Carbs: Friend or Foe

Carbs are good. Carbs are bad. Don't eat any. Eat a ton. Every day we are barraged with conflicting information about this particular food source. What is the truth?

The truth is...are you ready for this?

MODERATION!

Moderation should be a word that we all use in EVERY aspect of our life, but I digress as we are supposed to be talking about carbs.

The primary role of carbs is to provide our body with energy. They are the ideal fuel for our body and help maintain the blood glucose level. There are two kinds of carbs: complex and simple. Complex contain starch and fiber. Simple contain simple sugar. Complex are the healthier of the two and preferred by our body.

It is recommended that we eat 2-5 servings per day of complex carbs. I say as low as 2 for those on a weight loss plan. Remember, 15 grams of carb equate 1 serving. Because the serving size has increased on many of our foods in the grocery store and restaurant, it is very important to look at the nutritional info. You may think that whole wheat bagel is 1 serving, but it could actually be 3!

I am not an advocate for low carb diets. Complex carbs are too important for our body's health. Fiber helps to prevent obesity, colon cancer, constipation, heart disease, and diabetes.

So, do you need to be afraid of carbs? Yes and no. Be afraid, be VERY afraid, of the unhealthy carbs: donuts, cakes, cookies, sugar cereals. Receive with open arms the healthy ones: whole wheat anything, green veggies, potatoes (yes, I said it,) nuts.

If you find yourself craving the unhealthy ones, it's time to sit down and look at your diet in general. You are lacking something. Now go eat an apple!

Hump Day Humor

If only it worked this way, right ladies?

Turkey Chili

1 large red onion, sliced or diced
1-2 peppers, diced (red, yellow, or orange are best)
1 stalk green onion, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Nonstick cooking spray
1 lb. ground turkey
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 cup black olives, sliced
Salt, pepper, Italian spice mix, and chili flakes to taste

Lightly spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray, then brown ground turkey. Add onion, peppers, green onion, and mushrooms. Mix and simmer until veggies are soft. Add chopped tomatoes and black beans. Mix well. Season with salt, pepper, and spice mix. Sprinkle in chili flakes. Mix and simmer for at least 10 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Nutritional Information: (per serving)
Calories: 281
Protein: 22 g
Fiber: 10 g
Carbs: 29 g
Fat Total: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g

When it rains, it pours

Wow...haven't been here much lately. Life has been crazy. This past week has been crazier than my usual crazy.

My hubby has been gone from us for a total of 13 weeks this year for training. He came home this past week on a 4-day leave before finally deploying out of the country.

I had visions in my head of how the 4 days were supposed to go. In my vision, we would spend the 4 days relaxing out by the pool. My honey-do-list was very short and easy. We were going to have a mini-vacation at home...making memories.

Ummmm...yea...we made memories all right. Let me tell you how the 4 days actually went.

The afternoon before he flew in, my new iPad arrived. Awesome!!!! I couldn't wait to show him. The next morning, about 7am or so, my computer...my entire biz...DIED!!!! As in R.I.P. Hard drive gone. Go ahead...ask me the next logical question. Didn't I always back everything up?

No!!!!!! ***rolling eyes***

I don't have time to worry about it though...we head out to pick up hubby. YAY!!!!!

Picking him up at the airport WAS just as a I imagined. Seeing him walk down the corridor in his uniform towards us was an incredible feeling. I thought my child would bounce of the walls.

We get home in the early evening. Keith tries to fix my computer but can't. I get up early the next am and head to our computer guy. Yep, he confirms that the hard drive is VERY damaged, and he can't get any info off of it. If I want to get the info, I have to send it out to a special place...the kind of place where the FBI would send data to be extracted. HA!

Soooooo...new computer ordered. Fine.

Next, I ask Keith to put some boxes into our shed. Next thing I know, he's in our house on the couch and says "Something is biting me. Huh? It's fleas?"

WHAT? We DON'T have fleas.

He gets into the tub, strips off his clothes, fills up the tub. Not kidding...about 50 or so fleas were there!!!!!!! Apparently our shed is invested and he brought these little buggers into the house. UGH!

Yep...enjoying the vacation so far.

I jump into fix-it mode. My first thought is to vacuum right away and get the ones on the surface. Pull out the vacuum, plug it in, and...wait...why isn't it sucking up? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I look down...fleas are on my feet. GROSS!

So, I run out of the house to get flea stuff at the vet (who closed early that day...I didn't make it) and buy a new vacuum cleaner. Oh yea, and an external hard drive too.

We spend the next day getting everything cleaned, set, ready. We DID spend quality time together...just not the vision in my head.

To top off everything, on Friday am...the day that Keith was leaving us...he gets a call from his unit. He was supposed to be back the DAY BEFORE!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!!?! Apparently the orders had changed, and he didn't know. Funny cuz his itinerary...which had his return flight on it...had to be given in advance to his supervisor. Oh well, not much we could do.

I have to be honest...my eating was LESS than stellar this past week. In fact, it was bad. I only worked out 3x too. I'm not gonna beat myself up about it though. I was incredibly stressed and did the best I could.

Today is a new day and I'm starting anew. I've learned to be forgiving of myself and not let slip-ups define who I am.

Keith is on a plane right now...headed somewhere...don't know where...don't know when we'll hear from him. I'm incredibly proud of him and all of the other men and women serving in the Armed Forces...keeping us all safe.

In the meantime, I will keep our home running...flea-free darn it!

Hump Day Humor