3.14.2012

Being healthy...is it worth it??

Hello, long-abandoned bloggees!
As some of you may know, the husband and I have been on a health-kick lately.
It may or may not have something to do with the fact that we have a potential of winning over $400 if we (and by we, I mean Jake only...) win the two biggest loser competitions we (ha.) are currently participating in. 
(I say we because although Jake is the only one officially participating in the competitions, I am providing all of the healthy meals and running music mixes, plus cheer leading on the side. :) This is hard work, people!)

So I have a couple of questions for you all. 
And I would really like any comments or suggestions I can get. 
I know there are many of you out there who don't comment because you are a "closet reader" 
(It's okay...I do it too...) 
but here is your chance to verbalize your thoughts. 
I welcome you, one and all.
My questions are these:

First, do you think this is true? 

"The forty-year-old campaign to create low-fat and nonfat versions of traditional foods has been a failure: We’ve gotten fat on low-fat products. Why? Because removing the fat from foods doesn’t necessarily make them nonfattening. Carbohydrates can also make you fat, and many low- and nonfat foods boost the sugars to make up for the loss of flavor … You’re better off eating the real thing in moderation than binging on “lite” food products packed with sugars and salt."    
--Michael Pollan

I have not done much research on the matter, but I've heard this before and am trying to decide how "healthy" I really want to be. I know there are so many "healthy" routes the husband and I could take...
should this be one of them?

Second, and most importantly...
What is your favorite "healthy" meal? 
It is HARD WORK to come up with recipes that are not only tasty, but also relatively low-cal and nutritious. It would be nice to say that I have all sorts of hours in my day to spend surfing pinterest or googling "healthy meals" to find the latest and greatest quinoa concoction...
but I don't. 
(Although, I will admit...
I spend way more time doing this than any semi-normal person should...)

Thank you very much for your input, I really do appreciate it!
My gift to you is coming soon.
Watch for it...
Her name is "Karma."

P.S. We had this for dinner yesterday, but I switched out the ground beef for ground turkey and added some lime juice and cilantro to the meat mixture. 
It was DELICIOUS! 
We also used Greek yogurt as sour cream:

 My new favorite obsession?
Yes!
Try it and tell me what you think!
Also, just because I love pictures, I decided to add this.
The colors alone make me SO excited for summer!

*And for the record,
just to prove I am not turning into a crazy health-freak...
I generally don't like fruit.
I just force myself to eat it 
and having it already cut up and on hand makes it much easier. :)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

One healthy meal we like a lot is tostadas. I guess They are only as healthy as you make them but you can really load on the veggies and beans are good for you! The only thing not healthy is that we fry the tortillas but you could just as easily bake them until they got crisp. Fried is just so much better haha my recipe is on my food blog if you want to look.

As far as eating the "light" versions of food goes...I'd say eat all the normal things in moderation if it was me. Sure I buy light yogurt etc. but mainly I just eat whatever but in moderation and I use chicken broth a lot instead of oil to saute things...that is a sweet trick that saves tons of calories. And you can also use light yogurt in place of butter/oil in most baking recipes for a nice calorie cut but it actually makes everything especially breads softer!

About a year and a half ago I lost almost 20 pounds over about a 6 month period just watching the QUANTITY of foods I ate. I tried to eat mostly healthy things all day lots of fruits and stuff and always enjoyed the same dinner as Mark even if it was chili dogs or something. I had legitimate dessert like 2-3 times a week but just not huge amounts of the dessert and exercised like 4 days a week for about 45 minutes. Nothing too drastic but it worked for me. I am so not a dieter I just love food too much and good food at that. It drives me crazy on biggest loser when they tell them to NEVER EAT YUMMY THINGS that is ridiculous! You just have to have yummy :D

Sorry holy cow you said to comment so I guess you got one! Hopefully that was not just a whole bunch of rambling.

Abby said...

I love when you share your healthy recipes. Keep them coming! Do you like greek yogurt? I am trying to get myself to like it.. and it's just not happening. Maybe I need to try a different kind or something. But yes, I agree that it is so hard to come up with healthy recipes every night.. not to mention expensive! I need all the help I can get. I loved seeing you two out running on Saturday, I was at the point of almost passing out so it helped! haha.

MulfHerd said...

Kjersti, thanks for the long comment!! I LOVE hearing what others have to say on this matter. I really liked your idea about using chicken broth instead of oil for sauteing...I have never thought of doing that. Also, I need to try tostadas...to be honest, I've never actually had one. ha ha! How sad. I will definitely be checking out the recipe you use!

MulfHerd said...

I do like greek yogurt, but not so much plain. The other night I mixed some seasonings into it and used it on fish as a "sauce". That was good. Also, I think the best way to use it is in place of sour cream in recipes...I think it would be good in bread, because it has that sweetness to it. Also, I loved seeing you as well! It totally brightened my day, especially at the point when I was feeling so down about being about a half-mile behind my husband! ha ha!

The Reel Fisch Story said...

Steph! Yes I am so one of those closet readers haha. I LOVE that you two are trying more and more to be healthy! Believe me I know how hard it is! Being in my profession for the last 6 months now I have really had to get down and dirty with my nutrition and fitness goals! If you guys ever have questions or need help with anything please let me know :) I work at Lifelong Fitness in Kaysville and would definitely love to help you guys out with any nutrition goals you guys might have! Recipes, meal plans and all! I look forward to seeing your guys progress, it is hard but WELL worth it!! I promise! ps. your blog is adorable and I always love to "keep in touch" so to speak, through blog stalking with highschool friends!

Megan said...

Dearest Steph! I'm proud of you for trying to be healthy! It is so hard these days with being so busy and the convenience of fast food and mac and cheese :) I love seeing all your healthy meals pop up on my pinterest haha. To answer your first question, I do believe that "light" and "non-fat" foods are NOT good for us at all! Especially "sugar free" stuff. They just add in those artificial sweeteners that our body can't digest as well as plain old sugar so they do more damage to our bodies than help. I agree with Kjersti that you just need moderation in all things. I've been cooking the exact same things as always, we just eat smaller portions and Mike has lost about 10 lbs, but he has also been exercising very diligently. I say, stick to unprocessed foods as much as possible. I love just eating fruit and veggies with the occasional pasta or meat, but that's just me. Love ya tons and good luck with healthy!

Unknown said...

hey look. i'm commenting on your blog. just because i CAN now! yay

MulfHerd said...

@Kendra-thanks for the offer! We might have to take you up on that one day. :) I'm glad that you have found my blog, because now I found yours. I look forward to blog-stalking you now, too! ;)

@Megan-come to Logan! We'll cook you up a delicious meal AND we can get our social life on. I feel like I haven't seen you forever!

Beth McNeil said...

I agree with that quote to a degree. Some things that are fat free or low fat do have loaded sugar or other "sugar-free" sweeteners to make up for flavour. Others are just fine.

As far as healthy recipes go, I'll keep a look out. I made a really yummy crock pot recipe of spinach lasagna, you can substitute low fat ricotta cheese and mozzarella for the normal whole stuff. It's in my notes on Facebook. Also if your interested my Pop gave me a really good vegetable soup (with chicken) recipe. I make a huge pot of that and then freeze lots for fast servings during the week.
And as far as Greek yogurt goes. It's very good for you, I've heard more than regular yogurt. We eat the brand, Zoi. Haven't had any other brand, because we got hooked on that. :)