Who Knew?!

At some point I will try to do the whole "how Kelly got here" blog post but for now I just wanted a spot to post photos and send them in a link rather than over email. Now that I am obsessed with yummy, healthy food I send 293408 photos of meals to friends and relatives and I know they cherish these photos and are so thankful for daily updates in their otherwise not-busy lives. :)

Quick background:
Grew up eating healthy foods only if prepared for me, lots of sports nights eating out or mac and cheese or frozen pizza, no conscious effort to eat healthy.

Began to travel, realized I love all foods and wasted years thinking I was a picky eater. Began to eat healthy food on occasion but again only when prepared for me.

Lived for a year in Korea, was "forced" to eat out due to a tiny apartment with little to no cooking apparatus and also I didn't know how to cook and still had no interest in learning. In the year of eating at Korean restaurants, I ate amazingly delicious, healthy foods and noticed I was in the best shape of my life and so were my coworkers. Nothing in the Korean restaurants was processed, all fresh and local and again...delicious!

Moved home, slightly motivated but still not interested in preparing much beyond my minimally increased desire to cook which meant preparing pasta with frozen vegetables and eating Subway sandwiches instead of frozen pizza.

Read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen. Mind blown. Kicked husband for not forcing me to read the book since it was on the shelf for years, with a sweet reply paraphrased as "if you're not ready, you won't take it to heart, blah blah blah, wanted you to read it when you felt ready and interested," other amazing husband talk.

Finally started to branch out and buy vegetables and fruit other than frozen mixed veggies and apples and bananas. Used many youtube videos to figure out how to cut an avocado, onion, how to prepare chicken in the crock pot we received as a wedding gift and hadn't used in a year, etc.

Now I am at this point - still very much a beginner, still nervous at the co-op about how to get food from the bulk aisle without looking clueless or making a huge and embarrassing mistake (as if anyone cares) and loving even the minor adjustments such as organic pb or almond butter instead of the processed options, sprouted grain bread instead of store-labeled whole wheat with 234908 ingredients, home-made "french fries" out of sweet potatoes, olive oil and sea salt (is there such thing as sweet potato overload? Just kidding I'm sure there is and I'm way beyond it), fruit smoothies with greek yogurt, tons of fruit and spinach, baking with coconut oil, whole wheat flour and honey instead of sugar, rolled oats for breakfast with cinnamon (YUM!), and other exciting stuff. The fridge now has lots of colorful produce and yummy leftovers for lunch and my coworkers happen to be on a similar kick so our shared lunches are so healthy and delicious!

Now for pics - to my cousin Shawna, I would LOVE feedback and so appreciated your email from months ago with details on what you have learned over your many-years-long transition. By the way, I'm still waiting for fast food to taste not-so-delicious ;) but I find myself preferring to stay in and prepare something vs. eating out because I know they won't make it as tasty as I know it can be. That's a start, right??

Found a low-sodium soup and added more veggies. I think this was Amy's No-Salt Added lentil or veggie soup which I found at Cub Foods in their organic section. I had no idea how much sodium goes into processed foods. Or if someone told me, I didn't care or take note. The difference in taste is noticeable as well but I like that I can add veggies and sea salt or pepper for a tasty version.

One of my first experiences roasted vegetables. I had originally added them to the crock pot which was easy but I like the taste and consistency of the roasted veggies. I found some magical bag at the co-op of winter root veggies, most of which I couldn't identify...I know there were rutabagas but that is the only name that sticks with me.

The Picky Eater Blog suggested a home-made pita pizza. I bought Holy Land whole wheat pitas at the co-op and some pizza sauce similar to Trader Joe's brand and then piled on veggies and some cheese. I have been trying to see how many veggies can fit and not fall into the oven. For cooking time, it's just five minutes or until the cheese melts. I really like it with basil on the top as well. Oh and that is a fruit smoothie from 100 Days Real Food's website. So delish! Berries with a banana, greek yogurt, a little bit of almond milk and spinach added since you can't taste it. I've been sharing with my coworkers and they like it as well. 

Another idea from the Picky Eater Blog...just added veggies to whole wheat pasta noodles and pasta sauce. I sauteed onions, yellow and green peppers and frozen spinach with olive oil and pepper and I think I used garlic one time. I am trying to find pasta sauce without a lot of sugar. I have yet to try making my own sauce.

My friend Liz came over and of course we had to make Swedish pancakes. We tried freezing the leftovers and it really worked well! I assume the pancakes aren't exactly the healthiest though we did use whole wheat flour, so I sauteed some veggies (tomato, green pepper, onions and spinach) like I did for the pasta above and basically added them to an egg. I have no idea how to make an omelette, other than youtubing it a few times, and I was hungry so I just put a few eggs in the pan and it came out like this. It was delish!

This meal was exciting to me because it was leftovers - roasted chicken and veggies from earlier in the week and frozen mixed vegetables and tomato added. I like that I now consider the frozen veggie mix the last resort vs. fresh veggies. Still good for us, though, right?!

Same egg situation, different veggies and some added organic blueberries..actually this was for Tim. I don't love blueberries unless they are in a baked item like whole wheat muffins or pancakes, etc.

This was for me. My coworker made strawberry rhubarb jam and it was AMAZING. Then our cats knocked a pale over and the jam jar crashed to the floor and broke into pieces with glass. I'm still not over it. I guess that will be incentive for learning to make and freeze jam. Or I can just ask my coworker for more. :)

Recent obsession with potatoes. I understand they aren't always good and are more starch-y but, in my mind, this meal beats frozen pizza and I put plenty of veggies in the spinach salad. I love onions right now, especially caramelized when I roast them.

I tried ground turkey (very good! Next time I will add more seasoning) and couscous. The couscous cooks so fast! I let it stay for way too long so it was dry but the meat and veggies helped.

Recently obsessed with spinach salad with cut up apples and organic balsamic vinegar and of course with green olives and onions. Added more veggies to the whole wheat pasta this time. Can you tell I love apples? I think they are the perfect addition to what I think are heavier meals. And I just love them.

 

Still obsessed with sweet potatoes, still loving the spinach with balsamic vinegar and apples. Just bought cloth napkins with pretty designs to avoid tossing so many paper napkins. Also starting to put in an effort to learn how to compost. I had no idea so much food waste is bad for the environment. I think I just assumed it was biodegradable and harmless. I am hoping the local community garden will want to use our scraps for composting since we have not yet attempted gardening ourselves.

Hard to tell but I tried some wild caught tuna and made a salad using Greek yogurt, mustard, celery, green olives and pepper. It was pretty tasty! The cats just about murdered me when I put a little extra in their bowls. I can see why they like it!

I tried grilled cheese with coconut oil instead of butter just for fun which was interesting. I think I liked it? Also added some spinach, onions and green peppers inside the sandwich with the pepper jack cheese. I also roasted beets and, of course, sweet potatoes (maybe I should lay off those once in awhile?). Turns out I like beets! :)

So those are photos of my recent progress. I have lots of interesting websites and cookbooks that I enjoy reading but I have yet to take on more complicated recipes. I like spice so I just recently took a lookie at the spice section at the co-op. Might have to add cumin, paprika or other sauces for future dishes.

I would love feedback, suggestions or recipes!! I do have to say it has been fun research. So many people are lately drawn to this old-school, healthy method of eating whole foods so there are so many outlets for information, stories, recipes. I'm sure I will know so much more next month and probably have quite a few things wrong or mixed up now but it sure beats eating Burger King or Domino's as often as I used to. This is fun and delicious! :)