Naturally Ella

The battle against crappy food

// 22 Comments

When it comes to eating at home, M and I are far from perfect.

There was a time I was really careful with what I ate.  I also wasn’t that great of a cook so my eating habits were similar to that of a bird.  Then, when I met M three years ago, I started to go back to my poor eating habits because we were constantly going out to eat  (and I under-estimated how much men eat…)

Being in a relationship and keeping up eating habits is hard.  It takes some hard-core will power (which I sometimes don’t have.)

There are times when we either have had a crappy day or we are feeling just plain lazy.  The problem?  Living in rural America offers little for eating out.  We have about five restaurants we frequent and all of them are bad for us.  There’s not a single healthy dinner in sight.

Not only are we spending copious amounts of money but we are consuming more calories than either of a care to speculate.

So, we decided to stop.  I gave up eating out, drinking alcohol (I was consuming too many empty calories), and took up going to the gym while M gave up eating out, drinking soda, and took up walking the dog more.  We both have things that we still want to change (me with sugar, M with cigarettes) but we feel good about taking a step towards eating better AND saving money.

Of course today is only day two and we are realizing how really hard it is to break bad habits.  I had a bad day yesterday and all I wanted to do was go buy a bottle of wine and this morning all M wanted was some soda.

But, we made it through day one and are off on day two.  If anyone has suggestions about how to eat more at home or incentivize eating at home, I’d love to hear them!

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  • http://themartinblog.com Stephanie

    After buying our house, my husband and I started cooking at home a hell of a lot more than we did when we lived in an apartment. Still, we go out to eat about once a week as a “treat” and a “free day.” Most times we try to stick with something at least fairly healthy, but these days it’s almost impossible to guarantee that what you think is healthy while eating out actually IS healthy.

    Good for you for completely giving up eating out — I don’t know that I could do it. I hope it works out for you, and if nothing else, makes you feel better about yourself and what you’re putting in your body.

    • erin

      Thank you! I doubt we will give it up completely but I’m really hoping to cut back on the amount we do!

  • kathy

    We used to eat out at ‘junk’ food restaurants about once a week. Now we only eat out about twice a year at a good restaurant. You have to make the change slowly, if you are really having a craving, go for it! For me, now just the thought of a greasy hamburger makes my stomach do a flip flop. Another thing that helped us make the change was some of the stories in the news about restaurant kitchens. I used to work at a restaurant and I know what goes on behind the closed door to the kitchen. When I cook at home, I am in control of what goes into my food.

    • erin

      I got to that point of where junk food and eating out made me sick to my stomach and it slowly crept its’ way back into my life! We eat out 3-4 times a week and I’m hoping to get down to 1-2 a month (and then hopefully even less!)

  • Tanya

    You’ll burn yourself out if you say you’re never going to eat out. I give myself one meal a week out – usually it’s lunch with co-workers. I’ve just joined a book club so now it will alternate lunch one week, book club dinner the next. It’s hard. One thing I like to do is cook double of certain foods like lasagna or shepherads pie – stuff that freezes easy. That way when I have an off day and I just don’t want to cook I can pop something from the freezer into the oven and have a nice dinner with little to no work.

    Also make a list of the foods you like to eat out. Making the same foods at home that you eat out will save you money, save you calories and still give you what you crave. My sister posted this chicken nugget recipe. It’s super healthy and tastes amazing! http://raegunwear.blogspot.com/2011/02/guest-post-chicken-and-veggie-nugget.html Anyways hope that gives you some ideas. I really need to give up soda but my addiction is winning right now. #sigh

    • erin

      I agree. Whenever we travel back home (which is only 45 min away) we always go to this great cafe. I don’t mind eating there at all (and probably will never totally give up on eating out!)

      I also agree with the freezing idea! I’m actually in the process of cooking rice/beans up and freezing them for future use!

  • http://mylittlecelebration.com dana @ my little celebration

    Good question as my husband and I are trying to do the same thing. We actually just had a conversation last night about how our eating habits can change so easily when long days at work and traveling leave us wanting quick, no effort meals which usually means fast food.

    But some of the solutions I’ve thought of include 1) Eating less meat, and you can check out yesiwantcake.com for that b/c she and her husband are doing a meatless month in June 2) Eating as much produce as possible, via salads, smoothies and grilled veggies 3) Subbing healthier items for heavy ones, like ground turkey for beef, avocado for cheese and cream in sauces 4) Trying not to eat late, and 5) cutting back on sweets.

    These tricks have always worked for me when I find myself either a little sluggish or in a junky food rut. Hope they help!

    • erin

      Thanks! We already eat primarily vegetarian with a few chicken dishes thrown in but I have such a hard problem with not eating late and cutting back on the sweets! When I did actually loose weight, I would “close” the kitchen at seven. It worked so well- it’s just getting motivated to do that again (and motivate someone else!!!)

  • http://www.kelseywurtz.com/blog Kelsey

    I recently started a sugar free, carb free, and basically alcohol free diet about 5 weeks ago (I know, insane) but once you get through the first week or so your body starts to forget it’s sugar addiction.

    What helped is that I eat a lot of apples & strawberries. Now instead of craving sugar or soda I want apples w/ peanut butter or a strawberry protein shake. Or I made my own popcicles with sugar free jello pudding and greek yogurt. I’m also still addicted to caffiene so I had to switch to black coffee and green tea instead of Coke.

    It DOES take an insane amount of will power though and sometimes I still wonder where it’s coming from. And it was a huge change for me to put so much time and effort into preparing and planning my meals but now it’s just part of my daily routine.

    My main point was going to be that in the past few months I lost the 20 pounds I put on over the last 4 years of my relationship so I know what you mean.

  • http://arcticgardenstudio.blogspot.com Nicole

    My advice is to have simple meals ready to go at home. If it is actually easier to eat at home than it is to run into town and get something out, I find I will choose to eat at home. Some simple ideas are quesadillas, soba noodles, and pre-made meals that you just need to heat up. Summer is great because you can do a lot of grilling which is pretty easy.

    Don’t worry so much about eating healthy at home, more about creating the habit of eating at home. Once you get in the habit then make steps towards healthier meals.

    I used to eat out at least once a day, now I actually don’t enjoy it at all and avoid it. I hate the waiting for a table, and then eating crappy unhealthy food. There are very few places here that make better than what I can cook at home. The only time I eat out now is on vacation in places where I can splurge and get a good meal.

  • http://carascravings.blogspot.com Cara

    Do you plan your meals for the week in advance? I find that’s the best way to make sure we enjoy healthy, creative meals at home and don’t resort to take-out or just throwing something together. It also means that we are buying the right groceries, in the right amounts for the meals, so I really need to stick to the plan, or I’m screwed!

    We eat out about once a week, sometimes twice. I wouldn’t say we go to “junk food” places, but at the same time, I don’t go out of my way to make healthy choices. I order what I want, and eat as much of it as I want to, because I know that my eating well the rest of the time and getting plenty of exercise allows me to do that.

    • erin

      I try to plan out my meals but with the csa, I usually have to wait and see what produce I get and go from there.

      I think if we could cut back to once or twice a week (and I could get my butt to the gym) I wouldn’t feel so bad!!!

  • http://www.bananasforbourbon.blogspot.com Julie (Bananas for Bourbon)

    When I’m deciding where or whether to eat out, I decide what to eat before I go. Log onto their website, pull up their menu. If they have nutrition info, that will scare me away from a lot of places (haven’t been to Chilis since I found out my healthy salad choice was 1200 calories!). When I eat a meal, I try to balance and proportion my food groups (before the myplate stuff!), with half veggies, and the rest split between protein and carbs. So when I look at a menu and decide what to eat, I really try to stick to that balance. Is there anything on the menu that would let me get enough veggies? If yes, then I ask if it’s something I would actually enjoy eating. Why go out to eat a wilted salad that is so run of the mill I’m actually offended by the restaurants lack of trying? When I could eat something healthy and delicious at home that won’t leave me feeling guilty and pissed off. Sometimes I’m surprised and a big chain will still have a side of veggies you can order. A side of broccoli + 1/2 a non-fried entree = not too bad! But really, just looking at a menu online before I go sometimes completely disuades me from going out.

  • K

    You know, one thing that has really been a huge boost to our wallets and relationship is having a monthly date night. Each month, we have one really nice meal out – dessert, apps, wine (if desired). We pop on some jazz, put on some special outfits, have a little sip of something special and then go for a gorgeous dinner, often followed by a really leisurely cappuccino or coffee and dessert at a nice cafe. This ritual is so special to us and every time we even think about eating out when we don’t need to, we just remind ourselves of date night. Of course, we love to explore little cafes and restaurants while we travel or sometimes on a lovely weekend, but we spend so much money on great ingredients/high quality food at home, that we can’t justify the extra expense. My biggest tip is to have a wish list of recipes and just to plan around them. That way, you always have at least a few meals a week that you are excited about! We also cook up a big pot of some grain (quinoa, brown rice, etc) and have poached, shredded chicken, fish or something else on hand so that we can throw together tasty meals. You are doing great! If you can do it once, you can do it again!

    • erin

      I love the idea of having a date night- that sounds absolutely perfect!

  • Meg

    hey :)

    richie and i hae found that we hae to keep lots of healthy and ready-to-eat food in the house – fruit, protein bars, and lots of leftovers, plus lean pockets and lean cuisines in the freezer just in case. We also buy the cheap bulk eggs at the store (60 eggs for 4 bucks) and hard boil like 20 of them right away for healthy snacks and egg salad.

    I cook on the weekend and make 4-5 servings then put together individual meals in tupperware for richie to take to work or for me to have for dinner at home after school.

    I feel like if you know all day what you’re going to eat when you get home it helps. Of course it also helps if you know you’ve cooked yummy food and it’s just waiting for you!

  • http://maryinmarriedland.blogspot.com Mary

    My husband and I love your food!

    My advice would be to completely clean out your pantry and rid the entire house of junk. Don’t buy it. We recently did this. Like ripping off a bandaid.

    Honestly from my experience, it’s better not to set yourself up for failure. Some people do really well giving themselves a “break” day each week, but even that takes discipline and can throw the whole week off. You know yourself best through.

    It’s not about eating perfectly. It’s about eating whole foods in the right amounts. Then you get quality nutrition that allows you to feel whole and feel good both inside and out.

    I also totally agree with all of Meg’s comments above me. It really helps to plan out meals, buy in bulk, use coupons, shop the farmer’s market, and KNOW what you will eat after work. That’s our biggest challenge!

  • http://www.pinchofyum.com Lindsay @ PinchofYum

    I felt the same thing when Bjork and I first got married. Heck, I still feel that way. It’s really hard to keep up your good eating habits when your guy can (and does) eat junk food, or twice the amount of food, that you usually are eating! We try to set rewards for ourselves for goals we have, like going out once in a while for a goal being met, or maybe a little weekend getaway… Good luck to you guys!

  • http://cookieandkate.com Cookie and Kate

    Based on all your incredible healthy recipes, I have a hard time believing that you eat fast food often! I’ve gotten into the habit of freezing leftovers, especially baked goods like pancakes, banana bread and pizza dough. It makes me feel like my grandma, but since I always bake with whole grains, I just have to reach into my freezer for a relatively healthy treat.

    I also make big batches of grains and vegetable dishes, and keep them in separate bowls in the fridge. That way I can combine them in different ways (one day beans and rice, then a bean burrito, pasta with vegetables, scrambled eggs with vegetables, etc.). Otherwise I would get bored eating the same dishes in a row.

    I’m also a stickler for eating a good breakfast. I gave up processed cereal (Kashi, but still processed) a couple of months ago and switched to oatmeal as my go-to breakfast. You can mix it with about a million things; I still get excited about it in the morning.

    Last but not least, one of the main reasons I rarely eat out is because I’m cheap! I refuse to spend money on food that doesn’t meet my quality standards and makes me feel lousy afterward. Over the past few years, I’ve learned to seek out food that makes me feel good afterward, which makes fast/greasy food seem much less appealing.

    Hope that helps,

    Kate

  • http://cookieandkate.com Cookie and Kate

    But p.s. I’m not giving up alcohol any time soon. ;)

  • Pam

    I agree with Cara. I made up 4 different weekly menus and put them on index cards. On the back of each card I listed all the ingredients I would need to make those meals. When it was time to shop for the week I just threw the card in my purse and was off to the store. I always left one day a week for leftovers or to go out. We tend to eat out spontaneously and that way we didn’t waste as much food. This was especially helpful when I worked full time or my guy did the shopping. It also keeps you from picking up something that is oh so bad for you. Now we live in a big city with lots of healthy options and I have stopped using the cards. I still have them though and often think I should go back to using them.

  • Jessica

    My advice (we just started this too) is similar to what has been said. We allow ourselves one free day. We do not go crazy and eat a bunch of crap, because then we feel like crap. But my husband, like yours, LOVES soda. So he will have one a week on (or off) the ‘free’ day. I also made a snack box with pre-portioned grab and go snacks. The little baggies have measured out to one single portion of nuts, jerky, dried fruit, cheese crackers, etc. We also have granola bars, etc. in there as well. We have a 2 year old and we are really wanting to teach him (and re-teach ourselves) a good understanding of portion control and moderation in everything. :) That’s our diet – moderation. A cookie now and then is ok, but only now and then. (and homemade with whole wheat flour and applesauce….I went to culinary school, so most things in our house are made from scratch).