June Challenge
julieworley376
Posts: 444 Member
I am starting this thread a day early as RatPat's comment on another thread really got me thinking. So here is the June Challenge.
Your challenge is to find new healthy foods to make a permanent part of your diet.. whatever eating program you are on. I want you to think in terms of what you can eat for the rest of your life and select foods with that in mind. So, if you really can't stand the thought of eating fat free food for the rest of your life, find ways to incorporate those foods into your plan but without sacrificing good nutrition.
I want you to be adventurous.. last week I tried rainbow chard.. it was okay, I don't think I would use it regularly. Go ahead and try something you have not tried before. But there is more to it. Because with this challenge comes research.
Research how to prepare that new fruit or vegetable. Research what is in that food, what good does it do your body? Is it full of cancer fighting antioxidants or does it have some other kind of beneficial property for you? Be mindful. I want you to really think about what you are putting in your body.
If you have donuts or candy or burgers.. I want to know what is in them that is good for you.. or bad for you.
I guess the June Challenge is about challenging ourselves, teaching each other, and seeing food in a new light.
Your challenge is to find new healthy foods to make a permanent part of your diet.. whatever eating program you are on. I want you to think in terms of what you can eat for the rest of your life and select foods with that in mind. So, if you really can't stand the thought of eating fat free food for the rest of your life, find ways to incorporate those foods into your plan but without sacrificing good nutrition.
I want you to be adventurous.. last week I tried rainbow chard.. it was okay, I don't think I would use it regularly. Go ahead and try something you have not tried before. But there is more to it. Because with this challenge comes research.
Research how to prepare that new fruit or vegetable. Research what is in that food, what good does it do your body? Is it full of cancer fighting antioxidants or does it have some other kind of beneficial property for you? Be mindful. I want you to really think about what you are putting in your body.
If you have donuts or candy or burgers.. I want to know what is in them that is good for you.. or bad for you.
I guess the June Challenge is about challenging ourselves, teaching each other, and seeing food in a new light.
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I am going to start a day early with Avocado. Avocado's are pretty high in calories, but I love their creamy texture and flavor.
They contain 18 amino acids essential for the body and they are high in protein which is easier for the body to digest than steak. They are rich in HDL so raise good cholesterol which is good for the heart and they lower trigyceride levels. They are a great source of carotenoids which are good for eye health and boost the immune system. One of the primary acids in them protects against heart disease, they are a source of omega 3 AND an anti inflammatory that can help arthritis.
So, not only do I love the things they are fantastic for me in all kinds of ways.0 -
Julie, I've always heard avocados were good for you (didn't know about the protein though) but have no idea what to do with them. I don't care for guacamole. How do you know which ones to buy at the store? How do you prepare them? What do you do with them?0
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I really like this idea! I'm going to start with some of the foods on the night eating list and experiment with them this month. I also want to try making my own low carb crackers with almond flour, cheese, and different nuts, and I think I can mix in quite a few from this list.
Plantains
Chinese cabbage
Butternut
Black walnuts
English walnuts
Shagbark hickory nuts
Mocker nut
Hickory nuts
Sweet pignuts
Soybeans
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Cheddar cheese0 -
I think I will like this, the weekends I can get to the market I will try to pickup something new I haven't tried before. When I started working with my yoga coach and she was asking about foods i like and dislike I had to admit that the reason I may say i dislike a vegetable stems more from never really trying it or knowing how to cook it. So this is perfect to try and fallow through with that plan to try. It was allays my plan to try and learn to cook various vegetables so I can teach and learn about my foods. Plus it will help me get more veg in at dinner time.0
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Son of a gun! That reminds me! I got sushi for the party tonight and totally forgot to put t out. I hate seafood except tuna fish. I really want to try more fish...maybe.0
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mikesgirl you can either buy Haas avocados ripe, in which case they will be completely black in color and slightly squishy when you press them. If you buy them like this they need to be refrigerated right away. If you buy them dark green leave them out on the counter until they turn color and then refrigerate them immediately.
I just slice down one side then twist the two halves, there is a large stone in the middle. The flesh should be a pale green with a darker green edge near the peel. I simply scoop out the innards with a spoon and put it on my salad, some people eat them right from the peel. Some people like to add some seasoning.. I would say research online what you can do with them and experiment to see what works for you.0 -
I love this challenge!! I will start researching foods and see what is out there that I haven't tried lol. I am an adventurer with food!! I have always loved trying different things!! LOL you should hear the kids when I cook a new thing, they are always asking if this is a new "Internet" recipe hahaha!! I am addicted to Allrecipes.com because I love trying new things. I think I will check out Lindas lowcarb recipes site again and see if there is a new good for you ingredient that I have never tried and go from there. For anyone who is interested in the low carb recipes, she has some good ones. http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/0
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Thanks Julie. I'll do some research on them.0
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I like sliced avocado on turkey sandwiches, and in salads!
Also Julie, should we start a new June Challenge thread each day?
Ex. June challenge - Day 2, June Challenge - Day 3, ETC?
It's just an idea, that way we can go back and reference specific foods conversations.
Just an idea.0 -
I'm in but it's going to be a few days before I can really start. I did some looking into different foods that I haven't tried and got some really good ideas. I can't buy any of it though until the food stamps come in on the 6th. So after that I will begin working on trying at least a few new foods this month.0
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I think I might have put too much emphasis on the new. I want you to look at ALL the foods you eat with the emphasis on healthy. Also I want to hear about those full fat yogurts etc. but how do you fit them in?
Sorry folks I will be dipping in and out. Our modem is broken at home and work is NUTS.0 -
Shopping tomorrow--I'm going to add some new foods. Julie, I like the idea of trying new foods but b also old foods in New ways. Patrick puts fruit on his salads, and when I saw his photo I had to try strawberries in mine. Oh, YUM!!!
Hurry up and fix your modem--you are missed!!!0 -
Did it and OMG, it was amazing! 315 calories for ALL OF THIS. I know it would have been healthier with brown rice but I couldn't find any. I was just happy to find some without any yucky mayo. Why does it have to be so expensive? I seriously could eat it everyday. Yum! Thank you for the challenge! I definitely like raw fish. Now if I can just get the cooked fish down.
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Today I tried a smoothie with frozen cucumbers in it. I wanted to try something new, so I did. To my surprise, it was actually really good! All together, it was like 5-6 servings of fruits/veggies for one smoothie, and only 260 calories. I also had a veggie lentil stew for lunch and minestrone and a salad for dinner, which still left me plenty of calories to have a slice of cake. I thought cutting the cake into 12 servings was ridiculous (in my house, a boxed cake might get you 8 servings if you're lucky), but I found that I actually didn't need anything else.0
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One thing I have been considering is how to get the iron and potassium I am suppose to get. My numbers probably aren't something to worry about and besides my macros i try not to worry to much about the other numbers (lets not look at my sodium). But since this challenge is about new and/or healthy foods I thought I would look up some fruits and vegetables that might help me do a little better.
Here are my charts
The USDA has a great database and part of it you can look up based on the nutrients you are looking for http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/
I'll do some looking and report back.0 -
Kaliya.. in my house that boxed cake would have been cut into one.. blushes. I can't have sweet stuff in the house. Loving what I am seeing.0
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angelic I thought about your idea. I think my concern is that we already have an everyday check in posted and we also have a June exercise challenge going too, I am worried that all those extra posts would bury other interesting postings here. But I am open to it if a lot of others would appreciate it and don't think it would detract from the board.0
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Nice, it's already a good thing my husband and I set a similar goal for ourselves this week. We bought the veggies we don't like to give them ol' college try again to see if eating them in a different way would change our minds.
We bought cauliflower (my dislike), red chard (something new) and celery (both our dislike but more my husbands)
Today I ate raw cauliflower then had it again steamed. My take away is that it's still tasteless raw but more edible steamed with herbs or spices. I had msg free chicken stock, pepper and powdered garlic.0 -
I have arugula in the fridge to mix with my iceberg.
I have found roasting veges makes them way better imo. I have always loved parsnips, potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes roasted. But I now know that beets, broccoli and cauliflower are great roasted, and the biggest surprise was brussel sprouts. Have always disliked those, but roasted in olive oil are quite yummy!0 -
Kaliya.. in my house that boxed cake would have been cut into one.. blushes. I can't have sweet stuff in the house. Loving what I am seeing.
When I said 8 servings, I meant 8 slices. The entire cake would've been gone in a day, *maybe* two if there was lots of other junk around!
~Kali in GA0 -
Ok so I will post for the challenge. The farmers market is on Saturday so I'm trying to decide what I will buy. I posted about my interest in boosting my potassium and iron intake and I will fallow up on that in just a min. First I was taking a look at my salad's and look at what I can do to improve their nutritional or nutrient impact on my diet.
Just to preface that I am putting down things that appeal to me taste wise so I might be leaving some things off. For my salad, I don't like bitter or spicy greens so I'm looking for nutrient dense salad greens that aren't bitter.
My salad already consists of:
Leaf Lettuce - Most often Red leaf lettuce
Spinach - I love baby spinach but fully grown is cheaper
I'll add Romaine lettuce to the mix as it's high in Vitamin K (107% for 94 grams), Vitamin A (174% for 100grams).
My Red Leaf Lettuce is a keeper, it has some of the highest antioxidant levels of all the loose lead lettuces. Great for the prevention of cell damage and certain diseases but the science is out on what role antioxidants play alone. I has high levels of vitamin A (149% for a 100grams), 33mg of calcium (per 100grams), 187mg of potassium, and 6% iron for 100grams.
Spinach is also a fantastic choice, and I should probably add more of it to my salad. Frankly I am happy to eat a salad of nothing but spinach. 100grams contains 558mg of potassium, 187% Vitamin A, 46% of Vitamin C, and 15% of my Iron.
Liver and even beluga whale are great sources of iron, but I think I will be passing.
Dried Apricots seem like a good choice. 100gram serving provides 33% of your daily value of potassium. 100grams of Raisins can provide 25%. You can also eat Prunes, Dates, dried Figs, & Avocado if you like them. Obviously Bananas.
White Beans, Lima Beans, Kidney beans and Potatoes are all high in iron and potassium.0 -
Ok friends, I went shopping a little earlier to pick up a few things at the store for lunch. The store closest to the house is too expensive to do all my grocery shopping but I needed a couple things to get me through till Mom takes me over to Walmart tonight. While I was in the produce section I was looking around to see what was available. I came upon the avocados and thought "what the heck, I'll give it a try." I sliced it and put a few slices on my turkey sandwich and I do have to say that it wasn't too bad. Will definitely buy a couple more to try different ways.0
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I found an app, actually a website for the moment but I think they are working on an app, that seems to compliment myfitnesspal fairly nicely. It's a automated meal planning system. http://www.eatthismuch.com/
You can tell it your daily net calorie goal, what macronutrient values you want and it generates a menu with portion sizes, recipes and a shopping list. It tells you the nutritional information for each meal and the cost. you can customize it to work for a certain type of diet, customize the food list, add or remove meals, even tell it your budget.
Sounds fairly cool, thought some of you would enjoy it. It's nice sometimes to not always have to be making decisions and planning.0 -
So i was looking for something new that would be a good source of iron that i would enjoy eating (sorry liver).
One of the foods on the list was dried apricots. I picked some up today and thought I would share with you what i found.
These are none sugar added. Sunridge Farms - Fancy Sweet Dried Apricots
One serving of 40grams or 5 pieces (thats 2.5 full apricots) contain 100cals or (~96.4). As usual it's a great source of vitamin A 30%, Calcium 2%, and Iron 6%. It has no fat, cholesterol or sodium, and is a good source of fiber.
Seems fitting as California is the largest dried fruit producer in the us and one of the largest in the world.
A lot of dried fruits keep the same nutritional value as when fresh. Depending in part on how they are made. Some have sugar added (the label will say this, as well as the ingredient list). Papaya, kiwi fruit and pineapple as they are technically candied fruits.
A great low sodium high fiber way to get your essential nutrients and your daily fruit needs. Plus it's like eating candy, whats not to love.0 -
Nice find Pat, personally I do not like any dried fruit though!
My recent try was a no salt seasoning shaker to add to food rather than salt itself. I still add small amounts to cooking and baking, but have cut out adding salt to my food. Potatoes, tomatoes in particular I did not like without salt. It is okay, it is not quite salt, but is close enough to keep my sodium down by quite a lot. If anyone else is trying to reduce their sodium and you add salt to your food at the table I recommend this.
So fat is better, sodium is better, fiber is better. Cannot work on protein till I have more money. Time to properly knuckle down and get water sorted.0 -
I'm not usually a huge fan either, but their are a few i like (apple, apricot, peach, raisins, pear). I'm not sure if i will keep them around because they sort of become a snacking food and I can do fine voiding snacking as long as i don't have any of those foods around. But the fiber helps.
Salt is always a pain. We changed out all the seasoning a while ago for no salt added and thats been good, but it's always the processed food. I will occasionally use it when cooking if a recipe requires it and i'll have some when having eggs but beyond that its all the processed foods. Even though I have cut a lot of them out the sheer amount of salt from just a little bit is scary. If i could cook all my meals all the time it may help but most weeks I have to use some processed products or I would spend all my time cooking.0 -
Yeah I am lucky, I am a stay at home mum, I just work a few hours a week from home typing up stuff, so I can spend time cooking meals from scratch and experimenting with lightened versions of stuff. Processed stuff is so crazy for salt.0
