I can't even begin to count the number of times I've began over and over and over again. I tend to always go up to about 263, get down to 245, then start inching upward again. Right now I'm at 250, and don't want to go upwards anymore! I am so tired of it!
So, It is Sunday, tomorrow is Labor Day, and then it's back to school and new beginnings. A perfect time to restart my path to health.
My question is, how do I stock my kitchen for maximum health for my family? What should be in my fridge, freezer, cabinets? What should be available so we can always grab a healthy snack, because we are snackers. And we get hungry!
Heres a list from a book that I get a lot of recipes from, it can kind of give you an idea of what to buy and it has helped me a lot. One thing I did when I first started out, as painful as it was, got rid of all the bad food in my kitchen so I wouldn't be tempted to grab it and wouldn't have to see it in front of me every single day and think about it.
A lot depends on what's in your kitchen at this moment. The biggest thing that's worked for me is to stock up on protein-rich foods--Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, fish, tofu--and make sure I get fresh fruit and veggies every three days or so from the store, so that they're always fresh and appetizing and I *want* to use them. Today I got spinach, asparagus, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, and peaches. The veggies are for soup; the fruit is for snacks and smoothies; but I have a plan for all of it, so I know I'll really use it.
Here's my advice, for what it's worth:
Get rid of anything that you can't be trusted around, once you start eating some of it. For me, that's chips, pretzels, crackers, anything involving chocolate that isn't a meal replacement bar (one of my handy "last resort when I have no time" foods). I can and have eaten whole bags of salt and vinegar chips in a sitting. So they can't come in my house, except in those small, individual portion-sized bags, and then only one bag at a time.
Whenever I make a big health push, I try to have foods on hand that I can eat lots and lots of it without destroying my diet--water-dense fruits like grapes, delicious blueberries, veggies I love like brussels sprouts (I can roast up a whole pan of them and eat 'em from a mixing bowl, it's gross), oatmeal (just use cinnamon and ginger powder instead of sugar, for flavoring). I love almonds, and buy them in bulk because they're less expensive that way--but as soon as I buy them, I divide them straight into baggies that are portioned to 150 calories or so. I know I can't be trusted otherwise.
Your whole job, with regard to your health, is just to find foods that you love that aren't full of saturated fat and don't have a ton of added sugar; err toward foods that are processed as little as possible (that don't have ridiculously long ingredient lists full of unpronounceable things). Get lots of 'em. Give away everything you don't want to eat to a food bank. And let yourself have a treat once in a while, but don't keep treats in your kitchen!
Yes, to getting rid of crap you are likely to binge on. I find it IMMENSELY helpful to make a menu for the week. Include all three meals and any snacks on it. That way, when you get hungry you'll already know what you can eat and won't start rummaging.
We always have tons of fresh fruits on hand. Apples, bananas, oranges, cut up melon in the fridge, berries... Greek yogurt, Fiber One bars, tons of bottled water, string cheese. Lean lunch meats, Nature's Own low-cal breads, sandwich thins. I also keep a bowl of salad in the fridge, with romaine/other varieties of lettuce, carrots, grape tomatoes, and cukes in the fridge. It comes in handy in the first few weeks when my lower cal lunches and dinners weren't quite filling me up. I'd have a side salad with light Italian dressing and it would do the trick.
For sweet snacks, we get Italian ice (100 calories each) and Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches (140-150 each) and I only allow myself one per day. For crunchy/salty, we have 100 calorie microwave popcorn and PopChips (120 calories for 20-22 chips, depending on flavor). I didn't introduce this stuff back into my diet until a few weeks, though, and work them into my menu so that I get those types of cravings satisfied.
Thank you rschroed, Jessica and Bacos! That is a great link to use as a shopping list, and you all have lost so much weight!
It is indeed painful to empty my cabinets from all the food that I am accustomed to having around - my chips, ice cream, chocolate, etc. When I restock with healthier foods, my kids stand in front of the fridge and cabinets and say "Where's the food?". They don't even know what to do with fruit or veggies! Then I feel sad, because that's what I did to my family.
Anyway, it's new beginnings. Thank you for your inspiration.
My children have transitioned very well to a healthier way of eating by using portion control and by having everything prepped and in the fridge.
I believe most people eat with their eyes, so fruit and veg that are already cut up and arranged on a plate are so much more appealing than looking at the bag and thinking, what do I do?
I also have a meal plan and that has helped with food ideas (kids love to know what we are having for dinner before they leave for school) but also with finances and waste. By the end of the week we have _almost_ eaten all the food in our fridge. I am throwing less food out, and purchasing more reasonably.
I have certain trigger foods which are not allowed inside the house. ie) the dreaded Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and others like Baked Lays which I can do well with as long as they are already portion controlled.
I just don't buy ice cream because I can't be trusted with it either
To be honest, I saw very little of what I consider actual *food* on that blog's shopping list. It was mostly processed stuff and pseudofood.
I try to stick with the "if man created it I ain't eating it" philosophy. Real foods, that contain no artificial anythings. Scary ingredients in a lot of those replacement pseudofoods. My personal yardstick is "would my ancestors recognize this as food?" No "fat free mayo" because it isn't mayo. No fake cheese. Fat shouldn't be scary, as long as it is an undamaged, natural fat in moderation. What made me fat wasn't what I ate, it was how much of it I ate. I am a dang good cook but never set any limits. I am re-learning portion control and a new style of cooking and once I reach a few health-related goals will re-introduce most of the 'temporarily banned' whole foods back into my diet. In moderation.
In your shoes I would personally banish all boxed 'craparoni and cheese', pasta (if it's something you tend to overeat, like me), anything made with white flour, and packaged, processed, sugar-laden stuff, and stick with "perimeter foods" - the produce, meat and dairy sections. The inner isles are where all the crap is. Ditch the soda and drink lots of water. I use SweetLeaf Stevia liquid drops to flavor my water so I can stand to drink more of it. Salads are great, but processed salad dressings can be horribly fattening - read the labels carefully or, better yet, make your own. Tasty, healthful vinaigrette and the like are easy to make and very inexpensive. If you prefer sweet dressing, add a bit of Stevia.
The next stage for me is to switch to organic. My budget doesn't quite stretch that far, but I will make it happen. I also grow as many of our veggies as I can manage - nothing tastes better than fresh-picked veggies, and some are ridiculously easy to grow.
It's all a process, and you will get the hang of it!
OMG I am having a panic attack at the thought of setting my kitchen straight food wise. Carbs are my kryptonite!! Ugh......Right now I am looking at my kitchen saying, "just walk in there and toss it" LOL why is this so hard. But yes I am going to stock my house with good foods to snack on and eat. The only thing I have left to get rid of is the pasta. Okay here i go.......brb.......okay - done!! I have a bag packed and it is going to the local food pantry. I actually didn't have that much YAY all that I kept was the brown rice. good idea guys!!
How do you create a healthy kitchen?
I am so tired of it!
If I'm hungry enough to eat, it's either fruit, a slice of cheese, or I have to cook something.
