So what ARE you eating?

I get that a lot.  I have posted before what I'm not eating:

No dairy

No processed foods or artificial sweeteners

No meat, sweets or wheat

For some people if you cut that out there's nothing left for them to eat.  That rules out most convenience foods and fast food menu items.  And honestly I thought this would be harder but it's really not.  So what do I eat?  Here are a few of my "go to" meals:

Breakfast is usually a smoothie that I can pack with lots of good stuff.  Here's one of my faves:
This recipe serves 2
1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened)
1 cup coconut water
1 carrot
1 green apple
3 cups kale
1 TB each of seeds:  chia, hemp and flax
1/2 frozen banana
handful of frozen strawberries (roughly 1.5 cups)
handful of frozen blueberries or pineapple

Some variations include adding a half an avocado (makes it creamy like a milkshake) or instead of 1.5 cups of strawberries I would split that with mango.

This holds me at least 3 hours and usually my workout is first thing in the morning.

Lunchtime and or Dinner favorites:

Sauteed Broccoli with sweet potato fries
Sauteed Broccoli with sliced carrots and hummus (pine nut Sabra version is the best)

For the broccoli I get a large bowl of broccoli (2 cups = excellent source of protein).  Rinse then add a little coconut oil to the pan on Medium heat.  Add the broccoli, sprinkle with Lawry's and toss around.  Add a couple of tablespoons of water then cover with lid.  It takes about 5 minutes to turn a darker green so it's cooked but still crunchy.  By far the best broccoli on the planet and so easy to make!  I sprinkle with sunflower kernels.

For sweet potato fries:  Cut the sweet potato into strips and arrange on a baking sheet or baking stone.  Spray with coconut oil and sprinkle with Lawrys or a Ms Dash variety.  Bake on 350 for about 40 minutes.

Salad with sweet potato fries
Salad with bowl of fruit
Salad with baked sweet potato

Salad usually includes chopped romaine and spinach (can also use baby kale), broccoli slaw, chopped peppers, zucchini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, sunflower kernels, nut blend and some type of vinaigrette with no sugar.

As you can tell a good bit of my menu is limited and I'm working on variety.  This week I'm making a  Spring Lentil stew that I found on www.rebootwithjoe.com.

My "go to" when I have to get something while out is Panera bread's classic salad (all veggie salad with a really yummy vinaigrette) and cup of black bean or Veggie pesto soup with apple instead of baguette.

Snacks to have on hand:  Banana or apple with handful of almonds or Nutrition nuts, veggies and hummus, veggies and avocado dip (slice up a half avocado, mash it a little, add a dash of lime or lemon juice, paprika and sea salt), shake left over from my Purium stash (because it feels so stinking good!).  If I have to have decaf coffee I use honey and coconut milk.  I find I just end up carrying around a cooler with ice packs for my shake and coconut milk, especially on trips!

So that's a look into my life.  I spent the week in Augusta so when I got there the first ting I did was head to the store to get all the things I needed to stay on track while out of town.  I did not feel deprived and I didn't feel high maintenance because I had all my stuff.  I brought my Magic Bullet knockoff brand to blend my smoothies and it was NO match to my Ninja that I miss terribly but it did the trick.  I wanted to keep up with my workouts Monday through Saturday so I found an Anytime Fitness around the corner and they happened to have a free 7 day pass so challenge removed.  When you aren't looking to excuse yourself from the things you need to do to better your life, it's amazing how resourceful you can become!