The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Everyone has bad days. 

It's how you respond to them what's important.

There are many reasons - or let's be honest... most of the time they are excuses for a bad (food) day.  For example, some of my most recent bad days have been from things like having a bad cold, a social event, being exhausted from taking care of a sick infant, an injury, a slight hangover or a combination of a few of these!

Often bad food days go hand in hand with bad (low activity) days.

These bad days are inevitable once in awhile. Instead of beating yourself up about the bad days (like I used to do), I'm finding it's really important to stay positive. You can't make yourself feel too guilty, because that would most likely only backfire on you. It would backfire on me to the point I would over-compensate too much for the bad stuff I ate by trying to eat like a perfect dieter therefore depriving myself of too many things and eventually eating more (whew!). Or by eating more in the first place to comfort my guilt with food - which is so counterproductive, but made me feel better at the moment (and then worse). It was a vicious cycle.

However you can't completely overlook the bad days either, or they could start to get ugly. 

Here are some tips for not turning bad days ugly:

- It might seem really crazy but it helps me to think things to myself like: 

       * "I know what I am eating isn't the best choice, but it is not one I am going to make very often" OR

       * "If I eat too much of this, I am going to not feel so great after." 

- Don't let yourself have 2 bad days in a row. Once they start to add up it is harder and harder to turn back.

- Try not to go overboard with your bad day. For example if your guilty pleasure is a "bad" sandwich, skip the chips. Just because you are eating something bad doesn't mean you get a free pass for the day (like I used to think it did). 

Question: How do you keep bad days from turning ugly?

PS- Hello to all the new fans of the blog - welcome!

SONG THAT KEPT ME RUNNING THIS WEEK: "Bulletproof" La Roux

RANDOM TIP OF THE WEEK: If you ever have a hard time distinguishing if you are truly hungry after a meal or just want to eat something for whatever reason ask yourself a simple question: would I eat an apple? If you are truly hungry your answer will be yes every time! If your answer is no... don't eat :)!.... or at least realize that you are eating when you aren't really hungry so you minimize what you are eating. 

WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE COOKING: Walk (no... run) to your nearest Trader Joe's and buy this soup. I usually don't like processed soups but this is SO good. I added a dollop of fat free greek yogurt for a little tang and some extra protein. 

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE: "Clean" Sweet Potato Hash

I read a post recently about someone cooking something out of their comfort zone.... so I decided to make this recipe a few weeks ago as I had never poached an egg. It was delicious - since then I have refined/perfected the recipe to the recipe below... it's super satisfying and seems very fallish to me! 

"Clean" Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients:

-2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small

-2 tsp olive oil

-4 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced

-1 medium onion, diced

-3 stalked celery, diced

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 cup of cooked black beans (if from a can rinse and drain)

-1/4 cup salsa (preferably low sodium)

-1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves

-White vinegar (as needed to properly poach egg)

-4 eggs

-Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add potatoes, 3/4 cup water and oil. Bring to a boil, partially cover and cook for 3-4 minutes (potatoes should be tender). If any water is remaining, drain potatoes. 

Add jalapeno peppers, onion, celery, and garlic and cook. covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add beans and salsa, uncover and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro and cover. 

Poaching eggs step:

These poaching tips I received from Clean Eating magazine (you already know I love it) - the above recipe was adapted from one of theirs! 

- Fill a saucepan 2/3rds full with water, bring to a oil and add about 1 tsp vinegar for every cup of water. Reduce heat to a slow simmer. Crack egg into tea cup or large ladle. Gently lower teacup or ladle into water and pour egg out, careful not to break yolk. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cook eggs for 3-4 minutes (I cook for more like 4-5 because I don't like yolk super runny!) before scooping out with a slotted spoon. Place each egg over top of 1.5 cups vegetable-hash mixture. Season with salt and pepper...especially on the egg :)... serve immediately & enjoy!

Serves 4. Approximately 250 calories & 8 grams fat, 8 grams fiber. (and very very satisfying!)