Love What You Eat–So Enough Becomes as Good as a Feast!

• December 14th, 2010
• Posted in Health, Nutrition
• 7 Comments

The other day a client told me that their trick to staying nutritionally on-track is finding healthy meals, which feel like something special. That diet mentality thing, where all that seems available is carrots and salsa or non-fat cottage cheese and fruit, doesn’t cut it. Her declaration of finding fresh, mouth-watering eats that taste like treats had me jumping for joy! Because you should be eating healthy foods that you enjoy. After all, if you don’t, there’s no way you’ll keep it up. Um—I sure wouldn’t!

For example, all tomato lovers, please don’t hate me, but I despise whole tomatoes. I love crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce (I can eat it straight-up out of a jar), and pizza sauce. But, if a whole tomato comes near me, I cringe. Despite their lower-calorie, antioxidant, lycopene-filled selves, I can’t stand ‘em. Thus, if somebody told me to eat more tomatoes just because they’re good for me—I still wouldn’t dare. Plain and simple, if you don’t like what you’re eating, despite how healthy it is, you won’t touch it.

Find Your Joy

Finding joy in beans, veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, beloved Greek yogurt, and the occasional chocolate treat is exactly what inspired my lovely client to lose weight and keep it off! Woo-hoo! Suddenly, homemade chopped salads filled with lean protein, like grilled shrimp or roasted turkey, bright beets, crunchy carrots, calming cucumber, beautiful broccoli, and a dazzling of parmesan cheese felt like a luxury. And simply heating a sandwich with low-fat cheese took it to another level. Or, adding hummus and cranberry sauce to turkey made it just that much better. Plus, they’re good-for-you-toppings that influence you to eat more good-for-you foods—veggies on that sandwich, lean protein, whole grains. They’re just little tricks to keep the momentum going.

A Snack That’s My Winner

I apply this exact philosophy to my food. The foods I eat are for the most part very healthy—but I love them. And, if the recipe isn’t so easy on the waistline, I try to adapt. Sometimes the outcome is awesome; other times—eh, not so much. But, I try.

For example, my eat-what-you-love-that’s-healthy philosophy in action. I like chips, but they’re usually loaded with fat, sodium, devoid of fiber, and plain old nutritionally void. However, I found a substitute! Trader Joe’s Crunchy Curls! They fill my hankering for chips, healthfully. And, they’re delicious! Kale chips sometimes fill that chip wishing, but sometimes just not enough—so enter the curls!

These little curls of wonder are only 130 calories per 31 curls! Woo-hoo! Because I love the idea of getting lots to eat for lower on the calorie-totem pole. They’re super satisfying with 3 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and get this—the most exciting part—they’re made out of lentils and potatoes! So, all you gluten-free folk—you can eat these up too! Who said a crunchy snack couldn’t be easy on the waistline?

Savor What You Love

Basically, my little words of wisdom are to find healthy foods you adore. And savor the not-so-healthy stuff when you really want it. A little won’t hurt and will actually help you stay on track! So enjoy! When you eat what you love, you feel satisfied on so many different levels, so as Mary Poppins would say, “Enough [becomes] as good as a feast!”

How do you make healthy seem like a treat? Have you tried the TJ curls???!!!

For even more this week, check out my post on Food for the Soul at the Foomies!

Note: Don’t fret tomato admirers, I will keep trying tomatoes until I like them! I’m waiting for my taste buds to mature

Extra Note: Trader Joe’s didn’t provide any incentive for me to write about their product. I really do just love those curls!