Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday is all about getting you motivated to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The articles link above is chalk full of wonderful ways to get your recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day. The article contains a chart with the recommendation based on age. For my age I need 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day.

I think I do pretty well when they defined one piece of fruit as 1 cup. I eat 1-2 bananas a day and sometimes an apple on top of that. Strawberries and grapes are a plenty at our house and are "eat what you want when you want" type of deal. It's great because the girls reach into the fridge, pull out the grapes they want and eat away. It makes an easy side to lunch/dinner/and a great snack.

In the veggie area I try to have at least 1/2 a cup with each dinner, cut up cucumber at lunch to eat, add green peppers to dinner or cut up zucchini. Last night I grilled up some zucchini and enjoyed about a cup of that. I eat celery with PB for snack and add lettuce to sandwiches or make a little salad to go with dinner or lunch.

Visit a Farmer's Market or your local produce store that you love and buy what you eat in a week so nothing goes bad. Cut it up, wash it, store it properly and you will find that getting your fruits and vegetables in everyday can be a breeze. It is definitely a way of life and takes some time to get in the habit of it.

An example of my routine: Every Wednesday is double ad day at Sprouts. It's a great day to go to get last weeks deals and the new deals. I can load up my cart with a head of lettus or two, cucumbers, zucchini, bananas, grapes, oranges, strawberries, and whatever else I think we will need for a full week for a family of 4. When I get home I immediately wash everything and store it properly so it lasts. Sometimes I freeze it in small portions to pull out when needed. (Strawberries for smoothies is a good example of this. I go to a different produce store when time permits and buy 3 lbs. of strawberries for $1. I freeze 2 lbs. and the family eats the other lb. in the next few days.) Celery is washed, cut, and stored in a container for easy snacks and chopping for dinners. Grapes are taken off the stems, washed, and stored in an open zip-lock bag. Lettuce/spinach is washed, spun/dried, and stored wrapped in paper towels in an open ziplock bag to keep it crisp.

GOAL: GET IN YOUR RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES EACH DAY. NOTICE HOW GREAT YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF WHEN YOU DO THIS.

Snacky, Snacky

What in the world do you do when you get that urge to snack or munch? Sometimes it is so hard to get your hand out of that pantry, isn't it? I know, I've done it, too. Those Nature Valley granola snacks are irresistible along with any kind of cracker.

Here are some things I do when I get the snackies:

1. Drink water. A lot of times you are actually just thirsty. Learn to listen to what your body really wants.
2. Chew on a piece of sugar-free gum. I'm a gum addict. When I got my braces on I thought it was over, but I still sneak it in. (Don't tell me dentist!) That usually takes away the snackie urge.
3. Whatever you do, don't go to the pantry! If you must have a snack the best things are found in the refridgerator. Apples, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini-go for those goods. If you go in the pantry, you know what happens-you can't stop!
4. Find something to do: it doesn't matter what it is. Just something to take your mind of off snacking. Usually sitting at the computer or in front of the television doesn't take away that snacking feeling. I would suggest going outside. Go for a walk, take the kids to the park, jump rope, color with chalk with the kids. Reading, knitting/crocheting, a craft project, writing, crossword puzzles are also good distractions. Immerse yourself in something so much that it takes your mind off of your stomach.

Here are some of my favorite snacks for mid-afternoon:
1. Yogurt with granola-yumo and probably my favorite.
2. Celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins. aka ants on a log. I am hooked on this right now.
TIME SAVING TIP: as you are unloading your groceries from your shopping trip, wash the celery and immediately cut it into sticks. Store in an airtight container in the refridgerator.
3. Banana with peanut butter and sometimes I add granola. A banana with PB is pretty filling by itself so you may want to hold on the granola depending on your hunger level.
4. Grapes. I love green grapes, the others are good too, but nothing compares to a crisp green grape!TIME SAVING TIP: as you are unloading your groceries get out your collander and rip off all the grapes from the stem, wash thoroughly under cold water. Store in an UN-zipped plastic baggy in the refridgerator. A zipped baggy will make the grapes go bad quickly. BOOM! Your grapes are always handfuls away!