Happy Wednesday already! How fast the week is going. If this is the first time you are joining us, this is part of a continuing weekly series on how to make simple changes to a healthier life style. To read past posts click here.
This week, I am going to, at last, get around to posting the food journal I promised a few weeks ago. As I mentioned, real life has been interfering with blog life lately. Before we get into the meat of this weeks health post, I need to take care of some business.
An Award...
In my bread post, I promised The Staff of Life Award to those who baked bread and told me about it. Two readers rose to the challenge.
You can check out Gaby's post at True Blessings
My friend at It Feels Like Chaos had this to say: "You are the reason I am converted to a bread baker!!! Yours was the first recipe for homemade bread I ever tried! You're right, you do just get used to making it and it doesn't even seem too cumbersome! I love how much better it tastes, feeding my family REAL food, and not having to ever put bread on my grocery list!!"
So here it is, ladies! Be sure to pick up your award. Of course, the real reward is the blessings that come from healthier eating, the simple pleasure of providing something delicious for your family, and the delight of seeing that beautiful finished loaf sitting on your cooling rack.My Bread Baking Day...
As easy as it is, sometimes things get a little out of kilter. I was trying to grind the wheat while I was giving instructions to the children and making breakfast at the same time. I was eager to jump into our lessons for the day after a long weekend and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. All of a sudden there was flour flying all over my kitchen. I didn't have the cup seated right in the grinder! It took the vacuum, a handful of us, and a LONG time to get the flour that had settled cleaned up off of EVERYTHING in my kitchen. While I was at it, I figured I might as well vacuum under the fridge and stove and get a jump start on my Spring cleaning. (The bonus was I found a bunch of our missing alphabet magnets under the fridge.)
Once the kitchen was cleaned up and the wheat ground, I set off again to make my loaves. I get the first three batches in the kitchen aid and they start kneading while I measure out for the next three loaves. The motor stopped. Long story short, I had forgotten how long it takes to knead enough bread for this family by hand. Allen felt so sorry for me he came out of the office and helped me knead the dough.
Praise God for stand mixers!
Comments, Questions, Reply...
JenT. brought up the prospect of triple grinding. "I have a friend who makes wonderful wheat bread. I used her recipe and mine still wouldn't turn out like hers. (Hers is so good they sell it to families in their church). Anyway, I asked her the secret and she said they grind their wheat THREE times! She said she puts it in the freezer between grindings so it doesn't get too warm and gooey. It turns out as fine as the white flour you would buy in the store."
There are a lot of factors that will affect the quality of flour you get. Not the least being the type of wheat berries you buy. A lighter, softer berry will give you a finer flour. The type of grinder you use will also have a lot to do with the quality of your flour. My grinder has a pastry setting. I keep it set there and find that even biscuits, cookies and our scones are delightfully light. Some people prefer a heartier loaf. If you want the option of adjusting the coarseness of your flour, be sure to find a grinder with this option.
If you use Jen's suggestion, please be sure to follow that freezing in between grind step! Otherwise your mechanisms could become clogged and your machine will be ruined. In case you are a manual reading person, be sure to grind only the amount recommended by your manufacturer at one time. My girl friend lost a $300 grinder when her helpful hubby ground too many wheat berries at once and it backed up into the motor.
Jen, perhaps you will share that great recipe with us sometime???
And Now For Something Completely Different...
Gaby sent me an email asking if I would keep a food journal for a week and maybe take pictures of portion sizes. I wrote back and asked... are you serious? I wasn't sure. To which she replied:
"Hello Kathleen! Thanks for responding and no I wasn't kidding.I enjoy your posts very much by the way~I just thought it would be fun and encouraging ,also to get some ideas as to what to eat and how much . I think for the most part we eat pretty healthy.I myself also love to read about nutrition and health ,but at times I get so overwhelmed.For example,I know for a fact that at this time we just can not afford only organic foods,I pray for the food and trust that God sanctifies it. So instead I try to serve homemade meals,whole grains,lots o fruits ,veggies,coconut and olive oil,meats,not so much processed foods. I think if I think about it too much ,I can get obsessive,but I also believe portion has a lot to do with it.I am overweight and have been wanting to lose weight ,growing up I never had weight issues until I started having children.I want to lose the weight but not have to be counting calories or points and just eat normal and be healthy.Like this morning for breakfast I made whole wheat tortillas ,bacon and eggs. I would say I don't eat too much ,maybe get more exercise .I don't know .Okay,so hopefully you can help me?Thank you~
Gaby from True Blessings
Wow! Where do I start? For one thing, keeping a journal no big deal. Because of my diabetes, I follow a careful meal plan and often keeping a journal of what I eat and when. And for kicks, I took some pictures to give you some ideas.
But before I go into that I want to make something clear. I eat the way I eat, and I choose to feed my family the way I do: not to be a specific weight, although that is often a nice side affect, but in order to feel my best and have the best quality of life available to me.
As I started addressing this and some other parts of Gaby's email, I realized that to say all that I think needs to be said would take far more time than I have tonight. So please stop by next week to read about why I have chosen this path for myself and my family as well as my philosophy on weight loss and dieting.
When reading through my menus below there are several things you must remember to get the whole picture.
1- all bread or starch products are whole grain and home made unless otherwise noted.
2- all meat and dairy are organic
3- fruit and vegetables, when the option is available are both fresh and organic
4- Coffee and tea after lunch is decaffeinated
5- I only drink fresh juice so you can assume that if juice is on the menu it is freshly made with organic produce when available
6- Due to snow we ran out of produce toward the end of the week so you will see an unusual lack at some meals.
7- In order to keep my glucose from fluctuating, I eat every 3 hours or so.
8- You will also note that I allow myself treats as I desire them, but I keep the portions to just the amount that satisfies me. For example, we received a box of Sees Chocolates (my very favorite) for Christmas. Often I will crave a little something sweet with my afternoon coffee. When you see a See's chocolate in my journal, more often than not I take one bite (about 1/3 of a truffle or chocolate) and then hand the rest to whoever is standing nearby. One nibble is all I need to satisfy my craving so why fill myself up with more calories and junk than that? I don't want to dwell on this, but I will touch on it more next week.
9- Lunch is often leftovers on school days so sometimes the menu is hit or miss
10- I drink 8 glasses of water each day... and water is an entirely different post so don't get me started...
11- My strict rule is that desserts must be homemade. That eliminates preservatives and other unwanted ingredients as well as the amount of dessert floating around.
As a general rule of thumb my meal plan goes something like this: Each meal includes a serving of fruit. Lunch and dinner also include a large portion of raw or steamed veggies. I always eat my fruit and veggies first and if I am still hungry have meat or starch just until I am not hungry.
Wednesday:
2 cups coffee with half and half
fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
2 granny smith apples
1 slice home made toast with butter
I worked through lunch so my daughter cut up a bunch of fruit for me to eat while I was teaching.
boat load of apple slices
herb tea with sugar (out of honey)
1 cup carrots, steamed
1/2 whole grain roll with butter
1/4 boiled potato with butter and sour cream
3 bites pot roast
coffee with 1/2 and 1/2
1 Sees lemon truffle
Thursday
2 cups coffee with half and half
grapes 1 cup
fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1/2 pumpkin muffin (I lost the other half when Ellie walked by and snitched it off my plate... you snooze, you lose)
1 cup steamed carrots
2 oz. chicken Parmesan
1 cup cantaloupe
1 sees truffle
1 cup coffee with half and half
Tuna noodle Casserole
green beans
apple
coffee with 1/2 and 1/2
plum pudding
Friday
2 cups coffee with half and half
fresh grapefruit juice
grapes
1 cup kashi cereal
2 deviled eggs
raw carrots with hummus
Greek salad
1 slice BBQ pizza
Sees Chocolate Lollypop
Saturday
2 cups coffee with half and half
1 granny smith apple
3/4 tortilla with cheese
1 oz. sausage
1 fried egg-no yolk
1/4 cup fajitas
1/8 cup refried beans
4 oz. grape juice
1/2 tortilla with cheese
1/2 ounce sausage
1 Sees chocolate
1 cup tomato soup
1/2 grilled cheese with apples
coffee with half and half
1/2 slice lemon cake, minus the icing
Sunday
2 cups coffee with milk
4 ounce grape juice
1/2 cup grits
1 fried egg, no yolk
1 ounce sausage
1 green apple
1/3 gyro without pita
hot chocolate
6 pieces sushimi tuna
salad
1 slice bread with olive oil
Monday
2 cups coffee with half and half
1 granny smith apple
1 muffin
4 ounces grape juice
Worked through lunch so KK brought me leftover grits with cheese
coffee with half and half
We have class on Monday nights so we don't get dinner until 10 pm. At class I had a snack of a Latte and a handful of trail mix
After class we go out to dinner with our oldest daughter who goes to class with us. She and I always split something and I usually still take 1/2 of mine home.
2 ounces kobe burger with avocado but without bun
salad
1 slice bread with olive oil
Tuesday
2 cups coffee with half and half
4 ounces grape juice
1 tortilla with cheese
1 cup Mexican casserole
1/4 slice lemon cake without icing
coffee with half and half
Now let's take a quick look at some of the plates that were on my table the last week. This first one was lunch the day after we had company... so there were leftovers. 2 clementines, antipasto (sopresso, asiago cheese, roasted red pepper, fresh Parmesan) Salad of kalamata olives, fresh mozzarella and tomato. Notice, the portion of fruits and veggies compared to meat and cheese.
And here was my birthday breakfast. Again you should note the juice was fresh squeezed, the scones home made and the nice portion of organic berries.
Look at this lunch. Homemade bagels, with lox, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cream cheese, berries, raw veggies with home made hummus.
One more thing you should note, is that even though I was served all that, this is what was left on my plate. Even though, I thought it was rather disgusting to take a picture of my dirty plate, I didn't want to disappoint my friend, Gaby. No, seriously, it is important to know when to stop eating. But that is really another topic, too.
And Now It's Your Turn....I would like to challenge you to keep your own journal for a day or a few days or a week. Email it to me. I will go over it and email you with ways to improve your diet for a better feeling you.
So there you have it folks. I hope I have answered your questions. If you have any more leave them in the comment section and I will either email you with answers or address them here next week.
And speaking of next week, don't forget to stop back next Wednesday for more incredibly exciting information on making life healthier for you and those you love.
For more Works-For-Me-Wednesday ideas stop by We Are That Family.
