Monday, November 21, 2011

Jessica's Journey...November 21st

At the moment I have 1 husband who has a fever over 100, 1 10 year old (very stubborn about medicine) little girl who has a fever and a little boy who is 4 (and cranky!) and has a fever.  They all have sore throats, headaches and have been watching t.v. all day.

I have Lysol in one hand and have gone around my house many times just hoping that the two of us that are still healthy don't catch what the three sickos have.  Fingers are crossed and I have knocked on some wood...and taken my vitamins...and have been eating healthy...and have been exercising.

All three of those things, vitamins, eating right and exercising, are supposed to help keep your immune system up and protect you from getting sick.  I don't always have a great track record with this statistic and running a day care in our house doesn't help those figures.  If I can control those three things...that is the best that I can do and hopefully my body will just work the way it is supposed to.

Eating healthy can be challenging.  Today I wanted to write about a few snacks that I like that are easy to make and my kiddos even like them (plus the day care kids!).

I actually found a great site that lists quite a few snacks with some photos.  I have not tried all of these and no, I don't eat all of these.  I do eat some of them and will try others...but not all :)  I have put some of the information below but if you would like to see more you can visit the site at http://keepyourdietreal.com/food/news/20-quick-and-healthy-snacks/




I’ve been known to get downright mean when I don’t eat a snack. I know how important it is to eat snacks throughout the day, but I also know how difficult it can be to make a healthy choice when you don’t plan ahead and the only edible thing in sight is contained within a vending machine. For this reason, I created this quick and healthy snack guide. I would like to encourage you make time for at least 1 healthy snack each day. Snacks take the edge off, keep blood sugars stable, prevent overeating at meals, etc., etc., etc. Make your snack high in fiber and include some protein. This will keep you feeling full longer.

Here are some ideas…

#1 Cored sliced apples with peanut butter, oats, nuts, and chocolate chips
#2 Tofu spinach dip with raw veggies
#3 Low-fat cottage cheese with fruit spread and unsalted pretzels
#4 Tortilla chips and chunky salsa
#5 Raw veggies and ranch dip
#6 Chocolate pudding (Kozy Shack is my fav) and a banana (for dipping)
#7 Unsalted peanuts and raisins
#8 Graham crackers with light cream cheese and sliced red grapes
#9 Ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins)
#10 Half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread
#11 Small salad with light dressing
#12 Half of a tuna melt on whole wheat English muffin with cheddar cheese
#13 Homemade trail mix with Puffins cereal, nuts, dried fruit, dark chocolate chips
#14 Small bowl of bran flakes with 1% milk and blackberries
#15 One cup of Greek yogurt with sliced mango and a sprinkle of Grape Nuts
#16 Smoothie – mango with mango Greek yogurt and a splash of orange juice
#17 Two hard boiled eggs with Kashi crackers (salt and pepper and some hot sauce)
#18 Cheesestick and 1 cup of red grapes
#19 (Leftovers) Small veggie quesadilla with black beans, sweet potato, scallions, cheese, and (scrambled eggs – optional)

(I can't figure out how to fix the text on here...sorry!)
Here are a few of my snacks that I grab on a go...like today when it was 3:05 pm and I needed to leave to go pick up Micah from school.  His school is done at 3:30pm and it takes about 20 to 25 minutes to get there with traffic.  (I made it!)  
1) As I was walking out the door I grabbed a string cheese (that is the amount of cheese I can pretty much eat in a day because I am lactose intolerant), a handful of almonds, banana and a bottle of water.
2) Yogurt with mixed fruit (without sugar added).  Greek yogurt I have heard is the best but it does take a little bit of getting used to.  I do put it in my smoothies but can't eat it on it's own...I'm not ready for that.
3)  I love apple slices with peanut butter!  Yum!!!  We use natural peanut butter and just smear it on.  The kids like to "decorate" their apple slices too with raisins.  I don't like raisins so I don't eat those.  
4)  I also like to make smoothies.  I quit measuring but here is what I put in them...strawberries, banana, greek yogurt, protein powder (chocolate), ice, and if I have other fruit I want to throw in I do.  I could eat these all day long!  
Now I am hungry.

Today's workout:
First of all...I am sore.  I'm not as sore as I was this morning at around 10am but I can still feel some pain in some muscles in areas that I cannot share.  
I had two thoughts from today...no, three.
1)  the workout was long.  But, I broke it up and did it in 3 different groups so I could use the equipment as best as possible for my morning.  The gym is pretty busy right now and sometimes the machines are getting used when I need them...so I have to take advantage of when I get the opportunity. 
2)  jumping squats are probably going to kill me.  It sounds so simple, right?  Squat and jump, squat and jump.  I was out of breath by the time I was done with my 8 that I was supposed to do.  I did some great squats though.  I think that is why my butt and legs are killing me right now.
3)  There was a new exercise that I had some hesitation with.  I did the best that I could but could only do 6 of the 8 reps on half of them.  Kindof disappointing but I really couldn't lift my body up any more!
Now, do I do day 3 tomorrow, run or see if I am feeling good in the morning first before I make that decision?

No comments: