Healthy Inklings #2

This series will consist of healthy tips, recipes, and random things I've learned along my paleo journey.  To learn more about the paleo lifestyle, click here. This is not necessarily paleo specific, just overall health.  To read previous Healthy Inklings posts, click here. 

I cannot tell you how many times I've said, 'We're never going out to eat again. Every food I buy will be healthy. NO MORE processed food!' as I throw away all the bad food from my cupboards. I'd maybe last two days, three at the most, before I caved in to the cravings of a popsicle or the mexican food restaurant down the road. My body (but more likely just my mind) could not handle such a sudden change. To have everything I loved food-wise ripped away from me in one fell swoop? Made me miserable.

So for the Healthy Inklings Tip #2:

Choose one meal to focus your healthy efforts on. Start with the easiest thing, such as breakfast or snacks. Just worry about that one meal until you have it down and are comfortable with it, then add another meal and another until you are eating the healthy foods you want throughout the day. When I started transitioning to paleo, I didn't do it all at once and I believe that is why it's such a success for me now and why I can be 99% paleo and happy.

Here are some simple healthy recipes for breakfast and snacks that I've tried:
Avocado-Lime Deviled Eggs (personally, I leave out the lime)
Regular Hard Boiled Eggs
Breakfast Smoothie - So. Many. Options.
Mini Crustless Quiches
Paleo Banana Muffins (I eat these every day I go to work!)
Sauerkraut and Over-Easy Eggs
Fruit & Coconut Milk
Almonds
Sautéed Spinach and Onion in Coconut Oil
Guacamole with Carrots, Cucumber, and Tomatoes, or just plain!

What meal will you start with?

I'm not a doctor (yet!) so do not take any advice I give as medical advice. If you have anything you want to hear about, let me know in the comments or email me at iffyinklings@gmail.com.

Healthy Inklings #1

This series will consist of healthy tips, recipes, and random things I've learned along my paleo journey.  To learn more about the paleo lifestyle, click here. This is not necessarily paleo specific, just overall health. I'm not a doctor (yet!) so do not take any advice I give as medical advice. If you have anything you want to hear about, let me know in the comments or email me at iffyinklings@gmail.com. 

When I first went gluten free about four years ago, I was terrified. Sure, I had cooked before, but being a 17 year old who lived off Jack in the Box egg rolls and McDonald's chicken nuggets, I didn't want to cook. Why would I waste a couple hours making my own egg rolls when I could pay a few dollars and have them in the time it took to go through the drive-thru?

Sadly, I couldn't do that anymore. Gluten was literally killing me, preventing my body from absorbing any nutrients. I no longer had the option to eat McDonald's nuggets when I wanted to, and I have to say it's an absolute blessing that I had a wakeup call in the form of celiac disease.

A lot of people who I've talked to about CD always say, 'I wish I had something like that that actually made me eat healthy.' In the beginning I would always think, 'I would never wish this on my worst enemy!' But now? I realize how many doors it's opened and how much my mind and body has changed because of it.

However. To those people who say they wish they had something like CD, I want to say, 'Why doesn't the fact that you are pre-diabetic make you want to eat healthier? Or the 20 extra pounds on your body? Or the fact that you can't walk up a flight of stairs without panting? Or the stomachache you get after a meal?'

I made the choice to be gluten free. It's not like knowing that I had celiac disease all of the sudden flipped a switch in my mind to make me cook for myself and eat healthy. I could have continued eating gluten and stayed sick, but I didn't because I knew it wasn't good for my body. Instead, I took the time to figure out what it took to make healthy, delicious (and sometimes horrible) meals. That's why I've also switched to the paleo lifestyle. I'm healthier. It's a choice I made. So for those of you that want to be healthy but aren't? You need to choose to be healthy.

This brings me to my first tip:

It doesn't matter if you commit to something small, like drinking x amount of water per day or to stop drinking soda. Just pick something and commit to it, and you will grow from there.

Will you commit to healthy eating?