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Meatless in May Challenge

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meatless in mayOur May 2016 Challenge will be a Plant-Based, Meatless Eating Challenge.  We are going to focus on eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc.  I want you to focus on food with life in it to improve our health and wellness.  That’s right, living foods. These foods are full of fiber, nutrients, anti-oxidants, healthy carbs and more.  I will be posting resources and recipes here on the blog and on Facebook all month to help you stay on track. I’ve got a whole list of meal plans, recipes and other resources below to get you started.

Are you in? Leave us a comment below and let us know.

Our goals

1) Go Meatless Every Monday. No fish, chicken, beef, pork, etc. No flesh foods.
2) Tues – Sun – Make at least one meal each day All Plant Based – Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. Smoothies count!!

If you have any food allergies, digestion issues related to produce or medical issues* that don’t allow you to eat in this way, this isn’t the challenge for you.

For our plant-based meals, we will eat;

  • All fruits. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned.
  • All vegetables and leafy greens. These can be fresh, frozen, dried, juiced or canned.
  • All whole grains – Examples: whole wheat (unbleached), brown rice, quinoa, oats, barley, grits, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, rice cakes and popcorn. (Avoid white, refined flour)
  • All nuts and seeds – Examples: walnuts, peanuts, almonds, soynuts, pecans, pinenuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.
  • All legumes. That means BEANS of all kinds.
  • Quality vegetable oils, like olive, avocado, coconut oil, grapeseed and sesame.
  • Beverages: spring water, distilled water, brewed tea, freshly made juice and smoothies that you make yourself, etc.  However, you should focus on increasing your water intake if you haven’t been drinking enough. Give your body a rest from the dye, additives, added sugars and chemicals in many drinks.
  • Other plant-based foods/condiments: tofu, nut “milks”, tahini, natural/plant-based sweeteners (in moderation), seitan, vinegar, seasonings, salt, herbs and spices.

Cut it OUT: Foods we aren’t eating for our Plant-Based meals: Fried foods, food smothered with butter, fast food, meat (of course), dairy, artificial sweeteners (especially in drinks), white rice, white flour, alcohol and processed sugar.

Curious about Vegetarianism or Veganism? Go ALL Out and make all of your meals plant-based.  Give it a try for one week or four. The choice is up to you.

Meal Plans to help you get started:

Recipes and Articles

Books

*Medical Disclaimer: If there is any reason why you should not change your diet and how you normally eat due to an ailment, pregnancy, chronic illness, allergy or other medical issue, Do Not participate in this challenge.  If you have trouble digesting raw or cooked fruits and veggies, this is not the challenge for you. When in doubt, speak with your doctor before joining any weight loss challenge or starting any eating plan.

5 Tips for Avoiding Temptation at the Grocery Store

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tips grocery storeIf you don’t want to fall off your new healthy eating regime you have to be prepared to fight temptation while grocery shopping. It is easy to lose focus and start perusing the aisles aimlessly. Before you know it, you get home and while you’re putting your food away realize you bought junk food that you shouldn’t have or spent much more money than you had budgeted.

Before your next visit to the market, consider these 5 tips to make your shopping experience more productive.

Plan Meals and Look Up Recipes Before you Go

Planning out meals every week or even for the whole month may seem tedious at first but it goes a long way in both saving money and ensuring you eat what you are supposed to. Before you head to the grocery store, sit down and think about what you want to eat. If you have no idea what you want it can be helpful to look through your local store’s weekly flyer to see what’s on sale and work around that.

Once you figure out an idea of what meals you want to eat you can look up recipes so you can put together a shopping list. This will help you ensure you only buy the ingredients you need. This whole process of finding meals and going through recipes is easily streamlined by using an app. Two excellent apps to use are Yummly and Fooducate. As an added bonus with Yummly is that you can “Yum” your favorite recipes and add the ingredients in them automatically to an in-app shopping list.

Write a Detailed List and Stick to It

Having a detailed shopping list will help you shop more efficiently by finding what you need more quickly. This is especially helpful in a very large supermarket.

When you are writing a grocery list based on a sales paper, meal plan or recipe it is important to write down brand names or know what generic brands you can buy for member prices. You may also want to write down sale’s prices so you are sure you are buying the right product. Also, don’t forget to check for coupons online before your trip to the store. Listing the ingredients you want to purchase by location in store can also be done and prevents you from having to go back and forth from aisles to, say, the produce section. Some stores provide the aisle info online.

Sticking to a list really requires willpower. Stay focused on only what you need and try to not let your eyes wander around shelves. If you find you really struggle, try these two things:

  • Time Yourself: Set the timer on your phone for 15-20 minutes (however long is a reasonable time for your list) and get your shopping done in that time. You could also set the stopwatch and simply work against yourself to see how quickly you can get everything. This could be really fun for shopping with your children if they are old enough to go through the store to grab items by themselves.
  • Use Exact Cash: This can be really helpful if you tend to buy junk food at the last minute and also use sale’s flyers for shopping. Write down prices for all the ingredients, add it up including tax, and only take in just enough cash to cover the cost of your list. Not having extra money or your debit card will stop you from buying something you shouldn’t.

Don’t Shop Hungry

Going grocery shopping while you’re hungry is a very bad idea, especially when strong cravings are in play. When you feel hungry and you’re surrounded by tasty food you are much more apt to: 1) buy more than you need in terms of amount and calories, and 2) buy foods that aren’t on your list (junk food, highly processed food).

The idea of not grocery shopping while you’re hungry isn’t just good judgement but also scientifically sound. A study in JAMA Internal Medicine archives done in 2013 showed that participants who fasted prior to shopping didn’t necessarily buy more food but they did buy more high-calorie food.

Even more interesting is that being hungry while shopping doesn’t just affect the types of groceries you buy but also non-food items as well. Researchers at USC Dornsife found that participants who were experiencing hunger pains while shopping would purchase more non-food items than those who had eaten recently.

Don’t Shop While Emotional (Stressed, Angry, etc)

Similarly to shopping hungry, don’t go shopping when you feel any exaggerated emotion. This could be upsetting emotions like anger or just excitement over getting together with your girlfriends on the weekend. If you are an emotional eater, going shopping while you feel any strong emotions can lead to unwise food choices.  Food is very connected to comfort and celebration in our society.

While many studies about emotion and impulsive shopping, like this one, don’t involve grocery shopping, researchers agree that the result is very much the same. When you combine the effects of emotion with hunger, it’s pretty much a guarantee you’re going to buy more than you should or overindulge in your favorite comfort foods.

Go grocery shopping when you are in good, neutral mood and dealing with limited stress. Reducing your stress might mean leaving the kids or your significant other at home. It may also mean going shopping very early in the morning or at night when the store isn’t so busy.

  1. Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store

Whether you are shopping without a list or with a full, detailed list, it is best to stick to the perimeter of your store as much as you can. Why? Majority of grocery stores tend to keep produce, meat, frozen produce, and other whole foods on the outskirts of the store while most of the processed foods that can stay on the shelf for months are in aisles in the middle. By staying on the outside of the aisles as much as possible you are going to keep your mind on track.

Many of these tips for staying on track are basic but very powerful. They will also become second nature as you practice them. Be sure to put some or all of these tips into effect the next time you need to restock your fridge and pantry.  When we fail to plan, we plan to fail.

6 Tips for Organizing Your Refrigerator

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The refrigerator is easily the hardest-working appliance in a home, yet it is often neglected. Not only is the average fridge not cleaned often enough but people simply don’t know how to properly organize their foods in the most efficient way. When it comes to organizing your fridge, it isn’t just for the sake of making things neat but to reduce bacteria, keep foods fresh for longer and minimize clutter. Not only is a clean, organized fridge going to keep your foods safe, but it also helps you see what ingredients you have to work with for healthy, balanced meals.

tips organizing you refrigeratorHere are 6 tips for getting your fridge organized.

  1. Don’t Put Things In Your Fridge That Don’t Need to Be Refrigerated

It goes without saying that putting food items in your fridge that don’t need to be chilled can be a major waste of space and can even spoil some foods quicker. Usually, there will be a label on the product saying whether it needs to be refrigerated or refrigerated after opening. Still, many people will put produce, store-bought condiments and foods in their fridge that should be on the counter or in the pantry. Here are a couple examples:

  • Tomatoes, Onions and Potatoes
  • Fresh Herbs
  • Vinegars
  • Bread and Bagels
  • Some Butters
  • Honey

If you are unsure of what foods need to be refrigerated or not, a simple Google search for the item in question will give you answer. Also, most homemade foods and those without preservatives should go into the fridge, even if the store-bought equivalent doesn’t need to be.

  1. Use Plastic Placemats and Plastic Tubs on the Shelves

Spills are really inevitable in a fridge. To cut down on cleaning time and keep your food safe from bacteria use plastic placemats from your local dollar store as shelf liners. Utilizing square and rectangular plastic tubs will also help you organize foods and is especially helpful for keeping raw meats and any leaks separate from everything else.

  1. Utilize the Specific Labeled Drawers in Your Fridge Properly

For the most part you will want to follow the label recommendations on the drawers in your fridge. The drawers aren’t just to organize your food but also coincide with temperatures and humidity levels in the refrigerator. For example, the produce drawer is purposely more humid than other parts of the fridge and the meat drawer is colder.

One circumstance in which you may ignore this is if your fridge happens to have a meat drawer higher in the fridge as potential leaks could drip onto food below.

  1. Put New Groceries Behind Older Food

How often have you cleaned out your fridge to find forgotten leftovers or barely used food that was pushed to the back? To cut down on waste make sure you put new groceries behind food that’s already in your fridge. As for leftovers, placing them in an obvious spot at the front as a regular habit will help you make sure it gets eaten or tossed in an appropriate amount of time.

  1. Organize Foods From Top to Bottom and Front to Back

The way a refrigerator is built and the way it chills food is important to know. The top shelf of your fridge is the warmest shelf, the bottom shelf or drawers are the coldest. The warmest place in your fridge are the shelves on the door. Also, the back of each shelf is colder than the front. As an example of organizing, cooked food should go on the top shelves, milk on the bottom shelf closet to the back, and condiments and sauces on the door.  This is also a matter of preference, but be mindful of the temperatures.

  1. Clean The Inside and Outside of Your Fridge Before Grocery Shopping

Keeping your fridge clean is extremely important in removing bacteria to keep your food safe. Many refrigerators aren’t cleaned nearly enough as they should and sometimes people go months without a deep cleaning. One study done by Microban Europe showed that the salad drawer of 30 different fridges showed an average of nearly 8,000 units of bacteria per square centimeter. Some samples were much higher.

It goes without saying that any spills should be cleaned immediately, but you should also wipe down the inside and outside of your fridge door before you go grocery shopping weekly or monthly. At the very least, clean out any foods that have gone bad or spoiled. A deep cleaning should be done every 3 months. It’s hard to keep track of things when you have a big family or a dealing with kids, but cleaning will help your appliance to last and serve your family well.

Your fridge deserves some extra TLC compared to other appliances. Setting reminders for quarterly deep cleanings and making it a habit to clean out your fridge before putting in new groceries is the key to banishing bacteria.

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #23: You Can Save Money on Organic Food

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Tip #23 of our Weight Loss on a Budget Tips: You Can Save Money on Organic Food.  Here are 5 ways to make organic more affordable.

save on organic food

  1. Look for coupons on organic brands – You may not find many coupons for organics in your local paper, so you’ll need to visit the websites for the brands you like and look for coupons.  Many companies offer coupons and special offers to their email list, so sign up for deals.
  2. Buy in Bulk – You can get all the benefits of organically grown food at a reduced cost when you buy in bulk.  Focus on foods that are not prone to go bad quickly like cereal, nuts, beans, protein powder, grains and healthy snack foods.  If you are a member of a club, like BJ’s or Costco, make sure you are taking advantage of specials and monthly store coupons for greater deals.
  3. Buy the Store Brand – As long as the product is certified organic (USDA) it doesn’t matter what the brand is.  If you like the taste and it meets your nutritional needs, buy it instead of the name brand and save money.  A lot of grocery stores now carry a house organic brand because of consumer demand.
  4. Grow Your Own – If you have enough space and an interest in gardening, consider getting a book and heading to your local home improvement store for what you need to get a garden started.  There is actually a whole urban gardening movement going on where people use methods like square foot gardening to raise their own food in limited spaces.
  5. Clean 15 / Dirty Dozen – There are actually fruits and veggies that are not exposed to a lot of pesticides and don’t have a lot of pesticide residue.  They are called the “Clean 15™”.  You can save money buy NOT buying them organic.
    • onions
    • avocados
    • sweet corn
    • pineapples
    • mango
    • sweet peas
    • asparagus
    • kiwi fruit
    • cabbage
    • eggplant
    • cantaloupe
    • watermelon
    • grapefruit
    • sweet potatoes
    • sweet onions

On the other side of the spectrum there is the “Dirty Dozen™” list of foods that most people recommend be purchased in organic form due to the amount of pesticide they are exposed to and what has been found in testing in terms of residue.

    • celery
    • peaches
    • strawberries
    • apples
    • domestic blueberries
    • nectarines
    • sweet bell peppers
    • spinach, kale and collard greens
    • cherries
    • potatoes
    • imported grapes
    • lettuce

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #20: Learn to Save Money on Fruits and Veggies

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Today’s Weight Loss on a Budget Tip – #20: Learn How to Save Money on Fruits and Veggies.  Consider this…

“Researchers at the University of Arizona recently spent a year tracking families’ food-use habits. Working with the United States Department of Agriculture, they interviewed the families about their eating habits, collected their grocery receipts, watched them prepare meals, and then sifted through every last discarded lettuce leaf, slice of bread, burger and bean.  The results, reported in 2002, were pretty shocking. The families tossed out an average of 470 pounds of food per year——about 14 percent of all food brought into the home——at an annual cost of $600. Every day, they discarded more than half a pound of fruits and veggies. In total, Americans chuck a fourth of all the produce they buy, mostly because it’s gone bad, says Timothy Jones, PhD, contemporary archaeologist at the University of Arizona. Nationally, we dump $43 billion worth of food every year.” – Vegetarian Times

save money on fruit veggiesI would like to believe that since things are a bit tighter financially these days, with our economy, that we are doing a better job of not wasting money on food in general. Here are some tips to help you do that:

Deals at Farmer’s Markets –

  • Visit sellers at your local farmer’s market an hour before closing time.  You may be able to negotiate deals on produce so that they don’t have to take as much inventory back to the farm.
  • Don’t be afraid to haggle on price with farmers.  It’s common at markets, especially if you plan to buy in bulk or large quantities.
  • You may be able to negotiate a lower price if you are a regular, weekly customer.  Many sellers appreciate the repeat, regular business and may give you a discount for loyalty.

Store Your Fruits and Veggies Properly – If you don’t know how long your veggies will last or how to properly store them, you may end up with wasted food which means wasted money.

  • Know that some fruits should not be stored next to others – Some fruits and vegetables produce ethylene gas.  This is a gas that causes produce to ripen.  This can speed up the aging process of fruits or cause premature ripening (aka.causing food to spoil).  Here is a list of ethylene emitting foods and ethylene sensitive foods.
  • Check out this fruit and veggie nutrition database and find out how to store various produce.  For example, did you know that you should store apples in the fridge, away from foods with strong odors, for up to 3 weeks?
  • Here is another list of storage tips from farmfreshtoyou.com.
  • Do some research on what you can store on the counter and what you should refrigerate.

Research Sales Online

  • I’ve said this before, but searching for deals online is key to saving money.  Visit the website for the local grocery store you prefer and look for deals on produce before you visit the store.

Buy Fruits and Veggies in Season

  • Some fruits and veggies are cheaper when they are in season because less have to be imported and there are more available on the market.

Buy Frozen