Food Purchases

The one junk snack I allowed myself was a box of ice cream sandwiches! LOL



blueberry pomegranit tea
white tea mango peach

large tub of plain greek yogurt
cottage cheese
block of cheddar cheese
frozen blackberries
2 cans frozen OJ

large bag raisin bran cereal
organic romaine salad mix
white button mushrooms
green onions
bananas
Fresh Pineapple
2 bags fresh Carrots

chopped walnuts
4 cans black beans
1can chunky soup: grilled chicken and sausage gumbo

whole wheat triple berry fig newtons

papaya leaf extract

all natural whole grain bread

Wild Foraging : Wild Asparagus!




Papaya leaf extract has a ton of beneficial and cancer fighting properties where I started today taking 1/2 teaspoon a day mixed into a small glass of water. It helps bowel movements, breaks down proteins, boosts immune system, binds and removes toxic cancer causing cells, shrinks tumors, helps with free radicals and so so so much more! Google it!

Sample of what I am eating:

Yesterday:  Raisin bran with banana

Lunch:  cottage cheese, fig newtons, grilled asparagus prunes  ( had prunes in house)

Dinner: Salad with sliced mushrooms,green onions and half can black beans with salad dressing served with 2 glasses of blueberry pomegranit tea.

snack: Fig newtons and ice cream sandwich


Today:  Breakfast-  blackberry Walnut smoothie with 2 slices whole grain toast  followed by glass of water with papaya leaf extract

Lunch:  2 slices of whole grain toast cottage cheese and orange ( hubby traded orange for ice cream sandwich LOL)

dinner- Salad with sliced mushrooms, green onion, boiled eggs (our own chickens) and a little cubed cheese and other half can of black beans

Still obviously needs work but I had a budget of $50 for 2 weeks for myself and this is what I could get so it is a start and certainly one in the right direction!


 

Switched to Stevia

When I first tried Stevia in my coffee, I won't lie, I thought it was AWFUL! I then tried it in corn meal muffins with the same results. I put it aside and left it alone for a little while, perhaps as long as a month.

Then it struck me it is sweeter than white sugar, and when used as the same amount you would use sugar as, it also had a somewhat nasty after taste.

In coffee, which is where I consume the most sugar having 3 cups of coffee in the morning, then one or two in the evening, I really wanted to find an alternative that was not blocking my immune system for up to 4 hours per teaspoon!

So I tried again.

I normally use 1 teaspoon of sugar in my coffee. I found to replace it with Stevia, I only use a 1/4 of a teaspoon of Stevia and it worked! Not only am I now off the sugar and onto stevia but so is my hubby! Even my daughter uses it now from time to time!

Now, as an experiment, I  tried to use a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee after hubby mentioned it was awful, I found he was right! After getting use to the Stevia, it is now the white sugar that tastes just awful in the coffee!

Going healthier, one baby step at a time!

 

Read those labels!

Labels can be a tricky thing, as food companies promote their products as healthy. An obvious one for example would be those high sugary cereals that have large bold print on the front saying they are made with whole grains.........does it really matter when all that sugar is added? Another good example is when the Nutella commercials showed a mother saying she could count on Nutella for giving her children a healthy breakfast........um Nutella is nothing but sugar!

Morningstar vegetarian frozen meals appear to be healthy to until you read the label and notice the Carmel coloring and high fructose corn syrups in the ingredients. Carmel coloring and high fructose corn syrups should be avoided always. Many whole wheat breads are also made with corn syrups, Carmel coloring or processed flours.

This is why reading labels is so important, as many foods are disguised as being healthy yet upon inspection of labels proves to be nothing but bad for your body.

I recently purchased Ann's House Cranberry Nut Antioxidant, boasting how it is trans fat free, cholesterol free, low sodium, good source of protein and good source of Antioxidant vitamin E. Sounds good right? Yet the label shows that the cranberries have sugar added to them. Sure there could be worse choices, but somebody who is trying not to eat refined sugar would not want this going into their body.

If you are new to switching over to a whole foods eating plan perhaps a great step you could take is by starting with 3 ingredients you commit to not putting in your body. Maybe you would want to start with White Flour, High Fructose Corn Syrups and Carmel Coloring. Once you decide which three you want to give up, pay attention to the labels in the store and do not purchase any items that list these as their ingredients. After a full months time, add an additional item to your list of giving up on a monthly basis. You will be well on your way to eating healthier wholesome foods in this manner without making a major over night switch. By doing it slowly, you may be more likely to stick with it as it slowly forms a habit as well.

So check those labels and be conscious of what you put in your body! As Woody Harrelson says, "If you can not pronounce it, Mother Nature did NOT make it and perhaps you shouldn't eat it!"

To a healthier you!