If you’ve followed me for very long, you know that Troy and I strive to be healthy and fit. After so many years with that as our goal, I would have to say that 85-90% of that goal is reached in the kitchen. Like so many of you, 2020 threw us for a loop and it showed up in our diet as well. More alcohol than normal, more refined carbs than normal and just more “mindless” eating than we typically would do. We were held in check a little more because of the nearness of Troy’s heart attack in Dec of 2019, so while it wasn’t a complete blow out- there is still room for improvement! This is one of the areas I’m asked about the most so I thought I’d share the details of what I’m eating to stay healthy.

Breakfast

Our breakfasts are centered around 2 things: anti-inflammatory and protein. (If it’s a cardio day for me, I have water and coffee and then eat after my cardio. If it’s a lifting day, I eat not long after I get up.)

A typical breakfast for me:

1 egg + 2 egg whites scrambled

Whatever veggies I have in the fridge, sautéed in olive oil ,and placed on top of the eggs w/ some sriracha.

1/2 an avocado on the side sprinkled w/ s/p and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

I usually drink my green juice with breakfast or soon thereafter.

(Troy has roughly this same breakfast w/ fruit on the side and a few pieces of smoked salmon.) This keeps us both full until lunch time, about 4 hours).

Lunch

I’ll be honest. I feel like lunch is such a pain. I hate stopping the flow of my day to eat. Thats probably weird, but I’ve always been that way! However, I do force myself to stop and eat lunch. I’ve found that having this meal prepped for the week is a game changer for me. I’m a “bowl” lunch person because I find it easy to pile lots of veggies in there, add some lean protein, top it (LIGHTLY) with some kind of sauce, and feel really satisfied.

The Easy Prep:

On Sundays I steam or roast a bunch of broccoli (you could also do cauliflower), make rice, marinate and roast several chicken breasts, and sauté or roast a bunch of vegetables. I divide all of this up into our containers and they’re ready for the week! It only takes an hour or less on Sundays and it really helps us both to stay on track.

A typical lunch for me:

Steamed broccoli for a base

My pre-made Chicken

Pre-made Veggies piled on top.

*microwave to heat*

Sometimes I add romaine lettuce to this, sometimes fresh salsa, sometimes avocado.

I will top w/ s/p and about 1 tbs of some sort of sauce (below).

Sauces we make:

Homemade mayo + lime juice + chipotle peppers blended together

Homemade mayo + lemon juice + dill

Greek yogurt + sriracha

Just fresh lemon or lime juice

*Recipe for homemade mayo or this brand from Thrive Market.

Snacks

I almost always have a snack some time between lunch and dinner. On my lifting days I have my protein shake (recipe here) and that keeps me completely full until dinner.

Other Snacks I keep on Hand

Boiled eggs (I use this egg cooker on Sundays)

Avocado Toast on Ezekiel Bread

1/4 cup Almonds, Cashews or Pecans

Crunchy snacks from Thrive Market- (what we order is here)

Fresh Berries

Frozen berries in almond milk

1/2 cup Cottage Cheese, cucumbers s/p

Dinner

I haven’t been great about planning our dinners ahead of time recently. But I always start with whatever protein we will be cooking: chicken, fish, shrimp, etc and then I’ll hit pinterest for ideas if I don’t have something in mind. If you’re interested I have several boards of recipes. We *try* to keep pasta in the “minimum- to- only when we eat out -to- none” category. A frequent meal is lightly breaded and baked cod with roasted sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus or brussel sprouts. I try to have a variety of proteins and vegetables on hand for us, so coming up with dinner isn’t difficult: Protein+ veggies and then starches as needed or desired. The most common starches for our dinners are sweet potatoes, rice and white potatoes.

Beverages

I drink water almost exclusively all day. I don’t have a strong thirst response and have to remind myself always. But I have a routine and that gets it done.

Other beverages besides water

1 cup of coffee in the AM

Green Juice

Green tea in the afternoon

Lime Bubly water or Perrier.

I also love kombucha!

Alcohol

This is an area I’m trying to get back to pre-Covid consumption, lol. I love red wine. We have wine with dinner and while we don’t eat out very often we enjoy a cocktail when we go out. Troy makes a perfect gin martini and believe me- we had our fair share of delicious cocktails in 2020! But, alas, even though life certainly hasn’t gotten less stressful in 2021, we are cutting all that back to the weekends again. We just won’t meet our overall goals if we don’t. But rest assured, there are still some nights, this gal just needs a dang glass of wine!

Dessert

I’m not a big dessert person. But if someone makes us a homemade cake, …I’m having some cake! Most nights if I have anything at all it’s some dark chocolate. If you like ice cream try the Halo Top brand. It has a good amount of protein in it and lots of good flavors.(A new Keto version too, if thats your preference). Also check Thrive Market for healthy dessert options for less than at the supermarket. Another quick recipe to satisfy a sweet tooth (you probably have the ingredients in your pantry right now) is here.

Shop

Starting Fresh

If you want to make healthier choices this year, my biggest tip is to write down every.single.thing. you put into your mouth for 2 weeks. No judging! Just write it down! At the end of the 2 weeks, you’ll easily be able to see where you can begin making improvements and where your weak areas are. It may even surprise you. Don’t make too many changes at once- just start with one or two things- and keep going!

I hope that this was interesting for you. I actually love reading about the way other people eat! It helps me to see where I can improve or inspires me to try different things. Thanks so much for reading!

Other news around here

I’ll have a post from our latest trip here soon. I’ve seen some beautiful places and found some gems you’ll want to know about. As well as just how things are here in hotels, restaurants etc during Covid.

You guys. The CBD oil that I LOVE is going out of business. Please send recommendations if you have a CBD brand that you like.

I recently tried Lululemon leggings. I can’t wait to give you guys a review! Because you….athleisure is life for me.

If you’re tired of Facebook, come over to MeWe. If you guys are on there please come and follow my page. I post inspirational tidbits, health, wellness and beauty tips for women over 40 and lots of pics from around beautiful Colorado. I’m also on Pinterest, which is how most of my readers find me, so thanks so much for following me there.

Thanks for reading and for following along. You can always reach out to me if you have some specific content that you’d like to see here. Have a great weekend!

Share on Facebook

Tweet