A to Z - "J" is for Journaling

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I love these kinds of journals. They aren't just for writing. Sometimes the creativity bug bites in doodle form. I love calligraphy and lettering in fun ways. I used to scrapbook, but once I stopped printing so many pictures, I stopped scrapbooking. I have unfinished projects in my scrapbook closet.

Scrapbooking has morphed into creative journaling. They make books just for this with blank pages and covers that look like this to inspire you. But you can make your own.

There are also a vast number of places to look for journaling topics.
250 Journaling Topics
30 Journaling Topics for Self-Reflection and Self-Discovery
119 Journal Prompts for your Journal Jar  (I like the idea of the journal jar, and the cover image)

You could also do themed journals; one for travel, one for family, one for fiction, one for dreams, etc.
I have themed notebooks of my own. I had this crazy idea I would jot down good moments every day this year... but after a few weeks, I ended up just jotting down whatever happened that day. Writing down your 'blessings' is harder than it seems! I have one for scripture lessons, one for goals, one for writing down possible character names, and a couple that serve as Writer's Notebooks. These do not have doodles in them, though. I have one just for that, too.

Let this be a starting point, a bookmark, for your own inspiration. Get some composition books on clearance (like I did) and get to writing out your creative passion!

Here is a poem I wrote called: Create!

The artist paints
The craftsman sculpts
The writer scripts
The designer pieces
The musician harmonizes

Whether you create
One way or another
The point is to do it
And do it with flare

Be you, be the essence of yourself
Put your heart into it
Move so that time stops
Your creation is pure passion

Breathe in, breathe out
Forget time, forget space
Don’t worry about eating

Become, express,
Exist in a small space
Use broad strokes
Tell your story

Do it for yourself, your family
For your soul, your pleasure
Dig deep within and find the message
The center of your being

Create!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Nutrition: Sweet Tooth

I have a terrible sweet tooth. I know it is my downfall. I love sweets, fruits, and most of the time I just don't feel my dinner is complete until I eat something sweet.

There are foods that are sweet and yet pack a healthy punch. I'm trying to utilize more of these and fewer less healthy ones.

It has taken time to adjust to not having chocolate at the end of the day, not even in fun size.

While unhealthy snacks are still treats on occasion, I am trying to eat them in considerable moderation. If I feel like ice cream, I get the '1/2 the fat' kind, and have one scoop with peaches to fill the rest of my bowl. I may divide cookies in half and share with others. I choose fun size candy over a full size bar. Again, this is sparingly.

Instead, I have found a few sweet, but healthy snacks.

• Dried berries
• Plain animal crackers
• Fruit
• Some granola bars, even with chocolate (I look for ones with a good amount of protein)
• Hot cocoa
• Fruit smoothie with low fat vanilla yogurt (I like to freeze it and eat it with a spoon, making scrapings) (what?) (Yeah, okay, it's a sensory thing.)
• String cheese and frozen grapes
• Yogurt and banana
• Peanut butter and apples
• Warm pear half and cinnamon 

Just watch your serving sizes.

This blog post from Daily Hiit on Ways to Crush Your Sweet Tooth is helpful. It highlights that many times when your body craves sugar, it is saying it needs energy or water.

Many times lack of protein in your diet can contribute to sugar cravings as the body looks for a quick energy source. Adding protein to every meal ensures that the body always has fuel to access and maintains a steady blood sugar level, preventing any spikes and crashes.

Steady blood sugar helps your moods, not just your cravings. Bonus!

Rule of thumb for snacks that keep you going and keep your metabolism up: 10g of protein and 5g of fiber.

Using MyFitnessPal is one way to keep track of your protein, calories, and sugar intake. It is not very accurate, but at least it is something to keep you thinking about what you put in your body. If you can journal, keep a dairy of your food, what time you ate it, what you crave and when, and how many calories, fat, protein, fiber, and sugars per serving. This is not something I have done. I like that MyFitnessPal will keep the data for me, even if it is not entirely accurate. Just thinking about it helps keep your diet goals in mind.

The easiest thing to do is to simply not buy the sweet snacks. If they aren't in your cupboards, you can't eat them. There will not be temptation. We give ourselves and the kids crackers, pretzels, animal crackers, fruits, string cheese, and peanut butter on whole wheat bread. I am in love with hummus and pita chips, in case I haven't mentioned that before. :) I switched to Kashi bars instead of Chewy bars. They cost more, but I am investing in my body.

I have been instilling that thought into my husband's brain.. that groceries may cost more, if they are better for us. Investing in ourselves is worth it!

33 more snack ideas (less healthy and more chocolatey than mine) Some other snacks under 50 calories if you like applesauce or jello