Menu Plan Monday: Women’s Wellness Recap

menu plan monday

This month’s focus in “Eating Intentionally“* is on “Fighting the Food Police”. What does that mean? Come back later this week and find out!

We are almost finished with our Women’s Wellness series; we’ll be wrapping it up with a few more posts into next week. If you’ve missed any of them, here are the highlights:

Sneak in Exercise on the Cheap

Why You Need to Eat Fat

Emotional and Spiritual Health Amid the Chaos

Help Your Hormones with a Maca Mocha Smoothie

Why You Need the Sun

The Importance of Breakfast (and a recipe!)

Healthy Habits that Ease PMS Symptoms

Eat Breakfast and Eat Well with a Savory Oven Pancake

Get Cultured with Homemade Sour Cream/Creme Fraiche

And we’ve got a few more great posts coming up, including another guest post, and some delicious recipes, so stick around and don’t go anywhere! (That’s an order!)

And now for this week’s menu…

 

 

 

 

Breakfasts

Lunches

  • Leftovers
  • Freezer Stash of Non-Allergenic Foods (for Certain Little Someone)
  • Ham & Cheese Pocket Sandwiches
  • Beans & Rice

Dinners

Snacks

In My Kitchen Today

*My concept of “Eating Intentionally”, and the 10 principles we are working through this year, come from the book “Intuitive Eating” by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. I highly recommend it - I don’t agree with everything in it, but it is a great read for anybody who has ever been on a diet and/or is considering going on a diet.
This post contains affiliate links.

Savory Oven Pancake to Keep You Happy

Don’t miss a single exciting post in my Women’s Wellness Series - subscribe today! We’re talking about all aspects of women’s health. Follow my Women’s Wellness board on Pinterest for even more great articles and product recommendations.

So ladies, I’ve already reminded you of your need to eat your breakfast, and that a healthy, well-balanced diet can help reduce your PMS symptoms. Both things significantly affect your mood, and you know what they say about when Mama ain’t happy. Yeah. Ain’t nobody happy.

So let’s remember to eat breakfast and to eat well. I’ve got a great recipe for you that will help you out with both things. It’s a twist on a traditional breakfast recipe that makes it suitable for any meal, and it’s jam-packed with proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. I will admit it’s low on the greens and veggies side of things, so strongly consider serving it with a leafy green salad or some sauteed greens (if you happen to enjoy eating those disgusting slimy things).

savory oven pancake

I’m sure you’ve heard of “oven pancakes“, also called Dutch pancakes. They’re usually just a little bit sweet, and served with syrup, jam, powdered sugar, or fried apples. There’s nothing wrong with a touch of sweetness on occasion; I just wanted to get creative and see if I could turn this traditional breakfast food into something different that would make it even more appropriate for dinner as well as breakfast.

savory pancake slice

You can do a lot more with this recipe, of course: add some cheese, spinach or other greens, or other herbs and spices.

 

savory pancake bite

It’s a great QUICK dinner (or weekend breakfast or brunch), ready in half an hour or less.

It’s so EASY, too.

It’s a great CHEAP meal, too, cheaper than a meat-based meal at any rate.

As long as it’s accompanied by some fruits and veggies (greens like I recommended, especially), it makes a great HEALTHY meal.

What’s your favorite breakfast-for-dinner?

Sharing at Tastetastic Thursday, Katherine Martinelli, and…

5 Habits that Ease PMS Symptoms

Don’t miss a single exciting post in my Women’s Wellness Series - subscribe today! We’re talking about all aspects of women’s health. Follow my Women’s Wellness board on Pinterest for even more great articles and product recommendations.

OK, so the boys can go away now because I have a funny story that involves girly stuff, and you definitely don’t want to read it. This is girlfriend-to-girlfriend talk here. So buh-bye, boys!

Ok. Are they gone? **peering into all the hiding places**

All righty, coast is clear (I hope.) Here we go…

Caution! P.M.S. Zone

I have a funny story to tell you girls. Recently, my DH and I had this conversation:

DH: “I think Aunt Flo is going to arrive either tomorrow or the next day.”

Me: “Nah. Too soon.”

Fast forward to the next day.

Me: “You were right.”

DH: *beams with pride*

Yes, I had to say those dreaded words: “you were right, and I was wrong.” You know how he knew? My mood! It was apparently a total give-away, having that PMS-y edge to it that (thankfully) appears only during certain times of the month.

So now I’m on a mission to see if I can reduce those tell-tale signs of Aunt Flo’s imminent visit by making a few changes. I’ve done a little research (not extensive, mind you! I’m not a scientist by any means) online and identified 5 different habits that should make a significant improvement in PMS symptoms. (Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Just friendly suggestions from a fellow sufferer.)

Just in case I’m not the only one with the problem (ahem), I’m sharing those 5 habits with you.

Drink Water

Bloating is always an issue for me, and I know it is for many other women as well. The solution is counter-intuitive: drink more water! This is something I really stink at, so I’m making a concerted effort recently to drink more than I usually do. I also don’t believe it’s essential to drink a specific amount every day; I believe my body will tell me when it’s thirsty, I just need to heed the signs.

Reduce Stress

Stress just deteriorates your health all together: it affects mind, body and spirit. Women are particularly prone to allowing life to stress them out, which is why I asked my friend Leigh Ann to contribute her amazing article about emotional and spiritual health to this series.

Stress is particularly bad for PMS symptoms, because it depletes the “feel-good” hormones (serotonin and dopamine) that help prevent PMS in the first place. So if you’re on an endless cycle of stress, you’re going to be on an endless cycle of PMS moodiness. Reducing stress is easier said than done, though, isn’t it?! Here are some ideas for restoring balance to your mood on a regular basis:

  • Pray and Meditate on Scripture
  • Be Grateful (Get specific! List in a journal specific people and things that you are grateful for.)
  • Sleep (8-10 hrs at night if you can)
  • Relaxation Exercises (deep breathing, Pilates, yoga, etc.)

Exercise

Get pro-active about reducing stress - exercising on a regular basis will help your body keep up production of those afore-mentioned “feel-good” hormones. Hate exercise? Don’t think you can squeeze it into your already jam-packed day? Check out my list of ideas for sneaking in exercise.

Probiotics

Controlling PMS is mostly about hormone regulation. Too much estrogen and not enough progesterone are a primary cause of the majority of PMS symptoms. This excellent article about PMS suggests that too little beneficial bacteria in the gut reduces the body’s ability to eliminate excess estrogen. The best way to solve this problem is to take probiotic supplements and eat a diet rich in probiotics.

Probiotics in the diet come cultured foods, like:

*Note: Cultures for Health is a great source for all kinds of starters to make your own cultured probiotic-rich foods at home. They always have a great sale going, so sign up for their emails to keep abreast of the good deals.

Eat Right

Of course, you know I would say that, right? What you put into your body directly affects how it behaves, so make sure you’re filling it with the good stuff. Naturally, not only will eating right help ease your PMS symptoms, it will improve your over-all health.

What does “eating right” really mean, anyway? Seems like everybody has a different idea of that these days. When it comes to PMS health, here are some basic guidelines.

Avoid or Reduce:

  • Caffeine
  • Sugar (in any form!)
  • Alcohol
  • Bad Fats (read this post about good fats you should eat)
Make Sure You Get Enough:
  • Protein
  • Healthy Fats (here’s that article again)
  • Complex Carbohydrates
  • Vegetables & Fruits
  • Leafy Greens
Read Nancy’s post for a great recipe that will kick-start your hormonal health.
So that’s it! Five ways you can reduce your PMS symptoms so your loved ones can stop walking around eggshells every four weeks.
Come back later this week for easy recipes that will help you eat right and effortlessly add more probiotics to your diet.
Do you get irritable at the start of your cycle? Any other symptoms you struggle with? How do you relieve them?

PS. If you’re a boy and you’re still reading… do you regret it yet?

This post contains affiliate links.

H2W Mommy Monday

Girl, Eat Your Breakfast!

Don’t miss a single exciting post in my Women’s Wellness Series - subscribe today! We’re talking about all aspects of women’s health. Follow my Women’s Wellness board on Pinterest for even more great articles and product recommendations.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say, “I’m just not a big breakfast eater.”

Um, hello. Didn’t your mama ever tell you it’s the most important meal of the day? Not that you should skip any meals, but you definitely shouldn’t skip breakfast.

Do you really expect to be able to function on an acceptable level when your body hasn’t been fed since the night before? The reason (at least one reason) we eat is to provide energy and nutrition to our body. If you haven’t done that, your body’s just not going to work the way it’s supposed to. Your mind isn’t going to think straight, your body’s going to lack energy and be sluggish… and worst of all, you’re more than likely going to gain some weight.

Yep, it’s true. Studies have proven that women who skip breakfast gain weight.

I know, I know. It’s hard enough to wake up and get dressed and get the kids out the door in time for school, let alone fix a decent breakfast for everybody.

I’ve got ya covered. The answer to your dilemma is simple: smoothies! I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love a good smoothie (OK, well, except my DH, but he’s weird. Whatever.), and they are SO fast, SO delicious, and SO packed full of amazing goodness to nourish your body all morning long. (Because, you know, breakfast only lasts so long. You’re going to have to eat lunch, too!)

I’ve already posted 2 smoothies during the course of this Women’s Wellness series ( maybe it should have just been the smoothie series!): try the Shamrock Shake (mint gives it a delicious flavor and pretty green color), or Nancy’s Maca Mocha Smoothie.

A smoothie can be a well-rounded breakfast in a cup, complete with protein, fat and carbs to get you going and keep you going. And you can even put it in a to-go cup if you’re really in a hurry!


See how QUICK that was?

And so EASY, too - only one little line of instructions. I’m sure you can handle that even before your morning coffee!

It’s CHEAP enough, I guess. I estimate probably between $1 and $1.50 for this one, depending on how much you pay for the components. Not too shabby!

And wow, is it HEALTHY! You’ve got healthy fats and protein from the milk and yogurt, more healthy fat in the avocado, plenty of fiber between the banana and the avocado, plus antioxidants and vitamins to boot! Drink it up!

Hearth & Soul Hop realfoodallergyfree

Soak Up the Sun!

Don’t miss a single exciting post in my Women’s Wellness Series - subscribe today! We’re talking about all aspects of women’s health. Follow my Women’s Wellness board on Pinterest for even more great articles and product recommendations.

We women have been on quite the roller-coaster relationship with the sun, haven’t we? Way back when (I’m talking turn of the twentieth century), the well-bred woman was supposed to have a demure look, which was as pale as could be. Contrast that with the hard-working lower classes who spent a lot of time in the sun and sported a hearty tan. Fast forward a few decades, and it became popular to get as dark as possible, so women learned all kinds of tricks to attract the sun’s rays to their skin, and spent hours burning in the sun. Then we realized how terrible that was for us when the incidence of skin cancer started to rise, so we went to the opposite extreme and started wearing sunscreen every time we stepped out the door.

Like most things in life, I think the true answer lies somewhere in the middle between either extreme. Too much sun is bad for you. So is too little.

Case in point: the current “epidemic” of Vitamin D deficiency. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency increased along with the increased use of sunscreens and higher SPFs. What does vitamin D have to do with the sun and sunscreen?

Everything.

Our main source of vitamin D is from the sun! The above referenced article states that 50-90% of usable vitamin D comes from exposure to the sun, and the remaining amount is procured from the diet. (Very few foods have any amount of vitamin D at all, and those that do, don’t have a lot of it.)

Sun and clouds 3

Why is vitamin D so important? It seems like every new scientific study reveals a new purpose that vitamin D fills in the body, preventing all kinds of diseases and conditions. Many of these are of particular interest to women. For example:

  • Vitamin D helps the body make use of calcium, which strengthens the bones and helps prevent breaks and falls.
  • It reduces the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women.
  • It has been linked to maintaining a healthy body weight.
  • People with higher levels of vitamin D have a lower risk of developing cancer (including breast cancer).
There are a lot more benefits to having sufficient vitamin D, but those are the ones that concern women in particular.
Let’s put these two thoughts together, then: we need vitamin D for good health, and our main source of vitamin D is from the sun. One might conclude from those two facts alone that the answer is to go sit outside all day in the sun and soak up as much vitamin D as you can!
Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. First of all, as far as I can understand, any excess vitamin D garnered after 15-20 minutes in the sun is degraded. Furthermore, too much exposure to the sun has definitely been linked to an increase in skin cancers. The sun is powerful and shouldn’t be underestimated!
So what’s the conclusion? This:
Enjoy 15-20 minutes in the sun several times a week, making sure to expose as much of your face, arms, and hands as you can. After that, go back inside or cover your skin with clothing and wear a hat.
One article I read suggested that the UV index of 3 or higher was optimal for the highest levels of vitamin D. Weather.com usually indicates the UV index in each day’s forecast.
Personally, if I’m going outside before or after the sun is at its peak (before 11 or after 3), I don’t worry about any exposure I may get. But if I go outside when the sun is really strong and hot, I try to stay in the shade or cover up somehow to limit my exposure.
For more information, read:
Vitamin D across the lifecycle
What is your own personal relationship with the sun? Love? Hate?

 

Maca Mocha Smoothie

Regular guest contributor Nancy, from Real Food Allergy Free, brings us today’s post,

with a delicious-looking smoothie recipe… plus information about how maca increases a women’s wellness!

Maca is a tuber root (similar to potato) grown high in the mountains of Peru. Though it’s been used medicinally in Peru for thousands of years, it’s just recently gaining popularity in the US. Since its Women’s Wellness Month here at Quick and Easy, Cheap and Healthy, we will focus on how maca root benefits women.

Maca root is a super-food that is packed full of nutritious goodness. It’s loaded with over 60 micronutrients, 18 amino acids and 20 fatty acids. Maca is 40% potassium, 10% calcium and contains vitamins A, B, C, D, E, B12, B1, 2, 3, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, silica and zinc.

It is believed that maca is most beneficial because of its effect on the endocrine system. Maca is an endocrine modulator and the

endocrine system includes all of the body’s glands and the hormones they secrete. Hormones regulate many, many things including tissue function, mood, growth and sexual development.

Here are some of the ways maca can help women:

  • Sometimes called Peruvian ginseng, maca increases energy and provides mental clarity.
  • Maca helps to regulates hormones which can alleviate PMS and perimenopause symptoms.
  • Leveled hormones lead to less mood swings and better emotional health.
  • Also called nature’s Viagara, maca is known as an aphrodisiac, increasing libido.

Maca has a very strong smell and taste. It is somewhat malt like, so I find a chocolate based smoothie is the best way to get it down. This Maca Mocha Smoothie is my favorite.

Maca Malt

Maca Mocha Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 Banana, frozen
  • 2 tsp Cocoa Powder
  • 3 tsp Maca Root Powder (buy it here)
  • ¾ cup Vanilla Coconut Milk Beverage or Dairy Milk

 

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Add sweetener if necessary.

*********************************

Nancy is a God fearing, family loving, and homeschooling mom to four. You can find her at www.RealFoodAllergyFree.com where she shares her family’s favorite recipes and money saving deals for foods that are free of the top 8 common food allergens (egg, dairy, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, peanut, tree nut).

Hearth & Soul Hop

Finding Emotional & Spiritual Health amid the Chaos {Guest Post}

Don’t miss a single exciting post in my Women’s Wellness Series - subscribe today! We’re talking about all aspects of women’s health, plus I’ve got a great giveaway and some guest posts lined up for you! Follow my Women’s Wellness board on Pinterest for even more great articles and product recommendations.

One cannot speak of wellness without consider emotional and spiritual health. After all, we are not just a body - we are a spirit and a soul, too! And the three work together, inseparable. I am so honored that Leigh Ann of Intentional By Grace is sharing with us about spiritual and emotional wellness today. You will definitely enjoy her post!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The beds lay unmade for the fifth day in a row. Laundry piles atop the kitchen table waiting to be folded. Men’s work shirts call from the corner chair begging to be ironed. The work sits by the computer waiting to be finished. The checkbook lies open on the counter with the rent check still in place. It should have been mailed yesterday. A lot of things should have been finished yesterday, and yet today is almost gone.

Sometimes, things are just hard.
Sometimes, everything around me just feels out of place and chaotic.
Sometimes, I just wish I could crawl into a closet, plug my ears, and sing Jesus Loves Me until the cows come home.

Hide and Seek 112/365

Recently, the hard days have far outweighed the easy days. The days filled with tears take first place in my mind while the days filled with laughter feel like a distant memory.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5b

In my own strength, I am failing. In my own strength, I fail to believe God’s promises, and I fail to rest beneath His wings.

Sure, I am in His eternal rest, Heaven, because of the blood of Christ, but I am not able to experience His earthly, spiritual rest that He has offered me because I’m working out of my own strength.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10


Canaan was the earthly rest that was offered to the people of God in the Old Testament. Unfortunately, an entire generation did not get to experience it because they hardened their hearts, even after going through Egypt, the Red Sea, and Sinai! They rebelled against God. They tested God. They failed to believe Him, and as a result, they perished in the wilderness and were prohibited from entering God’s rest.

What’s sadder than this Old Testament story is how many of us come right up to the edge of entering into freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ, and then our hearts are hardened. We look at giants. We look at our circumstances. We quiver in fear, and we say, “We’re not going forward. We’re not believing God.”

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12

As a wife and a mom, I have found the days are hard sometimes, and more often than not, I fail to believe that God is capable of providing me with the much needed rest that I long for. But, I must put off unbelief. Instead, I need the shield of faith, faith that holds firm to Jesus Christ all the way to the finish line. I cannot accomplish my goals on my own accord, with my own plans, with my own ideas of success. I must instead say that Jesus Christ is enough. My greatest need has been met, and because of this, God has promised me a present rest, a life of freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ.

The life of rest is a life of faith, faith in Christ and Christ alone. We will not experience rest here in this life - the peace, the abundance, the freedom, the fullness, the fruitfulness –as long as we are striving in our own effort to be who God wants us to be. It has to be Him at work in us for us to experience peace that surpasses all understanding.

So I must ask you. Are you resting in the peace that God has offered you today, or are you striving to accomplish all of your work in your own strength? My friends, Christ longs to carry the burden for you. It’s hard enough being you without carrying that which was never meant for you to carry.

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? Psalm 18:30

Leigh Ann’s life goal is to create a home where it is impossible to not think about God. At Intentional By Grace, she blogs about her journey of intentional living in order to make this goal a reality.

She is the wife of three years to the man of her prayers, Mark, and mama to a loveable little boy, Samuel. She takes joy in spending her days creating memorable moments with her husband, conducting kitchen experiments, researching every natural alternative known to man, and making her little boy laugh. She does it all by the grace of God.

You can follow her on twitter @n10tionalgrace or by liking Intentional By Grace on Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Importance of Fat {Especially for a Woman} and a Book Review

Don’t miss a single exciting post in my Women’s Wellness Series! We’re talking about all aspects of women’s health, plus I’ve got a great giveaway and some guest posts lined up for you! Follow my Women’s Wellness board on Pinterest for even more great articles and product recommendations.

I just finished reading a fascinating book called “The Good Fat Cookbook. It’s not what you might think, especially if you subscribe to contemporary thought that designates polyunsaturated fats as good and saturated fats as evil incarnate. The back of the book will give you a clue, though, as it lists the Good and Bad fats under consideration. On the list of good fats: butter, coconut, red meat, eggs, bacon, milk, and ice cream. Surprised? How about the bad fats? Canola oil, reduced-fat anything, soy, vegetable oil, and more. Doubly surprised?

If you were even mildly surprised by that good and bad listing, you should read this book! Before diving into some delicious and awesome healthy-fat-filled recipes, author Fran McCullough takes you through the history and science regarding all the various kinds of dietary fats, and explains all the ramifications they have on our health. And even though I’ve been a full-fat enthusiast for years, I learned a lot in this book, so I can recommend it for seasoned whole foodies, too.

Here are some quotes from the book:

In 1875, Americans ate 30 pounds of butter per year. … In 2002, Americans have dropped their fat consumption by 17 percent since 1977. The obesity rate has increased by 25%. Americans now eat 5 lbs of butter, 11-12 lbs of margarine, per person a year. Since 1952, trans fat consumption has risen 2500%. We still eat the same amount of food we ate in 1900, but we eat 127% more sweeteners….

According to Dr. Ron Rosedale of the Colorado Center for Metabolic Medicine, fat is the body’s preferred fuel, not sugar (in all carbohydrates). He points out that when the body stores excess sugar, it’s stored as fat, in a good usable form. Fats not only don’t make you fat (unless you eat them to huge excess - and even then, only if you also ingest enough sugars and starches to stimulate your fat-storage system), they’re good weapons against obesity.

We know… that by and large the food we’re eating in the early twenty-first century is not making us flourish. There are exceptions, of course: the Japanese and French, who happen to be the most and the second most healthy people in the world. Both these groups eat quite a different menu from the standard American one, and both their diets are full of good fats (fatty fish and eggs for the Japanese, butter, cheese, duck fat, olive oil, and an occasional treat of foie gras for the French). Right behind these two exemplary groups of healthy populations are the Mediterraneans, whose famous diet, rich in monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, is especially tasty. … It seems that every geographical area supplies essential fats for its population in a natural, accessible form. Among the Greenland Eskimos, traditionally there were no reliable supplies of vegetables and fruits, but fatty fish and seaweed provided them a completely healthy diet, perhaps the healthiest of all. In the Pacific islands, there’s fish and coconut - that miraculous substance. In Mexico, there are avocados and fish and lard. In Russia, caviar is a traditional miracle cure, prescribed for pregnant and nursing women and anyone whose health needs a boost. Even in the Ireland of the great famine, there were fish and seaweed and wild purslane for the taking. Only in America, where we insist on having it all, do we have very little of these valuable foods, mainly because we’ve taken them out of our food supply in the misguided notion that our health will improve as a result.

The food industry and healthy food police, those talking-head health experts with their extensive media exposure, have promoted polyunsaturated fats mercilessly, which is why all of us think they’re so good for us. These fats do reduce cholesterol in the blood, but they have a disastrous downside: they increase it in the tissues, which is where it really matters. They are deposited in the vascular membranes, and because they’re unstable, cholesterol has to come and pave them over to stabilize them. That’s the way, current thinking goes, we get vascular blockage that can lead to a heart attack. but, in fact, only polyunsaturated fats oxodize cholesterol; saturated fat, from animal sources, won’t oxidize that cholesterol, which is what makes it dangerous and likely to trigger cardiovascular incidents and strokes. … And for strokes too, according to Dr. Mary Enig, polyunsaturated fats are initiators, while saturated fats are protective.

I could offer you a lot more quotes from the book, but really, you should read it yourself. Some of the topics McCullough covers:

  • how the cholesterol-heart disease connection came about, and how it is faulty
  • how the different types of fat work in your body
  • why the government and media make recommendations that have been scientifically proven to be faulty
  • good sources of good fats
  • what are the best fats for your budget
  • why polyunsaturated oils are so terrible for your body
  • free radicals, oxidation, and antioxidants
There are some things I noticed in the book that you should be aware of. For one, I find the author to be occasionally confusing, and seems to contradict herself at times. Also, while she is well-researched regarding fats in the diet, she misses the mark on some of her other recommendations (for example, she offers Splenda as a good substitute for sugars in the dessert section of the cookbook). Also, be aware that the book was written 10 years ago, so some of the information is outdated.
Over all, though, I highly recommend reading this book, whether or not you are well versed in the sad history of fat in America. You will find it fascinating and thought-provoking if nothing else. And besides, she’s got some great recipes in the back of the book, like Lemon Posset, and Cuban Roast Pork with Lime.
Since my topic is Women’s Wellness, though, I want to focus for a second on the connection between fats and hormones, which she mentions in the book. Here’s a quote:
What we have deprived ourselves of - the delicious, satisfying good fats of traditional diets all around the world - are also startlingly health-protective and offer many other desirable benefits, such as good skin, great hair, a good sex life, fertility, a vital immune system, enough vitamin E for your heart, optimum hormone production and antiaging properties. (This sounds like a headline list for a woman’s magazine! Only you won’t find these things in bottles or pills, you’ll find them in fat! ~ AS) Your hormones, which control every cell in your body, don’t work properly without adequate fat, and neither does your immune system.
Did you know that your body needs cholesterol to make hormones? Or that eating low-fat dairy products inhibits your body’s ability to ovulate? Or that essential fatty acids can ease PMS symptoms? Read about some more essential roles that fat plays in the body here.
Clearly, our bodies require fats, and not just in small amounts, either. It’s a commonly accepted fact that fat is one of the three macronutrients - foods our bodies need in large amounts in order to survive and thrive. Many people try to reduce either carbs or fats, but the simple truth is we need both.

 

While the media continues to draw the opposite conclusion, it seems to me that all the evidence points to this: fats are essential to health, especially to a woman’s reproductive health. The only kind of fat proven to be detrimental to reproductive health is trans fats, and we all already knew those were evil. But basic biology and nutrition show us clearly that we need to have an adequate amount of fat in our diet in order for all our body’s systems to run smoothly.

 

Women, in particular, struggle with this because of our body shape and image. We want to look skinny, so we follow the contemporary advice that instructs us to eat less fat so we have less fat. The problem is that this advice is flawed on so many levels. First of all, women aren’t meant to be super thin. We’ve all heard of the gymnasts and ballerinas with amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) because they don’t have enough body fat and exercise too much, but we don’t stop to consider that the same thing could be happening to us, just not on as extreme of a level. Maybe we don’t want to look like a gymnast, but we still starve ourselves or work ourselves to the bone trying to get rid of something that’s supposed to be there. (Now, of course, there’s the opposite extreme. Obesity doesn’t help your reproductive system - or any system in your body for that matter - either. I’m talking about a healthy weight here!). Secondly, fat doesn’t make you fat!

 

Which brings me back to what I started with: read the Good Fat Cookbook. Or Eat Fat, Lose Fat. Or In Defense of Food: an Eater’s Manifesto. Or The Maker’s Diet. Or Nourishing Traditions. All of these books will convince you of your need for fat in your diet, and far more eloquently (and accurately!) than I ever could.
So what fats should you eat? McCullough’s “Good” list pretty much sums it up:
  • Butter
  • Nuts
  • Coconut
  • Olive Oil
  • Fish
  • Avocado
  • Red Meat
  • Eggs
  • Bacon
  • Milk & Full-Fat Dairy
So go clean the low-fat, fat-free fake food out of your fridge, and enjoy some real, God-given fat-full food!
This post contains affiliate links.

5 Ways to Sneak in Exercise on the Cheap

Welcome back to Women’s Wellness, a series all about wellness issues that particularly concern women (if you couldn’t figure that out by the title!). Today we’re talking about exercise.

Yes, the dreaded E-word. It’s not a 4-letter word, but it might as well be for some of us! If you are a busy mom (can I get a witness?) who isn’t real keen on exercise to begin with (another witness?) it can be a seemingly insurmountable task to carve out time in your day to get the job done.

But it is possible! I have 5 easy ways for you to squeeze moments of exercise into your day, without costing you an arm and a leg. Because if you can barely afford the time to exercise, you certainly aren’t going to dump your hard-earned money into a gym membership.

Do a 10 or 15 minute routine.

If you’re serious about it, you can squeeze 15 minutes into your day, at least a few times a week. Here are a few suggestions for fitting it into your schedule (I’ve done all of these at one time or another):

  • Get up early before the kids wake up.
  • Exercise during naptime.
  • Exercise before you go to bed (after the kids are already in bed).
Did you notice all those options involved sleeping children? Hmmm. Well, even if your children never sleep, surely you can squeeze in a few moments while they play quietly (or loudly) with one another, or perhaps while they are watching TV (Of course, my children never watch TV. Never! Ahem.).
Now, the question is, what kind of exercise can you do in 10 or 15 minutes? Well, I’ve got you covered! All kinds of quick routine DVDs are available and typically come with 3-5 different routines so you don’t get bored. Some of my favorites are:
Search your local library’s catalog to see if they carry these or similar titles. My library allows me to borrow non-fiction DVDs for 3 weeks at a time, and they have enough DVDs to keep me in a supply of routines without getting bored.
Here are some other ways to get access to these DVDs without paying $15-20 a pop:
  • I found most of those on Netflix (the availability fluctuates; they may or may not be available all the time). If you already have Netflix, then these resources are already available to you. If not, you can get unlimited streaming from Netflix for $7.99 a month.
  • Amazon.com has a similar program; if you’re already a Prime member, you can upgrade your membership to unlimited streaming for only $39, which is a little over $3 a month and gives you access to all kinds of streaming exercise DVDs. Or you can pay for each individual title you purchase (same with iTunes) and download (still cheaper than buying the actual DVD).
  • If you already have cable or satellite TV, chances are, they have an on-demand channel full of exercise routines, including mini-routines like these.
If all else fails, check out Workoutz.com, a website that’s chock full of all kinds of exercises, as well as an exercise routine generator. Be warned that it’s kind of the YouTube of the exercise world, so the videos there are not necessarily offered by professionals. Just so you know.

Take a Walk with Your Kids

Walking has often been touted as the perfect exercise, and happily, it’s also the easiest. Take your kids for a walk outside; they will run in circles around you, and you will all get plenty of exercise! And if baby’s in a stroller, so much the better. Push that baby up the hill, girlfriend!

Use a Pedometer

This Multi-Function Pedometer by Heart Rate Monitors will count all your steps as you take them through the day, as well as calculate the distance you’ve walked, and the calories you’ve burned. And it’s only $6.75! Make it your goal to take 10,000 steps in a day, and this (or any) pedometer will keep track and let you know when you’ve reached that goal. And you don’t have to be going anywhere in particular for the steps to count: figure out ways to add extra steps into your daily routine.
  • Walk in place as you load the dishwasher or the washing machine.
  • Take the scenic route wherever you go, even if it’s just to the bedroom in the back of the house.
  • Stand up, stretch, and walk around during TV commercials.

Play with Your Kids

Kids love a good workout, only they call it “playtime”. Play with your kids - they’ll have a blast, you’ll have a blast, and once again - every one will get exercise! Here are some ideas for kids of all age ranges:
  • Piggy-back rides
  • Horsey rides
  • Catch
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Leap frog
  • Kickball
  • Soccer/Football/Basketball
  • Jump Rope
  • Hopscotch
  • Races/Relay Races
  • “Wrestling” or Rough-Housing
  • Ring Around the Rosie
  • Duck Duck Goose

Turn Chores into Exercise Opportunities

Most of our “chores” these days have the benefit of a machine to help us, so we don’t get as much exercise in accomplishing household tasks as previous generations did. Build some beneficial movement back into your chores:
  • Stretch or do basic Pilates/Yoga moves while the mixer is mixing or the blender is blending.
  • Squat with each handful when loading clothes from the washer into the dryer.
  • Do lunges while vacuuming.
  • Do in-place step/aerobic exercises any time you’re standing in one place (at the sink, over the stove, looking in the mirror).
  • Use a walking mower instead of a riding mower.
  • Practice ballet positions and plies while blow drying or curling your hair.
  • When doing any household chore that involves rhythmic or energetic movement already (like scrubbing, reaching up high, dusting, etc.), focus on even movements, strengthening from the core, and breathing with your movements. (It helps to have some experience with Pilates or yoga in order to be effective with this.)
Before you know it, you’ll be fit as a fiddle!
How do you sneak in exercise as a busy woman?
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy.

Works for Me Wednessday

Interesting reads