Ever since I started personal training, I vowed to make some changes to my diet. After all why spend the money to train if I'm not going to feed my body with fuel. I started looking at food differently after my first session with my trainer, who I'll call C. I told her all about my diet restrictions- my body only allowing me to eat complex carbs and a low fiber, low residue diet. I could stomach most sources of protein, eating lots of cheese, chicken and ground turkey. But my downfall is bread and pasta. Who doesn't love a nice piece of crusty French bread?
C suggested that I start with some simple swaps, my favorite being oats and oat flour for traditional unbleached white flour. Done! I can do this. I took her suggestion and scoured Pinterest for recipes. With C's suggestion, I first swapped out unbleached flour for oat flour in my new favorite high protein pancakes (recipe to follow). This is now my signature breakfast. Spread some Chocolate PB2 and it feels more like a treat than a low carb, low fat, healthy meal. Lunch? No problem. Instead of chicken sausage and a little pasta, I now purchase low carb wraps, take some low fat cheese and chicken or turkey and dip in Dijon mustard. My perfect snack? Millet and flax pita chips. And my favorite meal of the day, dinner! I started baking my own chicken fingers. The coating? Egg whites and oat flour mixed with parm, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper. The best part? I don't feel deprived! I'm still eating carbs, just healthier ones!
The old me would grow tired of eating the same old, same old by Wednesday. I'd run out for a coffee drink at noon to spruce up my lunch. By Thursday I'd be jonesing for Jimmy John's, Panera, Big Apple Bagels, or a naked burritos from Qdoba. See a theme? Food saturated in carbs! Nowadays I'd MUCH rather eat well at home and save my pennies. It just takes some extra planning. I make batches of chicken fingers and freeze them. Same with pancakes. It makes it less tempting for me to stop for a bagel on the way to work, or at a restaurant for carryout after Zumba.
I'm not interested in eating out, unless it's a special occasion. While I usually make the choice to skip the mayo and always made relatively healthy choices, the amount of calories I probably ate was way more than my body needed anyhow. My advice? Try out these simple swaps! You'll be happy you did!
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