Convenience Food

Hi guys! I hope everyone is doing great. Today I want to talk to you about Convenience Food. It seems no matter how much we plan or how strong out will power is some days just don’t go as planned (actually I think most days don’t go exactly as we have planned ha-ha but that is what keeps life interesting!) On these days our food plans tend to take a back seat or we just happen to really crave something that we didn’t plan for, but instead of driving through fast food or getting frustrating and saying screw it for your meal plan; use some convenience food mixed with some healthier food to create a balance and not throw all of your work away.

Some quick and easy solutions can even be healthy. Craving a burger, throw a Boca Burger (or other brand of veggie burger) on the grill and make a hamburger and have some baked chips with it. Craving something Chinese like, grab yourself some udon noodles (in the refrigerated section of your grocery store) and try your hand at creating your own Chow Mein. Grab a bag of frozen veggies and make yourself a homemade stir-fry!

Frozen fruits and veggies are actually a staple in my house, they are so cheap in the grocery store, they are quick and easy and they are still healthy! Next time you are at the store stock up! I challenge you to see how much you can get for $5, depending on what combinations you decide to buy you can probably get 5 or 6 small bags of veggies. That’s less than a dollar a bag and these bags make several servings each!

I also keep a few different flavors of “Rice a Roni” around so that if I have a salt craving or what to eat something sort of bad (but still nowhere near as bad as fast food or most restaurant food) I can cook one of those up. They great  about them is you can add a little extra water or halve the seasoning packet so it’s not as bad; and you can always doctor it up a bit to make it more healthy or add veggies to it to make it a meal.

In short convenience food can be tweaked to make it healthier but still feel like your splurge to satisfy a craving.  Be creative!

If you need ideas or examples head to Sandra Lee, but her stuff isnt the most healthy so try and tweak it a little.

 

What is your favorite convenience food and how do you make it a little healthier? Comment and tell me!

Thanks for reading and Happy Cooking!

 

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Exercise

Hi guys! Food is a very large part of a healthy lifestyle but it is not the only part. Exercise is also a huge part of a healthy lifestyle.

One of the great things about exercise is that there are a million different ways you can work it into your life. You can run, you can do workout videos, you can do yoga, or you can even just get out and walk around the block.

My favorite exercises are yoga, walking, dancing and I have a love/hate relationship with the INSANITY DVDs. The love part is that I love what it does to my body and my energy level and the way I feel; the hate part is that it is HARD ha-ha.

Another thing with exercise is you need to challenge yourself and your body. If you always do the same workout your body will get used to it and you won’t get your optimum workout. Do what you love but throw in something different once a week to keep your body guessing.

If you are new to working out and don’t know what you like, take a few different classes so you can find out what you like; try different workout videos. I have discovered that Netflix actually has a lot of workout videos.

Bottom line: do what you love, what you are comfortable with and what challenges you. For example I am running my first 5k tomorrow! And I am very much not a runner; that is what has inspired this blog post. Wish me luck and get out there and do something to get your body in motion!

Comment and tell me what your favorite exercise is.

Thanks for reading and Happy Movement!

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