Hello my loving minions.
How art thou this morning?
I'm feeling much better than I was yesterday, but I'm still not at 100%. I honestly think that I've been fighting a sinus infection for months now, and it is probably about time that I head to the Dr.
Meh...I'll go sometime soon...maybe.
But since I'm talking about health at the moment, I thought that I should talk to y'all about some issues I've been having with ze blog and ze recipes lately.
I've been fighting a battle of sorts with myself, and I've finally made a decision that I need to discuss with ya'll.
When I first started writing this blog, the entire concept was to provide readers with "skinnier" versions of the super rich foods I grew up eating. I had every intention of making everything I love lower in calories, but I've been running into some road blocks lately that I never really expected to hit.
Right before I got pregnant, I was trying really, really hard to incorporate fresher and more organic ingredients into my diet. Then, after I lost the baby, I kinda dove head first into buying as many quality ingredients as I could possibly afford. I don't necessarily think that my diet had anything to do with my miscarriage, but I do believe that it is important for me to prepare my body in the case that I get pregnant again.
During the meager 6 weeks of my pregnancy, I started becoming more and more aware of what the word nutrition really meant, and I started focusing more on reading labels on all of the things I was used to buying. Uuuugh...have y'all ever actually done that before?!? Some of the things that are listed on my favorite food items are just plain gross. I finally realized that the generic brand chocolate chips that I had always been buying were $2 less than the good stuff because they were filled with pure disgustingness! Partially hydrogenated oils, Red 60, high fructose corn syrup....ick...it's enough to give me the willies.
So, that's where the problem came in.
I started realizing that in order to make the recipes I really wanted to make and keep them low calorie, I'd have to continue using ingredients that were overly processed and just full of crap. Because of that, I also felt that my recipes would suffer, and I started to feel myself holding my ideas back which is totally *NOT* okay.
I started this blog to hone my craft and to experiment with fun ideas. Holding myself back from my imagination is and was the complete opposite of what I wanted to do, so I have decided to make a change.
You may have noticed that I changed the tagline of my blog from "Skinny Southern Recipes with a Smidgen of Sass" to "HEALTHY Southern Recipes with a Smidgen of Sass"...no, you didn't notice? Well, don't worry...I don't think anyone did.
Though the phrase isn't anywhere near as catchy as the first, it captures the goal I am trying to reach. My brother once told me that "fat free" doesn't always equal healthy, and now I have come to learn that he is right. I don't want to use "fat free" cream and "low calorie" butter because it's quite impossible to do such a thing without loading it up with fillers and BS. I want to use real butter and real cream and whole wheat flours and coconut flours and palm sugars and all natural no calorie sweeteners and anything else I can get my hands on that I can use that is not impregnated with chemicals, hormones, preservatives, and dyes.
From this moment on, you will see me start to phase out my "skinny" ingredients and instead see ingredients that are wholesome, healthy, and good for your soul. You will also see that the calorie counts are going to be higher and the weight watchers points may not be the lowest, but that's because I'm using real ingredients that are organic, locally grown, and way better for you than the standard crap you will find on the shelves today.
So, tell me...how do y'all feel about this? Do you hate the change or love it...or does it not matter either way?
Getting to know you...
Do you read food labels?
Has anything ever made you change your diet?
What is one crap food you have given up that you miss?
Christine says
I like it. I think it's a balanced approach to all the foods out there. I prefer "real" foods over the stuff loaded with fillers or artificial ingredients.
Mia says
I agree with Christine - I'm all for balance. On the other hand, I study diabetic cardiovascular disease and spend most of my academic life talking/thinking about things related to obesity and diabetes; so, I'm a big fan of both portion and calorie control. I co-wrote and co-taught a family nutrition class a few years ago, so I learned a lot about food labels then. I'm a bit obsessed with them, honestly. Anyway - I love your blog, and you've gotta go with what works for you.
Janet says
Sorry to hear about the miscarriage Amber, I had one between child 2 and 3, you will have your baby! And you are doing the right thing by going natural and healthy!!! 🙂
amber says
Thanks, Janet! The miscarriage was awful, but I truly believe everything happens for a reason so I know it was for the best. I know it'll happen when it's time. It's all in God's hands!
Karen says
As of today I have lost 127.5 pds and it's been one heck of a journey. I read labels in my sleep, lol!!.. I watch my calories,carbs, protein, sugars, which by the way, I have not had one cookie, cake, candy, pastry, or anything else similar since Jan.. That has been the hardest thing for me ever.. I do eat every so often and sugar free pudding or jello, but that's the only sweet thing I do eat. I'm trying to get more used to my body, my new foods, which are all organic, healthy, foods, before I even try having a tread or too. Now, with that said I have said I would eat a cupcake if I made my goal wt by my birthday which is in a week. I met my goal wt in Oct, so maybe a cupcake will be eaten soon, lol!! love the blog!!
amber says
Karen! That is amazing!!!! Congratulations!!! I wish I had the willpower you do. There is absolutely *no way* I could go that long without something sweet. That, for sure, is my biggest down fall. A 127.5 lb weight loss is absolutely amazing, Karen, and you should be incredibly proud of yourself! You should check out this link. It's a recipe for just TWO delicious funfetti cupcakes with a homemade cake batter marshmallow frosting that are only 87 calories each and they are phenomenal!!!! Plus, you won't have a full batch you'll have to try to avoid 😉 Thanks so much for your kind words!
Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance says
Woot! I'm glad to see that you finally went through with the change in your blog's focus. That's one of the things I LOVED about going moderately "paleo" (or whatever I did haha)-- Everything was so fresh and simple! I had always been so afraid of butters and oils, but once I let go and finally started using them, I felt such positive changes in my body, hair, skin, and nails.
amber says
I've been trying really hard to stick to the kinda-sorta-a-little-bit paleo because it really does make me feel so much better. I can't wait to see the results with my skin and hair!
Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance says
By the way, you should download the plugin "Comment Reply Notification". It will send out an email to the commenters when you reply to them-- I wouldn't have known if I didn't come back to check 🙂
amber says
Done & done! Now let's see if it works 🙂
Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance says
It sure did 😉