Showing posts with label lunch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lunch. Show all posts

Monday, June 8, 2020

Refined sugars and your body!

When I started my weight loss journey almost 10 years ago sugar was one thing that really was eye opening. When I was doing the HCG diet I really had to pay attention to ingredients in things. Then when I started eating paleo again back to the sugar watching. 

Have you ever looked at the grams of sugar in that Starbucks drink? What about in the ketchup, crackers, lunch meat, or the processed foods you are eating? Start looking at ingredients on the things you are eating and see how many of them have sugar added to them. 

Here is a list of refined sugar. 
  • white flour.
  • evaporated cane juice.
  • instant starches.
  • corn syrup.
  • high fructose corn syrup.
  • brown sugar (made by adding molasses back into refined white sugar)
  • fructose.
  • processed artificial sweeteners
Here is what the Cancer Center had to stay in 2016:

"The body breaks down refined sugar rapidly, causing insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Because refined sugar is digested quickly, you don't feel full after you're done eating, no matter how many calories you consumed. The fiber in fruit slows down metabolism, as fruit in the gut expands to make you feel full".

Refined sugars may increase your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. They're also linked to a higher likelihood of depression, dementia, liver disease, and certain types of cancer.

In the brain, excess sugar impairs both our cognitive skills and our self-control. For many people, having a little sugar stimulates a craving for more. Sugar has drug-like effects in the reward center of the brain. Scientists have proposed that sweet foods—along with salty and fatty foods—can produce addiction-like effects in the human brain, driving the loss of self-control, overeating, and subsequent weight gain.

The NIH did a study in mice modeling autoimmune issues gave them sugary water and saw the diseases worsen by activating inflammatory immune cells. The findings suggest that a low-sugar diet may help prevent or treat autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Sugar stimulates the production of free fatty acids in the liver. When the body digests these free fatty acids, the resulting compounds can trigger inflammatory processes. Different kinds of sugar may contribute more or less to inflammation.

If you have any type of autoimmune diseases sugar is not your friend whatsoever! I can really tell a difference when I eliminate sugar from my diet. My inflammation really seems to decrease and my I don't crave sugar either. When I am eating sugar on a daily basis my craving for sugar is insane! I also feel my entire body become inflamed in a short amount of time. 

It blows my mind how people do not pay attention to the amount of sugar they are putting in their bodies every single day. I keep seeing all these people making coffees on social media adding tablespoons upon tablespoons of sugar to their coffee. People do you know what this is doing to your body? You are poisoning your body on a daily basis adding all that sugar. 

If I am going to use sugar or give my kids sugar I like to use maple syrup or honey. They are a natural sugar that your body can process. I would like to challenge you to pay attention to the amount of refined sugars you are consuming on a daily basis. Try cutting them out and see how you feel. Also think about what your kids are eating and how much refined sugars they are eating. Mamas we need to consider what our kids tiny bodies are consuming and setting them up for a healthy adults. Our world is consumed with autoimmune diseases, cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol and so much more. Refined sugars are related to so many of these diseases!

I really feel I need to share more about living healthy, multiple sclerosis and easy ways to help people live a healthier lifestyle. I feel this is part of my calling as a person and mother. I can only control what my children eat, but I can help other mothers make better choices for their kids if they want the help. 

Monday, February 6, 2017

Lunch Time!

I packed my lunch when I worked all the time. I tried not to eat out more than once a week. An average meal out now costs about $10. It really adds up quickly eating out plus it usually isn't the healthiest. I pack Art breakfast, lunch and snacks for him to take to work. I set all his containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a neat pile. We have our routine down of where things go, so it's easy to grab as he runs out the door. 

Sunday I meal prep for the week. I make all Art breakfast, cut up all the fruit and make some containers of food for G. I like to have fruit and veggies G can grab from the bottom drawer of the fridge. He likes to get his own snacks. 

I need easy lunch things for myself. I love leftovers. I need to be better about making enough leftovers for 2 meals. I'm good about making enough for Art. I try to stay 1-2 meals ahead for him. He isn't a fan of eating leftovers the next day. Some times I throw leftovers in the freezer, so I have something to grab Art during busy times. 

I eat salad 3-4 days a week. I love Costco's kale salad mixes. The cranberries and nuts that come in the mixes G eats. I will put them in a little containers for him. I use just the salad mix, heat up some chicken, sprinkle sliced almonds and chia seeds over the top, slice some cherry tomatoes in half and top with honey Dijon dressing I make myself. I'm getting hungry for this salad now!  A bag of the salad mix will last me for about 3 meals. I eat a lot of it. I don't ever feel guilty having a huge salad either. Greens are good for you!  You need to be careful what you are topping the salad with and read the labels. If you are eating clean food EAT lol

In the winter I like to have soup. It helps warm me up and keep me full. I recently made PaleoMG Buffalo Chicken Chili. It was really good!  I did have to make something else for G when I made this because it is too spicy for him. G will eat some spice, but I thought this might be too much for him. 

What are some of your favorite items for lunch?

Monday, July 25, 2016

Paleo Salads

It has been a challenge some days eating Paleo while I am in ND. I love German food! I try to avoid any of my favorite foods because I know I won't be able to say no. I did have some knoefla one day. Bad decision. I felt like garbage the next day with a killer migraine. Totally wiped me out. I have done really well though with eating clean while I am here. I have tried to get the rest of them to eat clean. Sometimes I get some snarly looks when I put stuff on the table. Everyone usually tries it and decides it isn't as bad as they thought it would be. 


Salad with pork chop and bbq sauce on the top. My mom makes her bbq sauce paleo friendly! 
Coleslaw with avocado. I really love coleslaw with bacon in it. I like to drizzle some honey in the coleslaw. It gives it a little sweet taste. We like sweeter coleslaw. 


Salad with peach, avocado, crab meat drizzled with some olive oil. This was really delish! George picked off most of my peaches. I did put some pecans over the top of it after I took this picture. 

I have to have readily available food in order for me to stick to Paleo. When I get really hungry I need something quick to grab. As long as I have food I can grab I do fine. I have been in a house with chips, ice cream, cookies and various other junk food. I have stuck to my plan all of but 2 days of being here.  



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Strawberry Chicken Spinach Salad

On Saturday I made us a strawberry chicken spinach salad with goat cheese. I made Mrs. Regueiro's Plate strawberry vinaigrette dressing for the top of the salad. The dressing was the perfect combination for a nice summery afternoon. The goat cheese added a creamy texture to the salad. We ate our salads outside on Sammy's patio furniture. It was nice to sit outside and eat our lunch. 

This salad was super easy to make. I had baked some chicken a day before, sliced strawberries, sprinkled goat cheese over the top and drizzled the vinaigrette over the top. 

You could easily pack this salad for work lunch with the vinaigrette in a separate container. 








Thursday, January 3, 2013

What's for Lunch?

This week I have been trying to get back into the "healthy" kick. Ugh it is so hard. It is much easier to eat Chipotle every day instead of a salad. Tuesday night I was trying to figure out what to take for lunch on Wednesday. I was already depressed it was time to go back to work and I wouldn't have another holiday until Memorial weekend. Ugh!!!!

I had plenty of healthy stuff in the fridge to make a salad. I grabbed some spinach, apple, walnuts, chicken, goat cheese and a bowl. I dumped some balsamic vinegar & olive oil in a container to pour over my salad. It was AMAZING!!!! It was around 400 calories for a huge salad. Here are the measurements.

4 cups - Spinach
3oz - chicken
1 Apple
1 tablespoon - walnuts crushed
1 oz - goat cheese

Toss it all together and pour about a tablespoon of vinegar & oil over the top with some kosher salt.


Super simple and super delish!