Munchy Mondays: What's Going In?

Please join me every Monday for discussions on/about food...

"'If you want to lose weight, go to the kitchen...if you want to get fit, go to the gym,'" offered one of my friends who had heard the quote somewhere.

When this Lifestyle Challenge journey began, one of the first things I did was to study, and start to follow, the Canada's Food Guide.  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php  Shocking was the fact that as a 19-50 year old female I am supposed to eat 6-7 grains every day.  Don't get me wrong, I love my breads and carbs (and wonder if I should've born European from whence originate all those dark, crusty loaves that are so darn delicious...), but 6-7 grains a day?  I tried...granola, seedy bread, oats, quinoa...there's only so much with which you can stuff yourself.  If you were relying on only hearty, nutty, grainy  bread as your grain, you would have to eat 6-7 slices a day!?!



And 7-8 veggies...that's 7-8 cups of veggies!  Again, I tried...fortunately I love veggies, all veggies, raw or cooked, in salad form or heaped on my plate.  And yet I couldn't get 7-8 cups a day in...

Then, when chatting with the same friend who told me of the above quote, the subject arose and she commented, "My problem with the Canada Food Guide is that it is so MUCH - I can never eat all that in one day!"  The light bulb went on...ping!  Perhaps I don't need to eat ALL that amount...just watch the ratios...don't binge on meat...eat grains but eat more veggies...don't stuff my face just to say I have eaten it when I really don't want it and can't fathom another teeny bunch of cauliflower sliding down my throat, covered in cheese or not....

Sounds like a strange "awakening" and yet it was a freeing surrender.

What DO we shove into our faces in the kitchen that takes so long to remove from our hips and butts?

Salt...sodium...or whatever you choose to name this heart-hardening "spice"...
Food in boxes or bags or anything other than their own natural packaging (i.e peel for a banana)...
A lot of things we shouldn't...

Fortunately the meals at our home haven't changed that much...although I sure spend a lot less on those blue and white boxes from work that used to constitute our "protein"!?  :)

So, making changes in the kitchen...