“Ugh I feel so gross, I’m going on a cleanse.” We’ve all heard these famous last words, if not said or thought of saying them at some point. There are so many different kinds of ‘cleanses’, but they all have one common ingredient: the rather moronic idea of starving yourself for periods of time, ranging from the secretly long three days to the simply barbaric one week. Now don’t get me wrong, there is definitely nothing wrong with a girl wanting to cut back on junk food and begin a healthier lifestyle with hopes of feeling better and becoming more confident with one’s self. However, as young ladies leading fast-paced lifestyles, which include school, social engagements, sports, shopping, and whatever else interests you, our bodies aren’t meant to function on water and juice every day! So, while I personally have tried cleanses and don’t think they are horrible for you, I will say there are so many better ways to get healthy and stay healthy.
On an entirely new level, the dining halls at school are SO not helpful, as we all know that soft serve machine whispers sweet nothings in your ear as you walk by. Eating clean is hard and, sometimes, discouraging if you try to go 0-100 in a day! When you give up everything and don’t eat normally for a few days, your cleanse tends to end in a crash with you binge eating everything in sight, including the dining room table. The key to “cleansing” your body is to try to avoid processed foods and foods with sugar and carbs in them. This kind of cleanse is usually referred to as the Paleo diet or, as my mom likes to call it, the caveman diet. Essentially, if the food didn’t moo, cluck, swim, or grow from the ground/get picked from a tree (branch, bush, etc), its not meant to be in your body. With all this in mind, create a plan for a couple of days and stick to fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, fish, and nuts. Drink lots of water to help flush out all the toxins left behind as a result of processed foods, and enjoy the results of feeling healthy and “cleansed” without the whole starvation aspect.
Dining Hall Hacks that provide healthy satisfaction in Kimball:
- Steamed Veggies: vegetables, water, bowl, microwave, genius.
- Put a salad in a tortilla wrap and throw it on the panini machine!
- Peanut Butter in your oatmeal. Sounds gross, tastes super awesome, and gives you tons of energy.
- Granola and peanut butter. Dessert?
- Egg salad: Chop up hard-boiled eggs with salt, pepper, mustard and maybe mayo, if it’s your thing.
- Stir fry: Veggies, rice (brown) and chicken. Healthy and yummy!
- Tuna salad: Most people think its gross but if you’re into it, like me, don’t be shy. If you put a little bit of mayo and relish from the condiment bar into the school served tuna it’s actually great!
- Nachos: …Healthy? Maybe so, but definitely not horrible. Take a bowl, add tortilla chips, then top with tons of cheese, sour cream, lettuce, salsa, and chicken to make a fancy nacho bowl.
- Trail mix: It may require a little more time, but it can save you from unhealthy snacking later on. Bring a plastic bag to gather all the ingredients around Kimball. Recipes vary but any nuts, dried fruit, and cereal are great- maybe even add some chocolate chips or sprinkles to sweeten it up.
- Fruit parfait: Yogurt, fruit, granola, SO easy.
- Breakfast is so easy, because there are so many healthy, caveman-like options at breakfast, just avoid the pancakes and French toast! Instead try bacon, eggs, sausage, fruit, and granola.
- Skip the pasta, go for the meat sauce! While pasta is good every now and then, if you’re trying to stay healthy, choose meat sauce, and add cheese (melted in the microwave) and some veggies, like tomatoes and peppers, to make a healthy dinner!
P.S.- Here are my favorite links for healthy food blogs and recipes!
- http://cavemanstrong.com/dood/grocery-list-paleo-style/: This link gives you an introduction to a grocery list of Paleo/healthy food groups to stick to. Keep in mind you don’t have to stay 100% within the boundaries stated here, but it is a good list to familiarize yourself with when deciding what to eat.
- http://www.pinterest.com/julibauer/paleomg-recipes/: My favorite Paleo cookbook is by Juli Bauer, so if you are living off campus and struggling to cook for yourself, these recipes are awesome and not hard at all! If you are still on campus, there are plenty of ways to take the things she has to offer and adapt them to the foods offered at Kimball.
- http://www.pinterest.com/june25/caveman-snack-attack/: This link is almost foolproof for healthy snacking ideas. A lot of these are totally doable in the dining hall or in your room with simple ingredients from the grocery store. Enjoy!