Ive moved to Oklahoma and back to California 3 times now, been married, divorced, and am now prepping to be a single mom…all in a matter of 4 years.

When I say it all out loud it just sounds…crazy. Well, I guess because it is!

Fresh start to the blog and to life; my life…and the little life growing inside of me (due date March 23, 2012).

Expect many more rants, healthy recipes, and sightless babble in the next few months as my pregnancy hormones rage on.

Anyways, I consider myself a fairly healthy person. I make sure that all of the foods in our house are HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) free, no partially hydrogenated oils, fresh fruits and veggies grown in our backyard (well some of them anyways), hormone free milk and so on. Well…after tracking my food for 2 weeks I found out a few things that I never would have guessed:

a. I dont eat anough carbs. EXCUSE ME?? I feel like that is all I eat!

b. I eat too much sugar. Now I know I have a torrid affair with ice cream but I didn’t think it was THAT bad!

c. I eat too much fat. Not by a lot. But still too much. Where would this be coming from??

d. My protein intake was too high. We do not even eat a ton of meat around here!!… but apparently the other foods I am consuming are adding into that number as well.

E. I eat WAY too much salt. This was the one that blew me away. I never salt anything! When a recipe calls for salt, I always do half. When I season my foods, I use other seasonings besides salt. I have always tried to be really conscious about it. But apparently all of the other items that are in my pantry that I do not make from scratch are VERY high in salt content. I never knew. And I never would have known if I hadn’t tracked my food for 2 weeks. I would have gone along thinking, “I’m healthy cause I don’t put salt on my eggs”.

After taking some time to review what my intakes were and what was in my pantry I came to these conclusions:

- I need to eat more carbs, but the RIGHT carbs. Not cookies and granola bars and sugary items. This will also help cut down my sugar intake!

- I need to read labels for fat counts on all prepackaged and processed items. And I need to make sure they are mostly GOOD fats (mono and polyunsaturated, and SOME saturated fats) and not BAD fats (trans fats – aka partially hydrogenated oils)!

- I need to save my protein counts for fresh items like meats and legumes. The over abundance is coming from processed items!

- I need to READ the labels for salt content on any processed items I buy. Our bodies need salt. BUT mine does not need as much as I have been getting!

So…what are your counts like? What are you getting too much of? not enough of? Take some time to figure these things out! It will be worth it in the long run. Do a “spring cleaning” of your cupboards and get yourself on the right track!

Strawberries
fresh or frozen!

Peanut Butter
2 tblspoons smooth peanut butter

Stonyfield vanilla yogurt
about 1/2 cup!

Banana
one whole peeled banana

Raw Honey
1/2 tbsp.

Flaxseed
1 tablespoon

Ice Cream. It seriously brings me joy. I could eat it every night, literally, and NEVER get sick of it.

I come from a line of ice cream lovers. My grandpa loves it. My dad can eat a half a gallon in one sitting… and he does (but he only likes Vanilla – just plain with nothing on it…but MAN does he like it). I think my ice cream obsession was just in me from the start. The one advantage we all have going for us is that we are tall and noodle-like. Otherwise we would all weigh a good 30 pounds more than we do. As long as I can remember my family has been having ice cream for dessert, and as long as I live there will be ice cream in my freezer ready and waiting at a moments notice. My husband thinks it’s my grand scheme to make him fat so that no other woman will want him. I play along with this and get a HUGE bowl for the both of us some evenings and make jokes about him getting fat as he shovels some into his mouth…but we both really know that the ice cream is for me.

I mean what’s not to love?! There are so many different choices! Cookies and chocolate chunks, mint and fruits, candy and nuts, creamy and tart, yogurt-y and gelato-y…. the possibilities really are endless. Now would I call it a vice?? Not by the word’s true definition…. but its definitely a habit of sorts. Some say that I could live off of ice cream alone…. I am tempted to test this theory. In my fridge right now? Breyers Rocky Road (my favorite of all store bought ice cream brands). My favorite ice cream? I could never have just one.

I know it’s only 9 am but… maybe I will have a bowl now?

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose Flour (you can always substitute wheat flour as well – this will be my next experiment!)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (115 -120 degrees F)

Mix on low speed for 30 seconds

Scrape sides of Bowl and Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes

Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead in another 1 1/4 cups flour

Knead for approximately 8 mins or until you have a moderately stiff dough

Split it into 2 pieces and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes

Roll each half into a 13 inch round and build up the edges to form a crust

Place onto a pizza peel that has been covered with corn meal

If you do not have a pizza peel and baking stone you can put them onto a baking sheet – you will still want to put corn meal down 1st

Bake at 400 Degrees F for 10 minutes

Remove from the oven and add your desired toppings, then return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

VOILA! Homemade pizza – so so so YUMMY

Obama on The View DEFINITELY makes me roll my eyes. Roll them so hard that they are almost invisible. So hard I am looking at the back of my skull. I mean seriously, don’t you have better things to do than hang out with Joy Behar??

What is Trans Fat? When hydrogen is added to vegetable oil via hydrogenation.

Why do food manufacturers use them? Trans fats are more solid than oil causing them to spoil less quickly = increased shelf life.

Where can you find Trans Fats? Many of your favorite everyday foods. Like Oreo’s, Bisquick, Ramen Noodles, KFC chicken, Froot Loops, Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, Girl Scout Cookies, Animal crackers, Fig Newtons, and Ritz crackers just to name a few.

What words should you look for in ingredients? Partially Hydrogenated Oils, Hydrogenated Oils, Shortening, margarine.

Fact: If a product has less than 0.5 grams of Trans Fat the manufacturer can label it as Zero Trans Fats – even though they are still in there.

Fact: Trans Fats increase bad cholesterol

Fact: Trans fats increase triglycerides (fat found in your blood) which can cause hardening of the arteries and thickening of the artery walls which means increased risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and heart attacks.

Fact: Trans Fats increase the body’s inflammation response which can effect the way your body responds to injury

To put it simply: Trans fats = BAD for your health. If you know what’s good for you, AVOID at all costs.

To learn more click HERE or HERE