Taking Stock of My Healthy Habits

Jelly Beans?

So in the interest of kicking off official Aubrie training season, I decided to stock the shelves with some healthy inventory.  I've been hearing a lot about protein pancakes, and I'm a fan of health food in breakfast candy form, so I picked up recipes from here and here, and set out to get some whey protein.  Can we talk about the fact that I would have to sell my firstborn (or my brother's firstborn since I have little intention of reproducing) to pay for protein powder?!  Not to be discouraged, I texted my dad from the store and asked if he could nab me some at BULK DISCOUNT from Costco.  Of course, I couldn't walk out without buying something, so I picked up the item that looked the most like candy (which also happened to be buy 2 get 1 free: SCORE!!) and hightailed it out of there.



Up next was the grocery store, but I had to check the stores at home first.  I have healthy inclinations, but a few fatal flaws.  For one, my protein of choice is cheese. Pepper jack, brie, cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, swiss, goat, feta, parmesan, you name it, I love it.  I will put cheese on an otherwise healthy dish and completely destroy its figure saving intentions...oops.  Here is a cross section of my refrigerator shelf:

Among other things lives, THREE KINDS OF CHEESE (far right).  But let's not focus on how I'm failing, let's build on the good stuff.  On the left, a collection of leafy greens, almond milk, there's also some salsa (we won't talk about the enormous amounts of tortilla chips that go with that...or cheese), leftovers, eggs (we won't talk about the expiration date on those...I solely use eggs for baking), hummus, english muffins....and I'm boring myself.  The point is, after taking stock of the food in my fridge and pantry, I realize that I'm not doing too bad.  Here's what I need to change:

1) I'm heavy on the carbs.  Yes, I eat all whole grains, but they make up the bulk of my diet.  Yes I get 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, but I also get 7-12 servings of breads and grains....oops.

fix: replace grain based snacks with ones that are protein and fruit/veggie based

2) I'm not getting enough protein.  I try to have protein with every meal, but since I don't eat eggs and meat is expensive, I eat a lot of beans and cheese and occasionally peanut butter as a replacement.  These aren't bad options, but I'm not eating enough of it.

fix: add protein powder to my life, switch to greek yogurt, start eating nuts as snacks

3) I don't know how to fuel before a workout.  I tend to either eat too much, or eat something that doesn't sit well, or not eat at all.  Each of these situations leaves me sluggish.  I like those mini clif bars before races, but they get pricey if I'm eating them everyday.  So what's a girl to do?

fix: Visit runnersworld.com in search of pre workout snack recipes!  And request suggestions from YOU...what do you eat to fuel before a workout?