The food I eat

I read a few interesting articles this morning about the "Standard American Diet". One suggested reasons to change our thinking and refer to it as an industrial diet. Another was a proponent for concepts like soaking grains and choosing chemical-free foods. A third, from the Mayo Clinic, offered a more general opinion of good nutrition. There are so many schools of thought. Many of them contradict each other, even while offering very convincing evidence.

So, because everyone else is doing it already, I decided to offer you my version of healthy, too! Thanks in advance for humoring me.

First, know my frame of reference: I'm kind of a hippie, I actually find the science part of nutrition very interesting (except for when I was in college and had to do it...alas), and I'm the weirdo who enjoys grocery shopping.

This is my basic strategy. It helped me lose 15 pounds, which I've kept off for over a year. When I eat this way more often than not, it helps me feel good mentally and physically. It is intrinsically motivating. HOWEVER, I am far from perfect. Just see yesterday's post. Luckily, perfection is not the goal!

The strategy:

1. Eat whole foods.
-This does not require you to shop at Whole Foods, but you can if you want to. I have heard the prices aren't bad if you actually buy whole foods instead of the natural, yet pre-packaged stuff.

-Whole foods are things you can recognize obviously without having to think too hard because you can SEE them: fruits, vegetables, real meats, milk, nuts, herbs, spices...

-Try sticking primarily to the perimeter of the grocery store. The is not my original idea, by the way, but it really works!

2. Read every ingredient label. I rarely look at the nutrition facts. I find them to easily be just as misleading as the Food Pyramid. What am I checking for?
-A short list (within reason appropriate to the nature of the product).

-Real foods, nothing artificial (including dyes, sweeteners, petrochemicals, and other strange things that require a dictionary).

3. Ask if I really like this food and want to eat it.
-It's easy to think natural and organic foods are good choices, and sometimes they are. As I began this journey though, I remember being really excited about organic poptarts. Does anyone really need a poptart? I think my $3.99 could be much better spent.

-I am all for trying new foods. Speaking from experience here, start slowly (My husband has the best advice. What he wanted to say was, "What were you thinking?" I wasn't.) to avoid a trash can full of spoiled Peruvian vegetables next to an empty pizza box at the end of the week.


4. Cook simply.
-I don't make a lot of casseroles. They usually require cheese or a creamy soup to hold them together, two things I like to use more sparingly. I also don't use a lot of recipes. I just make chicken with rice and green beans, and that's really all it is. I play with spices and herbs. Limit your experiments to two or three spices/herbs at a time though! Think about combinations restaurants put together.

-Breakfast is usually fruit with nuts, or fruit, spinach, or salsa with eggs. Sometimes we have ham or bacon with our eggs. Occasionally we have toast, yogurt, or cheese. We save things like pancakes or French toast for the occasional weekend treat. I don't buy much cereal or English muffins because they usually just sit in the cupboard. We drink coffee with cream for Husband, milk for me, and love the taste of raw sugar.

-Lunch is almost always leftovers from last night's dinner. We pack it in single serving containers when we put it away the night before. Easy.

-Husband rarely has time for lunch, let alone a snack. I have a tendency to make cake or pie into a snack. When i'm thinking clearly, I try to make it milk, nuts, or fruit.

-Dinner is meat + vegetable + whole grain. I try to make meat and whole grains each about 1/4 of our plates, and veggies about 1/2. Often it's more like 1/3 of each. There's always a fat, too, in the form of oil, butter, avocado, cheese, or nuts.

-I do all the cooking because of Husband's work schedule. I really like cooking, so cooking from scratch is fun for me instead of a hassle. Still, if you keep meals simple, you can get dinner done in 30 minutes. Simple meals also help to make that time relaxing instead of hectic. I like to drink my wine while I cook instead of while I eat!

5. Eating out; more about how much than what.
-I used to try to order something really healthy when going out to eat, and I usually walked away disappointed. Now I order something moderately healthy, but still tasty, and regulate my portions.

-We eat out about three times a week, twice for dinner and once for lunch. I try to think ahead so I don't end up having a weekend binge. Also, eating out is a great time to try new foods that may be difficult to make at home.

-We love lattes, but now I get them with no whipped cream or sauce on top and half the flavored syrup. We get them about once per week because there's a Starbucks right by church.

What about you? I would love to know what you do about what to eat!