Food for thought...

[stargazer]

I couldn't resist the title

In a normal day, how well do you eat? By this I mean how many treats do you have a day? Since I was little I've always tried to get every food group in each of my meals, and generally allowed myself one treat a day. A treat could be a bowl of ice cream for snack, a handful of cookies, a milkshake, etc. I never eat fast food and very rarely drink pop. This has always worked well for me and the rest of my family as e're quite active. My twin sister does varsity hockey, my brother skateboards and plays hockey, and I do gymnastics 8 hours a week. My parents are very active as well with running and cycling to work.

I'm just curious how/if everyone else organizes their food for the day.

 

[bogwoppit]

I am the three meals and three snacks kind of person. It took me a long time to learn to eat breakfast after years of not eating it. I do function a lot better with it. Of course my kids eat much the same way.

Snacks tend to be fruit, cheese and crackers, pretzels. There are no cookies or ice creams in the house, I have cliff bars and Lara bars with home made trail mix that the kids take to school. Apple sauce is the girls favourite.

For a junk food treat, poutine once a month or so, soft drinks of we go out for dinner.

I do not usually eat fast food, well unless you count Tim Hortons or Subway, the only soft drink woul dbe tonic with my gin. Youngest likes the grilled chicken wrap from McDonalds and we always get ice cream (Oreo McFlurry or Cold Stone Creamery) after meets.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I am a grazer, and so are my kids. I can't eat first thing in the morning (need to have a cup of coffee and wake up first), but usually end up eating a light breakfast at work around 9am or so. I try to have plenty of fruits, veggies and cheese around the house for snacking, but I have to admit, I have a pretty big sweet tooth. I try to balance everything and not "forbid" any types of food. I listen to my hunger and fullness cues as to not to over-eat.

We do eat fast food a few times a week, but try to go the healthy route with Subway most of the time.

 

[gymgurl]

Im shocking at planning meals! i always have breakfast, morning tea, lunch and dinner and most of the time afternoon tea if I am not studying in the library or at gym - so very rarely.

I try to eat healthy but with halloween having just been the last two days i've been eating a little too much. I don't eat fast food unless it truely is the only option and even then i tend to choose not to eat at all, unhealthy i know but i really hate fast food. I avoid soft drink even when going out.

My weak point is chocolate, if there is chocolate i'll be found eating it!

 

[gymjourneymom]

I believe in eating small frequent meals. Today I've eaten a little something every 3hrs...a Butterfinger, a Milkyway, a Reese's cup(hey that's protein right?). I really wish more trick or treaters would have come to our house!!!

 

[Mack_the_Ripper]

I have some issues eating well! I always have to eat breakfast - I am usually hungry right once I wake up. However, I barely ever have time to eat lunch with my busy school schedule. We only have 25 minutes for lunch and I'd rather get something done or hang out with my friends! I try to bring something to eat in class, but it depends on whether we have suitable things at home and whether I have time/remember to get them. If I have practice I always have a snack after school, and then I'm starving by the time I get home (9:30), so I eat a lot of dinner.

In terms of treats, I usually have one after dinner. My family rarely goes out to eat and never eats fast food unless there's nothing else available. I rarely drink soda, and when I do, it's no-sugar. Sometimes if I get home from practice and there's no "real" food in the house, I'll eat really bad stuff, but I try to avoid that.

 

[gymnast695]

I'm definitely a junk food eater. I like eggs for breakfast, which is a good start. But my lunch at school consists of mostly snacks and a baggy of cereal. When I get home from school I have another snack, then go to the gym. I eat a nice home cooked dinner around 9 and then usually have a cup of icecream to end my day I'm an awful eater, but I must have a good metabolism cause you wouldn't know it! As for fast food, when I'm on the go I don't have a problem eating it, but it's definitely not a normal part of my diet. I don't like soda which is good, but I also don't like most fruits or veggies. Yeah I gotta work on my food pickiness! Im hoping as I get older more healthy foods like salad and fish will appeal to me.

 

[coachmolly]

I need to eat on a pretty regular schedule to avoid getting shaky and distracted, so I typically eat 3 meals a day with snacks spaced between. I love breakfast foods and usually wake up hungry, so I typically have either oatmeal or some type of eggs and fruit, depending on what I have in the house. Mid-morning I'll have an apple, banana, some almonds, a granola bar, trail mix- just something to give me enough of a boost to get to lunch. Lunch is usually leftovers from the night before or whatever I managed to throw together in the morning- either a sandwich on whole wheat bread or whole wheat crackers with veggies and dip, fruit, and a small treat. Mid-afternoon I'll have another snack- celery with peanut butter, rice puffs with peanut or almond butter, pretty similar to the morning snack. Then for dinner I'll have whatever I've decided to fix or more leftovers if I'm too exhausted to cook. I love to cook and try really hard to use healthy recipes with a good balance of food groups. I don't watch calories as much as I consider ingredients and moderation.
I love to bake, so it's pretty common to have some type of treat in the house for after dinner, but usually nothing that's too bad for you and again, in moderation. I have a huge sweet tooth, especially for ice cream and chocolate, so I try to keep those things in check and balance them out with lots of veggies and small portions. I also try to make some of my favorite baked goods a little less bad for you by using whole wheat flour, reducing butter, or other small steps that work with the recipe. Not a huge improvement, but a little bit doesn't hurt.

 

[stargazer]

Thanks for all the input everyone!!

I definitely have the same eating schedule as most of you - I like to graze when I can. Have class at weird times makes it difficult to snack (everyone can hear you chewing in a lecture so I try not to each during class), even though I definitely prefer snacking to 3 big meals a day. Anyone else have a hard time getting their veggies in every day? I tend to gravitate towards fruit or grains, not vegetables. Though I'm starting to like V8 juice more so I've been drinking that to help get all my veggies.

Thank goodness lots of kids came to my house this year and finished off all the candy! I was eating waaaay too many of those mini-chocolate bars

 

[bogwoppit]

Thanks for all the input everyone!!

I Anyone else have a hard time getting their veggies in every day? I tend to gravitate towards fruit or grains, not vegetables. Though I'm starting to like V8 juice more so I've been drinking that to help get all my veggies.

My DD just had braces put on and is feeling challenged this way. I found these at the local loblaws. You might like them.

PC Blue Menu 3 Servings Fruit & Vegetables- Blueberry, Beet & Concord Grape - PC - Products

There are three flavours and they come in a pack of 4 for $3. So not cheap, but handy for packed lunches etc. I wish they came in a bigger bottle. But I like that there is no added sugar or anything else.

I like V-Go, but I like it warm, hubby says that makes him gag. I also make soups with veggies, cheap and good with wholegrain bread. I find it easier to eat vegs than fruit, but I really love having someone else prepare the food, makes it taste so much better!!

 

[txgymfan]

Stargazer, I'm with you. I could live on fruit, cheese and carbs. Veggies are easier to eat if I make a pot of soup, stew or chilli. If they are covered tomato sauce and or cheese then I like veggies much better.

 

[gymgurl]

Also thought i would add that school work is a big factor on my diet. If i have way to much and become stressed i start eating unhealthy quick food (but not fast food.ever.) if i don't have enough I graze and over eat that way but if i have a lot but am not stress i will generally forget to eat and find that some days i go from breakfast to dinner without eating because i have been so busy (n.b. this doesn't happen frequently) gym days are believe it or not my low food days as i feel sick if i eat before gym

 

[coachmolly]

I find it easier to eat vegs than fruit, but I really love having someone else prepare the food, makes it taste so much better!!

That's my favorite way to eat veggies!
I also make big pots of soup full of veggies, add veggies to omelets, and throw zucchini/squash into spaghetti sauce to get an extra serving. Growing up my mom always threw veggies into those things, so it's kind of second nature for me. I also like veggies raw, it's just a pain to get them cut up and ready to eat when I'm in a hurry. So when I have a few extra minutes I make a point to cut up veggies for lunch or a snack later on. And V-8 is good for those times I don't have time to prepare veggies.

 

[marie83]

I have a funny appetite. Sometimes I am hungry all the time and nothing seems to fill me up, other days i don't get hungry at all!
Generally I have set meals with the odd snack:

Breakfast if I have it will be either a small bowl of cereal or 2 pieces of toast. This is usually at 9am - cant eat before then!
Nothing until lunch at 1ish - usually a sandwich (2 rounds of brown bread, and whatever filling is in the fridge!)
I start coaching at 4 and tend to get hungry about then, so I usually have a biscuit or 2 or an oaty bar.
Usually have dinner at 8.30 ish when I get home. We try to have a really good home cooked meal - meat and veg etc, but sometimes it is pizza or something equally quick and easy!
As for junk food, don't tend to have it often. Always McDonald's after a comp though!

On my hungry days I'll eat biscuits, fruit, chocolate, crisps, yoghurts etc all day! Luckily they don't happen very often!

 

[staceyb]

I have wholemeal toast first thing in a morning, I'm up at 5:30 and leave the house at 6:30 so I can't eat too much, it's just too early.

Then I have an apple and some porridge for breakfast at 10am.

Lunch is normally a tuna or chicken salad (with cucumber, scallions, raw carrot, peppers, beansprouts and sugar-snap peas mixed in with salad leaves, and I don't normally have a dressing on I prefer the taste of the veggies and salad) and a yoghurt and a clementine or satsuma.

Dinner is whatever ranging from roasts to stews (especially now it is starting to get cold) or pasta or stirfrys.

The thing in our house is that nothing is forbidden, I eat what I like when I want to eat it, and at weekends we will normally get a Thai/Chinese/Indian takeaway.

One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of "American" snacks are pre-packed and thats something I hate. The amount of salt and sugar in pre-packed snacks even so called "healthy snacks" is unreal.

 

[coachmolly]

One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of "American" snacks are pre-packed and thats something I hate. The amount of salt and sugar in pre-packed snacks even so called "healthy snacks" is unreal.

It really is. I hardly eat any packaged foods and if I do I scour the ingredients carefully, I tend to say no to more packaged goods than yes. I've found that Kashi has a brand of whole wheat crackers- similar to Triscuts- that have pretty decent ingredients and I will splurge on every once in a while if they are cheap enough at the store. But mostly I try to make my own snacks- granola, granola bars, fruits and veggies, add fruit or granola to yogurt. And if I want cookies or something sweet I'll make those myself so I can control what's being put into it. If there is a packaged snack that I REALLY want, I have to avoid looking at the ingredients so I can still enjoy it.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I'm a grazer...yogurt & eggs for breakfast (and coffee. But coffee without protein just sets up an awful day), then some cereal, fruit, power cookies, nuts, whatever sprinkled throughout school & work, & then sometimes a 'real' dinner but sometimes not.

I do like my dessert type foods. Power cookies kind of fill that role thought-they're a healthy energy bar type thing cleverly disguised as a delicious treat--applesauce & peanut butter & oatmeal & a fruit of some description, but cookie shaped.

 

[flipper's fan]

I'm happy that I've outgrown cookies, cakes, and ice cream. All of those make me very unhappy. I rarely snack and if I do it's usually cheese and fruit with bread or crackers, and usually in place of lunch. I refuse to buy almost anything with trans fats or high fructose corn syrup, but I don't prevent dd from having those things at her own expense or with her friends. I don't eat any fast food, dd likes Chipotle which is all healthy and natural. We're big protein lovers, dno't eat as many vegetables as we should because out of three people in the family we all like different ones and rarely agree.

Guilty pleasures- candy ( milk duds, spree, charleston chews) and since bog mentioned it, poutine is my favorite apres ski snack but since I can only get it in Canada, I don't have it very often.

 

[bogwoppit]

poutine is my favorite apres ski snack but since I can only get it in Canada, I don't have it very often.

Next time you are planning on poutine drop me a line, I practically live on the slopes.

 

[GymSurvivor]

I tend to skip breakfast or have a frozen waffle or cereal for breakfast. This is a bad habit, but I don't like eggs at all. And something like sausage takes to long to make and my Mom is not a fan of frozen sausage (The kind you just need to warm up).
For lunch I homeschool so I usually get a pretty full and healthy lunch, such as a sandwich and salad or tomato soup or something like that.
Then every night around 5 or 6 my family all eats together, my Mom usually cooks but sometimes it's my brother, dad or I or sometimes a combination of the 4 haha. That meal is a full meal with all the food groups...most of the time. My Mom is big on health, we buy mostly organic and locally grown, including our meats.
I have a big sweet tooth though and anything sweet around the house I have a hard time stopping myself from eating. We don't usually have sweets around, my little brother and sister have a sugar intolerance (like an allergy but different..effects the brain, they can't think rationally if they have sugar) But with halloween....it's hard haha.

We don't have soda in our house ever...even for parties we get out the lemonade mix and iced tea and water. When we go out it's water for everyone (saves quite a bit of money!!) And that's okay with me as I don't really like soda much.
Fast food is reserved for when we're in a time crunch or on the road and don't have time to stop for a long time.
With my Mom it's often subway or taco bell for bean burritos or chipotle, with my Dad it's whatever haha. But like I said only for certain times.