how to healthify your diet.

I loved the reactions to yesterday’s post – a bunch of girls thanked me for the diet reality check. Clean diet = clear skin. A “diet” is really what you and your body respond to and feel best consuming on a consistent basis. This can be a process to figure out, and you need to take the time to learn about proper nutrition, exercise, whatever/etc. but it will be 100% worth your time. Abs are made in the kitchen, as is a clear and glowing face.

Let’s talk about easy ways to upgrade your diet style… let’s go back to my kitchen.

YAASS! Welcome to the nook. Behind the recipe books imagine my herb garden, because that’s where it is… I can smell the lavender when my windows are open. I’m writing this post here, only now the books are gone because I rearranged everything (again). My desktop computer is back in its proper spot in my office, but I’ll give the full queen chic update latro – let’s get to biz.

Eat more one ingredient foods, less processed meals. These kinds of foods are: fruits, veggies, nuts, anything that is just.. what it is. Mixing them together is still one ingredient – just the fruit/veggie/protein/food itself. Processed meals would be: anything premade out of a box, non-perishables, fast food, soda, Twinkies, Wonderbread, sketchy hot dogs at 2am from the streets of Seattle… etc.

 Exercise: DO IT. Just going to leave this one here – there’s no excuse for being lazy. That’s a mind over matter situation, and if you can’t get over yourself to move your body a few times a week – you have personal problems to address. Go on a power walk/dance sesh and listen to some tunes… clean and do laundry and add pushups and squats and situps in the mix – a superproductive, efficient workout. Take the stairs, always if it’s just a few flights. It’s not that hard. It’s good for you, and it makes you look good too. Learn to love it. What doesn’t kill you will still make you stronger, even if you take it easy. What will kill you is sitting on your ass all the time. Got it?

Figure out your happy medium. The connotation of being on a “diet” is so anoying. I say I’m on a diet because I actively try to eat well for most of the week and then I let myself eat whatever on the weekends. I loosely consider it my 80/20 rule – strict, clean diet 80% of the time, no fucks to give 20%. I hate feeling like I have to defend myself or my eating habits to anyone else. It works for me, so I have no reason to answer to you. If you eat healthy for all your snacks and meals but always have a decadent lil treat at night, that’s 80/20 too. Also – wine is considered part of the 80% for me, it’s critical to my health sanity.

I’ve gotten a lot of asks for recipes and I’m gonna share a bunch of my faves in the coming weeks. Fall and winter is my favorite because I fucking love using my crockpot. Crockpots are the shit. The shit is bananas! B A N A N A S! I’m sorry, I saw part of the Voice last night. Gwen Stefani is my original #1 hero/idol… I saw No Doubt in seventh grade, it changed my life and I wore a white zip up with cherries all over it (fun fact about me – I have an impeccable memory).

So, basically I cycle my meals (recipes, smorgasboard salads, etc.) and try to make them healthy but still delicious so I still enjoy the act of eating a meal. There is nothing worse than taking the time and giving your food all this TLC in prep and then having your meal turn out tasting like shit. Call me the lazy betch chef, but I only want to put in the work if I know it will taste as good as it will make me look, because goddamnit, I am a white girl and I have problems and want to feel good when I look at myself in the mirror. Ugh. This post was not supposed to be a rant, but here we are. #typical

If you aren’t doing that – just because you’re forcing yourself to follow some diet that’s not even doing you any benefit because it’s ruining your life in various other ways with these stupid restrictions – then why are you even eating? You might as well be stuffing your face guiltily with Taco Bell and Chickfila, at least you know that’s a satisfying meal. Be honest with yourself. Don’t waste your time on some trendy diet you know isn’t right for you. Experiment to see what you like and makes you feel good.

Eat more veggies. And not in the obnoxious way, because you know I hate that. Vegetables are a great vessel for many other delicious things you might not have a way to eat if you cut out processed things like – chips, pasta, rice. Get a spiral slicer and make zuchinni pasta, or bake a spaghetti squash for faux-angel hair. Slice and stir fry peppers in a spicy (I like Szechuan) sauce that’s gluten free but tastes like MSG. Bam. So many veggies, so much to taste.

Snack smarter. If you’re going to eat chips – and I regularly do – then give up on Doritos. Say bye. There are now a gazillion flavors and types of chip that I’d consider a FWB: Food With Benefits (I read that somewhere). There’s no reason to keep reaching for the same sub par snack you always have… let’s say it’s chips. You eat half the bag before you realize what you’ve done because that’s how blah they are to begin with – you had to eat half the bag to realize you’d started. Was I the only person with this terrible of habits?

Let’s eat some chips.

Like a psycho, I portioned out a proper serving size of each chip snack, all of which would be upgraded choices to whatever shit you probably eat. Google them. Let me rant about nutritional labels another day, or this post will never be over. Basically: do your own research, learn what healthy means to you, and figure out how to elevate your current food game to be just a little bit better for your lifestyle.

NOTE: I’m now 25 with my fucking life together  ~* I am an empowered internet woman, hear me roar *~ so I can easily coordinate my meals and stay on top of it all, which was once a real struggle… in college, it was a totally different game. I can respect that, so here’s a few college specific alternatives:

• Always go for burritos in the bowl.
• Grab fruit and almond butter over a sugar-laden snack bar for class.
• Try a kombucha and replace it for one soda.
• Make your own breakfast every damn morning, and make it good.
• Don’t do your homework in bed, sleep or have sex in bed.
• Make custom snack packs with your fave chips, like the above, plus nuts like almonds or cashews if you have a lecture.
• Buy a Nalgene or big water bottle and stay hydrated.
• Remember to sleep.
• Green tea is good, Red Bull is not so much.

Now I’m rambling and this is practically a novel (but I’m writing a different one! Ugh.) so I guess my nutrition label psycho-nalysis and extreme discussion about salt will come to your screen another day. Also: recipes. Don’t let me forget.

Sorry for being such a psycho, psychos. Sharing what I know about diets and being healthy is something I care about, which is, you know… #rare for me. Any comments or questions, sound off in a comment so I can follow it up in my next post rant.

xx