What's in my fridge {crazy busy edition}

I snapped a few pics before I headed off to Mammoth on a whirlwind weekend trip with my best friend. Before I left, I made sure to stock my fridge with a few simple things so that I'd be prepared for the next week without having to make a Monday trip to the grocery store.

I usually bring my lunch to work, so I needed to have some staples for the upcoming week, plus plenty of fruits and veggies for breakfast and snacks. I also had a jam packed week of events and Karve training, so I was only planning to make dinner at home only one night this week. So, these shots show a pretty "bare" fridge for me - but it might help you in knowing what to keep on hand so you can throw some healthy meals together.


We eat a lot of eggs at my house. Whether hard boiled, poached, or sometimes scrambled, we're big fans. I especially love the organic soy-free eggs from Whole Foods or eggs from my local farmer at the North Scottsdale Farmers Market. I like to keep chia seeds around for various recipes and to sprinkle on my meals for an extra dose of omega-3 fats and fiber. You can also see my beloved organic pasture butter below.


I left my husband with a treat before I left - Whole Foods curry chicken salad (which I recreated at home here).

I keep certain supplements (probiotics, fish oil, and multi greens) refrigerated. Cold temps are necessary for the probiotics to stay alive; I just like keeping fish oil in the fridge so the gel caps don't stick together and they have less chance of becoming rancid.


Fruit drawer - I normally also keep bananas on the counter and frozen berries in the freezer.

Oh yeah, there are different types of apples, pears, avocado, lemons, limes, and tangerines in here, plus a tomato (technically it's a fruit, right?). The variety changes weekly.

My veggie drawer was pretty bare this week, but I did have huge containers of organic spinach and organic mesclun greens that didn't fit in the drawer.


I also keep plenty of kombucha, hummus, nut butters, Fig brand bean soups, almond milk, Ezekiel bread/English muffins, organic meats, goat cheese, raw organic cheese, and condiments such as salsa, Cholula, mustard, and various sauces on hand.


So what did all this food translate into this week?

For breakfast, I usually have a raw organic whey protein or rice protein shake with hempseed powder, frozen fruit or banana, almond milk, stevia, and almond butter. I try to mix up the fruit, nut butter, and protein type. I also love salads for breakfast (weird, I know), veggie scrambles, and brown rice cakes topped with almond butter, sliced banana, and chia seeds.

(My husband likes Cheerios and organic milk with a banana or an Ezekiel English muffin with peanut butter and jelly and a hard boiled egg - just in case you were wondering. And yes, he takes probiotics and fish oil daily.)

Lunches are always a salad of some kind with either an entree or topped with protein. I have been chipping away at a big bowl of great northern bean soup I made last week and froze for this week, topping it with chia seeds or avocado slices. I try to get as much variety as possible with my veggies, mixing in kale, tomato, cucumber, carrot, mushroom, squash, onion, and broccoli (among others).

Snacks include sliced cucumbers or baby carrots and hummus, organic hard boiled eggs, Lara bars, pears or apples with nut butters, or raw fudge (in my freezer).

Dinner two nights a week when I do Karve is an Organic Raw Revolution bar. I usually don't like replacing meals with bars, but these are whole food based and perfect for the 5 minutes I have between 1 hour of Karve class and 2 hours of Karve teacher training. Plus, it doesn't sit too heavily on my stomach while I am working out or demonstrating during the training.

Tonight's dinner will be an awesome spiced apple chicken recipe from Eating Well and a Clean Program recipe called Wilted Winter Greens. I'm looking to having my one night this week in the kitchen. I truly miss cooking during these busy teacher training months, but we're already in the home stretch!

What's in YOUR fridge?

*M*

A Day in the Life...

A lot of my clients ask me what kinds of foods I eat on a regular basis. I wanted to share with you what I ate today.

Firstly, I have to say that I try my best to be an intuitive eater, which means that I honor my hunger, fullness, and satisfaction signals. This means that I don't eat "100% healthy" all the time, but that I try to eat mostly healthful foods because they make me feel good, and I only eat the foods I truly enjoy. It also means that if I'm craving Cold Stone ice cream or pizza, guess what? I eat it! I just try to really focus on the food as I eat it, taking small bites that I savor and listening to my body when it says it has had enough. Am I perfect at this? No. I'm still learning what intuitive eating means for me, but I am much farther down the path than I was a few years ago.

I read recently that there are two ways to become a more mindful eater that have really helped me:

#1 Take a few breaths before each meal to center yourself and be grateful for the food you are about to eat. It might help you slow down and actually enjoy and pay attention the food, instead of wolf it down while you watch TV or play on the computer.

#2 Love your food. If you love something, you pay attention to it. You don't eat it standing up in front of the fridge, and you don't use it to abuse your body or as a way of ignoring your emotional needs.

Secondly, I aim to eat mostly natural and unprocessed foods. I still eat out (more on weekends) and sometimes rely on convenience foods when I don't have a lot of time, but for the most part I really enjoy whole foods. In fact, I crave them. It doesn't mean that I have a ton of time to cook, however. I spend about 20 minutes over the weekend planning meals for the next week, and I try to cook double recipes so I can refrigerate or freeze them for later. I then shop at a farmers market and Trader Joes and/or Whole Foods every weekend. Having food in the house is essential; otherwise, it would be far too easy to eat out for every meal. I actually bring my lunch to work 4 days a week, enjoying lunch out with friends on most Fridays.

So here's what I had today, in case you were curious! All fruits, veggies, dairy, and meat were organic. Also, I don't measure my food, but here is an estimate just so you have an idea if you wanted to prepare it yourself!

5:30 a.m. - banana with ~ 2 tsp. almond butter

5:40 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. - 1 hour walk/jog with the pups; P90X Chest and Arms

7:40 a.m. - smoothie made with 1 scoop Sun Warrior chocolate raw vegan brown rice protein powder (Amazon.com), 1 T raw hempseed powder (Whole Foods), 1 T peanut butter, 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

(I haven't tried the vanilla yet - I get the chocolate flavor, which is sweetened with stevia)

9:00 a.m. - Kombucha (yes, I still have a few left!)

10:30 a.m. - 1/2 sliced cucumber with sea salt

12:00 p.m. - Leftovers! Salad made with romaine, onions, avocado, and Bragg's Organic Healthy Vinaigrette; Crockpot Turkey with Bulgur and Feta leftovers (see this post) and iced tea

3:10 - 6 oz Greek yogurt with almonds, fresh raspberries, and stevia after a 15 minute walk

6:15 - Tuna salad (chunk light tuna, olive-oil mayo, grain mustard, diced onions, relish, sea salt, pepper) on top of a bed of spinach with Skinny Crisps and cilantro-jalapeno hummus from a local vendor

7:00 - glass of merlot with a few episodes of True Blood

Water: approximately 100-120 ounces of mineralized, clean water

Supplements: Dr. Ben Kim's Greens, Carlson's Fish Oils, Carlson's Cod Liver Oil, HMF Forte probiotics, Douglas Labs CoQ10, Pure Encapsulations MSM powder, Standard Process Antronex and Allerplex (for allergies I have to my dogs)

Sunlight: 1 hour in early morning, 15 minutes at 3 p.m. (for vitamin D)

As you can see, I try to eat often (every 3-4 hours) based on hunger. When I exercise a lot, as I have been doing lately in my 3rd month of P90X, it's especially important to fuel my metabolism and honor hunger when I feel it. I never focus on calories or worry too much about serving size. I serve myself lots of veggies and reasonable portions of protein and healthy fats, and if I am still hungry when I finish the food, I serve myself a bit more of what I'm truly craving. Let me know if you have any questions!

*M*

Sugar Sugar SUGAR!

I promised the 15 attentive, health-minded women who attended the Karve Scottsdale Sugar seminar yesterday that I would put up the tips, tricks, and products I recommend for reducing the processed sweeteners we eat and picking some healthier options. Here are some things I recommend:

1. After a meal, drink herbal ginger tea. This helps you digest your food better, as ginger is a digestive tonic, but it also places some space between the meal and a potential dessert. By the time you've finished enjoying the tea and go for the sweets, you might not really want them anymore. Like always, listen to your body and give it a chance to tell you what it really wants. I especially like Yogi Tea's Ginger Tea (Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Sprouts).

2. Go for GT's Kombucha to alkalinize the system and support general health. The mild sweetness and natural fizziness (from fermentation, not added carbonic acid) mimics a soda feel without the junk and is full of probiotics, enzymes, and amino acids. My favorite flavors are Trilogy (a raspberry, lemon, and ginger blend), but many people really like Grape and Cranberry too. Get them at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Sunflower, and AJ's.

**Aisha, one of the participants at the seminar, informed me that if you get the Sprouts weekly coupons, about once a month you can get coupons for Kombucha for $2.50 each! Thanks, Aisha! **

3. If you really can't get off diet soda and want a relatively healthy alternative (though Kombucha is better), check out Steaz 0-calorie soda. They are sweetened with stevia and erythritol, a sugar alcohol (but not artificial sweetener). My husband loves the raspberry flavor, and having them in the fridge ensures that he won't reach for the diet soda! Now if I could get my father-in-law, who's visiting this week, to drink them instead of diet pepsi I'd be REALLY happy...Find them at Whole Foods, and look for coupons...they're often on sale!

4. Want a substitute for less healthy desserts that are full of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes? Check out Innocent Indulgence! The owner, Alisha, is a registered dietitian who loves sweets and wanted to make them both delicious and nutrient-rich. My all-time favorites are her "cookie dough" and peanut butter squares, both made with sweeteners like agave, stevia, and honey, as well as fruit, nuts, and coconut oil. YUM! Check them out here.

5. If you want to make some of your own raw, natural desserts to keep in your freezer, look at Dr. Ben Kim's dessert section of his website here. I love the raw fudge the best...not quite as good or pretty as the Innocent Indulgence desserts, but still very satisfying when you need something sweet in a flash. Buy raw almond butter at Trader Joe's (only $4.99), and get everything else at Whole Foods or Sprouts.

6. When you're picking the healthier sweeteners to add to coffee, Teeccino (a healthier coffee alternative that's all natural and made from fruits/nuts found here or at Whole Foods), tea, oatmeal, desserts, or anything else, make sure to get them as natural and unprocessed as possible. Go for raw honey and agave nectar, and look for organic plain stevia extract...no need to spend money on fillers or "patented" stevia blends. I get raw agave nectar and honey at Whole Foods and organic stevia and maple syrup at Trader Joe's.

Well, that should be all for now! If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment, feel free to email me at megan.mcnamee.rd@gmail.com. Looking forward to the sugar seminar at K Pilates and Karve Mesa on April 24th!