Smarter, Better, More

Cleaning up around the house I found an article from Family Circle Magazine that talked about how to Eat Smarter, Sleep Better, and Move More. Perfect!

Eat Smarter
Leave two bites at every meal. (they say you'll cut out about 100 cal a day. But I'm not into the whole wasting food thing, so may I suggest dishing up and putting 2 spoonfuls back?)
Swap out a red meat dinner and swap in a vegetarian one, once a week.
Cook at Home one more night eat week. (New research shows that the average American now eats four restaurant meals each week!)
Turn off the Kitchen lights at 8:00pm (a great idea! I'm totally going to try it!)

Sleep Better
Gain time with sleep. (A sleep expert, Jodi Mindell, Ph.D: "A lot of women think that if they go to bed early they're mission out on getting stuff done- they won't get those emails sent, bills paid or laundry done. But you'll get everything done twice as fast the next day if you get enough rest.")
Hotel-ify your bedroom: (Soft sheets and pillows, room-darkening shades, no laptop in bed, move out exercise equipment.)
Keep it cool: 60-68 degrees at night.
Get the right light. (Mindell: "exposure to AM light affects how sleepy you feel come nighttime. Morning light triggers your body to stop producing the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and to make more of the stimulating hormone cortisol. About 12 hours later your body will automatically start producing melatonin to get you ready for sleep." Interesting!)
Log off your computer and allow your brain 20 minutes to wind down before you hit the lights.

Move More
Walk 15 extra minutes a day.
Take advantage of weird time. Find the random time in your day. Bored? don't text, WALK! :)
Don't blow off your plans. ("Your day has been one big downhill of cake, candy and chips- so why bother with that 4pm power walk you'd planned? Because it makes a big difference. Physically, exercise can reduce your appetite, and mentally it will put you back on track to eat a smarter dinner.)
Be a role model. to everyone and make it fun!

School's Out! Food's In!

Well, with school just about over, summer plans have began to take over. I have gallbladder surgery scheduled for the beginning of June, and tons of things to do beforehand. I'm not going to let my plan to eat healthy lapse though, here's a little Rachel Ray cooking on a budget.

You've GOTTA check THIS out. :)

Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

Okra

This is Okra:

This is Fried Okra:

After a garage sale, we went to celebrate our good sales by going to a local restaurant called Golden Chick. It's fried everything. It's a dangerous place. I didn't realize how much our attitude had changed until I sat down with the food. Everything was the same color. Golden. :)

My method? Peel off the fried skin on the chicken and enjoy. There was no way I was going to risk having a gallbladder attack or having a clogged artery, or anything else by eating a TON of fried everthing. I peeled the skin of my daugher's chicken as well. (We actually just got one entree for the three of us- the portions are big enough!) She wouldn't eat the fried okra. My husband would show her how fun they are, and she just wouldn't eat it.
So...
I peeled off the 'fried' part while she wasn't looking and put it on her plate. A minute later when she saw the green- she popped it in her mouth, loved it, and gave us a good laugh!

My thoughts:
1- don't visit restaurants too often- I want to know what I'm eating. (a past post on the subject)
2- COLOR, color, CoLoR!
3- Watch out for the portion size (this is how you can actually save money by eating healthy!)
4- eat closer to the 'natural' state. Okra vs. Fried Okra.

Buen Provecho!