How to not get bored with eating healthy

Change it up every day... walk a different route or try a different machine. There are a million ways to cook chicken, and other things... don't eat the SAME thing day in and day out. Constant change is the only reason that I am still here after 5 months. I too, get super bored super easy. And talk about it!!! ALL the time! IF your family or friends get tired of hearing about your journey, blog about it on MFP... none of us EVER get tired of hearing about people's successes, struggles, etc. Good luck to you! :drinker:

The idea that occasional junk food is ok can work for most but dont let it be an excuse.

An excuse for what specifically?

Use websites for there recipes so you can cook and try something different for dinner. I'd say plan you meals weekly/fortnightly/monthly so then you know whats planned for the week ahead and not having to think about what you can cook. Also I find with doing this, the cost of my shopping goes down as I am not buying food for the sake of it.
x

Healthy food doesn't have to mean boring food. There are so many great helthy recipes out there that have all kinds of taste and flavors. You can even take your favorite meals and add a healthy twist to them.
I eat all kinds of lean meats and vegetables and never with a shortage of great flavors.

THIS!

sorry, duplicate post

I agree, healthy doesn't have to mean boring. You just have to find ways of keeping it interesting and not live off lettuce. I've been craving wings so tonight we're having faux wings made with boneless skinless chicken thighs and lots of Frank's hot sauce.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/homemade_hot_sauce.html

You can make you own hot sauce without all the salt.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 medium chile peppers, such as poblano, New Mexico or Anaheim, diced
2-4 habanero peppers, or other small hot chile peppers, stemmed, halved and seeded (see Tip)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1-3 teaspoons sugar


Preparation
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, chile peppers, habaneros to taste and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes, vinegar, salt and sugar to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot ingredients.) Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; pour the pureed mixture through the sieve, pushing on the solids with a wooden spoon to extract all the liquid. (Discard solids.) Let the sauce cool to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours.

that eating healthy is too hard or too boring or that "I am depriving myself if I dont eat that twinkie" and those types of excuses. IMO, they are not reasons to eat unhealthy, they are excuses reinforced by the idea that its ok. I am not saying that occasional junk food will ruin your health. I am saying that eating junk is not necessary to sustain a long term healthy diet.

The main justifcation to eat junk on most health sites is the self fullfilling prophecy that "if I deprive myself of my favorite treats I will get bored or mad or whatever" . That does not have to be true. Again...I am not anti junk food per se. But it isnt required to maintain this lifestyle unless you allow it to be.

We are not depriving ourselves by avoiding junk food. We are rewarding ourselves by avoiding junk food..

Thanks for your explanation. We can agree to disagree.

This is something a friend suggested. For dinners: Take 30 note cards, put a different meal on each of them (try to incorporate new meals you have not tried, but are on the healthier range). Put them in a shoe box and shake them up. Pull one out each night for the NEXT nights dinner. She also said to pick only once a week with 7 cards in each pick. That way you can set a grocery list to what you need for that weeks meals.

I am going to try this starting January 2nd. Sometimes she suggested it be a night out meal too. Challenge yourself to find healthier alternatives at restaurants. I am going to allow myself 5 to 7 days of "eat out meals" for the month (if I pick more than two in one week, I'll put that back in the box and repick). I have not tried this, but it sounds good to help have a plan in place each week.

That is an awesome idea! I will be stealing that for sure!!!! :bigsmile:

My trick is that I give myself three meals, anytime during the week, to eat whatever it is I want. I lost 40 pounds last year doing it this way. This way I don't feel like I am depriving myself.

I agree, healthy doesn't have to mean boring. You just have to find ways of keeping it interesting and not live off lettuce. I've been craving wings so tonight we're having faux wings made with boneless skinless chicken thighs and lots of Frank's hot sauce.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/homemade_hot_sauce.html

You can make you own hot sauce without all the salt.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 medium chile peppers, such as poblano, New Mexico or Anaheim, diced
2-4 habanero peppers, or other small hot chile peppers, stemmed, halved and seeded (see Tip)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1-3 teaspoons sugar


Preparation
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, chile peppers, habaneros to taste and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes, vinegar, salt and sugar to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
Carefully transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot ingredients.) Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; pour the pureed mixture through the sieve, pushing on the solids with a wooden spoon to extract all the liquid. (Discard solids.) Let the sauce cool to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours.

Thanks for posting, I'll give it a try.

We are not depriving ourselves by avoiding junk food. We are rewarding ourselves by avoiding junk food

^^^ THIS.
if you eat 100% truly "clean" or whatever you want to call it- you will find that your sense of taste will change over time and no longer want or crave "junk" food. there is no depriving oneself going on. (you should see the rocking all organic meals here- full of lovely tastes and colors = excellent, not depriving)
imho, if you use "junk" food as a reward then you're forever forcing yourself to live in a state of having an unhealthy relationship w/ food.

ps. eh, the link posted on this thread "the dirt on clean eating" was written for mainly body builders and professional athletes which the vast majority of ppl on this forum are not.... plus doesn't everyone have an instinctual inner sense what constitutes "clean" vs "junk" eating? (i don't know the answer to that- maybe the typical modern diet as been so corrupted that ppl really do not?) the only useful takeaway line from that link that i saw was : "If someone strives to consume 0% of calories from any food that’s been processed or refined from its original state, then that’s perfectly fine – as long as this is the person’s genuine preference, and not a painful battle of will." that is correct. the trick is to change your taste buds by eating 100% "clean" until you find that things like McDonald's or whatever truly taste just plain old gross and is not something you ever want and your body will not feel right if you are forced to eat that.

every last one of us is worth more than anything in aisle 6 (ya know the one i mean) at the typical grocery store. :flowerforyou: your (and your family's) health is the most important thing you can own.

I agree, healthy doesn't have to mean boring. You just have to find ways of keeping it interesting and not live off lettuce. I've been craving wings so tonight we're having faux wings made with boneless skinless chicken thighs and lots of Frank's hot sauce.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/homemade_hot_sauce.html

Thanks for this, I'm going to try it!

My trick is that I give myself three meals, anytime during the week, to eat whatever it is I want. I lost 40 pounds last year doing it this way. This way I don't feel like I am depriving myself.

I think it's really important to allow yourself to have whatever you fancy every now and again. Even though I aim to lose more weight and eat less crap, nothing will stop me enjoying good food and I wouldn't want to.I

As for getting bored - I find cooking for myself is what keeps me interested in healthy food. I find the whole process interesting - picking the ingredients, analysing portion sizes etc and when you make something that is healthy, tasty and all your own work, there's a sense of pride as well (for me anyway).

Keeping garlic and chilli in the house is pretty important too! It's amazing how much difference some chopped up fresh chilli or garlic to make to an otherwise plain dish. I've recently got into vegetable soup in a big big way and it's partly because I've realised how great it tastes when seasoned. Normally I assumed soup was just to be eaten as it is. Sooo wrong!

You really have to make meal planning part of the whole weight-loss concept.... To avoid getting bored, why not designate each day of the week with a dish from another country?

Monday - Mexican
Tuesday - Thai
Wednesday - Italian
Thursday - American
Friday - Asian..

...yadda yadda yadda...

Look up recipes based on that culture, and give them a try! I gotta tell you... Chile Rellenos are freakin' AMAZING! They can be made reasonably healthy or ultra healthy - its all up to you and what you like. Ive made chicken-stuffed poblanos - relleno style with some zesty vegetables on the side. Ive even made a breakfast style chile relleno, stuffing the roasted pepper with a scramble of eggs, onions, peppers, tomatoes, salsa, cheddar-monty shredded cheese, did a quick pan-fry on them once they have been dipped in egg again.... side of ham and OH MY GAWD they are awesome!


EDIT: you can change up the different countries week-to-week, OR if you really get hooked on one particular country, keep it going!

Tomorrow we are doing up steak fajitas with a homemade chimichurri sauce on the side, fresh made tortillas (low-carb for me), lots of vegetables to choose from..... and of course, cheese! LOL!

I bet you could have some fun with this!