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Everyone has heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That is true, but even more important is having a healthy breakfast every day. Eating foods filled with sugar and artificial colors is not going to do anything to get your body off to a good start and get your metabolism going for the day.

What is a healthy breakfast?

Right back to the standby  ~ protein and produce.  A great breakfast will include each of these, and may include a serving of healthy whole grains, but if you don’t have time, just grab some protein and produce.

Here are some great breakfast protein options:

Nuts
Eggs
Protein Shake
Tofu
Bacon
Ham
Cheese
Peanut Butter

Here are some options for produce:

apple
orange
banana
pears
or any other kind of fruit
broccoli
cauliflower
spinach
any other kind of vegetable

Let’s put it all together!

If you have time to sit down and eat, go ahead and scramble up  a couple eggs, add some veggies and cheese. You could also scramble a couple of eggs, add some cheese and slice an apple/orange on the side.

If you are on the run, why not throw it all in the blender. You can throw in frozen fruits, even veggies like spinach (don’t worry the fruit will cover up the flavor, you won’t even know it’s there ~ other than the color) then add some whey protein and blend it all up. If you don’t use frozen fruit add some ice to give it a nice texture. Pour it in a go cup and be on your way!

You could also just grab a cheese stick and an apple and eat it on the way!

There are so many options for a healthy breakfast, it’s really helpful to know what your options are and to keep healthy breakfast foods in the house. Have both kinds of food available, those you can eat sitting down, and on the run. That way you will always have some options.

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With all the different diet crazes around it’s sometimes hard to figure out what healthy meals consist of.  Do you eat carbs, no carbs, low cal, low fat? It’s all so confusing! Well I have found a very simple way to put together healthy meals. It’s as simple as remembering protein and produce.

When you are trying to put together healthy meals that will keep you healthy and aid you in losing belly fat ~ or any other kind of fat for that matter, you have to have both protein and produce.

The protein will give your body what it needs to hold on to and create muscle.  Without protein you will find you lose weight, but some if not a lot of your weight loss will be lean muscle weight.  Now I’m not talking about going over the top and eating an all protein diet. I am talking about making sure you have a small portion of protein at each meal.  It can be a small piece of chicken or fish, some nuts, a piece of cheese, even a tablespoon of peanut butter. However you do it, you have to have some protein with your meal.

Now on to the produce. This is simple enough, just a small portion of fruits or vegetables. Anything that comes in the fresh food aisle is fair game for this part. You can use frozen or canned produce, but it is absolutely best to use fresh fruits and vegetables as often as you possibly can.

You may have noticed the healthy meal equation does not include a starch. Now this threw me for a loop. I was raised to have meat, and something green (produce) and something yellow (starch) on your plate for every meal.  It’s taken me a bit to get over this one, but I realize I am feeling so much better and losing weight with the protein produce equation.

You will have more than enough carbohydrates in your fruits and vegetables, you really don’t need an extra starch on your plate.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you CAN’T eat all those yummy foods. You can, choose wisely, choose whole grain alternatives.   What I am saying is if you are in a pinch, just remember all you need is protein and produce.

It can be something as simple as a turkey sandwich and an apple for lunch. You could have a roasted chicken breast and some broccoli for dinner.

This works out especially well if you are following the concept of eating 6 small meals throughout the day. I had trouble making these meals small. I was having a full meal 6 times a day!  Whew, glad I figured that one out! Now snacks consist of a hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit or some nuts and fruit. Small meals through out the day will definitely add to your weight loss, and you will never feel hungry!

So if you are trying to find ways to put together healthy meals, remember two little words, protein and produce!

Is it possible to eat healthy fast food? The busier we get the more it seems there just isn’t enough time in the day.  How many times have you gotten to the end of the day and thought, “what’s for dinner?”  It’s in that moment we choose between grabbing something fast, or making something at home. More and more grabbing something fast is winning out.

If you have to choose fast food you can still make some choices to make healthy fast food choices.  Here are some tips to help you make healthy choices when eating at fast food restaurants.

Watch Your Portion Sizes

In this super sized world you can still find healthy portions. Remember a healthy hamburger portion is that of a regular child size hamburger. You know there’s nothing wrong with grown ups eating a happy meal. If you choose apples and milk you have a perfect portion sized and somewhat healthy meal.

Watch the Salt

Fast food is always made heavy with salt.  Don’t make it worse by adding more at the table.

Choose Carefully

Choose grilled foods over fried, mustard over mayo. Leave off extra fattening sauces. Even when ordering salads you need to be careful, and aware of the dressing and toppings on your salad. You can end up with a higher calorie meal with a salad than with a burger if you’re not careful.

Do Your Homework

If you know you are going to be eating at a fast food restaurant do some homework. Check out their websites. You can find all the nutritional information available for all the choices online. Look up your favorites and see if they are within the calories and fat levels you should be eating. If they aren’t look through and find something that is.  Armed with a healthy decision you can order a good choice when you get there, instead of ordering on impulse because you are hungry.

Don’t Be Afraid to Special Order

You can always ask for sauces to be left off or substituted for something else. You can also at certain places ask for grilled meat instead of fried. Don’t be afraid to ask for healthier options.

Avoid the Buffet

Even the salad bar.  The buffet is an invitation to overeat, even if it is salad, you can end up eating more calories than you expected or wanted. There is something about “all you can eat” that makes you feel like you should eat ALL you can eat. It’s something about “getting your money’s worth”. If you must eat at the buffet, take small portions, and stick to grilled or steamed items.  Once you have finished your first plate resist the temptation to go back for more. If you feel like you want more food, wait at least 15 minutes and see if you are still hungry.

Eat Mindfully

This means simply enjoy your food. Think about eating as you eat. Be aware of what you are eating, and how you feel while you are eating it. Stop eating when you are satisfied, instead of mindlessly finishing all of your food and feeling stuffed.

If you must eat on the run there are ways to eat healthy fast food. Armed with these tips you can make better choices and choose healthier options for fast food.

I received a comment yesterday that my morning meals might be a little low in protein. I could probably do a little better in that area, and today I did in fact.

Sometimes I just hate to cook in the morning. I suppose I could add some nuts to my cereal etc.

So here we go for today.

Meal 1:

2 Eggs scrambled with zucchini and onion
1 whole grain tortilla (5 g fiber)
V8

Meal 2:

1 c. cottage cheese
1 pear

Meal 3:

Salad with crab meat

Meal 4:

8 triscuits and 2 slices of swiss cheese
1 pear

Meal 5:

1/6 lb hamburger (from Braums)
French fries
chose tea over pop.
(guess that’s my first cheat meal this week) :)

Yesterday went pretty well. Hanna was in a seriously BAD mood. She refused to nap, so I didn’t get my workout in. I think I need to make a plan for an alternative cardio workout when she doesn’t nap. (The machine is in the basement which is not a baby proofed at all and very dangerous).

I also realized the 3 day a week workout schedule can also be moved to tue, thurs and Sat, if I don’t get on track on Monday. So today I still plan on working out. I will also devise a plan B for workouts on non nap days.

Meals went pretty well. We got a little off track by running errands during the time scheduled for the 3pm meal. I could have taken some fruit and nuts with me to eat while we were out. It’s all still a work in progress. Things got late and I didn’t get my 6th meal in, but everything I ate was supportive yesterday and today’s off to a good start.

Meal 1:

1 C. Shredded Wheat
1C 2% milk
1C blueberries

Meal 2:

1 c. organic fat free yogurt (no high fructose corn syrup)
1 c. leftover pineapple/mango salad from last night.

Meal 3:

Grilled chicken wrap with
fresh spinach, sprouts, cucumber, tomato and avacado

Meal 4:

I made this one about 30 minutes earlier than planned since it was an after workout meal.

1c 2% cottage cheese
1c pineapple

Meal 5: Running a little late

Chicken Artichoke pasta (used the protein rich pasta)
Salad with veggies

(I’ll post the recipe tomorrow)

I managed to get Hanna down for a nap today. Yay. I managed pretty well through the strength training, but dang! the cardio kicked my BUTT! I only managed about a third of the cardio workout. It’s a process. I’ll try again on Thursday and see if I can do a little more.

more to come . . .

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Last night I made Hawaiian Burgers for dinner. We had sweet potato “fries” and a mango and pineapple fruit salad with it.

It was my first try at Hawaiian Burgers and they were really good and well received by the family. Thought I’d share the recipe with you.  I was talking to a friend on the phone while I was making them and didn’t follow the recipe very well. They still came out really yummy though.

Hawaiian Burgers

This recipe is for 4 burgers.

1lb ground beef (get the lowest fat you can afford)
1/4 c. BBQ sauce (do your best to find one without High Fructose Corn Syrup)
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
Canned pineapple slices (reserve the juice)
lettuce leaves
whole wheat hamburger buns
salt and pepper to taste

Ok, this is what you’re going to.

Add the worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and ground beef in a bowl.  Mix it all up.

In a small pan combine the BBQ Sauce, brown sugar and enough pineapple juice (from the slices) to make a nice sauce. Bring to a boil, make sure to stir frequently.  Remove from the heat when it’s boiling.

Put the pineapple slices on a broiler pan, brush or spoon a little sauce on the top of the pineapple slices.  Broil about 4 inches away from the flame for 3 or 4 minutes. Turn the slices once and brush with sauce.

I used the George Foreman Grill, but you can also throw the burgers on the broiler pan and broil them on each side for about 4 minutes a side.

Now to serve your burgers, put the burger on the bun, add some sauce top with a lettuce leaf and a pineapple slice.

That’s Yummy!

To make this meal even better for Fit Yummy Mummy I added

Sweet Potato Fries

Preheat oven to 450

Just cut a couple medium size sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch matchsticks.

I throw them in a bowl and add a little olive oil and cinnamon.  Mix it all up.

Throw the “fries” on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake.

The recipe I used said 30 minutes, but after 20 minutes they were pretty blackened on the bottom. So keep an eye on them and make sure you turn them half way through.

I added a fruit salad made from pineapple and mango to this meal ~ I also added some strawberries, just to give it color.

So the motto is Protein and Produce.  This meal adds up quite nicely, and was very delicious.

I am working on rereading the Fit Yummy Mummy guide and getting my meals planned for next week. It will be week one and I think it’s going to be tough enough to fit 6 meals in everyday, I want to make sure I’m prepared and don’t have to really think about WHAT to have, just doing it.

Holly has set up a great “Create-a-Meal” planner that makes it really easy to pull together meals and make sure you have all the correct elements in each meal.

I also received my first recipes and shopping list from My Online Meals. They look really good and easy and will fit in well with the program. Since those recipes come with a shopping list it will be easy to just add the remainder of what I need to get at the store on that list.

I have been noticing over the last few days, since I decided to start on Monday, exactly what I’m eating, when and how often.

I thought I was eating too much and that’s why I’m not losing any weight. I think it’s the opposite actually. I’m not eating enough. Today, I ate lunch (at applebees with my husband) I chose a salad which was a good choice, but it’s the only thing I’ve had today. Now I’m having a bowl of macaroni salad (not a good choice). That’s no where near enough to eat for the day ~ and no where NEAR 6 small meals. lol.

I have this issue where my husband doesn’t get home until really late. I can’t figure out if I should make dinner and let him warm it up, or wait until he gets home to cook ~ heaven knows when that will be. So it’s been throwing my evening meal way out of whack.

I talked to him today about this and we decided I will just go ahead and cook dinner ~ per my menu ~ and he will eat when he gets home.

This is what I’m talking about when I talk about planning. You have to figure out what issues YOU are dealing with and plan how to be successful around them and sometimes in spite of them.

If you are having an issue with your menus or nutrition figure out what is holding you back or getting in your way and plan for it. Figure out how to work around it, under it, over it, whatever YOU have to do to make it work.

Plan for success!

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