So, Jared and I have discovered a super fun little shaved ice place. The kids LOVE it and want to go there like everyday. Scoop of ice cream, shaved ice with lots of sugary syrup, topped with cream. I think my belly is reflecting how many times we've been enjoying this yummy little place. So Jared and I are buckling down and ready to get serious about eating well and working out.
Last night, armed with his sister's recipe, we made spelt bread. Yum! Lots of butter, because you have to have butter. Okay, no butter next time that defeats the purpose.
Anyway, we are going to to get healthy again. We seem to cycle each summer. Eat like crap in June and July, and spend August, September and October making up for it. I know we can do it if we work together. We've come a LONG way in the last 13 years. When Jared is committed, his willpower is rock solid and it helps me stay on track too. And when we are both eating well, our kids are forced into it. Bwah ha ha.
When we got married Jared was very committed to being fit and healthy and wanted to make that a priority. So he made sure to fit basketball daily into his busy schedule--it took a lot of sacrifice. LOL. I started working full time and immediately gained five pounds that immediately left as soon as I started rollerblading and running every day. 20 year-old metabolisms are awesome like that.
But food was a whole different ballgame and required a lot of compromise. We really came from such different backgrounds, it was hard to reconcile at first. The first time he went grocery shopping he brought home Costco sized chocolate covered raisins and Jelly Bellies, licorice, Bagel Dogs. All I could see was my clothes budget spent on candy and disgusting microwave food. Ten dollars on Jelly Bellies is a lot when you are young and poor. I was shocked and frustrated.
When I went shopping, he'd look in the fridge and see nothing but veggies, pasta and potatoes. "I need more protein!" he'd say. "There's nothing to eat!" He'd complain. I was quick to point out that we had lots of things to eat: sandwich stuff, pasta, potatoes, etc. But all those things took at least ten minutes to make and seemed SO HARD.
Things got a little better over the years. I learned that having an empty fridge sends my husband into a panic.
I learned that he loved fast and easy leftovers. I mastered chicken. Jared, who'd never eaten any pasta aside from spaghetti and meatballs, discovered that he really loved pasta with sauteed veggies, beans, and baked potatoes with cottage cheese. But we were still at a stalemate on many things.
Then one day when Elise was a baby, a miracle happened. Jared was at work on a call with a guy who needed some help with his computer, when this random guy asked Jared, "Where did you serve your mission?" Jared was completely confused since of course he'd never spoken about religion or anything like that. Then, this soon-to-be friend asked Jared, "How's your food storage coming along?" A couple weeks later, Blair (the guy) drove out from Colorado to bring us a trunkload of food storage. A fancy rice cooker, spelt, brown rice, beans, Congee (Chinese herbs) etc. He knew Jared was LDS from his voice and mannerisms. So funny. Maybe he said "Oh my heck" or something like that. That's always a dead giveaway.
Blair became somewhat of a mentor to Jared on health things. He showed him how to make Congee (which is delicious), millet patties (also great), and lots of other yummy things. Jared gave up cheese for a year, and cut way back on dairy. He ate more veggies, vegetarian foods, and less processed in general. He was really excited about it. I was excited too. We both were at our ideal weight and felt great. It was nice to have some fresh motivation, and to learn so much. Jared then proceeded to out-research me on everything health-related. I was happy to follow his lead, and even learned to gulp down powdered greens (while plugging my nose.)
Since then, we've had other amazing people influence us. Some good friends took us to a raw food cooking class and we learned how to make spinach smoothies, and coconut smoothies. Spinach smoothies are a staple around here now.
Jared's cousin's wife, Natalie, is a pretty inspiring person who has influenced a lot of his family members. She would always bring a healthy treat to the family gatherings, and her healthy food would often go faster than the brownies. Her influence taught us how one person can make a huge difference.
Now, when we go to a family party on his side, his two sisters, his brother, his mom and dad bring things like fruit and veggies, natural jello, black bean brownies, super yummy healthy popcorn, and homemade bread.
We are excited for all of their successes and are inspired by their commitment. Their major health issues like chronic sinus infections, migraines, stomach aches, fatigue, etc have disappeared. I think their total pounds lost is probably over 200 lbs in the last year and a half.
Anyway, when I answer my door these days to find that the UPS man has left me a new sprouting tray and a whole box of sprouting seeds, I just have to laugh. This is SO not the man I married ordering this stuff. I'm so glad for his open-mindedness and his enthusiasm. When he gets into something, he doesn't do it half-way and that has always helped me. So here we go. October 31rst, I'm going to post some good positive results.
Here are some other websites that have been passed along to us from our friends and family:
http://www.simplehealthytasty.blogspot.com/-- recipes for people who can't do dairy
http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/They are based in Springville. We like the trays we ordered, but our favorite product is the Easy Sprouter.
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/ --Great price on coconut oil, organic herbs, etc.
http://www.trainermomma.com/ --I love this one. She works out a lot and has a formula to figure in the calories you need to replace from your workouts. I sometimes have a hard time figuring out if I'm eating the right amount when I am training AND trying to lose weight. I love her "eat with me" posts.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/ --Free site to track calories. I love that it generates graphs and charts. I love charts and graphs! I print them up after I've entered in my food and it just looks so great in my binder. LOL. Anything visual like that is just really fun for me.
