New Year's Resolutions

Broken Promises
It happens every year. Lengthy lists are made of promises to ourselves that we will lose weight, save money, join the gym, eat healthy, learn a new skill, and on and on. Gym managers love it! They get new members who sign up, pay up and show up for a time until things go back to normal with only the die-hard regulars coming in. Purveyors of the latest diet fade love it! They sell diet books, recipe books and special food until the next hot fade comes along. What's wrong with the last one? Didn't lose weight? Too hard?

I caught a glimpse of the Hollywood Cookie Diet! Are you serious? I don't even want to know how that's supposed to work. Folks, we make it too hard. We look for the quick fix when what we need is re-education. We have gotten so far off track from what our bodies need to be healthy. Health science continues to identify all these marvelous nutrients that do wonderful things in our body and then they try to bottle it. Where did the nutrient come from? The fruit of the land—fruits, vegetables and grains. Let's get back to basics.

Keep It Simple
I'm here to tell you the KISS principal is my approach. I have always tried to make eating healthy as easy as possible. I rarely use a recipe because I'm sure to not have all the ingredients (that's a show stopper for good intentions). Oh ...and did I tell you I hate to shop? Wasn't born with the shopping gene—and glad about it.

I have so many things I want to tell you about, I don't know where to start. I want to be your coach, your all-around encourager, helping you learn how to change your life by incorporating healthy habits. So let's start with breakfast.

Start the Day Right
Never, never, ever, ever skip breakfast! It sets you up for failure. Now that we got that out of the way, a bit of reality. A donut, a croissant, a sugary boxed cereal is not a good choice for breakfast. First of all, that's not enough food to keep you fueled for the morning.

Here is what I have for breakfast. When I get up I have a cup of Green tea, a banana and a fiber muffin (either blueberry or apple-cranberry from Trader Joe's). Then I go for a run with Brandy (my chocolate Lab). After my run I make steel-cut oatmeal, millet or quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Scoop it into a bowl and add about a tablespoon of maple syrup, a splash of soy milk, about 8 raw almonds and an assortment of dried fruit (raisons, cranberries, blueberries, etc.). It's a hearty breakfast when I get done and delicious!

Cooking whole grains doesn't take long. Start with boiling the water (two parts water to one part grain) then stir in the grain. Let it boil a bit then turn the heat down to Lo, cover and let it cook. It's ready in 20 minutes. Any leftovers I pack away in the refrigerator for breakfast another day—add a bit of water in a pan, put in the oatmeal, millet or quinoa. Mix the grain with the liquid, cover and heat on Lo for about 5 minutes. Add the goodies and you got your hearty breakfast 15 minutes sooner.

Some days I'll opt for a scrambled egg with a little grated goat cheese added, cooked up in pan sprayed with a bit of olive oil.

Let's Hear From You
So there's a start. If you have trouble with making healthy changes, do only breakfast until you got that down. Keep coming in to Healthy Journey Cafe for more. Meanwhile, I'd like to hear what burning questions or sticky issues you have about getting healthy?