My food thoughts from kale to cake and everything in between
I am no nutrition expert but I like talking about food. And what we put into our bodies plays such a huge role on how our bodies feel and function that I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about food. Plus I’ll jump at any opportunity to share recipes (like my Go-To Green Smoothie) or think about what I’m going to eat next.
I just want to share some of my general thoughts and principles about cooking and eating.
Food thought #1:
I live loosely by the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time I try to make good choices and eat things that I know are good for me and will nourish my body and the other 20% I shove cake, chips, donuts or mac N cheese down my pie hole. Again this is a loose rule. I have good days and bad days. So much of health (and life for that matter) is about balance. I find that the extremes don’t work. I’m all about doing what makes you happy, helps you feel good, and is sustainable. So if some days you don’t eat a darn thing that isn’t the color beige. So be it.
Enter food thought #2:
I try to eat a lot of colors. And nooooo, I’m not talking about my 2 year old’s fruit snacks. I’m talkin red apples, orange sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, green kale, green spinach, green celery. Honestly, when I’m feeling kinda just blah a green smoothie can really perk me up. Heck, it could just be a placebo effect but I swear when I suck down a handful of kale in liquid form I honestly feel better.
Food thought #3:
I try to make small substitutions or additions to my recipes to pack a good nutritional punch. This looks like lentil noodles instead of wheat noodles, greek yogurt instead of sour cream, blending up spinach into my pasta sauce, or when a soup recipe calls for 2 carrots…I throw in 6. Because I’m crazy like that. Also, I feel that if you put anything on a bed of something green and leafy your meal instantly rises in the nutrition ranks. Hot dog salad anyone?
Food thought #4:
I’m a huge fan of making my own food. Honestly my husband and I almost never pick up food or buy anything premade. When you cook your own stuff you know exactly what’s in it and how it was prepared. Homemade pizza dough, marinara sauce, granola bars, salad dressing, are a few things I make on the reg. I know life is crazy busy and it may feel way too time consuming to always be whipping up your own food but I promise it can be super fast and easy.
Food thought #5:
Ok, I debated sharing this one because I don’t want to seem like a giant hypocrite when I’m chowing down pizza on a friday night but I figured I might as well. I generally cook gluten free and somewhat dairy free. By no means do I have allergies to either but I just find I feel better if I lay off the gluten and don’t overdo it on the dairy. These days it’s sooooo easy to find alternatives to gluten and dairy that again it’s just a matter of performing a little swap-a-roo to help make something a little healthier. Now, dairy free cheese sucks. There is no replacement for Wisconsin cheese. Sorry.
Final thoughts:
While I’d love to say that my toddler also eats what we eat including a variety of vegetables and chickpea pasta, that just aint the case despite my best efforts. Most of my recipes and food principles are aimed at adults unless you are blessed with an amazing child that eats anything. But if you want the recipe for my son’s dinner 3-4 nights out of the week here it is:
Ingredients:
- 1 tortilla
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
Spread peanut butter on tortilla. Roll tortilla up. Serve.
Boom. Peanut Butter Roll-Up.
There are so many other things I want to talk about related to eating and nutrition. Like how to avoid the Eating-Your-Toddlers-Left-Overs diet, nutrition during nursing, and proper nutrition for running but I’ll save those for some later posts. Again, to me it’s all about balance. Drink your smoothie in the morning so you can have your cake in the evening.
Below is my recipe for my Go-To-Green smoothie. My husband and I have a smoothie most mornings and I meal prep by making around 4 smoothie bags at the start of the week. That way I just have to pull one bag out of the freezer and pop it in the blender and presto. Smoothie.
Go-To-Green Smoothie:
(makes 2 smoothies…and sometimes enough for another mini toddler sized smoothie)
- 1.5 ripe banana
- 1 apple
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 big handful of spinach or kale
- 1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter
- Squeeze of lemon
Optional add-ins depending on what’s in my pantry:
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Medjol dates
- Maca powder
Put all ingredients in a blender (or in a quart size freezer bag if making for later). Add 2 cups of water and a few ice cubes (omit ice cubes if pulling from the freezer). Blend until smooth. Drink. Feel like a million bucks.
– Monica
More of My Favorite Healthy Recipes:
Healthy (ish) Sausage Kale Pizza
Zucchini, Corn, and Chicken Chowder
