This has been an incredible journey so far. I've been having these breakthrough moments. It has been a culmination of things from having my gallbladder removed, doing the bible study of "One in a Million" at church, praying hard and watching the movie "Hungry for Change". However...
The ONLY reason for the kick start to my success has been God. He has been the only one powerful enough to change my way of thinking when it comes to food. It has been oh so powerful and wonderful to experience.
Yesterday our family went out to Saltgrass Steakhouse. A typical meal for me would be grilled chicken or chicken tenders with french fries. On this particular night my mother-in-law, Robin, an I split a combo meal. On my plate I had 2 pieces of shrimp, 1 piece of grilled chicken and french fries. I ate both pieces of shrimp, most of my chicken, and we split a salad to start and I finished that whole thing too! I also tried one piece of a baby back rib and ate it to the bone. I never do that!
Ate my first full Salad at BJ's.
I couldn't believe what I had accomplished that night at dinner. I was on cloud 9. I felt like I could run through a wall and I was on fire! It was an incredible feeling. The most important part was the support I had from my family.
Another major accomplishment was today. We went out to BJ's in Round Rock, TX. I really wanted
something greasy and cheesy and was thinking about a pizza. Our group split the mozzarella sticks and that satisfied that craving. So I went with a salad. I NEVER do this.
In the past, when I eat salad I always feel like a rabbit. Slowly chewing away at lettuce or "grass". This time it was different. I ordered the Caesar Salad with grilled chicken and olive oil for the dressing on the side. It was pretty good. My mom says to sprinkle parmesan cheese on everything and it tastes better. I did that and it added a nice touch. Thanks mom!
Strawberries Wild (no banana) from Jamba Juice.
Afterwards my husband treated me to dessert, a smoothie from Jamba Juice. I enjoy their Strawberries Wild with no banana, just extra strawberry.
It was an extremely filling last 24 hours emotionally and physically and I'm so thrilled to continue this journey. Thank God.
I ate my vegetables! Today I had this healthy and awesome packed lunch. I had oven roasted
Turkey, Peaches, Snap Pea, Yogurt Pretzels.
turkey (thinly sliced by my boy John at HEB in Round Rock), peaches, yogurt pretzels for dessert and sugar snap peas.
This was my first time trying snap peas. They're good for you so I gave it a whirl. Not bad, but it got difficult. It's nice and crisp like celery. Then you have the texture of the beans inside plus the tart taste of all the juices. It was an experience. They were raw and plain, but tomorrow we're trying them in the oven with Parmesan cheese. I was eating lunch with my co-worker, LaRonda. I took 3 french fries off her plate and promised myself that if I ate the last 3 snap peas, then I would get to eat the 3 french fries. I WON! Mission accomplished.
After, I tried some yogurt with granola by Muller. I purchased this at HEB because I want to try to start liking Greek yogurt. (Healthier for you ... more protein ... yadda yadda yadda.) So I try this and I actually like it. Not bad. I finish the whole thing and start reading the label again. It's NOT Greek yogurt, just plain vanilla. Aw man! Just when I thought I had converted. I guess I must of made a mix up at the grocery store. Maybe next time. But I'm going to stay on cloud 9 because I ate my vegetables!
I packed lunch for work today and FINISHED it! It includes homemade chicken nuggets, zucchini, strawberries and yogurt covered pretzels. You can click here to get the homemade chicken nuggets recipe. They are SOOO good!
We used the same coating as the nuggets (Panko Wholewheat Breadcrumbs, Parmesan Cheese, Paprika & Garlic Powder) and coat it on sliced zucchini. We cook it in a saucepan with a little bit of olive oil. Keep it on there until it gets golden brown. It's amazing and I don't really like vegetables. The taste of the parmesan really pops.
I got these Ziploc Storage Compartment Containers at a local Target. They're great for packing a variety of food. I really like the variety and I get a lot of great ideas from the 100 Days of Real Food Blog.
Tonight we made pancakes and I tried them with Chia Seeds. You can't even taste the Chia Seeds and they're great for it. Try it some time.
Pancake.
Back Side of the Pancake. The black spots are the Chia Seeds.
I'll continue to add them and will keep posting them to my pinterest page. You can always Tweet Me or Follow on Facebook! You can follow me on Instagam or search #PBJsSincePreK.
I'm hungry for change. I haven't always thought that, but my body has always been telling me that. It's been ignored. Have you been listening to the true message that your body has been sending you?
Here's an update: I had my gallbladder removed. For 9+ months I was having these random episodes with severe breast pains. It would take me to my knees for 20 minutes at a time. It was like lightening bolts shooting through my body. The first time I went to the E.R. and I literally thought I wasn't going to make it. They couldn't give me an answer to this craziness either.
After months of tests and doctor appointments, and way too much money, they said I had gallstones. However, they couldn't guarantee that if I had my gallbladder removed that it would solve the problem.
We took the chance.
(left) This is me just after surgery. I was so dehydrated I felt like my mouth was more dry than a desert, but I also felt like throwing up, but my stomach didn't have the strength to lodge anything up.
Post-surgery bandage with cottons swab.
On September 4, 2013 I had my gallbladder removed. It was miserable. Miserable because I get nausea with any type of Vicodin medication and with anastesia. So post-surgery I was never on medication for pain, always throwing up, and extremely weak. My wonderful husband, Austin, and my mom flew in from California to help me through the recovery process.
During that time my mother and I got to spend a lot of time together. A LOT. We watched extremely motivational and educational movies that I would suggest to everyone.
Food Inc: (Buy on Amazon) It was extremely informative about what's going on behind the scenes on American farms. However, it is extremely graphic and could turn anyone into a vegetarian. Watch with caution.
Hungry for Change: (Buy on Amazon) INCREDIBLE! LIVE CHANGING! I highly suggest you watch this movie. It's a culmination of doctors, cancer survivors, people that have changed their lives and authors that all speak candidly about how Americans are over fed and under nourished. This is where it all "clicked" for me.
Here's a link to the "Hungry for Change" PDF of their cookbook for FREE: Click here to download. Below is the movie trailer.
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead: (Buy on Amazon) It's a great documentary about one man and how he changed his life through juicing, and inspired others along the way. You can watch this on Hulu with limited commercial if you don't want to purchase.
I keep these movies on hand for added inspiration when I need it.
I watched Hungry for Change for the second time before I went to bed one night. You know how they say that you go to bed with the last thing that was in your mind? It's true! All night long was scheming and planning based on the information I remembered from the movie. Some of the important notes are:
Don't tell yourself you can't have it (food) because you'll feel deprived. Tell yourself "I can have that, but I don't want it."
Diets are built to fail. It's all about a lifestyle change.
Americans are over fed and malnourished.
It's all about what you eat, drink and think.
You are the only person that can control what goes into your mouth.
Where did you food come from? How was it prepared? What is it's purpose?
We only get so many nutrients in 1 day, why not fill ourselves with the best possible stuff?
If you start adding the "good" and "natural" stuff, then the other processes stuff will slowly fade away.
We are voting every time we purchase food at the grocery store. (Buy organic.)
Tell yourself "I love myself completely right now." every day.
With that I came up with this....
Every morning I can make a smoothie with yogurts, fresh fruits, etc. Also, I can pair it with another breakfast item. And in the evening with dinner, I can juice. Then I'll get all the fruits, but mostly vegetables, that I've been missing.
I felt empowered and lifted all day. Then the devil tried to strike me down with all the negative thoughts: "you're not good enough", "you'll never juice", "you're too lazy to clean the juicer", and "you don't like that stuff."
So I had to fight it. This morning I made my first full glass of juices AND cleaned the juicer.
Recipe: 2 apples, 1/2 cucumber, 2 handfuls of baby spinach, 2 celery stalks, 1 lemon (peeled). It look horrible, but it tastes pretty good. The celery & lemon over power the tastes of anything else.
I WON ... against the devil.
Today, my husband and I went to HEB and purchased a lot fruits and vegetables. My plan was to research all the smoothies and juicing that I wanted to try this week. I wrote out my breakfast, lunch & dinner meal plans for the entire week and then made a list of everything I needed to purchase. We went to HEB, checked off everything one by one, and purchased almost all our fruits and veggies organically. This will be a great week!
To view some of the recipes I'll be trying this week follow me on Pinterest.
