Let me share how. This is gonna be a big food post with lots of pics so brace yourself!
WATER: I knew I would be eating out alot. So I made sure my water intake was solid. I drink about 4/32 oz water bottles/day.
SNACKS: I didn't pack snacks for my 5 hour drive (duh - what was I thinking???). Fortunately I found a gas station with these great options!
I split the almonds between two snacks and the apple I shared as it was HUGE. Enjoyed the apple with some peanut butter and the banana right away after I bought it as I was starving. I did not make it in time for a sit down lunch that day, but I stopped by my favorite grocery store (Publix!) and got a Cobb Salad (removed about half the cheese and the icky green onions - lol). I also snacked on baby carrots (plain), snap peas (this was funny as I walked around the office eating them) etc.
COOKING: I stayed with a friend at her apartment; SO much better than eating out EVERY meal. I was able to control what I ate by having plenty of veggies and protein available for snacks along with making sure I could have full control over certain meals. Here are a few pictures of my home-made concoctions last week:This is 2 scrambled eggs with diced baby tomatoes. I sautee the tomatoes for a few minutes to get them kinda cooked before adding the eggs. I do eggs almost every morning with different veggies. Spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, and even onions.
This was my amazing homemade chili...
1 lb ground turkey
2 cans reduced sodium kidney beans
2 cans reduced sodium black beans
1 small can plain tomato sauce
2 cans low sodium diced tomatoes (this time I used the ones flavored with green peppers, onion and celery)
1 bag frozen green bell pepper
one diced onion
2 chopped zucchini
Homemade chili seasoning (I make my own chili seasoning as the packets are full of additives and salt. This way I can control what I ingest.)
Chili seasoning recipe: (appropriate for the amount of chili above)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 Tsp Oregano
1/2 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
1 and 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
Brown the meat and onion and green pepper. Add seasoning. Dump in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Drain beans and rinse them, then add in. Turn up the heat on the stove and toss in the Zucchini, let it simmer together. The zucchini gives the chili a little bit of sweetness we found, and it was delicious! You can also do this in the crock pot on low all day.
Did you know you could also add an entire bag of spinach chopped up? Your kids will never know. Mine don't even notice it anymore and we're getting so many nutrients. You can also soak and cook your own beans but I rarely have time to do that especially when traveling so the fact that I even cooked was a feat in itself. I have no issues with canned beans as long as you stick to low sodium and rinse them well.
We topped our chili with nonfat greek yogurt and diced avocado. It was amazing! If I do say so myself.
GOOD LUNCH CHOICES: Even when those I dined with made whatever choices they wanted, and some things that smelled and looked amazing, I was really satisfied and happy with my lunch choices this week. Here they are:
This is one of several Longhorn lunches. Longhorn has some really healthy options and you know what? Like other restaurants, the healthy options are sometimes NOT on the menu. Pictured above is the "dieter's chicken" which is really funny as it comes with ANY 2 sides you want (lol). Grilled chicken breast and I opted for green beans and asparagus. Amazing and delicious!
This is another Longhorn lunch - I ordered "The Rancher" which is a 6 oz sirloin topped with a slice of bacon and an egg sunny side up. It also comes with some sauce but I just ordered it dry. Along with a good side of steamed broccoli with no butter or oil on it. This was AMAZING and SO packed with protein!!!
DINNERS: So when I didn't cook (I only cooked dinner one night) I ate out. Here are the dinners I opted for while out and about:
"Can you tell me what soups you have tonight? Me.
"Sure! We have the chicken noodle, the garden vegetable pesto, and creamy tomato." Him
"Ok, I am looking for one without carbs. Does the garden vegetable pesto have pasta in it?" Me
"Yes, but it only has 80 calories per serving so its a good choice." Him
"That's great, but I am not as worried about the calories as I am the carbs. Does your chicken soup have noodles in it too?" Me
"Yes it does, but it is also low fat with only 70 calories per serving." Him
"Thanks, I'll just get my friend the grilled cheese and the chicken noodle soup." Me, while shaking my head and realizing they just don't teach nutrition at ALL like they should in school. I called Longhorn and waited for them to cook me the 6oz sirloin above, broccoli and asparagus. It was amazing. And that is ginger pear dressing on my plate in case I needed it for my veggies - didn't really, it was awesome!
OK, probably my FAVE dinner all week. 6 oz Filet with 3 grilled shrimp (I shared) and beautiful steamed veggies along with tomatoes and fresh basil. I asked for the veggies to have no butter and the chef added a lemon in so I could squeeze it over the veggies. VERY insightful of him and it was really one of the loveliest meals I've had. And so pretty and colorful. WINNING!
So there you have it...my week in pictures.
My scale said I was back down to 212.8. I'm not totally sure how well that will "stick" as it was the low point of my cycle weight wise, but I"m feeling good, so we'll see.
I weigh in and measure in for the month on Wednesday before starting a newer, more challenging eating plan for 30 days called the Whole 30 for the last month of the 90 day challenge I started in December.
Basically it is how I eat now, but a bit more strict removing dairy and beans which I eat now and NO CHEATS for 30 days!!! THAT will be tough. Bye bye dark chocolate...Oh and I have to put the scale away for the entire month! SO scary! You can learn more about the Whole 30 plan (its free!) HERE. I'm excited about it! It can also cure many ailments, stomach issues, acne, etc., as you can add some foods back in afterward to see what affects your body/skin negatively.
I'll tell you more about the Whole 30 later this week. In the meantime, I'm heading to the kitchen for some dark chocolate before I have to break up with it for the month of February!
Keep on keeping on folks. I'm learning more and more that it is ALL about nutrition. You can work out all you want, but if you eat like crap, you'll feel like crap and never get the results you really want. I'm still working out, sometimes twice a day doing Turbo Fire and running (my running group is up to week 4 on Couch to 5k!). Yesterday I went out alone and ran 5k by myself and it felt great. I'm really enjoying the Turbo Fire too. Yep, all that activity is important. And I was doing this a year ago, lots of running, boot camp and Zumba. But my nutrition was not dialed in like it is now. And for that, I am getting and expecting, RESULTS.
Love those. At this rate I could be at goal by summer (GASP!).
Peace out friends!
Clara
***By the way, I also found there is an ingredient in the Shakeology that doesn't agree with me and may have made me so sick last month though I still think it was my gall bladder being set off by something, maybe that. It works wonderfully for alot of people, but there is something in it that just doesn't sit well with me so that's out of my regimen.
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