Happy Thursday friends! Hope you all are having an AWESOME week and ready to have an even BETTER weekend!
Did you set goals for 2018? If so, are you hitting them? I am a little late to the goal setting train and just set them last week, oops! I set goals for all aspects of my life: fitness, health, monetary, school, knowledge growth, nutrition, etc. I have lots of things to work toward, what can I say? The most important of all, ENJOY LIFE! I struggle sharing my goals sometimes because what if I don't hit them? Did I fail? What do I do next? I am sure you all have all experienced these questions at some point in your life but I am here to tell you that you did not fail and your goal can be extended! Some of you all reading this are probably saying, "maybe you should listen to your own advise, Tori!"
One goal I am going to share (it is hopefully a simple one to meet) is:
EAT TEN DIFFERENT VEGGIES A WEEK!
Yes, this is not extreme but my goal is to keep my food interesting, delicious and healthy for me. By doing this I have to think before I eat! Last week I had the following:
1) green beans
2) zucchini
3) squash
4) carrots
5) onions
6) green peppers
7) red peppers
8) broccoli
9) butternut squash
10) snap peas
11) water chestnuts
How did I get this all in? I made a stir-fry at night that had 6 of these veggies mixed in with ground turkey and rice and it was so yummy! Also, I mixed butternut squash and peppers in my breakfast fritatta for the week and veggies at lunch, of course!
One thing I was bad of in the past was I would not eat high volume foods so I was constantly hungry. Who else has this problem? For me having to think before I eat (I do the thinking before I go to the grocery store, ha) it forces me to eat food that will physically fill up my stomach without taking up all my macros for the day. Eating more high-volume foods does just that! It keeps you feeling full and satisfied. Also, it will help you meet your micronutrient needs. Need some help in that department? Here are a list of some high-volume foods to consider eating instead of cereals, french fries and other high calorie foods:
VEGETABLES:
*greens: spinach, arugula, lettuce
*peppers
*onions
*celery
*carrots *zucchini
*cucumbers
*butternut squash
FRUIT:
*berries: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
*canteloupe
*oranges
*bananas
*watermelon
MEATS:
*chicken: ground, breasts, thighs
*ground turkey
*fish: salmon, tuna
*egg whites
*lean ground beef
We all know you cannot eat a salad plain so if you eat a salads with all those yummy veggies, make a homemade dressing or use oil and vinegar mixtures.
I am not saying you have to do this ALL the time but you should be eating whole foods 80-90% of the time with an occasional 20-10% treat here and there! We all know that holidays happen and fun events come up with all the treats so some weeks it may be more like 50/50, but that doesn't mean when the next week starts you can't get back on track! We have to be flexible with ourselves so we don't BREAK and lose it all! :)
Hope this helps you in your journeys to HEALTHY life, HEALTHY food and HEALTHY mind!