Diet has been my weakness for my entire life. I am the world's pickiest eater. I'm not saying that lightly and I'm not exaggerating. It's a well-known fact in my family and social group that I'm very limited in what I'll eat.
I don't like fish. I don't like most meats, although I do eat burgers and chicken (but only chicken tenders, must be boneless, cannot be breasts/thighs, and I do not do wings). I don't really eat fruit. I eat certain vegetables, the list is short but getting longer. I'm not a big soup person. Sushi, no way.
So what DO I eat? I do LOVE quinoa and kale, so that's good. I eat salads and I do eat SOME Mexican and Asian foods. I'm obsessed with bread and cheese, obviously. I'm Italian, so I love pasta, pizza, and pretty much all Italian foods. I love potatoes in all forms as well as sweet potatoes. I love chocolate, sugar, pancakes, ice cream, and candy. I love crackers, chips, pretzels, and popcorn. I love hummus, guac, salsa, and queso (duh). I'm warming up to protein shakes. I used to only be able to drink them when I mixed the powder with almond milk, but I found a product that tastes just as good with water (shoutout to 1st Phorm for their amazing protein!). I've never done smoothies mainly because my old blender sucked. Now that I have a Nutribullet, I'm going to find some smoothie recipes I like and actually drink them!
There are a few foods I will absolutely never eat. These include sushi, bananas, pickles, and tomatoes (tomato sauce is fine though). And let me tell you-those smoothie recipes that call for a banana but say you "won't taste it at all!" are LYING. You CAN taste it. And it's disgusting. I once threw away an entire smoothie after one sip because the banana in it made me gag.
SO.....you can see my problem!! Since I am such a picky eater, trying to "diet" is a challenge for me because I only eat certain healthy foods. I eat them all the time and then get completely sick of them. And then I fall off the clean eating wagon and don't get back on for months. It's a vicious cycle and I'm in the middle of it right now. I've decided that this time I'm going to do things a little differently. I'm not going to jump into a "diet" all at once like I normally do. Instead, I'm going to ease into it and make small life changes every week that will stick with me. Trying to do everything all at once is a sure way to set yourself up for failure. I learned that the hard way multiple times, and I'm determined to do it right this time!
Last year one of my new years resolutions for 2014 was to expand my palette and try new foods. I'm happy to report that I did that and actually ended up liking a lot of things! Chicken stir-fry is one of my go-to meals now. I've grown to love quinoa and kale. I've experimented with protein pancake recipes and found a few that I like. I started eating bacon (I know, I know). I tried my dad's lentil soup for the first time and actually enjoyed it! So, I am headed in the right direction.
Another big challenge for me is cooking. I hate cooking. If I had unlimited funds I would hire a personal chef to cook me delicious healthy meals. Since I now eat more healthier foods, one of my resolutions for 2015 is to cook more. Prepare more meals ahead of time. Use my new kitchen gadgets to make quick and easy meals even when I don't feel like it. I think this will be a huge step in my journey to healthier eating.
The last challenge I have is getting enough protein in my diet. Since I don't really like meat I have to force myself to eat chicken. Nothing is fun if you have to force it. I usually stop eating chicken after a few weeks because I get so sick of it. I'm hoping to incorporate protein into my smoothies. I got vanilla protein powder for this reason. I'm also going to continue eating protein pancakes, which I know aren't the healthiest but they're also not the worst thing in my diet. I do eat tons of eggs, so I get protein from those. I'm a huge fan of Quest bars, and I ordered the protein chips during their Cyber Monday sale and they are AWESOME. Total game changer. I had to stop myself from eating all 8 bags in one sitting! My roommates love tofu, so I think I'll put that on my list of foods to try. Other than that, I'm really going to try for a protein shake a day, even on non-training days, just to make sure I'm getting enough protein. Muscles can't grow without protein!!
So here's my plan:
-make one new recipe each week, or, at least 4 new recipes a month
-set aside time for cooking and meal prep
-go grocery shopping. just do it.
-prepare breakfast the night before on mornings that I leave at 5:15am
-also don't go to Dunkin on those mornings
-TRY NEW FOODS!
-more protein pancakes
At the end of each week I'll do a post about what I tried that week.
Last week, I used my new spiralizer for the first time to make zucchini noodles! I loved the spiralizer so much that I also used it to make a salad, a hummus wrap, and a mason jar salad....I went a little crazy with it last week! I started with the zucchini because it's supposed to be the easiest veggie to spiralize since it's so soft. I used my mom's homemade sauce that I had in the freezer for the sauce. Raw noodles are a substitute for regular pasta. The zucchini was a little crunchier than normal spaghetti but it did taste pretty much the same! I loved it and will be making them again. Next time I might even try to make my own sauce to go with them! So, successful first week of 2015 and staying on track with my goals!! Anyone have any healthy recipes I should try out? Let me know!!
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| Top L: Zucchini noodles with tomato sauce and parmesan. Top R: spiralized cucumber and carrot over kale salad and quinoa. Bottom L: Spiralized cucumber and carrot with hummus on whole wheat. Bottom R: Mason jar salad |
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