30 Days to Better

Eating Pregnant

With my recent pregnancy news you can only imagine that eating has become a minor challenge. 

What is that smell?

Oh ... yogurt, yum. Oh, nevermind.

Cantelope. Yes, that's what I want. Well, wait ....

All day long I think about food because, lets face it, I'm hungry but I'm also not so much.  It's confusing and tiring.   I have figured out that if I eat very frequently, as in, put an animal cracker in my mouth about every five minutes I usually feel okay.  Heh.  I feel even better when I alternate with Hershey Kisses.

In all seriousness I have discovered fresh, local, seasonal fruit and OHMYGOD it is delicious.  Vegetables don't sound too appetizing right now but fruit, oh my lordy-di-dee fruit is sent from the gods.  The past two days my lunch has been two white peaches, cantelope, blueberries and cucumber with vinegar on it. 

I'm going to try and maintain this site but there might be a few months that focus on womanly things and womanly health, you know, like pregnancy and all that crap because, well, I have good first hand knowlegde to dump on this here Internet.

Eating well while on-the-go with a toddler

Recently we've had some evening activities, me and the toddler boy and dinner just gets smashed into the time period between play and chores and bath and bedtime.  

It is really important to me to instill a healthy attitude about eating by creating nice mealtimes for the entire family.  This just isn't possible every day so at least a few times a week I try to make a nice dinner where we all sit down together, no television and just enjoy some nice food.

However, when that pipe-dream isn't plausible I reach for a bag of ready in ten-minutes-from-the-oven chicken nuggets, some applesauce, maybe a Yo-Baby yogurt, some cut up fruit for me and a bowl of steamed veggies on the side.  The boy gets the yogurt, applesauce and nuggets with ketchup of course and being what I am, I cannot see a chicken nugget, cut a chicken nugget and feed a chicken nugget without also enjoying some chicken nugget for myself.  So, to remain on a healthy caloric track I allow myself two or three nuggets on a plate full of steamed veggies and fruit. 

This is an easy meal that is ready in about ten or fifteen minutes for those nights when that is about all you can manage.  And, I'm not feeling all that guilty about it either! 

Eating well on the weekends

I swear it took me twice as long to lose my baby weight last year because my weekend diet was so vastly unhealthy and different from my weekday diet.   This isn'tmy fault either. Heh. I was forced to eat what I did.  Kidding.

See, we get together a lot with family on weekends because we live near each other and it's always casual gatherings and there is always food. 

Sometimes I can still do my morning breakfast of oatmeal with flax, brown sugar and berries.  But, occasionally my husband wakes up and declares that he needs a bagel to go on living and I end up eating half of a delicious just-baked Everything Bagel with cream cheese and maybe even a little butter too because, come on, a bagel isn't a bagel with jelly or crap like that.  It should be noted that this occasional bagel is consumed in addition to the oatmeal that I ate "to be healthy".   Lunch is usually snacks of chips (multigrain, pita, etc) with humus and spinach dip and olive tapenade.  Luckily we usually hang out outside so there is a chance to move around and burn a few calories.
Then comes dinner, cooked on the grill, sometimes hot dogs/burgers, BBQ chicken, steaks,  and some variety depending on the season of fresh corn, tomatoes, baked potatoes or stewed tomatoes.  Oh, yeah, there is usually a dessert too, descriptions of which I'm too ashamed to describe here.

Now that I have written that it is a wonder I managed to lose any baby weight at all.  I guess living on salads and lean protein during the week really did help.

I have trouble with the weekend social occasions.  How do you keep on track?  Is portion control my only option, and who can eat only one pita chip?

Eating Better, food diary, exercise, today's thoughts

Last night I made a rockin' dinner.  Fish, rubbed with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic and grilled over a charcoal flame.  Steamed broccoli (in a Zip Lock Steam Bag) and baked potatoes.  I made two and the three of us split them.  It was super yummy and super healthy.  Also, it was like eighty-five-thousand degrees yesterday and all that cooking heat was made outside and my kitchen stayed cool. 

Today?

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ flax, blueberries, strawberries and brown sugar, Coffee

Snack: Cheese Stick, (maybe 2)

Lunch:  Big salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, feta cheese, grilled chicken with low fat Ranch dressing

Dinner:  Bowl of Life cereal and popcorn (not so great, meh.)

I did some good exercise today too, I walked for 45 minutes with the dog and the stroller. Overall I'm feeling good and healthy.

I am really looking forward to getting some fresh local produce.  This time of year I love eating tons of fresh food grown in the dirt.  Farmers Markets? Here we come!

Food Diary

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with 2 tablespoons of ground flax, sprinkle of brown sugar, blueberries and strawberries
Coffee w/ sugar and coffeemate

Lunch:

Mixed green salad with tomatoes and feta cheese, Ken's Balsamic Spray Dressing, handful of BBQ Soy Chips

Snacks:

Cheese Stick, Yogurt, Wheat Crackers with Peanut Butter, half a Banana

Dinner:

Turkey burger with cheese (no bun), handful of mini carrots, handful of strawberries

30 Days to Better Eating in June

I'm trying to eat better these days.  This is nothing new as I've always tried to be healthy. I like fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. 

I've always found it challenging to initiate or actually get going on a new diet when I still have a house full of pasta and saltine crackers.   My other challenges are that I am attempting to feed  a toddler a few times a day and if you have taken on that endeavor you know how frustrating it can be.  

Healthy eating to me means eating nutritious foods in smart quantities, including organics, variety and good taste.

This month will feature recipes, ideas, goals, challenges and food accountability.