Thinner Peace

A Healthy Eating System

MY STORY

Eating Healthy has always driven me crazy….

Figuring out how to eat healthy and stay “on the wagon” has been very difficult for me to achieve with my busy life. 

I grew up in a healthy family but back then, the health craze had not

yet occurred…

After I left home and went to college then my eating habits lets say were not

stellar even though it was not like I went to McDonalds…it just could have

been healthier if you know what I mean.  These mediocre eating habits

continued from my 20s and into my 40s, meanwhile I always had “food guilt” about

not putting “the best” food in my body.  Guilt of any type is not good for the soul and will literally eat you up inside.

These days, health and wellness is sexy which is great !! It is easier now than ever before to get really healthy food.  Most restaurants even offer

gluten free and non dairy on their menus.  We have come a long way baby!

Yet….as I set out to crack the code on how to continually eat healthy,

It turns out that a few things changed the game for me for the better

This is a “Day in the Life” of me struggling to eat healthy which ended up not usually happening…

MORNING

I would drink coffee in the morning…doesn’t everybody ?

Then I would dive into work and forget to eat…so then I would eat anything

in the fridge which would usually be toast or a muffin.  Both coffee and

bread are not that good for you in the long run.  Coffee is acidic and the body does not react well to an acidic condition.  Bread usually has gluten, that thick gluey goo that is a component of bread.  This gluten contributes to

what has been called a “Wheat Belly” in most people. 

As a side note that I think is worth noting…

When you

get the chance, the book “Wheat Belly” will change how you look at wheat forever.  Just so you know..wheat is in almost all types of food…

it is everywhere!

One fascinating piece of information is that in the 1950s, there were 2 types of wheat.  One type was tall and thin, this wheat was ideal but it would blow over in the wind and ruin crops. The other type of wheat, was short and stout, not ideal but it would not blow over in the wind.  The American farmers started creating a hybrid of these 2 types of wheat to solve the problem of the tall thin wheat from blowing over.  Problem is…no one bothered to check if this new type of wheat was digestible to humans.  Turns out..it is not !! This new genetically engineered wheat is one of the reasons that Americans suffer from obesity.  European bread does not use this wheat…this is why the Parisians can eat all those baguettes and still look

Fabulous.

Back to a “Day in the Life” of how I used to eat!!

AFTERNOON

By around noon, I would have had my second cup of iced coffee to fuel me

through my work.  I worked from home so I would be running errands around this time.  Since I did not have much in the fridge I would push it to

the point that I would get so hungry that I would become desperate for food…here is the problem-any type of food was what I was looking for.

Too many times I would stop at Robertos and get a quick fix which was a

cheese quesadilla (I love cheese!) since it always hit the spot.  I always thought this was ok since I exercised regularly (cycling).  I am not saying I

did this every day but too often.  Sometimes I had decent food in the fridge but my food shopping, prepping and cooking plan was all over the map.

I had no plan !

DINNER

If my husband was home, he usually cooked.  Great cook.  I got lazy.

My mom taught me to cook but I had more important things to do

like getting to the next level in my life so I did not have time to cook.

Looking back now, this is the most important thing you can do for yourself.

I did not know that then.  I know that now.  Yet, I still struggle with taking the time to cook.  For some reason I resist it..even though when I do cook

I love it !! 

If my husband did not end up cooking…sometime I would resort to a

healthy brand of frozen food like Amy’s.  Then I found out years later how

much salt was in frozen dinners-yikes!

Luckily, I have never been that obsessed with sweets so I did not have the “I can’t resist the ice cream in the fridge”  dilemma.  Even though I actually do love vanilla ice cream.

So there you have it…this cycle as I said “drove me crazy” since I knew I

was not eating as healthy as I wanted to but I just did not know how to

create another way of eating.

Until….I finally did.

I spent a couple of years studying healthy food blogs and then I created my own

system to help me eat healthy.  I named my new system “The Karma Kleanse”.

The Karma Kleanse is all plant based, mix and match and based on the

“Buddha Bowl” concept after I was inspired after eating at “Café Gratitude” in Santa Monica years ago.

THE MAIN CONCEPTS THAT HAVE HELPED ME CREATE THIS NEW SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR ME IS

YOU MUST HAVE HEALTHY FOOD IN YOUR FRIDGE !!

I know this might sound obvious but This is the number one thing that will prevent you from eating food that is bad for you when you are out and about and short on time then you will resort to the easiest and often the least healthy option.  When you are really hungry, your body craves unhealthy food.  Take it from someone who knows!

If you are going to have healthy food in your fridge- a system needs to be put in place that makes sure your fridge is stocked.

SET UP YOUR SYSTEM

Create a simple system for eating healthy every day of the week:

CREATE YOUR SHOPPING LIST BASED ON WHAT YOU WANT TO EAT DURING THE WEEK.  USE A SHOPPING APP IF IT WILL HELP YOU STAY ORGANIZED.

BREAKFAST

What can you drink in the morning that is healthier than coffee ?

Here are some ideas: Chai Tea, Green Tea, Matcha Tea

Skip the muffins and toast and opt for a Smoothie ( a smoothie a day keeps the doctor away!)  Add a plant based protein powder and turn your smoothie into a

Meal replacement, you might even end up skipping lunch !

LUNCH

Keep it simple…Soup & Salad

Easy to pack up for the office too

Mason Jars are great for Salad & Soup

DINNER

This is where the Buddha Bowl comes in

My Buddha bowls usually consist of a veggie patty, kale, quinoa

And avocado.  All these items are batch cooked on Sunday and ready to

Go for the week.  The “Karma Kleanse” I created revolves around

An easy mix and match concept so you do not have to even follow any

recipies since everything you batch cooked will go so well together

No matter what the combination which will still give you a different

Meal every night of the week.

SCHEDULE YOUR SHOPPING TRIP

I find that Saturday works well.  I am too tired to do it after a work day. Find the best time and day that will allow you consistently shop on that day every week.

Here are some healthy store recommendations:

Thrive Market (health food online/membership based/great prices)

Whole Foods + Whole Foods Online

Trader Joes

Jimbos

Lazy Acres

Sprouts

CONSIDER GETTING YOUR OWN REFRIGERATOR if you live with a mate that does not eat healthy.  You can even get a small one or just designate half the fridge as your own.  The goal is to be able to visually see your healthy food in the fridge, organized in a way where you do not always have to wonder what you have in the fridge or spend your time hunting around inside the fridge for your food.

MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD SEPARATE FROM YOUR MATE…if your mate is not eating the same type of food as you.  During the week, you eat your food, your mate eats their food.  You can always make special more creative meals on the weekend for each other and share the family meal.  In regards to kids, it is a good idea to start them now eating healthy so if you have kids then just double your batches since they are sure to enjoy what you are eating too.

BATCH COOKING

Sunday is a great day to batch cook for your Buddha bowls.

If you know that you wont have time to cook during the week then go ahead and cook everything ahead of time.  If you do have time to cook and you like food cooked right before serving then all you have to do is prep the food by cutting it up so it will be ready to cook.

Use glass containers to organize the food in your fridge

Glasslockusa makes great containers that are stackable (glasslockusa.com)

take a photo of my food in glasslock containers (get from SB) + Blender

Light a candle, Play your favorite music and make cooking a meditative experience.  Cooking is actually really fun if you can relax enough to realize just how fun it can be…advice from a self professed “non-cooker”…

So there you have it…a system is what saved me !! Now the healthy food thing is no longer a mystery and I am enjoying the

Sense of peace that comes with knowing I am finally……eating really healthy,

Just like I had always wanted !

TO YOUR HEALTH ~Kristin Wallace

”HEALTH IS THE NEW WEALTH”