Always Eager to Eat? Check these Healthy Food Tips Out.

So, as promised in my former e-mail titled "I Couldn't Stop Eating, so I Started Cooking," I will include some food tips and recipes that I have been using as of late.
1. Trader Joe's rocks for people who want to eat healthy foods that are still good. They have a ton of great tasting products that aren't that bad for you-- chicken sausage, bruschetta, 70 calorie ice cream cones, baked chips, unsalted tortilla chips, dark chocolate, 100 calorie chocolate sticks. I could go on and on.
2. It's summer and the fruit is cheaper and sweeter--make a fruit salad that you can pick from all week. Pineapple, watermelon, cantalope, honey dew, and strawberries are all great fruits that are delicious.
3. If you want something that is more filling, mix fruit with cottage cheese. If you don't like cottage cheese, add a little brown sugar and/or honey or agave nectar on top. It is a great for breakfast, a mid-day snack, or even late night snack that you don't have to feel guilty about.

4. I hate yogurt, but I know it's good for you, so I started eating it with granola, specifically the low-fat granola from TJ's and it is 100% more enjoyable.
5. Do you like snacking while watching your favorite reality t.v. show? I do... So, I made a vegetable salad that I cut up at the beginning of the week and pick at every night when I need something to do. I included peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes--none of these vegetables get soggy or gross, so they mix well together and you can cut a bunch up and then not have to deal with it again for the week. The TJ's Goddess Dressing is awesome, but it's 12 grams of fat for 2 tablespoons. If you really need something extra to make you eat veges, this will do it.
6. I am not a huge fan, but I know they are healthy, so I eat bananas with peanut butter and it's 100% more enjoyable. The right PB is very important. Get the gooey, smooth peanut butter from TJ's. The best PB is the kind that has the oil at the top that you have to mix when you open the jar. Trust me, it's worth the work to mix it all up.
7. Another great way to get your banana intake is to make a banana shake-- break a banana up into pieces in the blender with 1 cup of milk and about 4-5 ice cubes. Blend it up for a min or so and enjoy. It's a delicious, healthy shake without all the calories. 


More tips and recipes to come...

I Can't Stop Eating so I Started Cooking

Typically, I go through phases with food. Usually, it depends on when I am pms-ing. I eat everything in sight and I allow myself to do so because it tends to be this way for only 4 days out of the month. I work out, I eat healthy the other days of the month, so I allow myself to stuff my face with cheese fries, burritos, pizza, and chocolate. After those 4 days, I go thru yet another phase where I don't feel like eating at all. I don't care about food. I eat because I know I have to and so it all evens out. I don't mean to do this--my body just sort of works this way on its own.
But, lately, I have been in that first phase of eating everything in sight for like a month.
I am never full, never satiated, never satisfied. And, even if I am full, I want to eat more!

I don't know if it's the stress of my life as a nanny (I am starting to get tired of raising other people's kids and washing other people's clothes including the dad's jock strap), tutoring (all but 2 of my students have graduate, so this part of my life is almost nonexistent), and then trying to run a business which has taken far too long to start making money.
Maybe it's all that stuff. I don't know, but since I never feel full and I would have to work out 7 days a week to work off the current amount of calories I am putting into my body, I had to find another solution.
And, no I didn't start sticking my finger down my throat. My Italian grandmother would probably keel over if she found out that I ever purposely got rid of the food she spent hours making...
So, I decided to do something I don't often do. I started cooking. I went to the grocery store and I bought lots of fruit and vegetables and actually opened up that cook book I bought so long ago called "The Hungry Girl."
I don't really enjoy cooking. So, for all of you out there who may be going through a "non-stop eating" phase like me right now or you just want super quick and easy ideas for healthy dishes, the recipes on the next blog are for you...