I used to just throw whatever into my lunchbox for the next day. The less I had to think about it and work to make it, the better. Most days Brian wouldn't eat lunch at all or if he did, it was just saltines or some rice or whatever was easy to take to school. And I didn't even think I liked vegetables. But then I remembered that as a kid I used to love raw vegetables and fruit and I started thinking that the lunch in the pin looked way better than anything I was eating. So I decided to start packing us healthy lunches with lots of raw veggies. I can actually document the first day of our "healthy eating" lifestyle change. I posted this picture to my Facebook page on April 21st. Little did I know it would change everything.
The crazy thing is that once I started eating just one meal a day that was healthy, I got sort of addicted. After a few weeks I started to realize that I really liked these foods. Raw cucumbers, green peppers, salad, baby spinach, grapes, strawberries and more. And the more I ate of these foods, the better I felt and the more healthy I wanted to eat at every meal. It's now been almost exactly a month, and this is what my grocery store purchases look like now.
We have here baby spinach, carrot coins, bananas, granny smith apples, strawberries, green peppers, cucumbers, and spinach and herb wraps. I have more energy than ever before. After a day of work, I finally don't feel exhausted. Now that Brian is eating earlier in the day, he sleeps at night so I can sleep too. I want to eat healthier and I feel physically better than I have in years. There are so many benefits that I can't even list them all. And Brian has finally gotten on board with me and is also eating healthier. This has truly turned into the start of a life change that I am really excited about.
I do want to clarify however, that we are not going to any extremes with it. We still have pizza for dinner but now we eat half as much pizza and half of our dinner is also vegetables like a salad. Instead of snacking on Goldfish crackers at work, I bring carrots, cucumbers, grapes, or other healthy vegetables and fruits. But I still have a little piece of chocolate with my lunch. All things in moderation, but adding in more fresh produce to my daily meals has really made a difference.
Below, I have one of my current favorite lunch items to share with you: cucumber & spinach wrap. On the right is mine and the left is a vegetarian option for Brian. Both wraps start out with a spinach and herb wrap. Next, I spread on a bit of 1/3 fat garden veggie cream cheese. On the right wrap, I added a bit of hard salami. Both wraps were then topped off with cucumbers and baby spinach. Wrap it up and eat it up! Just one more way to add some more vegetables to your meal.
