Avid Diva - teachings for your new life

Is that even possible? 

I don’t know about you, but I was raised by the best cook in the planet.  Mom fed us really well, had great combinations of veggies, meat and carbs in every plate, before we even knew how important the combination was. 

She also spoiled us with some of the best, not necessarily healthy meals, like mac and cheese (from scratch), lasagna, imperial rice (it is like a lasagna, but the pasta is substituted by rice and the meat is chicken), cheese custard, arroz con dulce, etc.

There are two ways you can still share with FAMILY and be healhy.  Either fill your plate up with veggies and salad and have a small portion of the goodies (I don’t believe in depriving myself of what I love) or start learning to make the same goodies in a healthier way and make a cooking party with your loved ones.  And when you are done, tell me all about it.

If you want to try something healthy today, consider SURPRISES in the way you cook and/or eat, your foods.

If you love meat, why don’t you go vegan for one day?

If you like to experiment, why don’t you try raw food?

If you are having a hard time eating the five to nine fruits and vegetables daily, why don’t you try a new fruit and/or vegetable that you have never tried before?

Eating healthy does not have to be boring.  Add SURPRISES to your palate and let me know how it goes.

Food is nourishment, not LOVE.  How many times do you eat when you feel unloved?  How many big meals are planned around family gatherings?

We tend to equate food with LOVE on happy and sad occasions.  Now I am not saying not to invite friends and family over to celebrate or have a meal.  What I am saying is that if you really LOVE them, there are plenty of healthy options that will taste good, make them happy and keep all of you healthy.  That is a better testament to the LOVE you feel for them, and for yourself.

And if you are sitting home alone and you decide to “clean” the fridge by eating everything in site, make sure that your choices when you shop are healthy, which will make your food LOVE fest healthier than the chocolate cake binging or strawberry short cake devouring  that you are thinking on swallowing whole.  LOVE yourself, not your food.

In the world of my DREAMS, I can have all the chocolate I want.  Since I live in reality, I take care of myself.  I can have anything I want.  Some things, like chocolate, I can eat in moderation.

What is your favorite food?  Which is your comfort food of choice?  Are they both the same thing?  When you are having a bad day and feel like crawling under a rock, what is the one food that calls you?  I have this thing for macaroni and cheese (not from a box and with four or five cheeses) and I have a great recipe for it, which is not the best recipe in the world if you want to eat healthy.  After chocolate, anything with pasta in it is a close second in my comfort zone.

This year I am making it my mission to make my favorite recipes nutritious without loosing the flavor, specially the macaroni and cheese.  Do you know any healthy versions of your favorite comfort foods?  Maybe you have one for mac and cheese?  Do you want to share them with us?

What kind of diet are you following?  Is it hi-carbs, low carbs, no carbs?  Do you obsess over proteins?  Do you kill the fat?  What is the deal with all these diets?

My secret to this mayhem is no secret.  I don’t exclude anything from my diet.  I don’t want to loose 30 pounds in 30 days.  I want to banish three to four pounds a month, slowly so that I never see them again.  And even though it is a slow process and some months I don’t see any difference on the scale, I see it in my clothes and in my attitude.  More important, I see it when I get up in the morning and I can walk out of bed instead of crawling out of it.

The one thing that I try to avoid is soda, only because I link it to arthritis like pain.  I heard somewhere that soda eats your bone density.  I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that after my 40’s, if I have a soda and not much water, the next day I feel my bones ache.  So, I might have one every two weeks or so.  And I always drink three liters of water a day. 

If you eat all things and the so called “bad” things in moderation, exercise, and take care of yourself, I don’t see any reason why you can’t have the body you want and the health you need to enjoy your life.

Healthy breakfast includes eggs, veggies and a rice cake, yummm!!!