Me Myself & I: Yum in my tum

As I stand in the kitchen, my eyes dash from cabinet to cabinet, jar to jar, bowl to bowl. Hm, how will I pacify my maundering belly this morning? Oats. My eyes zoom in on the container that never runs short. Yes — healthy carbohydrates to start the day. I chuck in a banana for a sprinkle of sweetness. Spoonfuls of scrumptiousness in my mouth, I think about my story.

Months of failed nutrition plans and copying ridiculous fads made my head spin. To note a dozen: vegan, paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, turmeric, coconut oil — more like coconut everything — almond milk, almond butter, kombucha, apple cider vinegar, chia seeds and more. Although society’s consciousness of nutrition is great in an era of obesity and processed foods, the mindfulness is teeter-tottering between healthy and obsessive. Nevertheless, I knew I wanted to adopt a new lifestyle. Like a new recipe, however, my new lifestyle called for playing around, and after days of playing around, I created the perfect recipe — for now.

When I hop out of bed in the morning, I grab my tumbler and pop in half a lemon and warm water. The lemon helps clean the inside of the body as it detoxes, promotes healthy weight loss, makes skin glow, strengthens the immune system and improves digestion.

Monday // Tuesday // Wednesday // Thursday // Friday

Breakfast: 2 soft-boiled eggs + 1/2 avocado

I ate everything but the kitchen sink for breakfast. Bowls of toasty oats to overnight oats, to bananas avec almond butter, to yogurt and smoothies. Somehow, someway, somewhen I ended up eating half an avocado and two eggs for breakfast. Unlike other mornings, which left my stomach in knots, this pair fills me up avec healthy fats and protein.

Other options: oats, açai bowls and banana pancakes. 

Lunch: vegan sandwich // cous cous salad 

Snack 1: celery sticks + almond butter // almonds 

Snack 2: tangerine // strawberry lavender lemonade + a cheeky bite of chocolate

Options options options. My eyes gloss over the options on the EAT Club menu for work. Paleo bowl? No thanks. Vegan sandwich? Hm…add to cart. Before this moment, shit hit the fan. The first week of my internship, I ate paleo, week two, gluten-free, and week three was only açai — for lunch. Clearly, nothing stuck. When it was back to the drawing boards, I picked the vegan sandwich from Ingrained. The alfalfa sprouts are delicious and the ingredients, well-balanced: carbs (wheat bread), healthy fats (avocado) and protein (hummus). Almond butter and celery make the perfect afternoon snack, and a tangerine adds Vitamin C.

Other options: avocado toast, banana pancakes, oats and açai bowls. 

Dinner: kale salad 

Tick tock six o’clock. The small hand points down, and I wave goodbye to work. If I didn’t eat every snack at the office, i’m likely hungry. From the fridge, I grab the opposite of a smidge of kale, salmon or chicken, sweet potato, beets and avocado. Half a squeezed lemon makes for the perfect topping.

Dessert: raspberries

Saturday // Sunday

Breakfast: 2 soft-boiled eggs + grapefruit

Lunch: açai bowl

Açai escapes my lips after every spoonful of the powerhouse bowl from Barebowls. I order coconut milk as opposed to cashew milk and plop down in a leather chair to write. 

Snack: baby carrots

Dinner: salmon poke

Obviously, weekends are for eating out and going about. I pick poke for dinner from Go Fish and an interesting base…yam noodles as opposed to rice. Long story short, the noodles bear zero calories. Um. Noodles. Zero calories. YES PLEASE.

Dessert: vegan chocolate

Before I live happily ever after, I peel open a bar of vegan dark chocolate.

Photos from KendyllHillegas, Google and me