Food Friday: Foods That Power Me Through the Week

It's FRIDAY which means it's FOOD DAY which means I'm going to talk about my favorite topic in the world: FOOD.  I wholeheartedly love food and plan my days around food, my meals, and my snacks.  I’m a creature of habit. I like to get up at the same time each day, leave for work around the same time each day, work out each day, and generally stick to my same routines each day and each week. This also includes eating very similar or the same food almost every day when I can help it. I know my routine is about to get shaken up because of travel season, but for now, these are the foods I try to eat every day.Whole wheat toast & peanut butter.  Starting my day with a great combination of fiber and protein really helps me out. I’ve slowly cut out milk, yogurt, and cheese (for the most part) and have found that I miss it but not as much as I thought I would, and I’m able to get my protein from nuts and feel so much better.Avocados. I LOVE AVOCADOS. I could eat them for every meal of every day. They’ve got good fat, they’re filling, and they’ve got protein going on. All I need for a nice hearty snack is half an avocado and some tortilla chips, and I’m a happy camper. They go great with eggs, on toast, on a salad…I could go on and on. Sometimes when I buy them I feel like I’m buying gold because they can be so expensive but they are just so dang good.Baby spinach. I make myself a salad with baby spinach every day for lunch (or at least most days) and it’s just such a yummy way to get some greens and fill me up. Again with the fiber, and I also find that it’s easier to digest than some other lettuces.Nuts. The best snack I’ve found lately is some plain whole almonds. They’re a little bit sweet, they’re filling, and most of all they’re just delicious.Couscous. Total transparency here: I have no idea what the nutritional value of couscous is. But I know it’s important, at least for me, to have some sort of grain at every meal, and couscous cooks in 5 minutes and is delicious, so on the list it goes.Broccoli. It’s my favorite vegetable and it looks like little trees. What more do I need to say about it?Tea with honey.  There are tons of articles about the benefits of drinking tea out there, and I find it calming and a nice ritual.  I also like to add honey for a bit of natural sweetness.  I try to buy honey that was made within the state or local area because I once read that it helps with allergies, and if you take a spoonful of local honey daily it can help with allergies, so that's another bonus perk.  Honey is also a magical cure for sore throats by the spoonful!There are a few things I don’t eat, or more specifically drink, and I find this helps me feel my best.  This is just a personal choice for me.Coffee/loads of caffeine. Don’t get me wrong – I love the smell of coffee, and I love the taste of it too. But it makes me shake and it makes my stomach hurt, and I find that I get much more energy from a quick run than from caffeine, and that tea helps me perk up just as much without all the side effects.Alcohol. I’ll have it on special occasions (maybe 3-5 times a year), but even then, I only have clear liquors – no wine or beer for me. This is a personal choice because I know that wine and beer give me migraines.  And even when I do imbibe, I do so on a full stomach and brace myself for a headache the next day.Excuse me while I finish my peanut butter toast and head off to conquer the day!