You Are What You Eat

So, how do you eat joy?

Okay, that sounded weird.

Anyway, HH and I were asked to teach the 10-year olds at church and today's lesson was about The Word of Wisdom. It is basically a commandment dealing with taking care of your body, mainly through diet.

So, when I was praying about what to discuss here today, that was my answer.

And I'm surprised we haven't discussed it here yet. Because taking care of yourself physically is a HUGE factor in your level of joy.

Yesterday I ate "traditional American" food, in honor of our country's birthday. That included chips, hot dogs, cookies, and soda. We did have a berry salad and corn on the cob, but still the majority of my diet yesterday was nasty. I mean, it tasted great and all, but I am definitely feeling it today. I feel tired and just kind of yucky.

And it's harder to experience joy when you feel that way.

If you've never noticed a connection between what you eat and how you feel, keep a food journal this week. Write down what you eat at each meal and then how you feel an hour or two later. You'll be amazed.

You are what you eat.

It's so true.

I'm not going to go into a list of what you should and should not eat--I'm pretty sure we all know what those things are.

What I do want to know is how you stay on track with your eating habits. What tactics do you use to keep your sweet tooth in check (especially if you have a majorly huge one, like I do)? How do you stop yourself when you're full even though the food tastes really good? What are your dietary struggles? How do you do to add more healthful food into your diet? Do you have any wonderful and healthy recipes to share?

I do.

The official name is "Spiced Flaxseed, Banana and Carrot Muffins" a.k.a Boring.

I like to call them "Good Morning, Deliciousness!"

I've served them alongside other, more traditional, types of muffins before and these are always the first to go.

GOOD MORNING, DELICIOUSNESS!

1/2 C. ground flaxseeds (if you don't grind them, your body can't digest them and you lose all of their amazing nutritional power)
1/2 C. whole-wheat flour (I actually do 1 C. of this)
1 C. all-purpose flour (and 1/2 C. of this)
1/2 C. oat bran
1/2 T. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
pinch salt
pinch pepper (say what?! It's okay, you won't notice it's there.)
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. sun-dried cranberries or raisins
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C. buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 C. canola oil
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
1 carrot, grated

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine the flaxseeds, flours, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and cranberries or raisins in a large mixing bowl.

In another bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Fold the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a spatula or spoon, just until combined. Spray 12 standard muffin cups or line with paper cups. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cups and bake in the center of the oven 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I'm looking forward to hearing yours!