Eat More Protein
I’ve decided to start a new little feature here at Colourful Palate…Motivational Monday! The concept isn’t exactly earth shattering…I’ll probably be posting some photos, quotes, or new health information that I find inspiring! And hopefully you will too! For me, every Monday is where I try to set goals for the coming week and try to keep myself inspired enough to keep those goals.
So what’s motivating me today? Well, for the last while I’ve really been trying to eat more protein (like this post I did). But I’m such a carb girl. I love whole wheat toast. I love popcorn…I just don’t really gravitate to protein foods and I’m not really a red meat fan, unless it’s organic.
So I have a plan of attack. I’ve decided to give this book a try.
I love Tosca Reno and I collect all her recipe books. All of her recipes are out of this world amazing and they all are super healthy. She just came out with “Stripped” and it really inspired me to be more committed to eating more protein and work out smarter. I won’t be following the plan to the letter, but my main focus will be eating less carbs, more protein, and trying to have one really good workout a day, 5-6 days a week (which I usually do anyway).
For breakfast I had half of this egg white frittata at breakfast. The recipe required you to pick out ¾ – 1 cup of carbs (brown rice, quiona, ect), vegetables, and a lean protein (shrimp, chicken, fish, ect). I added brown rice, spinach, onions, parsley, and shrimp to my egg/egg white base and it was amazing. I would never have thought to put brown rice in a frittata, but I’m sold.
Lunch was a spinach salad with veggies, homemade French dressing, 1 can of tuna, and a whole lot of chickpeas (high in fibre and protein!) and wow…I am full.
For snack I had a handful of fresh strawberries from our garden. I’m not at all hungry for supper and I already skipped two of the snacks recommended from Tosca’s Stripped plan. I’m convinced of the power of protein already. Who knew? Me…not snacking. Incredible.
Today’s workout was this:
And wow…who does 90 crunches in one go? Ridiculous. Or 70 leg lifts? The latter is the worst exercise ever invented…have to say, I cheated on that one and did one leg at time for part of it. To make it more fun though, I did it outdoors in the sunshine. Then I came inside and ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes.
Here are some fun photos of things I want to incorporate more of in my diet…
I typically try to have one fresh lemon squeezed into cold ice-water every day, (especially in the morning), but sometimes I forget. I want to make this more into a habit. Maybe even add some cayenne pepper to it, if I conjure up the courage.
Fruit for snacks…for me, it’s so easy to reach for crackers, cheese, or a piece of whole wheat bread when I’m hungry, but it’s important to eat more raw fruits.
(last four photos via Pinterest)
Nut butters with apples are the perfect couple. I love the idea someone had to put a sprinkle of granola in with the PB and make an apple sandwich out of it! I’ll be trying this soon!
And last but not least…I’m inspired to lift more weights and do my Nike workouts. In the past, I’ve done a ton (I mean, a ton!) of running, which is great, but I notice I feel really good (after the soreness, ha) when I do more strength training workouts.
What’s inspiring you this Monday? What are your health/fitness goals for this week?
Category: Healthy Living, Weight Loss | Tags: egg white frittata recipe, egg white omelet, featured recipes, ideas to make salads more delicious, motivational monday, protein, salads with chickpeas, tosca reno, tosca reno book review of stripped, ways to eat more protein 7 comments »
Awesome! You are totally motivating me at the moment! I’m kind of on the same page as you right now. I especially want to get lemon water in the morning back in my life. I did it for so long and don’t know why I stopped! And more strength training! I know exactly what you mean, I feel so awesome when I do do it(after being sore, haha). And I am definitely a carb girl too and I’ve been trying for quite some time to focus on more fresh fruits and veggies and protein rather than a piece of bread. I love this post :D
I also struggle to eat the recommended amount of protien… I need to try the frittata for breakfast
Wow, it’s great!! It looks delicious!!
I like that photo. It made me smile.
I’m addicted to carbs, too, but I still make sure to get my protein. Those apple sandwiches are a fave for my kids. Yum!
I am such a carb queen, but I know the difference when I don’t throw some protein in there. Really drawn to that little bowl of apples, blueberries, and almonds.
And in that cute apple sandwich…is that a chocolate chip or two peeking out??! My kids would love that! Thanks for the reminder about better (and more balanced) snacking.
Erika K
I think that last picture is so cute! I was looking at the eat clean diet books and was thinking of picking one up, any suggestions?
So glad it’s motivating!!!
Samantha~ I love her books so much! It depends if you want a cookbook chock full of recipes or an “inspiring” health book with a few recipes….for a recipe book check out her 1st cookbook (love ALL her recipes!) and if you want an inspiring health book I would get “The Eat Clean Diet Recharged!” So good.