This week has been a busy whirlwind, but I received exciting news last week. Along with five other women, I will be representing our county in the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign! We had a photo shoot yesterday with a group pic and individual pictures. Hopefully I will be able to share these with you soon, and I’ll definitely keep you in the loop as I get to attend any fun events. My story regarding heart health is different than many others. All my regular readers know that my time is severely limited. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t know where to find ten minutes to hit the treadmill. So I’ve had to take a different stance on heart health by making diet changes. With the boys now eating table food, I also need to prepare meals that they can finger feed. So while I’ve not made drastic changes, I have made an effort to replace certain foods with substitutes that are more heart healthy. I’d like to share five changes we’ve made for heart health with you today. I want to encourage women that even those with no time to go to the gym can still make small changes that benefit the entire family.
- Cutting out french fries– This one is hard for me because I love french fries. They make the best side dish ever! But we’ve cut these out, and instead we go with thinly sliced sweet potatoes that I bake in drizzled olive oil. I still get a crunchy side– just not the fried version.
- Make a fish meal once a week– We substitute one meal that we would normally have during the week for a fish meal (baked, not fried, of course!). And the kids actually like the fish, too, so it’s a win-win.
- No more white bread– I can’t remember the last time any kind of white bread has been bought for our house. This includes white rice, sandwich bread, hot dog/hamburger buns, and pasta. We only purchase wheat versions of bread and brown rice/pasta foods.
- Sneak an extra vegetable into every meal– This has almost become a game. How can I sneak a veggie in without the kids noticing? 🙂 Spinach is my favorite addition. Sauteed spinach shrinks up to a point where it can be easily thrown in many dishes.
- Replace red meat with lean meats– For a meal where I would normally cook a hamburger, we replace it with grilled chicken.
Good for you and your family! Bravo
I made a decision this year to eat clean. No more processed foods, sugar, white flour. Eating lean meat and going meatless 2 days a week.
Heart disease runs in my family.
So again BRAVO and here’s to a healthier 2014!!
Wow! Bravo to you! I think I would have a hard time with the processed foods….
I LOVE this idea of 5 little steps. You are so smart not to do a TOTAL overhaul that will just make everyone cranky and resentful. And while these are “small” steps, they will have a huge impact! About a year ago I started making smoothies every other night. I faced a lot of resistance at first but now it is just part of the routine and I can feel good knowing that they are getting lots of good fruits and veggies. GREAT post! XO, ellie
What kind of smoothies do you make? I would love to know about those!
I wish I could find a way to get the kiddos to eat all of these ideas. I can do about 4 variations of vegetables without any complaints from the children.