Fitness Friday #9: Healthy Eating

Okay, JUST as I was sitting down to write this post, I can hear the dog "cleaning up" in the kitchen, but she is REALLY licking/ smacking at something. I know I wasn't QUITE that messy while I was cooking, so I go to inspect what she is so interested in. I don't see anything on the floor... she USUALLY doesn't get on counters... EXCEPT I notice that a HUGE piece of venison that was still sitting out waiting to be cooked seems to be missing from the counters and the paper towel it was sitting on is a little frayed at the edges, maybe a little chewed? So, eating an ENTIRE RAW venison steak is probably NOT healthy eating, but, trust me, I've seen what my dog will eat -- you don't want to model your eating after her!

Okay, so healthy eating. I'm not a soy and afalfa sprouts kind of person. I cut calories and fat where I won't miss them, and add fiber when I can, but I am married to a VERY meat-and-potatoes person with one unbelievably picky child. I'm also not going to cook myself a meal and another meal for my family. I want my family to eat healthy, but not so strange that we are impossible to serve.

Let me say, though, that I could eat the same thing for the next 3 years and it won't bother me in the least. I have been eating peanut butter on whole wheat bread for breakfast for over two years now -- occasionally I'll put a banana with it just for kicks -- and I have no intentions of stopping anytime soon. I like it, it's filling, it's healthy. Bam! Enough for me. Hubby, on the other hand, will fall in LOVE with some meal or food, eat it three times, then declare that he is tired of it, and won't eat it for another 6-9 months. Whatever. If you are along these lines of ADD about your menu, I do NOT have that kind of variety in my arsenal.

Some of my current favorite items:

Roxanne put me onto these things and I LOVE them. MOST yummy (even my 11 year old says so) and 5 grams of fiber in an ounce!! This with a wedge of The Laughing Cow cheese is a filling snack!

I LOVE THIS STUFF!!! Butter is what I miss most when I'm really trying to be cautious with calories and fat. But what is popcorn without it? (The answer -- STYROFOAM!) So, I pop myself a 100-calorie Orville Redenbacher bag, and squirt this stuff all over it! I also use this for a grilled ham sandwich, and on top of some of my cooked veggies. Most yummy.

Now that the weather is warming up, there are so many more fruits as options! Grapes, mangoes, pineapples, honeydew -- there are just all kinds of yummy things out there. I'm not much of a raw veggie eater -- unless I drown it in ranch dressing, which somewhat defeats the purpose, I guess. For fruits, my grocery store has fresh containers of ready-to-eat fruits. Originally, they are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced, but are frequently "Reduced to Sell" since they won't be so fresh if they don't get off the shelf. I buy every one that is reduced and serve fruit salad for dinner and have some fresh fruit with my lunch the next day!


I'm aware, too, that sometimes eating healthy is costly -- why is the 75% less sugar cereal 75% more expensive? I try to still be frugal by shopping sales and comparing prices, but it can be difficult. Case in point: meat -- the lowest fat meat is the most expensive (lean hamburger meat or chicken breasts).

Be on the lookout for low fat, high fiber stuff in your store. Read LOTS of labels -- grocery shopping is quite an endeavor for me!

I know this post assumes you eat at home as much as I do -- and I know that few people actually do. It really is possible to eat healthy eating out, but you have to be careful. (Unfortunately, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to eat healthy Mexican food -- bummer!) Next week I will post about healthy choices when you eat out.