A Day With Shelby: Her Switch to Eating Real Food

I never used to care about food. What I mean by that is that I ate things because they were delicious or because I needed to, but I didn’t think of food as fuel. In fact, until seven years ago I didn’t even know how to cook. I was a restaurant manager and lived off of frozen dinners, fast food, and whatever I could grab from work (normally pasta or nachos). I excelled in microwaving pizza pockets.

That began to shift as I got more and more into working out and eventually became a personal trainer. However, the majority of my meals were still store-bought and packaged. The term “real food” wasn’t even on my radar… and neither were vegetables!

With my training certification, I started to read more surrounding nutrition. I began to experiment on myself, to learn which foods worked for fuel and what didn’t. I slowly began to eliminate sugar (check out this 21-day sugar detox pantry guide if you need help!), replacing iced tea and soft drinks with water, and to cook my own meals… and enjoy it!

By the time I had my children, everything had changed. The majority of my meals were homemade, processed sugar was rarely in the house, and I took feeding my girls very seriously.

That was four years ago and I’m even more particular now! As I continued to read and learn, the more I gravitated to a real, unprocessed food diet. I also began paying attention to my body and how it responded to specific foods and tweaking my diet from there. And now here we are!

My daily intake looks a lot different than it did ten years ago, four years ago, and even two years ago. The focus of my day is nutrients, gut health, and fuel. I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but I do gravitate towards plant-based meals throughout the day. I don’t eat dairy and am currently eliminating gluten due to noticing some digestive issues.

I have energy, my skin is clear, my workouts are strong, and (most importantly) I know the food that I put on the table helps my daughters grow and thrive. If you’re curious what a day on my plate looks like, take a look!

Breakfast

To be perfectly honest it took me a long time to become a breakfast person. And while I definitely love breakfast now, I find that I don’t do well workout-wise with a very heavy breakfast.

My breakfast typically rotates between three meals: omelets with fruit, chia pudding, and healthy pancakes. My go-to breakfast and the one I prefer is an omelet (or just scrambled eggs) and some fruit and veggies.

I love to see how many servings of plants I can get in per day and I’ve noticed that I do the best when I have a light, veggie dense breakfast.

So, this morning’s breakfast was a 2-egg omelet with ¼ cup egg whites, mushrooms, bell peppers, dairy-free cheese, Wildly Organic Garlic Powder, and Wildly Organic Turmeric Powder. I like to top my eggs with salsa and I had some fruit on the side.

I don’t make protein a focus and I don’t need this big of an omelet. But normally one of the girls munches on some of my breakfast, so I make enough to share.

Snack

My morning snack is a smoothie majority of the time. I work out in the morning so it’s my post-workout meal.

I don’t normally follow a recipe, but I do make sure there is a fruit, a fat, two veggies or superfoods, and a protein (either protein powder, collagen or a blend of nuts and seeds).

I then top the smoothie with all my favorite toppings to make it tasty and filling.

Here are some of my favorite topping ideas:

• Wildly Organic Almond Pecan Butter
• Wildly Organic Soaked and Dried Almonds
• Wildly Organic Coconut Chips
• Wildly Organic Goji Berries
• Wildly Organic Fermented Cacao Nibs
• Wildly Organic Chia Seeds

Lunch

Lunch is always the most fun meal because it’s a throw-together meal! It is literally a combo of all the leftovers I find in the refrigerator.

I sauté up garlic and whatever veggies I have (normally peppers, onions, tomatoes, bok choy, etc.) in Wildly Organic Olive Oil or Wildly Organic Coconut Oil. Then, I add in a starch (Wildly Organic Wild Rice, beans, or quinoa is always cooked and in the fridge) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then it all gets combined with some leafy greens and topped with kimchi.

If I have cooked chicken in the fridge, I use it. If not, I add in flaxseed, hemp hearts, and Wildly Organic Pumpkin Seeds to amp up the protein. I normally have a homemade dressing in the fridge, but when I’m short on time I just use oil and balsamic vinegar or a pre-made organic dressing.

Snack

This snack is never a fully formed snack. I tend to graze more in the afternoons so it’s normally a combination of fruit and nuts. Sometimes I’ll grab an energy ball or a protein bar.

Here are some good snack ideas to get you started:

• No-Bake Carrot Cake Energy Bites {Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}
• Spicy Coconut Date Energy Bites {gluten-free, paleo, vegan}
• Chocolate Cherry Snack Mix {Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free}
• Nut and Seed Bars
• No-Bake Cashew Butter Snack Bars {Gluten-Free, Vegan, No Refined Sugar}

Dinner

Dinners are fairly typical and always have a starch. I am a huge sucker for any and all noodle bowls, but my hubby is not. So we tend to alternate between a noodle bowl, crockpot chicken over rice and broccoli, or an easy one-pan meal.

We keep dinners quick because we have to, but that doesn’t change the fact that we always eat real food.

For some dinner inspiration, try these recipes:

• Spicy Roasted Green Beans {Keto, Low Carb, Paleo, Vegan}
• Sesame Soba Noodle Bowl with Vegetables {Gluten-Free, Vegan}
• Creamy Italian Chicken and Wild Rice {Gluten-Free}
• One-Pot Southwestern Beans & Rice
• Cheesy Herbed Cauliflower Rice {Low Carb, Keto, Grain-Free}

Snack

Sometimes there is a snack before bed and sometimes not. If there is, it’s normally coconut yogurt with some Wildly Organic Cacao Powder and fruit.

The meals I eat keep me full and fueled with energy. They get me up at 4:15 am and able to do my workouts, plus give me enough energy to keep up with little kids. Eating real food has eliminated many of my tummy troubles and skin issues, too.

Most importantly, I love what I eat. I also feel far younger than I ever did in my twenties. Your body was made to consume and digest real food, so fuel it!

Have you recently made the switch to a real food diet? What was it like for you?

The post A Day With Shelby: Her Switch to Eating Real Food appeared first on Wildly Organic.