So, I ate a fair amount of Splenda during my first pregnancy – mostly in the form of Crystal Light which I was obsessed with. My daughter can be a bit of a spaz, like most two year olds, and sometimes I think back to that Splenda. I know this is probably ridiculous. Anyway – in this pregnancy I’ve been paying better attention to my diet and, whenever possible, eating whole foods. Sounds simple – it’s not.
Ok, let me rant for a second. It seems like so many people I talk to are omitting food groups to “feel better” or “look better”. Almost any nutritional/health food source will tell you, however, that eating an abundance of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes/nuts/seeds/beans, lean meats and dairy will improve overall health (hence the way you feel AND the way you look). Now I’m speaking generally here, as I know plenty of people deal with real health issues and avoiding gluten, dairy, etc, is a huge help. But truly – imagine if you only ate easily identifiable whole foods throughout your day. Like beans, every day. When’s the last time you ate beans? Nothing labeled as sugar free or low carb – just real food.
There are times I think back over my day of eating and realize that I ate barely any vegetables, too much bread, and no healthy fats so I am TOTALLY in need of this reminder. With a little forethought and some selective food shopping (and perhaps an open mind for you picky eaters), we can change our diet if we just consider what we put in our mouthes. For instance my tortilla of choice has fantastic nutritional stats but it also has a laundry list of ingredients. Why not swap it for brown rice (ingredients – 1)? Long story short, I’ve been working on this lately and, though this recipe has just three ingredients, it’s a snack I’ll put out while I’m making dinner; it’s just so wonderfully delicious in it’s simplicity.
All this being said, I just ate two red Starburst from my daughter’s Easter candy. Eating well is SO HARD – we’re all in this together, people.
Pears with Blue Cheese and Honey
Serves 2-4
2 ripe pears, halved and core scooped out
Chunk of blue or gorgonzola cheese
Honey
1. Slice and prepare pears. Crumble cheese over top. Drizzle with honey.
Great for an afternoon snack but special enough for company. I would cut pears into bite-sized chunks and serve with toothpicks.Â
