With that said, I do try to plan for Belly Fat Cure friendly meals but there are times that my kids ask for spaghetti and mac-n-cheese. I have learned to enjoy these foods but in much. much, much smaller amounts than I would have in the past. In these situations, I will roast some chicken or sausage to serve with the spaghetti or some chicken or hot dogs (nitrate-free of course :)) to go with the mac-n-cheese. Then I can enjoy the meat, a green salad, and maybe a TBSP or 2 of the spaghetti or mac-n-cheese. It does take a few moments to calculate the S/C values to make sure I am not exceeding 5/2 per meal. And sometimes if I feel a meal they have asked for is just too high in carbs or sugars for me (usually the carbs are the problem, not the sugars) then I will make myself something else ( I almost always have roasted chicken breast in the fridge to eat and I will share that in an upcoming post).
Last night we made BBQ meatballs and mashed potatoes. I calculated the S/C for the meatballs and BBQ sauce.This did take a few minutes since they were both homemade. Since the sauce had brown sugar and ketchup in it I was pretty sure I would not be able to have any. Well after calculating the numbers, I was able to have 3 meatballs with 1/2 tsp of the sauce on each meatball. That left me with enough S/C allowance to have 1/2 cup of the potatoes. At first, I thought I would still be hungry but I ate r...e...a...l...l...y slow and at the end of the meal I was actually full and satisfied. It really brought to my attention how much more I would have eaten in the past without knowing the S/C values. I probably would have eaten 4 meatballs with 1 TBSP of sauce (these are large meatballs) on each and a big helping of potatoes. I even enjoyed a snack last night of Clemmy's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with crushed peanuts on top. The perfect way to end the day!
Tuesdays and Thursdays are our busy days. Those are the days that we have soccer, gymnastics, karate, and rock-climbing and we have to eat while we are between activities! (I know it sounds busy but it's only 4 hours, two days a week, and the other days we are pretty free - and home all day because we homeschool). On those two days, I pre-plan and usually bring sandwiches along. Tuna or lunch meat (or PB&J for the kids). I either have a sandwich on a sandwich thin or take a green salad and top it with the tuna or meat. I also occassionally make hamburgers. This cuts down on going out to eat - it just takes a little pre-plannig on my part.
If you're not currently tracking your food in My Fitness Pal, check it out! I try to enter what I am planning on eating before I actually eat it just to be sure I'm staying within the 5/2 range.
If you're cooking for your family and trying to eat BFC friendly, it is possible! For those meals that just aren't BFC friendly, just calculate your S/C values and figure how much of it you can eat. I try to plan our meals with the S/C values in time but don't feel bad when I let the kids enjoy the foods they ask for as well. Have fun trying new foods and look to others that have been successful to see what they are eating and for new ideas (like Kay, Amber, and Rosalie).
One final word... we spent the last 4 days in Ephrata & Lancaster, Pennsylvania at a family member's birthday party. Loved seeing this while we were there. Can't believe that we flew home Sunday to 86 degree weather and today (Tuesday) it's snowing!!! Enjoy the pictures:
Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteI want to tell you that I totally see continued success in your future. You are doing what I finally did after being really strict with myself in the beginning. I started eating everything, just in the right portions of s/c. When nothing is totally off limits, the cravings for things totally go away. Eating slowly is so important too. I realized at dinner last night that I am back to finishing before my husband, another red flag to add to my boo boo's of late. Slow and steady wins the race!!! Good for you and good for your family. I wish I would have thought to do the same with my kids. I had 4 running in all different directions and no one ever wanted what I was making. We ate a lot of burgers. The only thing I would say to that though, is that we all ate together. I wasn't up cooking or cleaning, I was enjoying our conversations about their days! Hindsight:)
Great job and keep up the great work!!!
Kim thanks so much for your kind words for my sister! I really do appreciate that!
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