Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Making healthy decisions can be tough sometimes, especially for someone who when asked what their favorite food is can’t ever decide between responding with, “Mexican” or “pizza.” So the past year or so I’ve accumulated a few simple tricks to cut out unnecessary calories and more importantly, add in nutrients…. and most importantly, still enjoy what I eat and drink. A few of these tips are from Hungry Girl (if you aren’t familiar subscribe now- I cook at least one recipe a week from their daily e-mails).

On eating…..

·          Substitute non-fat, all natural, plain Greek yogurt in any recipe that calls for sour cream or mayonnaise. I always use the Fage brand. It’s not only less calories, but Greek yogurt is really good for you.

·          Start buying Laughing Cow cheese- it’s delicious and something like 1/3 of the calories of regular cheese. Super easy to spread on wraps, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, etc.

·          Substitute lean ground turkey or ground chicken in any recipe that calls for ground beef. I did this for months in our spaghetti and chili before my fiancé realized it, and even then I only had to spill the beans because he looked in the pan when I was browning the meat and got really worried about the beef looking so light in color.

·          Instead of buying tortilla chips in a bag, which are fried and drenched in salt, I buy one package of corn tortillas, lightly brush them with extra-virgin olive oil, slice them into fourths with a pizza cutter, and bake them. This saves calories, salt intake, and money.

·          Over a year ago my sister and I started buying peanuts and raisins in bulk and mixing them and dividing them up into baggies for the week to take to work. It’s a great healthy snack. (I know it seems like you could buy this premade but most of the mixes include M&M’s or other stuff too).

·          Split, split, split. My fiancée and I split almost everything we order at restaurants, and contrary to some of our servers’ reactions to this, it is not because we’re cheap. It’s because our society has been trained to expect ridiculously sized portions of food, so ONE entrée is typically more than enough food for TWO people. And it does save a little money too, and you even get used to the feeling of leaving a restaurant without being so full you feel sick.

·          And last but not least, it would just be wrong to not give a shout out to my natural homies: fruits and vegetables. They’re what we’re supposed to eat.

On drinking….

·          Incorporate green tea into your day. My new favorite is the Just Green Tea in a bottle from Honest Tea (thanks Katy!) It has zero calories (like all real green tea) and ¼ the caffeine of a cup of coffee. Green tea is one of my favorite simple pleasures, and it’s actually from the earth too which I’m of course a fan of (see previous post, “Of The Greatest Worth”). For current tea-lovers: make sure you check the label before you grab a bottle. It’s upsetting when you actually look at a lot of the bottles on shelves, how many added sugars and syrups are in so-called natural teas. True green tea should have no sugar and no calories.

·          Best cocktail ever: vodka, no-sodium soda water, fresh lime juice, sliced cucumbers. I actually read about this spritzer in Real Simple years ago, and just added the vodka into the mix. So good, and a lot less unhealthy than most alcoholic beverages.

·          Water: One of my guy friends who is a crazy gym-goer and health nut, once told me that your body can confuse thirst for hunger. I haven’t done any research on that, but just in case, I try to always stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. I figure it can’t hurt!

On keeping with it…

·          I love this link from SELF; type in any food and you get the nutritional information: http://nutritiondata.self.com/.

·          Before I go out to eat I try to look at the menu and nutritional information online and have in mind what I’m going to order. Here’s a handy-dandy calculator for a staple restaurant in my life, Chipotle: http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator.

·          And last, but not least, the genius Hungry Girl – I highly recommend signing up! http://www.hungry-girl.com/.

A Man, A Plan, A Proposal

On Friday, May 6^th, at 6:45 AM, my boyfriend of five years, Shane Hendren, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!!

Shane had made breakfast, let me get completely ready for work, and even let me get into my car in the garage before he called me back inside and got down on one knee. I was completely surprised!

That moment in the early morning of a beautiful Spring day is honestly the most special moment of my life so far. Witnessing the man I’ve loved for five years (and secretly loved for two years before that), get down on one knee, nervous and shaking, asking me to spend the rest of my life with him is a moment I will never forget and can’t actually put into words.

In the past few years, quite a few of my closest friends, including my amazing little sister, have gotten engaged and married to their wonderful significant others. I have been thrilled and differently emotional with the news of each one. As one can imagine, during these celebrations it was inevitable that Shane and I receive inquiries as to when it would be our time. While most had good intentions, some people were a little too direct and no matter how it was approached, Shane kept calm and collected and would only say, “I have a plan.” Boy, did he!

After accepting his proposal, he told me that arrangements had been made and I had the day off of work. We celebrated with mimosas and he surprised me again with announcing he had a weekend getaway to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, MO set up for us.

Also in the surprise plan was a stop in Springfield, MO - the town where everything began for us. We walked around our old college campus and drove by our old dorms and apartments. The entire weekend was a dream. I could go into detail about how wonderful the resort was, and how Shane had planned everything down to the fine wine he brought for the event, but I’ll keep most of the details just for us. We really disappeared into our own happiness and celebration. It was perfect and I couldn't be happier!

I feel incredibly blessed and emotional, not only to be engaged, but with the outpouring of love and support our friends and families have been sharing with us as we take this thrilling step. In fact, our friends and families have been supportive throughout our entire relationship, which hasn’t exactly been by the book. But again, never have I felt a lack of love or support from the people closest to us. And to quote my fiancé, “Toeachizone.” I am so thankful how our relationship has evolved down our own path, I love being engaged, and I love thinking about spending the rest of our lives together. What can I say? Right now, I’m truly loving it all!