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Food Inspiration!

I love food, y'all.  LOVE. IT.  I've said time and time again I'm convinced that God gave me a 6'1" frame because I eat like football player...

Eating isn't my only favorite thing about food.  I love to cook it, too, and I find myself constantly searching for new and exciting recipes.  Since J and I started the New Year with the goal of eating better and getting healthier, I've found myself on an even bigger hunt for healthy food recipes that taste good and give me some variety.  I cannot eat the same thing over and over.  I can do leftovers only if they were just too good to be true for dinner the night before.  If they weren't, my poor husband is left to eat them.

It's taken awhile to figure out what works for us as far as healthy eating and we're still trying to get it right.  Here are some lessons we've learned so far:

1.  Our house is usually void of any snacks other than nuts and fruit.  We love to snack in this house and this girl will kill a bag of potato chips in one sitting if left to my own devices.  If it isn't there, it won't be eaten.  Period.

2.  No carbs.  Again, we keep white potatoes, pasta and bread out of the house as much as possible.  These are 3 of my favorite food "groups" and if they're around, they'll be in my belly faster than you can say macaroni.

3.  We allow ourselves a couple of cheat meals a week.  Cutting everything we love out of our diet entirely has never worked for us.  In the past, we've done well for a week or 2, then binge on crappy food for a weekend feeling terrible afterwards.  These cheat meals are something to look forward to and even more appreciated because they're not an everyday occurrence.  Life's too short not to enjoy a good burger every now and then.

4.  MEAL PLANNING.  The idea of making healthy dinners sounds really great on Saturday when I'm thinking about it.  However, if Tuesday ends up being a long or stressful day and I don't have something ready, it's game over.  I meal plan and grocery shop on Sunday.  Every Sunday.  And I often prep my week's worth of food so that there's no thinking when I'm having one of "those" days.  It's been a life saver and good practice for when we have kids and time will be short, I'm sure.

5.  We give ourselves a break.  It used to feel like if we "slipped up" and had a day of take out and carbs that the entire diet was ruined and there was no hope.  I'd often end up continuing the bad food trend while continuing to feel sorry for myself.  Now, if something happens (like staying at your boss' house for 2 days) and the diet wasn't followed, I just reset.  Everyday is a new day, yesterday has passed and the world didn't end because I had a delicious bowl of spaghetti!

We loosely follow the Paleo/Primal diet because the recipes are often simple and include meat with lots of veggies (YUM!).  The goal isn't to be skinny, but to feel better.  When I eat right, I feel better, my skin is clearer and I have more energy.  Avoiding bad foods also seems to put me in a better mood overall and that makes everyone happier!  

I love Google when it comes to any recipe.  In my searches, I've found some really great websites and blogs that have given us some really yummy meals that have become some of our favorite go-to's.  Check them out:

My Paleo Crockpot
PaleOMG
Paleo Plan
Paleo Comfort Foods

What I eat isn't for everyone and I'm no nutritionist.  I'm discovering what works for our family and thought I'd share 'cause why not?!  Food is awesome and wonderful and one of my favorite things in this world.  Eat on, y'all!

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well."
-- Virginia Woolf

Comments

  1. For snacks, I also love seaweed snacks (only 10-20 calories per pack). They're also fun to break up into small pieces and sprinkle on random foods :-)

    ReplyDelete

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