At 18 I skipped away to college, excited for the adventure that awaited me.
A good education. A social life.
I'd grown up in a small town (ok, I didn't even live in a town--I lived in a field), and spent the last few years doing all the same things with all the same people, and I was ready for something new.
Spread my wings and fly, as the greeting cards would say.
While living the college life, I realized that I had absolutely no interest in preparing any meal that involved more than using the microwave. I ate a lot of Marshmallow Mateys, even more Ramen noodles, white bagels with whatever I had to schmear on, and those little pizza bite things….I don't even know what they were called--as long as they were on sale 2/$5, I had them stocked in my freezer(labeled with my initials of course).
And those were the things I ate if I felt like "cooking". If I didn't, there was always a Hostess Cupcake twin pack to grab on the go, and the 10:00 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger-run from my high school days, became a midnight Jumbo Jack and large milkshake run.
Are you guessing where this is going??
Yes, this is how I gained 12 pounds my freshman year.
The first semester I actually didn't gain much--I played intramural basketball and even took an aerobics class (I got college credit for aerobics…..how cool is that?!)
It was the second semester that was my downfall…….which also happened to be when I met Robby (no offense honey).
for a dance. we dressed like this. why? oh why.
First of all, physical activity of any kind came to a complete stop. Have you ever been to Rexburg Idaho in the winter? It's terrible--you loose all desire to live, let alone get out and move. The most physical activity I got that winter was playing ping pong in Robby's apartment…..does that count?
Robby was "rich", (= he had a job, at the mall), so we could actually
eat at "real" "restaurants" , like "JBs".
At midnight of course.
But still, this wasn't my downfall.
My roommate and I had this brilliant idea that would not only save us on our grocery bill, but provide us with a most delicious lunch.
We would take turns buying chips, canned chili, cheese and salsa (and really--the only thing I bought in addition to this was milk, cereal, and $1 cardboard cookies), and have nachos every day for lunch.
Nachos.
Every day.
And we did.
We would come straight home from math, and whip up our fancy little dish.
Do you think I'm kidding? "You didn't eat nachos EVERY day", that's what you are thinking.
Ask my other roomy Courtney (the health major!), if it's true--she will be happy to tell you how gross we were (we just talked about it last week).
Every day.
So daily nachos for a semester+ping pong level activity+money bags Robby taking me out to "restaurants" that served ranch and gravy on everything = 12 pounds, which divided itself evenly behind my face and my derriere.
And with all that, Robby still proposed….now that is true love my friends.
So what was the problem here? Living off of processed foods. check. No exercise. check.
What both of those boil down to is lack of time and/or laziness.
So where can we find more time? We can't. Believe me, I've looked. Amazon.com doesn't even have it....so I'm pretty sure buying more time for yourself is not an option.
Instead we have to prioritize.
When you think about it, shouldn't taking care of yourself be waaaaaaay up there on the top of your list?
It should. Move it up there, right now.
We find the time to fit so many other things into our day
(The Bachelor, facebook, looking for missing socks, etc), we should schedule some time in there to better ourselves.
Exercise.
The Gym.
Here's my big gym schpeel.
I am not a big gym-exercise-fan.
I would much rather be outside, in the sunshine, being active and not surrounded
by people with matchy outfits.
But.
+ The gym is open aaaaalllll the time.
day/night/hot/cold/younameittheyareopen.
You can fit exercise into your schedule this way--whether it's at 5:30 before work, mid day, or late night--it's there for you.
+ You'll make friends. You'll either go there with friends, meet friends in the classes, or become friends with the instructors. Friends = accountability. You feel like you HAVE to go.....because you're a good person and don't want to let your friends down. right?
Don't have a gym? No problem.
Find something else you can do with a group of people.
walking group.
running group.
_______ group.
Pick a time. Get together and do something active with your friends.
Schedule exercise into your week.
Write it down.
In pen.
Schedule other things around your workouts.
Don't feel guilty for taking time out of your day.
Its hard sometimes, especially for those of us who are mothers, to take time to do something for ourselves. We are so used to going going going, all for our family, we tend to be the first one's we forget about.
But if you're exercising, you'll be:
-healthier
-happier (really, even if you hate it
during, you'll be so glad you did it)
-less stressed
-a better mom/dad/friend/employee/student/I feel the need to include everyone so please insert yourself here.
-healthier, healthier, healthier. in every way.
And the healthier you start to feel, the less you will crave foods that are terrible for you.
Food that is Fast. But not Fast Food.
I posted a few quick meal ideas in last weeks post,
here are a few more that can be made up quickly so you don't find yourself reaching for fake pizza wrapped up into a "bite".
Get out your crock pot.
I am not a fan of your typical "crock pot meal", most of which are heavy on the cream of something soup. But there are some very simple things you can throw together in a few minutes in the morning, and have a hot dinner ready when you get home.
Chicken Tacos.
-a few chicken breasts (put them in frozen--easy!)
-one can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
-one jar of organic salsa. Do I care that the tomatoes and peppers used in the salsa are organic? I really don't. But organic salsa contains, only a few things--tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, and maybe a few spices. Non-organic is going to get you extra preservatives and what not that you don't want.
Cook on low all day, and when you're home, shred the chicken, spoon it into some tortillas with cheese and there you go.
Soup.
I'm telling you right now, you don't even need a recipe for soup.
In the morning, open your crock pot, throw in some chicken broth, onions, garlic, any veggies you have on hand (carrots, potatoes, winter squash, canned tomatoes, beets, rutabagas (ok, you probably don't have this on hand, but it's really good in soup)), add some beans or chicken, salt and pepper, and a few dried Italian herbs, let it go, and you'll have soup later. Soup you totally just made up.
A few more throw together meals:
Ravioli.
Look for a good organic ravioli or tortellini in the refrigerated section of the store.
Again, organic, not because I insist on only eating organic flour and cheese, but because it comes with out all the extra junk. I can identify every ingredient on the label.
Costco sells a good butternut squash ravioli, which takes 5 minutes to cook.
After it's cooked, I throw it in a pan with a few TBS of browned butter + a sprinkle of sage or thyme, and some toasted walnuts or pine nuts
it's reeealllllly good, and really easy too.
Breakfast Burritos.
posted here.
tortillas+eggs+beans+cheese+salsa=easy.
If you have a bit of extra time add potatoes+guacamole.
This weeks challenge is to Prioritize.
Get a pen and your calendar,
schedule yourself a few workouts.
Call your friends and ask them to join you.
When you know your day will be full, with little time for making dinner, plan ahead.
Have a loose meal plan for the week (I love this notepad), so you know what you have that can be prepared quickly.
Take time out of your day, for yourself and for your family.
Good luck!
and try not to eat nachos every day for lunch, because that will get you nowhere....or actually it might get you married, but I think that was just a coincidence.
I'd love to hear your healthy, quick, go-to meals!
bonus points: I read Food Rules by Michael Pollan in less than an hour. I recommend it.
I'm currently reading his In Defense of Food book and thoroughly enjoying it also.
Every now and then I share an easy meal idea on my FB page (here), come join the party.
edited to add:
I am LOVING all your comments and helpful tips!! I'll be sharing my favs on my facebook as well!
*disclaimer. When I say I grew up in a field, I did actually live in a home. We are not that backwoods.
**disclaimer: I use the term "throw" a lot. "Throw it together", "throw it in the pot". Please do not take this literally. Or do, but don't hold me accountable.
