Food For Days

Over the past few weeks I have been sharing my new love of food with those who follow me on social media. Several of you have asked for recipes I am using and if I was following a meal plan. I do plan to start sharing my recipes. But I wanted to start with what program I'm using. First let me start by saying that I LOVE FOOD. I have no fear when it comes to food and will always try something new if I am afforded the opportunity! I can sit down with a whole container of freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter and a stack of honeycrisp apples and empty the whole container of peanut butter without feeling an ounce of guilt! Second, I have been trying to eat cleaner. It is (almost) always my goal, but an occasional trip back to East Tennessee makes me weak at the knees, or maybe it's the eyes and belly!


For those who know the East TN area, Pal's Sudden Service is a small fast food chain that has the best frenchie fries in all of fast food! Oh, and their sweet tea or even half and half is like tasting a sip of heaven in a cup. Add some Razzie or Peachy flavor and you've just created perfection! I probably gain 5 pounds every trip I make home just because of this place! Plus the fact that they built one in my hometown does not help the addiction! Okay, getting back on track.

I have been following the 21 Day Fix program by Beachbody. It is a great exercise and eating program that gives you seven 30 minute workouts, one for each day. Then you repeat them each week for 21 days. The eating part of the program is vital-and the hardest in my opinion! It teaches you how to have healthy portions of all food groups based on your needs of gaining or losing weight. In my case, I'm not necessarily wanting to lose weight as much as I am needing to tone my muscles. Regardless of the results you want to achieve, there is a portion control container system that helps you measure out your foods. I will admit that I was quite confused and intimidated by this container system at first! Once you figure out how it works, you can make a meal without them in your head!

Below is what my container system looks like. Red=Protein, Purple=Fruits, Green=Veggies, Yellow=Carbs, Blue=Healthy Fats, and Orange=Seeds & Dressings. 

Most of my recipes follow this meal plan structure, but don't feel like this is something you have to do. I use it to help keep myself in line with what my current fitness goals are.  And right now, my fitness goal is "Fit In This Dress for Military Ball!" My husband's unit is having their Military Ball next month, and I want to rock my dress! If you don't want to follow the structure you can still eat these meals without measuring the portions. These recipes are fairly simple to make. Nothing too complex and time consuming, I promise! Cause ain't nobody got time for that! (Insert cheesy laugh).







Here are just a few of my favorite recipes that I've incorporated into my routine. I can admit that I am the world's worst at finding a recipe I like and running it into the ground. When we came back to Texas a few months ago, I made it a goal to not repeat meals over and over. Since then, I have forced myself to venture out and find new recipes and experiment to find new ways to cook foods. If you're unsure of where to get started, then try Pinterest. You can always find plenty of new food recipes there and also Google it! My mother, a nurse, has always told me that if I didn't know how to do something or what something is to look it up. It helps you to learn something you didn't know! I will start with a specific food and search for recipes with this food and go from there. Once I get all the recipes written down and ready, I will be sure to post them!

Essentially,

Andrea