Food choices good, but amounts? not so much

I've been doing really well lately catching hidden non-vegan ingredients and finding vegan alternatives when eating out, but in the last few weeks, I've had a hard time with how much I'm eating. I can attribute much of the problem to being injured and not running as much as I had been. Not only was my exercise cut way down, but I was not in the best of spirits for the last few weeks. I haven't gorged myself or anything like that, but I have found myself eating more than I need to whenI'm feeling stressed or bored.

A bad habit I've had for years, this pattern can be overcome with some determination and, now that I can start getting back into running again, a strong desire to continue my journey toward more mindful food choices. It's not easy sometimes and we've had some family stresses lately that have not helped being planful about preparing good meals, but there's light at the end of that tunnel, too. As I get more comfortable with what I can eat, I'll get better at figuring out how to eat.

Hitting my stride?

It seems as though it is becoming easier for me to find vegan foods, find hidden ingredients in non-vegan foods, and find good food to eat. I think that as I get more used to what to check for, it will be easier to eat better. Although I am still checking labels because I'm getting store-bought foods, for the most part, I have moved to getting veggies and fruit every week, eating all of them (yes, much like the clean plate club!) and rinding new ways to make good, nutritious meals fairly quickly. I had thought that cooking my meals would help hone some knife skills, but I have found that a kitchen shears does wonders dicing or mincing peppers, green onions, broccoli, and spinach. I still cut up the veggies, but the more involved prep is done with shears. Works great and pretty quick, too.

A couple of weeks ago I got to make a trip to Whole Foods that didn't involve dashing in to pick up a few things. This trip, I got to check all the areas of the store that have what I'd want and I came away with a good sense of what's available for me to make that I'll enjoy and my family may try, too. It was very exciting to have that first trip under my belt and I look forward to finding more treasures next time. Now, if I could only figure out what to do with the tempeh I bought!