I started using myfitnesspal this week to try and figure out how to keep myself eating, eating right, and to help me get the eating side of health on track before I start exercising (only a week and a half away!!!).
What I have discovered is that I don’t eat enough protein, and of course, that means I eat a lot more carbs than I should.
It took me about one day of tracking to realize this so I decided to make a very strong attempt to base my meals around protein and things have been better. Just look at my breakfast from yesterday.
So beautiful! I made a granola the other day and topped my banana/egg pancake with a quarter cup of that, two tablespoons of natural peanut butter and a small drizzle of honey. That alone is 24 grams of protein. I should be getting around 70g per day so if I could keep that number for all my meals I’d be set but alas, I am far from it. I think my favorite foods are low in protein…..like fruit. I could live on fruit but unfortunately it wouldn’t help me build or maintain muscles and l need that.
Sometimes I find it hard to get protein without eating foods high in fats and even though I’m not worrying about that now (nursing full time and need fats) I can see that become more of a concern in the future. My main focus right now is finding out foods with protein aside from eggs and peanut butter, and add them in to my diet.
I will say that my granola is SUPER delicious and does have 4 grams of protein per half cup. I’m thinking my next batch will have triple the pumpkin seeds and maybe some pecans as well to up that number.
Can’t help but love starting my day with this! Please don’t judge that I had massive globs of peanut butter two days in a row. hehe
I guess my next step will be to do more beans, and greens/green veggies. I bought broccoli, spinach and kale so green juices and smoothies will be coming in high frequency.
At this point, other than breakfast, my meals have been really random and squeezed in here and there when I get a chance between nursing and caring for my toddler. Tomorrow is laundry day and I’ll be baking bread and cooking beans as well. Once the beans are cooked I’ll have more protein bases to work with.
Anyway, hopefully this didn’t bore you! I know ramblings about random food components isn’t exactly exciting but I’m hoping that writing this down will help give me an idea of what I want to do. Thanks for listening!
As a reward, here is the recipe for my granola!
Cranberry Granola
- 5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 1 cups mixed nuts and seeds (raw)
- 1 cups mixed dried berries
- 2 cups dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup unrefined organic sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- heavy sprinkle of cinnamon
- couple pinches of salt
Question: Do you pair high protein eating with exercise? What do you think a good combination for optimum health is?
That granola looks yummo!
I don’t exercise, so I can’t really comment on that, but I do avoid sugar. When I learned that sugar makes us fat, not fat, life became so much easier. So I think optimum health goes back to eating traditional foods, whole foods, lots of fermentation and less refined and processed goods.
I should probably start exercising again, but I will continue to use the excuse that it is too cold outside for me too. Then maybe I will start when spring returns…
yeah, sugar is the devil. I do eat ‘sugars’ though and I know you avoid them stringently but am going to cut back on them for a while just to optimize my nutrients right now. I think the US is the worst for added sugars but I avoid them like the plague. However, fruit is another matter…it’s all I ever want!
Is MyFitnessPal easy to track with? I have found counting calories in the past to be annoying and tedius. Does it make it easier/quicker?
It’s not hard at all but I think it’s similar to anything else in that you do have to input your foods…..no way around that.
However, I like that it breaks down my eats into carbs, protein, fats, sugar, and even iron. It’s nice to know the details and adjust my diet to where I get what I need.
holy granola! i just made it–i think the nesting bug may have FINALLY bitten. been on a roll today. anyway, it’s AMAZING. crack-a-licious!!! sooooo much cinnamon. soooooo nutty and crunchy and the coconut oil is just awesome for this recipe. i used a blend dried tart cherries, dried blueberries and a variety blend of raisins. i am happy. thank you for sharing. =D
Yay for nesting!! It helps so much. I’m still nesting and loving every second of it. hehe
Oh, by the way, the cabbage? I just steamed it in the microwave (in a bowl with a little water) until tender and drained the water and added a little salt and butter. SO tasty. Think, steamed broccoli except it’s cabbage instead.