Eat Right Challenge at Whole Foods @wfmkahului Changin’ my lifestyle one salad at a time

March 8, 2011
Maui Food Retail, Maui Foodie Events, Maui Restaurant Reviews
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Mushroom Kale and Spinach Ragout

When I started this challenge a week ago I began with excuses and outs. Not that I wasn’t going in wholeheartedly, but I just thought this was going to be so hard, I might not really snap into shape so quickly.

I also thought I already ate a lot of vegetables, because I fix them with every meal. After signing on at Eat Right America and filling out their lengthy survey I found my meal plan and outlook was not in line with a healthy eating. That was an eye opener. Their analysis is in depth, they want to know how much of what you eat in all kinds of categories, but after I completed it and read the results I realized I did want to change my trajectory and stop making excuses. The Eat Right Nutrition Perscription report can be a slap in the face, a good one.

My triple threat salad: Kula hydroponic greens, coleslaw, tomato cucumber salad, side of corn and succotash

I made a bean salad: tomato, cucumber, scallion, garlic, avo and white beans

Kale Salad

Tofu Salad Peanut Dressing

Cooking and preparing lots of vegetable dishes on the weekend have been a key to my success. I want variation. I wont eat sliced tomato for breakfast lunch and dinner. For the first few days Whole Foods Market, Alive and Well, and Down to Earth came to my rescue. I bought a slew of various salads, and them mixed them on one plate at home. But that was a road to disaster, its too expensive and takes too much time to head out to a store everytime I wanted to eat.

Beet Salad from Whole Foods Market

Salad Bar at Whole Foods Market

So the weekend came and I cut and washed and prepped all kinds of veggies for the week. I made a mushroom kale ragout, a beet salad, a tomato salad, a kabocha salad and several dressings to eat with them.

Some of these photos also exemplify the times when I successfully found Eat Right friendly items on the menu. This weekend I went to the movies and ate at Genki Sushi, but no problem, did not miss a step on the Eat Right Challenge. The discipline aspect of eating a new way is sometimes difficult. You go through moments of craving something heavier, or something so tame as a buttered piece of french bread and you go and pick up a piece of fruit instead. Sometimes I feel lightheaded. Then I eat a dinner of salad and beans and soup and feel good, but I find I am metabolizing the food quick. I am hungry every 2 hours. Dried fruit and nuts are kept close. Its all you can eat so if you are hungry you eat, just reach for the good stuff.

I noticed today I am two pounds less than when I started. Just an observation.