Healthy Tacos and Clean Eating

Clean eating seems to be a trend right now, and it’s something I’m trying to be better at, so I thought I’d talk about it here. About two years ago I went on one of those calorie counting diets as a way to lose weight. I lost six or seven pounds in the first two weeks, then plateaued the next two. I couldn’t figure out how this drastic change wasn’t helping me lose weight! Then I watched this little video about how everything that is “low-fat,” “sugar-free,” “low calorie,” etc is full of additives that replace those natural sugars/things that taste good. Obviously this is stuff I already knew, but they way they explained it to me really made things click. Your body trying to break down those things is like when you have to work too jobs: if you are overworked by the first one you can’t function properly for the second. It takes so much work breaking those additives down that your body can’t break down natural fats/sugars/calories. This is when I decided to stop dieting and start eating healthy. For a couple months I literally checked every label when I went grocery shopping, which seemed to seriously piss off my best friend and roommate at the time (she hates grocery shopping to begin with).

So for those of you who already knew all of those things, sorry to bore you by telling my own discovery. That wasn’t the original plan for this blog. What I wanted to talk about was ways in which you can try to eat “cleaner.” There are a lot of copy-cat and from scratch recipes out there, but it can be hard to find time for those types of things when busy with class and work. I think one of my favorites is a recipe for homemade taco seasoning. I’m not sure what all is in the Taco Bell brand one at the store, but I have a feeling most of it isn’t good. Here is a link to the one I used tonight:

http://www.5dollardinners.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/

I think the best thing about this is that it takes absolutely no time to make. I browned the meat (I use ground turkey) and added the seasoning. It literally took less than ten minutes, and I have tons of extra taco meat left over. Organic corn tortillas contributed to the “clean eating” factors. The ground turkey and shredded cheese weren’t organic, but they were as natural as I could get. Not to mention I don’t want to shock my body by going completely organic. I’m not sure if it’s actually bad for you, but I have heard that it’s better to ease yourself into it.

As far as budget goes, it is technically cheaper to just buy the spices instead of packets of taco seasoning. It feels more expensive the first time you buy them all if you don’t have spices like cumin or chili powder, but those bottles last forever. Depending on how much you like tacos you could potentially save a lot of money.

Anyway, not a particularly insightful blog tonight, but I want to make sure I post more frequently, and this is what was on my mind tonight. I’ll try to come up with something more exciting for the next one.  

Best fruit on a Budget

Best fruit on a Budget

I want to start by stating that to say I’ve neglected this blog would be the understatement of the century. Or at least a close second. I was so optimistic last September, and my first semester of grad school got the best of me. From what I hear that was the hardest one, so perhaps I’ll actually be able to keep up with things this semester.

Update on my life: I officially put in my two weeks notice, so although I will have more free time to make healthier choices, I’m on an even tighter budget than before. I’m also packing my schedule full of commitments I didn’t have time for last semester (such as conferences, committees, and a chance to get published!) so hopefully this blog still appeals to the busy/working grad student, or anyone who is busy and on a tight budget. Another update: I have been soda and fast food free for the better part of the past six weeks! I cheated once or twice when I went on vacation to visit the boyfriend, but I’m back on track now and feeling better than ever.

For my first post back I wanted to share a link I found about health benefits of bananas. Not that other fruits/veggies/etc don’t each have their own special benefits. I’ve found in the past that I have a habit of buying fruit, putting it in my produce drawer, and forgetting about it. I don’t know about you, but when my budget consists of student loans I don’t have money to be wasting on spoiled produce. Bananas seem to be the one thing that I always remember to eat before they go bad because I can see what kind of shape they are in any time I walk into my kitchen. Not to mention that at $0.99 a pound for organic (at least where I shop) they’re a pretty good deal!

Anyway, in case you want reasons beyond economic value to eat bananas, check out the link. And keep checking back…I plan on posting a lot more this semester!

Enough Excuses

Today was the second time in less than a week that I found myself going to McDonalds for dinner.

I feel like this is an unacceptable way to start a diet blog; I should be talking about how I’m officially starting my journey towards living a healthy lifestyle. I could do that, but it wouldn’t be one hundred percent true. I can’t guarantee that I’m going to be eating any better tomorrow than I am today. However, the first step to fixing a problem is admitting that one exists. I have a problem, and that problem is that I am way too good at making excuses for myself.

Currently my biggest excuse for not eating right or working out is that I don’t have time. I’m a grad student. I have a GA position. I work four days a week. It’s almost as if I’m trying to make myself feel better by saying that I simply don’t have time to cook. Hell,  I hardly even have time to go grocery shopping. No, seriously. My fridge currently consists of Greek yogurt, frozen chicken (and who really has time to thaw anything?) and a the one nectarine I have left from my trip to the farmers market. The nectarine might not even be good anymore. Another of my favorite excuses is that I’m a picky eater. When I say this what I actually mean is that I might as well be a five year old. There are a number of things I decided that I didn’t like as a child- either because they looked weird, smelled bad, or whatever reason kids use to get out of eating new things. The problem is that I am now convinced that I legitimately don’t like these things, most of which fall into the category of vegetables. This is something I tried to break myself of last summer, and, believe it or not, I’ve gotten a lot better about trying new things. Unfortunately I have to be in an adventurous mood for this to happen. Feel free to judge away; I’m judging myself just as much.

As bad as my time management skills are proving to be, I decided this past weekend that I’ve had enough of my own excuses. Yes, I am a busy person. The fact that the idea for this blog came into my head on Saturday and is just now coming to fruition (it’s Wednesday) is proof of that. My hope is that by making myself keep a daily log of what I eat, even on days that I am too busy to write a full length entry, I will be inspired to eat healthier things. I understand and accept that there will not always be days in that I will be as healthy as I hope. This blog isn’t just about success; this blog is about the struggle that many of us face each day to balance the things that are important in our lives. I am publicizing my struggle in an effort to hold myself accountable for what I am eating and whether or not I am exercising. I hope that anyone who may be reading this, be they friends, peers, strangers, what have you, will help to do the same. However, this does not mean that my lengthier posts are going to be similar to your stereotypical diet blogs about what you should eat and what exercises tone which areas of your body. If that is what you are looking for than go get on Pinterest; those types of things are everywhere. I’ve already been mentally planning posts about fad diets, women’s body issues, the reasons why many teen and college-aged girls diet, etc. If you know me I doubt you are at all surprised by this. What else would you expect from someone going into Women’s Studies?