What We DO Eat - Breakfast!

Many of you have asked "What DO you eat?".  I would LOVE to talk about the things we eat!  I've been trying to figure out how to do that in a small area like on a blog. :)  Hang in here with me..it's going to be long.  

Today I'll start with breakfast and break it up into "MY FOOD" & "FAMILY FOOD".  Note that the food I eat is for those of us that are avoiding the 7 Foods that cause inflammation.  My family, particularly, my husband has an awesome immune system and loves his whole grains, so he gets to eat them. :) 

MY FOOD:

OATMEAL 

Oatmeal is pretty much my staple breakfast.  Not quick-cooking but real oats.  I add a little cinnamon and craisins.  If you are trying to eat gluten free make sure they are gluten free.  My favorite are Bob's Red Mill.  Tip:  Don't do steel cut oats if you have digestive issues as they are too hard to digest.

Eggs 

Eggs are a great source of protein.  We do eat a lot of eggs - 2 egg whites and 1whole egg scrambled with any add-ins that I have available in the fridge.  I also have boiled eggs around all the time for quick protein.

Shakeology 

I have a Shakeology either for Breakfast or for Lunch.  It has over 70 ingredients in it that I just can't eat in a days time and it has the digestive enzymes and probiotics that keep my digestive system working.

Buckwheat / Oatmeal Pancakes 

Occasionally I will make up a batch of these.  The buckwheat is gluten free and the oatmeal adds fiber keeping the glycemic index down.  I throw the leftovers in the freezer and eat later with nutbutter when I want something pancake-ish.  I will post the recipe later :)

FAMILY FOOD

All of the Above Food and: 

Whole Grain Pancakes 

I like to make my own but when I can't (or Brad is making pancakes...because he is much more patient than I am) we use Bob's Red Mill or Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat.

Whole Grain Cereals 

Brad's new cereal of choice is  KASHI Cinnamon Harvest which is pretty close to a whole food.  The ingredients are "organic whole grain wheat, evaporated cane juice (yep-sugar), and organic cinnamon"  That's it...that is pretty incredible for a box cereal.  The girls eat Frosted Mini-wheats.  In order to keep away from High Fructose Corn Syrup, we changed to Hy-Vee Brand that does not contain HFCS and is very much like the name brand. 

Organic Yogurt 

Yep dairy.  Organic Yogurt if you do not have an allergy to dairy, it is a great source of protein and probiotics.  I would keep yogurt as organic and "live" as possible.  This is one we will spend money on because I think it is important.  Tip:  Buy your yogurt plain and let the kids swirl in real  or low sugar fruit preserves.

Fruit 

Grapefruit  Tip: If it's fresh, peel it like an orange, or use "special

grapefruit spoons".  DO NOT put sugar on the grapefruit... it  doesn't help.  Actually salt makes it sweeter if you have too.  But

if you don't teach the kids to dip their grapefruit and

strawberries in sugar...they won't think of it!  Clementines - kids

can peel them on their "own" which is huge in my family!

Apples, frozen fruit, frozen blueberries, grapes, bananas...We have fresh choices..we just have to make them happen!

A Word of Encouragement:  

Maybe you are thinking...UGH my family will NEVER eat that...

Don't think that way.  Change the things you can without a fuss RIGHT NOW and pick one food a week to introduce or change.  Make it fun!  Let them be a part of the process.  

When I started changing breakfast I made lists of "choices" and allowed them to pick a choice from each list.  One list was from the whole grain or egg category,  the other list was a type of fruit or yogurt.  They loved picking the options off the list.  In fact they acted like they were at Village Inn.  

May your mornings be filled with love and lots of good food!  

Let me back up...Why am I talking about Inflammation?

Why am I talking about Inflammation? 

As a child I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and at the age of 31 I was diagnosed with Lupus SLE… I NEVER knew that the pain I was feeling was "caused" by inflammation.  Something was going wrong in my body that was causing swelling (inflammation) in my joints and now soft tissue.  

What is Inflammation? 

Inflammation is essentially the body's response to injury, and the function of inflammation is tissue healing.  Practically speaking, we are all dealing with the inflammatory process either through general injury or dietary imbalances.

So not only can injury be caused by direct trauma..but also by eating a poor diet.

Every time you eat the wrong foods, you create inflammation in your body that will slowly but surely lead to the expression of chronic pain or whatever disease you may be genetically predisposed to.  

Most people do not realize that the following conditions are caused or promoted by inflammation: aches and pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, crohn's disease, colitis, osteoporosis, acne, aging, syndrome X, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, Alzhemier’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and many many others…

Where do we go from here?

We can STOP putting things in our body that cause inflammation 

- know the 7 foods you should avoid (in this weeks posts)

We can START eating healthy foods and food based supplements

 - I've had a great experience with Shakeology

We can begin eating to live and not just living to eat! 

My Struggle with Lupus and Why I'm a Beachbody Coach!

One of the reasons I am involved with Beachbody is because of my personal journey with exercise and strength training while having an autoimmune disease. 

Almost 5 years ago at the age of 31.  I was diagnosed with Lupus SLE which is an autoimmune disease that attacks the soft tissue in your body.  I had been going through these horrible weeks where my body would just crash and I couldn't get it together physically.  I had some previous success with working out and eating well but I kept getting too thin and couldn't keep muscle.  I was weak and started to give in to the mental struggles of chronically feeling ill.  

I secretly wondered if I had cancer or something…if life was always going to be a struggle physically.   Since that time, I have tried a gluten free diet, some products for glyconutrients, clean eating diet, vitamins etc.- all of which has been somewhat beneficial. 

However, a year and a half ago, over Christmas, we saw the P90X video and my husband who just turned 40 decided to give it a try.  Me, also ready to keep pushing forward even through the Lupus flares, decided to give it a try as well.  We also decided to try Shakeology as I am always looking for good healthy foods especially in the winter when the choices are slim here in Nebraska.  

I have to say that for the first time since I can remember.. I have been able to build and sustain muscle for the last 18 months.  For the first time in years, I don't worry about my digestive issues that have always played a huge role in my day..which is really very amazing to me.  

You can see from a few of my pictures (there will be more to come… I don't like taking pictures)  that I am able to build and keep muscle which is huge in helping me maintain a healthy life and do the things I want to do.  I never would have dreamed a few years ago that I would be strong enough to ski or learn to surf… I was barely strong enough to get off the couch let alone stand up on a board in the ocean.  

So to say I'm "excited" about Beachbody and their products sounds a little cheesy to me…  I guess I'm just thankful  - excited to have my life back and to be strong enough to enjoy it.  All Glory goes to my Heavenly Father the ultimate healer and life giver!