Showing posts with label eating more fruits and vegetables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating more fruits and vegetables. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

What I Ate (after Easter) Wednesday

Hiya there! I don't know about you, but I did a wee bit of indulging over the Easter Weekend, so this week it's even more important than ever to get right back to adding lots of extra veggies to my meals. I find that I can fall off the wagon during a holiday or special occasion as long as I get back on track right away. If I don't, then it's trouble. The sugar and carb cravings come roaring back and the longer I give in, the harder it is to get back to my normal healthier way of eating. Don't get me wrong because if I could live off of Creme Eggs and stuffing, I would, but the sad reality is that all the sugar and carbohydrates just don't 'do it' for me anymore.

There really couldn't be a better time to get some inspiration on how to add more veggies to our daily meals, so thanks to Jenn for encouraging us all to add at least a cup more veggies per day to our eats. Trust me, your body will thank you because it's going to look great AND feel great!






Here's what I've been eating this week to get back on track.

Breakfast

Smoothies. Green smoothies, fruit smoothies, apple/banana smoothies. It really doesn't matter to me as long as it's packed full of "healthy." Yesterday I had to drop my car off for an oil change before work, which meant I had to leave home super early. Instead of messing around with my Magic Bullet, I decided to have a Vega Shake N Go Smoothie in Vanilla Almondilla flavour. Two heaping teaspoons are equal to two servings of vegetables. It also packs an awesome punch of Omega 3, 6 & 9, 11g of protein and 1 billion probiotics.  It's a great breakie for days when you're on the run.


Lunch

Creamy veggie cheddar soup. This is so freakin' delish! It's packed full of brocolli, red pepper, carrots, onion, corn and peas. Delicious for days like yesterday when it was gray and cool. I'll try to recreate this soup and share a recipe with you soon because I LOVED IT :)



Dinner

Well I had one dinner planned and ended up making something completely different. Yesterday afternoon while I was catching up with some of my favourite bloggers, I found Jenn's recipe for Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo. I couldn't shake it from my mind, so I changed my dinner plans and whipped it up. Creamy pumpkin paired with a lowfat alfredo and some fresh sage and baby spinach. Muah - ah-freakin-mazing!!!!! This was one of the best pastas I have EVER HAD.



What hints do you have for getting back on track after the holidays?

Do you eat pumpkin all year round or just seasonally?

If you're looking for more veg-spiration head on over to Peas & Crayons for lots and lots of meal ideas.

Have a great Wednesday!

Andrea
xoxoxo

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday - Amping Up The Veg Factor

Welcome to the last edition of What I Ate Wednesday - Love Your Veggies!!!




I, for one, have been loving these veggie-themed posts! 

If you've been loving them as well, head on over to Peas & Crayons for lots of other veggie inspiration.

This week I want to show you just how easy it is to add more veggies to your daily eats. Did you know that it only takes 21 days to change a habit? Why don't you challenge yourself to increase the amount of veggies you have with each meal for the entire month of March and see how you feel at the end. I promise that you are going to notice some positive differences in the way that you feel (ie - I am less tired, full of energy and have a much better complexion) and if you love the differences, your new habits are well on their way to becoming part of your regular old routine.

Breakfast

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that my husband had a terrible sinus cold a couple of weeks ago and now is battling the worst cold/flu I have ever seen! I really, really do not want to get his germies, so I have been chowing down on tons of fresh produce to help strengthen my immune system.

Green smoothies are a common breakfast in this house and I've been making an effort to have one every single day. Check out all the produce in just one smoothie: a cup of baby spinach, a large banana, one pear, the juice of one small lemon and  a cup of natural spring water. Now that is ALOT of servings of fruits & veggies in one drink!



Lunch

Most days I pack a salad for lunch. My salad always starts with some baby spinach and grape tomatoes and then I fill 'er up with whatever I have on hand. This one has baby carrots, goat feta cheese, raw sunflower seeds, alfalfa sprouts and peppers. As a dressing, I used a splash of EVOO and apple cider vinegar and dijon mustard. Squirting lots of dijon on a salad sounds a little strange I know, but please be open-minded and give it a try. If you love dijon you will LOVE this!!!! I got this 'dressing' idea from Kris at iheartwellness. If I wasn't surrounded by co-workers at lunch, I would lick my bowl clean ;)

Oh yea baby, I love me some dijon!!!

If you're looking to add a little protein, you could definitely add a hard-boiled egg, a handful of chickpeas or some sliced turkey.

Derek's been loving his salad with 2 hard-boiled eggs, some smoked turkey and Ranch dressing. He's a big guy with a big appetite and he loves to get this salad in his lunch!

Snackage

On Monday, I made an extra special treat that I have been loving as my snack. Black bean brownies topped with some sugar-free raspberry preserves. This is a flourless, gluten-free recipe. They are fudgy, packed full of protein and taste amazing with the fruit. I am in love with this recipe which I found on Pattycake.


Dinner

Instead of bread, pasta or some other type of grain, I've been trying to add a great big serving of veggies as a side  to my dinners. Usually I like a big plate of veggies roasted with a little coconut oil and sea salt or with some oil, dijon and sea salt. I was craving sweet potato fries recently, so I gave in and had a few from a bag I'd bought at the Superstore. They were so good and definitely satisfied my craving!  As my main meal, I finally remembered to buy wonton wrappers and I made Jen's spinach feta wonton cups.


Oh my goodness, her wonton recipes rock the house!!! I made these ones on Monday and I've already made my own 'veggie omlet' version. These wontons are definitely going to make a weekly appearance on our dinner table.

So as you can see, I can make delicious and filling meals that are filled to the brim with healthy vegetables and fruit. If I can do it, so can you.....and you are going to feel amazing!

What are you going to do so that you can eat more veggies?

Do you have a rotation of meals that you eat every week or do you like to experiment with new recipes and mix it up all the time?

I hope you have the best Wednesday ever!

Andrea

xo