A Balanced Day of Eats

I am so excited to finally be bringing you a full day of eats!

These posts are some of my favorites to read on other healthy living blogs, so I knew it was only a matter of time before I cranked one out.

I would’ve put one up a lot sooner, except it is HARD to remember to photograph every single meal. Like I have major respect for people who do this on a weekly basis.

To be perfectly honest, the fact that I have all my meals photographed from yesterday is a total happy accident, so when I was going through my camera roll yesterday night and realized I have literally everything right there, I knew it was a sign to put up a Full Day of Eating post!

My one failure is that it is not Wednesday, so I can’t join the What I Ate Wednesday party that the rest of the blogosphere seems to be at. Oops.

Just one more little note before I launch into this day of eats.

I consider myself a pretty intuitive eater, which means I don’t deprive myself. I eat when I’m hungry, no matter what time it is or how much time passed before my last meal, and I stop eating when I’m full even if there’s still half a plate of food left. I listen to what my body is telling me, and I fully trust that it knows what it’s doing.

It wasn’t always this way. I used to be hyper-vigilant of what and how much I ate, wanting to exert as much control as possible over my body, constantly living in fear of what would happen if I’d let my guard down around my strict eating and exercise routine.

Those days are behind me now, thank goodness, but I know how many people struggle with disordered eating habits.

So please, do not look at this day of eats and compare your own day of eats, because we are all different people with different bodies, different activity levels, and different weight set points.

One of the things most difficult for me to accept when I was in the throes of my disordered eating habits was that a girl exactly my height and of a similar body composition could possibly need less food than me. I felt like a failure if I ever ate over what that girl ate, and I felt hugely proud and successful when I would eat less than her.

I realize now how ridiculous that is. Not only did that girl not exercise as much as me, but even if she did, her body operates entirely differently from my own. She craves carbs when I crave fats. She loves savory breakfasts, and I need sweet.

How can we, then, eat exactly the same way?

So with that said, please take this day of eats with a grain of salt. I do not eat exactly like this every day. Sometimes I eat less healthy, sometimes much more. Sometimes I eat less food and sometimes quite a bit more. I trust that as long as I listen to my body, I won’t go wrong. Our bodies are smart, and contrary to belief, they want us to be strong and healthy. So don’t use food and exercise as a weapon against your body; use them as tools to work with it.

 

Okay, that’s enough rambling.

Here we go.

Breakfast

Overnight “cream cheese frosting” from Imma Eat That (oh and that’s my wonderful poodle Minnie)

 

Morning snack

Serving of roasted salted edamame

 

Lunch

I was working at a Health Fair all morning, and afterwards my boss took all us interns out for lunch at Eataly, which if you aren’t familiar with this Italian mecca, is basically this giant Italian grocery store with amazing food prepared on premises. This meal was absolutely scrumptious, and though it tasted indulgent, it was still light and fresh, and the portion was reasonable.

Fresh pappardelle pasta with mushrooms and tomato sauce. Finished about 3/4 of this because I listened to my body, and it told me that while this was great, I really did not need more.

 

Afternoon Snack

A serving of one of my favorite granolas.

Dinner

Okay, this meal literally deserves a paragraph. You guys, it was so. frickin’. amazing.

I mentioned that I’m not a recipe developer, but this meal really made me wonder if all hope is perhaps not lost for me. I really outdid myself.

I posted the recipe on Instagram, so check that out. It’s so simple, so light yet satisfying, and most importantly, absolutely delicious!

 

Paleo chicken fried rice

 

And the aftermath?

 

 

This was a pretty great day of eats, full of nutrients and vitamins, and also a little indulgent, too. I think balanced days of eats like today are my favorite because they make me feel my best, satisfying both my body and soul equally.

Hope you enjoyed, and there’s definitely more where that came from!

 

Xoxo,

Nicole

 

 

Have you ever made cauliflower rice?

Do you allow yourself random indulgent meals during the week or do you set aside a cheat meal for, say, the weekend?