Healthy Eats-Along 2012

[craftylittlemonkey]

That salad in a jar is Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? And it's got quinoa, my favourite grain. I want that for lunch today, lol.

I have been studying health and nutrition for most of my life so you'd think I'd have a pretty great diet and lifestyle knowing all that I do. With 2 kids and a busy schedule though I've been eating junk and not exercising at all for a few months now and it shows. I have a naturally high metabolism so I'm thin but it's not toned thin, I'm getting lumpy, ugh. And I have no energy. It's sucking.
Today is my 40th birthday (please don't bother wishing me a happy one, I'm ignoring it this year. I'll turn 40 again next year, lol) and I feel like I've aged physically and energetically about 10 years in the past 2. This year I've made a slew of resolutions to get me back on track and I'm determined to get back in shape. The kids start school on Monday and I start working out and improving our diet. So I'll be back to check out your ideas and share my own .

[FruityLoops]

3. Apple slicer.

Growing up, I never had an apple slicer. As stupid as it sounds, I don't like eating apples right off the core. I'm much more likely to eat (and finish) an apple if it's in slices. However, I never wanted to go to the trouble of slicing the stupid thing, so I just didn't eat them. Once I moved in with my fiance, he showed me this nifty little thing called an apple slicer. Shaped like a spoked wheel with handles, you shove the thing down, and voila! 8 perfect slices, with the core separated. Now I eat apples all the time, because it takes me 2 seconds to slice it!

I really want an apple slicer now!  I've seen them before but never thought to get them cos I thought it was money for something you can do with a knife, but you're totally right, I can't be bothered with apples for exactly the reasons you said!

[LadybugsAndBumblebees]

And those apple slicers are also good for pears, etc...Anything that's not too "smooshy" that can be cut down the middle.

[MareMare]

Great tips everyone!

For this week, let's all share one small, measurable goal we are working on. Next week we can check back in to see if we accomplished that goal.

For me, I'm working on getting 5 fruits and veggie servings a day. I'm going to be logging my food at www.myfitnesspal.co m, so that will be my way of looking back and counting my servings at the end of the week.

[FruityLoops]

Cool, I'm a member of myfitnesspal also, though I have to admit I haven't used it for a couple of months, shame on me!!    I think perhaps my goal will be to start using it again to keep a better track of things!

My tip is egg whites.  I love egg for my brekkie, the protein keeps me full until lunchtime like cereal or toast never did, but my GP told me I wasn't allowed to have so many eggs because of all the fat they contain.  But the fat is all in the yolk, soooo now I keep a carton of egg whites in the fridge and have scrambled egg whites (with herbs and seasoning) for brekkie every day instead :-)  Also if I'm cooking anything that requires egg I almost always use egg whites instead of eggs now and it keeps the fat content down!

Downfall is that it's really hard to find egg whites in UK supermarkets, so far I've only found them in Sainsburys, and I think Waitrose had them too (in the chilled section, made by "Two Chicks")

[craftylittlemonkey]

Hmm, I would not eat egg without the yolk. That's where all the fat is but it's natural unprocessed fat so much easier for the body to utilize for health than extracted oils, it's also where other nutrition is. I'm skinny though so don't listen to me!

I am going to give up coffee. It's not really a big deal, I don't like it very much anyhow. I just go to the cafe downstairs every morning as a social thing.
We used to have a smoothie for breakfast and I miss it. Baby spinach with fruit, hemp seeds, green power and probiotic powder. Totally delicious, really filling and a great energy boost for the whole morning. I've got a vitamix, I'm going to make good use of it starting next week.

[FruityLoops]

Hmm, I would not eat egg without the yolk. That's where all the fat is but it's natural unprocessed fat so much easier for the body to utilize for health than extracted oils, it's also where other nutrition is. I'm skinny though so don't listen to me!

Oh I agree it is much better than other processed fats, and the yolk is admittedly the tastiest bit (which is why I add herbs and seasoning to my scrambled whites to make up for it ), in fact I have a friend who literally only eats the yolks (as you can't get a carton of egg yolks [here], she cooks the whole egg and bins the whites), which seems an awful waste of egg to me!  I'm on a very low fat diet though and any fat counts so egg yolks had to go unfortunately!  Now and again I have some yummy poached eggs though for a treat  

[Juliettesjules]

One of my issues is that once I start to eat, I don't want to stop even though I know I will be full soon.  For instance, once I finish lunch, I want to eat a little chocolate, then a little turns into a lot.  I've heard that brushing your teeth after meals is not only good for your teeth, but also curbs your appetite by giving your tummy time to feel full AND you just don't feel like putting food in your mouth once it's all minty fresh.  I'm going to try brushing my teeth after lunch and dinner to see if it helps.

Also, I stopped drinking alchohol (used to drink the equivalent of 1-2 bottles of wine a week) and dropped 6 pounds in a month without changing anything else.

[felix-xx]

This is a great idea! Love it!
As a culinary school graduate, nutrition really opened my eyes. We often thing about eating 'healthier' but usually are not successful because we don't embrace it as a lifestyle. Sure, vegetables for a snack is great but it doesn't mean anything if you're downing a whole glass of pop with it.

My goal for the week is to wake up earlier before work and eat breakfast. I work at 8am every morning with a half hour commute. I usually wake up with no breakfast and go off to work. I don't end up eating until after lunch unless you count coffee. As someone who suffers from hypoglycemia and should be eating five meals a day - getting up early will help! Maybe I'll even get in some time for a sun salutation =)

[suereal]

I need to up my nutrition factor so I'm IN!

It's not about weight with me.  I'm a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic.  I also have allergy issues.  I have read so much on alternative nutrition, that I now tend to think traditional nutrition is what made me sick in the first place (I was not diagnosed with the diabetes till I was 23).  IN the last few years though, I have been dealing with depression and being "stuck", and I have developed a "food sucks" kind of attitude.  So I would rather eat chocolate then try and think of something healthy to eat...or just skip eating all together.  My Hub does the cooking, so I normally have one full meal a day at least.  But then I tend to graze on crap all night long, so I'm not hungry in the morning again.  SO my large goal is to get back to eating things that nourish me, and eating every 2 to 4 hours during the day, so I don't feel ravenous at night.

So my goal for this week is to eat something balanced and nutritious (even if it is something small, like fruit and nuts) every morning with in 2 hours of getting up, preferably with my coffee.  I was, till the holidays, making a veg, fruit, chia seed, almond ...I was calling it a "smoothy", but it was so thick it was really more a pudding....every morning and working on it through out the morning.

My tip is I made me a huge bowl of fresh cranberry/orange relish a few days ago.  I've been eating it on everything.  I did cook the cranberries just until they popped, but you can do it with raw ones too.  You chop, food process, or blend in batches 1 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, one whole orange, scrubbed and cut up to fit in the machine, sweeten to taste.  I used a mix of Xyletol and Brown sugar (another goal is to not use fake sweeteners any more), and I only used about 2 table spoons all together.  You can add spices too if you want.  Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cardamon, nutmeg are all yummy.  It will thicken up (if you do the cooked version) when you frig it.  I've been eating it on everything (peanut butter and toast, mini meat balls, cottage or other soft cheese, stir it into soda water even)..and all by it's self, which is my favo way.  It's chockablock with fiber, and the intense sour flavor is perfect for me when I'm craving sweets.  It doesn't take much of it to turn off the sweet tooth in other words.  I do have to calculate it into my insulin dose, but due to the high fiber, it isn't raising my blood sugar fast.  I'm eating a few almonds when I eat it by it's self  (I try to never eat a carbo with out eating a protein...at least when I'm doing what I should be doing ))  And I feel like I'm getting allot more healthy food into me...it's a huge dose of Vit. C, which is all ways good this time of year

felix-xx--The reason I started to make smoothies (or what ever I am calling them heheh) was I bought a one person blender with a make and take container.  It has a lid with a slider for drinking out of.  The hard part is finding a smoothy recipe that will inspire you to make it before you leave for work