Healthy Eating Habits: A Look at My Personal Food Diary

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 Alright girls, here's a topic of conversation a lot of you have been asking for! Healthy eating. Let me start off by saying I am not a registered dietitian or doctor, so everything I am laying out today is based solely off my own personal experience. If you're a girl on the go, this blog post should be helpful. I'm the queen of let's eat healthy, but I don't want to clean up a big mess, and I also don't want to be cooking for hours. Convenience is my jam! 

So with that being said, I meal prep on Sundays and eat a lot of the same items during the week. Meal prepping is life changing, ya'll! I'm always ravenous when I get home from work, so if my meal isn't already prepared and ready to be warmed up I typically end up snacking before dinner - and let's be honest, it's probably not the "healthiest" snack. So the best thing I could do for myself was have my meals prepared ahead of time. But what if you don't have time on Sunday? Listen I get it, it was the story of my life last year, and the majority of this year thus far. There are tons of meal prepping services out there that focus on tailored health needs like paleo, gluten free, or just simply healthy eating! I get all of my dinners through Ro (my trainer) here in Charlotte. Meal prep is a service he offers in addition to training and I can't rave about it enough! 

So let's talk about what my days actually look like. Monday-Friday I wake up at 4:45 AM, I'm at work at 7:45 AM and I get home around 5:30 PM. Because I start my days so early, my metabolism gets a kick start and I'm already starting to get hungry around 8:00 AM. I typically workout on an empty stomach in the mornings because I have a hard time eating when I first wake up, but after the gym I tend to feel really hungry so I try to eat breakfast around 8:00 AM. As I mentioned above, eating the same things multiple times in one week doesn't bother me, so on Sundays I will cook enough breakfast for me to eat through Wednesday. Unless it's the weekend I normally eat one of two things for breakfast: smoked salmon on a GG cracker or an egg white souffle. Below are the ingredients for both!

If you haven't heard of GG crackers, believe me when I say you need them! If you're a fan of locks and bagel but hate all the carbs in the bagel, these are a game changer. We love to do Sunday brunch, but it's tough to eat healthy. So, I'll grab a couple of these and throw them in my bag, order locks and bagel at the restaurant and then switch the bagel out for these crackers. They are high in fiber and low  in calories, keeping you fuller longer. They also make it so easy to hit your fiber goal for the day! I usually eat three crackers at a time with one serving of smoked salmon. If you absolutely have to have cream cheese, try substituting for Kite Hills cream cheese like spread. It's made of almond milk and is all around a healthier option. 

If it's an egg white souffle morning, I mix three egg whites together with spinach, boars head Cajun turkey (i just shred it), mushrooms, and onions and bake them in a little white ramekin for 20-30 minutes on 350 degrees. These are so easy to make, and taste delicious. I ran out of egg whites in the picture above, so that one has two egg whites and one regular egg, which works as well! 

Breakfast:

Locks & Bagel:

Smoked Salmon

3 GG Crackers

Kite Hill Chive Cream Cheese style spread

Shallots

Capers 

Egg White Souffle

3 Egg Whites

Boars Head Cajun Turkey shredded

Spinach

Onions 

Mushrooms 

Lunch can be tricky. I'm in sales which means we eat out with clients over lunch daily. In order for me to know exactly what I'm eating, I always stick to a plain salad. Lots of times items on a menu look healthy, however there are tons of ingredients in the dish that aren't listed under the meal description on the menu. A prime example of this is what they cook the items in, lots of times it's butter adding tons of hidden fat to a meal that traditionally should be healthy! So while it sounds boring, I always order a salad with mixed greens or spinach, cucumbers (they hold a lot of water), avocado (healthy fat), quinoa (high in fiber), chicken, and blueberries or strawberries. Skip the cheese! Another easy health hack is to always order the dressing on the side. For me, avocado provides enough moisture to where I only need a tiny bit of dressing. But if you do need the dressing, Balsamic Vinaigrette is your best option. Dressings are loaded with calories and fat, so while your salad is healthy the ranch dressing poured all over it is basically the same as eating a cheeseburger on the side. I like for all of my meals to have healthy portions of protein, fat (healthy fats like avocado), fiber, and greens. 

Lunch

Salad with Grilled Chicken

Mixed Greens or Spinach

One breast of Chicken

1/4 of a Cucumber

1/4 cup Quinoa

Handful of Blueberries 

 1 Tablespoon of Garlic Expressions or Balsamic Vinaigrette

Half of an Avocado

As I mentioned above, I'm always hungry right after work. This is most likely due to how early I start my day, and the fact that I eat lunch relatively early (11:30). So, all of my dinners Monday-Thursday are meal prepped and simple. If you've never made diced sweet potatoes, girl you're missing out! They are my favorite side and again, super easy (I wasn't kidding when I said I like easy). I buy the sweet potatoes already diced up from Whole Foods, put them in a bowl and coat with 1 tablespoon of Avocado oil, toss so all the potatoes are covered, and then lay them out on a lined baking sheet and sprinkle some Himalayan sea salt over them. Then, I bake them for 20-30 minutes on 450 degrees in the oven and they come out like pure crispy goodness! Added perk: it makes your house smell divine too. We almost always use asparagus, broccoli, or broccolini as our vegetable. I love broccoli and broccolini for the gut health it provides and it tastes delicious sauteed with a little lemon and garlic. If you aren't a fan of sweet potatoes, you can sub these out for cauliflower rice from Trader Joes as well. 

Dinner

Chicken with Asparagus or Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes

1 breast of chicken

1 bundle of Asparagus, Broccoli, or Broccolini

3 cups of diced Sweet Potatoes

1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil

Himalayan Sea Salt 

Snacks. Oh how I love them! I need a snack around 10/10:30 AM and again around 3:00 PM. I get these little protein bites from Ro as part of my meal prep with him, however, the recipe is a secret so I'm not 100% sure what's in them. If I had to take a wild guess, its oats, protein powder, almond milk,  a banana and maybe vanilla extract or nutmeg? I make a similar recipe which you can find here! Outside of the protein bites, almonds are another great option and if you have a serious sweet tooth - these are to die for and what you see pictured above.

Snacks

Raw Almonds

Hard Boiled Egg

Hummus

Protein Bites

Protein Shake

Energy Balls

This post was definitely longer than I intended it to be, so if you're still reading I commend you! I would love your feedback on whether or not these are helpful, and if you're interested in seeing more in the comments below! Have a great week!

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