Ate a plate of fries the other night. Nothing else, just fries.

Felt tired and slow and pretty unmotivated afterward.

Next day, I was doing fine until mid afternoon, then the grouchies came to visit. Noticed myself making a bigger deal over things then I really needed or wanted to.

I even began to question myself, feel less confident and positive about my parenting ability. Lucky for me, I noticed myself mis-judging myself, I then put it all into perspective- “Ok Andrea, cool it, you’re a great mom, who ate junk food for dinner, ok, so your body has reacted slightly, no big deal, let it go.. move on!

This grouchy attitude was no accident, it was a result of my interesting dinner the night before.

Ok, so no guilt. I ate a plate of fries, life goes on. As a matter of fact, it was a great experience!

It gave me the opportunity to remember how I feel after eating lots of greasy food- not so hot, definitely not confident and radiant!

The antidote to feeling not so hot from eating junk food- eating clean, wholesome real food !

I just received a new cookbook in the mail this weekend: You Are What You Eat Cookbook, by Gillian McKeith.

Awesome recipes! They’re pretty simple AND they consist of high quality ingredients that will have you losing weight, looking awesome and feeling GREAT- and I mean feeling really good about yourself! Food like this is the foundation to a positive attitude about yourself!

Here’s one of the recipes I’m excited to try- hmmm, my mouth waters just thinking about making this dish!

Goat Cheese Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Peppers and Arugula

Serves 4

4 red peppers, seeded and halved
12 cherry tomatoes
2 tsp olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 pound arugula
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat the oven to 400*f
2. Place the peppers (cut side up) and tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle
with the olive oil, and roast for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the goat cheese inside the peppers and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
3. Scatter the pine nuts over the peppers and goat cheese and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.
4. Arrange the arugula on 4 plates and top with the peppers and tomatoes.
Serve garnished with the fresh basil.

Notice this recipe is made with simple wholesome ingredients.

Rule of thumb: the simpler and more wholesome the ingredients, the simpler and more wholesome your thoughts. Simpler wholesome thoughts = kind loving thoughts about yourself.

If you try this recipe, notice how you feel after you eat it. Check in with yourself 1-2 hours afterwards- good chance you’ll be in good spirits and enjoying yourself!

Here’s to eating and boosting your confidence at the same time!

With warmth and blessings on your meal,

Andrea

PS Have a favorite recipe that helps you to feel good? Please share in the comments section!

PSS Would you like a gift to get you started with living your best life possible? A life full of genuine happiness & confidence? A life where you look at yourself in the mirror everyday and feel GREAT with what you see reflected back? I have 5 f*ree Dare to Be You audio tips you can register to receive- now.

Sound good? I welcome you to sign up here!

There’s a rule of thumb that goes something like this: garbage in, garbage out. To be more specific- eating junk food will create junk thoughts and emotions. Eating high quality REAL foods will create high quality thoughts and emotions. That means eating high quality real foods will help you to look better, yes, I think we’re all aware of this, and looking better is a great way to boost your confidence. But, it goes deeper then this.

Eating real all natural food will help you to think about yourself (and others) in a kinder, more appreciative way. Eating real high quality foods allows you to see the best in yourself and your family.

When the s@#t hits the fan, and it does for everyone at some point, if you’ve been eating high quality real foods, you’re much more apt to handle the situation with grace and understanding. You’ll walk away from the situation feeling good about yourself.

Eating high quality real foods helps you to love yourself more. You look in the mirror and see what you appreciate about you, whole- real food boosts your confidence Big Time!

High quality real food brings balance to the organs in your body- including your brain! If your brain is balanced, it’s much easier to think positive thoughts!

What are high quality real foods?

Foods that grow in the ground, can be picked from trees, grow on a farm or in a garden. Foods that are NOT processed, manufactured. Foods that have one ingredient or very few ingredients. Foods that are chemical free, that means no artificial anything!!! The fewer the ingredients the better!

Super quick high quality food list:

Vegetables
Fruits
Whole grains: brown rice, millet, quinoa, oats
nuts and seeds
beans
organic poultry
wild fish- salmon, tilapia
sea vegetables

Try a little experiment:

Notice next time you eat donuts, cookies, cakes, chips… especially if you eat a fair amount of these, just notice afterward, how you begin to react to the people around you. Notice how you begin to feel about yourself- usually more critical. Just notice.

Now, spend a few days eating real high quality foods like: vegetables from a local farm or garden, organic fruit, nuts, seeds, brown rice, beans, etc.. notice how you feel, notice how you act and react to others and especially to yourself. Keep a food-mood journal for 5+ days. Notice yourself. Compare how you acted with junk food in your body and how you felt and reacted with real, wholesome food in your body. If you really pay attention, you’ll notice a BIG difference.

Decide. How do you want to feel? If you like being less critical of yourself and others, keep going with eating quality foods. If it’s difficult to do this, just add in 1-2 new foods every couple weeks. Don’t worry about taking away the old stuff, there’s a good chance it will begin to fall off your plate, without much effort- really!

Want to find out more regarding the best high quality foods to eat to boost your confidence big time?

Check out the book You Are What You Eat by Gillian McKeith- it’s an excellent resource!

Here’s to healthy, high quality thinking and lots of delicious food that helps to get you there!

With warmth and lots of positive thoughts,

Andrea

PS Would love to hear your thoughts regarding the garbage in garbage out idea or if you’re willing to have a go with the experiment- share with us how it pans out!

PSS Would you like a gift to get you started with living your best life possible? A life full of genuine happiness & confidence? A life where you look at yourself in the mirror everyday and feel GREAT with what you see reflected back? I have 5 f*ree Dare to Be You audio tips you can register to receive- now.

Sound good? I welcome you to sign up here!