A Complicated Triangle

Healthy versus Low Fat/Low Calorie versus Frugal.

I'm talking about food.

As I stated in a previous post, Rick and I are getting very serious about our health. But, we are also very serious about losing a few pounds. And, I'm most serious about doing both of those things frugally. Is that possible?

We all know that healthy food doesn't equal cheap food and diet food usually doesn't equal healthy food.

Sigh.

I am on an extreme mission. But I don't want to go all Nazi doing it. And I don't want my family to look at me at every meal or snack time and say, "huh?"

So I'm starting here ...

I have done some research over the past couple of years, and specifically over the past couple of weeks about those "super" foods that are best for men and women. Here's what I found:

Men's Super Foods

cabbage, guava, dried plums, pumpkin seeds, bananas, fish, broccoli, brazil nuts, soy, berries, red/orange veggies, apples

Women's Super Foods

dark chocolate, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, oats, salmon, blueberries, green tea

Additional healthy foods I want to add

whole grains, all natural sugars, a fruit and veggie at dinner every night, sweet potatoes, orange juice, yogurt, raisins (these last four have extra potassium which I need for restless legs)

I want to try to incorporate these things into our diet on a more regular basis, like all the time. There were many other recommended foods. However, I either couldn't pronounce them or kind of gagged when I thought of them.

I am going to really have to use my new extra time to think through our meals to incorporate the things we need in our diet, with low-fat and low-calorie meals, all on a budget.

I made three new things this weekend, keeping some of this in mind.

Super Trail Mix

First, I made homemade granola (In that recipe I substituted honey for the maple syrup and added some cinnamon, I left out the coconut and doubled the recipe. Next time I plan to replace the oil with a 1/2 cup of applesauce).

Then I added the following to the granola: dried cranberries, brazil nuts, more raisins and pumpkin seeds.

This made 4, 3/4 full quart sized bags.

Rick is going to take one bag of this to work each week for snacking, instead of sodium filled sunflower seeds.

I reserved a half quart bag of just the granola for myself to eat over yogurt and on my bran cereal.

Soy Fruit and Soy Chocolate Smoothies

1 cup ice

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup soy milk

2 T vanilla

2 T flaxseed

For fruit smoothies, frozen blueberries and strawberries

For chocolate smoothes, melted dark chocolate chips with 1 T melted butter

Blend in blender and serve immediately as smoothies or put in freezer for ice cream

Peach Jam

Click here for the recipe

I'm not crazy about all of the sugar in this recipe, but I'm even less crazy about the preservatives and chemicals in the jam I purchase at the store. I'll take my chances with the sugar, I think.

I have to laugh about this picture, because I was in the living room showing my finished product to Rick and Kyndal came in with the camera to take a picture of it. I have raised my family so well. They know everything is blog worthy and will need a pic!

It was fun to try new things and I got thumbs up on all of them.

Now today I am onto pondering our meals for the week. I'm going to have to do this gradually, so as to educate myself. But, most importantly, I want this to be a lifestyle change for us, not a fad.

If you are inspired to join in, comment and let me know. Maybe we can help each other! My friend Steph is already on board (great minds think alike) and we are bouncing ideas off each other.)