#so really now that I’m eating brats and grilled cheese and orange chicken and occasionally pasta | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lightblueminecraftorchid · 9 months

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Ways I get fruits n veggies in me:

- putting oranges and peppers on the counter where it’s easy to snack on while I make other food

- buying frozen strawberries for cheap to make smoothies which are cold on a hot day

- buying 100% fruit juices or 100% fruit popsicles so I have cold juice to drink on a hot day

Ways I do not get fruits n veggies in me:

- buying frozen veggies I don’t really want to eat because I think they’re healthy

- buying fruits I don’t really like because I think they’re healthy

- buying fruits or veggies which require prep time to eat in a way I like

- getting upset at myself for not eating enough fruits n veggies

Notice how the ways I eat the fruits and veggies have a built in incentive to eat them?

- peppers n oranges on the counter are easy to eat and require no prep time. If I want a meal, or I’m just I the kitchen, they’re easy to grab and munch on.

- I get bored and distracted when I cook. Having something to do with my hands, like peeling an orange, keeps me busy while keeping me in the kitchen near my food. And then I peeled the orange so I might as well eat it.

- smoothies and cold juice/popsicles work because the weather is hot and I already want to cool down. The incentive exists naturally because I like how they taste and I’m already looking for something cold.

- smoothies/juice/popsicles also have a consistent texture, which unprocessed fruit and veggies do not have. Texture is a big driver of what I eat or don’t, so having a pleasant/consistent texture makes me more likely to choose something.

If u prep ur own food and are worried ur not eating enough fruits n veggies, it might be time to go through how you usually choose what to eat and what’s blocking the fruit and veggie choices. Usually there is something that makes the alternate choice you make more appealing (including not eating anything, that is a choice that you make too).

Does having to cut/peel an orange take too long, so you pick the easily openable chips? That’s great! You have chips! But if you want fruit too, maybe get something you can just pick up and eat, like an apple or pear.

Does having fresh veggies sound great, but they’re not warm and you’re already freezing, so you pick the warm tater tots you can make in the oven? That’s great! You have tater tots! But if you want veggies too, maybe make some warm vegetable soup, or get a microwave pack of steamed green beans or broccoli.

Do you feel like you want to add more vitamins to your diet, but you don’t like the taste of vegetables or fruit, so you just stare in the cabinet and then don’t pick anything? Get something that has what you need that tastes different. Maybe that’s a supplement (talk to your doctor first, those still can interact with other meds or general health), maybe that’s a protein bar you like, maybe it’s chopping veggies up real tiny and putting them in your pasta sauce. It’s okay if it’s not the most “economical” or “healthy” solution; if it results in you actually eating more of what you’re trying to eat, it’s worth it.

This applies to other foods too; I need more protein in my diet, so I buy protein bars and oven-bakeable orange chicken, even if there are “healthier” more protein dense foods. I don’t like kale or beans, eggs and I are frenemies, and steak (my beloved) takes a lot of time and attention to cook properly. I need to drink more water, so I buy powdered lemonade and sparkling water. Maybe you hate chicken and protein bars and sparkling water and lemonade. You’re not me. What do you like? What do you need? What makes your needs more likeable? Go buy/make/do that.

#I just have strong feelings about this okay #my mom gets on me for not eating the entire rainbow or smth #and tbh #I am not. concerned. about that.#because even if I bought the rainbow I would not eat the rainbow #and then the rainbow would get very moldy or freezerburned #but I have noticed that I eat more fruits and veggies now because I buy stuff i like #and put them in places where I’m likely to eat them #it’s just that #my roommate bought peaches and they were too mushy to eat on their own so I cut em up and smoothied them #with my strawberries #surprise surprise suddenly I ate a ton of peaches #yes I eat like 4 meals ever but I also have 4 reliable fruit/veggie options #<- is autistic and struggles to eat a variety of foods #my doctor gets so worried alkdjfjsjdkfj he’s like ‘im worried you don’t have enough variety in your diet’ my brother in Christ you’re lucky #that it’s 4 meals and not 2 #because when I went to the dining hall it was 2 #chicken tenders or pizza #that’s it #so really now that I’m eating brats and grilled cheese and orange chicken and occasionally pasta #I’ve doubled my meal variety #the one sad thing is that the orange chicken is pricey #otherwise I would probably eat it every day

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