We started our class tasting different Izze sodas. Izze sodas are fruit juice sweetened and are a great transition drink for those weaning themselves off regular sodas (Week 8 challenge). While these are great soda options, use them as a transition to help you break the soda addiction only. They are still concentrated sugar and thus not good to drink daily. We enjoy an Izze soda with air baked popcorn a couple times a month. They are a special treat when not had on a regular basis and the best part is that they are not addictive, so it is possible to enjoy one occasionally and not start cravings. Izze's are available in glass bottles (Kroger recently had a wonderful sale) and in cans at Costco. My favorite flavor is blackberry and my son Jon's favorite is clementine.
1. Knives - We tested knives by cutting up carrot sticks. It is very important that you get at least one good knife or you will never want to cut up fresh produce, especially vegetables. A good knife has a good balance and weight (cheap knives that don't work are usually very light weight). A good knife does not have to be expensive, though it can be. I recently purchased a good knife at Home Goods last November for less than $10.
2. Ranch Dip, Salads, and Dressings - Enjoy a good salad. A key part of a good salad is the dressing. Pay the extra for a good quality extra-virgin organic olive oil that you use for salad dressings. I like this Montebello oil. You need to have good fat in your diet so make your own dressing from top quality ingredients. 'Good' fat is needed in your diet to keep your cells flexible, to nourish your brain and prevent disease's such as Alzheimer's, and to satiate your hunger. Low-fat and no-fat diets are extremely unhealthy but have been touted as the key to heart disease prevention. This is terrible misinformation. For heart disease prevention, you need to not eat 'bad' fats - the cheap fats that are hydrogenated and heavily processed.
We sampled the following salads at the February Class:Ranch Dip with carrot sticks
Green Salad with Homemade Dressing
Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Scrumptious Egg Salad
3. Sweet Potato Biscuits - a family favorite that we sampled at class. These are easy to make and excellent with eggs for breakfast, with a salad for lunch, or with a stew with dinner. Sweet potatoes are extremely easy to grow in Texas if you have a garden and store well all winter in a brown bag in the garage or a cool, dark, dry place.
Jenn's Cleaning Products:
Jennifer demonstrated her homemade cleaning products and provided a handout of all of her recipes for these products plus her homemade beauty products. All her recipes are available on her blog.
Discussion: During our class discussion, time both Jennifer and Joanna shared their struggles and successes on their journey of eating God's foods. I was so encouraged hearing both of their stories and I thank them both for their participation. If you were not able to come to class, be sure to read each one's posts.
We then broke into smaller groups to discuss our own struggles and successes. Please remember everyone is at a different point on their journey. If you have slipped back into a diet of eating out too much and relying on man-made foods, or you have forgotten to incorporate the weekly challenges into your daily routine, or your addiction to sugar or sodas or caffeine has resurfaced, it is o.k. Today is a new day, with new beginnings. Refocus and recommit yourself to making changes and begin again today.
God bless you,
Mary
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