Running short on time, or forget about dinner? Don't get fast food or order out just yet!
Homemade pizza is SO YUMMY and super quick. I actually ran to the store and grabbed some premade gluten free dough but I had all the other ingredients on hand. Sometimes I enjoy take-out too BUT I try to do everything I can to make all our meals at home. And places l eat are limited if the choice is up to me. Since we are a one income household, we also have to be budget conscious when eating out and making food at home is
ALWAYS cheaper for us.
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| {Recipe at bottom of post} |
I enjoy cooking and I feel good about knowing whats in my food.
Nothing is worse then going out to a restaurant so hungry, ordering things you normally wouldn't, questioning whats in the food, then eating it anyways. AND then you regret it about 10-20 minutes after when your stomach is hurting, your head is pounding and your so upset that you just treated yourself that way. Okay maybe that's how I feel, but you get my point. I have felt this way too many times that I have decided if I'm struggling and want something I know is gonna make me feel yuck, I will make it with REAL food in my own kitchen with ingredients I know my body will appreciate.
YOU are worth REAL food. Eating REAL food doesn't have to be like a diet, and you don't have to cheat. You can eat REAL treats. I'm going to be making some
yummy brownies this week, but with REAL
food and one of the ingredients is zucchini :)
Look for the recipe coming soon!
I don't have to feel like garbage after I eat REAL treats, and I don't have to have guilt over my head because I cheated on my diet. And I don't have to feel like I messed up so now I'll just go back to eating whatever.
Your body is like a car, if you don't feed it the right fuel, its gonna burn out, explode, and fall apart.
I have chosen to not eat refined white sugar as much as is within my power,
I have substituted all my sugar in recipes for stevia or honey. I'm doing this for many reasons,
1. I'm addicted to sugar and going cold turkey would create a monster, 2. I'm trying to heal my stomach but still crave sweet things sometimes, 3. Stevia doesn't have the same harmful effects as other sweeteners, such as aspartame which is known to cause neurological effects.,
I have chosen to quit gluten. After I had some blood tests done I have chosen for my health that its better to cut out all gluten as much as is in my power from my diet.
I'm so thankful to God that I have done this. For me cutting out gluten also helped limit my carbohydrate intake {breads, pastas, muffins, cookies, etc.} Carbohydrates and sugar are whats making US {Americans} fat, NOT fat. We need fat, good fat, such as avocados, peanut butter, nuts, some meat, coconut oil. I feel more clear headed and have more energy as well.
Some people have also talked about cutting out all grains, I'm not there yet. I still eat rice which is naturally gluten free, quinoa, and popcorn. I do try to make recipes without grains because i want to limit my carbohydrates, but I'm comfortable at this point with eating rice, quinoa, and popcorn. I also do not eat rice made in the USA if I can help it, it has high levels of arsenic, although this can be in any rice, the US rice has very high levels. I usually buy basmati rice, jasmine white or jasmine brown rice.
You can curb cravings by replacing them, for example trade a late night snack with a warm cup of tea. You can also make healthier versions, in my case I like peanut butter cups, BUT I'm eating sugar free now, so I have a recipe for homemade sugar free peanut butter cups.
Most products on the market that are sugar free, are dangerous because of the artificial sweeteners and have no nutritional value. My homemade peanut butter cups have a plant based sugar alternative, stevia, pure organic protein filled peanut butter, and dark chocolate with antioxidants, OR Chocolate protein powder, OR Carob protein which is naturally caffeine free. I will post that recipe soon :)
Its hard in the beginning to change your routine, and to turn your back on things that are easily accessible, fast, convenient, and something you really like. BUT the longer you start weaning yourself towards eating REAL foods, you start to feel better, energized, and overall better. You won't want to go back to the foods that gave you a quick good feeling, but afterword made you feel yucky. And if you do, it will be a reminder why you chose to give it up. {I know this from personal experience :)}
Homemade Pizza Night
Make this a fun night with your kids, get all the toppings out and let them help, or make individual pizzas. Make your dough from scratch or buy premade dough. If I still ate gluten I would have made my own dough BUT with being gluten free I'm still learning how to bake with gluten free flours and such, SO it was easier for me to get some gluten free premade dough. Buying premade dough to me is better then ordering out pizza.
I can still remember the last time I ate take out pizza, I felt so yucky that I couldn't even sleep that night, it was horrible! SO, now I make our pizzas at home. Since I'm gluten free it also helps me reject certain foods I normally might cave on. I feel so good after being off gluten, I don't wanna go back!
Use what you have or add what you want!
Here's what I did:
1 box of 4 Premade Gluten free pizza dough from Woodmans
spinach
feta cheese
mushrooms
pepperoni
pasta sauce or pizza sauce
minced garlic
olive oil
You can also use/try:
pineapples
shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese
chicken
BBQ sauce
onions
tomatoes
zucchini
sausage
bell peppers
I spread a little olive oil on the dough before adding any toppings, then I spread out some minced garlic on the crust.
I added my sauce, then my spinach, add cheese, meat and veggies.
Bake until cheese is melty, and/or crust is tanned.
HAVE FUN AND EAT REAL FOOD!
Here is a recipe for homemade gluten free dough, I will be trying this soon!
