Hey there friends!

I just got back from my week 3 Health Starts Here Meet-up and man it was good!  I can’t wait to re-cap it!  I’m trying to study for my Series 6 and so I left work and went straight to Whole Foods for some study time & dinner.  I chose the sushi tonight and it was really good.  I’m not the type of person who craves sushi all the time, so this sushi should curve my craving for about a month and then I’ll want sushi again.  It was an easy dinner for studying and because of the brown rice & quinoa, it fit perfectly with my Health Starts Here Challenge!

WEEK 2 RECAP

Unfortunately, I missed the meeting last week because I had to buy my new car, but our wonderful Healthy Eating Specialist, Mary Lindsey, sends out a great re-cap each week, so I can share some of the pointers with you from the meet-up.  Before I go into that information, I want to share my thoughts on the challenge up to this point.

1. I’m noticing a difference in my focus!  I feel like my mind is clearer and I’m not as forgetful.  Before I started the challenge, I was feeling foggy and distracted all the time.  I was making mistakes at work and I was extremely forgetful.  I’m cleaning up some of those mistakes now and continuing to find new ones I had previously made, but I’m so thankful for the clear head to get things back in order at work.  In my personal opinion {I’m not doctor}, but I think it has a lot to do with the dairy for me.  When I attempted a vegan diet, I’m fairly certain I had this same reaction and I’m basically going vegan again with this particular diet.  I don’t know if I’ll cut out dairy completely after this, but I’m cutting back drastically because I most certainly see the improvement in my mental health!

2. Others are noticing!  Isn’t that what we all want?  For others to notice the difference we’re making.  I’ve had 2 different people over the past week ask me what I’m doing because I look “good” or I look “healthy” or I look “skinnier”.  I’m so excited to tell them that I’ve been doing the Health Starts Here Challenge with Whole Foods and although I haven’t kept up with a number on a scale, I’m noticing a difference too and I GREATLY appreciate them telling me!  I will never be offended by someone who points out that I’m looking good at any particular moment!  It could be just a good day or it could be an entire lifestyle change, I’ll always appreciate someone sharing that with me.  I’ve talked to some other people throughout the week regarding my improvements as well and it’s extremely motivating to stay on task!

3. Weekends are rough.  I have cheated both weekends since the challenge.  It’s not the end of the road for me though, I just pick myself back up and start back fresh.  I’ve done an excellent job on the week days, but I’m disappointed that I went overboard this past weekend.  When Nick comes to town, we don’t cook very often because I’m living at my parents and he’s staying at his when he comes.  We also had his brother & sister-in-law in town, so there were lots of family & friend dinners out!  I’m determined to have at least ONE weekend where I stick to the challenge.

Nick and I did manage to make some guacamole & juices on Sunday night before he headed back to Starkville and I truly cherish those times together in the kitchen!  One of my favorite things when we lived in the same town was cooking together and although we don’t go to the same extent that we use to, I enjoyed this time so much!  It was one of the highlights of my weekend.

BULK BASICS

The topic last week was Bulk Basics.  I’m so sad I missed it, but here is what I gathered from Mary Lindsey’s notes.

She makes a good point initially that grains have gotten a bad reputation lately.  Everyone got interested in those no-carb diet fads and lost a lot of weight from it, but the truth is… they gained it all back when it was over.  Also, they were discounting some of the better grains out there – Whole Grains.  Our challenge focuses heavily on eating Whole grains so you can have some of your favorites like bread and spaghetti.  The problem comes when you REFINE the grain.  She explained that there are 3 separate parts to a grain and when you refine a grain, it breaks down 2 of those parts and sure enough, that’s the part of the grain that holds the nutrients & fiber.  So when you eat refined grain, you’re not receiving the nutrients you need from that grain, you’re just eating the starch.

I cannot praise the use of beans enough!  As a vegetarian, I use beans to create a lot of substance in my food.  I love beans in chili and I’ll add beans to my vegetarian tacos!  They’re full of fiber & nutrients, but low in calories, cholesterol, & fat.  A lot of people neglect beans because of the “gassy” effect they have.  She gave some great pointers on digesting beans.

(1) Discard the soaking water.  Don’t cook your beans in the water you pre-soak them in.

(2) Cook your bean thoroughly

(3) Give your body time to adjust.  It’s so true!  The more beans you eat, yes, the more gas you’ll have initially, but eventually your body adjusts and you’ll notice that gas occurs less often and tends to be less smelly. {sorry for details here, but I think it’s important to know}

(4) Cook with bay leaf, cumin, or kombu – they cut down on the negative side effects.

Lastly, there are nuts & seeds.  I’m a huge nut butter fan, obviously I’m in love with peanut butter, but I’ve also enjoyed almond butter.  I add flax seed to all of my smoothies!  They have so many nutrients and you can’t taste it.  I haven’t tried chia seeds yet, but I hear so many great things about it.  It’s on the pricey side from what I understand, so I’ll probably hold off on trying those, but they go great in oatmeal & smoothies from what I hear.  You do want to watch your portions on this though – I struggle with portion control on my peanut butter daily.  A small handful of nuts can run you around 200 calories!  They’re great for additives & toppers, but you wouldn’t want them to be the star of the show in your culinary creation.

Those were the most useful tips I found through the Week 2 re-cap and again, I’m loving this experience and I’m learning so much!  I’m definitely noticing improvements in my body & my mental health!  I want to personally thank the staff at Whole Foods in Jackson, MS for their hard work and dedication to this program!  I’m unbelievably excited to have a resource like this in Mississippi and I truly hope Mississippi changes for the better!  That can start right here in Jackson with Whole Foods, this challenge, and their mission!  I want to thank Mary Lindsey for all the prep-work she does for us each and every week.  She’s been so responsive to e-mail and I never wait more than 24 hours to hear back!  She’s constantly sending me recipe suggestions based on feedback I’ve given her or requests for some “sweet” options!  I’m excited to see what another 2 weeks of this challenge can do for me!  Again, I encourage everyone to find the Whole Foods closest to them to see when the next challenge is at your store.

If you have any questions about my experience, please feel free to e-mail me personally at nobolognablog@gmail.com.