Healthy Snacking with Apples

I am going to get off my fashion and beauty track here for a minute. I have really struggled with my weight all of my life. It has just been my thorn in my side. Then I hit 40 and got diagnosed with hypothyroidism, you know, the one that slows down your metabolism and it has been an even bigger challenge for me. I thought I had this under control. I had given up sugar for Lent and was living this healthy lifestyle, when all of a sudden, the weight has creeped back on.

I am someone who holds their weight in their middle, so there are ways I can camouflage weight gain, but lately it has been so hard to even want to put on cute clothes. I put on jeans and my muffin top bulges out or it stretches across my protruding stomach and I feel so disgusting. I pull on my spanx to wear underneath my dresses and feel like a sausage stuck in its casing. I just feel gross!

Anyway, back to the weight gain. I was on track after Lent to keep on with this healthy lifestyle, when life hit and it hit hard. I had God shut some doors in my life. He didn’t just shut them, He basically got a hammer and nails and nailed them shut. These were doors that I had seen red flags about, but I chose to kind of ignore. So, we all know that when God wants a door shut, He does what it takes. He had to hurt me with these incidents so that I would not open or try to open these doors again. That does not mean that it was easy. No, it was extremely hard and painful. I lost things that I thought God had brought into my life. These were things I had prayed for in the previous Lenten season and they came leaping into my life and I felt for sure they were meant to be in my life forever. However, God had different plans.

With these doors closing and the pain I was feeling, I began to eat like a garbage pail again. I started eating sweets all of the time and just flat out being disgusting with food. Finally, I got to the point where I did not feel good and did not even want to take pictures for my blog. It was a chore to want to get ready for my photoshoots because I dreaded seeing the pictures and picking them apart due to how I was feeling.

I am saying all of this to say, that I feel it is time for me to get healthy again. It is time for me to eat better and after much research, I am going for a more whole foods lifestyle. Eating organic and fresh and trying my best to quit eating out all of the time. I want to feel better about myself and I know that eating better is the best way to do this. I have also started taking Juice Plus pills to help me get my fruits and vegetables in my diet. I am hoping that this will help me want to eat better also, but time will tell.

I know that we are in a day where people are accepting of their bodies, whether big or small and that we should be happy with ourselves, but I am not. I want to eat better and feel better and I know that will carry over into other areas of my life. So, each week I am going to document a healthy recipe that I have tried and liked. I hope that this helps me to stay accountable and that you guys enjoy it also. So, here is my first recipe!

Apple Sandwich

Ingredients:

Apples, can be green or red

Almond Butter

Whatever healthy toppings you want, I used dried blueberries and unsweetened coconut, but you can use cranberries, dark chocolate, anything you want!

Step 1 – core your apples

Step 2 – slice them into rings

Step 3 – spread the slices with the almond butter

Step 4 – add your toppings and then add a top slice to make a sandwich

I like these for a snack. They are super filling and are healthy.

Sorry for the personal life overload. I just thought I would share my struggles with you in hopes that you know that all of us bloggers have struggles also. When my photographer sends me my blog pictures, I almost have a nervous breakdown for fear of what I might see in the pictures. I mean, I almost have a panic attack opening up the email. I hope that every one is having a good week so far and let me know of some favorite recipes you have for getting healthy!