Q&A Wednesday - What I Eat

What have you been eating to lose your pregnancy weight?

Let me tell you, there's nothing like the gift of a cruise to kick start your weight loss motivation! That coupled with the post-holiday guilt over all of the eating that occurred at Christmas parties, pot lucks and cookie exchanges.

I'm not a fan of diets (who is, right?) but I'll share what I generally eat, just in case it might help you tweak your own eating regimen. For those who don't already know, I prefer homemade to packaged foods and avoid additives and preservatives whenever possible. I'd rather spend the time making a recipe where I know what's in the food and forgo the convenience of a mix. Just something to note!

For Breakfast, I usually eat oatmeal. I make it on the stove using the old fashioned oats, adding a couple of egg whites in toward the end and stir in flax seed grounds after it's done cooking. I don't add sugar or sweeteners, just a few raisins, some cinnamon and a little milk to make it creamy. It might sound boring, but it starts my day off with something filling.

If I don't have time to make oatmeal, I'll eat a mug (a regular coffee mug, not a huge coffee house sized mug) of either Cheerios or Kashi Go Lean. I'm not talking about Go Lean Crunch; the regular Go Lean is very low in fat and sugar. Even that small amount is surprisingly satisfying and keeps me full longer because it's packed with fiber and protein. (my kids think it's hilarious that I eat my cereal in a coffee mug, but it's the only way I can keep the portion correct)

Morning snacks are almost always fruit. If I find plain yogurt on sale, I'll mix berries or bananas with some yogurt, but I eat an apple almost every day around 10am. If I'm on the go, I'll put some grapes in a bag or eat a Kashi Almond Flax granola bar. They're a little more expensive than some other granola bars out there, but again, they're low in sugar and the almonds and whole grains keeps me full longer.

Lunch is a salad at least 5 days a week. I eat the same salad every. day. I love it. I make my own oil and vinegar dressing (2:1 or 3:1 oil to vinegar ratio with a few shakes of salt, garlic, Italian seasoning and finely chopped onion) and pour it over leaf lettuce with chopped up tomatoes, feta cheese, tuna or leftover chicken, dried cranberries and anything else that might be hanging out in my fridge. (cucumbers, zucchini, avocado, red bell pepper) If I don't have lettuce, then I eat leftovers or a turkey sandwich with pretzels or fruit.

Afternoon snacks are when I cheat. Not when I gave up sugar for Lent, but when Ryan comes home from school, I'll often have whatever I give him for a snack. On healthier days, I'll make popcorn (in my popcorn machine, not the bagged microwave kind) or make fruit salad. When I want something carb-y (totally a word) I'll grab some banana bread out of the freezer or bake something with the kids. We also do pretzels and Triscuits with 2% cheese a lot.

Dinner changes all the time - you can see my meal plans every week to see what recipes I make often. I serve our dinner on the smaller dessert plates to keep portions more reasonable, but Mike almost always goes back for seconds. I try desperately not to, but if we're having something lighter, I'll fill up so I won't be hungry before bed.

I know most people believe that you shouldn't eat 2-3 hours before bedtime, but I have no guilt eating an apple or popcorn if I get hungry before bed. If I'm too lazy to cut up an apple, I'll eat some unsweetened applesauce or a few raw almonds. (I mention the details of "unsweetened" and "raw" because I believe that the foods being in their raw form makes a big difference.)

When I eat sweets or desserts, I try to eat them earlier in the day. They hype me up too much before bed and when I eat chocolate at night, I always have crazy dreams.

Beverages - We drink mostly water and green tea in our house, no soda and few fruit juices. I prefer to chew my calories, personally. I even think twice about drinking alcohol, since I'm a wimp and like the foo-foo drinks that are loaded with sugar. I about died when I learned how many calories are in a Margarita!

Eating out - It is very rare that we eat fast food and prefer eating places that serve fresher ingredients like Chipotle. We go out to eat about once a week and I tend to avoid things with heavy sauces or mayonnaise and stick to items that are grilled with lots of vegetables.

So there you have it. I know I'm a little more hard-core about eating fresh foods than most people in America, but I'm not nearly as strict as many, many others. I've been tempted to watch Food, Inc recently, so I'll let you know if that transforms me into a completely organic, free range, meatless food Nazi afterward. From what I've heard, I'm thinking it might!