Do as I'm Doing

My husband asked me a great question today. He said, "So, I read Cjanes blog post about dieting. . . and here you are. . . going on a diet. How does that make sense?" All I could say, is that. . . what I am doing is NOT a diet. It is a lifestyle change.

Plain and simple.

I actually started doing "changes" to our families' diet back when Jaxon had to go GFCF. I have never really used pre-packaged or processed foods when I made dinner, but I didn't always pay attention to the nutrition quality of either. If I wanted to make something creamy, I made something creamy. . . it was always homemade and delicious, but not necessarily healthy.

I started making the transition with breakfast, which I think is the easiest way to go. Kids love pancakes and waffles, why not just make them healthier? Sure they try to slather it in syrup. My hope is that I can get them enough nutrients in what they are eating to counter the syrup. Rather than serving up some Bisquick . . . and THEN slathering syrup on it! I started to make the Whole Wheat Oatmeal pancakes a couple of years ago. They were met with VERY little resistance. And I like them because I can have the mix in my refrigerator ready to go, making it just as easy and convenient as a pancake mix. Just add milk, and eggs and you are good to go. Making the pancakes with Buttermilk, or some milk and low fat some sour cream make them extra light, fully and delicious. I have started to keep buttermilk in my refrigerator at all times now.

My kids have adjusted so well to that change that when I put two new recipes on the table this week, they were JUST FINE, and didn't even blink.

The first was Quinoa Cakes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Everyday food. You can buy one at the grocery store next time you go. They come out with a new one almost every month, and it only costs a couple of bucks.

Does this look like super food to you? It is.

Quinoa is a "super food" like blueberries. It is packed with things that are good for you. I made up some Quinoa the night before because it does take some preparation, like rice, but made pancakes in just a few minutes this morning. Give it a try. My kids didn't even blink an eye. Let's face it. Kids are just happy if they are getting pancakes in the morning.

The other recipe I went with this week was Blender Waffles. This one was great, but I HIGHLY recommend letting the batter sit for 5-10 minutes before cooking. The batter thickened, and cooked much better when I was serving up my last few waffles. I liked them a little thicker! :) The great thing with batters and breads is that you can throw in things like Flax Seed for additional nutrition and it goes completely unnoticed by everyone. I made whole wheat pizza dough for dinner tonight, and threw a few heaping tablespoons of ground flax seed from my freezer. (It needs to be milled fresh, or be frozen) And voila, they ate something good for them and didn't even notice.

Jessica asked me on my last post if I am going Nutritarian. I had to Google it, because I have NO IDEA. Turns out, it is the term for the book the Celia Fae is using for her diet plan. I hadn't actually read the book yet. I had just looked at what she is doing, and thought about it. I am doing a "CHALLENGE" with some facebook friends for 6 weeks, and decided to incorporate the Eat to Live methods into it (What Celia is doing). In order to be a Nutritarian, I would have to become a full vegetarian. Something that I don't think I will do completely. But I CAN tell you, that I eat that way for breakfast and lunch, and I am amazed at my lack of cravings including diet soda, sugar, and fats. It is amazing.

For dinner, I made my regular dinners. . . last night, Cashew Chicken. I amped up the veggies in the regular recipe, and doubled my veggies when I ate my dinner. I also ate mine over Farro, which is an alternate wheat product with tons of protein and fiber. And, it tasted just like brown rice to me, which is another great alternative. My kids ate it with white rice. . . baby steps.

Tonight, I made pizza. I used my regular old pizza dough recipe except I made it with whole wheat flour, and threw in some flax seed for good measure. I made a small pizza for myself with spinach, broccoli, olives, artichoke hearts and small amount of feta. It was fantastic. I made my kids side with spinach (put it on the bottom!) turkey pepperoni, and pineapple. Very healthy, and they loved it! Honestly, with just a few adjustments to your cooking, you can make it VERY healthy.

With that said, I HAVE bought a few vegetarian cookbooks, and I am planning on going veggie for dinner a few nights a week too. I will let you know what my family likes! :0