Nutrition and ALL that JAZZ!

Going back and reading my posts, I feel quite hypocritical.  Yes, I am doing all the things I said, but not as consistently as I would like or should be.  And I am not talking about all the things I am doing in between those things that are still not the best.

Here is what bothers me:

-We've pretty much given up pop, but when I am out shopping and get thirsty, or I am out at the movies that pretty much has me always choosing Iced Tea.  How many of you think Iced Tea is a better choice than pop?  Yeah, I see all the hands flying up so fast... not!  So I still have not solved this problem.  At home now our treat drink is chocolate milk (made with skim milk), to me this is still not that bad, but not according to the articles I read. 

-We have reduced our butter and margarine intake, and I haven't had mayonnaise in the house for months.  I bought a bunch of butter for Christmas baking and convinced myself not to use it, but now have 8 sticks of butter in the house and they haven't been touched.  We are using coconut oil in almost every instance where we would use butter, like on toast or of course the old replacement... EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil).  The problem, how much coconut oil is too much? I love the stuff and use it even on my popcorn!

-Nuts, they are good for you!  But not in the amount I eat, I love nuts.  No, I am not eating the salted ones or the carmalized ones (well maybe in a salad), but still they are high in fat and I eat them too often.  I finally switched from Kraft Peanut Butter to the natural stuff, but I still eat it fairly often, especially with apple slices or in a smoothie or my new favorite... on toast with apple butter.  I do like roasted almonds, but my nutrionist says I should be eating raw, natural nuts and that I should soak them overnight.  Apparently they absorb water and not only make them easier to digest, but the water content fills you up even more.  *I haven't tried this yet.

-Sleep.  I just do not get enough sleep.  I don't know why I can't convince myself to go to bed at night, when in the morning I can't convince myself to get out of bed - weird!  When I am tired, I have NO willpower.  This week I am tired, so I'm not feeling very good about my commitment to the program.  I'm still eating lots of healthy things, but just too much, too often and not concentrating on drinking enough water or eating veggies.  I never feel 100% about my effort, which is just a lousy feeling.

I am still reading and coming up with new ideas.  What is coming up next:

-soaking beans and not using canned beans as often because they are high in sodium
-focusing on the combination of foods, a carb with a protein (oatmeal and eggs at breakfast - could it be true?)
-focusing on me time... scheduling in time for baths, shopping, girl visits, etc. 
-reading more books and websites, up next... Your Best Body Now, The China Study, The Whole Foods Diet Cookbook and The Omnivore's Dilemma.
-a focus on exercise, too.  This is key, I never seem to be able to do both at once.  If I am exercising, my food is out of wack, likely because I am even more tired and making bad decisions.  Just for once, I would like to have an awesome week, where I do both things good for one whole week!  


So, all complaining aside, we are making lots of changes and lots of changes have stuck:

-threw white sugar out, use agave nectar, honey, apple butter, applesauce, coconut sugar as replacements. Still some brown sugar on occasion for baking.

-eating oatmeal a few times a week and not the packaged kind, real oats, quick oats which from my understanding are still nutritional like steel cut oats, but just cut smaller for faster cooking time.

-using more beans and not only in chili, trying to add them to things like soup, spaghetti sauce, other casserole dishes.
-eating more kefir and plain yogurt, still can't eat them plain, but using them for smoothies or adding dollops to soups.

-eating more homemade soups, carrot soup, tomato soup, veggie soups, all made from real veggies and pureed and using animal bones to make broth for some first - supposed to be very good as you get all the nutrients from the bone.

-eating kammut sourdough bread

-eating spelt, multigrain or spinach pastas when possible.

-using coconut oil, instead of margarine or butter, and still using olive oil as well.

-switched over to sea salt

-trying not to eat processed meat, if we do we are buying the natural stuff from Farmboy with no preservatives.
-minimizing fast food and limiting to subway or something similar.
-switched to natural PB or almond butter - a big deal for me!
-making a meal plan each week and trying to stick with it
 
So, there you have it folks, the true confessions of a food-o-holic!  I am trying, but it is hard to be consistent!  I figure as long as I keep at it and keep moving forward over time, things will work themselves out.
 
I love feedback, so send me tips and ideas that work for you or great whole food recipes.