Remember that concept that everyone is only knowing six people away from be connected to anyone else in the world?

Six Degrees of Separation Chart

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Well, my thought processes kind of did that for this post. Except it is three degrees of separation that led me to my ultimate topic. I'm just ahead of the game, right? 😉

Anyhoo...today I have been a hungry hungry hippo girl. Perhaps it is all this extra activity I have been getting. Every day this week has been pretty active. Sunday = our outdoor 3 mile hike. Monday = spin class and running around after M at the park. Today = Group Power class + ellipticaling in the morning and playing outside along with a long walk after M's morning nap. All that movement got my tummy rumbling and I was a happy girl when it was time to go inside for lunch. After whipping up M's lunch and doing a quick cleaning of the kitchen/sweeping the floors (OCD alert! = I can't enjoy my food in messy surroundings), I got to making my own lunch.

It took no time to decide what to have since I have been on a turkey wrap kick lately. More specifically a turkey wrap kick with a French Onion Laughing Cow wedge to amp up my typical fixings (avocado, mustard, onion, spinach, pickles, tomato). So degree #1 = Lunch with Laughing Cow...

French Onion Flavor = mmmmmm

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This reminded me that yesterday I found out the amazing news that Laughing Cow will be coming out with three new flavors this summer - Mozzarella, Sundried Tomato & Basil; Queso Fresco & Chipotle; and, the one I am most excited about, Blue Cheese. Moldy cheese fan here! 😀 Where did I hear this news? From the email newsletter I get from The Hungry Girl. Degree #2 = Hungry Girl Newsletter

Lisa Lillien aka The Hungry Girl

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And degree #3 for the final thoughts = Hungry Girl's Ideaology. For those of you unfamiliar with Lisa Lillien and her cookbooks, she is an advocate of trying to make healthier recipes that will still appeal to the general population. Many of her recipes are remakes of restaurant favorites, comfort foods, indulgent desserts, etc. She tries to find ways to lighten these recipe favorites up, usually by making the fat content, sugar content, and calorie count as low as possible. And how does she accomplish this? Pretty often some form of processed item is included - whether it be sugar substitute, egg substitute, meatless soy products, 100 calorie packs, and many other things. The use of processed items in most of her recipes is the main "beef" many critics have with her.

Lisa Lillien rebuttals the criticism by her claims that those things should not be the mainstay of a healthy diet and that we should be sure to incorporate fruits and vegetables, lean meats (if suits you), dairy, nuts, avocados, etc as often as possible. Her main goal is to reach out to the general population to show them tips and tricks to lighten up and live a little healthier. She claims she would rather reach out and make healthier eating an accessible goal and desire of the general population,  instead of making it something unrealistic by claiming the only way to eat healthy is to only  eat  unprocessed items.

While I don't own any of her books (although I have checked them out from the library a few times), and while I don't often make recipes with the goal of getting the calories as low as possible by using a slew of packaged items, I do appreciate her and her ideology. I appreciate her tips and ideas for helping to lighten up recipes. I enjoy her product reviews since I first hear about many new lighter snacks and treats through her site. And I appreciate that she wants to make a realistic difference in the way people eat. Let's face it. Ideally we would all eat 100% natural, "clean" (don't get me started on that word!) foods. But for many, especially the general population and even many avid healthy eating fanatics, it is a part of life to need those additional options like that 100 cal bag of popcorn for a filling and easy afternoon snack or that sweetener to help curb a sweet tooth while trying to watch calories. Yes, the bulk of our diets should (and mine most definitely is) be made up of whole foods. But I believe too that all things in moderation is a good concept and if she can help people become a bit more moderate with their food intake (and enjoy it) then I'm cool with that. 🙂

What are your thoughts on her approach? Do you think it is doing more harm than good in our culture's eating habits or is it helping? Do you have any of her cookbooks or have you tried and enjoyed any of her recipes?

Giveaway to check out: from Lauren at Eat Drink and Be Hopeful

Welcome to the new edition of my "GoodLife Sunday" posts! 🙂 I realized it's hard for me to do them over the weekend, and plus the lessons faith can teach us pop up all the time, not just on Sundays 😉 Before I begin, please remember that GoodLife posts and lessons are not meant to be preachy. I hope to share things I have learned through my own journey with Christ as well as discussions that weighed on my heart from the Sunday class I lead or sermons I attend or even songs I hear. I think there is something for all of us to take away from these posts, no matter our beliefs, so I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy sharing them. 🙂

That leads us to today. This afternoon, I went to the park to meet up with a friend. The weather was gorgeous - sunny and in the 70s. There was lots to talk about with my friend and the opportunity to see Makenzie having all sorts of fun playing in the park. Now, this situation would not always have been so enjoyable. Why? Mainly because a few years ago I would not have chosen to spend time just the two of us if I could avoid it. I was hesitant to grow a friendship with her then solely because of some of her more abrasive qualities - she likes to gossip about other friends, perhaps enjoys creating drama, will hold a grudge, and can be manipulative to have things work out best for her. Today I realized that yesterday's sermon applied to my relationship with her and how thankful I am to be able to know God's love and experience it in my own heart.

The youth pastor led our sermon yesterday in church, discussing a missions trip he had recently taken where he encountered a pretty unlovable little girl upon first impressions. She was dirty, rude, smelled very badly, would not follow directions, impulsive, exhausting, and the list went on. He thought of her as "Ratty Girl".

Maybe not ratty...but definitely unlovable

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He then went on to describe how she was so "bad" that she took up all of his energy in trying to keep her out of trouble and that he approached it very negatively...until a fellow pastor praised him for showing love and spending time with one of the children that needed to be shown affection and cared for the most. Ouch! That probably hurt the conscience a bit.

Well instead of feeling guilty or continuing in his negative mood, he chose to take a lesson from it. That there are people in our lives - friends, family members, coworkers, roommates, or maybe fellow bloggers even, that can rub us the wrong way.

sandpaper

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It is easier to dislike them or avoid them than to reach out and embrace them with the love of God. We are meant to be God with skin on and none of us are perfect. Not a single one. We ALL have qualities that we are not proud of or perhaps we are even unaware of that are not too good. What are we to do? Look past the negative and focus on the positive in others. Treat others the way we want to be treated. Love our neighbor as ourself. That doesn't mean we have to condone something harmful in another person, but it does mean we are no one to judge and that we should share the love. And reaching out in love to them could maybe even lead to a friendship where you can enjoy a sunny day in the park. 😉