Momming

    TJ (and I’m not talking about Maxx)

    I know it’s only March and we are a mere 3 months removed from our New Year’s Resolutions…I want to help those of you out who had “Health” as one of the things you wanted to focus on in 2018.  Other than my “Soupy Saturdays”, I rarely devote posts to this type of thing, but it is a big part of my life as I try to make the best choices for my family…and I really love “real” & “practical” life posts from the blog communities I connect with.

    Many of you have asked me over the last year about the physical transformation you have seen in my daughter Rylie, and nutrition was 80% of that change.  I will tell you like I told her, if you are in doubt, you can DO THIS and you are WORTH IT.  I will dedicate some future posts to specifics if you are interested…so leave a comment and let me know!  By the way, I love your comments – I want to hear back from you 🙂

    Real food is key.

    Eliminate as much processed food from your life as you can.  I know this is not always easy and takes more time and planning, but once again…you are worth it.  I thought I would share with you a recent shopping trip to my favorite grocery, Trader Joe’s, for some of my tried and true family favorites.

    Asian Stir Fry Veggies – Perfect to sauté stove top with some grilled chicken breast and brown rice

    Spaghetti Squash – Incredible healthy alternative for pasta noodles

    Feta Cheese – Love this in salads, omelettes, makes everything taste better

    Cherry Tomatoes – Great for snacking or in salads

    Strawberries – I can’t keep strawberries in my house.  They are everyones favorite and don’t last long!

    Small Cucumbers – Great for snacking and for school lunches

    Dried Pineapple Rings – OMG…so good.  Chewy and better for you than sour patch kids 🙂

    Peanut Butter Protein Granola – Tribe favorite…so good on top of a yogurt and fruit parfait, smoothie, or alone

    Apple Bars – So yummy.  The kids love these and they are a good alternative to sugary granola bars.

    Seasoned Brussel Sprouts – Ready to cook these are super easy and so good for you

    Vegetable Fried Rice – need I say more?  Perfect for a side dish with your stir fry and its super quick & easy

    Chicken Cilantro Mini Wontons – OMG, literally so incredible

    Edamame – One of our favorite appetizers, side dishes, snacks

    Coconut Shrimp – Easy as 1-2-3 and delicious

    Fresh Hard-Cooked Boiled Eggs – these save my life…perfect for snacking, breakfast, easy protein

    Roasted Tomatillo Salsa – I got hooked on “green sauce” when we lived in California…its so good and this is one of my faves

    Chicken Breakfast Sausage – I don’t like Turkey Sausage so this is very good and so good for you

    Lemon Elderflower Soda – I love weird tasting things, but these are so good and refreshing

    Parmesan Romano & Asiago Cheese – Great on top of salads, spaghetti squash, you name it

    Bamba Peanut Snacks – literally a peanut butter alternative to cheese curls, and we love peanut butter

    Cilantro Dressing – one of my favorite dressings, I will warn you it is very garlic-ey so be choosy about when you eat it 🙂

    Chili Spiced Mango – dried mango with a kick

    Cinnamon Roll Bread – need I say more?  Pop in the toaster and voila!

    Queso Cheese – Best snack when you are craving something with some substance – I will tell you how to make this below for a great game day snack

    Organic Vegetarian Chili – SOOOO GOOD!

    Fat-Free Cottage Cheese- Hearty snack with veggies or fruit

    Strawberry Smoothies – Bellas favorite, and they have live cultures so helps provide probiotic for good digestion

    Rhubarb & Strawberry Sodas – Told you I like weird things, no one else likes these and honestly I’m glad haha…more for me

    Gyoza Dipping Sauce – perfect with the Cilantro Wontons!

    This is Rylie’s Food – She is Vegan so she has some personal favorites

    Sriracha Hummus – Spicy and so good…she loves to dip the small cucumbers in this

    Vegetable Spring Rolls – Easy to make and really yummy

    Veggie Burger – She loves these…fry in a little coconut oil on the stove-top

    Carrot & Pea Vegetable Patties – This was our first time buying these…never again haha!

    Absolute Black Dark Chocolate – for her sweet tooth

    Cookie Butter – OMG AMAZING

    Green Dragon Hot Sauce– This is definitely spicy but tastes so good

    Sriracha Baked Tofu – Rylie loves this!

    Soy Chorizo – We are big chorizo fans so her finding this was great!

    Game-day Snack

    Just mix these two together and microwave for about 3 minutes…scoop with some tortilla chips and you’re good to go!

    Spices/Seasonings

    Chili Lime – MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!  I use this on cucumbers, raw veggies, I even sprinkle it on Frozen Fruit Bars!

    Pumpkin Pie Spice – this is great on anything for added sweetness and if you are a pumpkin fan…you’ll love it.  Especially good in smoothies 🙂

    Onion Salt – good and a little goes a long way

    Seasoning Salt – Staple and good on anything

    Everything but the bagel – Incredible stuff…so good on chicken, in scrambled eggs, literally makes everything better!

    Moral of the story is eat less sugar…you’re already sweet enough or why like fake food if you don’t like fake people?

    11 Comments

  • Reply
    Sharayah Franklin
    March 15, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    I love this!! I joined weight watchers a few weeks ago, but sometimes these kinds of things just feel so restrictive, and I believe that my metabolism must hate me haha! I’d love to see more specifics on this kind of thing!

    • Reply
      Stephanie Harrison
      March 15, 2018 at 5:37 pm

      Thank you soooo much for commenting and letting me know this content was helpful! I would definitely like to include more of these types of posts…and you can do this! You are worth taking care of your health!

  • Reply
    Candice Casey
    March 15, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    Love this, Steph! These are all great options and are much more like the Selections you’d see in my own grocery haul now, after losing 60lbs. I never thought I’d care about health, but after losing so many people I love far too soon, I knew this was an area in my life I needed to focus on.

    I’m so glad I have you and my chic tribe “Unbecoming Unhealthy Habits” with me!

    • Reply
      Stephanie Harrison
      March 15, 2018 at 5:38 pm

      I’m so proud of you! What’s incredible is that your children don’t even know it, but watching you make the changes you have in your life will teach them healthy habits. I love you dearly and thank you for commenting!

  • Reply
    Valerie Roller
    March 15, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    Steph, thank you for sharing this! Although I never thought that I would ever find interest in anything that looked, smelled or acted healthy, my life and mind has totally changed and now I actually read nutrition labels and actually CHOOSE healthy alternatives, who knew. I plan to adopt some of your choices into my regular menu, again thanks for this. I look foward to seeing more blogs like this.

    • Reply
      Stephanie Harrison
      March 16, 2018 at 8:53 am

      Valerie,
      It’s so wonderful to hear from you! Thanks so much for taking the time to express how this helped you. I am so happy to hear that you are making healthy choices for YOU! I will definitely include some more of this type of content in the near future!

  • Reply
    Judy
    March 15, 2018 at 9:24 pm

    Love this! So informative and the pics and comments are very helpful! Our closest TJ IS 20 miles away but will make it worth my time! I always pray for God to take the desire of things away from me that is not good spiritually or physically! You just have to put the time into it! I love you more; you’re amazing😘😘

  • Reply
    Stephanie Harrison
    March 16, 2018 at 8:55 am

    Thank you so much! I love you too…even if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s close to you…alot of these options can be found at Kroger in the Simple Truth or Organic Sections. Or make a list and just go once a month to your TJ. I know you and you can definitely make it happen 🙂

  • Reply
    Angie
    March 17, 2018 at 1:25 am

    Amazing advice!! Love it!!

  • Reply
    Gwin Minter
    March 19, 2018 at 8:43 am

    Pastor Steph! I really loved this post! So informative and helpful. Your daughter looks amazing and what an example for those of us who need to be more healthy! This was great! Im saving this post. Great job. Thank You.
    Luv ya

    • Reply
      Stephanie Harrison
      March 19, 2018 at 2:41 pm

      Thank you Gwin! I love and appreciate you. I told her that this will be one of those “forever encouragements” to her that as she put in the hard work and discipline it took, she will never encounter something she thinks is impossible!

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