Root it Out....Literally.

I'm a big time ginger fan. I love the root, think it's one of the best ones God ever made. One of the reasons I love it so much is its flavor of course but the ginger root also carries with it a major power-punch of energy; not to mention it can help save your life! Ginger has for thousands of years been added to foods and teas to help soothe soreness and promote good blood circulation, I also add it to my green teas to give it a bit of a kick. It helps to reduce stress, it helps to lower cholesterol and body fat. Why wouldn't I drink it? I should be downing ginger green tea by the gallons. I probably will be in the very near future. I'm sick and tired of being fat and lazy. Ginger picks you up physically because it promote the reproduction of red blood cells, it literally pumps your blood and gets you off your keister! YEA ginger!

For years I was a good and faithful student of the way my body reacted when I added green tea and ginger as a regular means of liquid replenishing. I've just stopped, and there's no reason for it. I'm a lazy person now, and that has to stop. I moved from Oklahoma City to Indianapolis about three years ago, and I remember when I lived in Oklahoma I was always moving, walking, jogging, riding my bike, or horses -- I wasn't sitting on the computer all day surfing LinkedIn, Facebook, and Gmail. Nope, I was working, walking, and pouring that ginger infused green tea down my throat. I also remember not being sick in Oklahoma, even though so many of my friends had horrific allergies in the spring I didn't. I did before I started drinking ginger in my tea, but after the practice - clear! Why would I stop? Lazy, just no excuses, and I won't even blame the kids, which is what I normally do. Nope, me, all me, just one fat, lazy woman, and that must stop now.

Today Laura and I went to the store and we were about to shop for groceries when I found myself walking down an aisle literally filled with chips and dips, crackers, party snacks, colorful and salty, some sweet, some just fabulous fattening and full of saturated fats. I thought to myself and then out loud "Why am I doing this to myself?" Laura looked at me and said "You're right, Mom. We're the ones picking this stuff up. We don't have to. So, let's get good stuff now." Wow, yes, it is possible to stop right in the middle of an aisle you feel so at home in and just turn your back and say NO MORE. I went through my kitchen pantry in my mind. I could see the sweets, the fats, the oily stuff. I could see the cakes, the cookies, snacks, puddings, simply all the fast grab-n-go foods that we think we need. I could rattle off about twelve things I know I don't need. I DO NOT NEED Oreo cookies. I do not need fatty Ruffles potato chips. I do not need cheeses, brownies, toaster pastries, and no, I don't need Mike & Ike candies. I only pop a few Mike & Ikes randomly, I told myself it wasn't that big of a deal, but you know what -- it's become a big deal. I feel like going through the kitchen and throwing it out, but instead I'll ask my kids if they want the stuff. I do hate throwing away good food products. I say "good" with a giggle, but still, just because I've decided to turn away doesn't mean everyone else has to.

I walked up and down the aisles and looked really carefully at what our stores sell us. It's our own fault when we give into the loud colors of marketing, and the flashy commercial ads which hide from us the fact that this or that cookie holds twice as many calories as a good heaping of cottage cheese or an apple. Once you pass the produce section of the store you get yourself into trouble. Immediately at the stores I can think of you find yourself in the frozen food section where you're bombarded with tempting ice creams, frozen yogurts, fast-food pizza rolls, deli pizzas, and some of the most amazing frozen foods ever made - - Pillsbury Grands! HOW can you say no to GRANDS? Easy. Grands are OK, but I don't stop with one, I get two, and I always put butter and jelly on them. Sometimes when I'm really bad I put Philadelphia Cream Cheese's new Indulgence dark chocolate cream cheese on my Grands, and this is the very very reason I must say no to Grands from now on. I'm not saying you have to go cold turkey and give up everything because that can cause a person to become resentful and upset. I believe in substitutions. What can I have in the mornings instead of a fluffy Grand biscuit? Healthy whole-wheat cereal and fruit. I can add walnuts and make it even better. Walnuts may be expensive, but they help your blood to flow better, reduce chances of diabetes, lower cholesterol, and all without hyping you up with bright packaging that you have to find a recycling bin for - - so, it's settled. I'm stopping all the madness today, and I'm going right back to my heart healthy plan of being both active and full of more energy - naturally. I even told Laura I don't want to get salads in bulk so we'll have to go to the store a few more times and walk the entire store wall to wall to put in that much more exercise than we would if we just showed up and got what we need. She's good with that.

Laura and I picked up more in the produce section than we normally do; fruits, veggies, nuts, and avocados. I know no one really knows where to put them on food charts. I put them with fruits, but then again, I put tomatoes with fruits and everyone laughs at me. I picked up Roma tomatoes for their flavor today; they'll make excellent salsa, and yes, you can still have a few whole wheat crackers or chips with your salsa; sans the salt if you can find the reduced or no salt added boxes. It's just that much better for you. I'm the type that loves to eat almonds all day, and if you're willing to do that, and add berries to a smoothie with yogurt and honey, well, it won't take too long before you're back on track. Your belly will thank you, and so will the other parts of your gut like your intestines, once they figure out that you're not just making a change for the weekend. It has to be a real change, it has to be a life change, not a month change, or worse a change that you can easily get bored with. You don't need the sugar, and you don't need the fats. Well, you don't...and that's me saying YOU to ME because I'm talking to myself here, I do not need it, and I do not want it anymore. I want ME back...ME. The other day I stood in front of the mirror and I didn't even want to see who was in the darn thing - - I didn't like her. I didn't know her and she was invading my personal space. Her belly hung over her pants, her skin wasn't pretty like it use to be, and she wasn't able to move the way she use to, it's just not fun being me at this point and time in my life. I MUST DO something, and so I made the choice.

YEA...I do feel better, and it will take weeks, even a few months to get back to where I can say I am happy about who I am again, but it has to start somewhere and that somewhere is with my tea. MORE ginger than before, more parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme - - what, you thought that was just lyrics? Nope!