My diet is a mixture of excellence and trash.* I know this, and most of the time it works well enough for me. But this week it became evident that it’s skewed much too far toward trash.
Thursday and Friday I felt horrible, and every time I ate something, I could tell almost immediately whether that particular choice had been a mistake. Most of the time, it was a mistake.
So–at least for now–no more bacon. I love bacon, but bacon is not loving me. And that goes true for salt in general. I was able to cut way back on salt when I was pregnant with Baguette, so I know I can do it now. And I’m cutting way back on meals out and prepared foods, because those are part of the salt-and-other-chemicals problem I’m having.
I’ve stocked up on fruit and Greek yogurt (oh, wait, I think I need more by now), and am trying to have a Yakult a day for more probiotics. I’ve pulled a loaf of pumpkin bread out of the freezer, and later today I’ll fix a bunch of hard-cooked eggs.
Also, last night I made curried lentils and brown rice–my first time cooking lentils. And I loved it! Lots of leftovers mean I’ll have several lunches during the week, too.
Curried Lentils and Brown Rice (adapted from Supermarket Vegan)
3/4 cup brown rice (I only had 1/2 cup and supplemented white rice for the remainder–it still turned out okay)
3/4 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 can vegetable broth
1 can plus 1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. garlic powder
black pepper
coarse-ground white pepper
Put everything in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Lower heat until it is just simmering and cover. Stirring occasionally, cook for 45-50 minutes, or until lentils and rice are tender and water is mostly absorbed.
Further confirmation that it was time to overhaul my diet? I already feel much better. Not 100%, but much, much better.
*Not actual trash. I’m not Oscar. Even if I do have my Grouchy moments.
Photo by clurr, via Flickr. Creative Commons.
It’s always amazing to me how much what I eat can affect my overall well-being. Yes, I’ve read all the research a hundred times, but for some reason I still find myself amazed when changes to one side or the other make a significant difference in how I think, feel, etc. Love the Oscar – he’s my all-time favorite Sesame Street character. Always loved him. 🙂
I’m normally quite the omnivore, so this is unusual for me. I can usually eat pretty much what I want. But even if it’s atypical, it’s very clear what I need to do!
I used to be a fairly big junk eater but over the last couple of years my husband has helped reform me into eating mostly whole foods or foods made from scratch. We eat very little processed and I eat lots more fruits and veggies than I used to and yes, I feel so much better! I used to think people were a bit strange when they talked about “junk food” making them feel gross and truthfully, I never thought about it much when I was eating that way. But once I started eating healthier I started noticing a big difference in the way I felt.
Your Oscar comment totally cracked me up!
It’s interesting to me how quickly it came on, and how quickly I’ve been able to change how I’m feeling. The difference is so marked that it’s definitely worth continuing.