My Meal Plan

I didn’t realize the value of a balance diet until after I graduated college.  During college I was a “healthy” eater, but in a completely different way than what I am now.  I think marriage changed this.  Before I was married and in college, my diet consisted of a lot of low calorie foods.  I didn’t have an eating disorder or anything, but I totally robbed food of value it had.   I found myself never full and constantly hungry.  I ate a ton of sugar-free foods, which are TERRIBLE for you.  That can be another post for another day, but artificial sweeteners are so bad for you and they can actually make you hungrier!!  Once I met my husband, foods like pizza, sour patch kids, and a scoop of ice cream became a regular occurrence in my diet.  I never thought I would say this, but pizza, sour path kids, and ice cream saved my diet.  How?? My answer to this is below:

Marriage is all about sacrifice and when I married Michael, I started eating more of the foods he likes.  I am sure most wives can relate to this.  If you’ve ever seen Michael, he is one of those guys who can eat anything under the sun and not gain a pound…. and just like any normal person would, when someone puts a pizza in front of you  – you eat it.  😉  When we first got married, it was hard to balance the healthy and the unhealthy foods.  After a year I got the hang of it.  I started to realize that eating one unhealthy meal isn’t going to hurt me just like eating only one healthy meal per week isn’t going to make you “healthy”.  I started to see a more enjoyable, balanced perspective on food.  I saw food as a source of nourishment instead of a cage.  I saw it as a way to socialize and bond instead of a way to feel comfort or to make me happy.  Instead of focusing on low calorie foods, I ate more whole, organic, colorful foods.  I now traded a slice of bread that was 45 calories with a whole baked potato; and I traded in that  100 calorie english muffin for 3 eggs for breakfast.   I may be eating more calories, but these calories are good calories that will keep me fuller, longer.  I now don’t make food the focus of dinnertime, I made the people I am with the focus.  Let’s not waste any time, I am going to take you through every meal of the day followed by a sample recipes that I love. 

I usually stick with some sort of protein with a fruit for breakfast. I used to be a toast and yogurt person, but a few years ago I took out dairy in my breakfast routine.  Not eating dairy and replacing it with whole, protein rich foods gave me more energy in the mornings and made more full throughout the day.  With my diet, I try to be real with myself,  I know around dinner time I will more likely be in a situation where there will be more bread or dairy options, so I try to be proactive in the mornings by taking out as much dairy and bread.  I ALWAYS make sure I drink a large glass of water BEFORE I go to work. I find that I forget to hydrate while I am working so I will do it before.

**Now I know this may  goes against all nutritionists.  Most will probably say eat your grains and everything in the morning and veggies and proteins in the evening.  In the end, I have to be realistic with myself and not set these high standards that I probably will not achieve. I will not do everything perfectly.   I want to have a life and most likely at night time I will be with friends and I don’t want to be “that person”.  

I usually have a snack in between dinner and lunch.  I plan on doing a separate post about this later, but in the meantime below are my favorite snacks.

Because I am more proactive in the day with eating healthy, I do not put limits on what I eat for dinner.  It is not about what I eat, but how much I eat. I will make sure I do not overeat.  I usually find a way to add veggies in, but I don’t beat myself up about it. THIS IS KEY!!! I feel like when we deprive ourselves, we make food an idol.  When I started eating what I wanted to for dinner, I slowly stopped fixating on viewing food as a “prize” and I switched it as a way to nourish the body God gave me.

So that’s it! Plain and simple.  I plan on sharing more specifics later in my blog, but in the meantime I encourage all of you to not look into your diet as a source of happiness.  Eat healthy out of a way to praise God for the body he gave you, not as a way to impress others and especially not in a way to make yourself feel better.  That happiness is short-lived.  I would love to hear your thoughts and favorite recipes! Share away below!

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You are fearfully and wonderfully made,