to eat, dissolve the salt for the cheese sauce in 2 cups warm water. Add in the cashews and let them soak for an hour. After an hour, place cashews and water into a blender or food processor. Add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. You want to get the consistency really smooth with no cashew chunks in it.

2. Transfer the cheese sauce to a medium saucepan and heat on medium-high until the sauce is nice and thick. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the black beans and corn kernels.

3. While cheese sauce is heating, turn oven to 400 and heat some olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add in the mushrooms, garlic, and salt and pepper. Cook the mushrooms until they are a nice golden brown and have released their moisture. This takes about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms into the cheese sauce with the beans and corn.

4. Now it’s time to assemble everything. In a large casserole dish, spread a thin layer of salsa on the bottom. Layer a few tortillas on top of this. My casserole dish usually fits 3, but if yours is bigger or smaller use however many. On top of the tortillas add a layer of the cheese sauce, then another layer of salsa, then more tortillas. Keep layering until all your stuff is gone. Cover the dish with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes. When it’s done let it sit uncovered for 5 minutes before you cut it up

Like I said, this meal takes a little more time to put together which is why it’s a good meal to make for the weekend. You can also sub in ground beef or turkey for the mushrooms, just make sure to brown the meat first. I also really like to top this with guacamole or my avocado cream sauce. This dish gets even better the next day and makes for really good lunch leftovers. Again, ask my husband 😉 Enjoy!

Lifestyle Choices: Weight Watchers

September 18, 2013 / ktbuchs87

Hello! I’m posting on Wednesday and Friday again this week. I spent the weekend with my sister in Champaign and rather than work on my blog, I decided to have fun and relax with her. So sorry for the delay, but sometimes you just need to take a break!

Last week, I looked a little bit into the Paleo lifestyle. Today I want to talk about the Weight Watchers program. Weight Watchers has been around for about 50 years. It started with a small group of women in Queens, New York who would get together to discuss the best way to lose weight. From there it grew into one of the most popular and biggest weight loss programs in the country. The concept behind Weight Watchers places an emphasis on community and group support while losing weight. There are weekly meetings where you weigh-in and get measured to track your weight loss. You also meet with other people who are losing weight as well as health professionals who offer support on your weight loss journey. Weight Watchers uses a point system to help clients track their eating. Food is given a point value and the client is allotted a certain amount of points per day based on their weight loss goals. You can eat what you want, you just make sure that you count the points and don’t go over your daily allowance. Weight Watchers also promotes daily exercise as a way to help with weight loss and offers help and support in that realm as well. The Weight Watchers program is also fairly customizable and can offer benefits to a wide range of people and all their different needs. They also offer an online program so no matter where you are you can access all the information and tools that they have.

There are a lot of things that I really like about the Weight Watchers program. One of the biggest things that I like is the amount of support that they offer to their clients as well as the sense of community that they build. Losing weight is a really big decision and it takes a lot of motivation. It can be really tough for some people to try to lose weight all on their own. Being able to meet with other people who are going through the same things you are can really keep you on track. You can share tips, recipes, motivation, triumphs as well as failures. Having a support system behind you when you take a big step like getting healthier can make or break some people’s success. I also like that clients have access to a wide range of health professionals. Because losing weight and finding what works best for you can be such a confusing and sometimes frustrating process, it’s great to be able to have a lot of people to help guide you along the way. The other thing I like about Weight Watchers is that you can eat real food and they don’t place an emphasis on what you can’t eat but what you can eat. It is a lot harder to stick with a program when all you are told is you can’t eat this or you can’t do this. People don’t like to feel deprived, so I like the idea that you can eat what you would like.

On the flip side to that, I think it can be a little bit of a slippery slope when you are allowed to eat anything. While Weight Watchers does tout eating healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats, technically you could also eat chocolate cake and cookies as long as you don’t go over your points. Obviously this will not help you lose weight, and that isn’t what Weight Watchers is about. It can be tough for someone who is just starting out to be able to have all that freedom when it comes to food. I am not promoting a deprivation diet or starving yourself just to lose weight, I just know that for me I can’t just have one cookie or a slice of cake. Other people have great willpower right from the get go and have no problem saying no to those things. It all depends on the person. One other thing that I don’t like about Weight Watchers are their food products. They don’t have required food that you have to buy from them or eat, but they do have a wide range of food products that they make and fit into their point system. I am simply against this because of my belief that we need to step away from processed food and focus on real food. I understand that it is hard to figure out what to eat when starting a new lifestyle, but you shouldn’t live on packaged food whether you are losing weight or not. The chemicals and preservatives in processed food can cause more damage to your health than having a little excess weight on your body. Luckily with Weight Watchers you can easily focus your eating on real foods, and they offer a ton of meal plans and guidance when it comes to eating better.

Overall, I really do like Weight Watchers, especially for those that are just starting out and need help and guidance. They offer a ton of information and support that will help people be as successful as possible. I personally don’t think it’s realistic to be on Weight Watchers for life, but they make sure that they give you the building blocks to being healthier. Ideally, you can start to make healthier choices and live a healthy lifestyle beyond the Weight Watchers program and continue to find what works best for your body and your health!

I hope that you are all having a fabulous week and are enjoying the fall weather that is starting to make an appearance, I know I am! I’ll see you guys on Friday with a new recipe to try out!

Love her to pieces!

Lifestyle Choices: Veganism

September 4, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I hope that you all had a fabulous holiday weekend and were able to relax and enjoy the last few days of summer. I spent the weekend in Indiana with friends and family and had an amazing time! My mother-in-law even surprised me by inviting my friend from Missouri that I haven’t seen in months! It was awesome because I miss her a lot since she moved. I tell you all that because that is partially why I am doing my normal Monday post on Wednesday. Because of Labor Day, I am pushing Monday’s post to today and I will post my normal recipe on Friday. So you’ll still get all the normal stuff, just a day later! Alright, let’s get to business!

My sister, Ashley (!), and me!

Today I am going to go over the vegan lifestyle. Last week I talked about vegetarianism and briefly mentioned vegans, but this lifestyle needs a little more in-depth description. Just like vegetarians, vegans consume no meat, including fish, poultry, or pork. In addition, they also do not consume any animal by-products. This means they do not eat dairy or eggs, they don’t eat honey or gelatin, and they do not use any products that contain animal products or have been tested on animals. In the simplest sense, if anything has been made with some form of an animal, vegans will not eat or use it. Now, there are some people who only stick to a vegan diet rather than a vegan lifestyle. This means they won’t eat any animal products, but they may use products that do have animal in them. There are also some people that follow a raw vegan diet, meaning that they will not eat animals/animal products and will not consume food that has been cooked over 118 degrees F.

Just like last week, I am going to share my opinions on what is good/bad about the vegan lifestyle. Remember, these are only MY opinions. I am not a doctor/nutritionist/dietician, if you want more advice please talk with your doctor or another health professional. Let’s start with the good. I love the focus that veganism places on fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. I believe that everyone, whether vegan or not, needs to add these nutritional powerhouses to their diet. I also like that veganism helps shine a light on the way our diets and lives can affect the environment. The Standard American Diet does place a lot of strain on the environment. It takes a lot of resources, both natural and unnatural, to produce food for us to eat. It boggles my mind that 90% of the crops grown in this country are fed to livestock, and we only consume 10%. It also take a lot of land, water, and fuel to raise livestock for the population to consume. Vegans have done a good job of bringing this issue to light, and have even started a movement called Meatless Monday’s. The idea is that if we just had one day a week where we didn’t eat meat we could lessen the impact we have on the environment. It has become a rather large movement and has brought mindfulness to a lot of the American population.

More info on this at this website: http://goo.gl/75GL17

On the flipside, the vegan lifestyle can be very intense, both in eating and ideals. In my years of learning and reading about different lifestyles, I have come across some very intense individuals. These people are the ones that think that their way is the ONLY way to live, and that everyone else is horrible for choosing to live some other way. Let me make this very clear, this is a very small population of vegans. In most cases vegans just want to promote healthier and more compassionate living. Sadly, the ones who are not like this can be very caustic and off-putting. They turn others away because no one likes to feel like they are being judged or feel guilty for making their own decisions. The vegan lifestyle can also be intense in other ways as well. After seeing everything that vegans don’t eat or use, it can seem like there is nothing left to use. This can turn people away or cause those just starting out to rely heavily on processed vegan products, which can be just as unhealthy as regular processed products. In truth, there are tons of healthy, delicious, and varied vegan meals and food. It just takes some research and trial and error in the beginning. If you do decide to go vegan, I suggest that you ease into the lifestyle rather than just jumping in fully. It’s much easier to slowly cut out all animal products over a long period of time than going cold turkey and living on salad for a year before realizing there are better things out there.

It is also very important that vegans monitor their vitamin and mineral intake to ensure they are getting the proper nutrients. The big vitamin that they need to make sure they get is B12. You can not get B12 from any plant-source, so if you go vegan you will need to supplement that into your diet. The good thing now is that veganism is becoming more and more mainstream. It might not be as popular as vegetarianism, but they are making good strides towards that. It is easier to find food at grocery stores and eating establishments that are fully vegan. Just be careful to not fall into the junk food vegan trap. You can still be unhealthy and vegan, there are plenty of mainstream products out there that are considered vegan. As long as you are aware of what you are putting into your mouth and body, you can make healthy and delicious vegan choices.

Overall I think that the vegan lifestyle can be a very good choice for a healthier life. That being said, it isn’t for everyone and that is ok! Some people will just never be able to go through life without eating meat or perhaps the thought of never cooking food makes their stomach turn. This is all ok, being healthy is about trying to find what works best for your body and life. Maybe you become a big supporter of the Meatless Monday movement and just cut animal products from your life for one day or maybe this lifestyle sounds right up your alley. If so, do your research, talk with your doctor and come up with a plan to start incorporating veganism into your life! I hope you all have a fabulous day and make sure you check back next Monday for my thoughts on the Paleo lifestyle.