The Experiment - Shopping lists and Snacks
I have not said anything about my diet for a week so I thought I would do a little check in. I have not posted anything because I am doing one of two things. I am either doing the exact same thing I have been doing for the past few weeks, eating the exact same things, doing the exact same lack of exercise, etc. So nothing much to report there, other than I am still losing weight which is great. I am now down a total of 25 pounds. I only have 7 pounds left to my goal!! The other thing I have been doing is cheating on my diet, as is usual for the weekends. I feel I am complaining about it a lot and who wants to read a blog of complaints? Well, who wants to read a blog of the same complaints over and over.
One thing that I did recently is go grocery shopping. We go shopping every three weeks. We spend about $200 to $250. That comes out to about $5 a day per person to eat. We always buy a couple fruits, a couple vegetables and a few proteins. I thought I would list below what we bought.
Fruits:
12 green apples
1 giant box of red grapes
1 giant bag of frozen strawberries
1 bag of frozen peaches
Veggies:
4 eggplants
6 avocados
Green beans
Proteins:
1 large bag of frozen chicken breasts
1 bag of frozen tilapia (sustainable)
18 pack of eggs (cage free, brown)
Sliced turkey for sandwiches
Other:
1 box of soy nuts
2 boxes of antioxidant blend dried fruits
2 containers fresh salsa
3 bottles hot sauce
1 massive jar of kalamata olives
Whole grain bread
These staples, along with other things we had at the house, can make a multitude of meals that are completely healthy and low fat/low calorie. We purposely fill our house with only lean meats and unprocessed fruits and vegetables so we have no choice but to eat healthy.
Things that we already have around the house are:
Lemons
Garlic
Ginger
Mustard
Shrimp
Frozen berries
Yogurt
Almond butter
Onions
Canned kidney beans
Canned tuna
Canned garbanzo beans
Canned organic chili
Canned stewed tomatoes
Capers
Frozen pure OJ
Flax seeds
Oatmeal
Almonds
Vinegar
Olive Oil
Frozen ground turkey
Various spices and herbs
These ingredients can pretty much make any meal you could ever want! I was starving when we got home from shopping but it was only 3pm. I wanted a snack. There are several snacks one can make from what I had just bought.
Chips and dip... well, sorta
Take slices of the turkey meat and use it to dip into the salsas. I have yet to see a chip of any sort that is healthy. They try to make them healthy by making them out of rice, by baking them or using vegetables but they are still not a good for you snack in my opinion. That is why I take lean turkey or chicken slices and dip them into a freshly made salsa.
Soy nuts and dried fruit
Soy nuts are really filling and full of protein. They can get a little boring if you eat them plain so I add some antioxidant dried fruits to the mix. I also sometimes add almonds that I toasted lightly in my toaster oven.
Deviled eggs
If you hard boil a few eggs at once you can keep them in hour fridge for a quick snack. I take one peeled egg, slice it down lengthwise and scoop out the yoke. I add the yoke to a small bowl and add a tiny dab of mustard and some chopped capers. If you have it around, add some bits of smoked salmon or finely chopped onion. Mix the yokes with the other ingredients and place back into the egg. These are a perfect, filling snack to have while watching tv or sitting at your desk at work.
Almonds and dried fruit
I like to toast my almonds for a little bit in the toaster oven and add either raisins or the antioxidant dried fruits. Try to find your perfect fruit:nut ratio.
Berry snack
Take a bag of frozen blueberries or other berries and pour some out into a bowl. You can just snack on the plain, frozen berries or add a little Splenda to them. It is a sweet snack you can have as much as you want of. Frozen blueberries, provided you don't have sensitive teeth, make for a great, chewy snacking adventure.
Hummus
I love having cans of garbanzo beans in my cupboard. I can just toss a can into my blender with a bit of tahini, lemon and garlic and I have instant, unprocessed hummus. If you do not keep tahini in your cupboard you can add sesame seeds, peanut butter or other flavorings to spice up the bean dip. I left a fabulous recipe for hummus in an earlier blog. I dip olives or chicken strips into the hummus. You can also use cucumber chips, celery or strips of bell peppers.
Ants on a log (or not on a log)
Ants on a log is a tried and true snack for kids but it is good for adults as well. The "log" is celery onto which you put peanut butter (or almond butter) and the "ants" are raisins. If you are like me then you dislike celery. That is ok. I use apple slices. In fact, I love to slice up apples into discs and use them like potato chips and dip them in the almond butter. Yum.
These are just a few snacks one can make and eat with no guilt involved. There are some things to remember though. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, you can over eat some of these foods and regret it. Hummus, for example. Hummus is just beans and garlic. Eat too much of that and you will get a tummy ache. I should have taken my own advice before I started snacking today at work. I did not think about what I was putting in my lunch bag and now I am left with only prunes and apples to eat as snacks. I fear my drive home after the amount of fiber I have consumed today.
I have 25 days to lose 7 pounds. Wish me luck! ( I will need it today!)
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