It's not about being "skinny"..

After many years of thinking that being healthy means being skinny... I finally smartened up! It's not about being in a size 0 or looking like the models. It's about treating our body well. We only have once chance with this body. If we can't do it for ourselves we need to do it for the ones we love.

About a month ago in church, I was praying during invitation that God would allow me to continue with my running routine with no injuries and to help me with my confidence when it comes to outward appearances. All of sudden out of no where a thought came to me.(from God) It's not about me being healthy for me, it's about treating my "temple" clean and holy. We can often easily see the black and whites of what The Bible says to do and not to do. But pass over something like keeping our temple pure. Which to me, also includes eating healthy and keeping our bodies healthy.

Hope this makes sense to you as much as it did to me. Please feel free to add any input to this thought.

Tip for the day-
 You can have it all, just not all at once. Meaning you don't have to cut everything you love out of your diet. Just make sure you are having those snickers bars in moderation! ;) I got this from Bethenny Frankel's Skinny Girl Book. It is a great read!! If you want to read it, let me know I will lend it to you.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Here we go...

In my "about me" I stated why I am starting this blog. I don't want this blog to come off like I know everything about a healthy lifestyle. Because I am no where near the picture of a healthy person.  I figured  writing down some of the ideas I have might be helpful for me and maybe to others! Keeping a "journal" of new ideas and cooking tips will also help me hold myself accountable.
So enough of this ... Let's get to the good stuff! Today I'm going to note a couple of healthy lifestyle changes we have made in our house. Please comment and let me know what you and your family have done as well. I need some new ideas!

1. No white rice or pasta.
 Chris and I started this over 2 years ago. We were both skeptical about brown rice and wheat pasta, but found that there is hardly a difference at all. There isn't much of a price difference either, so there are no excuses to not switch over in your house.

2.No Soda
 I used to be the biggest Dr.Pepper fan!! I lived on it, so this change was a lot harder for me. Chris didn't drink a whole lot of soda so it was easier him. We bought the drink flavor packets and used this when we needed a little something more than water. We also, make a lot of tea. Neither one of us care too much about sugar so we drink it plain. If you are like myself I tend to only count calories in the food I eat and forget about what I have had to drink. Try to make a conscious effort to cut back on soda,  it will save you so many extra calories during the day.

3. Ground Turkey Vs. Ground Beef
This was an easy change for us. We actually prefer turkey over beef. Turkey is less greasy and has a great flavor. We make turkey burgers and turkey meatloaf (one of Chris' fave) very often. It's great to be able to enjoy a burger and not feel guilty!

Ok, I think that's good for today! Please let me know your tips and tricks...as well as any recipes!

Chicken Quinoa Bowl- This is one I just figured out today!


Ingredients


1lb of chicken breast
Quinoa
1/4 cup of corn
1/4 cup of diced onions
1/4 cup of a red or green pepper
20 sprtz of Ranch Dressing Spritzer
10 Grape Tomatoes


Cook Quinoa according to label direction
In a medium sized skillet and 2 teaspoons of Olive Oil
Put on medium heat
Place chicken in skillet and cook until done
Throw in the onions and peppers and let saute with the chicken
Place chicken,onions, peppers, cooked quinoa and corn in a large mixing bowl and mix
Separate into separate serving bowls and spritz on about 5 pumps of the ranch dressing on each serving
Cut grape tomatoes in half and garnish
Estimated Calories: 350 per serving