So there is a double standard going on and it has nothing to do with women’s rights.
There is a lifestyle choice double standard. The kind of lifestyle choice where you choose to be healthy vs. those that don’t.
For some reason people think it is socially acceptable to comment on someone’s appearance and food preferences, if that person is in shape and eating healthy. It however, is not socially acceptable to tell someone to put down the coke and bag of chips. One scenario is hurtful and the other is helpful…I will let you figure out which is which.
I would be willing to bet, that I would get a few choice words if I went around criticizing my co-workers or random strangers for the food choices they were making. Even though it may do some people some good, to be educated on what they are putting into their body. It is none of my business what they choose to eat. It does seem to be everyone’s business what I am eating though.
I have never minded telling people about the food I am eating. I have made secret Pinterest boards for people, written down tips on what to change in recipes, texted and emailed recipes, given endless workout tips, invited more people than I can count to join me at the gym, and the list goes on. I love, love sharing my healthy lifestyle choices with people. what I don’t love is being judged for it.
When I started this blog, one family member said ‘we were taking this healthy thing too far’, no worries I doubt they read this, it is after all healthy talk. How can you take healthy too far…healthy, not anorexic, not bulimic, not neglecting my family to workout constantly, nothing that I am doing effects YOU. Yet, here we all are, judging the person that chooses to be healthy, instead of congratulating them. Totally makes sense (that is dripping in sarcasm).
I think I get the MOST backlash for wanting my children to eat healthy. If one person can give me a GOOD reason why my child, at 2 years old, should know what a Coke or Sprite tastes like, then I will be happy to let him have one. There is this perception that unless a child is eating sweets and drinking sugary filled drinks, they aren’t living their best life. I have seen a one year old drinking Mountain Dew! Why?!
As a parent you want the best for your child. You make sacrifices in your social life and in your budget so they can have every opportunity possible. Why wouldn’t you do the same nutritionally? I care about the food and drinks that my children put into their mouth. Shouldn’t that make me a good mom? Not by today’s standards. I have been told that I am ruining my child. How? By depriving him of all the caffeinated, fake, hormone injected food and drinks, I think not. I would much rather my children grow up asking for a BBQ sandwich than a coke and cookies.
Children imitate what they see at home. Do you want your child imitating you doing push-ups or smoking a cigarette? Do you want your child imitating you cooking or ordering fast food? Think about the kind of impression you are making on those around you and to your children. I know that for every 4 or 5 people I am offending by eating healthy and working out, (hopefully) I am inspiring 1 or 2 to be healthy.
One of the last meals I ate at work before I left for maternity leave was spaghetti squash. Everyone at my table and a few people passing by commenting on how it wasn’t real spaghetti and there is no way my husband likes this kind of cooking. One of my co-workers even told me that it looked like the nastiest spaghetti she had ever seen.
Guess what? She made it the other week and loves it. BOOM!
If you are going to count macros and be active, you will more than likely get some kind of backlash, if you are surrounded by those that aren’t making the same choices as you. That is okay though. Keep doing you and be humble knowing you will see results. It will be worth it.
M•E•N•U
Smoked Ribs + Roasted Vegetables
Pork Chops + Blue Cheese Pear Salad
Cuban Chicken and Black Bean Bowl
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
Smoked Ribs + Roasted Vegetables
Smoked ribs & Murph, because what better way to celebrate Memorial Day!
We are going to do Murph Monday morning with our CrossFit gym to honor Lieutenant Michael Murphy and celebrate Memorial Day. After running two miles, completing 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats, I think I will have earned my slab of ribs. There is even an event called the Murph Challenge that you can sign up for to help raise money for the building of, LT Michael P. Murphy Navy SEAL Museum/Sea Cadet Training Facility in Long Island, NY!
I am going to throw all my favorite vegetables on a pan with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh mined garlic. Roast on 425 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until crispy and tender. Then I am going to lightly pour balsamic vinegar over the vegetables to soak in some extra flavor.
I am using sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, onion, butternut squash, and sweet peppers.
A month or so ago, I made a nicoise salad. This is the same concept, but on thick toast! You can’t pile tuna, tomatoes, olives, eggs, and herbs on any old regular bread.
Usually, I like to try out recipes as they are intended and then make adjustments, but for this one there are two things I am going to immediately change. I am not going to fry my bread and no mayo for me. I am going to toast my bread on a high broil and use non-fat greek yogurt.
I just can’t get on board with mayo. I ate plenty of it growing up and will indulge in mayo filled, deviled eggs at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas but not in my day-to-day meals. The mention of mayo in a dish just turns me off now, so I am using yogurt for a kick of protein and still achieving that creamy texture.
Frying bread…definitely not. I am sure it tastes delicious, but I can achieve the same crispiness by toasting it.
We are going to “splurge” and get yellowfin tuna cuts instead of getting canned tuna. Typically, I use canned or pouches of tuna for my salads but I want to give this a try.
I am going to sear the tuna in a garlic, ginger, olive oil, dill, & lemon sauce so it pairs well with the flavors going onto the bread.
I have stuffed two pork loins in my life. One is a show stopper with fresh rosemary, blue cheese, and pears. It is so, so good, but not the healthiest option. The other is stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, and pine nuts.
I am making the latter of the two. It is more macro friendly, super simple, and is still very flavorful. The only thing to be careful of is the amount of pine nuts you put into your pork. Make sure you cut your pork loin to fit one of your skillets. You will want to cut out the center of your loin, so you are able to stuff it full of spinach, pine nuts, and mushrooms.
This meal is a little bit trickier to count macros on. The best way I have found to count macros eating this, is to create a recipe. Weigh the meat after you cut out the center and before you stuff it. Weigh out and measure the mushrooms, pine nuts, and spinach. Put all that info into your macro counter so you don’t forget it!
Once the meat is cooked thoroughly, you will need to ‘eye-ball’ cutting equal sections. I like to cut pieces about 1 inch thick. Weigh the first piece you cut and try to get the same weight each time you cut a piece of the pork loin. This will tell you how many servings of pork loin you have. Add the amount of servings made to your recipe in the app. Now you know how much you can eat!
The title of this salad really does say it all. Simple. I have never made a salad more simple than this. Kale, almonds, cheese, and a dressing. I was very skeptical the first time I made it because I knew there was no way this could be good with so few ingredients. It’s the dressing. Plain and simple, the dressing MAKES this salad. It almost has a spicy kick to it. I love a salad with garlic and lemon, and this one just blew me away how simple and good it was. Add some strawberries or blueberries to it, if you want a little extra in there to sweeten it up. I can see quinoa being a great addition with the strawberries too, for a more hearty salad.
Pork Chops + Blue Cheese and Pear Salad
If you are looking for a brine for your pork chops, this is a good one. If you are cutting your pork chops thin, do not bother with grilling them. It will take longer to set up the coals than it will to grill the meat. The oven on 425, will work just fine. I love to make a sauce for my pork chops, but this time I am going to skip the sauce and let the salad pack the punch.
I don’t like when my main dish and side dish have conflicting flavors. The blue cheese in the salad packs a big bunch on it’s own, so I am going to leave the sauce for another day. I don’t want my pork chops having to compete with my salad this time around. I am opting out of the walnuts and using pecans instead, simply because I have an abundance of them. I am not going to go crazy on the amount of pears on each salad. Pears are a great source of fiber, but carry a lot of carbs with them. For every 100 grams of a bartlett pear there is 15 grams of carbs.
Cuban Chicken and Black Bean Bowl
Last week I cooked cilantro lime chicken, with a mango salsa. It was so good, mainly due to the salsa in my opinion. I ended up having to cook the chicken in my cast-iron skillet and needless to say, the sauce that the chicken was marinating in BURNED. Pan = Ruined. It still tasted good, but I think if I had grilled the meat it would have turned out perfect.
This recipe calls for a similar marinade and I will be skipping it this time. If I was planning to grill the chicken, I would not skip the marinade though. Skipping the fried bananas as well. I am sure they are as delicious as this blogger makes them sound, I do love fried plantains, but I will be skipping them.
I am going to double the amount of mangoes, season the chicken with everything but the orange juice, and season the quinoa as it describes. Usually I just cook my quinoa and add it to the dish I am making. I have never toasted quinoa. I am interested to see how it turns out.
Don’t forget the list!
