What would the world be like if women stopped obsessing about weight? AND a delicious recipe for (healthier than store bought) homemade Cheez-its!

What would the world be like if women stopped obsessing about weight? Would we have a cure for cancer? Would we finally have a women President?  Who knows?  It’s true though, that a lot of brain power (and money!) is being wasted over women’s inability to feed themselves according to their body’s natural cues.  We spend too much time obsessing over calories and carefully constructing meal plans.  I’ve realized it’s really an issue of trust.  Do you really need something external like the newest diet fad or calorie controlled meal plans to tell you how to eat?

Who knows what fuel your body needs than your body itself?  We need to learn to trust ourselves to eat whatever our body craves and to stop eating when our body tells us it’s full.  I had a lot of trouble with this when I first started recovery.  I thought that if I allowed myself to eat whatever I desired that there would be an extreme shortage of chocolate and ice cream and that in a short amount of time I’d be humongous. None of that happened though.  Here I am, eating everything I want…ice cream, apples, chocolate, spinach…the healthy and the “unhealthy.”  All foods you love can have a place in your life.

The problem with externalizing your eating is that it gives food a desirable charge.  All of a sudden, chocolate cake is VERY appealing for the simple reason that it is not allowed on your diet. If however, you allow yourself to have chocolate cake whenever you want, the charge is no longer present, and chocolate cake doesn’t seem quite so powerful.  Sure if you’ve been externalizing your eating habits for a long time, trusting yourself may seem hard. At first, you may eat ONLY the foods that you’ve previously restricted.  That’s exactly what happened to me.  For about three days I lived on ice cream and pie.  By day four though, my body CRAVED leafy greens and whole grains.  All of a sudden, ice cream and pie no longer had control over me.  Dessert wasn’t so desirable once I knew I could have it whenever I wanted.  Whether you’re underweight, overweight, or a yo-yo dieter, you can achieve your healthy weight (notice I say “your healthy weight” because not everyone’s healthy weight is the same, and unlike the diet industry would like us to believe, most people’s healthy weight is NOT at a size zero) and stay there with no effort or brainpower whatsoever if you just trust yourself and listen to your body.

So, now that you trust yourself around food (and even big batches of cookies) you can go make these delicious homemade Cheez-Its I was fortunate enough to make today.  I seriously LOVE Cheez-Its.  It’s strange.  I don’t really like chips all that much but I love crackers like wheat thins, graham crackers, and Cheez-Its.  Making your favorite snacks such as Cheez-Its is healthier because they aren’t processed and don’t contain preservatives.  Plus, you have complete control of what goes into them.  You could make whole wheat Cheez-It’s.  You could mix your favorite cheeses and make a flavor combination that’s not available in stores.  The sky’s the limit when you’re baking your own snacks!

Homemade Cheez-Its

adapted from http://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com

Ingredients:

·        4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

         4 oz mild cheddar cheese, grated

·        3 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature

·        1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening

·        ½ teaspoon salt

·        1 cup flour

·        2 Tablespoons ice water

Directions:

1.   Combine cheese, butter, shortening, and salt in the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. The mixture will be crumbly.

2.   Slowly add flour and then the ice water. You may add a few more drops of water to help it come together but be careful not to add too much. You don’t want a wet dough.

3.   Pat the dough into 2 discs and wrap in plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes (or longer).

4.   Preheat oven to 375⁰F.

5.   Using parchment paper or a silicone mat roll each disc to 1/8 inch or less and cut into 1 inch squares (a pastry wheel or pizza wheel is easiest). Use a toothpick to punch a hole into the center of each square.

6.   If you have difficulty separating and transferring the crackers onto the baking sheet return the parchment paper/mat to the refrigerator for 10 minutes (while you roll out the 2^nd dough disc).

7.   Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until puffed and browning around the edges. If you pull them out too soon and the crackers don’t have the desired crispiness you want then simply return them to the oven for 2-3 more minutes.

8.   Move crackers to a cooling rack. Makes about 7 dozen crackers.

XOXO,

Jamie

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