In doing so, I'll be starting a real routine of getting up, working, steady income and reliable shifts. I want to have a healthier diet to match it. On occasion this will mean posts about breakfasts too since I'll need to eat prior. This is where it starts:
Now budgeting is still going to be very important since there is more than just me in my life. Aaron, my fiance, will be mentioned from time to time, most likely, but this should stay about food.
A little about myself: I'm a 25 year old (today's actually my birthday) female chemist. I have a herd of pets who eat anything off the floor (including boxes left near the dogs), a man I love, and holy hell do I love to eat. I take daily vitamins (important to anyone wanting advice on eating better. Really, I take a multi-vitamin and if I miss it, I feel miserable.) I don't work out. At all. Seriously. I'm very active, but I never actually work out. I stay up later than I should, I read comics, play video games, and goof off on the internet very often. I'm also health savvy. I graduated with a degree in biochemistry, with a focus on health profession (which didn't end up being what I wanted, but I have the education anyway. Now I'm going to be a lab monkey, which I'm super stoked about.) I also have terrible air allergies, so the days can be hard to survive, especially here in the city of 4-seasons in a day. My problem will be keeping up with it, getting to the grocery regularly, and not eating it all at a non-lunch time.
Now that we have the intro out of the way, I'm going to expand the list above to include things I have and enjoy, even a little product placement and suggestions in case anyone ever reads this damn thing.
For starches and proteins, well, I'm a fat kid at heart so keeping this part healthy will be hard. I always prefer ham over turkey and I always need cheese. Love cheese. Like, sickeningly eating it out of the package of shredded cheese love. So any sandwich is guaranteed to have cheese. We have a grilled cheese sandwich maker here, but reheating at lunch time may be tricky. Certainly love the hummus idea, maybe a non-garlic variety with seasoned herb pita? So, ham and cheese sandwiches (toasted if I find the sandwiches reheat well) or even lunchable style, build your own with crackers and the like. PB&J using good preserves is always tasty, but can get bland. I'm considering adding a touch of honey to it. There's also a caprese sandwich idea, using sliced cherry tomatoes, mozz, and basil/spinach leaves. Of course leftovers are an option, assuming we actually make dinner the night before and don't cheat and go out. Tossing in a hard boiled egg would also be a quick protein boost.
Fruits, well, I effing LOVE fruit. This will just be a list of my favorite fruits and I can find a way of packing them. Apples, clementines, pears, berries, watermelon, peaches (canned or fresh), mandarin oranges, cherries, honeydew, grapes, applesauce, bananas, apricots, and mangos. All can be cut/packed the night before (apples, if you treat it with a touch of vinegar, it keeps them from browning. It's how I, my mom, and apparently McDonalds keep them fresh)
Veggies are still pretty easy, I like most of them, and the list they gave is pretty good. I'd probably just add cherry tomatoes (great for popping as a mid-day snack), broccoli steamed (it's actually healthier since a defense mechanism of the plant is to not release it's nutrients unless cooked. My rabbit loves that shit raw though.), and pre-stacked salads in a mason jar (dressing on the bottom, bigger cut veggies, then leafy greens at the top to keep them from getting soggy.)
As for snacks, well, snacks are always choice. Goldfish crackers (which, surprisngly, I'll revisit in the dessert section! OH THE ANTICIPATION!) are usually filling and great mid-day. Seasoned crackers and baked chips are also a good choice here. String cheese, or really, just chunks of cheese would be a good addition. Cottage cheese would pair really well with the fresh produce as would yogurt.
Desserts weren't even mentioned and I'm appalled and insulted. Here's a current favorite that I told you about:
Of course, fruits could be considered dessert but I really have a sweet tooth. Jumbo marshmallows, while sugary, are a surprisingly filling dessert and still quite tasty. Jab with a toothpick and add on mini chocolate pieces with graham crackers and make bunny smores. Frozen yogurts (assuming there's a freezer) would be great too. Small pastries, baked muffins and many breakfast foods are sweet so they, for example: a waffle, could work beautifully. Belvita also makes these great breakfast crackers (one is blueberry and it tastes like a muffin cracker, surprisingly delicious)
At the moment, that's all I can think of, so until next time. Keep Calm and Nom Nom Nom.
