Always Be Prepared

Today marks one week since I started this challenge!



I have learned a couple of things so far:

1)  You've got to be willing to cook to eat real.  I guess that's a "well duh" sort of revelation since I'm basically cutting out processsed food.   But I really think that living this way would be impossible unless you are willing to invest the time and energy in the kitchen to make it happen.  The good news is that eating clean can also mean rather simple cooking - Grilling, stir frying, or throwing soup ingredients in a crockpot.  Simple stuff.  

and

2) Preparation is so important especially for snacks.  I am a snacky kind of gal.  Several times per day  I just want (need) something to snack on - something crunchy, or salty or warm and satisfying.  Again, I'm sure if you dig deep in my psyche this is a big part of my problem, but it's reality for me.   I can already tell that I am going to need to prep a lot of snacks for myself so that I don't give in to temptation when I'm feeling vulnerable to midday munchies.

So Sunday afternoon, I worked on healthy and delicious snacks for the week.  I'm pretty excited because I'm sure the whole family will benefit from having these healthy items on hand.

Salted cucumbers and pepper strips.  I'm also stocked up on fruits that need no prep - clementine oranges, grapes and bananas.

Kale chips - Yum!  We love kale chips (lacinato kale produces the best chips, IMO).  Thoroughly wash and dry your kale.  Remove the ribs from the kale and tear into 2" pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with 1 TBS olive oil, a sprinkling of seasoning salt and cayenne pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Voila!  A crunchy, healthy snack.

Granola - Loving this recipe!
  Granola Recipe

(photo from 100daysofrealfood.com)


I also pre-cut some nice smoked gouda to eat with ak-mak crackers, and hard boiled a dozen eggs.  The kids were swarming all the snacks last night so I'll be curious to see how long it lasts.

Yummy food day so far;  breakfast was some plain greek yogurt with granola and a banana.  For lunch, I enjoyed a simple creamy turkey soup that I made over the weekend with a side of cucumbers.  Looking forward to a 3 mile run tonight, and then one of my favorite meals - lemony shrimp and brown rice.  I will post that recipe tomorrow.