OK, so if you’ve read my previous post about the topic on Whole30, you would know that I’ve deleted it because I’ve failed miserably haha. I attempted to start it at the beginning of January but with many failed attempts I decided to take a shot at it in February. I have completed 5 days into the program and although yesterday I had rice – I have to start over again but that’s okay. I have had a lot of positive changes both physically and mentally. I’m a lot more committed now.
I’m having one of those restless nights when you toss and turn and your mind wanders into a dark place. In my case, the dark place is my ‘future’ and what it will bring. Lately I have been feeling a little bit stressed out, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m wasting my so called precious youth.
After scrolling through Tumblr this article appeared on my dashboard, and if you are a twenty-something-year-old
who is having a hard time transitioning from teenager to adulthood, read this:
You’re Not Making The Most Of Your 20s by Ryan O’Connell
The article is definitely relevant right now and it has helped me cope with all this stress. Just passing it along in case you happen to be up at 2 AM wondering what happened to your youth. Its a friendly reminder that if you want it bad enough, you have to take the good with the bad, and in the end all the struggle and pain you’ve endured will be worth it. You just have to stop being afraid and stop letting fear decide your fate. At least, that’s what I need to do.
Goodnight.
Anj
Lately, I’ve been eating foods that I would not normally eat = vast amounts of candy bars and a lot of sugary things. I blame the holidays. Nothing says Jingle Bells than finishing the entire bag of M&M almonds so you can…jingle? Ok bad joke. Moving along…
The purpose of this post is to remind me that 2013 is approaching, which means healthy eating will be on the top of my resolution list to bring me back on track!
I’m not one to deprived myself of my favourite foods (aka anything chocolate) but it’s important to keep your health a priority. I’ve noticed since I’ve fallen off my ‘clean eating’ habits I’ve developed a sore throat, congestion, headaches etc. That’s what happens to me when I eat, pardon my french, like shit – I feel like shit.
I’ve tried a lot of things ranging from glowing green smoothies to paleo, and although all of these “diets” or “lifestyles” as they often call it work and have it’s benefits, I prefer a balanced approach were I can enjoy healthy things and not so bad things in moderation. Moderation is key. Fruits and Veggies are key. I will always avoid Gluten/Wheat like a plague because I know how terrible it is for me (and newsflash for all of you as well whether or not your intolerant or celiac) Keeping your digestion happy makes everything happy!
Some things I found on this awesome site Health-Heaven, that will help you when you’re preparing for your Holiday meal/party:
10 Lies Food Labels Tell
“O g Trans Fat”
Know it: A mad-scientist project gone wrong, trans fats are created in a lab by partially hydrogenating healthier oils. This process destroys the many good benefits of the original fats. What’s worse, consuming trans fats ups your risk for heart disease and metabolic syndrome. Most nutritionists recommend avoiding them altogether, which doesn’t sound so hard except current labeling guidelines allow manufacturers to round anything less than 0.5g/serving down to zero. Eat more than a few servings, and you’ve consumed a significant amount of the Frankenfood.
Avoid it: Anything that says “partially hydrogenated oil,” “hydrogenated vegetable oil,” or “shortening” on the ingredients list contains trans fats, no matter what the label says.
“Sugar Free”
Know it: Sugar is fine in moderation, but many processed foods contain much more—and in different places&mash;than you’d expect. Since ingredients are required to be listed from most to least on food labels, manufacturers often break up the sugar into smaller amounts of lesser-known sugars, making the food appear healthier. Another issue is that real sugar is often replaced with artificial sweeteners, which can cause bloating and stomach discomfort.
Avoid it: Nutritionally speaking, there’s not a huge difference between different types of sneaky sugars so knowing the pseudonyms is half the battle. While there are more than 50 names for the sweet stuff, common tricky ones include brown rice syrup, barley malt, caramel, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, and anything involving corn syrup.
“Reduced Fat” or “Fat Free”
Know it: While fats aren’t the dietary demon they were made out to be in the past, many health-conscious consumers still seek out lower-fat or fat-free options. But since removing fat also removes flavor, many companies replace fat with sugar. This label is often used as a smoke screen to give an otherwise unhealthy food, like gummy bears, an aura of health. Of course gummy bears have never been made with fat; they’re pure sugar.
Avoid it: Don’t be afraid to eat healthy fats in your diet. Even some saturated fats like those found in coconut oil and grass-fed dairy have significant health benefits. Plus, fat is satiating so in the end, you’ll eat less and enjoy it more.
“Packed with Antioxidants”
Know it: Antioxidants, the latest health wunderkind, are amazing little nutrients and enzymes that inhibit the potentially harmful (but inevitable) process of cellular oxidation. You don’t have to understand all the science to know they’re incredibly good for you, with everything from anti-cancer to anti-aging benefits. The problem is that this label does not have a formal definition. When you see “packed with antioxidants,” it usually means that the food was either made with something that once had antioxidants in it—like fruit juice used for coloring cereal—or that the food was fortified with some vitamins. Unfortunately nutrients extracted from food don’t have all the health benefits of nutrients eaten in their natural state.
Avoid it: Whole fruits and vegetables are the best sources of antioxidants—and are easy to recognize.
“100% Natural or All Natural”
Know it: You may think buying an “all natural” chicken is better than buying its unlabeled counterpart, but the truth is that “natural” has no legal definition, meaning that companies can stick the phrase on anything they want.
Avoid it: Check the ingredients list and label for what you’re most concerned about. “USDA-certified organic” means the food has met certain guidelines. You can also check for genetically modified ingredients (if it doesn’t specifically say it’s non-GMO and it’s corn or soy, then it likely is), artificial colorings and flavors, or preservatives.
“Made with Whole Grains”
Know it: Whole grains are great for providing essential minerals, fiber, and energy, but all this label means is that there are some whole grains somewhere in the product with typical white flour—confusingly called “enriched wheat flour”—as the main ingredient.
Avoid it: Check the ingredients list. Whole wheat (or some other grain) should be listed first. Ideally it should be the only type of grain used. “100-percent whole grain” is defined by the USDA and means exactly what it says. Look for this label on foods and don’t get confused by those that say “8g of whole grains per serving!”—they’re just trying to distract you from the fact that it’s not made with only whole grains.
“No Nitrates”
Know it: Nitrates, nitrites, and other artificial preservatives are definitely bad for you, increasing risk of certain cancers by up to 50 percent. Unfortunately while consumers are getting wise to the evils of nitrates, they’re still overlooking other problematic preservatives.
Avoid it: Check the labels, especially those of processed meats like lunch meats and sausages, for BHA, BHT, benzoates, sulfates, and sorbates, among others.
Calorie Counts and Serving Sizes
Know it: The number of calories per serving is usually the first thing people read when they look at a food label. But beware: The USDA allows manufactures to use an estimate that can be up to 20-percent off! And because the serving size is a minimum amount rather than an exact amount, it’s more likely that the food has more calories per serving than the label leads you to believe.
Avoid it: If you’re being very conscious of calories, some nutritionists recommend automatically adding 10 percent as a buffer and carefully weighing and measuring your food. A more reasonable approach: Listen carefully to your sense of fullness and stop eating when you’re satisfied—even if you haven’t finished a whole serving.
“Made with Real Fruit”
Know it: Everyone knows that fresh fruits and veggies are healthy. Sadly, manufacturers take advantage of that trust by slapping this label on anything with a fruit product in it. This may include fruit concentrates, which are essentially just sugar and things like beet juice for coloring. Many popular fruit roll ups are mostly high-fructose corn syrup and food coloring. Sure, some “real” fruit might be in there, but it certainly doesn’t have the benefits of an actual piece of fruit.
Avoid it: Eat real, whole fruits and vegetables. They should have exactly one ingredient.
“Free-Range” or “Vegetarian Fed” Eggs
Know it: Who doesn’t prefer to think of happy chickens roaming merrily through a barnyard getting fed by a singing Snow White? The truth is that factory chickens are kept in very tight quarters and “free range” only means they had access to an open door, not that they ever used it. Also, “vegetarian fed” is not a good thing. Chickens are natural omnivores and when they are forced to eat a vegetarian diet&mash;often processed soy—their eggs contain less nutrition.
Avoid it: If you are truly concerned about buying fresh, organic, natural, or free-range eggs, local farmers are your best bet.
Stay healthy, stay warm!
Anjelica
Happy Wednesday! I decided to make pancakes, after my post the other day about the greatest breakfast food of all and all the recipes I found, I decided to make my own. Now, I didn’t do anything extravagant like the other recipes I found, mine is simple and easy, I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen – I was just super hungry and the first thought when I woke up from my slumber was – PANCAKES!!!!!
This recipe serves one, add more if your making breakie for your love ones, or if you simply want more pancakes haha. These pancakes are gluten-free as well as dairy-free. YAY.
warning: my pancakes weren’t fluffy they were more like crepes? but not too thin, but not really fluffy as I would like it to be 
but they were still delicious!
Again they didn’t turn out fluffy as I hope, you can tell on the last picture they look more like crepes, but I was too hungry to care haha. You can subsitute the ingredients easily, don’t like cinnamon? take it out. Add mashed bananas, add vanilla extract, add almond meal if you’d like! Instead of chocolate chips, add blueberries. Anything your heart desires. 🙂
Until next time,
Anjelica
One word. Pancakes. Another word. Obsession. I love pancakes LOVE LOVE pancakes, but unfortunately with my gluten and dairy allergy I have to refrain from ordering them at normal breakfast restaurants and suffer while my friends continue to eat every bite of it right in front of me. It’s okay though, because thanks to the internet and alternative flours (coconut flour and almond flour being my all time favourite) I can make and enjoy pancakes that won’t make me feel sick. Now that is a win-win situation.
I don’t have a Pinterest, but I do have Google. I type gluten-free + dairy-free pancakes and all of these wonderful delicious recipes shows up. Different variety, yet every picture makes me drool and cry with joy at the same time. Yep, that’s what pancakes do to me.
I found a couple that I would like to try out, 1. Lemon pancakes with Yogurt + Berries. I’ll have to substitute the yogurt with something else, perhaps coconut milk. That’s the beauty of pancakes, you can tailor fit to your needs. (Aka, add an extra dose of chocolate chips ;).) Pancakes 2. Banana-Split Pancakes for One. Hell yes it’s for one, no way am I going to share this mountain of deliciousness. Ok, maybe one bite… The next one has got to be some sort of miracle because it had combined my two favourite things to eat, brownies and pancakes!! I repeat, BROWNIES AND PANCAKES. Can it get any better? 3. Brownie Batter Pancakes. These pancakes are gluten-free and vegan! Double whammy of goodness. Now the next one, Jack Johnson’s Banana Pancakes song comes to mind.. 4. Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes. An absolute classic. Now if only it was still the weekend and not Monday, but hey, if your craving pancakes, then have pancakes anytime you want. You deserve it.
I’m off to go make pancakes now…
Anjelica
all of the images of the delicious pancakes were not taken by me, credit goes to the owners. links are provided up top. xo
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