Good news! Trying to cut out processed foods is fun. Seriously, it is!
I have been forced to think even more about what I am putting in my body and what my body needs, not just what I want. I think that’s where the shift in thinking lies. A lot of people I know have a bad relationship with food because they want and crave so much that is bad for them. That is the story of my life. However, when I began to put my wants and my cravings to the side, the important questions began to surface. What does my body need to have enough energy to be active and function properly? What foods will keep my heart healthy? Which nutrients are most important for keeping my body strong?
When I began to see food as fuel for my body instead of an addicting pastime, everything changed.
If I wasn’t thinking about it enough, now I’m really making a point to make sure I’m eating clean and making wise choices. It’s been challenging to plan meals that include little or no processed food, but it’s been a great experience. For dinner, I’ll cut up whatever veggies I find in the fridge and sautee them with chicken or cook them with eggs. My favorite meal right now, though, is spinach salad with fresh blueberries, strawberries, and pears, shredded turkey, and a bit of poppy seed dressing.
A few other recipes on the list to try:
Herbed Quinoa: I’ve been making a lot of quinoa (apparently a super grain) and this recipe looks wonderful.
Mango & Black Bean Quinoa: Enough said.
Egg Salad: A recipe probably isn’t needed for this, but it’s been sounding yummy lately!
Chickpea & Tomato Salad: With basil. Say WHAT?!
I’ve been baking a lot too, using using ingredients like wheat flour, oats, unsweetened applesauce, and greek yogurt as substitutes. I’ve tried two recipes for wheat bread although neither have been all that successful (I will not give up!). I’ve made granola bar-type muffins, which were pretty good but way too moist so they got moldy pretty fast. I think I would tweak the recipe a bit. I tried homemade fruit snacks and they were just okay. Then, I happened upon a wonderful website, Dashing Dish, created and run by Katie Farrell.
Katie’s story is absolutely amazing and her site is full of healthy and clean recipes. Plus, she is doesn’t try to hid the fact that she is a woman of God, which I love! In addition to her story of her own rocky experience with food, she includes workouts and meal plans for others to try. She even offers health coaching and has a 30-day devotional–for free. Basically, this girl rocks.
I tried THREE of her recipes one day last week: sweet potato fries for dinner, apple crumble muffins, and triple chocolate chunk muffins. My family went crazy over the apple crumble muffins and they are only about 75 calories each! Definitely head over to her site and peruse the loads of good recipes and advice she has to share. :)
