Week in Review

The Whole Foods Week

The Verdict: Success!

We ate well this week. When the rubber met the road, it was not actually that different than any other week. The biggest change for Jose was breakfast. Instead of his regular cereal, he ate quinoa for breakfast (recipe to follow). My challenge was the afternoon snack. I want something quick, easy, and maybe a little sweet. While the fruit and nut clusters were satisfying, a chocoholic cannot live on dates. I mean, pitted, dried dates. I did make myself a delicious cocoa/banana smoothie...with some spinach, of course, but that didn't completely satiate my chocolate needs. Griff probably had the easiest time.

Some of our favorite meals were fish tacos with homemade tortillas, grilled chicken salad, and a quinoa grain bowl. Jose said that his quinoa cereal was the best cereal he has ever eaten...wow! I enjoyed making and eating homemade bread and pizza.

So...my Saturday morning Pilates class required more will power than this week did. I missed snacks, but was quite happy to realize that we don't have that much junk food in our lives. We do occasionally stop at Chick-Fil-A or Smashburger and guiltlessly enjoy it, but our pantry is a pretty healthy place.

About a year ago, I bought the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It completely changed my perspective on how and what I eat. I think I've always eaten pretty healthily (thanks, Mom), but I felt like eating organic fruits and vegetables was a luxury. Not something that normal people do every week. I was wrong. Eating organic produce and meats really does make a difference. Once we became practiced at organic shopping and left out a few extremely processed foods, we spent about the same amount of cash at Sprouts as we had at Safeway. I think sometimes we care more about what we put onto our bodies (lotions, makeup, clothes) than we do about what we put into them. Everyone has to decide for herself, but I'm going to keep trying to clean things up.

If you want a crash course in the importance of organic farming, watch Food, Inc.

Breakfast Quinoa

Ingredients

Quinoa

Banana

Honey

Soymilk

Make enough quinoa for the week.

One part quinoa, two parts water.

Boil.

Simmer until the water is absorbed.

Store in a container in the fridge.

Put your desired amount of quinoa in the bowl.

Cut up your banana and toss it in.

Drizzle with honey.

Add a little soymilk.

Heat it up in the microwave for about a minute.