Newbie! What in the world to eat!! lol

Options
Hello all. Im new here to fitnesspal, well actually this is my third try! lol. The issue I ALWAYS have every time I try to create a healthier lifestyle is I never know what to eat. :sad: Which in turns leads me to not eating enough, which DOES lead to weight loss, but not the healthy way. Any suggesstions would be awesome. :flowerforyou:

I've only been on my new journey a few days and I feel good, so far. Yes, I have over ate but I'm giving myself time to get adjusted and not beat myself up.:wink:

Please feel free to add me and share all stories or what you eat, anything would be great.

Have a Fabulous day!! :heart:

Replies

  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    Options
    First off, do 80% of your shopping in the fresh section of the grocery store - avoid all the processed crap. That's 50% of the battle right there.

    Then do some google searches for healthy recipes and learn to cook (or at least follow a recipe) if you can't already. Push yourself to try some new stuff, you may surprise yourself. I know I did. I'll give you a head start with a fantastic lentil soup recipe, which is delicious, nutritious, low calorie, and freezes well for lunches -

    Lentil soup - 12 portions.

    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 large onions, cubed
    2 teaspoons minced garlic
    3 carrots, diced
    2 stalks celery, diced
    1 cup kale, torn, stalks removed and discarded
    3 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes (1 can. Once they are back in season, I'm going to figure out how to replace this with fresh.)
    1 1/2 cups lentils - soaked, rinsed and drained
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    3/4 cup red wine (I use Barefoot Cab Sauv)
    2 bay leaves
    7 cups low sodium chicken stock (Full circle organic is lowest sodium I've found)
    1 sprig fresh parsley, chopped
    1/2 teaspoon paprika
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

    1. Saute the onions in a large pot. Stir in garlic, paprika, celery, carrots and kale, and saute for 10 minutes.
    2. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, lentils, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir well, then add the wine and bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly reduce the heat and cook for 1 to 2 hours on low to medium heat; or until the lentils are tender. When you first add the lentils, it won't look like much. Resist the urge to add more...
    3. Sprinkle the soup with parsley and Parmesan (optional) before serving.
  • bubbaduts
    bubbaduts Posts: 196 Member
    Options
    Pinterest can be your best friend i have a board with almost 200 healthy recipes on it! I also tend to love tosca reno's clean eating lifestyle but you get to the point where you find whats comfortable for you it's been 2 years for me and i think i finally know what "healthy" is but it took a lot of commitment and research to get there. After watching food matters i switched to a maily local and organic diet and i haven't looked back. Do your research and commit yourself and as long as you really want to change you will get there. Feel free to add me i am thinking about starting to post my favorite recipes because my sister has the same problem and on top of that she hates to cook! good luck!
  • janet0513
    janet0513 Posts: 564 Member
    Options
    Start by taking what you normally eat and tweaking it. Eliminate the junk, bake instead of fry, eat in instead of out, Eat more real food and less processed, and make sure you are getting all food groups. Making drastic changes or depriving yourself isn't going to work long term. Don't be afraid to eat. So some research. Add friends and look at their diaries and open yours to them as well. Find some recipe ideas from the food/nutrition section or web sites like skinnytaste, weight watchers or skinnyms
  • laeshia2013
    Options
    First off, do 80% of your shopping in the fresh section of the grocery store - avoid all the processed crap. That's 50% of the battle right there.

    Then do some google searches for healthy recipes and learn to cook (or at least follow a recipe) if you can't already. Push yourself to try some new stuff, you may surprise yourself. I know I did. I'll give you a head start with a fantastic lentil soup recipe, which is delicious, nutritious, low calorie, and freezes well for lunches -

    Lentil soup - 12 portions.

    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 large onions, cubed
    2 teaspoons minced garlic
    3 carrots, diced
    2 stalks celery, diced
    1 cup kale, torn, stalks removed and discarded
    3 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes (1 can. Once they are back in season, I'm going to figure out how to replace this with fresh.)
    1 1/2 cups lentils - soaked, rinsed and drained
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    3/4 cup red wine (I use Barefoot Cab Sauv)
    2 bay leaves
    7 cups low sodium chicken stock (Full circle organic is lowest sodium I've found)
    1 sprig fresh parsley, chopped
    1/2 teaspoon paprika
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

    1. Saute the onions in a large pot. Stir in garlic, paprika, celery, carrots and kale, and saute for 10 minutes.
    2. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, lentils, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Stir well, then add the wine and bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly reduce the heat and cook for 1 to 2 hours on low to medium heat; or until the lentils are tender. When you first add the lentils, it won't look like much. Resist the urge to add more...
    3. Sprinkle the soup with parsley and Parmesan (optional) before serving.


    OMG!! Thank you so much for the recipe. Believe it or not I've been telling myself to try to eat majority of soups! So Im going to enjoy making this. Once again, Thank you so much. The support here is great!
  • laeshia2013
    Options
    Pinterest can be your best friend i have a board with almost 200 healthy recipes on it! I also tend to love tosca reno's clean eating lifestyle but you get to the point where you find whats comfortable for you it's been 2 years for me and i think i finally know what "healthy" is but it took a lot of commitment and research to get there. After watching food matters i switched to a maily local and organic diet and i haven't looked back. Do your research and commit yourself and as long as you really want to change you will get there. Feel free to add me i am thinking about starting to post my favorite recipes because my sister has the same problem and on top of that she hates to cook! good luck!



    Thanks Love! Ive been doing so much reading my head hurts. lol!
  • laeshia2013
    Options
    Start by taking what you normally eat and tweaking it. Eliminate the junk, bake instead of fry, eat in instead of out, Eat more real food and less processed, and make sure you are getting all food groups. Making drastic changes or depriving yourself isn't going to work long term. Don't be afraid to eat. So some research. Add friends and look at their diaries and open yours to them as well. Find some recipe ideas from the food/nutrition section or web sites like skinnytaste, weight watchers or skinnyms
    .

    Junk food is the first thing, with sodas, that Im cutting out. I'm trying to take it slowly but I think I'm just afraid of failure.

    Thank you thank you!!