It's too expensive to eat healthy EXCUSE.

According to the grocery breakdown data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, here’s where our grocery dollars are going per person:

Processed Foods & Sweets – $66.87
Meats – $62.78
Fruits and Vegetables – $42.63
Grains & Baked Goods – $42.05
Beverages – $32.41
Dairy Products – $30.95
Other Foods – $14.31

In doing some basic addition that comes to $155.64 for junk and $136.36 for meats, fruits, vegetables, and dairy.
It seems to me, if you slashed your spending on junk and instead put all of that money towards good, nutritious foods, the “good stuff” wouldn't seem so expensive.  In fact, if the average two-person family just doubled their meat, vegetable, fruit, and dairy and cut out all junk, they’d actually save $40 per month.  This is a simple argument, but the point is valid: if you cut out the crap, the good stuff really shouldn't have much of an effect on your budget.
I think the root of the problem is, in an attempt to eat better, people spend more on good stuff without cutting out the junk, thus the appearance that healthy food causes them to blow through their budget.

Time Management....

This is by far one of the hardest parts of my day! I struggle to stay on task. In my mind if I can do 10 things at one time then I'm getting more out of my time. Right!....
WRONG!
Multitasking doesn't make us as productive as we think! Our quality of work actually decreases and it can actually be wasting time instead of creating new time.
The simple reason multitasking doesn't work is because we can't actually focus on more then one thing at a time, our mind just thinks we can!

So imagine you are on the phone with someone and you are following up with a question from customer at the same time. Both of these tasks take communication, you can't talk to someone and write a focused well explained email at the same time, it's to conflicting. Your mind will get overloaded at this point. Now say you are writing an email and listening to someone at the same time. This task is a bit easier, but the person you are listening to will fade in and out. You simply can't focus on both tasks at once.

Another downside is the stress levels of dealing with multiple things at once. You feel overwhelmed  drained, and under appreciated. At the end of the day you don't feel like you really accomplished anything.

How do you stop multitasking??? Here are some ideas "m trying out to help me improve my time management skills:

• Plan your day in blocks. Set time aside for phone calls, emails, cleaning, etc...
• Keep a journal of what interrupts you the most. After one week look over your data and adjust what you need to in order to limit or take away these interruptions.
• Learn to focus on ONE task at a time. If you find your mind wondering take a 15 second break, breath and tell yourself "I'm in this meeting I need to focus on what I'm learning here!"

This is only a very small piece of time management! I hope this helps you have a more successful day!

3 Benefits of Honey vs Sugar

Remember Honey and Sugar have almost the same calories in them. So when you think why change to honey if I'm adding the same calories...this is why! I hope this helps you make the better choice!

1. Sugar is made up of two molecules bonded together, when we eat sugar our body has to use it's own enzymes to break down the sugar before we can use the sugar's energy.
The bees add a special enzyme to the nectar to make the honey into two simple sugars which our body can adsorb directly. So the Glycemic Index of the honey is less, which is better for our blood sugar levels!

2. Table Sugar lacks vitamins and minerals, so your body has to use it's nutrients to metabolize the sugar. Which is why eating to much sugar for long periods of time can cause malnutrition.
Honey Contains natural vitamins and minerals which helps your body absorb the bad cholesterol.

3. Honey also have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which sugar does not.

So what are you going to do today?

Did you know exercise boosts brain power? Exercise increases energy levels and increases serotonin in the brain, which leads to improved mental clarity. All that makes for a more productive day. Improved productivity not only makes you a better worker, it makes things better for everyone in the workplace. Companies with less wasted work hours and less sick time end up with lower health care costs -- and an improved bottom line.

Veggie Chicken Burger

So one day I was trying to use some of my "end of the road" veggies up, and I came up with this awesome recipe that my family and I love! Let me know how you like it!


1 pound of lean ground Chicken
1/4 to 1/2 of very small chopped avocado
1/2 of a large sweet red pepper chopped very small
1/4 of a large red onion chopped very small
1 to 2 tbsp of olive oil
1 to 2 tsp of seasoning salt

Mix and patty up the Chicken into 4 4oz patties, cook on the grill until done, serve on romaine lettuce or with  whole wheat hamburger buns. Add light cheese and whatever you LOVE on your burger! ENJOY!

The 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule applied to your nutrition by the great Chalene Johnson!

 ~Resolve to eat clean 80 percent of the time. You have to give yourself a little wiggle room. Instead of stuffing yourself, give your stomach time to digest your food by stopping yourself when you believe you're 80 percent full. 80% of what you eat needs to be what you would feed an athlete. When you HAVE to choose between nutrition and fitness, always make your nutrition a bigger priority!~

How often do you have your "treat" ??

So I learned a hard lesson this past week. I restrain myself and my family and we eat so perfect for a good 4 weeks....so I've taught my family that they don't need the willpower I have it for them, but when all my willpower is gone no one is there to help me fight against my cravings. So I fall down...and I fall hard! So after way to much Ice Cream and a few to many s'mores I have come to realize I need to "treat" myself a little more often and not take so much control of how my family eats. If they slip, I can't use all my energy talking them down. Hard lesson, but I'm glad I've learned it! I see the next 4 weeks being much more productive and a lot less stressful! What are you learning on your journey?

Do you love fries??? Me too...try these

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-curry-parsnip-fries/

Morning, Noon, or Night?

In my perfect world I would wake up at 5:00 am and eat a small breakfast...clean the house for 30 minutes and then do my workout! I would shower and be ready to start my day! (daydream)
Oh sorry back to reality! I have two kids, one is a baby and one is in First Grade and I homeschool her....so my world is NOT even close to perfect...But I do schedule my workouts!
I workout around noon time! When my son is sleeping! It makes my day start very late but I ALWAYS schedule my workout time in! Just like I would an appointment! If someone asks hey can you call around noon...nope, sorry I have myself scheduled for that time to be doing something else!
You are more likely to do your workout if it's on your calendar then leaving it to chance! So I ask...do you workout morning, noon, or night? Are you scheduling it?
Happy Workouts!

5 Breakfast Ideas for Busy Lifestyles

It's hard to eat healthy when you have a busy lifestyle! Breakfast is so important! After you have fasted through the night your body will be glad to have a healthy meal!

Oats: Many varieties! (rolled oats, steel cut oats, etc...) A quick cook oat will save you lots of time! You can add nuts, fruit, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nut butter, honey or whatever you want!

Quinoa: Great source of protein! It's similar to oats, you can add whatever you want!

Fresh Fruit: A fruit salad is a great breakfast! Be creative try new things!

Eggs: You can do anything with eggs! Make a sandwich, add spices, and veggies...endless ideas!

Shakeology Shake: Shakeology is by far the quickest healthiest breakfast you can have! It's very filling! You can add anything to it! I love almond milk and a tbsp of PB2! Lots of ice! Yummy! (let me know if you want more info on Shakeology!)

Enjoy your breakfast! Find something that works for you and stick to it!

Love being in a Good Mood!

So what are you waiting for?? That's is what I'm telling myself now! Going to do my workout right now! Join me!

Memorize it!

You can clean your eating habits up so much by just cooking your food different. If change is hard for you and you're wanting to start small...start here! Change how you cook and we can work on changing what you cook later!

Clean, Comfort Chicken Dumplings! At about 145 calories a serving!!!

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-chicken-dumplings/

Polar FT4! This is on my Christmas list!!!

Do you use a heart rate monitor to tell you how many calories you burn? If so, what are you using? Do you love it?

Quinoa and Black Bean Lettuce Wraps

                                                

http://keepyourdietreal.com/food/appetizerssnacks/quinoa-and-black-bean-lettuce-wraps/

So what are you made of?

Recipe: rip (washed) kale into bite sized pieces (no big stems) coat with olive oil (about 2 tbsp) and salt to taste bake ate 350 for 8-10 min. or until CRISPY but not brown.

This Tastes so good! I love them! So low calorie and so good for you! EAT AWAY! And throw away that bag of chips! You won't need them! ENJOY!

What does your plate look like!?

I get a lot of questions about what to eat and how much....yoyo diets, and gaining weight back!

When you talk about dieting you are setting your-self up for failure! You are not going to gain long term success from a diet. So instead of cutting out carbs completely or eating certain foods for a certain amount of time, lets CHANGE what we eat and how we cook it.
You eat eggs and bacon with butter toast for breakfast! Ok, so do I! I eat 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites (120 calories compared to 3 whole eggs at 210 calories!) I eat 2 strips of turkey bacon (50 calories compared to 100 calories) and I have one slice of whole grain or whole wheat bread with my egg and bacon on it! So I don't need butter .... that saves another 50 calories! So my breakfast is 280 calories and yours is  460!
You eat a bag of chips for a snack....try lightly salted cucumber or 100 calories bag of plain popcorn with light salt!!
For lunch you stop at a burger joint and get a triple burger and large fries !!! I have a turkey burger with sweet potato fries!
You may skip the next snack which makes you hungrier at supper time so you eat two plates instead a one. You double your calories right there! Portion your meals! If one portion is too high in calories try to fix the recipe in order to lower the calories!
I hope this helps you! Small Changes in you lifestyle can make a huge difference! Switch pop for water and you will see a huge change over a 30 day period! But don't go back! Start with one less pop today and one more water....then next week 2 less....and so on! 100 extra calories a day equals 10 pounds in one year! Start in small steps and you will see yourself GROW! And your pants size shrink!

So get out of your own way!!!