Setting Goals

 I am an all or nothing kind of person. I am either all in or all out and then sometimes I will circle back around. It makes dieting hard to stick with. I will try a diet fad, mess up, and then just quit. For me, it just doesn't work. I have found that making habits, small term goals, and a sustainable lifestyle is much more productive than all or nothing. SO I am going to walk you through everything I have done to get to the point I am in life.

WRITE IT OUT:

     Think about what you want to accomplish overall. Do you need to lower blood sugar? Exercise more? Eat healthier? Think of every little detail. The big picture.

Jean's Example:

•  Work out 3 hours a week
• Eat a plant based, whole food diet
• Eat 75% raw food
• Drink 1 liter of water a day
• Teach my children how to pick whole food, health sustaining choices

      Now that you have the overall goals think of what it would take to get there. Make these your mini goals.

 Jean's Example:

• Stop drinking calories (pop, mochas, sweet tea)
• Cut out processed sweets and junk food
• Cut out cheese and dairy at home
• Cut out meat
• Stop overcooking, salting, and frying vegetables
• Make time for exercise
•  Cut bread intake

        Take one goal and focus on it. Decide what steps you need to take to accomplish your goal and do it well.

   Jean's Example: To stop drinking calories I will

• Take water with me everywhere I go
•  Allow myself to have one pop everyday for the first week
•  One pop every other day for the second week
•  Two pops a week
•  One pop a week
•  Don't buy or bring pop home
• Order a smaller pop

                           

 Don't worry about your whole list. You have the whole picture in your head. It is going to take a while to get it all accomplished. I have been working on my list for over a year and I still have a long way to go. It is okay though because it is sustainable living and nothing is over night. There is no magic pill, there is no crash fad diet, it is all about discipline and education and consistency. Your list will change and you may scratch things off or add to it and that's okay too!

  Once you have one goal accomplished add another. These things could take a while to accomplish. You should try to accomplish one goal a couple weeks at a time. If it takes longer NO BIG DEAL. Give yourself grace. If you completely mess up one day- no problem. You are human. Dump the remaining pop down the drain. It isn't a waste. This is your health.

   When I started this journey it took baby steps to get to where I am. Once again-still need to change a lot! Here is what my steps looked like

- Start jogging in the summer
- cut out pop and sweet tea
-start counting calories
-cut out white sugars and flours and replace with wheats and natural sweeteners
-start eating clean, cut processed food out of my home
-no more cheese and dairy at home
-no more meat. period.
-start jogging faster and longer distances
-start adding toning
-start incorporating more raw fruits and veggies

 We have really struggled with bread and cheese this winter. And sugar! Its cold! I just want to hibernate. But it really is okay. I know that my eating habits as a whole are significantly better than they used to be. I see where I deal with stress different and I still maintain exercise even in my worst weeks.

RESEARCH- get a database of recipes. Read about clean eating. Read about Whole foods and plant based foods. It may seem overwhelming but it is the best way to retain information.

Overall that is the way that works best for me. Give yourself grace and remember it is a process!
-

Lunch Ideas

Here's a list of lunches I have grown to love!

Anything Goes Smoothie

I usually pick something green (spinach) 

A fruit or two

And then add almond milk and flax seed freshly ground. Yummy! If you want something icy freeze your raspberries or bananas before hand :)

The Mac

Boil vegetable enriched mac, add homemade hummus and nutritional yeast. My kids live this one!

The Mexican Mac

^^^^^^ just replace hummus with refried beans. 

Thai Cabbage Wrap

Fill raw cabbage leaves with raw broccoli slaw and walnuts and drizzle Thai peanut sauce over them. I seriously ate seven of these one day for lunch!

Old Soul Quesadilla 

This one isn't my own... My friend Rachel invented it and I love it! Whole wheat tortilla, peanut butter, honey, flax meal. Grill. Enough said!

Zucchini Pizza

My mom found something similar to this so we made it together. Thinly slice zucchini the long way and set on a sprayed pan. Sprinkle basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic salt. Place tomato slices and sprinkle with nutritional yeast. (Since I am a vacation vegetarian we did parmesan :}) bake at 400 until they are a soft as you prefer them.  

Simple Spud

 Another recipe mom whipped up. Baked potato with olive oil, garlic salt, chives, nutritional yeast. 

Alright! More to come :) thanks for reading and let me know if you try anything/ have anything to share!

 

Easy Peasy

 I was talking to my Mom this morning and we were discussing how hard it can be to cut out processed foods when you just feel like you are in a big hurry! It kind of inspired me to share some of my easiest recipes with you! Maybe it will encourage you to eat whole foods a little more-or show you that it really doesn't have to be so difficult. You are just reprogramming your brain :)

One of the best ways I have made our diet successful is carving out time for preparing food. I personally get up in the morning and prepare whatever I can and especially if I am going to have a busy day. I ALWAYS pack snacks. Always. I don't care if I am running to Target for a half hour I will have snacks on hand. If I get hungry I do not want any excuse to cheat. Apples, oranges, bananas, carrots, peanut butter sandwich, dry roasted peanuts are all great ways to stay away from the tempting, easy to reach, processed garbage :)

OK recipes- sorry I have no pics right now...maybe I will work on that?


Getcha Goin' Nanner- This banana is our FAVORITE breakfast. Every single one of us Hagers LOVE it

1 Banana
Natural Peanut Butter to taste
Agave Nectar or Honey
Flax Seed Meal (I personally grind my own in my coffee grinder but meal may be easier for some)

take your banana-slather with generous portion of peanut butter-sprinkle as much flax seed meal as you want-top with agave nectar/honey. You can be "bad" once in a while and toast a whole wheat English muffin instead of using a banana.

Cold Oats- I know this one sounds strange but I really enjoy it

1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup almond milk or soy milk
and toppings! I love cacao chips, shredded coconut, almonds- so good!
other ideas: raisins, bananas, peanuts, sunflower seeds, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cinnamon and I am sure you can think of others
you just eat it like cold cereal!

Pumped Up Pita

1 Pita
1 TBSP your favorite hummus
Cherry Tomatoes
Spinach
Cucumber Slices

This is my favorite way to eat pitas but of course you could be so creative!  Kale, peppers, mushroom, olive its all good for you and you can pile it up as much as you want!

Wrap is Yourself- wraps are so versatile!

1 tortilla shell
refried beans/black beans
salsa
avocado slices
cucumber

once again-so easy to make it to your own tastes. Sometimes I just pull out whatever produce needs to be used up! see how things taste together. Kidney beans, mushrooms, carrots, alfalfa sprouts, celery- mix it up! You may be surprised!

Quinoa Fiesta- I always make this one in a mason jar just because it is easy to grab and go

1 Cup quinoa
avocado
lime juice
cilantro
cumin
salsa/diced tomatoes
black beans

Cook up your quinoa and mix in black beans and cumin. Let cool. Put in the bottom of a mason jar, layer with avocado with a squeeze of lime juice so it doesn't brown, layer with salsa and then a little cilantro. I love this meal and it is good cold! Best for when Jamie and I have a busy day- I just make two and send one with him.


Stir Fry, salads, fajitas- these are all things that are super easy to make! Just cut out the meat/ replace half the meat with veggies.

If you have a crockpot-use it! Make a veggie chili in the crockpot and bring home a microwaveable baked potato with you. Soups are a great way to get veggies and to get full!

Replace meats with things like tofu, potato, beans, lentils, and mushrooms.

Snack ideas:
sunflower seeds
peanuts/almonds/cashews/pistachios
apple
orange
carrots and hummus
pretzels and hummus
cherry tomatoes and hummus
HUMMUS : }
celery
green peppers and salsa
wasabi peas
cacao chips, pretzels, and raisins
peanut butter and apple
peanut butter and banana
kiwi
and if you want to be a little bad-BELIEVE IT OR NOT- lays chips-just plain old lays aren't so awful for you. They have the least amount of ingredients (potatos, sunflower/canola oil, salt)

Alright there ya have it! Fast and easy to get ya started on the road to healthy and happy :) PLEASE feel free to share some of your healthy, easy on the go recipes!

A Couple of Tricks I've Learned

Alright ya'll...its been about a week and a half since Jamie and I started our veggie diet. Jamie has lost 12 lbs and I have lost 2 (I didn't expect to lose being pregger and all so I was delightfully surprised.)


A couple of things I have learned about being vegetarian- you really just cannot buy ENOUGH fresh fruits and veggies. You need LOTS of snacky things (nuts, dried fruits, trail mixes, popcorn) Also, black bean burgers are very difficult to make : )


Here are a couple of recipes that just reallly worked for our family!


Pollock- Last night was our fish night (once a week we have fish or chicken) and we had frozen pollock. It is cheap and it is tasty. I let it thaw then sprinkled pepper on it. I then took margarine and Parmesan grated cheese and mixed it together and just kind of coated the fillets with the mixture. The recipe actually called for sour cream but I just didn't have any. WOW the fillets were tender and falling apart and also kind of had a caramelized cheesy taste to them. SO good. 30 minutes at 450 (I did 425 because I have an electric stove and everything seems to burn...so I put it on a lower heat and let it cook a little longer.) The Parmesan/butter mixture will be excellent on top of a casserole dish of baked broccoli, cauliflower, corn or even potatoes. Can't wait to use it more!


Poor Man's Bruschetta- I am not lying with this one! I literally have no groceries until tomorrow morning. The recipe called for a french loaf of bread, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, fresh crushed basil, fresh crushed garlic. O didnt have hardly any of those things SOOOO I grabbed the can of stewed tomatoes out of my cabinet (I usually save those for soups and chilis) and drained them SUPER DUPER WELL. Added canola oil, salt, pepper, already crushed basil, minces garlic from a jar in my fridge and in replacement of vinegar...just a little bit of pickle juice. You heard me. Pickle juice. Bruschetta kind of has a crunch to it...this didnt because of the stewed tomatoes but it was pretty good. Jamie loved it. I made my own french bread and topped the bruschetta on it. The recipe for bread actually is enough for two loaves to I also made a sauteed onion and green pepper mixture with soy sauce, butter, salt and pepper for the other loaf. Jamie just stacked the bruschetta and onion and green pepper mixture together and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on it. It worked...I lot better than I had expected. It was just an interesting event : )




Thai peanut greens- This one was totally inspired by PF changs lettuce wraps and by oriental chicken salad at different restaurants. I took mushrooms, green peppers and thai peanut sauce and sauteed it in the skillet. Put it over a bed of romaine with honey roasted peanuts, chow mien noodles and a little but more thai sauce. To cool it down I put just a hint of ranch and they complimented each other well. The mushrooms are so meaty you just don't miss the chicken. Yummmm this one was definately a winner!

This dish would be EXCELLENT with thinnly sliced carrots for a great crunch and color : ) OR you could make the mixture and put it in big 'ol lettuce leaves...yummmm

And last is my fav, but sooo not good for you. Just a little treat/guilty pleasure.
Deep fried banana peppers...just take them right out of the jar...bread them in flour, throw them in some canola oil until crispy and salt just a little. Oh yum....just a fun little snack

Well there are some of our recipes. I am sure there will be more to come!

Vegetarians...Because We Can

 SO Jamie and I have been taking a step back and looking at our eating habits. After listening to what celebrity vegans have to say we thought about the health benefits that could offer us...but came to the conclusion that not only are we ok with eating diary but some meats too.

In efforts to fix our unhealthy eating habits, for the sake of our economic situation and also because why the heck not....we have decided to slowly, settle into more of a vegetarian lifestyle. For now. Now we will have fish or chicken once or twice a week....we are slowly eating through the meat we had in our freezer (no need to waste)...and if someone had us over for steaks we wouldn't decline. This is more of a project to focus on the things that are good and natural that we can put into our bodies and to make it a habit in our lives.

At first I was completely overwhelmed! But Stac gave me some pretty good guidelines to start out with.

After reading her beginners steps I realized my biggest concern is going to be getting enough protein. SO we will be drinking a little more milk, including either a bean or some sort of nut at dinner times, maybe even have cottage cheese a little more often. I am excited that we are trying new things and that we will not be spending so much on meat!

So far we had one night where we had a veggie stir fry, this afternoon Jamie had pita bread and hummus for lunch instead of a lean pocket, I had a peanut butter bagel...and for dinner we are making tomato and mozzarella melts...YUMMMM :)