My Pantry Now
Copyright by Holly Hedman

My pantry used to be filled with boxes and boxes of highly processed, highly preserved and horrible foods that no human truly should eat!  We used to have a bunch of canned fruit and veggies too.  I hardly ever had fresh fruit or veggies in the house, because when I did they would go bad before we ate them. Even before having kids I used to be all about easy cooking and not healthy cooking.  But, that started to change after we started having kids but more so after I had our son.  I weighed the most I have ever weighed… Yes, it bothered me!  Prior to having kids, I was very physically active.  I was a Physical Education teacher, coached and played volleyball and was also a personal trainer!  I loved being at the gym for hours working out.  Then we had kids.  I started working out again after I had our first born but every time I would go to the gym and put her in the nursery she would get sick.  I, just like other moms, don’t like having sick kids.  So, NO more gym membership for me!

When we had one child it was pretty easy to put her in the stroller and go for a power walk.  But when we added more, it really became difficult!  The days would go by so fast and by the time I would think of exercising it was time to go to bed.  Then after having our youngest, food had become comforting and I kept gaining weight.  I am 6 foot tall (yes, I know, that is tall for a girl) and I could hide my weight very well with clothes.  No one really knew I was almost 200 pounds… more then I weighed when I was pregnant with our last baby (whom I gain 18 pounds with).  Seeing as I have hypothyroidism, I have always been careful and cautious about my weight.  But sometimes, you just don’t care and eat, eat, and eat.  Food comforts…

Just add 12 oz of water, milk or almond milk, 3 scoops of powder, shake and enjoy!

Finally, enough was enough and I decided that something needed to change.  I couldn’t go on this way and my health is important in order to be a good mom.  That is when, while we were home and visiting a good friend, I asked her about her meal replacement shakes she had been using.  I was looking for something that was good and kept me full.  She introduced us to Usana Health Sciences.  This brought on a new way of thinking and a new way of life for our family!  I started buying more fresh fruit and veggies, started cooking clean and healthy, started truly watching what I was eating and caring about what I was eating.  We started taking high quality vitamins and supplements through Usana Health Sciences and also drinking their meal replacement drink called Nutrimeal.  My husband and I both lost weight and truly had more energy and felt amazing!  It amazes me what a good vitamin can do for you!  We transformed our health and as a side affect of that we lost weight and felt great!  You have a choice in life… to be healthy or not!  We chose healthy because our kids depend on us to be around for a long time!

Recipe for you

One of my favorite things to eat happens to be pudding.  I would make it almost all the time… from a box, until one day I found a recipe that uses avocado.  I just had to try it and I was hooked!

Avocado Pudding
Copyright by Holly Hedman

This recipe is super simple with only 6 ingredients. 

1 ripe avocado (soft to touch)

3 tbs of almond butter

1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk

3 tbs of dark cocoa powder

1/4 cup of agave syrup

1 scoop of Usana’s vanilla Nutrimeal

Avocado Pudding Ingredients
Copyright by Holly Hedman

Directions

Place avocado and almond butter into food processor. Blend until creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.  Add more almond milk till you reach the consistency you prefer.  A little of this pudding goes a long way!  Enjoy!

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Thanks for taking time to reading.  Please feel free to share my blog with your friends and family!  Also, I would love to hear how you liked the recipe.  Please leave a comment below.