I am not big on cooking. Baking, I love, because sugar is soooo good! My desire for real cooking comes and goes. But know I have growing kids that need real meals! So, I have found these tips especially important:
-Keep it simple, stupid- as the firefighters say: Have a simple list of your favorite whole foods that you buy every time you go shopping
-COOK AHEAD:
I buy chicken and ground beef and cook a lot at a time- it will last a couple of day for lunches and dinners.
I also like to keep boiled eggs in the frig for a quick meal or snack or to make egg salad or slice and put in a cobb salad.
Buy cheese by the block when they are on sale and cut into cubes for easy snacks (cheaper than buying it precut) or buy mozz cheese sticks by the bulk.
-If you can ELIMINATE SUGAR, and I also mean hidden sugar in dressings and prepackaged foods, then good foods start to actually taste good! Buy only whole foods and spice them up yourself- salt and pepper, oil and vinegar, cinnamon and honey (also try agave nectar, it's less sweet) need to become your best friends!
-Keep NUTS on hand for snacks.
-Evan keeps telling me to take my FISH OIL, so I will. It is good in so many ways, aside from being good for your skin and hair and eyes and heart! Take good fish oil capsules every day!
-Think LESS. We are all used to eating more than we actually need when it comes to most foods. On the other hand, think MORE when it comes to veggies! We often could eat much larger portions of these than we tend to take.
About this blog
In other words, the Zone + Crossfit = Optimal Heath!
This blog focuses on nutrition, using the Zone Diet as the basis. However, I often eat Paleo foods in Zone proportions.
I love to investigate anything having to do with food- what we eat and why. And what happens within our bodies, our organs, our brain, when we do? My precious mother struggled with eating disorders. I want to avoid this delimma based on research, common sense, and the natural consequences on my body. The Zone shows me where the balance lies between eating too much and eating too little.
My husband runs a Crossfit gym. Exercise and choosing the right foods have become a mission for ourselves and our children. We don't want to be nerds about it, we just want to be healthy.
I have been asked by several friends what I feed our family, especially our kids. My husband and I follow the Crossfit prescription to nutrition (meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar). If you know me, you know that the sugar part of this equation will be a life long struggle given my love for chocolate! Evan adheres to the stricter version known as the Paleo-Zone diet (and I do on my good days!) which requires the same foods in a ratio of 40% protein, 30% carb, and 30% fat. Children require 50% carbs, 30% fat, and 20% protein. If you're wondering how to figure this out, I do it on a per meal basis and I have a "block" chart from the Zone website.
It seems like a headache at first, but if you're interested, just know that it is not that bad once you practice it for a couple of weeks. All you need is a $10 scale and some determination. It really is quite simple and makes my life easier at the grocery store and when cooking dinner. Most of all, I feel great when I eat well- mentally and physically, and we all know that the physical can affect the mental and visa versa!
Evan and I are hunter/gatherer wanna-be's! This blog will track my journey of health as it should be, and the honest reality of living in a sugar fried culture. When it comes down to it, I get excited to talk about nutrition, but I am definitely not perfect at it! If you have the desire to eat well, but it is often a challenge to overcome the temptations along the way, then you are in the right company!
I hope you leave this blog feeling enlightened and encouraged as you go throughout your day!
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