Let's Talk Food

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Okay, now that I've got your attention, what are your favorites. I'll give you a moment to think about that. Most of you know I'm on a Whole30 diet. What that means is I'm eating healthy. I like to eat, and a lot of my eating before 9+ months ago was unhealthy, filled with pasta, breads, sweets, and lots of sugar, though I had changed to Stevia, still it was sugar. Now, consider what today is. One of my favorite food items day - National Pizza Party Day. I love pizza, and I'm planning to have one. Now, you're thinking how is she going to do that on that diet, since pizza is definitely not what someone would consider healthy. Do you know everything you eat today, all that good food you love so much, can be eaten in a healthy way? I've been creative for the past 9+ months, and I continue to be creative because I love to eat, just not to excess. Let me clue you into something. It wasn't overeating or eating to excess that gained me all the weight I did 26 years ago. It was sitting in a classroom all day long, and eating in the cafeteria for lunch. That's all it took. So, what can you do to make your diet healthy? Do you like pasta? I know, dumb question. How many people don't like pasta would probably be the better question. Answer - spaghetti squash. I don't deprive myself of spaghetti any longer, and it's 100% healthy. What about salads now that summer is here? I love potato salad, and except for the mayo I used to use all the time and bought in the largest container possible because I used a lot every summer, I haven't had any salads in 9+ months. That ended yesterday. Yesterday I did my monthly shopping, and remembered to look for the almond butter. I didn't know where to find it, but when I did, I also ran into another save my salad dressing - Avocado Oil Mayo. I looked at many labels before I found one that was sugar free. Now don't be fooled by the sugar mentioned in the percentages on the label. Check the ingredients. If the label says sugar, and the ingredients doesn't have it listed, it's natural from the plant or fruit. In this case, the avocado. I found Justin's Almond Butter to be the only one that didn't add sugar to the ingredients. Yes, I found that too. What about sweets? I haven't deprived myself from sweets. When winter hit and I wanted hot chocolate and knew doing so was a no-no, I got creative. Bakers chocolate powder has 15 calories and no sugar. Yes, it's bitter. However, when you mix that chocolate powder with almond or cashew milk, it takes the bitterness out. Granted it's not as sweet as you're used to, but it's a great alternative. Cookies, cakes - no problem. Though, I haven't made a cake yet, but I'm sure I'll get inventive with that in the near future. I looked up recipes online and found a couple I could tweak. Substitute 1/1 unsweetened applesauce for sugar and almond flour for regular flour also 1/1. Now, the outcome is a bit surprising and delicious! Sure, it's not going to be as sweet as you remember, but it is surprisingly good, and you don't miss that sugar. Anything you want to make, can be made healthy with a few tweaks, which is what I'm going to do with that pizza I plan to make today. Now, for the tuna salad I made yesterday. My recipe no tweaks. 1/2 spaghetti squash 2 cans albacore tuna in water 4 large tablespoons Avocado Oil Mayo 1/2 large onion diced Next time I'm adding a couple hard boiled eggs. That's it. The outcome left me wanting more. I made a large batch, and figured I'd finish it today. NOT! I ate the whole thing yesterday for supper. I'll let you know how the pizza turns out. I'll be using almond flour. I won't be using cheese, though I did find a way to make vegan parmesan with raw cashews, nutritional yeast, sea salt and garlic powder. I don't have cashews or yeast, so that will be next time. Anything you want to make, can be made healthy. I've been on this diet for 9+ months and I've lost over 30 pounds. I just bought a size 12 swimsuit, and the clothes I bought yesterday on clearance at Wal-Mart are size 14. I haven't been that size in 26 years. I still have a long ways to go to my goal weight, but I'm guessing when I hit the scale on June 4, I will have less than a hundred to go. If you're looking for a good easy, natural way to lose weight, and one you don't need to buy someone else's diet foods to make it possible, check out Whole30. I'm glad I did. I've been trying to lose weight since my first year in college. I'm finally doing it. Thanks for reading. Happy eating.