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Welcome to Confused To Confident Where Eating Healthy Helps Build Confidence

Hello all you wonderful women. Today we are going to be talking about healthy eating. Since I don’t cook, I have my friend, Lori, helping me make some healthy chicken chili. 

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​Today is going to be a little different than most weeks’ posts. You're going to want to read the text AND watch the video this week. The helpful information is all in the text, but watching us make this great chili is the fun part.

Why Does What We Eat Matter?

Eating healthy is a very important part of keeping our bodies in top performance. I'm sure this isn't the first time you've heard this. We all know it but have many excuses not to do it.  As women we have a lot of things to get done in a day so it’s important that we have the proper fuel to run efficiently and effectively. You wouldn’t put kerosene in your car’s gas tank or let it run dry and expect your car to get you where you want to go. The same thing is true for your body. You have to put in the right fuel at the right times to function at your best.

This site is about becoming confident in who we are and what we can do so you may be asking how eating healthy pertains. If you aren’t properly energized, you can’t focus or remain clear in your desires and decisions. Unhealthy eating can also cause health issues which will leave you weak and not able to be your full self. Good fuel is the basis for everything we do.

Now, all that being said, I’m the first to admit I’m not the greatest eater. I don’t cook so most of my meals are frozen or snacks. I do, however, try to get my basic food groups in each day. This can be done without too much fuss AND without cooking, unless you count melting cheese in the microwave as cooking. (I'll tell you a couple of my favorite quick meals below the activity) Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time and effort.

Chicken Chili Makes A Great Healthy Meal!

Lori chose to show me how to make this healthy chicken chili because, with a few added crackers, it contains all the food groups in one bowl. As a bonus, one pot of it will make enough for me to freeze and have a bowl of chili at least once a week all winter.

I don’t really like chili, so I wasn’t terribly excited to help cook up this pot but, once it started cooking, I became more intrigued. Lori's a great cook, which is why I like going to her house for meals. Even things I would never eat, she makes taste good. She didn’t let me down with this chili either. It's excellent!!! 

Getting The 4 Basic Food Groups

This chili meal has all the four basic food groups. I know there are many modern food pyramids, but I go back to the old, original, four basic groups.

1. Meats/Proteins - The three kinds of beans and the chicken

2. Milk/Dairy - Cheese or sour cream added to the top

3. Fruits/Vegetables - Carrots, peppers, onions, celery, and tomatoes

4. Breads/Cereals – Crackers or croutons

If you can make sure you get at least one serving of each of these every day, you are on the right road to eating healthy. 

Of course there are different servings recommended ​each day. For instance it's recommended that you have at least 4 servings of fruits and vegetables but only 2 of meats and proteins. For me, however, if I ate all the servings recommended every day, I would have to eat twice as much as I normally do. 

Not Everyone Needs The Same Foods

Everyone is different, we all need different nutrients to function our best. Hundreds of books have been written on different diets so I'm not going to go into that information here. What you need to know though, is that no diet is best for everyone. Our bodies are different and so is the food they need. 

If you are looking to lose weight, or gain more strength, or increase stamina, or improve your health, or have clearer thinking, or ...  then the easiest thing for you to do is play with what you eat until you find what works well for your body. 

That doesn't mean making faces in your mashed potatoes. It means take away and add foods to see if it makes a difference for you. ​You can also go to your doctor and have them do a blood test to determine your metabolic type. Diets based on metabolic type will get you closest to what your body really needs. You can find what's best to eat for your metabolic type by searching online. 

I don't like my blood being taken so it's easier for me to just take away something I normally eat and see if I feel any different after a week. Or, if I feel cruddy, I see if I recently ate anything I don't normally eat.​ Just by paying attention to how you feel after you eat, you can figure out what the best fuel is for you.

Variety

Eating a variety of food is important, which is why I get​ in at least one serving from each of the food groups. If I only ate what I felt like eating, I would only be getting one food group filled - breads/cereals - I love my carbs! It doesn't take much to get in all groups however. Putting them together, like with the chili we made this week, is an easy solution.

This chili is high in lean protein and filled with vegetables. It’s a very healthy meal. Chili is a nice cozy food to eat now that the temperatures are getting colder too. It's a comfort food. With that in mind, making chili is our activity for the week. If you want some quicker meals, see my fast, four food group, favorite,s below the activity.

So here's how to make this great chili.

Print Recipe

A big thank you to Lori and her mother, Cecilia, for their help in creating this healthy chicken chili video.

Activity - Making Chili

Make Chili

Since chili is a great, healthy, meal, and it's a comforting, cozy food for the fall season, this week's activity is to simply make a pot of chili.

It's so easy even I can do it

Listed here are the ingredients and process for making the chili we made this week  but you are welcome to make your own.

​

Ingredients for Healthy Chicken Chili

 - 3 large boneless chicken breasts, rinsed in salt water and chopped into about one inch cubes

 - 3 cans of beans, pinto chili beans, white chili beans, and kidney beans

 - 3 cans of tomatoes, diced tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, or any similar you may like

The following vegetable ingredients are chopped into bite-sized pieces

 - 6 stalks of celery, including the tops but finely chop the tops

 - 1 red pepper

 - 1 green pepper

 - 1 yellow onion

 - 5 green onions

 - 1 one pound bag of baby carrots

 - 2 cups chicken broth

 - 3 tablespoons olive oil

 - 2 tablespoons garlic

Put in one teaspoon of all spices then add more to suit your taste

 - Sea Salt

 - Ground Black Pepper

 - Cumin

 - Chili Powder

Optional Toppers

Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream

Crackers

Croutons

Procedure for Making Healthy Chicken Chili

Put olive oil in a skillet and get hot. 

Add all onions and brown (about 3 minutes)

Add chicken and brown (about 10 minutes depending on your pan type)

Set all this aside and get out very large pot

Put chicken broth in pot and add carrots (boil about 5 minutes)

Add chicken mix to pot and simmer (about 15 minutes)

Add all spices to pot

Put rest of ingredients into pot and cook on low until hot (15-20 minutes)

Top with shredded cheese (or sour cream) and serve with crackers or croutons.

Enjoy!

NOTE: This makes A LOT of chili. If you don’t have a family of ten, make sure you have some containers on hand to freeze some of it.

Once you've made chili, come back and share your experience. If you tried our chili, did you like it? Did you make adjustments to it? If you made your own, post the recipe. We can start trying a bunch of different types of chili if everyone shares.

Print Recipe

Fast Meals That Include All 4 Food Groups

Like I've said, I don't like to cook. When I'm hungry, I want to eat now, not an hour from now after I cooked something. I solve this problem by eating a lot of frozen dinners. For a while I had a chef make meals for me and freeze them but it was expensive and I'd always forget to order them enough ahead of time not to run out. Luckily I found these GREAT new frozen dinners. 

Frozen Meals

These frozen dinners are like nothing I've tasted before, and I've tasted a lot of frozen meals. They are as good as the chef meals I had made. What's even better is that they have so many varieties, I can have a different meal every night for two weeks. Also, when I eat them, I don't feel like I'm eating a frozen dinner. They come in a nice black tray that looks like a dinner plate. 

They are called Eating Well. You can read about them and search for a store near you that carries them at this website. www.EatingWell.com/frozenfresh  ​

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with Milk

There are other quick "meals" I eat too. One of my favorites is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk. This contains all four food groups and is fast and tasty. It's usually my go-to if I want something sweet but it's meal time. In case you haven't figured it out, here are the four food groups.

Meat/Protein - Peanut Butter

Breads/Cereals - Bread slices

Fruits/Vegetables - Jelly

Milk/Dairy - Glass of milk

It's simple and quick. Let me just tell you, peanut butter and jelly is not just for kids!

Chips, Cheese, and Salsa

Another quick "meal" I turn to often is chips, cheese, and salsa. I put tortilla chips on a plate, sprinkle shredded cheese on top, and microwave until the cheese is melted. I put some salsa in a bowl with cottage cheese then scoop up a mix of the two with the chips and I have a fast meal with all my food groups. Here are the food groups for this meal.

Meat/Protein - Cheese

Breads/Cereals - Chips

Fruits/Vegetables - Salsa

Milk/Dairy - Cottage cheese

These are just a couple of the quick meals that make up my diet. Are they the healthiest thing I could eat, no, but they do make sure I'm getting the variety I need, even without cooking. You need to come up with quick, easy, fun things you can make to eat that suits your body and your lifestyle. There is no one right way, except the way that works for you. Be confident in your ability to figure out what food fuels your body most effectively.

Good luck and I hope you come back next week for more confidence building activities. Remember to post your chili results below.

Let me know if you tried the "Chili" activity by commenting below.

Thanks!

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Welcome to Confused To Confident Where You Can Enhance Your Brain

Hello all you wonderful women. As you can see, things are a little different this week. This week's brain activity works better in written format so there is no video. Don't worry, video will be back next week. In the mean time, take a few minutes to read this very important post.

There's been a lot of discussion lately on our brain. With Alzheimer’s being a real concern, people have started thinking more about how we can keep our brain strong and healthy. Exercising our brain is as important as exercising our body, probably more so because our brain runs our body.

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Brain Games

​Because of the concern of our brain losing its capacity to function well, games have been created to help stimulate the mind. One of the most popular online versions is Lumosity. Crossword puzzles and Sudoku are popular written formats. While these mind-building games do help keep our brain sharp, just like anything else we do, they lose their effectiveness as we start to use them routinely. Speaking two languages and using both hands to do things are other ways to decrease the chances of getting Alzheimer’s but, again, they don't make much difference after a while. The key to a strong brain is to use it to do new things.

New Activities = Strong Brain

Notice I said to DO new things. I knew someone once who thought they could increase their brain power by watching TV. She tried to prove it by telling me all the trivial information she picked up while watching. This passive brain activity does no more for your brain than standing in a vibration belt does to increase muscles in your body. For those of you who don't know what a vibration belt is, you wrap it around a body part, usually your middle, turn it on and it's supposed to vibrate you to a fit body. Unfortunately, passive activity doesn't work for neither your body nor your brain.

We must DO something with the information that our brain takes in. We must use the information to create something new. The acts of figuring things out, solving problems, creating new ideas, trying new things, are what keep are brain working strong. All the electrical connections in our brains are strengthened when we use them in new ways.

 That’s why the mind games created online are good, they make you figure out how to accomplish the scenario given. It’s also why they lose their effectiveness. Once you have a basic idea of how you can master the problem, just doing it faster or longer doesn’t stretch the brain any longer. Now don’t get me wrong, they can still be great fun, and are certainly better than passively soaking in ideas from watching TV, but they do loose their effectiveness. It’s the same reason you need to mix up working out your body. If you just keep doing sit-ups every day, after a while you won’t lose as much weight as you did in the beginning. Our body and our mind need variety. They need to be stimulated with NEW ideas regularly.

The whole idea of this website is to get you to figure out who you are and what gives you enjoyment in life. The more you exercise your brain with new activities, the more likely you will quickly figure out what brings you joy. So what I'm trying to say is, breaking from the norm is good for your brain and for your life.

Do this week’s activity to start stimulating your brain then continue to find new things to keep it active.

Confused To Confident's Activities Great For Your Brain

Doing the activities each week here is one great way to get your brain doing new things. I give you something new to stretch your brain each week.

Again, notice that I said DOING the activities. Just reading the information doesn’t build strong connections in your brain, you have to act on the information by doing the activity. Really put some thought into the activity this week. I had fun, and exercised my brain, creating it for you.

Print Activity With Answers

Activity - Brain Power

This week the activity has two parts. The first is to do the variety of challenges I have given you here. The second part is to create some of your own and share them with us. Save them as a picture and attach them in the comment box.

Most of the challenges here will be unique enough to get your brain working, but the real exercise comes in creating your own activities. Creating your own really puts your brain on turbo boost so please create some and let us have a go at them.

A few of the activities you can do here online but you need to get the answers, and a couple more activities by email. 

Activity 1

You're taking a trip that requires you to go through 9 strange toll booths. At each booth you have to pay the toll using quarters. In the first state, it's a sliding fee scale. You have to pay half of all the quarters you still have with you. They are kind though and each toll booth in this state will give you one quarter back after you pay. The last toll booth is in a different state though and they charge differently. They have a flat rate of two quarters for everyone. They are not so nice though and, if you have more than two quarters with you, they take all of them.

How many quarters should you start out your trip with so you only have to pay the two quarters at the last toll booth?

Activity 2

Find the pattern to fill in the blanks.

1+2=3

2+3=10

3+10=____

____+____=____

Activity 3

If you have five red socks and six blue socks scattered in a drawer, How many socks would you have to pull out to be guaranteed having one pair of the same color?

How many if you want two pairs?

Activity 4

Find the pattern to fill in the blanks.

1, 2, 6, ____

Print Activity With Answers

Thanks!

Make it EASIER, get the weekly posts emailed to you. Click HERE

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Welcome to Confused To Confident Where We Can Control How Much Food We Eat

Hi all you wonderful women. How many of you ate more food than you would have liked over Thanksgiving, or during any other event for that matter? Pick which statement below best describes WHY you ate more food than your stomach could reasonably hold.

a) The food was so great I couldn't stop eating it. b) We sat around the table chatting and I just kept nibbling the food. c) Didn't want the host to think I didn't like the food so I ate everything. d) The food was there so I ate it.

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Overeating Epidemic

Over 60% of Americans are overweight so over eating is a very real problem. Besides causing all sorts of health issues, being overweight can lead to self-degrading talk and low self-esteem. Here at Confused To Confident we are all about building self-confidence and self-esteem so I’m going to give you a couple of tips to help maintain, or even lose weight during the holidays.

Counter The Quiz

First take a look at the quiz you took above, here are some solutions based on the answer you chose.

If you picked “a” – and kept eating because the food was so good, try asking the host if you could take some home. If it’s a more formal event and asking to take some of the food would be out of place, it’s always polite to praise a dish and ask for the recipe. Knowing you can eat more later can help you stop eating it all in one sitting.

If you picked “b” – and kept nibbling as you sat around chatting, try to move away from the food. You could get up and clear some away from the conversation area if you are with family or friends. Another option is to just pass the food away from you and say you ate enough but can’t stop if it’s sitting in front of you since it’s so good. Very few people are going to argue about moving the food if you compliment them on it.

If “c” was your answer, and you didn’t want to offend the host, just eat tiny bits of each thing. If you take a small tablespoon of each item you can say you had some of everything. This also leaves room for a little larger serving of the food you really like a lot or don’t get often. So it doesn’t look like you are only eating a tiny bite, place the items close together on your plate and fill in void space with your silverware.

If “d” was your answer, try for a little more pre-planning. Make a decision ahead of time on how much you want to eat and stick to it. If there’s a bigger variety than you thought there would be, check out the answer for “c” and take tiny portions.

The idea is to not just keep eating because there is food there. Whether its so as not to offend someone, or because it’s good, or whatever the reason. Stop eating when you are slightly full. The side effects of continuing to eat after you are full, are numerous. Be strong and just say “NO” or probably “No Thank You” would be better.

Other Methods To Prevent Overeating

1. Drink two glasses of water just before you start eating. It not only will make you feel full faster, hence eating less calories, it will make you have to go to the bathroom so you can’t sit at the table nibbling for hours. The key here is to stop eating when you feel full. It’s also important to stay away from the table when you are forced to get up.

2. Do core exercises just before eating. It may not be the greatest for digesting the food you do eat but working out the stomach muscles will make you feel like eating less. It will also help burn some calories before you eat more.

3. Use a dessert plate for dinner and don’t go back for seconds. If the dessert plates are really tiny, then one second helping is okay but make sure you are really still hungry before filling up a second time.

4. If you are hosting have a buffet style meal where everyone helps themselves from the food on a serving counter then, to eat, goes to a table that’s separate from the food. This way you can’t just sit and nibble. If you aren’t hosting but know the host well, suggest this style of serving.

5. Minimize drinking calories. Water is your biggest friend when it comes to consuming less calories. Instead of iced tea or soda, drink water. If water is your friend, alcohol is your enemy. You can eat a lot more pie if you give up a glass of beer. Liquid calories are easy to consume without realizing it. Pay careful attention to how many of your calories you’re drinking.​

Please share with us if you have your own great way of cutting down on eating extra food during the holidays by commenting below.

The activity this week is simple, and would be good to put into general practice every week of your life.

Activity - Pay Attention To The Food You Eat

Step 1

Simply pay attention to the food you're eating.

Example:

​

Notice how big the pile is as you put it on your plate.

Pay attention when you walk buy a nut dish and grab a handful of nuts.

Think about everything you ate in the last 24 hours.

The more you pay attention to the food you are eating, the easier it will be to eat less.

Eat well and enjoy the abundance of extra tasty treats this season but be mindful of what you eat and eat small amounts. Enjoy those holiday parties without regret.

Print Activity

Thanks For Participating!

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Welcome to Confused To Confident Where Boogers Aren't Bad

​

Hello all you wonderful women. I have to warn you, you may find this post really gross, I’m going to talk about boogers. I need to ask; have you ever picked your nose and ate it? Even if your parents broke you of the habit when you were too young to remember, chances are you did it at one time. As it turns out, we do it naturally as children because it can actually be good for us. Scientific studies have determined that eating boogers can boost your immune system.

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Who Comes Up With This Stuff

Before we go any further, I want to know who comes up with these studies, and how they were able to get adults to participate?

It's Scientific

So, scientists have found health benefits to eating boogers, that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you to start picking your nose for lunch, that’s for you to decide. What I am going to point out is, that we need to stop shaming ourselves, and others, for doing things that might be different from the norm. These things may be vital to our lives and we don’t even know it.

Shouldn'ts And Don'ts

Our intuition is squelched by all the “You shouldn’t do this.” and “Don’t do that.” that we get throughout our lives. Intuitively, as children, we know that it can be helpful to us to eat our boogers, but our parents shame us for doing it. This natural, healthy, activity is quickly forced from our lives. Now I don’t know all the things that people shame themselves for, but I do know many of us live with a lot of shame. It’s time to stop shaming ourselves, and start loving ourselves just the way we are, even if we eat our boogers.

Now, before we get to the activity, I do want to say one thing. We definitely must restrain ourselves from doing things that could hurt ourselves or others. Eating poison is not beneficial to anyone and will probably kill you or make you very ill. If something's not harmful though, go for it. No one has ever died from eating boogers so why are we all so against it? 

Keep It Private

You may want to start out slow and do these thing in private but don’t shame yourself for doing them. There are simply things that we do at home that we don’t do in public. That’s ok, it doesn’t mean they are shameful things. Not too many of us would change our clothes out on our sidewalk but changing clothes isn’t shameful. Keeping things private is ok, shaming yourself, or others, for them, is not ok.

For your activity this week, don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to try eating boogers. What I would like you to do though, is to think about some of the things you may do that you shame yourself for.

Activity - No Shame

Step 1

Write down one thing you shame yourself for.

Step 2

Be creative and think of ways that whatever you wrote in step 1 could help you. Be silly, have fun with it. After all who would have thought boogers could be healthy.

Step 3

Every time you go to shame yourself for the activity you listed in step 1, think about all the ways it could be helpful to you, from step 2. This should stop the shaming. 

Step 4

Once you do this for one thing, do it for anything else that you shame yourself for. You can also start doing it for things you shame others for.

Hopefully this will make you laugh and not take things so seriously. It should definitely help you shame yourself and others less.

I’m going to guess that no one will comment below admitting they have always ate their boogers, but leave a comment on things you may shame others for. It will help us all be less shaming. 

Let me know if you tried the "No Shame" activity by commenting below.

Thanks!

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