.........tasty..............

It is the simple things in life that really matter.........

Mine and Nicole's word for this is TASTY....  I REALLY thought about a trip to the local bakery for this one but reconsidered!!!!  Instead, I decided to capture the simplicity of what I define as tasty these days!!!  For about the last year I have REALLY tried to reconnect with the simplicity of true nutrition....  and I have worked REALLY hard to put food in perspective....  it fuels my body!!!  YEP....  sound all psycho I know....  but it is sooooo very true!!!!  I have spent the last few years working VERY HARD on my physical self....  logging in countless running, swimming and biking miles....  and for what????  So I could feel like I deserved a cheese burger or a donut????  It really became painfully clear to me after I ran my first marathon that if my nutritional effort didn't equal my physical effort I would NEVER see the results that I was working soooo hard for....  kinda like only putting together half of a puzzle....  I mean really.... what is the point??!!!  Sooo....  I began to reevaluate my choices....  I decided that I was the ONLY one responsible for what I chose to nourish and fuel my body with....  and more importantly... I decided that I REALLY needed to place VALUE on my food!!!  Yep....  here's a little perspective for ya....  1 chocolate chip cookie equals 78 calories.... and 1 mile of running burns about 100 calories.... sooooo is ONE cookie WORTH 1 mile????  and more importantly....  can I only eat ONE cookie???  usually the answer to that is a big FAT no!!!!  The flip side of this is that 1 whole apple equals 80 calories!!!  and the BEST part is that it is LOADED with nutritional VALUE!!!!  yep....  it is GOOD FOR ME!!!!  Chocolate chip cookies....  not so good for me.... NOPE!!!  NOT AT ALL!!!!  So that is how I got started......  and then......  I took this thinking one step farther....  I have chosen to eat as cleanly as possible!!!  As organic as I can!!!  It's actually pretty simple.... and not as expensive as you might think!!!  My philosophy is....  if you peel it.... it doesn't HAVE to be organic (like bananas or cucumbers).... BUT....  if you don't peel it....  go organic (like lettuce, tomatoes, apples and such) This is not a scientific thought!!!  heeheehee!!!!  NOW.... what does any of this have to do with the word TASTY????  Let me just tell ya.........  when I started this little lifestyle change I discovered....  well.... I discovered TASTE again!!!  Yep.....  my first organic tomato was AMAZING!!!  took me straight back to my childhood........  and I realized that I had NOT actually TASTED a tomato since I was probably 12 years old!!!!  HOLY COW!!!  How sad is that????  I had been eating watery no taste tomatoes for years... and wondering why I wanted to eat a chocolate chip cookie instead!!!  This change has reintroduced me to TASTE and natural flavor!!!  It inspired me to actually grow some of my own little organic goodness....  had a sweet little box garden with lettuce and tomatoes...  and they did pretty good until 2 months of 100 degree temps!!!  :(  gonna give it a shot again next spring!!!  :)  NOW....  with all of that said.... let me say this....  I still have a cheat....  I still love chocolate....  but I don't deserve a treat EVERYDAY!!!  SERIOUSLY!!!!  Nobody is THAT good!!!  :)  and treats and cheats are a barter!!!  It goes something like this...."I can eat that Snicker bar which I will INHALE in 5 seconds flat....  for 271 calories which means I will have to run 3 miles to burn the little devil off.... and still be starving AFTER I have eaten it.... PLUS I will feel like CRAP because I ate it OR.... I can eat a banana which is LOADED with potassium and goodness... only about 100 calories and soooooo much better for me"..... sometimes the Snicker wins..... but not very often!!!!  I am happy to report that I embraced this healthy change... and I have managed to stick with it!!!  AND it has give the word TASTY a whole new meaning.....  in a REALLY good way!!!!  :)  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too.....