Food for Thought

I would say that I have a love-hate relationship with food.  I love eating... but like many people, my food choices can get me into major trouble with the way they make me feel and of course, the weight they make me gain.  I enjoyed the fast metabolism of my teenage years, but as my age increased in my twenties... my metabolism of course did not follow suit and began to fall.  After a family cruise in December of 2010, I hit a number on the scale that I had never seen before, and I finally realized my no-discipline, enjoy food no matter what philosophy was going to have to change.

In 2011, I lost 20 pounds on the Weight Watchers program.  I can't say enough good things about Weight Watchers!  The program taught me HOW to eat well and how to cook well rather than confining me to a strict diet to follow.  It worked so well that after I lost the 15 pounds that was my original goal, after I quit Weight Watchers officially I lost another 5 pounds just from the healthy habits I picked up!  I would absolutely recommend Weight Watchers to anyone looking to get a kick-start in their weight loss goals.

Recently to keep the discipline in my life alive, I tried keeping up with my calories on My Fitness Pal (another great and FREE weight loss tool), but honestly counting calories makes me go into semi-eating disorder mode.  Suddenly it's about beating the strict number on the screen rather than feeding your body what it needs.  I found pleasure in keeping my calories low and hit a mountain of guilt any time I screwed up.  Not a good situation.  I realized that for me, my focus simply needs to be on being HEALTHY - eating food that is good for me and exercising often.

So... since my Weight Watcher days, I noticed that foods such as produce (most of which have no Points Plus values) and things straight from nature are the basis for a healthy diet.  All the processed stuff has so many added chemicals and un-pronouncable ingredients, empty calories, and little nutritional value.  At the store we try to stick to the perimeter of the store, only grabbing produce, meats, dairy, etc.

After a little bit of research this morning, I realized that this philosophy I try to eat by is called "Clean Eating," and I found an awesome website full of  Clean Eating Recipes called "The Gracious Pantry."  I got so excited by the recipes that I tried three of them today!

For Breakfast:  Clean Eating Banana Muffins
I realized that the processed cereal that I eat every morning is loaded with sugar and doesn't keep me full until lunch (or even my mid-morning snack at work!).  I am going to try these muffins this week in the morning with a handful of blueberries!  These muffins turned out so pretty and they are tasty!  I used whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour, and I topped them with walnuts.

For Lunch:  Clean Eating Chicken Salad

I made this recipe for lunch today including the clean Ranch dressing from scratch!  It was delectable, especially if you like dill!  I ate it on Kroger whole wheat crackers... totally not "clean" (the ingredient list is a mile long) but hey you gotta start somewhere.

For Snack:  Clean Eating Granola
I accidentally cooked it for a wee bit too long, but it's still really good!  I'm going to mix it with walnuts and almonds and keep it in baggies at my desk at work for a quick, healthy, and protein-packed snack.

It's been a long afternoon in the kitchen and the dishes were piled to the ceiling... but hey it's worth it to have some wholesome food to eat!  And now I have this stuff ready to go for the week ahead for on-the-go meals!

Anyone else practice Clean Eating?  Have any good recipes?  Send them my way!!!

Natalie