Food Craving Confessions:How Chocolate cravings ended me at Burger king

First off, let me say I never said I was perfect. I can relate to my clients because I battle the same challenges. I like chocolate, I like fast food from time to time. None of these things are stocked at my house. And when its time to stick to plan, I do. But on this particular evening, I am VERY tired, taught 3 classes and worked all day.

I wanted chocolate. I tend to eat on cravings, when I have a plan, I just can't do that. However, I have freedom now, for 2 more weeks until I start cutting. I WANTED IT. There were Kashi almond chocolate bars at the gym and I told myself that would do, and would hold me over until I got home. Back and forth I went with myself. NO, I'm stopping at Target to get chocolate. Now I know I can't get a bag, it has to be ONE piece. But it's 9:30pm and I want to go home. "No, you go home and eat and you'll get over it." I pull out of the left turn late and get on the freeway. Of course, this conversation is not ending, much like a child arguing for a treat. I'm thinking of how I can do this with minimal effort (stopping, parking, lost time). Target? Safeway? Do I log this in my FitPal? My clients will see!

Then I see it, Burger King has a Hershey's chocolate pie that is amazing. Wouldn't you know it, one cheeseburger Whopper Jr Meal & Hershey pie order later.....I get to the window and ask why it's so expensive. He charged me for 2 pies. oh great. I explain I wanted one. He comes back and says "Its your lucky day, I'm too lazy to take it out of the bag, so you can keep it." (no charge). This man has NO IDEA what he's just done! lol He gives them to me, and my card. I start to take off and then think to check the bag. with ONLY pies. He's at the window, "ya, you're not done yet, go ahead and back up". >>>SO embarrassing! I back up...I'm thinking of how unsly I am right now and of course all this would happen when I decide to have this. He looks at me, smiles, and asks if I'm okay? I must be bright pink at this point. What does he think i'm wasted? lol I explain that my day started at 6:30am and I'm very tired. I try to act super sober. (I haven't drank at all).

Now I'm sitting here with it. sigh. Whatever. I did it. I'm gonna enjoy it at a snail's pace and probly won't even think about it again till I'm dieting and its just not an option then. Life's daily challenges lol ;)

Clean French Toast

2 Whole Eggs

2c Egg Whites (I use Lana's Egg Whites)

6sl Alvarado St. or Ezekiel Bread of your choice

* Originally I actually made this with Eggos. ;) Low Fat Whole Grain, sometimes the cinnamon or other flavors. 

Super quick & easy! Here I used Alvarado St. Sprouted Wheat Cinnamon Raisin. Because it has flavor, I didn't add anything to my eggs. If I use plain Ezekiel Bread or Alvarado St. I'll add sweetener, cinnamon or whatever spices I feel like that day.  

 

 When picking a Whole Grain bread there are a few things that are KEY. First, it should not list 'flour' as a major ingredient. Flour is overly processed. As you can see on the label above, this bread is made of whole grains. The LARGEST contributing ingredient is listed first and then in descending order. The main ingredient above is Organic Sprouted Whole Wheat Berries. I had fiber and protein, some breads have a little more protein. 

Here are the ingredients - very few. 

You have your carbs(bread), fat(yolk/coconut oil), and protein(egg whites). 

Just soak your bread in the mixture for a minute or two until soft.

I used coconut oil which has MCTs (Medium Chain Triglycerides/fats)

Brown on both sides as desired.

This made 3 servings for me, and one piece to try! ;D

Spinach & Egg White Omelet

This is one of my favorites lately. I started out with a quick recipe which I'll summarize at the end. I will give you my current spiced up recipe to start.

2-3 cups Spinach
1 cup egg whites (I use Lana's Egg Whites)
Tony Cachere's Creol Seasoning
Lawry's Garlic Salt seasoning
Salsa (if allowed)

Heat pan with Olive oil (extra virgin).
Add 1 chopped clove of garlic to brown and lots of spinach.
Sprinkle with Garlic Salt.
Cover and allow spinach to steam.
Stir spinach, garlic and seasoning and place to side.





Pour in 1 cup egg whites(I use Lana's Egg Whites).
Sprinkle in Garlic Salt and Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning.
Place spinach on egg whites. (In this picture I had to add more spinach because it shrinks a LOT!)



Fold egg whites over and brown.
Sprinkle seasoning on top if desired. 

-Ok, so the Quick & Easy way?
The first time I did it, I just poured in the egg whites, sprinkled the seasoning, tossed in the spinach, let it cook and then folded it when ready. The spinach will cook on its own in the egg whites.

Top with Salsa if allowed/desired.

Season your food!

When I first started competing I had no clue. I was given a mealplan, and quite frankly, was in shock. I thought I ate healthy! I didn't think I could have anything not on that piece of paper. I didn't think to how to cook it. It didn't help that our kitchen was being remodeled so all i had was a microwave in the garage, and a little plug-in pan. I ate a lot of my veggies raw, or my food plain. I ate tuna out of the can. Sometimes on spinach, usually dry. By the end my mom took pity on me and started cooking some of my food. I got better and realized I could use some salsa and seasonings. Some of the stuff I don't use during competition season now, but you can use off-season or for general healthy recipes. Today I'm going to go over what you CAN use, because as easy as it sounds, we just don't think about it until someone mentions it.

If you are off-season, or just eating healthy here are some great spices to try. They do have salt, so watch how much you use, make sure to drink plenty of water. Your body will hold water the more sodium you have, but also will adjust to the level you take in. As you get closer to a show, you will want to use less, and especially as you drop water the last week these come out for sure.
I LOVE Garlic Salt! I get the kind that has the parsley in it as well. I use that on pretty much everything. Garlic Salt and Lemon pepper(Black Pepper, lemon peel, salt, onion, garlic) are great on fish, especially together! Old Bay is a seasoning a client shared with me, great for fish and other items. It has celery salt, red pepper, black pepper and paprika.(another favorite spice of mine) Lawry's Seasoned Salt, also some paprika, turmeric, onion and garlic. Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning is nice and spicy! It has salt, red pepper, black pepper, chili powder and garlic.

 

Some other items I never knew I loved. Cholula! This I discovered at IHOP, and would use it on my eggs. Its a great hot sauce. Mustards - I never was much for them. But now...oh my! The flavors! This one I show, French's Honey Mustard is the one I found that has <1g sugar per serving. Some can have a lot of honey and hence, a lot of sugar. Check the labels. Dijon, honey dijon, many flavors to choose from. These definitely have salt, make sure no sugar. These along with the above get taken out closer to show depending on your training. 

 These are your plain spices, no salt added. Black pepper, Red pepper, Paprika, Garlic Powder, Basil, Parsley, Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Solute, anything in the seasonings that does NOT have salt. These are ok pretty much up to the show. Especially with fish you can use lemon with the garlic powder and parsley and brown in the pan...delicious!

 

And of course, ANY vinegar is ok up to the show. They have 0 cals, 0 sugars, 0 salt, etc. Balsamic(great on salads, tuna), Apple Cider(hunger/sweet cravings, very close to the body's natural pH balance so has MANY uses), Malt vinegar(on white fish, pretend its fish 'n' chips!), just make sure its PLAIN vinegar with nothing added to it.

Of course, I will have more quick and easy recipes with these seasonings coming soon! ;)

Veggie Mash

I DISlike veggies. I'm like a kid. Give me peas or corn, I'm fine. But this GREEN STUFF??? yeck. Here's a recipe I came up with to trick myself into eating them. There's no specific amounts, use as much as you need and flavor to your own taste preference.

Mixed broccoli and cauliflower
Garlic Salt mix
Red Pepper (cayenne)
Cloves Garlic

Put the broccoli and cauliflower in the steamer.

Use a large fork and mash.





Brown/roast garlic cloves in a pan with just a little olive oil

Add garlic cloves, garlic powder seasoning, and red pepper to taste.

 That's it! Pretty short and easy, but MUCH easier to eat. Gotta LOVE Garlic! ;)

How to grocery shop

Many people don't realize, eating healthy is expensive. This is a well known fact as many studies concerning the obesity rate of the lower class, who survive on cheat quick eats vs the upper class who can afford the time and money to cook fresh food. Add to that a Competition Diet, and well its a LOT. I figure it this way; most people got out to dinner occasionally, get drinks, etc. I don't so that money goes into my healthy food, ie ME! You have to be smart about your shopping. I used to use my credit cards and never look at the prices. Then after my competition I would see my CC bills and freak out. So I only buy with debit and I am much better.

Today I went to Costco, and here is what I found:
Frozen Atlantic Salmon - $7.33/lb
Frozen Tilapia - $6.00/lb
Fresh Farmed Atlantic Salmon - $7.99/lb
Fresh Farmed Tilapia - $5.99/lb
Multi-vitamins One-A-Day - $15 / 250ct
Cytosport Protein Powder - $40 /6lbs(75 servings)

I see people complain about costs of Supplements but you have to make smart choices. The last 2 items, a multi-vitamin and protein powder, I see as a necessity. I recommend them for ANY client I work with. I personally use Advocare for most of my supplements as it is great product. It is high quality, independently tested, and Guaranteed to have NO banned substances which is why athletes trust it. BUT, I also understand that some people are out of work or living paycheck-to-paycheck, these are rough times! So I keep an eye out for what can be used to still work and be affordable. 

If you go to a 'specialty' store, you're going to pay more. No doubt. It can be great product, but if you can't afford it, it doesn't really matter. You gotta do what you can, with what you have. You can get Protein powder for about $1/serving. Always check out the per serving cost! Just divide the cost by the servings listed. Be careful though, cuz they aren't all the same. Some proteins are more for men trying to build, so "1 serving" might be 2 for me, or another like female. I recommend a Lean protein, meaning it is just protein. 
Approve 20-25g Protein, <2g Carbs, <2g Fat. That should equal between 80-130 cals. At least when you are leaning out. You can have a lot more options in different phases of training(off-season, building, maintaining, etc.)

Eating clean may not be cheap. I mean, I can get a hamburger for $1 on a promo day, lol. But I'll feel like crap and I'll look like crap. GARBAGE IN = GARBAGE OUT. Fact.