…sheesh. It is a list of foods I like.
I tend to eat poorly when I get in a hurry. I am sure that is the norm. I sometimes make good choices too. We have a subway 4 blocks from the house and we eat there quite a bit, but only about 1/2 the time do I choose the ‘better for you’ Turkey. I am of Ukrainian heritage. Yep, that is strike one against a wholesome diet. Cabbage rolls, perogies, sauerkraut, head cheese, kielbasa. I also come from an extended family upbringing, meaning LARGE family gatherings with food as the defining reason to gather.
So to all of a sudden take food out of my psyche, make it less important as a social status creator or celebration focus, is simply hard to do.
And answer me this. Why, at Denny’s, is the 1 egg with toast and hashbrowns, only $1.50 less than the Grand Slam breakfast, consisting of 3 eggs, 3 bacon, 3 sausage, 3 pancakes, hashbrowns and toast? It is literally 5 times the food for a buck and a half more.
I have trouble with candies too. I like my little sweet treats WAY too much.
SO, here is my plan. By the time the Board of Directors gets back on Tuesday evening, I will:
- Remove almost all of the sweet treats from the house.
- The sweets that are left will be divided and stored in such a way that there is a single serving, not a giant container readily available.
- I will remove all the white from the pantry and replace it with whole, or brown, or natural
- I am going to (quoting Josh in comments last post)
- Get a bag of frozen fruits, whatever you like, blend some with a banana, milk, yogurt, and some milled flax seed. (this sounds really good)
- I will eat a very sensible breakfast every day
This afternoon I went to the grocery store to grab some supper ingredients. I got some pork ribs for the Q and actually bought some good for you rice. I also bought some raspberries and light cool whip. It was all good and satisfying.
I enjoyed the shopping trip in my current mindset.
How much more convenient can they make this?
And this, is there really a need for spray batter? The little circle below the pancakes says USDA Organic. Really? What, the can or the nozzle.
Ah well, you excellent eaters out there will be happy to know that none of this kind of stuff in in our pantry.
Now, for the question of the day. What about canned soups? I love me a good bowl of Campbell's Mushroom or Tomato soup. Good?
Has Trader Joe's come to Canada yet? They have a great frozen cooked organic brown rice that is a main staple in our house. The rice you found looks good too, though, although I tend not to look over at the more conventionally processed companies, even when they are making more healthy offerings.
ReplyDeleteWay to go - Not only will your practical and detailed plan provide a foundation in your objective to healthier life style choices, we will all benefit from your ability to provide guidance as well as expertise. Do you want to clean my pantry out too? Yeah You!
ReplyDeleteI love minute rice! Weeh!
ReplyDeleteSoup is a great food. The liquid helps to fill you up without extra calories. Canned soup is even okay. Stick to the low sodium / low fat varieties – no crème soups or chowders.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is much cheaper to throw some wholesome ingredients into a stock pot or crock pot and make soup for the entire week (you can also freeze it in individual containers). Then you know exactly what is in the soup.
It really is about choices – that is all it is.
I am of Polish heritage and all those cabbage rolls, kielbasa, pierogis you mentioned make my mouth water. Haven't had any of those in years but I bet they can be made in a healthy way.
ReplyDeleteWe cleaned our pantry a few years ago. No white flour, nothing processed. It can be done. Good luck.
I'm late to the party today. Tri-James is right. Soup is so easy even I can do it. Instead of the Cool Whip, why not a package of whipping cream? Whipping it is fast and it tastes better, at least I think so. Cool Whip has a metallic flavour I can't get out of my mouth.
ReplyDeleteI've got to try me some of those fruit smoothies.
BATTER BLASTERS??!!! So you can deep fry your Mars bar, no doubt. There are whole aisles of the supermarket I don't go into, for fear of seeing stuff like this. There are times ignorance is indeed bliss.
The food part of a restaurant is cheap. Eggs, potatoes, flour, bread, and such are not especially expensive. The expensive part is the staff, and the rent. So if you've got someone standing there cooking eggs, for example, it's almost exactly the same cost to do three eggs, instead of one.
I love my sweets too. Choco chip cookies call to me. In multi-part harmony. But I try to be sensible about it. More and more we are trying to eliminate packaged foods from our life. I like the test "would your grandmother recognize these ingredients?" which I admit has a cultural bias in that an eastern European grandmother from the turn of the last century is not likely to recognize Bok Choy or other yummy Asian veggies for example.
And quantities. This is what I really struggle with. I'm a big guy, and was used to eating big meals, plus the "clean your plate" mentality of parents who were children of the depression. There's a website that shows what 200 calories of many foods looks like. Fascinating. Horrifying.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm
Campbells tomato soup - yummy. I find if I can give up treats for a week or 1 1/2 weeks, then I don't need/crave them and can start eating healthier. Of course it's giving them up in the first place that is the hard part! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHere's my two cents (American money)... Count your calories. Decide what is the right daily amout and eat 3 good meals + 2 snacks that eaqual that amount. Balance your intake of carbs, fat, and protein. Nice job on cutting down the sugar!
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is a zoodle!?!?
ReplyDelete:) soups are delicious!
ReplyDeleteZoodles = Alphagetti
ReplyDeleteHere's a fast tomato soup that is almost home made...takes less than 30 mins. Fry up a whole onion in a little olive oil or butter, add a few cumin seeds, and generous shakes of fresh ground black pepper. Salt to taste. Add one can (large) of diced tomatoes and half a can of water. Simmer for 10 mins to let the flavors blend. Maybe 1/2 t salt for this or to taste. Blend up with a hand blender and add 1/2 a can of coconut milk (leftover from the chicken curry recipe) or sour cream, or yogurt (plain of course) to cream it up, simmer again for 10 mins or more and voila! Cream of tomato soup to die for. Experiment with seasonings, omit cumin and add basil or oregano...My teenage sons love this soup, and will eat several bowls at a time. I make whole wheat pasta (prairie harvest from costco) and put it into the soup to stretch the carbs for those growing boys.
I use coconut milk and oil in a lot of my cooking. It is a medium chain fatty acid, and one of the healthiest fats out there, despite it's bad rap as an 'evil saturated fat'. My hubby is lactose intolerant, and now he prefers the taste and creaminess of coconut milk. I make alfredo sauce with it too...and no one can tell it's coconut milk.
Eating well takes effort...and so does making changes to your habits. Remember moderation in everything.