Healthy Doesn't Have to be Hard...

I hear the argument over and over that it just sounds too hard to eat an unprocessed diet.  Sometimes it's the busy day argument.  Maybe you travel a lot.  Maybe you aren't big on cooking.  Maybe your kids are picky.  I do agree that it takes a little more prep work.  When I have to shuttle one to preschool, make it to appointments, pick him up, etc...I have to think ahead a bit.  But you have to ask yourself why you're doing it.  Some things in life are hard.  Raising kids...is hard but I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.  Marriage can be hard...but the rewards are worth it.  College or graduate school can be hard...but the degree is worth it.  So why is it we're willing to sacrifice and invest in those things but not the health of our family or our own health?

Yesterday was a busy day.  My handsome hubby had just returned from a longer trip at 2:30 in the morning.  The kids were excited to see him (and so was I).  We were all tired.  We had to get ourselves out the door in time for preschool, get the last of our grocery shopping in for the week (I try to do it all in one or two days to save gas).  Pick up Superhero #1 from school and then head home to cram in as much fun in the sun as possible since we finally had a warm spring day.  The only problem with my "playing outside" plan was that I also needed to clean the house for piano lessons later in the afternoon, make supper, and leave from piano straight to my Handsome Hubby's work to bring him supper since he had an unexpected meeting late and we all wanted to see each other.

Notice...some of the things in my day I didn't HAVE to do.  I didn't have to cram in outside play time.  But I want to make time with my kids a priority.  If I were to have another heart attack and it were fatal... I don't want them to remember how Mama kept a clean house.  I want them to remember Mama playing, snuggling, and laughing with them.  I didn't HAVE to meet daddy for supper.  But I want them to have that connection with their dad.  They adore them.  He couldn't control having the meeting the day he got back but we could have a little quality time with him before bed.  His work day was brightened, my day was brightened, and the boys' day was brightened.  I even could have left my house messy or made a McDonald's run for supper.  But I didn't.

The kids took their rest time and I vacuumed and mopped.  There wasn't much clutter because in reclaiming our house I've been getting rid of unnecessary stuff.  I wiped down the bathrooms and then moved onto supper.  I had baked chicken with lemon pepper seasoning sprinkled on it the day before.  There wasn't enough leftovers for a full meal so I made some mayo (store stuff has soybean oil or canola oil...both bad for the body and heart, both GMO's aka genetically modified), chopped up the 2 1/2 chicken breasts and 2 celery stalks in the food processor and mixed it all together.  I added a little more lemon pepper and salt to taste and voila...supper was made.  Total time to clean house and make supper...45 minutes.  Total time outside... 2 1/2 hours.  Time with daddy...45 minutes.

Busy day.  Healthy meal.  Happy kids and parents.  Below you'll find our recipe for mayonnaise and lemon pepper chicken.  As a bonus I also added a pic and recipe for a lemon pepper, cucumber, tomato salad.  Enjoy!

Lemon Pepper Cucumber Salad

Lemon Pepper Cucumber Salad

Lemon pepper chicken cubed

1 baby English cucumber sliced in half spheres

1 roma tomato diced

Mix cucumbers, chicken, and tomatoes together.  Drizzle a little olive oil over top.  Sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper (without MSG added!) or preferred seasoning to taste.  Enjoy!

Mama's Mayo
3 large organic eggs
1 1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cup oil (we use macadamia, avocado, almond, or olive oil due to heart health and inflammation reduction)

1.  Place eggs, dry mustard, salt, and lemon juice into blender (we have a Vitamix) in the order listed and secure lid.

2.  Turn on lowest setting

3.  Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to highest setting.  Remove lid plug but NOT THE LID:-) (if possible).

4.  While machine is running, slowly pour oil through the lid plug opening into the container.  As mixture begins to thicken, the oil can be added at a faster rate.  The process should take about a minute.

5.  Stop machine and stir in any oil sitting on top.

6.  Refrigerate in a separate container and use within 2 to 4 weeks.



Chicken Salad Salad
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2-3 organic celery stalks
lemon pepper or preferred seasoning(dill, Emeril's original essence, etc)
salt
mayo

Place chicken on a foil lined pan and sprinkle with sea salt and lemon pepper.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Remove and cool.  Prepare mayo.  Cut chicken and celery in large chunks and place in food processor together.  Pulse chicken and celery until desired texture.  Remove from food processor and mix with mayo.  Add salt and extra seasoning to taste.  Serve on Nut Thin or Paleo crackers, paleo bread, lettuce wraps, or a bed of lettuce with tomatoes.  Enjoy!