Delicious and healthy.... what a beautiful couple!

See that??? I didn't always knew I could eat sooo good and not worry about gaining weight! Sometimes when someone says "healthy" our mind can go to places where everything is green and bland...  There are so many misconceptions about what healthy really is! Sadly I've been on that same boat in the past... only being able to lose weight by "punishing myself" for being "such a bad girl"! The punishment many times worked, at least apparently and temporarily... but who can live "forever punished"? Not me!!! In my most rebellious moments I would give up and go back to overeating or if I "stuck with the punishment" long enough and managed to lose lots of weight then I would "reward myself" by going back to eating what made me fat in the first place! What happened then? Well... take a guess!!! Yes... I went back to gaining all the weight I had lost (and more) so I needed to be punished one more time!

ENOUGH!

Then on 2012 I discovered a new "thing" (new to me)... exercising... I did become very strict with calorie counting but... this "thing" that I had never tried before made me feel great and even when it still gets hard to wake up every morning to go for a run or to a bootcamp I now don't understand how I could live my whole life "without it" ... But I still couldn't get the 'food thing' figured out! I was actually terrified of losing "all the weight I needed to lose" because what would happen next? I didn't know how to maintain! I've never known how to have a healthy relationship with food... or at least not until 2013 when a friend told me about Trim Healthy Mama; and I started to read and educate myself through books I checked out at my library... I still haven't lost another inch... to be honest... I actually struggle not to gain weight even when eating healthy... but I now know that it is in great part because of the crazy diets that slowed down my metabolism in the past... I now have read books like:  The Fast Metabolism Diet: Eat More Food and Lose More Weight, The Good Fat Cookbook, Cavewomen Don't Get Fat: The Paleo Chic Diet for Rapid Results and many other health/nutrition related cookbooks where I have been able to compare studies, theories and I came up with pretty much the same conclusions from them all and here are some of them:

1. Fat DOESN'T make you FAT!
2. Natural and Whole is always best! (duh!?)
3. Grains and starches are not necessarily all healthy!
4. How we combine our foods results in weight gain or weight loss
5. I have to keep movin'!
6. Food is not my enemy... is my friend!
7. Read the labels!
8. A label that says "Light" does not mean "healthy"
9. Delicious is not in a fight against healthy! There is nothing more delicious, satisfying, and "calming" than good food! delicious and healthy actually make the most beautiful couple!

Right now I am following more closely the Trim Healthy Mama plan, it is way simpler for my lifestyle (and it is soooo good!).... and to hopefully get you on the same boat... I will share a very simple recipe that I enjoy making on the weekends or on Friday night for a fun dinner for my family:

Healthy Lettuce Tacos!
THM - S "Satisfying Meal"

Ingredients:
Yield: About "14-16" tacos

• 2 lbs. ground beef or turkey (beef should be grass-fed preferably)
• 1 small white onion (or 1/2 large one)
• 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped or minced)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. chili powder mix
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional for more heat)
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste (make sure there is no sugar added)
• 1-2 tbsp. chicken or vegetable broth if needed
• romaine lettuce hearts (enough to use 3-4 leaves per person)

Garnish:
chopped cilantro, sour cream (not light!), slices of avocado, shredded cheddar cheese and maybe some lime wedges.

Let's put it all together!

First brown the beef in a skillet, drain the juices that remain (especially if not using grass-fed meat), add the onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes), add the rest of the spices and cook until aromatic (about 1 minute), taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly, add tomato paste and a bit of broth the mixture is too dry so it all incorporates well, cook for about 1 more minute if you want to serve this right away or add more liquid and let it simmer for about 1/2 hour to concentrate the flavors.

Serve on the washed romaine lettuce hearts as the 'real deal tacos'... top with the garnish ingredients!

Tip: I mix the meat filling with cooked quinoa for a very healthy crossover for my family... It is delish!

Enjoy your healthy/delicious food... Healthy and delicious go forever together! Let's not separate them!

Paloma.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. 

Don't put a price to your health... yeah, right!

I have joined several health/Diet/Nutrition groups in social networks during my search for a healthier lifestyle... I have been consistently working out and watching what I eat, avoiding unhealthy stuff, etc... for over 2 years now... I have always tried to feed good things to my family but it was just 2 and a half years ago that I took it to a whole new level for myself and started to make some other drastic changes for my family as well...

So... a consistent thing that I saw whenever someone mentioned something like "well... I can't afford this or that" was always kind of a judgmental response like: "Don't put a price to health!" ... People would even dare to mention "I can't understand why some people choose food that is not organic" ... WHAT?! Yeah... we choose to eat not organic because we prefer pesticides and fertilizers in our food... has nothing to do with the fact that we CAN'T afford it! Especially if I want to serve my children all the recommended number of servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day! ... "Don't put a price to health" to me sounds actually cruel, when the person who hears it doesn't respond it might just be because they realize there's nothing they can say for the other one to understand... saying that "phrase" implies that a mother would say "yeah... I wish I could give you something healthy but I care more about the money I can save than about your health!" ... I am sure there might be cases like that but for the most part it's not like that!(particularly if we're in HEALTH groups is BECAUSE WE DO care about our health and our family's).

Others would say: "Just think about how much more money it would be if you get sick". I do agree... doctor's bills are insane and way more expensive than buying organic food... so if you CAN afford it... go organic all the way! We're all happy for you! But would you please not pretend to even begin to "understand" the reasons behind a mom who has to choose to buy a lot of "filler" food? I will also be sharing tips on how to make better choices... I understand sometimes we don't even know where to begin (and to make matters even worse it is hard if you have a picky eater)... remember beans, quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal (preferably steel cut oats) are great, healthy, nutritious, usually more inexpensive ingredients that go a loooong way when cooking... they provide protein combined with healthy carbs and fiber... And if you can afford to buy some ground turkey or other ground meats you can combine to add more protein and make it a more complete meal. I also agree that water -for example- is always best (and the cheapest option) I am not making excuses to just go eat the worst possible ingredients in the shelves... We can still try to make the most of what we have... BUT... BUT... I will NEVER TELL YOU "Don't put a price to health" ... *I* don't put a price to health but stores and clinics certainly do! I can't just go to the cashier and instead of paying say "hey! Don't put a price to health!" ... The price is there... whether we like it or not ... and it is painful when you realize that if you want to live with a really, REALLY small amount of money or if you have to visit the dollar stores most of the things are loaded with glutamate monosodium, corn syrup, yellow #5 or other artificial, highly processed ingredients...

Where am I going with all this? I don't know! Perhaps I am just venting and perhaps I just want to let you know that you're not on your own... You're a good mom! I know you're not putting a price to health... But I know that health does have a price... we just have to find the way to pay the least to get the best we can within our means.... Like I said in a previous post... Try to do your best and trust God with the rest. Would you please share this post to encourage other moms who have heard that "Don't put a price to health" quote as well? I am sure I am not the only one who has felt frustrated with it.

And just for being such a good reader... let me share with you a great coupon I found, this coupon is for a Bob's Red Mill Product, I absolutely love their products but they are sometimes not affordable for me... I was able to buy a bag of delicious muesli for my girls' yogurt with this coupon... you can use it for your favorite Bob's Red Mill item:

This is not the actual coupon, click on the link to print  http://www.bobsredmill.com/coupon-1-off.html

Love,

Paloma.