Exercise is my stress relief. It is a release that allows you to truly appreciate your body. Push your body to the limits and see how beautiful you become....

Elementary school should be a place where we train up our children so that one day they will take over our world. Teaching kids about reading, science, and math come standard. But what about their health? As a teacher, I consistently see children exit their parents vehicles in the morning, leaving behind wrappers from more fast food restaurants than I've been to in the last year! Our children are our future and we allow them to form unhealthy, lifelong habits under our watch. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect. On occasion, I have been known to enjoy Taco Bueno or Chic-Fil-A....but like I said, on occasion. I hope and pray that as diseases, obesity, and laziness are brought to light in our society, we begin to understand the importance of present actions on our future generations.

Almonds with sea salt mixed with unsalted peanuts are a wonderful mid-day snack! They keep me full and pep me up! Not to mention all the health benefits...

My husband and I decided to try a "5-week no starchy-carbs after lunch diet" to flatten our fluffy stomachs. This has proven to be VERY difficult! We don't realize how much bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, chips, tortillas, rolls, and crackers we eat with our evening meals. Last night I prepared un-breaded Chicken Cordon Blue with cauliflower, beans, and spinach salad. Let's just say I was STARVING after dinner. Not a great feeling when you don't have anything to snack on. Oranges have become my go-to dessert of choice. Regardless of how difficult it may be to prepare dinners that fit within the limits of our new diet, I choose to do so. It's not easy, it's very time consuming, and requires planning. But that's ok. I would rather eat for my health than to eat for mere taste. How many of us out there give in to our temptations for an instant of satisfaction, only to be followed by a day of regret?!? I will admit that I am definitely not all-knowing, but I am going to put forth the effort! Happy eating!

   As I sit here, munching on whole grain flat bread and an apple, I can't help but fantasize about what a supreme pizza would taste like right about now. In my head I can see the commercials that play daily on my TV at home.... I wonder if they can make a delivery before my lunch break ends?
   This is my daily battle with food. I love food! Not only love, I happen to adore, yearn for, and at times, physically hurt when I am deprived of it. I know I am not the only one. Throughout the years, and it hasn't been that many since I'm only 25 years old, I have had a love-hate relationship with food. I love everything about it....except what it does to my body. No matter how hard you try, it's everywhere! I can't avoid social events forever, I can't close my eyes on the drive home, and I definitely can't ignore the smells that blow effortlessly through my car air vents. So here it is, my confession.... I ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT AVOID FOOD.... but I can choose what food I eat.