Healthy Eating

For those of you who know me, know how much I used to love chicken strips.  I would go to any restaurant (Mexican, pizza place, Chinese, etc) and end up ordering chicken fingers.  Well,  any desire for something that moos, clucks, or oinks came to a screeching halt a little over a year ago.  I watched a documentary called Food, Inc. and that did it for me.  Honestly, I think I have always been a vegetarian and I just now did something about it.  I have never eaten anything from the ocean, and it has been years since I would eat eggs.  I went for about a 10 year period of time where I wouldn't eat hamburgers.  It was like a light bulb went off when I watched that movie that eating animals is just nasty.  The ironic thing about me becoming a vegetarian is that I don't like vegetables.  HA!  The first year I became a vegetarian, I ended up making up for the missing meat with pasta dishes.  This year I realized I have to eat something other than all those carbs.  Thanks to Adina Wiseman with the Belly Blast, I have found so many vegetables I LOVE that I never dreamed of even touching.  This whole thing has been a learning experience for sure.  I didn't know where to find half the things I was looking for at the grocery store.  HA!

Here is just a sample of the delicious and healthy foods I LOVE to eat now!

I started with carrots and broccoli.  I still cannot stomach raw veggies so I have learned it is all in how you prepare them.  I roast mine with a little sea salt, garlic salt, and olive oil.

This meal has become my all time favorite!  It is "fake chicken" which is really a fungus (think mushrooms), eggplant, and tomatoes!  I can tear up some eggplant and tomatoes!

This would have to be my 2nd favorite veggie meal.  It is squash and zucchini with olive oil, sea salt, and cajun seasoning.

This one is a soybean sandwich with roasted broccoli with the cajun seasoning.  I seriously prefer broccoli over french fries now.  Crazy stuff huh?

This meal took a couple of tries for me to get down.  I bought the wrong kind of squash.  This is spaghetti squash and it is so good.  It is seriously not that different from eating regular spaghetti, and it is so much better for you.

I know this does not look healthy but it really is.  It is Ezekial bread with bananas, and PB2.  The Ezekial bread is more natural than regular bread, and the PB2 is a powder you mix with water until you reach a peanut butter texture.  YUM!

Hold on to your seats for this one.  I actually made and cooked and ate and loved brussel sprouts!  Once again, it is all in how you prepare them.  They were delicious!

This is a great healthy treat.  These are energy bites made with flax seed, honey, oats, peanut butter (or PB2), chocolate chips, and vanilla. 

Another thing I have cut out is real milk.  I won't go into details about the reasons, but I seriously don't think I can drink real milk again.  Now I drink Almond milk which is better for you and tastes better.  I have not gone to the extremes to cut out ice cream yet though!  HA!

I also make myself a green smoothie every morning.  I make it with spinach leaves, bananas, PB2, and almond milk.  Good Stuff!!!

I never thought I could drink my coffee black.  I was always one of those girls that had a little coffee added to my cream and sugar.  Now I drink it black every morning, and I don't think I could ever go back.

I do splurge a little every now and then.  I use Mondays as my cheat day.  I usually treat myself to Yogurt Mountain which is my all time favorite! You do have to enjoy the little things in life!

I have found this new, healthy way of eating so much fun and so much better for me.  I have truly surprised myself with all these new foods!  I have more energy than I have ever had, and I have lost 12 pounds since the beginning of January!!!