How To Eat Healthy - Every Day - Morganize with Me

I so love hearing from you! In fact, last month I received one particular question that really deserves a post all of its own.

So here you have it.

Here was the question/suggestion…(Thanks for a GREAT topic to cover!!!)

“I would love to see what you eat on an average few days. Trying to eat a bit healthier these days and finding it hard. If you could give a sample of a few days, especially a busy day it would sure help.”

I’m going to give you three daily samples from last week, this will give you a snapshot into what I (typically) eat and then I’ll dive more into some more specifics, tips and guidelines. I need to mention that this was my week post the marathon, so I was in a bit of “taking it easy mode” and also had the onset of a cold. 🙁

Wednesday 10/8

(My youngest daughter didn’t have school this day so I spent the morning in appointments and conferences and then the afternoon with Berkley at IKEA. I chose the salmon plate at IKEA as a way to get some good omega threes, but opted for the ice cream cone as we were having “girl time”!)

5am: chai tea latte
7am: small bowl of Corn Flakes, 1 piece of fruit
10am: 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds, water
1pm: salmon, veggies, small ice cream cone, water
4pm: herbal tea, 3 Dove dark chocolates
6pm: beef stroganoff, green salad, water

Thursday 10/9

(This happened to be a “Spa Day” – I know, lucky me. So I went longer between meals due to being in a bit of a comatose state for most of the morning. The perfect solution the week after a marathon! The salad and fries were eaten poolside with an ocean view, a perfect day. I ended the day with a little ice cream, I’m still milking the fact that I ran a marathon….and my hubby cooked our dinner – which was breakfast for dinner!)

5am: chai tea latte
7am: pineapple smoothie
9:30am: chai tea latte
11am: water
2pm: chicken caesar salad, fries, water
4pm: herbal tea, 3 Dove dark chocolates
7pm: turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, small berry smoothie, water
9pm: small bowl of vanilla ice cream, herbal tea

Friday 10/11

(Fridays are my errand day – in other words about 3-4 hours of grocery shopping, dealing with recycling and getting the kitchen set up for another week of meals. I started dinner this day with chicken in the crock pot, I love having most of dinner done before 9am!)

7am: chai tea latte, small bowl of Life cereal
11am: green tea
12pm: two veggie enchiladas, tortilla chips & salsa
2pm: herbal tea, 4 Dove dark chocolates
6pm: medium-sized bowl of green chile/chicken chili, green salad
9pm: herbal tea

I know that busyness is the norm for most of us. And despite the challenges of having limited time, you really can plan ahead to eat healthier, which will make all the difference. Along with the most important principle of moderation. (You’ll notice I have some fries and some ice cream, not everything has to be healthy, but the majority of what you eat, should be.)

Ten Healthy Eating Tips

PLAN ahead. (The more you plan your meals – 24 hours at a time, the less you will graze and snack.)
Try to eat 80% of your meals at home or bring home packed foods along with you. (If and when you eat out – really watch your portions!)
Strive to eat healthy and balanced 80% of the time and allow for 20% of fun (desserts, treats etc.)
Eat BIG to small. (Eat like a king in the morning, a prince at noon and a pauper at night.) Portions are EVERYTHING!!!
Pack healthy snacks. (Always have options with you to snack on so that you can keep your hunger to a minimum.)
Drink water and lots of it. (How do you know if you are drinking enough? Your urine should look like lemonade.)
Avoid drinks that are packed with calories, opt for real foods instead.
Eat four smaller meals daily and avoid going longer than four hours between meals.
Read labels and serving sizes, you might be surprised “how much” an actual serving size really is…
Opt for whole foods over packaged foods as often as possible, the fewer the number of ingredients the better.

Last but not least. Live 24 hours at a time. Sometimes we have bad days, we get rushed and we make poor choices. If you have had a bad day, just work to restart the next day and cut yourself some slack. Work to make consistently better choices rather than trying to go cold turkey. I don’t think it’s a good idea to limit your favorite foods, but rather to just have them in moderation. Typically when we try to cut something completely out, we just crave and want it more.

For fun, I’m including a few things that help me to keep my eating balanced. I find a little dark chocolate in the afternoon or evening, satisfies as a great dessert. And I try to mostly drink water – lots of it. My herbal teas and water bottles help to keep me motivated!

Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, 9.5-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4)