Ok, my diet for the past 4 years has been well...not the best ever. 80% of our meals came out of a box. We bought a special non stick pan just to make hamburger helper.......yeah. I spent A LOT of time in the frozen meals section of the grocery store to say the least. I would come home and pack the pantry and freezer with very little going to the fridge. I also have a full blown addiction to soda which I am working on. I've gotten off the diet stuff and have a limit of 2 per day on rest days and none on work out days. I was going through a 12 pack a week so this is a huge improvement.
When we started this journey of crossfit I realized our diet was going to have to change. I don't typically like change, but I don't like being squishy and jiggling when I walk either. I know what I'm about to say may go against a lot of the crossfit world's nutritional values but this is specific to our family and our choices. Trust me I do understand a few of our choices are not perfect and sure we could probably force ourselves to go strict paleo but for right now it's not for us. Maybe someday but not right now.
Now a big thing with crossfit members is something called the Paleolithic diet or just paleo for short. Essentially it's eating like a caveman. If ugg couldn't eat it then you won't be either. There are all kinds of versions of paleo that I have seen. Some people say potato is a no go, yet others say it's fine. Some are cool with certain dairy products, others...not so much. At any rate we are about 3/4 paleo in this house. Go ahead and tell me I'm not allowed to have my absolute favorite candy bar (Hershey with almonds) anymore and see what happens. I assure you that it won't be pleasant. There is also a love for rice in the house which will not be obliterated easily, then there is not much hope I will ever completely get off the soda habit. Sorry, I like it too much. So you see paleo is not really my cup of tea.
Instead of some major undertaking like going paleo I've adopted the rough idea and used it to improve our nutrition by leaps and bounds. I strive to make real food...like food that will go bad if you leave it too long. Unlike the box of tuna helper in our pantry that has an expiration date that is up in about 2 years. I shoot for a balance of a protien, veggie and a smidge of starch/carbs in our meals.
I went grocery shopping today and honestly the only time I was in front of frozen cooler cases was to pick out some frozen yogurt. Don't judge, I needed an ice cream fix. Other than that my cart consisted primarily of items from the perimeter of the store. Very few exceptions were in there.
Gone are the days of bright packaging and crinkly freezer bags. Here to stay are the chunks of real meat, whole fruits and veggies and perhaps some whole grains too. Hey, steel cut oatmeal is my best bud for keeping the milk flowin' round here.
Sure, I might still be eating some processed junk here and there but let me tell you it's a completely different diet for us. We might not be at caveman status but it's an honest effort and that's all I can really promise. To me just making an effort to be conscious of your body fuel is what matters. Try to be smart about things you eat and you'll be fine.
For today's tasty Tuesday recipe I give you
Crock Pot Balsalmic Roast with
Cauliflower Mash
I'm making this for our box's Christmas party this weekend so I will let you know how it turns out!
