Have you ordered your copy of the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
How is the journey going for you so far? You’re probably thinking: Trim Healthy Mama special ingredients – do I need them?” As you may know, I started Trim Healthy Mama a few years ago. When I started the plan, I didn’t purchase any of the special ingredients for the first couple of months except Stevia. I wanted to see how the plan worked using basic ingredients. There are tons of recipes that don’t require special ingredients. I was also worried about the expense of the special ingredients. I was completely successful without using the special ingredients, so rest assured that the plan works without them.
I made many of the recipes using simply the grains, meats, fruits and veggies, or dairy ingredients. It’s really simple because you basically just read labels to stay away from off plan ingredients and chemicals. You make sure to pair the right foods from the lists with each type of fuel (fat or carb). If you find these recipes are simple and you want to kick things up a notch, you can find plenty of recipes that fall into these categories on Pinterest. Sometimes recipes on Pinterest aren’t necessarily THM approved, so I’d be would be sure to post the recipe on the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook pages so that an administrator can let you know if it’s approved.
After I successfully lost weight and began to feel healthier, I decided it might be beneficial to buy some special ingredients. I have to admit that after drooling over pictures of the recipes on blogs and Facebook and reading about the health benefits in the book, I was dying to try them! I figured out which recipes I wanted to try and decided to purchase some.
There are many benefits to the special ingredients. One ingredient I felt I really needed to try was gelatin. I have arthritis and diastasis recti. Gelatin can repair tissue and it is very good for your joints. I put gelatin in smoothies as well as in blended coffee drinks. This adds more protein as well.
Collagen is another ingredient that is very beneficial for repairing and maintaining healthy tissues, muscles, joints. One scoop has 11 grams of protein so it is a wonderful addition to your smoothies, blended coffees, foods. Extra protein from collagen means longer lasting energy and a more filling meal. I’ve noticed a boost in my energy levels with the collagen, and I also love the fluffy texture it adds to smoothies! It is amazing!
As a busy homeschool mom, I am on the road quite a bit. I am always running, and many times I don’t have time to make a nice meal for myself. Smoothies are my go-to meal. When I started THM, I made the smoothie recipes that did not include protein powder because I didn’t understand the difference between the protein powders in the store and protein powder isolate. I also didn’t want to spend the extra money. However, I have to say I cannot live without my protein powder now. The smoothies I made without protein powder didn’t last very long; I was starving an hour later. There just wasn’t enough healthy protein. The protein powder also makes them nice and fluffy, which makes me feel like I’m drinking a milk shake. The health benefits are amazing, too. Protein powder is an immunity and metabolism booster.
I use protein powder and collagen in smoothies and blended coffees and other drinks. I also bake with protein powder. If I could only buy two ingredients, stevia and protein powder would be the two I would not be able to live without.
Actually, I don’t think I could limit myself to two. I must have peanut flour as well. The great thing about peanut flour is it is defatted. That means I can use it in any setting. If I want to limit my fat and have an energizing E (carb meal) but I’m craving peanut butter, I can use defatted peanut flour instead. I also add it to chocolate smoothies, skinny chocolate, and nonfat Greek yogurt. Okay, so I can’t live without three of the ingredients!
One of the cool things about THM is the baked goodies. They are made of healthy ingredients so you can make cake, cookies, all sorts of goodies for yourself and your family for breakfast or meal time without the guilt. Baking blend is a perfect blend of flours for this. Ever had your children ask you if they can have dessert first or if they can eat cake for breakfast? Now you can say “yes” and they’ll think they are breaking the rules. Only you’ll know they’re eating healthy foods. Many of the flours used for baking THM recipes are an acquired taste. It just takes a while to get used to the texture of almond flour. It’s doesn’t taste like white flour, and now I’m so thankful for that. I recently made something for my husband who is not on the THM plan (I’ve tried but he’s too stubborn). Anyway, I made a cake with regular white flour. Just looking at it made me sick. It was like baking with that paste we used to use in kindergarten. YUCK! THM baking blend makes healthy baked goods taste comparable to the old, unhealthy ones.
You can succeed at the Trim Healthy Mama plan without the special ingredients, but they sure do make life easier and they have made my journey a whole lot better. I am a lot less tempted to eat the junk food when I know I have ingredients to make the healthier and alternative. Now my body and taste buds are so accustomed to THM that many of the old unhealthy foods don’t even appeal to me anymore.
If you are interested in reading more about these special ingredients, just click on the ingredients within in the post above. They are typed in red text. You can also visit check out more products on the Trim Healthy Mama site here: Trim Healthy Mama products and on Amazon at this link: Trim Healthy Mama on Amazon. You can also visit my Trim Healthy Mama Store or my Amazon Store in the right sidebar of my blog.
I hope this post answers your question: “Trim Healthy Mama special ingredients – do I need them?” Praying you enjoy your Trim Healthy Mama journey. Keep me posted on your progress.