Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Summer Eats

The number 1 question I get asked is "what do I eat?!" Food is the challenge. When planning to change your lifestyle or start a new year's resolution, exercise is pretty easy to "know" what you should be doing. Food is a different matter. There's a saying that goes, "Lose weight in the kitchen and get lean in the gym." Helping people balance making lifestyle changes and not dieting is work. So I thought posting things I eat might be helpful. 


Breakfast- starting my day with the best foot forward really sets the pace. I love using my nutribullet and making smoothies. I typically add probiotic powder, flaxseed, and other goodness to infuse the body with antioxidants, minerals, fiber, and add healthy bacteria to stretngthen the immune system. It's definitely our go-to this summer!



Snacks- that's where it's at! Seriously, my girls snack ALL DAY LONG. Well, to be honest, my body doesn't love when I snack on grains, and it's so easy to snack on that stuff (goldfish and other crackers...you know). So I cut that stuff out a while ago. My newest recent obsession is cashews. Oh yes. Salt? Yup. I just had a conversation about eating raw unsalted nuts. They are definitely not as good. If you're eating unprocessed foods, stop worrying about the salt. Go for salted nuts if that's what you like, seriously. 


I try to put a plate out like this everyday. Helps us snack on good stuff. 


Food prepping is SO HELPFUL. I try to buy, wash, cut and store in nice glass tupperware containers. I put my washed apples in a bowl to leave in the fridge. It's so much more convenient for us!


Gardening- how miss my garden right now. But thankful to enjoy the benefits of others' :)


Lunch- Salads are IT this summer. I have been making my own candied almonds, way better sub over cruotons. Plus hard boiled eggs and chicken (don't forget the onion!). Holy crap I'm freaking in love with salads lately. Can't buy enough lettuce. Ah, soon I will grow more than enough again ;)


Ok, so I said I try not to start or snack with grains. But reality right here....I still eat grains. I just am careful (generally) about the ones I eat. I have several grains I make each week. Tortillas, pizza, and breadsticks. I don't make all in a week but at least one, consistently 2 of those. Tortillas happen often and on this day I was out of tortilla chips (only chip staple in the house) and I had plenty of leftover tortillas so I made my own chips with fresh guac as well. These are what summer lunches are made of! 


Dinner- Corn on the cob has been hitting it a little more than usual. But I tend to go nuts and will repeat often, so I think the rest of my fam is over it. It's been good on the grill lately but probably past it's prime. Again, salad is still in the lime-light for me. 



I made these parmesan meatballs. Well, tonight I decided to add some spaghetti noodles with my homemade breadsticks. Here's the thing, my goal is balance. I try to buy organic, don't roll your eyes, because I think pesticides are a big deal. I can't buy everything organic, so my next step is homemade. The meatballs I made were with quality beef and I made them myself. The breadsticks were homemade and I've been using organic flour, plus the noodles and sauce were organic because Aldi sells them for an amazing price. It's just about balance and getting back to a little bit of work to keep you and your family healthy. 


Desserts- and we come to of course what's at every summer cookout- desserts. I made these cute and delicious cupcakes this weekend. There was enough for a family birthday party, MOPS retreat, and girls' night. Praise the Lord I was busy and surrounded by people to eat these other than just my little fam. Yet again, I know it's sugar and grains but I made these suckers from SCRATCH. Holy goodness. They were some of my best I've made. I think it was how long they cooked. Anyways, cupcakes are my favorite, plus I make chocolate chip cookies probably too often, and then you've got ice cream. But the difference is eating the real stuff. Don't use a box, a bag, or the almost no-calorie options. Pull up Pinterest, or my blog and put an extra 10 minutes into this thing! Buy full-fat ice cream instead of no-fat, "it's not real" junk!. Yes you will spend extra time making a cake from scratch and need more than 3 items, but the benefits are far greater for your body. It will digest it better, pull actually usuable calories for energy, and not take your body deeper into free-radical chaos. Need help with how to make some of these things? That's why I am here and this blog. Ask for help! I'm willing to invest in you :)a



That's a little of what my food has been looking like. It's not perfect but it's fulfilling. It's not a diet, it's realistic. Eating healthy isn't about perfection or cutting out entire categories of foods. It's learning how to balance your wants, needs, and reach your goals while doing it. We've still got the rest of August, enjoy the summer while it lasts!


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