Jackfruit and Sweet Lemon

Today we went to a local grocery store that is more like an international food store called Compare Foods. As fast as they are spreading, you probably have one in your area. Anywhoo, the kids and I have been doing mono-dieting when money is short or when we feel like it. They funny thing is that they request it. Mari's fruit of choice is cantaloupe while David's is mango. Today we went to Compare Foods because I knew they would have a wider variety. They did NOT disappoint. The first thing we tried was something called Sweet Lemon.

Sweet Lemon looks like a yellow orange with a little green tinge. When you cut it open it is an extremely pale yellow, almost white. The peel is very thin and easy to pull off and the flesh pulls away from the filmy thin skin on the inside much like a grapefruit does. It taste clean, almost watery with a very slight sweet taste. I can imagine that this would be DELISH on a hot summer day and it also would travel and keep well since it is in the citrus family.

I think the first time I heard about Jackfruit was from an vegan-master blogging-guru-down-to-earth-sistah by the name of Evelyn. Today we tried it for ourselves. First of all this thing is the size and weight of a watermelon, but it has this very prickly skin. To get to the flesh, I took a large knife and cut it like I would a watermelon. You will meet with some resistance in the middle as it does have a type of firm/soft core. Once you cut it into pieces that you can work with you will find something that looks like pods throughout the fruit. This is what you want to eat. They are hollow because the seed is in it. The seeds are surrounded by a stringy flesh. They part you eat has a light sweet taste. It's not a juicy fruit. It has a fleshy rubbery feel to it, but it isn't unpleasant at all. It does take a little work to eat, so it's not something to eat when you are in a rush. It seems like something that would be good to take on a picnic. I really enjoyed it and will be going for another slice when I'm done blogging.

Whole Jackfruit

Sliced in half.

Flesh & fruit pods

This is the part you eat, but be careful of the seed. If you squeeze it, you can feel where it is inside. 

Inside of the fruit pod. 

I'm glad that we enjoyed the fruit that we tried today, but the truth of it is that you should always be willing to give new fruits and veggies a try. Sometimes you will love what you try and sometimes you will hate it. Sometimes you will find that you have to try it again at a later date to give it another shot. Either way variety is indeed the spice of life, so spice up your life and your plate with new foods. Try something new at least once a month and be sure to involve the children. If you have picky eaters make it an event and involve them in the process. Let them pic the new fruit/veggie and help prepare it. Eat and enjoy!!!

My Good/Bad Lunch

Whole wheat pita pockets stuffed with mushrooms, veggie bacon, pickles, and avocado!!! Although the salt is higher than what I should have, it's less than what I normally have. Plus everybody else also had veggie burgers and I didn't.

I ate it with slaw that I learned to make from my friend Mushirah, although I have tweaked it a little bit to my taste. Yes, those are french fries. What can I say, potatoes are my weakness. I didn't add oil this time and normally I would have. I will be eating the slaw tomorrow for lunch...yes, it's that good!

UGH!!!

I am starting to realize that I get very irritated when people don't take their health seriously, but pretend like they do. If you are sick and know what you should be doing and choose not to do it, don't tell me. It makes me not even WANT to help you. To be honest I'm like that on everything. If you ask for my help and don't do what I suggest, then please stop asking. I am going through my own issues with eating and getting healthy. I'm tired of being overweight, out of shape, and clogged up. If you aren't then that is just fine with me, but just know that I won't beg you to do better. I won't continue to try and teach you if you don't want to learn.

I...WANT...TO...LIVE!!!

I don't want to die from preventable diseases. I don't want to be the person in the casket that people look at my fat ass and lie saying, "Lawd, she was so young. I can't believe she died from *insert preventable disease of choice here*." I have heard that lie so many times and I am SO sick of it.

I watched Paula Dean today on that cooking show "The Chew". She sittin' up there crying and going on about having diabetes, giving up sweet tea, blah, blah, blah. Then she goes on to say that she has always preached moderation! WHEN?!?! THEN she said gave all these reasons that people can be diabetics, including race which is a steaming pile of bullshit, but conveniently left out diet. Really Paula? Really?

It's time for us to stop choosing to buy into these lies. There are so many people out here that are older than Paula Dean and super healthy because they have discipline! I'm trying to learn from them. I don't want to make anymore excuses. I'm not saying that I won't screw up, but I can say that I won't quit. I am back down to the size I was when I did the MC originally and I did it just by changing my diet and 3 days on the treadmill. I have messed up a few times, but I made up for it. My children WILL NOT bury me before my time. I owe it to them to stay around as long as possible and to slip peacefully to the other side.

Oh, btw, I ate a really good salad with hummus instead of dressing and it was better than I could have ever imagined!!! I'll try to remember to take a picture of it tomorrow...if I don't gobble it down again. That's something else I'm working on.

Getting healthy in small steps

Okay so I'm writing this because some of you have asking me about my lifestyle changes. Let me start at beginning and then I will give you some tips. At my heaviest I was 180+ pounds. I never had low self esteem, but I was too big for my height of 5'2". I had the very active job of being a second shift CNA so I was moving, but my body had become accustomed to that level of activity so I gained weight steadily to reach that 180+ that I mentioned earlier. I ate fast food all the time, I was an emotional eater, and a glutton. The only thing I didn't eat was pork. I didn't drink any water, mostly sweet tea. I was a staunch advocate for plate cleaning. LOL

I don't remember process that I went through step by step, but that doesn't matter, because you are going to take these tips and make them your own. You will be able to do any one of these and if done consistently and later increasingly, you will see results. Sidebar--I will tell you this. I tried slim fast and it does NOT work...at least not long term. Because of the fiber without enough water most people, including me, just get gas and want to eat real food anyway. These tips can be utilized in any combination or alone. I told someone last night that I think you should choose one, stick with it until it has become a habit, and then add something else.

1. Water- I have always hated water until recently. I am up to a gallon a day now. I didn't get there overnight though. The way I did it was to set measurable goals for myself. I started with about one 20oz bottle a day. Then I gradually increased it. Any extra water you can do will do you lots of good. For weight loss I have used this "equation". Take 1/2 of your body weight and drink that amount of water in ounces. It worked, and my skin and hair loved me for it. Make sure to drink plenty of water in the cold weather too, which can be hard to remember but it is still very necessary.

2. Move!!!-Any amount above what you normally would do is good. Take the stairs. Don't park so close to the building. If you are a television watcher, march in place during commercials. Dance! Drive to your local arts district and walk around and look. Walk the trails or Greenways at your local park. Sit on the floor to watch television and stretch while your down there. Need anymore ideas? Message me.

3. Reduce Portion Size-Okay this one was/is REALLY HARD for me. The only way I am able to do it consistently is to change my plate size. If I know we have some food from my Mama's house I have to reduce portion sizes. I will normally use on of the kid's plates. A lady even told me once that she doesn't let her food touch and of course that will keep portion sizes down. If you are still eating fast food don't biggie size, get the kids size, replace fries with salad or something, get water instead of soda, or drive past the drive through and go home and cook. LOL

4. Reduce Meat Portions-I don't eat chicken, pork, or beef, but I don't eat sea food once in a blue moon. I don't expect everyone to give up meat, although it would make your life much easier, but do reduce the amount. The suggested portion is a deck of cards, but I say even less. I would suggest that you even have a vegetarian day once a week at least. Try this website for some ideas. http://www.meatoutmondays.org/index.php

5. Reduce Unhealthy Oil Intake-okay so you know that commercial about the "Buttertons"? Okay, well I was Mrs. Butterton. I could easily use 2-3 sticks of butter in one dinner. First of all look for cold compressed oils that can be found at your local health food store. On the label it will tell you if they can be used at a high temperature or not. Try different oils because they all have different flavors. DO NOT COOK WITH OLIVE OIL!!! Apparently when it is heated to high temps it changes and is very unhealthy. I like to use coconut oil. I haven't heard anything bad about cooking with it yet.

6. Reduce Make Eating Decisions in Advance-So your on your way to a family dinner or restaurant to eat, what are you going to limit yourself to? This would be a good time to eat vegetarian so that you don't go overboard too much or you should use a kid's plate. Whatever decision you make should be made BEFORE walking in the door and smelling all the food. If you want a rich desert, eat a light meal. If you want to eat a heavy meal, drink water, and get a healthy desert. You can take these suggestions and make them your own of course.

7. Don't Overcook Your Veggies-One of my clients just bought me a steamer and I love it!!! If you don't have one you can still achieve similar results. Put just a little water in the pot, use fresh veggies when possible, and cook until just tender. You shouldn't see all the vegetable's color in the bottom of the pot. It shouldn't be floppy when you take it out. Things like cabbage and spinach can even be stir fried in coconut oil and balsamic vinegar and eaten. Also add as many raw veggies to your meal as possible.

8. Try New Veggies-Every week try a new vegetable. You can try it alone or mixed in with a familiar veggie, but either way just try it. Look for vegetable recipes. There are entire sites devoted to vegetarian recipes.

9. Try New Recipes-This will encourage you to eat at home more and in turn will help you eat healthier. Learn to substitute high fat ingredients for lower in fat and healthier ones. Now is a good time to make soup since it is cold out. Most times you can look around your kitchen and find stuff to make a quick healthy soup out of. You'd be surprised. LOL

10. Find Restaurants with Healthy Choices- Find out who has a healthy choice menu and try to go there. Even if they don't have a healthy choice menu, ask to make substitutes. Look their menu up online before you go so that you can make a clear decision about what you want to eat, before the sights and sounds lull you into a bad meal choice.

11. Fast-You should shoot to fast at least once a year for at least 7-10 days. The optimal fasting routine that I know of is 4 times a year during the solstices and equinoxes for 10+ days, which will give you 40+ days of fasting per year. Fasting is a way to give your body and digestive system a rest. There are all kinds of fasts as you may well know. My thought process is that you fast to improve your health, so when you come off you shouldn't go back to your normal diet. Your diet should improve every time in some way until you see no room for improvement. I used Master Cleanse to help me get started. I used it to get my body clean to get rid of headaches. Some people have used it for weight loss, but if you go back to your normal diet, you will also go back to your normal weight probably with a little extra. You can try juice fasts, green smoothie fasts, fruit and veggie fasts, or even water fasts.

I really hope this helps and give you a jump start for your healthy eating journey.