Whatcha Eat Today-What Happened to my Healthy Habits?

"By writing down what I ate this week, I can really see how bad my diet is, there was a time not too long ago where I wasn't eating any of this mess. I want and need to get back to that."

This is a quote from our next Whatcha' Eat Today journal keeper.  This busy wife and mother is in a cycle that many of us get stuck in - trying to eat healthy and falling back into bad habits.

Day 1
Breakfast -  Chocolate Cheerios w/ 1% milk.
Lunch - Nothing
Dinner - Mashed potatoes, gravy, Turkey Meatloaf, Sweet Potatoes, String Beans. Pepsi

Day 2
Breakfast - Chocolate Cheerios w/ 1% milk
Lunch - Nothing
Dinner - Leftovers from Sunday - Ginger ale

Day 3
Breakfast - French Toast - Water
Lunch - Taco bowl with chicken, beef, grilled veggies, rice, sour cream - Water
Dinner - French Toast , Chamomile Tea

Day 4
Breakfast - Cinnamon Raisin Bagel, Peppermint Tea
Lunch - Hot Dog, Fries, Iced tea
Dinner - Burger, onion rings, ginger ale

Day 5

Breakfast - Cereal

Lunch - Half cheesesteak, Water

Dinner - Shrimp n Broccoli

Wine - Water

First let's get rid of the sodas.  I'm sure you know how unhealthy they are so I won't beat you over the head with it so instead, check here for a previous post for suggestions on what to drink instead of soda. Next bulk up your breakfast with fruit, try adding berries or bananas to your cereal for more fiber and some nutrients that will make you feel fuller longer.  Now let's move on to the skipping meals and making healthier choices.  You have a tough crowd to please, living in a house with two growing sons and a husband can make it a challenge to eat healthy foods and have everyone feeling satisfied    So what's the solution?  Soup.  It's sounds simple enough but a big hearty pot of soup will do two things for you.  1) provide you with food for days and 2) by adding beans and greens to the soup will get healthy stuff back into your diet.   Try my Escarole and White Bean Soup recipe or this Minestrone soup that will have you guys walking away from the table full and happy.

Vegetable Minestrone

4 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons of water

1 Yellow Onion chopped

1 stalk of Celery chopped

2 Carrots, chopped

2 cloves of fresh Garlic minced

1 29oz. can of Diced Tomatoes with Basil

1 15oz. can of no salt added Kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 cup of frozen green beans

1/2 cup of frozen spinach

1 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning

2 Dried Bay leaves

1/3 cup of Whole Wheat macaroni noodles, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large sauce pan over Medium high heat.  Add the celery, onion, carrots and garlic and 2 tablespoons of the water.  Saute the vegetables until tender ( about 5 minutes) adding more  tablespoons of water if needed.  Add the green beans, tomatoes, spinach and vegetable broth and the rest of the water.  Bring to a hard boil and add the Italian seasoning, bay leaves and the macaroni noodles, stir and let boil for 7-9 minutes or until the noodles are cooked.  Reduce the heat,and add salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for 15 minutes.  Serve Hot.

I hope that these two small changes will make a big difference in getting back to your healthy eating and keep checking the blog for more healthy tips.

Like what you are learning here? Don't forget to share it with a friend or two.  Also if you make any of the recipes or would like to featured please email me at Brownveggiemom@yahoo.com.  
Now I'm off to a big bowl of soup!