general Thread On Eating Better Everyday

Dejaboo

I am trying to switch my diet to a healthy one...it wasnt terrible before.  But when one looks at how much fruit & vegetables, etc that you should eat every day...Well I find that very hard.  just 5 fruits a day fill me up.

Im not great at cooking- Planning a meal...I dont have the energy to cook a meal & my Back is bad & cooking kills it.

 How about this thread be for Suggestions on eating good/healthy food every day.  Good Sources of Fiber, etc.

Suggestions for 5 fruit servings...etc

What you ate yesterday that tasted good & was good for you...

I could use some help.

Thanks,

Pam

crazy4carrots

Hi Deja:

This is how I get my daily quota of fruits and veggies:

1.  1/2 cup blueberries and strawberries, plus 1 banana in a smoothie for breakfast (along with yogurt, ground flaxseed and low-fat milk)

2. Lunch is a salad with fish or chicken, chopped scallions and celery, on a bed of lettuce for lunch, along with 6 oz of Mott's Garden Cocktail (similar to V-8)

3.  2 servings of veggies at dinner, along with a garden salad

4.  An apple or 2 clementines after dinner.

That basically comes to about 8 servings per day!

Dejaboo

Thanks lindasa

Sounds filling but very good too!

Pam

everyminute

I shoot for two salads a day - lunch and dinner and fruit with my breakfast and one snack. 

My salads are huge and filling (2-3 servings of veggies each).  I try to cut up a bunch of different veggies one night and then I can make a salad quickly with lots of different veggies and colors.  I usually use spinach and romaine and then add cukes, tomatoes, peppers, scallions, cranberries, walnuts, avacado, green beans, etc.  For dressing just some EVOO and lemon juice.

breakfast is usually organic yogurt and strawberries or blueberries wit a little cereal.  I try for organic fruits and veggies as much as possible.

An apple or banana or grapes in the afternoon

A couple of nights a week I will make chicken or salmon with a fresh veggie - broccolini is delicious or even sauteed spinach and mushrooms with garlic.

If I do all of that then I reward myself with some ice cream (ben and jerrys froyo is yummy and hormone free!)

lisasayers

Now that chemo is over I can get back to my normal way of eating.  During chemo, the nasty taste in my mouth kind of kept me from eating the things I love!

I eat six times a day...a regular day looks something like this:

Two glasses of water before I put anything in my mouth

Breakfast:  Crockpot oatmeal with apples, cranberries, walnuts. Green tea and water

10 am snack:  Protein shake with fiber boost

Lunch:  Chicken breast, salad, fresh veggies

Afternoon snack:  apple or other fruit and handful of almonds

Dinner:  Salmon, steamed veggies, salad,

Night snack:  bowl of blueberries or other fruit with almond milk

everyminute

just a note lisa - which you probably know.  Make sure your protien shake is Whey protien not Soy Protien

lisasayers

Thanks...but my shake is neither....it is a blend of three vegan sources:  pea, rice bran and cranberry.  Love it!

everyminute

sounds great!

kmccraw423

These are great ideas!  I can't believe I eat the same breakfast that you do lisasayers!  All my life I wouldn't put oatmeal in my mouth - I get steel cut oats and love it!

Thanks every one for some really good suggestions.

lisasayers

Me too....love the steel cut oats!  I love to add different things to it...even added pumpkin puree, chopped almonds and spices...was like eating pumkin pie!

kmccraw423

Yummy!  I'll have to try that.  I read that oatmeal is so good for diabetics they should add it to everything! What kind oif spices?

Maeve

Can't tell you what a relief it has been to read your posts, I'm constantly hung up on my eating habits trying to get as much good stuff down as possible and struggle to reach the magic '5 a day' but you guys make it sound so easy! 

Estepp

I must have the biggest appetite in the world. When Pam said eating 5 is so filling, I almost dropped my laptop...lol

I eat about 9 servings a day of fruits and veggies... A smoothie does the fruit.. and I eat raw all day... tons of salads.... I steam some veggies.. but mostly a raw girl here... I eat chicken and seafood too... I eat all the time.. and 5 servings is my breakfast...LOL.......

Dejaboo

Ok, so maybe I didnt eat that well before...While I didnt eat alot of bad things...I guess I dont eat much.  But I usually only eat when I am hungry.

2 glasses of water in a row would over fill me & make me sick.

My one vice (addiction) for breakfast I have a Sugar Free Generic Redbull (deadbull) with a String cheese.  If I dont have lunch that day...My Daily afternoon snack is the same as Breakfast

I may have Lunch between 11:00 -1:00.  Then my afternoon addiction.

And Dinner before 6. Not always healthy- But Not a big portion either.   I take my time & eat very slow.   Could be healthy Dinner. ..A Salad (Spinach & Romaine)  & fish, Or Skinless Chicken.

Thats pretty much it.   Oh & I only drink one glass of water a day- with Dinner & all my Vitamins.

Now this week I have been terrible...I bought some Russel Stovers Candy on Clearance for .75 a bag....I suppose the Raspberry in the Cheesecake truffle does not count as a Fruit serving.

Ok- so my Diet was terrible before.

I guess I really need help.

Pam

TennesseeMichele

Pam,

Don't be too hard on yourself!  The important thing is that you're wanting to change some things in your diet.

I am not as healthy an eater as lots of the ladies on this board; however, I am trying to add more healthier foods into my diet instead of focusing on taking foods out. 

I've always enjoyed smoothies, but now I try to make at least two or three a week for lunches, adding fresh spinach to each one (blueberries, strawberries, bananas, wheat germ, a little yogurt and juice).  Love them with whole wheat toast.

For breakfast I like bran flakes or oatmeal, and load in the raisins.  Dinner is harder; with three hungry kids I don't have the time or interest to focus on a separate meal for me, so I instead serve 2-3 vegetables, plus a salad (again lots of fresh spinach added in), and just try to go easy on the rest.  I also serve at least 2 dinners a week that are meatless.

The biggest change for me this past year is with Cokes.  I used to think I could never make it through the day without one, but I decided this was an area I would have to rethink.  Now I have one or two a month, and really enjoy it when I do.  I drink water almost exclusively now, including as soon as I sit up in bed each morning.

Anonymous

Estepp, I really don't recommend raw chicken ...

desdemona222b

I recommend using a rotisserie chicken to make quick and easy meals - you can mix different veggies with it, drizzle everything with EVOO, and then heat it up in the microwave.  Takes very little time and very delicious.  Sure makes life a lot easier.

Since most of you hate oatmeal, I don't know why I'm doing this, but... there's this very strange-sounding Weight Watchers recipe that's really good - it calls for a box of fat-free, sugar-free vanilla pudding made with fat free milk, coconut extract, and raw oats.  You just mix everything together and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour, and it makes a really delicious, filling dessert.

Hey, don't knock it til you've tried it!   

desdemona222b

I realize some of you wouldn't consider that a healthy recipe, but as desserts go, it hits the spot if you're trying to lose weight and you get that healthy oatmeal in - it can be made from regular instant vanilla pudding if you find the artificial sweetner off-putting.

barbe1958

Hey Des, give us the acutal amounts of oat and extract. It sounds wonderful to me!

Jorf

On workout days I have a Luna Bar or some seitan on the way from the gym to work. Other days either a banana and almond butter (sometimes on a rice cake or 1/4 cup oatmeal (either the real stuff - whole oats cooked the night before - unbelievably yummy!) or just the flakes cooked in the morning with a T of granola, a t of maple syrup and a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt. I definitely need protein in the morning or I'm starving before lunch.

Lunch, again a good source of protein - usually seitan lately with a huge portion of lettuce or sprouts or cabbage or other non-starchy veggie. Sometimes with a ww small wrap and some pepper or eggplant spread. 1-2 times a week a veggie burger instead of seitan. Sometimes a lentil stew. Sometimes other leftover. Lunch 99% of time followed by a wedge of dark chocolate.

Afternoon a portion (actually more like 2 or more portions!) of non-starchy veggies or a smaller amount of carrot. Late afternoon (when I'm done with patients and need to mark the time between that kind of work and paperwork) a clementine or small apple.

Dinner varies from salad, sometimes with a variety of yummy different cheeses on some kind of whole grain cracker or bread; or eggs and lots of veggie (greens [just finished the frozen greens from the garden - so sad], mushrooms, whatever, cheese omelet; or sweet potatos or kashi or quinoa and veggies, maybe some tofu (please don't start on me about soy.... it's hard enough to find sources of protein); occasionally some fish and veggies. Dinner is always followed by a little chocolate, maybe a date (and maybe a Date if y'know what I mean). Wine 1-3 times a week.

My biggest downfall is that I don't drink enough water.

everyminute

Luna Bars - and most energy bars - have quite a bit of soy in them for protien.  Not great for the er/pr+ girls!

Lara Bars and Think Organic bars dont have soy

barbe1958

What is seitan? 

EWB

I remember when the children were little and the ped told me not to worry day to day what their diet was like- but look at it in a broader sense. The were eating exactly as their bodies needed- some days nothing but fruits, some days all veggies, some days nothing but protein. They had not yet been srewed up with what 5th Avenue thought they should eat.

I try to take the same approach; following what I "feel" like at that moment and over the course or a week or so it is a really good diet. I don't really care for chips etc or candies/sweets. My weakness is diet soda and wine and I figure I need some kind of vice in my life.

Be well ladies, hope today is a good day,

Elaine

EWB

Pam,

Don't worry about what you have been doing- its over and done with. Look at what you are going to do. Changing your diet is a hard thing to do under the best of circumstances. Try small changes, anything you do is better than what you did and can only be a positive thing! 

Remember that frozen veggies and fruits are just as good as fresh, not expensive, so with dinner heat up some mixed veggies or what ever you like and you've added some veggies to your life.  Use then to make easy soups. Make a smoothie with frozen blueberries and strawberries -- easy!.  Does not have to be difficult or you won't do it. Be realistic, baby steps, easy. We all know what we should do- but we need to work with what we're going to do and make that good.

Look at th crockpot thread- really good, easy stuff there.

Elaine

lisasayers

Kathleen for the pumpkin crockpot oatmeal I just add the same spices I would add to a pumpkin pie!  Also throw in some chopped almonds or pecans!  Love it!

debisongbird

You guys are soooo goood!!! I have literally the discipline of a 6month old primate. For breakfast, I love to have a good breakfast cookie with a hot cup of 1/2 & 1/2 organic coffee. That pretty much gets me off to a bad start. Trying to revamp diet. Still, comforting myself with food.

Hey how do you make the crock-pot oatmeal. That sounds like something I could actually do ahead, so it could be ready in the morning. Anyone have the recipe? thanks and take care, Debs

marejo

My diet is really quite simple and there really is no need to be much of a cook.  Although I do like to cook, since family is all grown I cook less than I use too and meals are simpler and more nutritious a lot of the time. 

I eat the same types of foods pretty much on a daily basis but am not bored and enjoy what I eat. 

Breakfast is a bowl of cheerios or mini wheats - when that is finished I take my many supplements - CoQ10 - Fish oil - Vit. D - Grape Seed Extract - Milk Thistle - Tumeric - Calcium - Magnesium - Cranberry - along with a large glass of water.  A couple hours later I have a vanilla yogurt with frozen blueberries and raspberries (and sometimes strawberries) mixed in and a cup of brassica green tea with SGS.  Sometimes a hard boiled egg for breakfast or whole grain toast with a little peanut butter.  Snack - apple with peanut butter and always a second cup of tea and often a cup at night while we watch TV.  I may eat a few pieces of dark chocolate with my green tea in the evening too or will have some ice cream. My hubby and I treat ourselves to ice cream once a week from a local custard shop.  (hey ya gotta live too ) I often will make myself a bowl of frozen veggies for lunch - or salads - whole grain crackers - almost always have fresh raw broccoli daily and cauliflower.  I don't stress over much of what I eat and I eat way more veggies than I do fruit.  For dinner at night I make what we like - not always the healthiest - but moderation is the key...I believe and I do eat quite sensibly most of the time.  Also I repeat the supplement's I took in the A.M. and take them when we are finished at night. 

Exercise is really important too.  I powerwalk/jog a little bit -  2 - 4 miles per day.  Usually 4 in 2 mile increments.  I do some strength training - nothing overly strenous - but some arm work with smaller weights and some leg lifts using my husband's weight bench.  I am starting yoga this next week.  I'm looking forward to that.  It's a beginner class because I've never done it before.  It's 1 1/2 hours long with the last 1/2 hour relaxing with music, mild stretching and calm breathing. 

It's really quite simple...or it can be.  Just put good things in your mouth - most of the time - and try not to stress over the "how manys" etc.

Hugs,

Mary Jo

fulloflife

I cook all the time----but if you don't like to cook or aren't used to cooking and want to eat healthy there is nothing wrong with microwavable instant flavored oatmeal, pop some bread in the toaster, put marmalade or other type of jelly, jam on it, glass of oj or even better, having the whole orange----there's a non-cooking healthy breakfast. Lunch could be a sandwhich made with a good tuna salad, chicken salad, shrimp salad or even a salmon salad---or a bowl of soup (low salt healthy choice chicken and rice or noodle is good)-----healthy snacks could be nuts like almonds or walnuts---if you need more flavor in them buy them roasted----or learn to make bean dips, they are very healthy and full of protien and use whole wheat crackers for dipping or even celery or vegetables------or learn to use the blender for healthy fillers, you can throw anything in the blender (fruits and vegatables mixed) and have delicious healthy drinks-----for dinner learn to love and cook fish----fish is very fast to cook and there are more varieties than there are of meats and the recipes are much easier----I love salmon and one of the ways I make it can be baked in the oven or grilled-----easy---get a salmon fillet, brush both sides of a serving with olive oil, sprinkle salt-pepper-and rosemary, place on an alumininum foil with edges curved up to cup and then place slices of lemon on top, then a sprinkle of capers, a bit of lemon juice, then white wine and crinkle the foil over the salmon to enclose---place in a disposable pan and either bake in the oven for 20 minutes or place on the grill for about 10-15 minutes-----you will love it----for dessert, if you don't want to cook, buy delmonte fruit cups and keep them cold in the fridge----or make a pumpkin pie or fruit pie if you do cook

WLL

Does anyone have any good salad dressing recipes???

Blundin2005

 kumquats, pears and apples

fresh bread

selection of fresh goat cheese

....and wine 

 Quiche with salmon

Quiche with prunes

fresh rasberry tart with dark chocolate center

...and wine 

All made without preservatives.  The cost of above (meals for two days) is less than a dinner out at a restaurant for one....and a lot more fun.  

These were taken as a memory of our vacation in Paris.  We rented a self serve apartment (much less expensive than a hotel) around the corner from the shops that sold these foods.  We also ate at a Lebonese restaurant for the first time ... a selection of legumes, veggies, some meat, unleavened bread. The owner served a mixed selection since it was our first time and helped us know how best to eat the food....he had as much fun as we did.  It reminded me a little of greek food...healthy not spicey.  

I guess this is my way to suggest to try something from a different culture, healthy and be surprised.  Food says a lot about a culture.

Anonymous

I won't tell you what I eat everyday.  Geez, I gotta get on the ball!

One thing my dh likes that he used to not really like.  When I make a "chef's" salad I put the kitchen sink and fridge in it.  I use romaine lettuce (some spinach if I have it), carrots, tomatoes, cukes, onions, bell pepper, olives, mushrooms, celery, diced apples, pineapple, red grapes, mandrin oranges, shredded cheese, hard boiled egg, red beans (if I have them) and grilled chicken or shrimp.  I don't know how many servings of fruits I have in that huge salad, but there's certainly enough protein. And I'm full when I get done.  It takes quite a bit of chewing.