6 Ways to Make Eating Well Easier!

I know it can be tough to eat well!  I used to think eating a healthy diet all the time was overwhelming and required a TON of extra work!

I don’t think that anymore!

It does require planning, preparing and commitment, but it doesn’t have to be hard!

I have learned SO MUCH over the years that has really helped to simplify the process.  I thought I’d share some of those things.  Here ya go….

1.  Freeze, freeze, freeze!
I freeze everything!!!  It helps me SO much!!  I always plan to make extra for dinner so we can freeze the leftovers for lunches or even dinner on crazy nights.  I love it!  Some of my favorite things to freeze are; grilled chicken, soups, healthy treats and protein pancakes.  I freeze a ton of other things too!

Some leftover soup getting ready to go in the freezer!

2.  Always have fresh, chopped veggies on hand.
I love to run to Costco (best produce ever!) or any other grocery store and load up on the fresh veggies!  Then, when I get home I like to chop up a bunch and have them “ready to go” in the fridge.  It makes it so easy to grab some for lunch or a healthy snack.  Also, if I find they start to “die” before I get around to eating them all, I just cook them up for dinner or throw them in a soup or omelet or something!  Yay!  Quick tip:  I love to cover the cut veggies in water to keep them fresh and crisp.

Carrots, celery and peppers! Yum!

3.  Use Spinach!
I love spinach so much!  It is one of the healthiest foods you can eat and it is so simple to add to everything!!  I love to buy the big ‘ol box of baby spinach (which also happens to be organic!) from Costco.  It’s only like $3.50ish too….awesome!!!  I love to add it to omelets, salads, protein shakes, stir frys and random dinners.  It usually lasts for a couple weeks in the fridge.

4.  Stock up and prepare your meat!
I shop the little grocery circular ads each week and when I see meat for sale, I stock up!!  My favs are boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pork loin, lean ground beef and lean ground turkey.  I’m also trying to like fish, so I keep my eyes open for deals on that too. 😉

When I buy chicken, I trim all the fat and goobers off and then cut the chicken into individual sized pieces.  Then I put it into quart sized freezer bags and label each bag with the month and year.  It’s a little bit of a pain, but it helps so much!!  When I buy ground beef or turkey, I separate them into 1 lb. portions (I eyeball it) and then freeze them into quart freezer bags.  I also label those bags with the month and year.

Here's a bunch of chicken that I prepared.

5.  Always have healthy snacks on hand.
There are so many easy, convenient, healthy snacks out there!  I always try to have a bunch on hand so I have no excuse not to eat something healthy!  I also try to bring healthy snacks with me when I’m out and about.  Some of my favs are kettle corn, hard boiled eggs, fruits, veggies, portable protein shakes, string cheese, yogurt, nuts and protein bars.

This is my favorite Kettle Corn, but I sometimes have a hard time finding it. My favorite is the brown bag (Cinnamon Sugar Sensation).  It has no salt and only 52 calories for 1.5 cups! Wowza! If you can’t find this kettle corn, just read the labels on other kettle corns and find the best!

Some of my favorite snacks!

6.  Simplify the process for your favorite foods!
K, what I mean by this is…..if there is a certain food you eat all the time, simplify it!!!  For example, I eat omelets and protein shakes regularly.  I love to chop up a whole bell pepper and 1/2 an onion and keep them in a little container in the fridge.  Then when I make my omelet in the morning, I have them all ready to go!  It simplifies the process so much.  In the morning I just saute up the peppers and onions (already chopped) and then add my eggs and other ingredients.  It takes me about 2 minutes total!

Chopped peppers and onions!

I also like to make little baggies of frozen fruit for protein shakes.  I slice up oranges, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, peaches, whatever and put them in individual baggies in the freezer!  This also really helps when I have fresh fruit that is about to die….I slice them up and freeze them!  Yay!

Strawberry slices, orange sections and banana slices!

Banana slices!

Well there ya go!!  I know I don’t eat well all the time, but when I employ some of these methods it makes it so much easier!!!

Detox….

Hey guys,

Sorry for the blog post hiatus.

We were out of town visiting Kev’s family for the long weekend.

I intended to do a blog post or 2 while we were gone, but the internet connection was slower than cold tar…seriously.
It was making me batty, so I decided to just wait ’til I got home.

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So, here I am once again….

I learned a lot this past week.

Of course, I thought I would share…

K, so as we were preparing to leave on our little trip, I was DETERMINED to eat as healthily as possible while we were gone.

I knew it was going to be tough for several reasons:

1. It was Thanksgiving weekend….’nuf said.
2. Kev’s mom is an AMAZING cook and I love to eat all of her food….namely pies, homemade bread, french toast on her homemade bread, etc.!!!  Dang.
3. When I’m on vacation, I get in the “I can eat whatever I want ‘cuz I’m on vacation” mode.

So, I decided to PLAN, take control, and be healthy.

I packed tons of healthy snacks in our handy dandy little cooler.

Fruit, veggies, protein shakes, protein bars, string cheese, kettle corn, cocoa roasted almonds, a dark chocolate bar (for emergencies) and water! YUM!

My “plan” was to eat these snacks during the 6 hour drive and also while we were staying up there for 4 days.
I figured I could just eat “a little” of Kev’s mom’s awesome cooking and supplement with my healthy snacks.
Sounds like a good plan, eh?

Well, it worked like a charm for the first 2 days and then I went downhill FAST the last 2 days!

I did really well on Thanksgiving.
I loaded up on the turkey and veggies and then had just a little of the potatoes and stuffing.

I did OD on the sweet potatoes just a little, however.

I also had one small slice of Pumpkin Pie…it was Thanksgiving after all.

I thought I did well.
I didn’t stuff myself and I definitely could have gone back for more…
But, I did not.

But, sadly the rest of the weekend I partook of plenty of chocolate cake, more pumpkin pie and peanut M&Ms.

Then, on the drive home I was a huge slacker!

I think I knew I was going to “shape up” when I got home, so I wanted to live it up until then!
BTW, that is NOT a good way to think!!!

I enjoyed more peanut M&Ms, a few small cookies and a donut!

Ya.

I did.

But, I gotta tell you I felt SO SICK those last few days and still even today!

Blah.

Just another reminder to me that my body LIKES good food and DOESN’T LIKE crappy food.
Although my mouth and taste-buds would tend to disagree.

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So, today I started back with my clean eating and it feels like a detox.

It feels so good!

I know this time of year is so tough to eat well, but I’m determined to do it!!!

I started off today with a yummy breakfast…

A bowl of oatmeal and a side of egg whites!
YUM!

I just took a 1/2 C. Oatmeal and mixed in 1/2 of a Granny Smith apple….Covered it with water and cooked it in the microwave for 2 minutes.
After it came out, I stirred in 1 T. of flaxseed, 1 T. of vanilla protein powder and sprinkled it all with sugar free apple cider mix.

I wouldn’t consider the apple cider mix exactly healthy (artificial sweeteners and things), but it is very tasty and I only used a little bit.

I also cooked up 4 egg whites and topped them with a little low sugar ketchup.

Very yummy and very filling.

I ate well the rest of the day and I feel really really good.

I must say though that I went to my fav Bootcamp class tonight and I didn’t feel as strong as I usually do and I felt a little chubbier.

Go figure.

I am a firm believer that what you eat directly (and quickly) affects your body for better or worse!

So, I’m gonna be good!

Yay.

Healthy Travel Snacks

We just got back from camping up at Bear Lake my some of my family.  We had a great time hanging out with family, lounging by the lake, touring Minnetonka Cave, and just enjoying the great outdoors.

While we were gone, I realized it is VERY hard to eat well and have a “plan” while traveling.   I didn’t eat terribly, but I could have eaten A LOT better!  It was hard because there was a lot of candy, chips, chocolate, s’mores, etc. around and they are all very yummy.  It is very easy to allow yourself to just eat “a few” and then end up eating “a LOT!”

I realized I usually “fall off the wagon” while on vacation because of one (or several) of the following reasons:

• I’m not at home and don’t have access to all of my “usual” foods
• Because I’m away from home, I tend to rely on convenience foods or fast food.
• We stop at gas stations along the way and peruse the candy aisles!
• I am in “vacation mode” and want to live it up!
• When I’m in “vacation mode” it doesn’t seem like eating junk “counts” (but it does!)
• I’m bored while driving in the car and want to munch on something yummy to keep it exciting! 😉

There are plenty of other reasons too!  It is hard to eat well while traveling, but if you PLAN ahead, you can stay ON the wagon!  Here are some “Healthy Eating Travel Tips”:

• Pack a small cooler full of healthy snacks to munch on while traveling
• Bring your own lunch/dinner in the car with you (saves on $$ too!)
• When you arrive at your destination, make a quick trip to the local grocery store to stock up on healthy food
• If you do stop at a restaurant/fast food, make healthy choices:
  • Choose grilled (not fried)
  • Get a hamburger or sandwich wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun
  • “hold” the sauce or ask for it on the side
  • Order a salad (lite dressing on the side)
  • Don’t eat fries (dang!)
  • If possible, read the nutritional information online or in the restaurant before ordering
• Buy a healthy snack at the gas station instead of candy/pop/chips, etc.
• Drink TONS of water
• Since you are on vacation, I think it’s okay to allow yourself one treat per day.  Enjoy that one treat, savour it, then don’t eat any more!

Here are some Healthy Travel Snack ideas:

• Beef Jerky
• Fruit (bananas, strawberries, grapes, apples, oranges, etc.
• Cut up veggies (carrots, celery, peppers, etc.)
• String Cheese
• Healthy Meal replacement bars/snack bars/granola bars
• Healthy Trail Mix
• Nuts
• Yogurt
• Dried Fruit

If you are COMMITTED to eating healthy and PLAN AHEAD, you can be successful while traveling!!

Easy Healthy Snacks

One of the most important things you can do to ensure you stay “on the wagon” is to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN.  It might sound like a pain, but it is vital.  If you don’t have a plan then it is easy to just eat whatever is in the house, whatever sounds good, whatever is quick and easy (not necessarily healthy), etc.  I love the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  Very true.

So, I usually either make a weekly, biweekly, monthly menu or…. I wake up in the morning and think, “What am I going to eat for breakfast?”  Then as I’m eating breakfast, I think, “What am I going to eat for a snack or lunch, etc?”  Then while I’m eating snack/lunch, I think, “What am I going to eat for dinner?”  You get the point.  However, this only works if you already have plenty of healthy, convenient foods in your home.

So, I thought I would share some of my favorite quick, easy, healthy snacks.  Btw, a lot of the health theories I subscribe to advise you to always combine a healthy protein and a healthy carb at every meal/snack.  Some sources even suggest combining a healthy protein, carb and fat at every meal.  To keep it simple, I make sure I at least always combine a protein and a carb.  So, here are some of my favs…

Peanut/Almond Butter with Banana

I am LOVIN’ this one right now.  In fact, I’ve had it almost every day recently.  I usually just eat 1/2 a banana and then if I want the other 1/2 later in the day, I eat it again.  I try not to eat too much peanut/almond butter because it packs a huge caloric punch!  I just spoon out a small portion in a bowl (maybe a Tablespoon or so) and then use a spoon to just smear some peanut/almond butter on each bite!  YUM!

K, here’s the 411 about peanut/almond butter.  Really, any kind will do, BUT….if you really want it to be healthy I would highly encourage you to seek an all natural version.  You can find them anywhere (Walmart, Costco, any grocery store, etc.)  Skippy and Jif even offer natural versions of their products.  The major difference is that natural nut butters do not contain any hydrogenated oils (which are terrible for you).

This MaraNatha Almond Butter is very good.  I just bought it at Costco.

The other peanut butter in the smaller container is the bomb!  I’m sure it’s not new to some of you, but it’s new to me!  Kev and I found this at Winco, but I’m sure you could find it in other healthy grocery stores.  Anyway, in the back of the store they have a bin of almonds and one of peanuts.  You take a little handy dandy container, put it under the bin of nuts, press start, and voila, you have peanut/almond butter!  It crushes the nuts and makes it fresh right there on the spot!  Awesome!  You don’t get any more natural than that!

I must mention, however, that natural nut butters are not as sweet as regular versions.  You also have to stir them occasionally because the oils separate, but they are really really yummy!

Apple with String Cheese

This is such a simple snack.  You can pair the cheese with any fruit.  I usually only eat 1/2 of the fruit.  Any string cheese will do, but this one made by Sargento is very good.  My (very healthy) cute friend told me this was her favorite brand of light string cheese.  I decided to try it and it IS very very yummy and only 50 calories!  Regular string cheese is about 80 calories.  I must say that this snack doesn’t fill me up for very long, however.  It is very low calorie though.

I must also mention that some “super duper health nut” people don’t like string cheese because it is processed.  I really don’t care….I think the convenience, low calories and easy protein source make up for that! 😉

Hard Boiled Eggs and Fruit

This is really fast and convenient if you hard boil a bunch of eggs at once.  I try to have a little stash in the fridge.  I usually eat one whole egg and two egg whites or just the egg whites.  Super easy, yummy, and filling!

Well that is all for now.

I will mention that I am adding  a Q&A section on my menu.  If you have any questions at all, send them my way and I will try my best to answer them!

I also want to mention that I am such a crazy crazy busy busy mom!  I will do my best to blog as often as possible and answer questions as quickly as possible, but just remember that I am a crazy crazy busy busy mom…oh and wife!  They are obviously my first priority. 🙂