No Grains, No Grains: Favorite Foods

NO GRAINS, NO GAINS: A GROUP A OF PRIMAL/PALEO/GRAIN FREE WOMEN WHO BLOG ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES/LIFE/BENEFITS WITHOUT GRAINS. A GREAT WAY FOR OTHERS (WHO MAY BE WANTING TO LOSE WEIGHT, REVERSE AN ACUTE/CHRONIC HEALTH TREND, AND/OR TRANSITION FROM COMMERCIAL WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS) TO READ ABOUT REAL LIFE WOMEN WHO ARE LIVING THE LIFE AND SUCCEEDING!

This month our topic is on our favorite foods, or the foods we eat everyday! I've definitely noticed a trend that people who are very successful TEND to rely on the same foods weeks after week, knowing what their caloric intake is and their nutritional value is. Eating instinctively means that I know I am getting all the vitamins I need, all the fat and protein and carbs I need, the right calorie spectrum, without having to tabulate every little bite.

I've also noticed successful people tend to have a lot of favorites in the vegetable category :) If my list contained junk food, I don't know that I'd be able to maintain my weight! And, I can seriously say now, years later, that junk food is NOT on my list of favorites. I crave fresh, whole foods that grow from this earth!

Ok, if you've ever read one of my grocery list posts, this will look very similar. I buy the same foods every week (with a little bit of variety depending on seasonal availability, affordability, etc).

My favorite foods:

• First and most important on the list: SWEET POTATOES!! These are very nutritious and the only real starchy food I eat (once in a while we switch it up with acorn squash, butternut squash or spaghetti squash, but sweet potatoes will always be my favorite!). I love cubing them and roasting them with garlic and black pepper
• Blueberries - I buy these frozen most of the time, because I want the organic berries, and fresh organic berries are stupidly expensive. I eat these almost every day with breakfast.
• Cantaloupe is definitely my favorite melon!
• Tomatoes, onions, mushrooms - these are the magic trio I include in dinner every single day in some way! They all have really terrific nutritional properties and I love their very specific tastes/textures
• Spinach and Romaine lettuce - both for salads, romaine for creating "taco" type meals
• Asparagus, brussels sprouts and cauliflower are our favorite veggies for dinner!
• EGGS - incredible versatile, lots of protein, very nutritious. Eat these almost every day.
• Dark chocolate!! I don't eat only fruits and veggies, of course ;) This is my main way of getting some dessert.
• Chicken, pork, and turkey - my main meat proteins (bought antibiotic free, hormone free, fed vegetarian diets)
• Grass fed beef. While I will occasionally buy chicken or turkey that has been factory farmed (because I can't afford the other stuff), I will NEVER EVER buy factory farmed beef. I will only buy grass fed and grass finished pasture raised beef. First, it tastes SO MUCH better. Second, most of the nutrients you get from beef comes from the grass it eats... you are what you eat eats!
• Salmon - when we have fish, I always try for wild caught salmon. Sometimes it is wild-caught tilapia, though (money, again, haha)
• Avocados! I love making guacamole or just putting the avocado on eggs or something fresh.
• Sunflower seed butter - I'm addicted to this stuff!
• Flax milk... creamy, delicious flax milk. Great in coffee and for making smoothies!
• Ketchup (I get this organic, no HFCS, just tomatoes, sugar and spices).. I put this on eggs, sweet potatoes, burgers, and eat it every day, hahaha.
• All the spices in the world - we have a huge spice cabinet: pepper, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder, ginger, cardamom, various curry powders, garam masala, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc, etc, etc... this is how I make my food taste different all the time, even though I buy pretty much the same veggies and meat every week!

So there we are... my favorites AND the food I rely upon every day.

But I wanted to insert, that if we are taking above favorites, I MUST include the insanely delicious, absolutely perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie my husband makes for me. I can't even tell it is Paleo, but it is (crust made of nuts and eggs and honey, I think?... filling with pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup?) but he makes it and I freak out. I would have to say that even though I only eat it a few times a year, it is my #1 favorite food on earth :D

The big step, I think, into making a healthy lifestyle, though, is making those foods you eat every day your favorites!! I am excited to eat my spinach and eggs in the morning, I love my sweet potatoes and bunless turkey burgers with a side of asparagus for dinner, etc. I am satisfied with a few squares of dark chocolate for dessert.

If my favorite foods were chocolate cake and fritos, I don't know that I would be HAPPY eating the list above. And being happy with what you eat leads you to being SATISFIED. Satisfaction means you can easily stop eating, because you are not just full, but satisfied, and don't need any more :)

Okay, off to start the day!

Namaste <3

Other members of No Grains, No Gains:

Gwen http://againstthegrain.us/
Leigh http://poonapalooza.blogspot.com/
Karen http://gardengirlkp.blogspot.com/

Go check out how their favorite foods!