Healthy Eats-Along 2012

[elliot_anne]

My parents actually started doing something that might help you! You said you just don't feel motivated to cook all the time. Well, on Sundays, my parents make food for themselves and also for a neighbor about 2 doors down. On Wednesdays, they return the favor and bring food to my parents. It's nice because my parents have a hard time cooking during the work/school week, and the neighbors are grateful for a meal on the weekends. Also, my mom said that it means they're eating stuff they never would have cooked for themselves (and vice versa), and they don't have as many leftovers. Maybe you could start doing this with a couple neighbors, and then you won't have to cook/worry about food every single night of the week?

Also, if you want something sweet, maybe try finding some yummy fruits instead of veggies? I usually eat fruits for breakfast and lunch, and save my veggies for a salad with dinner. It's hard to munch on veggies at work (except maybe carrots or celery, but I don't really like those). Fruits are good for you, and they're usually pretty filling.

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I sort of walked off the end of the wagon today... Since I heard about the Taco Bell taco made with the doritos I REALLY wanted to try it. First meat I've had in three months, and the first fast food in four or five. It was yummy, but now my body hates me. This will not be a repeated experiment! I feel much better after having a strawberry/banana smoothie and some whole wheat spaghetti for dinner.

[MareMare]

Hey guys, I'm sorry I've not been around much here, I've had a nasty cold/plague/something the last four weeks which has been pretty miserable, and when I'm sick like that apparently I revert to mostly carbs and comfort food! We did have a delicious healthy meal last night for dinner~

 Garlic quinoa studded with marcona almonds, topped with stir fried mini peppers, mushrooms, onions, and zuchini seasoned with TJ's South African Smoke Seasoning, and topped with stir fried sirloin strips. NOM!



I'm excited to start getting my Farm Shares but it doesn't start until June! And it's been crazy raining for so long I hope the veggies get some decent sun so they can grow. This is the an idea of what we might get some months, just looking at the list is giving me yummy ideas!

June
 Lettuce
 Radishes
 Green Garlic
 Spring Onions
 Sugar Snap Peas
 Bok Choi
 One package from Bob's Red Mill

August
 Lettuce
 Tomatoes
 Cucumbers
 Summer Squash
 Eggplant
 Green Beans
 Carrots
 Beets
 Potatoes
 Onions
 Garlic
 Fresh Herbs
 One package from Bob's Red Mill

October
 Winter Squash
 Potatoes
 Kale
 Beets
 Parsnips
 Carrots
 Leeks
 Garlic
 Fresh Herbs
 One package from Bob's Red Mill

[alwaysinmyroom]

I am a carb addict as well ... I feel your pain...you might benefit from a detox...I mean, a food addiction is a lot like a drug addiction...you almost need to go cold turkey!  I found that after three days of misery and cravings, where I almost begged my husband to lock me in my room, I all of a sudden felt in control and did not want to "blow" it...I started back from detox by eating mostly veggies, then chicken and fish, and then lastly fruits...I was afraid to add carbs back in, but I did--beans and lentils, then whole grains...my rule was not to eat anything "white"...white rice, white bread, white sugar etc.

Yeah, I fell off and on the wagon but wanting to be healthy and slimmer was way more appealing to me...I made myself a little "reminder" card to help me not fall off the wagon...and I got a buddy--just like in drug detox...seriously, doesn't this sound like AA or something?

It is still a struggle, but each day, I remind myself that I do not want to go back to being over 200 pounds and miserable...you can be whatever weight you want that makes you happy...I am not judging here...I just knew I was miserably unhappy and struggling with knee and back problems, self-esteem problems, etc.

So, I say, just like those quit smoking commercials, try again...and again...until something hits you and keeps you on the path you want!

This is healthy eating...not dieting...your physical, mental and spiritual health!  Do it for yourself, hawks!

Mare--you meal looks delicious...I love quinoa...it would be wonderful to have leftovers for the next day's lunch!  And, how lucky for you to have a farm share of yummy veggies!

I have a great recipe to share after I figure out how to cut out some of the calories...it is veggies but even broccoli can be unhealthy if you prepare it with unhealthy things!   I need to research the calories a bit before I deem it as healthy!

[loukr]

I'm jumping in! I had a moment.. that awful moment where you decide enough is enough!

I was always 8 1/2 stone which is about right for my height of 5ft2. ALWAYS 8 and a half stone. And then when I moved out I made it to 9st but hovered there for the rest of what I thought would be forever.. until I noticed none of my clothes looked good anymore and they were all on the small side so I hopped on the scales at the end of Jan thinking I'd have just put on a couple of pounds when BAM, realised I'd made it all the way to 10 1/2 stone without noticing!

Since that point I have managed to lose over a stone just by cutting down on carbs (I was eating rice/pasta/bread every single day!), cutting down on meat and eating lots more veg

Last year I went on holiday to the beach almost every day for a week and stayed covered up in the cabanna tent feeling sorry for myself.. I have 2 holidays coming up this summer and I'm determined to get into a swimsuit of some sort, we've payed extra for a pool in France so I'm not missing out on that opportunity! I need to get rid of this last stone and I'll be a happy bunny again!

France holiday is the last week in june. That's around 10 weeks I believe. If I can lose 1lb per week I'll be happy.

I'm usually fine with eating habits during the week - I'll have a yoghurt for breakfast, peppermint tea to keep me going until lunch time, then for lunch it's usually a yummy salad with fish/egg/ham/cheese/olives (something to make it different) and a low fat dressing, then for dinner I've been eating looooads of veggie stir frys. No noodles, no meat, just lots of veg and sauce. It's SO yummy but I definitely need to come up with some other options or I'll get bored and start eating bad stuff again!
However, weekends are the WORST.. I will do so so well in the week and then binge on naughty stuff at the weekend and feel so awful, like 'what was the point?!' so I definitely need to work on that!

The only tips I think I can offer right now is for those of you who aren't the best as doing regular exercise (like me), if know I need to get some exercise but don't fancy anything remotely 'exercisey' I'll go window shopping for a couple of hours and boom, I've already burned a couple of hundred calories!

To keep on track I use the myfitnesspal app on my phone, and also the wii fit to weigh myself, I'll go on there a few times a week and will track my weight once a week on the app.

Sorry all of the above is rather jumbled - I've never ever dieted or even attempted to eat 'healthy' so this is all very new to me so I'm not really any use right now for recipes and tips but I will be reading through the entire post in the next few days to see what tips everyone else has and hopefully I can add some along the way!

[alwaysinmyroom]

I wish I had weighed myself each year and lost the few pounds I gained...they just kept creeping up but I blamed it all on age, new jobs, marriage, etc.  If I had made better eating habits, I would not be worried about my health and weight now!

Good for you for starting healthy now!  You can do it!  There are so many more nutritious foods to eat...and the cooking is not as hard as I thought it would be...I am not a cook, but these wonderful members have excellent ideas for lunch, snacks and easy cooking!

Variety and slow progress seems to be what works the best for me! I have lost about 10 pounds since January, but I am slipping back...a pound or two...but soon, it will be back up the 10 if I don't pay attention!  Up and down is not why I joined this eat along!

I am back to writing everything down and watching portions...also, not snacking due to stress!

[MareMare]

Healthy's about to be kicked up a notch over here. The doctor I saw today (not my regular doc) asked me to give up dairy for at least a month to see if it helps my asthma and RA problems. Goodbye cheese, I loved thee well!

[LimeRiot]

I hope it helps, Mare. Goodbye cheese .

[craftylittlemonkey]

MareMare, have you heard of taking turmeric and black pepper for inflammation for both the asthma and the RA? Apparently it's incredibly effective. You can buy it in capsules but I bought a cap-m-quik capsule making with veggies caps for $30 and made a humongous mason jar full of turmeric and pepper caps for about $5, organic spices too! I haven't started taking them yet as I'm working through some other supplements (I don't like to take too many at once so I cycle new ones and favourites) but I'll have to start soon. I need some inflammation help too.

Got the fun news that my thyroid is out of whack, did I already mention that? I've got some work to do tweaking my diet a bit. Ever more seaweed, yum!

[MareMare]

I haven't heard that clm! There are so many anti-inflammatory things, but since my RA has been pretty well controlled, I haven't looked into a lot of them. However, the lung problems I am having now could be a side effect of my RA medicine, so that kinda sucks and I might need to do some changing.

Does anyone have any good soy or whatever subs for a hard cheese like parmesan to put on a salad or pasta? I don't really drink milk anyways, I already use almond milk in my smoothies, ice cream isn't that big a deal (I can have sorbet and popsicles if I want a frozen treat) but dang I love me some cheese! Also, I just realized that the Protein Powder that I like the best is Whey and the kind I hate is Soy.

[craftylittlemonkey]

Nutritional yeast flakes, they are super cheesy.
Inflammation is, I am totally convinced, behind so much illness and discomfort. Try the turmeric and pepper some time, the worst side effect is yellow poop, lol.

ETA here's a raw food recipe for the most delicious pasta including fake alfredo and parmesan. It's really good, I couldn't stop eating the sauce.
http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.ca/2008/05/recipe-of-week-pasta-in-creamy-alfredo.html

For protein powder how about making your own with ground hemp, chia, flax, etc? Additional benefit= essential fatty acids and you can buy a dedicated spice mill/coffee grinder from malwart for about $10. Just be sure to fresh grind it every day, don't buy preground and don't grind more than you can use in a day or two (has to go in the fridge if not used immediately). The oils in seeds are very volatile and spoil incredibly quickly, even slightly rancid oil is terrible for you.
Most of those protein powders have tons of brown rice fillers in them, such a rip off.
I add that ground seed mix to smoothies in the morning, banana disguises everything .
Green powders are very high in protein as well, spirulina is amazing but carefully check your source. Klamath lake anything is contaminated, don't buy from there. If you're going for grass powder like wheat grass or barley grass you do NOT want whole ground grass, you want dehydrated juice only. Grass fiber is so tough, it's a real stress on your body to process, completely indigestible (and not fiber in a good way, this is cellulose, it's like eating finely ground sawdust. Not good).