Embracing Food Flexibility
- October 6, 2017
- Last Updated: February 25, 2020
- 23 Comments
- Favorites
Hi friends,
How was your week? I was going to share a fun post about running and training for shorter vs. longer races, but I’m saving that for Monday! So, I’m left here today sharing some favorites from the week and a little bit about practicing food flexibility.
It feels weird to share about highlights from a week when so many people are suffering. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those in the Vegas area – what a heartless act. I just hope that we can continue to come together and stand against some of the hatred in this country. <3
There’s really no easy way to transition to a normal “day” for blogging.
So, you may have seen on my Instagram stories, but we’re having our cabinets painted. Our whole downstairs has been a mess since we purged the kitchen and put things anywhere we could, but I’m excited for the final product. Hopefully next week I can show a before and after, but this is some progress. Can’t wait to see all white in our kitchen!
But, that being said, we really have no access to our kitchen, fridge, stove, microwave, pantry, etc. I snuck some easy snacks out of the pantry (popcorn, PB, rice cakes, peanuts, bars and made this granola), but other than that, we’ve been eating out for every meal. Not ideal, but we didn’t do a great job planning, and even if we did, there’s not much we can actually do to heat food up.
So, it’s less than ideal, but rather than stress about it, we’re enjoying not having to cook or clean dishes! So, here’s what some meals have looked like.
Sushi with a friend!
A salad and peanut butter, apple and bacon sandwich from Crafty Burger. Ed and I ate lunch outside to escape the paint fumes and enjoy the weather.
Leftover pizza (we were able to heat this up in our toaster oven, which we plugged in in the TV room) 🙂
Breakfast plate at Whole Foods. TIP: If you ever get breakfast there, put your oatmeal in a soup container because you pay a flat fee ($1.99) rather than having it count as weight for your plate. I saved about $3.00 after they told me that.
A burger and irish corn beef and cabbage spring rolls.
I think what this has taught me is that while I’m on board preparing foods and with meal prep, sometimes there are situations you can’t control and you just have to eat out for each meal. We’re trying to be budget friendly and split things, but at the same time, this is temporary and it’s kind of nice to have such a variety of foods to choose from. Rather than looking at this as a stressor (which would just add unnecessary stress to my life), I’m looking at it as a nice change of pace, almost like being on vacation where you are constantly eating out and trying new foods.
What I remind clients in the beginning part of these stages is that this is not forever. When you’re stressing about your food choices, there’s not really a chance to actually enjoy the food. There’s a higher probability of digestive issues, and you’re increasing your cortisol (stress hormone) when it doesn’t need to be increased. All that to say: To embrace food flexibility is allowing yourself to satisfy your body in the moment. Sometimes it looks like a salad, and other times it looks like a burger. I had both this week. It means not predicting what you want hours or days beforehand, but deciding in the moment sometimes. And that’s what this week has allowed me to do.
Other favorites from the week:
Puppy Love
Tater just gives constant reminders that life is good, and to live in the moment. Dogs are great for that!
Fall decorations! I bought some pumpkins for our front steps and put a pretty fall wreath on the door. Already feeling more in the fall spirit.
Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate. I bought this at World Market last week and can’t wait to try.
Around the Web
Yums:
Salted Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies via How Sweet Eats –> Salt makes all of the difference in cookies!
Instant Pot Mac n Cheese via Pinch of Yum –> I dont have an instant pot but maybe could work in a crockpot?
Salted Dark Chocolate Almond Protein Candy Bars –> whew, that’s a mouthful. I will be leaving the almonds off but sounds delicious!
Nutrition:
Eating on $4.00 a day <– Could you do it? Honestly, I think I would struggle. It would require ALOT of planning, knowing exactly what I would buy before walking into the grocery store (having coupons), and prioritizing foods. I definitely wouldn’t be able to have my 5+ choices of peanut butter. It really puts things into perspective.
9 Foods that can be stored for many years <–Interesting!
It’s ok if you don’t get excited about food every day via Heather Caplan
Other/Lifestyle
“You’re doing it wrong…but at least you’re doing it.” – Love this idea. Getting started is so much more valuable than the fear of not starting or doing it wrong.
Feeling like an imposter and doing things that scare us via Fannetastic Food
What are you looking forward to this weekend? We have a football game and tailgate on Saturday, hopefully reorganizing the kitchen on Sunday, and then I have a peanut council blog trip on Monday and Tuesday, so I’ll have to get ready for that.
Have a great one!
Flexibility is so important in every aspect of life – not just with what you eat! It looks like you guys still happened to have plenty of delicious eats despite the kitchen being off limits!
I totally agree that food flexibility is not an easy thing to learn, but I love that you are such an example especially for your clients and us. You promote food flexibility, and you live that with your life especially during this week of having no kitchen. I’ve figured this out with being almost 3.5 weeks in Europe and not really having time to cook meals. It’s really taught me a ton!
Thank you so much, Emily. I can imagine you are learning so much about yourself and food choices in that trip, what a wonderful experience <3
Woah that’s crazy about the health apps. So surprising, but in a way not really haha.
Loved what you said… To embrace food flexibility is allowing yourself to satisfy your body in the moment. Couldn’t agree more with you on that. Thanks for putting this reminder of embracing food flexibility out there.<3
Thanks Alyssa 🙂 xo
That must be tough to not be able to use your kitchen, but at this same time its probably nice to have a break from cooking and cleaning! Enjoy the weekend!
It has a been a nice break!
I really enjoy eating challenges, so the $4/day one sounds kind of fun! To be fair, I’d probably rely pretty heavily on eating up my pantry staples, so that’s probably cheating a bit.
One of the craziest apps I ever saw was supposed to help you track your fertility cycles for more natural family planning, but oh boy would that be a long-term mistake if your biology is just a little bit different!
I’m not even sure I could do the $4/day challenge, but it would be fun to try!
Wow… please let me know how that pumpkin spice hot chocolate is! I think I need to find that.
Excited to see pics of your kitchen once it’s done!!
Can’t wait till it’s done!
Can’t wait to see your kitchen pics! I used to love super dark cabinets, but Rich has white in his kitchen and it feels so airy and light. Have a good weekend!
I’m hoping for the light, airy vibe! Thanks Sam!
Thank you for the link love!
You’re welcome! Loved the post!
I love your friday posts.
Such great articles – some really interesting things to think about.
You know, I secretly love any “chance” or “excuse” to live out of our norm. To eat out more etc. Sure my wallet or budgeting self gets nervous, but its always temporary and I think its super fun. So why not take those opportunities and treat yourself a little extra. You guys are doing great 🙂 And I can’t wait to see your finished cupboards.
On the other end of things…trying out $4.00 a day? Seeing how I just spent $6 on my coffee and muffin this morning, this may be a bit hard for me haha. Ah well. Great tip with the whole foods oatmeal. Thanks!
I agree – it is fun and yes, it’s only temporary – key word! I would feel very challenged on $4.00 a day to be honest, not sure I could do it. Would be an interesting experiment though!
Eek not having a kitchen would stink! Luckily I would survive on food from work, but I just like to make my own food. I am really into it now that I’m calculating the cost of my meals.
I’m actually looking into more off grid living, which will probably mean being more flexible. I don’t have a problem with that, but when I have this goal or project of budgeting my meals, I don’t like not being able to access my plan.
Have a great Saturday!
I loved your post about calculating each ingredient – I learned alot!
Peanut butter, apple and bacon sandwich?! Sounds interesting but delicious since it’s the sweet and salty combination. Sometimes you have to eat out all the time, it’ll be worth it once the cabinets are all done.
Also, LOVE the wreath on your door!
I love all the ingredients separately, and surprisingly, they work together!
That is a great tip about oatmeal at Whole Foods, I will have to remember that! Hope you have a great weekend!
Yes, I was so glad they told me that!