Husband update!

So, I'm a week late on the one month update for my husband. My second blog post was about how he and his friend were going to do a 30 day challenge to eat the way I eat. There was a lot of laughing (me) and crying (him), but I am so proud of him for sticking it out.

We realized on..oh day 1 or so that we would have to change a few things up if he was going to stick to it and I was going to keep my sanity.  The words, "I'm going to die" were used and "I haven't eaten anything all day." Rest assured, he was eating. There are some foods that I don't eat because of the acidity that are still healthy. So, I've worked a few of those into his eating. I'm looking at you salsa 😉. I also can't have any meal over 3 grams of fat. I upped this to five grams of fat for my husband because he was struggling with snacks and meals that qualified under how I eat. I think the first week brought a lot of perspective for him to see just how much of a struggle it was for me when I started out.

Overall, he has done amazing. I'm so proud of the changes that he has made that are sticking. He has been trying to cut out soda for years, and this challenge has done it for him. I'm no longer stocking up on potato chips and cookies. Within just a few days, he noticed his joints weren't hurting like they usually do after work and his body was just feeling better overall. In his words, "I don't feel like death." How many times have I heard, "You get older and things just start hurting." Well, he changed what he was fueling his body with every day and things stopped hurting.

Challenges along the way. We have had a few interesting days. He has probably had about five days where he completely went off track. July 4th was one of them. I may have cried quite a bit that day. Holidays are a reminder to me that other people, like my husband, can eat stuff whenever they want and then go right back to healthy eating and be fine. If I do that, I will be in a lot of pain and on medicine. It just isn't worth it, but it's okay to say that it stinks sometimes (like 20 times in one day). And it stunk watching my husband load up on hot dogs, deviled eggs, and chips while I sat there with chicken breast and a baked potato. I mean, I wasn't dramatic about it or anything 😉, but I may have sung,"You've lost that loving feeling" to him in the car that day after he ate like he wanted to and I couldn't.

So, lets get to the good stuff. How is hubby doing now, a week after the challenge is over? He is sticking to it!!! This challenge gave him an insight into just how good his body feels when he is putting good food in it. Every time he has a "cheat meal" (I hate that term. It's still just a meal. No shame in it) he feels miserable after and declares that he doesn't know why he does it when he knows he won't feel well. He has decided that this is his new permanent way of living and he will just go off of it for one meal when he has days when be dealt wants something.

After one month, he is down 15lbs and feeling great! It feels great to cook one meal for the whole family now, and we are trying new healthy meals each week.

                                                Don't get jealous ladies, this one is all mine. 

Let Them Eat Cake!

Okay, I'm going to be completely honest. I was totally bummed yesterday. I'm used to eating my GERD friendly diet every other day, but holidays still get to me. Barbecue was out of the question, and there was no way I was making my traditional apple pie. So, I decided to do something to cheer myself up.

The challenge: Could I make one of my childhood favorites healthier and GERD friendly without losing the quality? I decided to take Mrs. Betty's Apple Coffeecake.

Y'all no one cooks better than a Southern church lady. It's a fact, not an opinion, so don't even try to debate me on it. I don't care that I live in Colorado now. I still want to be considered a Southern church lady when I cook. I took this challenge because I couldn't ruin Mrs. Betty's coffeecake.

The original recipe called for oil and eggs. That knocked me out of the running because each serving would be 14 grams of fat, and I can only have 3 grams of fat per meal. So, I replaced the eggs with servings of egg white substitute and the oil with applesauce. Because of the sweetness of applesauce, I cut the sugar in half from two cups to one cup. I was afraid of it being too sweet. My husband said this is a fear that I should never have. 🤣

Here were my ingredients:

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of applesauce
2 servings of liquid egg whites
3 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
2 tsp of vanilla
4 cups of diced apples

I first creamed the sugar and applesauce together. Then I added all of the other ingredients to the bowl. The recipe calls for four cups of apples. I used medium honeycrisp, and it took two and three quarters apples. I could have increased the fiber by using wheat flour, but I decided to try with white flour for the first time trying this. I poured everything into a greased pan (I used a 9 X 13) and baked it at 350 degrees. Mine took 35 minutes before I felt it was ready.

What were the results? Half of the pan is currently gone. It cured my Fourth of July I can't eat any delicious food funk! It actually got better as the day went on and tasted more moist.

Feedback from my husband and father in law was that it needed more sugar (my father in law said this as he ate his second piece 😉) My husband said a little cinnamon sugar on top would have worked instead of more sugar in the cake. My mother in law said it was sweet enough already. It was more dense than Mrs. Betty's so I would whip the egg whites before adding them to the mix next time to give it a lighter texture. I plan on trying this again for sure, I mean for scientific blog purposes only of course.

Now, for the nutrition. I put the recipe in My Fitness Pal so that I could get the nutrition. The big one for my GERD diet is fat. I love the original recipe, but 14 grams of fat would have had me in pain and possibly telling Ben what to tell the hospital workers if an ambulance has to come get me (I may be a bit dramatic sometimes). This new recipe has 0 grams of fat per serving instead. I wouldn't recommend eating the entire pan because of course it is still a dessert, but I would definitely make this to cure those I need some dessert blues. These facts are for 1 piece when I divided the pan into 16 pieces. You can see from the picture above that it was a good size piece.

Mission success!!! 🎆🎉

Help! I Hit A Roadblock!

So, you've decided to eat healthy. You've bought healthy food, made a plan, and are determined to really stick to it this time. Your motivation is high, and your bank account is now low (healthy food isn't exactly cheap). What could go wrong right?

Roadblocks. 🚧 They are always there no matter what your goal is. What you don't expect is that many times the attempted roadblocks on your healthy journey are the ones you care about the most. Family, friends, coworkers. What do you do when temptation is all around and others are encouraging you to just eat "a little" (let's be honest, it turns into a lot and you wind up feeling guilty, miserable, and, frankly, craving more)? Sometimes people do it innocently, like grandmas who love you so much and just want to make sure you are fed and full....every...minute...of...your....life. People who really love you and support you will still get it wrong sometimes, but most of the time they will make an effort to support you. There will always be others though. Not everyone or every situation will be supportive. Someone I know was recently at a work event where people repeatedly put soda and cookies in his face trying to get him to eat them even though they knew he was trying to eat healthy.

In the end, the responsibility falls on the person trying to be healthier. So, how do you do this?There will always be roadblocks, but let's talk about some detours that have helped my family.

1) Always have snacks with you!- If you have a healthier option on you, you are less likely to "need" the non healthy option. This seems pretty easy, but it requires planning. At any given time, you can ask me and I'll have a small apple in my purse. (Reminder to myself: put a new apple in after son confiscated the last one at the park today). I snack throughout the day when I'm working. As a teacher, this means snacking at planning, eating my lunch, and snacking right after the students leave and I'm working in my class. "I'm always on the road all day" I totally get this one. My husband drives a semi and is often waiting in line for hours for his load. He needs snacks that can easily be eaten in the vehicle while he is sitting in line. I pack a portion of nuts for him, an apple, and something small like a fig bar. Other small options that you can always have on hand in a purse, in a pocket, or in your car: one portion of lower fat granola, some dry cereal (I'm pretty much an 80 year old with my eating habits so bran flakes is my go to), or a small piece of fruit (cutie, apple). For those with access to a refrigerator, low fat string cheese is a great option.

2) If you are tempted by sweets, HAVE A BETTER SWEET AVAILABLE!- I have already talked about apples, but sometimes that just doesn't do the trick. When I first got diagnosed, sweets was such a struggle. I love sugar! Gilmore Girls was one of my favorite shows growing up, and I aimed to eat like a Gilmore Girl. There are always sweets in the teachers' lounge...ALWAYS...and I felt like I was always depriving myself. So, I started keeping two jelly beans in my purse. Yep, just two. When I was trying to avoid cake, donuts, and every other sweet known to man in the teachers' lounge, I would just suck on my two jelly beans to enjoy them slowly. I took care of my sugar craving and saved myself a lot of calories and sugar. If you don't have GERD, you can do the same thing with a mint. If you do have GERD, avoid mints because they are a trigger.

3) 🎵Have a little help from my friends...🎵- Yep, that would be a Wonder Years reference, another part of my childhood. Despite all attempts, sometimes it just stinks. Have some kind of accountability person that you can talk to, even if it is just shooting them a text saying that there are donuts at work today for the third time this week and you really want one and sometimes it just stinks because life would be easier if all you saw was carrots and broccoli and everyone ate like you and.....okay, so I may be drawing from experience from this one. I normally text my husband, and his usual response is, "You've got this". Those three little words set me up for complete success and help me to walk away with a little more confidence. It's also cool to have friends that totally understand that you might eat a little different and support you in it, like when they are all ordering burgers and fries and you are sitting there with your English muffin with no butter or jam (yep, that happened recently. Shout out to my amazing friends for no judgement and plenty of laughs that night!)

4) It's okay to say no!- I feel like some of us need to read that daily. I was raised with amazing Cajun manners. You always show respect. Part of this had me feeling guilty for turning people down with food. "You wouldn't want to hurt their feelings" was the little voice I heard every time. The truth is, it's okay to say no! It's healthy to say no sometimes. Like I said before, your family and friends love you and want to support you. Sometimes we are the ones making ourselves feel badly. We go over to eat at my in laws house after church on Sundays. Nine times out of ten, I stop at a store and pick up some chicken breast tenderloins to cook for myself to go along with something else for lunch. I know that my GERD diet is different than what most people eat so it's just easier for me. This week my mother in law had steamed some broccoli so I just paired it with my chicken for lunch (followed by fat free Cool Whip in a sugar cone which I highly recommend for dessert! Yum!). When I first started, I felt so guilty about not eating what my in laws had cooked. I even considered eating something that I knew would give me a reaction because I didn't want anyone to feel badly. No one had made a comment or tried to make me feel badly. I had to get past my own self imposed guilt. This one was helped along by the hubby who gave me a look like I had just landed an alien aircraft when I said maybe I would just eat a little. I had to teach myself that it is okay to saw no.

You've got this. Roadblocks happen, but detours always help. To quote a song we use to sing in kids church that has been constantly in my head while typing this, "Hey, what do you say? Move that mountain out of my way!"

And to those waiting on my Cajun food post...keep watching because I'm working on some recipes this week. The one I am most excited to try to recreate isn't Cajun, but it was a huge part of my childhood. For those from BBAG, I'm going to attempt a healthier version of Mrs. Betty's apple coffeecake!


                                 My amazing little guy decided to do sit ups with me today. 

Just A Cajun Girl Living In A GERD World

Y'all, don't get me wrong. I love living in Colorado. I love being next to the mountains and having amazing parks to bring my son to. I enjoy having so many healthy options restaurants and stores. Colorado was ranked number eight in healthiest states for 2018.

But...I'm from Louisiana, which was ranked number 50. I'm convinced that part of that ranking was the Cajuns. Our food is delicious. I grew up on gumbo, jambalaya, bread pudding (okay, my mouth is literally salivating), and beignets. I won a church cooking contest with my crawfish pie. Now, y'all know it's good when it wins at pentecostal church cooking contest. That was Cajun grandma good.

The problem is that Cajun food doesn't exactly have a reputation for being healthy, and I've been in this GERD world for six months now. I haven't had a single Cajun dish for six months. I have been known to boude' about this in my house. My husband has even learned that word and uses it on me now. So, can Cajun food be made healthy and GERD approved without tasting like Disney's version of gumbo (I'm still not over that)? What happens when I can no longer have the Cajun Trinity and Tony Chacherie? (Don't worry, I'll let Ben have it in his.) That's what my challenge to myself is this week!

When my parents moved into their new house, my mom took all three of her girls to the back of the house where things were stored and told us that we would be able to look through her cookbooks and keep some. I tried to keep my heart rate down as I saw my sisters grabbing the "fancy" southern cookbooks because I knew exactly what I was looking for and was able to grab it before they even noticed the treasure before them. No one cooks better than a Cajun grandma, no one. I collected a treasury of church women cookbooks and the local cookbook made by senior citizens. Those cookbooks have been stained as I tried to learn all the secrets inside of them.

This week, I'll be going through all of my cookbooks and attempting to make some of them GERD friendly while still tasting delicious. Easy, no (probably my toughest challenge yet actually), but this Cajun girl is missing her Cajun food.

If anyone has any specific Cajun dish that they would like me to try to take on, leave a comment here or just comment on my post on my Facebook page when I share this. I'll be doing a new blog post with my results and recipes for the dishes that we like.

So, wish me luck and allons!

                                                  The pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!

Pizza Challenge!

Ben has been craving pizza 🍕since starting his 30 day "Eat Like Kristie" challenge and has made it very known...very known y'all. My husband is probably made of about 50% pizza at this point from all that he has eaten over the years. He didn't think I could create a healthier pizza. Because I love challenges (and because I haven't had pizza in 6 months and it sounded amazing!), I decided that we would do a pizza challenge!

We used three different crusts in our challenge. The first was just a Martha White mix, the second was a wheat crust recipe (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252206/whole-wheat-pizza-dough/ ) and the third was one I found that Weight Watchers suggests. The last one was simple but intimidating. It is just one cup of fat free yogurt and one cup of flour mixed together (Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes). Simple enough, except for the fact that my husband hates yogurt. I kept hoping that the yogurt taste would magically cook away. We decided the only fair way to judge would be to split each pizza in half. "We all try them all!" (and yes, I was singing that Office reference in my head as we talked about it)

Ben and I required different toppings. Ben wanted a hearty pizza with lots of toppings. On his side, he had 1/4 cup pizza sauce, 1 cup fat free mozzarella, 1 cup skim milk mozzarella, 7 turkey pepperoni, 1 tbs bacon crumbling pizza topping (this was the one topping he didn't like), 2 tbs onions, 2 tbs bell pepper, 1 tb mushrooms, 1 tb olives, 1 tbs parmesan, and some Italian seasoning.

On my side of the pizzas, I had to use nonstick cooking spray instead of pizza sauce (huge GERD trigger!) but it worked out pretty well.  You can also just use a little olive oil. I then added 1 cup of fresh spinach, 1.5 oz of chicken breast, 1 cup of fat free mozzarella, 1 tbs of parmesan, and some Italian seasoning. Mine was simple, but I was still excited at the prospect of pizza.

The best thing about making your own pizza is that you control what goes on it. You control the calories, carbs, protein, and fat. Since being diagnosed with GERD, I've embraced controlling what goes in my body through cooking my own foods and experimenting with modifications. "I've got the power!" (I'm full of pop culture references tonight, okay... always.)

So...which crust won? Ben was pleasantly surprised that he didn't consider any of them bad. He said they were all good but the wheat crust was his favorite. He liked the Weight Watchers one at first but said that he tasted a yogurt aftertaste. I loved the pizza with the Weight Watchers crust! I ate half a slice of the other two and a full slice of that one. The best part was that one slice (1/8 of pizza, 1/4 of my side) was only 130 calories, .7 grams of fat, and 16.7 grams of protein. Each of my meals can have up to 3 grams of fat so I could confidently eat more than one slice of pizza using this recipe.

Mrs. Martha White failed to impress. I would only use it in emergencies. Once again, making it yourself normally tastes better.

Our stomachs are full, and my kitchen now has so much pizza in it. Guess who isn't cooking tomorrow.😉

If you have any questions about the toppings or anything else about or pizza challenge, go ahead and comment below or ask me on my fb post when I share it.

And now.....dessert!!! Ben has been crazing brownies so Enjoy Life is coming to the rescue. We have tried several of their products before and like everything so far. Since I can't have chocolate, I'm enjoying an ice cream cone (fat free cool whip in a sugar cone) Treat Yo Self! (Parks and Rec reference. I can't stop y'all) Us Patricks know how to party!

The wheat crust. Ben got started before I could take a picture.

The yogurt crust! We grabbed this one quickly.

Martha White crust.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Announcement: Since my husband has been begging for pizza, we have decided to do a pizza cook off tomorrow. We have three different healthier pizza crusts (no cauliflower because I want to still have a marriage after this cook off), pesto and olive oil, and various toppings that can be included all topped with fat free mozzarella for me and skim milk mozzarella for him. Tune in to see recipes, pictures, and what we thought!

In my first blog post, I talked about some of the foods that I eat. The next step I faced...how do I make all of these random foods into meals?! For the first couple of weeks, I ate some seriously weird meals. I sipped bone broth while eating egg whites. I ate an apple while eating egg whites. I ate a handful of almonds with some egg whites on the side....there were a lot of egg whites people. And, for a while, it worked. My pain was gone, and I was losing weight. But, it wasn't sustainable. I needed to figure out how to take these random foods and make them into a lifestyle.

So, if you are in the same position I was in, I have good news! I'm posting some of my favorite healthy meals that have been approved by my whole family. Being approved by a toddler and a male who only loves meat and potatoes is pretty much the whole spectrum.

Breakfast:

*eggs-For my eggs, I use only egg whites. If you are not into the egg white scene, I mix one whole egg with 3 tbs of egg white substitute for Ben's eggs. You get the flavor of the yolk and cut out fat. 

*hash brown potatoes-I buy frozen hash brown potatoes because I'm normally cooking breakfast at 4 am on weekdays and I shouldn't be trusted cutting potatoes with a knife at this time of day. I can't have peppers and onions, but Ben can so his are the potatoes o' brien. I use non stick cooking spray and cook them in a pan over the stove with salt and pepper. 

*turkey bacon- There are so many kinds, but we found Applegate and love it! It has no fat but tastes better than other turkey bacon that has fat in it. It's already cooked so you just brown in in a pan over the stove (once again only using non stick cooking spray)

*pancakes- I absolutely Kodiak pancakes! They have very little fat and have a lot of protein. I bake mine at 425 degrees to reduce the fat of cooking it on the stove in oil/butter. Ben is not a fan so I use Hungry Jack for his pancakes and cook them over the stove. I only use non stick cooking spray, and we finish them with a little real maple syrup ( a little goes a long way. To save on syrup, you can also dip your pancake in the syrup instead of pouring it over).

*breakfast sandwich- I like having an English muffin with some egg whites to make a breakfast sandwich. I normally use cinnamon raisin English muffins. You can also add a slice of turkey breast or ham from the deli.

Lunch and Dinner:

*parmesan chicken/fish- 🎶 "Chicken parm you taste so good" 🎶 (Yep, that's a Payton Manning reference) Dip chicken tenderloins or fish (pay attention to what type of fish. Some are high in fat) in a mixture of fat free milk and egg whites. On the side, I make a mixture of parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Tony's (or whatever seasoning you like). I then dip the milk dipped chicken/fish in the parmesan cheese mixture. I lightly coat it on both sides and then cook it in a pan on the stove using only nonstick cooking spray or in the oven. If on the stove, brown both sides, and then add a little water to continue cooking it until done. If on the stove, follow the directions for the temp and time for the type of fish or for chicken breast. This is Ben's current favorite meal.

*fajitas- This one is pretty basic. I cook chicken breast, onions, and peppers in a pan with non stick cooking spray and fajita seasonings. The difference for us has been the tortilla. We use to eat it with flour tortillas. A quick switch to white corn tortillas saves calories and fat. I like to heat the tortillas in a pan on the stove using...you guessed it...non stick cooking spray. Ben was amazed at how much he could eat for less than 300 calories and about 4 grams of fat.

*red beans and rice- I'm a Cajun through and through and need my red bean fix. I'm actually cooking a huge pot of red beans  for tonight. For mine, I just cook red beans from scratch on the stove and add salt. For Ben and Zander's, I'm adding a pound of extra lean group turkey and some Butterball turkey sausage. Even though it is turkey sausage, the sodium and fat add up. So, be careful with how much you add. A little goes a long way. You can add rice when serving, but I no longer add rice to mine because I have gotten use to not having as much rice.

*burrito bowls- Another family favorite! I love that each member can customize it. I put out a little buffet of cooked chicken breast, rice with a little cilantro, black beans, pinto beans, lettuce, fat free cheddar, and fat free sour cream. I normally only use a little rice, about 1/4 cup or less, and make sure I focus on beans and chicken breast to get some healthy protein.

....and now....the update you have all been waiting for. Ben decided to do a 30 day challenge to eat healthy with me. I've gotta admit, the first day was rough. He was hungry, cranky, and had decided that I was starving him. There were flashbacks to my own behavior six months ago. Day 2 was so much better as he realized his body was already starting to feel better. His joints that usually hurt were no longer hurting. He has completely surprised me with his dedication, and has already made plans for his cheat meal after the 30 days. The surprise was when he said it would be a cheat meal and then he was going right back to the healthy eating. This has become his new lifestyle since seeing the changes in his body already. We went to the grocery store this weekend, and my husband actually checked the nutrition labels! I never thought I would hear,"Wow, that's a lot of fat" or "Did you see how much sodium is in this?" from Ben. His favorite breakfast bowl had 33 grams of fat. His beloved sub had 28 grams of fat. He summed it up pretty well the other day when he said that most people want to eat healthy, but they don't have the tools or know what they are looking for when they look at nutrition labels. I thought I was taking the summer off from teaching, but these lessons are some of my favorites because I know that I'm investing in my family's healthy future. As of Saturday, he was down ten pounds in less than a week and loving his new meals. Don't get me wrong, there are still many pizza cravings, but it's a process, he hasn't given in once, and I couldn't be prouder of him.

This picture is from 2011. It has been my goal picture, my dream. I've saved it on my phone, printed it as motivation, showed it to everyone who would look hoping that it would motivate me. I was only this weight for a couple of weeks before gaining some of the weight back and eventually gaining so much more than I ever thought possible. I saw this picture this morning and realized I'm the same weight I was in this picture. It's not a goal or dream anymore. It's my current reality and it is my past because this girl has got some new goals!

GERDs the Word!

GERD, such a weird word, okay it's an acronym but still. When the doctor told me I had GERD, I laughed and told her she was wrong because I was coming in for back pain and something seriously wrong with one of the main organs. I was in so much pain that I couldn't walk straight up. I was pretty sure I needed surgery and was already dreading the sub plans. Oh the sub plans...

I didn't even get heartburn so how could I have GERD?!

So, what is GERD? Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder. Basically, so many things trigger my acid reflux. Sometimes, it feels like acid reflux. Sometimes, it feels like a line of pain across my back. Sometimes, it feels like something is stuck in my throat and I just can't get it out. For the first couple of weeks I was convinced that there was nothing I could eat without being in pain

 Then, I made a plan. Those who have known me for a while, or anyone who has seen my desk at work, know that I love post it notes and I love making lists and plans. 

So, for people who have asked me what I eat...the answer is so much! I eat small meals/snacks every two hours or so. I eat low fat, low acidic foods. I've included a link to a Google Doc. This shows all of the foods that I eat. Are these the only healthy foods in the world? No way! Am I a nutritionist/dietician? Nope. But, this is what works for me and my body and what has been approved through my doctor. So, if you find yourself popping some Tums for dessert or don't enjoy that acid reflux waking you up at night (or if you just want to try something new), check it out!

Let me know if you try it. I'm all about support systems. I cried while grocery shopping the first time after my diagnosis, and I may have called my husband and announced that there was nothing in the store that I can eat. On the very rare occasion, I can be a little dramatic.

Google Doc of Foods I Eat (This will change as I discover new things to eat)