I should start this post by admitting that I am not a fan of mushrooms. Something about knowing that they are fungi has always really freaked me out. Like A LOT. But when Jared and I were grocery shopping yesterday and I let him convince me to make him cheesesteaks for dinner, he did something I never expected; he said that he wanted to add mushrooms. As much as I wanted to say no, I couldn’t say no to the pretty much birthday boy (his 21st birthday was Sunday). So, I ran (literally) to the produce department, since Jared decided that he wanted them as we were walking into line, and had to figure out which to buy. Honestly, I was out of my element but I went with medium sized mushrooms that I don’t even really remember the name of (sorry, I will find it out ASAP).
When I got home, I decided to look up what exactly makes these little pieces of fungi so popular. And let me tell you, I am going to make them a more common ingredient in my cooking, even if I don’t necessarily like where they come from. So, here’s what I found out…
Mushrooms help with weight loss (I’m in) in a few different ways. They increase the level of nutrition in your body, including vitamin D, which have been found to help fight against cancer, autoimmune diseases, and many other diseases. Vitamin D also helps boost metabolism, which we all know is an important part of weight loss. Mushrooms also help with your immune system. Who doesn’t want a stronger immune system? I mean really, sick days from work are more fun when you’re not really sick, right ;)?
All of that being said, I’m still going to stick to cooking mushrooms and not eating them raw. That just freaks me out a little too much, and honestly, I don’t really know anyone who has suggested them raw, like ever. I’m always open to suggestions though!
Now, here is the recipe for the cheesesteaks that I made for Jared. They are a cheat night type of meal, or a special occasion. Jared only got them because it was his birthday and I can’t say no to him when it comes to his birthday. I just really love birthdays and like to make sure that people really enjoy their special day. So, these are really easy to make and you can really put whatever you want in them.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 cup Diced Yellow Onion
4 or 5 mushrooms (again, I’ll figure out what type they were)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 box of steakums. I buy the box with 12 pieces that way Jared can have it for lunch a few times.
8 slices of your favorite cheese. I like provolone or low-fat american.
sub rolls
Here are the instructions ( I will post pictures as soon as my camera cords turns up!)
When these start to cook, add the steakums. Let these brown completely. When they are completely cooked, drain them and make sure you get as much of the grease out as possible. Put your pan back on the heat and add the cheese to pan and let it melt a little bit. Add the meat back into the pan. Mix the two together until the meat is coated in cheese. Then, scoop about 1/4 a cup of the mixture into the sub roll and enjoy 🙂 They are really yummy with chips, we had Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips with ours and it was an amazing combination.
It’s no secret that my recipes are pretty money based. What I mean by that is I buy whatever is on sale and I try to keep things as cheap as possible. I don’t like to spend too much money, simply because I don’t have it and prefer not to max out my credit card just to survive.
One of the shows that I usually try to watch on Food Network is Ten Dollar Dinners simply because I like the concept and it’s something that I consider when making my grocery list. That being said, my biggest issue with the show is that she doesn’t consider the price of each product, only the amount of it that she uses. So, if you don’t have everything and have to buy, say, a whole bag of rice, you are going to spend more than she sets aside for the meal.
That being said, the show still has some great points that I wanted to bring up for this week’s “Tip Tuesday.” It is very important to know how much meals cost you when you have to buy most of the items, simply because a time could come when you do. What I usually do is make two different numbers, one with things like flour and sugar, which I usually have lying around, and one that doesn’t have these things on it. That way, when the time comes when I have to buy these things, I’m not completely thrown off when my bill is more than I expect.
 Above is the binder that I use to keep everything in order. In here, I keep receipts that are dated, index cards that have an itemized price list, and pieces of paper that are broken down by type of food, i.e. produce, meat, dairy, etc. Since I’ve started blogging and paying more attention to the money that I’m spending, I don’t really need this binder as much as I used to but it was really helpful to get me going.
I’ve posted before saying that it’s important to make a list before you go shopping but I really can’t stress this enough. Every time that I don’t make a list I end up spending way more than I plan to and it’s usually because I tend to say “I think I need this” or “I wonder if I have anymore of this.” I haven’t gone shopping without a list in a long time. The last time that I did, I went at least $30 over budget, which is not good at all.
Other than me telling you to make sure you have a grocery list, the other tip that I cannot stress enough is to use the same ingredients multiple times in a week, especially the meats. Meats are expensive, that’s not a secret. While it’s good to be aware of the sales that are happening, sometimes you can’t shop all of them, or you can’t shop any of the ones on meat. So, something that I always do, and something that has saved me a ton of money, is to make sure that I only buy one or two different kinds of meat. For instance, if I’m making Turkey Burgers I use half of the ground turkey and the rest of it I use to make tacos or nachos. Chicken, which I use a lot because it’s cheap and packed with protein, I usually buy about as much as I think I’ll need, but I always use it multiple times.
At home, my mom always used to freeze meats that she bought in bulk, but I’ve found that when I do that, I’m more likely to buy multiple kinds of meat, which makes me spend more money buying meat and I can’t afford that. If you can, buying bulk meat is definitely a great option, and then freezing it (making sure you date it of course) until you need it. Eventually, I plan to do that, but for now with the budget I have, I stick to these rules to keep my bill around $80-90 each week.
This is a topic I’ve been avoiding for a while because I was afraid that Jared might see the post. But, I don’t think he’s ever voluntarily gone to my blog, so I’m going to take a chance here and say that he won’t see this. One of the problems that is pretty constant in my life and something that I think a lot of other people will resonate with, is a relationship’s effect on your eating habits.
There are a few different ways that relationships really seem to play a role on eating. In my mind, there are stages and each, has a different cure (for lack of a better word). For the sake of things, I’m going to explain all of the stages from a woman who is dating a man’s point of view, but this can, of course, apply to someone of any gender and sexual orientation.
Jared and I not long after we met when we were early in the dating phases.
Stage One: “We Just Started Dating and I Just Want to Not Gross Him Out Stage.”
This stage is always bad because it seems to be the time when a lot of binge eating happens. You just got into a relationship with the cute guy that you just met (or have known for a while but just got up the courage to finally go out with, whatever) and now you just want him to like you. You don’t want to be the person who orders a salad when he wants someone who orders a burger but you don’t want to order a burger and completely gross him out. You don’t want to drink to much or say anything that will make you look stupid. You’re nervous (unless the date is a total dud) so you’re stomach is already doing twists and turns, and you’re racking the menu for something that you can eat and won’t risk getting any sauce on the shirt that you bought earlier that day from Charlotte Russe. It’s not exactly a healthy thing yet we subject ourselves to it all of the time. Then, you get the guy who says “I like a girl who can eat” and suddenly you feel the need to eat more than you can handle because he’s going to be more impressed by it… or something like that. So, already, one date, maybe two, in this person who you hardly know is already impacting the way you’re eating. Personally, I always seemed to eat next to nothing out to eat for fear of seeming gross and then the second I got home eat everything in sight. Not exactly healthy. Especially if you date a lot and it’s something you do multiple times a week. Don’t intentionally make yourself uncomfortable. If you know you’re not going to want to eat when you’re actually out, don’t go out on a dinner date. Choose the movies or a Carnival or something that doesn’t require you to eat. If you don’t want to put your foot down and say that you don’t want to go out to dinner, eat a snack beforehand, that way you’re salad will actually fill you. And stop worrying about what he’s going to this about the food you choose, odds are, he doesn’t really care.
Enjoying some sugar on snow, a few weeks into our relationship
Stage Two: We’re Finally in a Steady Relationship But He Doesn’t Share My Eating Habits
This stage doesn’t always happen, but it is pretty common. A lot of men, especially those who are single, tend to have food habits that are far below healthy. Jared, for instance, prefers anything fried, and if he could, he would eat burgers, fries, and onions rings every day with the occasional bacon and extra cheese pizza. Love him but getting him to agree to eat healthier was not easy, and every now and then I have to give him one night of unhealthy eating or he’ll lose it and go nuts, eating all of the fast food he can get his hands on. When a relationship is still decently new, it’s easy to fall into his eating habits and you may gain some weight during this time. The most important thing I can say here is please do not beat yourself up about it. This is normal and if you beat yourself up, you’re most likely going to completely fall out of your diet and give up. DO NOT DO THIS. If you find that you’re eating less healthy foods when you go out with your significant other, eat healthy when you’re not with them and maybe work out a little harder but do not give up and do not starve yourself, this will not help with anything. When you realize your mistake, figure out ways to fix it, without making yourself uncomfortable. Maybe, instead of eating the whole burger and fries, you go for a veggie burger, or you only eat half and save the other half. Whatever works for you is what’s going to be best for you.
Enjoying cider donuts a few weeks into our relationship. He had a few too many
Stage Three: “We’re In a Serious Relationship, What Did I Get Myself Into”
This is the part of a relationship stage that Jared and I just got past. We’ve been together for what will be 3 years in November. I love him and he really is my other half. That being said, we got comfortable with each other and as a result, we both put on some weight. I started cooking the foods that he liked, and for a fear of spending too much money, we shared everything. We both grew up eating frozen foods and in houses that had a decent amount of junk food in them. His family, unlike mine, at least had some consciousness of what they were eating and his mom worked hard to keep healthy options available. For the greater part of my life, my family couldn’t afford healthy, fresh foods, so we ate frozen dinners a lot; a habit that carried over into the beginning parts of our relationship. I didn’t want to cook for him and have the risk that he wouldn’t like my foods and I would get really upset if he didn’t like something so we stuck with what we knew and the pounds kept on piling on. This is common in a lot of relationships. People tend to put on pounds when they become comfortable and they don’t realize what’s happening until something smacks them in the face. Most of the time, it’s the number on a scale. Now couples are faced with a problem. You have to find foods that both people like that are healthier than the foods that you were once eating. Sometimes, when both members aren’t committed to being healthier this is hard. The most important thing is not to let food come between your relationship. Your significant other doesn’t have to share your health goals. Don’t let that be a stresser on your relationship, do what’s best for you and let them come around in their own time. This is something that took me a little too long to figure out.
He finally came around
Stage Four: “We are Committed to a Healthy Lifestyle, Together”
It could take a long time for this stage to finally hit. People realize that they need to eat healthier in their own time. For Jared, it wasn’t until I was already committed to a healthy lifestyle and I had started secretly switching our meals over. But, while I was waiting for him to come around, I was stuck buying foods that weren’t the 100% healthier versions like I wanted. But, there was compromise and sometimes that’s the best you can ask for. Finally, Jared came around and he realized that the healthy foods can be just as good as the frozen, greasy, and unhealthy foods that he had grown to love. He trusts me in the kitchen and I don’t get upset when he says that he doesn’t like something, instead, I think of healthy ways to alter the meals so that he likes them more. Once you hit this phase, it’s important to make sure that both people participate in choose the meals that you are going to have. Let him have some input in the foods that you eat, that way he doesn’t feel out of control. Most importantly it’s okay to have cheat nights every now and then. Give yourself a night every couple of weeks where you do eat something that you both miss and don’t punish yourself for it.
Dino Nuggets and Smiley Fries are one of Jared’s favorite cheat night dinners.
For me, my relationship has changed me in many ways. It made me even more unhealthy at first, but now, it has made me healthy. Having Jared support me and be willing to eat healthy with me has inspired to me to try a lot more things than I would have in the beginning and we’re both living healthier lifestyles because of it. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past couple months it’s not to punish him when he does eat something unhealthy. He will always love fast foods, and it’s up to him to change the way he eats. Getting mad at him only causes an unnecessary stress on our relationship. He may not have completely come around, but I know that he’s on my side, and that’s what really matters.
I’ve been working more than usual so my days are all mixed up. So let’s just pretend that today is Tuesday, not Wednesday, because in my mind, it is. This week’s tip goes along with something that has been hitting my campus by storm: Paleo.
When I first heard about Paleo I literally thought “who the hell would subject themselves to that kind of torture?” After talking to someone who does it, I feel like my initial thought was right, but I wanted to talk a little bit about this new food craze.
From what I’ve researched about Paleo, it is supposed to be what they ate back in the “hunter gatherer” times so anything that they didn’t eat 10,000 years ago, we shouldn’t put in our bodies either. So nothing that is processed including dairy, certain oils, salts, legumes (including peanuts), and even potatoes, which basically makes me say “no thank you.” Foods that you can eat, include: fish/seafood, grass-fed meats, eggs, nuts, fresh produce, and oils that are considered “healthy.” The general idea is that you are taking in more of the good things like, protein, vitamins, minerals, and potassium, while leaving out a lot of the fats and sodium.
Many of the sites list the pros of the Paleo diet as helping with obesity, cancer, diabetes, acne, and a lot of other things. Most of which, are also positives of just living a healthier lifestyle in general. But, because this diet is so new, many of these claims aren’t 100% proven. Not to mention, if you’re cutting out dairy, where are you getting all of the nutrients that come along with drinking milk or eating yogurt?
Now, while all of this is just my personal views towards the Paleo way of life, there is one thing that has really made me hesitant about trying it for even a week: the price! Part of what helps to fill us up with a lot of the meals I plan is the little bit of starch, whether it be pasta, rice, or potatoes. Not having those things would mean that you’re eating a little more of two things that are some of the more expensive items in the grocery store: produce and meat. Not to mention, you should be going for the more organic meats and produce to avoid eating too many pesticides or any of the other things that weren’t around 10,000 years ago, so we’re talking a bill increase of at least $20.
The person that I talked to about the Paleo way of life said that some days he feels great and some days he feels like absolute crap. We were talking about foods that he misses and he was saying that peanut butter is something that he hasn’t given up and that some days, all he needs is a little bit of sugar.
All of that being said, make the decision that best suits you but PLEASE talk to a doctor first. Find out what will happen for your body before you cut out all of these things from your diet. I’ve mentioned trying it for a week to Jared and he gave the idea a big, and loud, “no” so I doubt I will be trying it, but I might still try to convince him, simply so I can make some recipes for the blog and for any of you who have been thinking of working on a Paleo diet.
Chocolate, especially dark chocolate is one of my favorite things. I could eat it all day every day and other than the stomach ache that I’m sure I would get, I would be completely happy with my life. That being said, even though chocolate is full of some great things, like antioxidants, it still should only be eaten in moderation.
Today’s Tip Tuesday was inspired by a gift that I received from a friend. A friend of mine, wasn’t going to be home until late tonight, so I went to her house and checked on her cat and dog, the dog got into one of her pills so she was a little nervous. To thank me, when I got back, she had order me a box of cupcakes and cake pops from a local bakery, My Little Cupcake.
There are about 2 dozen small little cupcakes and cake pops that are now sitting on my counter (minus the few that we ate). That being said, I thought that since this was something really relevant to my life, I would talk about it.
I don’t know about you, but as someone who has tried a thousand different diets and weight loss programs in the past, I’ve found that when you don’t let yourself have a little treat now and then, you’re more likely to stop dieting or just become so miserable that no one really wants to be around you. For that reason, I think it is very important to indulge yourself in a small treat every now and then as a reward or a pat on the back. Now, what I’m not saying is, “reward yourself for everything you do” because that would be very counterproductive. But if you do something exceptional, give yourself a small treat.
It’s also important to not let these foods be the only thing that can make you happy. I know sometimes, for instance, after a break up, everyone seems to either eat too much, or not eat at all. Those who eat too much, usually turn to the fattier foods like sweets and grease. Don’t let that be you. If you’re having a bad day, instead of having a sweet, go to the gym, take a bath, play with animals if you can, do something other than eat your emotions away.
All of the emotional and stress talk aside, it’s also okay to let yourself have dessert. You don’t have to skip the sweet stuff all of the time. You just can’t have it with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have a few tips that I use when it comes to sweets that may help you out if, like me, sweets are your weakness.
Tips:
1. Don’t make them yourself! When you make a cake or brownies or anything that’s overly sweet, you have way too much of it. Then, you usually feel obligated to eat it and end up overindulging.
2. Go to a place like Trader Joe’s or Healthy Living where you can get some lower calorie treats and only buy one. Don’t buy a ton because everything looks good.
3. If you don’t have the option of going to a place like that, go for small cupcakes or cake pops (not a whole box!) because they are small, and still very satisfying.
4. If you do have a few too many sweets, don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s okay! It’s fine to have days where you break your diet a little, just try not to have too many.
All of that being said, go get yourself a piece of dark chocolate, or a nice little cupcake, and have a great night!
Shopping Healthy 
