When it comes to healthy eating, a big piece of the puzzle is moderation. If you’re trying to trim down or just aiming to eat healthier, it doesn’t mean that you can never treat yourself. What it does mean is that you need to be mindful of the foods you eat and watch your portions.
Giving into your food cravings here and there is perfectly conducive to losing weight, but here’s the catch: If you want something, let’s say ice cream, eat a cup. It won’t wreck your diet. But don’t bring a gallon of it to the couch with you and dig in with your spoon until you’re stuffed. And if you do wind up going with the latter option, once you’ve eaten it, be done with it. So many people, myself included, will overdo it one night, but instead of moving on and forgetting about it, have a tendency to beat themselves up over it. This attitude can potentially turn just a less than ideal meal or night of eating to a week or month of it, and that’s no bueno.
Instead of getting stuck in a cycle of being super strict with your diet, then completely crashing and eating whatever you want all the time, aim to adopt a healthy diet that you can sustain – a lifestyle.
Today is a good example of this principle for me. All day I was craving something salty, and I happened to have planned on going food shopping. I could have easily bought a jumbo bag of potato chips and inhaled half of it while sitting in traffic on the way home, but I opted for a healthier approach to satisfy my yen. I decided to do a Mexican themed dinner, and made my go-to guacamole recipe to enjoy with multigrain chips and a veggie & cheese quesadilla. I measured my eats and had one serving of chips, one serving of cheese and one serving of guacamole. And guess what? I felt perfectly content post-dinner and got my crunchy, salty fix – with no guilt involved.
The beauty of controlling your portions is that it makes you realize that you don’t need to eat a huge amount of anything to feel full and satisfied. I’m not saying that it’s necessary to measure out every morsel you put in your mouth, but using common sense and being conscious of how much you’re eating can go a long way.
The guacamole I always make is so easy to throw together. It’s great to make as a quick appetizer for hungry people, or in tonight’s case, one starving hubby. Avocado is packed with healthy fat and vitamins, and when you eat a serving of the recipe below, you’re nourishing your body with 2 servings of produce. So good!
My Go-To Guacamole
Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado
- 1/4 red onion
- 1 TSP olive oil
- 1 TSP fresh lemon juice
- Mixed up salt & pepper to taste regular salt works too
Instructions
- Use a spoon to scoop the avocado flesh out. Mash it, then place in a bowl.
- Mince the red onion, then add to the avocado.
- Pour olive oil and lime juice on top. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Mix the guacamole well, then enjoy with tortilla chips, veggies, fajitas, crackers, quesadillas, tacos...the possibilities are endless!
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