Whether you need to shave off that extra winter weight or have just let yourself go and suddenly you've found yourself looking at this strange blob that slightly resembles you in the mirror. The best way to beat the battle of the bulge is to start at the store.
How can you cheat (ever notice that word also has the word 'eat" in it?) on your healthy eating plan if you don't have anything unhealthy in the house to eat? Well, ok, ya, you COULD actually go out, get in your car, drive to a fast-food joint, order something really evil, actually PAY good money for it and then go hide somewhere while you devour it. However, if this is what you're doing, you don't need this particular tip, you need a more intensive treatment (give me a call).
This tip is for those of us who find ourselves suddenly overwhelmed with the munchies or a sweet tooth or TV snack-mania. If you have a bag of greasy, fried potato chips in the house, you'll eat them. the key is not to have it there in the first place. It's also for those who have trouble with healthy meal planning. If all you have in your fridge and pantry are good, healthy ingredients that you've already pre-screened before you put them in your cart, it makes it so much easier for both snacking and meal planning. You don't have to worry about your choices being healthy or not because you already took care of that at the store.
Take the extra time to read those labels and make smart shopping choices. You'll gain that time back later when you're preparing your meals. If you get good, pure, unprocessed key ingredients (sample list to follow) Then it's easy to throw together a quick, healthy and delicious meal in a snap. It's also easy to stay on track even during TV time. Once you get the flow going, your shopping even becomes easier because you already know what you need to get.
Now I know there are those of you out there who are going to argue that you have others living in your house that don't care or want to eat healthy. I have one of those myself, so I get it. If you can't get them to understand that "Food is Fuel" (see my other Blogs on this) and that life is so much more rewarding when you have the right "fuel in your tank", if they can't see that the wrong fuel is actually killing you and you want to save your own life, etc, then you have only one choice... food segregation. Yep that's right, it's a nutritional revolt. Keep all of your food in a separate area and if possible, keep it totally away from the potential sabboteurious foods (ok, so I made that word up, but it fits). You can still utilize this tip. Depending on who your "rebel" is, you can ask them to keep their stuff elsewhere in the house (not in the kitchen). This also heightens their awareness of what they're consuming and if you make it a chore for them to eat unhealthy, they might just give in.
So, in a nut shell: Buy only good ingredients and then when you're making a meal or grabbing a snack, all you have to think about is portions because the question of should I or shouldn't I has already been answered during the hunt (aka shopping).
Here's a short list of good things to have on hand:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Bison Tenderloin and/or bugers
- Frozen Veggie Patties
- MorningStar Farms frozen breakfast saugages (ya, a bit processed but still good)
- Frozen Fish (Wild Alaskan Salmon is my fav)
- Frozen mixed veggies (many different varieties)
- Frozen Fruit (watch out for added sweeteners)
- Edamame (fresh frozen or dried; great for snacking)
- Low or NonFat Cottage Cheese
- Fage Total 0% Yogurt
- Organic Eggs
- Ezekiel Tortillas (from Trader Joe's)
- Organic P-Nut Butter (just peanuts; drain off floating oil from new jar)
- Plain Hummus
- Organic fresh fruits & veggies
- Nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts...)
- Steel Cut Oats
- Shakeology (haha of COURSE I'm going to put this on the list!!)
That's just off the top of my head. If you want more suggestions let me know and I can work with your particular likings.
