Healthy food

I am loving healthy food. I find that the key to me loving it rather than dreading it is sticking to things I like. I hate cauliflower, so forcing myself to eat it for its nutritional value is going to work...oh about 1 time. Then I would probably rebel against the cauliflower by eating a burger, which creates the complete opposite effect, and then some. Instead of worrying too much about the healthy foods I don't eat but probably should, I'm just focusing on making sure I do get to eat the ones I enjoy.

I had a conversation over lunch yesterday with regards to other veggies I could try. Growing up, I always hated veggies. I would eat cooked spinach willingly (not creamed, but with a bit of butter), and I would eat broccoli if it was smothered in cheese. Sometimes I could be convinced to eat a carrot or celery stick if I could dip it in some Ranch dressing. Today it's much the same story. Here are the veggies I've always loved (that my mom always told me had next to no nutritional value, which must have been why I loved them):

• Cucumber
• Mushroom
• Red and green bell pepper
• Corn
• Lettuce (any kind as long as it's not bitter)
• Avocado
• Green and black olive
• Potato (any kind)
• Artichoke
• Zucchini
• Sugar-snap peas
• Chinese peas
  

Ok, so some of those I'm not sure if they actually count as a "veggie", like the olives and avocado. And I know a potato is a tuber, but hey it;s in the produce section which is mostly how I came up with this list.

I recently discovered that I simply love asparagus. I thought for years that it was disgusting (I think I had it once a long time ago and never again, or I might not have even had it - might have just had green beans). Because of that, I'm wondering if there are other veggies that I think I hate that I might actually like (or even love). I'm still kinda meh about spinach and broccoli. I only eat carrot if it's in a soup (and preferably thoroughly soaked with chicken stock). I do like celery, but it's not a favorite and it is rather boring on its own (again I would prefer it in a soup).

Of all of these mentioned, the ones that I know have good nutritional value (assuming they're properly prepared) are:

• Asparagus
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Carrot

So...I pretty much only like 1 that I know is actually doing something for me besides filling me up or making me proud of my produce good eats. It seems that I mostly like the "water-filled" veggies (cucumber, bell peppers, zucchini, etc). I guess maybe I just don't have a taste for the "good stuff".

That being said, I have been craving a salad for a week now. I absolutely hate buying salad ingredients at the market - I buy enough to last for say, 5 salads, and it goes bad after I've made only 2 (usually about 2 days tops). I do not want to go to the market every 2 days just to have salad on hand. Finally I gave in and got salad ingredients last night. But I prepared them Good Eats-style (Alton Brown shows how to best store your lettuce, mushrooms, and other stuff to maximize shelf life), so we'll see how that goes.

My salad was amazing!! Here is what I put in it:

1. Romaine lettuce
2. Half a tomato, cut into eighths
3. Baby Portabella mushrooms (oh yeah!)
4. Pepperoncini
5. Cheddar cheese
6. Monterey jack cheese
7. Sliced almonds
8. Crushed lime-flavored tortilla chips
9. Balsamic vinaigrette dressing, just enough to coat (tossed according to Good Eats)

In total it was 265 calories for all of that. Not bad considering I got 2 kinds of cheese, almonds, and chips! Albeit those were all in small portions - very small (and the cheese was reduced fat). But still, I got to enjoy them, and they do have some good properties - well not the chips, those were there just to add lime flavor and crunch to the salad instead of croutons (I only used 2 chips).

I paired that with 1/4 cup of herb chicken flavored couscous (which was AMAZING). I was unbelievably full by the end, all for just 313 calories (I target 300 cals every meal for 6 meals). And the best part was how great it all tasted. I can't wait to have another salad and couscous (which I brought for lunch! Yes!).

I also FINALLY got to the gym last night! My "home gym" (I belong to 24 Hour Fitness so I can go to any of them) had been remodeling for the last month, and it is done now so we went there to check it out. It was awesome! They got all-new equipment, some of which was really cool! They had a whole new line of weight training machines, which are designed to move the seat (usually tossed you backwards or forwards) while you do your exercise (well it moves you in conjunction with your exercise - for example, as you raise your legs, the sit dips backwards). I'm sure it has exercise reasons for doing this, but to me it was like getting to go on an amusement park ride at the same time as weight lifting, which made it that much cooler. They have all new, big LCD TV's - I could actually read the subtitles and enjoy the show for once! It felt more like a hangout spot than "the dreaded gym" - there were tons of people there, including families with their children. Everyone seemed to be having a good time - and this place looked fantastic. Definitely worth my $29/year fee. I am looking forward to coming back to this one tonight!