Glorious Grapefruit

We are very blessed to have many friends and neighbors around us with citrus fruit trees. I would love to plant some citrus trees as soon as we get our yard "plant-ready," but until then, I am enjoying deliveries of oranges, lemons, and grapefruit from those who have an abundance. 

I'm a huge fan of lemons, especially to bring a little life to my water and to my food. And I love having grab-and-go oranges around for when I'm looking for a healthy snack. But the only way I've ever eaten grapefruit was with piles of sugar thrown on top. Not the healthiest, I know. I just couldn't seem to enjoy it otherwise.

Until my husband opened my eyes to the wonderful world of fresh grapefruit juice.

After extracting the juice from a whole grapefruit, I pour in into a glass and fill the rest with water. I add two packets of nustevia, give it a good stir, and wah-lah! I'm not a big water drinker, but having grapefruit around has definitely encouraged me to drink more water. It's so refreshing!

My research also tells me...

• Grapefruit is loaded with vitamin C, which is an immune builder and cold-fighter. A must-have during the winter months!
• The red and pink colors of grapefruit are due to lycopene, which is a carotenoid phytonutrient (fruits and vegetables that are high in carotenoids protect us against certain cancers and heart disease!)
• Grapefruit helps to lower bad cholesterol, which is something that I deal with already (it runs in my family).
• Grapefruit helps with weight loss! It is high in enzymes that burn fat, has a high water content and has minimal sodium. The combination of these three make grapefruit the perfect food for increasing metabolism! I'll take it!

Hooray for grapefruit! 

I plan on drinking it everyday while it's in season!

That is, if my children leave any left for me. Hehe.

P.S. Grapefruit and certain other citrus fruits and products can interfere with several kinds of prescription medications. I had no idea. So, do your research before making it a part of your daily diet! Read more about that here.

 

Food & Fun (January 11)

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day.

The boys woke up with the energy of a thousand horses, and I had lots of cleaning and preparing to do for our annual church leadership dinner.

And, we moms know, those two things just don't mix. When the boys are home I spend 99% of my time cleaning their new messes, and 1% of my time trying to work through normal everyday messes. I always tell people, my house is usually "picked up," but it's certainly not clean. I need reinforcements to actually clean.

The boys had an early morning Wiggles dance party.

Which is where my wonderful husband comes in. He gave me two options: (1) he could stay home and help me clean or (2) he could take the boys out of the house so that I could clean alone. As any mom with an ounce of sanity left would choose, I chose option number 2. So I packed the boys bag, shipped them out, and got to work! I had some grocery shopping to to, and after that I came home and geared up to clean. I typically don't wear shorts in the winter time, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And, of course, I never clean without my earbuds in.

I can't keep any mirror or glass in my house clean to save my life.

 As far as food for the day, I had a granola bar and coffee for breakfast (6 PPV), and then a Crunchy Peanut Butter Cliff bar for lunch (7 PPV). The Cliff bars are high in points, but I used it as a meal replacement since I didn't want to take the time to clean any more dirty dishes prepare anything. It gave me the energy I needed to make it through the afternoon.

It was a busy day, but all the hard work certainly paid off! We had an awesome time of fellowship with some of the sweetest people we know! Kevin and I are blessed to have such committed partners in ministry. We ate together, shared together, and played a really fun game together, which was probably the highlight of the night.

We played the LOGO board game. We split into 4 team (namely The West Side, The Best Side, Bankrupt, and The Missing Link), Mrs. Dixie MC'd, and I kept score. We laughed till we cried.

For dinner I had a little spaghetti, a little fettuccine, a side salad, a piece of garlic bread, and some corn. For dessert I had a little boullie over angel food came and a cupcake. I didn't track anything, but I practiced portion control, which is what Weight Watchers is all about. Some people shy away from Weight Watchers because they worry about times like these when tracking is impossible. For me, I consider time like these the true test of my commitment to a healthy lifestyle. I practice what I've learned and call it a day.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

I'm in a New Relationship...

...with FOOD! Two pregnancies over the course of three years has definitely taken it's toll on my body. It was time to make a change. And not just for the purpose of losing weight, but even more importantly for my health's sake. I know most Mom's would agree having small children can be physically draining. And it's hard to maintain lasting stamina when you're grabbing a bag of chips here and a coke there. I had gotten into the terrible habit of snacking throughout the day instead of eating healthy meals. And my body was paying the consequences. No matter how much coffee I pumped into my body, I still felt tired and weak all the time. 

Now don't get me wrong, the fact that I have some cute pants in my closet that I can't button is also part of the motivation to make a change. It's no secret that I have more than a couple of pounds to shed to get back into those.

Can I just mention here that I hate the word diet? It's like anytime someone mentions the "D" word I wanna run to the nearest bag of chips and devour the whole thing. Maybe it's my personality or maybe it's just human nature, but if you tell me I can't, that's what I want. Lord, have mercy!

So a few of my friends have been on the Weight Watchers diet, and I've seen some great results. And what I kept hearing was, "You can eat whatever you want, you just have to watch your portions." Ok. Nothing is off-limits. Sounds doable, right? So last Thursday Kevin agreed to keep the boys so that I could try out a local Weight Watchers meeting. And can I tell ya'? I absolutely loved it. The speaker was so motivational and encouraging. I left the meeting all pumped up and ready to start. Do I realize this excitement may not last forever? Yes, I do. But week 1 has been great! Haha! 

I'm blogging about this in part to possibly inspire others, but for the most part to keep myself accountable. It's my goal to write about my progress in the weeks to come, but no promises about how often those posts will be. Did I mention I have 2 small children?

Anyway, so far so good. This week has mostly been a learning week. I spent way too much time at the grocery store yesterday with my calculator figuring out points, but it was (and will be) well-worth it. (Thanks, Mom, for watching the babes!) 

And just to show you that eating healthy doesn't have to be boring, here are some of our dinners this past week:

1. Delish Turkey Burgers

2. Yummy Asian style meal:

 

One thing that I'm really lovin' about Weight Watchers is that I can do everything from my phone (track points, calculate points, find recipes, etc.). It makes it so easy for me. Instead of having to write everything down or keep track of numerous calculators and guides and books, I just have to pull out my phone and everything is there. I would definitely say that it's "Mom-friendly."

 

So, anyway, food and I are in a new relationship, and I'm already reaping the benefits! Hoping the relationship lasts!