Welcome back for another Food on Friday topic. I love Sloppy Joes! Do you? Today in the USA, is National Sloppy Joe Day. Watch the short video below to learn about the history of sloppy joes and her recipe. I make mine a little different than she does. I really enjoy her food history videos. Be sure and check out some of her others. I was actually going to make these today, but I completely forgot to take out the meat to thaw. But, I have made these lots of times using the ingredients below. My new week for the grocery budget challenge will begin Sunday, as that is when I have time to grocery shop.
Now, I have CKD, and I try to avoid HFCS at all costs. It upsets my stomach and generally makes me not feel good. There is a standard Sloppy Joe sauce that is available in stores. It is affordable, but it does contain HFCS and lots of sodium. So, I choose not to use it, and honestly, I don’t even think it tastes that good. Keep your portion size of the meat mixture to no more than 3-4 ounces, and try to make a vegetarian option using mushrooms. Ooh, I bet that is delicious.
To lighten up your Sloppy Joe you could use ground turkey, lean ground beef, or even ground chicken. A whole-grain bun would add more nutrients than just a plain white bun. If you are trying to keep it light don’t add cheese to the finished sandwich.
These are the ingredients I use.
Lean ground beef, the leanest I can find, or ground turkey.
About a tbsp of olive oil to cook the ground beef and veggies in
A bell pepper, green is the most affordable
Some chopped onion. I like Vidalia onions.
Garlic minced, or any garlic you have on hand. I generally have garlic powder.
Low sodium tomato paste.
2/3 of a cup of catsup. I like organic and prefer sugar free, though no one else does.
1.3 cup of whatever vinegar you have on hand. I usually have red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar on hand.
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp of brown sugar, use stevia brown sugar if you watch your sugar intake
1/2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce.
That is it. After you cook the ground beef, onions, and peppers, add everything else, stir it all in, and voila a Sloppy Joe is born. Don’t forget to drain the fat off of your meat.
Let me know how you make Sloppy Joes, and if you don’t if you will try this recipe and how much you like it.
Happy Saturday! Today, was grocery shopping day for next week. If you were here last week then you know I spent over my 50 dollar food budget and was subtracting it from this week. That left 33 dollars for this week. We really don’t need much as we have so much leftover turkey and sides from Thanksgiving. There were a few low carb things I wanted, and we always need creamer. My husband did really good with the milk, so I didn’t need milk. But, he did ask me to see if turkeys were on sale, lol. There were no turkeys. Can you believe it? There was turkey breasts, which I prefer anyhow, and I did get one. But, it put me over my 33 dollars, but that is OK. I will just subtract it from next week, lol. The turkey breast was only 7.61 and that will make a lot of meals when we decide to use it. I really do not like shopping on Saturday, but I knew we only needed veggies pretty much, and I didn’t have to wait for the sale flyers tomorrow. Plus, I don’t really have a day next week I can shop until Friday, which starts the next week anyway. I did not make a menu for this next week, which starts tomorrow, because it will be mostly leftovers. If we run out of leftovers I have other options in the freezer. Below, see some of my lunch ideas with the items I bought. My husband will just eat turkey sandwiches until the turkey is gone. He doesn’t get tired of them.
Before I get to my groceries, and lunch ideas, I want to mention Toys for Tots. If you can donate a new toy to their cause, it is a wonderful cause. So many people are hurting this year, and while we give every year, I will try very hard to work it into my budget every time I go to Walmart to put something in their drive box. Now, I don’t know how long they are collecting for, so I may only hit it one time. I let my daughter pick the toy, and as long as it is reasonable I am OK with it. We also volunteer, and donate to dog rescue. The fur babies need love too. Being kind and giving to the community is a great way to have love for others, but also self care for yourself. It is a win win.
The first image is from Save A Lot and I spent $13.40. That cabbage was only .69 a pound and was 3 pounds in weight. For my leftover turkey low carb lunch, I used one of the Ole tortilla wraps, from Walmart then I fried up some of the cabbage, a tbsp of onion in olive oil. I added rosemary, and lemon pepper seasoning. Once they were softened I added about 2 ounces of turkey, and then once it was all warm I added one ounce of shredded cheese. I put it all on the wrap with a tbsp of sour cream, and it was super delicious. Those Ole wraps only have 4 grams of net carbs. Plus they have ground flaxseed in them, which is great for me as I do not get enough Omega 3s as I hate fish, and I don’t care for walnuts either. Be careful with these if you have CKD, and only eat one, as they will be higher in phosphorus than white bread.
The second image is from Walmart. I spent $26.42, but without the turkey breast I would have easily met my goal.
So, what are some lunch ideas I have in mind? The cabbage can be used for coleslaw, or fried and served with turkey, or the ham. The ham can go with eggs, or cabbage. I already have eggs on hand. I can only eat small amounts of ham, about 2 ounces, so the ham will last a long time, unless my husband or daughter decide to have some. The tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce can be for side salads, and cabbage can be added to that as well. I really love cucumbers and tomatoes with sour cream and some ranch seasoning. That is my favorite salad, and of course cabbage can go in there as well. The cottage cheese I bought because I can’t stand yogurt and I don’t drink smoothies this time of year. So, I will defrost the berries I froze over the summer, blend them in my blender and eat with the cottage cheese. I also still have apples on hand, which can be eaten with the cottage cheese. That would also be great for breakfast. If you have CKD, be aware that cottage cheese is very high in protein and sometimes sodium. The bread I always just buy when they mark it down, and stick it in the freezer. We can have mini pizzas, garlic bread, or just with butter with any sauce meal. My family loves that bread and I have gotten it for as little as 50 cents a loaf. That little pizza is my daughter’s for when I work. The creamer is just creamer, not for a lunch. We just needed it,
Please remember, I am on a low carb diet, similar to what someone with Diabetes might follow. I do not have Diabetes, but I do have CKD and I do need to lose weight. I have lost 13 pounds to date, and have kept it off, which is most important. With CKD I can not eat high protein, or high fat. So, I have had to learn how to count Macros and how much my body needs. It is a balancing act and can change at the drop of a hat. I do not follow a Keto diet. Ketosis may be very dangerous for someone with Kidney Disease and or Diabetes.
The very last image is my first gift idea for anyone on your list, but most importantly for anyone with a chronic disease. If you are trying to manage your chronic disease eating at work can be very difficult. There may be vending machines, parties, and coworkers who eat out for all of their meals. These things make it harder to stick to a diet plan. The thermos in the image is just like the one I purchased. It wasn’t that name brand, but other wise it is the same. It has saved me so much headache when at work. I can bring warm or cold food, and I don’t have to use the microwave. It really has been a lifesaver for me. Each day until December 24th I will share great gift ideas for people managing a chronic disease. This one is not an affiliate link. Not only will this gift be better for health, but also will save money on eating out.
If you would like to learn about my Health Coaching services, please use the contact form after the images to message me for a free email meet and greet. All new customers get one month of coaching for 25 dollars.
Hi, everyone! I am so happy to be back to my regular scheduled posting schedule. I am still debating how I want to move forward with my Foodie Friday topics. Recipes are great, but there are so many other topics that can come under that heading. So, I will be mixing it up a little bit each Friday. I am now up to 88 followers. My goal was to meet the 100 follower threshold by the end of 2019. As I continue with my Integrative Therapies classes, I am learning so much about ways to improve Health that have nothing to do with dieting, pills, or extreme exercise. It seems so much of the Health Coaching world focuses on diets and exercise. I have said before I hate the word diet. We all follow a pattern of eating, a diet is so negative. I am currently studying Guided Imagery, and I can not wait to finish so I can start making some audio Guided Imagery files, for people. Pain, Stress, Weight Loss, Anxiety, and Sleep are just some of the things that can be helped with Guided Imagery. Don’t forget about my Better Sleep live group sessions, starting in just a few weeks. You still have time to get in! It will be fun, I promise. Read about it here. I am optimistic someone will want to join me in that adventure.
Back to this week’s topic. Are you eating for a Chronic Disease? What does that mean? Basically, are you eating in a way that will increase your chance of getting a Chronic Disease, or already have one and still not eating in a way to help your Chronic Disease. Maybe you need to learn how to meal prep, especially for busy work or school days. I know those are my hardest days to stick to my healthy choices. I am tired, and just want something easy. So, you might turn to fast food, eating out, frozen meals, canned foods, or other highly processed foods, that are convenient but not very healthy. Maybe you think you can’t afford healthier food options. That of course is not true, and I can attest to that as well. It does take a little more planning, and thought, but it is completely possible. Maybe you have no clue how to cook. Cooking can actually be therapeutic in itself, and a complete joy. I actually very much enjoy cooking, it is the clean up I hate. I can also attest to the fact in FL, in Summer it is sweaty and stinky, making the thought of cooking daunting. There are ways around that too. If any of those things describe you, and you want to work with a Health Coach to help you meet your Chronic Disease goals, use the contact form below to message me. Your initial meeting is free, and there is no obligation to work with me after the initial meeting. To see all of my available plans, click here.
Updated 8/24/2021 Ok, so this is probably the hardest one to come up with, because this is an online Health Coaching business. I don’t have a gym, or an office. This Health Buddy Melissa option is the Walking Buddy Plan.
Please see the availability calendar below to see what days I am available for the Walking Buddy plan. I do work 2 days a week out of the home, but my schedule stays the same unless I sign up for more days. This is a one on one coaching plan, not a group plan. You can use the Paypal button below to purchase. I only accept US dollars. You must be at least 18 years old. Once I have been notified of your purchase, via Paypal, within 24 hours I will send you a welcome email with instructions for the Meet and Greet. The Meet and Greet is via email, and you will have a short new client intake form to fill out. It will give me vital information as to your walking and or exercise goals, and any medical conditions I should know about. You can ask questions and clarify the plan information you have chosen. All information is confidential through my paid business email at Google Suite. After the Meet and Greet you will have 24 hours to decide if you think I am a good fit to meet your needs. During that 24 hours if you decide I am not a good fit for you, your money will be reimbursed to you. You will need to sign an agreement of service form once you decide to work with me. All of this is done via email. You must be able to open rich text format, or other forms of documents. You may have to print it out, fill it in and then send it back to me. If you absolutely can not do that, you can answer all of the questions via email and sign in the email. I am new to this too, so we will need to be patient with each other. The business hours below are only for Live Walking options for you to pick your two 20 minute sessions from.
The walking plan is for people who may want or need someone to walk with them. This is a virtual walking session that is 20 minutes in length, two days a week, and the price is 80 dollars per month. At the end of the 30 days you can either renew the plan, or just not renew it. I will send you a Paypal invoice if you choose to renew. It is your responsibility to show up for you live walking session. I will wait 5 minutes past the start time and then I will go on to my other business. I will walk with you either outdoors or in your home via a walking video. You must have access to Youtube. I am not in the video, they are videos available on Youtube. We will chat via phone call. At this time I will not do video chats, but I may in the future. This enables you to have a walking buddy. Some people don’t like to walk alone for several reasons. Please be sure to see the available dates and times that I can Walk Live, below. Once a week I will send you an email to discuss your progress, any issues you may be having and if you want a more intensive coaching plan that would include food lifestyle modification, different dieting types, label reading, how to figure out and track your macros, etc. At no time will I promote diet pills, FAD diets, or any other unproven safe ways to lose weight. There are plenty of those available already. If by chance I get a lot of people signed up I will create a waiting list.
If you have Kidney Disease or any other Chronic Illness, or are new to exercising the Walking Buddy Plan is a great place to start your Journey to a more active lifestyle.
Living Life With CKD 