Back Home and In the Nutty Groove

I'm back home after visiting my mom for a few days.

I did really well while there, continued with my lemon in the morning, my 15 minute exercise routine and basically healthy eating.

One of the challenges I had was that my mom has gotten SO skinny she really needs to eat more...and it felt funny to push someone to eat! What is interesting is that I didn't have to modify WHAT I prepared or even HOW I prepared it much. The basic concept is good nutrition. Since she is diabetic--controlled by diet--she really needs to eat frequently and lots of complex carbs and good protein. She also has high cholesterol so it isn't like you can just load on lots of saturated fats. So we ate the same foods, I encouraged her to eat more nuts during the day as snacks, and to increase her portion size just a little bit.

I added a few more carbs than I would normally eat...good healthy whole grains...and a bit more EVOO...and she likes to have a dish of ice cream every night. Ahhh...that was the challenge for me! She chooses the light version because of her cholesterol...the nutritionist told her to have a few raw nuts before hand to get the protein in to help balance her blood sugar and that would be okay...frankly, I just didn't find the light version very satisfying! Anyway, we had "dessert" every night which I'm not used to.

I found ways to sneak more calories, good fats and protein into her meals by upping the amount of feta and nuts in her salads, adding walnuts to her oatmeal, things like that. These are tricks that help those of us who aren't super skinny, too. By getting good fats in our diet on a regular basis we will have fewer cravings, our skin will be softer & smoother and our bodies will be more lubricated overall and function better.

You don't need to add a lot...and try a variety of omega 3 fatty acids--get some flax seed, hemp oil, walnuts...by changing it up and having a variety you avoid boredom while you give your body things it really needs! You'll feel better and have more energy, too!

So I'm back home and getting back into my own groove, (not to be confused with a rut!) Have to run to the store and buy some more veggies to go with my nuts!