Healthy Eating
After a long day at work, who wants to slave over a hot stove, cook dinner, and then clean up? Meh. Doesn’t sound too appealing. I think I’d be tempted to order out or grab some food on the way home from work. No doubt, it’s the easier thing to do. And doing it every now and then is not a big deal. But if you make this a way of life, you’re asking for trouble. Constant eating out is what I’d label as unhealthy eating and unhealthy eating can lead to medical problems.
Unhealthy Eating Defined
LiveStrong defines unhealthy eating as a diet that fails to provide your body with the correct amounts and types of nutrients for maximum health. When we look at the average American diet, we tend to see that it contains too many calories and not enough fruits and vegetables. Which is worst? Too many calories or too few calories? Believe it or not, both are considered unhealthy for your body. According to an article by Healthline, the standard amount of calories for most adults is around 2,000-calories. This number is considered adequate to meet most people’s energy and nutrient needs. Now, think about the average amount of calories in a fast food meal. Typically, it’s around 700 to 1200 calories. Let’s take the average of that, 950. Folk, that’s one meal. You still have two more meals to eat and only 1050 calories left to spend! Let’s not even talk about the extra things you get with a fast food meal, namely 14 grams of saturated fat, 68 grams of sugar, and an astounding 2,110 milligrams of sodium (Mashed, 2019). To be considered healthy, we want those numbers to be as follow: less than 10 percent of those calories coming from saturated fat, and less than 35 percent coming from sugars, and sodium content no greater than 770 milligrams. YIKES!! This type of diet, eaten regularly can lead to heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, certain types of cancer, obesity, and an increased risk of stroke or heart attack. In contrast, not eating enough calories can result in a loss of muscle mass, heart problems, and even death.
I don’t know if reading this scares you or if any of this is sinking in. Perhaps grabbing fast food or take out is not something you do often. Maybe you make home cooked meals. But your home cooked meals consist of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and chicken nuggets. Though this is an improvement because you can control the amount of sugar and sodium in your meal, there’s still more that you can do to balance the scales. Try eating one to two pieces of fruit along with including a vegetable with every meal.
If you’re just starting to make the change, I know this can be intimidating. So don’t look to change every meal. Start out with breakfast. Try different recipes. Remember you don’t have to follow a recipe to a T. So don’t be afraid to substitute out one item for another if you absolutely hate an item in the list. Once you get comfortable with breakfast, look at modifying what you make for lunch. Again. Try different recipes. Don’t be shy with using herbs and spices. I’ve found that adding these elements to a dish is often what makes the recipe come alive.
I think the reason people fail when they look to make a healthy change, especially when this is something completely new, is because they look to do an overhaul on everything at once. Sure they’re gung ho and are truly committed to making the change. But they didn’t have the time to ease into it. They didn’t make the time to enjoy the journey and make some mistakes along the way. Now I know there are some of you out there that are saying, “If I’m going to do this, I’m going all in!” And for those of you who take that approach, I sincerely believe that you are all in. And perhaps you do succeed. But is it enough to sustain you and make this a life-style? Or is this something that you just wanted to try and see if you could succeed?
For those of you who struggle with making the change, I urge you to start out slow, one meal at a time. Let it become engrained in your behavior so that if you wander off the path, your body will guide you back because you just don’t feel right. In fact, you feel unhealthy. Toxic.
Where Do I Start?
In Episode 32: Good Food Is Our Goal of the Wayward Lasses All the Things Podcast, Courtney, Brittany and I shared some of our go-to meals. So if you don’t know where to start, have a listen to that episode for some ideas. I’ll share my favorite go-to breakfast meal below.
Egg Bowl
Ok. This might not look very appetizing. But I had to go with what I had. Truth be told, I didn’t know I was going to share this with you. But if I did, this would look awesome!
This is Steve’s creation. Full transparency…when he told me about it, I was a little skeptical. But then… he started making it. The aroma of the dry black beans, chicken stock, and garlic cooking in the pressure cooker had piqued my curiosity. Then he started cooking the eggs and wilting the spinach. The aroma of all that cooking in bacon fat (not so healthy) was enough for me to say, “Okay. I’ll give it a try!” If you don’t like the idea of using bacon fat, you can use olive oil and butter. That’s your healthy option!
Recipe
125 grams of black beans
Chicken stock
Garlic powder
Pepper
100 grams spinach
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons of Olive oil or bacon fat
Pat of butter
Directions
Soak 1 pound of dry black beans for 8 hours (this helps to reduce the gas, however if you don’t have a reaction to beans you can go directly to step 2)
Take the black beans, 2 cups of chicken stock, garlic, and pepper and cook in the pressure cooker for 60 minutes
If you soaked the beans, cook the mixture for 45 minutes
Naturally vent the beans (about 15 minutes)
When that’s done, take 125 grams of black beans and place in a bowl
Cook the eggs (over easy) in the bacon fat
If you are not using bacon fat, use the olive oil along with a pat of butter
When eggs are cooked, add to the bowl with the black beans
In the same pan you cooked the eggs, take 100 grams of spinach and cook until just wilted
When cooked, add to the bowl
Pop the yolk, mix all the ingredients and ENJOY
The nutritional value of this recipe is phenomenal! If you weren’t aware black beans are rich in carbohydrates, they are an excellent source of fiber, and are low in sugar. They are also considered a super food for diabetics. One serving of 100 grams of cooked black beans(1/2 cup) contains:
Calories: 114
Protein: 8 grams
Fat: 0 grams
Carbs: 20 grams
Fiber: 7 grams
Sugar: 0 grams
100 grams of spinach (3.33 cups) contains:
Calories: 23
Protein: 2.9 grams
Fat: 0.4 grams
Carbs: 3.6 grams
Fiber: 2.2 grams
Sugar: 0.4 grams
And 3 large eggs contain:
Calories: 234
Protein: 18 grams
Fat: 15 grams
Carbs: 1.8 grams
I’m not providing nutritional value for the olive oil / butter combo and bacon fat. No doubt, the good fat (olive oil) versus the bad fat (bacon) numbers will change. So I’ll let you decide which ingredient you want to use. If you’re concerned with getting hungry between meals. Don’t. This recipe will certainly keep you satiated until your next meal! If you decide to try this recipe, drop me a note and let me know what you think. And if you love it, be sure to give credit to Steve!! I’m sure you’ll love this!!
