I never really thought about this throughout my years until I decided to get healthy. You really need to combine getting sleep, drinking your water, eating and get some movement each day to be successful in your health and life.
I have learned that our body needs to be fueled each day and not fed. Eating just two to three meals a day is not good for your body. It gets confused and hungry. Then your body says, “Let’s store this fat because we don’t know when he or she is going to eat again.”
Eating six small meals a day is very good for you. It wakes up your metabolism and keeps it working throughout the day. I wish I would have learned this a long time ago and maybe I wouldn’t have struggled my whole life with my weight.
I am not going to lie. I love food. I love everything about it. I even love cooking.
Football season has started and one of the great joys in my life is when the guys come over for a day of football and food. I make them lunch, dinner and snacks in between.
While I do make them their favorites, I also have new foods I cook for the ones that want to eat healthy. I found that healthy foods taste just as good. No one is missing out.
Food that is good for you can be fun and flavorful. I am always looking for the next best healthy dish. I have found appetizers, snacks, main meals and desserts that are healthy and we can enjoy.
Thanks to the transformational lifestyle we’ve embraced, we don’t want unhealthy food any longer.
As strange as it may sound, we don’t eat desserts on a regular basis. We really don’t think about them.
We drink our water and eat our six small meals a day and we are very satisfied. Because of the things we are doing we have regained our health. We have energy to do things we couldn’t do in the past.
We are better for it and are going to live a good long life, unless God decides he is done with us and brings us home.
Come join us in the journey. It is not all about weight loss. It is seeing the whole picture of your life. Who doesn’t want more energy? Who doesn’t want to reduce or eliminate medicines. While medicine helps you, it can also be bad for you body.
My first step in regaining my health was to figure out my “why.” Why am I doing this and what is going to make me stick to it? When you figure that out, you are on the right track. Experts say it takes 21 days makes a habit. You can do anything for that long. Once you do you will thank yourself. Your body will thank you.
I would love to help out. I am a phone call away. Let’s talk and get you healthy.
Jambalaya
Ingredients:
1 link of Al Fresco Andouille Sausage, sliced (1/2 Lean)
3.5 oz Shrimp, cooked or 3 oz Chicken, cooked (1/2 Lean)
1/4 cup Green Peppers, chopped (1/2 Green)
1/4 cup Celery, chopped (1/2 Green)
1 cup Canned, Diced Tomatoes – less than 5 g carbs per serving (2 Greens)
1/4 cup Water
1/4 tsp Paprika (1/2 Condiment)
1/4 tsp dried Oregano leaves (1/4 Condiment)
1/4 tsp dried Thyme leaves ( 1/4 Condiment)
1/4 tsp Garlic Salt (1 Condiment)
1 tsp Olive oil – I added this since I used shrimp and it needed a healthy fat (1 Healthy Fat)
Directions:
Saute green peppers and celery in olive oil until tender. If using chicken, lightly spray the pan with cooking spray. Add tomatoes, water, and spices. Cook until most of the liquid is boiled off. Stir in shrimp and sausage. Heat thoroughly.
1 Lean, 3 Greens, 2 Condiments and 1 Healthy Fat (for shrimp)
Tina Specht is co-publisher of the Minden Press-Herald. She shares her thoughts and recipes each Thursday.