HEALTHY DOES A BODY GOOD

The irony isn\’t lost on me that I\’m writing this post while recovering from a bout of horrible food poisoning. The last thing I want to think about is food, but considering the current state of down time, I have to take advantage, tame the stomach, and write on….about food.

I\’ve always wanted to shoot in a supermarket a la Chanel Fall/Winter 14-15, and I finally did! It was a lot of running around, dodging supermarket managers down the frozen food aisle, and it was fun! Which got me thinking about what I wanted to write about and naturally, considering the location, I thought the state of health would be a good topic.

Working on the Health Channel has given me a fountain of knowledge when it comes to nutrition and wellness overall. It\’s been eye-opening and helpful, especially as our bodies change, and we get older and hopefully wiser. Long are the days where I can stuff my face with cheeseburgers and late night snacks- those start catching up to me a lot quicker now. That doesn\’t mean I deny myself any of my favorite things to eat, it just means I have to be more mindful as to how often, and really apply the whole \’everything in moderation\’ philosophy.

I didn\’t always love food. When I was a kid, I was a terrible eater. My mom literally spoon fed me until I was about 12 because I would barely eat. My menu included McDonalds happy meals, spaghetti with Ragu, and bistec empanizado with arroz and platanitos (fried steak with rice and plantains). Anything beyond that was nixed. As a parent now, I can totally understand my parents\’ frustration with a severely picky eater. Thankfully, I grew out of that. There is a whole culinary jungle out there beyond McDonalds and I found it with age, with travels, with just, trying different things, and it\’s not over yet.

Tapping into that \’wiser\’ part, I knew that adding more veggies and fruits to my lifestyle was a definite must. I have made more of a conscious effort to do that in my meals and trying to \’eat the rainbow\’ when it comes to getting the nutrients I need. I focus on the things I like- kale, eggplant, zucchini, cauliflower, sweet potato, and brussel sprouts. I\’m not huge on fruit but I definitely try to get strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and bananas into the mix. I\’m still that Eggo waffle kind of girl, but trying to offset with some oatmeal and my fave, egg white scrambles.

Same applies when it comes to lunch and dinner. I make sure to add salad or a veggie to my meal. I\’m not going to sit here and tell you I don\’t enjoy the carb life once in a while, I mean, considering how many media dines I do, it\’s not lost on me that I\’ve gained a few pounds here and there and that\’s why I have to find the balance. Same goes with wine. This girl loves her wine, but I\’ve made an effort to cut down to 2-3 times a week and also taking weeks or even a month off from WINE-ing (yes, give me a medal for it, please).

All in all, it all comes down to that word, moderation. It\’s easier said than done, but it\’s doable. It takes practice, it takes undoing old habits, and instilling new ones that can have you feeling better and more energized. Here\’s one great piece of advice I learned from the Baptist Health dietitians: When you go to the grocery store, shop the outside perimeter, where all the fresh food like your veggies, fruits, protein are available. If you start with any tip on your next food run, start with that one!

My other tip? Wear a fabulous outfit while doing it! JK. But how great does this outfit look?! It\’s all about being a mix master and fusing together polka dots with tribal print, or florals with animal print and I love the combination of these polka dot pants I scored on sale at Zara and this ruffled tribal print top I also got on sale. I threw a black knotted headband on, my straw bag, smacked on some pink lips, and voila! I\’m ready to go grocery shopping!

Let me ask you guys, are you doing anything food wise to better or enhance your lifestyle? I definitely want to hear about it! Let me know.

In Style,

Kathy