2008: The Year Of Healthy Eating
[ 7 January 2008 ]
One of my goals for this year is to take control of my eating. Here is a little background:
When it comes to the kitchen, I have never done anything more complicated than heating up soup in a pot — have never learned to cook nor been particularly interested.
I loathe breakfast foods (cereal is awful, toast doesn’t fill me up, eggs make me feel queasy), so I usually end up going out to buy lunch, instead (at about 1pm, by which time I am grumpy & starving).
We eat out about 6 nights out of 7.
Most of that “eating out” involves Japanese (not too bad), pizza (terrible), Chinese (greasy & full of sugar), Thai (not so bad).
I recently read How To Eat Like A Hot Chick — while I was getting my hair done, actually — & it was a real eye-opener. The book isn’t perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, & there is some stuff in it that is weird & obnoxious (like using the term “Mary-Kate” to mean “messed up about food” — which is totally not cool). But aside from the bits where they are bashing other people, when they’re talking about what they know — like food — the book is very interesting & quite informative. Jodi & Cerina, the authors, have quite a cool view of nutrition.
They don’t believe in being obsessive over food. They advocate balance. They say it’s okay to eat a chocolate-chip muffin for breakfast, just balance it out with a big bag of spinach for dinner. (Spinach is their miracle food.) They’re not insane about eating x amount of meals a day, or sticking to a certain number of calories. They think it’s okay to snack, & have pages of advice on healthy snacking choices. There are some good dinner recipes, too, as well as a guide to healthy bar-hopping (if there is such a thing).
Reading the book really woke me up to the fact that I’m not eating properly. I’m not going to get all crazy & guilt-trip myself or talk about how much chocolate I eat, because that’s counter-productive. All I know is that I’m trying to make some improvements.
My aims are to…
Eat breakfast every morning (& find something I actually like, that doesn’t take a lot of time).
Make myself a healthy, tasty lunch — like a huge sandwich or salad.
Start cooking dinner.
Continue drinking lots of water.
Make meal plans so that I don’t leave it to the last minute & eat rubbish because I’m too tired to do anything.
Eat more fruit. I am really not into fruit so this is probably the most difficult part.
Reduce my dairy & meat intake. (My body works better without it.)
My boyfriend read Do You! the other day & realised that if he truly respected life, he would have to stop eating meat. So he has. Of course, this means that if I’m going to cook for both of us, which makes sense, I’m going to have to make vegetarian meals. To say that our eating is in a state of flux at the moment would be a major understatement!
I think that in the long-run, we’re both gearing towards a vegan diet, though neither of us are interested in eating that way at the cost of living an enjoyable life. We still want to be able to go out to great restaurants & eat on the run. When I was vegan a couple of years ago, it limited my life, & I hate being that person who asks a million questions about what I’m being served. The aim is to eat well, but not to let those conditions swamp our lives. Everything in moderation. We’ll see how we go.
On Saturday I went to Borders & bought Cook With Jamie by Jamie Oliver as well as The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater. Nigel’s book is awesome — it is what the title says, a year’s worth of meals, as well as what the weather was like, what was happening in his garden, & what he was in the mood to eat. I love Nigel Slater, he is fantastically entertaining. I have been going through both books with little Post-Its, marking off recipes I want to try. I also have some vegan cookbooks, which I haven’t looked at in years, so I’m going to check those out too.
If there’s sufficient interest, I’d be happy to keep you all updated on what I’m eating & if I’ve come across a good recipe. But really, I’d like to know about your positive eating habits. Let’s not get into that “I ate so much, I’m such a heifer!” thing — tell me what you do, nutritionally, that makes you feel good.
What do you have for breakfast? Do you cook yourself a great meal every night? What do you do to minimise your grocery expenditure? Do you take vitamins, drink a lot of juice, only eat organic? What is your favourite lunch-time meal, & how do you treat yourself?
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the best thing to have for brekkie is a tall glass of fresh fruit juice. get a juicer! seriously!
an apple, two carrots, a celery stick, and a drop of honey make the most refreshing drink ever! plus it keeps you alive and fresh till lunch.
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though do try and eat some good ol’ complex carbs as well =) Like a banana!
Just the SMELL of a banana makes me gag. I hate them! D: The juicer thing is an interesting idea though.
i’m vegan so i generally eat pretty healthy foods and i cook & bake an awful lot because it’s cheaper and healthier than buying processed ‘health foods’!
for breakfast i think the nicest thing is a big bowl of oatmeal with some peanut butter or some dried fruit & nuts. smoothies are also great for a healthy top-up :)
I eat to enjoy the taste and stay alive, basically. I want to eat healthier, and I try to eat healthy when I have the option, but most of the time I don’t. I really would like to know how it feels when your body’s working the way it should. :)
My food choices are all okay, but probably the only things I do right are drinking juice intead of soda and eating a whole bunch of fruits. I can’t believe you’re not that into them, Gala! You should just go to the supermarket one day and try one of everything that’s ripe, hehe.
Oh, and about breakfast – I don’t mind breakfat foods, but I’m a big advocate of not eating them. I don’t see why you can’t just have a lunch meal for breakfast or something.
Oh, and by the way, have you subscribed to any food blogs?
Valerie — Yeah, sometimes I’ll just have a sandwich for breakfast, but if I’m missing an ingredient it throws the whole thing off. It needs to be easy & dependable, which is why a box of cereal is so easy. But also so gross. Haha. Oh, & not really. A lot of them seem to have really high post counts (which is frustrating & I don’t have time to read all that stuff) or too advanced, I am an amateur!
Porridge is my miracle breakfast food! Oats are ridiculously good for you, and it keeps me full until lunch time, too (no mean feat, believe me). I’d love to be able to afford to eat all-organic, but for the time being I make do with going organic on products where it makes the most difference – organic milk, for example , is apparently significantly higher in omega 3 and other goodies than non-organic milk. As for vitamin supplements, I’m not really an advocate in most cases – if you’re eating well they shouldn’t be necessary, and it’s a bit too easy to start treating them as a substitute for a balanced diet.
Good luck with the new approach to eating! My aim’s in the opposite direction though – much as I love cooking, if I had the resources to eat out 6 nights a week I’d be nowhere to be seen in the kitchen…
I love huge salads for at least one meal a day. I too have a love/hate relationship with breakfast, so usually I try and just eat fruit or oatmeal. Boring, but it gets the job done.
I just believe, generally, that lots of water and raw foods are the way to go. But that’s not to underestimate the power of big bowl of ice cream every once and while. :)
Oh honey! I’m so proud of you! It took me yeeears to get to where I am, kitchen-goddess-wise, and let me tell ya, there’s a long way to go yet.
Here’s what I hope is a short version:
Breakfast: Vogel toast, all the way. Yum! Usually with Marmite, but tomato, avocado, or both at once are also tempting. Also untoasted muesli with homemade Greek yoghurt (using Easiyo or Yog-it powder)
Lunch: Generally a sandwich or else some pasta with goodies, or crockpot-made soup in winter. I love sardines on toast, or some kind of tuna/cheese/salad extravaganza – remember, a sandwich is always all about the dressing! Hummus, mayo, whatever – it’s crucial. If I feel fancy I might make myself some scrambled eggs (I make the best scrambled eggs in town), and I’ll chuck in anything that isn’t tied down – cheese, herbs, tomato, salami etc etc.
Dinner: My tried-and-trues are roast chicken, leftover chicken in a burrito (homemade flour tortillas), pizza on homemade bases courtesy of my breadmaker, slow-baked meatballs, and sausages with mashed potato. All these things are delicious but not very adventurous, ie child-friendly!
Sorry, I am so not even a vegetarian a little bit, and I do have that NZ-nurtured dairy habit as well!
I like to have a weekly plan on my fridge so I don’t have to make decisions of an evening. If you are cooking dinner, you have to cook dinner. Make a vow not to get takeaways. Get you head in the right space. Commit. Allow yourself a good couple of hours to get it all done, especially if you are a novice, There is a quantum leap involved when cooking something new for the first time. It’s important to follow it up and make it again, to gain confidence and tweak it to your liking.
Read recipe books. You don’t necessarily have to make anything out of them, but read and learn about cooking theory. Once you start to learn how cooking and food work, you become empowered to do your own thing and move away from recipe-dependence.
Go you! :-D
Great post, Gala! I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, too.
Two words – portion control! I’ve always eaten little & often, it comes naturally to me as I don’t particularly enjoy that full, bloated feeling, and I get to eat many different foods during the course of the day. I also discovered it’s the best way to maintain a healthy weight, because it keeps your metabolism boosted. My friends sometimes laugh at the tiny portions I eat from a little side plate, but I’m quite content eating this way.
When I do get a rumbly tummy I find that I want to eat straight away, so I’m very fond of quick but healthy meals such as sandwiches and salad. They also provide a chance to experiment, with different fillings & toppings!
Finally, there are certain fatty meals, such as pizza & curry, that I won’t cook at home – I only eat them at a restaurant or get them as takeout. They’re tastier than shop bought versions, and it makes them more of an indulgence!
PS – I love this guy right now:
http://www.samstern.co.uk/
i love food!
breakfast: oatmeal with a square of dark chocolate melted in it, goji berries, cherries or blueberries in it too, whatever i have around.
lunch: huge bowl of spinach with a pile of pinto or black beans on top with a ridiculous amount of salsa. yum!
dinner: broccoli, green beans, kale, spinach – whatever is green and handy. with loads of spices!
snacks: fruit
i’m not perfect so i don’t eat this way every day but i feel amazing when i do! i love chocolate so for me it’s a great way to start the day.
Ooooh these are all such great suggestions! I am taking notes. Keep ‘em coming!
This souns a bit gross but for breakfast I often eat just tinned tomatoes with herbs.
Get at tin of whole peeled tomatoes drain it into a bowl and put some dried mixed italian herbs and some fresh basil in.
I think it’s great :-D
My other one is bakeds beans.
I also eat toast with avocado or tahini and tomato. but prob won’t do for you cos you hate toast.
I hate cereal too.
I used to eat alot of yoghurt with fruit and nuts for breakfast but I overdosed in it now can’t even look at it.
Bec — I actually really like toast, I just find that if I put peanut butter or jam or something on it, I’m hungry soon after. I think if I was actually putting something with nutritional content on top of it — like tomato, avocado, hummus — I’d be much better off. When I was vegan I used to have a toasted bagel with avocado & hummus & black pepper for breakfast every day, soooo good, but I’m not convinced that bagels are very healthy any more…
it’s so strange that you just posted this; it’s something that i’ve been thinking about extensively for the past couple of days & i was just making a series of notes in my moleskine about what i want my diet to be like when i discovered this article :/ !
i’m gradually working toward a vegan diet, although, like you, i’m not about to let a limited diet compromise the life i want to lead. my body functions so much better when i’m not ingesting animal products, & it gives me a sense of achievement & peace in regards to both my wellbeing & ye olde environment.
i find that the more fruit you eat, the more your taste buds become accustomed to & partial towards the taste, & the more fruit you want to eat. i find eating large-ish, solid objects (such as an apple) daunting, so i usually cut my fruit into little pieces & dip them into either honey, yoghurt or milo, or a combination of the three.
best of luck with your healthy eating goals! :] x
I am not a big fan of the fruit either so I just eat extra vegetables. I am a big fan of peppers,spinach, tomatoes, green things in general … Giant salads with nuts, seeds or anything you like are really good.
And for a bigger meal you can make pasta along the same lines, lots of different vegetables, sauce or not (tinned tomatoes are really useful). I am a big fan of throwing things together and seeing what happens – you quickly learn what works or not and what you actually like!
I agree juicers are a really good way to get fruit if you are not that keen.
Snack wise I find always having a stash of water, raisins and oatcakes stops me resorting to junk
And my miracle food is brocolli!
(Which reminds me – never microwave vegetables, it destroys almost all of the nutrients – steaming is the way forward!)
:)
My new’s years resolution this year is not to eat food that comes in a package. I was sort of already doing this last year but I am trying to be better about it this year.
Here is what I usually eat in a day –
Breakfast – low fat protein shake with skim milk
Snack – fruit (usually an apple)
Lunch – salad of carrot, cucumber and tuna with vinegar
Snack – fruit or some almonds
Dinner – stirfry with rice
Snack – yogurt and honey or dark chocolate
Gala have you tried smoothies or protein shakes? You can get great ones that are low in chemicals and you can mix them with soy milk to avoid dairy. It’s just like a malty chocolate shake only good for you! Try to get a low cal low carb one. And these fill you up like a mofo. What about a fruit frappe? Like berries crushed with ice and some sorbet? Or natural yogurt and fruit with honey? I’m the same as you I can’t STAND breakfast food. I’m a liquid breakfast kind a gal.
I feel fantastic when I sip green tea, eat naturally all day, excercise early in the morning and go to bed early.
Good luck! And have lots of ballet fun! :-)
i’d really be interested in posts about food from you! i’d like to know any recipes you’d recommend, i’m ready to try new things in 2008.
your post has made me realize i really need to eat better, too. highschool cafeteria food makes my tummy sad
I really enjoy food and cooking. I always have. I could tell you a million good, yummy healthy things to eat. BUT the best tip to to have like-minded friends and work good eating into the fun parts of your life.
These days, whenever I’m in the city at weekends a group of friends meet for coffee (or juice, or whatever) at the market and buy yummy veggies and fruits together, swapping recipes as we walk around. It’s fun, social, stocks the fridge with cheap, healthful foods and inspires me with what to do with them in the week.
Re being vegan: I’m not but I can’t have dairy without medical intervention and I don’t eat that much meat so the best thing I did last year was buy a slow-cooker. Not so much now that it’s so damned hot. But in the winter I set up great bean soups, lentil curries, all that stuff that takes so long to cook well, in about 5-10 minutes in the morning before work and then they are ready to throw in a handful of spinach or whatever when I get home and eat. So good for days when you have worked for 10 hours or more :)
Good luck!!! Eating well is so good for your energy, mood and stamina levels :) It’s an awesome thing to promote :)
“My boyfriend read Do You! the other day & realised that if he truly respected life, he would have to stop eating meat.”
That’s really interesting, because I’m only a few chapters into the book & I’ve already come to the same conclusion but…
“I think that in the long-run, we’re both gearing towards a vegan diet, though neither of us are interested in eating that way at the cost of living an enjoyable life.”
Like you, I think becoming vegan is going to be more of a slow transition for me than a bang! decision – although if I were to truly pay heed to Simmons’ advice I would “Start Today”! ;)
I’m SO not a breakfast person either cupcake, but when I was doing Dr Joshi’s Holistic Detox I would have a small bowl of wheat-free & gluten-free muesli with some live yoghurt topped with chopped fruit (I had banana, but you could substitute that for something else if you don’t like it) & drizzled with some organic honey. I actually quite enjoyed it tbh!
Another great breakfast idea (& one of my favourite things EVER) is bruschetta! It’s SO quick & easy. You just grill some bread (& not just any bread but something yummy like ciabatta!) brushed with olive oil & salt & pepper, & rubbed with crushed garlic. Then serve it topped with chopped tomato (roma if you can get ‘em) & fresh basil! SO delish! & you could totally add some bacon & parmesan too if you’re eating meat/dairy still.
Anyways, I will continue to ponder good, healthy food ideas & post more if any come to me. :) xox
hi lovely!
your avo/ tom/ hummus bagel sounds really nice…...what about swapping the bagel for turkish bread or mountain bread (wraps are AWESOME!)? i eat this combo all the time and spread the mountain bread with a Spanish Onion and Black Olive chutney (you can get from Woolies!) and it adds that something extra!
Good luck precious!
x
Oh wow, you guys are amazing!!!! I have made a text file & I’m filling it up with ideas. YAY!
one of the healthiest things i do for myself is to have a green smoothie every day. to get inspired, i recommend victoria boutenko’s book green for life. i have a high speed blender (vitamix) so i’m able to whip up inumerable combinations of fruits & greens, depending on the season. they are surprisingly yummy in spite of the strange color. i bring one in a clear mason quart jar to work every day and am often asked “what is that?”... start out with a smaller amount of greens in ratio to fruit, and eventually you can work up to about 40% greens/60% fruit.
there’s a period of time that i consumed two quarts a day, and my nails which have never been able to grow long were finally strong enough to do so.
the cutest thing is my partner’s mom, who is in her 60’s, started doing them everyday too and has remarked on the energy its given her & helped to reduce her cravings for bad foods.
Congratulations on taking better care of yourself! I’m vegan, and I absolutely never feel limited these days. (I’ve been vegan about 7 years, and it just gets easier and easier every year.) Vegan food blogs are amazing and helpful, some of my faves are veganyumyum.com, theppk.com/blog, letsgetsconed.blogspot.com, and blog.fatfreevegan.com. I work for VegNews Magazine, and we have a blog of our daily staff lunches, which are always delicious! It’s cafevegnews.blogspot.com. Enjoy!
I’m in the middle of reading “Why French Women don’t Get Fat” and it is AMAZING! You must read it Gala. It’s full of little ways to make a big difference to your diet and a really interesting read.
How about yogurt for breakfast?
I too really loathe breakfast but I adore yogurt. So I decided the other day when I was at the grocery store to try and eat yogurt for breakfast.
“When I was vegan I used to have a toasted bagel with avocado & hummus & black pepper for breakfast every day, soooo good, but I’m not convinced that bagels are very healthy any more…”
I used to eat toasted bagels covered in either basil pesto or sundried tomato pesto (*swoon*! pesto ftw!) for dinner every night when I first moved to Auckland, but I stopped eating them eventually because they are SUPER high in carbs as far as I know and are a big ol’ high GI food. Even having a wholemeal bagel instead doesn’t improve that fact a whole lot either. So… bye bye bagels! :(
Hey there, i used to never eat breakfast, but now that i am getting older, i find i really need it. I try to mix it up alot, but like you i am not a fan of cereal. I live in Christchurch so in winter i eat oatmeal with dried fruit added to it or i have toast with grilled tomatoes and feta cheese or if i have time i love having spagetti on toast.
In the summer i eat fruit and yoghurt for breakfast. Fruit is so cheap at the moment that i am eating naural yogurt with blackberries, strawberries and bananas each day.
Croissants make good breakfasts! I admit I’m a fan of the ol’ ham and cheese, but there’s a million things you could put it one.
QV foodcourt also has a great bagel place.
Or yoghurt. Mixing in fruits of course. But that’s never really filling…
Xx
Breakfast: Big cup of organic brewed green tea (antioxidants galore! I try to drink at least 2 cups a day) and either a cut up apple with a little peanut butter or just wheat toast and cherry preserves. Sometimes I have a little square of dark chocolate before I walk out the door for a bit more of a boost.
Lunch: I usually take a sandwich (Turkey or peanut butter and berry preserves), a bag of granola cereal, or carrots and dip, and water or brewed green teas. I try to drink as much water or green tea as I can.
Dinner: I think dinner should be light, since it is the last meal you end up working off. I didn’t have this approach before with dinner, but for the past two weeks for the new year I’ve been having low sodium soups, like chicken noodle, tomato, cream of chicken, chicken and rice, there are so many and they are pretty filling and taste good. If not soup, I’ll have different salads with pecans, apples, chicken, crumbled blue cheese, poppyseed dressing, mmm. For dessert, a small chocolate (my weakness and love).
My boyfriend is a vegetarian too, but I only cut out red meat, and eat turkey and chicken. I also don’t drink anything else but water, teas, and soy milk. I try to buy organic, I like to know exactly what I am eating, but I can’t always.
I’m gettin hungry …
Heh…I don’t eat very healthy at all. Chocolate is my favourite food group, and a chocolate eggo/waffle my choice breakfast :3 The only really healthy thing I ingest all day is chocolate soy milk (Silk is my fav. brand) I get a lovely intake of chocolate flavoring (more chocolaty than chocolate milk!), but the many added benefits of soy.
I do like smoothies though, strawberry banana with low fat yogurt or whatever it is smoothie places add…
A handful of walnuts and almonds is also really good for a snack to me.
It doesn’t help that the only kitchen thing I know how to use is the toaster and microwave XD So I’d really love to read about what healthy food choices you’re making, it motivates us all
Breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day,then lunch the second followed by dinner the smallest…..in between dinner and lunch 2 small snacks like fruit or a Yeo Valley natural yogurt with honey for instance.
For Breakfast i like to have Porridge with blueberries….they go all warm and yummy in the Porridge.
Couscous is good for lunch with some veggies,you can steam or just cut up and put in tomatoes or peppers or broccoli is good as it is a super food…also mango or sweet potato instead of normal potato.Hummus is good with this too.
Dinner is a good time for some steamed veg or asparagus with Manuka honey drizzled over and fish,something light.
Maybe even just soup for dinner or sushi.
Not allot of people like it but cottage cheese is yum.
I discovered the best thing,it’s cottage cheese with pineapple bits but what i do is steam or grill some cherry tomatoes and put them on top of the cottage cheese…it’s like heaven all melted up :)
Avocado mashed up on toast is yum too but Avocados are quite calorific….but they are good fats so it’s cool to have once or twice a week.
Maybe an omelette for lunch with some tasty fillings inside and a nice spinach and tomato salad?
Heheh i could go on forever….i am starting to try to cook more as have never bothered before…as a result i’m quite new to it all and it’s fun to learn about the nutritional values of things…i love eating healthy even though i do have pizza days like once a week or some Haribo sweets now and then….i think its a healthy balance ot have good days and bad days…as long as the good days outweigh the bad!
Happy eating Gala _
PS-Rooibos tea…..it’s the way forward i swear,i am obsessed!
I don’t need to lose/gain weight, its more I just need to maintain the weight I am at, not being underweight has always been difficult for me. But I’ve finally found some eating habits that are working pretty good.
I hate breakfast as well, I have a really hard time eating at 6:30am before going to school. But I’ve found that if I just eat some fruit, usually I chose an orange, then I don’t feel sick or weighed down by my breakfast. Sometime before lunch I usually eat some form of snack, either just some cracker or cheese or these things called Odwalla Bars…I don’t know if they’ve got those outside of the states, but there are all different types and they are packed full of things that are good for you and lots of fiber/proteins…really great for those who don’t eat meat. Lunch I usually will just eat a salad or a cup of soup, I’ve got a pretty sensitive stomach so when I am at school I never want to eat anything too heavy. After school I will usually eat a snack, this is probably the time of day where my eating is the least healthy, its the one time of day I will eat some chocolate or some icecream, but lately I’ve been making these vegan chocolate cupcakes, but making them in a mini muffin tin, so they are small, and not as bad as something with loads of preservatives. For dinner I do go out to eat alot, but I eat alot of japanese and alot of fish, I will eat red meat sometimes, but in moderation nothing is all that bad. I also drinks loads of water and tea throughout the day…I used to drink redbull an coffee and finally stopped and I feel LOADS better now.
I think for everyone its going to be different what works, so goodluck!
Mmm, breakfast is so important. I always feel way better all day and stay awake all through chemistry if I eat breakfast :)
I usually make myself scrambled eggs. Except I’ll put some turkey or chicken and zucchini and maybe some broccoli in the pan first, then add the eggs and whisk it around till it’s mostly done, then add some cheese and wait till it’s done. Since it’s got a lot of stuff in it, the egg doesn’t get overwhelming, and it’s so very very good. I don’t like cold breakfasts like cereal – they don’t keep me full long enough and tend to make me feel ill.
The biggest thing for me is having healthy snacks around like fruit, peanut butter, almonds, etc. I eat constantly so it’s easier to be healthier if I have accessible foods rather than going for the pack of ramen that I know is sitting in the pantry =/
Also, if I’m still feeling hungry after eating a snack or meal, I put a mint in my mouth and go do something else. Nine times out of ten, by the time the mint is gone, I’ve forgotten that I was ever hungry and I just go about my business.
Dinner is often simple because my mother and I get home from the barn and are pretty tired, so we usually have rice with some chicken and some form of vegetable like carrots, broccoli, zucchini, etc. It’s simple and as long as you have some sort of sauce, it doesn’t get terribly boring.
I wish you luck in your foodstravaganza!
(PS: I find that it helps to make superhuge portions of healthy food that you’re making, say rice with chicken and vegetables, then put those extra portions in freezer bags and stick in the freezer. Then when I’m hungry I can toss it in the microwave. Maybe not quite as healthy as fresh, but certainly better than a TV dinner!)
Oooh! I know you want to deviate from the whole “heating up soup in a pot” thing, but the #1 thing that has nutritionally made me feel good for going on two years now is pitango’s organic tomato soup (http://tinyurl.com/ypmjxw). Yes, it’s a New Zealand product, but it’s stocked in Australia, Canada & Hong Kong too & it is seriously bitchin’! :D It’s completely organic & vegan too. One 600g pack serves two so I just heat up 1/2 a pack for a meal & save the other 1/2 for the following day. It’s especially good with lots of cracked pepper although you could also add some shaved parmesan, chopped feta or fresh basil too if you’d like. Oh, did I mention it’s low in fat & sugar. MAJOR! :D
Usually for breakfast I just have a fat-free yogurt with a scoop of organic flax seeds…texture and omega 3s! If I have time, I also blend frozen strawberries and oranges together for a sort of smoothie/sorbet mixture.
I’m pretty sure that everything that can be covered has been covered, but I thought I’d add that I’m also pretty picky about breakfast foods, so I just don’t eat ‘breakfast’ foods for breakfast! I eat mainly leftovers from dinner, or salad or make mashed potatoes. people think it’s weird but hey, it’s still a healthy meal and it’s what I like!
Even though it’s just the two of us at home, I still cook the family-sized recipes my mum taught me, so that I have leftovers to freeze for the nights I don’t feel like cooking!
Yep, pasta with a tomato based sauce and lots of other vegetables is a good go if you’re vegetarian. Been vegetarian for 15 years (only for ethical reasons) and have a chronic illness and i would never eat meat again even if I was told by health proffessionals that I must (which I have been told) My part of Melbourne doesn’t seem to like vegetarianism, so I make alot of pasta and rice, tofu is a wonderful thing in the pasta as well. Avocado and tomato with lemon juice and salt and pepper on toast or biscuits is brilliant.
See, I’ve always eaten naturally, what I like, what I dislike. And I’ve noticed things in my life that I’ve avoided are the things that are “bad for me!” You’ll see what I mean at the bottom.
My family kept very diverse things in the house. I naturally just liked fruits. I like Apples, bananas, strawberries, peaches (though I don’t eat peaches often. It’s very messy!) grapes, and more that I’m not even mentioning. But I hate oranges. They are creepy to me. Bananas I like them but can only have one. Apples are my absolute favorite fruit! My parents would have been happy with me eating ice cream everyday or fruit. They were pretty indifferent to what I had. So it’s kind of strange but I preferred fruits over candy. But I did drink a lot of soda until I decided to quit all caffeinated products when I was 16. I went cold turkey and drinking a lot of water. I can’t stand having a soda, so I always drink a soda and then chasing it with water!
Now, I really don’t enjoy eating a lot of meat, I eat it maybe two to three times a week. I eat steak….VERY VERY rarely. But for the most part, I eat a lot of carbs! I don’t go by servings, I stop eating when I feel satisfied. Oh and I cook most of my food. I’m not a domestic goddess and I’m an American Southern girl so I definitely don’t like raw veggies. I eat what tastes good to me and that doesn’t necessarily totally healthy. So I’m not a good diagram for perfectly healthy.
My dietary restrictions are limiting my dairy, I really have to balance my dairy intake. I can’t have too little or too much. When I don’t have dairy at all, my body can’t handle even the slightest bit of dairy. I pretty much condition my body to it. It’s not severe enough for me that I have to cut it completely but I do have to exercise balance.
But there are things that I absolutely can not eat or drink: Any wet dairy products. Cheesecake, ice cream, creme brulee, milkshakes, alfredo, etc.
I don’t do caffeine, which includes chocolate.
And I get heartburn badly. I can’t have spicy grease foods. I can’t have too much grease. I can’t eat too much fruits (at night). I truly had to learn what made my heartburn flare up. A lot of what I do involves me paying attention to my body reactions.
When I think of it, I’m just strange in general, talking about my eating habits probably will weird you out. :D
I have always wanted to go to a nutritionist just because I feel like eating is one area I find quite confusing. When I was at school, I would have an ice-cream, a bottle of Sprite & a bag of candy floss for lunch every day… ARGH!
I adore cooking but I adore uncooking EVEN MORE!
The most amazing thing I could have ever done for my skin, vitality, energy levels, earth, sensual life, internal health, nutrition levels, digestive system, emotions…everything really is go RAW.
Naturally lots of people flip to the scene when the four New York beauties go to the raw restaurant and all they eat is cold soups and sloppy bits. Raw restaurants can be like that but taking raw into your own hands is all about creativity and power.
Breakfast
Crisp, sweet apples with raw almond butter and frozen raisins (tastes just like a huge gooey caramel and choco treat but is jam packed with essential vitamins, minerals and fats to kick start my day. No short bursts of sugar rush from sugar laden, processed cereals or juices)
Juiced pears and apples with greens, ginger and dates for super power
Super smoothies packed with goodness and taste
Lunch
Monster Salads with the most mouth watering raw dressings, fresh, easy and to die for.
Dehydrated fruits or juicey, super hydrating ones. Nuts and seeds for power crunch.
Dinner
My idol Ani http://www.aniphyo.com/ keeps me stocked up on the biggest range of parties in my mouth and tummy!
Desserts
raw coconut puddings, raw carrot cake, raw doughnut holes – the most divine, decadent pieces I could ever hope to taste and I am a huge dessert fan.
There is a dangerous misconception that raw food means nibbling on carrots or starving yourself. It is in fact the opposite, balanced and done with style and variety a raw lifestyle gives me more sustainable nutrients than I could ever get from any other eating lifestyle.
It is quick, clean, invigorating and super, super sexy! The ultimate way for me to be the life of my own party every minute of the day!
Making one meal a day raw is a wonderful way to add taste, power and energy to your day.
If you love sushi you should try this…you will squirm with delight. Add your own touches.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=xegCiiKFnFQ
This dressing is super for a gorgeous combo of veggies, marinate shitake mushrooms (A shitake a day keeps the doctor away!) or use as a dressing on raw spinach, avo, pine nuts, spring onions, your fav salad combo, pack it in!
http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Recipes/SweetAndSourGingerDressing.htm
This ice cream will make you wonder how you could ever have eaten chemical packed dairy ice cream
http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Recipes/BananaNutIceCream.htm
(I know you don’t like banana so maybe strawberries would be better or mango)
Yummy broccoli salad
http://goneraw.com/recipes/264-Broccoli-Salad
Oh I could go on and on!
Making the choice to do anything healthy in your life is empowering and will only keep you wanting more!
Warm and yummy wishes to you
ps Earthlings is a wonderful doco to give a better idea of where your food is coming from
http://veg-tv.info/Earthlings It is extremely graphic though. Warning… it may make you cry or scream but it will definitely make you think twice about food choices. It can be a little tedious at times but well worth watching the whole hour 30.
I love this article. I’m also not a fan of breakfast. But for lunch/dinner I LOVE stir-fry. I’m a vegetarian, so I usually use rice or Ramen noodles and mixed vegetables. Frozen mixed vegetables are great and are just as fresh since they thaw as they cook. I was looking through a great cookbook earlier (Pillsbury One-Dish Meals) and it has some amazing stir-fry recipes. I decided to try to use more baby-corn, water chestnuts, and shredded cabbage.
I also love pita bread. You can come up with the most interesting ways to eat it.
Another one of my Asian-inspired fetishes is using chopsticks. It seems irrelevant, but you’ll eat a bit slower which will allow you to digest the food and realize that you’re full sooner, so you’ll ultimately eat less. [;
Good for you! Learning to cook for myself (and for others) has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done for my health in recent years. (Barring my favorite baking recipes, which all seem to require obscene amounts of butter. I used an entire pound of butter – A POUND – for NYE alone.)
Not relying on restaurants (which may or may not load up on chemicals and/or unnecessary salt/fat/sugar) for good food is enormously empowering. So, hooray! I applaud you.
Here’s one of my favorite recipes. It’s a super tasty veggie couscous that is marvelous warm for dinner and cold as leftovers. (I didn’t want to put entire recipe in your comments section, so there’s a link to it below. If you’re interested, check it out. And, um, scroll to the bottom, as I wax philosophical about houseplants for awhile.)
http://www.mooseinthekitchen.com/?p=251
Congratulations on your newfound kitchen mastery!
Here are some things I do to feel better!
- I am almost NEVER hungry when I first wake up so I wait to eat breakfast until I am, rather than just eating when I wake up because that’s when I’m supposed to. This is of course true for every meal, but particularly breakfast because mornings are so rushed.
- When it’s cold (like in my office) I find it really hard to drink lots of water, so instead of drinking none or drinking lots of coffee I drink heaps of herbal tea. Makes me warm & I’m increasing fluid intake. This only really works with proper herbal tea, not the black tea that’s just infused with flavour.
- More on breakfast – the bagel with hummus & avo or tomato or whatever it was sounds good, maybe try replacing it with really grainey toast? I love vogels and burgen. I often wait til I get to work and then have fruit (I love pears at the moment) and some rice wafers, or other than that my favourite cereal (I hate cereal too, this is the ONLY one I eat so it’s worth a try) is http://www.purebread.co.nz/museli.html. I load it up with chopped fruit and vanilla soy milk. SO GOOD and cinnamonney. Mmmm. I dunno if you can get it in au though :( If you want to try it I can send you some!
- I’m sure you already know about the Garden of Vegan and How it all Vegan.They were INVALUABLE to me when I was vegan. ZOMG vegan pancakes with cashew cream. CASHEW CREAM. You should eat this regardless of whether you end up vegan or not.
- I know you’re already doing yoga – have you tried doing it first thing? I do pilates or run in the mornings before breakfast and it makes me feel really good all day. This is getting slightly off topic from healthy eating but is related.
Hope that helps!
p
Miss Penny, I would loooove to try some delicious cinnamon cereal!
& Miss Sushi Zume! I love your suggestions! You make it sound so good & all the benefits sound pretty good too. Do you ever eat anything cooked? Simon is considering going raw & it all seems VERY daunting to me!
Penny – “I am almost NEVER hungry when I first wake up so I wait to eat breakfast until I am, rather than just eating when I wake up because that’s when I’m supposed to. This is of course true for every meal, but particularly breakfast because mornings are so rushed.”
That raises an interesting point. I know it’s probably more enjoyable to eat when you’re hungry but it is healthy? For example, they say if you wait until your thirsty to have a drink, you’re actually already dehydrated. So should you actually “starve” your body until you give it sustinence or should you ‘fuel the fire’ so to speak regularly? I don’t know the answer. Just food for thought – pun intended. ;)
STIR FRY!
all you need to do is buy some stirfry sauce from the grocery store (or, if you’re brave you can make your own – it’s fairly easy and MUCH tastier/healthier), fry it up with some veggies and chinese noodles and plop it ontop of a bed of instant rice.
the whole thing takes maybe 15 mins to make (i’m vegitarian so meat-free is super quick… it will take longer if you put meat in it).
also: apples with peanut butter are SO filling and healthy.
the carbs in the peanut butter will help stretch the sugar from the apple out over a period of time, so that you don’t get a sugar peak and crash.
mmmm-mmmm!
tasty and easy are the best ways to go.
I highly recommend reading Skinny Bitch, or at the very least getting yourself a copy of Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, which is full of decent vegan recipes. The original is so well written and informative, I havent eaten a piece of meat since (just having trouble kicking the dairy addiction).
good luck with your healthy eating plans!
Eating healthier & cooking at home more is one resolution I managed to achieve last year. Lots of things helped but the main one was creating & stocking a perpetual pantry:
http://www.savingdinner.com/archives/articles/feeding_your_family_with_a_perpetual_pantry.html
I made my own print-out checklist to use when grocery shopping so I knew what was running low, collected a bunch of recipes I liked using mainly the ingredients in my perpetual pantry & dinner was a breeze every night.
I generally cook easy, simple meals during the week and do my gourmet cooking with special, non-perpetual pantry ingredients on the weekend. I tend to achieve my resolutions most when I create an easy, no-think system for myself.
My next foodie goal would be to have salad with every meal and work more fruit into my meals – mainly breakfast & snacks.
My other tip for eating healthy is frozen veggies. Seriously. Sometimes I even buy fresh vegetables, cut & bag them and freeze them. Otherwise, it turns into a race against time to eat them before they spoil – a race I usually lose. Fresh is best but frozen is probably more realistic, for me at any rate.
Good luck!
What Makes Me Feel Healthy Is Having A Nice Steaming Cup Of Green Tea. No Honey Or Anything, Just As Is. I Guess It Like Cleanses Your Body Or Something, So It Makes Sense. ^^.
I Dont Eat Breakfast Except On Weekends, And Usually Have A Decent Size Salad For Supper, With Lots Of Veggies. Mostly Tomatoes And Cucumbers. I Think Its Fairly Healthy, Although Ive Heard Its Unhealthy To Not Eat Breakfast..
(:
Ami — I read Skinny Bitch a while ago (I reviewed it for here, too) & I HATED it. It’s the total antithesis of everything I’m about — they’re negative, petty, sarcastic & rude. Veganism is good for you — I get it. I don’t need to be told what a fat slob I am if I don’t conform to their beliefs. I’m not really keen on giving them any more money!
In my opinion it is easier than my previous cooked lifestyle…no pots and pans, no scrubbing, no extra packaging, no added preservatives, no tummy aches, no break outs, no sugar come downs or grumpiness, no cravings, no going hungry, no wondering what to eat, no waiting around for water to boil, ovens to heat up, no stressing about what might be in the food that I can’t or shouldn’t eat, it is a super stress free lifestyle jam packed with flavor and goodness.
It does take some thought and planning but so do all lifestyle changes.
Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen is a GREAT UNcook book to buy if you and Simon are keen to try out a few recipes. Super simple and outrageously delish! Fabulous real life tips and tricks for newbies.
Of course it has impacted on my eating out time but I find I use to “waste” a lot of time sitting in restaurants waiting for others to prepare me things that I was always dubious about anyway…less time in restaurants means more time in swanky lounges, chic book stores, meeting awesome people at markets, time with friends, early nights under the covers ;p, exploring a new boutique, finding a new hang out, longer baths and massages…
I still cook for Masao sometimes, his body is different to mine he needs rice, pasta and baked veggies to slow his digestive system down.
I need the kind of energy that raw gives me for the intense year ahead, can’t have things slowing me down. I have huge plans ;)
Everybody is different and no one book, dvd or person can say what feels right for you. That is where the creativity comes into it. Food is the most amazing gift that we often take for granted, it has the greatest impact on our life, feelings, health, appearance, energy, drive and success and can change so much so quickly.
I am really excited to watch your culinary adventures.
ps Spinach is a miracle food! Ask Popeye, the man had it sorted!
Felicity –
I’m not sure about that – I generally find that if I eat breakfast when I get up I’m hungry again at 10, whereas if I wait until I’m actually hungry (usually about 9), I’m happy through til lunchtime.
This is assuming I get up about 7 :)
I don’t wait til I’m reeaaaaaaaally hungry though, just starting to feel like my body has woken up and become aware of itself.
Gala – ok, :D I’ll see what I can do.
Congratulations! Welcome to the healthy lifestyle xDD (hahaha like I’m the guru of healthyness…)
Anyways, I’ve been eating healthy for about 3 years now and I just can’t be any other way now! I always eat breakfast (usually oatmeal with non-fat milk and raisins), and choose healthy, non-greasy stuff for lunch and dinner. Plus, I eat a snack in the middle of the afternoon…healthy too.
Of course I sometimes eat “Non-healthy” stuff (mainly ice-cream!!), but I always try to eat healthy. Some people judge me but whatever! That’s what keeps me good and slim! :D
Healthyness rocks, plus cooking is the most awesome thing ever :D :D!
delicious fruit & natural yoghurt for breakfast.
Two birds with one stone!
+ some honey to remove some of the tang from the yoghurt.
Peaches, berries, apple, mango. my mouth is watering just thinking about it :3
Although, then yoghurt contributes to dairy intake, but I’m sure there’s a soy alternative. Ugh, soy. Only a fan of tofu, I must say.
I do not drink juice because it is basically sugar with some fruit juice squeezed on top of it. I always squeeze some fresh fruit into my water though to make it more appetizing! For breakfast I love mixing spinach with my egg whites (the yolks make me ill) and then wrapping it up in a burrito with some mild salsa. yum! oh! and epicurious.com is an excellent source for gourmet recipes! :)
I try not to eat tooo many carbs but I’m not going to stop myself if i REALLY crave them.
For breakfast I usually have poached eggs on a piece of toast with a carrot and peppermint tea. Although lately I’ve been off eggs so it’s usually toast with feta and basil spread on it!!
I try eat a lot of vegetables, no pork, drink at least 2 litres of water a day. I hate broccoli but I know its good for me so I try eat it a few times a week.
I try not to drink much milk except in coffee.
I eat a lot of nuts and seeds as well.
Tamari roasted almonds will change your life. I eat an indecent amount of them.
I try to eat organic, but i ONLY eat organic meat. It actually tastes better. One of my favourite things to make is lamb curry, because it’s so incredibly easy. Although I don’t usually have it with rice, I use pita bread instead and dip it!
I make spinach and feta frittata in mini muffin tins for breakfasts quick easy and you can have 1 whole egg to every 3 eggs so low fat – or just use the whites and for go the yolks all together
or I make a lemon and poppyseed cake – its really low in sugar and tastes like cupcakes but all lemony and good again mini muffin try means small portions and filling
I find seeds fill me up more than any other thing – Linseed / Sunflower/ Almond is an awesome mix and really good for you got to chew them all up so i think its the time that it takes to eat each seed that makes them filling.
Haloumi is totally my new best thing cut into really thin slices and fry in a non stick pan looks very flash on a huge spinach almond salad and is salty goodness!!
baked falafel mix made tiny like croutons and baked in the oven rather than fried is a good addition to soups and salads
hummus on everything with chilli and lime is good too
corriander and pineapple sorbet – sounds weird tastes great fresh and tangy
i reckon have wha you love for breakfast – you will work it off during the day in any case!!
ps I just got given some beautiful clear lucite bangles from Kookai – they say love trust dream imagine in black type ( one word on each) good to keep those golas in mind) and I know how you love lucite bangles…..x
My awesome husband, Simon, bought me a fantastic Vegetarian Cookbook for Christmas to celebrate my switch to vegetarianism and to help me get inspired about vege cooking. It totally worked and I think I’ve used the cookbook nearly every night for recipe ideas and food combinations.
So, my advice to you O-Excellent-Advice-Giver, is to visit your local Borders/A&R/bookshop and spend some time flicking through them until you find a book that is full of recipes that you would use! It’s great having a bookshelf full of recipe books but terrible if you wouldn’t in your life consider attempting half of the dishes. Practicality, time taken to prepare and ease of ingredients are the key.
Happy Eating!
P
x
Oooo I love talking about food lol. Breakfast is a very important meal because it revs up your metabolism for the day, and skipping breakfast means that food taken in at lunch is more likely to be converted to fat because your body has been in starvation mode for a longer period of time. I think it’s also really nice to eat something that gives you energy to face the day.
In terms of breakfast foods, peanut butter is excellent because peanuts contain certain nutrients that keep you fuller longer, so this can help alliviate hunger if you put it on toast. Or if you’re not so into carbs, a big spoonful of pb is still quite filling. I agree with other commenters about eating non-traditional breakfast foods in the morning, which can be fun.
Getting enough protein on a vegetarian diet can sometimes be difficult. Here in Canada you can get these great meatless soy burgers/patties from a company called Zogolevs. They contain no preservatives and are absolutely delicious because they don’t try to imitate the taste of meat. They are also super-easy to prepare.
Good luck everyone with eating healthier!
Now that I am in college and have to cook for myself I haven’t been eating as well as I should. I was also sick because of allergies lately so I’ve lost 15 lbs. but back to food- for breakfast(when I get up in time for it) I like eating toast and jam,bacon,or some kind of fruit,like an apple, or maybe one of those grab and go bars or yougart. For lunch I love simple things that I can eat between classes or while reading in one of the gardens around campus.Subs,sandwhiches, those kid lunch packs. For supper I usually eat stuff like noodles,pizza,rice meals,or soup.
This semester(and year) I am also working on eating better,cooking more for myself, and eating more fruits and vegtables. Just today I bought myself an apple and a pear. So hopefully I’m off to a good start. Good luck to you too Gala!OOohh Yay!
Go gala! power to you and healthy eating.
Breakfast- berries with yoghurt(can be soy) and topped with walnuts, they are all super good for you and your brain. nuts are low-gi too so fuller for longer….or find some really great breads made by local bakers..there are some amazing breads for breakfast toast out there.
I have found with cooking for myself its always the things that are easiest and as dumb as it sounds fun to make- and look great& colourful.
Fun suggestions:
-making your own sushi, takes a little time &effort but such fun and soo healthy tea this is great when im just eating coz im bored/snackish, buy yourself a gorgeous teacup and some beautiful fragrant teas &have it as a little ritual for yourself,this sounds silly but can help if youre not actually hungry, but find yourself eating.(thanks oprah!) cous cous i love this stuff, so fluffy, easy &put all your fav colourful vegies in, i loove mushrooms, capsicum, red onion& some greens, can also add nuts soups you would be amazed at how easy,colourful& flavoursome some pumpkin,with a little butter salt&pepper can be!
homemade pizza there are soo many options-vegan/vegetarian/gluten free, you can make them as simple/complicated,however you like! and will Always be healthier than the bought version.
oooh and in Melboure theres an amazing vegan place called ‘the white lotus’ across from queen vic markets, all fake meat! sounds really weird,its not 5 star or anything but i love the place!!it is gluten high but sooo tasty…their tamarind fish is incredible!!! I cant believe its not fish!lol
-theres plenty in melb just check out: http://www.vnv.org.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=85
**Myself I want to work on having a little herb garden for myself this year then will work up to vegetables, because making your own food is the first step to being conscious of what you are actually putting in your body.Then growing it yourself& sharing it with others…the thought makes me positively gleeful! xxoo
Gala, your taste buds don’t know what time it is so breakfast to me is like all the others meals.
I hate cereal too. I’m allergic to eggs and toast seems quite uninspiring. Have you tried maybe having some pasta? Or what about making a bruschetta.
I know you would not want to face these things uber early but if i eat something which is high in carbohydrates around 8am i feel a lot better than if i ate this at 6pm.
Having a substantial breakfast gives you more time to burn off what you’re eating and kick start your metabolism.
If you’re not into fruit, making up crazy fresh juices is always a start. Apple, beetroot and berries is actually a delicious combo.
Drinking Japanese green tea is also very good for emitting toxins like fatty acids from the system so you won’t feel so bloated and frumpy after eating spring rolls or something like that!
Good luck!
God, there’s a lot of comments here!
I hate breakfast food too. I skip it a lot (I reason that by the time I finish drinking my 2.4 coffees, it’s almost lunch) but when I eat it, it’s some version of greek yoghurt, peach and strawberry& rose jam drizzled over the top, or my own toasted muesli (oats, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamias and sunflower seeds tossed in maple syrup and vanilla and baked) or strawberries and mascarpone on toast with sugar sprinkled on top, grilled until it caramelises. i like leisurely breakfasts that are more like brunch.
i am a strict vegetarian, and i have been for over a decade now. i love cooking. i think it has something to do with the fact that is an area of my life that has very little to do with ‘achieving’ anything, if you get me. it’s just a perfect mixture of pleasure and discipline (not in a kinky way! eep!) that isn’t caught up with anything else.
i’m too poor to buy organic but i try to buy local. i cook most nights except when i’m tired or lazy. i minimise my grocery expenditure by buying fruits and vegetables at markets, and cheese from the wheel at delis, instead of prepackaged bollocks that they sell in supermarkets. i do take a multivitamin. i love mango curry at the moment (can be pulled together in five minutes) for lunch, and i treat myself by making macarons and tiny pavlova-rosepetal tarts, things like that. cookbooks i like include ‘the accidental vegetarian’ and ‘falling cloudberries’ ...
i have to say, reading this entry, i was a bit astounded by that amount of times you eat out per week. good luck with everything darling, and take care! yay!
When I first became vegan, I did it for all the usual reasons (animals, the environment, economics, resource allocation, etc etc.). But over the years, my reasons for staying vegan have changed immensely. The number one reason I maintain this lifestyle is that I consider it a gift to myself, a way of respecting my body as well as the world around me – just a point in my life where I can do something positive for myself as an everyday activity! It’s certainly not a lifestyle for everyone, and I’m pretty lucky to have a lot of supportive friends and family (it makes eating out and at others’ places pretty easy). But for me, that’s my nutritional kudos.
As for the breakfast thing – in the mornings, I’m just waking up, so I’m either on the go or, you know, not awake enough to do much. I like to keep it simple, so I often eat leftovers, sandwiches, pieces of fruit – basically, things that require little to no assembly.
I think it’s kind of funny to only eat certain foods at certain times of the day, so if you don’t like breakfast foods, don’t eat them! Personally, sometimes I eat ice cream for breakfast and waffles for dinner! (Likely not the same day…) Just eat foods you like as opposed to foods you’re “supposed” to eat at a certain time, and I imagine that’ll make the process a lot easier.
Now, my partner is someone who plain old doesn’t like to eat in the mornings. Consequently, he also often doesn’t get his first calorie until some time in the afternoon. If you’re anything like him and it’s more of a matter that you don’t like to eat in the morning (period), he finds things like smoothies and yogurt work really well for him. When we’re together in the mornings, sometimes I make us protein smoothies because they’re delicious, give me a protein boost if I’ve been lacking (that’s definitely not something he worries about), and act like a multi-vitamin for both of us.
And here’s a good general eating tip: make things in large batches (especially things that can be frozen like soups and lasagnas). That way, you can feast on leftovers throughout the week or even the year, and it cuts back on how often you have to cook. It also makes it easier when you’re on the run because instead of giving into take out or junky snack foods, you can just grab a tupperware container of Tuesday night’s dinner and jet.
I made a long diet some years ago (and lost 10 kilos, got rid of hypotiroidism as well), and as I said before I still eat healthy…my tips:
-You really have to HATE breakfast to not eat it: is one of the top reasons of why people get fat and unhealthy. Eating breakfast is not only yummy (I love oatmeal but a fruit or bread with some protein and milk, or a smoothie is OK), but essencial! Gives you energy, plus it fills you so you can eat a good lunch
-Nuts are great! They have lots of good stuff for cancer, and they fill you up. Almonds are my favourite. Seafood is incredible too!
-If you have digestive problems (like me), try to eat salad instead of a full dinner, and take fiber pills. Yogurt is awesome for this too, and delicious.
Really, if you eat healthy, you feel and look better, AND (great thing) when you do eat “un-healthy” stuff, you it enjoy even more! Pizza or creamy spaguetti or a good chocolate icecream…eating healthy is not about starving!
If part of your breakfast problem is that you just can’t think of anything that interests you, perhaps instead of eating out six nights out of seven, you could eat out for breakfast a few times a week. I’ve found that I’ve often been inspired to cook things though meals I’ve eaten or seen on the menu. You might find the breakfast blog useful for that, the blog is based in Melbourne and there are all sorts of fascinating breakfasts (and eateries) on review. It’s http://thebreakfastblog.blogspot.com/
I don’t tend to keep track of what’s “healthy” or not, but I am pretty obsessed with knowing what I eat, which stems from before I became vegan. My family is Chinese, and there was this huge emphasis on fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and no prepackaged foods. But the thing that I advise for eating healthy is not buying cakes and muffins from restaurants and shops. Try to eat cupcakes that are home made, either by you or by friends, and it means you’re not eating things completely filled with oil and things, but that are still delicious.
I love that the changes in your life really come through to us in this Blog- you’re a real person, just like us! First your transition from more means more to less is more, and now, away from cupcakes for breakfast.
I guess it was just the environment I was brought up in, but I tend to eat okay- my mom is a nurse, + my dad is a chef. So when I’m home on break I eat really well. Actually, my biggest problem is eating healthy at school, because most of the food is pretty nasty, + eating grilled cheeses every day doesn’t do good things for you.
I haven’t really got any good advice for you on the subject, but I do have a pair of pom-poms and a big smile for you. Gala, Gala, she’s our girl! Eating healthy, give it a whirl!
Hmm… Well, here, I’m the Queen of Sweets… so, I’ll try to give some helpful hints. ;)
-Usually, for breakfast, I get stuck on eating cereal everyday. It’s not because I’m bland and uninspired… it’s just that I really adore it! I think the trick is that for breakfast, in order to have a great day ahead of you, eat something you love. If you love eating toast&peanut butter, have it with some fruit and call it a meal! Or, if you like eating crepes loaded with fruits, go ahead! Try to add colour (Cheesie Crisps don’t count!) and aim to have a multi-vitamin. I usually take Omega-3: it keeps my mind ready for fun!
-As for fruits, I usually have to trick myself into eating them. I’ll pull an ol’ “Jedi Mind Trick” and think that they’re just “Nature’s Candy”. Instead of reaching for a bar of chocolate, I’ll reach for some acai berries/juice (it tastes chocolate-like!). Or, randomly add them into everything you eat. Grapes in your salade, raspberries in your oatmeal, pineapple on your pizza… It can go on and on.
-If I can, I’ll try to eat organically as possible. I’ve already made a major change with certain products, and I find there is an incredible difference in my skin and digestion. At least I know that the strange antibiotics aren’t affecting my health.
-Ever since I read in “Skinny Bitch” and other reputable sources about artificial-sweetners (and having an allergy to Splenda) I stay away from them. They give me instant migraines, bloat you up, and dry out your breath. Why would I want to eat something made out of arsenic?
-Check out the book, “Deceptively Delicious”. Sure, it was made to help parents feed their kids veggies, but it has some great recipes that are also vegan! Jessica Seinfield has yummy alternatives to sweets&meals using veggies like sweet potato and squash to help you eat the most veggies possible.
http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/
http://www.amazon.com/Deceptively-Delicious-Simple-Secrets-Eating/dp/0061251348
I have gotten into the habit of drinking a big glass of tea every morning during class. It’s a perfect start in the winter, after a cold bike to school, and it keeps my stomach under control until lunch (I often don’t have time for breakfast, nor the money to stock handy little eat-on-the-go sorts of foods).
On the weekends I’ll wake up and snack on applesauce, it’s good for energy. Twice-baked potatos are also wonderful — you can save them in the fridge and reheat quickly if you need to run out the door with a handful of food, plus, you can stuff them with all sorts of veggies and cheese.
The hardest thing for me is managing my time to cook and eat, as well as figuring out how to eat well on a very tight budget. I’d be very intersted in hearing what you experience in your cooking adventures.
Congrats on taking control of your diet! I know you have experience, but just make sure to warn your boyfriend of the potential pitfalls of cutting meat out of your diet. I truly respect anyone who does, but for me personally, if I don’t have a modest amount of lean red meat in my diet I get extremely weak and anemic. Be safe and good luck!
Hey Gala
You’re so right about Skinny Bitch. I started reading it, but have stopped. I thought it would be good… tell me how to eat well… but all it did was frighten me into eating foods that I don’t like… ie tofu, soy, etc.
I’m afraid that if I eat something wrong, one of those women is gonna show up and beat me to death with the book… hahaha little strange.
But on the other hand, I have become more aware of what I’m eating. I’ve stopped drink soft drink (I was addicted to it) and now all I drink is water, and I’m very proud of myself.
Anyway Thanks for all your insightful blogs. and keep them coming! O_o
Gala
Obviously you’ve received a ton of comments but let me add my two cents:
Traditional oatmeal is very very easy and can be customized to whatever you want to put in.
Also, I have a really easy bagel recipe which gives great results (I can’t eat store bought bagels – they give me an upset stomach).
Drop me an email if you want the recipes.
Luv
Poochie
princesspoochie@shoedaydreams.com
You know, your article made me think,
“Gee, the only thing I have for breakfast is a cup of coffee and then I don’t even eat until after 2:00 due to school. What the heck am I running on!?”
But as for breakfast tips for you,
Greek Yogurt is pretty good, it’s much more filling and better tasting than regular yogurt, even if it’s a dollar more expensive it’s worth it! The containers are bigger and have a re-closable top so you can finish it tomorrow.
Bagels. Though I think it’s hard to find these outside of America, right? They taste great though, if you ever go back to New York try it with some cream cheese.
Hello,
I find this site has many tasty recipes and there is a search function for Vegetarian mains. http://www.taste.co.nz (for some reason this site works better in firefox than safari)
Also my boy and I have been watching Gordon Ramsay’s show the F word which I love. Be warned though, he’s not the kindest about vegetarians, more about knowing where your food comes from.
Nigel Slater is a genius when it comes to food.
Gala, thankyou for sharing your eating habits with us.
I binge eat, and I want to overcome it so much.
I think 2008 is a great year to start on the healthy track.
Cheers Gala!
my favourite thing to have for breakfast is a smoothie! 1 banana, 1 spoon of vanilla whey powder, a couple tbsp of plain yogurt, a large handful of frozen blueberries, a pinch of cinnamon, a tbsp of ground flax seed, a whole peeled navel orange… blend and drink. it makes like two huge full glasses. even one glass keeps me full until after lunchtime. the whey powder is awesome for energy and metabolism, and it gives you protein without having to eat any meat.
I LOVE smoothies! My favourite smoothie recipe is: 250ml Fresh n Fruity Mango Passion Frozen Yoghurt (1/2 a 500ml tub), 1 banana, 1/2 tray of ice cubes & a big ol’ squirt of passionfruit topping! Then, you just blend & drink. :)
i love you because sometimes you read my mind and make posts about what i’m thinking about!
ok well i’ve been vegetarian for 7 years now and i am also moving towards being vegan but it’s so hard. My food plan is pretty much adding tons more veggies & fruits and not relying so much on carbs.
thanks for this post because everyone’s been posting great ideas!
When I think about how fruit was once something decadent and exotic (think crusader bringing a single orange back from the orient to his wife) it makes it taste so much better.
I’m also all about eating raspberries off of my boyfriend’s nipples (Oh, scandal![]())
Fruit also tastes better when it’s been dragged over skin!!
I always feel good when I eat tons and tons of veggies. I try to throw a handful of veggies into everything I cook.
Soups, Gala, are super easy to make from scratch. You just cut up a ton of veggies, cover them with some low-sodium broth, and boil away. Throw in a tin of herbed tomatoes, some fresh spices, and maybe some pasta at the end, and you’ll have a lovely, healthy soup with no mystery ingredients.
I know this counts as a double post, but I also want to say that smoothies, when prepared by yourself, are a delicious way to wake up. Just remember to keep the top on the blender.
Emilyyy: No, I’m an omnivore, but I was brought up veg until I was 13. It tinged me though, because other than hot-dogs &fish, I don’t eat meat.
...is hot-dog really meat?
:D
Zombella: I wish you luck in overcoming your binge eating. I did that too, and it was tough, but I realized that I was worth more than just the limited pleasure I got from too-much cake.
Good luck!
Michael Pollan is a champ: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” (First line of this essay http://www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=87, Unhappy Meals). There’s a list of 12 commandments that he wrote which is floating about the intertubes at the moment too; which, really, comes down to the same thing.
Oh, and if vegetables taste bland or like dirt; they probably need a little bit more salt.
p.s. use sea salt rather than table salt.
zombella — I don’t know if you’ve considered this, but a lot of people have managed to give binge eating the boot by using EFT! Just a thought, no pressure. Links, if you’re interested:
http://www.emofree.com/Addictions/success-formula-binge-eating.htm
http://www.emofree.com/Addictions/binge-eating-solomon.htm
How strange that you have written this post today! I am just about to head home to Japan and I am hoping to walk/jog everyday and eat better (This time of year always makes me want to do this, hopefully this year it will last longer than last year though!)
Some great ideas in the comments, I have been taking notes also!
You said you hate cereal but maybe try a couple different types and then instead of eating it with milk put yogurt and some chopped fruit on it.
Smoothies and juices are great too! I am a huge fan of watermelon and pineapple juice with a little plain yogurt mixed in. It is divine!!!
Toast with cottage cheese and tomato is also great for breakfast!
Also cous cous salads are the best! Fantastic for lunch!!!!
Do you eat tofu? I don`t but if your bf is serious about going vege then you might need to get into it! Great for stirfries instead of meat….and so easy to prepare. Cut up vegies, tofu and add some soy sauce, ginger, garlic and maybe even some honey or mustard! Makes for a great healthy easy tea!
Ps: I just finished reading the book skinny bitch which is also a great read. Bit full on in parts but really informative! They authors are vegan and have a lot of helpful hints and even some good brands of food that is low in additives or has no additives at all!
Best of luck with your healthy eating!
Warning, when it comes to food I tend to rant because I love it.
My beloved and I are no ‘health nuts’, but we do try to improve our life standards by eating healthier. For me, it was quite an rollercoaster, commitment-wise, before we finally settled into good habits, seemingly for good, by making weekly meal-plans.
My first step was to cut out all refined sugar. If something has added sugar, I won’t buy it. We have no white sugar in the house. The second step was to cut out the white flour. There is now none of that in the house either. I bake all of our bread (once every six weeks I make six loaves, which takes me about an hour of concentrated effort spread out over a free weekend day) and pastries. When we stopped eating white flour, there was no point in keeping up our unhealthy daily staple of potatoes either. Potatoes became a special-occasions food, white rice is out of the question and we allow ourselves only whole-grain pasta a maximum of once a week. We drink only water, tea, and my beloved has coffee now and then, although keep some sugar and sweetener free juice at home for the occasional half-a-glass quick picker-upper. Sounds boring, perhaps, but with a meal plan it has been very easy. You can plan as healthy and as delicious a meal possible for every single day.
Mind you, everything happened very gradually. First we cut out the soft drinks and started drinking sugar-free sweetener-packed tang, and then it was juices, and then finally water sweetened with fruit and berry slices.
Today, we do all of the above, plus we have a few purely vegetarian days per week, and we have reduced our un-necessary calories intake by having a starter (quick and easy low-calorie soups) before every meal. We try to introduce new things every few weeks and currently have a quite large selection of nuts, lentils, beans, sprouts, root vegetables and other things we’d never thought to try before. A favourite winter staple has become red cabbage-based sallads. Who knew red cabbage was so good raw when it tastes so horrible cooked?
As for breakfasts, we often make different kinds of porridge. Spelt porridge with cinnamon and apple slices, oatmeal with dates, sprinkle blueberries and raspberries on top, et.c. Sometimes I’ll have crisp bread with a slice of turkey or cheese and a fried egg with some asparagus. A small portion of yesterday’s left-overs mixed with some grains isn’t bad either.
Oatmeal for breakfast is the BEST! It fills me up for a good 4 hours and it’s so yummy! Mmmmm with brown sugar mixed into it yum yum
yogurt for breakfast, with berries and honey in it, it’s pretty much all i can stomach when i absolutely need to have breakfast.
i’m veggie, and i am madly in love with haloumi cheese. grill or barbeque it, with tomatoes, portobello mushrooms and rocket.
or cous cous salad with chargrilled capsicum and falafels.
not relaly inventive, but hope it helps! my new years resolution was actually to get fit and stop replacing meat with nothing but carbs :)
i have to eat three meals a day hungry or not, as i am diabetic.
this had led to some very bad eating, because i HAVE to eat i will eat whatever. This can mean takeaways three times a day. Not good.
Later this year i am going to tackle this, after im off my antidepressants, and have started looking after my diabetes better.
mum kindly rung me to tell me about some weight loss site she was using. i told her to bugger off and hung up.
Hi Gala, good for you that you’re going to try and improve your eating habits! I’ve been vegetarian for about 6 years. More recently I’ve gone practically vegan since I’m lactose intolerant, but don’t stick to that religiously for some of the reasons you outlined!
Anyway, I’m writing a veggie cookery zine, with some quick easy veggie recipies that are tried and tested in my own home. I’d be happy to send you a (free) copy once it’s finished? Drop me an email if you’d like one.
Just thought you might like to know some things.
I agree on your breakfasts. What I usually have is 2 pieces of toast followed with a smoothie:
Handful frozen berries
1/2 a banana
2-3 tablespoons of muesli
a good dollop of Yoghurt (I get it from an ethical foods place, hand milked, no unnecessary killing of young cows)
and soy milk to desired consistency.
That keeps me going until my late lunches.
Also, on frozen berries. They are indispensable treats for sugar fixes, they taste like little sweets and they’re nice and cold and crunchy. I love them so much.
I would love to read about your improvements and new recipes!:)
I’ve finally cut out all refined sugar, and my god my moods and skin have improved 10 fold. I think most people would feel a lot better regardless what else was in their diet if they simply cut down, or cut out refined sugar.
I actually started eating meat again, reading super nutrition for women really opened my eyes to how womens diets aren’t that great and geared up to help them. Meat also has a lot of properties in it that you cannot get as good a source elsewhere, particular l-carnitine that helps heart function (another reason i started eating it again). Also salmon steaks full of omega oils are wonderful for your skin and repoductive cycle.
My favourite breakfast is alpro plain soya yoghurt with maunka honey, flaxseed oil and macadamia nuts. So easy, light and puts you off long enough! Good luck with your new eating plans, its amazing you never realised how bad you felt diet wise untill you clean it up a bit. x
I love ricotta and peaches (the tinned kind in natural juice, although in summer, fresh peach would be great) on a crumpet for brekky.
Organic bircher muesli is delish too. I just put it on a bowl, cover with soy milk and leave to soak in the fridge overnight. In the morning, add a tablespoon of flax and sunflower seeds, some fresh fruit and you have yourself a very easy, filling and most importantly of all, a yummy and nutritious breakfast.
Before breakfast I drink at least 750ml of water. Before breakfast is my best water drinking time, I can literally down a litre quite easily and with no bad effects. Sleep always makes me thirsty.
For breakfast I have Weetabix with cinnamon on it. Cinnamon is a super-food, I read it in Glamour, it’s great for something or other. Yeah, can’t remember what, but…
I usually skip lunch. This is terrible. But if I’m not going to uni that day, I usually don’t get up early enough to eat it! If I am going to uni, I take sandwiches or rolls or a pot of pasta. I always take my lunch with me, although often I don’t take enough and I end up really hungry. I think I’m going to get a bag of wholemeal pasta today (my mum always cooks with white) and make myself loads for tomorrow’s lunch. Today I’ll probably have soup, since I’m at home.
Dinner is cooked by my mum now I’m back living at home, so I don’t have much choice there. It’s fairly healthy though. She cooks meat with practically every meal, which I don’t like. I’d prefer to have it only a couple of times a week as I don’t like it that much and I’d rather have more tomatoes in my food! I love tomatoes! I think I might have to start cooking for my family because I miss my own cooking so much. Seriously!
The best tip I can give you, I think, is to learn to make vegetable soup from scratch. It is the best thing ever. Absolutely delicious and you can put practically anything in it. Sometimes I do some noodles or pasta at the end and throw them into the soup bowl as I serve it so that I get some carbohydrates in it too.
Oh, and nuts are awesome! Mixed nuts! Yay!
Argh! This thread has made me so hungry! I haven’t had breakfast yet (just finished the water) and I’m already wanting bruschetta!
as i type im eating porigde! Its very healthy a “Superfood“http://www.nutripeople.co.uk/super_healing_foods_index.asp, and i feel like im in a fairy tale!
Also Raw foodism really appeals.
Hellooo!
Gala, I would LOVE to be informed about your eating habits & how you’re progressing! I think it’ll benefit us all! I just wanted to let you in on some good news – our taste buds die and replace themselves every 2 weeks so it’s most definitly possible to brainwash yourself into loving better foods :)
I tend to eat a mixture of fruit for breakfast – that ALWAYS goes down well for me. I feel if I eat fish (mostly salmon & tuna) I’m doing my body a favour – I SWEAR it makes me more alert for the days that follow. I only drink green tea, water and juice to cleanses my body.
My eating habits have changed drastically over the years, and it’s all been worth it. I like the saying “do you live for food, or have food to live?” It puts things in perspective and makes you realise taste is far less important than nutrients. I hope you prgress in the direction you want to head, one mouthful at a time :)
Peace!
I’ve noticed a significant increase in my energy levels since cutting out meat, wheat and dairy from my diet. Also, my taste palette has improved, and I can appreciate flavours that are more subtle.
Dairy and wheat alternatives do take some getting used to. When I first tried soya milk and corn pasta I wanted to kill myself! But now I’ve got used to the ‘alternatives’ I can’t even remember what the fuss was about. My health has improved so much, I’d never go back!
My best breakfast food is old fashioned steel cut oats. It’s delicious and fills me up until lunch. Cooking a great meal every night is not an easy thing, but what helps a lot is using a crock-pot. You can cook great food in it, and it gives a lot of options to vegan; Chili, soup, etc. You just put all of your ingredients in it in the morning, and at night, everything is ready. I usually make more, so I have a great lunch the next day.
The book that changed my life is The Eat-Clean Diet, by Tosca Reno. I think it’s the only “diet” that works. No calories to count, no diet plan, no guilt, just tasteful recipes. And there’s a lot of gluten-free recipes in her eat-clean cookbook.
Good luck with your goal Gala!
I always have en english muffin for breakfast. So good, and if I’m really hungry I just have two. I hate toast so it’s a good easy alternative.
wow this is an interesting subject. I think most of people nowadays have eating issues, specially minding we are constantly pressured by fast food ads everywhere.
i really love boiled vegetables & fruit, which is great. the only problem is that sometimes i’m so tired that when i get home i just want to eat the first thing that comes across my eyes and lay down. this means i basically screw it up and end up eating some fast food thingie (or cookies or something) and some coke and i’m done.
also, i barely drink water. this is awful, most of my days i’ll just drink coke or sprite —’
Here is my MIRACLE MEAL!
I am in theatre, so to avoid the death-trap of ordering in pizza/Chinese/Thai/fast-food every afternoon and evening like the rest of my coworkers, I am all about cooking for myself. One of my ‘miracle meals’ — something that is easy to prepare, keeps well, is nutritious, and keeps me energized — is a parfait. I use non-fat vanilla yogurt (though really you can use any flavor you like), diced fruit that’s in-season (strawberries are my first choice), and a bit of low-fat granola (Kashi is my brand of choice at the moment) — in that order, bottom to top. You can mix it all up if you like, but somehow I like it better layered in a lovely ice-cream parlor sundae glass. My portion ratio is about half yogurt, one-fourth fruit, and one-fourth granola; in terms of portion size, if this is for breakfast I have about 3/4 cup once it’s all together, and for lunch or dinner about 1 cup (US). I drizzle a little honey on top of the granola if I need that extra sweetness.
To make it an on-the-go meal as I usually do, all you need is a little cooler bag. Put all of your ingredients in separate containers (I usually put the yogurt in the biggest container so that I can mix it all in there, stick an icepack in to keep it all cool, and enjoy whenever you can!
Miniature versions of these make lovely snacks!
A bread machines – seriously! I toss in flour, water, yeast and whatever else I feel like (I’m on an oat & maple kick right now) at bedtime. I hit the timer and it automatically turns it on in time for me to have fresh, home-baked bread for breakfast. That way you know exactly what’s in it – and it’s waaay cheaper than buying good quality bread from a bakery.
My mother just bought me Everyday Greens (http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780743216258-0 — there’s even a recipe list there!) from the chef of the famous San Francisco vegetarian restaurant. I haven’t cooked from it yet, as I’ve been super-busy, but just flipping through it (or scrolling down that recipe list!) makes me hungry.
I gotta agree with the yogurt/granola/fruit and oatmeal recommendations — I don’t often eat breakfast (bad! bad!) but when I do, I do tend to eat yogurt and granola.
I also love caprese salads — basil, tomato, mozzarella — and caprese sandwiches. For snacks, I try to eat nuts (mostly almonds), soybeans (edamame or roasted “soy nuts”) or string cheese (more mozzarella!). It wasn’t until I went away to college that I realized that my getting-cranky-times were related to not eating enough protein!
Eating is still a slightly shaky area for me- I lose my appetite very easily and am recovering from an eating disorder- but my one big positive eating habit is that I don’t deny myself things out of guilt or a feeling that I need to keep my weight under control. If I want raw carrots, I eat raw carrots, and if I want cake, I eat cake. This hasn’t resulted in a diet composed solely of Reese’s peanut butter cups; it’s resulted in quite a healthy mix of things, but the real advantage is that I don’t look at food and immediately think about my weight. I look at food and think “that looks delicious!” or “I’d like to try that” or “I could do with a boost of vitamins”. Eating isn’t fraught with worries about my weight any more, and I can’t believe how much of a relief that is. I would recommend this approach to everybody.
Since I started approaching eating this way, I’ve also stopped binge-eating completely. I used to binge a lot, and I’m really glad it’s out of my life. I now understand that the urge to binge hit me so often because I wouldn’t stop restricting my diet. Now that my diet is unrestricted, I don’t feel that need to eat everything in sight.
just as you, i think that eating breakfast is really important because it gives you the power for a good start into the day. i mostly eat cereals and buttermilk for breakfast.
i know what you mean by always having to ask what one is being served. i’ve been a vegetarian for about 6 years now and since most german people love adding meat to everything, i always have to ask what is in there. it’s quite annoying. i don’t want to have a special meal, i’d just like to know what is in there so i can decide, you know?
this year, i’m trying to eat at least 3 kinds of fruit & some vegetables a day and drink a lot of water and fruit juice. i think it will make me feel better & healthier.
good luck with realizing your plans!
I think the secret of good eating is most defently finding something you love and sticking to it. I hate fruit and am vegan (not by choice). So I go out of my way to eat lots of vegies (I love anti pasto ones)
To make myself eat more healthy I like going into markets to buy things. Just smelling and touch things for some reason makes me more intrested in eating it and makes me feel wholesome. It soulds so silly but it works for me.
I love making vegetable soups cos’ they’re all warming and filling and stop me from doing the lazy too tired thing. I just get a whole bunch of vegies I like sweat them out in a pan then blend it.
I have dreadful eating habits! For breakfast I will usually grab a slice of toast to go with my coffee. I spend the rest of the day consuming only coffee and when I get home from work I end up snacking. Dinner is usually a curry, pasta, or stir fry. I don’t eat meat as I don’t like preparing it.
My food resolutions this year are to learn how to cook, to eat less cheese, cut down my coffee consumption, and to go to the grocery store more often.
Areas that I am currently doing well in my diet are: I drink a ton of water, eat a lot of meat substitutes so my protein isn’t lacking, and I drink a glass of chocolate soy milk every day to curb my chocolate cravings.
im kind of person, who is ALWAYS HUNGRY. i managed to train myself to eat REGULARY, small portions of something nutricious.
if you work at home there’s nothing easyier than pop a carrot, piece of broccoli and selery into steamer and eat it with tahina or butter. maby tiny bowl of rice. in general try to steam- its healthy and you keep all tat taste in veggies. for a while try to forget about frying pan.
my magic tip- soups! from everything. just cook vegetables, season, blend and eat. two or three bowls. you kill the biggest hunger that way and then you wont stuff yourself with rubbish. you can also prepare bigger amount of broth or stock and freeze it in small portions. then refreeze add tomato sauce(like those italian ones in a can) and some noodles. miso is a perfect instant soup. add diced tofu(another wonderfull base for healthy dinner), sliced carrot, mushroom.
and remember, that after 10pm your organism stop digesting almost at all(pitty, huh?:)) instead of forcing yourself to eat fruit- blend them with ice and honey or cane sugar.(i have the same problem as you, and blending works).
takeaways are forbidden- the amount of sali to one portion is more than enough for one year per person. ready made juice and youghurt(except of greek one-but not always) are forbidden- animal-based jelly or arabic gum(i guess thats a proper name for it, but im not sure) in second one and loads of sugar in both.
if youre not a strict vegetarian make your own ham- roast piece of meat rubbed with herbs and garlic. amount of salt in bought one is horrible!
try not to eat white bread.
oh i still have loads of tips for you(that i still try to use in my everyday life-almost managed!:D ) and recipes as well- currently i become domestic godess cooking maniac;)
wish you luck!
one of my new years resolutions was to write down what i eat every day, what sort of exercise i get, and how my body feels that day. there’s no pressure to diet, but just to notice patterns with my body in response to what i eat.
already in the first week of tracking what i eat, i can see which foods tend to make me feel ill and i’ve noticed that i don’t eat enough fruit and veggies, which i am now slowly easing into my diet, still with no pressure to really “diet.” without an ultimatum i really do feel like i am becoming healthier for myself! it’s lovely :]
I know you said you eat a lot of Chinese which you think to be unhealthy. However, you are probably ordering the wrong dishes! I’m half Chinese and we order more traditional dishes instead of the deep-fried food that most people prefer. Gai-lan in garlic sauce is never on the menu but is amazing, and the vegetable is fantastic for you. There is also lots of dishes with tofu, often found in hot pots which is not deep fried and very good for you! I recently became pescetarian (vegetarian but I still eat fish and seafood) and find good proper made Chinese food to be a good and healthy meal.
I’m a raw-food vegan. This is not the diet for you if you like to eat out! It’s really tough to find stuff on menus(although, most places have salad or fresh fruit or veggies). But, I am feeling the best I have ever felt in my life! I’ve lost 30 pounds eating this way. For breakfast I make a fruit smoothie with fresh squeezed orange juice and a couple bananas(or any other kind of fruit) and throw in a bag of spinach or mixed greens. That way, you get all of the benefits of the spinach without actually having to eat it. You can’t taste it at all! Check out the book Raw Food Real World by Sarma Melngailis and Matthew Kenney or Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo
Eating 100% raw is tough, but the beauty of being a raw foodist is that you don’t have to go 100% to feel benefits! Even if half of your diet is raw foods you’ll feel fantastic!
Buy a good cookbook. Find one that has tons of staple recepies and simple instructions. I learned to cook on my own, and it’s super easy. Sitting down to a healthy meal that you’ve just prepared is a truly satisfying feat.
Mmm, food. :) It’s great that you’re going for a healthier intake! As for fruit, if you’re not crazy about it in general, a nice way to go about finding the ones you DO like is by sampling smoothies! Maybe you can even have a Blending Day and just make little shot-glass-size smoothies for a while, heee. Blending is so much fun.
Personally, I am a reforming meat-lover (I admit that I loved vegetables and breads/rices just as much!), one of those people-who-don’t-gain-weight-genetically, and of the type who eats when hungry but gets hungry very easily. I’ll have you know that fruit is a great way to fill up while not getting a major energy drain. :>
Breakfast is SUCH a simple affair for me – heat up leftovers in a saucepan or the microwave (this is 5 minutes altogether at most) and pour over fresh rice or noodles, which I just pop in water when I wake up first thing. There are little Chinese bakeries nearby, too, so once every few weeks I’ll grab a bag full of goodies to eat as breakfast or snacks, and those will last me a week. A cup of fruit juice and/or tea with a little bun with creamed corn for breakfast? Yum!
I also like to pile stuff on toast or bagels and just stick them in a toaster oven or broiler (good cheese is a favorite) and then gobble it all up. So easy, so gooey!
For lunch, I love a good pasta. I don’t know why. But there it is! When I can, I make it myself and it takes about the same time as ordering in a restaurant, although those lunch buffets that sell by the pound or by the boxes are inevitably quick as lightning! Home-cooked pasta is SO EASY, Gala! You just make pasta, heat up stuff, and pour it on top. It doesn’t have to be complicated! And you can shave chocolate over your pasta, sauce and all! ;D
Spoiling oneself is a touchy subject, I find – I try not to let myself think of it as spoiling myself so much as a free pass every week or so for when I find myself eating things that are bad for me, like coffee or tomatoes (my body doesn’t handle caffeine well, and tomatoes are bad if you have inflammatory diseases, so no tomatoes during bronchitis!). It works well enough, because if you’re treating your body right and liking the way it tastes, it should NEVER count as deprivation!
I pretty much wrote you a separate article. Am so, so sorry!
(facepalm)
I eat ALOT of eggs, regular foods too of course though! And I treat myself with frozen yoghurt.
Check out my boyfriend’s group food blog- feedingfashionistas.com. It has a lot of info on cooking vegetarian and asian inspired dishes as well as fun cocktails and other useful info, like what pans and cooking gadgets are good to buy.
Hey!
I think it’s really smart of you that you decided to change your eating habbits and most of all start cooking :) I’m a really big fan of cooking, I loove to cook and been doing so for my entire family since I was 10 – just for fun mind you :)but through high school my love/obsession has been put down, but now when we’re older(24) people have began to see that cooking properly means eating properly which means more health and happiness. So you go girl :) start with better eating :)and please keep us posted :)
btw: if you want some ideas what to do I recomend a blog called Chocholate&Zuccini (lots of easy to do food :) with sometimes a french twist)cause I have never been a particular fan of Jamies – bit to commercial for my taste – but then again you can call me food snob or even maybe foodsie :D
Best cooking book ever: The Cook’s Companion, by Stephanie Alexander.
Explains how to cook just about anything.
I think most of what I do eating-wise has been covered here (big salads, nuts, etc etc), so I’ll just add that I too feel sick and icky if I eat much for breakfast…but the one thing that I’ve found that works is yogurt, because it is light but still has protein to keep me going. Everyone has already suggested toppings like flaxseed (remember to always use ground seed, as the whole ones can’t be digested and go right through you!), but since I know you like sweets sweets sweets, I’d say your ideal breakfast bowl might have yogurt (natural, not sweetened) with lots of berries—and how about a topping of, say, shredded sweet coconut? Could make it almost like a sundae and very pretty :) Or maybe dot your yogurt combo with a few rainbow sprinkles, just for fun. Also, to get yourself to eat more fruit, how about eating it blended up with a dollop of whipped topping? (I hate to say it, but I lovvve Cool Whip!)
Good luck & happy noshing
ohh i have terrible eating habits for the most part.
I DO drink alot of water and I tend to stay away from sodas. But other than that, it’s awful.
But my boy and I have decided to start eating much healthier and working out more often.
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jamie Oliver!!
My eating habits are appalling.
If I wake up before 8 (The time I have to leave), I gulp down a chocolate brioche and milkshake before I leave.
Because I have a weekly lunch budget(I actually consider myself lucky on that) and can’t spend more than £2 on food a day, I tend to eat really unhealthy things, like chips or fatty sausage rolls or package sandwiches.
However, once a week I go to my local smoothie place and get “breakfast-to-go”, oats, strawberry, bannana, yoghurt and apple juice smoothie. THAT fills me up. You would love this place, I know I do.
There’s a new local sandwich place that’s opened up as well that does some cheaper, healthier sandwiches so I might look at.
When I used to make my own lunches (yay bento boxes :)) I found I lost a lot of weight, so I might go back to that. I tended to eat a lot of salads and never ever used butter where I could replace it with olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar. Soups are a good one too.
Of course there’s also the fact I replace meals with cigarettes a lot :(
Maybe I should take up your idea.
If someone truly respects life, they don’t eat meat?
Gala, that’s an extreme statement, and one that can easily be taken the wrong way. I didn’t think you were one to insult your readers.
The one thing I love the most? Tuna Sandwhiches with spinach, and little chunks of celery.
I’m a poor college student, so a tuna sandwhich is not only cheap to make, but covers most basic food groups – and they taste damned good. :3
Covino — That’s what my boyfriend thinks. It’s just an opinion!
Geoff – “Best cooking book ever: The Cook’s Companion, by Stephanie Alexander. Explains how to cook just about anything.”
Yes! I couldn’t agree more, it’s an incredible cooking book! Get it Gala, get it now! ;) All the recipes are collated by ingredients in alphabetical order so if you have say… artichoke in your pantry, you can look in the artichoke section & find recipes to use it! Also great if you’re feeling adventures & want to try a new type of food but just don’t know what to make with it. I think Stephanie used to have a restaurant in Melbourne too. :) xox
Gala – good for you. I have that Jamie Oliver book and it’s great.
I haven’t got the juicer out in a while – but I have to say that a great wake me up is apple and celery juice (just a small quantity – not a huge glass).
Breakfast – a cereal bar if in a hurry, or porridge if you’re not. You can get those microwavable sachets of porridge and they’re v handy.
i just try to focus on eating whole grains, veggies, and fruits! maybe fish once a week or so, but otherwise, no meat at all. organic as often as i can. i love the way my cart looks when it’s all filled up with fresh produce! you might be surprised that if the only snack choices you leave in your cupboards are fruits, veggies, nuts, etc… that’s what you’ll begin to crave!
for breakfast, i think a protein/breakfast bar (prana bars are yummy and vegan) and an apple or some piece of fruit is great and very easy to grab if you’re on the run. also, try low fat cottage cheese mixed with some granola and berries…. a fruit & veggie smoothie … oatmeal with dried fruit and honey (& chocolate chips!) ... a whole wheat english muffin topped with avocado, sprouts, and tomato…. even just some dried fruit and almonds. i tend to eat a lot toast with peanut butter, too, cause it’s packed with protein and can tide you over till lunch. don’t be afraid to add stuff besides butter to toast! even beans are good… or sun dried tomatoes… or strawberries.
i’m all about fast healthy meals. i love to eat, like to cook, but don’t want to spend tons of time making food or buying a bajillion groceries for one stupid recipe. realsimple.com has some nice easy food ideas – i love their article on meal plans for every type of person – the gourmet chef, the eater on the go, and the all day snacker. check the photos out and try not to want to run out and prepare beautiful healthful grub! realsimple.com/mealplan.
i agree that eating should never be about obsession. food should be enjoyed not stressed about! i think the key is focusing on what is GOOD to eat, not what’s “BAD.” when all your energy is focused on what you shouldn’t do, it kinda makes you want to do it, huh? so if you just think of filling up your plate with 1/2 fruits or veggies, 1/4 whole grains, and 1/4 lean protein, it’s quite easy to eat healthy without becoming a complete nut about calorie counting or whatever! plus if you know it’s okay to eat a cookie every once in a while, it won’t feel like it’s all or nothing, and you can just eat one… not the carton.
whew!
I just saw your Twitter about protein shakes. I know you’re not a big fan of banana but my favourite protein shake mix when I was working out a lot was: 2 scoops of Leppin Womens Active Protein Recovery Drink in Vanilla flavour (http://tinyurl.com/2fcma6) & big ol’ cup of light soy milk & a banana. Blend & serve. Yummo! Comes with my non-congealed slime guarantee. ;)
Felicity — I just put in some Mushashi chocolate powder, soy milk & some ground up linseeds. It doesn’t taste bad, it’s just gluggy. But I’d like to grab a blender so I can throw in some soy yoghurt, soy ice cream, frozen berries etc. Yum :D
I felt healthiest when I was a vegetarian. I’m not one anymore because of blahblah excuses, but I hope to go back to that someday. It made me feel so clean inside. You probably know what I mean. I mostly ate very simple pasta and vegetable dishes at that time in my life…simple green bean casserole is the bomb.
Oh! My mum makes an awesome bean-and-rice dish with coconut and jalapeno and thyme and allspice and green onions and, of course, rice and kidney beans. I can send you the recipe if you want, it’s super yummy and pretty gosh darn healthy.
Just wanted to comment briefly:
1) I wonder at your ability to be so productive and not suck when all you’ve been eating is takeout. :P
2)Cooking is a very good idea. You could do things where meat is optional, so it doesn’t have to be strictly vegetarian. Take a noodle bowl. Noodles + broth + veggies= yummy. Or noodles + broth + veggies + beef= yummy. And it’s quick. I think you’d probably like the noodley things considering you’ve been doing a lot of asian food.
3) A good trick for eating well is having several small meals throughout the day. Think of how little kids eat. They don’t have 3 huge meals. They have a bunch of little ones and they have a lot of energy. I think that’s a good way of doing things cause you don’t end up ravenous, you don’t overeat, and you have a chance to eat healthily. Have an apple between meals or grapes or a small sandwhich or a salad.
4)I completely respect your boyfriend’s choice to go vegetarian. It’s not something I think I can commit to right now (if ever.)I love ham way too much.
I hope you have a good year!
taboulleh is great for breakfast.
bulgar wheat and lots of skinned ripe tomatoes (minus seeds), peeled cucumber, red onion, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and loads of fresh flat leaf parsley. chop all veg into really small pieces and don’t add water to the wheat like yr supposed to – it soaks up all the juices from the veg and stays bouncy instead of soggy.
fruit makes my face ache. it’s a shame ‘cos it looks so pretty…i eat a lot of veg to make up for it.
if you want something more wintery for brekkie or lunch try making potato cakes with left over mashed potato. gorgeous with butter or baked beans.
really filling too!
i cook every night practically.
i live in a small english town with barely a decent restaurant so it’s a must.
i eat meat less and less and only organic. brown rice and veg stir fry is easy and quick for when you can’t be arsed.
home made sushi is super too.
i like the too-much-wasabi squeal dance.
try that!
i ate whatever i liked – and i liked crap – when i was younger. now i’m a little older i think it’s reeeeally important to spend cash on good ingredients and to spend time cooking. be intuitive. you get better and better at that as you get older and it becomes more fun.
good luck miss!
You + your boyfriend’s eating habits are exactly like my boyfriend’s and mine. I hate all breakfast foods (except omlettes at random late-night times) and always wait until lunch. Then we eat out; always a huge meal to last us until dinner, when we’ll go downstairs and get a taco or something.
Living in the city with such an abundance of affordable food from around the world makes it tough to want to cook. I’m working on it though…I think the secret is proper kitchen stocking.
Oh boy, healthy food, here we go.
I was sort of thrust into the world of healthy foods around 7 years ago when I caught an awful 3-day stomach virus from something or other. My system was thrown out of whack and ever since then I’ve had a lot of problems eating fatty/salty/junk foods.
6 months back I saw a naturopath who, after putting me on a strict elimination diet for a long while, helped me find out that I was sensitive to gluten, wheat, dairy, fructose, yeast, preservatives and additives.
I thought I would go mad. So many foods I liked went out the window. I now can’t afford to be lazy with my food or I’ll starve. It does suck sometimes. But golly, look at all the food ideas presented by the posters above!
I do wish you and your boyfriend luck in finding the perfect healthy eating plan. With so many recipes out there it’d be hard to be lost for meal ideas.
Good luck :)
I recently read How to Eat Like a Hot Chick, and I found the footnote hearts utterly annoying. I can remember “heyday”, etc. I would quibble with the fact that screeching about the amount of sugar in processed foods, etc. and then advocating eating “fuckton” of grated cheese from a green canister or “as much as you want” of frozen yogurt is utterly insane.
I think it’s great that you’re looking into cooking more. It’s super easy when you limit your ingredients. Take a look at what Dan Ho has to say (Discovery Health website) about cooking with 5 ingredients.
thank you so much for this encouraging post!! I have been really struggling with slipping back into my old, anorexic mentality that food is “bad”, and not being able to enjoy everything in moderation! eeeep! not to mention life has been super-duper busy, so I’ve been eating out a lot lately. I am definitely interested in reading about your quest for eating healthily, as well as any tasty yummies you try out!! I need to get better about fixing proper lunches and snacks to take when I’m on the go… it would save me a lot of $$ in the long run, plus I’m sure my body would run a zillion times better. hehe!
oh, and I wanted to add, if you’re looking for some healthy recipes, I really adore “Cooking Light” magazine. their website has a great database of recipes that are healthy and balanced—I found a killer gingerbread cake recipe (gingerbread is my weakness!) there and have gotten rave reviews from everyone that has tried it (all the while I’m laughing to myself because they have no idea that this “treat” isn’t that bad for you!!). the CL magazine is excellent too; the articles on nutrition are full of helpful info that is broken down into quick-to-digest tidbits! :)
good luck!! :D
I found that the book “YOU on a diet” was really helpful. It stresses eating foods that do not contain:
(1) corn syrup
(2) sugar
(3) white carbs (like processed flour or white bread)
(4) saturated fats.
I was really shocked when I started paying attention to food labels and found that supposedly healthy things, like ‘multigrain bread’ had added sugar or corn syrup. Basically, I cook a lot more for myself from scratch, eat a lot of salads with homemade dressings, and this allows me to save money for clothes. Like you, I would eat out daily. I used to spend $20-30/day on food, and now it’s more like $10-15. Lastly, cutting out sugar seems like the most important thing for me. I was a sugar junkie, but once my doctor warned that I was getting dangerously close to a diabetes diagnosis, I cut the sugar and I honestly don’t crave it much anymore (except when I’m feeling particularly depressed, and then I have a peanut butter and banana sandwich).
Ps.- I love your blog. I feel that in many ways it supersedes other fashion blogs because there is thoughtful commentary and well-written how-to postings. Excellent work.
Hi Gala
I like a toasted muesli by a company in the Blue Mountains called Wisk and Pin they make rocky road and other yummy muesli’s to break up the boredom. I don’t eat them all the time but they are great even for a snack.
I also like carman’s toasted muesli (you can get it at most supermarkets now) an Aussie company very yummy with a hint of cinnamon. best of all this version doens’t haev the horrid dried fruit. not that i hate all dried fruit but i am ANTI sultanas, why do they have to be in everything!!!
When I taught Nutrition and Food Studies (I am a textiles teacher, who doesn’t like how we get gendered into cooking as well as sewing and have found a school where i can just teach textiles yaya!) any way i digress, I taught at a school a few years back we made or own toasted meuslie. It’s pretty easy.
2 cup rolled oats
1 Table spoon oil
1 Table spoon water
2 Tablespoon golden syrup
Various nuts
(almonds, walnuts, macadamias, cashews)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 buckwheat grains
sesame seeds
Pepitas
sunflower seeds
Put all dry ingredients in bowl mix. put all wet ingredients in bowl heat slightly to make the golden syrup runnier. then pour in dry ingredients. mix well.
put in oven 180 degrees C and bake for 30mins or till golden. Niow the trick is you need to stir it every 5 mins so you toast them evenly otherwise you have burnt and crusty over oats and not toasted inners.
you can then add dried fuit when it is cool this will last me able 1 week or so. I eat it dry or with yoghurt.
You can make variations by adding some cinnamon, vanilla essence, apple concentrate syrup, maple syrup, i experiment every now and again.
I also heat up some glucose syrup to mix in when it is toasted and put it in a pan and squash to make meusli bars. the key is just enough to make it all stick. I haev tried condensed milk too which is ok but doesn’t stick as well.
See how you go. I also didn’t eat much breaky till i made this.
Chers
Merle
I love fruit for brekkie. It always gets me going for the day :D Also if you are leaning towards a vegan diet a really good book is called “How it all Vegan” by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard was a really good book for when I was starting out to be vegan two years ago. Good luck! Since I stopped eating meat and dairy and eggs I feel that my body works so much better now than it did when I was eating meat. Much Love Miss Rachel Victoria x
darling gala!
i’m a veggie since 12 (not vegan, vegetarian – and i eat some fish) and i definitely dont believe humans need dead-animal-bodies in order to survive :]
in fact, the meat we (not me,ha ha!) get to eat these days comes from poor miserable cows&sheep&chickens that don’t even get to see the place where they actually belong :\ so sad…
after reading the worldwatch institute book focusing on consumer society i not only realized i made a good decision with not-eating-meat but also decided not to eat strawberries in wintertime etc. ...
link: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/1043
and yeah, I’m a home-eater :] it’s so much healthier – there’s something ‘frenchy’ about it and i like it: cooking and enjoying it with your friends/lover – or maybe just alone…
* i have a very quick suggestion for breakfast – you mentioned something about eggs but here it goes – it’s fluffy and fills you up (enough) :
eggs & milk & bread.
how i do it:
i mix 2 eggs with an amount of milk in a bowl. you can add as much milk as you want (just don’t let it become too ‘liquidy’)
melt some butter in a pan – ‘a little’ is enough… and then comes the action:
take a slice of bread (that’s not too thin) and dip all of it in your mix, hop! and in the pan it goes!
do it for other slices that will fit in your pan – roast them till brown & do the same on the other sides.
it’s ready in no time and it tastes much better than just plain bread – you can add a bit of salt and/or pepper in your mix if you like.
it’s really healthy as you get to decide what you put in it or not…
(this is made a lot for breakfast where i live, in turkey. hope you’ll like it gala!)
The best advice I’ve ever heard about nutrition actually has to do with attitude. It’s to be mindful of what you’re eating and how it got to your plate – the sunshine, the rain, the air, the soil, all interact to create your food. Then people harvest it as part of their livelihoods. And once you eat it, it literally becomes part of you. To me, that’s such an amazing thought, of being connected to the whole world through food. Thinking about it that way makes me want to only put nourishing foods in my body and to stay away from processed anything.
Do you have any farmers’ markets nearby? They’re absolutely the best for finding a huge variety of incredibly fresh, local food. Plus, the sellers are usually also the growers. they can tell you what those crazy-looking mystery veggies are and the best way to prepare them. I discovered my city’s market about 3 years ago and now I would be utterly lost without it!
Admit it! You bought the book because of the magnificent cover. Haven´t you? Awwww. I know you ;)
i don’t like breakfast or fruit.
i wake up hungry but after an XL cup of coffee goodness the hunger dies down. i can’t cook so i usually go to a friend’s house for lunch/brunch. sometimes a local, simple deli place with healthy options and cheaper prices. :-)
i used to be a nut with portion, nutrition, restriction, etc. so my new years resolution of 2007 was to just eat mindfully but stop obsessing. i don’t eat meat and i’m not a fan of heavy foods because they make me so sleepy.
i’ve trimmed down and feel more energetic.
good luck with your resolution!
Thankyou so much Gala for those links.
Alot of it has hit very close to home, I am going to give EFT a try! :D
Oh I am excited.
iCiNG gives me so much hope and positivity!!
Everybody is so lovely and helpful!
i dont know if youve heard of kris carr, but she made a documentary about her life with cancer. i dont have cancer, but i just love her positive attitude and she writes about health, too! i havent tried it yet, but if youre trying to whole juicing thing, you can try vegetables too. she has more about it on her blog: http://crazysexycancer.blogspot.com/2007/10/recipe-swaps.html
it even has dr. oz, oprahs doctor, too!
For breakfast, I usually have a big bowl of cereal. I know you don’t like it, but surely there must be at least ONE cereal that you like? My favorites are Honey Nut Cheerios, Special K (with strawberries and Splenda), Rice Crispies (with honey), and Trix. I also eat waffles on occasion. I follow that up with a cup of tea.
For lunch/afternoon snack, I like sandwiches. A recent favorite of mine is turkey, balsamic vinaigrette, and spinach on jalapeño cheddar bread. Another is lettuce, balsamic vinaigrette, and shaved turkey breast (because no one likes a hairy one!) on whole wheat bread. And something that I’ve recently tried is smoked salmon and fat-free cream cheese on whole wheat bagel. I usually drink mango juice or Pakola with that.
At dinner, I usually eat whatever my mom makes (Pakistani food), followed by a stick of celery and a glass of skim milk.
Hope your diet—ahem—“lifestyle change” goes well!
I forgot, oatmeal with chopped apples, Splenda, and lots of cinnamon is also good for a snack!
cereal and toast for breakfast? bah, who says they have the monopoly on what you can eat in the morning, eat anything you like! eat spaghetti, eat a sandwhich, eat anything you crave!
what a coincidence! i recently won how to eat like a hot chick, but it hasn’t arrived yet, glad to hear it’s somewhat good.
you say you don’t like fruit, have you ever gone to a farmer’s market? fresh in season fruit locally grown is a million times better than fruit that’s been traveling in dark places and gets tossed around for weeks and sprayed with pesticides before reaching you.
eating real natural food just makes me feel so much more connected to the earth, good luck!
A great cookbook for vegans is “Veganomicon” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I’m not a vegan or vegetarian by any stretch, but these two are great in the kitchen. What is so impressive is that this book has a variety of recipes that aren’t merely substitutions. You feel like you are getting a great balance of foods.
Whoa, lots of comments! Wish I could read them all, but here’s my two cents: I think the key is making small changes. Emphasis on small! I’m also a pretty terrible eater, and decided to start with drinking less beverages that aren’t water, and eating at least 3 servings of fruits and vegies a day. I know 5 servings is recommended, but 3 is easy to achieve and better than nothing!
Easy foods for me include: – pre-mixed salad greens that I can just chuck some lentils or nuts or whatever I feel like into – pasta! Honestly, so easy to cook – just boil up some water, toss it in, check it in 5-7 minutes and usually by that time it’s cooked to my liking (not soggy, you want it “al dente”, or with a bit of a bite). Start off with pre-made pasta sauce, and you can graduate to making your own! Gluten-free and organically made pasta is quite widely available now as well, if you have specific requirements – toasted sandwiches… mmm…
A couple of food blogs I like are Chocolate and Zucchini, and Orangette – they don’t really post all that often (maybe once or twice a week) and have some really simple recipes. Not to mention beautiful writing!
hey gala,
i find that the best thing you can do, regardless of what you eat, is to have a lineup of the foods you like/want to eat for the moment you get hungry. i went on an Eat More Diet, where i eat small meals wehnever my body gets hungry, and i’ve lost weight (which is amazing) and feel awesome and sleep AMAZINGLY. get that metabolism cranking and you’ll see a difference right away.
Hi Gala,
I know it’s a bit late but I highly recommend checking out www.shazzie.com for raw food info. Some of the stuff that she talks about is a bit whacky, but her site is very helpful, has recipes and products, and the bit that I found most interesting: 7 years worth of journal entries in regards to going raw.
It’s definitely got my interest and I’ve consciously been eating and enjoying a lot more raw food…would be awesome if there was a raw food restaurant here in Melbourne!
Steph x
Steph — Thanks for the link cutie, I’ll check it out! It’s a shame to know that there isn’t a raw restaurant in Melbourne. Do you know of any vegan places in Melbourne that have raw(ish) options?
Well, there’s a load of vego restaurants that offer vegan options too. I haven’t really seen anything about raw food though.
One of my favourites is a cafe called Soul Food in Collingwood, and I’ve been meaning to try a place in Abbotsford called Lentil As Anything (heehee) which is particularly nifty in that instead of having set prices, you pay them what you think the food you just ate is worth.
Oh, and the White Lotus, which is totally vegan, in West Melbourne…which I haven’t been to, but I’ve been told is quite good. It’s one of those whacky ones where they make pretend meat out of lentils and tofu. :D
Sadly most of my friends are big carnivores so I don’t get to eat out at vego restaurants as much as I’d like to. You should have an iCiNG Vego night. ;)
My husband is vegetarian, so I had to learn how to cook interesting and tasty vegetarian meals that I would also enjoy (as a meat-eater). I’ve found a bunch of really great, healthy recipes on the Cooking Light website (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/), and I have found plenty that take no more than 30 – 45 mins from prep to serve (because I am lazy). Make sure to read the reviews before you try a recipe, as people can have good suggestions for improving it. I think if you have good recipes, anyone can cook well! I never used to like cooking, but now I know the product will turn out well, I’ve found I enjoy it much more. Good luck!
i don’t take vitamins but . . .
Fish Oil tablets are the best!!
I take 2 a day, and it makes me feel so much better. They are also proven to boost your intelligence and legnthen your life(you all know the myth about fish).
Really, try it, it works a treat!
Good luck, I could join you on the fruit thing – eeek!
lady jade — Yup, I take 3 omega 3 tablets every morning. I feel very dippy if I don’t. & for vegetarians/vegans etc., flax seed oil pills do the same thing.
Though I call myself a vegan to make my life easier, I’m actually a pescetarian. I eat an otherwise completely vegan diet, except I eat seafood. Fish is so healthy, and to be honest, I could never give up sushi. I don’t feel at all limited, and I haven’t missed eating anything that I used to eat before going vegan (though I was an ovo-lacto pescetarian for about five years before dropping the octo-lavo just under six months ago).
I HATE typical breakfast foods as well. For breakfast, I typically make myself a sprouted wheat bagel (or sprouted wheat toast) with Toffuti cream cheese or Earth balance margarine, some mashed up avocado, tomato, and sometimes a thin slice of tofu or smoked salmon if I’m awake enough.
I buy bulk dried fruit and nuts, such as mango, pineapple, cranberries, blueberries, raw cashews, almonds, walnuts and whatever I see that looks good when I’m in the grocery. I make my own trail mix, and keep a baggie of it with me at all times so that I’m never worried about being stuck somewhere that I may not be able to find food in a pinch. (I’d also have to suggest dark chocolate-covered crystallized ginger. It’s a great treat, with a totally unique flavor.)
Unlike you, I love fruit, and one of my favorite snacks is frozen organic berries such as raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries. Surprisingly, you can find them in the freezer section at most chain grocery stores.
My favorite not-so-guilty pleasure is green tea soy ice cream. So Delicious (also marketed as Soy Delicious) makes an incredibly array of vegan ice creams.
I’m still in high school, and I’m very lucky to have an understanding mother who happens to be a classically French trained chef, as well as a certified life & healthy-living (can’t think of the proper title at the moment) coach. She has decided to write a vegan cookbook after inventing all sorts of delicious vegan meals with me; we’ve only been working on it for a few months, but we already have a bunch of awesome recipes in the works, as well as an accredited and published physician who plans on helping us and writing a foreword.
This year I decided to stop spending so much eating out all the time. As I have access to a student fridge/microwave at school, I have quite a few options. I used to never eat breakfast- now I bring yogurt, graham crackers and some fruit in. I eat ‘em whenever I feel hungry during the day- if I don’t want a big breakfast, they make great snacks later in the day.
Lunch is a bit harder. I really like getting pre-cooked sausages and chopping them up on top of instant rice and frozen corn. I add some water at school, microwave and it’s a tasty meal with little effort. Also good is pork (which does have to be precooked) and egg (also needs prep) on top of rice. Then of course there are sandwiches, crackers and cheese, veggies, etc that require very little prep in the morning. My favorite thing to do for lunch, though, is to cook two portions for dinner and pack one up for the next day’s lunch. And failing that, if I’m running out the door, a frozen burrito might not be healthy, but at least it’s cheaper than eating out.
And just because I made this a few days and posted the recipe somewhere else, a super easy vegetarian eggplant casserole.
Eggplant casserole
procure the following:
1 eggplant (or a few babies)
1 large baking potato
1 small onion (yellow, white, red, doesn’t much matter)
~6 large white mushrooms (more if you love mushrooms)
2-3 cloves garlic (however much you like. Yup, you personally)
Cheese
Olive oil (or other veggie oil)
White wine (not necessary but delicious)
Salt, preferably seasoned salt
Italian seasoning (or substitute whatever seasonings you have/like)
2 Bay leaves
Casserole dish
Preheat the oven to 375 ish.
Chop up the eggplant, potato, onion and mushroom. They’re the basis of this, so basically fill the casserole dish almost full with ‘em, and of course use the most of whatever you like best. The mushrooms turn out really well, so if you’re a fan, I suggest adding even more.
Chop up the garlic and add it, as well as a bit of seasoning salt (I’d say around a 1/4 teaspoon) and a bit more Italian seasoning (somewhere around 1/2 teaspoon). Basically flavour to your taste, but don’t add too much salt. Doesn’t need much. Add the bay leaves, too.
Add olive oil, enough to coat everything (a bit of extra won’t hurt as eggplant soaks it up, but don’t drown the poor thing!) A splash of white wine will definitely add to the delicious, and this is really good served with white wine… soooooo…..
Mix everything up in the casserole dish. Add a layer of cheese on top, you can decide yourself what kind and how much you want.
Toss it in the oven for 30-45 minutes, depending on how big you chunked everything. It’s done when the biggest chunks of potato are thoroughly cooked.
Eat!
Even more delicious leftover, as the flavours get a chance to seep in.
And it’s vegetarian, too!
(how exciting!)
Even if I’m in a rush, I always try to eat something for breakfast – a bowl of cereal with soymilk, some granola and a piece of fruit, a slice of toasted sprouted multi-grain bread topped with a little almond butter and sliced banana – SOMETHING to give me some energy through the morning.
My absolute favorite breakfast food, though, is definitely pancakes. The key to my eating well is definitely being prepared – if I have to do a lot or work and I’m on a tight schedule, I’m much more likely to choose an unhealthy option. I keep a container of homemade pancake mix ready, so I just need to add the wet ingredients, any extras I want, and cook ‘em up!
The make the mix, you need 1/2 cup flour (I like 1/4 cup organic white and 1/4 cup whole-wheat), 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder for EACH pancake you want to make. Multiply those amounts by a bunch, sift them together, and fill a jar with the mix, and you’re ready to make pancakes. To actually cook them, scoop out 1/2 cup of mix per pancake you want to cook into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup soymilk and 1/2 tablespoon of oil (again, for each pancake), and whisk together until juuust mixed (over mixing will make the pancakes heavy and gross, so just get rid of the big lumps and make sure everything dry gets wet). At this point you can throw in any extras you’ve got lying around – a handfull of fresh blueberries or chopped up strawberries, diced apple and bit of cinnamon, a diced banana and some walnuts – and mix ‘em in.
Heat a lightly oiled skillet to medium heat, drop some batter in and cook until the middle starts to bubble and the edge of the pancake stays fairly solid when you lift it with a spatula, then flip and cook the other side. Keep ‘em warm in the middle of a 200 degree oven until you’re ready to eat/serve if you’re making a bunch! Top with a little maple syrup, agave/honey, vegan cream cheese, fruit, or whatever else suits your fancy! Delish, quick cooking, and a good way to start off with some whole grain and fruit!
cupcakes
I find it reeeeeally difficult to eat vegies,
so put some zucchini, peas and carrots in the blender till they’re blended smooth. Then I put them in a bowl with sweet potatoes, and mash them. Tastes delish, you can barely taste the blended veges underneath the sweet potato, and it feels good to know I’m actually eating something healthy for once.
Organic fruit is a lot sweeter, and all round yummier, than chemically-treated fruit. Trust me, it’s worth the money :)
Hi! I have orderd from this place a number of times and am very pleased to share. They have great kosher organic and natural food products.
Here is a link http://www.wholeandnatural.com Enjoy!!!
p.s. I used a code try if it works for you bldc08
How are you doing with your healthy eating plan? As it’s nearly the end of the year I’d love to see how you got on! I’m making similar goals for 2009 and looking for inspiration. I really want to stick to it so I can clear up my terrible skin (psoriasis, spots, too much shiny) and be my sexiest self!
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