3 Healthy & Yummy Soup Favorites

I shared with you in “Let the recipes begin…Basic Chicken Broth” that we are a soup loving family. We often make a big pot of soup on Sunday night and eat on it all week long. So here are three of our favorite soup recipes.

Lentil & Veggie Soup

First I’ll begin with a lentil soup recipe that is healthy, hearty, and totally easy. I got the shell of this from Weight Watchers but added some of my own personal touches.

Ingredients
10-12 cups of my Basic Chicken Broth or a store bought Fat Free broth
1 pound dry lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery *including the celery leaves adds terrific flavor*
2 cups diced yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic minced
4 medium bay leaves
3 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp ground pepper
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
28 oz of diced tomatoes including juice
4 fresh large tomatoes diced

Instructions
·         Combine the broth, lentils, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and seasonings in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes with tomato juice, fresh tomatoes, & the vinegar and simmer about 30 more minutes until desired thickness is reached & tomatoes break down. Remove bay leaves prior to serving. Yields 2 cups per serving. This recipe makes between 8-10 servings.
·         This is definitely a soup that gets better each day that you eat it. If it gets too thick after a day or two I’ll defiantly add another cup or two of chicken broth. It freezes well and is rich & flavorful!

Ground Turkey & Veggie “Yankee” Chili

Ingredients
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 ¼ pound raw extra lean ground turkey
2 cups diced yellow onion
2 cups diced green bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic minced
6-8 cups of my Basic Chicken Broth or a store bought Fat Free broth
2 cups diced & pealed carrots
2 cups diced celery
28 oz diced tomatoes with tomato juice
28 oz whole tomatoes with tomato juice
2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp Italian herbs
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp ground pepper
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
*for extra spice add 1-2 tsp of chili paste
16 oz dark red kidney beans

Instructions
·         Brown ground turkey with oil, onion, bell pepper, & garlic. Once meat is cooked completely add carrots, celery, & seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add diced & whole tomatoes & broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours. Add the kidney beans and simmer for additional 10 minutes. Yields 2 cups per serving. This recipe makes between 8-10 servings.
·         I know everyone has a way to make chili and the foundation of this comes from the Betty Crocker cookbook. This chunky chili has an added boost of nutrition with all the yummy veggies. It has a “Yankee” flair and added protein from the kidney beans. We will often eat it over baked potatoes or angel hair pasta topped with fresh diced tomatoes & onion. It also freezes really well and tastes even better the next day.

Chicken Noodle Soup

*Did you read my blog entry “Let the recipes begin…Basic Chicken Broth”? I am going to use not only that broth but that cooking process for the chicken in this chicken noodle soup as well. As I mentioned in the previous blog you can use any type of chicken; whole, thighs, split breasts, or leg quarters. I am going to use leg quarters because that is what was on sale. The absolutely best way to infuse terrific flavor into chicken noodle soup is making your own broth. So if you don’t make the broth for anything else do it for this soup.

Ingredients
1 family package of chicken leg quarters - qty will vary based on package but there is usually 4-5 large pieces of chicken. Cook chicken according to the Basic Chicken Broth recipe. Allow to cool enough to comfortable debone and separate the meat. Once deboned I had 21 oz of chicken meat so that will vary based on the type of chicken you use and the size of the package of meat.

2 cups of diced onion
2 cups of diced carrots
2 cups of diced celery *including the celery leaves adds terrific flavor*
4 bay leaves
8 cups of my Basic Chicken Broth or a store bought Fat Free broth
4 cups of water
1 package of wide pasta noodles (egg or no egg doesn’t matter)
*chicken bouillon cubs or salt if needed

 Instructions

·         Combine the 2 cups of broth, onions, carrots, & celery and cook in a large stock pot on medium until the veggies start to get softened. Add shredded chicken, remaining 6 cups of broth, 4 cups of water & bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Taste to see if it needs salt or an additional chicken bouillon cube. The reason we use the water is to temper the salt if you like more salt you can replace the water with broth. Bring back up to a boil and add the package of wide pasta noodle. Boil with noodles only 5-6 minutes until noodles are just tender. Yields 2 cups per serving. This recipe makes between 8-10 servings.
·         If you plan to eat this over several days you’ll notice that the noodle will absorb broth and grow in size. It is best to reheat a bowl at a time instead of reheating the entire pot to limit the sogginess of the noodles. Additional broth can be added with reheating if needed. The basic simple flavors of this soup are great when you are sick or on a cold winter day.

Pina favorite meals, snacks & treats

I’ve had several people ask about some of our favorite meals and how I plan our menus. We have found in the last few months many things that work for us and many things that don’t. I’m going to share some key meals that we have regularly and then some key snacks & treats that are must haves in the Pina household. Remember how I told you guys awhile back that I am a self proclaimed foodie. Well that definitely comes into play with my meal planning because I’m always thinking about something new to try and staying creative. My husband is a full time seminary student and works a part time job & due to my continued health issues I am laid off and will probably remain that way for a little while. What that means to our meals is that we eat at home 99% of the time. We only eat out one meal every week to save money and it will usually be a meal of no more than $30 including tip, aka. not an expensive restaurant & usually one that provides their nutritional info online.

As I begin to think about what we may want to eat for the week I usually find that categorizing the meals really helps me. I create a basic menu and then write out the grocery list. I try to include at least two of what Weight Watcher’s calls “Power Foods” into each of our three meals per day. Power foods are things like: fruit, veggies, low fat proteins, high fiber breads, rice or pasta or grains. Prioritizing Power Foods helps ensure the high nutritional value of our meals.

*Note* I mentioned in “Finding the path….to adequate sleep & water intake” we really only drink water these days. We typically drink about 32 oz of water with each meal. Rarely we’ll use a sugar free mix-in with the water when we want something different or sweet. Neither of us likes drinking our calories.

Here are some common favorite meals in the Pina household…
Breakfasts:
-Sugar Free Instant Oatmeal (any flavor) cooked with ½ cup of 1% milk & an orange

-Sara Lee 90 Calorie English Muffin with 1 Tbsp of peanut butter & a banana

 -2 pcs of Nature’s Own Raisin Bread toasted with spray butter & an apple (Adrian checked a bunch of brands and this has the least amount of fat & carbs, or for WW it has the least amout of points plus value.

-2 pcs of 35 calorie wheat bread toasted with 1 Tbsp of peanut butter & 1 Tbsp of Jam (any flavor) &  fresh strawberries

 -Deep chocolate Vitalicious* VitaMuffin Vitatop & a banana (these are found in the freezer section near the breakfast items but for the best price order them online)

Lunches:
Lunch will often incorporate left over’s from dinner or if I make a big pot of soup we will eat on that at lunch for a few days. If not here are some of our favorite lunches

-Pita Pizzas made with a whole wheat pita, 2 Tbsp Oscar Mayer bacon bits, loads of veggies, 1/3 cup of part skim mozzarella on each half of the pita, ½ cup of tomato pasta sauce + some kind of fruit. This is at least a twice a week meal in our household. We love to get that yummy cheesy indulgence without all the entra calories from normal pizza. We even tried BBQ Chicken this week and it was delish!

-2 Oscar Mayer 98% fat free hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, & chopped onion + Potato Straws & some kind of fruit (occasionally we’ll do these with low fat canned turkey chili & a Tbsp of 2% cheddar cheese)

-2 black bean tostadas made by baking white corn tortillas until crisp in the oven. Then I take fat free canned whole black beans and crush them with a fork and add a clove or two of grated garlic. Mix in finely diced onion and spread mixture over crisp tortillas. Top with 1/3 cup part skim mozzarella & bake until cheese is melted. Serve with  ½ cup of salsa and 2 Tbsp of light sour cream + some kind of fruit (Even my meat loving husband adores this dish!)

-Some kind of sandwich made with 35 calorie bread (photo above). We like BLT’s (bake bacon crisp in oven, pat off most of the fat, & weigh out 2 oz. on the food scale), turkey or ham lunch meat, tuna or chicken salad made with Hellman’s Olive Oil Mayo. Key on each of these is fresh tomato, lettuce, and pickles (with lunchmeat). + some kind of fruit of course and possibly Apple Straws.

Dinners:

-Meatloaf – I use either 1 ¼ lbs of raw extra super lean ground turkey or ground beef (no more than 5% fat), 1 egg, ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs, ½ cup finely chopped onion, 1 tsp dill, 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp garlic salt. Form into a log and liberally top with ketchup. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour. I use this same recipe and fill green bell peppers for stuffed peppers. I serve this with 6 oz of boiled potatoes & at least 1 cup of steamed broccoli (I seriously can’t get enough broccoli).

-Ground turkey tacos – 1 ¼ lb extra super lean ground turkey, 1 cup of diced onion, 1 Tbsp ground cumin, 1 Tbsp oregano, 1 Tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp garlic salt. Cook this mixture until meat is fully cooked & then add 1 package of taco seasoning & 1 can of Rotel. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed. Did you notice there is no oil needed in this recipe? We eat these on white corn tortillas that have been warmed on the stove, 1/3 cup part skim mozzarella, tons of salsa, and 2 Tbsp of light sour cream.

-Grilled chicken parmesan – Clean, trim & fillet (cut in half length wise so that it is thin) 2 large boneless skinless chicken breast. Season the raw meat with 1 tsp of garlic salt & 1 tsp Italian seasoning. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to hot pan and cook chicken about 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through. We serve this with ½ cup of warmed tomato pasta sauce (I love Classico’s Sweet Tomato & Basil) and 1/3 cup of part skim mozzarella cheese. This can be served with a side of baked spaghetti squash or 2 oz of angel hair pasta. Super simple, fast & yummy!

-Roasted pork tenderloin – Pork tenderloin either pre-seasoned by the store or seasoned with garlic salt & ground pepper, or a variety of seasoning packets from the grocery store. Placed on roasting pan in pre-heated 350* oven for 30 -45 minutes depending on how large the loin is. We serve this with Rice-A-Roni or roasted potatoes & steamed cauliflower or sautéed zucchini.

-Baked egg plant parmesan – peel & slice egg plant ½ inch thick, wash in egg whites and dredge in bread crumb mixture. Bread crumb mixture is ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs, ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp garlic salt, 2 Tbsp Italian herbs. Spray cookie sheet and bake breaded egg plant pieces at 400* for 20 – 25 minutes flipping once in between. Egg plant should be crisp on each side. Next form the dish by placing one layer of egg plant into sprayed baking dish, then top with 2/3 cup of tomato pasta sauce and 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Then repeat layer of egg plant, layer of sauce, layer of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until cheese is melted. Super Yummy! Yes my meat loving husband adores this dish!

Snacks & Treats:

Bananas, grapes, pineapple, apples, pears, strawberries, blackberries - always fresh & we eat between 3-4 fruits each per day

Light Yogurt (especially light banana pudding yogurt with a sliced banana and light whipped cream – super yummy)

Light String Cheese

Baby carrots, sliced apples, or celery stalks with 1 Tbsp of peanut butter (everything is good with peanut butter)

Fat free tortilla with 1 Tbsp of peanut butter & a banana (also good for breakfast) The best brand I have found hands down is called La Banderita in the northern states & Ole in Texas but they are the same company. You would NEVER be able to tell this is fat free they taste amazing!

Potato, Apple, or Veggie Straws by Sensible Portions. This is the best thing that has happened to us in a long time as far as snacks go. These are so good especially on days when we are craving something salty & crunchy. They are SOOOOOOOO good! You find them usually right above the rice cakes.

Jolly Time Healthy Pop Butter Popcorn 97% fat free *not because it has WW logo on it but we tried a BUNCH of different brands and like the flavor of this one best

Vitalicious* VitaMuffin Vitatops & VitaCakes (there are tons of flavors available online and they taste SO much better than the Fiber One products in our opinion – see image of Vitatops above) This Fudgy Chocolate cake satisfies my chocolate craving anyday and it is only 1 WW pointsplus!

Rainbow sherbet ½ cups. Preportioned makes it so easy and limits me from over scooping :)

Vanilla ice cream ½ cups

Sugar free Fudgsicle fudge bars. Yummy only 1 WW points plus and I eat one everyday :) You would seriously never been able to tell these are sugar free so they are great for kids.

Sweet Delites ice cream bars. These are a brand new find for us actually today. I am already in love and one bar is ZERO WW points plus. Also really good if you have kids.

Ice cream sandwiches – this is my husband favorite daily indulgence

Yes I know its winter but we love our frozen treats :)

So these are some of the meals and items that we have tried and really like. Using our plan and being creative we can feel good about what we are putting into our bodies and don’t have to feel left out or deprived. Our meals are always evolving and change often. I’ll keep you posted on all my yummy discoveries!

Questions for you….

1.       What are some of your favorite meals?

2.       What are some of your favorite healthy snacks?

3.       Was there anything interesting here that you might try at home? 

Let the recipes begin...basic chicken broth

I have followed some of the famous cooking blogs, such as “Confessions of a Pioneer Woman” by Ree Drummond @ http://thepioneerwoman.com for years. As I begin to share my recipes and thoughts on food I want to begin with a few disclaimers. I have loved to cook for the majority of my life. I love to host parties, plan menus, decorate, buy the cute matching dishes, and all that goes along with it. In some circles I may even be known as a “Hostess with the Mostest”. However, given the fact that I live in a TINY seminary housing apartment and the best camera that I have in my unemployed possession is the camera on my phone – these pictures will definitely not be the quality of my Pioneer Woman companion! That said I hope that you will enjoy seeing the process that I use in making the base for 3 of our favorite soups (soup recipes coming soon). I am trying this picture idea out with my Basic Chicken Broth recipe to see how it goes.  I use this basic chicken broth not only as a base for my soups, but in tons of different recipes because it adds a ton of wonderful flavor.

Why start with soups? Great question! Meal planning has always been a big part of our world since the beginning of our marriage. As I’ve mentioned in the past we have both always worked full time jobs and gone to school full time for the last almost 10 years now. So without some intentional planning we would be eating out almost every meal. A revelation about my husband early in our marriage was his absolute love for soups. I didn’t really grow up eating too many homemade soups outside of the frequent pot of “Yankee” chili during the cold Ohio winters.  So as a new wife I began to learn and love soups. A big pot of soup will usually have between 8-10 servings and this translates in our family of 2 into 4-5 meals. My soup journey began with making a big pot every Sunday evening along with preparing a normal meal. The soup wouldn’t be eaten then but was in preparation for our week. It allowed for several easy, hot, healthy, homemade, and convenient meals and has become part of our repertoire since then.

Ok, on with the food. I am going to share how I prepare a basic Chicken broth. I am going to use this broth in the three soup recipes that I will share with you soon. I choose the make the broth over buying it in the box for three reasons: 1. I save money, 2. Homemade has much better flavor, 3. Homemade allows me to control how much fat & sodium are in my soup. When preparing a chicken broth you have the liberty to add many different ingredients to enhance the flavor. As I will be using this in three totally different flavors of soups I am keeping it very basic and simple and will be adding more “flavoring” agents directly to each individual soup recipe. Please note it is best if you are planning to make a soup that you prepare this broth at least one day in advance.

To begin you will need the following:
-A large stock pot or crock pot to cook it in. Size should be enough for your meat, veggies, and at least 8-10 cups of water. The larger the pot the more broth you will make.

-As for the chicken I am using a family size package of chicken leg quarters because they were only $0.88 a pound. I will also use a whole chicken, chicken thighs, or split chicken breast depending what is on sale.

-A large onion, 4-5 unpeeled carrots, 4-5 stalks of celery preferably with the leaves on. These veggies just need to be rinsed well and cut into a good size to fit into the pot. You don’t have to be fussy about chopping or peeling anything. These are just basic flavor agents.

-3 chicken bouillon cubes, 8-10 cups of water. This is where some of my sodium control comes in. Adding bouillon cubes will enhance the flavor of the broth and will be the only salt item that I add. With a pot this size I use 3 cube of this brand.

So now that we have all the players in place let’s begin with putting ½ of the veggies in the bottom of the pot. One of my planning tools also including my well worn crock pot. I have set this to cook Sunday morning while we are at church and I can leisurely complete the process later this afternoon. If you don’t have a crock pot the same process is easily done with a large stock pot on the stove and we’ll get to more on that in a bit.

Next I will rinse and trim the chicken. I am only trimming the huge chucks of fat (pictured on the left side of my cutting board) that are visible on the back of the leg quarter. After this has cooked I have a great trick to share that will easily remove all the remaining fat from the broth. Again this doesn’t need to be a fussy process.

Next add the chicken to the crock pot

Next add the remaining veggies over the top of the chicken so that all the chicken gets exposure to our flavoring agents. Crumble the bouillon cubes and add water till you reach the top of the pot.

I set me crock pot on the 4-6 hour setting depending on how much meat I am preparing. If you are doing this on the stove in a stock pot you will want to bring the completed above preparation to a boil first for about 20 minutes and then turn it down to simmer on medium/low heat for at least 4 hours.

When cooking is complete and the broth has developed nicely after at least 4-6 hours this is what product should look like.

Another part of the beauty in this process is that the chicken will be used in my chicken soup recipe so nothing goes to waste in this process and my grocery budget is maximized. You will remove & discard the veggie flavor agents that have completed their work. Place the hot chicken in a collinder to cool so that it can be deboned.

After everything is removed from the pot you will have a wonderful rich color broth remaining.

Laddle every little bit of the broth into convenient *plastic* containers. There may be small pieces of chicken & other bits that add tremdous flavor to the soup so definitely don’t discard that. Plastic is important if you are going to freeze the broth as I will be for future use because glass doesn’t always freeze well. I find these tall narrow containers work really well and fit easily into the door of my freezer.

Do you notice the distinct color difference due to the separation of oil at the top of the chicken broth container? As I mentioned earlier if possible it is best to make the broth the day before you want to cook one of your soups. This fat separation is the reason that early preparation is necessary. As this broth cools either in the freezer or the refrigerator the fat will solidify into a white waxy substance at the very top of the container that will easily be scraped off and discarded.

This is the most efficient way that I have found to remove the fat from a homemade chicken broth. That leaves you with a beautiful, rich, flavorful broth that is practically 100% fat free. Check out the before & after below

So that is my Basic Chicken Broth recipe. Pretty simple huh? The difference is flavor is huge compared to what you can buy in the grocery store. Coming soon are three of our favorite healthy, low fat soups: Veggie & Lentil, Ground Turkey & Veggie "Yankee" Chili, and my famous Homemade Chicken Noodle. Each of these recipes have a totally different flavor profile and this basic chicken broth works perfectly in each!

My Eyes Are Open

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

~ By Portia Nelson ~

Chapter 1

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

Have you read this poem before? Can you see yourself in it? I can and do often. I have over the years fallen in the same hole over and over and over again. There are still areas of my life that I am stuck in Chapters 1 or 2 and I wonder if I will ever make it to Chapter 5. My journey to getting healthy was definitely one of those areas for years. It took me being so sick that I was bedrested for almost 3 months. My chronic poor health finally shook me and my eyes were opened. I’m not going to say I’ve made it to Chapter 4 on this journey yet but I have hope. More hope than I have ever had in my life in this area. I believe that it was only God who could open my eyes to this hole that I kept falling into. He has opened my eyes to my own self destruction. He has opened my eyes to how much he cares about this area of my life. He has opened my eyes to how much his love for me will sustain me as I learn for the first time in my life to find another street. Learning a new path in an area of your life that has been so engrained is not easy. It will take time, prayer, dedication, and patience with myself, and a lot of getting back out of the hole immediately when I see I’ve fallen. I am here to report that I am FILLED with hope and My Eyes Are Open!

24 Things to Always Remember...and One Thing to Never Forget

24 Things To Always Remember…and One Thing to Never Forget
By Collin McCarty

Your presence is a present to the world. You are unique and one of a kind. Your life can be what you want it to be. Take the days just one at a time. Count your blessings, not your troubles. You will make it through whatever comes along. Within you are so many answers. Understand, have courage, be strong. Do not put limits on yourself. So many dreams are waiting to be realized. Decisions are too important to leave to chance. Reach for your peak, your goal and you prize. Nothing wastes more energy than worrying. The longer one carries a problem the heavier it gets. Do not take things too seriously. Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets. Remember that a little love goes a long way. Remember that a lot … goes forever. Remember that friendship is a wise investment. Life’s treasure are people together. Realize that it is never too late. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way. Have heart and hope and happiness. Take the time to wish upon a star. And don’t ever forget… For even a day…how very special you are.

Targeting for Change

As you know from “Finding the path….to healthy eating” after much debate my husband and I selected Weight Watchers as the food plan to begin the healthy eating portion of our journey. Well I am not a spokes person for the company but I do really like it. Anyway, they have something they call “Target of Change” which I’m sure many of you have seen before but I think is so profound. I’ve built a model of the diagram below and the idea is that as you are learning new behaviors with food you change from the outside circle to the inside over time. For instance the first area to sustain real change is your environment, then attitudes, then behavior, then beliefs, and then ultimately your identity.

I think this concept applies to many areas of life not just changes in food. Let me give you a real life example of what I mean. My husband and I have been married for about 6 ½ years now. Well through the wondrous world of Facebook I had reconnected with a childhood friend. My identity to my long lost childhood friend was Jennifer Pitcher which is for the sake of this example my pre-marriage identity (aka maiden name).  As she and I exchanged phone numbers to reconnect I presented myself with a text as my current identity Jennifer Pina. She didn’t recognize that name Pina and there was momentary confusion. My marriage identity change was very similar to this target. Notice the correlations to each stage that I have made below.

Environment: As a new bride a moved from my apartment into my spouse’s apartment. Not only does that move represent a physical environment change but a cultural environment change. My apartment was set up in a certain way, we (my roommate Miss Connie & I) had decorations, routines, and schedules that all encompass the “culture” we created as roommates. Big shout out to Miss Connie to being the best roommate EVER until my husband of courseJ. Environment change includes physical, relational, cultural, etc.

Attitudes: I remember a few months into being married I needed an attitude adjustment. I was single for 28 years and was used to doing things my own way. I had to learn to compromise, to be unselfish, share, and love unconditionally. This was not an instant change but over time my “single” attitudes grew and matured into respectful, loving, and wifely attitudes.

Behavior: When you first get married you have to learn each other’s routines and habits. I am a morning person and my husband is a night owl. Over time we have evolved and compromised. I stay up later than I would in my single days and he gets up earlier than he would have pre-marriage. Our holiday behaviors changes as we share time with family rotating Christmas’. These behaviors did not evolve over night; they were birthed out of hard work, much discussion and great compromise.

Beliefs: As young passionate Christ followers and newlyweds my husband and I would debate over many different topics. Our intellectual compatibility has always been a fulfilling part of our relationship. It’s interesting to me how over time I can see how we have both softened some of our stances on various topics. I understand why the target has beliefs as one of the inner most areas of change because this is one that definitely takes the longest.

Identity: Identity represents the core of who we are. It is shaped by our family background, our history & experiences, our beliefs about life, our faith, our expectations, our habits, and much more. My identity transformation from a single person to a married person was so easy feet. I am no different from any other married person. It has taken time, work, communication, patience, blood, sweat, & tears! Transforming an identity doesn’t happen overnight, it is a lifelong process.

Can you see how this target of change can apply to SO many areas of life? Think about the transformation that takes place when someone surrenders their life to Christ and begins a walk as a Christ follower.  Everyone told me when I became a wife and when I became a Christ follower that life would not always be easy, that there would be difficulties & triumphs, that making that choice does not mean a life of luxurious living. People have said that my transformation would take time, a lot of hard work, and a lot of intentional choices to prioritize my relationship. Well my journey and transformation to getting healthy is exactly the same process. I am encouraged by the fact that I can see as a wife and a Christ follower that my identity after years of effort HAS in fact changed. I have hope on this journey to getting healthy that as I stay connected to my Lord, stay on the plan he has chosen, put in the blood, sweat and tears that my identity will change into a healthy, whole, & fit person! I look forward to the day when I no longer see myself as an overweight, out of shape, unhealthy, and out of control woman. My identity is already evolving even as I type these words.

I am a very visual person so I actually have this target hanging on my refrigerator. This visual reminds me that just as it was when I was a new bride, this change in my life will be gradual. It begins on the outside and works itself all the way to the core of my being. It gives me a great starting point which is my environment. Steps along the way to gage my progress, i.e.: attitudes, behavior, and beliefs. Ultimately reminds me of the hope I have in the Lord as I allow him into this place of my life He will and is over time changing my identity. I look forward to the day when I will present myself in my new identity and my pre-journey identity of obesity and unhealthy living will just be a memory.

Questions for you if you choose to accept them….

1.       When you look at that target what do you see?

2.       I mentioned examples of marriage & faith; do you see other examples relevant to this change?

3.       Does this target challenge you as it has with me?

4.       When you think about the changes you are working on what steps have you taken toward change in your environment? attitudes? etc.?

5.       I mention my hope in my faith for my identity change. What gives you hope in your journey of change?

Finding the path.....to adaquate sleep & water intake

This is a conclusion to a three part segment that I called “Finding the path” and have previously explored the topics of healthy eating & exercise. I’ve mentioned in a previous blog that in this so far brief journey to getting healthy I have discovered that there are four areas of which I need improvement that seem to be key to my overall physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I am not a doctor and this is by no means a how to but merely personal observations and the application of common sense along the way.  In my 35 years of life I have had many a physician recommend one or all of these four elements for the improvement of my overall physical health. So the physical benefits of eating healthy, exercise, getting a good amount of sleep, and drinking water were not oblivious to me as I’m sure they are not to you. However what I found overtime is that they were not always a priority as they should be in my day to day world.

Many of you know that I have worked in the mental health field as a counseling intern for a couple of years now. Working in mental hospitals has brought me in direct contact with the drastic effect that lack of sleep can have on our emotional health. On a day to day basis I could tell if those I came in contact with hadn’t gotten enough sleep the evening prior. Have you ever been in a position of teaching others? I have in recent years had the privilege of working with people and teaching processes of emotional regulation and balance. A dear mentor in the counseling field of mine has told me for years that God will often bring you people who are dealing with the same issue he wants you to face. It all seems so clear to me now but a year ago it wasn’t. As a new counselor intern, passionate, motivated, determined to have excellence in my new professional path, I lost my way, and in many ways lost myself.  I was teaching the message of how important eating healthy, exercise, sleep, and water intake were to my patients but was not applying those same principles to myself. At the same time I was working 12 hr days and driving 1 hr on average each direction to work which left no time for exercise, little sleep. I was eating in the cafeteria for lunch and eating dinner at 9 or 10 at night usually something through a drive through. My journey with bad habits did not by any means begin just a year ago but it was definitely, certainly, beyond any doubt in my mind…..my breaking point. I have learned an important lesson, a lesson that I pray stays in the front of mind the rest of my life: I cannot take better care of others than I take care of myself! More on this to come…

Our bodies are so uniquely designed that each individual body doesn’t fit a specific mold as far as how much sleep in necessary to maintain good physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I know people who get only 4-5 hrs of sleep a night and they thrive in every area. I have come to determine that I am not one of those people. I believe I am an 8 hour a sleep a night girl who has been so deprived of sleep for years and my body is making up for it and would like even more sleep when possible! On any given evening when I’m not having what I’ll call a “mid 30’s insomniac episode” I’ll sleep a comfortable 8 hours. Since I’ve been sick (see blog on “Beginning the Journey”) I find that I’ll wake up after 8 hours: bright, alert, refreshed, and ready to go. Then around 1:00pm I’ll need to rest again for at least an hour. This doesn’t happen every day but I am learning to listen to my body and take naps when needed to prioritize my rest. Understanding this information about what my body needs is a big responsibility. I have to really work to get 8 hrs of sleep a night. I have to intentionally prioritize my sleep as I do the food that I am putting into my body and the exercise that I am doing. I have had to make a commitment within myself that I will put the need for sleep above other people’s needs or demands. I don’t know if I can appropriately relate to you how profound this revelation has been in my life. It has totally been key to His life transformation. I’ve realized that the 10 years I’ve lived in Texas I have done all of the following in multiple combinations at the same time: worked fulltime, while going to school fulltime, while participating in leadership at church, while completing my  internship hours, while being a wife, while maintaining a home, etc. So for 9 ½ of my last 10 years I have never truly allowed my body the “Sabbath” time of rest that our bodies were designed for. That’s what my current season is all about really, it comes down to a time of “Sabbath”. More on this to come too…..

Ok and now onto the water issue. I have for years not been a huge drinker of soda, pop for my northern friends, as it seems to mess with my stomach in excess. I have never drunk a lot of caffeine, I’m not a coffee drinker, I do love hot and cold teas. I’ve gone through seasons of juice drinking, apple, orange, grape, etc. After I turned 30 I figured out things in my body were changing, you know slowing down, aching more, etc. One thing I learned is that my body likes water so I began to drink a lot more water. In seasons when I don’t drink enough water I can tell. I may not feel great, dehydrated, swollen, or whatever. When I got sick last summer my body DEMANDED water and lots of it. It seemed like I was making up for the last six months of dehydration. I would literally drink no less than 96 oz a day and often a lot more than that. I know that you can get sick from too much water but so far I haven’t run into that issue at all. So far I’m learning to give my body what it is asking for, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and things have been working out much better. Now a days I rarely drink anything but water and my body really likes that! To my water “haters” that I know are out there I challenge you to increase your water intake by a couple of cups a day and see if you don’t notice a difference in your body too!

So this is how I found my path to these areas. Keep in mind I’ve not perfected the path, or am an expert in the path, but I’ve wandered around long enough to finally have my feet going in what I feel is the right direction. Thanks for coming with me on this journey, as I explore many new areas of physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

Questions for you….

1.       I described how work often interfered with getting enough sleep. What interferes with sleep in your life?

2.       What number of hours does your body prefer for sleep?

3.       What liquids do you consume most and how do they affect your overall health?

4.       If you’re a water “hater” are you up for my challenge?

5.       I have discussed four different paths that I find myself on. What path have you found works best for your life?