Been eating some good food

Here's my second promised update . . . a crafty mom cooks more and eats healthier!

You may remember I mentioned that I was on a mission to eat healthier.

So far so good, as they say.

I have not managed to eliminate sugar from my diet, but I have cut WAY back, and it's making a real difference. If we are looking for something sweet, or feel like a treat, I make sure it is something I make myself. We haven't bought any cookies or pre-made goodies in a number of weeks now. Of course there are days (like those stressful ones where three Things and one mommy are all screaming in unison) when I crave some trans-fat-laden, sugar-infested snack the size of Mount Everest, but slowly my body is beginning to adjust and crave those things less often. Due to the fact that I'm such a stress eater, I'm trying out a few other techniques before I reach for a cookie or some ice cream. Sometimes counting to ten works, other days it only reinforces the actual number of brownies I feel I deserve.

Making things from scratch is wonderful. It tastes amazing. But it takes a lot of time. I find myself often up late at night whipping up something in order to use an ingredient that I don't want to have to throw away (see my budget tying in here??). For example, I had two zucchini left last week from our organic basket. I couldn't figure out what to do with them, so I searched for a recipe online. Ended up finding this little gem. The BEST zucchini chocolate chip muffins I've ever tasted. I even put less sugar in than they called for. The boys gobbled them up, oblivous to the fact that it had green chunks all the way through it. Score one for mom. I also made these blueberry muffins, which were not greeted with as much general toddler love as the "ones that had chocolate in them".

Whatever. The blueberry ones were awesome too. It may sound like I've never baked, but that is not the case. It just seems that recently it has become something at which I am quite good.

I found a number of menu-related and cooking sites and blogs, all of them excellent. I really like this one, called From Mommy's Kitchen. She has another blog I read, The Princess Chronicles, about her life with two and four-year-old girls. Since I have the same in the "other sex" I like to read her perspective and funny tales. I love her Monday Menu plans because the recipes are good and all seem to be things we like to eat.

Like the home-made granola I made. I will likely never buy another bag or box of granola for the rest of my life. This stuff is delicious, and you can substitute or add anything you like. I added the raisins and some slivered almonds and we're going to run out soon because we're eating it like a pack of wolves.

You know, if wolves had easy access to an unlimited supply of granola.

There seem to be many benefits to eating better. For the most part we all seem to be doing better. I know I certainly feel better emotionally. Now that I'm not really going on sugar binges when I'm stressed (don't get me wrong, I still eat sugar, just not in the quantity and forms that I used to), I seem to be a bit more level-headed and balanced, even when I am having a bit of anxiety.

Because let me tell you, anxiety exists in a home with Three Things so close in age.

And without causing anyone to hate me or put a fist through their laptop, I'm going to go out on a limb and admit, proudly, that I am officially at my goal weight now. As a matter of fact I am several pounds lighter than I was before I became pregnant with Thing Three, in May 2007. I am running and exercising and I really feel terrific. It's likely my stomach flu helped this along a little bit, but I'm hoping my healthier eating played a major role in it too. Because that might actually motivate me to keep eating this way!!