Health Freak

 I remember back about 5 years ago when I was at college at SUU and I was a health freak. I was in the best shape of my life. I walked to the gym almost every day and I ate 5 small and healthy meals a day (which was easier because I didn't have to cook for anyone else). I felt guilty when I ate unhealthy foods and one of my roommates was completely annoyed by it and forced me to eat junk sometimes. I did fairly often indulge in some chocolate. I can't live without chocolate (and I'm talking the good milk chocolate kind, not the healthier bitter kind. Yuck). I'm not gonna lie, once I got married, things all changed. I know this sounds totally ridiculous but I wanted to spend every moment I had with Nate and that included time I could be at the gym. I probably went from working out 5-6 days a week to 1-3 days a week. I guess nursing school could have played a role in that as well. It also doesn't help that gyms cost money and we were starving college students. Then the baby came and we moved and I really have no gym now...so now I rarely work out. I did just start doing random workouts I found on Pinterest, which aren't too shabby.

So, skinny and healthy me seems like a distant dream. I better get in shape soon though because you can only blame your rolls on your baby for so long. I do still have a deep desire to be in shape and healthy and a passion for feeling good.

Here are some of my healthy fav's:

Almond milk: 
Only 60 calories a serving! I especially like it with Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds (I know...it's no Total cereal but it's also no Fruity Pebbles so give me a break). Almond milk plus cereal with almonds go pretty well together. The downside is that it is more expensive than milk...but I guess all healthy food is more expensive. I still would rather have a glass of cow milk with my brownies, cookies, waffles, etc., but you can reduce quite a few calories using it with your cereal.












Whole grain pasta:
It's really not that different from the enriched flour pasta. I really like the farfalle (bowtie) Barilla Plus. I tend to feel better after having a meal with whole grain pasta than I do when I have the regular pasta. The whole grain spaghetti is pretty good too!



Fruit and yogurt parfaits:
A delish breakfast that Nate likes too! And Nate's not the biggest fan of healthy foods (shhh..don't tell him I told you that). I buy a big container of vanilla yogurt, some granola, and frozen berries. Mix them all together in the morning (after thawing the berries just a little bit) and you have a healthy and tasty breakfast. Sadly, this adds up to quite a bit more money than cereal but it's SO good!



Nordicware microwave popcorn bowl:
I bought this last summer and I LOVE it. You just pour the kernels in the bowl, add a little bit of olive oil and salt, and throw it in the microwave and you have a tasty, healthier version of popcorn. And we are popcorn addicts over here. Too bad it is in storage at the moment :(



The Biggest Loser:
I don't watch every season but any time I do start watching this show again, I get motivated to start living in a healthier way. And it's so fun to watch the transformations on the season finale!

Just a few random healthy thoughts that I had to write down after having a bowl of bedtime cereal...that habit should stop too.

P.S. If anyone wants to sell their Insanity DVD's to me for cheap I will definitely think about it :)