When I shared the latest about my Grain Free Journey several asked, “Can you tell us more about what you eat?”
To answer the question, I started taking pictures every time I got myself some food. Here’s what I learned:
I eat approximately every two hours. If I don’t, I get fussy. I’m like a newborn. If only I got to nap after every feeding.
Why I eat frequently:
I can’t eat big quantities anymore, which means I get hungry more often. Also, I’m not filling up on empty calories, so it seems I need worthy calories quite frequently. I’m trying to listen to my body and give it what it’s asking for!
As mentioned here, I’ve been given the green light to eat grains again. I’m eating them occasionally but not often. When I do eat them, I’m making sure it’s worth it! I mean, I’m not going to waste grain consumption on something silly like crackers or a store-bought hamburger bun. It’s going to be a thin slice of Homemade Bread with butter or well…a Homemade Poptart.
That picture is an example of how much I eat in one sitting. You should know that I savored that fresh-from-the-oven poptart with my cup of coffee that morning as if I was eating a gourmet breakfast. It was amazingness.
Mid-morning, I was hungry so I had a half a sweet pepper and a hunk of cheese. Exciting, huh?
Lunch at noon was a big chef salad with mixed greens, fresh tomato from our garden, leftover grilled chicken, avocado, and Homemade Ranch Dressing.
Sometime later that afternoon I had a bowl of Pineapple Fluff Salad. I forgot to take a picture. :) The rest of the day got away so I didn’t take pictures of my dinner, nor do I remember what I had. Great diary, huh?
The remaining pictures I took sporadically throughout the week to show other meals or snacks I ate. Here, you’ll love this next one. I was feeling sluggish one morning so I decided I might need some extra fat. Therefore, I got myself a little scoop of coconut oil. I kind of like eating it straight and I kind of don’t because eating fat off a spoon is weird. I took a “down the hatch” selfie for your viewing pleasure.
The following pictures are good examples of what I typically do when I feed my family something grainy.
One day I pulled Homemade Corndogs out of the freezer. While they were warming, I fried sweet potatoes and steamed green beans from our garden. Sometimes I just eat the non-grain parts of the meal, but I hadn’t had many grains all day so I splurged and enjoyed a little corndog. It was quite tasty, but I really, really loved the veggies! (I mean, green beans from the garden? It doesn’t get any better than that.)
Now I will show you what has become one of my favorite meals. Instead of eating my much loved Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip with chips, I am loving it stirred into fried zucchini. What an amazing combination!! Matt usually joins me in having this with zucchini while the boys stick with the tortilla chips.
It tastes much better than this picture makes it look.
It’s easy to avoid grains on mornings we make eggs. We almost always make them with cheese because that makes the egg rating immediately go from 4 to 10. If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see that while I served a few leftover Breakfast Cookies and Homemade Poptarts to the boys with our eggs, I also cut the tops off the leftover Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. I’d made the mistake of leaving them on the counter for one day too long and they got moldy on top. No problem. I just cut off the tops and served them. You can probably guess that those were not the favorite choice of the morning.
Last I will show you a boring picture of what I ate the day I served a Build Your Own Burrito Bar. I was not in the mood for cheese or anything fancy, so while Matt and the boys loaded tortillas with Salsa Chicken, olives, rice, cheese, salsa, sour cream, greens, and tomatoes – I ate greens with chicken. It tasted great and was all I needed for the moment.
Then of course two hours later I needed a snack. Surprise, surprise. :)
Care to share some of the meals and snacks you eat throughout the day? How often do you find yourself needing to eat?
Carol says
Every 2 hours is the eating schedule I prefer, too. (smile). My favorite snack/meal this month is sliced fresh peaches with cream. Mmmm.
Laura says
Oh my…peaches with cream!! The best!
Yeresa says
Have u seen this? You might benefit from soaking ur grains when u do eat them!
http://nourishingtraditions.com/feeling-tired-time/
Laura says
I used to soak everything. Then I quit because we didn’t like most of the baked goods that away. That and life got busier and I ran out of time. :)
Molly says
Well, this morning I had a blueberry bagel with butter for breakfast. Usually I have rolled outs, milk, banana, and peanut butter. And, of course, coffee with milk.
And I have been wanting salads all the time lately. It’s summer, that’s what I want to eat! It switches to soup and beans in the winter. So on my salad, I have tomatoes, bell pepper, feta, pickled onions, sunflower seeds, chickpeas/cannellini beans, and peanut dressing. YUM.
Laura says
I’m that way with salads in the summer too (and soup in the winter). What is this peanut dressing you speak of?!
Molly says
I get it at Trader Joe’s – it’s a thai peanut dressing – “Trader Joe’s Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinagrette”. It’s in the refrigerated section with the salad greens. Great on rice noodles to make homemade pad thai, great on salad (probably my favorite salad dressing at the moment – sometimes we do homemade, but this stuff is so good), great on tofu, great on salad-y burrito wraps. Delicious. A staple at my house.
Jill says
I had gestational diabetes with my two pregnancies and following the diabetes way of eating really taught me that I need to snack between meals. (I was raised not to). I learned how to listen to my body and spot when my glucose levels are slipping. I also learned that I must have a protein source in all meals and snacks to keep myself regular.
Growing up, we did snack before bed. I know, having had the diabetes, that this is BAD for me because it spikes my glucose level right when I”m going to sleep (inactivity). But boy, is that a tough habit to break. I’m working on it.
Laura says
It’s so interesting isn’t it, when we learn how to control our glucose levels, or at least to recognize when something is off and that we need to do something about it!
I’m trying to figure out my snacking at night, because while I know it’s best not to snack before bed, if I go to bed hungry I don’t sleep very well. Trying to find a balance on that one. :)
Melinda Johnson says
Hi Laura been following your blog for years> thanks for sharing your not perfect food diary> ive been on a similar journey lately too> great idea on frying the sweet potatoes! i’ll have to try that! thanks!
Laura says
YES!! Fry yourself a sweet potato! My whole family loves them (yay!) and I love that they offer such good nourishment along with the healthy fats we get when they are fried. :)
K Ann Guinn says
Really interesting. Thanks for continuing to share your “real” food journey with us. I’m intrigued by the fried sweet potatoes. We don’t eat them enough and I would like more simple ideas like this. I’m also relieved to know that I’m not the only one who leaves out baked goods too long in the summer and they grow mold…..but even more, that I’m not the only one who often “trims” off the mold, and we just keep on going. Thanks for some good snack ideas, too. :)
Laura says
I definitely love that fried sweet potatoes are such an easy way to add nourishment and deliciousness to our meal! Actually, once I made one as a snack before bed because I was really hungry and wanted something salty and satisfying! :)
Angela says
Between child 2 and 3 I ate every 3-4 hours and lost 50 pounds but life happened and I quit. Now finding my way back to eating that often helps. Bedtime snack Peanut butter and graham crackers were my favorite. What would be a good no grain version of this ? just peanut butter?
Laura says
Ha! Yes probably boring ol’ peanut butter without the cracker. But at least I love homemade peanut butter!
JS says
Peanut butter and apple-staple!
Karen Dee Davidson says
I have been loving these all summer. It really cools you down and so delicious.cut a banana into 16 – 18 slices. Top with a glob of plain Greek yogurt mixed with PB 2 or PB Fit. Maybe add a tsp cocoa powder. Stevia or preferred sweetener to taste. Top each with 2 or 3 SS mini chocolate chips. Freeze.
Jessica says
I’m pregnant at the moment so right now my eating schedule is not what it usually is, lol :) We have been following the Gracie Diet (more a lifestyle and a way of combining foods than anything) but have veered off for a while due to life. We are working on getting back to eating that way since we felt SO good while doing it (lots of energy, we don’t get much sleep since we have five young children so this says a lot!, weight loss without trying, feeling good overall, etc.) My favorite snack at the moment is Wasa bread crackers (the hearty kind) with cream cheese! I have been having an issue with dairy this pregnancy (#6!) so it has been nice to still eat some!! (I LOVE my dairy, lol) Thank you for sharing your journey, I have been reading with interest and am definitely going to look into this more when my pregnancy cravings are over :)
Megan says
I have always had trouble with feeling hangry every few hours until I switched to eating paleo (I hate that label but it’s the most accurate description). I can go 5 hrs between meals and still function! It’s quite awesome! My meals are large but packed full of delicious veggies. I truly don’t miss the grains and only occasionally want dairy.