How to change YOUR taste buds***

Ok, a friend of mine challenged me EARLY this morning to ONLY state positive things today.  At the risk of failing that challenge, I refuse to tell you how my taste buds haven't changed when it comes to macaroni & cheese, nor will I tell you my opinion of macaroni & cheese ;)

Instead, I will tell you a little story of how I recently changed my taste buds and my 88 year old grandmother's opinion of it...it's a much more interesting and uplifting story!  So, I've always known it was possible to change taste buds as there are several foods that are tastier to me these days than they were in my early years of life and I've researched the subject as well.  Luckily I was raised around LOTS of fruits and vegetables and was ALWAYS encouraged to try new foods.  I think this has a lot to do with my views of food these days and my willingness to experiment.  My 88 year old grandmother has been mentioning over the last couple of years how coffee helps with memory.  Coffee is also a great natural drink and it helps calm an ADD/ADHD brain (pretty sure I fall under that category).  Now, if you couple that information with the information I've learned about food, sugar, artificial sweetners, calories in drinks, etc. you can probably believe that I was not interested in drinking coffee with a bunch of stuff added to it.  So, I thought and thought about this and thought more about how food flavors had changed over my years and, I decided to see if I could change my taste buds when it came to coffee.  I started sipping plain black coffee everyday.  I would make myself do it.  It takes about 21 days to develop a new habit, so that's the goal I set for myself.  For 21 straight days I made myself sip on plain black coffee.  About half way through the challenge I gave myself, I started automatically pouring myself a cup of coffee in the mornings.  By the end of the 21 day challenge, plain black coffee started sounding good to me!  What I did next was go to my grandmother and let her know that I am now a coffee drinker!  She acted like that was the best news she had heard all week!  She said, "OH CARA, I didn't know you like coffee!  You know, it's great for your memory.  I tell my friends that drink water and forget things that if they would start drinking coffee they would remember things better."  (If an 88 year old of excellent sound mind is going to give you some advice - BELIEVE IT!)

At this point, plain black coffee and I are getting along just great and Grandma worries about me a little less!  It's a win-win for everyone!  Now, when it comes to the few vegetables that are less than pleasant, I'm going to stick to my challenge from my friend and say nothing.

Have you ever challenged your taste buds?  If not, I encourage you to.  Start with tea...sip on plain tea, with nothing added to it, for 21 days and report your results...I'll be waiting to hear!

Best of luck and let me know if you have any questions...
Cara

ADDICTIVE DRINKS = BIG HEALTHY DIFFERENCE

Do you have a drink that you are addicted to?  You know, that go to drink that you can't live without?  Is it doing you more harm than good?  If you answered yes to this last question, then we have some good news for you!  You CAN have an addictive drink that makes you feel good!  Are you addicted to soda or some sort of coffee drink that costs you $4.00 per day ($120.00 per month)?  Are you addicted to a drink that you drink several times a day and you KNOW it's not healthy for you?  Are you addicted to caffeine AND not sleeping well?  Read on, my friend, we CAN help you right now!

1.  Everyone NEEDS an addictive drink or 2 or 3 but we need to be smart about it.

2.  Think natural.  Plain tea with no sugar is a great place to start.  I'm pretty caffeine sensitive at my age, so I opt for caffeine free when I can, or only drink tea caffeine up until lunch.  If you like something in your tea, think honey, cinnamon and/or fruit.  When you brew tea yourself, you can put honey in the pitcher before brewing and put cinnamon and fruit in with the tea bag.  Try several different combinations and post them to our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/caraperkinshnhl and let us see how you are enjoying your tea!  Plain coffee is another great addictive drink - not 5 cups, but a cup or 2 a day is great!  My grandmother has always advised me that coffee is great for the memory.  She was so excited when she found out that I drink coffee!  But, be careful.  If you get those fancy full-of-sugar coffees, they can ruin your calorie count for the day!  Do you think you don't like plain coffee?  We'll have a blog later this week about retraining your taste buds, so don't worry.  

3.  Water - what's better than water or water with fruit in it?  There are so many possibilities.  Anything citrus is great to put in water - orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit slices.  Also, you could make berry water with strawberries, cranberries, and/or blueberries.  Berry water is even more flavorful when you slightly squeeze the berries as you are adding them to your water.  This brings out the flavor quick.  Plus, you can snack on the berries as they fall into your mouth while you are drinking!

4.  If you are addicted to any drinks that have lots of calories, sugar or artificial sweetner, I am going to challenge you to change your drink of choice.  It can mean the difference in the way you feel, losing unwanted weight and the over all health of you.

Let us  know if you have any suggestions or questions and stay tuned for more blogging later this week!

Cara Perkins

www.caraperkins.com

cara@caraperkins.com

Healthy Kids = Better Grades = Happy Parents

First day of school!  No doubt you've seen it all over the internet, all over Facebook and it is probably running through your mind right now!  So, what do we do?  We organize the clothes, go clothes shopping, organize the closet, organize the school supplies, meet the teacher, organize the house, talk about getting back into the routine, etc...so much to think about!  But, what about meals?  Let's see, we'll have back to school night, PTA sign up, volunteer sign up, sports, piano, dance, and all of the extra school activities, projects and HOMEWORK!  Where does eating healthy fit in?  UGH, just one more thing to think about!

Well, I've got great news for you.  It doesn't have to be that way!  With just a few habit changes and a few adjustments, you can go back to school worry free!  Here are a few tips that I teach families, including children, to get the whole family on track for a healthy eating lifestyle.  Why?  Read on to find out more...

1.  Pre plan - Make a meal plan, go to the grocery store and do as much pre cooking for the week as possible on the weekend.
2.  Breakfast doesn't have to be breakfast - Think about the leftovers from the night before.  Did you have chicken fajitas?  Warm up a chicken fajita for breakfast, or, put some chicken and fajita veggies in a skillet, add some whisked eggs and make an omelet!  What about a peanut butter and banana sandwich?
3.  Snacking is a must - Kids get worn out mentally at school!  Then, they have to come home and do homework or study for a test!  They need a great snack to help get this done.  Have a variety of nuts on hand, plenty of fruit and skip the junk food aisle at the store.  They'll be so hungry when they get home that they'll eat whatever is there!  Remember the chicken fajitas?  Great snack!
4.  School lunch or not to school lunch - While many school districts are making progress in improving student lunches, be sure to check the internet so you know EXACTLY what they are serving.
5.  Dinner time - Here's where it gets tricky and here's where habits are important.  EVERYONE participates, unless they have 5 hours of homework or a big test to study for.  Even then, use your best judgement.  It can either take 1 person 30 minutes to prepare dinner or 2 people 15 minutes.  Same for clean up.  It can take 1 person 20 minutes or 4 people 5 minutes...you get the math.
6.  Teach the kids how to cook - There are SOOOOOOOOO many reasons that this is important and I could go on all day about this statement, however, I know you don't have all day because you're getting ready for back to school, so, I'll make it short by giving you my top 2.  1.  Teaching kids how to cook helps streamline dinner time and take some of the heat (get it - heat because we're talking about cooking ;) off of you.  Eventually, the kids will be able to cook a healthy meal themselves!  2.  If you teach them how to cook, they have a better chance of being healthy adults, and, anything to make their future better, right?

My wish is that you and your kids have a happy and productive school year.  If you get them on the right eating track at the beginning of the year, it'll help in so many ways.  Kids are likely better able to focus on their school work, sit still in the classroom, control their behavior and make better grades if they have a healthy eating lifestyle.  They'll also be able to keep up on the playground and be excited to play sports and get outside for some much needed fitness.  Imagine how much better their life, and yours, will be!

I hope this has helped.  We have great programs at Healthy Now...Healthy Later that can help you and your family get on the right eating track.  If you need me, I'll be over here www.facebook.com/caraperkinshnhl .  Please send me a message if you have any questions or need to get connected with a program that's right for you and your family.

Happy back to school!