Tips for a Healthier Life

7 Tips for Healthier Living That We Use: 1) Eat a good breakfast to start the day. We usually have an assortment of things, but it usually includes a starch (muffins, waffles, pancakes, French toast, oatmeal, cream of wheat, biscuits, cereal), some type of protein (eggs, sausage, bacon, yogurt, peanut butter) and fruit. Starting off on a full stomach keeps us less likely to grab a “not so good” snack early in the day. Also, when Tate does need a snack in the morning, I restrict it to a low sugar cereal and fruit. I’m a firm believer in eating a big breakfast in order to keep the munchies away! I would love to be able to fix a huge breakfast every morning, but unfortunately that doesn’t happen. 2) Eat fruit with every meal. We started this about a year ago and try to keep it up at all times. Fruit is so good for you and we love it. We like fresh fruit best, but I always keep frozen and some canned fruit on hand to use in a pinch. 3) Snack on good protein filled snacks. We always get a snack about mid afternoon in order to make it to suppertime. This also keeps the munchies away before supper. 4) Increase the fiber in our diet. We also started eating more fiber about a year ago and found that the foods don’t taste as bad as we would have thought. I buy whole-wheat bread and pasta, which we eat a lot. I also would like to start baking with whole-wheat bread, but just haven’t yet (mostly because I don’t think about it while at the store). 5) Eat sweets in moderation. We still eat some sweets and I could not live without them. Keeping that in mind, we just eat a little, not a lot! 6) Keep sugary drinks to a minimum. I don’t drink “cokes” much at all. (“cokes”= any soda drink). So that’s not hard for me, but Matt likes them. We buy the little small ones for Matt to take for lunch so he still gets what the likes, just less. We put a little sugar in our tea, and drink our morning juice with half water to dilute it. Saves a little sugar and money that way! To this day, Tate will not drink a soda – yay! He says they are “hot”. So maybe he’ll grow up like me and not ever really get addicted to them. I’m thanking my Mom for that! 7) Get moving! We are a family that loves to be busy and be outside. When it’s nice enough, we are always out. We walk each day, sometimes twice a day depending on the weather and our plans. And, I go to the gym. Matt likes to work out as much as I do, but it’s difficult with his schedule. So, he makes it a priority to take 30 minutes 3 days a week to work out. He feels so much better with that short time commitment. It’s amazing how much stress working out relieves!

Homemade Baby Food

Butternut Squash - yum!

I've been making homemade baby food! It's fun, economical, and a great nutritional start for my baby! A friend recommended this website http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ and a book by Annabel Karmel. I used "First Meals" that I checked out from my library branch. So far I've made pears, applesauce, butternut squash, potatoes, and green beans. I used a hand blender attachment that came with my mixer and it works wonderfully. They all seem to freeze well and taste remarkably good! I'm looking forward to my next cooking concoction!

Stop a Pot From Boiling Over

A friend of mine told me this a while back ~ I've tried it out and IT WORKS! To stop a pot from boiling over on the stove, put a wooden spoon over the top. Cool, huh?

Free Movies This Summer

Check out your local movie theaters – you might get to see free kid’s movies this summer!

Grocery Shopping Hints

Save time and money at the grocery store by checking out the Sunday newspaper coupons and circulars and making a grocery list. List: I keep an ongoing grocery list on my refrigerator at all times so I don’t forget an important item. (If it’s not on the list, I usually don’t buy it!) For my list, I divide it into sections of the store. So, I write items at the top that I will purchase first, and then down from there. The bottom of the list is the fresh fruits and vegetables, which I purchase last. It really helps with shopping and marking off the list when you don’t have to hunt the entire list each time you go down a new aisle. Coupons: Clipping coupons from the newspaper inserts has saved me some money over the years. I only clip the ones that are for items I usually purchase anyway, so I’m not buying something just to use the coupon. Some stores will double or triple the coupons, too. Also, before leaving for the store, I sort my coupons and pull out the ones for items I know I will be getting. Then I put them in the order I will come to them in the store – like my grocery list. It keeps everything going faster that way! Store Circulars: I make it a habit to know the general amount of the items I buy most often. Since Wal-Mart will match competitor’s prices, I scan the other store circulars each week to see if there are any “good deals”. Occasionally, other stores will run items that are a better price and I have a coupon – then it’s a great day for shopping! Wal-Mart will not honor “Buy one get one free” coupons, but most others that I find. Happy Shopping by Saving Time and Money!