diet – Mommy Perfect

Reduced Calorie Sweet Iced Tea

Published Saturday, June 10th, 2017

Mommy Perfect brings you the perfect sweet iced tea for hot summer days, or any time of year, and Gidget tells about the first time she ever tried iced tea.

Sweet iced tea is a Southern thing and I am from up North where tea is drunk hot, in fact I had never heard of sweet iced tea when I was a kid growing up. I can remember the first time I had this thing called “sweet iced tea”; we were on a road trip driving down the east coast of the US, it was a sweltering hot summer, and our car didn’t have air conditioning. It was old fashioned kind of cooling where you rolled down the window.

I cannot recall precisely which state we were in, but I know we were in the “south” because the accent had become distinctly “southern” and the air was humid like you were wrapped in a blanket that you couldn’t shake off. We pulled off the highway to refuel both the car and our stomachs, but rather than opt for the same drive-thru burger chains, we ventured our luck on a cute looking diner with a sign that indicated southern cooking. I was unfamiliar with what southern cooking would be — images of My Cousin Vinny poking at his pile of grits came to mind (“What is a grit anyways?”) — but road trips are about adventure so we gave it a try.

As we approached the front door I recall seeing a sign promoting their “Homemade Sweet Iced Tea” — again something I didn’t know people drank. The meal couldn’t have been spectacular because I don’t remember what I had, but the sweet tea was delicious and so refreshing, I was a fan immediately. I remember wondering why had I never had this drink before.

Related: Retro Summer Break

Now that I’m married and have kids, sweet iced tea has become a staple in our home, especially in the summer. Having experimented with countless batches, I’ve found that mixing in lemon juice really balances the flavors — its the only way we drink it now. Some people may call this an Arnold Palmer (after the golfer), which is 1/3rd lemonade and 2/3rd sweet iced tea, but in my house we just call it iced tea because its the only way we like it. I make it reduced calorie with 1/3rd Splenda, but if you are averse to artificial sweeteners you can use all sugar.

I hope you enjoy!

Healthier Carrot Cake

Published Monday, April 4th, 2016

Carrot cake is that odd-ball confection made with a vegetable but which we all love to eat. I frankly cannot think of another vegetable cake that I could eat, and I certainly wound’t enjoy it. The reason is simple: carrot cake is loaded with fat and sugar. And I mean LOADED. Traditional carrot cake is so calorie dense (i.e. delicious) that it’s lost any semblance of vegetable healthiness it may have once possessed. So how does one set upon inventing a carrot cake recipe that is healthier while maintaining its tasty appeal? Well friends, I think I’ve done it. I offer to you Mommy Perfect’s Healthier Carrot Cake.

Moist? Check.
Sweet? Check.
Cakey (not dense)? Check.
Creamy frosting? Check
Low-sugar, low-fat, low-calorie? Check, check, check.

Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comment section below. Enjoy!

12 Simple Ways to Drink More Water

Published Friday, January 8th, 2016

You’ve heard it a thousand times: drink more water. Researchers say that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, so the odds are strong that you aren’t drinking enough either. Dehydration is responsible for a long list of health problems including high blood pressure, fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, kidney stones and many more. Our bones are 50% water, our blood is 80% water, and it must be constantly replenished for good health. It’s the most commonly overlooked malady, and also the easiest to fix. I could go on with reasons why you should be drinking more water, but hopefully you get the idea.

I’m often asked, “What type of water is the best?” The answer is to drink clean water that tastes good to you. Some companies make outlandish claims for their bottled water or filtration devices, anything from curing cancer to reversing diabetes. These are dishonest scams. Tap, filtered, bottled, reverse osmosis, spring, distilled… these are all fine just so long as it’s clean and pure and you enjoy drinking it. Getting the water into you is more important than the “type” of water. Any company making amazing claims for their water to improve your health in unusual ways is a worthless, overpriced scam. But if you enjoy drinking it, and its clean, then do what makes you happy. I choose to drink reverse osmosis myself because I like the taste and its also very inexpensive per gallon to put an RO system under your kitchen sink.

How much water should you be drinking? Women’s magazines other outfits are often suggesting that we drink 8 cups a day, or 10 cups, or check your urine color, or smell your urine… oh good grief! Here is the best method for calculating your daily water target:

_________ lbs (your body weight) X .66 = ounces per day of water

For example, if you weigh 130 lbs: 130 X .66 = 85 oz per day. Grab a calculator and figure out your daily target. Then get a portable water bottle and figure out how many bottles you ought to be drinking every day.

Now that you know “what, when, where, and why”, here are 12 simple ways to drink more water every day.

1, Carry a portable water bottle everywhere you go. I personally use Nalgene water bottles and have been for 20 years, because they are virtually indestructible and are easy to carry around. I literally have one in my hand everywhere I go, even into restaurants, which occasionally garners an odd glance. Once you get into the habit it becomes second nature and you don’t even think about it.

2. Set a timer. If you space out your water intake its very easy to get it down. Half a cup every :30 minutes is practically nothing; but by the end of a work day you’ll have downed 8 cups, painlessly. Set a timer on your smartphone to chime at you every :30 minutes until you get into the habit. Half a cup is about a mouthful.

3. There’s an app for that. There are countless free apps that help you to track your water intake, just search the Apple App Store or Google Play for “drink water”. The Fitbit app also does this.

4. Use flavoring. Some people find it unpleasant to drink water, but I’ve observed that sentiment goes away with time. They’re just not used to drinking so much water. There are many zero-calorie “on the go” products like Crystal Light or MIO. Some people like to infuse mint leaves, fruit chunks, or orange slices into their water (let it sit in a pitcher in your fridge overnight). Feel free to add flavorings if it helps you to get it down.

5. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty. If you are feeling thirsty then you are already dehydrated, and now you’re behind trying to play catch up. It takes time for the cells in your body to rehydrate. Its not a simple as chugging a huge bottle of water and feeling like you’ve caught up. Its best to get well hydrated and keep it there all day.

6. Ginger snaps. Ginger snap cookies have the ability to make you feel thirsty. While I don’t suggest cookies as a snack, if you find yourself compelled to have a treat, at least ginger snaps will amplify your thirst and compel you to drink more water. This is a good tip for kids by the way, who are also often dehydrated.

7. Spice it up. Similarly to ginger snaps, eating food with a bit of spice will tend to make you feel thirst, so add some hot sauce to your meals. Hot sauce is also a low calorie condiment, so feel free to indulge.

8. Eat your water. Water-rich foods like cucumbers, celery, apples, and melons are a great snack while also adding water. Also light soups or broths are obviously mostly water.

9. Feeling hungry? Drink! Often dehydration can manifest as a feeling of hunger. If you find that you are getting hungry, drink a cup of water and wait :10 minutes. You might find that the hunger dissipates, or at the very least holds your hunger at bay so you don’t raid the vending machine at work.

10. Wake up to a tall glass. Every morning when you wake you are severely dehydrated. You’ve just gone 6-8 hours without a drink (which is why your face is puffy). As soon as you wake up, drink a tall glass of water — just slam it back. You’ll feel feel it invigorate you instantly.

11. Booze and water, 1:1. We’ve all heard this hangover prevention before: drink a cup a water with every boozy beverage. It works. So next time you’re enjoying some drinks with your friends, chug a glass of water after each drink.

12. Carbonation. Many people find it easier and more pleasant to drink carbonated water. Products like the Soda Stream will make your water bubbly in under 5 seconds.

Share good health with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Also tell us your own tips and advice in the comments below. Cheers!

This is not an ad for any specific product. Disclaimer: this article may contain affiliate links.

Skinny Egg Nog

Published Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015

Every December I need to have my egg nog. I love the stuff! However I find that the store bought is just too thick and sweet, I would always have to “water it down” with milk, but even then it’s still loaded with sugar and fat, which is fine once in a while, but not every day. So being that I enjoy creating recipes, I began to play with egg nog recipes. I soon realized that I could concoct a skinny egg nog to help keep off the holiday bulge and that way I could drink as much as I wanted without worry or guilt. Bonus: it even has a lot of protein (after all, it is EGG nog). It’s practically a meal replacement! Perfect for people on a diet or fitness program or those who just want to drink as much as they want, whenever they want it.

I bundled this recipe, along with other skinny holiday recipes and diet strategies in my eBook Holiday Dieting Handbook ($2.99 at Amazon).

Mix this up in a large pitcher, then pour into an old gallon milk jug using a funnel. Drink as much as you want, guilt-free. Enjoy!

Holiday Diet: How To Enjoy The Holidays While Dieting

Published Tuesday, October 13th, 2015

When the weather starts getting cooler in Autumn and the “Pumpkin Spice” flavored goodies appear wherever you look, most people who had been successful with their eating habits up until now will suddenly begin cheating too often and losing their hard-earned gains. Halloween candy, family feasts, pie, gravy, egg nog, fruitcake, cookies, chocolates… the last three months of every year! We all find our will-power being tested at holidays, and for many people who are trying to pursue body or fitness goals, this time of year mark the end of their healthy diet – they give up entirely and revert to horrible eating habits until New Year’s rolls around again, then the cycle starts over.

Anybody who tells you that its easy is lying to you. If it were easy then everybody would be in great shape. As a former athlete and fitness professional, I’ve spent years seeing how people struggle this time of year — including myself — and I’ve learned some valuable lessons to help navigate the holidays without blowing up your diet.

Why do we crave fats and sugars?
How to use “cheat meals” to keep you ON your diet without feeling guilty.
Is gluten the real reason that you struggle to get trim? Or is it sugar? Or pesticides? Or something else?
What should you do if you give in to temptation?
Should you be eating low-fat or low-carb?

I’ve writen a new book called “The Holiday Dieting Handbook”, available at Amazon, which answers these questions and many more. Full of delicious holiday recipes that won’t compromise your diet or make you feel like you’re missing out. These are all-original recipes that aren’t on my website or anywhere else.

Want to know what the biggest lie in the fitness industry is? Here is an excerpt from the book:

Competitive athletes and bodybuilders have known for decades that the best way to get protein is to eat food; not protein powders or bars. Even though they all sell powders and bars, they rarely eat the stuff. The powder business is hugely profitable, and so they all try to sell the public on the myth that you can drink this expensive powder and look just like them. Meanwhile they almost never touch the stuff. Powders are highly processed waste byproduct of food manufacturing (mostly from dairy processing). They used to throw the stuff away, then someone got the idea to sell it. Through fancy packaging, attractive models, and a lot of misleading (or outright false) advertising, a multi-billion dollar business has sold a naïve public that they need powdered protein to get fit. I could write an entire book about all the fraud that goes on in the supplement business, but suffice for now that powders and bars should be your last option, not your first. These overpriced powders do have their place as an occasional meal replacement when you’re in a pinch and have no other choice, such as an airline flight, a long meeting, and when added to certain recipes. The pros do use powders in this limited way as well. Just remember: powders are a food of last resort.

The Holiday Dieting Handbook is available now at Amazon for $1.99 digital download (free with Kindle Unlimited). I hope it helps you to make it to New Years with your diet intact!

Postpartum Weight Loss

Published Monday, August 17th, 2015

By Jessica Fletcher

We all seem to always be looking for the easiest, most painless way to get in shape. Its not as if we have five free hours every day to spend at the gym. The trick is to never let yourself go in the first place. I say trick because it is extremely tricky. It took me the better part of three and a half years to lose 70 pounds off my 5’4, medium frame. I weighed in at 237 pounds after delivering my youngest son, and I was devastated to see that number.

I was already working very hard on losing the weight I had gained from two previous pregnancies, when I found out I was pregnant again. I weighed 185 pounds in 2011. I gained over 75 pounds when I got pregnant with my very first child. I surprisingly did not have gestational diabetes or any blood pressure issues. I ended up being obese, but all my pregnancies were quite normal, no complications. After each baby was born, I’d succumb to my post partum depression. I would fall into the same habits of eating on the go, eating late at night, and eating because I was lonely and sad. My husband works nights, and he has done so for the entirety of our relationship. It works to eliminate the cost of daycare, and that is the only perk. My husband has gained over 100 pounds since we started dating 10 years ago. A lot of it has to do with the fact he can not get quality sleep. More of it has to do with portion control and an addiction to soda.

My husband had never become disgusted with me, the way many men do when their significant others pack on the pounds. Maybe this was because he also packed it on, or maybe he was disgusted, but he never showed it. Regardless, he never put pressure on me to exercise or order salads. He never failed to tell me he thought I was beautiful and sexy to him.

I would try to see myself as he saw me. When I’d look into the mirror, I would look at my protruding, flabby stomach, complete with the shiny, purplish stretch marks etched all over. I stared at my enormous thighs, my deflated breasts, and my pudgy arms and wonder… what in the hell he was on, and why wasn’t he sharing? I decided to make a change. I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror, and I refused to be in any pictures with my kids if I could help it. I was ashamed of how large I was, and how ugly I believed that I looked. I rarely wore makeup. I almost never did my hair. A day that I showered would be momentous, when it came to trying to look decent. This is where most moms would say that their children deserved better, but if I’m being honest, this is where I told myself that I deserve better.

I wanted to look good, and I wanted to like myself. I didn’t look good, and I didn’t like myself at that weight. My kids could poop and puke on me to their heart’s content. They didn’t care what I looked like. They just wanted me to be happy. And to make them macaroni and cheese. I turned to the internet, and as internet searches are wont to do, I found a plethora of advice on how to lose weight quickly. How to get toned abs. A tight ass, toned arms, and a sleek figure. I wanted these things.

My initial purchase for the sole purpose of getting in shape was a dance video. I didn’t even purchase it. I told my husband I wanted to get a Zumba video. I loved to dance when I was young, and a piece of internet advice that I had read instructed me to find something active that I enjoy doing. The video was called, “Cardio Hip Hop.” I did this video every other night, and I would be dripping with sweat and sore all over from exerting myself with only the moves shown in the video. The video was 45 minutes long. After a few months of this, I noticed a difference. As results tend to do, the results turned into motivation to do more. I re-joined the gym where I had been a member previously, and hired a personal trainer on the cheap to guide me into fitness. I found myself able to crank out push-ups. This gave me more confidence. I was lifting weights, and doing exercises I never imagined I’d be able to do. I’d never considered myself athletic, ever. I was now down to 200 lbs (from 237) and I felt amazing. I knew I had a long way to go, but it didn’t seem so daunting. I got down to 190 and stayed there for about a year.

Of course, no matter what I did I couldn’t get below 190. I counted calories. I reduced my caloric intake. That resulted in cravings and crabbiness. The scale was frozen. I had seen advertisements for all manner of fad weight loss cleanse products. None of them interested me. I knew I would lose weight quickly, and then gain it back once I dared reintroduce my regular food. No thanks. My doctor encouraged me to try a “fast” with emphasis on fruits and vegetables. This one encourages nutrition and forces you to create a habit of health. The fast was 21 days long and it got results. After 21 days of no dairy, no eggs, no nuts, no sugar, and 11 days without meat, I felt refreshed. I lost 7 lbs on the fast, breaking my 190 plateau, and have not seen it come back. I continued with my exercise regimen and ended up at my lowest weight in 13 years: 168 lbs.

I have learned that my body weight fluctuates very easily. I have fought so hard to keep my weight down below 180 for the last year. I took up jogging. I ran a 5K in public. I never imagined myself walking more than a mile without getting winded. I’m still new to running/jogging, and so the longest I’ve run is 5 miles. However, running long distances is not my goal.

Trying to accept my body for what it can do, what it has done, and being kind to myself are the bigger goals. I’m that chubby suburban mom out there on the trails with her earbuds in, periodically pulling up her ill-fitting yoga pants. Look closer and you’ll see me lip syncing to Nicki Minaj and Pitbull, pretending I’m 16 again and getting my groove on at the club. I’m taking it one day at a time. Some days, it’s moment to moment. Some days, I fall off the wagon, but I get back on it. Because I deserve more than excuses, and sometimes I even remember that and believe it.

Jessica Fletcher is a guest writer for Mommy Perfect.