Tubs of Greek Yogurt and Bags of Kale Don’t Lie

My Latest Homemade Yogurt Concoction.

I cook, a lot, probably more than your average person, but it wasn’t always this way. There was a time I ate out more than I’d like to admit and lived off frozen dinners, ramen noodles and cans of soup. Yes, even when I was actively losing the weight.

My shift to eating less and less processed foods and cooking more and more has been a journey, and it’s far from over. My diet is constantly changing and evolving. It’s one of the reasons I get so upset when people give others a hard time about eating this or that.

Take yogurt for example. I’ve seen people get on a soapbox about eating flavored yogurt cups. Ok, we know they are full of sugar or sweeteners but maybe, just maybe, that yogurt replaced twinkies or a chocolate cookie the size of a human head —have you seen some of these cookies, my WORD? Anyway… my point is, the yogurt may be a good choice for someone just beginning to make changes to their food choices.

I started with yogurt cups. Eating whatever lite ones were on sale. After a while I decided I didn’t want all those artificial sweeteners in my system so I started to switch to ones with just plain old sugar. Then I turned to greek for higher protein. The flavored greek cups are great (like chobani and oikos,) but when I went to BlogHer Food this year I had my first plain greek yogurt parfait and fell in love. Now I buy tubs of the plain greek and top it with fruit, nuts, seeds, honey, whatever! Honestly, there’s no going back to light flavored yogurt cups for me ever again, but without them I would not be eating homemade greek yogurt parfaits today.

I have similar histories with some fruits and vegetables that I used to buy canned, frozen or not at all. Now I enjoy fresh beets, winter squashes, mushrooms, and kale. KALE! I mean really, I don’t think I even knew what kale was 2-3 years ago, and now not only do I eat it almost weekly but I can get all three of my boys to eat kale chips. All three!

However, those same three boys (well, at least the older 2) still eat boxed cupcakes, duplex cookies, candy, and chips. And sometimes, so do I. I also like to keep a box of fish sticks in the freezer for a quick midweek meal, cans of soup for a fast lunch, and recently I tried my first EggNCheese Vita Sandwich during a busy morning juggling work and 2 kids.

Vitalicious (we’ve worked together for some time) sent me the sandwiches to try and review last month but frankly, I didn’t feel comfortable eating and posting about them right after starting the Unprocessed October challenge.

Well, as you may have noticed my UNprocessed challenge has turned into a commitment to eat LESS processed almost immediately after I started, and I’ve been having a blast keeping my #lessprocessed #foodjournal on instagram these last couple of weeks.

Making the change from UN to LESS may seem like a ridiculous game of semantics, but it relieved so much of the perfection pressure I put on myself. You know, that little mental defect that says if I can’t do it perfectly then why bother to do it at all? It’s the same reason why I always failed at diets that gave me specific food lists or had a regimented workout routine. As soon as I ate something off the list or missed the workout I threw my hands up and walked away.

The truth is, for me, right now, eating completely UNprocessed is just not possible. I’m not ready. My family isn’t ready. I will continue to make the best decisions I can, striving for less and less processed, trying new things, and focusing on whole foods, but there will be times we enjoy fast food (yes, enjoy,) indulge in Halloween candy, and grab something quick for breakfast because we over slept.

And I refuse to feel guilty about this. We live in a world of compromise and convenience. All we can do is our best to navigate it, educating ourselves and striving to always to do a little better each day, because small changes equal big changes over time. Just look in my fridge.

Tubs of greek yogurt and bags of kale don’t lie, and they weren’t in there 5 years ago.

Disclosure/Notes: This is NOT a paid post but Vitalicious sponsors the Just Roni Newsletter and provides products for sampling. All opinions expressed in the post are my own. In case you are wondering the EggNCheese was delicious! Click here to check them out and be sure to use the code RonisWeigh for 10% off.

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Results of This Morning’s Stair Climbing Competition

So there ya have it. I conquered 39 flights of stairs in 15.31 minutes. Achieving those 39 flights required me to climb the building twice. I finished 5th overall in my division and 1st among the female climbers in my division.

Not too shabby for my first try. And with absolutely no training or stair practice!

One of the male climbers apparently forgot to wear deodorant. My nostrils are still getting over the shock of his armpit fumes.

I alternated between running the stairs and step-walking to pace myself and keep my heart rate in check. In the final few steps of the climb my eyeballs started to cross and the stairs seems to blend together. I couldn’t tell where the next step began. Whoa! But I kept calm to step safely and finished feeling good.

In case you missed my previous post about the climb, here’s the actual building:

Thank you to everyone who donated to the American Lung Association to help me qualify for the climb! And thank you all for you well wishes, encouragement and support. You guys are freaking awesome.

XOXO,

Josie

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Tradition!

And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: Tradition! 

Intellectually I know my beloved Tevye wasnt thinking about healthy living when he spoke about tradition being the key to a balanced life, but in my misfit mind he was.

For me, without tradition, Id definitely be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.

Im over at Attune Foods today singing at the top of my lungs and sharing a few of my balance-keeping traditions.

Join me?

Im an Attune Foods brand ambassador and this is a sponsored post.  The concepts and love affair with musical theater is all my own.

Tags: Attune Foods, I love Fiddler!

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Freeze Dried Astronaut Ice Cream

Did you ever in your lovely life wonder what freeze dried ice cream tastes like? I’ve volunteered myself to solve this deep mystery for you. Watch the video and allow the mystery to unravel and unfold….. (or click here to watch it in Youtube)

Frivolous commands: Share the video with your friends and subscribe to YumYucky on Youtube to keep your eyeballs peeled for more awesomeness.

Ps. I’m here in Delaware, smack dab in the path of Hurricane Sandy. I’ll be back to blogging soon if the hurricane doesn’t put a wrench in our electrical power for too long. See ya in a jiffy! xo

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Seven Times Slower

It’s been almost a month since my last bike ride, and in that time I’ve spent a lot of time logging miles in the Jeep, always with the intention of getting “there” as quickly as possible. So yesterday, when I got on my bike for the first time in four weeks and started pedaling, 10 and 11 and 12 miles an hour seemed really s....l…o…w. But as I rode down the familiar path at seven times slower than in my car, I became acutely aware of what I miss at 70 mph.

At seven times slower, I thought about how much I love this time of year, and that despite its bittersweet theme of death and decay, I cling to its promise of rebirth. At seven times slower, I smelled and heard the leaves above and beneath me.
At seven times slower, I noticed a cat slinking up a hill and I watched a pig sleeping in the mud of his large pen. At seven times slower, I became aware that a farmer, through whose land a mile of the bike trail cuts, found it necessary to post a sign, “Do not throw objects at turkeys.” What kind of person throws things at turkeys? Anyway… At seven times slower, I said goodbye to my bike path friends for the season. The cows.
And the power lines that let me know I’ve reached the apex of that stretch of trail and it’s all down hill the rest of the way.
And the golf course the bike trail passes through.
And at seven times slower, I felt my body release its 70-mile-an-hour tension, fiber by fiber (even though I was pretty irritated by the whole throwing things at turkeys thing).

At seven times slower, I thought to visit my daughter and grandchildren. I see them several times a week, but usually always because of some need for one of them to be somewhere else. Yesterday, I sat in their presence and absorbed their essence (and snuggled with Claire in her genuine fire fighter hat that she sleeps with like a stuffed animal).
Tethered to my calendar of penciled-in appointments, yesterday was a gift gotten from a miscommunication involving school. It was like being set free, if only for a few hours, from the new tricks this old dog is learning. For many months I have been what Jon Kabat-Zinn calls a “human doing,” but yesterday, at seven times slower, I was a human being.

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In My World Nobody Makes You Laugh Like Big Brother

Last night the boys and I decided on breakfast for dinner. We ate. We talked. We, well, see for yourself…

These are the moments I never, ever want to forget.

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Potassium Iodide In Case of Nuclear Event: Hurricane Sandy Just Proved Why You Need Some

My stomachs nearly dropped when I read the news about the New Jersey nuclear reactor put on alert status due to Hurricane Sandy. I don’t claim to know the inter-workings of nuclear power plants, but it’s clear that natural disasters and power plants do NOT mix. Fukushima anyone?

Here’s what happened due to Hurricane Sandy…

[snippet above via ENE News]

This New Jersey situation seriously hits close to home, but there are reactors all across the country, and with it comes the potential for shit to hit the fan for any of you out there.

If you haven’t read my previous post, Potassium Iodide: Anti-Radiation Tablets In Case of Nuclear Event, then please…do it now. What I’m talking about right now isn’t for entertainment, or laughs and giggles. It’s a serious matter you need to be prepared for.

My family already has potassium iodide on deck for a situation such as this. We’re ready to rock ‘n roll and pop these dang pills if needed. But what about YOU?

Potassium Iodide tablets are cheap. It cost less than you ordering yourself a soup & sammich; less then two cups of fancy coffee at that Starbucks place.  There’s absolutely no reason and no excuse not to have a stash of potassium iodide on hand for you and your family. It’s the simplest, easiest thing you can do to protect yourself in the event of a nuclear emergency. Don’t be left ass out when shit hits the fan.

If skepticism has got the best of ya, then go on and call me the crazy lady or the queen of major hype. It doesn’t really matter. My job is done here so long as you’re informed. The ball is in your court now. Get the full deets on why you need a stash of potassium iodide and how it works. Then go on and do as you see fit.

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