So a little Eating 101 for us. I like that this article says to put some of your dinner calories in your breakfast, and to split your meals in half to spread them out more, doing mini-meals.
Obviously if you're brand new to MFP or to counting calories, it can be a bit daunting. To keep myself from becoming overly consumed by the counting aspect of it, I just log in to MFP each morning, enter in what I've got planned for the day ahead of me, and then I'm done. You don't want to become obsessed or fixated on the counting aspect of it. Just relax and plan ahead if you can. Something else to note as you gain more experience w/ counting calories & MFP, you'll start to notice that some foods just tend to make you feel fuller longer, or some "stay with you more." For instance, a yummy and healthy granola pear homemade muffin (even made w/ wheat flour) for breakfast at 230 calories only stays w/ me for an hour and isn't that filling. On the other hand, a 200 calorie breakfast scramble of 6 egg whites, 1 cup spinach, & a little tomato basil crumbled feta will fill me up and satisfy me for 3-4 hours. It's going to be a matter of trial and error with your body. You'll find foods that mentally and physically fill and satisfy more. Hey, I understand, sometimes you are willing to take the hit and your whole lunch will consist of a Snicker's candy bar, but if it keeps home murders from happening, I definitely am a proponent. That's what's cool about the MFP. Nothing is really off limits. But, the point of this rambling, is to urge you to hang in there, experiment with lots of different foods and lots of different meals. Eventually, you'll find a good repertoire of foods that you LOVE and that really fill you up and satisfy you, that give you the energy you need to tackle your excuses. The more wholesome and the less processed you go, the more full & energizing it should be. Let me know your thoughts on that!
I love what Marin said yesterday, that if you fall off the bandwagon for one meal or one day, you jump right back on the bandwagon & the whole thing's not shot, you can recover from it if you DECIDE to. Choose to be resilient, determined, and courageous.
Although I am not a Miggy fan, on Biggest Loser last night, I did like what Miggy said in that the biggest change for her in being at the ranch has been learning a more positive attitude and how that has made all the difference in the world. I also like how she spoke of the real, inner self inside of each of us that is coming forth. We spoke a lot about that a couple challenges ago. Inside of you, the fit, trim, healthy, happy, energized you is just rearin' to be let out! So let's get to opening that door!
Wednesdays are the days we share food ideas, nutrition ideas, recipes, snacks, etc. So what have you been eating? Share! This is the favorite day of so many of us :)
Marin's meal tips for today: (I've given this one before, too) Black beans! I use them in place of hamburger in everything, and I like them so much more, plus they're better for us. We use to use a ton of ground beef, and now we hardly use any. Monday night we had taco salads with black beans on top and some sauteed green pepper & onion, yum. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I read an article last week about breakfast. I'm a big cereal eater, but its so hard just to eat one serving of cereal (seriously, its tiny!) This article suggested really dressing up that bowl of cereal. Start with a high fiber cereal like raisin bran. Then add a handful of chopped nuts for protein (& they'll keep you fuller longer.) Top off with some cut fresh fruit like an apple or banana or some berries. It def. helps me from reaching for that box again!
Hope everyone has a tasty day!
I LOVE food!!! This has been my major struggle in the past but now it is going be my best weapon. Gaining knowledge on what is going to make my body work the best for me is extremely empowering! I went ahead and took the plunge into the world of protein powders and have found it definitely keeps me fuller longer then cereal was. I have a chocolate kind right now and I love it with frozen raspberries!!! I can't wait to move on to the vanilla with ice cubes and orange juice.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoy trying one new recipe for dinner a week so bring on the fabulous recipes ladies!!
I love Wednesday check-ins! You all have such great ideas! I think I need to try one of those breakfast scrambles - the egg white/spinach/tomato combo sounds really yummy right about now. One of my current challenges is eating healthy on a very tight budget. One of the strategies that I'm using is making a lot of stuff myself at home. Today, for example, I'm making up a batch of nonfat plain yogurt. Making it myself at home saves a bunch of money and also avoids HFCS and other unhealthy additives commonly found in store-bought yogurts. When it's done, I can use the yogurt for breakfast, mixed with a little honey and fruit. Or I can use it in recipes. Here's a recipe that I have been making lately that's low cal and yummy.
ReplyDeleteApple and Tuna Salad (this serves 2)
3 Tbsp plain nonfat yogurt
1 tbsp lime juice
1 small apple, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 can water-packed tuna
Mix together and serve on top of lettuce. I usually just splash some red wine vinegar over the top of it all, but you can use some low cal dressing if you need it.
I think I'm having this for lunch again today!
Cherise- you make homemade yogurt??? Yummy! Share the recipe! The salad sounds good. I love tuna :)
ReplyDeleteFor the egg scrambles, you can play around & make whatever you want based on whatever veggies you have in your fridge, but I have it almost every morning b/c it warms me up & satisfies me. Pretty quick to make.
Spinach & Feta Egg Scramble:
-6 egg whites (I use real eggs b/c they're so cheap as opposed to egg beaters)
-salt & pepper to taste
-1 cup spinach
-Pam
-1/4 cup Athenos or Crystal Farms Tomato Basil flavored Feta crumbles (Woodman's carries them for Wisconsinites)
Spray your skillet w/ a little Pam. Put in the fresh spinach, stir around a little until it's all wilted. Pour in the egg whites. Squish & push it all around until it's a minute or two from done. Sprinkle in however much feta you want. Keep scrambling it all around. Voila. Yum!
Mushroom Cheddar Scramble:
Same thing as above but instead of sauteeing the spinach, you sautee the mushrooms (about 5 mins). Then when the mushrooms are done, pour in the egg whites & use shredded FF cheddar instead of feta. This I enjoy w/ some Frank's hot sauce.
And depending on what your veggie preferences are, you can toss in whatever you want at that first sauteeing stage- onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, diced potatoes, etc.
And each egg white is only 17 calories :) Packed w/ protein :)
Hi all! I do have to admit that I have been slacking in the food department lately, and I really need to get back on track. I totally agree with the idea that if you slip up at one meal or on one day you just get right back on the bandwagon. For me it has been a bad week, but I’m not going to let that discourage me.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest challenge when making a meal is finding foods that I think my boyfriend will enjoy as well. But just last night, he told me that he is willing to eat whatever health meals I make for a month, and then give me feedback on what he like and would make again. I love this idea because now I can try things that he wouldn’t be willing to eat otherwise, and I think he will enjoy it more now that he is open to it.
So no new recipes this week but hopefully I’ll have tons to share next week!
I am so excited to share this recipe with you all, because my mom and I made it for lunch yesterday after a great Yoga workout and it was HEAVENLY! I love quesadillas, and this one is the best BY FAR that I've ever had!
ReplyDeleteTurkey Avocado Quesadilla
Carb Balance Mission Tortilla (you can use whatever kind you like - we had those and they have 11 grams of fiber in ONE tortilla!)
Avocado - cut into small chunks
Grape tomato - cut into small pieces
Red onion - we used about 1/4 of the onion - chopped
little bit of lemon juice
Already cooked rotisserie turkey breast - cut into bit size pieces.
Green onions - chopped.
Olive Oil
any Shredded cheese - we used the walmart brand of fancy co-jack.
in skillet, saute in olive oil the green onion and turkey for a few minutes, until onions are cooked and turkey is warm. Mix together avocado chunks, tomato and red onion and a little lemon juice.
Brown tortilla in pan on one side (we used non stick cooking spray on it too) After tortilla is browned, fill 1/2 with turkey, top with a little cheese, then add the avocado mixture, and fold over tortilla and ENJOY!!!
It was so yummy! I had 1 1/2 and I calculated it on MFP and it was 440 calories! Yummy! Let me know if you all try it and like it! We didn't use a lot of cheese, just a little sprinkle. The Avocado gave us our good fat intake, and the turkey is good protein! It was delicious!
Hey ladies - I am really, really excited to try out the recipes on here today. And I want to tell you a tip a friend just shared with me. It's probably not a new idea to you, but just being reminded of it has totally helped me the last few days...
ReplyDeleteBig glass hot water, pure lemon juice, stevia (not too much). Then mix up another glass if that's not enough =).
The tartness kills my cravings and the water fills me up when I want to reach for more of a meal or a not-so-needed snack. Cravings can be curbed!!!!!! ( I write the exclamation points because my cravings want me to believe they will never be curbed - they are so wrong.)
Marianne, I have heard that the hot water and pure lemon juice actually cleanses your liver! So it's a total plus!
ReplyDeleteI have been copying and pasting all this great info into a word document I can print out for the last 10 minutes!!!
ReplyDeleteMarin, I am in the same boat with you! I've long looked for ground beef substitutes, settling on Jenny O turkey. I'm excited to try out the black beans! And, I LOVE cereal! Eating one bowl is akin to torture! I like to have cereal as an afternoon snack sometimes too. My favs are Special K and multi-grain Cheerios. I'm so excited to start adding to it, so it'll stay with me longer.
Sarah, Amy and Cherise, I'm putting those ingredients on my grocery list for tomorrow! Yum Yum!!
Yum! Everyone has such great ideas for healthy eating! I can't wait to try them! Marin, I love your idea to add to your cereal, what a splendid idea! I am so going to start doing that! Oh and Amy, I am all over that turkey avocado quesadilla! As soon as you mentioned avocado, I got really excited and I am definitely going to have to make that! Sarah, I love eggs, any kind of eggs in fact I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I love them that much so I am looking forward to trying new recipes to dress them up!
ReplyDeleteSo I dug out a recipe today that I had totally forgotten about. My mom used to make this for our family when I was younger and I loved it. So I made it for my family tonight and it seemed to be a big hit. It's called Spaghetti Carbonara and it's very easy to make.
Spaghetti Carbonara (the healthy version :) )
whole wheat spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 eggs beaten
turkey bacon, fried and crumbled
parmesan cheese
salt to taste
Fry bacon and crumble and then add to warm spaghetti and turn off heat. Stir in beaten eggs so they coat spaghetti (the heat from the spaghetti will cook the egg). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and salt to taste and serve immediately. Don't reheat.
I also wanted to share a website with you that I use from time to time that shows the nutritional facts of several different restaurants. http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html This has been very useful for me when my husband and I go out to eat. Happy healthy eating! :)
I had a sausage & scrambled egg breakfast burrito and a glass of 5-alive for breakfast. Apple cinnamon oatmeal and a giant bowl of strawberried and bananas for lunch and a chicken salad for dinner. I was stuck in a breakfast and lunch rut and I liked the my different choices today.
ReplyDeleteLeah- I can't wait to hear how well he makes it through the experiment- go, Leah, go! I love your sass & determination :) Amy F- anything w/ avocado, count me in :) I can't get enough of it! Feisty Marianne- way to show those cravings who's boss! Marin- beans instead of beef in Mexican food- I like the idea! Abrey- chocolate & raspberry sounds good :) Kim- I'm a fan of sneaking in whole grain pastas, too :) Mmmm, Tara, you had me at strawberries :) Hope you're finally starting to feel better!
ReplyDelete