Food is an important part of a balanced diet. ~Fran Lebowitz
I've met very few people that only eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Personally, I snack all day long. If I don't, I go into a ravenous rampage and eat everything in sight. Sound familiar? As someone that has grown up on potato chips, Cheetos, cheese puffs, and anything salty, I was addicted to junk food. That stuff is crap. It's processed and filled with sodium, transfat and lacks nutrition. I weaned myself off it with higher-quality crap like baked pita chips, Terra chips, and Pirate's Booty. Still, crap is crap. And if any of this processed stuff is in your house, throw it away. I know, I know, you paid a lot of money for it and it's perfectly good. I give you permission to chuck it. It's called junk food for a reason. Just. Throw. It. Away.
You are going to replace it with two tasty snacks. The first one is your own Mindful Mix. You're going to love it because you're going to mindfully fill it with your favorite things. I started making it because trail mix always had things I didn't like, and creating my own Mindful Mix ended up being cheaper as well. If you're like me and you need to have some crunch, throw in almonds. Don't forget to plan your snacks out for work with the Mindful Battle Plan.
What to do - Mindful Mix
- Grab a plastic bag, collect all the processed food you have and throw it away. If you have something against throwing food away - remember, it's not food, it's junk. Throw it away!
- Find an empty jar with a solid seal to keep any bugs out (I used an old chocolate jar).
- Buy your favorite dried fruits and nuts. Right now I'm using almonds (a nutritional powerhouse full of protein, vitamins and minerals), goji berries (another antioxident superfood), and cranberries. If you need chocolate, use cacao nibs.
- Put in jar and shake.
- Tips: The best nuts are raw. But if you need to break yourself in with your favorite roasted or smoked nuts, go ahead. Walnuts and almonds are particularly good. They're another opportunity to go fair trade and organic. People disparage cranberries for having too much sugar, but I like them and they are still a natural food, so I'm eating them anyway!
Coming tomorrow: Tasty Snack #2
What I ate today: green juice, coffee, roasted vegetables and pasta (resavored), roasted brussell sprouts (resavored), 2 clementines, 1 apple, 2 squares of dark chocolate, 1 slice banana bread, barley+turnips+collard green soup, hot chocolate, 2 handfuls Mindful Mix, 60 oz water
Exercise: None
