Jeanette Briggs takes a bite out of a philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Winlock. Briggs is working to start a local group called Southwest Washington Healthy Living where they will be encouraging each other to live and eat healthy.
Philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers prepared by Jeanette Briggs
Philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers prepared by Jeanette Briggs
Jeanette Briggs stirs fresh mushrooms and onions in a pan on the stove as she prepares philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers for lunch on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Winlock. Briggs is working to start a local group called Southwest Washington Healthy Living where they will be encouraging each other to live and eat healthy.
Jeanette Briggs sprinkles seasoning on fresh mushrooms and onions in a pan on the stove as she prepares philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers for lunch on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Winlock. Briggs is working to start a local group called Southwest Washington Healthy Living where they will be encouraging each other to live and eat healthy.
Jeanette Briggs sprinkles seasoning on fresh mushrooms and onions in a pan on the stove as she prepares philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers for lunch on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Winlock. Briggs is working to start a local group called Southwest Washington Healthy Living where they will be encouraging each other to live and eat healthy.
Pepper jack cheese sits inside bell peppers prior to the stuffing
Jeanette Briggs stirs fresh mushrooms and onions in a pan on the stove as she prepares philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers for lunch on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Winlock. Briggs is working to start a local group called Southwest Washington Healthy Living where they will be encouraging each other to live and eat healthy.
Philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers prepared by Jeanette Briggs
Cucumber and mint Infused water (bottom left), orange and mint infused water (center) and apple infused water, top) prepared by Jeanette Briggs
Jeanette Briggs stirs fresh mushrooms and onions in a pan on the stove as she prepares philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers for lunch on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Winlock. Briggs is working to start a local group called Southwest Washington Healthy Living where they will be encouraging each other to live and eat healthy.
Jeanette Briggs places the roast beef, along with mushrooms and onions, inside the bell peppers with pepper jack cheese inside them, as she prepares philly cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers for lunch on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Winlock. Briggs is working to start a local group called Southwest Washington Healthy Living where they will be encouraging each other to live and eat healthy.
Jeanette Briggs still wistfully remembers her svelte self as a teenager. That was before adulthood. Before the lure of junk food. Before two kids.
Sometimes she wishes she could get back to that body.
But most of the time, she’s focused on loving the body she has today.
Briggs, of Winlock, is the organizer of Southwest Washington Healthy Living, a group on Facebook she started last year as a place for those who want to try to live healthier and share their experiences as they go. Briggs said she began with the idea to have a support group much like Weight Watchers or TOPS where people come together to share their victories and struggles with weight loss.
“I wanted to lose weight and I wanted motivation and I knew at least 15 other people who wanted to do the same thing,” Briggs said of how the group first started.
But over time, Briggs said, the focus of the group has changed from a focus on dieting to being about finding healthy ways to live. She said the change came after she met with a trainer who asked her to sit down and write out a list of goals for herself, the only caveat being that none of those goals could be to be skinny or pretty.
Briggs said that was one of her “aha” moments, when she really started to think about what she wanted. She said one thing that came to mind was that she has an active family that loves kayaking and hiking and she never wants to be the mom left behind because she can’t keep up. That kind of fitness, she said, has nothing to do with the size of her jeans.
“I said, ‘You know what, scratch this whole thing,’” Briggs said of the support group’s focus on weight loss. “‘Let’s not worry about losing weight. If you’re skinny and you’re still in terrible shape you’re still not going to be happy. So we’re thinking more about healthy living and that’s when it blossomed and changed me.”
Southwest Washington Healthy Eating is a closed Facebook group in order to keep out spammers but she said they are always accepting new members who want to share and motivate each other. Most of their interaction at the moment is over the Internet but Briggs said she would like to eventually have outings such as hiking, biking or kayaking excursions. She would also eventually like to try group activities such as working together to try and log a certain number of steps (say, the estimated mileage from Washington to New York) together as a group where each member could participate at the level they can but the group as a whole achieves the fitness challenge. Briggs said it is important to her that people know their weight doesn’t matter as much as their interest in living healthy.
“Don’t let yourself live regretting that you didn’t do what you wanted,” Briggs said. “What you’re going to do with your life is what matters. Make it so you’re an inspiration to others not that you lost weight but that you did something amazing.”
As part of their new direction, one activity Southwest Washington Healthy Living members recently undertook was a week of trying the Whole 30 challenge. The challenge is focused on eating clean, basically cutting out dyes, preservatives and other additives that have gained popularity in mass- produced food. It also cuts out caffeine, sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes and dairy. Briggs said while you are supposed to take the challenge for 30 days, they chose a week just to see what it was like. She said the hardest part was cutting out caffeine after a couple days she did feel really good.
“A lot of it is knowing your weaknesses,” Briggs said. “Also being educated helps a lot.”
One of the things Briggs learned in Whole 30 is that if you’re not going to make a food yourself, you need to read the labels to make sure there are only all-natural ingredients. Basically, if they have any dyes or items you can’t pronounce, the food is off limits. She said she was surprised at how prevalent dyes and chemicals are in food.
“It’s hard. You have to read a lot of labels,” Briggs said. “I had to read four chip bags to get chips that were just corn and vegetable oil.”
While she has not stuck to the Whole 30 challenge, Briggs said she learned a lot from it. One of the biggest lessons she has learned exploring new and healthier ways to eat is that you don’t have to eat bland to eat lighter. For instance, she loves onion rings but instead uses caramelized onions to get the same flavor without as many calories.
“You don’t feel bogged down and bloated and gross afterward,” Briggs said of eating healthier. “I think becoming healthy is a way to make yourself feel lighter and healthier and it shouldn’t feel like a chore.”
One of Briggs’ favorite new recipes is for Philly Cheesesteak stuffed peppers. While the recipe uses cheese, it generally fits within the Whole 30 concept because it uses all natural ingredients. But what she likes best about it is that it doesn’t feel like eating healthy.
“It’s not a salad. I hate salads,” Briggs said with a smile. “It’s delicious and filling and easy to make.”
