BP #1

My husband suffers from gout; salt is one of his main triggers. One strategy we use to cut down on these is to avoid pre-processed foods. I've learned how to make from scratch cream of chicken soup, enchilada sauce, soup stocks and many other things that have crazy amounts of sodium (often more than the RDA in a single serving!). Another thing is to skip the low cal/ low fat options in many food; instead going with smaller portions of the 'regular' stuff, which have fewer trans fats and preservatives.

Bonus Point #1:

I use a lot of Skinnytaste recipes which have helped me identify ways to lighten up meals (i.e, reduced sodium chicken broth, greek yogurt, skim milk, whole wheat pasta, reduced fat cheese, adding mushrooms with meat to make it more filling, making your own tomato sauce). Instead of ice cream every night, I have greek yogurt with some fruit and a few chocolate chips. Sometimes I'll freeze a banana and then mash it up to make a "milkshake" as well.

I've made cauliflower pizza before and that was really good, but I don't know if I'll get my boyfriend behind that idea.

I have learned a lot over the last year and working on following the anti-inflammation protocol. I substitute cauliflower for rice, pasta, pizza crust; spaghetti squash for pasta, made a caramel sauce from sweet potatoes (oh so good!), because dairy is off limits I have made cheese from zucchini, I make a lot of my own sauces, mixes and bone broth. In doing so I have full control over what goes into them.

Fat is my friend, so low cal isn't a focus of mine. I often will eat leftovers for breakfast. I have a go to breakfast soup, and have found that a breakfast salad with a healthy oil or avocado is very satisfying.

I really enjoy cooking when I have the time and am always looking for something new or different to make.

I use greek yogurt to replace cream cheese in recipes too...especially in dips. Baking with it is trickier! I use veggie noodles, cauliflower rice and often drop oil from recipes completely.

Bonus Point #1 - I work from home full time, so not roaming into the kitchen and grabbing whatever looks delicious can be challenging. A couple of things to combat this - when I do walk into the kitchen, I drink a glass of water first, then I assess if I'm really hungry, or just bored or whatever. If I really am hungry I choose smart - fruit, nuts, maybe some 'light' carbs. Thankfully, the sweets and chips my DH and DD like are not ones that I like, so I buy them what they enjoy and I'm not tempted to eat it all up. When my granddaughter comes over, we usually bake something and I do enjoy whatever it is (cookies, cupcakes, etc.), but when it's time for her to go home, I send the treats with her!

Week 5: Bonus Point #1- My biggest struggle is also emotional/reactional eating, especially when I'm bored or anxious. To help overcome it, I question myself as to my motives when I want to reach for a snack...am I hungry or do I just lack something else to do at that moment... I've started doing some stretching or even unobtrusive chair exercises if I'm not home when the snack urge hits. I also keep precut veggies in the fridge at all times as well as servings of nuts in zipper bags so it's easier to grab something healthy when I really do need a snack!

My biggest struggle is that I have no gym buddy so I overcome it by spending too much time on mfp

Share with your team, one thing that has made you struggle the most on your health and fitness journey and how you've overcome it or how you plan to overcome it.

For me, it's working with my boyfriend on weighing our food. He does most of the cooking and I am trying to get him on board about weighing out the foods we cut up and put in cups for recipes. Measuring items and weighing items doesn't always translate. He's getting much better at it and remembering to do it. He knows how important it is to me to be accurate and it's great that he wants to help.

Sorry team, but I must drop out of the challenge for this round. Life and other unreasonable obligations have interfered with my commitment to fitness lately. Good luck to all!

Sorry Team- tax season has gotten the best of me and i completely forgot to check in this last week...eaten by zombies....daaaang!

I will try to do better on the next challenge.