Stress,Food,and My Big Butt

Stress we all have it at some time or another.Different triggers cause stress.For myself lately it has been having a 19 year old son graduating and heading off to college.Who knew getting a teen age boy to fill out invitations could be so STRESSFUL! No one has exploded or lost their head yet,thank goodness! Seriously,Stress can derail healthy eating like a train wreck quick!This is when food strategies are vitally important.Don't wait till stress happens.Prepare ahead of time and divert disaster.Keep canned veggies packed in water on hand, with the exception of creamed any kind of canned veggies or whole kernel corn.These are almost always loaded with sugar.Watch it also on salt content on your canned veggies.You can rinse them with cold water.This will remove a huge portion of the salt.Also keep Fresh and frozen no sugar added fruit and fruit juices on hand.Again also Truvia brand all natural granulated sweetener is awesome!Mrs Dash comes in a variety of flavor also.You can find it in the spice section of most grocery stores.Also keep Double Fiber bread on hand.I also discovered some grocery stores carry little flat rounds of sliced bread.Their very much like pita bread.Remember when in doubt read the ingredients,this a must have habit to develop.If you really like meat and want to eat it portion control is a must!No more meat than a portion the size of a small apple per day.There are really tasty healthy choices to meat.I like black beans,garbanzo beans,kidney beans.And the can be coarsely mashed and seasoned with soy sauce,pepper and formed into "burgers' and grilled in the oven on a broiler pan.Broil for 10 minutes on medium on each side and serve on multi-grain buns with avocado slices,onion,salsa,or even a small teaspoon of mayo and mustard.Salsa of all kinds can be a great base for soups or used as a salad dressing.Just make sure they are no fat added.Read the ingredients!It's really healthy,cheap and tasty eating healthy.One thing I don't generally do is processed foods like white table sugar,junk food like cookies or chips.It's just to hard to stop at one.I would much rather have a huge bowl of fresh fruit with vanilla yogurt than one or two little cookies.I also do not do artificial sweeteners.I would rather use organic or natural.I also drink about a gallon of water some days.One of the really  fun pay offs from eating healthy is I get to buy new clothes periodically in smaller and smaller sizes.I will start  posting weekly photo's of myself as I shrink.Remember read labels and ingredients.Don't be afraid to cook.And you are worth the effort!