Sixteen days ago, my fiance (Jason) and I began a new chapter of our lives. We decided that this year, two thousand and win, would be a healthier, happier year. I researched and read and read and researched. Finally, I settled on the Hallelujah Diet, mainly because I know people who have tried it and love it. So on New Years Day, we cooked healthy. We have been eating salads and trying new recipes and over all, enjoying the challenge. Some meals have been scrumptious, like the stuffed tomatoes. Some have been disasters, like the cold sweet potato soup. Some quickly became a staple in our meal planning, like the black bean salad. Here's what I've learned so far:
*food is expensive. you have to plan ahead.
*a meal from my kitchen probably wont look or taste as good as it sounds in the recipe.
*always make extra. if ya don't eat it tonight, it'll make a good lunch.
*clean as you go. it makes the meal tastier because you dont have to worry about cleaning after you're done enjoying the food.
*food goes bad. quickly.
*healthy food can taste good. really, really, good.
*use the energy the food gives ya. go for a walk, do some home yoga, run in circles, dance around the room, something! it feels great!
*eating healthy is not easy. at all. nobody does it.
I've been posting my food on Facebook, but I thought it might be more efficient to have a food diary. It will keep me more accountable, I think. I have not been very good the past two or three days. So here is it! Wealth of Health. To catch ya up to speed a little bit, here's some things I've made so far.
This is the sandwich Jason takes most days to work. Genesis bread (toasted), avocado and black beans (mashed and run through the food processor), kale, tomato (sliced), cucumber (sliced), and then more kale, more spread, more bread. It's my favorite sandwich.
This quickly became a favorite salad. I call it the Caribbean Salad. It has black beans and oranges and grape nuts in it as well as diced broccoli, cucumber, green pepper, chives, and tomato. I use Romain lettuce.
The dressing is 2 avocados, juice from 1/2 a large orange, juice from 1 lemon, salt to taste. The salt is necessary because the orange and lemon make a very sour mix.
This is what I usually eat when Jason isn't coming over for dinner. The dip is a version of the dressing from the Caribbean Salad. I added green pepper (finely diced), parsley (minced), and cucumber (finely diced). I also added a few obscure spices that I thought might be tasty. It worked well.
This was a disaster. Sweet potato soup. It was a cold soup. I didn't even finish eating it. Jason added a bunch of spices to his and heated it up and enjoyed it enough. I won't try this again.
This is my favorite thing I have ever made! Stuffed tomatoes! Oh my goodness! I will post the recipe later. This meal is worth it's own post.
Finally, this is another meal for just me. Its just some cut up veggies. The crackers in the background aren't super healthy but oh well. The dressing I used was okay but not super great. I followed a recipe I found online that called for vinegar, oil, and some spices. It was supposed to be a homemade Italian sauce but it certainly didn't taste like the Italian dressing from the store.
That's all for now. I'm planning to update daily to keep myself accountable. 'Til 'morrow!
Veg Out!
For breakfast, I had leftovers from last night and a large orange. The stuffed tomato tastes even better the next day! For lunch, I had the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I have ever eaten (except for ones my daddy had made for me in the past). Genesis bread with natural peanut butter and organic blueberry jelly. 
Oh boy! It was so tasty! Next time I'm going to try a version of Dad's Special PB&J. His includes peanut butter, jelly, butter, syrup, and a secret ingredient. He mixes them all up together and then spreads it on the bread. I'm going to try peanut butter, jelly, agave nectar, and the secret ingredient. My secret ingredient isn't near as awesome as Dad's but I'll give it a shot :)
