New Year’s – Jenna Jamieson, Author

The #1 NYE Resolution!

By Jenna Jamieson | December 31, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

There are lots of resolutions to be made and goals to be set as we head into another New Years Eve. As you add a new diet to your list, new health and nutrition goals, weight loss, less sugar, and the countless other resolutions, I hope kindness is at the very top for each and every person. It’s what keeps the world going! It will give you more purpose, meaning, and happiness than any other goal on your list. I promise you this, and my book, Giving Back: Lessons from an adopted immigrant on why a happy life is about helping others will affirm why this is true.

As I wrap up 2017, I am thankful for the trip to the nation’s capitol that my husband and I just embarked on. While there, I was reminded once again why I find travel to be so therapeutic. The melting pot of people and cultures was lovely, but more than that, the ability to provide guidance and help to them was at the heart of the trip. My husband and I gave directions to several in DC (while we were ‘tourists’ ourselves it never fails that we get asked how to get somewhere, even when we were in Ireland!). We also helped someone off the ground who fell at one of the monuments. What was even sweeter is when my husband said, “I did the same thing earlier today” to make the young twenty-something feel better.

Lastly, as we traveled home we got behind a very slow person in the security line at the airport. It was a mother with a young child who didn’t put her stuff through the scanner. The security personnel instructed her to do so and we continued on our way. Later, I ended up sitting next to her on the plane. The little girl she had was absolutely a doll. I lipped to her “Hi” and in the most bubbly little voice she said “Hi” back. While the mother was between us, the little girl liked to observe me discreetly. I eventually lended a hand to the mother who was giving the little girl her lunch by throwing her trash away and providing extra napkins for a small spill that occurred. After all, it can be overwhelming and stressful when you are traveling alone with a small child. She said back to me, “Thank you so much.” It wasn’t more than a minute or two later when she looked at me again and said, “That was so kind of you” (after throwing her trash away). These are the resolutions I hope we are all making for 2018 – to be kind to one another, help one another, and give back to those around us. Cheers to much happiness and good health next year and LOTS OF KINDNESS!

While Christmas, New Year’s, and the holidays will soon be over until next year, kindness and giving back throughout the year should be resolutions for all.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Holidays…family, friends, and FOOD!

By Jenna Jamieson | November 19, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

This is the weight-gaining, cookie-eating, mouth-stuffing time of the year! It’s the time of the year when people eat cookies, cupcakes, chips, dips, and other sugary and salty foods. It’s the time of the year when diets seem to be filled with more junk food than fruits and veggies. It’s the time of the year when there are parties, potlucks, and events. And, it’s the time of the year when health educators and counselors know what to expect come January when New Year’s resolutions come around!

I am getting ready to cook my “gluten free” Thanksgiving this weekend so that I can actually enjoy it! Otherwise the day of Thanksgiving I get stuck with meat and potatoes without all the other lovely sides that fill the Thanksgiving table (but are often filled with gluten)!

As a way to cut back on fat and to reduce the calories in my gluten free dishes I will be making roasted brussels sprouts and corn with a couple of slices of bacon rather than a corn casserole or corn pudding which are filled with heavy cream, cream soups, and other fattening additives. This is a great way to reduce fat and calories while still having great flavor. The bacon will provide flavor along with chili powder, but since the two bacon slices will be divided among 6 people the amount consumed is very little.

My homemade mashed potatoes will feature part cauliflower. That may sound awful to some, but I promise you won’t taste the cauliflower and it will save a ton of calories! I will also use potatoes, but I will combine them with cauliflower to reduce the calories and add some veggies. I will use reduced sodium, reduced fat cream cheese or greek yogurt to add creaminess to the potatoes.

I will not have bread since I will be making cornbread stuffing. I made cornbread with reduced fat milk and will make the stuffing using reduced sodium chicken broth. To save calories, it is great to consider how many “bready” sides or carbohydrate sides you will serve with your Thanksgiving dinner. Consider having stuffing or bread, pie or cake, with more sides filled with veggies or fruits (i.e. brussel sprouts, corn, green beans, cranberries, mixed fruit, sweet potatoes – healthier than regular potatoes).

If your family does a green bean casserole each year consider roasted green beans, grilled green beans (these are delicious!), or pan seared green beans to cut back on the creamy soups, butter, and fried onions that are all high in calories.

Remember to fill your plates with more veggies than “bready” items and when you go back for seconds fill up on the veggie sides rather than more stuffing, bread, pie, and other high calorie dishes. Oh, and take a quick walk before or after dinner so your food doesn’t sit in your stomach all day or all night. You will thank yourself later when your food has a chance to digest rather than sit and make you feel miserable all night! 🙂

Happy eating, enjoy spending time with your friends and family, and have fun making new memories that you will remember forever!

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

New Year, New Goals, New Rules aka Accountability

By Jenna Jamieson | December 17, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

Hooray for a new year! Hooray for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and so! Hooray for new goals! One thing that I love is setting goals for myself that are challenging and rewarding. Rather than making new resolutions in January every year I typically have goals each month for myself throughout the entire year. They can be simple goals such as setting a Christmas budget for myself in September, jotting down all the ideas I have for people on my Christmas list in October, and then finishing my Christmas shopping by the end of the first week in November. Further, rather than setting “negative” goals and resolutions I try to set goals that have a “positive” spin. So rather than setting a goal of losing weight, I would set a goal of eating healthier. For example, set a goal of eating out for lunch once a week and eating an apple with peanut butter or caramel with your lunch so your goal doesn’t become dreaded and can easily be incorporated with your typical lunch routine.

Weight and eating resolutions are typical goals every year, but all too often these resolutions fail, not because the person doesn’t try or doesn’t care, but because the person loses motivation when he/she doesn’t see instant results or becomes wrapped up in the chaos of daily life. While I know it is not New Year’s yet, there’s no perfect time to set new goals or resolutions for yourself. Rather than putting off what you can start today, make a plan, set your goals, and make yourself accountable for what you want to accomplish. One of my favorite sayings to remember is, “Why wait until tomorrow when you can start or do it today?”

So, rather than waiting until January to make a plan because you just want to “get through the holidays” aka eating the scrumptious candies and desserts and the exhaustion of finishing your Christmas shopping consider making yourself accountable during the holidays so you don’t feel so guilty in January. Many people feel guilty in January because of all the food, chaos, and stress from the holiday season. Then once New Year’s rolls around, people make resolutions to help make up for it. The problem with this is that we often tend to make goals that are unattainable in order to fill the gaps and inefficiencies from the holidays.

My suggestion is to START NOW! Happy day, month, and year of positive goals and accountability. Change starts now, not tomorrow, not next week or next month or next year. Change starts with yourself, not with an organization or group of friends, so start your goals today. You will thank yourself tomorrow for what you accomplish today. Cheers to the new year from me to you!

~jj