Saw Dr. Fuhrman's 1-hour special on PBS today. It was so inspiring! Some of the information was familiar, of course, but it still did me good to hear it again. I also learned a few new tips, such as a list of the most powerful Superfoods for disease prevention (a couple of them really surprised me!): greens, onions, mushrooms, beans, berries and seeds.
It did me good to remind myself that if I'm getting hungry between meals, it is because I have not satisfied my body's micronutrient need. I don't need to eat more calories or more calorie-rich foods like the things I still make for my family (today: a cheesy, white-sauce lasagna!). Once I have satisfied my body's need for micronutriends, I will feel NOTHING between meals. Yes, right now my stomach is still a little on the small side (although I know I'm stretching it, and it won't be long before it's back to normal), so I'm trying to get myself to the next mealtime with green juice instead of snacks. I don't even want to eat healthy snacks, like fruits or vegetables, because I really want to be hungry still at meal-time -- I'm getting addicted to how great vegetables taste when I'm truly hungry!
This morning I made some green juice (which I drank between breakfast and lunch) and a large fruit salad of nectarines, fresh pineapple, strawberries, blackberries and a banana. Mixed in a drizzle of honey and a dash of cinnamon for flavor. The girls and I only ate about half of it, so I poured in a capful of lemon juice and saved it for lunch.
At lunch I had, oh, maybe 1/4 cup of steamed mixed vegetables (with a very small shake of Mrs. Dash for flavor, yum). Then I made an absolutely HUGE salad with 8 oz of spinach and mixed greens. That's a LOT. I mixed in a few other things -- 1 shredded carrot, a small handful of broccoli sprouts, 1/2 cup rinsed pinto beans, and 1/4 cup chopped pecans. The extras were almost "cosmetic" because the greens were still 90% of the salad. For comparison, imagine a normal "dinner" salad at a steakhouse (not a side salad, but a regular "this is my meal" salad) then triple it. I really didn't have much hope of finishing it, and in truth I did not; but surprisingly, I was able to eat about 2/3 of it. I haven't gotten around to making any of Dr. Fuhrman's healthy dressings yet -- I think I'll try one tomorrow -- so I found some vegan Vidallia Onion dressing in the fridge that was fairly low sodium (115mg per serving), even though it had corn syrup in it. I found I didn't need to use as much dressing as I normally would have; for one thing, I'm actually enjoying the taste of greens, not disguising them, and for another, my taste buds are still quite sensitive. So, the total calories in my enormous salad were around 350. For dessert I had some of the leftover fruit salad from breakfast -- proably no more than 1/2 cup after my family had finished with it!
After eating this meal, I feel just great. I'm pleasantly full, and actually.... happy. It makes me feel good to do something that is so good for my body, and to actually enjoy eating it as much as I did. I didn't even touch the lasagna I made for everyone else, and I don't feel in the slightest sorry for myself or deprived!
I've decided I really need to eat big salads at most meals -- I just feel sooo fantastic after eating them! They really fill me up and lessen my cravings for unhealthy foods. Also, I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I ENJOY eating salad when I'm really hungry.
I'm doing better at refusing to snack while I cook as well. That is a BIG pitfall for me, because if I eat even a bite or two while cooking, it's likely to be of the calorie-rich stuff I'm making for my family, which drives me to crave it MORE and enjoy my healthy food less. Also, it takes the edge off my hunger, which in turn takes the edge off my enjoyment of my vegetable-rich meal. I've been finding the meals that I enjoy the most, eat the healthiest, and feel the greatest afterwards are the ones where I didn't snack AT ALL while cooking.
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