Everyone knows how hard it is to eat the right stuff everyday. Between being tempted at work and having little time to make dinner/breakfast/lunch/snacks... we sometimes give into temptation.
Resist the temptation, loose the desire...
The more you eat it the more you want it! Most food that it out there isn't "real" food. It's just chemicals made to trick your brain into thinking it is food... any boy do they do a good job.
Once I have a Coke (my guilty pleasure) I crave it for a week!
A great resource to look at to keep motivated and get educated is:
http://www.foodmatters.tv/
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/
You can find both of these documentaries on Netflix!
Food Matters is one of the documentaries my father made us all sit down and watch together. It's a real eye opener.
So the next time you crave that bag of chips (or a Coke) remember what you saw on these documentaries and hopefully it will help your resist the temptation...
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Cutting out coffee
I used to think that I needed coffee in the morning to be able to function as a teacher. I would tell my students that coffee makes me a better teacher. Yeah... I would get the jitters, but I had a ton of energy that enabled me to really get excited about teaching.
As I mentioned in a previous post I have high blood pressure. I've been trying to lower it by changing my diet. I learned from reading the book, "The Great American Detox Diet" and from the website http://www.overcaffeinated.org/caffeine/effects/ that caffeine can raise your blood pressure!
We all know that caffeine helps us stay alert and feel that we have more energy.
But there are more drawbacks than it's worth (to me anyway)
1. Affects sleeping habits. It can actually hinder you from getting a good nights rest.
2. Elevated heart rate and blood pressure. This is a big deal for me since I'm trying to lower it!
3. Causes loss of fluid which leads to dehydration.
So to cut it out.... tricky..... how will I manage my 26 five and six year olds???
The plan:
- Take vitamins
- Drink lots of water.
- Go to bed at 9:00 pm.
- Do stretching in the morning... maybe some yoga?
I know that when vitamin B is taken with food it turns the food into energy. So every morning I take this. I still feel tired in the morning, but it's not as bad without the B supplement. This has also encouraged me to take other vitamins. Since I'm taking one I might as well take the others!
I've been doing well on drinking water. I want to get a water jug and bring it into school with me so I don't have to go to the water fountain all the time.
Going to bed at 9:00 has been really hard for me... I'm still working on it.
I've been stretching with my students first thing in the morning. I have found this not only helps me when I'm feeling tired, but it also helps them. When I notice that they have a gaze over their eyes, or that I am feeling really tired, we stand up and do 30 jumping jacks, some squats, sit ups, or whatever exercises we feel like doing. They L. O. V. E. this kind of stuff!
Last week was my first week without coffee. All week I felt tired and had a headache. That lasted until Friday. I had no symptoms over the weekend and so far today I am feeling fine.
I'm still not convinced that I can be a teacher without coffee... it's difficult, but it's getting better. I just need to keep my body hydrated, filled with the nutrients it needs, and rested....
Now I can just say, "Drinking water, eating right, excersizing, and taking vitimens helps me be a better teacher!"
As I mentioned in a previous post I have high blood pressure. I've been trying to lower it by changing my diet. I learned from reading the book, "The Great American Detox Diet" and from the website http://www.overcaffeinated.org/caffeine/effects/ that caffeine can raise your blood pressure!
We all know that caffeine helps us stay alert and feel that we have more energy.
But there are more drawbacks than it's worth (to me anyway)
1. Affects sleeping habits. It can actually hinder you from getting a good nights rest.
2. Elevated heart rate and blood pressure. This is a big deal for me since I'm trying to lower it!
3. Causes loss of fluid which leads to dehydration.
So to cut it out.... tricky..... how will I manage my 26 five and six year olds???
The plan:
- Take vitamins
- Drink lots of water.
- Go to bed at 9:00 pm.
- Do stretching in the morning... maybe some yoga?
I know that when vitamin B is taken with food it turns the food into energy. So every morning I take this. I still feel tired in the morning, but it's not as bad without the B supplement. This has also encouraged me to take other vitamins. Since I'm taking one I might as well take the others!
I've been doing well on drinking water. I want to get a water jug and bring it into school with me so I don't have to go to the water fountain all the time.
Going to bed at 9:00 has been really hard for me... I'm still working on it.
I've been stretching with my students first thing in the morning. I have found this not only helps me when I'm feeling tired, but it also helps them. When I notice that they have a gaze over their eyes, or that I am feeling really tired, we stand up and do 30 jumping jacks, some squats, sit ups, or whatever exercises we feel like doing. They L. O. V. E. this kind of stuff!
Last week was my first week without coffee. All week I felt tired and had a headache. That lasted until Friday. I had no symptoms over the weekend and so far today I am feeling fine.
I'm still not convinced that I can be a teacher without coffee... it's difficult, but it's getting better. I just need to keep my body hydrated, filled with the nutrients it needs, and rested....
Now I can just say, "Drinking water, eating right, excersizing, and taking vitimens helps me be a better teacher!"
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Yummy Bread Adventure...
One way to cut back on the amount of toxins we put into our body is to modify the bread we eat. We love bread, who doesn't? It is really hard to find bread that does not contain many preservatives, even the organic stuff has some things in that I can't pronounce. My dad always said, if you can't pronounce it you shouldn't eat it!
Here are some links that give good information about the preservatives found in bread:
This is what led me to trying to make my own bread! My mother-in-law was kind enough to led us her bread machine. I have never made bread from scratch... and I really don't enjoy cooking or baking (that's what my husband is for ;))
With a few google searches I found a few recipes that I was willing to try.
The first batch was messed up. I was so excited to start making my own bread that I didn't read the directions to the bread maker! Ha! Lesson learned. I thought it was taking too long and that there was something wrong with the bread maker. So, I stopped the machine, took out the dough... then I read the directions! Oops!
Tip 1: Read the directions to the manual first.
Tip 1: Read the directions to the manual first.
Batch 2 began. While the second batch was working I decided to try and roll out the first batch and make crackers with garlic and onion salt! They were alright. I'm going to try and find a way to make crackers later.
When batch 2 was finished I was soooo excited to try it! I was really disappointed when I realized that the bread was really heavy, almost like it did not rise enough?
Batch 2 will become croutons for a salad!
Tip 2: Whole wheat flour doesn't rise that much.
Tip 2: Whole wheat flour doesn't rise that much.
With two failed attempts I decided to look at the recipe book that came with the bread machine. I came across this recipe:
Source: Gold Medal Bread Machine Recipes
1 1/2 Pound Recipe (12 slices)
Crunchy Honey Whole Wheat Bread
1 cups plus 2 TBL water (I used warm water, but I don't know if that makes a difference)
3 TBL honey
2 TBL butter
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cups sliced almonds
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp bread yeast (1 package)
I really wanted to stay away from white flour (because it's bleached). But every time I only used whole wheat flour the dough would not rise! Any suggestions would be welcomed!
I ended up using half whole wheat flour and half white flour.
I used a bread machine so I put the ingredients in the order that the manufacture recommends. Yeast in the bottom corner then the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and almonds). The the honey and butter. The last thing you do is add the water. Then turn it on and let it do it's thing!
The results! We were really excited that it actually worked!
If anyone has a recipe that they use in the bread maker (with no sugar) I would love to try it out!!
Source: Gold Medal Bread Machine Recipes
1 1/2 Pound Recipe (12 slices)
Crunchy Honey Whole Wheat Bread
1 cups plus 2 TBL water (I used warm water, but I don't know if that makes a difference)
3 TBL honey
2 TBL butter
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cups sliced almonds
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp bread yeast (1 package)
I really wanted to stay away from white flour (because it's bleached). But every time I only used whole wheat flour the dough would not rise! Any suggestions would be welcomed!
I ended up using half whole wheat flour and half white flour.
I used a bread machine so I put the ingredients in the order that the manufacture recommends. Yeast in the bottom corner then the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and almonds). The the honey and butter. The last thing you do is add the water. Then turn it on and let it do it's thing!
The results! We were really excited that it actually worked!
If anyone has a recipe that they use in the bread maker (with no sugar) I would love to try it out!!
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