Trading “Healthy” Foods
The other day, I was thinking about how I ate in college, and how different it is from what I eat now. I was very “healthy” in college… meaning I lived off of 100 calorie pack snacks, and low fat Pasta-Roni. From a calorie counting perspective, I was probably doing “better” than I am now. I never ate nuts (too many calories) I avoided anything that didn’t have a nutritional label (how would I be able to tell how many calories were in it?) and I lived off of “light” products (lets replace real food with a bunch of chemicals and try to achieve the same taste!)
I’ve come a long way. And while I still keep things like calories in mind, they’re not what drives my eating habits anymore.
Breakfast
In college, I would have a container of Carbmaster yogurt, with blueberries, and Fiber One cereal. Ok, not that bad, but after comparing the ingredients of the “Carbmaster” yogurt with Chobani… it’s no contest. I don’t need to be filling my breakfast with aspartame. I still love a bowl of yogurt with blueberries, but now I look for plain greek yogurt, and I top it with wholesome granola, rather than “diet” cereals.
Lunch & Snacks
More often than not, I packed a mini whole wheat bagel (ok, not so bad) topped with Better’n Peanut Butter. Oh my gosh I can’t believe I used to eat that stuff! If I try it now, it tastes like plastic.
And of course, I’d wash it all down with a diet coke.
Now I try to pack leftovers from dinner, or I get a salad from the salad bar at work. And no more low-fat-ranch dressing. I literally crave the taste of balsamic vinegar!
Peanut butter isn’t scary. Just because it has a lot of calories doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place in your diet. And real cookies are so much more satisfying than those little wafers.
Lunches like this are just as easy to make, but are packed with nutrients. Forget those low-calorie-excuses for dressing. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar + olive oil and you’ve got a simple, tasty dressing.
Dinner
Sometimes my dinners were actually pretty close to what I eat now. Alexa and I often lived off of chickpeas and black beans, (yay for cheap food!) but I also did eat entirely too much Pastaroni. I have no idea why I loved that stuff so much. I’m sure I’d still enjoy it if I tried it today.
I’ve since moved on to bigger and better things. Such as this smoked gouda panini from Ipanema Cafe.
Holy yum. So what if I don’t know the exact nutritional info for this? It was so tasty and filling, I only needed half, and I packed the other half for lunch. Real foods are just so much more satisfying.
I still eat lots of fruits and vegetables, because I’ve always loved those. But I’ve made an effort to eat what I’m really craving, rather than substituting it with some chemical-artificial-substitute. My tummy, and my tastebuds are both happier that way.
What do you think about “diet” foods?
Sports ressources
Hi there, constantly i used to check web site posts here Trading “Healthy” Foods – I Heart Vegetables early in the morning, since i love to learn more and more.
Peanut butter DEFINITELY isn’t scary. 🙂
I had to chuckle because I have that carrot cake yogurt in my lunchbox today…but we have to go for funky flavors every now and then, right?
Omg, I totally used to LIVE off 100 calorie packs in college! I don’t think I packed a single lunch that didn’t have one! And really, pretty much everything you described was how I used to eat…except the Pastaroni…ick! But I DID eat my weight in Totino’s pizza rolls! And to tell you the truth…if you set a plate of them in front of me today (as long as they came from the oven and not the microwave…nobody likes soggy rolls), I’d totally do some damage! Lol
It’s funny though…for all the food rules that I lived by back then…low fat, no fat, 100 calorie, diet…I never lost any weight. I never trimmed up. If anything I GAINED weight. And I was always tired. Now, I’m eating the cleanest I’ve ever eaten…real, WHOLE foods…I’ve trimmed some fat, built some muscle, and my energy (for the most part…grr, night shifts) is GREAT! Amazing what real food made from REAL ingredients can do for you! No lab-gredients for me! 😉
I used to be the SAME way – all low fat, no carbs, no cereral, etc. Now I much prefer small (ok, sometimes not so small), amounts of the real deal. Tastes so much better – AND it’s good for you. I love this comparison that you did!
I think the key is like my mum used to say “a little of what you fancy does you good” – and like you say, you’re more likely to feel satisfied by less proper food than lots of “diet” versions. I think the other thing about diet food is, you always feel you’re denying yourself what you really want and that can’t be good!
Having said that, I couldn’t give up my fat-free Muller light vanilla and dark chocolate-sprinkled yoghurt, not because it’s diet but because it’s amaaazing 🙂
I was a TERRIBLE eater most of college – Taco Bell, Chilli’s and Papa John’s were my best friends! And even when I started to turn things around, I relied heavily on “diet” foods. Now, I try to focus on the quality of what I’m putting into my body. And yes, sometimes that means I’m taking in more calories, but at the same time, I’m taking in more nutrition too!
Yes!!! Diet foods are just so empty!
I love it!!! You know my feelings on the subject…GIVE ME REAL FOOD any day!!!!