Eating clean to get FINE!

We all have wanted to “eat better” at some point in life. For me eating better use to mean boring dry food. YUCK! I love food way too much for that. As I started to do my research I took notice that I can eat good food that I didn’t consider as boring. My goal was to get healthy so I can stick around for years to come without sacrificing my enjoyment of food. I got in the kitchen and started whipping things up.

When you say eating better that can mean a lot. Just as how you portion your meals. For me eating better was to not eat out as much. I cook so often, I love to feel catered to sometimes. Who wouldn’t want to let their hair down after work and enjoy a nice meal with a cocktail? I wanted to cut down on my salt intake, and watch my portion so I wouldn’t over eat. Portion control can keep calories down. You can have a plate with your meat, veggie, and carbs but too much can tip the calorie scale. I created my own all purpose seasoning where I focused on herbs and spices more than I did salts. I wanted to eat good food so I wouldn’t have “ the itis “ after eating. You know, when you get sleepy after eating a meal. All I knew was I wanted change and it was up to me to make that happen.

I previously had done lunch box meals for different groups of people so making meal preps I figured should be a easy peasy.

My goal was to come up with 9 tasty meals that would be tasty and fulfilling yet still nutritional . My protein choice was chicken and turkey. In my opinion they’re liked most and highly picked when asked a person of their choice when eating healthy. I LOVE pasta, so instead of normal noodles I opted for zucchini noodles that I prepared. My vegetables are all fresh never frozen or canned. Quick tip, when buying meat go to the meat counter normally located in the back off the store. You can ask the staff where the meat products are purchased. Most time it’s labeled on the signs sticker down in the ice. You would want to ask to be sure of any bio-chemical or man made food. We’ve all heard the stories. I’ve learned that while out to eat , restaurants aren’t responsible to tell you about their meat selection where are the grocery stores the information of the meats origination has to be labeled and the staff have to tell you. I also selected brown rice for some of my dishes. The benefits from rice served with a meal can be beneficial. First thing is rice helps to make you feel full faster, lower cholesterol, and controls blood sugar levels.

I also chose to include fruit cups with the meal preps. Eating fruit is a great way to curve those snacking times for junk food. Fruit is low in calories and provide a natural sugar. Another benefit is that it’s low in fat. Whoohoo!! Nobody’s looking to have snack time and gain weight at the same time. I would do a mixed fruit cup or just a single fruit.

The “trick” in all of this is learning the correct serving size. You can usually find information under The Department of health and Human services and other government sites. A few ways serving the correct portions are:

• Use portion control dish ware. These can be purchased at your local dollar stores, Walmart,Target, Ross, online etc.

•Portion our your food prior to cooking it. This makes it easy for you to stay on track and make single serving meals easily.

•Control portions when eating out. Everyone is allowed a “cheat day”. Don’t lie to yourself or punish yourself. We all have those days where we accidentally slip up or intentionally, AND THAT IS OKAY. No one is perfect. Just remember to portion your food out. Take control over what you eat. If you can avoid falling victim to over eating during this time , it will leave you in full control

•Add Vegetables and fruit. There are many benefits to both. I mean God put this here for me and you, take advantage man, take advantage. Seriously though incorporate fruits and vegetables and take out some of those less healthier options.

•Listen to your rumbling tummy. Make sure you are eating when you feel hungry and stopping when you feel full. Your body will always tell you when to get up off your tail and get some food just as when you know all to well if you have to unbutton your pants, this means you’re full. Don’t over do it!