Food Bullying Needs To STOP

 

BULLYING.

It's a word we all know, an action that most of us have probably endured (or even caused.)

But what about when bullying goes beyond the playground? When it is more than pushing or shoving, calling someone fat or ugly, or talking about people behind their back?

What happens when you go to a party and people laugh at you for not eating something?

Or when your friends and family tease you because you are passionate about supporting organic farming, and a healthy environment?

How about if someone forces you to hold or be around food you don't eat, just to poke fun at you?

FOOD BULLYING comes in many shapes, but it all boils down to this:

We feel BAD for eating foods that make us feel and look GOOD.


My best friend Abby, who is also a clean eating foodie, and I drinking some yummy tea when I visited her. We are proud to be different than others our age, or otherwise.

Especially being a teenage girl, I get picked on all the time for not chowing down on store bought pizza and ice cream and candy.

It's become easier to handle these people because now I know how to approach the situation when it happens.

No longer am I ashamed to eat healthy, or in a way that makes me feel good about myself and the healthy environment I am supporting.

Have you ever experienced "food bullying?"

Natalie NGYY

WOW Linkup 4/23/14

Hostess: 

Diatta Harris

Femme Fitale Fit Club

Blog:  http://femmefitalefitclub.com

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/femmefitalefitness

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/dstprl

Sheila Simmons

The Frugal Exerciser

Blog:  http://thefrugalexerciser.blogspot.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TheFrugalExerciser

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Laurend1985

Cohost:

 

Amanda

Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AmandaH_EatHardWorkHard Twitter:  http://twitter.com/eathardworkhard Instagram:  http://instagram.com/eathard_workhard

Fitness and Health Videos, Posts, and More that I am Loving

Emily's video she posted recently was AMAZING! She is such a sweetheart. I adore her fitness philosophies and her down to earth personality.

Why paying attention to your body is the best diet of all 

Vegan Strawberry Milkshakes from Yes to Yummy When will Abby just stop being so perfect?!

Single Leg Deadlifts I've been using these lately in my leg workouts and LOVE them. I like adding single limb movements so that I can ensure both sides of my body are strong equally... I am naturally right side dominant!


Don't forget to link up with us!!






Natalie

What's In MY Fridge?

DONT FORGET TO ENTER THE
NUNATURALS GIVEAWAY!

Hello there Clean Eaters!

Today is a fun post. I have read some blog posts before, such as grocery hauls, which inspired me to make this.

I also thought it might be helpful for those who are new to healthy eating, or who just are curious what I eat in general.

These are just a few staples a usually have around. And by no means is this ALL I have in my fridge!

There is lots of unhealthy, processed junk that is my sisters (we are trying our best to wean her off Dr. Pepper. lol!) But we won't get into that...



Some basic meat products I keep around:
Ground turkey
Natural Chicken Stock from Costco
Natural chicken (these are drumsticks but I use all sorts of cuts)
Applegate Farms Nitrate Free turkey bacon
Wild Caught salmon from Aldi



THERE IS MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!
I love keeping my apples cold. They taste so much better than room temperature.
Thinking of making some Portobello pizzas with those mushrooms!



Some basic food prep for the week.
Baked sweet potato
Baked fish and quinoa
Frozen bananas



MUSTARD FETISH.
All fruit jam.
All natural Almond Butter from Costco
Fermented olives from Costco



Silk almond milk
Cage free brown eggs
Chobani (for my momma)



Some flours/other baking tools!
Coconut flour (used in my Paleo flatbread)
Organic flaxseed
Oat Fiber from NuNaturals (don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!)

What are staples in your fridge?

Natalie

Food Roundup!

Check out my last Food Roundup here!


Breakfast:


Was inspired by this faux oatmeal by Heather at Soulful Spoon!  It is made with toasted coconut in place of oats, and then mixed with pumpkin.


Paleo flatbread with veggies and avocado.



Found a new obsession! Roasted carrots!


Some wild caught salmon from my moms boss, when he went on an Alaska fishing trip.

Lunch:

Roasted butternut squash and veggies!


Another obsession. Roasted sweet potato! These cook so much quicker than baked. Add some cinnamon... YES!


More Paleo bread, with egg and veggies and a side of almond milk.


A lunch at one of the few places I like to eat at, Jasons Deli. I usually get a plain baked potato and load it up with goodies. It looks gross but tasted great... trust me.


Using sprouted lentils and quinoa to make a variantion of my lentil quinoa squash stew. 

Dinner:

A glob of mustard, veggies, and chicken. I need to learn to take prettier pictures...




Grilled Ahi Tuna


Turkey stew with avocado and uh. Mustard.


Grilled turkey leg.


YES! More roasted sweet potato, with tuna and veggies. And homemade mayo!

Snack/Dessert:
I fear I have been eating more of these lately. At least they're healthy! 


I tried out a gluten free dessert from Pure Market Express. It was not bad. The ingredients list is also pretty good, except the agave nectar could be taken out and replaced with honey.


Frozen banana with honey and melted 100% chocolate

Frozen banana with some Acorn Squash brownie!


LOOK AT THESE AVOCADOS!! They are the size of my head. My grandpa from Florda shipped them to me. Florida doesn't mess around with produce!!

What have you been eating lately?

Natalie

Easy Pablano Pepper Salsa

For game day this past Sunday, my mom and I agreed we needed some salsa.

We didn't go to any Superbowl parties or really make a big deal out of the day (we honestly only watch it for the commercials...) but we still thought we needed at least ONE staple food!

This recipe is SUPER easy. I was surprised by how simple it was... my gal Taylor whips up hot salsa on a weekly bases, and I was inspired by her love of the stuff to make this.

Easy Pablano Pepper Salsa
1 large pablano pepper, DESEEDED
2 large jalepeno peppers, seeds in (or remove some if want less spicy)
2 large tomatoes
1 medium onion
sea salt
garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
big handful cilantro



1) Boil the peppers and the tomatoes. You want the peppers to look less "shiney" and the tomatoes to be squishy.

2) Remove the veggies from the water and take the lids off the peppers. You can also remove the tomato skins, but I'm Miss Frugal and found that to just be a waste.

3) Place all the ingredients in the food processor, or a blender. Blend until you have your desired consistancy.

This is so quick, easy, and DELICIOUS. It was just the right amount of hotness for me, but feel free to adjust the levels of spicy deliciousness to your liking.

I might also add that the chips in the picture are totally not healthy. Haha! My sister brought them back from Chipotle and I needed something more to the photo than just salsa!

What did you eat on game day?

Natalie 

Be My Valentine Paleo Rosemary Flatbread

Oh, Clean Eaters. It's that magical time of year again.

The one day in Febuary that causes all CVS and grocery stores around the world to shove brightly colored cards into shopper's faces. Heck, even Walmart falls victim, lining their deceptively addicting boxes of sweets oh-so cleverly in your realm of reach as you enter their doors. Yes, it's that holiday...

Valentines Day.


Image via google images

Now I don't know about you, but Valentines day has always been more of a depressing holiday to me than a happy one.

The only thing it does is cause rukus...

Single women looking in awe at all the presents their dating friends are getting (and those dating friends secretly wishing all that candy wasn't in their possesion!). Not to mention the stress it puts on couples! How many poor men have to rush and buy their darling a teddy bear each season, just because it's the madatory "thing to do?"

So this Febuary 14th, I say poo poo to all the processed sweets, all the heart shaped boxes, all the fluffy toys and roses.

And you know what I say YES to? I say hello, yes, PLEASE, to bread.

(However, if you are down for sweets, might I suggest these DELICIOUS looking Dark Chocolate Fig Brownies from Abby at Yes toYummy. Seriously, they look gooey enough to lick the computer screen..!)

Now that I am avoiding gluten, and grains and legumes that are not properly prepared, I have not been making the Whole Wheat bread that I was during summer.

Instead, I have been experiementing in some non grain based, "Paleo" type breads. I was wary at first because most are really bland, most flavor wise and nutritionally. However, I recently came across a recipe from The Saffron Girl that changed my mind...

Paleo Rosemary Flatbread
(I used a medium sized brownie pan)

4 eggs
1 TSP baking soda
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
2 TBSP coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup almond milk (more or less as needed)
1 twig fresh rosemary
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1) Preheat the oven to 400


2) Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. At first I thought I needed more dry ingredients, but I didn't! Keep mixing and it will all blend.



3) Spread the mixture (it should be thick and hold its shape, not runny) into a brownie pan. Mine was about 1/2 inch thick.

Bonus points if your bread is heart shaped.

4) Place in your oven and bake 15-20 minutes, checking at the 15 minute mark to see its progress. You know it is done when the top is firm and the edges are SLIGHTLY brown.

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen! I suggest storing it in the fridge... if it lasts that long./

I hope you have a happy, healthy Valentines day!!

What do you usually eat and do on Valentines day?
Have you tried Paleo bread before?

Natalie 

Personal Ramekin Stuffed Peppers!

Hey there Clean Eaters!

So in the past, I have featured some stuffed bell peppers on my WIAW's. I figured it was about time to share the recipe because I need to fulfill all these recipe promises I make.

These stuffed peppers are so easy to make. I think the ramekins give them a personal touch... plus it is a fun way to get kids to eat. Or, for adults, it is a fool proof way to use portion control if you do that sort of thing!

Personal Ramekin Stuffed Peppers

4-5 Bell peppers, wide and pretty large
1 lb lean ground turkey or beef, preferably organic
Medium onion, diced
1/2 cup diced mushroom
Clove fresh garlic
2 medium tomatoes
Handful chopped cilantro
TBSP coconut oil
2 TBSP tomato paste per pepper
TSP chile powder
TSP smoked paprika
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
black pepper
sea salt
1 oz cheese per pepper, organic (OPTIONAL)

1) Heat your oil over medium high heat. Saute the onion, garlic and mushroom until tender, then add in your meat and seasonings. Brown the meat, adding water or unsalted stock/broth for moisture if needed.

When it is almost done, add in the cilantro.

2) Rinse and deseed your peppers! 

You can see if they fit into their ramekins too. If you don't have ramekins, you could use cups or a glass container, but it won't be nearly as fun.

3) Dice up your tomato. Line the peppers with some tomato chunks, and also the tomato paste.

5) With the browned meat, fill up the bell peppers. Top them with more fresh tomato, tomato paste, and cilantro. If you are using cheese, top it last. 

6) Put the lids back on your peppers and over each ramekin with foil. Bake in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers have visibly changed color and are soft! 

Easy peasy! Now don't tell me you can't find time to throw these in the oven. Seriously, they took me a grand total of 20 minutes hands on time! Maybe your time will be even less if you have a spouse, room mate, or kids to help. 

Do you practice portion control? How?
What -healthy- foods do your kids like?

Natalie 

My Girl Has A Nice Rack! RECIPE

Image via Google Images

I don't know about you, but I like my ladies with a nice rack.




Image via Google Images
I thought this was rather suiting! 

...Because what better way to eat a hen, right?!

AHEM. All jokes aside, I really do have a great recipe in store for you Clean Eaters today!

My grandmother lives off the "holy trinity" of vegetables, as she calls them: onion, celery, and bell pepper. She says you can't go wrong with them, and they make everything taste better. She uses them in most of her dishes, as a base!

Anyways, she told me that sometimes when she roasts a chicken (or, excuse me, a nice lady hen), she creates a "RACK" under the chicken, to kind of hold it up off the bottom and add flavor. And guess what this rack is made of? Celery and onion!

I took her word for it, and tried it out. And what do you know, grandma was right (of course)!

Most people would throw out the rack after cooking, but I went ahead and ate it because I am a veggie monster. Plus it was super tasty with all the yummy chicken fats cooked into it.

Nice RACK Chicken! (AKA Oven Roasted Rosemary Hen)

1 hen/chicken, preferably free range. Giblets removed (I used about 4.5lbs)
2 stalks celery
1 large onion
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 small 5oz can tomato paste, unsalted
TSP black pepper
TSP cinnamon 
1/2 TBSP cumin
1/2 TBSP chile powder
TBSP Herb de Province
Sea salt to taste

1) Chop your celery into logs. I diced my onion, but you could also chunk it or sliver it. Use about half the onion lining the bottom and reserve the rest for later.

Line the bottom of a dutch oven with the celery and onion.

2) Pick and wash your rosemary (or if it is store bought, just wash it.) I am happy that this crazy Texas weather hasn't killed my rosemary plant.

3) I deskin my chicken. I know this may sound horrific to those brought up to preserve this precious stuff, but I don't trust it! I know the health benefits of the saturated fats, that is not why I get rid of it. I get rid of it because I don't for sure KNOW how this chicken was raised or handled. Toxins are stored in the chicken fat/skin, so I want to be safe, though I get "free range" at the store. 

After deskinning it, I coat both sides with the spices. I flip in over so the breasts are facing up for cooking.

4) Use the other half of your onion to stuff the cavity. Also, stuff the cavity with some rosemary sprigs, and tuck the other springs under the wings and legs.

5) Similar to my Sweet Italian Crockpot Chicken...Use the tomato paste to coat the top of your chicken! I also sprinkle a bit more cinnamon and black pepper on the top after coating. 

6) Place in the oven and cook uncovered, at 400, for about 20-30 minutes. Cover the dutch oven and continue to cook at 350 for another 45 minutes, or until fully cooked. 

Sorry for all the puns in this post! But I think it was worth it for this recipe... because it is punlicious. RACKdiculous. I'll stop now.

Do you have any traditional ways to cook a chicken?
How do you like your ladies (ahem, hens)?

Natalie