What I Eat To Stay On Track (requested post)

So I've been asked to write a blog about the foods/recipes that I eat. Little help to those of you that want to eat better. Remember: I'm not a nutritionist, and I'm not perfect. This is just what I do in my own life.  I'll be honest, this is not going to be a very long list... but maybe it will help you get ideas.

As far as snacks go, since I don't eat chips anymore, I've switched to wheat thins and salsa. I know.. it sounds gross, but it's actually not. I'm also addicted to goldfish, and pickles. Those are my usual snacks.

I replaced regular mayo with Kraft Mayo made with Olive Oil. It's actually delicious, and has a bunch less fat than the other stuff. I don't use margarine ever. I buy Smart Balance Light Butter. It's a lot more expensive, but it tastes better, and essentially is better for you.

I was told yellow cheese is worse for you than white cheese. I haven't checked up on that, but I've switched to white cheese if I HAVE to have any.

If something comes in whole wheat or whole grain, I buy that over white. When I go to Costa Vida I even get the salad with the wheat tortilla. I also don't get the tortilla chips on top... because they're chips...

I eat a ton of pasta. I buy whole grain pasta and that is a lot of my meals. Sometimes I pair that with toast, or steamed vegetables. Not usually meat with it, though unless it's chicken. It is also good with black or pinto beans.

Speaking of chicken, here's what me and Michelle love making:
Pizza! Since I can't have regular made pizza, we make our own. So we buy whole grain crust, boil or grill our chicken and just use marinara sauce out of a can. Then we load on red peppers, green peppers, sweet onions, olives, tomatoes, spinach and on my side I will put a tiny amount of cheese to help it stay together a little. By tiny I mean- less than a quarter of a cup.

We also like to make chicken things in our crockpot. We have experimented a lot with it. We will put in our chicken, let it cook for 3 or so hours, drain the fat, and then add onions, peppers, garlic, and most the time, bbq sauce, then cook it another 2 hours or so. We have also done it with taco seasoning, and sweet and sour sauce. We then put it on a bun, over rice, or in a tortilla, or whatever makes us happy that day. Sometimes I take my leftovers and mix it with pasta. It sounds gross, but it's actually good. The best thing about chicken in a crockpot is that you can just experiment with it. So we switch it up almost every time we cook with it.

I have a rice cooker with a steamer, and that is also a favorite of mine. I can put the rice in, and then the steamer goes over the rice and I just steam veggies and eat it with some boiled or grilled chicken OR beans. whatever gets you your protein.

Recently a friend of mine made stir-fry. That's also a good option. I'm pretty sure he used all fresh vegetables, and then for a healthier alternative you can cook it with a little bit of Olive Oil, mix in some chicken and eat it over rice. Voila.

I love steamed broccoli. I'll just buy it fresh and steam it myself and eat it on a baked potato. Naturally, it makes the apartment smell like crap, but it's really good! You could even put black or pinto beans on your potato, too. That sounds good...

I don't recommend this next one as a habit, but we do it every now and again when we want a treat, since I don't eat french fries. We get red potatoes and slice them up, put them on a sheet that we rubbed a small coat of olive oil on, and then throw seasoned salt over them, cook them for 40 minutes or so on 350 and eat them. That's my unhealthy food. ssshhh....

I love hashbrowns. I don't know why. I really shouldn't eat them because they're all processed, but I love them. So actually I eat those a lot, too.

Fresh salsa is delightful. I love buying Macey's fresh salsa whenever I can.

Instead of eating chips and veggies with dip, try Hummus. they have a lot of different flavors, and it's actually not that bad. I like pairing hummus and salsa and eating them together so I don't feel overwhelmed by either one.

I just discovered pre cut celery sticks by The Biggest Loser at Walmart. I am not sure if Macey's has them, but they taste better to me than that random celery you pick up and chop yourself. Don't eat it with cheese. I like to eat it plain or if i'm feeling rebellious I will dip it in my low fat crunchy peanut butter.

For those of you who don't like regular milk, try Almond Milk Vanilla flavor. DELICIOUS! I hate milk.

I don't buy sugared cereals. It's tragic, really. I love eating Honey Bunches of Oats and Life cereal. They have tons of vitamins. My favorite is to mix my bowl with Honey Bunches of Oats Cinnamon and honey clusters or something. Those taste way good mixed. Try it.

If you are like me and have to have ice cream in your freezer, the double churned ice cream has like- half as much fat. I think it tastes better, too. Switch it up a little.

Turkey Burgers! Okay, Turkey everything. If you haven't tried this, it's worth a shot just once. I feel like most people can't tell the difference. Heck, at the last 2 family BBQ's we had, someone ate my second turkey burger and they had no idea. Punks. Turkey sausage is also way good. Just buy it once, and if you hate it, you can eat your greasy pork. It is worth trying, though. I just tried turkey bacon earlier today and it wasn't too bad, either. Even my friend who was with me tried it and didn't think it was bad and he loves good solid fatty meat. so those are good switch outs.

I am now realizing from this post that I eat a lot of carbs... but it's delicious... and I'm still losing weight, so you tell me if I'm in the wrong. WaHa!

I read in some dessert recipes a lot that you can replace oil with applesauce. I've yet to try it, but when i do, i'll let you know. that's something to look into as well.

Just remember that whatever you do, or if you fail a day, it's not the end. One time won't kill you. Heck, I ate pork ribs yesterday and that doesn't mean I'm going to give up and not keep eating healthy. In the words of a friend: "You had meat?!?!" (he means red meat)...Yeah, A treat every now and again is okay for you, so don't be too hard on yourself. Every now and again I will have punch instead of water. So even I am not perfect at it all. I realize you don't have the advantage I do. If I eat a portion of something that I can't, I will get sick and nauseated and so I have a constant thing holding me back. I have found it easier though to completely cut out chips, fries and all beef products, and caffeine. Otherwise it will be too hard to stay away. So know your boundaries, I guess.

As a general idea for myself in looking at what I can and cannot eat, if it looks greasy, I stay away. If I know there will be a lot of fatty things like butter, oil, or anything of that sort, I will stay away from it. Use your best judgement, because most the time that's what I have to do.

Also most restaurants have healthy options that you can try. Red Robin will switch out fries for fresh fruit. They also offer fresh wraps and I'm pretty sure they have turkey burgers. Ihop has labeled their menus so that the healthy options are pointed out. They have things you can switch out. For example I went there today and had whole wheat pancakes, egg substitute, turkey bacon, and hashbrowns (the hashbrowns were the unhealthy part). For the other things, they've totaled up the calories in the meal so you know exactly what you are eating. Cheesecake Factory even has a whole menu of meals under 500 calories. Panda Express now offers steamed brown rice, and grilled teryaki chicken. So if you are going to waste calories, at least do it sensibly. Most the meat there is deep fried before it's pan fried. That's double crap. So next time you go out, don't overeat and indulge in all the fat. You can still be good and eat pretty well while going out with your friends. My next adventure will be to go to papa murpheys and order a pizza without cheese.

That's basically all I can think of right now. If you have questions you can email, text, or facebook me. I'm happy to help anyway that I can, and help motivate you if you want to do better. Also, if you have recipes or ideas of food that I could eat, I'd love to have them. Sometimes it gets boring eating the same things all the time.
Until next time... :)

All About Me... (Like in preschool... adorable, right?)

Here is your random list of quirks about me that you probably never cared to know:

1. I like to keep things in even numbers, unless it's in 5's. Take 2 pieces of bread, 2 batteries, and 2 slices of cheese at a time. Otherwise you are left with 1 in the end. I hate that!

2. I have a wide variety of music. It extends from country to hiphop to rap to folk and jazz... it includes many things... except rock. I only do alternative rock. Not all your oldie rock crap. No, keep it away. Tip: if you make me listen to it, I probably won't date you or hang around you, either. Which can be a positive or a negative for you, however you look at it.

3. Sometimes I act really negative about things so that in the end I can be surprised. Sad, right? It's true. Most the time I might think I can do something, but will bash myself so I can surprise myself and then reward myself. I like rewards.

4. My favorite words to hear are: "I'm proud of you!" I don't know why. When I hear them I feel like I just won the lottery. It feels really good!

5. I like Famous Dave's sweet and spicy pickles. It's true. I just eat them like they're candy.

6. I don't really have a favorite color. I lean towards green and pink, and don't like the sight of yellow, but for the most part, I don't care.

7.I love cars. Seriously. Growing up with car experts in the family really gave me an appreciation for some of those beauties out on the road. My heart literally starts beating faster when I see (even just on TV) a Lamborghini, Bugatti, Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche, or any other gorgeous sports car.

8. I hate getting my face or head wet. A lot. I'm pretty sure I let out random squeaks of dissatisfaction every time I get in the shower. I hate it. You'd think after 24 years of showers and baths I'd be used to it, but I'm not. I hate it. I also on the same note don't like showering in the morning. It makes me grumpy. I do most of my showering at night unless I decide to do an early morning workout.

9. I don't like reading. I don't know why. My older siblings love it, and I detest it. I hate reading out loud, and I hate reading in my head (except blogs and Buzzfeed and KSL). In 3rd grade my dad made me go outside and read and I threw a fit and put my hand through the window and now have an inch and a half long scar on my wrist. It will forever be the mark that proves that I hate reading.

10. I never got acne in my teenage years. I was one of those girls like from the movies that everyone hated because I never washed my face and got less than 10 zits all through high school. Then every time I got one I had a super massive freak-out (which still happens, in case you're wondering). 

11. I've never broken a bone, but I've had 2 concussions and 1 brain contusion (from doing normal daily activities). While I was suffering from the contusion I watched Harry Potter 4-7 or whatever it is, and I don't remember 90% of it. So if anyone wants a marathon, I'm down!

12. Sometimes I like reading other people's blogs about how terrible their life is because it makes me feel like I have the best life ever (even if they honestly are whining about something super insignificant, which is usually what it is).

13. I'm obsessed with our family chocolate chip cookie recipe. They stay soft for days, and I honestly think they are better than anyone else's cookie recipe. My mom makes them better than me, so I leave it to her. I just get really really excited when I come home and mommy has made cookies!! (my friends do too)

14. I've always hated exercising. Seriously. The thought of putting my body through pain has never been exciting to me. For some odd reason, I find myself doing it a few times a week, and if there is no pain I beat myself up for not working hard enough.

15. Ice cream is probably the #1 hardest thing for me to turn down. If I turn it down EVER just go with it and don't fight me. It's me seriously trying to be strong. I love ice cream more than any other dessert. 

Well there's your list of 15 random things about me. Maybe it'll explain a few reasons for why I'm the way I am, maybe it won't. Either way, hope it wasn't a complete waste of your time.

It's A Way Of Life...

Hello World! After reading my roommate's blogs, I was feeling a little... what's the word... lazy? yeah, that's it! Lazy. So blogging world, I wanted to update you on things. It has been about 17 months since I've posted anything. So what's new you ask? 

Well for one, I'm moving a lot quicker. Alright guys, here is your motivation of the day. Okay? In August of 2011, back last time I wrote I went to the doctor. (cuz that's what i do when i don't feel good. so for 3 or 4 years or whatever, I've been going to the doctor far too often. I was always sick, didn't know why. Like every morning and night I was nauseated and I just didn't feel up to par like- ever.) ... fun background, right?..

Okay so I go and he's like- "Wow, you're still sick.." and I'm like- "Thanks genius, didn't need to pay someone 40 bucks to tell me that." and then he has the audacity to be all- "Well let me take away your happiness... I bet you'll feel better after that." and I was like- "let me beat you with a stick and see if you feel better after THAT!"

Fine, so that's not REALLY how it went. In the end he was like- "Avoid all food that makes you happy." and i was like- "YAAAAYYY!" (still wasn't like that either, but you get the point.)

So what does this include? Here are my list of No No's:

Red meat or fatty meat (hamburger, bacon, sausage, pork, beef... yada...)

Anything deep fried (doughnuts, french fries, all things delicious. including potato chips.)

Ice cream

Cheese (my favorite topping for- everything)

Pizza

Alfredo Sauce

Anything really fatty or greasy looking

So seriously there was nothing else that i knew how to eat. Really. I am pretty sure I ate pizza at least once a week that whole summer before he told me this. 

So this is me during that summer:

Well I'm the type of person who likes to be told "I'm proud of you!" and "Good job, Mel!" So naturally, I thought I'd obey, then I could get praise, and prove them wrong and keep going with being sick. I should also mention that my doctor told me no sweets, and to switch to whole grain. Which most things I eat are whole grain. The whole sweets thing is hard though. Anyway, here I am obeying and the first week I stop eating this crap, I lose 5 pounds. I was like- 'what the?!' So for a while I was basically eating rice and salad everyday for like the first 3 months, because I didn't know what was healthy. I've learned to modify a lot of things so I can eat it now though, and that's pretty cool. 

So after like 7 months, and losing like 40 pounds or something, I had a health thingy at work. My cholesterol and glucose levels were excellent, and i was like- wow. If only I were in shape. I should work on that. So I start talking to a friend and I get a gym pass at the same place he goes. So here I am working up on that as well. Well i'm not super good at working out consistently all the time, but I do a pretty good job. So here I am now:

Okay so I know I still have a ways to go. I have lost 70 pounds, though!! Here is your motivation of the century! If i can do it, you sure as heck can do it!

My favorite food was a bacon cheeseburger!! Now it's occasional turkey burgers, veggie burgers, or just veggies. I haven't had a cheeseburger since August 2011. OR a potato chip! (also favorites). My favorite anytime snack? French fries! Used to be, anyway! You can live without them! I'm serious. I thought for sure my life would end, and that i'd never eat anything again. But guess what? There is such good food out there, and it's delicious, and you feel SO amazing when you eat it! If you are struggling to lose weight, try it for a couple weeks. You honestly just feel good. 

Are you ready for the next cool part? I feel like i'm not in shape at all still. Okay, I am in better shape than a lot of my friends, but i still don't feel like I am. I think it would work out better if i didn't have such crappy knees. Anyway, some people from my ward were going to go for a hike on President's Day. It was supposed to be a total of 5 miles. We were headed up to the hot pots up Spanish Fork Canyon. I'm thinking- 'Okay, i do Zumba for an hour, so I might survive this...'

So i'm thinking- AWESOME! I'm totally going to see if I can do this. Well we get there and the road to the trailhead is closed. So some random guy tells us it's an extra 2 miles. So i'm thinking- Crap. okay Mel, you can do this. 9 miles today instead of 5. I'll just pray a lot. So we go, and it's the most rigorous thing I've ever done. (because let's face it, i haven't done lot) but i keep thinking- 'OH my gosh. i'm not dead! I can do this!' So on the way back we find out from a biker that it's actually 3.5 miles in. not 2. So add another 3 miles to that 9, and I finish the day having hiked 12 miles! 12 miles, guys! Me. See that first picture up there? Yeah, fatty Mel made progress. So what makes you think that you can't do the same? It's been 2 days and i'm sore, but i feel amazing! 

So what is stopping you from going and getting what you want? Trust me, the food isn't worth it. You can do it, guys! 

I had pictures of the way up, but for some reason my stupid iPhone deleted them. So these are all in order. The top left is just barely getting to the hot pots. Maybe. It might be right before. So that's after 6 miles. Then you got some on the way back, and it's frickin' cold, and that last one in the bottom right corner is after it was done!! My endorphins were sky rocketed! I was so happy that i did it! 

So I may have 7 blisters on my feet now, but i did it. My bestest friend, Michelle, was a huge motivation too. She did a good job at helping me keep up the motivation and urge to keep going. Same with that guy in there. They pushed me.

So there's my last year and a half since you've heard from me. What have you been doing?