I have such good intentions to come on here every time I have these amazing thoughts/recipes that come to mind, but it is so hard with 5 month old twins, a toddler who has become very independent (yet dependent… he can’t decide :)), and a husband who is so busy with work—even on weekends he must catch up… so if you think of us, pray for a little order, patience, and sanity in our house!
I have had a few people FB me about certain things… thank you! Your support and trust in me is such a compliment. With the stigma of an unsettled housewife—what a sense of encouragement it is to have people seek advice in an area I have such a passion about! I am not really “unsettled”, but there are days when my husband and son do not like my food—LOL! My son was born eating my food so it is easier for him to catch on, but he is going through a stage where he doesn’t want to eat and would rather play, color, test limits… etc. My husband grew up eating “mock chicken” and white bread… so he has had a long road and I have to remember that! His mother tried with him too, but he was born with junk food blood! :) Though, I must add how proud I am of him—when he does slip up and eat something he shouldn’t, he comes to the conclusion on his own how gross the food item is and is shocked by how he used to eat certain things like that. Anyhow, back to my point…. I would like to clarify that I am not an expert in the area of health foods and whole food living, so any advice and/or suggestions you get from my blog or in FB message, please know that I am on this same journey as you! I may have had an earlier start back in 2000—but with this new trend to get America on track with unprocessed, good food—information is readily available everywhere. I have a few books I will post soon that I have had on this journey that have been helpful.
Another thing, my husband likes to remind me to make sure I do not come off as a food snob… and I admit, sometimes I can feel that and emit that (I’m sorry). I prayed this morning that the LORD would humble me in that area! I may blog about how sugar is horrible for you—it is, but I do have slip ups… oh, how dangerous it is for me! I really hadn’t had much sugar in years and after having been pregnant and now with kids… I have this sweets-sugar thing I cannot break. My husband already has this love affair with sweets, so it is so easy for me to slip up when he is indulging! After I had the twins, I decided “no sweets” and at Halloween this past fall, we had a little party—Jord took Brinley trick-or-treating to a few houses on our street. We were just going to give away the candy Brinley received to Jord's staff, but Jord decided to indulge in a few pieces of candy. I saw what he was eating and looked in the bag to see what else was in there. I have this major love for peanut butter (I don’t think you understand how much :)) and in my earlier days a Reese’s’ Peanut Buttercup or Butterfinger were my refuge…ha-ha… well those were in there. I proceeded to eat all of those and then some more… I felt so disgusting—with a sugar high, headache—the ingredients were awful with color dyes and modified cornstarch…etc. What was I thinking? You know what… I preceded that habit up until Christmas, but instead of getting those chocolates, I would buy organic chocolates to meet that craving… and you know what has resulted? (First of all organic chocolates do have sugar, maybe unrefined evaporated cane sugar, but in the amounts I was eating… not good! ) My immune system was shocked and I got a horrible cold that turned into a sinus infection, laryngitis, bronchitis…etc –this all lasted over 3 weeks! I haven’t had a cold in 2-3 years and even then they lasted no more than 3-4 days. I finally begged the LORD for self-control and thanked HIM for a wake-up call. My husband was even surprised by my hypocrisy and was actually telling me those nights I would overindulge, to “take it easy” (and I would hate him for it!). Well, with the LORD’s strength, I have been able to get out of it for now.
Now, I am not saying having a treat here and there should be forbidden, but when you do, my advice to you (and myself): plan those splurges and know when to say “no.” I know emotional issues can sometimes come into play—which for me I am sure it had to do with postpartum blues, bad self-esteem… (just trying to be honest), so if that is the case and it is mild, pray your heart out and talk about it with a trusted friend. Oh, how helpful that was for me… but if it is severe, of course, I encourage you to seek a mental health professional/nutritionist…
Anyhow, with all that said… and “too much information”… I hope you don’t feel awkward, but feel like we can relate! No one said I am perfect and I certainly don’t feel that way, but I do hope you like what I aim to do for my health, my family’s and friend’s health (and you!). Just to be ironic :), I will be posting a yummy dessert I took to a friend's house for dinner this weekend (I was good and did not have any since I am in the "practice" of working on self-control).
I love how you're so genuine and then apologize for being genuine. This was a great blog. Don't be so hard on yourself. I can hear Jord saying, "take it easy." I would have flipped on Brad for that!!! Ha! Overall, you're a healthy eater and always have been...since I've known you. I still think of the first week we hung out and you made that cabbage soup or something. Mmmmm. It was so good.
ReplyDeleteI remember that! That is when I lived with Kim... I wish I could remember how I made that... that was the best soup!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was annoying to hear Jord say that to me... but, Joy, I was eating a lot (like a jar of peanut butter with choco chips thrown in). :)
I love your honesty, and this blog. I really want to start trying your recipes myself. They are ALL SOOO good. As of late, I've been navigating to your blog for ideas, but now it's time to implement them.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, Matt and I have been on that South Beach Diet. Too often we bend the rules but have found ourselves surprisingly uncomfortable after eating things we don't normally eat - like chick-fil-A fries, pizza among other things. I am very glad for those reactions and hope to continue on this track of reduce fat, sugar and other not to great things. I'm a bit stumped by salad ideas and would love if you could post some salad options. I am also trying to do less meats and beans are a great option but i struggle to figure out what to make to go with it or as part of the dish. If you have some bean recipe ideas, I would love to see them posted.
Thanks for all these recipes and ideas. Such a great resource :)