I haven’t posted a meal plan post in a while, because I haven’t been formally writing them out each week. As Daniel and I mentioned in our 2012 Goals Update post, we’ve counting calories as a means to diet and eat healthier. For meals I have been cooking a chicken breast or fish with two vegetable sides. Not a lot of planning is involved.
Daniel and I have noticed a difference in our lives as we eat better and eat more vegetables. One of the best perks is that Daniel has more energy. I’ve struggled with having the same high energy level, but I think other things are effecting me. I’m constantly fighting nasal congestion and sinus pressure. Today I cut dairy from diet. No creamer, no cheese, no milk, and no butter. It was hard today. I like to add feta to salads or grab a cheese stick for a snack. I’m only doing it for 5 days to begin with. (I have a brunch on Saturday.) If I feel better, then I may keep leaving it out.
Changing the way we think.
One of the reasons why we want to be healthier is because we both have a family history of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other illnesses. Daniel and I are young enough to change our habits now. I’ve already had a taste of diabetes with each pregnancy. I don’t want it full time. Not if I can help it.
Daniel and I have been influenced by a few TED Talks and documentaries.
Mark Bittman’s “What’s wrong with what we eat” is really informative about the history of the American diet. Daniel and I could relate. I’ve been a fan of his for years. He doesn’t suggest becoming vegan, but becoming more aware of where our food is coming from and what impact it is having on the earth. Also, Jaime Oliver’s talk about teaching kids about food is interesting. There are more talks that I want to watch.
An eye-opening documentary about two different doctors coming to a similar conclusion about how a whole foods, plant based diet can cure major illnesses. It’s the science behind a lot of food assumptions. This documentary got me fired up and researching new recipes.
This documentary is mostly about juicing vegetables to cure diseases. It’s entertaining, but it really brings home the idea of how eating more vegetables (also called micronutrients) can change your life.
We are not becoming vegans.
Yet. Ha ha. I checked out the book, “Clean Food” from the library. It’s about eating food as close to it’s natural form as possible. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I am loving the simple approach to cooking.
Today I started researching recipes that are based on a whole food, plant based diet. Two websites that I hope to utilize a lot is The Naked Kitchen and The Gracious Pantry. My hope is that we can eat vegetables throughout the week and then have meat on the weekends. I’ve really appreciated having a cheat meal or two in our current meal plan. I am not sure I could go cold turkey on cutting out meat entirely.
What surprises me the most is that Daniel is completely on board. Just like it took us a while to grasp how bad debt is for us, we are slowly learning how eating junk every day can really mess up our bodies.
We want to do a juice fast for 10 days. We own a juicer and even put it on the calendar, but it doesn’t work well when you want to go out and be social with friends. We will do this eventually. It will take a lot of planning leading up to do this. I don’t know very many good juicing recipes.
Our Kids
Unfortunately, our kids are not on board yet. I’m making tiny steps with them. I’ve switched them to turkey hot dogs, multi-grain pastas, organic shells and cheese, or homemade mac and cheese. So far they’ve been okay with the small changes. Eventually we will encourage more vegetables. It’s not a battle I want to fight right now. However, thanks to the Whole Foods App, the kids play a game sorting vegetables and they are learning the names of grains, fruits, and veggies. I also make sure the kids know the names of what Daddy and I are eating.
The Future
I am hoping that this post is my stake in the ground. I want to look back at this blog entry and remember how I felt right now. I am so pumped about changing the way we think about food and what we eat. I want to feel good and stay healthy. Even if it doesn’t work and we don’t change, at least I ate a lot more vegetables than I would have otherwise.
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