Small Healthy Changes that Can Make a Big Difference

“Getting healthy” doesn’t have to be about huge life changes that make you miserable. All-or-nothing diets don’t have to be a way of life. The fact is, that diets don’t work. You’ll deprive yourself for a few weeks, maybe before a big event like a class reunion, only to over-compensate and gain all the weight back. What does work, is making small changes that are sustainable over the long haul.

It seems like the most credible figures in the health industry are ones who have lost huge amounts of weight (i.e. Jared from Subway before the scandal). Losing weight isn’t the only sign of getting healthy. Before I met Dustin, I was what you’d call, ‘skinny fat’. I rarely worked out, ate like crap, and had no upper body strength whatsoever. Dustin reminded me last night of how I wasn’t even able to do a push up. Dustin’s good example and slight urgings inspired me to ditch the Chef Boyarde ravioli and begin a regular work out routine. And most of all, he showed me that it didn’t have to suck. You don't have to starve yourself, either. On the contrary, eating more of the right foods will fill you up and make it easier to resist the bad foods you encounter. Now, he says that my cooking is his favorite. Not because I’m the world’s best cook. It’s because I’ve developed recipes that cut out all the crap and extra calories, while remaining really, really good. I’ll share some simple substitutions and recipes that will help turn your life around.

Food Changes:

• Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream- we invest in a large tub of plain Greek yogurt and top our Mexican dishes and chili with it. It tastes slightly sourer, but the benefits of it: fat free and added protein make this switch a no-brainer.
• Limit/eliminate your bread- I am gluten free. I don’t recommend this change, because gluten free alternatives aren’t necessarily healthier, but I am advocating that you watch your bread intake. Bread is convenient, but it doesn’t offer much nutritional value. Next time you have a burger, try to only have the bottom bun or eliminate the bun all together. That’s more meat that you’ll get you have.
• Sweet Potatoes instead of regular potatoes- It’s shocking that not only do sweet potatoes taste better than regular potatoes, but they’re also healthier. They have less carbs, less calories, and some valuable vitamin C.

• Stay away from processed foods- This seems obvious, but it’s worth saying. The fewer ingredients an item has, generally the better it is for you. Stick to foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts, beans, yogurts, and cheese. Things that are whole foods. The stuff you find on the outside of the grocery store, not the inner aisles.
• Don’t drink your calories- Now, a major exception for this for me is with alcohol and little sweetener for my coffee. But besides that, try to stick to water and coffee. If you’re drinking juice at breakfast, tea with lunch, a soda in the afternoon, and a glass of wine at night, that adds up to a lot of unnecessary calories.
• Ingredients to avoid- Before I met Dustin, I didn’t pay much attention to a food’s nutritional facts. He reads them religiously. Not for calories, but the ingredients. Like I mentioned before, if you see a looong list of things you can’t pronounce, that’s not a good sign. Here’s a chart for words to look for and maybe put it back if you see them. You’ll rarely see the word MSG. It’s usually disguised as Monosodium glutamate or some variation. Also, the unhealthy stuff tends to be at the end. It’s worth saying that sugar is not a bad thing in moderation. I’d usually rather eat it than aspartame or some other fake sugar because it’s natural.

• Bean Chips instead of regular chips- I wish I could get behind this change more, but I just don’t love the taste of them. Beanitos makes chips made entirely of beans in several varieties (nacho, lime, ranch, etc). I’m seeing them in more places and other brands of them. I also came across sweet potato chips recently. I can dip them in stuff, but I don’t love how dry they taste by themselves. Dustin and my daughter choose them over regular chips though.

Recipes/meals we eat regularly:

• Homemade pizza- By making pizza at home, you’re able to use healthier meats and cut way back on the sodium. You can also have more control over the quantity size.
• Chili- This is a staple at our house, regardless of the temperature outside. I make it in the Instant Pot. I’ll sautee lean beef in the Instant Pot, then add one can of chili beans (and usually a half a can of water in the can so it doesn’t stick to the bottom), 1 can of kidney beans (drained), 1 can of rotel tomatoes, maybe a half a cup of salsa, and my secret ingredient, BBQ sauce (I eyeball this. Add as much or as little as you like). Then I turn the Instant Pot on the Chilli/Bean setting for about 13 minutes.
• Scramble- Cook 1 pound of lean breakfast turkey sausage. I also use Trader Joes Chicken Sausage (they look like hot dogs and I slice them) sometimes. Boil 2 cups of water. Add ½ cup of grits. Cook until it looks close to done. Then add the sausage in. Crack 5-6 eggs and scramble/mix it up. Add in shredded cheese and parmesan cheese to taste and another secret ingredient, syrup. We use sugar free syrup and can’t tell the difference. Cook until the eggs are done.
• Taco Bowl- Cook 1 pound of lean beef (I get it at Aldi, so it’s not insanely expensive). Add in rotel tomatoes and/or salsa, 1 can of black beans (drained) and/or refried beans, cheese, and Tony Sachre’s seasoning to taste. Top with more cheese, Greek yogurt, and chips.
• Protein Pancakes- Same as regular pancakes, but with a serving of pancakes and usually chocolate chips or blueberries added to them.
• Cabbage Dish (I need to come up with a better name for this)- Cook 1 pound of beef or lean breakfast sausage. Add in 1 bag of cole slaw (huge hack to avoid chopping cabbage), 1 can of kidney beans (drained), 1 can of rotel tomatoes, and olive oil to taste.
• Crock Pot Chicken Chili- I haven’t made this in a while, but it’s really good. Put half a bag of frozen chicken breasts, 1 can of black beans (drained), 1 can of chili beans, frozen corn (however much you like), and salsa and/or rotel tomatoes in the Crock Pot on high for 2/3 hours or on low for 3 or 4 hours. Stir frequently. When the chicken is soft, shred it with a fork. Top with cheese, Greek yogurt and chips.
• Breakfast Cassarole- I made this for Dustin’s football team and it was a huge hit. Drain 2 big cans of chicken and shred with a fork. In a mixing bowl, add 1 bag of frozen hash browns, 5-6 eggs depending on consistency, 1 cup or so of Greek Yogurt, shredded cheese, 2 cans of chicken, syrup to taste. Mix. Then pour the mixture in a casserole dish and top with cheese. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes or so.

You can bet that we’re eating one of these things any given night. As you can see, they’re all about the same ingredients. It makes shopping and cooking easy. I’m not a huge fan of measuring, so you may have to adjust the recipes slightly. They all feed Dustin, Marissa, and I. Occasionally, we’ll have leftovers, but Dustin counts as at least 2 people and I eat a big dinner as well. So feeds 4 regular people. This ended up being pretty long as it was, so I think I’ll save making healthy lifestyle changes for another blog. Hope you enjoy and share any other recipes that you think I’ll enjoy!