I'm A Livestrong Girl: Part III: Super Foods!

It’s been two days since I wrote a blog entry about super foods. Un-posted, mind you, but written nonetheless. I’ve been a bit distraught trying to figure out what the heck happened to it, because I literally save my work every five minutes. There was no way on earth I could have lost it in cyberspace. I suppose I could have, but the likelihood of one blog entry going missing on a vast network of servers with hundreds, if not thousands, of other blogs, is highly improbable.

I’ve been struggling trying to rewrite this mundane post. For two days. I have major writer’s block, I don’t really care that much about the topic only because it is the driest topic I’ve written about since probably sixth grade, and I haven’t been able to come up with anything else. It’s been haunting me. To be honest, who really wants to read a list of food I eat? Not many. And to be even more honest, who wants to write the blog about food in the first place? Not me.

But there are readers interested in my adventure in weight control and diet, and I do really want to share my knowledge and experience! This is my story, my shot to share with the world how my challenges became my successes.

Stupid writer’s block.

And then it happened. My husband and I were standing in the kitchen and as he was biting into a banana he asked, “how many calories are in a banana?” And I answered, “about 105.” No flinch, no question, just regurgitation.

I have indeed become the walking, talking, encyclopedia of caloric and nutritional values. Oy.

So on that note, and without much further adieu, I would like to share with you my fun-filled, super exciting, handy dandy (no, not “notebook” for all of you Blue’s Clues lovers out there!) list of GO-TO SUPER FOODS!

Fresh Produce

First up: the produce section of your local grocery store. Better yet, your local farmer’s market.

No, really. The entire produce section is the first item on my list of super foods.

You can’t walk into a produce section and pick one item that is bad for you or has too many calories. It’s impossible. The only way this could ever happen would be if you filled your entire cart with avocados and potatoes.

All right, fine. I’ll just give you my list.

spinach
kale
broccoli
bell peppers (green are my favorite, red are my little man’s fave)
carrots
green beans
asparagus
cucumber
blueberries
pears
apples (fuji are my variety of choice)
bananas
strawberries
oranges
kiwi

The Grocery Perimeter

Truth: healthier food options are located on the perimeter of the grocery store, while processed sugars, empty calories and other miscellaneous junk food items are found in the inner aisles.

So that makes the second section of my list of favorite super foods “items found on the perimeter of the grocery store.”

And here they are:

yogurt
skim milk*
raisins
cranberries (dried)
almonds
peanut butter / nutella**
whole grain wheat bread (2 g of fiber or more per serving is best)
raisin bran***
oatmeal
chicken
turkey
ham
cheese

The Middle Aisles

Yes, yes, we all have our vices. Mine happen to be sweet and salty. How do I keep it under control, you ask? Easy peasy. I pick a couple of “unhealthy” options, pick the healthiest of the unhealthy, and control my portions.

As with any food you choose to eat, portion control is crucial. It is crucial not only to losing weight, but even to simply maintaining weight. It’s so easy to pop in a flick and crunch down an entire bag of potato chips, but holy moly is that unhealthy! Portion control, people! Why do you think America is morbidly obese?

I digress. Here are some of my vices, found in the middle aisles of the grocery store. Don’t judge me. Sigh.

Pirate’s Booty****
frozen yogurt or other slow churned ice cream
all natural, organic granola bars
low calorie, low fat popcorn

Have you noticed a pattern here? Scroll back up the page and take a look. I’ll wait.

Yes, that’s right! The first list is the entire produce section of the grocery store. The second list is a bit shorter. And the third list is, well, only four items.

I hope you’re getting the idea.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are best. Fresh meat, dairy and whole grains are also important. And refined sugars and other such junk foods are not important at all.

A note about junk food: to be successful in your weight loss venture, using the same calorie reduction method that I use, you must realize the importance of satisfying your cravings. That does not mean you can sit down with a pint of ice cream and finish it off just because your sweet tooth is throbbing with desire. What it does mean is that you can have one serving of a low calorie sweet to curb a hankering.

So anyways, the above list is good for many things in your daily life: grocery shopping, eating, playing, cooking, baking, learning with your toddler, arts and crafts, potato gun making — anything you can imagine.

It is best for staying within appropriate caloric bounds and boosting your immune system, energy level, and overall health and well-being.

Take these lists with you on your next grocery trip. I dare you.

You’ll be happy that you did.Oh, and one more thing. I did find the original blog entry. It wasn’t there two days ago, and it wasn’t there yesterday. Miraculously it appeared this evening. Anyways…

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footnotes:

*milk will be discussed again in the fitness post of the “Livestrong Girl” series.

**peanut butter, while high in calories and found in the middle aisles, is also very high in protein. If you’re on a rigid fitness regimen, protein is important and in the form of peanut butter, very delicious.

***raisin bran is another item found in the middle aisle. It has been pivotal to my weight loss and fitness success. It is an excellent source of fiber, and has just enough sugar (but not too much) to satisfy my sweet tooth. In addition, it keeps me full for many hours.

****if you’re a mom with a toddler, I don’t even need to explain this one. If you don’t have a toddler, or you’re not a mom, or if you’ve just never heard of this stuff before, ask me. Phenomenal.