Meal Planning

I realize that I am very different than many Americans when it comes to my food, so I thought I would write about it!

Once I began my GF diet, I decided that not only was I going to change my food content, I would also change my entire view of eating and working out. Of course, it really helped that I stopped my job at about the same time. I have time to exercise now! Working out is now becoming one of my priorities, although I must admit that I am still not as committed as I want to be. But so far, I have had a full month of exercising 5 days a week (pats herself on back).

Anyway, once I began my gluten free diet, I decided that I was going to make my meals smaller and eat 5-6 meals a day now. My breakfast has always been the biggest, and that is still the same. A bowl of 100 calorie cereal plus milk just doesn't do it for me. Today I had about 1/3 cup of Red Mill's Might Tasty Hot Cereal with 2 eggs and some cheese sprinkled on top with a glass of soy milk. Like I said, I like my breakfast!! But often, I run errands during the morning, so I sometimes don't get a small meal/snack before lunch. If I do have a morning snack, it will almost always be some type of fruit.

For lunch, I only eat a sandwich or maybe some carrots and peanut butter, or something similar. Nothing big, because I get really tired right around 1 o'clock, and if I eat a lot, it just makes it worse. Then, around 2 or 3, I will have another meal/snack that usually consists of rice cake and hummus, yogurt with gluten free granola (I love Enjoy Life's Very Berry Crunch granola!), or string cheese, etc...

Dinner is most of the time something with meat, as my husband prefers. :-) I can get him to eat vegetarian if it involves spaghetti, but that's about it, ha ha! I am not a vegetarian, but personally, I think I would be if I didn't have other digestion problems. Anway, for dinner, we usually will have a meat and a vegetable, and sometimes a carb (usually potato or corn).

Now, I'm not very good about eating healthy for my last meal/snack. I will usually break open a bag of chips or scoop up a bowl of ice cream (with a lactose enzyme pill, as I am lactose intolerent) after little Short Stack goes to bed. But everyone needs a vice, right?

This diet really helps me eat healthy, as long as I plan it and have the foods available. I have to go in with the mindset that these snacks are really small meals, because if I don't, I'm reaching for the cookies or the chips. Plus, these small meals help my daughter stay happy during the day too. She snacks along with me, so if she doesn't eat as much at dinner as I want her to, I won't have a battle on my hands because I know she is getting the right foods during snack times as well.

I highly recommend small and more frequent meals rather than 3 large meals a day. It may take a little more planning, especially if you work, but I think it is worth it!