The number one thing that makes eating “right” easier is planning and preparation. That sounds scary/boring but it doesn’t have to be, and it makes life so much easier. I have a short attention span and very little patience so if I can prep food for the week at one time I am guaranteed not to be running for the local pizza hut or eating yet another sandwich. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with sandwiches, but for me boring equals danger zone, my taste buds must be surprised and stimulated! They’re quite high maintenance really, and quality of taste and ingredients is sort of what I am trying to focus on at this point. That does not mean I don’t have go-to “meals”, I am not a master chef or really even a good cook in my opinion-but I am a good assembler. Here are a few things I’ve been fixating on lately:
1. The cranberry/walnut/feta salad
2. the chocolate soy strawberry shake
3. Athenos baked pita chips, whole wheat of course
4. 2% cottage cheese, heavy on the lemon-pepper seasoning
5. cereal-I mix ¼ c. Kashi go lean crunch with ¾ c Fiber One, skim milk and fruit like bananas and cranberries, blueberries or strawberries-whatever is on sale
6. grilled vegetables basted with olive oil and granulated garlic
7. fresh fruit and veggies
8. crispbread with chicken/tuna salad
9. Carb Balance wheat tortillas

And now I’ll expand out all of this to make it even more exciting!

Okay 1. I already posted the other day, sometimes I throw in different stuff. I’m out of walnuts so I’m using pecans though I don’t love it as much. I also added my leftover grilled veggies and that’s definitely tasty and filling, and since I was lured into buying Fuji apples at Costco and must now be creative with them I added them to my salad. It was good and yet surprising to me because I am normally anti-fruit in savory salad.
2. is great as post workout or quick breakfast; I make a blender of it (about 2 cups blends up to be about 3) and the frozen strawberries are what give it a shake feel, instead of using ice cubes which make it taste too watery. I then keep it in the fridge and just add fresh strawberries and re-blend for a minute when I want to have another one instead of washing the blender and remaking the shake each time. Obviously I drink them pretty quickly or that would be…gross.
Number 3 was an impulse purchase that I have now bought each weekly shopping trip, I like to dip them into the cottage cheese (#4) eat them with sandwiches, soups, etc.
The cereal combo (#5) makes it a “meal” I eat the most I think, I like the different textures and tastes together, it’s light enough to eat at night and the Kashi Go Lean has a pretty worthy amount of protein so I don’t get hungry for awhile, unlike other cereal.
I grill the veggies(#6) for about ten minutes total until there are grill marks and they’re tender enough, and the crispbread(#8) is something my mom turned me on to as an alternative to bread. At 60 calories for two big pieces you can’t beat the crunch and taste you get. When I make chicken or tuna salad I also do that a bit differently. I use reduced fat mayo, capers, and an Italian seasoning blend and it’s wonderful, either on the crispbread or in the tortillas(#9). I love these tortillas because they are so soft and do not harden when you heat them up a bit, not to mention they taste great.
When I do take the time to make my life easier, I like to have a small selection of meat grilled up (or baked if necessary) like turkey tenderloin (much leaner than pork, not so greasy), chicken (I beat it flat with a meat tenderizer mallet, SO much better) or bake it (I put a small loaf pan with water in the oven at the same time I bake meats to help it not dry out so quickly), or burgers which we make from venison but a mix of lean turkey and beef works well too. If you have your veggies cut up in containers and different meats ready to go it’s not that hard to throw something together.
There’s so much more but I’m tired of working on this.